Free Republic

<p>WASHINGTON -- It has been dubbed "Saddam Inc.," a mysterious, multibillion-dollar empire that is said to have allowed Saddam Hussein and his sons to methodically stash away stolen riches in secret bank accounts around the globe.</p> <p>Now, as the American military moves closer to toppling Saddam's regime in Baghdad, U.S. Treasury officials and intelligence agencies say they are scoring new successes in their effort to unravel and seize Saddam's hidden wealth.</p>

Three Iraqis who aided the CIA in the March 20 attempt by the United States to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were executed this week by Iraqi counterintelligence, former and serving U.S. officials told United Press International. A super-secret U.S. intelligence operation, working in Baghdad for weeks before the war, provided the crucial targeting data for the attack on Saddam and his sons, launched in an effort to pre-empt a full-scale war, these sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The war had been scheduled to start Friday, March 21, U.S. officials told UPI. But -- after getting intelligence that...

UK Royal Air Force (RAF) officials have announced the completion of its deployment of 100 fixed-wing aircraft and 27 support helicopters to aid a possible US-led invasion of Iraq. The strength of the UK build-up was underlined early last week, when RAF Harrier GR7 ground-attack aircraft were in action for the first time over Iraq’s southern ‘no-fly zone’, striking two targets that “threatened US and British aircraft”, according to service sources in the Middle East. UK air assets positioned at a spread of bases in the region include: • Tornado GR4 strike aircraft at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait • Harrier...

Fed up with NPR's biased coverage of Israel? Let NPR know. Join the San Francisco NPR protest! The info is as follows: When: Noon PT - Thursday, March 27, 2003 Where: 101 Market St., San Francisco Outside the business office of "Working Assets Radio" http://www.workingforchange.com/radio/contact_radio.cfm?CFID=5595796&CFTOKEN=96409108 Working Assets is a major underwriter of inaccurate and unbalanced Middle East programs on KALW 91.7 FM a San Francisco NPR affiliate. Working Assets also contributes funds to many Palestinian oriented organizations while contributing a much smaller share of funds to mainstream Israeli oriented organizations. Working Assets through its SF Diversions event list frequently promotes...

<p>Lake Tahoe sank so low before recent storms that many boat docks were left high and dry. Scientists say that historical droughts have caused Tahoe's vast shoreline to drop 20 feet, allowing forests to grow where there is now water.</p>

Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, has acted to freeze the assets of an organisation suspected of raising funds to help Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terror network build a nuclear bomb. Financial institutions were ordered to freeze funds belonging to the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) at midnight. BIF's chief executive Enaam Araout was recently indicted in the USA for operating it as a racketeering enterprise and providing material support to organisations including al-Qa'eda. "Strong evidence" existed to link BIF with al-Qa'eda and bin Laden, said the Treasury. This includes personal contacts between senior BIF officials and al-Qa'eda operatives involved in the 1998...

Britain has ordered its financial institutions to freeze, with immediate efffect, any accounts belonging to Jemaah Islamiah, accused of involvement in the Bali bombing. "Jemaah Islamiah engages in terrorism. Its aim is to establish an extensive fundamentalist republic covering Malaysia, Singapore and parts of the Philippines, and it is prepared to bomb, shoot and kill to achieve that end," said Chancellor Gordon Brown, while announcing the asset freeze last night. "By freezing its assets we will undermine its future operations. If fanaticism is the heart of modern terrorism, then finance is its lifeblood. All countries must act to cut off...

<p>Women who have invested hours at the gym trying to shrink their bottom line are now booting up their "assets" at the plastic surgeon's office.</p> <p>They're sub-muscle silicone implants for the backside, and they are quickly becoming the breast implants of the new millennium.</p>