60 Minutes - Arafat's Billions

[Wonk]

ARAFATÕS BILLIONS -- Yasser Arafat diverted nearly $1 billion in public funds to insure his political survival, but as Lesley Stahl finds out, a lot more is unaccounted for.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13502.shtml

[JohnyCanuck]

1. Maybe when she's done investigating the missing Palestinian billions

Leslie Stahl can turn her attention to finding the missing trillions that the Pentagon managed to loose over the last few years.

[LittleApple81]

2. I don't trust any of these reports. EVERYBODY LIES SO MUCH

that we are shell-shocked with lies and misinterpretations.

Arafat is no saint, and it wouldn't surprise me if he is dishonest with money. But the BFEE and Israel are far from clean.

What is that Jesus said "he who is totally without blame can cast the first stone."

[Bollinger]

3. More lies from the Zionist-controlled media

It's so pathetic. Open your mind, you can see how far Arafat has brought his people. The Israelis stole his peoples' land, and he had the spunk to fight back and bring Israel to account for its crimes.

[Kamika]

5. a "C"

It was ok

[MidwestTransplant]

6. Arafat is a criminal terrorist

[beanball]

16. Arafat

is a terrorist and Sharon is a choirboy.The truth will set you free.

[Bombtrack]

7. if this isn't sarcastic you're insane

Arafat has STOLEN billions of dollars of money that were intended to help the palestinians. He is a scumbag, and people who buy into this kind anti-zionist dribble are fools

The jews didn't steal anyone's land. The jews have lived in what is now Israel for just as long as the arabs. International law gave the jews an ethnic and religious homeland, not theft.

[Kamika]

4. Im sure its true in this case

Wouldnt suprise me.. His wife lives a luxury life in Paris

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. This should be interesting.

I've read about monies he has stolen from aid funds given to him to help his people. Instead he put it in an overseas bank acct. You're right. His wife is living in the lap of luxury in Paris...and he sends her, what was it? $1 million a month to live on?

[RC]

11. $1 million a month to live on?

US $$, I assume?

Sure, and bu$h has our best interests at heart by killing people for fun and profit.

[in_cog_ni_to]

14. I assume it's U.S. $$$$'s and it's $100,000 a month.

It was an unbelievable amount of money per month for Arafat's wife to live on. I was wrong. It is $100,000.00 a month.

Palestinian first lady Suha Arafat - whose husband regularly duns governments in the Middle East and Europe to help his poverty-stricken people - is living in Paris on $100,000 a month from Palestinian Authority coffers.

And Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has amassed a personal fortune estimated at $1 billion to $3 billion."

Here's a link to the article.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/134298p-119627c.html

No, Bush has no one's best interest at heart but his own and his oil cronies.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. Hmmm

Jessica Lynch story! The truth of the Lynch story. Interesting! Is CBS trying to score brownie point for canceling the Reagan mini-series? nah!!! I'm being too cynical!

[NashVegas]

10. Hell, Bush Diverted 87 Billion

for his political survival, why doesn't Lesley report on that?

[in_cog_ni_to]

12. Would be nice

wouldn't it? I'm hoping that the media is waiting for their "perfect" moment in 2004 to bring it all down on this administration. I can hope.

[CWebster]

13. Arafat is a corrupt old fox

That is old news. But what about the financial corruption of Sharon recently reported in Israeli papers, but barely acknowledged in the US? They won't breathe a word.

[in_cog_ni_to]

15. They are ALL dirty.

The house needs to be cleaned from Bush, Arafat, Sharon, Cheney, Rumsfeld, all of them need to go. They are all so corrupt and things will never get better in the ME if that never happens.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. How many times has America been hit with nuclear weapons?

My guess is roughly 70.

Am I close?

[Wonk]

20. Off by more than a factor of 10, believe it or not

http://www.nv.doe.gov/news&pubs/publications/historyreports/pdfs/DOENV209_REV15.pdf

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2 in Mississippi
3 in Alaska
3 in New Mexico
4 in Colorado

Page 21
1021 in Nevada

on edit: so this doesn't just look like a non-sequitur (in case someone is reading this in the archives at some later date) RiF was referring to my sigline.

[loudnclear]

18. Can't compare to Sharon's billions of US tax dollars.

Why he is under investigation in Israel right now.

[jpgray]

19. I'll believe it

But how this justifies either side in killing each other escapes me. The Israelis are now justified becuase Arafat is profiting? Please. The innocents are dying, and the leaders are profiting--that's how it always goes. Sharon is making out nicely enough for himself, but he is doing it in the "accepted" way of a modern leader.