[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[craig]

T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
Vol. 1, No. 15
November 26, 2001

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Fuzzy Numbers on Alleged Somali-Al Qaeda Money Connection
* MAC Will Slash Sound Insulation Program
* Crime Continues to Fall Citywide
* After Twins, Minor League Baseball No Slam Dunk
* R.T. and the Schools
Plus: Routing the anarchists in the police department, local psychologist at Ground Zero, welfare reform and recession, light rail derailed, and remembering the Minnesota 8.

(This is a preview edition of The Observer. To subscribe to the full-text edition ($12/yr.), e-mail your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED])

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SOMALI CONTRIBUTIONS TO AL QAEDA FRONT GROUP MINIMAL
News reports earlier this month alleging that local Somalis had been inadvertently sending large quantities of money to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization through a popular money-transfer service wildly exaggerated the amount.
As Britt Robson reports in City Pages (www.citypages.com), ". . . a closer look at the numbers indicates that the amount of money Al Qaeda allegedly skimmed from wire transfers made by local Somalis is much smaller than what the public has been led to imagine."
Robson notes that the estimated $400 million a year that is funneled through the Somalia-based money transfer service Al-Barakaat is a worldwide figure that includes money sent overseas by individuals as well as by relief organizations, including the United Nations. Al Qaeda reportedly receives about 5 percent of that money in service fees, or about $20 million a year, though U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Tasai Scolinos told Robson the government has made no public estimate of the amount Al Qaeda receives. Still, local Somalis account for less than $1 million of that figure each year (significantly less, Robson points out, than the $43 million the Bush administration sent to bin Laden's friends in the Taliban last May to persuade them to stop cultivating poppy seeds for the booming heroin industry).
But even at that level of activity, local Somali leaders dispute claims that they knew any of their business with Al-Barakaat would benefit Al Qaeda. "We came to this country for peace and we love what this country has given us," says Mohamed Husein of the Somali Benadiri Community of Minnesota. "We do not support the terrorists. Why would we support the terrorists?"
With Al-Barakaat shut down, expatriate Somalis have been sending funds back home through a London-based firm called Dahab-Shiil. Saeed Fahia, of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, says it's not as convenient, but better than they had feared. "The lines are longer and people have to wait, but that is okay. It is better than we thought at first, when we were worried that all the companies would be closed down."

A WORD OF WARNING TO ALL ANARCHISTS IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
"Rybak has the intensity of thought and mind to pursue reasonableness and logic in the mayoralty which means to provide positive police service, and to get the hell rid of anarchists and their attitudes from the Minneapolis Police Department."
-editorial in Property newspaper

MAC WILL CUT SOUND INSULATION PROGRAM BY 80 PERCENT
Cuts in air traffic in the wake of 9/11 have forced the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) to slash its home sound insulation program by 80 percent next year, cutting the number of homes insulated from a projected 700 to 170 or less.

CRIME CONTINUES TO FALL CITYWIDE
The number of reported offenses citywide through September fell by 4 percent, according to the most recent statistics released by the Minneapolis Police Department.

AFTER TWINS: MINOR LEAGUE ALTERNATIVE NOT CHEAP
With the future of the Twins in doubt, fans of authentic outdoor baseball have been fantasizing about an intimate relationship with a minor league affiliate-with its cheap players, small ballpark, and affordable seating. But, according to David Brauer in the Skyway News (www.skywaynews.net), snatching a minor league team-or building a cozy ballpark to house it-may not be as easy as it seems.

R.T. AND THE SCHOOLS
There's always plenty of political rhetoric about the schools in every mayoral race, but the mayor generally has little influence on school board decisions. That could change if R.T. Rybak's selection of School Board president Catherine Shreves to lead his transition team is any indication.

NORTHEAST PSYCHOLOGIST AIDS NYC SURVIVORS
In October, Northeast psychologist DeLorah Curry was part of a five-member team from the Minnesota Department of Transportation on a "debriefing" mission to New York City, where they counseled staffers of the New York Metropolitan Transit Council who survived the World Trade Center attacks.

NORTH SIDE AIDS ACTIVIST CEMENTS SOUTH AFRICAN PARTNERSHIP
A North Minneapolis AIDS activist will leave in January for South Africa to work with a community center that serves people there living with HIV, according to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (www.spokesman-recorder.com).

SABO, OBERSTAR WILL HOST HOMELAND SECURITY CONFERENCE
Congressmen Martin Sabo and James Oberstar will headline a half-day conference on homeland security at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs November 27 from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Speakers will include Rebecca Yanisch, commissioner of the state Department of Trade and Economic Development, Sam Grabarski of the Downtown Council, Jan Malcolm, commissioner of the state Department of Health, and state epidemiologist Harry Hull. For more information, call 612/664-8000.

BACK IN THE DAY
30 Years Ago This Week
"They're acting as if we're trying to resist or have a shoot-out. If we were going to split, we'd have done it a long time ago."
-Bill Tilton, one of the Minnesota 8, a group of anti-war activists convicted of destroying Selective Service records, on officers coming to his home after he and his cohorts refused to report to prison on time.
Minneapolis Star
November 27, 1971

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RAVES, RANTS, AND OTHER CONSIDERED OPINIONS
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It's Just My Opinion, But . . .
Saturday's report that Hiawatha LRT officials want to postpone indefinitely final design work on a segment of the line that was to connect with the proposed commuter-rail line to St. Cloud is, I'm afraid, the first of a sad series of reality checks for light rail proponents.
With the economy now firmly mired in recession and government budgets at all levels stretched to the breaking point, it's hard to imagine much financial help forthcoming when the Hiawatha line runs into its inevitable cost overruns. (The project's contingency fund is already being described as "depleted.") So, be prepared for the line's proposed "partial" opening in late 2003 to slide into 2004.
At that point, we'll have a novelty line slightly more useful to commuters than the bright red trolleys that now ferry tourists from Main Street to the Walker. And when legislators realize how little impact the new line has on suburban commuting time, they will hardly be amenable to spending more millions on linking it with other commuter lines-the grand plan of light rail enthusiasts, who envision a comprehensive network throughout the metro area.
Federal money seems even less likely, especially with budget deficits looming and an oil-loving administration waging a wildly popular war to protect our oil interests in Central Asia and the Middle East.
So it seems we'll be stuck for the forseeable future with an 11-mile line whose essential function will be to transport teenagers from a tiny sliver of south Minneapolis to the Megamall. Quite a bargain at $675 million.

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The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2001 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription.

Editor: Craig Cox
Associate Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Mark Engebretson, Leo Mezzrow.
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Thanks to: Michael McAneney, Barbara Wolter, and Judith Wright
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Craig Cox
Editor
The Minneapolis Observer: a weekly digest of all things Minneapolitan
4152 Snelling Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
www.mplsobserver.com
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