Money

If fanaticism is the heart of modern terrorism, then finance is its lifeblood - British Chancellor Gordon Brown November 24, 2002

Even the most devastating terrorist attack carries a surprisingly low price ticket. The organizers of the September 11 attacks are reported to have received change from their $500,000 stake money. Killing tens and injuring hundreds - whether in a Bali nightclub, a Jerusalem bus or a car bomb in India - sometimes costs less than a good meal. Nevertheless, the infrastructures of international terrorist networks cost billions of dollars.

Funding Evil, the latest book by Dr Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of the American Center of Democracy, details the organizations and their methods. Ehrenfeld shows the links and similarities between terrorists as diverse as The Hizballah, the many Palestinian terrorist groups, Tamil Tigers, Colombian narco-terrorists and radical Islamic terrorism around the world.

As US Attorney General John Ashcroft has said "Terrorists cannot terrorize without money...Those who knowingly finance terrorist organizations are just as dangerous and just as responsible as those who carry out the ultimate acts of terrorist violence." Funding Evil details how this funding of terror has taken place, exposing the state sponsorship, corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities that have allowed these organizations and their leaders to amass fortunes and feed the spreading tentacles of terror. Ehrenfeld's timely book doesn't stop there, but recommends practical steps that can be taken to curb it.

Dr Ehrenfeld is a world expert in the topic, having lectured around the world, written copiously and been invited to make submissions and statements to world policy making bodies concerned with terrorism and its funding. It is clear that world leaders are slowly taking note of Ehrenfeld's advice, with the latest actions taken against the Hamas organization being one small step along the path.

Just this month, action has been taken against the Palestinian Relief and Development fund (known as Interpal), amid charges by the US Treasury that the London based charity - which raises between 3 to 5 million dollars a year - has been used to hide the flow of money to Hamas. The funds of the charity have been frozen, and will only be released under the tight scrutiny of the UK Charities Commission. Interpal's chairman, Ibrahim Hewitt is quoted as saying "We've been told this is for our own protection, so that any money going through can't be hijacked along the way." Hopefully these actions will ensure that funds collected for charitable purposes will end up helping their intended recipients - the Palestinian people who are in the most critical need ever, having been ignored by the Arab world, and having international aid and their livelihoods diverted into a war to the death with Israel that they have been unable to win. While up until recently, Europe carefully differentiated between the 'political' and 'military' wings of Hamas - a distinction long denied by the Hamas itself - Ehrenfeld's message is slowly being accepted by the countries at the forefront of the fight against terror. Removing any lingering doubt about the link between the charitable, political and military arms of these terrorist organizations, the Palestinian Authority itself just froze the 39 bank accounts of nine Islamic charities, in order regain control of rogue terrorist organizations that it unleashed in October 2000.

One of Ehrenfeld's long time recommendations, which she details in her book, is for donor countries to insist on the introduction of democratic norms and behaviors by recipient regimes, in order to qualify for ongoing support. Recently, after a very public campaign in which Ehrenfeld actively participated, the US and EU applied pressure to the Palestinian Authority. As a direct result, the PA has catalogued their visible financial assets and now claims to flow all public funds through a single, centralized bank account. Certainly the above clampdown on Islamic charities is also part of this process. Today's newspapers report that the Palestinian Authority has succumbed to American pressure and ordered its schools to take down posters glorifying suicide bombers before the start of the new school year.

These steps are just a start, but they do show a pragmatic determination to directly address the sources of funds of terrorist organizations. The Palestinian model also shows that these ideas can work if applied with consistency and courage. The question is whether there is the political will to apply these standards to other rogue regimes, where the political stakes may be higher.

Funding Evil is not just essential reading for policy makers and academics, but helps us all understand the dynamics of terrorism, its collaboration with criminal organizations to undermine democratic societies, and what we should expect our leaders to do to stop it.

This is a great book to entertain kids. My four kids love the activities and loved telling their friends the jokes and tricks they learned. Great gift, too!

The future of digital money may be a way to effect economic government -- the replacement of the coercion of the state by voluntary institutions. According to this book, advances in encryption will allow digital money transactions to be verifiable by induplicatable signature, yet encrypted to be utterly indecipherable by states (or other busybodies). The Future of Money in the Information Age is a great collection of essays that together paint an optimistic picture of a near future in which states will find it more and more difficult to exercise control of money -- their lifesblood. Highly recommended.

I picked this book up at an Electronics Boutique, thinking that it would contain nothing that I didn't know about the history of Nintendo. In fact, I simply planned to use it for my English report, then give it to my little brother. After reading about 5 pages, I was hooked, my head swelling with a plethora of new facts and stories about Nintendo that I never knew existed. This book is so descriptive that you can almost see the length of Shigeryu Miyamoto's (game designer for Nintendo) shoelaces. I had no idea that a book could be so interesting and informative. Get this one immediately.

Great little book! Clear, concise, motivating. And the price just can't be beat!

The Generation X Money Book was definitly something weel worth the read - If you are under 30 or are just getting in touch with the idea that you have to have some sort of financial stability in your life... THIS BOOK'S FOR YOU, and me

Specifically designed and written for teens and young adults (ages 12 to 23), Don Silver's The Generation Y Money Book is a 148 page, "reader friendly, practical, step-by-step guide for developing sound habits of thrift and money management. By diligently applying the precepts and practices outlined, anyone can take advantage of compound interest, establish a first-rate personnel credit, deal with financial institutions, secure the funding for college, handle financial paperwork, and simply make their money make more money. The Generation Y Money Book should be found on every shelf of every middle school, high school, college, and community library money management resources shelf -- and presented to every teen by every parent desiring a stable and productive financial future for their son or daughter.

Get Out Of Debt by experienced bankruptcy attorney Henri Valbon is a comprehensive and "user friendly" guide written expressly for non-specialist general readers in need of coping with, reducing, and eliminating financial debt. From what to do in case of eviction or auto repossession, to handling oneself under scrutiny from the IRS, to declaring bankruptcy, to rebuilding credit Get Out Of Debt is very strongly recommended as a practical, useful, easy-to-understand instructional guide and reference.

I met author Susan Shwartzwald while on vacation in 1991, so I bought a copy of the book when it was originally published. Since I taught high school study skills, I knew that most parents panic when they try to figure out how maintain some control over their children's lives and finances while, at the same time, giving their kids the freedom they crave when they go to college.
"Get Real!" is perfect for the panicked parent. The range and scope of topics in the book lays out a banquet of "something for everyone." All parents lives are busy when they're raising teenagers, and the authors show that they know this. Chapters are short and easy to read, and the advice is practicable. You can read a little bit at a time and feel satisfied that you have learned something that will help you and your child in the years to come.
If your little baby Johnny or Janey is off to college next fall, do not hesitate. Get a copy of "Get Real!" and learn how to do just that. Don't waste your time worrying. Get real, get this book, and help yourself to some seriously useful advice.

This book is amazing! I purchased it when I was a junior in high school and continue to reference it to this day (I'm 27 now)! It simplifies everything from credit cards and car insurance, to how to find an apartment and set up a budget. A must have for anyone who is about to go out on thier own. A great gift for that hard to shop for teen/young adult!