My post on the shootings in France has brought tens of thousands of people to this site – but not to read my dull contribution. People are coming to read the comments from other readers.
Today’s development of the bomb squad descending on the al-Hilli house does not in itself worry me enormously. You may recall the massive terror scare that was ramped up when some Muslim students in Manchester were found to own a bag of sugar.
In fact we have the opposite phenomenon today, with the spook-fed “security correspondents” on TV lining up to tell us it is probably just everyday household stuff. This deviation from the standard Islamophobic “Muslims = bombs” narrative is so startling it makes me wonder why the “move along, nothing to see here” line is being taken so quickly.
My own security services sources insist that al-Hilli was not a person of current interest to the UK intelligence agencies and was not involved in anything clandestine. I have no reason to disbelieve them. On the other hand, the limited and confusing information in the media is almost entirely from official sources. I find it very strange indeed how little attention has been paid to the murdered French cyclist, and how easily it is presumed he was just a passerby. Surely it is as likely he was the intended victim and the al-Hillis the accidental witnesses?
Please do read the comments on my first entry on the subject to see the debate unfettered by the censorship in the mainstream media. This is perhaps my favourite comment:
From Janesmith101
All comments regarding Sylvain, Al-Hilli and a possible nuclear link are being removed from sites I’ve posted on in The Guardian, Independent and Huffpo UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/sep/09/alps-killer-motive-baffles-police
Here was my comment, I added as a point of fact it was completely speculative and an unproven theory in a later comment, also removed.
Sylvain Mollier, the ‘passing’ cyclist, was in fact a nuclear metallurgist who worked for a french nuclear company called Cezus (a subsidiary of Areva). Cezus fabricates and processes zirconium into metal and nuclear grade zircoaloy for nuclear fuel assemblies – it also has other applications in aerospace such as components and ceramics for missiles and satellites. Mr Al-Hilli was also a skilled aerospace engineer, on what looks to be his first camping holiday.
What is the probability that two highly skilled engineers managed be at the same remote place, at the same time, yet still managed to end up dead as a result of what looks to be a military style assasination?
As someone else pointed out in The Independent comments, the deceased were found by a ‘retired’ RAF officer who, we assume, will recieve perpetual anonymity as a witness. If the police are looking for a motive, try an intercepted rendevous by a security service fixated on denying a hostile power illicit nuclear technology.
http://wrmea.org/component/content/article/162-1995-june/7823-israel-bombs-iraqs-osirak-nuclear-research-facility.html
The Huffington Post UK reports that this wasn’t the family’s first trip to the camp site. An earlier report had asked other camp site visitors whether they had seen the family before and they had replied they hadn’t. If this isn’t wasn’t the first visit by Al-Hilli, it might slightly increase the odds that he knew or had met Mollier before, this being the last in a series of rendevous of a transactional nature. Mollier lived and worked locally.
Again, I’m not sure of the truth of these reports, there is some very sloppy journalism, as there is always seems to be. I’ve read for example Mollier’s company Cevus descirbed as a steel firm something which it is patently not, but perhaps it may have been a detail lost in translation.
An interesting comment summing up some of the strange coincidences, at least, surrounding these murders. My other favourite comment calls me a “macchiavellian shill”.
I have only one thought of my own I want to add at the minute. Al-Hilli was a Shia muslim and had been on pilgrimage to Qoms in Iran. What if it is indeed true that he was in possession of no especial nuclear or defence secrets to pass on to the Iranians, but the Israelis thought that he was? The Israeli programme of assassination of scientists involved in Iran’s nuclear programme is a definite fact. It makes as much sense as anything else at the moment, as a possibility.
I am not saying that is what happened. But the directions in which the mainstream media is being so strenuously pointed by official sources, like the massacre of an entire family over an inheritance, are certainly no more inherently probable. Certainly as we are now told all the shots were from one gun, for the assassin to get each victim in the head with none of them being able to escape, indicates real proficiency with the weapon and a very high level of training.
@ricki tarr
Shock when you click on any of the links for TFTC it comes up with an error!
####
What is the website url you regard to?
Funny. Tftc is used in geocaching. Likely just coincidence.
TFTC – Traditionally TFTC is an abbreviation of Thanks For The Cache. This is often used interchangeably with TFTH.
1.30 zirconium rods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Zs3nIf9TA&feature=related
and the same neocon nutter
Patrick Clawson from Institute for Near East Studies washington
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PfoaLbbAix0
Morning all.
I see Ferret is still pushing , AH could have helped Saddam with his nuclear ambitions……….well no actually, what he’s overlooking is the human face in all his machinations, that being Saddam sequestered all the Al Hilli assets,was hounding & exterminating Shiites. I repeat why would someone forced out of his country by such a vile creature want to help him make & probably abuse the said nuclear weapons ?
Doeasn’t make any sense at all.
Dopey,
That 2002 doc is a great find, the Ali he speaks to could well be the Dr Ali I posted on the night before last.
Anders/Kathy & James.
Re: The invasion of Iraq, I agree the whole debacle was/is disgusting , once one saw the size of the US embassy being built there,without interruption of electricity ,water & services it was blatantly clear what it was all about.
I will add one not of caution though, that being Iraqi diaspora were asking for help to rid the country of Saddam, it was well known that people were disappearing.
The same with Libya,they pleaded for help as have Syria who constantly cried ‘the west has forgotten us’.
It seems we are damned if we do & damned if we don’t.
Personally as I said 10 days ago. I wish we’d stayed out of it all……….I fervently wish we’d never gone to Afghanistan admitted defeat & brought our boys home today !
Ricki.
Dr Al-Hilli is the man I posted a link to 2 nights ago , his site is IMM:
http://www.immonline.org/activities/community/speaker-biographies/dr-ali-al-hilli/
Then there’s a relative who spoke there:
http://imm.gwdesigner.com/community/speakers-biography/sheikh-mohammed-al-hilli/
Orph3us, at 12:48am on 27.9.12:
Thank you for your useful info. Could you please help, then, given that you have insider knowledge, by giving us the name of an individual in the News Team at the BBC to whom to send a specific complaint, or at least telling us how best, in your experience, to mount a specific complaint? Thanks again.
As Blue Bear, CD and others have suggested, I strongly would encourage people to create maximum ‘noise’ at the BBC/other MSM outlets – but obviously, any pointers as to how to do this effectively, esp. from current or recent insiders, would be useful. Although it might achieve nothing, I know that (at least, some) Senior BBC producers do take it seriously if they gets lots of complaints about a specific item.
—–
{http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2006/06/whats_up_with_al.html]
@ Ricki – I did a search on twitter and there is a personal friend of SAH on there called Fa Tab astard (no that isnt a real name and no im not taking the P**) has anyone got a twitter account,just think we could ask the man a few questions, he’s from Manchester and as I am sometimes in Manchester could speak to him face to face if he wants!
One of Saad’s ‘friends on facebook goes by the name Fa tbastard, and his profile is public. I couldn’t see anything wildly exciting on there, but might be worth a look by a fresh set of eyes.
Ricki a full answer with links, is on its way,but held up in moderation.
More about the Balsam al-Hilli Xanthis family. She calls herself Balsam Hill-Xanthis as well.
She has 3 “children” all registered in the same London house owned by her husband George Xanthis.
Haydar Xanthis born 1982
Alexandros Hashim Xanthis born 1987 ( he calls himself Alexandros Hashim on the web)
Eleni Xanthis (also called Elizabeth) who is the only one for whom I found a profession. She is teaching assistant at Knightsbridge school.
http://genesreunited.co.uk/search/results/bmdindexedbirths/xanthis
Besides them and parents Balsam and George there is the Martin family registered in their house, too.
Who knows how or if Hussein al- hilli is connected to the al-hilli family?
I’ve just seen this video-interview with Salzmann [which was provided yeasterday, I think by Ferret] and he comes across as a fine and genuine chap
http://www.fc4us.com/videochannel/72293/its-beyond-belief-says-neighbour-of-family-shot-in-france/
I just think its disgusting all those young blokes sitting on their backsides the whole day trying the question this fine man as to his motives — for speaking out his sincere felt emotions about this tragedy.
@ bluebird
Hussein al-hilli:
Officer trainee at british army, himalaya expedition, marathon runner.
Rings to me like MI6.
……………………..
Yes, when I saw his profile thought he was ideal candidate material for that too.
Re timelines, SAH was born in 1962 (so 50 yrs old now).
If he went to Uni aged 18 (in 1980) then he would have got his Batchelors aged 21 (1983). If he then did a 2-year Masters that would make him 23 (1986). Add three years for a PhD and he would be 26 (1989).
(If he’d gone to Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin Uni where they give out honourary Masters degrees he may have skipped the Masters bit altogether and gone straight on to PhD, so he could have been two years younger.)
So in 1989 (or 1987) he could have been fully qualified in whatever he studied (if indeed he did study at all, as this is all conjecture).
And he could well have had some unique experience and knowledge in some cutting-edge branch of something-or-other from his PhD research: for as is common knowledge, a PhD in a science subject is almost invariably obtained through a piece of unique, original research.
And in 1989, with SAH fully qualified, Saddam’s nuclear ambitions had a full 6 years left to run according to Trowbrige, who wrote that these were finally ended in 1995.
So, I restate my contention that SAH *could* have helped Saddam’s nuclear ambitions in Iraq. He *could* have had sufficient knowledge. He definitely had the opportunity. And it’s easy to conjecture a motive. And Iraq *did* have an extant nuclear programme until 1995, a full six years after SAH would have been awarded his PhD, if he’d followed the normal pattern of education in the UK up to this level.
Is this likely? I don’t know.
But is it possible? Yes, it is.
http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/02377254
That is the URL that is failing.
Yahya Mirjan who owned TFTC with SAH is a member of
the ABA – Arab Bankers Association, has worked with the British Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo and holds a lot of Limited company names mostly registered to Westminster House, 35 Pensbury Place and one for Bramber Court, 2 Bramber Road which is a very non descript building with steel gates? front company? how did this guy that owns a number of companies also work for the Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo????
@Ricki
Try Duedil for TFTC Ltd information?
http://www.duedil.com
You have to register, but it’s free. It doesn’t always contain the latest info though, sometimes you have to go to Companies House for the source docs.
Interestingly, one of the companies of which Yahya Mirjan was Director, Byrock Ltd, has a similar success pattern to SHTech (good years in 2006, 2007, 2008).
There was of course a financial crash in, when was it, 2008, 2009? This would have hit a lot of companies at the same time so this could be entirely coincidental.
Ferret..
To add what little there is to that.
It was noted somewhere that he was “at Rutherford” working over the summers from around ’86 whilst at uni.
Fully qualified (89) until (00) he’s “somewhere”
Then Jan 2001 he goes as a contractor.
From (year ending 2002 to year ending 2010) “turnover” was recorded
42K, 27K, 23K, 19K, 20K, 66K, 43K, 49K and 26K.
In Nov 2010 he starts at SST.L
No idea what he was getting there as 2011 was probably being prep’d
Companies House have 31st Jan 2010 accs on the 25th of Oct 2011.
Is that any help.
Arab Bankers Association, has worked with the British Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo
He probably doesn’t work for the British Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, but is merely a member (probably because he imports stone from Kosovo?). For a very modest fee, anyone can become a member of any British Chamber of Commerce anywhere, just as one can become an *individual* member of the Arab Bankers Association without actually being a banker.
Looking at his business activities, he appears to be a small-time dealer in construction materials, particularly stone.
https://www.duedil.com/director/916117907/yahya-mirjan
(The grand-sounding “International Management Ltd” actually is a marble and granite supplier)
@James
Thanks, yes. The accounts for y/e Jan 2011 are at Companies House too but they don’t show any turnover (complete exemption full?)
@Peter
True, but a couple of the companies of which Yahya Mirjan was Director or Secretary (or both) have considerable turnovers, so he’s not just a bit-player.
True, but a couple of the companies of which Yahya Mirjan was Director or Secretary (or both) have considerable turnovers, so he’s not just a bit-player.
Okay then, he is a successful dealer in marble and granite
http://www.stonework.co.uk/location.htm
However, he is (according to the known facts) neither a shadowy arab banker nor employed by a British Chamber of Commerce.
@James (again)
So… he was definitely working then from Jan 2001 as a contractor, and could have been working for anyone, anywhere – and could easily take time off to go back to Iraq…
So thanks, yes, that’s very helpful.
@Peter
My apologies, I should have added that I acknowledge the validity of your other (and perhaps more major) points.
I concur that being a member of a Chamber of Commerce, at least in the UK, is a voluntary act on behalf of the company in question, they just apply, pay, and join.
I don’t know anything about the Arab Bankers Association. Membership again would not neccesarily indicate anything other than an interest, so far as I can see.
But, I’m very happy people are linking and speculating… quite often something interesting pops out of it all.
Keep digging, guys!
😀
Ferret
Yep.
It looks like (and I stress “looks like”) he has gain experience and thought I’ll go contacting.
Maybe in that 1st year he “may” have remained at the Co he was previously at…hence a good turnover.
Then he’s “active” but not on what he was (although I have no idea what his PAYE was previously)
Then in 2007 it “looks” like he has a good contract somewhere (where ??) and then that looks to end in 2010.
November 2010 he starts with SST.L
But in the “lean” times, his turnover falls off…but it doesn’t go to “zero” ever. So he is “somewhere” or doing something that people are paying for.
Apparently due to press releases, Australian Iraqi Ali Al-Hilli is the cousin of Zaid Al-Hilli. I read that he is a relative of Balsam Al-Hilli Xanthis. However, in what way exactly is that family tree connected to SAH and Zaid? Soon we should have a family tree to know who’s who.
Regarding Ali Al-Hilli:
I found this forum message produced by Ali Al-Hilli in an Iraq forum. It looks as if this family was 100% pro American and 100% Anti-Saddam at that time.
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2002/msg00824.html
This is the Biography of Ali Al-Hilli.
http://www.aiforum.org.au/members.php?member=Mr%20Ali%20Hashim%20Al-Hilli
The Al-Hilli family came to London in 1970. That convinces me that they were closely connected to Iraq’s ex-prime minister An-Naif who was assassinated in London some years later by Saddams gunmen. Those few families who were friends and politicians close to the An-Naif group in the Baath party were given exile by the British government at that time because that group was pro-UK and hated Saddam.
Connected with Ali Al Hilli I found accidentally some Mr.Yasar Al-Saffar.
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/yaser-al-saffar/5/bb6/760?trk=pub-pbmap
Senior economist at the Bank of England. Economic forecasting and model building.
He likely is a relative regarding to the grandmother’s family.
To me, the whole family smells of being pro-Western Iraqi people. I can’t say whether or not they’re supporting western intelligence services, however, they obviously are fully integrated and work in various top positions in several Western countries such as UK and Australia and those two families are definitely amongst the rich and wealthy people.
@James
Yes, agree totally – good analysis. Worth bearing in mind, as has been mentioned by Dopey, that he may of course have PAYE income as well, simultaneously to his contracting income, and/or passive income – but those would only show up on his tax returns.
Ok, there we are:
Yaser Al-Saffar is a cousin of the mother’s Iqbal family and he is a Senior executive at the Bank of England.
Ali Al-Hilli is a cousin of SAH and Zaid. He lives in Australia and he was all his life in the aeronautics business and currently he is a senior executive at Qantas airlines (and he says that he hated Saddam and he is obviously pro-USA).
Balsam Al-Hilli Xanthis (Balsam Hill-Xanthis) who is married to wealthy and rich maritime company owner George Xanthis has a house in London but is said to currently living in and Iraq trying to be elected for the Iraqi parliament as a representative of the United Shia party.
They have three grown up kids:
Haydar Basil Xanthis, Alexandros Hashim Xanthis (Alex Hashim) and Eleni Xanthis who works as an assistent teacher at Knightsbridge school in London.
In the Xanthis house in London there lives the “Martin family”, but sadly there is no Brett Martin registered. Did Brett Martin have had any links to Australia or to Qantas?
And that’s the thing !
Why go contracting ?
It could be the on/off nature of the work (giving the “client” flexibility).
Or your skill set means you can demand more for your talent.
Or a bit of both…and you the contractor wants to spend time off.
The problem is, I can make a case (assumption) for all of those in this situation.
For eaxample he may have been with BAe. He may have “nano sat” experience. He may want to help the wife out with the kids.
I just can’t find the “concrete” one.
Have tried (but can’t work out how!) to search for “Patents” for him. That may fit for the “leaner” periods.
OR…. Iraq was going through a “build up”. A lot of US “daft cash” flying around in the “sandpit”.
Was he there for that ???
Why go contracting ?
It could be the on/off nature of the work (giving the “client” flexibility).
Or your skill set means you can demand more for your talent.
Or a bit of both…and you the contractor wants to spend time off.
… or because he had a rich daddy and didn’t need to earn his own living?
Have tried (but can’t work out how!) to search for “Patents” for him.
Good idea. Google no help?
@ Bluebird
Interesting research. You have previously expressed an interest in the assassination of an-Naif. Please remind me why that is or might be germane.
Meanwhile, if you are still interested, have a look at issues 28 but especially 29 of this magazine
http://www.cvni.net/radio/e2k/
Some like-minded soul had a look at the Iraqi Embassy in London.
No patents that I could find
http://worldwide.espacenet.com/advancedSearch?locale=en_EP
@James
Subject: Zinc Oxide, Nanotechnology – 2 refs to S Al-Hilli, in publications from 2007 and 2009
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TYXinw6pKk4C&pg=PA339&lpg=PA339&dq=al-hilli+et+al+patent&source=bl&ots=71Addmlr58&sig=lcXT-jlUM02fgQYJwArhCDc5tYo&hl=en#v=snippet&q=al-hilli&f=false
@ Ferret
That is Safaa M. Al-Hilli of Göteborg University.
@James
Google Patent Search
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US20110091510?pg=PA24&dq=%22al+hilli%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22al%20hilli%22&f=false