Thursday, February 26, 2009

"Informed Observer" speculates on Israeli "Wannsee Protokol"

Click image to enlarge

A writer of a "guest op-ed" at Juan Cole's blog, identified only as an "Informed Observer," is indignant that someone actually, horrors, defended Israel in the pages of the sacred Guardian. That would be worth a post in itself. In addition, however, we get speculation that "something similar to a Wannsee Protocol may exist somewhere in Tel Aviv." That refers to a famous document planning the Nazi "final solution" to the Jewish problem. Did he really write that?
[...] I find Amnesty’s report provides enough evidence to convince me that something similar to a Wannsee Protokol may exist somewhere in Tel Aviv and that Senior Israeli officers and politicians have a case to answer at the International Criminal Court. Doubtless I will be accused of anti-semitism for saying it, but I find myself in the company of Sir Gerald Kaufman, Mary Robinson and a glittering array of QCs and eminent jurists in doing so.

I find the Guardian giving this piece of Newspeak a platform without identifying at the end of the piece that the author [Uri Dromi] is closely linked to the Israeli forces worrying.
His name at the beginning of the piece links to a description of his Israeli government and IDF credentials. Perhaps it's a bit much to expect a Guardian reader to navigate a link.
The Guardian used to be a newspaper that could be relied on to present a point of view that was an antidote to the authoritarian and right wing point of view expressed in newspapers like Daily Telegraph, Times, Jerusalem Post. It is unsettling to find them giving a platform to someone who Professor Avi Schlaim denounces as a propagandist.

If the Independent, whose editorial independence is vouched for by the integrity of Robert Fisk as a correspondent, were to succumb to its financial problems, along with Channel 4 TV-- and The Guardian were to have been subverted we would be left with a biased set of mass media that channel to us Israeli propaganda.
The horror! But Fisk would still find somewhere to publish, wouldn't he?
Perhaps the Editor of the Guardian might need to examine his conscience.
Thinking that there might be something to be said for the Israeli side of things--that has to bother the Guardianista conscience indeed! In the comments section, "Georgina Henry Executive editor, comment, The Guardian" explains:
It appeared in the Comment Is Free section of our website (not the print edition) where writers express a wide range of opinions which are exposed to scrutiny by readers who can then comment on them.
See there? There had to be an explanation!

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Update: Yaacov Lozowick answers some of the "Informed Observer's" points about specific uses of weapons and also makes a great point about logic and reality.

"Immortal Feats in Modeling Whole Society on Juche Idea"

We're miserable stunted wretches living in a giant concentration camp and forced to pretend to be happy about the stupid Juche idea:
The army and people of Korea are recollecting with deep emotion the imperishable feats performed by General Secretary Kim Jong Il who has led the Korean revolution along the one road of victory under the banner of transforming the whole society after the Juche idea.

He, who had put forward many original thoughts and theories long ago, was engaged in indefatigable study for formulating anew the revolutionary idea of President Kim Il Sung.

Busy as he was with many state affairs, he energetically studied and analyzed the preceding theories while dealing with important issues of the revolution and construction.

He, basing himself on this, found that the new guiding idea of the times was only the revolutionary idea of the President and proclaimed the programme for modeling the whole society on the Juche idea in February Juche 63 (1974).

In order to put this programme into practice, he, with a tight grasp on idea and theory, has dynamically conducted the work of transforming man, nature and society as required by Juche.
So what happened to "nature"? Better not to know.
As a result, a great turning-point was marked in remoulding and changing all the fields of the revolution and construction in accordance with the requirements of modeling the whole society on the Juche idea.

The Wangjaesan Revolutionary Site and the Samjiyon Grand Monument, centers for the education in the revolutionary traditions, were built and the schoolchildren's marches began along the courses of the 1,000-ri journey for learning and the 1,000-ri journey for national liberation.

The work for training people of Juche-type and remoulding man has been vigorously promoted by the mighty slogans full of Juche spirit advanced by him such as "Let us meet the requirements of Juche in ideology, technology and culture!", "Let us produce, study and live like the anti-Japanese guerrillas!" and "Let us live our own way!" and mass movements including the Three-Revolution Red Flag Movement.

The slogan of faith "Let us fight devotedly for the great leader!" has implanted in the minds of the servicepersons the spirit of devotedly defending the leader and brought them up to be a-match-for-a-hundred revolutionary army, thus decisively smashing the reckless war provocation moves of the enemy in each step and defending the motherland and people with credit.

Amid the seething revolutionary enthusiasm, a large-size long-distance belt conveyer transportation line stretched out to the rough west sea, making a proud history of great creation and construction.
Is that a metaphor?
The five revolutionary operas and "A Mountain Shrine"-type revolutionary drama were created and revolutionary films and revolutionary novels were produced with the result that a fresh heyday was brought about in literature and art as a whole. All this is a precious fruition of the might of ideology under the banner of modeling the whole society on the Juche idea.

All the army and people of Korea victoriously concluded the "Arduous March" and the forced march which were difficult beyond the imagination and ushered in the dawn of building a great, prosperous and powerful socialist country.
The idea of the bit about the "dawn" of a "great, prosperous" etc. country is that the sun hasn't come up yet.
The grand monumental edifices constructed in different parts of the country in the Songun era -- large-sized fields which was rezoned as befits the land of a socialist state, modern industrial establishments, poultry farms, the UHP electric arc furnace which is acme of the steel industry, the Wonsan Youth Power Station and other power stations -- are the precious wealth made by indomitable spirit.

The army and people of Korea are forging ahead dynamically for the thriving of the socialist country and the accomplishment of the Juche revolutionary cause with the undying feats performed by Kim Jong Il under the banner of modeling the whole society on the Juche idea as lasting treasure.
And they'd probably trade it all for a potato.

Canadian Jewish News: "Aboriginal leader acquitted of Jew hatred"

Only in Canada, I guess. I don't agree with putting people on trial for bigoted remarks, but exactly what could he have done to earn a conviction?
A judge has acquitted a former aboriginal leader of willfully promoting hatred against Jews.

It was the second trial for David Ahenakew, who was found guilty in 2005 of promoting hatred against Jews and fined $1,000. But the conviction was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered.

Ahenakew, the former head of Canada's Assembly of First Nations, was charged after a controversial speech and subsequent interview with a reporter in 2002. In the interview he called Jews a "disease ... that's going to take over."

He went on to say that "The Jews damn near owned all of Germany prior to the war. That's how Hitler came in. He was going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany or Europe.

"That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the God-damned world."

On Monday, Judge Wilfred Tucker of Saskatoon said the comments were "disgusting" but acquitted Ahenakew, saying he didn't believe the accused intended to promote hatred.
Ahenakew, 75, testified at his second trial that he doesn't hate Jews, but "I hate what they do to people." He said he still believes Jews caused World War II.

Commenting on the trial's outcome, Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), co-president Sylvain Abitbol said, "While the court has determined that Mr. Ahenakew's statements were revolting, disgusting and untrue, he did not demonstrate the required intent to meet the rightfully high threshold required for a guilty verdict in hate crimes cases under s. 319 of the Criminal Code, and we respect the court's decision.

"While Mr. Ahenakew has not been convicted, there is no doubt that his words and actions were anti-Semitic and we hope Mr. Ahenakew has come to understand the pain he has caused. We urge Mr. Ahenakew to make amends so he can be remembered for healing rather than for hurting," said Abitbol. [...]

CJC CEO Bernie M. Farber commented on the importance of s. 319. "This section of the Criminal Code is an important element of the fence of protection around vulnerable minorities in Canada. Today's decision should not be extrapolated to conclude that s. 319 of the Criminal Code cannot work," said Farber.

"We commend the Crown and the court for the seriousness and diligence with which they proceeded on this case, and appreciate their efforts to bring about a resolution. We continue to urge law enforcement officials and provincial attorneys-general to enforce the law going forward."
Glad he's happy.

PressTV (Iran): "Hollywood to make 30 anti-Iranian movies"

The only source for this information given in the article is "Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi."
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, has said that Hollywood film makers have thirty anti-Iranian movies in the offing.

"Hollywood has thirty anti-Iranian movies in the offing with the subject of hostility towards Iran's historical and Islamic identity," Qashqavi told reporters at a weekly news conference in Tehran on Monday.

"The subject of making various movies has directly targeted not only Iran's religious and historical identity but also the country's social values including hospitality in an attempt to show hostility towards the Islamic Republic," he added.

"There are certain political objectives behind a number of movies under the pretext of creating art," he explained.

The controversial anti-Iranian Hollywood film '300', made by Zack Snyder, is an example of such films.[...]
So Hollywood is making 30 more? Seems hard to believe, unless you're MPAC-UK.

What's the latest from "the most independent country in the world"?

They are the champions, my friend:
Head of Expediency Council and provisional Friday Prayers leader of Tehran said here Friday Iran is the most independent country in the world today, obeying orders of no foreign power, no country dictating it what to do.

According to IRNA Political Desk reporter, addressing thousands of Tehrani worshipers at central campus of Tehran University, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani added in his second sermon, "The victory of the Islamic Revolution rid Iran from the reign of the global oppression and granted the Iranians freedom, that is materialized at election scenes."
He took his lucky break and broke it in two:
US President Barack Obama's distortion of the name of Persian Gulf while issuing appointment decree of Dennis Ross is considered inattention to valid international historical documents which can mark the start of the non-confidence of the Iranians in him . . .

Obama who was elected with the motto of change, has pursued a line which can lead to Iran's growing mistrust in him by electing Ross as a senior advisor for Persian Gulf affairs.
The dream police they live inside of his head:
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has accused Israel of masterminding the Darfur crisis, urging the ICC to drop charges against Sudan's president.

Gaddafi called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately halt proceedings against Omar al-Bashir over alleged war crimes in Darfur, adding that "foreign forces" including Israel were behind the region's crisis.

"Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv, for example, is behind the Darfur crisis," the current African Union president said on Tuesday.
It's getting better all the time:
Following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's decision to appoint the controversial Middle East negotiator as her special advisor on the Persian Gulf and southwest Asia, lawmaker Kazem Jalali cast doubt on the new administration's intention to bring political change.

"Ross' appointment shows that [Barack] Obama's offer of change is not real ... the Israeli president would have been a far better candidate than Denis Ross," Jalali told IRNA on Thursday.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Song for the New Orleans Intifada

Went down to Nawlins for the Intifada
And they all axed for you
They all axed for you
They even inquired for you
Took the St. Claude bus to the Intifada
And they all axed for you
Farfur axed, Nahool axed,
They all axed for you

I'm on Canal Street for the 10 minutes' hate
And they all axed for you
They all axed for you
They even inquired for you
Mister, I can tell you where you got that Keffiyeh
And they all axed for you
Robert Axed, Ismail axed
They all axed for you

I went on down to Apartheid Week
And they all axed for you
They all axed for you
They even inquired for you
I went on down to Apartheid Week
And they all axed for you
The PFLP and the DFLP
They all axed for you

The Maoists axed, Hugo axed
They all axed for you
Hassan axed, Samir axed
They all axed for you
Juan axed, Roseanne axed
They all axed for you
Ilan axed, Yvonne axed,
They all axed for you

UNO got a sister school
It's called Al-Aqsa U.
Even Tulane got a sister school
It's called Al-Aqsa U . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

"IAEA's repetitious reports should be stopped : Iranian envoy"

Iran is usually more upbeat about its relationship with the IAEA, so this is a significant development:
Iran's Ambassador to International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh said the IAEA's repetitious reports on Iran which have nothing new should be stopped.

Talking to IRNA, Soltaniyeh said he told IAEA's Board of Governors that after several years of repetitive reports on Iran's peaceful nuclear program, it should be stopped.

Members of IAEA Board of Governors in a five-hour explanation meeting on Tuesday, discussed IAEA chief ElBaradei's new reports on Syria and Iran.

After the meeting, Soltaniyeh said it was repeatedly underlined that the impressions from ElBaradei new report about Iran are totally baseless.

He added that Herman Nagat, responsible for the IAEA's regional safeguards clearly underscored the incorrect impressions of the report and said that all nuclear issues related to Iran's enrichment activities are precise and under IAEA's control .

According to Soltaniyeh, the official underlined three times that the incorrect information and conjectures by the media are completely wrong and there is no ambiguity concerning enrichment activities in Natanz.

Referring to the IAEA former reports about Iran, Soltanieh criticized ways of writing the reports which clearly cause misunderstanding in public opinion.

He continued that the reports should be prepared in two sections; whether Iran has fulfilled its commitment upon Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or not, and whether the request from Iran like fulfillment of Additional Protocol or sub-arrangements 1 and 3 are beyond the commitment or not.

He asked how such voluntary measure could be accepted while the UN Security Council issues resolutions and the issue is still considered in the IAEA Board of Governors.

The ambassador said he told the meeting that the director general and the IAEA had no alternative except announcing that inspection in Iran has been carried out in a normal way and the issue should be removed from IAEA's special agenda.

Referring to the new report of ElBaradei on Syria, Soltanyieh said the report, without condemning Israeli bombardment in Syria, asks that country to prove that the demolished building was not a nuclear installation which is against logic and common sense.

Soltanyieh said this is the same scenario which was repeated again and agaain for Iran and must be stopped forever.
You don't suppose they have something to hide, do you?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ahmadinejad: Iran and Venezuela pursuing "divine goals"

He appreciates Imam Chavez:
Iran's President, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a farewell meeting with the outgoing Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran, Arturo Anibal Gallegos, said in Tehran on Monday that Iran and Venezuela are moving in the direction of a unified route in the way of divine goals and humanitarian objectives. According to ISNA, he said that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela's cooperation should encompass regional boundaries in South America, and they should adopt a unified stand in dealing with ongoing developments in South America, Africa and Asia.

President Dr. Ahmadinejad reiterated that though once Cuba and Venezuela were the only active states in the direction of revolutionary goals in the fight against the global arrogance, today, all nations in South America have bastioned against the fronts of enemies strongly.

The outgoing Venezuelan ambassador, for his part, called for active involvement of Iran in his country, stressing that strengthening the monetary fund and establishing a joint national bank could help Tehran and Caracas to deal properly with global economic crises.
Elsewhere in the Iranian news, Prosecutor-General Najafabadi, declares that Iran has always "showed great kindness to the Bahai":
[...] The top Iranian judiciary official made the remarks in response to Western claims that the Islamic Republic has violated the rights of Bahais in Iran.

According to the Iranian cleric, there is irrefutable evidence that many adherents of the Bahai sect are in close contact with the enemies of the Iranian nation and have strong links to the Zionist regime.

"We have always showed great kindness to the Bahai citizens in Iran. We just oppose such relations," he explained.

Although members of the Bahai sect have admitted their charges in various cases, the West, especially the United States, claims that Iran has violated their human rights by making attempts to suppress the cult.

"We (as the state) offer a variety of services to the Bahai sect in Iran and respect them as human beings, but not as insiders, spies, or a political grouplet supported by Britain and Israel to cause disturbance in Iran," Najafabadi went on to say. [...]
And in other news undoubtedly related to smashing the plots of the World Arrogance, New Orleans now has its own intifada.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Kim views art squad maneuvers

Everything is military in North Korea:
General Secretary Kim Jong Il enjoyed an art performance given by the art squad of Large Combined Unit 264 of the KPA.

It put on the stage female solo and pangchang "Arirang of Army-People Unity", female solo "We Started from Scratch", chorus "We Will Defend the Headquarters of the Revolution at the Cost of Our Lives" and other colorful numbers.

Through the performance the art squad truthfully represented the invincible might of the KPA and the steadfast faith and will of its servicepersons to devotedly defend the headquarters of the revolution and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche with arms under the guidance of Kim Jong Il.

It also strikingly demonstrated the might of the KPA artistes who are creditably performing their sacred mission as buglers in the era of Songun by instilling the ardent love for the Party, the leader, the country and the people into the soldiers.

He expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the members of the art squad not only created successful art pieces vividly reflecting the inexhaustible mental power of the servicepersons but gave a truthful and militant performance.

He extended thanks to the art squad, highly appreciating its presentation, noting that it was the best of the recent performances given by the art squads of the KPA units as it was of high artistic and educational value.

He set forth tasks which would serve as guidelines for intensifying the revolutionary and militant performing activities. [...]
The latest edition of Haveil Havalim vividly reflects inexhaustible mental power.

Saint Ahmadinejad

This stuff makes you want to regurgitate your bread with olive oil and cheese:
[...] Ahmedinejad, the Iranian President, astonished many when he first reached to the office of the Presidency by donating all the high valued Iranian carpets to one of the mosques in Tehran by replacing them with the low cost ordinary carpets. He observed that there was a huge extravagant lounge for receiving and welcoming the VIPs and he ordered it to be closed and asked the protocol office to arrange for an ordinary room only with wooden chairs.

On many instances he joins the cleaning staff of the municipality for cleaning the streets in the area where his home and the Presidency are located.

Under his authority whenever he appoints any minister to his post he gets a signed document from him with many points particularly highlighting that he shall remain poor and that his personal and his relatives accounts will be watched and the day he leaves the ministry shall be with dignity, and therefore it is not lawful for him or his relatives to take any advantage of his office. First of all he declared himself for all the 'Big' wealth and the property he owned was a Peugeot 504 car, model 1977, an old small house inherited from his father 40-years ago in one of the poorest zones in Tehran . His accounts with a zero balance and the only money comes in to his a/c was from his salary from the university as a lecturer with an amount of US$ 250 only.

For your information the President still lives in that same house. This is all what he owns; the president of one of the world's important countries; strategically, economically, politically and with regard to its oil and defense. He even doesn't take his personal salary with the argument that all the wealth belongs to the nation and he is the safeguard over it.

One of the things that impressed the staff at the presidency is the bag the President brings with him every day, which contains his breakfast; some sandwiches or bread with olive oil and cheese prepared by his wife and eats and enjoys it with all happiness. [...]
Who wouldn't enjoy sandwiches prepared by that vision of loveliness, Mrs. A . . .


Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Iran smooths over Bahrain-incident with Zio-cream

Nateq Nouri had referred to Bahrain as Iran's "14th Province," if you will recall, but not to worry, all that is needed is some vigilance against you-know-who:
Iran's ambassador to Bahrain Hossein Amir Abdollahian said exaggerating the remarks which are attributed to the former Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri are raising questions.

Support for the people of Gaza and confronting Israel's war crimes in the area are the most important issues for Islamic and Arab countries and enemies of Islam and the region trigger these adverse remarks, he said in an interview with Bahrain's Gulf News newspaper.

Reports claimed Nateq Nouri has said Bahrain has belonged to Iran and the previous regime ruling on Iran has given its sovereignty to the current Bahraini government.

Abdollahian also criticized negative media's smear campaign and exaggeration of the issue and said Iran respects sovereignty of all countries including that of Bahrain.

Iran has always sought cooperation and friendship with neighbors, Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and Bahrain, he added.

The ambassador described Tehran-Manama ties as "growing" and said the two sides are carrying out many joint projects including Iran's gas export to Bahrain.

The officials of the two countries have progressed well in talks over the issue, he continued.

He then said "we should secure our stance for continuing supports for Gazans" and warned of division-making traps by enemies of the world of Islam. [...]
Israel should charge Iran a fee for being so useful for alleviating diplomatic difficulties.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

North Korea successfully concludes anti-Imperialist flower show

North Korean society is, as always, "dashing toward the high eminence of a great prosperous and powerful nation under the uplifted banner of modeling the whole society on the Juche idea and the banner of Songun." So of course their flower festival is going to be a big success:
The 13th Kimjongilia Festival that opened on Feb. 14 on the occasion of the birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il closed with success.

A closing ceremony took place at the Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia Exhibition on Feb. 20.

Present there were Choe Thae Bok, Yang Hyong Sop and others, officials of ministries, national institutions and working people's organizations, servicepersons, working people, school youth and children, members of the congratulatory group of Koreans in Japan and the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front.

Kim Pyong Hun, chairman of the Central Committee of the General Federation of the Unions of Art and Literature of Korea, addressing the ceremony, said that the festival proved successful thanks to the unshakable resolution of the servicepersons and people to trust and follow Kim Jong Il to the last and their highest praises of the great man.

Saying that the desire and hope of the servicepersons ad people as well as the world progressives to boundlessly value and glorify the immortal flower going by the august name of the peerlessly great man are growing stronger with the passage of time, he stressed the need to conduct brisk activities to cultivate and propagate Kimjongilia so that it may come into full bloom throughout the world.
North Korea also sent birthday greetings to Mugabe:
Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, on Feb. 18 sent a message of greetings to Robert G. Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, on the occasion of his 85th birthday.

Kim in the message wished the president good health and success in his work for the stability of Zimbabwe and its people's well-being.
And he's achieved so much thus far . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Iran adopts Starfleet insignia?

Pretty Trekkie-looking, right? Iran seems especially prone to celebrate anything likely to prove useful in creating a nuclear ICBM. From PressTV:
The logo of Omid, Iran's first domestically-built satellite, is to be featured on coins and banknotes, according to a cabinet decision.

The Iranian Cabinet approved the proposal presented by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) to issue coins and banknotes with the logo of Omid Satellite.

On February 3, Tehran placed its indigenous satellite into orbit -- joining an elite group of countries capable of both producing satellites and sending them into space using domestic launchers.

Omid is a research satellite that has been designed for gathering information and testing equipment. After orbiting for one to three months, Omid will return to earth with data that will help Iranian experts send an operational satellite into space.

The lightweight telecommunications satellite is equipped with remote sensing, satellite telemetry and geographic information system technology as well as remote and ground station data processing.

The new design is to reflect the country's aerospace achievement.

Iran is slated to launch three more satellites by 2010 and is taking initial steps toward launching a manned space mission, according to the head of Iran's space organization, Reza Taghipour.
Meanwhile, the recent discovery that Iran has more enriched uranium than previously thought is inspiring damage control in the Iranian Press and also among Informed Commenters. And speaking of Iran, Rooz has an interesting article about Ahmadinejad's recent call for some restraint on enforcing "the social safety plan which allows the law ‎enforcement agencies to harshly deal with such violations as dress-code slackness":
Raja news website interpreted this directive to be an order to review the social safety plan ‎altogether. Some critical media outlets, on the other hand, interpreted this letter and the ‎apparent change to be a public relations ploy on the eve of the presidential elections.‎
Probably the latter.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Iran's rocket technology is more advanced than previously thought also

By now you may have seen a current news item that Iran now has more enriched uranium than was suspected previously, enough for a bomb in fact:
Iran has built up a stockpile of enough enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb, United Nations officials acknowledged on Thursday.

In a development that comes as the Obama administration is drawing up its policy on negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme, UN officials said Iran had produced more nuclear material than previously thought.

They said Iran had accumulated more than one tonne of low enriched uranium hexafluoride at a facility in Natanz.

If such a quantity were further enriched it could produce more than 20kg of fissile material – enough for a bomb. [...]
This development has been extensively noted in the blogs and elsewhere, but it is only half the story. Every great warhead needs a great delivery system, and it also seems now that Iran's rocket technology is more advanced (from New Scientist via Tehran Times):
The evidence is mounting that the Iranian rocket recently used to launch a satellite was more powerful and advanced than initially thought.

Iran entered the exclusive club of nations capable of putting things in Earth orbit on 2 February, when it launched a small satellite using a homegrown rocket for the first time. Called Omid, or "Hope", the satellite is a 40-centimetre-wide cube with a mass of 27 kilograms.

But there has been much debate about whether the rocket that launched it was relatively crude and inefficient, operating at the limits of its capabilities, or a more advanced type that could eventually be upgraded to put astronauts in orbit. Iran has released few details about the rocket, called Safir-2, leaving outsiders to guess at its capabilities.

Initially, outside rocket experts thought the Safir-2 was based on scud missile technology, which Iran is known to have obtained previously from North Korea.

Scuds, and other rockets derived from them, pack less punch than more advanced rockets because they burn a relatively inefficient fuel - a mixture of kerosene and nitric acid.

Even a two-stage scud-type rocket, with the second stage separating and igniting after the first stage provided an initial burst of speed, would not be powerful enough to reach orbit.

So it was thought that Iran had mounted a very small, solid-fuelled third stage on this kind of launch vehicle to provide the final kick needed to get Omid to orbit.

But soon after Omid's launch, amateur satellite trackers reported that the final stage, which also reached orbit, appears much too bright to be a tiny third stage, hinting that it might be a two-stage vehicle using more advanced technology instead.

New calculations have reinforced this view, showing that a two-stage rocket the size of Safir-2 could get Omid to orbit if it had ditched the scud design in favour of engines that use more efficient hydrazine fuel. [...]
Have a nice day.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Iran's Nuke Program Chomsky-Approved

And exactly how does he know that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful?
An eminent American intellectual and professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and the author of 'Imperial Ambitions', Noam Chomsky, has emphasized the peaceful and legal nature of Iran's nuclear programme. In an exclusive interview with French language version of al-Ahram magazine, Chomsky said despite the poisonous atmosphere US Vice President Joe Biden tried to create in the Munich Security Conference, Iran's nuclear programme is totally lawful and in accordance with international regulations.

Referring to US President Barack Obama as a blind supporter of the Zionist regime of Israel, Professor Chomsky said Obama's muted response during the 22-day Israeli-imposed war on Gaza was indicative of his pro-Israeli stance.

Chomsky said Obama is pursuing former Bush regime's unilateralist policies in the world, supporting any elections that serve the interests of the White House.
Chomsky gets around these days. He also appears at the Tehran Times site in an actual text of an interview rather than a paraphrase. In this one Chomsky endorses land-for-Hudna:
Well for several years Hamas has been very clear and explicit, repeatedly, that they favor a two state settlement on the international border. They said they would not recognize Israel but they would accept a two state settlement and a prolonged truce, maybe decades, maybe 50 years. Now, that’s not exactly the international consensus but it’s pretty close to it.
If they carefully and explicitly avoid saying that what they are offering is peace, then it isn't, um, peace, is it? We are actually living in a world in which that little insight eludes a prominent linguist.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

IRNA: "Ahmadinejad: Bullying powers should learn lesson from Bush destiny"

What "destiny" would that be? Bush's term of office ended--this isn't Venezuela. Perhaps he means earning the scorn of all "independent" nations, such as North Korea:
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the bullying powers should learn a lesson from Bush’s destiny and avoid deviating from the right path.

Ahmadinejad who is currently in the central provincial capital city of Yazd on the second round of his provincial tours, made the remark in his address a large group of local people on Wednesday.

Addressing bullying powers, he said, "If you deviate from the path of God and insist on commiting your previous crimes and atrocities, your dstiny will be no be better than that of former US president Gorge W. Bush.

The message of the Iranian nation to bullying powers is that they should make good on their mistakes by making fundamental and real changes to serve the interests of nations instead of killing them, he said.

Big powers should respect nations and preserve their rights, he said.

The Iranian nation loves all human beings and advocates peace, dignity and development of all nations, underlined the Iranian president.

“I advise you (big powers) to return to the path of divine prophets and nations,” he said. [...]
The word "divine" just modifies "prophets"; he doesn't mean that there is a United Divine Nations or anything.

Crosposted on Soccer Dad

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Press TV (Iran): "Iran prosecutor: Bahais, Israeli agents"

The last Iranian press article I posted about the Baha'is claimed "Tehran tolerates followers of the religion." In the present article, "Iran's Prosecutor General" is quoted as saying "Bahai organizations are illegal":
Iran's Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi says members of the banned Bahai sect have irrefutable links with Israel.

After Tehran's deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad announced on Wednesday that seven members of the Bahai sect would soon be tried, the US State Department issued a statement to condemn the decision.

The seven Bahai followers will be tried on charges of "espionage for Israel, desecrating religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic."

The statement by the US State Department condemned the move, saying the espionage charges were "baseless."

"There is irrefutable evidence that adherents of the Bahai sect are in close contact with the enemies of the Iranian nation and have strong links to the Zionist regime," Dorri-Najafabadi explained on Sunday.

The top Iranian judiciary official accused the group of gathering intelligence on Iran and involvement in espionage activities against the Islamic Republic.

"Bahai organizations are illegal and their connections to Israel and their enmity toward Islam and the Islamic system are absolutely certain and their threat against the national security is a proven fact," added the Iranian cleric.

Followers of the Bahai sect -- founded in Iran in 1863 -- are regarded as infidels and have been persecuted both before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
British "Junior foreign minister Bill Rammell," commenting on these developments, stated:
The Iranian government appears to be increasingly using vaguely worded charges of this nature to target human rights defenders and religious minorities . . . .
Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Monday, February 16, 2009

North Korea on its "Right to Space Development"

In which "anti-DPRK hostile forces" are accused of a "vicious trick":
Recently the U.S. and some other countries claimed that the DPRK is making "preparations for launching long-distance missile."

It is a grave challenge to the DPRK that the anti-DPRK hostile forces spread the rumor about the DPRK's "preparations for launching a long-distance missile" with the "collected information" without proper understanding of the fact.

This is a vicious trick to put a brake on the wheel of not only the DPRK's building of military capability for self-defence but also scientific researches for peaceful purpose under the pretext of missile.

One will come to know later what will be launched in the DPRK.
I bet one will.
Space development is the independent right of the DPRK and the requirement of the developing reality.

The DPRK's latest science and technology developing day by day in conformity with the trend of the present times when the world is advancing toward the road of pioneering space have registered big successes in the field of space development, too.

Dishonest forces are asserting that the DPRK is doing provocative deed in order to draw attention from anyone. But, such assertion itself is an insult to the DPRK.

The DPRK has no need to draw anyone's attention and wants nobody to interfere or meddle in the issue of the Korean Peninsula where only the Koreans live.
Glad that's cleared up.

"Dynamic Struggle for Future of Great Prosperous and Powerful Nation Called for"

That has a familiar sound, doesn't it?:
Leading papers today in their editorials dedicated to General Secretary Kim Jong Il's birthday call upon all servicepersons and people to wage a dynamic struggle for the future of a great prosperous and powerful nation sounding the general advance under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Rodong Sinmun says that Kim Jong Il is the symbol of dignity and victory of Songun Korea and all party members, servicepersons of the Korean People's Army and people are extending the highest glory and warmest gratitude to him who has pursued the ever-victorious Songun politics, ushering in a bright heyday of prosperity on this land.

It goes on:

Kim Jong Il's history of revolutionary leadership is a glorious history of a peerless patriot, a great statesman who has devoted his all to the future of the country and the happiness of all generations to come, a sacred history in which he has glorified the tradition of Mt. Paektu as the eternal treasure of the country and the revolution, a history in which he has firmly defended Korean-style socialism and augmented its might in every way under the banner of Songun and a history in which he has carved out a rosy future of the country and nation through ceaseless creations and changes.

The confidence and optimism of the servicepersons and people in the DPRK who are effecting a fresh great revolutionary surge are the firm conviction that the future of the socialist country remains boundlessly bright as it is led by Kim Jong Il.
The present is pretty dismal, though. It's almost an admission.
The bright future of Songun Korea is guaranteed by his great revolutionary idea, the invincible military force and single-minded unity provided by him and large contingents of reliable successors to the revolution brought up by him.
I think we have a Juche sentence of the day:
The general advance for opening the gate to a great prosperous and powerful nation is sure to win victory as there are a grandiose plan unrolled by Kim Jong Il, a fleet steed for a great revolutionary surge provided in the crucible of the Songun drive and the indomitable mental power of all servicepersons and people who work miracles in hearty response to the call of the Party.

Minju Joson says that the Songun revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered by President Kim Il Sung and led by Kim Jong Il is sure to triumph and Kim Jong Il's era will throw its rays over the world as the era of eternal victory and prosperity.

Fars News: "5700 Iranian Lawyers Indict Israeli Leaders for War Crimes"

Evidently combining lawfare with human wave tactics:
More than 5700 Iranian lawyers indicted Israeli Leaders for their war crimes and genocide in Gaza onslaught based on domestic and international laws.

The lawyers submitted their appeal to Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi.

Israel's recent military operation in Gaza killed some 1,400 Palestinians. Over 50,000 people were also left homeless in the enclave of 1.5 million. Israel's casualties in the conflict were put at 13, including 10 military personnel, while
over 5,500 Palestinians have been wounded.

Shahroudi appointed Iranian Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi to pursue the case after receiving the 14-page appeal.
Elsewhere in the Iranian Press, Larijani tries awkwardly to distance Iran from the Holocaust denial that permeates the pronouncements of various Iranian officials (not just Ahmadinejad, contrary to what is stated here) and the Iranian press:
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the Holocaust is "none of Iran's business" as the country prepares for direct negotiations with the US.

When asked about the Holocaust on Saturday, Larijani said, "As far as this issue is concerned, there are several standpoints but it is none of our business."

He added that it was "unfortunate" that the evaluation of the Holocaust had been made a taboo, the Etemad Melli daily reported Sunday.

This comes as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fascination with the topic has cost the country dearly.

Since he took office in August 2005, he has publicly doubted the dimensions of the Holocaust, saying it should be open to debate and research.

"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more than God, religion, and the prophets," President Ahmadinejad said in 2005. [...]
He has such a way with words . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Sunday, February 15, 2009

NY Times: Chavez victory injects "fresh vibrancy into his socialist-inspired revolution"

Yep, that's real language from the opening paragraph of the Times story.

Update: Actual BBC headline: "Venezuelan leader wins key reform."

Tehran Times: Norman Finkelstein calls Israel "satanic"

He is becoming more bilious, if that's possible. This is actually from an interview in a Turkish newspaper. Here is one of his answers:
I think Israel, as a number of commentators pointed out, is becoming an insane state. And we have to be honest about that. While the rest of the world wants peace, Europe wants peace, the U.S. wants peace, but this state wants war, war and war. In the first week of the massacres, there were reports in the Israeli press that Israel did not want to put all its ground forces in Gaza because it was preparing attacks on Iran. Then there were reports it was planning attacks on Lebanon. It is a lunatic state.
One question asked "How do you feel about Israel’s operation in Gaza personally as the son of Holocaust survivors?" His answer:
It has been a long time since I felt any emotional connection with the state of Israel, which relentlessly and brutally and inhumanly keeps these vicious, murderous wars. It is a vandal state. There is a Russian writer who once described vandal states as Genghis Khan with a telegraph. Israel is Genghis Khan with a computer. I feel no emotion of affinity with that state. I have some good friends and their families there, and of course I would not want any of them to be hurt. That said, sometimes I feel that Israel has come out of the boils of the hell, a satanic state. Ninety percent of the population continues to cheer, to exalt and feel proud and heroic. They send a Sherman tank to a playground and torch children . . .
Asked why the U.S. media is so "pro-Israel," he answers that Israel "serves American interests." Then he adds:
And there is, of course, the secondary factor, which is the ethnic element. In many of these newspapers and the media in general, there is a large Jewish presence, and there is a sense of Jewish ethnic solidarity, which plays a role.
But there are also good Jews:
But I think we have to qualify the secondary factor in two ways. We should not lose sight of the primary factor, which is Israel is the client state of U.S. No. 2: In this past war, the liberal Jewish population mostly under the age of 40 completely defected from the war, the massacre. They have been opposed to the massacres from the first day.
That's a relief. We wouldn't want those Muslim readers to come away from this with anti-Jewish feelings or anything.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Iran: "incalculable capabilities," but no nukes

Iran is in a bit of a dilemma. It has the best chance of attaining nuclear weapons if it denies that it is pursuing them. On the other hand, what makes a dictatorship happier than boasting that everyone is afraid of its invincible armed forces?
RGC Navy Commander Brigadier General Morteza Saffari said here Sunday that Iran's powerful missiles capabilities and the combat readiness of its forces have left the enemies in a state of shock and bewilderment.

IRGC Navy commander made the remarks in a meeting with a group of Navy officials and personnel on Sunday.

The incalculable capabilities of Iranian missile system have become a strong deterrent, he said.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, he said that the achievements and success of the Iranian people during the period are among the blessinge of the almighty God and efforts and endeavor of all Basiji (volunteer) forces.

Global arrogance and bullying powers have always confronted religions and divine values to achieve their sinister goals, he said. [...]
In the meantime a headline at Fars News quotes IAEA Mohammed ElBaradei:
In one of his latest reports to the Board of Governors, ElBaradei confirmed "the non-diversion" of nuclear material in Iran and added that the agency had found no "components of a nuclear weapon" or "related nuclear physics studies" in the country.
See, all the "shock and bewilderment" is only due to the missiles and not related to what sort of warheads might be mounted on them. Who needs nukes when "Post-Revolution Youngsters Foiled Enemies' Plots":
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in a message to the Union of Islamic Associations of Iranian students in the Indian sub-continent, hailed on Sunday the brilliant achievements of the Iranian youth. According to IRNA, in the message on the occasion of the Union's 25th anniversary, the Supreme Leader said the Iranian nation is now investing even greater hope in its highly educated, brilliant youngsters than before, seeing that they are conquering the new heights of success with every passing day.

Pointing out that the policy of the enemies of the Iranian nation in the past had been to destroy the young generation by seducing it into corruption and disappointment, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the post-revolution youngsters have managed to foil the plot through their vigilance and sense of responsibility.

The Supreme Leader further urged the Iranian students, including those studying in the Indian sub-continent, to focus on learning, research and innovative ideas as their duty.
I'm sure that inspired them.

Retrospective: Holocaust Denial in the Iranian Press

I've been wanting to do this for a while. Now that the new U.S. presidential administration agrees that Iran really is seeking nuclear weapons, it seems to be an important time to emphasize the delusional and paranoid nature of the Khomeinist entity. A recent Daily Kos diarist, trying to downplay the idea of Iran as a threat, writes:
As far as "denying the Holocaust," Ahmadinejad has questioned the number of Jews killed (which is dumb and objectionable, but not much more objectionable than the American leaders who pretend the death toll in the Iraq "holocaust" is one-tenth what it really is), but mainly has objected to the use of the Holocaust as an excuse to punish people (the Palestinians) who had nothing whatsoever to do with it.
Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials do emphasize the connection between the Holocaust and the Palestinians, but there is a bit more going on than questioning the numbers of people killed. (It is always necessary to remember, for instance, that Holocaust denial presupposes a conspiracist worldview.) Let's do some reviewing of Holocaust denial in the Iranian Press. All of these were originally posted in English at Iranian news sites. Some of the links to older articles have expired and in those cases I just link to Judeopundit posts, where all of these articles were noted close to their appearance. Otherwise, most of these can still be viewed at the original sites:

IRNA, c. 2/11/06:
Secretary General of Int'l Congress to Support Palestinian Intifada Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipour emphasizing need for survey and research on Holocaust, said here Monday, "Results of surveys so far show Holocaust is no more than a myth."
IRIB, 2/12/06:
French historian and professor of Sorbonne University Robert Faurisson said that the 'myth of Holocaust' fabricated by the Zionists would not survive.

Addressing the International Confernce on 'World Vision on Holocaust', Faurisson said that the gas chambers allegedly used by Hitler to massacre the Jews did never exist.
IRNA, c. 2/12/06:
A French scholar George Tail [sic] said on Tuesday that holocaust does not exist.

"The motivations of the advocates of holocaust in spreading the rumour and its presentation as a fact should be investigated," said Tail in an interview with IRNA on the sidelines of the International Conference on Holocaust, Global Perspective.

Tail said western states have fabricated holocaust to justify immigration of Jews to Palestine and doing injustice against the the Palestinian nation.

He said a number of scholars such as Rossener, Artur, Isak Arbuz and Robert Faurisson have proved falsehood of gas chambers.
Fars News, c. 12/5/06:
Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi Tuesday said Iran, as an unbiased state, would accept the truthfulness of the Holocaust if substantiating evidence is presented in this regard.
IRIB Radio, c. 12/30/06:
The Holocaust Myth and the Massacre of Palestinians Conference began work last Wednesday in Cairo and was considerably welcomed by researchers and politicians. Leader of the Arab Socialist Party of Egypt Wahid Al Aqsari in a speech said the claim that Jews were killed by Hitler comes to portray Zionists as innocent and save them from being condemned for their crimes against Palestinians. He added that their claim is an exaggeration because only 3 million people were killed in World War II. He also said there is no sign that there were gas cambers in Nazi Germany.
IRIB, 1/17/07:
Ahmadinejad defended his status on Holocaust, saying that if Holocaust existed, where did it take place?
IRIB, 1/24/07:
President Ahmadinejad termed the Holocaust a historical question saying, "If it is true, why they do not authorize research." [...]

Reminding that the root cause of establishment of the Zionist regime was a historical event, he said, the whole issue is fake and is aimed to create a hegemonic system.
Paul Grubach at Press TV, 1/15/08:
. . . the Holocaust legend really is a weak and flimsy ideology that cannot be defended with reason and science.
Mehr News, 2/8/09:
In an interview with the Tehran Times and the Mehr News Agency conducted on January 27 during his recent trip to Iran, Dr. [Gerald] Toben said there is no evidence that Jews were killed by gas in concentration camps during World War II.

He noted that a gas chamber expert from the United States has said that the buildings at concentration camps that were allegedly used as gas chambers did not have airtight seals and did not have high smokestacks to dissipate the poison gas so they could not have been used for this purpose . . .

. . . the Holocaust is being used as a propaganda weapon by the Talmudic Zionist racist regime in Israel.
IRNA, 2/12/09:
After the World War II, Britain which sought to dominate the region invented Holocaust to prepare ground for establishment of fabricated regime named Israel . . .
Crossposted on Soccer Dad

(North) Korean News: "Superior Election System of DPRK"

You've probably guessed by now that I derive an odd enjoyment from totalitarian blather. This one is particularly delectable. Not only is the stuff about lack of coercion obviously a complete lie, but the article gives the game away in the last paragraph:
[...] On the principle of direct election, the voter casts his or her ballot directly to a candidate for deputy. It, unlike indirect voting, makes it possible to convey the will of the voters directly to the deputies to make the people's power bodies democratic power bodies representing the will of all the voters.

This principle is guaranteed by practical measures such as strictly banning voting by proxy, installing special sub-constituencies at hospitals, sanatoria, major railway stations and other places, organizing itinerant voting for citizens unable to come to the voting booths and declaring the election day a holiday.

Secret ballot enables the voters to express their free will on the candidates without any restriction. It guarantees a fair and aboveboard election by letting every voter express his or her will freely without subject to coercion, surveillance or threat by anyone.

These principles of election in the DPRK are ones embodying socialist democracy, democracy of the highest form, which make it possible to firmly build up the power bodies at all levels with fine representatives of the working class and working people of other strata, make the power bodies direct spokespersons of the will of the popular masses and stand the popular masses as the genuine masters of power.

Now the entire army and people are full of enthusiasm to powerfully demonstrate once again the might of single-minded unity in the DPRK and fortify the people's power like a monolith by taking part in the election as one man.
Yeah, like a monolith. That's one free election.

Update: The latest editions of Haveil Havalim and Shiny Happy Dhimmi are full of enthusiasm to demonstrate once again the might of single-minded unity.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Blow to the head Ayatollah Jannati's favorite metaphor

A public demonstration, for instance, was a "sever [sic] punch against the head of the Americans and the Israelis." That's a good sign that you are dealing with the press of a repressive regime. Everything, no matter how purely political or trivial, is a giant victory:
Ayatollah Ahmad jannati lauded the presence of the Iranian people in the Bahman 22 marches and said," The noble and prosperous Iranian nation hit another sever punch against the head of the Americans and the Israelis with that move, starting a soft enemy breaking plan against those who are planning for overthrowing the system softly."

The Alim stressed that the media should disclose the overthrow plots of the enemy and introduce proper methods to the people to neutralize these plots.

Ayatollah Jannati said the enemy could not believe the mass presence of the people in the Bahman 22-marches adding that their news agencies saw the events but they tried to broadcast false information in this regard.

"The enemy should know that it could not force the united 70 million Iranian people surrender to it," Jannati added.

He noted that the Iranian people showed their faith in the Revolution and the Founder of the Islamic Revolution. They also renew their enmity towards the American false policies. [...]
Gotta renew that enmity. Jannati is evidently on a roll with that head-blow imagery:
Provisional Friday Prayers leader of Tehran said here Friday in his second sermon launching Omid (hope) Satellite was hammer that was hit over heads of United States and Israel.
In this case maybe we should take violence of that imagery seriously.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Haddad Adel: "Britain which sought to dominate the region invented Holocaust to prepare ground for establishment of fabricated regime named Israel"

Just in case you thought Ahmadinejad had a monopoly on Khomeinist looniness:
Head of Majlis Commission for Cultural Affairs Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said on Thursday that the late Imam Khomeini led anti-Zionist movement from its beginning.

Haddad Adel made the remarks in the martyrdom anniversary of Imad Mogniyeh on Thursday.

He said that the Zionist officials had predicted that the Islamic Revolution in Iran would leave crucial impacts on regional developments.

After the World War II, Britain which sought to dominate the region invented Holocaust to prepare ground for establishment of fabricated regime named Israel, he said.
The Brits were behind it, not the Jews?
He said that the UK plot led the Zionist occupiers to commit crimes against humanity in Palestine.

The US government should understand that its unconditional support for Israeli war crimes in Palestine has brought hatred for the US officials worldwide, he said.

The US officials claim to support democracy but in practice they take action against the democratically elected government of Hamas and support the Zionist occupiers, he said.
Imagine that, claiming to support democracy but opposing Hamas. Will they ever learn . . .

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

North Korea: U.S. and Israel "the heinous enemies of humankind," Iran achieveing "great success"

The title of this is "Israel's Use of WMDs against Palestinian Civilians Flayed." I guess the mighty treasure-sword of Songun is good for flaying things:
Israeli aggressors were reported recently not only to have indiscriminately fired white phosphorous shells as well as depleted uranium shells the use of which is strictly banned internationally against civilian areas, but used DIME newly developed by the U.S. during their invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Minju Joson Wednesday observes in a signed commentary in this regard: They fired missiles and perpetrated saturation air raids over a peaceful city and attacked it with tanks under the pretext of wiping out Hamas armed forces. Not content with this operation, they perpetrated such genocide by using even internationally banned weapons. These are the worst human rights abuses in the world.

Citing facts to prove that Israel has been hell-bent on the military aggression against Palestine and mass killings of its civilians by use of lethal weapons supplied by the U.S., while behaving in the same way as the U.S. has abused human rights, perpetrating high-handed and arbitrary acts in utter disregard of international law and human rights, the commentary goes on:

The indiscriminate use of WMDs by the U.S. imperialists and the Israeli aggressors defying the protest of the world public fully disclosed the bestial nature of those who are keen on aggression and war and mass killings. This once again proves that they are the man-killers of the same type whose job is to abuse human rights and the heinous enemies of humankind.

The U.S. oft-repeats "respect for human rights" under the eyes of the world but it utterly disregards the idea of abiding by international law and respecting human rights when it comes to its aggressive and predatory aim.

A typical example of this is that the U.S. has not only used the above-said WMDs but delivered them to Israel, thus driving it to indiscriminately using them against civilians and causing horrible disasters.

Israel is making much pain to cover up its human rights abuses but it can never escape from a stern judgment by the justice-loving international community.
The Zionist entity isn't Juche. Who merits North Korea's great powerful prosperous approval in the spirit of Mt. Paektu? Iran!
. . . the victory of the revolution the Iranian people have made great successes in the efforts to foil the moves of hostile forces for pressure and interference in internal affairs, defend the sovereignty of the country and the dignity of the nation and achieve its welfare.
That doesn't quite have the zing of the glowing reports of North Korea's own miraculous successes and undying feats, but it is pretty admiring. Speaking of miracles . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Kim attends another sycophantic performance

That "greatest national auspicious holiday in February" is Kim's birthday:
The art performance "Song of best wishes to the General" was given by agricultural workers at the Mangyongdae Farm on Tuesday on the occasion of the birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

The performance started with the ode and chorus "Glory to General Kim Jong Il."

Put on the stage were numbers representing the immense joy and best wishes of the agricultural workers and other people of the DPRK greeting the greatest national auspicious holiday in February.

The performers in such numbers as the female solo "Frost Flowers" and the Kayagum ensemble "Whenever We Think of the Road of Songun" sang high praises of the immortal exploits Kim Jong Il has performed by defending the dignity and sovereignty of the country and achieving the national prosperity for all the generations to come, holding aloft the red flag of the revolution associated with the whole life of President Kim Il Sung.

The Jangsaenap and song "Arirang of Army-People Unity," the solo play "Legend about Taehongdan," the mixed chorus "We Have Planted Apple Trees on Mountains," the drum-beating and song "Let's Dash Forward to Build a Great Prosperous and Powerful Nation" and other numbers fully reflected the changes brought about by servicepersons and people in the socialist rural areas through their concerted efforts under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il and the patriotic devotion of the agricultural workers.

The performance was appreciated by Chairman of the Central Committee of the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea Kang Chang Uk, officials concerned and agricultural workers.

IRIB: "Iranian Jews renew vow with Islamic Republic"

Nothing makes Jews happier than Khomeinism:
Thousands of Jewish citizens of Shiraz, Fars province southern Iran attended the Bahman 22 rallies alongside other Iranians to announce their support to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution's victory in Iran, the Iranian Jews shouted slogans to express disgust at America and Zionist regime and their Satanic policies.

Head of the Shiraz Jewish Community told IRIB, "We participate in today's rallies alongside Iranian Muslims to announce to the Zionists that our religion is a religion of brotherhood and equality."

"We are not like the Zionists and Americans who oppress other human beings," he reiterated.
We like the Holocaust denial from the official press agencies . . .

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Roseanne on Israel's election

"hatred of hamas" is the post title as well as the beginning of the first sentence. Roseanne must have written this in about 45 seconds. By Roseanne standards, it comes unusually close to offering a coherent argument, essentially the old argument about playing into the hands of the "enemies of peace" that we used to hear in the Oslo days. If only there was a real leftist in charge. Hamas would just melt away:
hatred of hamas

has successfully fractured the israeli vote. This is Hamas' dream come true!
They(hamas) are able to pocket public money and buy weapons instead of build schools a while longer. They are able to enrich themselves at the Palestinian people's expense and stay in the business of worldwide munitions sales, just like Israel and the US. This is the biggest scam ever.
There is no real Israeli peace candidate, and no real plan to withdraw from Gaza, so Hamas will continue to fire rockets and attack israeli civilians, and help its anti-Zionist friends to attack jews worldwide.
I wish israeli's realized that by not choosing peace, they are further inviting more war against themselves.
Replacing old unworkable political paradigms with a whole new concept of cooperative problem solving is the way to go in the middle east.
Israel needs palestinian workers, its economy depends on them.
This is followed by another post in which the title begins a sentence. The whole post reads "hashem: please allow livni to win." Advice to Roseanne: In a supplicatory mode, it is a good idea to capitalize the word "Hashem."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

MPAC-UK on Satanic anniversaries

To read this is to have one's mind blown, along with most of the adjoining wall. In the very first paragraph we learn of the existence of "collective Semtex," not the famous explosive so beloved of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, but a Semtex that involves bad publicity for "ill-advised" Authoricide-inciting Khomeinist Fatwas:
It was 20 years ago that the Satanic Verses book exploded on the British mainland. The liberal, right wing and Zionist commentators and elites took their collective Semtex and made sure Ayatollah Khomeni's ill-advised fatwa was used to demonise the whole Muslim world and British Muslims in particular.

Salman Rushdie, in self-righteous indignation, took the role of a noble writer, hounded and hunted, forced to live in secrecy with MI5 protection bravely defying the worst of Islam's collective reactionary zeal.
I don't think he had too much choice about that role.
Poor Salman Rushdie, 'He must be supported for his stand for freedom of speech. Did you see how 'they' burned the book!'

They never mentioned how he buckled and changed Midnight's Children when Indra Gandhi threatened to sue. Well done you, Salman. You stood up for your right to defend. They didn't mention how Penguin burnt the entire stock of books by the French cartoonist Sine 'Massacre', which was full of blasphemous anti-Christ cartoons.

Salman (can I call him that? Well, OK, Rushdie) has never stood up to the Italian authorities for banning the excellent anti-colonial film 'Omar Mukhtar, Lion of the Desert.' Or how about the incident where a play in New York commemorating the tragic killing of Rachel Corrie by an Israeli Caterpillar bulldozer, was cancelled due to Jewish pressure? Or how about the craven silence by the BBC, when Auntie was told what they could broadcast and what they couldn't by the Jewish Board of Deputies?
Or what about the fact that the Cartoon Jihad succeeded in intimidating countless newspapers or the recent attempt to silence Mark Steyn or Khalid Bin Mahfouz's many lawsuits?
Of course not. The only debate that they care about is the right to offend Muslims. If we get offended then tough, we have to accept free speech. If the Jewish community get offended, then it's a sensitive issue. If the west ban a film, it's quietly dropped. If a Muslim country bans a book, it's an affront to 'our way of life'.
That's right, forcing an author to live under 24-hour guard is just book-banning.
There is no debate about how Muslim groups have been targeted by Zionists trying to silence our voices. There is no debate about the Lib Dem Baroness Jenny Tonge who empathised with the Palestinians and was removed from her front bench position.

The 20th Anniversary of the Satanic Verses will be used to beat the Muslim community over the head again, however we should never for a second think it's justified or dignify it with admission. And as Brits we must turn this into a debate about the right to speak and at every opportunity expose the hypocrisy of those who are going to give Muslims a trial by media.

They will try to beat us into a state of submission but this time, we are going to beat back.

This time we are ready.
I hope that doesn't involve some variety of Semtex, collective or otherwise.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Toben in Iranian Press: "Holocaust is being used as a propaganda weapon by the Talmudic Zionist racist regime in Israel"

Mehr News gives this the title "Zionism is empowered by people who bow to the Jews’ pressure: Toben." Although this is an interview with a visiting foreign "scholar," the two official Iranian press agencies credited with this interview obviously approve of every word. So this is a good example of the Khomeinist worldview in all its loony glory:
Dr. Gerald Fredrick Toben is a scholar who has conducted research into the details of the official story of the Holocaust.

Dr. Toben established the Adelaide Institute in Australia in 1994 as a center for conducting his research.

In an interview with the Tehran Times and the Mehr News Agency conducted on January 27 during his recent trip to Iran, Dr. Toben said there is no evidence that Jews were killed by gas in concentration camps during World War II.

He noted that a gas chamber expert from the United States has said that the buildings at concentration camps that were allegedly used as gas chambers did not have airtight seals and did not have high smokestacks to dissipate the poison gas so they could not have been used for this purpose.

Following are some excerpts of the interview:

"Yesterday we had a book launch in Tehran. The book directly focuses on the Holocaust and what is happening in Palestine, especially the 22 days of a real holocaust occurring to the Palestinians in Gaza.

"That was significant, that we had in Iran the focus and the bringing together of the Holocaust with what is happening to the Palestinians as perpetrated by the Zionist regime of Israel.

"That the 27th of January is marked as a Holocaust memorial day indicates that the Holocaust is being used as a propaganda weapon by the Talmudic Zionist racist regime in Israel.

"This means that we cannot forget that the story called the Holocaust must be questioned, that we must focus on the content of what the Holocaust is all about.

"And it rests on three pillars: one, that six million Jews were killed by the National Socialists during the Second World War; two, that this was a state policy, a state extermination program; and three, that the murder weapon was a gas.

"Revisionists have focused on these three pillars, as they should do in any democracy where there is free expression. But these revisionists would then be very quickly silenced, and there were a number of concepts used to silence discussion. And that brings us to the fundamental problem that was in part certainly addressed during the Holocaust conference in Tehran in December 2006 when the president, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asked: 'Is the holocaust not a historical event?' And the answer is yes. Then, like any historical event, why can we not ask questions? Why can we not evaluate?

"The conference was designed not to revise the Holocaust story, the narrative, but merely to review, and the Western world did not understand this, the subtlety of difference between review and revision.

"The so-called democratic Western world was in uproar that Iran did question or review aspects of this Holocaust narrative, this historical event.

"And that puts into sharp focus the morale and intellectual decline, the morale and intellectual bankruptcy of the Western world."

Pointing out that Zionism is empowered by the complicity of non-Jews, Dr. Toben said, "I am not angry about the Jews, I am angry about the people who bow to the Jews’ pressure."
And his sponsor regime is about to have nukes.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Tehran Times: "Destroy a corporation for Palestine"

According to this article, "It’s time for some economic jihad." Via Mehr News:
. . . it’s not easy to be a jihadi. The struggle must be fought on the physical, mental, and spiritual planes. True jihad must be fought on all fronts. It must be waged on the cultural, military, intellectual, ideological, psychological, spiritual, and economic fronts.

But in this era of globalization, it is essential that Muslims learn how to correctly conduct economic jihad. [...]

There is currently a campaign calling for a boycott of Israeli products. This is a good idea, but we should expand the campaign and make it a boycott of all corporations that are financing the war on Islam.

Although it is important to target all enemy corporations, in order to achieve a quick initial victory, which would boost morale, we should especially target one giant multinational corporation.

We should first ask the executives of that corporation to stop financing the war on Islam. If they agree, we should take it off the boycott list. If they refuse, we should call for a worldwide boycott of the targeted corporation’s products with the goal of bankrupting the corporation.

The global economic crisis will help us. Many major corporations have gone bankrupt during the global economic meltdown of the past year.

This economic jihad is a novel way to turn the crisis into an opportunity.

A corporation from the U.S. military-industrial complex would be a very good target to begin with. [...]
Preferably one that sells weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Of course, the enemies of Islam will say that economic jihad is economic terrorism, but when that happens we must act swiftly on the ideological front to prove that such actions are totally legal. After all, people have been organizing economic boycotts for many years.

So, Muslim brothers and sisters, let us take up the struggle of economic jihad now. Destroy a corporation for Palestine.
Catchy slogan.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Some Juche paragraphs

This blog has been almost singlehandedly covering the progress of the Juche-idea. This time I thought I would do it round-up style:

Kim saw some singers and dancers:
The performers truthfully represented the revolutionary stamina and optimism, the faith in sure victory and the indomitable will of the Korean people dynamically advancing towards the eminence of a great prosperous and powerful nation, holding high the torch of a new revolutionary surge lit by Kim Jong Il. They, at the same time, powerfully demonstrated the might of the art troupe which has grown to be a revolutionary art group under the care of the party.
A big philosophical statement: "Harmonious Whole in Which Leader Believes in People and People Follow Leader":
The Korean people who have triumphantly covered the long road of revolution, firmly believing only in their leader are still working miracles and effecting innovations incessantly in the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation, bringing another revolutionary upsurge with the might of harmonious whole.
Kim saw other performances:
The performers truthfully represented the iron faith and will of the servicepersons to devotedly safeguard the headquarters of the revolution and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche that started in the thick forests of Mt. Paektu with arms.

They, at the same time, fully exhibited such enthusiasm and spirit with which they encouraged the soldiers to wage struggles and perform feats by conducting militant frontline agitation at the sides of trenches, drill grounds and construction sites, thus clearly proving the validity and vitality of the WPK's policy of conducting art activities the way the anti-Japanese guerrillas did and strikingly demonstrating the might of soldiers' art group which creditably performs its sacred mission as a bugler in the Songun era by instilling the ardent love for the Party and the leader and the country and the people into the servicepersons.
An editorial called for implementing a slogan:
Rodong Sinmun today editorially calls for vigorously carrying on the struggle for the bright future of the socialist fatherland under the uplifted slogan "Let us live not merely for today but for tomorrow!" [...]

It is the great outlook on the revolution, the outlook on the future of General Secretary Kim Jong Il that the revolution is the cause to keep the love for the people flourish and that one should devote everything to the future of the country and the happiness of all generations to come although one may not enjoy life's pleasure in one's generation.
Kim visited fertilizer:
In order to solve the food scarcity it is necessary to send a lot of fertilizers to the countryside, he noted, adding that this heavy yet honorable task is devolved to the workers of Hungnam.
And so on . . .

Update: The latest editions of Haveil Havalim and Shiny Happy Dhimmi truthfully represent revolutionary stamina and optimism, faith in sure victory and indomitable will.

Nautical propaganda

There is something about aid ships, or supposed aid ships, that makes effective propaganda. The following story got a lot of coverage--here's Syria's take on it. Syria's News agency declares "Syria Condemns the Israeli Navy Piracy Against Lebanese Fraternity Ship":
A Syrian Foreign Ministry Official Source on Thursday strongly condemned the Israeli navy piracy against Lebanese Fraternity Ship which has been loaded with humanitarian relieve aid for the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza.

The source added in a statement to SANA: "Syria holds Israel fully responsible for the safety of the ship , its crew , and all passengers , and demands the international community and all bodies concerned with humanitarian affairs, to condemn this piracy , to act immediately for the release of all the detainees , and to commit Israel to allowing the Palestinian people access to the humanitarian aid on board the ship.
Too bad the ship wasn't Iranian. The Iranian Students News Agency reports: "Israel did not dare to attack Iran's aid vessel for Gaza: official":
Despite Israel's several threats for attacks over the Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aids for Gaza, it did not dare to attack the vessel, said the supervisor of the Iranian Red Cross delegation to Gaza, Ahmad Nawab.

The ship's arrival in Gaza waters which faced Israel's oppositions left desired effects and "we could break the spell of sending aids to Gaza through pressures on Egypt and Saudi Arabia," Nawab said in an interview with Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).

The move has made Gazans heartened; he noted adding Hamas officials have said the issue was a source of hope and that Iran's flag flying among Israeli warships was a practical action for help to Gazans which showed Iran is ready for any sort of help to these people.

The ship carrying 2000 tones of medicines and food left for Gaza from the Iranian southern port of Bandar Abbas on December 29th. It spent 33 days in international waters and stopped near Gaza for 20 days, he added.

He then said the shipment has been later sent to Lebanon for preserving the foodstuff and delivering them to Gazans through Lebanon's Red Cross Association and that of Iran in the country.

The ship was fully controlled by Israel's helicopters and airplanes, he said adding it was several times threatened by the Israel, but it will never dare to attack Iran and whatever belongs to it. [...]
Hamas "belongs to it."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

"Korea Gripped with Boundless Emotion and Joy"

I don't really understand this whole business. If Kim already holds supreme executive power, why was he just nominated for a seat in a legislative body, even a "Supreme" one? The idea is that it hastens the day when Kim will personally hold every position in the whole government? Anyway, if it makes them boundlessly happy, who am I to complain?
Upon hearing the news that General Secretary Kim Jong Il was nominated as a candidate for deputy to the 12th Supreme People's Assembly at Constituency No. 333, the entire army and people are full of great happiness and pride of having the peerlessly great man as the leader of the nation.

Anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Hwang Sun Hui said that the anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters were very happy to hear the news. She went on:

A few days ago the officers and men of the People's Army nominated Kim Jong Il as a candidate for deputy to the SPA with boundless reverence. This is the unanimous will and ardent desire of the entire people.

On receiving this happy news with the February 16, the greatest holiday of the nation, ahead, I can hardly repress the swelling emotion.

We anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters will uphold the leader's plan of building a great, prosperous and powerful nation in the van of the people.

Vice-premier of the DPRK Cabinet Thae Jong Su, noting that having nominated Kim Jong Il as a candidate for deputy to the SPA this time again is the unanimous will of the entire army and people and a great auspicious event of the nation, said:

Kim Jong Il has been leading the Party and the revolution along one road of victory for scores of years, thus performing great feats which will remain immortal in the history of the country.

He is the peerlessly great man who has defended firmly and developed in depth President Kim Il Sung's Juche-oriented idea and line on state building and demonstrated the dignity and might of the DPRK all over the world with his original Songun politics.

All the officers and men of the People's Army and the people came to have as a firm faith through life that he is the destiny and future of our country and nation and the symbol of all the victories. [...]

Yud Shevat

I had a little computer time this morning and I should have posted something then because it is a little late to be doing it now, but I don't want Yud Shevat to come and go without something on the blog noting it. Yud Shevat is the yahrtzeit of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe and the day when the contemporary Lubavitcher Rebbe assumed the position of Rebbe. I just got back from a farbrengen, a chassidic gathering, in honor of this occasion. The Chabad.org blog comments:
For the Rebbe’s countless followers and admirers, this is a day for introspection and recommitment to the ideals that the Rebbe championed throughout the decades of his leadership: love of G-d, Torah, and every Jew; and utilizing these tools to bring holiness and meaning to every corner of the world.
See here also.

Juan Cole detects irony

You probably know that Iran has launched its "Omid satellite." The Iranian press keeps calling it "home made," which I don't imagine means that it was made in somebody's home, but that it did not use any foreign technology. (Not even North Korean?) This event elicits the following analysis from Juan Cole, the Informed Commentator:
US, German and other Western officials expressed anxiety that the same technology used in the launches could also be used to develop an Iranian ballistic missile.

Iran insists that it is developing the delivery technology for peaceful civilian purposes.

It is striking that Western anxieties about Iran often depict the regime as "medieval," but what they are really afraid of appears on the contrary to be Iranian modernity.
"Western anxieties" involve, precisely, concern over the combination of medieval sensibilities with modern weapons technology. Juan's point involves seeing Iranian advances in aeronautics simply as "modernity." Isn't it "striking" that Iran itself also insists that its space program, nuclear program, etc., are merely modernity?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad