"Holocaust, US and Britain's excuse for domination of the world: Ahmadinejad"

Catchy headline. According to this ISNA article, Iran is having a new Holocaust conference and its name is "Holocaust, the West's Sacred Lie."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said a cursory glance at the following events of the Second World War suggests the issue of holocaust is an excuse by the war winners particularly the US and Britain for domination over the world.

In his message to the conference on Holocaust, the West's Sacred Lie, held in Tehran, Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said a large number of media, wealth and power centers are under Zionists' control and they are plundering wealth of different nations.

The creation of illegitimate Zionist regime is among Holocaust aftermaths, after the war a political and power-seeking system which claimed to be defendants of some war victims said the survivors of these victims need to receive a blood-money and added that establishment of Zionist regime in Palestine is a part of the compensation.

Through the excuse, they attacked Palestine, killed and displaced a large number of people and commissioned the Zionist regime not to allow foundation of any regional power in Islamic countries, Ahmadinejad said.

Those now residing in the occupied lands of Palestine are some native Palestinians, migrants from the US, Asia and Europe and most of them are not war survivors, he said in his message.

Holocaust is intertwined with Liberal Democracy which backs the logic of holocaust and has made it so sacred that no one is permitted to enter into its domain, he continued.

If the reality of holocaust issue becomes clear, the Zionist regime will be fully collapsed, Ahmadinejad added.

Elsewhere, Iran's Government Spokesman, Gholam Hossein Elham taking part in the conference said as Zionist regime's lack of identity and the philosophy of its existence was unveiled, countdown has been started to put an end to the life of this center of corruption.

The world now suffers from the Zionist regime's presence, he said adding even if a real holocaust has occurred its origin is no where but in the West, so why Palestinians should be displaced to compensate for it, he added.

The real holocaust is arising in Palestine, just few weeks ago civilians and defenseless Gazans were slaughtered shamelessly by Israel, why these people are being killed, these crimes cannot be interpreted as anything but genocide, Elham noted.

Zionist regime and its sponsors need to account for their crimes, they should account for their measures to the history, he added.

Zionist regime's cruel measures must be ended, the right of Palestinians should be recognized and the displaced Palestinians need to return home. They can also determine their government through a referendum.

Zionists have gone too far in committing offensives against that even Jews and rabies in Iran, the US and Europe have denounced the measures, Government Spokesman noted.

Elsewhere regarding the US envoy to the UN who has said his country seeks direct talks with Iran, Elham said Iran is waiting for practical changes by the US officials.

As Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled Iran's views and the necessity of a change in the US policies, Iran pursues a clear stance on the matter, he added.

The US needs to accept that it is only a government not an emperor and Iran is waiting whether the previously discussed changes come true by the US President Barack Obama.

Also concerning delisting Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the EU terrorist black list, Elham said the move shows they are making a political game with terrorism and similar concepts; they divide the issue of terrorism into two good and bad sections which puts their political and legal values into question.

They name Hamas, a group defending Palestinians' right, as a terrorist one while they remain silent and support Zionist regime's crimes, he said.

Meanwhile, some evidence has surfaced that Ahmadinejad has "Jewish roots" although it may not be true and it might not mean he is Jewish even if it is true.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

"Israel throwing commanders under bus"--See if you can follow this reasoning

How is Israel "throwing commanders under the bus"? By protecting them from lawsuits! From PressTV:

Israel is pinning the blame of war crimes on its Gaza operation commanders by concealing their identities, a top Iranian general says.

Amid calls for taking legal action against Israeli individuals involved in carrying out and ordering the war on Gaza, Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh, Iran's Head of the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Holy Defense, exposed the Israeli motive for protecting the identity of its top commanders.

"High-ranking Israeli government officials are seeking to portray their military commanders as the sole guilty party in its crimes," Brig. Gen. Baqerzadeh said Tuesday.

Israeli authorities have issued an order banning the publication of the full name and photographs of the field commanders of the Gaza operation, the Haaretz reported Saturday.

The decision was made following the publication of reports that a lawsuit had been filed with a Dutch court against one of the Israeli brigade commanders after his identity was revealed by the media.

The ban applies to the full name and photographs of officers from the rank of battalion commander down. The order also prohibits tying particular battlefield commanders to the destruction of particular areas in the coastal sliver.

The Iranian commander warned about the futility of such policies, adding that under international law those who commit war crimes and those who issue the order for such crimes would be prosecuted with respect to the extent of their involvement.

Brig. Gen. Baqerzadeh went on to describe Israeli President Shimon Perez, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as the main culprits of the recent war crimes in the Palestinian territory. [...]

The International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court located in The Hague, has come into being in 2002 to take legal action against war crimes committed on or after that date.

However, countries like the United States and Israel have so far refused to sign the treaty which created the court and therefore do not permit The Hague to have jurisdiction over their citizens.

While Israel cannot be tried in the International Court of Justice, any country that is a signatory to the Geneva Convention can try to prosecute individuals who took part in the Gaza operation as culpable of war crimes.

Is Iran planning a kidnapping operation?

On Sunday, the cabinet of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad introduced a bill, comprising of methods to track down and prosecute individuals accused of committing or issuing the order for war crimes.

Under the newly-introduced bill individuals charged with committing or ordering such crimes would be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison by an Iranian court or would face execution.

Meanwhile, critics remain skeptical as to whether any official inquiry into Israeli crimes will take place, as Tel Aviv has previously blocked similar attempts with Washington's support.

That's an interesting admission for the Iranian press.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

PressTV (Iran): "Carter: No peace in ME without Hamas"

This account of what Carter said doesn't appear to differ from that of more trustworthy sources. You can even watch the video if you have the stomach for it. This version, however, reminds us who stands behind Hamas and the favors our friend Jimmy likes to perform for them. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Former US President Jimmy Carter says that the Hamas movement can be trusted and Mideast peace would be impossible without its involvement.

In an interview on NBC's Today show on Monday, former US President Jimmy Carter said that 'Hamas can be trusted' adding that the movement never deviated from its commitments as per the recent ceasefire agreement with Israel.

The former US President said that he has been promised by the organization's leaders in Damascus and Gaza that Hamas would honor agreements between Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israel, as long as they were supported by public referendum.

Carter maintained that Israel has a choice between a one-state solution - which is a catastrophe for Israel - and a two-state solution which everyone would support.

"Despite the recent lack of progress, I see this as a unique time for hope, not despair. The outlines of a peace agreement are clear and have broad international support," he claimed.

Carter noted, "There is a remarkable compatibility among pertinent United Nations resolutions, previous peace agreements reached at Camp David and in Oslo, the publicly declared policy of the United States, the Geneva Accord, key goals of the International Quartet's Roadmap for Peace, and tentative proposals made by all Arab nations for reconciliation with Israel."

Carter on Sunday met with President Barack Obama's new US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. While Carter is not certain that Obama should speak directly with Hamas, he believes that Mitchell should.

"There won't be peace in the Middle East without Hamas involvement," the former US President emphasized.

Al-Ahram: "Whose resistance?"

Al-Ahram has certainly produced its share of overblown hysteria about the Gaza operation. One recent article quotes "ex-judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Fouad Riad" that Israel "'deliberately killed Palestinian children' with the aim of exterminating the population." "Exterminating the population"? The present article, "Whose resistance?" while offering the obligatory references to Israel's "customary violence and the brutality of its military machine," also observes, "Democratically elected or not, no one asked the Palestinian people if they wanted to confront Israel in the name of resistance." The author, Amr Hamzawy, offers some remarkable paragraphs denouncing Hamas:

From day one of the Israeli invasion, Hamas leaders excluded civilians from their calculations with their frequent cries of resistance to the bitter end, even if it means the annihilation of all the people in Gaza (according to Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas government), their boasts of the legendary steadfastness of Gaza (Taher Al-Nunu, spokesman for the Hamas government), and their predictions of ultimate victory in spite of the death and bloodshed (Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas's political bureau). The same essential arrogant indifference to the sanctity of civilian lives is also evidenced in commentaries on the part of many Arab intellectuals sympathetic with Hamas who portray the Hamas electoral victory in 2006 as a democratically-sanctioned mandate to wage resistance and a popular agreement in advance to accept the consequences of Hamas's subsequent decisions regardless of how calamitous the consequences.

What makes this even more regrettable is that these commentators have taken a very specific electoral moment, randomly lifted it from its social and political contexts, and implicitly elevated its results to the level of a carte blanche to make even the most fateful decisions which, in the true sense of democracy, would demand a renewed appeal to the public instead of the mere presumption of public approval. Since it took over power independently in Gaza in the summer of 2007, Hamas and the factions allied with it never held a general referendum or a truly public dialogue in the interest of determining popular preferences with regard to whether or not to continue with the relative calm with Israel regardless of the ongoing blockade or to escalate the confrontation with the occupation beneath the banner of resistance. No one asked the Palestinian people themselves. Rather Hamas, in an authoritarian manner, decided to end the truce and to visit the exorbitant costs of this decision upon the presumed supporters of its decision and upon objectors alike, without either of these bodies of opinion having a say in the matter. What kind of popular mandate are the Arab intellectuals who are supporting Hamas talking about? What kind of democracy do they have in mind? Democracy is not a once-and-for-all vote. Rather its strength resides in the principle of ongoing popular participation, which entails the periodic soliciting of public opinion and abiding by the consensus of the majority.

In conjunction with their haughty disregard for the lives and welfare of civilians, the producers of resistance narratives have totally suspended the requirements for a rational and objective assessment of the current political situation surrounding the Palestinian cause. [...]

You won't like the whole article, but that was a reasonably sustained display of good sense.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

PressTV: "Iran starts legal action against Israel"

More of Iran's current enthusiasm for litigation. Now that its proxy-army's military preparation has been proven to be worthless, Iran takes to the courts. If a great deal of international war-crimes litigation actually comes about at Iran's instigation it would be nice to say that it will be automatically self-discrediting. We'll have to see, though.

Iran will host an international meeting to review the legal aspects of the Gaza war in preparation for the prosecution of war criminals.

Iran's Attorney General Ghorbanali Dorri Najaf Abadi told Press TV on Sunday that the meeting would be held in March.

According to the Iranian official the international event will study ways for brining those who committed war crimes during the 23-day war in Gaza to justice.

Israel launched its massive offensive against the Gaza Strip on December 27. Human rights groups, witnesses and reporters say Israel used controversial weapons including white phosphorus ammunitions against the civilian population of Gaza during the military operation.

Indiscriminate killing of civilians were another controversy arose in the course of war. Israel targeted UN buildings including a school in which civilians took refuge on several occasions.

Iran's Judiciary has set up a special team to file lawsuits against Israel with international courts over its war crimes in Gaza.

Zionist Death-Matriarchs and Death-Antelopes

As reported by the ever-watchful EOZ, the Zionist regime has now added Matriarchs to its arsenal, causing great concern to Muslims. Adding further to its use of controversial weapons, the Zionist entity has also begun to use Antelopes:

Fears over Hezbollah's moves against Israel have prompted the regime's military to resort to using antelopes to fight the Lebanese movement.

The animals have been deployed to the northern borders of Israel to clear the foliage which the military fears could function as cover Hezbollah fighters, the daily Ha'aretz reported.

Antelopes are known for their ability to eat large quantities of vegetations.

And considering the vegetative mental state of the typical Nasrallah follower, that makes these Zio-lopes quite threatening!

"The animals were first brought to Israel more than 30 years ago as part of a project to raise them at local zoos before sending them to Europe," the daily added.

Israel waged a war against Lebanon in summer 2006 but soon afterwards found itself unable to confront Hezbollah fighters who used guerilla tactics the Israelis were not familiar with.

The 33-day war resulted in a heavy defeat for the Israeli Army, after the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 called on Israel to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon.

But, of course, Anteloples don't recognize UN resolutions. They're right, by the way, this was reported in Ha'aretz. (Hat tip to Aussie Dave for the phrase "Zionist death blah blah.")

By the way: In case you are wondering about whether this blog thinks it is possible for Rachel Immeinu to appear to Israeli soldiers, the answer is yes.

Iranian audience primed for war-crimes trials

The loyal readers of Iranian press agencies, including a large English-speaking audience, are being fed endless articles that make it sound as if any day now Olmert and Livini will be arrested and tried for war crimes. A current Mehr News headline reads "Iran calls for prosecution of Israeli leaders for war crimes." An older IRNA headline announced "Iran making preparations for trial of Israeli leaders for war crimes." An IRIB headline reads "List of Israeli leaders under prosecution," and there's a graphic to go with it:



IRIB explains:

Media carry these days a 15-strong list of military commanders and senior Israeli authorities who are under prosecution by international war crimes courts on charges of war crimes in Gaza during the Zionist regime's 22-invasion of the besieged territory started on December 27, 2008.

The list which follows however may not be exhaustive as any prospective judicial proceedings may dock additional perpetrators.

1- Ehud Olmert, prime minister
2- Ehud Barak, 'defense' minister
3- Tzipi Livni, foreign minister
4- Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff
5- Yoav Galant, southern command chief
6- Avi Benayahu, army spokesman
7- Avi Peled, commander of golani brigade
8- Amos Gilad, commander of security-diplomatic board
9- Dan Halutz, former army chief of staff
10- Aluf Eliezer Shkedi, former commander of air force
11- Ido Nehushtan, commander of air force
12- Natan Valnaie, deputy 'defense' minister
13- Yuval Diskin, Shabak chief
14- Meir Dagan, director of Mossad
15- Shimon Peres, president

Meanwhile, an IRNA headline announces: "Reports of mass arrests for Israeli war criminals":

Dozens of arrests warrants have already been issued for Israeli war criminals, said the head of the Gaza Human Rights Center Raji Sourani in an exclusive interview with IRNA in Berlin on Saturday.

"We have been targeting 87 people in six countries for whom arrest warrants have already been sent out," the Palestinian lawyer added.

Wouldn't you like to know what those six countries are? Do they include Sudan?

"One of the strategic issues at the Center of Human Rights (in Gaza) is to hold Israeli war criminals and military leaders accountable," Sourani stressed.

The Palestinian human rights activist said his organization was collecting evidence, documenting Israeli war crimes. "We are now working day and night to document these war crimes and hopefully we will hold them accountable. We hope they (Israelis) cannot get away with crimes like these," Sourani said.

"We will use universal jurisdiction to deal with these war criminals," the attorney added.

He urged more international attention to the issue of Israeli atrocities in the Palestinian territories.

Sourani hailed the recent worldwide mass demonstrations against the Jewish state as an effective way to address Israeli war crimes. [...]

Justice through protest! An IRNA opinion piece proclaims "World waiting for trial of Zionists":

Israeli Supreme Court issued a verdict against Karl Adolf Eichmann (1906– 1962), often known as "the architect of the Holocaust" in 1962.

It argued that since his crimes inflicted a huge damage on the international community’s interests, it is to the benefit of all nations to take practical steps to prevent them.

I suppose it is quite possible we will see something reminiscent of the arrest warrant issued in England for Doron Almog. Perhaps something will happen in the Hague. We'll probably also see some show trials in Muslim countries. It probably won't add up to much despite current reports that Olmert has formed "a special legal team to defend Israeli soldiers against potential war crimes charges." I don't think Israeli leaders are now going to have to live as fugitives from justice, and I doubt any Israeli leaders were planning any state visits to Iran any time soon. They'll just have to try them in absentia.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

IRIB: "Hamas sets up board to oversight aid distribution"

A BBC decision not to run an ad to raise funds for Gaza is generating a great deal of controversy. This story provides some context:

The Gaza-based Palestinian government Hamas set up a special board to oversight the distribution of foreign aid among the Gaza residents and the rebuild of invasion-ravaged Gaza.

Ahmad al-Kerd, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the elected Hamas government has been commissioned by Premier Ismail Haniya to preside over the board.

The board is tasked to oversight the distribution of a sum of 45 million dollars in aid among the families of martyrs and those who have lost their residence to the destructive Israeli invasion.

Meanwhile, Ismail Rezwan, a Hamas leader told the Aljazeera TV network said the Gaza-based Palestinian government Hamas is ready to cooperate with Arab countries in reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

"A vast part of Gaza has been destroyed during the war. The financial aid should be handed to the legal Palestinian government of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, otherwise we will invite Palestinian groups and Arab countries to help us in construction of Gaza," he added.

The eligible Palestinian groups, he said, were those who are active in the Gaza Strip under the supervision of the Palestinian government.

"If the Arab countries and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were really after reconstruction of Gaza, they should talk with us," Rezwan noted. [...]

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Juan likes Israelis

Juan Cole, who likes to accuse Israel of "war crimes," now channels Edwin Starr in a post entitled "Gaza War! Hunh! What was it Good For?" Juan links approvingly to a piece which concludes "the Israeli narrative of the lead-up to the Gaza War was just lies." But don't worry, he actually "likes Israelis." He's just giving them friendly advice:

A CNN poll found that 63% of Americans felt that Israel's war on Gaza was right. They say only 17% of Americans supported the Palestinians.

An earlier Rasmussen poll found that 44% of Americans supported the war and 41% opposed it. That may be an artifact of the way the question was asked. Americans like Israelis (and I am among them), so if you ask them if they support the Israelis or the Palestinians, you get a skewed answer.

Ahmadinejad attacks Sartre, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard

This is from a Fars News article entitled "Ahmadinejad: Islamic Revolution Not Restricted to Iranian Borders":

[...]"Iran's Islamic Revolution is a global phenomenon belonging to all mankind," Ahmadinejad noted in an address to a national gathering on the advent of the 30th victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

The victory of Iran's revolution in 1979 is annually celebrated by all Iranians during January 31-February 10.

"The Islamic Revolution was, undoubtedly, the greatest development that has occurred in the lives of the Iranian people and also the onset of the greatest change in the history of humanity," said the president, Islamic republic news agency reported.

"There is no doubt that the present turmoil worldwide was the result of existing political and social systems which are based on capitalism and existentialism," he reiterated. [...]

In another global phenomenon belonging to all mankind, the latest editions of Haveil Havalim and Shiny Happy Dhimmi are up.

Yvonne weighs in on those secret Israeli casualties

This is from an Yvonne Ridley article charmingly entitled "The beginning of the end for Israel" from Tehran Times via Mehr News. Yvonne believes those Hamas claims about Israeli casualties, which were prominently featured by the press agencies of her Khomeinist employers:

We still do not know how many Israeli soldiers have died… it is a figure Olmert is trying to keep quiet. No public, ceremonial funerals are shown on TV in Tel Aviv. The Israelis, so used to playing the victim for U.S. and European media outlets, have not been able to publicly display their mourning to the world. Could it be that mothers, wives, and daughters of the dead would want to blame the Israeli government for yet another failed campaign?

She draws some conclusions:

I hope Barrack Obama and Hilary Clinton take note.

And I hope they realize now that democratically elected Hamas is the only party in town to sit down and negotiate with. Failed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas should now be viewed as collateral damage. His credibility has gone and any deal he made with Israel over this shameful period will soon be revealed. By the way, I have heard that his luxury villa in Gaza is about the only building that is free of shrapnel, shells, or bullet marks. It certainly survived the bombing in a district which was attacked without mercy. Funny that!

Gaza will rise again from the rubble with its people even stronger than before. They are an example to resistance fighters across the world and they will go down in history for their bravery and courage.

In a few years time children across the Middle East will be raised on the heroic stories and exploits of the people of Gaza. And as they are safely tucked up in their beds, they’ll probably ask: "So what did happen to Israel? Did it really exist?"

I was thinking the same thing about Yvonne.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

PalToday: "A bomb goes off under the car of a university professor"

Some PA moderation, evidently:

A bomb exploded, Friday evening, under the car of Abdel-Sattar Qasem, a professor of political science at the Najah University in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. No one was injured in the explosion.

Qasem said after the incident that the bomb, which seems to be locally manufactured, set fire to the car destroying it completely and the fire caused damage to the door of his house in front of which the car was parked.

He added that he was in his house working on his computer when his neighbours alerted him to the explosion and the fire.

Qassem had earlier in the day participated in a panel at al-Quds satellite channel during which he severely criticised the Ramallah Palestinian Authority and the incident took place minutes after his return home from this engagement, making Fatah vandals, or Abbas's security agencies, the prime suspects of being behind the attack. [...]

"Vandals" is an interesting term for those who plant bombs. EOZ calls this particular source "Islamic Jihad-oriented," by the way.

Update: Maan says a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the car.

Firas Press (autotranslated): "Qassam Brigades fire on one of its members"

Here is a link to the site. Just using the URL when the article is displayed doesn't seem to create a more specific link. The autotranslation is a bit rough, but the general gist is clear:

According to reliable sources that the Qassam Brigades in Gaza City yesterday by shooting a member of its own in the Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City and named / Sami illuminated and hit him in the feet.

And sources close to the Qassam Brigades, the decision to shoot was illuminated in the accounting framework Alksamip elements that refused to implement the tasks entrusted to it by the leadership during the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

And was one of the functions of these military orders and the monitoring and prosecution of the cadres of the Fatah movement and the sector of fire on their legs and placed under house arrest on a large number of cadres of the movement.

This has been a leader of Hamas claimed in a telephone interview with the Palestinian media that the incident had nothing to do with the prosecution of members of Fatah, but came after the Sami to leave his position and illuminated by evasion of duty during the Israeli aggression against Gaza and the large ground incursion, which was carried out by the Israeli army in the region Tel Islam in Gaza City a few days ago.

His leadership and that it is part of the evaluation and audit and accounting, which will reach a number of elements and leaders in field-Qassam, which failed to perform his duties in repelling the aggression.

Iran: "Zionist elements" "encouraging moral corruption among actors and actresses . . . making movies to promote the notion of Holocaust"

IRNA is Iran's most official new agency and this is its deeply paranoid worldview. Note the reference to (good) "independent and anti-U.S. nations" which were the object of (bad) Bush's "irrational remarks." That means Syria, Cuba, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Sudan, besides Iran itself.

The cultural domain, like other areas in global community, never remained free from the adverse effrects of bad Bush policies.

Bush era in the White House is notorious for the expansionist policies of the former US president in the international arena and also for the blind support for Zionist crimes. Nevertheless, in another particular area, too, George W Bush administration earned a bad reputation which was the growing Zionist influence on Hollywood.

The Bush era, during which the whole world became contaminated with war and bloodshed, has now come to an end but its portrayal in cinema and TV productions deserve a closer look.

The way he was portrayed in Hollywood productions is a token of a politics-minded cinema industry which has tried to use Bush's picture as a cultural and propaganda tool to spread the influence of Zionists and realize their wishes.

Eight years of Bush presidency coincided with such globally significant events as the 9/11 attacks which was later manipulated by Hollywood to produce numerous films to advance White House policies and global Zionism by promoting a genre branded as 'terrorism'.

The productions in this genre particularly focused on World Trade Center attacks in an attempt to convey their own message and link the attacks to Muslim and independent countries. However, the attempts were unsuccessful since the movies produced were quite cheap and superficial by attempting to twist the truth, resulting in the failure of the genre.

Inventing American heroes and concentrating on a doomsday theme, which tried to introduce the US as the 'savior', was the centerpiece of most Hollywood productions in the past few years.

The movie 'I Am Legend', starring the prominent black actor Will Smith whose role in the film contributed significantly in its box office success, dwelt on the same theme and was chosen as the Film of the Year in 2007 in Northern America.

Other similar productions, including 'Batman', 'Hancock' and 'Cloverfield', too, just betrayed Hollywood's obsession with the theme.

With his dark record and irrational remarks about independent and anti-US nations during two terms in office, Bush, more than any of his predecessors, managed to register himself as the central topic with many world directors. Even a number of independent American directors, despite the great displeasure of Zionist media corporations and the Hollywood godfathers, produced movies with Bush as the leading character. Just as an example, the well-known director Michael Moore made a documentary criticising Bush's policies that provoked a huge wave of controversy worldwide and even affected the Oscars.

During the Bush presidency, Hollywood Zionists thought only of making more and more profits at any cost. So they never hesitated to deny due payments and financial interests of actors, scriptwriters and other agents who worked hard to market their production.

Encouraging moral corruption among actors and actresses, producing violent films and making movies to promote the notion of Holocaust were among the attempts of Zionist elements in Hollywood cinema industry to advocate Zionist policies.

Hollywood developed a dark history of stained records by misrepresenting Muslim and independent nations and distorting other countries’ cultures and history. It tried to fulfill its mission of deceiving the audience by portraying a faked 'good' image of the Zionist racists.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

"Juche Idea, Foundation of Korean People's Mental Power"

Whenever there is a new development on the front of Korean Mental Power, this blog is there. What is the foundation of the Korean people's mental power? The Juche idea, of course, you silly imperialist:

Today the Korean people have turned out as one in a general offensive for the prosperity of the socialist country with the indomitable mental power as motive power.

This great mental power has its foundation in the Juche idea fathered by President Kim Il Sung.

The revolutionary spirit of Mt. Paektu, the origin of the strong mental power of the Korean people, was also created under the banner of the Juche idea and the indefatigable will which has been displayed to the full in the annals of the revolution was provided by the great attraction and vital energies of the Juche idea.

The Korean people with Juche-oriented faith won historic victories in the two revolutionary wars against the U.S. and Japanese imperialists and built a powerful socialist country independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in defence on the war debris.

"On the war debris"?

They have been working miracles one after another in the efforts for the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation.

Having an immortal revolutionary idea which is the ideological and spiritual basis of unity and gives the philosophy of unity, the Korean people have achieved unbreakable unity and cohesion and given full play to such strong mental power.

The lofty spiritual world of the Korean people who absolutely trust in their leader and defend him with their very lives gives the precious philosophical principle that a great idea brings about a great unity.

The most correct outlook on revolution illumined by the Juche idea enabled the Korean people to possess the justness of the revolutionary cause and the inevitability of the victory as their unwavering faith and turned them into an indomitable heroic people who do not know pessimism and vacillation.

The greatest exploit performed by the President is that he brought up the Korean people as one of strong ideology, faith and spirit with the radiant Juche idea.

Bad and good news for poetry

The bad news is that they are closing Gitmo. How will there ever by a Poems from Guantanmo, Volume 2? The good news is that "Poets of the Central Committee of the Korean Writers Union" have penned new masterpieces "to glorify this year as a year of a new revolutionary upsurge."

Poems have been written in the DPRK to call the entire people to a fresh revolutionary upsurge from the outset of the new year.

Poets of the Central Committee of the Korean Writers Union have written many poems strongly appealing to the hearts of all the people from the first days of the new year out of the desire to glorify this year as a year of a new revolutionary upsurge, sounding the bugle of general advance.

"Motherland, forward in the general advance!", "Flaming Glow over Kangson", "Soldiers stand at frontal breakthrough for general offensive", "Our flames", "It's time for our strength to erupt" and "Ye youth, flare up" and other poems reflect the realities sensitively and are overflowing with strong appeal and militancy. They powerfully inspire the working people in the gigantic work for the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation.

Poets who greeted the morning of the New Year in Kangson, a historic land, watched the thrilling scene of the flow of molten iron from the UHP electric arc furnace of Korean-style and wrote the stirring poems "Torchlight in Kangson", "Leap higher, ye flames of upsurge" and "He came in December", which inflame the hearts of the smelters with the ardor of creation and leap forward in making a breach on the main front of economic power.

They rushed to production sites aflame with a new revolutionary upswing such as the Pyongyang Thermal-power Complex and the Pyongyang Textile Mill where they wrote "The first step in the new year", "Familiar faces" and "You are like heroine Ri Hwa Sun" and many other poems pulsating with the breath of the Songun era and giving a profound philosophical rendition to the socialist life.

Couldn't they include the text of one of the poems? I'm dying to read "Soldiers stand at frontal breakthrough for general offensive." It's probably written in heroic couplets.

"All People Called upon to Make Great Leaping Advance"

Articles from (North) Korean News are usually desperately repetitive propaganda embodying ludicrously false boasting about the supposed achievements in North Korea's utterly dysfunctional realm of suffering and failure. This one is not so different from all the other ones I have stuck up on this blog, but somehow it seems to advance a few notches into the realm of pure gibberish. I am a little awed by it:

Leading newspapers today editorially call upon all the people to make a great leap forward on all fronts of socialist construction by learning from the work style of the workers in Kangson.

Rodong Sinmun says that the workers in Kangson fully displayed the strong mental power of the Korean working class that was trained by General Secretary Kim Jong Il and learned from his matchless pluck and gut. Their work style represents the patriotic will, the fighting spirit and the mode of creation of the people in the DPRK opening the gate to a great prosperous and powerful nation and this serves as a main engine for bringing about a great Songun revolutionary surge.

It goes on:

The work style of the workers in Kangson represents the devoted efforts to carry out the instructions of the party and the leader in a do-or-die spirit in hearty response to their call, the spirit of self-reliance which calls for dashing forward to attain the goal of the times one's own way with one's own strength and the spirit of collective renovation in which all the people create a new speed of advance, breathing the same breath for the same purpose.

The strong pluck that nothing is impossible as long as there are the strong foundation of the Juche-based industry reinforced in the crucible of the Songun revolution and the spirit of leaping advance to create things worth to be recorded in history and of worldwide significance while succeeding at one go with ultra modern science and technology in the project which required others to make a hundred attempts--this is the extraordinary attraction and vitality of the work style displayed by the workers in Kangson.

The work style of workers in Kangson means the most vivid manifestation of the transparent spirit of devotedly safeguarding the leader, eruption of the faith in socialism of Korean style, ardent patriotism and extraordinary zeal for creation and the full display of the high ambition and strong revolutionary self-esteem of the Korean people advancing with full vigor toward a higher goal on a steed of leap in the Songun era.

A steed of leap. It really says that.

All officials, party members and other working people should effect a great revolutionary surge on all fronts of socialist construction in the same spirit as displayed by the workers in Kangson true to the party's far-sighted plan and intention and thus fly the flag of victory on the high eminence of the great prosperous and powerful nation.

Minju Joson calls for intensifying the drive to effect a new great revolutionary surge to open the gate to a thriving nation with redoubled efforts and confidence, highly proud of the might of the dignified DPRK shining with Juche and Songun.

Palestinian Envoy requests Plan 9 from Persian Space

A veiled rebuke against Iran? From Fars News:

Palestinian Ambassador to Tehran said Tuesday that Muslims should prepare a detailed and perfect plan for confronting the Zionist regime of Israel.

Salah Zavavi made the remarks while addressing a seminar on the international and legal aspects of the Israeli aggression against Gaza at the Iranian Expediency Council's strategic research center here in Tehran today.

The diplomat further said, "We need faith for the campaign and there is no faith better than Islam so since the very first day that we entered this revolution, my stance was that the voice of resistance should be the loudest voice."

"Palestine issue does not belong to one generation," he said, adding, "generations of the past and those of the future can liberate Palestine from river to the sea only hand in hand," he stated.

Elsewhere, the envoy reiterated the necessity for opening passages to Gaza, declaring ceasefire, ending Gaza siege and reconstructing the region.

Appreciating Iran's stance on the Palestinian issue, Zavavi said underscored that no future can be envisaged for Palestine without Jihad and martyrdom.

"We should reinvigorate Jihad and martyrdom," he said.

These days, the martyrdom just doesn't have the same vigor.

Guardian: Hamas imposed discipline although it was suppression

Some double-talk from the Guardian:

Hamas has been widely recognised since it took power as having provided an effective and functioning central government address, albeit a controversial one. Hamas has largely restored law and order and effectively imposed discipline (and imposed a ceasefire while it was in fact being honoured) on both its own militia and that of other factions- the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees, and Fatah, although in the case of the latter this has taken the form of political suppression.

Nice distinction that. In other analysis, the authors outline the "necessary steps":

There will be three necessary steps for securing the ceasefire: (1) getting both sides to immediately cease hostilities, (2) ensuring the IDF withdrawal and removing Israeli troops immediately from Palestinian population centres, (3) putting the broader ceasefire package in place which involves amongst other things, opening Gaza and preventing weapons getting in. [Neat trick--YG] Beyond that, of course, the underlying issues of the conflict and of the occupation will have to be addressed.

Don't you love that sort of analysis. Anything can be done if you break it into steps. I.e., to revive the decayed corpse of the peace process, (1) all the decayed limbs and organs will need to be regenerated, (2) the missing head will need to be located, and (3) the worms will have to give back everything they've eaten. And while I'm collecting incredible Guardian paragraphs, here is one crediting Sheikh Yassin with pragmatism and nuance:

Assassinated by the Israelis in 2004, Yassin was a pragmatist. Even as the Oslo peace process - which Hamas opposed - was dying and Hamas was sending suicide bombers to Israel, Yassin was also outlining a more nuanced vision. [Surpassing even the nuance of the Hamas charter, mentioned in the previous paragraph?--YG] While a final settlement with Israel could never be achieved, what was possible, said Yassin and later leaders, was a lengthy hudna - a generation-long cessation of hostilities with Israel, if Israel was prepared to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and withdraw to the pre-1967 borders. The logic was simple. Yassin was convinced that one day Israel would fail or be defeated. But he believed, too, that that was the work for future generations.

Which isn't to say that their education couldn't begin immediately and their "work" almost immediately.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Death to Ban! Sudan vents pro-Hamas wrath at UN

I don't know if they actually shouted "Death to Ban," but I can't say they didn't. What on Earth else would you ever shout about Ban Ki-Moon if you were Sudanese and thought of him as a Zionist lackey? This, of course, is being reported in the press of Sudan's great ally, Iran:

Thousands of Sudanese people celebrated on Sunday the victory of the Palestinian Resistance against the Zionist regime after 22 days of perseverance.

Expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian nation in Gaza, Sudanese demonstrators gathered in front of the United Nations office in Khartum and shouted slogans against the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Death to Ban! Death to Ban! Allahu Akhbar!

Demonstrators called for the expulsion of UN ambassadors from all Arab and Muslim countries as well as trial of the Israeli officials.

That'll teach those Zionists!

They also asked the Arab countries to review their foreign policies.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Thoughts on the cease-fire and other links

Noah Pollock stated a few days ago:

If Hamas’ leaders have any capacity for strategic thinking, they will halt their attacks for a week and ensure an Israeli withdrawal — and then hold victory parades, resume firing rockets, and test whether Israel is prepared to commence Cast Lead II a week after its first iteration was dismantled.

I would say Hamas is executing Plan Noah.

Netanyahu put it this way: " . . . the IDF has dealt Hamas some very hard blows on the head, but regrettably the job has not been finished . . . Hamas still controls Gaza and it will continue to smuggle new missiles in through the Philadelphi Route . . . "

Treppenwitz observes "Once again we have been betrayed by our leaders."

JoeSettler observes "There is no question we were on the verge of destroying Hamas completely, and then the political echelon comes along and pulls out the carpet from underneath the feet of our soldiers - just ahead of campaign time for elections."

Jack has "War in Gaza Update #19."

The latest Haveil Havalim and Shiny Happy Dhimmi are also up.

Isreallycool and The Muqata have been live-blogging.

Iran-inanity round-up

Hamas has now announced its "unilateral" ceasefire. Wondering how the Iranian press is going to report it? IRNA, the most official agency, still has a now out-dated article on its front page, reporting "MP: Hamas should reject ceasefire, target Zionist positions." In the meantime, the other Iranian Press agencies are reporting the Hamas ceasefire declaration. Hamas would clearly like to be out of IDF crosshairs, but Press TV has devised a spin which preserves the boasting tone of recent Iranian headlines: "Hamas gives Israel one-week ultimatum.":

Hamas has announced an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, giving Israel one week to completely withdraw its forces from the area.

The Sunday announcement was made by the faction's senior official Ayman Taha, who is currently in Cairo for diplomatic talks.

"Hamas and the factions announce a ceasefire in Gaza starting immediately and give Israel a week to withdraw," Taha said.

He also called on Israel to open all border-crossings to allow in 'the basic needs of the people', including food, medical supplies and other goods. [...]

He "called on" Israel to allow the provision of "basic needs"? That doesn't sound so ultimatum-like.

IRIB and other agencies have a rare story featuring Mrs. Ahmadinejad: "President's wife appeals for Rafah opening." Fars has a picture:

Cute couple. Mrs. A has taken up her husband's habit of letter-writing and has written one to Mrs Mubarak:

Iranian First Lady Azam al-Sadat Farahi, in a letter to her Egyptian counterpart, asked for her help to facilitate aid delivery to Palestinians.

"Witnessing the dead bodies of women and children is painful and even worse is that some governments in Arab and Islamic countries do not support the oppressed people in Gaza," Ahmadinejad's wife wrote.

"You could ask your spouse and his administration to prevent worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe by opening the way for aiding Palestine's people," she urged referring to Hosni Mubarak.

She reiterated that she expected Suzan Mubarak to employ all her might and power to aid Gazans and relieve the suffering of people of Gaza.[...]

The "victory" headlines continue, of course, especially at the more slow-moving agencies. One at Mehr News proclaims: "Hamas victory will keep it in political scene for ever: expert":

International expert Ahmad Bakhshayeshi Ardestani said here on Sunday that the victory of Hamas in the Gaza Strip will perpetuate the presence of Hamas in the political scene of Palestine.

"With its victory in Gaza, Hamas will remain for ever in the political scene of Palestine."

Pointing to the ceasefire declared in the Gaza, the expert said, "Surely, Israel has suffered a defeat in Gaza. This is the second failure of this regime and will not be the last one." [...]

Isn't defeat supposed to be more final than that?

IRIB is also reporting on a "media conference" to achieve more effective reporting on the Palestinians. Fittingly, the IRIB site does not seem to be responding at the moment. Update: IRIB is back.

Crossposted at Soccer Dad

Juan the Abolitionist

Yaacov Lozowick recently noted Juan Cole's reaction to rumors of an impending unilateral cease-fire. "They had better," Cole rumbled, "Because if they ruin the Obama inauguration by splashing the bloody bodies of dead Palestinian children all over the press during the next few days, no Americans, even the most pro-Israeli, are going to forgive them." A few days previously, Cole achieved new repulsiveness, discovering that the Gazans are actually analogous to slaves:

I would argue that Israel is keeping the Gazans in a state akin to slavery. Here are some similarities between the condition of the people of Gaza and classical slavery:

# They were deprived of their basic rights as a result of a military conquest. (Peoples and individuals have often been enslaved as a result of being vanquished.)

# They are stateless. In fact, US slaves at the time the constitution was written in the eighteenth century were at least counted as 3/5s of a citizen. Gazans are not counted as citizens at all by any existing state.

# They have suffered what Orlando Patterson called "social death." Most Gazans are refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars and used to live in what is now Israel, but had their property stolen by the European Jewish settlers. They are now trapped in Gaza, and are cut off from many other members of their clan. Social death occurs when the enslaved is removed from his or her original social and geographical context. The Gazans are certainly for the most part cut off in this way.

# Gazans lack mobility, being trapped in the Gaza Strip. Israel controls their borders and their air and coastline. There is also a checkpoint on the short border with Egypt, but it is strictly policed. It is typical of the condition of slaves that they are deprived fo the liberty of movement.

# They do not control their own property. Thus, Gazans cannot own a medical clinic [or a Qassam launcher--YG], e.g., and be sure of it not being bombed by the Israelis. They can never know from day to day what the Israelis will do to their property. They cannot export their goods via their harbor on the Mediterranean because Israel does not allow it. They cannot have a functioning airport. Likewise slaves do not actually own property, since the slavemaster actually owns it and can dispose of it as he likes.

# Innocent Gazans may be killed or maimed with impunity by Israeli bombs and shells. Likewise, slavemasters in most societies can kill or beat their slaves with few repercussions.

# Gazans can be deprived of enough nutrition to be healthy at will. A free person lacking nutrition can make arrangements to get more. A slave, because of lack of freedom of movement, is forced to simply go hungry.

It may be objected that Israelis do not make Gazans work for them for free. But forced labor is only one element of slavery. The essential characteristics of any slave system have more to do with the denial of liberty than with the precise economic form of exploitation practiced on the slave. That there has been Israeli economic exploitation of Gazans and their resources is in any case undeniable.

Unless and until the Gazans are freed by the Israeli Pharoah from their debilitating bondage, the violence will go on. And the Gazans, having been deprived of their liberty as Samson was deprived of his sight, are perfectly capable of bringing down the whole structure of Levantine security if this unhealthy and outrageous denial to them of the elements of basic human dignity does not cease once and for all.

Israel as Pharoah! (Did Juan write this for Parshas Shemos?) That Israelis "do not make Gazans work for them for free" is not the only objection one might make to this little exercise in comparison. I don't think that worrying about how to neutralize the slaves' missile arsenal without causing a humanitarian crisis is part of the classical master-slave relationship. Palestinian autonomy and freedom of movement is actually one of the central issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Cole avoids analysis in favor of elaborately belaboring the obvious point that Israeli security measures limit Palestinian freedom of movement. Of course they do. Unfortunately, freedom of movement can be used to get on with life or to get on with war, and the Gazans have mostly been doing the latter.

The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was a great increase in freedom and autonomy for the Gazans. Hamas quickly acted to show that it regarded Gaza, not as an opportunity to get on with life, but as a newly acquired military asset. What we now think of as the Israeli blockade followed the coup that brought Hamas to the position of sole authority in Gaza. Does anyone remember that the now-broken "calm" was supposed to have later stages? Time reported last June:

In the next phase, Israel and Hamas will start indirect talks, through the Egyptians, to trade captured Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Once Shalit is freed, says Israeli negotiator Amos Gilad, Israel will then agree to allow the reopening of Rafah, the main crossing between Gaza and Egypt, as long as it is manned by European Union monitors. Egypt will also undertake the near-impossible task of stopping arms from being smuggled into Gaza; Israelis are worried, with good reason, that Hamas will use the truce to rearm itself with longer-range and more accurate missiles.

Stepped-up terror is the worry that has come with any of Israel's many attempts to relax its security measures for the sake of "confidence-building." And the feared outcome (rather than the hoped-for one) always materializes.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Iran Gloats

As you probably already know, Israel has announced a unilateral cease-fire as Hamas rocket fire continues. Let's see what the regime sponsoring Hamas has to say (click to enlarge):



According to IRIB:

Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei wrote a message Friday to Ismail Haniya, the Premier of the Gaza-based legitimate Palestinian government about the defeat and disgrace of the equipped army of the Zionist regime in the face of the "patience, bravery and sacrifice" of the valiant combatants and the innocent people of Gaza.

Ayatollah Khamenei in the message praised that the dignified perseverance of the Gaza people against one of the most atrocious war crimes in history helped discredit America, the supporters of the Zionist regime and the traitors and hypocrites in the Islamic Ummah.

And that's just the intro to the Ayatollah's message, which includes the following:

The Arab traitors would rather realize that their fate would not go better than that of the Jews in the war of confederates (early in Islam) for whom the Almighty said 'And He brought down those of the People of the Book who supported them from their fortresses' (The Confederates: 26).

A Mehr News headline proclaims: "Secret deal for Gaza war backfires":

The resistance in Gaza has made defending the oppressed a universal value in contrast to Israel’s false claims about the Jews’ oppression during the Holocaust. And with the revelation of the Zionist regime’s genocide in Gaza, now their crimes have been documented by hundreds of the world’s media outlets.

Israel and its supporters have been humiliated in the eyes of the world and independent media outlets’ coverage of the Gaza conflict has revealed the censorship of the realities by the U.S. and Israel media.

Iran's Press TV had a headline on Thursday that read "Hamas: Victory is within arms reach." A current headline reads "Israel set to swallow defeat in Gaza." They cite international pressure:

Gazan resistance and the world condemnation of Israeli crimes against Palestinians -- the native population of the land -- are seen as the primary reasons for Israel backtracking on its previously set goals.

Elsewhere, the Guardian worries: "Can Hamas still walk tall in Gaza's streets?" Iran thinks so, obviously, or their propaganda does. The Palestinian press is not so uniformly triumphant since some of it is pro-Fatah. See EOZ's "PalArab press roundup."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Yemen Times: "Yemenis tried on charges of spying for Israel"

The Middle East is a silly place. Get a load of the e-mail supposedly sent to Olmert and the reply:

The trial of three Yemenis accused of spying for Israel and disseminating false statements and news under the name of the "Islamic Jihad Organization" continues next Saturday.

The trial, which is unprecedented in Yemeni political history, started last Saturday at the Primary Penal Court in Sana'a.

Basim Abdullah Al-Haidari, 25, 'Imad Ali Al-Reimi, 23, and 'Ali 'Abdullah Al-Mahfal, 24, are accused of contacting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The prosecution accused Al-Haidari, also known as Abu Al-Ghaith, of being in "illegitimate" contact with Israel through an email which he sent to Ehud Olmert. The message reads, "We are the Jihad Organization and you are Jews but you are honest and we are ready for anything." The accusation said that the Israeli response included the following: "We are ready to support you to be a stumbling block to the Middle East and we will support you as agents." According to the accusation, this act harms the political and diplomatic position of Yemen which is one of the most anti-Israel countries.

The prosecution accused them of "disseminating and publishing false news under the name of the Islamic Jihad Organization”. It accused them of spreading false information, notably via embassy websites as well as local, Arab and foreign satellite channels.

It said that the organization announced it had carried out the attacks on the security buildings in Hadramout and on the US embassy, and that it targets the government and foreign interests.

The accusation said that the three citizens sent information threatening to target governmental sites as well as Arab and foreign embassies. They also demanded USD 5 million in return in exchange for canceling the explosions planned to interrupt a concert given by Egyptian artist Ehab Toufiq in Sana’a.

The prosecution considered that the data "published by the accused in full knowledge that it is false, aimed to destabilize public security, provoke horror among people and harm public interest." The accused denied all the accusations but the court adjourned the case to "complete the procedures of the trial". The Islamic Jihad Organization had announced its responsibility for targeting a security building in Sayoun, Shabwa governorate, last July with a car bomb. It also announced its responsibility for the attack on the US embassy in Sana'a last September, which left 19 Yemenis dead.

These are the two attacks which the Al-Qaeda organization later announced its responsibility for.

Security apparatuses arrested the three citizens last September within a group of six after the Ministry of Interior published releases of the Islamic Jihad Organization in Yemen. Early last October, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that the group is linked with Israeli intelligence, allegations which the Israeli foreign affairs ministry has denied and described it as "ridiculous".

In parallel with this case, the Primary Penal Court specialized in affairs of terrorism next Monday will hold a hearing to consider the case of four Yemeni citizens accused of affiliation with Al-Qaeda, preparation for an attack and possession of explosives.

Last Monday, the court reviewed the arms seized by the police and which the latter confessed to possess. Among the items seized were pistols, automatic machineguns, a rifle, RBG missiles, ammunitions, a computer and counterfeit ID cards.

The prosecution said that the accused aimed to attack tourists and government constructions including security buildings. The state-run Saba News Agency reported that one of the three accused confessed that he was "entrusted to register all hotels in the old city of Sana'a and Dar Al-Hajar where tourists exist in order to carry out a suicide attack with an explosive belt so as to target many foreigner as possible".

The agency pointed out that another one confessed that he is entrusted to "attract youth to the cell and prepare them to carry out terrorist operations by training them in camps belonging to the cell in Wadi Jubarah in Sa'ada".

Yemen last year witnessed a series of attacks that targeted security offices, tourist gatherings and oil constructions.

Al-Qaeda announced its responsibility for carrying out most of them.

Mehr News: Hamas "now calling the shots in the conflict"

I suppose this means that Iran is anticipating a cease-fire, which can be interpreted as a victory:

Despite the ongoing attacks against the Gaza Strip from the air, ground, and sea, resistance has stiffened and Hamas fighters have halted Israel’s advance.

The continuing resistance and the Zionist regime’s inability to stop rocket fire into Israeli towns show that Hamas is now calling the shots in the conflict.

In military terms, if the aggressors do not achieve their set military goals in a short period of time, they will eventually be the ultimate losers, and this defeat will prove even heavier for Israel than the 33-day war against Lebanon in 2006.

This is because the Zionist regime and Egypt, Gaza’s only Arab neighbor, have imposed a blockade on Gaza for over 18 months, and Cairo is even blocking the shipment of humanitarian aid to the territory.

In this lopsided war, Hamas is rapidly increasing the range of its missiles, and many analysts believe that they can now threaten Tel Aviv since Hamas has fired Grad 1 and 2 missiles, which are capable of hitting targets within a range of 55 kilometers, and may go on to use their newest missile to target Tel Aviv, which is only 70 kilometers away from Gaza.

The Dimona nuclear facility, located in the Negev Desert, also provides an easy target for Palestinian missiles. However, Hamas has shown great patience in not attacking Dimona in order to avoid a major humanitarian catastrophe.

What has become clear in this unequal war is the capability of Hamas to handle a long guerrilla war against the Israeli army, and they have clearly located the Zionist regime’s Achilles’ heel. [...]

That's an infidel metaphor, guys.

Mashaal: Hamas "hours away from defeating the Israeli aggressors"

This story is now about ten hours old, judging from the time stamp. I guess they won:

The Hamas chief, Khaled Mashaal, says the resistance movement is hours away from defeating the Israeli aggressors in the Gaza Strip

"With patience victory will be ours in a few hours …. We are now nearing the final stages," said Mashaal.

He said that "unprecedented" resistance has prevented Israel from achieving its goal of advancing deep into Gaza, adding that Israel is trying to cover up its failure by inflicting as many civilian casualties as possible in the final moments of the battle.

"They kill the families of resistance fighters so as to force them to surrender," he continued.

Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive against Gaza on Dec. 27, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 4,700 others have been injured.

Tel Aviv says only 12 soldiers have been killed in the military operations it launched against the densely-populated strip to end Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel. Hamas rocket fire has killed three settlers.

"This is not a battle against Hamas as the enemy would like to portray. It is against all the forces and factions of the resistance in Palestine and against our nation," said Mashaal.

The Hamas chief said that before engaging in talks, Israel would have to end its military campaign in Gaza and pull out its troops, lift the 18-month siege it imposed on the strip and open the Rafah crossing.

IRNA: "Iran making preparations for trial of Israeli leaders for war crimes"

Iran grants itself international jurisdiction. (It's catching up with Belgium):

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that Iran's judiciary system is now providing a bill in conformity with international law to bring to justice the Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity in Gaza.

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a press conference with domestic and foreign reporters in Tehran on Thursday.

The bill which is to be handed over to Majlis will authorize the Iranian criminal court to bring to justice the Zionist officials for their war crimes, he said.

He also advised the other countries to follow suit.

"Lawyers around the world have been assigned to formulate setup of the criminal court."

He said that the world is now on the verge of U-turn and nations will gain power and it is beyond the expectations of those seeking to impose their views on others.

The United Nations General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the Hague-based International Court of Justice on intervention of the international courts amid growing calls that Israeli actions in Gaza are violation of the Geneva Conventions and the international criminal law.

"There is a well-grounded view that both the initial attacks on Gaza and the tactics being used by Israel are serious violations of the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international law and international humanitarian law," said Richard Falk, the UN's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories and professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University.

"There is consensus among independent legal experts that Israel is an occupying power and is therefore bound by the duties set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention," Falk said.

Falk said: "The arguments that Israel's blockade is a form of prohibited collective punishment and it is in breach of its duty to ensure the population has sufficient food and healthcare as the occupying power, are very strong."

"If there were political will there could be an ad-hoc tribunal established to hear allegations of war crimes," Falk said.

"This could be done by the UN General Assembly acting under Article 22 of the UN Charter which gives them the authority to establish subsidiary bodies."

"New Book Comes off Press"

They've just published a new book in the DPRK. What do you suppose it's about? The Great Leader!

The Social Science Book Publishing House brought out book "Songun Revolutionary History of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung" written and compiled by the Party History Institute of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The book having 8 chapters and 44 sections comprehensively deals with the immortal Songun revolutionary history of President Kim Il Sung who led the Korean revolution to victory and glory with his original idea of attaching importance to arms and military affairs and his leadership. [...]

The original idea of attaching importance to his own leadership. How innovative! What do you read when you tire of all that immortal Songun revolutionary history? Try Jack's War in Gaza Update #16.

IRNA: "Gang of saboteurs related to US crushed in Iran"

Another day, another gang of saboteurs crushed, or, um, annihilated:

A gang of saboteurs related to the US government was recently discovered and destroyed, Judiciary spokesman, Ali-Reza Jamshidi said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Jamshidi said the gang was related to the US government and involved in efforts "to bring about a velvet overthrow of the government."

He added that the gang had four members with Iranian nationality who have been arrested and brought to the court."

Jamshidi said that legal proceedings are at the final stages.

"They were linked to the CIA, backed by the US government and State Department... They recruited and trained people to work with different espionage networks to launch a velvet overthrow of the Iranian government," said the spokesman.

He added that more details would be made public "within two days."

Jamshidi stressed that annihilation of the gang was another sign of US government defeat in making different moves against Iranian government.

Tehran Times: "Hamas not fooled by Resolution 1860"

Trying to fool Hamas . . . Bad UN! Via Mehr News:

The Hamas leaders’ highly rational response to the recent truce proposals and the resistance movement’s determination to counter Israel’s war machine show that, despite all the political and military pressure, Hamas is still optimistic about the outcome of the Gaza war.

After over a fortnight of a lopsided war between Hamas and the Zionist regime, with the Israeli army’s morale rapidly declining, the United Nations Security Council, taking into account Israel’s security, finally passed Resolution 1860.

Egypt also presented a plan that calls for an immediate truce between Hamas and Israel and the permanent deployment of UN peacekeepers to Gaza and the Rafah border crossing.

The Egyptian plan and the UN resolution show that in regional and international equations, the Zionist regime has always been the intractable side and the Palestinians have always been more reasonable.

This means that international and even Arab organizations have drawn a red line around Israel’s security and always expect the Palestinians to make concessions.

Although the recent Security Council resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire, how and when it will be enforced remains unclear, so Israel believes it can flout the resolution and continue to relentlessly pound the Gaza Strip.

Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal recently stated that any kind of negotiation with Israel before the attacks come to a halt would be a sign of disrespect for the blood of Gaza’s martyrs.

Meshaal dismissed the idea of deploying peacekeeping troops to Gaza and said such a move would only serve to guarantee the security of Israel and disarm the Palestinian resistance forces.

He pointed out that resistance is the only option open to Hamas since the war in Gaza has been imposed on the Palestinian nation and jihadi movements will reject any temporary solution that prioritizes the security of Israel.

The logical stance adopted by the Hamas leaders and their rational approach to finding a practical solution for the people of Gaza show that Hamas is determined to single-handedly resolve the Palestinian question once and for all since history shows that the Israelis have never negotiated in good faith and have never abided by any UN resolutions. [...]

Hezbollah’s victory in southern Lebanon and the Islamic resistance’s perseverance during the 33-day war of 2006 dealt Israel its first defeat in six decades, and Hamas will follow the same path.

And when Hamas attains victory, it will greatly alter the region’s security and political equations to the benefit of the Palestinian nation.

Hmm, "equations." Sound familiar? Ahmadinejad once declared, "All relations and equations will change in our favor once Iran is stabilized as a nuclear nation."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

"the Korean people have set off a violently wind of revolutionary upswing"

Amazing what you can accomplish with a good slogan:

The militant slogan "Make the fullest development of Songun Korea by inheriting the great tradition of revolutionary upswing!" was put forward in the joint editorial of the party, army and youth papers of the DPRK this year.

I think we have a Juche sentence of the day:

Upon receiving this militant slogan pulsating vigorously with the idea and will of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean people have set off a violently wind of revolutionary upswing at the very beginning of the new year.

The Pyongyang Thermal-power Complex is overfulfilling its power production quotas by launching into a general offensive with the conviction of certain victory, holding aloft the torch of a new revolutionary upsurge kindled by General Secretary Kim Jong Il at the Chollima Steel Complex.

The railway workers are also registering remarkable results, loudly sounding the whistle of revolutionary upsurge.

Woo Woo!

The Kaechon and Hamhung Railway Administrations are reporting successes in transport every day by repairing and readjusting in time such rolling stock as electric locomotives and freight wagons.

The militant slogans set forth in each period and at each stage of the development of the revolution are the motive power inspiring the Korean people to heroic feats, grasping their hearts.

The Korean people greeted the founding anniversary of the DPRK last year with a high degree of political enthusiasm and tremendous achievements under the revolutionary slogan "Glorify this year of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK as a year of historical turn which will go down in the history of the country!"

Two slogans in one article?

The Korean people will eloquently display the might of Songun Korea by making great innovation and leap through the grand Chollima advance in response to the call of the Workers' Party of Korea this year that will mark a turning point in the Korean revolution and the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation.

Some people's nations are already powerful and prosperous.

Update: Zionist Imperialist Jack has a new bellicose round-up aimed at world-domination.

"Mass Rallies Held to Vow to Fulfill Militant Tasks for This Year"

No, that isn't talking about the Gaza Strip. From (North) Korean News:

North Hamgyong Province and the Ministry of Railways separately held mass rallies Thursday to vow to thoroughly implement the militant tasks laid down in the joint New Year editorial in hearty response to the letter of the employees of the Chollima Steel Complex.

Read out there was the letter of the employees of the complex addressed to all other working people across the country.

Reporters and speakers at the mass rallies called on all the people to firmly arm themselves with the Juche idea, Songun idea of the Workers' Party of Korea, devotedly defend General Secretary Kim Jong Il and become patriots in the Songun era who boundlessly love the socialist country.

They called upon all of them to make a leap forward on all fronts through a great revolutionary surge by fully displaying great mental power and all potentials augmented in the crucible of the Songun revolution. [...]

Great revolutionary surge fully displaying great mental
power is given full play in the latest Haveil Havalim and Shiny Happy Dhimmi.

More Gaza Inanity

George Bisharat on "border skirmishes":

. . . an armed attack involves serious violations of the peace. Minor border skirmishes are common, and if all were considered armed attacks, states could easily exploit them -- as surrounding facts are often murky and unverifiable -- to launch wars of aggression. That is exactly what Israel seems to be currently attempting.

Israel employing feminine wiles:

More Israeli women are stating Israel’s case to the media, according to reports. The strategy is both sexist and underhanded…

Yvonne!

Despite its amazing war machine, and its state-of-the-art-technology these little rockets rarely show up on any military radars. The Israelis don’t know about them until they’ve landed and that’s what hacks them off.

Metaphors, metaphors:

If you stick a knife in my chest and another one in my foot, then you pull out the one from my foot but drive the one in my chest even deeper, do not expect me not to kick you with my foot that is still bleeding from the wounds you have inflicted.

Find some guts already!:

Is the pro-Israel lobby in America really that powerful? I always chalked the whole "Jews control the media" myth up there with other nut-wing rants like "B. Hussein Obama is a secret racist Muslim", but now I have to pause and wonder. Can someone in the mainstream media find some guts and do some honest reporting on this issue?

Last word on proportionality:

In downtown San Francisco today the several thousand strong protest march featured one sign that caught my eye for its sheer undeniable arithmetical brilliance. Unfortunately the typewriter doesn’t have the "not equal" sign, so I’ll have to use words, but the expression was: 720 not equal 5. Today, it’s 820 not equal 13. Disproportionate? Only if up is toward the sky, and down is toward the dirt.

Update: Naomi Klein boycotts her own publisher! (h/t: Yaacov Lozowick)

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

"Rodong Sinmun on Complicated Mideast Situation"

(North) Korean News had a more specific pro-Hamas article yesterday, but this one is Juche-ier:

Many shocking incidents not be overlooked by the international community happened in Mideast countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Pakistan and Palestine last year due to the deep interference of the United States in the region.

Rodong Sinmun Thursday says this in a signed article.

Citing facts to prove that such incidents took place in the above-said countries due to U.S. aggression and interference last year, the article goes on:

The Mideast situation last year proves that in order to defend the sovereignty of each country and nation and peace of the region it is necessary for them to build up their own strength and achieve unity and solidarity in the struggle to contain the U.S. imperialists and their allies and isolate and weaken them.

This also clearly testifies once again to the fact that the U.S. policy of aggression and interference is the root cause of all misfortune and disasters and the U. S. imperialists are the incarnation of all evils.

The article stresses the need to enhance the spirit of independence against imperialism and working class consciousness and fight against the aggression forces to the end with strong mental power.

All the people of the world desirous of independence should direct the spearhead of the struggle for independence against imperialism and for peace to the U.S. imperialists and exert all efforts for checking and frustrating their high-handed and hegemonic policy, the article notes, emphasizing that the struggle of the peoples in the region to frustrate the U.S. aggressive strategy toward the Mideast and achieve peace and stability of the region is sure to triumph.

Fars News: BBC "plotting to recruit spies and stir a new revolution"

The BBC is starting a Persian-language channel, you see:

Iran accused the BBC of plotting to recruit spies and stir a new revolution by launching a Persian-language satellite channel.

BBC Persian, which will go on air next week, will be used by British intelligence for "espionage and psychological warfare", according to Iranian officials.

The channel, which has a £15 million budget and 140 staff, will broadcast news and features in Persian into Iran to anyone with a satellite dish.

Tehran described the new channel as "suspicious and illegal" and "working against the interests of the Islamic republic". Viewers were warned to avoid the "lie-spreading" network.

The BBC has a long-running Persian radio service and a Persian website, but the satellite channel will reach a far wider audience.

While the BBC is well known, many Iranians have a deep-seated suspicion of British conspiracies stemming from repeated intervention in the country over more than a century. [...]

Some Gaza links, inane and sensible

First some propaganda and inanity:

IRIB Radio is claiming that 9 Israeli soldiers were killed, chas veshalom. Another claim: "Hamas forces have surrounded two Israeli Special Forces units in the strip."

Press TV claims "Depleted uranium found in Gaza victims." (Dont't tell FireDogLake)

What's with the London Times lately? "Israel's stupidity" has broken Michael Lerner's heart. Yet again, we see the "Israel has a right to respond but only with a ceasefire" meme.

Someone at Daily Kos worries that the Gaza offensive is ruining Obama's prospects to be "president of the world":

Israel has closed the noose. Obama is trapped and the Israelis are doing to him what Jesse Jackson wanted to. They are not taking chances.

Yemen Times reveals that Israel was "biblically known as Palestine."

Nasrallah explains: "What has Been Achieved in Gaza is a Victory to the Resistance and a Failure to Israel"

And now the Sensible Party:

Jack's round-ups are up to 8.5

Jules Crittenden has a "Roundup from the Ground Up."

The latest Haveil Havalim is up! The latest Shiny Happy Dhimmi is up!

Right Truth had a "Sunday Morning Israel and Gaza Round-Up"

Snoopy the Goon has a "Random Selection" on Gaza.

Martin Kramer analyzes "Israel's Gaza Strategy."

"He would tease us and ask if we wanted to die as martyrs with him"

From Ma'an via Journal of Turkish Weekly. Martyrdom is what you might call a recurring theme here:

One of the surviving daughters of slain Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan, Walaa, spoke to Ma’an Saturday. [...]

"My father raised us all to love martyrdom," Walaa said. "If you had the chance to ask my 4-year-old sister Aaysha, who died in the attack, she would have told you that she preferred to die martyr." [...]

One hour before he was killed Rayyan’s daughter in law Eyman Asfora went to visit him. Walaa remembers that Eyman, wife to Rayyan’s eldest son Bilal, was received with a smile. He asked her if she would like to die a martyr with him, and she said "yes." But she left seconds before the missile struck the four-storey home.[...]

According to one of his four wives, Rayyan would tease his children in the days before his death, and ask them: "Who wants to die martyr with me?" and all his children used to answer, "Yes daddy, we all want to be with you alive or dead." His youngest son said, "I can’t imagine that you die martyr and leave me behind unable to see you. I want to die with you.

Dr Rayyan, who held a PHD in Hadith (the profit Muhammad’s narrated teachings), was killed along with his four wives . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

What's the truth about those rockets, anyway?

An obviously left-wing writer, who refers to Jews as "we," offers the "truth." Amazing how truthy you can be about those rockets without even mentioning the recent increases in range and power:

Five years ago, the Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction to dupe us into supporting an illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq.

A few days ago, Israel trotted out only an infinitesimally more credible excuse -- the Hamas rockets case -- as justification for its own murderous shock and awe in Gaza, a long-planned campaign perniciously aimed at ousting a "regime" that came to power via popular, democratic vote.

Yes, such rockets exist, but they're little more than slingshots against Israel's incredible military might, and they're used out of desperation by Palestinians who've never been accorded the democratic space within which to gain redress of their eminently just grievances.

Israeli apologists have presented absurd propaganda about those devices.

We've been asked, for instance, what would we do if rockets were being launched on our homes in New York or Texas, from Canada or Mexico?

The proper answer is that, if those two nations had been unlawfully occupied or embargoed by the United States for 60 years of relentless oppression and repression, and if all attempts at peaceful change had been forcefully prevented or scuttled by the U.S., then such attacks would be an understandable, indeed a justifiable attempt at gaining intolerably deferred liberty.

Our appropriate response wouldn't be to bomb the hell out of the nearest Canadian or Mexican city, but to collectively look into mirrors and earnestly ask ourselves, "What have we done wrong to incur their wrath? [...]

Post 9/11 thinking!

Bugs bothered by sporadically impacting, glorified fireworks cobbled together in backyard garages are ludicrously supposed to be the primary problem, not human limbs and lives shattered by the most destructive weapons that military science can produce!

Bugs don't have rights? Species-ist!

Crossposted on Soccer Dad