"Iranian clerics: Gaza-based aid flotilla, factor of Zionist regime's collapse"

Khomeinist journalism is one of the factors of collapse of English language:

An Iranian clerics Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said Asian aid convoy's movement towards Gaza Strip is one of the factors of collapse of Zionist regime.

The flotilla carrying 130 people from India, Pakistan, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Bahrain and Azerbaijan as well as Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan is to reach Gaza Strip.

The convoy originating from India has also reached Iran and is now in Syria to arrive in Gaza Strip.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi in his message to the people onboard of the ship said, "your move will be recorded in the history forever."

"Once the issue of Israel was an Arab-Islamic matter, but then it has turned into a global subjects," he added. [...]

"Officials enjoy concert"

Let's see, exactly how would a concert "reflect" "revolutionary stamina"?

Officials enjoyed "Concert Celebrating December Holiday" given by the State Merited Chorus at the Mansudae Art Theatre on Dec. 26 and 27.

Audience included senior state officials, the chairperson of a friendly party and officials of the party, working people's organizations and ministries and servicepersons of the Korean People's Army. Creators, artistes and journalists in the fields of culture, arts and media also enjoyed the concert.

Colorful performance included numbers like "Comrade Kim Jong Il Is Our Supreme Commander," "Forest Is Swaying" and "Where Are You, Dear General?".

The performers loudly sang of the undying feats of General Secretary Kim Jong Il who strengthened the Korean People's Army into strong revolutionary army, defending the dignity of Songun Korea and laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of the country.

The concert mesmerized the audience as it reflected the tremendous mental power and the revolutionary stamina of the army and people of the DPRK.

I hear it went on for ten hours.

Update: The latest Haveil Havalim reflected tremendous mental power and revolutionary stamina.

Maan: Hamas "scheduled to meet with Palestinian factions in Gaza"

This sheds some light, perhaps, on the relationship between Hamas and the other "factions." Western news agencies keep referring to Hamas efforts to limit rocket fire from Gaza:

Hamas is scheduled to meet with Palestinian factions in Gaza Tuesday to discuss the recent escalation in attacks by Israel, senior Hamas leader Ayman Taha said.

Taha told Ma’an the factions would discuss how to respond to the increased violence against Gaza, and said Hamas would commit to whatever decision was reached. The meeting was not necessarily to discuss the ceasefire, but to evaluate the whole situation, he said.

"Other factions might suggest other tactics which Hamas might accept and commit to."

The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front confirmed receiving an invitation from Hamas to attend a meeting in Gaza City to discuss how to confront the increased tension.

"The real response to Israeli crimes is by ending rivalry and closing the ranks to restore national unity," spokesman of the Popular Struggle Front Anwar Jum'a said in a statement.

Juche Train in Vain

The little train that couldn't, even though it was giving even greater play to the might of Songun?

A train carrying birthday presents for Kim Jong-un, chosen successor to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was derailed, a radio station that broadcasts into North Korea said yesterday.

“A cargo train that left Sinuiju for Pyongyang on Dec. 11 was derailed somewhere between Yomju Station and Tongnim Station,” a source within North Korea’s National Security Agency was quoted as saying by Open Radio for North Korea. Sinuiju, a port city on the Chinese border, and Yomju and Tongnim are in North Pyongan Province, northwest of the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang.

“That incident put the North’s National Security Agency on emergency alert,” the source told Open Radio for North Korea.

Open Radio is an American nongovernmental organization based in Washington.

The train was comprised of more than 40 train coaches, and eight of them were derailed, the radio station reported. The train was filled with presents for Jong-un’s upcoming birthday, which falls on Jan. 8, including luxury goods such as wristwatches and televisions in bulk, it said.

I guess that clears up the mystery as to whether the presidential quarters have AC outlets.

The National Security Agency is pointing to the possibility that it was committed by “a group of people opposed to the succession scheme for Kim Jong-un,” Open Radio for North Korea quoted the source as saying.

“The damage of the section of the railway this time was so huge that it appears that somebody intentionally caused it at the time when the train passed by,” the source told Open Radio for North Korea.

The report came as the North is preparing a succession process amid speculation of the dwindling health of Kim Jong-il.

Although rare, antigovernment activities in the North have been reported or suspected previously, including a railway explosion in the town of Ryongchon April 22, 2004, that may have been a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-il. A train carrying Kim passed through the town hours earlier.

According to defectors, some in North Korea are unhappy with Kim Jong-un’s status as successor because of his youth and inexperience.

Right, who wants an inexperienced dictator? (h/t: Soccer Dad)

Update: The latest Haveil Havalim arrived with its cargo intact.

IRIB: "US, Israel conspiring to disintegrate Sudan"

I hope the ZOG R & D department is taking notes:

Sudanese Ambassador to Tehran Sulayman Abdut-Tawwab Az-Zain said on Tuesday that the US and Zionists are conspiring to disintegrate Sudan.

The Sudanese ambassador revealed the conspiracy in an interview with IRNA.

He said that the West is seeking to disintegrate Sudan as a prelude to implement the strategy to damage territorial integrity of the other Arab and Islamic states worldwide.

The Zionists along with some western states and the US in particular are determined to set up permanent base for themselves in South of Sudan, he underlined.

The ambassador said that the Zionists are endeavoring to find access to the Nile to exert pressures on Egypt.

He called on the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to render political, military and economic support to the Khartoum government.

Sheep flames smothered

You may remember a pretty hokey-sounding story that first appeared at Maan News about mean settlers torching sheep:

A farmer said he watched a group of settlers in the northern West Bank gather his sheep and set them on fire Saturday afternoon.

Now it turns out, according to Arutz 7, that the shepherd admits he was lying:

Fadel finally admitted to police the whole story was a lie and that he was responsible for the fire, which he set to burn thorns before it spread beyond control. Blaming Jews not only would have saved him from the embarrassment of having burned his own sheep, it also would allow him to claim damages from the government while being hailed as a hero among Palestinian Authority Arabs and left-wing anti-Zionists.

EOZ has a longer discussion of the incident and its denouement and a good list of links to anti-Zionist entities who helped disseminate the false story. A lot of the more skillfully-told lies undoubtedly never get exposed.

Abbas: "If there is an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it"

A companion to the previous post:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that when a Palestinian state is established, it will have no Israelis in it.

“We have frankly said, and always will say: If there is an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it,” Abbas told reporters in Ramallah.

Abbas: We reached deal with Olmert on security
Washington Watch: Settlements are excuse, not obstacle

He was commenting on unconfirmed reports suggesting that the PA leadership might agree to the presence of the IDF in the West Bank after the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“We are ready to have peace on the basis of international legitimacy and the road map, which we have accepted, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative,” Abbas said. “But when a Palestinian state is established, it would have no Israeli presence in it.” [...]

Fars News: "Hamas to Israeli Leaders: Die or Leave Palestine"

The Asharq Alawsat caption for this photo is "Members of Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a news conference in Gaza City December 25, 2010."

The Fars headline does a good job of boiling the story down to its essence. Hamas, you will recall, beat Fatah in the most recent Palestinian election.

A senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, warned the Zionist regime to give up imaginations about triumph over Palestinian resistance, stressing that dying or leaving the Palestinian territories are the only two options that Zionists have.

"As long as Zionists occupy Palestinian territories, they have no other option but dying or leaving Palestine," Head of the military wing of Hamas Ahmad Jaberi said on Saturday.

Jaberi also reiterated that the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has kept all options on the table in the war against the Zionist regime, and has always made its best efforts to activate resistance, release captives from Israeli jails and annihilate the criminal and usurper Zionist regime.

Stressing that resistance is not limited to the Gaza region, he said that the plan of resistance belongs to all the occupied Palestinian territories.

Earlier this month, the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades in a statement had also underlined resistance against the Zionist regime until complete freedom of the Palestinian territories from Israeli occupation.

In a statement issued on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the group underscored that resistance is a reaction to occupation, meaning that the Zionist regime merely understands the language of force and that it is stopped only by resistance. [...]

Israel should get on with winning the conflict.

Fars: "Hezbollah Hails 'Courageous Positions' of Iran's Supreme Leader on Lebanon"

In which we learn that "Ayatollah Khamenei's positions are legitimate and based on political principles":

The Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, appreciated the "courageous positions" taken by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Lebanon, stressing that such stances will seriously challenge enemies' plots in the region.

Ayatollah Khamenei's positions on the court investigating Hariri's assassination "are courageous", Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday, and added anyone willing to defuse the US and Israeli plots in the region would take a similar stance and would emphasize the regional nations' right of confrontation against the Zionist enemy's oppressive plots.

Underlining that Ayatollah Khamenei's positions are legitimate and based on political principles, the statement said that such stances reflect the real thoughts of the regional nations.

Meantime, the statement also underscored that the comments of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Hariri court do not run counter to the efforts made by Saudi Arabia and Syria to improve the internal situation in Lebanon.

"Rather, in his remarks Ayatollah Khamenei underscored the necessity for insightful public interaction to confront conspiracies so that such issues would not lead to the creation of rift and crisis among the Lebanese nation," it added.

Iran's Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Monday rejected as "unacceptable" any decree by the special international tribunal investigating the assassination of Late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

"The tribunal is a puppet court and any decree issued by it is unacceptable," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani here in Tehran on Monday.

"We hope that influential and relevant sides in Lebanon act on the basis of wisdom and rationality in order to avoid this issue turning into a problem," he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei further stressed that enemies' plots against Lebanon would not yield fruit, and said, "We are highly optimistic that the region's conditions will improve."

Divinely inspired, Big Guy!

Bad Bad Leroy 'Jad: "actually feminism is the cry of protest of crushed women in capitalism system"

The cry of protest of crushed English language in Khomeinism system?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called feminism “cry of protest of crushed women in capitalism system.”

Speaking in the third meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) female ministers opened in Tehran on Sunday, Ahmadinejad criticized countries which have banned women from education and send them away in far areas for tough and hard military operations.

"Women are main victims of the ruling bullying policies, actually feminism is the cry of protest of crushed women in capitalism system," Ahmadinejad said in the first day of the three-day conference.

He called for drawing up a charter on the role of women and family in survival of human being.

Iranian President then asked for arranging a roadmap to launch a global movement to secure rights of human being and women.

Representatives of 37 member states of the OIC took part in the session joined also by the wife of Ahmadinejad. [...]

What capitalism does to women is so depressing. Here is a liberating image to cheer you up:

PressTV: PA Foreign Minister condemns killing of Salafist terrorists

The PA can't abide the killing of Al-Qaeda types in pre-launch mode when even Hamas claims it is holding-fire? How moderate!

A large number of Palestinian people have participated in the funeral of five Palestinians who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral in Deir-al Balah in central Gaza Strip on Sunday, chanting slogans against Israel.

Mourners carried the bodies of Ahmed al-Assar, Abdullah al-Shirehi and three others through the streets of Gaza, condemning the overnight attack, Palestinian sources said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Riad al-Maleki denounced the Israeli airstrike, which was one of the deadliest strikes since the 22-day Gaza incursion.

Israel's attack against the coastal enclave, which began in December 2008, killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The PA protests and condemns each Israeli attack against our people, Maleki said in a Sunday address broadcast by the Voice of Palestine radio station in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

"But despite the crimes of the occupation, we maintain the will to continue the process of construction and preparation for the proclamation of the Palestinian state regardless of the Israeli actions," he said.

Maleki also lauded the Palestinians' recent success in gaining independent statehood recognition from over 130 nations, including several South American countries, based on the 1967 borders -- the boundaries that existed before Israel captured East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the West Bank.

"Palestinian efforts are currently focusing on rallying recognition of their state from the largest number possible of states across the globe, in preparation for seeking recognition from the United Nations," Maleki said.

Will recognition be forthcoming from the Hamas half of the Palestinians?

Dear Leader gives field guidance to Eels

They are making a great slither forward:

General Secretary Kim Jong Il gave field guidance to the Taedonggang Eel Breeding Farm of KPA Unit 522.

After being briefed on the farm before a huge map showing its panoramic view, he looked round various places of the farm including a combined control room, an analysis and experiment room and indoor fish ponds to learn in detail about its technical equipment and eel breeding and management.

The farm has put all its production processes on a high level of scientific and modern basis, thus getting the examination of water temperature and its quality and all other processes computerized, he said, adding that the farm is capable of substantially benefiting people as it is fitted with cutting-edge equipment and was built on the principle of profitability.

Noting that the KPA steering the era of Songun is playing a pace-setter's role in carrying out the Party's policy of fish breeding, too, he said with pride that it is none other than the servicepersons of the KPA who are pace-setters in breeding rare fishes including sturgeon and eel in a cutting-edge manner.

He advanced the important tasks to be carried out by the farm.

They don't call him Kim Jong Eel for nothing!

He said that the farm can turn into a leading eel production center in a short span of time if it designs its work under a long-term plan and minutely organizes it as the farm has laid a solid scientific and technological foundation and accumulated a wealth of experience.

In the spirit of Kim Eel Sung!

What is most important for boosting the production of eel is to establish a scientific system for breeding and management, he noted, adding that to this end it is necessary to intensify the researches and steadily raise the level of technical skills of technicians and breeders.

He underscored the need to put fish breeding on a scientific and intensive basis by steadily deepening the researches into fishes of other species now making successful progress on the farm in order to dynamically push forward the work for massively breeding not only eel but rare fishes by an industrial method.

He earnestly called on the farm to steadily boost the productivity at the existing fish breeding centers and build more modern fish farms to rapidly increase the production of freshwater fishes so that the people in the era of the Workers' Party may be provided with greater quantities of high quality fishes including tasty and nutritious eel.

He expressed expectation and conviction that the officials, workers and technicians of the farm would devote themselves to the building of a rich and powerful country and thus creditably perform their honorable mission and duty as true servants for the people. [...]

The latest Haveil Havalim has laid a solid scientific and technological foundation and accumulated a wealth of experience.

Salafist Qassam Squad killed, martyred, whatever

Here is the AFP version. Notice that the rocket-squad part is first presented as an IDF claim, although "witnesses contacted by AFP" seem to be saying substantially the same thing. And then, of course, there are the misleading statistics (see this) on Operation Cast Lead:

Five Palestinian militants were killed as Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip late on Saturday, Israel's military and Palestinian sources said.

Warplanes hit central Gaza to take out a squad of militants about to fire rockets at Israel, the military said.

The strike was one of the most deadly since Israel's 22-day war against Gaza's Hamas rulers, dubbed Operation Cast Lead, which began at the end of December 2008 and cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.

Witnesses contacted by AFP said armed men preparing an attack on Israel were killed in the raid, while medics gave a death toll of five "martyrs". The raid targeted Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, they said. [...]

We learn their identities in paragraph 6:

The witnesses said the dead militants, former members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or the Committees of Popular Resistance, belonged to one of the radical Salafist groups in Gaza that have recently stepped up attacks against Israel. [...]

The IRIB Radio version ("Israeli airstrike martyrs five in Gaza") is appropriately slanted, of course, for Khomeinists and their sympathizers, although there are interesting parallels with the AFP article:

At least five Palestinians have been martyred as a result of the Zionist regime airstrike on a town in the central Gaza Strip.

According to Press TV, witnesses said, the attack, the deadliest to hit the Gaza Strip in months, happened near the central town of Deir al-Balah late on Saturday night.

They added that the Zionist rgime drones flew over the Gaza Strip following the strike.

The Zionist regime waged a war against the coastal enclave from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009.

More than 1,400 Gazans, mostly women and children, were martyred in 22 days of Israel's devastating air, land, and sea attacks, which also left thousands of people, injured and reduced dozens of buildings to debris.

That 1400 figure for the total casualties of Cast Lead is disputed by the side that has been vindicated in its statements about the number of militants killed.

Two Current Headlines

AP: "Palestinians still hope for state by summer"

AFP: "Palestinian negotiator says peace process in 'deep coma'"

Many narratives are possible . . .

Ahmadinejad: "the Zionist regime's main mission is to destroy the genuine cultures of nations"

Nazoid drool is what every humanitarian activist wants to hear:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the arrogant powers established the Zionist regime to extend domination over the Middle East and the world.

Addressing a ceremony to welcome the Asian Gaza Convoy, he further noted that settling the issue of Palestine and expelling the Zionist regime from the occupied lands is a universal and humane issue.

Members of Asian Gaza Convoy arrived in Tehran Sunday and paid tribute to martyrs in Behesht Zahra cemetery.

'Palestine fully reflects the situation facing the world,' he said.

Ahmadinejad also added that humiliation of humanity and depriving them of their basic rights are among the crimes committed by the Zionist regime.

Today all know that the Zionists are not Jews; rather they do not follow any divine religion, he said.

Ahmadinejad also said that the Zionist regime's main mission is to destroy the genuine cultures of nations. [...]

The Iran part of the project is going swimmingly.

Kim enjoys some Juche tunes

Not as funky as the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex Art Squad, but pretty Songun:

General Secretary Kim Jong Il enjoyed a performance given by company servicepersons of 586, 287, 604, 572, 529, 534 and 324 units of the KPA who proved successful at the 34th art festival of KPA servicepersons.

Put on the stage were such colorful numbers of diverse genres as narration and chorus "Glory to Our Great Party", female solo "Song of the Sea of Blood", narration and song "Where Are You, Dear General?" and chorus "The Victorious Parade."

The performers enthusiastically sang of the undying Songun leadership feats performed by Kim Jong Il and their happiness under his loving care. They powerfully demonstrated the iron faith and will of all the servicepersons of the KPA to devotedly defend the WPK Central Committee as a fortress and shield and accomplish the sacred revolutionary cause of Juche with arms.

After the performance was over, he waved back to the enthusiastically cheering performers and audience and congratulated the performers on their successful presentation.

Expressing great satisfaction over the fact that the company servicepersons presented a splendid performance rich in ideological contents and high in artistry with numbers of great cognitional and instructive value fully reflecting the WPK's idea, he highly estimated their success in the performance and extended thanks to them in the name of the Supreme Commander.

The soldier culture created by the KPA is replete with the spirit of the times, militant optimism and rich emotion and this has become typical of the socialist cultural life in the era of Songun, he said, underlining the need to continue making steady efforts to popularize the revolutionary soldier culture throughout the society.

Noting that the glorious history of the Korean revolution which started and advanced with songs represents a great victory of the music politics which strikingly demonstrated the might of arts, he set forth the tasks which would serve as guidelines for further developing mass performing activities. [...]

It is a pity that Eric Clapton ended up not performing in Pyongyang. The servicepersons and party officials would have highly appreciated his stretching out in a bluesy rendition of "Where Are You, Dear General?"

Monotheistic solidarity from Iran: Threat to destroy Queen Esther's tomb

Iranian officials are always proclaiming that Iran "respects all Divine religions." The claim is, of course, Khomeinist crap:

A group of Islamists demonstrated on Sunday at the tomb of biblical Jewish queen Esther in western Iran and threatened to destroy it if Israel damages Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Mehr news agency reported.

The agency identified the demonstrators at one of the most revered sites for Iranian Jews as members of the student basij, or hardline Islamist militia, at Bu-Ali-Sina university of Hamedan.

"Muslims beware that they have started the destruction of Al-Aqsa mosque while their second sacred site in Iran, the Esther and Mordecai tomb is at peace and no Muslims make a sound," the protesters said in a statement.

"We, the student basijis... warn Zionist regime leaders if they assault the Al-Aqsa mosque in any way we will destroy the tomb of these lowly murderers," they said. [...]

Dear Leader gives field guidance at "women's hosiery shop," department store and "Sanitary Goods Branch Factory"

What do you think those "sanitary goods" are?

After being briefed on the technical specification of the branch factory, he went round production processes furnished with cutting-edge equipment to learn in detail about its construction and production there.

Watching the work sites where cultured practices are ensured in production and hygiene on a high level and the compound of the factory that looks like a park, he highly praised its employees for having spruced up well the inside and outside of the factory. He said that the socialist homeland is turning into a land of bliss for people as the days go by as the soldier culture created in the era of Songun is kept in fuller bloom.

The officials, workers and technicians of the branch factory with a high capacity have been able to bring about a fresh boost in the production of sanitary goods by keeping production going at a high rate because they have waged a dynamic drive for introducing new technology true to the Party's idea of pushing back the frontiers of the latest science and technology while planting one's foot on one's ground and looking at the world, he noted, adding that this signal success clearly demonstrates the validity and vitality of the Party's policy of regarding science and technology as the lifeline for building an economic power.

He advanced the tasks to be carried out by the factory.

He underlined the need for the branch factory to properly work out management and business strategies and put production on a scientific basis as required by the principle of profitability so as to systematically cut down the norm of materials consumption per unit and increase the supply of quality sanitary goods to the people.

The second leg of his guidance was the Women's Hosiery Shop newly built at the Pyongyang Hosiery Factory.

After being briefed on the history of the factory in the room devoted to its history, he went round the weaving site, the processing site and the goods sample room to acquaint himself in detail with the construction and technological equipment and the production there.

He set forth the tasks facing the factory. [...]

The next leg of his guidance was the newly built Pothonggang Department Store.

He went round the inside and outside of the store for hours to acquaint himself in detail with its construction and goods on display there. [...]

He likes shopping, I guess. You'll want to explore the latest Haveil Havalim for hours to acquaint yourself in detail with its contents.

AP Headline: "Israel's leader does not want to share Jerusalem"

The headline concerns something that Netanyahu said, right? So why doesn't the story quote his statement?

Israel's leader on Sunday dismissed a call from a key government partner to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, a reminder of the obstacles facing already troubled peacemaking efforts.

Conflicting claims to east Jerusalem lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute over the area, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, has derailed past peace talks and spilled into violence. Palestinians claim the sector as the capital of their future state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaffirmation of his intention to hold on to east Jerusalem drew criticism from the Palestinians and was likely to increase friction with the Americans. The White House Mideast envoy is scheduled to arrive this week in another attempt to push peace efforts forward. [...]

Palestinians blasted Israel's rejection of their claim to east Jerusalem.

"Mr. Netanyahu is distancing himself not from Barak, he is distancing himself from international consensus, he's distancing himself from international resolutions and distancing himself from international law," said Palestinian spokesman Husam Zomlot. "And most importantly, he's distancing himself from any possible negotiated settlement based on the two-state solution." [...]

I understand that Barak is the one, presumably, causing this to be framed as whether or not Israel will "share" Jerusalem. Notice, however, that "sharing" doesn't refer to Jews and Arabs living in the same city. It means slicing off part of Jerusalem for the express purpose of creating a zone which is uncontaminated by any Jewish presence.

Happy Eighth Night of Chanukah!

Happy Seventh Night of Chanukah!

Source of Image: Shturem.org

Juche sentence of the day

Giving even greater play to the might of Juche sentences:

Noting that the heroic workers of the complex brilliantly decorated this significant year by building a great structure in the era of Songun, he said that the laudable exploits performed by them, the devoted workers capable of flattening even a high mountain at one go in response to the decision and instruction of the party, will be recorded with brilliance in a page of the history of building a thriving nation.

Colonialist Zio-Settlers appropriate indigenous culture

First it was felafel, then the kefiyyeh and now this. They have even extended their hands to profane the sacred symbol of resistance. If Nasrallah were in a grave he would be turning over in it:Qassam Menorahs are easy to make at home. We suggest using a scud or a grad as the Shamash. (Hat Tip: Israel Matzav, Atlas Shrugs)

And now for some real news: Booze with a hechsher

Ever notice that your ultra-Orthodox shul serves almost any vodka, scotch, or bourbon in existence? Those days may be drawing to a close. Don't get me wrong, it will be good to know that the stuff you are drinking really is kosher to high standards, but expect a few whistful looks as people remember the old days:

Kosher drinkers have more to cheer about this holiday season as a growing number spirits producers seek — and receive — the seal of approval from Jewish dietary authorities.

“It’s an additional process and expense that raises the bar on quality,” said Ralph Mizraji, a Miami-based branding specialist who this year brought out a new vodka that is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, the largest certifying body in the world.

Called L’Chaim — Hebrew for “To life!” — Mizraji’s vodka is a corn-based product imported from Israel and made according to a generations-old Russian recipe brought to that country by Jewish immigrants. [...]

Among those appreciatively watching the trend is Joshua Hatton, president and founder of the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society. He was pleased to see single malt whiskeys from producers Ardbeg and Glenmorangie recently achieve kosher certification.

“You’re seeing it more and more,” he said, noting that there are two trends intersecting. More producers are discovering that there’s a market for kosher liquors. Meanwhile, more Jews are becoming interested in keeping kosher, something that seems to be related to the general increased interest among Americans in what they’re eating and drinking.

Hatton recently helped pour Glenmorangie at the Kosher Fest event in Secaucus, N.J. The tastings were popular, “not just because they were pouring booze, but some of the comments I heard were, ‘It’s so nice to see that this is certified kosher. It’s nice to know that someone’s watching my back.’”

At the New York-based Orthodox Union, Rabbi Moshe Elefant is seeing strong interest in kosher spirits, with certified alcoholic products growing by about 10 percent a year.

Unlike wine, which has to pass a number of regulatory requirements before being certified, liquor made from grain or sugar starts out relatively close to kosher.

For certification, the equipment must be inspected to make sure it meets standards — for instance if a tank held a product containing dairy ingredients for more than 24 hours, it would have to be sterilized — and there are business procedures which must be followed.

Flavored liquors require more scrutiny, since the ingredients may not be kosher. With whiskeys, the aging process has to be reviewed since use of nonkosher sherry, port or wine casks would be a problem.

Elefant finds that people are more interested in keeping kosher these days. But unlike earlier generations they’re not willing to sacrifice premium products. “They want the scotch and they want the liquor and they want the highest level of kosher,” he said. [...]

The Fifth Night of Chanukah

There is a Chassidic custom to regard the fifth night of Chanukah as special. It is the first night when most of the lights are lit. A more technical version of this point is that it is the first night when following the opinion of Beis Hillel to start with one candle and add one every night results in more flames than following the opinion of Beis Shammai (to light all the flames on the first night and take one away each day). The fifth night of Chanukah can never fall on Shabbos, which might be regarded as something negative, but one way of looking at it is this: The light of Chanukah can even overcome the darkness of never falling on Shabbos. One of my favorite stories about the Lubavitcher Rebbe includes this thought. Read it here. Another story about the fifth night is here.

Iran wants what?

Very strange story. Can you imagine the US complying with the request? The President affirmed today that the controversial Wikileaks documents appear to be genuine, but advised Iran "not to freak out or anything."

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki asked the White House leaders to make an explicit and official announcement on the authenticity of the documents released by the WikiLeaks website and openly declare if they approve the genuineness of these reports.

"Americans should explicitly declare whether they accept (authenticity) of these documents or not," Mottaki told FNA on Sunday.

Meantime, the Iranian minister reiterated that if authenticated, the revelations of the WikiLeaks should be viewed as a great scandal for the United States' diplomacy.

Many world countries have rejected WikiLeaks revelations about their states, saying that the site makes such claims in pursuit of politically-driven objectives desired by certain parties.

There are numerous ambiguities about the WikiLeaks and some analysts believe that the US deliberately publishes the reports in pursuit of suspicious goals.

Iranian officials and politicians have also warned of the so-called information released by the site and the hidden objectives behind the move.

So a statement from the US would be really useful in helping them calm down . . .

Angry Arab "can't wait"

He quotes this:

"Yesterday's catastrophe is just an example of the powerlessness that Israel's emergency services suffer from," said top-selling Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth. "What would we have done if faced with dozens and hundreds of missiles that might have ignited fires in several areas, including urban areas with multi-story buildings?"

And his post title is "I can't wait."

On the majorness and minorhood of Chanukah

Aren't you tired of people who explain that Chanukah is a "minor holiday"? According to a no-doubt well-meaning fellow at Slate, "as any rabbi will tell you . . . Hanukkah has traditionally been a minor Jewish festival." And then there are the not so well-meaning. In the charmingly titled post "Notes on Hanukkah: The Maccabees and Zionism’s ‘invented traditions’" a Mondoweissnik explains to us that "Hanukkah is a very minor Jewish holiday." What do they want from Chanukah's life? Do they want melacha to be an issur kareis? Do they want to eat potato-starch sufganiyot because of the prohibition of chametz? Do they want to build another sukkah?

Chanukah is one of the two major Rabbinic holidays (the other one is Purim). The Synagogue service actually makes a big deal about it: Al Hanisim, Whole-Hallel every day, a special Torah-reading every day. Then there is the "ascending in holiness" Menorah-lighting itself with all its regulations about when and where and how to kindle the lights. If you are a Jew, your major spiritual preoccupation for the next 8 days is going to be Chanukah. Shabbos is going to coincide with Chanukah for 24 hours in an incredibly potent combination called Shabbos Chanukah. Here is a picture of a 32-foot tall Menorah:



Actually, nothing is "minor" in Judaism. I'd say that is one of the many themes of the holiday.

Iran particularly stung by assassination of nuclear scientist?

A Fars article compares the assassination of Majid Shahriari to that of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh.

Iranian university professor Majid Shahriari, who was killed in Tehran yesterday, was assassinated through the very same method used for the assassination of Hezbollah's slain commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus two years ago, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Tuesday.

"Based on investigations, the method used for the assassination of martyr Shahriari was the same method used for the assassination of martyr Mughniyeh," Head of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told reporters.

Mughniyeh was killed on February 12, 2008 by a car bomb in the Kfar Suseh neighborhood of Damascus, the capital city of Syria. Hezbollah blamed Tel Aviv for assassinating the commander.

Lebanese political analysts believe that the terrorist blast had been arranged by the Israeli intelligence squad, Mossad.

Boroujerdi further underlined the terrorist nature of the Zionist regime of Israel, and accused the regime of assassinating Iranian lecturers and scientists.

Meantime, the lawmaker said that his commission has held a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Intelligence, the Iranian Law Enforcement Police and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to study the recent terrorist attacks in Tehran. [...]

A current headline at PressTV proclaims "Iran will bring UNSC members to trial":

A day after the terrorist attacks against two Iranian scientists, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warns of bringing permanent members of UN Security Council (UNSC) to trial.

"By God, if such an incident takes place one more time, we will bring each permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to trial," said President Ahmadinejad in northern Iranian province of Mazandaran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

"If the terror attack against Iranian scientists is repeated once more, we will pursue all cases before the Islamic Revolution, [in addition to] 160,000 martyrs of the Sacred Defense [in the Iraqi imposed war in the 1980's] and 40,000 martyrs in different parts of the country," he said.

"They think by taking away our nuclear scientists or scientists, our nation's momentum towards progress will stop,” he emphasized. “This time too, they committed a mistake."

The Iranian chief executive cautioned enemies of the Islamic Revolution and said, "You are mistaken. We hold those who imposed the resolutions accountable for such crimes because in [one] resolution, they mentioned the names of our scientists as subject of the sanction."

"It is obvious that the United Nations is in cahoots with Zionists (Israelis)," President Ahmadinejad underlined. [...]

Wikipedia mentions reports that Shahriari taught at something called Supreme National Defense University. I wonder if he possessed some big fishiness that has not come to light yet. (FWIW, some bloggers are pointing to this Debka item.)

IRIB Radio: "Iran slams Wiki-release as US psywar"

Ahmadinejad sees through the World Arrogance plot to make it seem that Sunni Arab oil sheikdoms are not thrilled by the prospect of Nuclear Mullahs:

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned the recent 'leaked' documents published by Wikileaks website, describing them as part of a US "psychological warfare."

In response to a question by Press TV on Monday over the whistleblower website's "leaks," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "Let me first correct you. The material was not leaked, but rather released in an organized effort."

President Ahmadinejad told reporters on Monday "The US administration releases documents and makes a judgment based on them. They are mostly like a psychological warfare and lack legal basis."

The Iranian chief executive added at the press briefing in Tehran "The documents will certainly have no political effects. Nations are vigilant today and such moves will have no impact on international relations."

President Ahmadinejad stressed that the Wikileaks "game" is "not even worth a discussion and that no one would waste their time analyzing them."

Of course, if you just insist on wasting your time on Hegemonic Zio-Psy-Ops, you could do worse than reading this.

"Kibbutzim" is a "Yiddish language word"

Asharq Alawsat frequently features sensible writing . . . and just about as frequently doesn't:

Ever since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, its media has been trying to sell the idea that Israel is a secular state that brought together its children from the Diaspora, returning them to the Promised Land, as was promised in their scriptures and religious teachings where they can live their lives according to socialist principles in collective communities called Kibbutzim [or a Kibbutz]. This is a Yiddish language word which was spoken predominately by Jews in Eastern Europe. [...]

I guess Saudis don't have a feel for Semitic languages.

Cue up the Wikileaks conspiracy theories

Angry Arab comes in handy sometimes:

Many Arabs on Twitter and Facebook are raising questions about the Wikileaks: that the revelations on the Middle East are largely either known or expected. Some are noticing that nothing damaging to Israel--even diplomatically--has been released. Some are suggesting that the US government is behind Wikileaks. Personally, I discount those conspiracy theories although conspiracy theories can be helpful.

He's really conflicted.

Another North Korean medical breakthrough

They'll never top "Curative plastic sheets Nos. 1 and 2," but this is also very impressive:

A multi-purpose light therapy device developed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is gaining popularity in the country.

The device, based on the polarized light effect of calcite abundant in the country, promotes blood circulation and metabolism and prevents thrombus, raising immunity in human body.

It has a special virtue for various diseases, mental and physical fatigue, headache caused by a long-time use of computer, and insomnia.

Used like a wristwatch during sleep, it helps prevent heart failure and cerebral haemorrhage and thrombosis.

It won a gold prize at an international patent exposition held in China.

I don't doubt it. The latest Haveil Havalim is also deserving of a gold prize.

Finkelstein evidently views the Western World as a giant conspiracy against Hizbullah

This is brought to us from the good folks at IRNA, Iran's main news agency. We learn that "the United Nations Security Council . . . has become the main instrument for death and destruction":

Talking in Berlin Saturday evening on the occasion of the International Solidarity Day with the Palestinian Nation, Norman Finkelstein stressed there had been some 'very ominous developments' pointing to a new war in Lebanon.

'There does seem to be coordinated efforts now by the western powers using the United Security Council in order to soften up the target, weaken the target by creating discord and tension and friction inside Lebanon to pave the way at the
end for an Israeli assault on Lebanon,' the US political scientist said.

'As Israel prepares the ground for an attack, it's very interesting to watch how all the western powers synchronize to prepare, to lay the groundwork for an attack and how the United Nations Security Council which has become the main instrument for death and destruction, is preparing the groundwork,' Finkelstein added.

He accused the western powers of 'working up a (anti-Hizbollah) hysteria' in the media aimed at preparing an assault on Lebanon by the Zionist regime.

Finkelstein said the US, France and Britain were initially hoping to isolate Hizbollah by a combination of sanctions, arms embargo, UN resolution and whipping up media campaign.

The Mideast expert emphasized the West did not like Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah because he was 'smart, confident and incorruptible' unlike the pro-western leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

He warned the western-backed Special Tribunal on Lebanon which is to announce an indictment blaming elements of Hizbollah for the murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was geared at 'dividing Shiites and Sunnis' in Lebanon and reigniting political violence in that country, setting the stage for a Zionist military assault.

In case you are wondering if the above includes some Iranian embellishments, which is always possible, at Finkelstein's own website an Asia Times article is introduced with the following:

The endgame is approaching in Lebanon. The US, UK and France will use the UN to soften the target, and then Israel will go in for the kill.

So he's certainly in that paranoid Khomeinist groove.

Angry Arab becomes full-time Hummus-blogger

He has a number of other recent posts, which I won't bother to link to, devoted to his latest cause. Here is a current one:

I have obtained the real (not the advertised) expiration dates for Sabra Hummus sold in your stores. For all those Sabra Hummus containers, the real expiration date is in fact January 1983. Make sure you note that. And for your own health: boycott Sabra Hummus.

Not less truthful than the rest of what he posts.

Andrew Sullivan draws up to full 30-meter height in majestic indignation

You may have seen Sarah Palin's clever response to the criticism over her confused reference to "our North Korean allies." She strings together a number of Obama's verbal gaffes, thereby having some fairly gentle and tasteful laughs at the President's expense while making the defensive (in her case) and fairly broadminded point that every widely-quoted public figure makes verbal mistakes, even presidents generally regarded as verbally cogent and coherent. Sullivan, however, is incensed:

A simple respect for the office she seeks would not reflect itself in these increasingly callow, sarcastic, cheap jibes at a sitting president. But sadly, like so many now purporting to represent conservatism, there is, behind the faux awe before the constitution, a contempt for the restraint and dignity a polity's institutions require from its leaders.

There is no maturity here; no self-reflection; no capacity even to think how to appeal to the half of Americans who are already so appalled by her trashy behavior and cheap publicity stunts. There is a meanness, a disrespect, a vicious partisanship that, if allowed to gain more power, would split this country more deeply and more rancorously than at any time in recent years. And that's saying something.

It isn't just Palin--the whole country must be a bitter disappointment to a man of Sullivan's caliber.

North Korea: "Gone are the days when verbal warnings are served only"

Here is a statement from, get this, "the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea." North Korean rhetoric at its most bellicose:

The south Korean puppet group is now getting hell-bent on the wholesale racket for confrontation with the DPRK while groundlessly taking issue with the army of the DPRK over its due punishment meted to the group for its reckless military provocation.

In this regard, a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea released a statement on Friday.

The recent military provocation by the puppet group is a product of the deliberate and premeditated plot hatched by it to save its smear confrontational campaign from total bankruptcy, tarnish the daily rising might of the DPRK, scuttle the efforts for improving the north-south relations and tide over the domestic and international isolation and crisis, it points out, and says:

The group perpetrated the recent provocation prompted by a sinister calculation that in case the DPRK did not make any reaction it would take it as "a tacit recognition" of the illegal "northern limit line" and make it a fait accompli and in case the DPRK took a military counter-action, it would use it as a pretext for kicking up anti-DPRK smear campaign.

This notwithstanding, the chief executive of south Korea did not bother to cry out for "much stronger punishment" while pulling up the DPRK. This is nothing but last-ditch efforts of those who were hit hard after making hasty provocation.

The prevailing situation clearly proves that the DPRK's warnings and domestic and foreign concerns that the seizure of power by the Lee Myung Bak group of conservatives would bedevil the inter-Korean relations and lead to a war were by no means for nothing.

If the puppet group insists on confrontation with the DPRK, the DPRK does not have any idea of dodging it at all.

It is the temperament of the DPRK to resolutely counter confrontation with confrontation and war with war.

The army and people of the DPRK are now greatly enraged at the provocation of the puppet group while getting fully ready to give a shower of dreadful fire and blow up the bulwark of the enemies if they dare to encroach again upon the DPRK's dignity and sovereignty even in the least.

The group should not run amuck, clearly understanding the will and mettle of the highly alerted army and people of the DPRK to wipe out the enemies.

Escalated confrontation would lead to a war and he who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish therein.

Gone are the days when verbal warnings are served only.

We will respond to good faith in kind but punish the provocateurs encroaching upon our dignity and sovereignty with resolute and merciless counter-action.

What North Korea probably isn't doing

What famous person stated "we've got to stand with our North Korean allies"? I'd say it was Jimmy Carter.

Pyongyang has sent a consistent message that during direct talks with the United States, it is ready to conclude an agreement to end its nuclear programs, put them all under IAEA inspection and conclude a permanent peace treaty to replace the "temporary" cease-fire of 1953.

In other words, North Korea is being more self-isolating and militaristic because it really wants to be less isolated and militaristic. I don't think so. I think North Korea is being true to what it proclaims daily is its guiding philosophy. I don't have any glib suggestions for what to do about it.

Fars: "Leader Describes Basij as 'Undeniable Truth'"

According to Wikipedia, "Currently Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in activities such as internal security as well as law enforcement auxiliary, the providing of social service, organizing of public religious ceremonies, and more famously morals policing and the suppression of dissident gatherings." No wonder the Ayatollah loves them:

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei lauded Bajij's (volunteer forces) important role in defusing enemies' threats, and described the force as a "great and undeniable truth".

Addressing a large gathering of 110,000 Basij forces here in Tehran on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei said that Basij has presently become a "clear, great and shining truth" of the Islamic society of Iran "with no similar version".

"Basij is a gathering of hearts, a mobilization of faiths, souls and emotions," Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

Elsewhere, the Leader underlined that Iran has become more powerful despite enemy plots over the past 30 years. [...]

Where are you?--A story for Yud Tes Kislev

On the 19th of Kislev, the Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad, was released from prison. See here to learn why this day is known in Chabad as the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism." Here is a story:

In 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was imprisoned on charges, put forth by the opponents of Chassidism, that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the czar. For 52 days he was held in the Peter-Paul Fortress in Petersburg.

Among the Rebbe's interrogators was a government minister who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and Jewish studies. On one occasion, he asked the Rebbe to explain the verse (Genesis 3:9): "And G-d called out to the man and said to him: 'Where are you?'" Did G-d not know where Adam was?

Rabbi Schneur Zalman presented the explanation offered by several of the commentaries: the question "Where are you?" was merely a "conversation opener" on the part of G-d, who did not wish to unnerve Adam by immediately confronting him with his wrongdoing.

"What Rashi says, I know," said the minister. "I wish to hear how the Rebbe understands the verse."

"Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?" asked the Rebbe. "Do you believe that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?"

"Yes," replied the minister.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman was extremely gratified to hear this. The czar's minister had affirmed a principle which lies at the basis of the teachings of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the very teachings and ideology for which he was standing trial!

"'Where are you?'" explained the Rebbe, "is G-d's perpetual call to every man. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years and so many days," -- here Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of the minister -- "Where are you? What have you achieved?"

Your local Chabad House or Chabad Center is probably going to be having a Chassidic Farbrengen this evening in honor of Yud Tes Kislev. If you've been meaning to experience one, this is the best opportunity of the year in most places. As Wikipedia says, "Farbrengens are public events open to non-Hasidim as well."

Soccer Dad closes shop

As you probably know by now, Soccer Dad has announced his retirement from blogging. Some of the other bloggers who are commenting have noted his knowledge, his writing ability, and his tendency to reach out to other bloggers. I was very honored to be asked to submit my own posts to his blog in recent years and have them appear along side of Soccer Dad's own posts and those of Daled Amos, his other, still-active, co-blogger. I was especially comfortable doing so because of another admirable quality of Soccer Dad's blogging: good taste and moderation. Hopefully, even if not actually blogging, he will continue some sort of presence in the J-blogosphere: through his behind-the-scenes e-mails, blog-comments, etc., and in the meantime his continuing influence is reflected by the ongoing blog-carnival Haveil Havalim. Check out the latest edition here.

BDS-goons go after Sabra Hummus

According to the Daily Princetonian:

The Princeton Committee on Palestine has sponsored a referendum in next week’s USG elections that asks Dining Services to sell an alternative to Sabra hummus in all its retail locations on campus.

The Strauss Group and PepsiCo each own 50 percent of Sabra Dipping Company.

In August, Philly Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a Philadelphia group that encourages activism against Israel, released an open letter calling for a boycott of Sabra for the same reason.

Both PCP and Philly BDS take issue with The Strauss Group’s support of the Israeli Golani Brigade. Members of the Brigade have been reprimanded by the Israeli military for inappropriate behavior . . .

Abby Klionsky ’14 said she found the referendum’s language at odds with PCP’s rhetoric. “The Facebook group, posters and petition clearly state that PCP’s aim is to boycott Sabra hummus,” she said in an e-mail.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that this referendum is not about having multiple options of hummus to buy as a consumer option, but rather make the process of boycotting Sabra hummus easier,” she added. [...]

Meanwhile at DePaul:

Today marks another win for the global boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement against corporations that profit from severe human rights violations. Chicago’s very own DePaul University just announced that their dining services will be discontinuing the sale of hummus manufactured by Sabra, an Israeli brand known for its vocal and material support of Israeli Defense Forces. The administration has temporarily suspended the sale of Sabra products and will likely move towards permanently banning the brand from campus.

Oddly enough, Debbie Schlussel slams Sabra for "caving in" on the Israel support and urges her readers not to buy it for pro-Israel reasons. I have most of a "Family Size" container of Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus in my fridge right now as part of my Shabbos left-overs. At this point, I'd say the pro-Israel thing to do is to keep buying Sabra. And it doesn't hurt that it tastes good.

North Korea invents cold fire

I wonder what the "new softening technology" is used on. Brains?

The Research Institute of Cinema Science of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has recently developed a new softening technology.

After making researches for lowering the surface temperature of fire and acquiring a new color reagent, it succeeded in developing materials for cold fire, free from danger of burn.

If only they had the cold fire during the incident of the slogan-bearing trees!

In a test of the materials, an actor was neither burnt nor injured in raging flames with black smoke.

Step into those flames, Comrade, in the spirit of Mt. Paektu . . .

The new technology makes it possible to shoot vivid fire scenes at low cost with actors and actresses provided with safe conditions.

The institute has also developed harmless fog-making materials.

Amazing! Real fog is so deadly . . .

Angry Arab "dying for one Israeli book to be criticized in the US"

All Israeli books get "rave reviews in the US"? Is this true?

I was thinking this morning as I read yet another favorable review of an Israeli author in the New York Times. Is there ever an Israeli author who is not reviewed favorably in the US press? Ever? And do you notice that no matter what an Israeli writes (poetry, fiction, speeches, hate speech), he/she gets enthusiastic and rave reviews in the US. I mean, I am dying for one Israeli book to be criticized in the US. [...]

He sounds so pathetic, but maybe we can cheer him up. Anyone have links to non-rave reviews of Israeli books?

AFP doesn't seem interested in who Mohammed Yassin is

However, the lead sentence mantions that the attack occurred on Eid al-Adha:

One person was killed and another seriously wounded in an Israeli air strike on a car in Gaza City during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday on Wednesday, medical sources and an AFP photographer said.

"Mohammed Yassin was killed and his brother Islam was seriously wounded in an Israeli strike on a car in the Samer area of Gaza City," emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told AFP.

The body was seen by an AFP photographer at Gaza City's Shifa hospital.

A witness told AFP he saw an Israeli warplane fire towards a white car in the city centre.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the raid, which was the fourth air strike on Gaza within two weeks. [...]

The AFP goes on to mention the recent killing of "Mohammed al-Nemnem, a senior militant with the Army of Islam." Maan News has some idea bout Yassin's identity:

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the assassination, which was the second in two weeks.

She said "a senior operative belonging to the terrorist group Army of Islam was targeted" because the group, a radical Islamist organization, was plotting to attack Israeli citizens in the Sinai.

Medics also said the two casualties were likely members of Jaysh Al-Islam.

Jaysh Al-Islam is the Army of Islam.

Wouldn't the Krugman and anti-Krugman have to be prevented from ever meeting?

Just saying.

Update: The anti-Krugman is a step closer.

"Historical resources are unanimous"

A paragraph from an IRIB Radio article entitled "Ka'ba, the center of monotheism":

Historical resources are unanimous that the Ka'ba was built by the Father of the human race, Adam. We read that after building the Ka'ba, on God's command, Adam circumambulated around it. In the subsequent centuries or millenniums, the Prophets of God would make the journey to the holy Ka'ba. In the great flood of the times of Prophet Noah, the Ka'ba was damaged. Centuries later, God assigned Prophet Abraham to reconstruct the Ka'ba as the manifestation of monotheism and to invite people to worship God. Ka'ba has been the symbol of monotheism throughout history. Abraham left his wife and firstborn son, Ishmael beside this supreme symbol of monotheism for holding prayer in order to be a base for the world monotheists.

I am not sneering at the above, but I suppose that the continued existence of Judaism is inconvenient for those who want people to believe it.

North Korea reaches highest stage

Can you imagine living in a country in which a considerable portion of the news is stuff like this?

The national power has reached the highest stage, a heyday of the greatest prosperity in the nation's history spanning 5,000 years has been ushered in the country and its dignity and pride have been fully demonstrated before the whole world under the Songun banner.

The power of Haveil Havalim has reached the highest stage.

Happier times for Happy Meals?

Here's a setback for San Francisco Moonbats, who have been preparing a sort of legislative Happy Meal. It includes, as you may have heard, a food item:

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a ban on sales of McDonald's Happy Meals with children's toys as too intrusive.

"Parents, not politicians, should decide what their children eat, especially when it comes to spending their own money," Newsom said Friday in announcing the veto.

The city's board of supervisors passed the legislation forbidding giveaways of toys with kids meals unless they met strict dietary criteria. McDonald's Happy Meals, seen as the target of the ban, do not meet the board's criteria.

The board could still override the mayor's veto. [...]

So for right now, the news is good for fans of non-metaphorical Happy Meals, but the Moonbats may still get the burger part of their legislative Happy Meal, which also features a toy: a limitation of medical and religious freedom and assertion of state prerogatives as true parental-unit:

It's the latest controversial initiative, coming from the city that's tried to ban everything from happy meal toys, to plastic grocery bags. Now one resident is working to ban circumcision and it’s stirring up controversy across the state.

“It's definitely a personal choice issue. The government doesn't have any right to be involved,” said Cathy Pope, a Merced resident.

"On a personal level, if I had a baby boy I would not be doing it. But if it's part of their religion and their tradition, then so be it, if they want to do it. Again, it's a parent's choice," said Armando Arredondo, the father of a nine-month-old girl.

But the author of the initiative, San Francisco resident Lloyd Schofield sees it differently. "His body doesn't belong to his culture, his government, his religion or even his parents," said Schofield.

The initiative would make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the genitals of a minor under 18, punishable with a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail. More than seven thousand signatures are needed for the initiative to make it onto San Francisco's ballot next November. As for parents who circumcise their boys for religious reasons, the author says they would have to follow the law as well.

It almost certainly won't pass, but how would it work? I guess families and well-wishers would go out of the San Francisco city limits to have the bris and the ensuing Seudas Mitzvah/Happy Meal. Anyway, I'm sure they will have interesting things to talk about at the next Friday-night Happy Meal at the Shul of the Grateful Yid. (h/t: memeorandum)

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

The day the anniversary died

There were two recent news stories about attempts to stop commemorations of what Ma'an News terms "the death of anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat." Oh well, we get the idea. I can't say for sure, but I think this one, ascribing anti-Arafat motives to Zionist Entity Forces, is false:

Israeli forces surrounded a school in the northern West Bank to prevent students from marking the death of anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian president.

Forces threatened to raid the school if the celebration did not immediately end, the director of education at the Jeet Male Secondary School east of Qalqiliya said. The principal said the school was evacuated.

An Israeli military spokesman said forces were responding to rock-throwing. [...]

To my mind, the fact that Maan bothers to include this little contrary claim does not bode well for the veracity of the good Director of Education, but Angry Arab just quotes the first sentence and gives the post one of his famous "This is Zionism" titles. He obviously believes the Director. What can I say? I'm just a lowly Judeopundit, while he is a Professor of Political Science at the Tomato Cannery--I mean, California State University, Stanislaus. This Maan News article, however (h/t: EOZ), contains no contrary claim:

The Foreign Press Association in Israel condemned on Thursday the reported arrest of a television crew at a Rafah event celebrating the life of former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.

In a statement, the FPA denounced "in the strongest terms," the detention of the journalists, who the association said were detained and ordered to turn over news footage to the authorities. [...]

If only Abu Amar were here. He'd make sure his death-anniversary was celebrated properly.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Ever victorious weapons, powerful tresured swords, impregnable socialism, etc.

Time for a Juche-oriented post. Consider this a test of your revolutionary mettle. If you emerge at the other end of reading this with your brain intact, then you, too, in your own way, will be as invincible as the DPRK:

The great army-people unity is an ever-victorious weapon of the DPRK holding the great illustrious commander of Songun in high esteem and an engine of bringing about leaping progress and innovation.

Rodong Sinmun today says this in an editorial. It goes on:

Today the DPRK is vigorously advancing with the might of the great unity between the army and the people.

They are working shoulder to shoulder in every important site of building a thriving nation in one mind and with one intention.

All the servicepersons and people are firmly rallied behind the headquarters of the revolution with the same ideology and will, the spirit of assisting the army and the people are being fully displayed and a high-pitched drive for effecting the great revolutionary surge is prevailing in the DPRK. It is the true picture of the era of Songun.

The great unity between the army and the people serves as a powerful treasured sword and a foundation of the society of the DPRK which helps overcome all sorts of ordeals to emerge victorious as it was consolidated in the whole course of the protracted revolution and further strengthened in the tempest of the Songun revolution.

The might of the great unity between the army and the people is inexhaustible as all the servicepersons and people share the destiny with the same ideology and fighting spirit.

They are now bringing about great innovation and leap forward in every site of effecting a great surge in order to translate into reality the plan and determination of General Secretary Kim Jong Il for building a thriving nation.

The Korean People's Army is creating a new Chollima speed in the era of Songun in the important fields for building a thriving nation and fully demonstrating its might as the pillar and the main force of the revolution and all the people are effecting a great upswing in the production and construction in the revolutionary solider spirit. It is the heroic stamina of Songun Korea.

The epoch-making changes and the great auspicious events in the DPRK under the banner of Songun are priceless fruitions of the devoted efforts exerted by the servicepersons who take the lead in making a breakthrough in the great revolutionary surge and the heroic struggle waged by all the people with the same spirit, disposition and mettle as displayed by the soldiers.

Korean-style socialism is impregnable as all the servicepersons and people are united around the headquarters of the revolution as firm as a rock and the DPRK is sure to build a thriving nation as it is advancing with the might of the unity.

Even though the latest Haveil Havalim is the "Falling Back Edition," it is an engine of bringing about leaping progress and innovation.

UNRWA closes machine-gun gap

Evil Imperialist UNRWA acquires weapons to commit crimes against humanity:

The defense establishment has taken the unusual step of granting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency approval to take four weapons into Gaza. The weapons, submachine guns, are to serve the security detail guarding the heads of the agency in Gaza.

The request to bring in the weapons was made three years ago and approved last week.

The director of UNRWA's activities in Gaza, John Ging, said on his website that his life is in constant danger and he needs more suitable protection than the handguns his bodyguards had been carrying. [...]

The organization told Israeli security officials that its personnel are being threatened by Hamas representatives . . .

ISM human shields dressed in Rachel Corrie-style red jumpsuits are being sent to Gaza on the next flotilla to protect the Hamas representatives from UNOWA (United Nations Occupation and Works Agency) bullets. One Israeli official commented, "Well, I guess if it's for humanitarian purposes, we'll have to let the ship through." (h/t: EOZ)

Zahar: "The Jews will soon be expelled from Palestine that same way they were kicked out by France, Britain, Belgium, Russia and Germany"

Hamas officials, with leftist connivance, often lie and say "We have no quarrel with the Jewish people." The truth about what Hamas really believes gets out pretty often also:

Hamas leader says Jews were kicked out by France, Britain, Belgium, Russia and Germany "because they betrayed, stole and corrupted these countries;” adds, "we will soon pray at Aqsa Mosque."

The Jews will soon be expelled from Palestine that same way they were kicked out by France, Britain, Belgium, Russia and Germany, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said over the weekend.

"The only nation that received the Jews after they were expelled was the Islamic nation, which protected them and looked after them," Zahar said in a speech in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend.

"But they have no place here amongst us because of their crimes. They will soon be expelled from here and we will pray at the Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem]."

Zahar claimed that Jews were expelled in the past "because they betrayed, stole and corrupted these countries." [...]

Jews were expelled from Ghent Belgium in 1549, by the way.

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Of course, it was nice of the Islamic Nation to protect them and look after them. This calls for a reprise of "Thanks for the Dhimmitude":

Thanks for the Dhimmitude
The Jizya that we paid
Your spittle on my face
The beatings I received
Because I didn't know my place
How chastened I was

Thanks for the Almohades
We ran away from Spain
That is, if we weren't slain
We thought we had a golden age
Then it went down the drain
How golden it was

Thanks for the Massacres
Fez 1465
Eleven left alive
Granada in 1066
When most did not survive
How final it was

Thanks for "Convert or die"
In Yemen it was bad
Morrocco and Baghdad
Compulsion in relgion
Was really quite a fad
Transforming it was

There. As Uncle Moishy says, hakaras hatov is soooo important.

Conspiracies are everywhere

It's conspiracy time. As Dr. Seuss observes in the special Zionist edition of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: "From there to here, from here to there, conspiracies are everywhere!" It has always been our ongoing mission to enlighten our readers about the truly hidden stories at the bottom of everything going on in the world--the stuff you can't learn just from reading DEBKAfile. Our first entry concerns the recent US election:

Israel "intervened" in the U.S. midterm elections in order to scupper the peace process, a PLO official said.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, said Wednesday that the election results "prove that Israel played a role in these elections and cooperated with U.S. elements in order to use the results to thwart the negotiations. More than anything, this testifies to the Israeli government's intentions in regards to the peace process."

Angry Arab, too, has conspiracies on his mind:

Lately, I am really consumed with the question of whether Nasser was assassinated or not. I am a critic of Nasser but believe that if we find evidence that he was assassinated, our worst fears and suspicions about Western conspiracies in our midst would be proven right.

And, of course, IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is always delving below the surface:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Iranian people to keep vigilant against enemies' cultural invasion, warning that a passive defense policy in this regard will fail.

"To subdue the enemy's cultural invasion, higher [divine] virtues must be introduced to people," Ahmadinejad said in Iran's northeastern province of Northern Khorassan. [...]

President Ahmadinejad said as the time passes, Iran's enemies further lose their scheming and conspiracy powers "to an extent that they do not dare to talk about harming the Iranian nation. So they hypocritically reach out to befriend us, but conspire against us on the other hand."

And then there's Roseanne:

people are saying that 9-11 was an inside bush job . . . that was done to destroy the enron and anderson books/records(bush's friends) that were kept inside the buildings. Right after that our economy was gutted.

That's all for now--the mind can only take in so much in one sitting.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Angry Arab posts more gender-gap statistics

He finally takes note of the Little Satan where respective male and female incomes are concerned. The post is entitled "Liberal feminists still find Israel to be cute" and it consists of the following two sentences from Ha'aretz:

"In terms of gross pay, in 2009 the average monthly salary for women was 24% less than the average for men. The average gross pay for women stood at NIS 11,498, while men averaged NIS 15,060 a month."

An intelligent reader would wonder: how does Israel compare to other world countries here? This site rates Western-style democracies based on 2007 figures and assigns letter-grades to different parts of its scale. The highest country in the A-range is Denmark, which had its embassies set on fire by angry mobs in several Arab and Muslim countries in 2006. Israel is not listed, but its record is similar to that of the US (which was at the bottom of the B-range in 2007 and which apparently has a slightly larger gender-gap now). Israel is a country where Western values generally prevail. Ironically, the statistics in Angry Arab's post actually illustrate this once they are contextualized with a few readily-available relevant facts.

Kinsley declares "U.S. is not greatest country ever"

Slate founding editor Michael Kinsley offers what amounts to a pretentious way to blame voters for the country's economic woes and continued Middle East turmoil:

Everybody will be talking in the next few days about the "message" of the elections. They mean, of course, the message from the voters. This is one of the treasured conventions of political journalism. Yesterday, the story was all about artifice and manipulation, the possible effect of the latest attack ad or absurd lie. Today, all that melts away. The election results are deemed to reflect grand historical trends. But my colleague Joe Scarborough got it right in these pages last week when he argued that the 2010 elections, for all their passion and vitriol, are basically irrelevant. Some people are voting Tuesday for calorie-free chocolate cake, and some are voting for fat-free ice cream. Neither option is actually available. Neither party’s candidates seriously addressed the national debt, except with proposals to make it even worse. Scarborough might have added that neither party’s candidates had much to say about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (except that they “support our troops,” a flabby formulation that leaves Americans killing and dying in faraway wars that politicians won’t defend explicitly). Politicians are silent on both these issues for the same reason: There is no solution that American voters will tolerate. Why can’t we have calorie-free chocolate cake? We’re Americans!

I think low-fat ice cream (or at least sensible food) is available, but neither party has served it for a long time. The Republicans have not served it because it doesn't taste as good and the Democrats have not served it because they are trying to emulate Michael Moore. Voters clearly want responsible economic policies and they got Obamacare and the non-stimulating stimulus instead. Democrats had a mandate of sorts, but little interest in fulfilling it. I think people roughly agree with how Iraq and Afghanistan are being handled simply because they don't have such high expectations anymore. This election is about economics and the Republicans will have back the same old mandate. If they get it right this time, the voters will be vindicated. We'll see. (h/t: memorandum)

An important development

Hamas now admits that a large number of the Cast Lead casualties were Al Qassam Brigades members. EOZ's title is "Hamas admits what we all knew." "We all" does not include the mainstream media, NGOs, Jimmy Carter, etc., but it does, I think, include anyone interested in the truth (and largely thanks to EOZ and a few others). The Jpost article is here. Even PressTV is covering the story, although they twist it to preserve the "mostly civilians" lie. How long will it take before all the lies about the Mavi Marmara incident are also packed away?