Mr. Moderate vows to free Omar Abdul-Rahman

From the AP:

In his first public speech addressing tens of thousands of mostly Islamist supporters, Egypt's president-elect Mohammed Morsi has vowed to free the blind sheik jailed in the U.S. for a plot to blow up New York City landmarks.

Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist and civilian president-elect, promised Friday to work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of men convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. [...]

If you find this alarming, have no fear. According to Juan Cole:

What Morsi’s call for Abdel Rahman’s release does not signify is any approval of violent radicalism.

Feel better now? (h/t: Challah Hu Akbar)

Advice for Habarists 2: It is legitimate to ask what the standards are

I promised this would be a series. Please see the first installment. In this installment, I am going to make a simple point. Some Israel-bashers have honed their rhetoric, and some of them are very good at making it sound bad that Israel's defenders often point to the records of other countries when Israel's human rights record comes up. Here is a comment from a recent MondoWeiss comments thread:

Gotta love how Zio-supremacists use injustice and immorality elsewhere in the world to justify their own – and their Glorious Jewish State’s – injustice and immorality.

If we ignore the smug sneering about "Zio-supremacists" for a second, we can note that there is a potentially (or theoretically) legitimate point here. A common fallacy is the "tu quoque" argument (meaning "you also"). The person making the argument points to the hypocrisy of someone accusing him of a misdeed and tries to show that the accuser is equally guilty or inconsistently indifferent to someone else who is equally guilty.

Defenders of Israel should avoid making "tu quoque" arguments. There is, however, a legitimate, and in fact important, way in which the actions of other countries enter into the discussion. The rhetoric of our sneering friend from the MondoWeiss comments section implies quite clearly that a unique infamy attaches to Israel and its actions. That provokes the question of what the standards are. Who does well if we apply these standards? Anyone? Is there any recent military campaign by any country that Amnesty International has approved of? How does Israel's human rights record compare to that of some of the Security Council members?

Israel is singled out far more than any other country by the UN Human Rights Council. Why is this? The answer is obvious. Attacking Israel is cheap and convenient. Why criticize a member of a powerful voting block at the UN when you can criticize the object of that voting block's hostility? It is easier to side with a mob than oppose one. And the left romanticizes the mob, the masses, the mass-movement. Given the obvious bias and craziness directed constantly at Israel, the obvious antidote is the truth. And accurate and truthful generalizations about matters such as Israel's human rights records require us to be clear about what the standards are.

Supremes approve Obamacare

'Bamacare, Obamacare
Scotus says its fair and square
Why did you leave us, John?
Forget what side you're on?
Why are you mean to me?
You out-did Kennedy

'Bamacare, Obamacare
We're on the way to single-payer
Must sell my Medco stock
Their head's on the chopping block
I'm sad and that's a fact
Want William Rehnquist back

'Bamacare, Obamacare
Please help John Roberts grow a pair
Preexisting, but that's allowed
'Cause that's all covered now
Don't want Obamacare
Repeal's our only prayer

More on the Rahimi speech

Juan Cole, in a post from September 2009 entitled "Ahmadinejad Spews Raving Lunatic Anti-Semitism on ‘Jerusalem Day,’" wrote:

. . . the venomous rhetoric against Jews (it isn’t just Zionists if it is projected back 500 years) that he used in this speech is so hateful that if it became widespread and ensconced in Iranian society, it certainly would have bad and tragic results– for Jews, Iranians and for us human beings in general.

It wasn't "widespread and ensconced" then? In any event, part of the "Raving Lunatic Anti-Semitism" in the Rahimi speech was translated for us, courtesy of Fars News, which suggests that the ideas are certainly "ensconced" in Iran now. The NY Times offers more details from the speech:

Mr. Rahimi . . . told stories of gynecologists’ killing black babies on the orders of the Zionists and claimed that the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 was started by Jews, adding that mysteriously, no Jews died in that uprising.

And these ideas are not just "ensconced" in Iran. Hamas-head Khaled Mesha'al, in 2008, said that Israel is "exaggerating the Holocaust and using it to blackmail the world." Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, perhaps the most prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure in the world, doesn't deny the Holocaust. He once declared "Allah Willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers."

Update: Reuters uses the term "verbal clash" to refer to the fact that Rahimi made his remarks and Israel condemned them.

"Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi condemned Zionists for inciting global drug trade and addiction in a bid to annihilate non-Jewish communities in accordance with Talmudic teachings" (Fars News-Iran)

From the state-controlled press of a regime which is about to have nuclear weapons:

Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi condemned Zionists for inciting global drug trade and addiction in a bid to annihilate non-Jewish communities in accordance with Talmudic teachings.

Addressing a ceremony on the occasion of the International Day of Drug Abuse here in Tehran on Tuesday, Rahimi stated that prevalence of narcotics and drug-addition throughout the world finds its roots in the wrong teachings of the Zionists' religious book, Talmud.

The Talmud (Hebrew: "instruction, learning") is a central text of mainstream Judaism in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history.

"The book teaches them how to destroy non-Jews so as to protect an embryo in the womb of a Jewish mother," Rahimi stated.

The Iranian vice-president said that the Zionists' direct involvement in the prevalence of illicit drugs is while "you cannot find a single addict among the Zionists".

Rahimi, however, pointed to Iran's heavy spending and loss in the campaign against drugs, including the loss of 4,000 lives. "We could receive money and allow drug cargos to pass through Iran as a transit route and end up in the western countries without leaking into the Iranian society, but our religious teachings do not allow us to do so because paving the ground for the transit of narcotics to the other countries is against ethical codes." [...]

That's nice. (h/t: EOZ)

"Cleric Raps World Powers for Taking Orders from Zionist Regime" (Fars News-Iran)

Nicely paranoid title. Of course, the control mechanism isn't anything so crude as issuing orders:

Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami lambasted the world powers attending talks with Iran for surrendering to the destructive positions and policies of the Zionist regime.

The G5+1 (The US, Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany) should correct its approach toward Iran in the upcoming nuclear talks, Khatami said in his 2nd sermon here Friday.

He noted that the demands of the G5+1 from Iran in Moscow nuclear talks had been underlined and stated by the Zionist regime Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu before the negotiations and this means the influence of Tel-Aviv on the process of decision making in the group.

"The West's current approach in negotiations with Tehran could result in a deadlock in the talks; any deadlock in Iran and G5+1's negotiations will definitely harm the western countries in the first place."

Khatami said that talks for the sake of talks is fruitless, noting that Iran will attend the upcoming meetings with G5+1 to contribute to the progress of the negotiations forward.

Earlier, a senior Iranian lawmaker had also warned the western countries party to the talks with Iran not to be influenced by the Zionist regime which tries to induce the West to practice its evil thoughts to spoil the constructive atmosphere of interaction between the two sides.

"If the West, specially the European Union, wants to reach a result in its negotiations with Iran, it should resort to logic and not to be influenced by the Zionists," Mohammad Esmayeel Kosari told FNA earlier this month. [...]

According to another Fars headline, "Intelligence Minister Warns of Plots to Separate Iran from Islam:"

Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi warned of enemies' plots against the country, and said the enemies are striving to separate Islam from Iran.

They seek to eliminate Islam from Iran, Moslehi underlined on Thursday.

Moslehi also said that the ring leader of a terrorist group involved in assassination of a number of Iranian nuclear scientists was arrested.

Addressing the fourth meeting on human rights themed as 'Human Rights and National Security', he said that during an operation, the ring leader of the terrorist group was arrested.

Global arrogance is well aware that the recent arrest has dealt a serious blow to it, he said.

Foreign intelligence services have paid heavy costs to back opposition groups inside and outside the country and this proves that they are still continuing their support for dissidents and are masterminding various plots, said the minister.

Doesn't develop the idea of separating Iran from Islam much, does it?

"intelligence official says that Israel is bent on destroying the US" (Window into Palestine)

That's a Pakistani intelligence official. Anyway, time for some conspiracy gloop, from a website that often features it:

A senior Pakistani intelligence official has claimed that Israel is using the United States of America as a proxy to provoke retaliatory attacks from Muslim countries, especially Pakistan.

While answering this scribe’s question on what the military has to say about the presence of USS Enterprise in Pakistani waters, the official confirmed that the news is true but not something to be astonished about. “These are merely pressure tactics, “pokes”. The US military establishment does not have the audacity to wage overt war. There is something I would like to say here, through your behalf for those who know what I am saying: The US is akin to a dead body which has been penetrated by a virus; in this case, Israel. Have you seen those vivid Hollywood flicks which have zombies roaming around? Exactly the same. You shoot them, hit them, they are not affected at all. This is, hence, not a normal situation. That virus (Israel) can even use the US to carry out a nuclear attack therby triggering a global inferno where millions will be massacred. It does not care that Pakistan will give a proper full-fledged response. Pakistan on the other hand, does not want to engage with a zombie”.

While continuing with the conversation, the official recounted how Israel attacked the USS Liberty to teach their American proxies a lesson who were eavesdropping through telecommunication networks into Israel’s systems. He said that the US is being subjected to mass friction by NATO also, which has caused much human and financial loss to the US armed forces.

“You cannot estimate the damage which the US is bearing because of NATO”, added the official, “During the last diplomatic meetings between American, Pakistani and Afghan Taliban representatives, the Taliban reiterated that they can burn alive each and every American soldier in Afghanistan but the Pakistani military does not want to put Israel’s plans into implementation by directly engaging with the US. In case of a Pak-US war, the only benefactor will be Israel“.

Sinister laughter . . .

"Palestine refugees in Lebanon do not enjoy several basic human rights, for example, they do not have the right to work in as many as 20 professions" (AFP)

I assume most of the "refugees" the article refers to were born in Lebanon. That would make them native Lebanese of Palestinian extraction.

[...] "The Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are considered the worst of the region’s refugee camps in terms of poverty, health, education and living conditions," said the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) in a report released on World Refugee Day.

ANERA cites discrimination, isolation, poverty, joblessness, poor housing and a lack of proper schools, clinics, hospitals and sewage systems as problems affecting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon . . .

"Palestine refugees in Lebanon do not enjoy several basic human rights, for example, they do not have the right to work in as many as 20 professions," UNRWA adds, noting that most refugees rely on UN assistance for survival. [...]

This is all not news, of course. A 2008 Daily Star article described the Palestinians as barred from 70 professions. According to the Wikipedia article "Palestinians in Lebanon":

In 2005, Lebanon eliminated a ban on Palestinians holding most clerical and technical positions, provided they obtain a temporary work permit from the Labor Ministry, but more than 20 high-level professions remain off-limits to Palestinians. Few Palestinians have benefited from the 2005 reform, though. In 2009, only 261 of more than 145,679 permits issued to non-Lebanese were for Palestinians.

So they are still formally banned from the 20 positions? It is not easy to find clear information on this topic, which is odd, considering that the left often seems to have made a fetish of the Palestinians.

"Kim Jong Il, Genius of Literature and Arts" (Korean News)

I love stuff like this:

It has been 48 years since leader Kim Jong Il started his work at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on June 19, 1964.

In the period he energetically led all sectors of the literature and arts in the country, thus bringing the era of the Renaissance in the 20th century.

He authored a lot of celebrated works to give perfect answers to the theoretical and practical issues arising in the development of the Juche-based literature and arts. Typical of them are "Theory of Cinematic Art", "On the Art of Opera", "Theory of Dancing Art", "On the Theatrical Arts" and "Theory of Musical Art".

Under his energetic guidance masterpieces were adapted for films, operas, dramas and novels, including "The Sea of Blood" and "The Fate of a Self-Defence Corps Man" created by President Kim Il Sung during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle. In this course the DPRK witnessed the emergence of "The Sea of Blood"-style operas and "The Mountain Shrine"-style dramas.

Multi-part feature film "The Nation and Destiny", which represents the Juche-based literature and arts in the 20th century, was also produced along with other multi-part feature films "Star of Korea" and "The Sun of the Nation".

In recent years grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang", light comedy "Echo of Mountain" and drama "We Will Recollect Today" were created and performed to encourage the army and people in the dynamic drive for building a thriving country.

Famous art works of other countries were also created as operas and drama in the DPRK. They are "A Dream of Red Mansions," "A Sentry under a Neon Lamp" and "Evgeni Onegin".

The immortal feats of Kim Jong Il, a genius of the literature and arts, will go down forever.

Along with those of other artistic geniuses, like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.

"Iran, Russia, China, Syria to Stage Biggest Joint Wargames in Middle-East" (Fars News-Iran)

This is the top story right now at Drudge. I wonder if it is true.

The Iranian, Russian, Chinese and Syrian armies are due to stage joint amphibious exercises along the Syrian costs in coming weeks, informed sources revealed on Monday.

According to informed sources, 90,000 forces from the four countries will take part in the land and sea wargames due to be held in Syria.

Ground, air and sea forces as well as air defense and missile units of the four countries will take part in the exercises.

Sources also said that Egypt has acceded to grant passage to 12 Chinese warships to sail through the Suez Canal, adding that the military convoy is due to dock at the Syrian harbors in the next two weeks.

Russian atomic submarines and warships, aircraft carriers and mine-clearing destroyers as well as Iranian battleships and submarines will also arrive in Syria at around the same date.

Syria plans to test its coast-to-sea and air defense missiles in the wargames.

A sum of 400 warplanes and 1,000 tanks will also be used in the exercises.

A Syrian official, who asked to remain anonymous, had informed two weeks ago that the drills would be conducted in Syria soon.

Unofficial sources also said the four countries are now busy with taking swift preparatory measures for these biggest-ever wargames in the Middle-East.

Sham Life reported that the maneuvers will be stage in less than one month from now, that is early June.

"Brotherhood claims victory in Egypt president vote" (AP)

It probably is not just a claim.

The Muslim Brotherhood declared early Monday that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election, even as the military handed themselves the lion's share of power over the new president, enshrining their hold on the state and sharpening the possibility of confrontation with the Islamists. [...]

The Arab Winter is getting colder, but the dead of Winter is not quite here. Not yet.

Was my comment blocked at Loonwatch?

A recent post at Loonwatch appears with the following title and subtitle before you click on the link to "Continue Reading":

Annual Report: Zero Civilians in U.S. Killed by Islamic Terrorism… Just Like Every Year Since 9/11

You're more likely to be crushed to death by your T.V. than killed by terrorists.

I quoted the part beginning "You're more likely . . ." and commented as follows:

You can’t compare an event brought about by deliberate human action to a random event such as a freak accident. Let’s say the Rolling Blokes haven’t released a new album for 2 years. That doesn’t mean the likelihood of a future album is leas than that of a freak accident happening to a Loonwatch reader.

My comment appears to have been blocked. It appeared on my computer for a number of days with the message "Your comment is awaiting moderation," and now I don't see it at all. I might as well refine the comment a bit. I suppose you actually can compare the probability of any two events. But you can't assume that the probabilities of the two events are calculated the same way if one is brought about by human planning (and against the efforts of someone trying to thwart the planning) while the other possible event is the result of other factors, generally unplanned ones. The example of the possibly upcoming Rolling Blokes album still stands. I am not going to comment further on the possibility that I was censored. That speaks for itself.

"Venezuela builds 1st drone with Iran help" (IRIB-Iran)

Great news!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his country manufactured its first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed Arpia-001 (Harpy-001), in cooperation with Iranian experts in order to strengthen the South American state’s defensive power.

Venezuela is manufacturing drones and seeks to increase its defensive and military powers, which has nothing to do against anyone, Chavez said late on Wednesday.

He added that the drone has both military and civilian applications, noting that the UAV has been produced in a way that could be used for non-military operations.

Venezuela is an independent and free country, and is promoting its plans to mount the defensive capabilities in collaboration with Iran, Russia and China, Chavez pointed out.

The UAV has a 100-kilometer (60 mile) sweep and can fly solo for some 90 minutes and reach an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,000 feet).

Venezuela has already manufactured three of the aerial vehicles.[...]

"Nasrallah Says Hizbullah Missiles Can Hit All Vital Sites in Israel" (Naharnet)

In the third paragraph he thanks Iran:

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that the party’s missiles are now “capable of reaching vital targets inside Israel,” pointing out that the “Israelis themselves acknowledge Hizbullah’s missile power.”

In an interview with the Iranian television, Nasrallah added that the military capabilities of his group “cannot be compared to the previous phase,” describing Israel’s threats to attack Iran as “propaganda to blackmail the international community.”

According to the transcript of the interview published on the website of Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam satellite TV network, Nasrallah added: “We should thank Iran because it supported us in reaching our objectives,” warning of the “attempts of the United States to conspire against the revolutions and Islamic renaissance in the region.”

He also said that “Israel, the U.S. and some other Western countries along with certain Arab nations are seeking to topple Bashar Assad’s regime with the help of al-Qaida,” adding that such actions “prove that they are not seeking reforms in Syria.”

"Some Southern California 'nonprofit' pot shops make big money" (LA Times)

The subtitle of this article reads as follows: "Documents show a cash-infused retail world bearing little resemblance to the one pitched to voters for the 1996 Compassionate Use Act for 'seriously ill Californians.'" Naah, its not possible!

In the first raid, Orange County sheriff's detectives hit a Dana Point marijuana storefront, the San Clemente home of its director and a "stash house" he allegedly maintained nearby.

In the two homes, they found cash stuffed everywhere: in buckets in the garage and attic, in an Igloo cooler in a bedroom, under a mattress, on an ironing board, in a dresser. According to a search warrant affidavit filed in November, they recovered more than $700,000.

At the shop, investigators found spreadsheets showing sales over 10 months totaled $3.17 million, according to the affidavit, with $2.47 million "cash on hand." Paperwork indicated that a silent partner, a convicted drug dealer named John M. Walker, controlled the shop and six others in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

A subsequent raid of one of Walker's properties recovered a Beretta handgun, a shotgun, a Chinese AK-47 with a bayonet and grocery bags filled with four dozen rubber-banded bundles of cash; one of the bags contained a note with calculations totaling $99,324.

The discoveries and many others like them across California are starkly at odds with the image presented by medical marijuana providers, who label themselves as "compassionate caregivers" and say they work on slim margins, give away cannabis to the poor and comply with the law.

Many medical marijuana dispensaries have been making huge sums of money even as they claim to be nonprofit, according to court and law enforcement records, industry insiders, police and federal agents. The Times found a cash-infused retail world unlike the one pitched to voters who passed the Compassionate Use Act for "seriously ill Californians" in 1996. [...]

Shocking!

"Annihilation of Zionist regime needs constant resistance: President" (IRIB-Iran)

So many English headlines from the Iranian press have referred to the "annihilation" of Israel that I am starting to lose count. Here's another one:

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the only way for destruction of the Zionist regime is continuing the path of resistance by Palestinians.

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmed Jibril late Sunday in Tehran.

“Today the resistance groups and freedom seekers should be ready more than any other time before. The only way to disrupt the enemy’s plots is continuing the resistance,” the President added.

He noted that this fake regime (Israel) is actually the symbol of the Western countries and the US.

“In other words the Zionist regime is the entrance gate of the Western countries and the US to the Middle East region,” President Ahmadinejad added.

Secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmed Jibril for his part presented a report on the situation in the Middle East.

“Today, Iran’s Islamic Revolution has immensely influenced the people of the region. We have seen the progress of the Islamic Republic of Iran in all areas which is a great achievement for Muslim Umma,” Jibril added.

Angry Arab channels Helen Thomas

Failure to notice that Israel is home to most of the descendants of the Mizrachi Jews--about half of its population--is rampant in the Arab world, where the popular imagination has all Israelis stemming ultimately from Germany and Poland--I call it "Helen Thomas Syndrome." Angry Arab, who seems to be a walking illustration of the various syndromes, gives us a classic example today. This is actually a meme by itself: the "Israel stole felafel" meme. His post is called "terrorists and thieves" and here is the text:

I mean, they stole Palestine why would they not steal the region's cuisine and claim it as "Israeli"?

The word "Israeli" includes a link to this article about an Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia. Hmm, let's see, about half the ancestors of the present Israelis lived in the Middle East until a few generations ago. Among the big concentrations of Jews in the world, why would Israelis have the most Middle Eastern cuisine? Why, they must be "thieves"! Hatred, as I've observed before, is the functional equivalent of stupidity. (By the way, Angry Arab has mentioned "Arab Jews" on his blog. I guess they were obligated to leave their cuisine behind along with all their property when they fled their formerly native lands.)

"Jibril Terms Iran 'Palestinian Nation's Strategic Hope'" (Fars News-Iran)

What happens to all this once there is a sort-of Sunni Khomeinism ruling Egypt? Who knows:

Secretary General of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmad Jibril in a meeting with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili praised Tehran's spiritual and material support for Palestine, and described Iran as a strategic hope for the Palestinian nation.

"Iran is the Palestinian nation's strategic hope," Jibril said during the meeting in Tehran on Sunday.

He pointed to the Zionist regime's concerns about the increasing power and potentials of the Muslim world, and said, "Certain powers' pressures against the Islamic Republic of Iran indicate that regional developments and the spreading domain of the Islamic Awakening have increased the Islamic Republic of Iran's capabilities against the US and the Zionist regime."

Jalili, for his part, referred to the regional developments and Islamic Awakening in the region, and said popular uprisings in the region and the collapse of such dictatorial regimes as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt have pushed the Zionist regime to its weakest position now.

Jalili in relevant remarks in January had stressed that the Islamic Awakening sweeping the Middle-East and North Africa has changed the balance of power in favor of the Muslim world.

Jalili made the remarks, referring to revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and popular uprisings in Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

He also noted that the Islamic Awakening in the region must be used against the hegemonic policies of the United States and Israel.

"CIA, MI6 agents direct massacres in Syria: American analyst" (PressTV-Iran)

Chock full o'nuts:

An American author says agents of the CIA and MI6 are directing armed groups to carry out massacres inside Syria, Press TV reports.

Stephen Lendman, writer and radio host from Chicago, said the CIA and MI6 “special forces” are in Syria now, directing massacres.

“They go after pro-Assad loyalists,” Lendman stated in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.

“There is no question this is a Washington-orchestrated war.”

“It is a low-level war to the extent that NATO has not gotten directly involved. But it is exactly what happened in Libya last year. An insurgency began. Washington orchestrated it. Insurgents were recruited. They were funded. They were armed.”

The American author stated that Syria has been “targeted for regime change for years, at least a decade.”

Lendman also referred to the six-point peace plan presented by the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, in March.

“His so-called peace plan puts the onus on a side. He barely mentions these insurgents, these death squads, these killers.”

“I have written about Kofi Annan. I have written several times about him. During his tenure as UN secretary general, a decade, a solid decade, he never did a thing to stop imperial wars,” Lendman added. [...]

What can you do against Imperialism, anyway?

"Expert warns of UFO activity during London Olympics" (PressTV-Iran)

Why is this story appearing at the Iranian news site most geared for Western readers? I don't know, but it doesn't surprise me:

A UK UFO expert has warned about the possibility of sudden alien appearance in London skies during the upcoming Olympic Games in the British capital.

“With the summer of mass events we are all on high alert for terrorism. But we must also cast our eyes further afield and be prepared for even the most seemingly unfathomable,” said Nick Pope, who has worked with the Ministry of Defense for more than two decades.

Pope who investigated UFO reports between 1991 and 1994, says his studies convinced him that the sightings raised important defense for national security and air safety issues.

“It has been a widely held belief in Ministry of Defense circles that "aliens" have been able to detect us for decades via TV and radio broadcasts,” he said adding that mass summer events would be a prime time for alien crafts to present themselves to mankind.

“If aliens have studied our psychology, they may choose to appear in our skies on a significant date - the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games is one date being widely circulated by conspiracy groups.”

Pope said aliens would come in a spirit of warmth, friendship and shared learning, but the government was also prepared for the worst scenarios such as alien attack and invasion.

“If UFOs came into our atmosphere, RAF jets such as the Eurofighter Typhoons, and missiles such as the Rapiers guarding the Olympic Games would be well equipped to enter the fray,” he said.

Pope is known as the person “working on the X-Files of the UK,” and has given lectures and TV interviews about his views on the existence of UFOs since he left MoD in 2006

The souls of the folks at PressTV have obviously been touched by the great Art Bell.

"KCU Delegates Visit National House of Class Education" (Korean News)

In which we learn that the delegates "strongly asked the Korean People's Army to shower deadly fire of revenge upon [South Korea] at once." This touches on a number of North Korean propaganda themes:

Delegates to the celebrations of the 66th birthday of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) have visited the National House of Class Education.

The house exhibits historical data and materials showing brutal atrocities committed by the U.S. and Japanese imperialists as well as the class enemies against the Korean people.

The visitors hardly repress their surging indignation at the brutalities and vowed revenge upon the enemies.

Hong Sok Song (12), a delegate from Yangsi Secondary School in Ryongchon County, North Phyongan Province, told KCNA:

"I could understand more clearly about the crime-woven history made by the U.S. and Japanese imperialists.

They and the Lee Myung Bak group of south Korea are now carrying on anti-DPRK war drills.

I will join the army in the future to become a-match-for-a hundred soldier."

Kim Chong Hyang (13), a delegate from Sinhung Secondary School in Sinchon County, South Hwanghae Province, said:

"I heard many stories about atrocities committed by the U.S. invaders during their temporary occupation of my hometown in the period of the Korean War (1950-1953).

The visit to this house hardens my determination to wreak revenge upon them on all accounts."

O Hyon Mi, KCU instructor at Namha Primary School in Sinuiju City, North Phyongan Province, said:

"The visit reminds me of the truth that struggle will continue as long as the class enemies are left alive.

The Lee group defamed the KCU celebrations as "charade intentionally orchestrated" and "event for winning public favor" and furthermore insulted the dignity of our supreme leadership, likening it to the Nazis.

All the KCU delegates are now seized with surging resentment toward the provokers. We delegates strongly asked the Korean People's Army to shower deadly fire of revenge upon them at once, as was declared in the ultimatum released by the KPA General Staff.

The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors will never escape from stern punishment."

They seem to be weathering all the violent rhetoric with no problems.

"West even fears unarmed Iran" (PressTV-Iran)

I don't think anyone serious doubts that Iran is working on nuclear weapons anymore. And no, Juan Cole does not count as serious. So here is the latest wrinkle in the endless parade of Iranian denials of the obvious:

Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader says Islam has empowered Iran in such a way that even if the country had no weapons, the West would still fear it.

“It was Islam that gave Iran national glory, authority and helped the country achieve independence,” Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani said.

The senior Iranian cleric further said Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program have proven to be an opportunity for Iran and pave the way for its progress.

The West, led by the United States, has imposed sanctions against Iran, accusing Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed the Western allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has every right to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's nuclear energy program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.

Speaking of the IAEA, Iran evidently recently destroyed some buildings that it was not allowing the IAEA to inspect.

"Larijani warns Zionist regime not to play with ball of fire" (IRNA-Iran)

The beginning of this is quite vague, and then it gradually dawns on the reader that Israel is being warned about Syria and that Larijani is quite off the deep-end in considering oppositon to Assad to be a Zionist plot:

Occupying Zionist regime and its allies should care not to play with a ball of fire by provoking anti-resistance unrests, Iran's Majlis Speaker, Ali Larijani, said here on Wednesday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Qom people who have elected him for a second term as Majlis deputy.

“Enemies are playing with a ball of fire by planning various plots against the line of resistance in region and it will absolutely hurt themselves and the occupying force of Zionist regime.”

Larijani pointed to the fact that enemies are seeking new adventures in region after being severely hurt as a result of ongoing regional revolutions, noting that US and UK recent efforts against Syria will not make a result and they themselves would be harmed.

The Speaker warned enemies about anti-Iranian plots, underlining that economic pressures will not affect Tehran’s desire to continue its progress forward.

It should be noted that, the Islamic Awakening is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Muslim world.

Since 18 December 2010, there have been revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen; a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its regime; major protests in occupied Palestine against the Zionist regime, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Western Sahara.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

In October, calm was eventually restored to Syira after President Bashar al-Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but plots by the US and the Zionist regime could spark some new unrest in certain parts of the country.

Hmm, calm unless there's a Zionist plot. Maybe there is some other Syria we don't know about?

"Iran, Syria, Hezbollah to Unite against Israel in Case of Attack on Syria" (Fars News-Iran)

Even if Israel is not the hypothetical attacker?

Iran, Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement will open a united front against the Zionist regime of Israel in case of any foreign military intervention in Syria, an influential Lebanese figure warned on Wednesday.

Addressing a group of Tunisian youths, Nasser Qandil, a former lawmaker, dismissed foreign military strike on Syria as impossible.

"Direct or indirect intervention in Syria is impossible since Iranian and Syrian leaders as well as the leaders of Hezbollah have decided to open a front against the Zionist regime (in case of any military intervention in Syria)," Qandil stated.

He described Syria as a key to the revival of the West's lost role in those Arab states of the region which have experienced a revolution in the last two years, saying that the US-led West can take back power and control in such regional Arab states if only it succeeds in toppling Bashar al-Assad's government.

In October 2011, a member of the Hezbollah fraction at the Lebanese parliament lauded Syria's role in the resistance front against Imperialism, and cautioned that Hezbollah has all options on the table to respond to any possible threat to Syria.

Speaking to FNA, MP Hassan Hoballah described Syria as a "stronghold" and a main pillar of resistance against imperialism in the region.

He said that developments in Syria affect the whole region, and stressed that the Lebanese resistance movement (Hezbollah) cannot sit silent if Syria comes under attack by enemy states.

"In case this member of the resistance front is given a blow, all contingencies and options will be on the table," Hoballah stated.

Somehow I don't think that Syria is the big issue between Israel and Iran.

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

I can't help noting the passing of a Science Fiction giant who was also a beautiful prose-stylist. His stories even show up in Composition textbooks as models to emulate. Try The Martian Chronicles.

"A politically incorrect wave of labyrinthine madness is casting its heavy shadow over Syria as the country is being surrounded left and right by Zionist plots thickening beyond control" (PressTV-Iran)

Get a load of this swill:

A politically incorrect wave of labyrinthine madness is casting its heavy shadow over Syria as the country is being surrounded left and right by Zionist plots thickening beyond control.

The complicated situation in Syria is ever more obfuscated by myriad forces at work to destroy the friend of Iran and the foe of Israel.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned on Sunday that Syria has become the target of imperialist foreign conspiracy and that the country is facing a real war waged from the outside.

In an address to the new parliament in Damascus, Assad said, “We are not facing a political problem because if we were this party would put forth a political program. What we are facing is (an attempt) to sow sectarian strife and the tool of this is terrorism."

The Syrian leader also slammed the perpetrators of the Houla massacre as "monsters". The carnage claimed the lives of 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women.

"What happened in Houla and elsewhere (in Syria) are brutal massacres which even monsters would not have carried out," Assad said.

As an act of character assassination and in order to portray Assad as an illogical person, the media only broadcast a select part of his speech, cutting his speech only to those parts which could be easily misinterpreted or interpreted out of context instead of giving every listener or viewer the chance to judge everything in its proper context.

In his speech, Assad defended Syria’s right to fight the terrorists who “dominate the scene” and “decapitate the Syrians”, a right seen by the international community as violence against protesters.

“Much has been said about the political solution since the beginning of the crisis and there are those who talk of a political solution and other points or details related to it but until now, not one of them has suggested what is the relationship between a political solution and the terrorism which has dominated [the scene] since the beginning of the crisis…Will dialogue and a political solution stop the terrorist from doing what he has been doing until now? And did this terrorist decapitate heads and commit all kinds of heinous terror because there are two sides in Syria who are in a disagreement with each other? And does this mean that once we engage dialogue and agree on a political solution, the terrorist will say the reasons [for the terrorism] are now gone and I will abandon my terrorism?…this is illogical” (Select parts of Assad’s speech translated by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb).

To a world contaminated by the lies and deception the media help promote, Assad seems to be seen the main culprit in the massacre although unspeakable reports from eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime testify to realities, which could be painful to the ears and the hearts.

A witness to the May 25 carnage in Houla says armed groups raped women before killing them and the children.

“They (armed groups) burned houses and killed people by the families because they were loyal to the (Syrian) government. [They] raped the women and killed the children” (Global Research, June 1, 2012).

Another witness said the armed groups “used the women and children as human shields and continued firing” at Syrian forces.

In a statement issued on May 29, Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said a “substantial part” of the Houla killings was “summary executions of civilians, women and children.”

Unfortunately, Arab puppet regimes such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar are fanning the flames of crisis in Syria and playing in the hands of Washington to serve the interests of Israel. For instance, Saudi Arabia is brutally critical of Syria and ironically talks of democracy and popular uprising in Syria while at the same time, the regime supports the Bahraini dictatorship and even sends men to crush the popular uprising there. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, called on the international community in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, to provide arms to Syrian rebels. These two countries and some other Persian Gulf nations also made a promise of millions of dollars in aid and equipment to the rebels in order to step up the fight against the regime of Bashar Assad (The National, April 2, 2012).

In the intricate grand scheme taking shape in Syria, Israel certainly plays a furtively guileful role. Influential Zionist parties are instrumental in steering the unrest into a direction most debilitating to the government of Bashar Assad. Prominent among these Zionists is Haim Saban, an Egyptian born Israeli-American media mogul who serves as a political power broker. Saban, who is self-described as “a one-issue man” with Israel being “his issue”, plays a pivotal role in the Syrian unrest. At a conference in Israel, he said, “Three ways to be influential in American politics are to make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets.” In 2002, he contributed thirteen million dollars for the construction of a new building for the Democratic National Committee. The same year, he founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D.C. which is affiliated to the powerful Zionist lobby in America notoriously known as AIPAC.

The current director of the institute is the pro-Israel lobbyist Martin Indyk, who had earlier founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an AIPAC spinoff, to counter the Brooking Institution which was criticized for not being pro-Israel enough.

A former US ambassador to Israel, Australian-born Jew, Martin Indyk used to be an assistant secretary of state. In an interview with ABC, he clearly enunciated that Washington was working closely with Turkey and Saudi Arabia against Syria, “The leverage really comes from the sanctions that we are imposing, the isolation that we're organizing and the coordination with Turkey and Saudi Arabia” (abc.net.au October 25, 2011).

The operations of the Saban Center were extended to Doha in Qatar, a regime which vehemently supports the removal of Assad and has offered generous military and financial support to that effect. Known as the Brookings Doha Center, the Qatar-based center was established by the pro-Zionist Martin Indyk who is emphatically financed by the Qatari regime.

The Zionist labyrinthine corridors are so numerous that their footprints and their agents are scattered everywhere. The continuation of this Zionist influence is Shadi Hamid who currently serves as the director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and Fellow at the Zionist Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. In fact, these centers are secretly tasked with formulating strategies and exploring effective ways to destabilize any regime in the Middle East which proves hostile or detrimental to the interests of Israel.

To sum up, Israel is following a tripartite plot in order to topple Bashar Assad and destroy Syria under the guidance of Haim Saban: 1. make donations to political parties (e.g. funding and arming rebels and Wahhabi terrorists in Syria) 2. establish think tanks (e.g. setting up centers such as the Zionist Saban centers in Washington and Doha and formulating effective strategies to bring down the Assad government) and 3. control media (blacking out Arab and Western media from delivering honest and unbiased reports on the Syrian situation).

That there will be an all-out war in Syria, one cannot say with surety.

However, it is evident that the Zionist plot has been craftily devised to involve a military intervention in Syria and turn the country into chaos and ruins. A politically incorrect wave of labyrinthine madness is casting its heavy shadow over Syria as the country is being surrounded left and right by Zionist plots thickening beyond control.

The complicated situation in Syria is ever more obfuscated by myriad forces at work to destroy the friend of Iran and the foe of Israel.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned on Sunday that Syria has become the target of imperialist foreign conspiracy and that the country is facing a real war waged from the outside.

In an address to the new parliament in Damascus, Assad said, “We are not facing a political problem because if we were this party would put forth a political program. What we are facing is (an attempt) to sow sectarian strife and the tool of this is terrorism." The Syrian leader also slammed the perpetrators of the Houla massacre as "monsters". The carnage claimed the lives of 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women.

"What happened in Houla and elsewhere (in Syria) are brutal massacres which even monsters would not have carried out," Assad said.

As an act of character assassination and in order to portray Assad as an illogical person, the media only broadcast a select part of his speech, cutting his speech only to those parts which could be easily misinterpreted or interpreted out of context instead of giving every listener or viewer the chance to judge everything in its proper context.

In his speech, Assad defended Syria’s right to fight the terrorists who “dominate the scene” and “decapitate the Syrians”, a right seen by the international community as violence against protesters.

“Much has been said about the political solution since the beginning of the crisis and there are those who talk of a political solution and other points or details related to it but until now, not one of them has suggested what is the relationship between a political solution and the terrorism which has dominated [the scene] since the beginning of the crisis…Will dialogue and a political solution stop the terrorist from doing what he has been doing until now? And did this terrorist decapitate heads and commit all kinds of heinous terror because there are two sides in Syria who are in a disagreement with each other? And does this mean that once we engage dialogue and agree on a political solution, the terrorist will say the reasons [for the terrorism] are now gone and I will abandon my terrorism?…this is illogical” (Select parts of Assad’s speech translated by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb).

To a world contaminated by the lies and deception the media help promote, Assad seems to be seen the main culprit in the massacre although unspeakable reports from eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime testify to realities, which could be painful to the ears and the hearts.

A witness to the May 25 carnage in Houla says armed groups raped women before killing them and the children.

“They (armed groups) burned houses and killed people by the families because they were loyal to the (Syrian) government. [They] raped the women and killed the children” (Global Research, June 1, 2012).

Another witness said the armed groups “used the women and children as human shields and continued firing” at Syrian forces.

In a statement issued on May 29, Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said a “substantial part” of the Houla killings was “summary executions of civilians, women and children.”

Unfortunately, Arab puppet regimes such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar are fanning the flames of crisis in Syria and playing in the hands of Washington to serve the interests of Israel. For instance, Saudi Arabia is brutally critical of Syria and ironically talks of democracy and popular uprising in Syria while at the same time, the regime supports the Bahraini dictatorship and even sends men to crush the popular uprising there. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, called on the international community in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, to provide arms to Syrian rebels. These two countries and some other Persian Gulf nations also made a promise of millions of dollars in aid and equipment to the rebels in order to step up the fight against the regime of Bashar Assad (The National, April 2, 2012).

In the intricate grand scheme taking shape in Syria, Israel certainly plays a furtively guileful role. Influential Zionist parties are instrumental in steering the unrest into a direction most debilitating to the government of Bashar Assad. Prominent among these Zionists is Haim Saban, an Egyptian born Israeli-American media mogul who serves as a political power broker. Saban, who is self-described as “a one-issue man” with Israel being “his issue”, plays a pivotal role in the Syrian unrest. At a conference in Israel, he said, “Three ways to be influential in American politics are to make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets.” In 2002, he contributed thirteen million dollars for the construction of a new building for the Democratic National Committee. The same year, he founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D.C. which is affiliated to the powerful Zionist lobby in America notoriously known as AIPAC.

The current director of the institute is the pro-Israel lobbyist Martin Indyk, who had earlier founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an AIPAC spinoff, to counter the Brooking Institution which was criticized for not being pro-Israel enough.

A former US ambassador to Israel, Australian-born Jew, Martin Indyk used to be an assistant secretary of state. In an interview with ABC, he clearly enunciated that Washington was working closely with Turkey and Saudi Arabia against Syria, “The leverage really comes from the sanctions that we are imposing, the isolation that we're organizing and the coordination with Turkey and Saudi Arabia” (abc.net.au October 25, 2011).

The operations of the Saban Center were extended to Doha in Qatar, a regime which vehemently supports the removal of Assad and has offered generous military and financial support to that effect. Known as the Brookings Doha Center, the Qatar-based center was established by the pro-Zionist Martin Indyk who is emphatically financed by the Qatari regime.

The Zionist labyrinthine corridors are so numerous that their footprints and their agents are scattered everywhere. The continuation of this Zionist influence is Shadi Hamid who currently serves as the director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and Fellow at the Zionist Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. In fact, these centers are secretly tasked with formulating strategies and exploring effective ways to destabilize any regime in the Middle East which proves hostile or detrimental to the interests of Israel.

To sum up, Israel is following a tripartite plot in order to topple Bashar Assad and destroy Syria under the guidance of Haim Saban: 1. make donations to political parties (e.g. funding and arming rebels and Wahhabi terrorists in Syria) 2. establish think tanks (e.g. setting up centers such as the Zionist Saban centers in Washington and Doha and formulating effective strategies to bring down the Assad government) and 3. control media (blacking out Arab and Western media from delivering honest and unbiased reports on the Syrian situation).

That there will be an all-out war in Syria, one cannot say with surety.

However, it is evident that the Zionist plot has been craftily devised to involve a military intervention in Syria and turn the country into chaos and ruins.

And you read it here first.

"the Queen . . . has the supreme authority in Britain and her vast powers can never be challenged . . ." (PressTV-Iran)

In which we learn that Gaddafi could have avoided his fate if only he had been "clever enough to portray himself as a symbolic figure and exercise powers by holding confidential meetings with a prime minister." Now you tell us, PressTV! Where were you when Gaddafi needed you?

Celebrations marking the British Queen’s 60th year on the throne have officially begun in Britain while republican activists say this show cannot hide Britain’s “highly questionable constitutional arrangement.”

Anti-monarchy activists in Britain say the royal festivities are “a neat way of distracting” the public from the bitter reality that this is the Queen who has the supreme authority in Britain and her vast powers can never be challenged “in a court of law.

This is the British monarch who calls the shots in Britain as the country’s unwritten constitution gives her the power to appoint ministers, sign treaties, change the law, and even declare wars. And she does exercise those powers on the instruction of her Prime Minister as the two meet on a weekly basis, with the meetings remaining strictly confidential.

This comes as the Republican movement in Britain which rejects inherited power and privilege and seeks democratic reforms not only gets almost no media coverage but also is somehow banned under the Treason Felony Act.

The act which was passed by the British parliament in 1848 and is still in force says punishment for advocacy of republicanism could be life imprisonment.

Even former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi referred to the vast powers of the British Queen in order to justify his own crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Libya last year.

“Why did no one question (the UK's) Queen Elizabeth for invading Iraq?” Gaddafi asked at a time reports said he had killed hundreds of protesters in Libya.

However, Gaddafi faced a very different fate. He was not clever enough to portray himself as a symbolic figure and exercise powers by holding confidential meetings with a prime minister, changing the law through a Privy Council, and at the same time remaining immune from any challenge at a court of law.

Clever is as clever does . . .

Angry Arab: "Look at this absurd headline: the Israeli lost but he was declared a winner"

What was the headline that provoked this reaction? An AP story: "Despite loss, Israeli chess grandmaster wins fans." Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't sound so "absurd" to me. I've heard of greater absurdities. In another recent post, Angry Arab has this to say about the returned dead Palestinian terrorists: "To our enemy, Israel, those are numbers. To us, they are names, faces, and still brimming with life." Some of them are not so "faceless" to Israel's supporters, AA. When can I expect to see the names and faces of some of their victims in your blog?

"Kaesong City, Seized with Festive Mood" (Korean News)

Who knew that such heights of human happiness were possible?

Kaesong City, adjacent to the Military Demarcation Line, has been put in an ecstasy of joy with appointments of delegates to the celebrations of the 66th anniversary of the Korean Children's Union. Hwangbo Su Hyon (43), father of Hwangbo Song (11), a delegate to the celebrations, told KCNA:

"I am a special-class disabled soldier. My family has enjoyed benefits from the Party and the State.

And, this time my daughter, Song, was appointed a KCU delegate. I can hardly express my feelings now. Such loving care will become a memory to be shared by my family through generations."

Kim Myong Gwang (13), a student at Koryo Secondary School, said in tears:

"I am not an orphan for I regard the dear respected Kim Jong Un as my own father."

An officer of the Korean People's Army, Kim Chol Ung, father of Kim Ung (10), a pupil at Manwol Primary School, said:

"Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un inspected the military outpost in Panmunjom I was standing guard in March this year and showed deep trust in our service personnel.

And, my son is to go to Pyongyang as a KCU delegate to the celebrations. Now I feel my family has got all blessings."

Farmers Ri Wan Song and Kim Pong Sil, father and mother of Ri Jin Du (11), a student at Panmunjom Secondary School, said that they would work harder to boost grain output, inspired by their son's appointment as a delegate.

Any maybe be allowed to eat a little of the grain . . .

"Anti-Capitalism, Islamic Awakening Inspired by Imam Khomeini's Thoughts" (Fars News-Iran)

This is reminiscent of North Korean claims that "all progressive people" are impressed by the Juche idea:

The thoughts and notions of the Late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, is the source of inspiration for the growing tides of Islamic awakening in the region and the anti-capitalist moves in the western society, the Iranian Armed Forces said in a statement on Saturday.

In a statement released on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the demise of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces stated said that revolutions in the Middle-East followed by the collapse of the West-backed dictatorial regimes in the region was a materialization of the events forecasted by the Late Imam Khomeini.

"23 years after the painful demise of the great architect of the Islamic Revolution, the emergence of Islamic Awakening in the region and anti-Capitalism movement in the western bloc indicates the effects of the Revolution and the influence of Imam Khomeini's pure thoughts beyond the Islamic Iran's geographical boundaries," the statement said.

In relevant remarks in February, Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei had also described the Islamic Revolution as a source of inspiration for the revolutions and popular uprisings which have swept the Middle-East and North Africa.

Addressing Iranian Air Force personnel here in Tehran at the time, Ayatollah Khamenei said that Iran did not claim that the Islamic Awakening in the region had been initiated by Iran, but, no one could neglect the fact that the waves of Islamic Awakening had been inspired by the victory of Islamic Revolution.

The leader underlined that the latest developments in the region and the Islamic Awakening proved that the Iranian nation was moving in the right path and that the Islamic Revolution had flourished and was dynamically moving forward towards its goals 33 years after its victory.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that slogans of the Iranian nation had prevailed over the region and the nations following global arrogance had now stood by Iran pursuing the same goals.

Sounds like that refers to "arrogance," doesn't it?