"DPRK People Resentful at Attempted Terrorism"

What is the "terrorism" that the title refers to? Seems to have something to do with damaging statues (of Kim Il Sung, I assume, but I imagine that could also include--gasp!--Kim Jong Il statues):

It was disclosed by Jon Yong Chol, a defector from the north to the south of Korea, that the Lee Myung Bak regime of south Korea, in collusion with the United States, had pushed ahead with terrorist acts to demolish statues in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,.

In this regard, Kim Myong Bok, a teacher at Kim Il Sung University, told KCNA:

"It is an unprecedented hideous terrorism aimed to defame the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership. But the Lee group is downplaying the case as 'north's unilateral propaganda' and 'something impossible'.

With such allegations, it can never evade the blame for the unpardonable crime.

As a person involved in the case, Jon Yong Chol confessed that the south Korean intelligence agencies formed such anti-DPRK plot-breeding bodies as the 'Front for Liberation of North Koreans' with human dregs to press ahead with terrorism against the DPRK. He also testified to the fact that the United States and the south Korean regime orchestrated the recent terrorist operation while financing it.

The facts show that the case was worked out by the U.S. and the south Korean regime, not by a non-governmental organization of scoundrels."

Jon Kwang Il, a doctor at the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital, said:

"The rat-like Myung Bak group of traitors went the lengths of infiltrating such human dregs as defectors to the south into the DPRK territory to break the single-minded unity of its people.

As the statement of a spokesman for the DPRK National Defence Commission says, a physical counteraction is only the choice to punish those who run amuck to tarnish the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership."

Another article, entitled "No Prescription for Hideous Crime: DPRK People," also refers to "terrorism aimed to insult the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership," but it seems to be so overcome with indignation that it is unable to even name any specific hideous acts. It does specify the preferred fate of the evil-doers, however: "The group of rabid dogs should be beaten to death in time." If only they were as good at growing food as they are at invective.

Assad extends "deep thanks" to Kim Jong Un

It' a beautiful day in the axis-hood:

Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, received a congratulatory message from Syrian President Bashar Al－Assad on Tuesday.

The message said:

I extend sincere congratulations to Your Excellency on your holding of the title of Marshal on July 17, 2012 and wish you great success in your responsible work.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to express my deep thanks to Your Excellency, the leadership of the DPRK and the friendly Korean people for having rendered support and encouragement to our just cause against the moves of the world powers to interfere in our internal affairs.

Juan Cole predicts doom of carbon

Juan Cole does not just write about the Middle East. In a current post he predicts an interesting development in the area of green energy, namely that "Scientists have found that solar photovoltaic cells could be producing electricity at less 50 cents a watt by 2016, four years earlier than other projections." The whole thing is supposed to be the "Top Ten Reasons Fracking won’t Last Long," but here is a key paragraph:

. . . oil and gas triumphalists have another think coming. It is that the cost of generating electricity by wind and solar is falling rapidly. However hard they try to suppress government funding and tax breaks for renewables, Big Oil and Big Gas are doomed to lose, and in only about 4 years. At that point where it is just cheaper to generate electricity with renewables, no one is going to invest in hydrocarbons. Even with a price advantage it will take decades for renewables to displace hydrocarbons (the electricity grid, transportation, batteries, all have to be redone). But it isn’t a matter of “if.” It is a matter of when. All the anti-climate-warming propaganda and pro-hydrocarbon advertising is intended to slow this process; even Big Oil and Big Gas are not so stupid as not to see the writing on the wall. But if their delaying tactics can make them billions in the meantime, they have every reason to go for it, especially if they are moral cretins who don’t care about the health of the planet.

What is his source for the 4-year thing? If you follow his link, you get this, another blog post. Its source is this, something called Greentech Media. Is that the same as "scientists"? Wikipedia describes them as "a startup media company based in Massachusetts, United States, that generates research and news on the green technology market." Greentech Media could be right in their projections, for all I know. Juan seems to be relishing the prospect of oil companies and such getting their comeuppance. It doesn't seem occur to him that the demise of hydrocarbon also won't be such a swell development for Saudis, Iranians, and Venezuelans.

Juan never strays too far from the Middle East, of course. Here is the last of the "ten reasons":

The Egyptian gas pipeline through the Sinai to Jordan and Israel has been blown up 15 times since the Jan. 25 revolution. Egyptians are angry that the government of deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak had sold the gas at substantially below-market prices to Israel . . .

Egyptians, especially the pipeline bombers, are angry that Egypt had any relations at all with the hated Zionist entity (even the purchase of their soon-to-be-worthless natural gas). That would be a more trenchant way to put it in my humble estimation, but Juan remains true to his biases, and those include taking Islamist accounts of their own motivation at face-value. Nice to know you can count on something.

"Iran to give crushing response to US cyber attacks" (IRNA-Iran)

The US, we learn, better not even make "hostile comments":

An official with the Cyber Department of the Iranian Armed Forces said on Wednesday that Iran will give a crushing response to US cyber attacks.

If the US continues its cyber attacks against Iran, it will be given a very crushing response by Iranian experts, he said.

The official who was speaking on condition of ananymity made the remarks in response to the US threats of cyber attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

US officials should avoid making hostile comments; otherwise they will have to pay for it, said the source.

The Americans should discontinue threatening the Islamic Republic of Iran as the country is capable enough to give a crushing response to any adventurism, said the source.

"Iran: Israel Only Culprit behind Bus Explosion in Bulgaria" (Fars News-Iran)

Not many people know it, but the Imam was a terrific dancer:

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazayee categorically denied the allegations raised by the Zionist regime about Tehran's involvement in a terrorist attack in Bulgaria, and said Israel is the only regime able to plot and carry out such terrorist acts.

"It's amazing that just a few minutes after the terrorist attack, Israeli officials announced that Iran was behind it," Khazayee said, addressing a UN Security Council meeting.

He said that Iran condemns any form of terrorist act, emphasizing that such acts could only be carried out by Israel itself.

"While condemning any terrorist attack in whatever form and manifestation, with regard to the terrorist attack in Bulgaria, I should make it clear that we have never (engaged) and will not engage in such a despicable attempt," he added.

"Such a terrorist operation could only be planned and carried out by the same regime whose short history is full of state terrorism operations and assassinations aimed at implicating others for narrow political gains," he said.

The Iranian envoy said that he could provide many examples showing that the regime "killed its own citizens and innocent Jewish people during the last couple of decades".

He said that Iran was itself a victim of terrorism, citing the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists as an example.

A deadly attack against Israeli tourists took place in the Black Sea city of Burgas, 400 kilometers (248 miles) East of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, last week.

Israeli officials accused Iran and the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah of carrying out the attack.

In relevant remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast, too, strongly rejected the allegations, and said, "The Zionist regime as master of state and organized terrorism has its hands in blood of innocent Lebanese, Palestinian and other nationalities."

The diplomat pointed out that the Zionist regime that has a direct role in terror of Iran's nuclear scientists engages in lodging baseless accusations against other countries in order to distract the attention of the international community from its terrorist activities being carried out throughout the world.

"Syrian soil to be purged of enemy soon: Iran Cmdr." (PressTV-Iran)

Very interesting. Turkey appears in a list of "evil governments." And what does "the Resistance" refer to here? Not just Hezbollah but everyone in the "Resistance block"?

A senior Iranian commander has warned against foreign schemes against Damascus, saying the foreign-sponsored antagonistic forces will soon be obliterated in Syria.

“The Syrian soil will soon be purged of the taint of the enemy and then it is time for the Resistance to take revenge on every enemy of Syria,” said Deputy Chairman of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri on Tuesday.

Jazayeri reaffirmed the Syrian nation’s resolve to retaliate against their enemies, adding, “The people of Syria are extremely furious at the evil governments of the US, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other allies of the terrorists.”

He pointed out that a large front comprising the US and its allies as well as the ‘global Zionism’ have launched an all-out war against the Syrian government and nation.

Jazayeri went on to say that due to the strong presence of the Syrian people, government and armed forces, the plotters have suffered a historical and crushing defeat.

“Now the enemy cannot do anything except resorting to terrorist attacks, bombing and media propaganda,” top Iranian commander added.

“The enemy is not capable of changing the government in Syria and the people of the country and Syria’s friends will never allow it to happen.”

Last week, four senior Syrian officials including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense minister Assef Shawkat, Security Chief General Hisham Ikhtiyar and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmeni were killed in a bomb attack at the headquarters of the National Security Bureau.

The terrorist Free Syrian Army (FSA) claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying the attack was the “first in a series.”

Syria has been the scene of violence by armed groups since March 2011.

Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Kim Jong Un "has extraordinary intelligence and clairvoyant foresightedness. He is possessed of profound knowledge about the politics, economy, culture, latest science and technology and various other fields"

That must be why Kim Jong IL picked him as a successor:

Lao papers gave wide publicity to the personality of Marshal Kim Jong Un, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, as a great man.

Pasason on July 6 said Kim Jong Un is standing in the van of the socialist cause of the Korean people. It went on:

He is another general secretary Kim Jong Il for the Korean people.

He has extraordinary intelligence and clairvoyant foresightedness. He is possessed of profound knowledge about the politics, economy, culture, latest science and technology and various other fields. Particularly, he who has qualifications and natural disposition as brilliant commander is well versed in not only all branches of arms and services and specialized field but latest military science and technology and all military equipment.

With distinguished organizing ability and outstanding practical caliber of skillfully mobilizing the masses, he is wisely leading the Korean people's struggle for building a thriving socialist nation while conducting all the work in a big and bold yet careful and meticulous manner. He is enjoying boundless love and reverence from the people as he cherishes deep obligation for comrades, ardent love for the people and boundlessly humble and informal traits.

His greatest mission is to carry forward and accomplish the ideas and cause of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

The Korean people will inherit and accomplish the socialist cause generation after generation under his leadership. [...]

Wouldn't it be funny if he just sort-of disappears in six months?

"Netanyahu seeks war with Iran so he can ethnically cleanse the West Bank — Machover" (Mondoweiss)

Here is the link if you want to actually read the thing. Everyone in the comments section seems to be on the same wavelength as the post. That means none of the Mondoweissniks are even considering the possibility that Israel really thinks Iran is a threat, never mind the possibility that Iran really is a threat.

"Jewish MP: Collapse of Zionist Regime Imminent" (Fars News-Iran)

Stories like this show up periodically at sites like Fars News. Jews living under Khomeinist rule invariably sound like Khomeinists when they appear in the Khomeinist press. How about that?

A Jewish member of the Iranian parliament underlined the prevalence of injustice and insecurity in the occupied Palestinian territories, and said that the Zionist regime is on the verge of collapse.

"I think we will soon witness the collapse of the Zionist regime from inside," Siamak Mareh Sedq told FNA on Monday, pointing to the spreading injustice in the occupied territories which has cause the self-immolation of several Israelis in protest at the bad living conditions.

"The structure of the Zionist regime is an inhuman structure and therefore the relations that are defined in this structure are not humane and it is natural that those who are victims of this inhuman structure and relations show reaction," he added. [...]

And then he also added, "Could you please stop aiming the gun at my head now?"

Angry Arab thinks this is cute

Is it OK to reciprocate these sorts of feelings? Just wondering.

An Israeli set himself on fire to protest inflation. I call on all Israelis to protest inflation.

"Why is Tehran angry with Mursi?" (Amir Taheri)

I have been saying that Egypt is on the way to a Sunni version of Khomeinism. As this fascinating article by Amir Taheri suggests, that may not mean an alliance with actual Khomeinism--it could mean a fairly tense rivalry with it:

[...] When Mursi declined to receive the Khomeinist emissary, Tehran fabricated an interview in which Mursi showered praise on Khamenei and promised to restore ties with the Islamic Republic.

Mursi denied giving the interview, and the Tehran media shifted attention to another topic. This time Tehran wanted Mursi not to devote his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia.

When Mursi did visit Saudi Arabia, Tehran tried to play down the event. [...]

Using the summit of non-aligned nations that is scheduled to take place in Tehran as a pretext, Ahmadinejad dispatched his Special Advisor to present an invitation to Mursi.

The subtext was that diplomatic ties, severed in 1979, would be restored before Mursi visits Tehran in September.

However, that move is not in Mursi’s gift. It was Tehran that severed ties with Cairo, and the initiative for resuming relations should also come from the Iranian side.

That is not as a simple as it sounds. Relations with Egypt were severed on the orders of Ruhollah Khomeini, the mullah who created the regime in Tehran. Khomeini issued a fatwa decreeing that ties not be restored unless Egypt renounces the Camp David accords.

In other words, the Islamic Republic demands control over a major aspect of Egyptian foreign policy. Obviously, Mursi, or any other Egyptian leader, cannot concede such control. The only way out of the impasse is for Tehran to cancel Khomeini’s fatwa.

Such a move, however, would open an even bigger can of worms. As an ideology, Khomeinism is based on the myth of the late ayatollah’s infallibility. To admit that Khomeini might have made a mistake, and that his fatwas could be overruled, would deal a major blow to the structure of Tehran’s official ideology. [...]

Taheri, who sees such matters as sharply contrasting with Egypt, might be over-prone to make Egypt's present course sound democratic, but I think he is on target, as usual, about Tehran's current dilemmas. (Some worthwhile parts of the article are not included in my excerpts.)

"Major cleric: Resistannce against satanic powers only way in Syria" (IRNA-Iran)

Yep, he's major. Even has the title "Ayatollah":

Tehran Substitute Friday Prayers Leader, by condemning recent terrorist act in Syria, said that resistance is the only way for Syrian nation against international devils and blackmailers.

Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Khatami said the recent terrorist act in Syria, which caused death of a number of high ranking officials of the Syrian government, indicated the depth of spitefulness of hegemonic powers toward Syrian government and nation.

He underlined that Iran has repeatedly said Syria is paying the price for supporting oppressed people, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially during the imposed eight-year war.

The major cleric said that US, Britain, European Union, reactionary Arabs, Al-Qaida and a number of Syrian neighbors, who are dreaming past empires, are committing crimes against Syria. [...]

When Assad is closer to going down, it will be interesting to see how events are covered in the Iranian press then.

"Iran needs 50-60% enriched uranium to power commercial ships: MP" (Mehr News-Iran)

That would be a lot closer to what they would need for a bomb:

MP Abolqassem Jarareh has said that Iran needs highly enriched uranium in order to fuel the ships that it plans to equip with nuclear propulsion systems.

“This fuel should certainly be (purified to a level) higher than 25 percent, something about 50 to 60 percent,” Jarareh, who is a member of the Majlis Industries and Mines Committee, said in an interview with the Persian service of the Fars News Agency published on Friday.

The Majlis Industries and Mines Committee recently approved a plan which calls for Iranian oceangoing tankers and other commercial ships to be powered by nuclear fuel in order to eliminate their need to be refueled while on long voyages.

The parliament must endorse the plan before it can be implemented.

MP Rouhollah Abbaspour, the rapporteur of the Majlis Industries and Mines Committee, previously said that in response to the West’s anti-Iranian sanctions, the administration would be obligated to equip some vessels of the country’s shipping fleets with enhanced propulsion systems that would allow them to operate for long periods without needing to be refueled.

"CIA sacrificing Mexico before the Queen" (IRNA-Iran)

The Queen appears in the first sentence of this and disappears after that, but it is still prime conspiracy swill:

Independent observers say their investigations prove the management and control of worldwide drugs trade in Mexico and other countries is done by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the proceddings going to the Queen of Britain and other influential people both in the US and the UK.

The question dwelling on the public mind in the past years is whether the CIA has been making any profits out of bloody wars related to drug trafficking in Mexico. Why is it that such a big organization, with all those facilities and capabilities, is unable to fight a handful of drug traffickers.

According to a report published by a Mexican news website on April 24, 2012, the US idea of waging a military war against drug traffickers which was initiated by the Bush government and was planned to culminate in 2008 together with the 1.4 billion dollar financial aid provided by Washigton to the present Mexican government has now changed into a truly bloody catastrophe that is speedily transforming into a social annihilation process, turning Mexico into a broken country in social and economic terms.

Though experts and politicians hold diverse views on the roots of violence and blood shedding, they share the same opinion on the inefficiency of the military plans devised by the Mexican president which have claimed lives of 23000 people during military operations since 2006. They believe changes in the present policies are necessary.

In the past four decades, American policies on drugs have never changed. The US administration has never really tried to fight drug trafficking. That is why it has been tightly holding hands with Calderon’s government which is said to be collaborating with Mafia bands.

Apparently, the CIA is supposed to accumulate, process and analyze information about governments, companies and foreign and domestic people and extend its reports to the US government, while in essence it far surpasses this superficial formula and –based on numerous documents - plays a big role in the global drug trafficking.

The enormous volume of drug trade in the world and its financial value has long before persuaded experts that such a great income could never go solely to a number of “traffickers” but that there are certain intelligence services playing a crucial role in it. The comment surely sounded wise but it could not be offered to the public without having enough documents and proofs. The investigations carried by independent individuals – many of whom sacrificed their lives for their causes – have revealed enough so far to raise accusations against these intelligence services and the CIA, in particular.

The connection between the CIA and drug trafficking is no evident issue for the world public opinion and especially the Americans. The American media have tried hard to protect the CIA by keeping the ordinary people in total ignorance.

In August 1996, the American journalist Gary Webb published over 8000 classified documents in his book titled “The Dark Alliance” which disclosed the connection between the CIA and the drug cartels with an aim of filling the treasury and gaining to their dark objectives through secret operations.

Pointing out that the CIA started its drug operations in 1970s and then it reached its peak in 1990s, he said that since 80s, the US has started to invest about 2 billion dollars in Afghan drug cartels to confront the Russian military presence there. The CIA also cooperated with drug traffickers in Latin America.

According to the published documents, the money earned through these operations found their ways into Wall Street as legal investments. In this way, the US carried out the world’s biggest money laundering operation to provide financial resources for its interventionist policies without leaving any traces.

One thing for certain is that the horrendous American intelligence agency would never forsake hundreds-of- billions-strong global trade and its enormous income. While hundreds of thousands of people are losing lives worldwide every year because of drugs, the CIA still goes on with its trading activities with drugs traffickers for two distinct objectives: first to have its share of its profits and second, to use the global network of drug-related crimes to materialize its goals. [...]

IRNA, by the way, is Iran's most official news agency.

"Reuters is putting mounting pressure" on Iranian female Ninjas to drop defamation suit (PressTV-Iran)

They don't know who they's messing with:

Reuters is putting mounting pressure on Iranian ninjas to withdraw their complaint against the news agency over a February report that branded them as Iran's "assassins," Press TV has learned.

Reuters' officials have repeatedly contacted the trainer of Iranian ninjas, warning him against pursuing the legal case. Iranian female ninjas have filed defamation charges against Reuters after the news agency accused them of being killers for hire. Reuters also faces a lawsuit from the Iranian government over the same report.

Press TV has learned that both London officials and Tehran personnel of the news agency are trying intimidation and enticement tactics to prevent a court hearing involving private plaintiffs.

This comes after a court hearing has been scheduled for late September.

The Iranian ninjas say they are determined to take Reuters to court.

“The lady from Reuters asked me only one question which had a very obvious answer. I believe that anyone anywhere in the world would defend his country if it were attacked…but she twisted our words to make us look bad and described us as assassins,” Khatereh Jalilzadeh, a Ninja trainee, told Press TV of the interview she gave to the news agency that was later used in the Reuters report.

“We are taking legal action because the ladies that train in Ninjutsu first and foremost enjoy it as a sport. It's about working out and staying fit. Reuters has blatantly lied about us,” she added.

Another female Ninja said the Reuters' report can definitely be a problem.

‏ ‏ “It can harm our chances to travel to other countries to take part in global tournaments and international championships because Reuters is considered by many to be a reliable source,” said Raheleh Davoudzadeh, another martial artist.

Akbar Faraji, who established Ninjutsu in Iran over 22 years ago, condemned the British media accusations, saying his students will pursue the complaint to the end.

"Reuters has introduced us as assassins to the whole world. The truth must come to light and everyone should know that we are only a group of athletes,” he said.

Press TV contacted the Reuters bureau chief in Tehran to seek her reaction but she refused to make any comments.

I can certainly understand that.

"I Witnessed True Picture of DPRK: Secretary General of Int'l Body"

Let a foreigner tour North Korea a little, and they will end up sounding exactly like a Rodong Sinmun article:

Julien Huck, secretary general of the International Union of Agricultural and Foodstuff Workers, said he was deeply moved to visit various places of the DPRK from June 30 to July 5.

He noted as follows in an excited tone:

The visit to the DPRK provided me with an opportunity to witness its true picture.

The situation in the DPRK was quite different from what the West media used to say.

The Koreans are a heroic people who defeated the U.S. and Japanese imperialists.

While touring the monuments to the history of the Korean people's struggle, I became to know well about the source of their powerful strength.

In the DPRK everything serves the people and they are masters of everything.

Herein lies one of secrets to the victory of socialism in the DPRK despite ceaseless sanctions of the imperialists and their moves to stifle it.

I will widely introduce the Korean people to prove that the Western media reports are groundless.

It is my conviction that the Korean people will firmly defend socialism and achieve the cause of national reunification, true to the leadership of the dear respected Kim Jong Un.

The only thing we have to figure out is why it is taking them so long . . . .

" . . . the Jewish media will never discuss the issue of Khazar Jews, their crimes against humanity . . ." (PressTV-Iran)

This recent offering from Iran's PressTV is a very long conspiracist rant evidently aimed at American Christians by one Jospeh Zrnchik. Here are a few paragraphs to give you the flavor of it:

[...] While the attacks against the Palestinians are horrific by themselves, nowhere does war provide such horrors as in an occupation. The inhabitants are shut in. Business, pleasure, education and civil discourse are ground into dirt. Miseries are multiplied. As the destruction begins, artillery shells explode in neighborhoods and penetrate the roofs of houses. Citizens are killed in the streets. Women and children retreat to their cinderblock homes and live in all discomfort under military law and confined to their homes for days on end. Day by day the gloom thickens. All news is of houses bulldozed, land stolen, persons killed, children maimed, prices raised and scarcity increased. As there is no army to battle the imperial soldier in blood-lust slaughters innocents.

Gladly, perhaps, would the citizens surrender, but the Zionist regime in Israel does not want surrender, it wants extermination. At length, famine and deprivation are enforced and opposition to such acts results in summary death sentences. As Israel cuts off food to women and children, the worker with no job, cannot purchase food if he is of the luck few that work. Medicine is denied the sick. As in Iraq, the US caused the death of 500,000 Iraqi children by cutting off medicine leaving children to die slow agonizing deaths. In Palestine fishing boats are attacked, sunk, or seized. The father, and his family, never having known daily comforts for generations, fall victim to poverty, hopelessness, death and disease. As the siege continues in occupied territory, the middle class sinks to destitution as everything that is not destroyed or stolen is sold to buy what little food can be smuggled in through tunnels. Palestinians have made breaches in the walls, but often are buried or slaughtered while trying to get food. All neighbors must work, amid blistering fire to try to assist each other in survival and coming to the aid of the injured. Mines are sprung, missiles fly and dropped bombs blow houses apart and dismember the occupants. White phosphorous burns through children’s bodies. [...]

The establishment of rituals and creation of false dogmas has occurred throughout history. It was blindness of the Jews that caused them to fail to acknowledge they were putting Christ up on the cross. There are many rabbis in Israel who denounce Israel's Zionist regime living by the sword. The nation that lives by the sword shall die by the sword. A reckoning awaits Israel and the US when its time comes, the Christian Zionists will believe it is the end of the world. They will try to convince Christians that Israel must be defended. They will promote the false dogma that that commands absolute support for Israeli crimes lest God bring about America's decline. However, one can see the extreme decline in American influence amidst unquestioning support for Israel's crimes against humanity.

President Ahmadinejad is seen on Youtube meeting with Iranian Jews. During the meeting these Jews denounced Zionism and spoke to issues regarding the evil of Zionism. Christian Zionists can rest assured that the Jewish media will never discuss the issue of Khazar Jews, their crimes against humanity and their creation of a cult within Judaism.

PressTV, I should add, seems to be the Iranian news agency whose output is edited with the most consciousness of the Western reader.

"every Jewish school child is taught that Jews are the master race and that non-Jews are either lesser or sub-humans" (ABNA-Iran)

This is exactly like the remarks made by Iranian Vice-President Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi at a UN drug conference. That managed to provoke some comdemnations and press coverage, but it needs to be stressed that Rahimi's remarks only stood out from what Iranian officials normally say to UN audiences, not what they or their news agencies say in general--even in content from their news agencies that they themselves have had translated into English:

. . . Israel and Jewish circles protest rather vociferously, usually with a great degree of sanctimony, the alleged hatred existing in Palestinian and other Arab textbooks when every Jewish school child is taught that Jews are the master race and that non-Jews are either lesser or sub-humans.

Just try to thoroughly examine the text-books used in hundreds of Talmudic schools across Israel and the occupied territories and you will see strange wonders. You will see text-books teaching that the Almighty created the entire universe solely for the sake of the Jew. You will see books teaching that the Almighty created all the nations "Goyem" (people like you and me) solely in order to serve the master race or Chosen People. According to some Talmudic texts, the lives of non-Jews have no sanctity.

Indeed, according to some rabbis affiliated with the Nazi-like Chabad sect, a Jew may murder a non-Jew, without any compunction, in order to extricate an organ from his or her body if the Jew needs one.

I really thought that this was a far-fetched canard until I ascertained its veracity. [...]

By doing or reading what, one wonders.

Angry Arab post entitled "Thieves, occupiers, terrorists, and fabricators"

The subject of the post? Felafel, of course:

Look at this outrage: "Having a ball: The 5 best falafel joints in Tel Aviv: Wanna grab a bite of Israel's most famous street food? Haaretz brings you a selection of the best falafel in Tel Aviv." "Israel's most famous street food"? Really? It is not a street food in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine and Egypt?

The word "Aviv" in "Tel Aviv" links to this article in Ha'aretz. The title of the post simply seems to be an outburst. Israel "fabricated" felafel or they "fabricated" the idea that it is very popular in Israel? He asks whether Felafel is a "street food in . . . Palestine." Isn't "Palestine" just his word for Israel? He isn't saying green-line Israel is legitimate, is he? I guess if he wrote with any degree of precision he wouldn't be so much fun.

"All revolts must target Israel as base of global hegemony: Ahmadinejad" (PressTV-Iran)

The actual occasion for this article is a "International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening" in Tehran. We learn that "Europe and the US 'have demolished' the existence of women":

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described Israel as the base of the global hegemony, emphasizing that all revolutionary movements must be geared against the Zionist regime (of Israel).

“This regime is the base of domineering powers and as long as the hegemonic system and the Zionist regime are in existence, nations would not see a peaceful day,” said President Ahmadinejad in Tuesday’s opening session of the 1st International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Insisting that Islamic awakening is the key condition for a fundamental development in the global situation, he said, “Nothing [new] will happen in the world unless people are awakened.”

Noting that today Europe and the US “have demolished” the existence of women, he added, “So long as women do not play their respective role, plundering, colonialism and crime will ensue and today the biggest abuse and repression has been carried out against women.”

The Iranian president addressed the female participants of the conference, saying “your mission is quite burdensome.” He also urged them not to confine such a “divine mission” based on race, geographical location, ethnicity or language.

He further described that all the freedom-loving and justice-seeking human beings are brothers, vowing that “the global domination by the US and the Zionist regime is unsettled and will be replaced by justice.”

President Ahmadinejad reiterated that at the time of slavery the repression of human being was overtly carried out; however, today the hegemonic powers resort to pro-human rights and freedom slogans to deceive the world.

He also rejected free elections in the US, insisting that “a group of corrupt Zionist capitalists are acting behind the scenes in the US and rule over 300 million Americans and other nations.”

More than 1500 female researchers and scholars as well as political and social activists from more than 80 countries are taking part in the two-day conference.

Senior Iranian and foreign officials including Ali Akbar Velayati, the secretary-general of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening and an advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Commander of Iran's Basij Force Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naqdi and Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Seyyed Ammar al-Hakim are also attending the conference. [...]

Did Velayati, Naqdi, and al-Hakim also address all the women? Thse articles never include the really essential information . . .

Great news! Arafat to be disintered

They are digging him up:

[...] Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Monday that Abbas has now given final approval, and is inviting the Swiss experts to test the remains. Erekat says "we are on the way to an autopsy."

Earlier Monday, Arafat's nephew said he does not believe further testing is needed. It was not clear whether the nephew would block an autopsy.

It seems very suspicious to me that evidence would come to light on his belongings at this late date considering the secrecy that accompanied the time when an autopsy made the most sense. How were those belongings kept in the meantime? (I don't have any opinion on how Polonium's half-life enters into this.)

The dilemma faced by the PA is exquisite, however. They got some propaganda out of this already and it is unlikely that anyone legitimate will emerge from the tests and declare, "Eureka, it was the Zionist Entity!" What happens if the tests prove conclusively that he wasn't poisoned with Polonium? I guess we can offer the comfort that even if he wasn't poisoned, he certainly deserved to be. Maybe they can make a new epitaph for his tombstone: "Here lies Yassir Arafat: a man who deserved to be poisoned."

Brief, but too long for Twitter

Ever notice that the Pro-Palestinian forces accuse Israel of and its supporters of cynically exploiting the issue of the Jewish refugees from Arab countries in order to deny the Palestinians their rights as if the ones accused of misusing the issue of the Jewish refugees are not actually the Jewish refugees. The modern Israeli population is largely, although not entirely, what became of those refugees. A cliche that often gets used against Israel-supporters is that "two wrongs don't make a right." It ought to be possible to suggest that fetishizing one wrong while ignoring another wrong is unlikely to lead to either a just or practical rectification of a situation that began with two wrongs. If someone was wronged and made the best of it, the appropriate response is to respect his current living arrangements and not to construe them as a wrong done to someone else.

"Sheikh Naim Qassem: Hezbollah Ready to Defeat Israel Again" (Fars News-Iran)

Another article that doesn't sound like it is going to be about Syria:

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem termed Israel's recent war rhetoric against Lebanon as propaganda, and said the Zionist regime is aware that it will experience another defeat (like the 33-day war in 2006) if it dares to attack the Arab country.

"Israel is aware that it is faced with a noble resistance which is ready to inflict another loss and defeat on Israel if it attacks and makes another aggression against Lebanon," Qassem said on Sunday.

He also blasted the US provocative moves in the region, and said the US and Israel seek to inflame the entire region and they think that this region is a place for their military operations.

That is why US senator John McCain invites the US allies to conflicts and militarism in Syria and doesn't like the settlement of the Syrian crisis without military and political interferences, Qassem added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 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.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

While opposition to Syria's dictator is a U.S-Israeli_Saudi plot, the overthrowing of Egypt's dictator was inspired by Iran.

"Enemies making every effort to save Israel: Ahmadinejad" (Mehr News-Iran)

Funny how recent Iranian Press articles with titles like this one always end up being about Syria:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the enemies of regional countries are making every effort to save the Zionist regime.

“The main enemies of the nations are seeking to reestablish dominance in the region with the aim of saving this occupying regime from annihilation,” Ahmadinejad stated during a meeting with Syrian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham in Tehran on Thursday.

Laham said that Syria is keen to expand its relations with the Islamic Republic.

"Zionist cartels behind global economic crisis: US economist" (PressTV-Iran)

Another scoop for PressTV! And who is that "economist"? Joachim Martillo!

Hyper-wealthy Zionist cartels that control international financial institutions and Wall Street have been engineering the global economic crisis, a US economist tells Press TV.

“There is an intimate connection between the collapse of the financial system, both in the United States and worldwide, and US international policy and its manipulation by a class of hyper-wealthy Jewish Zionists,” Joachim Martillo said in an interview on Monday.

He also pointed to the Zionist cartels’ grip over the Wall Street structure, saying, “We have these vast, essentially ethnic networks on Wall Street. They have been there for a long time.”

Martillo called on world governments to adopt an “honest” and “serious” approach to bring an end to “the ethnic manipulation, the corruption and conspiracy” of the Zionist cartels that have led to endless cycles of debt in the US and across the world.

Martillo has the distinction of having been called an anti-Semite by one Philip Weiss.

Larijani: "West, Zionist Regime on Verge of Collapse" (Fars News-Iran)

Remember, as you try to follow it, that this is basically about Syria:

Developments in the world display that the western countries and the Zionist regime are definitely on the verge of collapse, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Thursday.

"The West and the Zionist regime are on the verge of collapse; the US and its allies are making their utmost efforts to deviate Islam. The current anti-Syrian acts of the West are rooted in the fact that Damascus supports the resistance against the Zionist occupiers," Larijani said.

The United States and the Zionist regime are sources of tyranny and oppression worldwide, he added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 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.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

It's working well, too.

15 Tammuz in Jewish History--1838 Pogrom in Tzfat/Safed

Many people know that Safed became a major Jewish intellectual center in the 16th century. What was its subsequent history?

The 1838 Safed pogrom began on July 5, 1838 during the Druze revolt against the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. The Druze rebels descended on the Jewish quarter of Safed and, in scenes reminiscent of the Safed plunder four years earlier, spent three days attacking Jews, plundering their homes and desecrating their synagogues. Some Jews ended up leaving the town, moving south to Jerusalem. Among them was Israel Beck, whose printing press had been destroyed a second time by the ruffians.

Was that Palestine's only printing press in any language?

Extremely instructive failure of Occupy movement to publish a cookbook

The cake quote:

The Occupy Cookbook project ran into contradictions at every turn in part because the acts of preparing and serving food are so complicated, bringing so much joy and also carrying so much baggage. Cooking can be an art or a pleasure; it can also be sheer drudgery, a burden and an obligation. We all deserve to be fed but, in order for this to happen, someone has to be enlisted to feed us . . .

I've been enlisted to provide you with blog-fodder. That one is really nourishing. Dig in! (h/t: Tim Blair)

"Commander: IRGC Will Destroy 35 US Bases in Region if Attacked" (Fars News-Iran)

There is probably a fair amount of bluster in this, but it has not been a good idea to keep delaying dealing with the the Iran problem. It only gets worse.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that the IRGC has detailed contingency plans to hit 35 US bases in the region in the early minutes of a possible conflict.

"We have thought of measures to set up bases and deploy missiles to destroy all these bases in the early minutes after an attack," Hajizadeh said on Wednesday, referring to Iran's contingency plans for any potential confrontation with the US.

He said that the US has 35 bases around Iran, and stated, "All these bases are within the reach of our missiles. Meantime, the occupied (Palestinian) lands (Israel) are good targets for us as well."

The commander explained that the current IRGC missile wargames is a practice of targeting a single hypothetical enemy airbase which is a replica of the US bases in the region.

On Tuesday, the IRGC Aerospace Force started massive missile wargames, codenamed Payambar-e Azam 7 (The Great Prophet 7), by firing tens of short, mid and long-range missiles from bases across the country at a single target in Central Iran.

The IRGC units fired tens of Shahab 1, 2 and 3, Fateh, Qiyam, Persian Gulf and Zelzal missiles at a hypothetical enemy air base - which IRGC officials had earlier said is a replica of the air bases of the trans-regional powers (the US) - in Iran's Lut Desert simultaneously.

The Islamic Republic's top military officials have repeatedly warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, the country would target all American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway. In similar remarks last month, Hajizadeh had said that the numerous military bases of the trans-regional powers in Iran's neighborhood have provided an "opportunity" for the IRGC.

He said Iran believes that the US military bases in the region "are no threat; rather we view them as an opportunity".

I hope someone is viewing the Khomeinists' entire offensive capability as an "opportunity."

"Turkey supports terrorists killing Syrians: Assad" (IRIB-Iran)

This is an interesting escalation in rhetoric:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Turkey supports terrorists who commit atrocities against the people in Syria.

“Turkey has supplied all logistic support to the terrorists who have killed our people,” Assad said in an interview with the Turkish Cumhuriyet daily published on Wednesday.

“Turkey’s desire to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs has put it in a position which unfortunately makes it a party to all the bloody activities” in Syria, he added.

On June 3, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan censured the government of President Assad over its approach to reforms in the Arab country.

“I have not seen him (Assad) approach reforms with a democratic understanding,” Erdogan said.

The Turkish prime minister also stated that the Syrian president is taking “an autocratic approach” to the issues inside Syria.

The development comes days after Syria said on June 22 that its air defense forces shot down a Turkish F-4 Phantom in the Syrian airspace “according to the laws that govern such situations.” The warplane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

However, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said in a press conference in Damascus on June 25 that the Turkish warplane “violated Syrian airspace, and in turn Syrian air defenses fired back and the plane crashed inside Syrian territorial waters.”

On June 26, Erdogan said in an address to the parliament that Ankara would retaliate “with determination” and take the “necessary steps by determining the time, place and method by itself.”

The Turkish Hurriyet Daily reported on the same day that Turkey had deployed a “large number of military vehicles to the Syrian border,” including “15 armored tanks, in addition to long-distance guns and other military vehicles.”

President Assad said on June 26 that Syria was in a “real situation of war.”

“When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory,” Assad stated.

How's that Neo-Ottoman thing going?

"Mossad trying to penetrate Mursi's office" (IRIB-Iran)

Mursi is actually a hologram projected by the Mossad. So is Ahmadinejad.

According to a report by Egyptian daily Youm 7 (al-Youm al-Sabe), Mossad is trying to establish secure contact channels with German intelligence bodies in a bid to procure new eavesdropping devices and later plant them in Mursi's office if it finds a way to penetrate Egypt's Presidential palace.

The report pointed to the remarks made by former Mossad chief who sees Mursi's victory as a nightmare for Tel Aviv leaders, and said Tel Aviv is doing whatever it can within its possibilities to get information on the upcoming steps of Mursi and his Islamist party Ikhwan al-Muslimun.

Under Mubarak, Egypt was seen as Israel's closest regional ally in an area where few nations recognize it. Those relations have frayed since Mubarak's removal, raising concern in Tel Aviv and Washington that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, from whose ranks Mursi was drawn, will mean an end to decades-old peace agreement between Israel and the largest Arab nation.

Mossad runs espionage operations in many regional countries and a large number of its agents and cells have been discovered and arrested in the region.

In December, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement said it had exposed Israeli espionage device in Southern Lebanon, causing Israel to bomb the equipment with an unmanned drone.

Nasrallah also works for us.

12 - 13 Tammuz

Monday and Tuesday are 12-13 Tammuz this year, the anniversary of the liberation of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn from Soviet prison in 1927. The survival of traditional Jewish observance, at least as an underground movement, is largely due to the work of the Rebbe and his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak possessed considerable literary gifts, and the diary he wrote recording his brutal treatment at the hands of the GPU (the precursor organization to the KGB) makes gripping reading. For many, the Rebbe's miraculous release is the turning point in the ultimately successful struggle to keep Yiddishkeit alive in the Soviet "Empire of Evil." Your local Chabad House or Chabad Center is probably having an event featuring food, alcohol, inspirational talks, and singing. It makes them especially happy if the events are attended by Jews they never met before.