Judeopundit

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fars News: "Britain's Efforts Incapable of Reviving Salman Rushdie"

There are so many ironies to this story. The Ayatollah's fatwa, we are told, turned Rushdie into a "disgusting corpse," but the worms have long since finished digesting Khomeini while Rushdie is not only still among the living, but likely to also outlive the current Ayatollah. From the Fars News site, which may pose security threats:

Vice-Speaker of the Iranian Parliament said the efforts made by Britain's Queen Elizabeth or other senior officials to revive Salman Rushdie would fail as the historical verdict issued by Imam Khomeini against him has already turned Rushdie into a disgusting corpse.

Addressing an open session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly here in Tehran on Tuesday, Mohammad Reza Bahonar lambasted Queen Elizabeth and described the knighting of Salman Rushdie as an unwise action.

"The United Kingdom has embarked on such an action because it imagines that it still enjoys a huge awe as a super power of the 19th century, thinking that the world still attaches importance to the titles granted by the British queen," he continued.

The Muslim part of the world is certainly taking knighthood seriously, isn't it?

"This is while all the world people, even Britons themselves, know very well that this country has now become a colony of the US administration," the prominent lawmaker added.

He reminded that the move has hurt the religious feelings and sentiments of the great Islamic Ummah (nation), and continued, "We don't know what interests and fruits such unwise moves of the United Kingdom have brought to the world and British people."

Bahonar warned that such moves intensify Muslims' anger and hatred for the British government.

He further condemned knighthood of Salman Rushdie as a hostile move against the great Islamic Ummah.

Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie insulted Muslims' beliefs and sparked protests in Muslim countries around the world with his book 'The Satanic Verses'. In 1989 the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini issued a verdict of death sentence against him for blasphemy.

So much for Rushdie. Back to railing about Zionist plots.

Elsewhere, the legislator expressed regret over the bloody clashes among Palestinian groups, warning that such events would ruin the precious achievements of the national unity government which could end the domestic clashes among Palestinians.

"It is now over half a century that Zionists continued violation of all international rules and regulations mainly due to the overall supports the regime receives from the US," he mentioned.

The legislative official viewed Zionists as the enemy of Palestine and the world of Islam, and stressed, "The conflicts among Palestinians have undoubtedly been designed by the US and Zionist agents and these clashes are not acceptable at all."[...]

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Cause of Gaza crisis? "disrespect toward Muslim women wearing hijab"!

You can't make this stuff up. How did this apparently crucial factor escape all Western analysts? From Mehr News:

A Hamas spokesman said on Tuesday that the group is not seeking to monopolize power or to keep the Gaza Strip under its control.

Ismail Rezwan asked all Islamic countries, and especially those in the Arab world, to help end the conflict between Palestinian political factions.

He said “organized terrorist acts and disrespect toward Muslim women wearing hijab” were the main causes of the current crisis.

Follow that? The reference is to hijab disrespect in general, not particularly in Gaza.

“Organized operations meant to destroy headquarters and centers affiliated to Hamas provoked our reaction,” Rezvan told the Mehr News Agency.

Even the intelligent members of the Palestine Liberation Organization did not approve of some of the actions of PLO loyalists and condemned them, he added.

“We (Hamas) announce that we are committed to all agreements signed between Hamas and Fatah.”

“We are committed to negotiations” to resolve the current crisis, he said, adding, “Dialogue is the only way to resolve the current problem.”

“A serious and sincere dialogue should start within the framework of support for the Palestinian nation.”

Fatah and Hamas should implement the previously agreed documents and start dialogue on reforming the Palestinian security services, he said.

He suggested that the Palestinian Authority should have a national army that would only take national interests into consideration and would avoid being influenced by political factionalism.

Hamas and Fatah held talks and reached some agreements, but the problem was that these agreements were not implemented, he explained.

In line with the Mecca Agreement, the cabinet of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya resigned to pave the way for the formation of a national unity government, but no actions were taken by the Fatah movement, the Hamas official complained.

It is probably a matter of days before we see that "national unity government." They just have to implement some hijab respect.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Monday, June 18, 2007

Gimmel Tammuz Round-up

Aussie Echo

Chabad.org

Mystical Paths

CrownHeights.info

Shaarei Tzedek

Questing

Arutz Sheva

Torah Quiz Blog

Life-of-Rubin

Fars News: "Hamas Warns Occupiers in West Bank"

(Fars News resizes your browser window and may present a security threat.) The threatening tone of this item is a departure from some of the bland articles that have appeared recently in the English versions of Iranian Press sites. Notice the reference to Jimmy Carter:

Representative of the Palestinian Hamas Movement to Tehran warned that in case occupiers invade the West Bank, the Qassam battalions of his movement will give a crushing response to such invaders as it did in Gaza.

Speaking in a press conference at FNA here in Tehran on Sunday, Abu Osameh al-Mo'tee noted the recent incidents in Gaza and assured that the Ezzeddin Qassam battalions of Hamas are now in full control in the region.

"This war is not against Fattah or its members, rather it is a fight against a few number of individuals from Fattah movement who have misused their security posts and embarked on taking aggressive measures, including massacre of a large number of people," he stressed.

The Hamas official also added that the said rebels who have formed a grouplet are in contact with the Zionist regime of Israel and the US, and continued, "The grouplet has received weapons and military equipment from Israel and huge financial aids from the US and this is an established fact known by everyone."

He further reminded that General Keith Dayton, the US military coordinator in occupied Palestine, has recently demanded the US congress to provide the said grouplet with a $60 million aid while Israel rushed to equip the agents of the coup de tat with weapons and arsenals.

"And all these aids are aimed to smash democracy in Palestine," the Hamas official underscored.

Reminding that Hamas succeeded in wining over 60% of the seats in the parliamentary elections in Palestine last year, he said, "And the US was displeased with the results of the elections. Since then, the US cooperated with Israel and strove to topple the Palestinian government while many world officials and figures, including the former US President Jimmy Carter, approved the healthy nature and transparency of the said parliamentary elections in Palestine."

Reminding US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's call on the United States' internal agents to force Hamas to give up power, he said, "These events made us adopt a decisive decision to draw a rapid Strike plan to end activities of this grouplet which had irritated and tortured people and troubled their everyday life through continued crimes."

Al-Mo'tee said that the leaders of the grouplet left for the West Bank of the Jordan River three to four days after the start of the clashes, and warned, "They intend to implement their predefined missions in the West Bank, which includes sabotage operations and criminal acts."

"In the last three days a number of 300 cases of aggressions against the civil bodies, schools and parliament as well as abductions by these agents have been reported which have all been carried out under the cover of the security services affiliated to the Self-Rule authorities operating under Mahmoud Abbas," he continued.

He also stated that the presence of the occupying troops in the West Bank facilitates such criminal acts and operations of sabotage by the said group, and underlined, "We take the US, the Zionist regime and international community which supported this aggressive grouplet fully responsible for the recent incidents in Palestine and similar incidents in future."

A condemnation of the "international community." Interesting.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Maan News: "PFLP radio station in Gaza City is robbed"

Don't they have any respect for Carlos the Jackal?

The PFLP-affiliated Ash Sha'b radio station in Gaza City was burgled on Friday evening.

The station's board of directors issued a statement saying that an unidentified mob ransacked the station's headquarters on Jamal Abd An Nasser street in Gaza City and stole the contents of the building, which are estimated to mount to $70,000.

The chair of the board of directors, Tho il Faqar Swear, condemned the assault and held the "parties in charge" responsible for the robbery.

Among the stolen items was the real name of Tho il Faqar Swear, who now has to use a silly back-up name.

Source of Israel's technological success? Availability of Palestinians to test weapons on!

A recent Thomas Friedman article, available for only $4.95, makes some admiring observations about Israeli technological success. Naomi Klein writing in (you guessed it) the Guardian, responds, speaking truth to Israeli technological power:

[...] Many of the country's most successful entrepreneurs are using Israel's status as a fortressed state, surrounded by furious enemies, as a kind of 24-hour-a-day showroom, a living example of how to enjoy relative safety amid constant war. And the reason Israel is now enjoying supergrowth is that those companies are busily exporting that model to the world . . .

And that is why the chaos in Gaza and the rest of the region doesn't threaten the bottom line in Tel Aviv, and may actually boost it. Israel has learned to turn endless war into a brand asset, pitching its uprooting, occupation and containment of the Palestinian people as a half-century head start in the "global war on terror" . . .

Since Israel began its policy of sealing off the occupied territories with checkpoints and walls, human rights activists have often compared Gaza and the West Bank to open-air prisons. But in researching the explosion of Israel's homeland security sector, a topic explored in greater detail in my forthcoming book, it strikes me that they are something else too: laboratories where the terrifying tools of our security states are being field-tested. Palestinians - whether living in the West Bank or what the Israeli politicians are already calling Hamastan - are no longer just targets. They are guinea pigs. [...]

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of that small rodent meme.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Linkim 6/17/07

Haveil Havalim 121 is up! Carnival of the Insanities is up!

Smooth Stone gives reasons for continued blogging.

Israel Matzav reports on "4 Katyusha's shot at Kiryat Shmona"--from Lebanon, of course.

Reuters: "British body backs inter-species clones"

Martin Kramer describes Rashid Khalidi as a "Gaza blame-thrower."

Dar Al-Hayat: "Palestine's Knights"

Big Pharaoh defines irony.

Solomonia examines "Gaza Chaos and Consequences"

Tim Blair reports on "Tiles Stolen."

Der Spiegel: "Hope Running Out for Colombian Captives"

IRIB: "Knighthood for Rushdie, clear Islamophobia"

This is not a bad time to remember that Rushdie is a walking audio-visual aid refuting the "handful of extremists" theory of Radical Islam. It took more than a few people on the fringe to force an author into hiding in a Western Country.

The Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday said knighting Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, one of the most disgusted persons in the Islamic societies, was a clear proof of Islamophobia among high-ranking British officials.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sayed Mohammad-Ali Hosseini made the remark at his weekly press conference in a reaction to knighting Rushdie by British Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday.

Rushdie, 59, was issued with an irrevocable death Fatwa (religious ruling) by Father of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the late Imam Khomeini in 1989.

"The move showed violating the sanctities of Islamic holy sites is not accidental but organized and is conducted with the support and under the guidance of certain western states," Hosseini said.

"Honoring a hated apostate will definitely put the British statesmen against the Islamic societies because it has once again hurt their (Muslims') feelings," the Spokesman added.

Imam Khomeini issued a death sentence against Rushdie 18 years ago over his book "the satanic verses," which insulted Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)

Raise the goal: a rare Judeopundit sports post

When I was in my early teens in the early 70's, the slam dunk replaced the accurate shot as the cool thing to do with a basketball. From then on, all schoolyard basketball goals were inevitably ruined, bent-down by inept would-be slam-dunkers. So I think the 11-foot (rather than 10-foot) high rims used in a recent exhibition game are a great idea. From the AP via Seattle P-I:

[...] Organized by former NBA assistant Tom Newell -- son of former coach and acclaimed big-man instructor Pete Newell -- the exhibition surely won't be remembered for the quality of play, but perhaps for sparking a change.

"I think this will open the professional league's eyes, where they may experiment with it, give it a serious look," said Jim Harrick, the former UCLA coach who was coaching one of the teams.

For the record, Saturday's exhibition ended with a 90-60 victory for the "gold" team. Billbe, a 6-foot-11 center who played at American University, scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

But the goal for Newell was to examine how the game was different with the taller rims. Was there more passing and spacing? Was teamwork at more of a premium and less of a focus on individual play? Was a challenge presented to the players, all of which had some college experience, and could they adapt?

The answer seemed to be a resounding yes. [...]

Another good current article at Seattle P-I deals largely with sports and intellectual property lawsuit "madness."

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Guardian wise to plots of the Big Satan

Peter Beaumont, "foreign affairs editor" of the Guardian, explains in a current article that the only problem with electing Hamas was that "it didn't quite reflect the wishes of Washington and the international community." He concludes:

[...] The reality is that the only people who are really behind Salam Fayyad are the European and US diplomats who have long sung his praises behind the scenes to any journalist prepared to listen. So yesterday President Bush and the other members of the Quartet got what they wanted. Abbas trooped dutifully in to see the US consul-general in Jerusalem with Mohammed Dahlan, the man widely credited with beginning the cycle of violence in Gaza, in tow. And when they emerged, the boycott of US monies to the Palestinian government had been lifted.

It is hard not to be cynical. Palestinian society was squeezed until it hurt - punished as a whole for voting for the wrong party. And when the inevitable explosion occurred last week, Abbas finally fired Hamas, as the US has been encouraging him to do amid his months of dithering.

So which was the real coup? Hamas's bloody attack on the violent gangsters allied to Fatah who have terrorised Gaza for a year? Or Abbas's unconstitutional moves yesterday with America's backing? [...]

Beaumont would actually benefit from some cynicism about Hamas.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Update: Opinion Journal has a good antidote to this sort of thinking.

Maan News: "Fatah spokesperson alleges that Hamas is armed and funded by Israel"

From our friends the moderates of Fatah:

The spokesperson of the Fatah movement in Tulkarem, Samir Nayfa, on Friday warned Hamas against continuing its "conspiracies against the Palestinian people and neglecting Palestinian unchangeable principles."

Nayfa said "in the absence of the siege on the Palestinian people, Hamas would have been unable to smuggle millions of US dollars into the Gaza Strip, through tunnels. The money which flowed into Hamas' treasury was spent on buying arms and favour."

He continued, "The Hamas leadership betrayed the people and instead of paying the employees' salaries, the money was spent on the death brigades of Qassam and the Executive Force, who mutinied against the Palestinian Authority and planted death and destruction on the streets of the Gaza Strip."

Nayfa warned of an expected deal between Hamas and the Israeli Olmert government to release the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and BBC reporter, Alan Johnston. He said "Hamas might announce that Shalit disappeared amidst the state of chaos in Gaza Strip, or they might announce that he ran away." He added "Hamas might go to the extreme of announcing that Fatah people helped Shalit run away."

Nayfa said that all these expected Hamas plans have one goal; to reward Israel for supporting Hamas to smuggle weapons and millions of US dollars into the Gaza Strip.

"while Hamas and its leadership called for help due to lack of funding; they were preparing themselves with arms and supplies"

Tariq Alhomayed, Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, is one author who does not see any silver linings in current events in Gaza. The closing paragraphs of a current article make an important point about funding:

. . . while Hamas and its leadership called for help due to lack of funding; they were preparing themselves with arms and supplies. This means that there are those who fund Hamas incessantly since it was more prepared than the legitimate authority itself. Undoubtedly, the financier is Iran.

Today, no one in our region has control over Hamas except Iran, the financial sponsor, and Syria, where Khaled Meshaal [the political chief of Hamas] lives. This means that this entangled web leads back to two states, namely Syria and Iran.

After all this, we can safely say that the biggest loser will be the Palestinian cause and the disappearance of the dream of a Palestinian state for an entire generation at best. We must be ready for the upcoming earthquake in our Arab world, intellectually, militarily and politically.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Friday, June 15, 2007

The Clearance Sale on Silver Linings

Optimism is a good character trait. Martin Indyk, for instance, writing in the Washington Post, sees the following possibilities in recent events in Gaza:

As chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and president of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas is empowered to negotiate with Israel over the disposition of the West Bank. Once he controls the territory, he could make a peace deal with Israel that establishes a Palestinian state with provisional borders in the West Bank and the Arab suburbs of East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza could compare their fate under Hamas's rule with the fate of their West Bank cousins under Abbas -- which might then force Hamas to come to terms with Israel, making it eventually possible to reunite Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity living in peace with the Jewish state.

Yehuda Litani, writing at Ynetnews.com, concludes

. . . the new signals from the Gaza Strip constitute a clear message to all of us; a message that should be examined.

What is almost certain is that Gaza residents are sick and tired of their current leaders of all camps, and maybe, just maybe, they seek to turn a new leaf in their relationship with us.

Another author also sees promise in "decoupling" the West Bank and Gaza. He suggests:

. . . if there is a silver-lining to the current Hamas-Fatah fighting, it is that this conflict has put into the open the reality that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are truly two distinct entities.

We should probably be skeptical of silver linings that involve the idea of clarifying or simplifying victories for the bad guys, realities at long lost coming out into the open. By withdrawing from Lebanon under Barak, Israel was supposed to gain the right to unambiguously fight its enemies from behind recognized borders. We recently saw how much recognition Israel got for its supposedly disambiguated rights. So just as there was no clarifying and simplifying silver lining in the withdrawal from Gaza and the election of Hamas, there is no real reason to look for one here.

Fatah will probably resign itself to a Hamas monopoly on "security" in Gaza and a new "unity government" will probably be declared, accompanied by demands for legitimacy and requests for money. The apologists for the Palestinians will quickly forget the appalling brutality that we all witnessed in recent days, and we will be back to a more dangerous version of business as usual. Optimism is a good character trait anyway, but the buyer should be beware of the current clearance sale on silver linings.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Update: Someone at Daily Kos writes that "The Hamas victory in Gaza represents a victory for Palestinian democracy over the proxy forces of the occupation, the Palestinian Contras."

Thursday, June 14, 2007

IRNA: "Zionists, occupiers behind Samarra crime, says Leader"

The Tunguska Event is more our style:

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Thursday expressed condolences on the occasion of Wednesday's sacrilege to the holy shrines in Iraq and considered the occupiers and Zionists the main masterminds behind this 'big crime.'

The holy shrines of Shiite Imams, Ali al-Naqi (AS) and Hassan al-Askariya (AS) in the Iraqi city of Samarra were attacked Wednesday morning for the second time by terrorists. The holy shrines were first attacked on February 22, 2006.

"While being vigilant in the face of dangerous divisive policies of enemies, the ulema and dignitaries in the world of Islam and all Muslims, particularly the Iraqi people – Shia and Sunni - should maintain self-restraint and amity with their Muslim brethren more than ever," the Supreme Leader said in a message issued on the tragic event.

The criminal seditionists once against committed another crime, said the Leader adding the explosion at the holy shrines and the sacrilege to the Askari shrines have pit the world of Islam against a horrible conspiracy aimed at fanning the flames of a civil war in Iraq and engaging Muslim states in bloody religious and sectarian events.

The Leader said, "The disgraceful and blind-hearted agents behind this big crime, whether they are remaining stooges of Saddam's Baathist regime or the beguiled Wahhabi and Salafi fanatics, it cannot be doubted that the intelligence services of the occupiers and Zionists are the main masterminds of these heinous schemes. [...]

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Linguistic Juche character protected from annoying phrases

We have noted previously that the North Koreans are very keen on a linguistic purity. (North) Korean News again reminds us to smash the linguistic plots of the Imperialists in an article entitled "All Koreans Called upon to Preserve Their Mother Tongue":

It is an urgent requirement for protecting and strengthening the national character to preserve the national language and make an effective use of it at present.

Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed article . . .

A nation can develop independently only when it preserves the purity of its language. The commonness of the language along with one and the same blood makes it possible to preserve the homogeneity of the nation. To preserve the purity of the language is, therefore, of weighty importance in protecting the national language and achieving national unity and development.

Preserving the national language and making an effective use of it present themselves as an urgent issue at present in view of the reckless and crafty moves of the imperialists to obliterate national languages, the article says, and goes on:

The imperialists are now working hard to obliterate the national character as well as Juche character of other countries and nations under the brigandish signboard of "globalization".

Their loudmouthed "globalization" of language is aimed at integrating diverse national languages into Western languages and assimilating and subordinating all nations to them in a bid to realize their hegemonic ambition with ease.

The moves of the imperialists to "globalize" languages are part of their operations to obliterate other nations. Recent years witnessed the disappearance of various kinds of languages from the earth. This requires each country and nation to protect their own mother tongues and make the best use of them.

This article undoubtedly inspired the Infuriating Phrase Competition at the Daily Telegraph. Readers were ask to submit samples of writing containing phrases that threatened the Juche character of English. Here is one of the winners:

Let’s stop obsessing and get down to the nitty gritty of fleshing out the gender issues. John. I’m wanting to hear inclusiveness and ethnicity here. A raft of blue sky thinking to challenge accepted orthodoxies. The bottom line is about empowerment and at the end of the day getting up to speed working 24/7 towards a coalition of understanding through best practice. This can only be fully achieved if the glass ceiling, in inverted commas, is transformed into a level playing field where the goal posts cannot be moved without leaving a substantial carbon footprint which inevitably would consign us all to the expediency of existing between a rock and a hard place. We must pick up the ball and run because we can no longer wait for the smoking gun of the next denial of service attack to consign us all to the wheely bin of history.

More in this vein here.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

JTA: French town names Barghouti honorary citizen

Well, throw me out the window and shoot my kneecaps if those French aren't just the most annoyingest things, the non-Sarkozy-voting ones anyway:

A French town reportedly has extended honorary citizenship to a jailed Palestinian terrorist leader.

Pierrefitte, a district north of Paris, decided last month to make Marwan Barghouti an honorary citizen, Ma'ariv reported Wednesday. Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for masterminding Al-Aksa Brigade attacks against Israel.

The newspaper quoted Mayor Catherine Hanriot, a member of the French Communist Party, as saying that Barghouti "pays day after day for his political commitment."

French Jewish groups have contested the decision.

Palestinian Chronicle: Palestinians as Hamsters

One often despairs of seeing truly scientific coverage of current events in Gaza. Many of the most valuable insights into human behavior were actually obtained by doing experiments on rats and other small rodents, but what author has applied such insights to the current situation? Now, at last, the value of rodent-derived studies has been affirmed. And this, perhaps, is the silver lining in the current infighting between Fatah and Hamas: the horizons of scientific knowledge are being expanded:

One law of nature is that if organisms are crowded together in a confined area with limited freedom to move or expand, they will inevitably turn on each other. This is already happening with our hamsters, which continue to reproduce in exponential numbers. Now, with ten furry rodents in a cage designed for two, the critters are constantly flipping over each other, biting one another and pushing each other off the treadmill in a territorial bid to claim their own slice of space in their cramped quarters.

At the risk of oversimplifying the otherwise complex situation, the Gaza Strip is more or less a huge hamster cage, its inhabitants viciously vying over exaggerated seats of power and positions, each side ready and willing to spill the blood of their neighbors in the name of their distorted cause.

The clashes between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, which witnessed a brief lull in the past few weeks when Israel pounded the Strip instead, have resurfaced with a vengeance. According to Palestinian media sources, nearly 40 people have been killed in the clashes since Monday morning alone. Scores more have been injured, many of them seriously. Hospital sources in Khan Younis and Gaza City have reported that a number of injuries have been to the lower extremities, namely the knee area, which has resulted in many amputations given the extent of damage. [...]

Here, perhaps, we also see the limitations of the scientific method: no scientist has yet devised a method for inducing hamsters to shoot other hamsters in the kneecaps.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Monday, June 11, 2007

AP: "Hamas is taking control of Palestinian schools"

The Palestinians are becoming more Islamist, which we've known since Hamas was voted in. The mainstream press timidly hints that this is bad from time to time. How bad is it? Is it Al-Qaeda bad? Is it Islamic Brotherhood bad? Is there a difference? This story won't inform you very much about how to make an overall assessment of what this means, but it contains many interesting and useful facts:

Palestinian children spend more of their school day studying Islam. Critical jobs in public education are filled by Islamic stalwarts. A once-banned social studies reader, crammed with hard-line rhetoric, is now in classrooms.

During a year in power, the Islamic Hamas movement has begun taking control of Palestinian schools and is making changes.

Hamas leaders insist they are not trying to indoctrinate children. But moderate Palestinians say Hamas' goal is nothing less than shaping the political views of future generations.

It's a battle for the Palestinian soul, part of a wider Hamas campaign to expand its influence in all spheres of public life, also including newspapers to unions, said Hanan Ashrawi, a secular former minister of higher education.

"You are seeing the gradual transformation of a largely secular national ... education system and curriculum into a more ideological, closed system," said Ashrawi.

Hamas shares power with the moderate Fatah movement it defeated in last year's election, and the terms of that coalition will keep it in control of the Education Ministry for three more years.

Hamas doesn't have completely free rein in the schools. It's being scrutinized by Fatah and by the largely secular Palestinian intelligentsia. Ashrawi, now an independent legislator, says she has asked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate who heads Fatah, to hand control of the curriculum to an independent commission of experts, but has gotten no commitment.

It is in Abbas's contract, I understand, that he has to be called "moderate" once per article. Fatah includes something called, I think, the Al-Aqsa Moderate Brigades. Maybe it was Martyrs Brigades. Anyway, it just conducted an elaborate joint operation with Islamic Jihad.

"We are not making education more Islamic," Education Minister Nasser Shaer said before he was arrested by Israel in an anti-Hamas sweep last month. But he is also under pressure within his movement to apply a clearly Islamic, non-Western curriculum. For example: Hamas firebrands want to eliminate U.S. history from a textbook.

So far, Shaer has made only a few changes. He has increased religion classes from three to four a week and allowed a social studies reader with a strong Islamic bent to be used in the classroom.

That pressure is having results.

He has focused mostly on moving Hamas loyalists into key positions in the education system, presumably preparing the ground for tighter control in the future.

When a high-level education job opens up, it goes to a Hamas supporter, with appointees often leapfrogging over other candidates with stronger credentials. Eight of 14 West Bank school districts are now controlled by Hamas, from none a year ago, and the new religion requirement meant hiring some 300 graduates of Islamic teachers' colleges that are Hamas strongholds, Fatah educators say.

Hamas created another power base in education by forming its own teachers' union to compete with the one controlled by Fatah. It claims to have signed up some 18,000 teachers, including those in private schools, but also many of the 40,000 teaching in public schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Hamas teachers, many sporting the movement's trademark beards, recently marched through Ramallah, chanting, "Let's restore glory to religion and dignity to the teacher."

Marching and chanting is good exercise.

In some cases, girls are pushed by pro-Hamas teachers to pray and wear head scarves, although no law requires it. Hala Barghouti, 11, from the village of Deir Yassin, said she is transferring from a public school to a private Christian one next year to escape the nagging.

Political tension inside the schools is rising, others say.

Tenth-grader Sumara Awaiseh, a Fatah supporter in a Ramallah school, said he gets into fights with pro-Hamas classmates. "They'll chant something against Fatah and that's how fights get started," he said.

While Fatah supports a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Hamas refuses to recognize the Jewish state and renounce violence.

Don't sentences like this drive you nuts? Fatah refuses to recognize the Jewish state and renounce violence. Hamas would like the world to become a sort-of Islamic Über-Cambodia. Some Hamasniks would, anyway. Others are more extreme.

One of Hamas' first acts after taking control was to lift a ban on private teaching materials, including one that adopts a tough Islamic approach to the conflict with Israel.

That booklet was written by al-Buraq, a Hamas-allied education center shut down by Israel several months ago. The preface says it seeks to "emphasize the Arab and Islamic identity" of the Palestinians, highlight the "brutality of the occupier" and "to create the energy to get rid of all types of occupation."

During the second Palestinian uprising, it says, American cease-fire initiatives "ignored the political rights of the Palestinian people and did not recognize the Palestinian people's right to resistance to regain its rights." In contrast, the draft of a textbook for grades 8-10 on modern Palestinian history, written when Fatah controlled the schools, is a largely matter-of-fact description of events. Fatah educators claim Hamas held up its printing because it's too neutral. Hamas denies it.

Shaer, while removing the ban, hasn't explicitly recommended the al-Buraq booklet to the students -- to the disappointment of the Islamic center which had presumed it now had a sympathetic ear in the ministry. And some Hamas ideologues are getting impatient with the slow pace of change.[...]

Politics, politics--it's the same no matter where you are, right?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

IRIB: "Israel on natural course of disintegration"

There is a debate in the West over what Iran's bellicose rhetoric towards Israel means. Jonathan Steele, speaking of the notorious "wiped off the map" remark, explained that "the Iranian president was expressing a vague wish for the future. He was not threatening an Iranian-initiated war to remove Israeli control over Jerusalem."

It is thus interesting to see Haddad-Adel, doing damage-control for the "countdown to destruction" remark, denying any Iranian plans to attack Israel. Of course, he might actually be taking a cue from the statements of Juan Cole, Steele, et al. Iran takes a keen interest in its image in the world, and it would certainly take note of its apologists.

From another perspective, Israel is constantly under attack by Tehran through Iran's backing of Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hizbullah.

Iranian denials have a way of being self-canceling. For instance, denial that Iran's nuclear program is military will be coupled with the prediction that Iran is about to become "invincible." Here we learn that "'Israel' is on the natural course of disintegration because it has emerged in the region by force." If Israel's existence is being maintained by "force," what would be the cause of its "disintegration"? Superior force?

Iran's Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Sunday that the recent comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about destruction of 'Israel' did not mean Tehran intended to attack the occupied Palestine.

Speaking in a press conference before ending his three-day visit to the Persian Gulf state of Kuwait, the Speaker said: "what the President said is that 'Israel' is on the natural course of disintegration because it has emerged in the region by force. This issue is even discussed inside the occupied Palestine," Haddad-Adel stressed.

Asked if a deal between Iran and America would be possible over Tehran's nuclear case, as well as the issue of Iraq and Lebanon, the Speaker said: "We will not strike any deal to settle our nuclear case nor would we sacrifice the interests of the Iraqi and Lebanese peoples."

"Our stand over the nuclear issue is clear and there is no need to make any compromise with others in this regard. Peoples of Iraq and Lebanon also trust Iran and know that Tehran would make no deal with anyone over their interests out of respect for Islamic teachings," the Speaker stressed.

Asked what was his anticipation of the results of the next presidential and parliamentary elections in Iran, the Speaker said "It is difficult to say as there is complete freedom in Iran.["]

We certainly know that.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Guess who?

Update: The guy on the left is Holocaust Denier Frederick Toben . . . And the one on the right is Robert Fisk!

(Hat Tip: Tim Blair)

IRIB: "Unfair int'l relations on verge of collapse"

Whenever these stories turn to Supreme Leader pronouncements, the English becomes more inept as it strains for grandiosity. Let the Irangrish flow like wine . . .

Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei confirmed to the visiting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his high ranking delegation that the current unfair international relations is on verge of collapse with an otherwise perspective coming to sight.

"Through their unity and perseverance, the independent and struggler countries and nations which oppose America's policies will be enhancing the line of justice in international relations and expediting the process of fair relations," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The IR Leader pointed out that a token of the prospective collapse had emerged where America's move to form a unipolar empire in the world following the fall of the Eastern bloc and the defunct USSR ended up in failure as the country at present stands most abhorred state in the world.

In the same regard, the IR Leader said, "Wherever the American President travels, in Asia, Africa, Latin America or Middle East, he faces massive protest rallies. In Europe yet he is now facing popular anger and protest. This issue has had no precedent ever in the world."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that another evidence to substantiate the collapse argument had emerged in the rise to office of anti-US movements in the world not least the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran with an ever-increasing power despite all pressures.

"In recent years, anti-US states have come to office one after another in Latin America. In the world of Islam too wherever ballot is staged in every country those groups and individuals will be voted in who have more anti-US sentiments than others," Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described realization of fair international relations as a sacred objective which requires diligent effort, hope and perseverance, adding, "At time when there were two powers in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran stood up to them by the slogan of No to East, No to West. At present too the Iranian nation has stood up to all pressure and will stay the course because the sole path toward summits of progress is to endure hardship."

Ayatollah Khamenei underlined cooperation among independent and struggler countries and nations. The IR Leader praised the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Nicaragua as rational, courteous and beneficial to the two countries, urging for further expansion of the bilateral ties in every respect.

During the meeting, also attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr. Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan President, expressed approval over the IR Leader's remarks, saying, "As you said, signs of the collapse of America's unipolar power have been emerging and the imperialism has been approaching state of defunct faster than ever."

"America is at present isolated among the nations," President Ortega added.

The Nicaraguan President touched on the ever-widening anti-US movement in Latin America crystallized in the coming to office of governments which object Washington's policies in the region.

"The American government has become stuck in the Iraqi and Afghan mire. At the same time, the popularity of the government has fallen sharply," President Ortega said.

"In such conditions, it is essential for the struggler governments and nations to work together and keep close mutual relations to foster the anti-imperialism front," the Nicaraguan President added.

Linkim 6/10/07

Haveil Havalim 120 is up! Carnival of the Insanities is up! J-pix 9 is up!

Robert Fisk: "Lies and outrages... would you believe it?"

Asharq Alawsat: "40 Years: The Real Stigma"

IRIB: "Palestinians opting for resistance"

LA Times: "Iran tightens screws on internal dissent"

Arab News: "Gift for Israel"

EOZ: "A Psychological History of Palestinian Arabs - part 4" (Follow the links to the earlier installments.)

Simply Jews: "Believe it or not"

Israel Matzav: "Fatah's connected to Iran too"

Steven Plaut: "Some Career Advice for Norman Finkelstein" (h/t: Daled Amos)

Al-Manar: "Iran warns US: your Mideast bases in our range"

Al-Manar: "Report: Hezbollah rearming under UN's nose"

Saturday, June 09, 2007

IRIB: "Palestinians push into 'Israel'"

This is an interesting example of crude pro-Palestinain spin and selective reporting from Iran's press. What follows is the entire article:

Palestinian combatants managed to push into 1948 occupied Palestine from central Gaza after a clash at the Zionist regime's 'Kissufim' border post.

The brave raid was carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, saying it was a joint four-man operation with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

It was the first such operation since June 25, 2006 when the Palestinian combatants arrested a soldier of the regime.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades belong to "moderate" Fatah. Islamic Jihad is heavily backed by Iran. According to Ynetnews.com:

Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, told local radio stations that the four gunmen were meant to snatch a soldier but the attempt was foiled when Israeli helicopter gunships arrived on the scene.

“The aim of the operation was to withdraw with the soldier in captivity,” he said, “but the participation of Israeli helicopters prevented that.”

IDF sources reported that look-outs identified a vehicle marked with "TV" insignia approaching the crossing from the Palestinian side of the fence. According to the sources, the Palestinians made an opening in the fence and infiltrated Israeli territory.

See Solomonia

Update: Al-Jazeera refers to a "disguised vehicle" and ends with an interesting bit about kneecaps.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Islam Online: "Ask the Scholar--What is the way to proceed regarding the Palestinian issue?"

According to Wikipedia:

According to Alexa Internet, IslamOnline.net is one of the two most visited Islam-related websites on the Internet. It has forums on various issues (Politics, New Muslims, Entertainment, etc.) and other interactive venues, such as the "Ask the Scholar" section, where visitors can post a question regarding Islam and get response within days.

IslamOnline.net is owned by Sunni Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Al-Balagh Charity Society in Doha, Qatar.

Qaradawi is sometimes labeled "moderate." Here is an example of the "Ask the scholar" feature on a subject of some interest. The question reads as follows: "What is the way to proceed regarding the Palestinian issue, which has, as the days pass, escalated in terms of complexity and violence?" Here is the answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we implore Allah earnestly to guide Muslims in all their life affairs.

Palestine is the land of Isra' and Mi`raj (Night Journey and Ascension). It is the blessed land where Jesus was born and Muhammad led all other Prophets in Prayer. Thus, it is the duty of every sincere Muslim to spare no efforts in backing its people and contribute in the so many efforts to restore this land.

In this regard, we would like to furnish you with the following fatwa issued by the late Saudi scholar Sheikh `Abdul `Azîz Ibn Bâz, in which he states the following:

Certainly, Muslims feel much pain and great sadness at the deteriorating situation in Palestine, with matters going from bad to worse, escalating in complexity as the days pass. This is due to the differences among the neighboring countries, and their lack of united resistance against their enemy, and their lack of adherence to the Shari `ah, which is an indispensable yardstick for victory.

The neighboring countries need to rush to unite in their resistance (against the enemy) and adhere to the Shari `ah in confronting this issue, which concerns them and the entire Muslim world.

It is worth stressing here that the Palestinian issue is an Islamic issue from the beginning (right through) to the end. However, the enemies of Islam have spared no pains distancing the Palestinian issue from the Islamic path and conveying to the non-Arab Muslims that they have nothing to do with the case, for it is an Arab issue. It appears they have succeeded in this to a certain extent.

That is why I feel it is not possible to reach a solution regarding this issue unless it’s perceived as an Islamic issue, and unless Muslims support one another in attaining salvation and launching Jihad against the Jews in an Islamic manner. This will help in restoring the land to its rightful owners (the Palestinians) and forcing the trespassing Jews to return to the lands where they came from.

No doubt, the truth shall prevail, falsehood will perish and all rightful owners will one day return to their lands under Islamic rule.

The site links to this item from the main page with the title "Palestine: Sunshine Will Come."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Amir Taheri: "Forget the 1967 War! Think of This Summer's War"

This is a very important article from one of the leading Middle East analysts. It is refreshing to see all the pieces put together correctly, but overall, the news is not good. Notice that Hamas is called "Salafist":

[...] Right now, the new status quo as shaped by last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah is under threat in Lebanon. The Islamic Republic in Iran and Syria are determined to break Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government and transform Lebanon into a gun pointed at Israel. [...]

The status quo is also under threat in the Palestinian territories where what looks like a bourgeoning civil war is already under way at least in Gaza. The Islamic Republic and Syria have joined forces with the international Salafist movement of which Hamas is a part to make sure it does not lose the coming civil war. At the other end of the spectrum, Israel is unlikely to sit back and see Al Fatah, its possible interlocutors in any future peace talks, destroyed by Hamas. [...]

The current avalanche of material about the Six Days War of 1967 has paid little attention to the fact that it came after a long period of proxy war waged by Egypt against Israel through Palestinian armed groups. Although the actual 1967 war was provoked by Egypt's President Jamal Abdul Nasser, possibly egged on by his Soviet allies who hoped to destroy the Israeli nuclear program, it is unlikely that the Jewish state would have tolerated the proxy war waged against it for long before turning into a larger conflict.

The question today is how long it would take before Israel decides that the cost of a long proxy war against it far outweighs that of a broader but shorter war against those who pull the strings from Damascus and ultimately Tehran.

A few weeks ago, there was much talk in Israel of a possible return to peace talks with Syria. Some Israel strategists were even deluding themselves with the theory that Syria would walk away from its Iranian allies in exchange for the prospect of recovering the Golan Heights.

Now, however, almost no one in Israel shares such illusions. Hence, the recent string of statements by Israeli military and political officials about the Jewish state's readiness to take military action against Syria. [...]

Neither Tehran nor Damascus appears to have thought of an alternative in case their current policy of waging proxy becomes too risky. Last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Islamic Republic made this clear by asserting that the "countdown for the destruction of Israel" had begun with the proxy wars waged against it from Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. There is some evidence that at least part of the Syrian leadership shares Ahmadinejad's illusion.

The problem for those who depend on proxy wars as an instrument of strategy is that, at some point, they may lose control. Like all wars, proxy wars develop their own internal dynamics and, because history is never written in advance, no one, not even those who unleash them in the first place, can set their full course at will.

The overall regional picture becomes even grimmer when one takes into account the proxy wars that the Islamic Republic is waging in Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and, more recently, even Turkey, sometimes with Syria as its Man Friday.

Will the Middle East have another summer war soon? It is hard to say. One thing, however, is certain: the situation in the region has reached a degree of dangerous instability that it might not last to the end of the year.

Read the rest.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Friday, June 08, 2007

Don't mess up our unity

More on Sudan's steadfast efforts to resist the latest plots of the World Arrogance. From IRIB:

Sudan faced mounting pressure over peacekeeping force which it believes will serve as a tool by its enemies to mess up the country's unity.

American Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad warned Khartoum that it must quickly accept the deployment of a joint African Union-UN force in Darfur or face UN sanctions, including the imposition of a no-fly zone over the region.

Speaking in an imperialistic tone, he told reporters that if Sudan does not act quickly, "We intend to push for more multilateral sanctions" (that) will include the imposition of a no-fly zone over Darfur."

Voice modulation is one of the principle techniques of the imperialist powers.

Sudan has repeatedly voiced out its concern over the joint force. The Sudanese officials believe the joint 'peacekeeping' force is a tool in the hands of imperialistic powers to control the region and interfere in the country's internal affairs.

Meanwhile ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo urged the UN Security Council in Sudan to press Khartoum to hand in Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's Secretary of State for Humanitarian Affairs and former minister in charge of Darfur, and Ali Kosheib, a Janjaweed accused baselessly for war crimes in Darfur.

Khartoum rejected the ICC's jurisdiction, and made it clear it would not hand over the two men, saying that as it did not accept the establishment of the ICC, the court had no jurisdiction over its citizens.

Also at IRIB: "IRI persevering in its path more steadfastly than ever." They're always reaching new heights.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Thursday, June 07, 2007

MPAC-UK: "Outrage As Israeli Regime To Tag British Products"

I guess they'll only be buying British-made drool buckets:

This week the racist regime of Israel has backed a proposal to boycott Britain. In the proposal they have suggested that British made products are stamped with the words “This country is involved in an anti-Israel boycott”. The boycott itself was morally and ethically justified against a state which is "worse than South Africa Apartheid" – Not our words but those of a South Africa Jewish activist.

Now, it is time to stand up for Britain!

The Pro British Muslim Public Affairs Committee makes this much loud and clear: We will back the British farmers whose products are being tagged with the labels and we, the British people, will expose those Pro-Israeli supporters who have sold out Britain for their careers.

How dare these British MP's condemn the British people for boycotting Israel? Do they not see Israel’sabuses? It's use of children as human shields; the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages; the denial of basic human rights to the Palestinians; the refusal to meet Amnesty International delegates for meetings and information about policies; the denial of the Palestinian people to the right to freedom of movement; the Israeli policy of collective punishment (which by the way is outlawed: “… Collective penalties … are prohibited… Reprisal against protected persons and their properties are prohibited”. (Article 33, IV Geneva Convention); the implementation of discrimination“… all protected persons shall be treated with the same consideration by the Party to the conflict in whose power they are, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, religion, or political opinion”. (Article 27, IV Geneva Convention). We can go on but it would take 40 years [why 40 lol] [brackets and drivel in original] to list to the all the injustices committed by the Apartheid state. gross human rights

The Muslim Public Affairs Committee is asking fellow British Citizens to start purchasing home made British products and to start a boycott of all apartheid products, and those who stock apartheid products here in Britain. A prime example being the unethical retailer Marks & Spencer's.

It's time we stood up against the apartheid states economical blackmail. Yes, we are the British people who throughout history stood out against injustice and now it's Israel's turn. The justice of the British people is here.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Mehr News: "Haddad-Adel asks Islamic parliament speakers to save Al-Aqsa"

The most time-tested method of stirring up anti-Israel hysteria in the Middle East is to pretend the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger:

On the threshold of the 40th anniversary of the occupation of Qods by the Zionist regime, Iranian Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel sent parliament speakers of Islamic countries an open letter condemning the act on Wednesday.

Haddad-Adel called on the parliament speakers to take serious and coordinated action in response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the destruction of a part of the world’s culture and civilization by the Zionist regime.

“As a result of the vast excavations of the Zionists and their actions in recent months, the religious and historical sites of the city, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, are under continuous threat,” he said in the letter.

All countries, the followers of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, all lovers of human culture and civilization, and all those who seek justice and respect human dignity should rise up together to help Qods and the oppressed people of Palestine, to liberate the cradle of divine religions and its holy sites from the threat of the Zionists, and to end the occupation of this holy land, Haddad-Adel wrote.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

"criticism is a virtue that is not practiced here . . . we are creative in the art of accommodating ourselves and others to delusion"

I continue to be impressed by things I read in Asharq Alawsat. This is one of the more interesting pieces I have seen about the "setback," what Arabs call the '67 war:

[...] Can the West go back to the time of the Thirty Years’ War between the Catholics and Protestants? Can the revolutions that once overthrew regimes return once again to European capitals? Can the West go back in time to the Kingdom of Prussia era, or even to the time of Bismarck?

Their time marches forward and crosses the past after assimilating and incorporating it into the fabric of the present. Theirs is a past that does not strangle the present but rather enriches it, relieving the past from the pressure of the present and setting the present free from the shackles of the past.

But this is not the case in our part of the world! The past overshadows the present while the present begs for the crumbs of achievement from the past to live on, but neither succeeds in living independently away from the child-like resort to the past, nor can it let go of that past without exaggerating, distorting and even damning it every time it experiences a ‘setback’!

Our time is cyclical and our problems keep revolving until our minds are made dizzy. For forty years, we have talking about victory without a victory, and preaching a unity when none existed – although this same unity is not necessarily the solution inasmuch as it doesn’t need to be a realistic idea that conforms to the geographical and historical conditions. Still, this is what was said and is still being said with a repeated frequency that induces laughter and tears!

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, the symbol of media defeat, is still talking and talking and talking through his forum on ‘Al Jazeera’. What does this mean?! It means that criticism is a virtue that is not practiced here and that we are creative in the art of accommodating ourselves and others to delusion.

A movement for a new awareness should have been launched, in addition to the removal of the symbols from that cyclical cultural, social and political era. We should have reviewed our history and entire discourse and recognized our true stature – without lies. Moreover, we should have determined our capabilities whilst discerning truth from falsities. A rational shock should have occurred to shake off history, examine the present and come up with an explanation as to why our part of the world has been resisting development, power and growth!

Imagine, after forty years since the defeat and too many promises made about the war to restore our dignity, we are now talking about Fatah al Islam, Osbat al Ansar and Jund al Sham in the Palestinian refugee camps!

In Gaza, both Hamas and Fatah are slaying one another while the world is fed up with us and our endless crises. [...]

Contrast that with the MPAC-UK site. An upcoming Al-Jazeera program, we are told

will explain the truth behind the 6 Day War. It was not, as some incorrectly claim, a pre-emptive strike but rather a well planned military offensive by Israel against its Arab neighbours.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

"DPRK Strives to Prevent Global Warming" (under the wise field guidance of Al Yong Gore)

From (North) Korean News. I feel cooler already:

The abnormal climate phenomena caused by global warming has been raised today as a hard problem in the world.

The UN Environment Programme set "Global Warming" as the theme for this year on the occasion of the World Environment Day (June 5), since it threatens the life and security of humankind.

Organized on the occasion of the day in the country were colorful events including a scientific symposium and a national seminar on reducing the emission of atmospheric green-house gases and preventing global warming, and film shows for arousing profound social interest in the issue.

Jong Hyong Il, a department director in the Ministry of Land and Environment Preservation, told KCNA that the DPRK which has been suffering from the upward temperature in recent years is conducting varied activities in accordance with the world trend for preventing such phenomena. He went on:

It deepens the scientific researches into elevation of energy efficiency and utilization of regenerated energy and directs efforts to the work for applying the results.

The construction of large and minor hydro-power stations is being pushed ahead through an all-people movement and application of wind power positively encouraged.

An effort to improve the efficiency of solar batteries is being made, too.

Meanwhile, a brisk tree-planting campaign is being launched to increase the adsorption of carbon.

The DPRK, a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol on Substances Destroying Ozone Layer, is doing its best to restrict and reduce the emission of atmospheric green-house gases as much as possible.

Total economic collapse is also good for reducing carbon emissions: no factories, no cars . . .

Monday, June 04, 2007

AP: "1,683 Guitarists Play 'Smoke on Water'"

Splurmp splurmp splurmp
splurmp splurmp spla-splurmp
splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp

Splurmp splurmp splurmp
splurmp splurmp spla-splurmp
splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp

Splurmp splurmp splurmp
splurmp splurmp spla-splurmp
splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp splurmp

Via SFGate.com:

More than 1,680 guitar players turned out, tuned up and took part in what organizers say was a world record rendition of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" — a song that was the first many of them ever learned.

Some came from as far away as California and Germany on Sunday to take part in a Kansas City radio station's effort to break a Guinness world record for the most people playing the same song simultaneously. The record had been 1,323 people playing the same song in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994.

"It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I'm sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before," said Autumn McPherson, of Winfield, a senior at the University of Kansas.

Preliminary numbers show 1,683 people played the popular early '70s guitar riff on Sunday at Community America Ballpark.[...]

Was the rolling truck stones thing just outside?

Juan Cole sharin' Karin

Remember Karin Friedemann, utterer of the immortal words "Every Jewish family in America that has any property in the Holy Land needs to be prosecuted as part of an organized criminal network"? Guess who just linked approvingly to one of her articles!

Click to enlarge image. Here is an excerpt (not the passage Juan chose) from the article he likes so much:

[Charles] Jacobs' pro-Israel advocacy organization spearheaded the campaign to vilify the Islamic Republic of Sudan, and provided huge quantities of lurid, both popular and pseudo-academic material, in which Sudan is described as a "terrorist, genocidal" state engaged in a "holy war." Charles Jacobs' carefully designed "PR puff pieces" about "slavery" in Sudan have managed to secure national media coverage.

While pro-Palestine activists have long struggled to halt public funding of Israel, the dishonest "Save Darfur!" campaign, put together by DP friends and trainees, is the quickest divestment success in history. Sudan divestment resolutions have become law in Iowa and are in the process of approval in 12 states. The JCRC coordinating with the David Project has further poisoned human rights discourse with this effort to turn Arab and African Americans against each other.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Reptile media, anyone?

Yeah, its another post from Korean News. This one is entitled "Imperialists' Ideological and Cultural Poisoning Accused":

The imperialists' moves for capitalistic ideological and cultural poisoning are their vicious counter-revolutionary ideological offensive aimed at benumbing the sound thinking and consciousness of people and destabilizing and degenerating the anti-imperialist independent countries.

Rodong Sinmun Sunday observes this in a signed article.

It goes on:

The imperialists are keen to spread capitalist idea and culture in a bid to wipe out the revolutionary thinking and consciousness.

It is their calculation that they can not only make their ideology and culture prevail over the whole world but easily win over the people of progressive countries and realize their wild ambition to dominate the world if they effectively use their reptile media without resorting to the force of arms. For this reason, they spend an increasing amount of money every year for boosting the number of reptile media, sharply boosting the quantities of propaganda materials and making them more reactionary and obscene in their contents.

All the propaganda materials produced by the imperialists are without exception most reactionary as they diametrically run counter to progressive ideology and culture and play a very harmful role.

Their moves for ideological and cultural poisoning adversely affect the struggle of the people for independence against imperialism.

There is one weapon in the imperialist arsenal more sinister and destructive than any other: paragraph development!

The struggle against imperialism precisely means a showdown between forces and ideologies. It is impossible to advance revolution and protect the gains of revolution already achieved unless people are equipped with progressive thought and get working class awareness.

The struggle against the capitalist ideological and cultural poisoning means fierce confrontation with imperialists and a struggle to defend the country's sovereignty without gunfire.

The Korean people will thoroughly frustrate the imperialists' vicious capitalist ideological and cultural poisoning with a high degree of revolutionary vigilance, firmly defend the socialist political and ideological position and thus powerfully accelerate the building of a great prosperous powerful nation, the article concludes.

In case you were wondering, I don't actually read these things before posting them--that's your job!

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Al Manar TV: "Ahmadinejad: Countdown to Israel destruction has begun"

The Western media has been reporting on this speech and its "desruction" rhetoric, while the English versions of the Iranian news agencies have been keeping their noses relatively clean with references to "enemies who are on the verge of collapse," but nothing with "Israel" and "destruction" in the same phrase. I was hoping to find something straight from the horses mouth, or at least one of the horse's allies, and here it is: "Ahmadinejad: Countdown to Israel destruction has begun" from Hizbullah's Al Manar TV:

The countdown to Israel's destruction has begun, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech commemorating the death of Iranian revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Sunday. "The arrogant superpowers and the Zionist regime invested all their efforts during the 33-day war, but after 60 years, their pride has been trampled and the countdown to the destruction of this regime has been started by Hizbullah fighters," the president was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Mehr.

Ahmadinejad added that "with the help of all the Lebanese and Palestinian fighters, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future… Anyone who works for God and believes in the power of the people will prevail." "We are already witnessing the repercussions of the surrender. The people of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan and all over the world are joining this river that will soon be linked to the ocean of truth and justice," he said.

Ahmadinejad said that according to Imam Khomeini's teachings, "no power can stand in the way of a people's will for independence."

Crossposted on Soccerdad

Update: Fars News (possible security threat) now has the following:

Ahmadinejad said last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah showed for the first time that the "hegemony of the occupier regime (Israel) had collapsed, and the Lebanese nation pushed the button to begin counting the days until the destruction of the Zionist regime."

"God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime," Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying during a speech to foreign guests mostly from African, Arab and neighboring countries who attended ceremonies marking the 18th anniversary of the departure of the Late Founder and Father of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini.

Linkim 6/3/07

Haveil Havalim 119 is up at Soccer Dad! Carnival of the Insanities is up!

Hitchens on Hitchens

Bibi on the British academic boycott (courtesy of Israel Matzav)

NY Times on the boycott

Chicago Sun-Times on double standards (h/t: Daled Amos)

Simply Jews on the boycott

Kramer on Mideast Studies

Joseph Hertzlinger on "Cruelty to Mathematics"

Amir Taheri: "Iraq: When Will the Americans Leave?"

Friday, June 01, 2007

What 's really wrong with the proposed British academic boycott of Israel

There is a recent, well-meaning Daily Kos post called "The Folly of the Academic Boycott of Israel," and it offers the usual wishy-washy left-wing reasons against it: it won't help, it injures academic freedom, it hurts academics sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, etc. It should not be necessary, but it in the face of such feebleness, it might be useful to review what exactly is wrong with the proposed boycott.

Israel is a liberal democracy. Its political center of gravity is somewhat to the left of that of the United States. That is not just a description of what it is but how it has acted. Israel has maintained the upper hand (although just barely) in a protracted and very difficult struggle with an enemy that will not accept its existence.

Israel has not had the stomach to take actions harsh enough to decisively defeat its enemies, and it recently damaged its security by handing over territory to an enemy that every reasonable person assumed would use the territory as a military asset. It was acting partly and incredibly, as it has in many instances, out of sympathy with its enemy. Israel (unlike its enemies, actually) has not done anything to merit a boycott.

On June 30, 2004, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the route of the much-maligned security wall had to be changed because it was too injurious to Palestinian interests. A ruling equivalently sympathetic to people hostile to the interests of the society making the ruling would be unthinkable in a large number of countries hostile to Israel, and for what its worth, Israel is morally superior to all of them.

Supporting the proposed boycott is an act of solidarity with the Izz-ad din Al-Qassam Brigades, the Al-Quds Brigades, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Abu Hitler (a real person--in fact, several real people), Carlos the Jackal, Imad Mugniyah, Iran, Syria, North Korea, and the PFLP. It is an act of retroactive solidarity with Nicolai Ceausescu, Walter Ulbricht, and the Red Army Factions. It is an offense to political moderation, common decency, and, yes, the Jewish people. It embraces evil, and its advocates should be evicted from the community of the reasonable.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad