"Students are Awake and Hate Britain" (Fars)

Fars has 6 or so articles at the moment about the embassy storming. Here is most of the first:

Hundreds of Iranian university students started a rally in front of the British embassy in Tehran Tuesday afternoon to shout protest against London's hostile policies against Iran.

"Down with Britain", "Down with America", "Down with Israel" and "Students are Awake and Hate Britain" are among the slogans chanted by the protestors.

Protesters who carried photographs of Iran's assassinated nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari and IRGC Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, set fire on Britain's flag.

The rally comes as Iran is commemorating the first martyrdom anniversary of its nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari who was assassinated by the Israeli Mossad agency supported by the British MI6.

Protesters are demanding a full cut of ties with Britain.

The Iranian parliament approved a downgrading of ties with Britain on Sunday. The Iranian legislators approved the bill with 179 yes votes, 4 oppositions and 11 abstentions. The 4 oppositions demanded a full cut of ties with London.

The Guardian Council - a powerful vetting body tasked with studying parliament approvals to make sure they are not against Islamic rules and the Constitution - announced its approval over the parliament ratification yesterday.

As the parliament approval calls for downgrading ambassadorial ties with Britain to the level of charge d'affaires, Tehran is now preparing to expel the British Ambassador to Iran Dominick Chilcott. [...]

Fars helpfully numbers these articles. Headline #5: "Police Frees 6 British Staff Member in Qolhak Garden":

The Iranian Law Enforcement Police rescued 6 British staff members in the Qolhak Garden in Northern Tehran, after the protesters raided the orchid and started a sit-in.

FNA dispatches said police could repel the protesters and free the 6 staff members who were surrounded by the protesting students.

Our dispatches also said that students are forced by the police to leave the orchid. [...]

Headline #6: "Police Intensify Clampdown on Embassy Occupiers, Shoot Tear Gas to Disperse Protesters":

Tehran's Law Enforcement Police clashed with protesters and dispersed them with tear gas.

Our evening dispatches from the scene of protests in front of the British embassy compound in Central Tehran said police clashed with the protesting students who occupied the embassy building.

A number of protesters have been wounded during the clashes while police troops are exerting power to force them out of the embassy compound.

One of wounded protesters is reportedly in critical health conditions.

FNA dispatches also said that a number of the police troopers have been injured in the clashes. [...]

So maybe it was an actual spontaneous demonstration after all? Or a government-sponsored one that got out of hand? Or the whole thing is totally choreographed and they thought a police-student clash with injuries added corroborative verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative? Don't ask me.

Ha'aretz, citing Fars: "Explosion rocks Iran city of Isfahan" PressTV: "No explosion in Isfahan"

There was an explosion or there wasn't. Ha'aretz:

An explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, adding that the blast was heard in several parts of the city. [...] Speaking to an Iranian news website, the government of Isfahan said that the explosion occurred as a result of a military drill, denying reports that the blast was somehow related to the nearby nuclear facility. [...]

However, according to PressTV:

A top Iranian official has rejected media reports about an explosion being heard in the central city of Isfahan.

Mohammad-Mehdi Ismaili, Isfahan governor's political and security deputy, said on Monday that report was completely baseless and fabricated, IRNA reported.

He added that the Isfahan governor would follow up on the report.

Ismaili made the remarks after certain media outlets reported that a powerful blast had been heard in Isfahan on Monday afternoon.

An official from Isfahan emergency services, Masoud Anayeb, rejected the report as well, saying that there have been no reports of an explosion in the city.

Actually, there were no news reports mentioning an explosion at all. In fact, explosions don't exist.

Will smashed

If you ask me, we smashed our own will:

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised the Iranian nation for their resistance against enemies, and said Iran has stood up to the arrogant and colonialist powers alone and smashed their will.

"The Islamic Revolution granted honor to the nation and the country's officials and due to the very same honor and self-esteem, Iran has stood up against the will of the biggest arrogant and colonialist powers alone and shattered their resolve," Ayatollah Khamenei said addressing a meeting with the Iranian Navy commanders and officials on the occasion of the national Navy Day.

Reiterating that the Islamic Revolution has granted a high level of honor and self-esteem to the Iranian nation and officials, the Leader reminded that before the revolution, the colonialist powers, specially Britain, had long sought to make the Iranian nation forget its civilization roots and heritage in a move to inspire them with the idea that they were unable to do anything and needed the colonialist powers.

"At the time of the Qajar and specially the Pahlavi dynasties, the country's officials were too weak," he said, and cautioned "when a nation feels weak against an enemy, it cannot do anything".

"But the Islamic Revolution gifted honor to Iran and everyone should appreciate this honor," the Leader reiterated. [...]

Weapons of the resistance steadfastly and vigilantly fired at Zionist entity

Ha'aretz:

At least four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Monday night. The Israel Defense Forces responded soon after, firing a number of artillery shells at "the source of fire," in southern Lebanon. There were no injuries, but some building sustained damage. At this time fire fighters are still combating the blaze caused by the rockets. [...]

AFP: "Hamas to focus on popular resistance" PIC: "The popular resistance is no substitute for the armed resistance"

AFP two days ago:

Hamas is looking to focus its energies on popular resistance without giving up its right to wage armed struggle against Israel, the Islamist movement's leader Khaled Meshaal told AFP in an interview.

"Every people has the right to fight against occupation in every way, with weapons or otherwise. But at the moment, we want to cooperate with the popular resistance," the group's Damascus-based leader said in the interview late on Thursday.

"We believe in armed resistance but popular resistance is a programme which is common to all the factions," he said. [...]

According to Palestine Information Center, however:

Member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq said there was an understanding between his Movement and Fatah faction on the importance of the popular resistance, but this would not be at the expense of the armed resistance or replace it.

"The armed resistance is Hamas's unchangeable and uncompromisable program, and Hamas will remain adherent to the resistance of all forms including the armed one. It is the legitimate right of our people and all peoples under occupation," Resheq stated in a press release on Saturday.

The Hamas official also said that Hamas and Fatah along with other Palestinian factions will set the appropriate mechanisms to activate and expand the popular resistance as a kind of resistance against the occupation, the settlement and the apartheid wall.

The popular resistance is a kind of mobilizing other efforts to stand alongside the armed resistance against the Israeli occupation, he added.

I don't think Israel should provide any services to the new unified Fatah-Hamas entity.

PressTV (Iran): "150,000 Iran missiles awaiting Israel"

Vahidi has a sort-of Klingon look, doesn't he?

Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says Iran will teach Israel a good lesson if the entity tries to attack the Islamic Republic.

Vahidi said on Sunday that Israel will not have a minimal chance of survival after venturing a military attack against Iran, as Iranian armed forces will pound all of Israel with thousands of missiles, Fars News Agency reported.

“The enemy must answer this question, if it attacks Iran, for how long a battle and losing how many of its warships and vessels has it prepared itself?”

“Why is the Zionist regime making threats (against Iran)? How many missiles have they prepared themselves for? 10,000? 20,000? 50,000? 100,000? 150,000 or more?" the Iranian defense minister asked.

He advised the US and its allies to realize Iran's incredible might and know that in the event of a war the Islamic Republic will teach the Americans what war really is and what soldiers are supposed to be like.

Vahidi said Iranian armed forces will not hesitate to defend the country's sovereignty, adding that if the Zionist regime decides to carry out its threats against Iran, Basij forces will take out revenge [on the entity] for years of [the entity] bullying oppressed nations." [...]

That was "the entity" that did all that bullying? Thanks for the clarification.

New attack on gas pipeline

That didn't take long. From JPost:

Saboteurs blew up Egypt's gas pipeline to Jordan and Israel on Monday, witnesses and security sources said, a few hours before the country holds its first free election since president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. [...]

JPost explains:

Egypt’s 20-year gas deal with Israel, signed in the Mubarak era, is unpopular with the Egyptian public, and critics argue that the Jewish state was not paying enough for the gas. [...]

There is also the cute little fact that a significant segment of the Egyptian population is opposed to any peace treaty with Israel (or any state short of actual war) and any trade relations whatsoever.

Ynet: "Assad: Turkey seeking to recapture imperial days"

Speaking of attacks on Turkey:

Syrian President Bashar Assad lashed out at his Turkish critics on Saturday, remarking that "some in Turkey are still clinging to the dream of reinstating the Ottoman Empire." [...]

Speaking to the Arabic-language website Arab Press, Assad called on his supporters not to vandalize any Turkish symbols: "I ask you – don't burn Turkish flags. The Turkish people are a proud nation." [...]

Fars (Iran): "IRGC Commander: Iran to Target NATO Missile Shield if Attacked"

This is actually a threat to attack Turkey, but it strikes a more conciliatory pose in the later paragraphs:

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh underlined Iran's crushing response to any enemy aggression, and warned that Tehran will target the NATO missile shield in Turkey in case it comes under attack.

"We have prepared ourselves, if any threat is staged against Iran, we will target NATO's missile shield in Turkey and will then attack other targets," General Hajizadeh said addressing a congregation of 10,000 Basij (volunteer forces) members in the Western town of Khorramabad on Saturday.

He further described deployment of the NATO missile defense system in Turkey as a deceitful move, saying that the NATO is misusing Turkey to save the Zionist regime.

"We are sure that the missile system is deployed by the US for the sake of the Zionist regime, but to deceive the world people, specially the Turkish people, they allege that the system belongs to the NATO," the general stated.

"Turkey is a member and cover for the NATO. Today NATO has become a cover for the US (moves) while the US itself has turned into a cover for the Zionist regime.

"Yet, the Turkish people are aware (of everything) and we are sure that Turkey's Muslims will stop this plot by themselves," he added.

"We are sure that the Muslim people of Turkey will promptly cut these systems into pieces under threatening conditions," he added.

Many analysts believe that the NATO's anti-missile system to be deployed in Turkey will be aimed at Iran.

Iranian officials have called on Turkey to reverse its decision for hosting the missile shield and withdraw from the plan. Tehran officials have repeatedly cautioned Ankara that the system is meant to create a shield for Israel and is thus seen as a threat to Iran.

(North) Korean News: "U.S., Worst Rogue State in World"

"Misconducts rampant at schools"--not like in the DPRK:

Shortly ago, a 14-year-old student committed suicide in New York unable to endure long torment by rascals, sparking off public furor.

In the United States misdeeds are steadily and drastically increasing and they become diverse in style and form.

Especially, misconducts rampant at schools have become a serious trouble in the country.

In recent years, 77 percent of students throughout the country have undergone or are undergoing spiritual and physical torment by rascals, according to the survey of the U.S. Department of Justice.

160 000 students have reportedly refused to go to school for fear of violence.

It is universal in the U.S. that students go to school with guns. According to the recent survey, 100 000 students now bring guns to school with them. Thus, gun-related crimes are reported one after another from schools.

Meanwhile, gangsters have openly committed all sorts of crimes in the U.S., causing great social unrest and terror-ridden atmosphere.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 21 announced that there are about 33 000 groups of gangsters across the country at present.

The said figures and facts go to clearly prove that the U.S. is a hotbed of social evils.

Actually, we have the rascal problem relatively under control.

Abbas and Meshaal "resolved all their differences" but failed "to resolve rifts"

According to Maan News:

President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal on Thursday said they had resolved all their differences, after a meeting in Cairo to implement a unity agreement.

"We want to assure our people and the Arab and Islamic world that we have turned a major new and real page in partnership on everything do to with the Palestinian nation," Mashaal said.

"There are no more differences between us now," added Abbas, who heads the Fatah movement.

According to an AP headline, however, "Palestinian rivals talk, but fail to resolve rifts":

Rival Palestinian leaders on Thursday held their first detailed talks on reconciliation since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip more than four years ago, declaring they made progress toward sharing power but failing to resolve key issues.

Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal talked for two hours in Cairo but did not reach agreement on touchy matters like the composition of an interim unity government and a date for elections.

The meeting raised new questions about whether the rivals are serious about sharing power, or just going through the motions. [...]

Is that clear?

On the recent anti-Israel use of the word "Pinkwashing" in the NY Times

You are probably aware by now of a recent Israel-bashing editorial in the NY Times that accuses Israel of "pinkwashing." The editorial defines "pinkwashing" as "a deliberate strategy to conceal the continuing violations of Palestinians’ human rights behind an image of modernity signified by Israeli gay life." The term has an interesting genealogy. Once upon a time the familiar word "whitewashing" became the inspiration for something called "greenwashing." "Greenwashing," meaning "a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly," was coined in 1986 according to Wikipedia. This lead to other permutations. A Forbes article describes "pinkwashing" as "an unhealthy product trying to improve its image by giving to breast cancer-related efforts." I guess we should call that "Pinkwashing I" while the NY Times definition is "Pinkwashing II."

If you contemplate the definition advanced by Sarah Schulman, the NY Times editorialist, you will notice a shift in the pattern. "Greenwashing" puts a green veneer on something not environmentally-friendly. "Pinkwashing I" means putting a "pink" veneer on something actually unhealthy. "Pinkwashing II," however, doesn't seem to have much to do with how tolerant an actual society is of gays. Schulman tells us that homosexuality was "decriminalized in the West Bank since the 1950s, when anti-sodomy laws imposed under British colonial influence were removed from the Jordanian penal code" and mentions three gay Palestinian groups, one of them devoted to boycotting Israel. Are those "incomplete indicators of human rights," as in her assertion that "gay soldiers and the relative openness of Tel Aviv are incomplete indicators of human rights"? What is that "relative openness" of Tel Aviv "relative" to? The rest of Israel? The rest of the Middle East? Iowa? Is all this of any interest to Schulman's presumed reader? Besides its display of intense hostility to a particular "national origin," this editorial places us in a very spooky and convoluted realm of ultra-progressive identity politics.

ACN (Cuba): "U.S. Political Activist Cindy Sheehan Slams Washington’s Double Standard" (on the "Cuban Five")

I was wondering what she's been up to lately:

“The fact that the five Cuban heroes were imprisoned while real terrorists—such as Luis Posada Carriles—live as free men in U.S. territory, is an embarrassment” noted Sheehan, the mother of an American soldier killed in the war against Iraq.

Sheehan was referring to Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, and Rene Gonzalez—internationally known as the Cuban Five—who were arrested in 1998 and given harsh sentences for monitoring anti-Cuba right-wing groups in South Florida that were planning and carrying out terrorist actions against the Caribbean nation.

Hernandez, Guerrero, Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez remain unjustly imprisoned while Rene Gonzalez was recently released, but he was forced to stay in U.S. territory for three years on probation.

“I learned about their case during a visit to Venezuela in 2006 and I saw many people, including their mothers and wives, demanding their release. Since then, I joined their just cause until we achieve that goal,” said Sheehan, one of 300 representatives from 45 countries who are participating in the Seventh International Colloquium for the Freedom of the Five and against Terrorism that ends on Saturday in the Cuban eastern province of Holguin.

“The main objective of these men was to prevent terrorist actions from taking place and, incredibly, they remain prisoners of a government that drops bombs against civilians and practices torture all around the world,” she added. [...]

If that's a good description of the US government, then why shouldn't they keep them prisoner?

Irish bagel tax--really

I wonder if Challah is a "premium baked good." From JTA:

Irish bagel lovers aren't having much luck: a 13.5 percent value-added tax will be tacked on to the traditionally Jewish favorite for the first time.

Under new plans by the Irish government to raise desperately needed revenue, bagels, croissants, garlic bread and other premium baked goods will be hit with the tax next month. Consumers are likely to bear the brunt of the cost.

Ordinary bread is exempt from tax in Ireland, but the Irish revenue service changed its determination on bagels this month, saying they were not "sufficiently bread-like" to be exempt from taxes on prepared or "value added" foods.

Bagels, a staple of Ireland's small Jewish community since the late 1800s, started to become widely popular in the country in the late 1990s as consumer tastes changed amid rapidly growing prosperity. Since 2007, that prosperity has reversed dramatically, forcing Ireland into a financial bailout that has left the government scrambling for new sources of revenue.

13.5 percent sounds high enough that people will be motivated to avoid the tax by making other choices. So some segments of the economy will be damaged without any significant increase in revenues?

Rooz: "With Ahmadinejad in Office, Iran Needs no Other Enemies"

Very interesting:

The threats that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies have been making about possessing incriminating documents against public figures and officials have resulted in an angry response from the Principlist, a group that at one time supported the president but since the climax of his differences with supreme leader of Iran earlier this year have broken ranks with him. The threat of revealing these documents are said to be what changed the votes in the Majlis last week to give a vote of confidence to cabinet minister of economy who was widely believed to be on his way out of office. In a letter addressed to the president, a Principlist Majlis representative writes that with Ahmadinejad around and the kind of language that he uses in his discourse and statements, there is no longer any need for the Islamic to have an enemy.

After Ahmadinejad first threatened to expose some Principlists (his former allies and supporters) and publish incriminating documents against them, Principlists have launched more criticism against him for his remarks.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had threatened recently that he had only spoken about 10 percent of his mind and that he would speak 25 percent of that if he was forced to. On another event, the president had said that he was not in a position to reveal many issues, but that should he be allowed to talk, things would drastically change. [...]

That's just an excerpt.

(North) Korea News: "Kim Jong Il Enjoys Art Performance Given by Art Squad of KPA Unit Command"

Is all the current news depressing? Well, here's something uplifting, with "great cognitional and educational significance":

Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, enjoyed a performance given by the art squad of the Command of KPA Unit 6556.

Its repertoire included narrative poem and chorus "Nostalgia" and female solo and pangchang "Glory to Our Great Party", male solo "The Country I Am Defending", male chorus "We Are Protecting the Safety of the General", poem and story-telling and song "Trust and Comrade", mixed chorus "Push Back Frontiers of Latest Science and Technology" and chorus poem and chorus "We Will Devotedly Defend the General for All Ages".

How does that work in the past?

The performers strikingly demonstrated that no force on earth can stem the dynamic trend of the great Songun journey in the DPRK as the party, a guiding force, is confidently leading the revolutionary cause of Juche which started on Mt. Paektu, the Supreme Commander and the army are united as firm as a rock and the whole party and army and all the people are dynamically advancing along the chosen path with one and the same objective and breath.

Not everybody gets the same food rations, of course, but what does that matter when you're dynamically advancing?

As the performance was over, Kim Jong Il warmly acknowledged the enthusiastic cheers of the performers, their eyes chocked with tears of emotion.

Expressing great satisfaction over the fact that the members of the art squad of the unit staged a splendid performance with numbers of great cognitional and educational significance as they truthfully reflected the noble spiritual world of the KPA, he highly praised them for their successful performance and extended thanks to them.

I bet he says that to all the revolutionary art squads.

The members of the art squad not only sang well but wrote good poems, in particular, he said, appreciating the efforts made by the creators to produce successful works while breathing the same breath with soldiers in line with the spirit of the era.

The performance given by the art squad today proved that the combination of arms and music represents the unity of idea and emotion, revolution and man and struggle and life and the Songun cause of the DPRK has, therefore, become a cause of the great and beautiful people, he noted.

Why don't imperialist leaders say beautiful things like that?

He expressed expectation and belief that the members of the art squad of the unit would energetically conduct revolutionary and militant performing activities and thus positively help the soldiers perform admirable military feats in defending the socialist country. [...]

The article concludes with a list of other party officials who were present at the great event (in case if you were wondering whether I omitted any dynamic Songun blather.)

LA Times: "Californians willing to pay higher taxes for better schools"

No great insight there. Californians would pay higher taxes for the same schools, or even if they were reasonably sure it would not damage the schools too badly:

A strong majority of California voters is willing to pay higher taxes to boost funding for public schools even in a grim economy, a new poll has found.

After three years of budget cuts that have battered schools with extensive teacher layoffs and deep cuts in art, music and other programs, 64% of those surveyed said they would shell out more for schools.

The consensus was broad, crossing both genders and all races, ages, regions, income and educational levels. One exception was conservative Republicans, with only 34% willing to pay more for schools. But 60% of Republicans who described themselves as moderate or liberal and three-fourths of Democrats said they would support such a move. [...]

IRIB Radio (Iran): "Wahhabis with US-Zionist support weave web of plot in Syria"

Wahhabis weave web, eh?

The Syrian people and government, because of the their firm stand against the state terrorism of the illegal Zionist entity and the US bid to impose its hegemony on the region, are facing an intricate plot hatched by unelected Arab reactionary regimes led by Saudi Arabia, whose Wahhabi minority rulers as part of the West's plan, are terrorizing the people of Bahrain and Yemen, in addition to laying wild allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. US-based Iranian journalist, Ismail Salami has written an analytical piece on this conspiracy titled Wahhabis Weave Web of Plot in Syria that recently appeared in Salem News. [...]

There's a lot more if you have the stomach for it.

Mehr News: "IRGC general censures Israel for expressing delight at Iran blast"

Getting censured by the IRGC is pretty delightful also:

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri has criticized Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for expressing happiness about the recent blast at an IRGC munitions depot.

Asked on Israel’s Army Radio on Sunday about the scope of damage from the blast, Barak said he did not know, but added, “May there be more like it,” according to Reuters.

Jazayeri stated that the Israelis are evil-minded people “since the explosion that occurred a few days ago, in which a number of our dear IRGC servicemen were killed, delighted the officials of the Zionist regime,” the Mehr News Agency reported.

IRNA: "Larijani: Would the Zionists opt for wheelchair, must attack Iran"

That's the sort of thing Iranian officials say when they make speeches:

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said here on Wednesday that if the Zionists opted for wheelchair life, they would attack Iran.

Addressing a ceremony commemorating martyrs of Howeizeh, Khuzestan province, he added that the Iranian nation is brave and the Zionists are afraid of Iranians.

He said that the Zionist regime sometime threatens Iran, but, soon afterwards they correct themselves because they know that it will cost them dearly.

Nobody will dare to attack Iran as long the spirit of Jihad is strong among the youth of the country, he asserted.

Larijani said that the US administration is seeking to deal a blow to Iran's economy, adding, 'The government must adopt precautionary measures in the economic field in a way that the people not to be exposed to financial problems.'

The Iranian nation has turned sanctions into an opportunity and has precious experience to solve its problems by its own, he said.

Angry Arab: "There is no such thing as severely disrupted"

The mind boggles at this assertion. A minor disruption could involve, say, a traffic jam. A severe disruption could involve, let's say, rocket attacks. How did AA get an academic job?

So no one was killed or injured but the New York Times had to make Israelis victims no matter what: "Schools in southern Israel were closed, and the daily routine of hundreds of thousands of Israelis was severely disrupted." Oh, the routines were severely disrupted? Do we have to feel sorry for the occupiers? And what is the difference between disrupted and severely disrupted? They are either disrupted or not disrupted. There is no such thing as severely disrupted. If the "daily routine" of Israelis were disrupted, the lives of Palestinians are being disrupted by Israeli terrorists every week. But you are too racist to notice.

It's "racist" to show sympathy for the targets of the rockets rather than the ones firing them? What would that particular bigotry be called? Qassam-o-phobia?

IRNA: "Iranian govt has always ensured human rights: [Pakistani] MP"

Glad that's cleared up:

Member of Pakistani Parliament on Tuesday said that Iranian government has always ensured human rights and democratic norms.

Speaking to IRNA, Member of the National Assembly and senior lawyer Naseer Bhutta disputed reports by western media that human rights situation in Iran is not upto the international standards.

The politician added that people in Iran are enjoying all democratic rights. He added that Iranian people have elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for second term because they have faith in the government.

The legal expert condemned western propaganda against Iran and said that west is trying to harm the image of Iran.

Alberto Toscano a western analyst in an interview with the BBC said that human rights situation in Iran is poor and people are not getting their basic rights.

“I simply disagree with such remarks against Iran,” Naseer Bhutta said.

He said that despite difficult times, elections in Iran have been regularly taking place.

The lawmaker suggested that the Muslim world should follow the foot steps of Iranian government by implementing strong democratic system in their countries.

He was of the view that Islamic system of governance is very strong in Iran which also ensures fundamental rights of the people.

The Parliamentarian also asked west to respect Iran’s sovereignty and stop propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic.

He said that it is very encouraging to see that Iran despite western propaganda has been progressing in all fields.

PressTV: "'Iran can thwart Duqu spyware'"

It might be true that they have the virus "under control," but it probably isn't. A recent Iranian press article also mentioned a medicine with "the capability to destroy all malignant cancerous cells":

Iran has developed a software program that can “control” the newly discovered Duqu spyware, the director of Iran's Passive Defense Organization has announced.

“The software, capable of controlling this virus (Duqu), has been provided to organizations and institutions,” IRNA quoted Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali as saying on Sunday.

Duqu, discovered on September 1, 2011, is a sophisticated Trojan which acts as a backdoor into a system and facilitates the theft of private intelligence.

Security software manufacturer Symantec says parts of the Duqu code base are nearly identical to the infamous Stuxnet worm, “but with a completely different purpose.”

The Duqu malware has reportedly infected a number of systems in Iran.

“All of the centers and apparatuses suspected of being infected with the virus are under control,” Jalali said, adding that countering and cleansing processes have been carried out at the infected institutions.

Stuxnet, first indentified by Iranian officials in June 2010, is a malware designed to infect computers using supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems made by the German company Siemens -- which are favored by industries that manage water supplies, oilrigs, and power plants.

In July, media reports claimed that Stuxnet had targeted industrial computers around the globe, with Iran being the main target of the attack. The reports said Iran's newly launched Bushehr nuclear power plant was at the center of the cyber attack.

However, Iranian experts detected the worm in time, averting any damage to the country's industrial sites and resources.

“The (Iranian) cyber defense base is working round the clock to adopt the necessary measures to counter cyber attacks and the infiltration of spyware,” Jalili stated.

Ahmadinejad: "Israel Forging History to Find Historical Roots"

Too bad he doesn't go into details;

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that the Zionist regime of Israel is endangering the world history to create a fake historical root for itself.

"Zionists have created a fake 2,500-year-old culture for themselves in the history and want to dry up the historical roots of the other nations," he said, addressing a ceremony on Tuesday to unveil the artifacts of the Jiroft region in Southeastern Iran.

He said that the West and enemies of the Iranian nation who lack a rich and proper historical background are against any move to introduce the history and civilization of the great Iranian nation.

"They know when a nation loses its identity, it is easily influence by their plots," he added.

Yet, Ahmadinejad underscored that the hegemonic powers are unable to undermine and destroy the Iranian nation's historical and civilization roots and origins.

The "Jiroft Civilization Treasure" ceremony was held today after 18 Iranian historical artifacts smuggled from the ancient Iranian site of Jiroft to Britain almost seven years ago were recently returned to the Islamic Republic. [...]

Songun Pal propaganda: "Israel's Threats Endanger Abbas' Life: Official"

No Pal propaganda is too stupid for North Korea to echo:

A senior Palestinian official addressed a letter on Friday to the international community saying that the recent Israeli threats to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "would endanger his life."

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a letter addressed to members of the UN Security Council and all countries in the world that the Palestinians reject the Israeli campaign of incitement against President Abbas.

"This policy of incitement and the aggressive assault of the Israeli government and its Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman would endanger President Abbas' life and undermine the peace process," said Erekat. [...]

Americans like Bibi better than Barry

Good development, but I'm still freaked out that Obama got elected in the first place. Let's face it, we could have anyone for president next.

President Obama's hot-miked conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested that he is frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- but Americans might be more frustrated with Obama than they are irritated by Netanyahu.

"A poll conducted by the group Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that 52.3 percent of Americans rate Netanyahu positively, compared to 51.5 percent for Obama," reports Israel Today Magazine. "The results of the poll were enthusiastically discussed on Israel's Channel 10 News on Thursday." [...]

IRNA: Iran has glorious martyrdom-seeking work accident, inspiring all regional nations

You may have seen reports on this incident already. Here it is from the Horse's, er, mouth:

Head of IRGC Public Relations Department Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif said on Saturday that 27 IRGC personnel attained martyrdom in a massive explosion at IRGC’s ammunition depot in Malard, Alborz province on Saturday.

Death toll from garrison explosion rises to 27

The incident occurred due to displacement of ammunition and explosives, he said adding that some 16 other IRGC forces sustained injuries in the blast.

Some of the injured are in critical conditions, he said.

The cause of the incident is under investigation and the result will be made public soon, he said.

A huge explosion rocked a garrison in Bidgeneh in the vicinity of Malard city in Alborz province Saturday afternoon.

Bidgeneh village is 45 kilometers from capital city of Tehra

Hmmm, "displacement of ammunition and explosives." PressTV's account reports this as “relocation of ammunition,” which makes a bit more sense.

Update: Richard Silverstein: "The face of the Israeli terror machine has reared its ugly head again in the world." Hey, what's wrong with blowing swords into ploughshares?

Total clarity about Arafat death on horizon

Or maybe not. From Ma'an News:

A nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says the family will soon release a French medical report revealing Arafat's cause of death.

Naser al-Qudwa says the document is being translated from French before it is released.

Al-Qudwa says the report will answer "many questions," as it is the Palestinian people's right to get a clear answer about how Arafat died. The document has not previously been seen in Arabic.

The report by French doctors describes a platelet disorder and speculates on its cause, al-Qudwa says. The doctors ruled out cancer and an acute infection, he told Ma'an.

A third possibility was poisoning, al-Qudwa says, but the records show that doctors were unable to conclusively determine what poison, if any, was in Arafat's system.

"We have said that it is poisoning," he hinted.

Al-Qudwa has long campaigned for a close examination of his uncle's death, which he has blamed on poisoning in the past. It was not clear when the new documents were to be released.

Arafat died on Nov. 11, 2004 in Paris. Medical records have been closely guarded amid speculation on the cause of a sudden illness that struck the Palestinian leader shortly before his death. [...]

Probably advanced AIDS.

Iran: Don't kill any of our stubbly-beard guys

Especially since their military is now easily two or three times more invincible than it used to be:

A senior Iranian commander threatened to kill "dozens" of American military commanders, should the US kill any Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commanders and officials.

"You also should not forget that American commanders have plenty of presence and travel in the region. If you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you," Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Genera Amir Ali Hajizadeh told FNA.

Also, another senior Iranian military officials blasted Washington's threats against Iran and Iranian commanders, and cautioned that the Iranian Armed Forces, particularly the IRGC, will give a crushing response to the US terrorist actions.

"It is surprising that a number of US officials are so ill-informed that they do not know their fellow countrymen are in a volatile positions in a region around the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iranian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri told the US Close-up website.

Jazayeri pointed to the US officials' recent call for the assassination of the Islamic Republic's top IRGC commanders, and noted, "The IRGC's response to the US terrorist actions will make Americans repent their actions."

He further warned that the US will be harmed if it does not accept to apologize for it threatening remarks.

His remarks allude to the United States' new plot against Iran. Earlier last week several American neoconservatives, including retired US Army general Jack Keane, urged the Obama administration to use covert action against Iran and target members of the Quds Force, the Guard's special foreign actions unit. [...]

Juan Cole: Let's believe everything Iran says about its nuclear program

Juan sounds a little desperate here. My favorite proof that Iran is not working on a nuclear weapon is that "[i]n the medieval Muslim law of war, killing innocent non-combatants is forbidden." Tell that to Hizbullah:

Nuclear issues are so complicated that the public is easily misled and frightened by nuclear demagoguery. That is why the new International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s nuclear program will be hyped endlessly.

Iran is a theocracy in which the Supreme Leader has said that nuclear weapons are forbidden in Islamic law. In the medieval Muslim law of war, killing innocent non-combatants is forbidden. The same people who jump up and down about Iran being “medieval” in this regard suddenly dismiss Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s injunctions against nuclear warheads as irrelevant when the latter subject comes up. But if he gave such a fatwa and at the same time undermined it, he would risk a fatal blow to his authority and legitimacy.

The way you tell if a country like Iran is actively working on a nuclear bomb is that it diverts uranium to weapons purposes. Iran has not done that, as the IAEA repeatedly affirms. Almost certainly, if Iran were seriously working on a bomb, it would kick international inspectors out altogether . . .

It is likely that Iran wants “nuclear latency,” or the “Japan option.” That would involve knowing how to construct a bomb in short order if the country was ever directly menaced with an invasion and regime change a la Iraq. From Bush’s announcement of the coming war in September 2002 at the UNGA until there were American boots on the ground in Iraq was about seven months. If Iraq had had “latency” or a “break-out” capability, it could just have made a bomb and blown it up, and there would have been no US invasion. Iran wants to be in that position. It is not the same as constructing an actual bomb. Everything we know about Iran’s nuclear enrichment program points to it mainly being for civilian purposes. [...]

I mean, how can you doubt Supreme Leader pronouncements?

IRNA (Iran): "MP: Forged regime of Israel too wretched to threaten Iran"

Iranian rhetoric gets shriller:

A member of IRI Parliament board of directors referring to forged racist Zionist regime on invading Iran’s nuclear facilities, said here Wednesday that regime is too weak, too wretched, to threaten a great and civilization builder nation like Iran.

MP: Forged regime of Israel too wretched to threaten Iran
According to the IRNA correspondent in Iran’s southern Bandar Abbas port city, Mohammad Ashouri who was speaking with IRNA in an exclusive interview further reiterated, “That fragile regime suffered the humiliation of defeat in confrontation with the spiritual offspring of the Iranian nation in the course of the 33-Day War, whose aftermaths can still be seen in massive demonstrations of the Jews in various cities.”

Member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Majlis reiterated, “That they would intend to invade Iran is more like a dream and hallucination, because if they would even make the slightest mistake, that would mark the end of their existence.”

Representative of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Khamir, and Abu-Moussa at the Parliament said that Iran’s greatest weapon is its enthusiastic and united men and women embodies in the Iranian nation, arguing, “So long as we rely on our nation’s unity and belief in Almighty God, no power in the world is capable of threatening the gallant Iranian nation.”

Elsewhere in the interview he referred to the immense stockpiling of the nuclear weapons in those countries which claim to be peace loving in the world, reiterating, “The Zionist regime is not only not a member of the atomic agency, but has not even once permitted the agency’s inspectors to survey its nuclear facilities, and had furthermore, many times resisted against the demands of many nations for supervision of the agency over its nuclear activities.”

Ashouri emphasized, “The managing director of the agency does not dare to say even one sentence in condemnation of that regime.”

He added, “The agency’s recent report made everyone at the international scene lose the remainder of trust they had in the IAEA, and unfortunately it was the behavior of the agency’s managing director that caused that mistrust.”

Member of the Iranian parliament’s board of directors said that the recent report of the UN nuclear watchdog is the west’s seeking of a pretext for launching a new wave of accusations and sanctions against Iran.

Referring to the recent visit of the IAEA managing director of the United States and his meetings with the US officials right before finalizing his report on Iran, he emphasized, “This report has been prepared beyond doubt aimed at pleasing the demands of the White House officials cent per cent.”

The Iranian MP ended his remarks arguing, “Threatening the Iranian nation, which has regained its new identity in the course of resistance, perseverance and selflessness is sheer stupidity, which the White House officials insist on repeating such stupidity anew once again.”

The dispatches have in recent weeks been carrying an overwhelming volume of reports indicating that the warmonger racist Zionist leaders have been making preparations for “limited attacks” against nuclear targets in Iran, notably Iran’s Parchin nuclear facilities.

But as this top Iranian MP has noted such propagations are more like wishful thinking for the poor Zionists, as Israel is both too vulnerable, and too little in comparison with great Iran to dare make a first slight mistake in this regard, which would as Mr. Ashouri has mentioned be also its last mistake.

New verbs in the Iranian Press

According to a current headline at Fars News: "Senior Legislator: Iran to Level Israel Off If Attacked":

Member of the Iranian parliament's Presiding Board Mohammad Hossein Farhangi warned the Zionist regime against the dire consequences of any military aggression against Iran, and underlined that the Iranian Armed Forces are capable of annihilating Israel completely.

"Iran has the capability to annihilate the Zionist regime forever, if attacked" Farhangi told FNA on Wednesday.

Meantime, he downplayed the importance of the war rhetoric of Israel and its allies against Iran, and said that the Zionist regime and other countries change their views everyday and "even they do not dare to say firmly that they intend to attack the Islamic Iran".

Political observers believe that Israel's failure in its 2006 war on the Lebanese Hezbollah has discouraged the Zionist regime from waging an attack on Iran.

They believe that the Zionist regime of Israel has already tested its military power in its attack on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and knows that it lacks the necessary power and courage to attack Iran.

Iran has warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv. [...]

According to another Fars headline: "Thousands of Syrian, Palestinian Youths Ready to Blast Israel":

Thousands of Syrian and Palestinian youths in a petition to Damascus government expressed their readiness to conduct martyrdom-seeking operations inside Israel.

In a petition signed by 30,000 well-trained Palestinian and Syrian youths, they said that they are ready to infiltrate Israel and conduct any type of operation.

The call for infiltration into Israel came months after 5 young Palestinians who tried to carry out martyrdom-seeking operation on the Nakba Day were arrested in the occupied territories.

Nakba Day (day of the catastrophe) is generally remembered on May 15. For the Palestinians it is the anniversary of the day of their displacement that followed the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

The petition said that those who signed it have passed military, combat and tactical trainings and are ready to tolerate the hardest conditions in Israel.

The move came after Israel intensified its war rhetoric against the Syrian government and its ally, Iran.

If only Juan Cole were here to tell us what this all means. By the way "annihilate" is not one of the new verbs--that one has been used frequently for years.

(North) Korean News on OWS

"Hundreds of masses"?--each person is a "mass"? Anyway, North Korea approves:

A demonstration against Wall Street took place in Atlanta, Georgia, the U.S. on Nov. 5.

Taking to the streets, hundreds of masses denounced the greed and exploitation by the capitalist class which seeks only its interests in disregard of the poor living conditions of the overwhelming majority of working masses.

The police in suppression gears arrested many demonstrators.

Juan Cole on the Sarcozy/Obama live-mic gaffe

Juan Cole exceeds my expectations regularly. I should revise my expectations, but they are fairly vast already where he is concerned. A paragraph:

President Obama didn’t seem in a hurry to defend Bibi, who has in fact had a long history of prevaricating. His biggest lie? That he wants a “peace process” with the Palestinians. That is sort of like saying that shearers want a “peace process” with the sheep that they fleece.

Fars News (Iran): "Hamas Leader Stresses Palestinians' Ownership of Entire Palestinian Lands"

Hamas makes effective use of its two faces. Let's hear from the one that usually addresses Iran:

A prominent member of the Palestinian Hamas Movement voiced his movement's agreement with the establishment of a Palestinian state, but at the same time rejected any move to surrender the Palestinian territories to the occupying regime of Israel, stressing that Palestinians are the owners of entire Palestine and not just a part of it.

Speaking to FNA in Gaza city on Tuesday, Mahmoud al-Zahar pointed to the Head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas's UN membership bid and establishment of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, and stated that Hamas supports establishment of such a Palestinian state, no matter it is within the 1967 borders or even on a palm of the Palestinian lands.

"But, the occupying regime should not be recognized and even a span of Palestine's soil should not be ignored," Zahar noted.

"If efforts are directed towards establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, we should unify our efforts. Of course this is not our borders, our borders are well known and cover the entire Palestine and even more than Palestine," Zahar stated.

Many Palestinian groups have blasted Abbas's unilateral move to win the UN's acclaim for a Palestinian state, and said he should have discussed the issue with other Palestinian groups beforehand.

These groups also stress that although establishment of a Palestinian state is necessary, the 1967 borders are not the borderline of the Palestinian lands as Palestine means all the lands belonging to the Palestinians, including the territories occupied in the 1940s.

Also, earlier this month Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for holding a free referendum in the entire Palestinian lands (including those under the Israeli occupation) to determine the fate of the country, and rejected the plans which envisage division of Palestine.

"We neither propose dumping the migrant Jews in the sea nor the UN arbitration, rather our proposal includes a referendum to be participated by all Palestinians," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing the 5th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada in Tehran at the time.

He also dismissed the West's plots to disintegrate Palestine, and said, "Today the West is standing on a crossroad and it should either leave its age-old bullying and recognize the rights of the Palestinians or wait for harder blows in the near future."

Mehr News (Iran): "No safe place for U.S. in Islamic world: IRGC official"

Interesting way of putting things, no?

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps deputy commander said on Tuesday that there is no safe place for the Unites States and its lackeys and allies in the Muslim world.

Brigadier General Hossein Salami also said the landscape of the Muslim world has changed in a way that hegemons no longer dare to be present in the region, adding that international developments have changed the balance of power in favor of Muslims.

Goldstone eloquently picks apart the Apartheid canard

Richard Goldstone--of all people--emerges as a very cogent and eloquent Israel-advocate. It's about time. Here are two sample paragraphs:

[...] In Israel, there is no apartheid. Nothing there comes close to the definition of apartheid under the 1998 Rome Statute: “Inhumane acts ... committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.” Israeli Arabs — 20 percent of Israel’s population — vote, have political parties and representatives in the Knesset and occupy positions of acclaim, including on its Supreme Court. Arab patients lie alongside Jewish patients in Israeli hospitals, receiving identical treatment.

To be sure, there is more de facto separation between Jewish and Arab populations than Israelis should accept. Much of it is chosen by the communities themselves. Some results from discrimination. But it is not apartheid, which consciously enshrines separation as an ideal. In Israel, equal rights are the law, the aspiration and the ideal; inequities are often successfully challenged in court. [...]

Read the rest as they say. I would like to add one other point that Goldstone does not discuss. Ultimately, discrimination--even severe and cruel discirmintaton--is quite common in the world. The degree of discrimination is not what made Apartheid so odious. Apartheid had to go because the white South Africans were such a small minority in such a large country. Control simply had to be wrested from their hands and vested in the hands of the people who comprised the country's significant population. Leftists who cast Jewish Israeilis as the White South Africans are actually seeking to deprive Israel's majority population of self-determination. That's what excites them about the Apartheid comparison--it provides a precedent for revoking a group's control of a country.

White South Africans, on one hand, were a small group who were not entitled to control the destiny of a large country. On the other hand, kicking a unique nationality and majority-population--Israeli Jewry--out of the driver's seat of its own destiny would lead quickly to ethnic cleansing. That is what is so insidious about the Apartheid-comparison: it whitewashes the ambition to ethnically cleanse. (h/t: EOZ)

Fars: "Iranian Basij Forces Stress Support for Occupy Wall Street Movement"

The Basij is a huge paramilitary force which plays a key role in suppressing dissidents and enforcing Islamic conformity in Iran. So they're the ultimate progressives:

Members of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force issued a statement in recent days to voice strong support for the American people's anti-capitalism movement.

"We have been watching the glory of your movement on Wall Street and have been appreciating your determination to bring into an end the one-percent supremacy," said the statement.

"Your movement ascertains us capitalism is already over. Having owned large-scale media and accompanied by force, batons and tear gas, capitalism has been striving to gloss over your protests; however, your resolve and perseverance to prove your role in the destiny of your country made their plots dead in the water and spread your truthful message all around the world. The cold weather you experienced all during this time not only didn't hinder the progress of your movement, but also made your faith in the truthfulness of the path you are in stronger," it added.

"Occupy Wall Street undoubtedly represents the oppressed voicing their protests against the oppressors. As in Islamic Iranian culture, defending the oppressed is presumed a divine task, we, as a group of Iranian Basij Force members, hereby announce our support for your glorious and decent movement and promise we shall never stop supporting your uprising.

"Upon following world's leading media, a group of Basij members noticed capital-based systems have tried to stop your message from spreading all around the globe and to misuse your movement through distributing distorted news of the movement in addition to adopting high censorship measures."

The statement continued, "Having looked into such circumstances as mentioned, our media team decided to open a website, as an attempt to provide the world with a truthful account of the events occurring in Wall Street. www.wsfall.com is undergoing the preparatory stages and will start within a few days to come."

"Establishing this website in both Persian and English was the least we, as Iranian youths in support of your movement, could do to help the true message of those protesting the capitalist system spread throughout the world."

"We wish to see your victory in overthrowing the capitalist system and hope the motivation created by Wall Street in European countries as well, will help establish a genuine democracy all around the world."

"Your union has sent the world the message of your persistence to overcome the supremacy of one-percent against the 99 percent. We ask all of you as our brothers and sisters to hold on the cause and to do your utmost to send it all over the globe; Never ever let East and West criminals to gain control over you again," the message concluded.

If you are tempted to investigate that URL, make sure you have a good anti-virus program.

New Qassam attack?

From Arutz7:

A Kassam rocket, launched by terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza, exploded, Sunday evening, in an open area of the Ashkelon Coast Council region.

No injuries or damage were reported. It was the second such attack in as many hours.

Only a Qassam 3 can go that far.

Fars (Iran): "Iran Likely to File Lawsuit against Hillary Clinton"

Have any other world leaders ever been successfully sued for "meddling remarks"?

The Iranian Parliament is likely to require the government to file a lawsuit against the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, for her recent meddling remarks in Iran's internal affairs.

Speaking to FNA, member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Avaz Heidarpour said that the commission is slated to discuss Clinton's recent interfering remarks in a later meeting today.

Heidarpour said in case the commission comes to the conclusion that such a move is necessary, "the Parliament will task the government with lodging a complaint against Hillary Clinton".

Clinton, in interviews with the Persian language services of the BBC and Voice of America on Wednesday, said the United States plans to open a "virtual embassy" for Iran that will give Iranians online information about visas and student exchange programs despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.

Clinton used both interviews to pretend that the United States hoped to broaden contacts with regular Iranians despite tensions with the Tehran government, and described Iran's Islamic establishment as a military dictatorship. She also said the "virtual embassy" website would be open by the end of the year and it would provide Iranians with information on visas and other programs.

In her astonishingly interfering remarks, Clinton said the United States was providing both technology and training to help Iranians circumvent government limits on the Internet and other forms of communication while seeking to expand sanctions on Tehran.

In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast Thursday night called on the White House officials to stop meddling in Tehran's domestic affairs, and said the recent remarks made by Clinton on Iran displayed her lack of knowledge and information.

Mehman-Parast strongly rejected the allegations raised by Clinton in her Wednesday interview with the BBC against Tehran, and stressed, "Mrs. Clinton's lack of information about Iran's issues has a history. Hence, she and other US administration officials are advised to stop using suppressive methods and exercising dictatorship inside the US and avoid continuing occupation and interventionist policies towards other countries instead of leveling accusations against others."

"Officials of the United States of America had better meet the demands of their people, specially the youth, which are manifested in the Wall Street Protest Movement and comply with the demands and aspirations declared by the people in the Islamic Awakening and popular uprisings in the regional countries who want the US to give up support for dependant rulers and stop military and security presence and interference in the other countries' affairs," he added.

Also at Fars today, a representative of Islamic Jihad (which as you know is currently racking up new martyrdoms testing its great new weapons) makes some pronouncements:

Representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Tehran Abu Sharif welcomed the recent developments and uprisings in the Muslim countries which have led to the collapse of the Zionist regime's allies in the region, and said Israel's protection shield is growing thin every day.

"The Zionist regime has had three security belts in the past, namely Egypt, Turkey and the monarchical regime of Iran; but God blessed us and the support of the Shah of Iran for the Zionists stopped as a result of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran," Abu Sharif said in Tehran on Sunday.

"Also with the collapse of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt we are witnessing that Israel's security belt is growing increasingly tight," he said, implying that the trend of affairs is moving in a direction that will eventually lead to the collapse of the Israeli regime after it is left alone with no protection shield in the region. [...]

English articles form the Iranian press often seem to use "collapse" to mean military defeat.

(North) Korean News: "Iran Warns West against Plots"

Khomeinism and Juche-keit--two great tastes that taste great together!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, made a speech in a rally on October 25 in which he warned the West not to breed plots against the regional countries.

He said the West is planning to realize the domination on the regional countries through deception and lie under the pretext of aid.

The era of colonialism has already ended and the people of the regional countries are sharpening their vigilance against the machinations of the West, he noted, adding the West should stop all sorts of inhuman acts and remove its military bases from the region.

"Foodstuff Factory for Sportspersons Built in Pyongyang"

I don't like the sound of this. There is a concept of sports-nutrition products, but in Western countries such things are available to the general public:

The Kumkop (gold cup) Combined Foodstuff Factory for Sportspersons has made its appearance in Pyongyang.

The factory produces rice cake, bread, confectionary, processed meat and drinks. It also has welfare facilities for its employees.

The drinks, including carbonated water and nutritious water, are made with natural medicinal materials good for recovery from fatigue and promotion of health.

Ri Jong Ho, manager of the factory, told KCNA that the factory will put its production and management activities on a scientific and IT basis to massproduce quality foodstuffs needed for sportspersons.

Ahmadinejad: "European tax channeled to Zionists"

He can't open his mouth, seemingly, without saying something like this:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the tax paid by the European people have been going to “Zionists' pockets” for the past 60 years.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a Saturday meeting in Tehran with international personalities, IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad noted that Zionists have, in return, been paying for the election campaign of certain political parties in the West.

He described the Israeli regime as a very complicated organization, which is in control of those holding monopolies of power, wealth, and media.

Ahmadinejad described Israel as the symbol of the 'anti-humanistic' ideology of Zionism, stating that the regime adhered neither to religion nor to ethics and only pretended to be Jewish.

Those meeting with the Iranian president had gathered in a conference venue in the Iranian capital earlier in the day to establish the Press Union of the Islamic World. [...]

Fars (Iran): "Senior Cleric Warns White House to Avoid Clampdown on Americans"

Fear not, OWS, Ayatollah Jannati has your back!

Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati warned Washington officials to stop suppression of American protestors.

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of worshippers on Tehran University Campus here on Friday, Ayatollah Jannati noted the anti-capitalism protests in the US and the exercise of heavy-handed tactics by the US police against demonstrators, and said, "You (the US) treat your people harshly, you should know that people can not be treated by force."

He said 99 percent of the American population is standing against one percent, "and you are advised not to suppress 99 percent of your population just because of the interests of the remaining one percent".

Occupy Wall Street protesters have been occupying Zuccotti Park since 17 September and have said they intend to remain in occupation until the new year.

The anti-capitalism protesters are angry at the US administration's domestic, foreign and financial policies and discriminatory approach towards the 99% average and below-average class of the society, saying that the 1% rich are looting the rest of the population.

He further dismissed the US accusation that Tehran plotted to assassinate a Saudi envoy to Washington, and asked, "What would Iran gain by assassinating a Saudi Ambassador on the US soil?"

"You yourself are terror agents, you kill people in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan," he added.

Meantime, the cleric said the US is experiencing demise as crisis has ripped through the US and Europe while the waves of Islamic awakening have spread.

"And today is the day of encountering the US as much as we can," he added. [...]

"Saudi Arabia police reported that they had seized nearly 1,500 Chinese-made toy guns at a local market which made insulting anti-Islam sounds"

Whenever there's news, Iran's PressTV is on it!

UAE Police say a number of Chinese-made toy guns have been imported into country that utter insulting and mocking phrases against Islam.

Maryam Al Ahmadi, an Emirati citizen and a social affairs activist, found the toys in the local markets and informed the Abu Dhabi police, Emirate 24/7 reported on Wednesday.

“I call upon the police and other competent authorities to investigate how these anti-Islam guns have found their way into the UAE market and to take action against all those who have imported them,” Al Ahmadi said.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia police reported that they had seized nearly 1,500 Chinese-made toy guns at a local market which made insulting anti-Islam sounds.

According to UAE law, importers of such toys could face jail terms of up to 5 years.

According to the insulting imported toy law?

Iran discovers that scorpions are reptiles

Who knew?

Iranian scientists managed to produce a new type of anti-cancer drug using the venoms of reptiles like snakes and scorpions.

"After several years of research and studies on a combination of snake and scorpion venoms, the anti-cancer drug was produced in Iran," Abbas Zare', the Director of the Venomous Animals Department of Iran's Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, told reporters on Tuesday.

"This anti-cancer drug has been produced from snake and scorpion venoms after 10 years of research work and has been extracted from the fat (peptide) of such animals," he added

Zare' said that the anti-cancer drug has passed laboratory tests and it is waiting for the Iranian health ministry's permission to be experimented on human beings.

Iran has taken wide strides in science and technology, particularly in medical and medicinal fields, in recent years.

Earlier, Iranian Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi had announced that Iran plans to boost its capacities and capabilities in a bid to make a huge and rapid advancement in drug production by synthesizing 15 types of anti-cancer medicines.

"15 types of monoclonal anti-body drugs are being synthesized with the help of the Scientific Department of the Presidential Office, using hi-tech technology," Vahid Dastjerdi said in September.

Also, Iranian scientists in April succeeded in producing new types of medication for treating different kinds of cancer, viral diseases and arthritis with 100% positive results.

"The medicine has been synthesized through a new and unique formula and has the capability to destroy all malignant cancerous cells," Head of the research team Qassem Tak Dehqan told reporters at the time.

I guess that's about it for cancer.

Future of Green Book studies uncertain

Another puffed up tyrant bites the dust.

Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi led Libya through 40 years of erratic, authoritarian rule before being toppled by a rebellion that seized power in August 2011 after a bloody six-month campaign.

On Oct. 20, the head of the Libyan military council said that Col. Qaddafi had been killed as fighters battling the vestiges of his fallen regime wrested control of his hometown of Surt.

His final moments were as violent as the uprising that overthrew him.

In a cellphone video that went viral on the Internet, the deposed Libyan leader is seen splayed on the hood of a truck and then stumbling amid a frenzied crowd, seemingly begging for mercy. He is next seen on the ground, with fighters grabbing his hair. Blood pours down his head, drenching his golden brown khakis, as the crowd shouts, “God is great!” [...]

G-d is great.

Gut Yom Tov!

Sukkos is called "Zeman Simchaseinu"--the "time of our rejoicing." Thus, the holiday is particularly associated with rejoicing, and I hope you have an especially joyous one. I usually don't post on Chol Hamo'eid--see you after Simchas Torah.

(North) Korean News: "Motherly Party Responsible for Destiny of People"

The Western press keeps talking about a so-called "hunger crisis" and "acute malnutrition," but this article disproves all that Imperialist slander:

The song "We Sing of the Party" has become increasingly popular in the DPRK with the approach of the 66th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

The song stresses that the WPK is the greatest party pursuing politics based on love for the people.

The WPK's is a history of love for the people.

The revolutionary party should take care of the popular masses and protect and guide them, responsible for their destiny, as the mother does for her children -- this is the guidelines general secretary Kim Jong Il has always maintained in party building.

When visiting the newly built Pothonggang Shop in August Juche 98 (2009), he asked officials accompanying him whether there was an elevator in the shop.

They said that the design expected no elevator because the shop was just a two-storied building. Listening to them, Kim Jong Il suggested installing an elevator for the convenience of customers.

He then said the convenience of the people should be put above anything else in all work.

Kim Jong Il's ceaseless field guidance tours are all aimed to improve the people's living standard.

The Korean people, through their practical experience, well know that the WPK guided by Kim Jong Il is the motherly party wholly responsible for their destiny and future.

Angry Arab on the "American-Israeli plot"

Angry Arab, you may recall, renounced supportive things he said about three hikers held by Iran (one an ex-student) when he learned one had Israeli connections. The ex-student has now written a letter of protest to AA and he replies here. The whole business is very amusing and illuminating for AA-watchers, but I am just quoting a brief excerpt which concerns the great conspiracy we all love:

. . . yes, the lousy Iranian regime and lousy Arab regimes often persecute people under the pretext of fighting an American-Israeli plot. But that does not mean that there is no American-Israeli plot in the region. It seems to me that, in this day and age, to deny the existence of this plot is to display extreme naivite or worse.

Fars (Iran): "Lebanese Analyst Warns of Hezbollah's Impending Strike on Israel"

Is it bluster? Who knows:

A Lebanese strategic analyst warned on Monday that Hezbollah would strike the Israeli facilities if Tel Aviv continues stealing Lebanon's oil and sea reserves.

"In case the enemy steals Lebanon's oil, Hezbollah will have the right to strike its oil installations and facilities," Feisal Abdossater told FNA on Monday.

The analyst cautioned that Zionists' aggressive and expansionist moves in the Mediterranean Sea has heightened tension between the two sides, and said the situation is now ripe for the start of clashes between Lebanon and the Israeli regime.

"Zionists' plot to find control over Lebanon's sea wealth has a high potential for clashes between the two sides and is likely to have dire consequences," he stated.

"The Lebanese Islamic resistance will not tolerate any kind of aggressions against the country's sovereignty," he reiterated, and added, "Hezbollah views the oil resources in Lebanon's water as a treasure for the Lebanese nation and has declared its position in this regard very transparently."

"Hezbollah will cut the hands of anyone who targets Lebanon's sovereignty," the analyst continued.

Israel has constructed oil sites and installations in Lebanon's national waters. The two off-shore sites, named by Israel as Leviathan and Tamar are worth an estimated $40 billion.

In June 2010, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said, "Israel is ignoring the fact that, according to the maps, this field is included within Lebanon's territorial waters."

Earlier in July 2011, Hezbollah Leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel against trying to steal Lebanon's maritime resources, and said it would retaliate against any Israeli attack on the country's oil and gas installations, in light of a dispute building between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border and huge natural gas and oil reserves beneath the Mediterranean Sea.

"Those who harm our installations will have their own installations harmed," Nasrallah warned at the time.

IRIB Radio: "Libyan fighters demand Jews' expulsion"

Not the world's most reliable source, but interesting:

Libyan revolutionaries have held a protest rally in Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, to demand the expulsion of immigrant Jews from the post-revolutionary North African country.

According to IRNA, the revolutionaries marched in the eastern port city on Friday and condemned the settling of Jews in Libya following the 1967 Zionist regime aggression against some Arab countries.

Meanwhile, other protests and sit-ins were reportedly held elsewhere in the city during which the protesters demanded that the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) heed their calls for action.

Benghazi is Libya's second largest city where the revolution against Gaddafi started in February. The city came under opposition control during the early days of the anti-government protests.

The latest protest comes amid reports of attempts by Jewish immigrants to participate in the North African country's future administration.

Yom Kippur

Gemar Chasimah Tovah!

Easy Fast!

Here is "Yom Kippur in a Nutshell" from chabad.org:

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year--the day on which we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence of our own souls. It is the Day of Atonement -- "For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d" (Leviticus 16:30).

For twenty-six hours--from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 to after nightfall on Tishrei 10--we "afflict our souls": we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather shoes, and abstain from marital relations.

Before Yom Kippur we perform the Kaparot atonement service; we request and receive honey cake, in acknowledgement that we are all recipients in G-d's world and in prayerful hope for a sweet and abundant year; eat a festive meal, immerse in a mikvah, and give extra charity. Late afternoon we eat the pre-fast meal, following which we bless our children, light a memorial candle as well as the holiday candles, and go to the synagogue for Kol Nidrei services.

In the course of Yom Kippur we hold five prayer services: Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; Shacharit--the morning prayer; Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah; and Ne'illah, the "closing of the gates" service at sunset. We say the Al Chet confession of sins eight times in the course of Yom Kippur, and recite Psalms every available moment.

The day is the most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that G-d will accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdict for a year of life, health and happiness. When the closing Ne'illah service climaxes in the resounding cries of "Hear O Israel... G-d is one" and a single blast of the shofar, followed by the proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem." Then joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively "Napoleon's March"), followed by the festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a Yom Tov (festival) in its own right.

SANA (Syria): "Foreign Ministry: Veto of UNSC Draft Resolution on Syria Restores Hope for a Balanced World"

Awwww, isn't this touching?

"Syria highly appreciates the perspective as reflected by the UN Security Council debates on a draft resolution which aims at interfering in its internal affairs," official Spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Wednesday.

The source added that "Syria finds such perspective as a message of confidence delivered from the UN Security Council platform to the people of the world who view the international organizations as tools for colonial domination through which the dominating countries practice the policy of submission, control and annexation to other peoples and societies."

"Hope and some confidence returned to these peoples in restoring some balance to the world system after a long time of USA and European domination which turned the Security Council's resolutions into a tool for punishing defenders of independence and liberation and a tool for protecting, justifying and turning blind eyes to aggression and terrorism," added the source in a statement to SANA.

The source underlined that the dear hope for all people of the world has become a world that is based on justice and balance and a new world order based on these values away from the slavery of a one-pole policy.

The source voiced appreciation for the countries which voted against: Russia and China and those which abstained from the vote: Lebanon, India, South Africa and Brazil.

Fars (Iran): "Assad Warns to Set Fire on Middle-East in Case of US Attack"

It is interesting that Assad is threatening action from Iran itself and that this is being reported in Iran's official press:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu threatened the western countries that if Syria comes under a NATO attack, it would set fire on the Middle-East, specially Israel.

"If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than 6 hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv," Assad said after Davutoglu conveyed the United States' warning message to him.

He also reiterated that Damascus will also call on Hezbollah in Lebanon to launch such an intensive rocket and missile attack on Israel that the Israeli spy agencies could never imagine.

"All these events will happen in three hours, but in the second three hours, Iran will attack the US warships in the Persian Gulf and the US and European interests will be targeted simultaneously," Assad said. [...]

SANA (Syria): "French Writer: Al-Jazeera Channel was conceived by two French-Israeli personalities"

Normal sources of information don't say this about Al-Jazeera, and Meyssan is a conspiracy kook.

French writer Thierry Meyssan said that the Qatar-based al-Jazeera channel was conceived by two French brothers: David and Jean Friedman, who hold the Israeli nationality.

The French writer said in an article published on his website, Voltairenet.org, that Qatar has financed the channel with USD 150 million loan for five years before it became the only financer.

He added that the goal of al-Jazeera was not saying the truth and that the involvement of al-Jazeera channel in provocative acts aiming at toppling the Syrian and Libyan regimes was not due to circumstances, rather they were long-prepared goals by people who knew how to hide their personal interests.

He criticized focusing on events in Syria and Libya and claiming that the two leaderships are killing their peoples while ignoring the current developments and events in other countries in the region.

Meyssan considered al-Jazeera channel as being incredible during the 6 past months, adding that al-Jazeera has transformed into a propaganda tool for reoccupying Libya with the help of Qatar which has won the privilege of controlling the gas and oil trade.

(h/t: Elder of Ziyon)

(North) Korean News: Iran preparing its own Stuxnet?

North Korea continues to provide a platform for the official pronouncements of other dictatorships:

A high-ranking officer of the Iranian military in an interview with the IRNA on Sept. 28 clarified the stand of his country to reciprocate the cyber attack of the U.S.

He said that enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran tried all their means in different economic, cultural, social, military and security fields in the past three decades to deal a blow to the Islamic Revolution, but to no avail.

If the enemy commits cyber attack against Iran, it will deal a resolute counterattack on it, he declared.

All anti-revolutionary terrorist organizations are formed and financed by U.S., the West and Israel, he noted.

Angry Arab on "discourse that does not get reported in Zionist media"

Angry Arab seems to feel that some remarks of the Supreme Leader of Iran constitute the "discourse that does not get reported in Zionist media." Heaven forfend that anything worthy of reportage should go unreported, so if I qualify as "Zionist media," I will undertake to lay AA's fears to rest. Here are the Supreme Leader remarks that have AA so excited:

We neither propose a classical war with the armies of Islamic countries, nor do we propose throwing Jewish immigrants into the sea or intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations. We propose a referendum among the Palestinian people. Just like any other nation, the Palestinian nation has the right to determine its own destiny and to elect its own government. All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants - should take part in a general and orderly referendum and determine the future government of Palestine whether they live inside Palestine or in camps or in any other place. The government that is established after the referendum will determine the destiny of non-Palestinian immigrants who migrated to Palestine in the past. This is a fair and logical proposal which global public opinion understands and it can receive support from independent nations and governments.

Of course we do not expect the usurping Zionists to willingly accept this proposal . . .

Angry Arab writes:

It is amazing how much Zionists control the media coverage (and congressional deliberations and decisions) in the US. How many of you, for example, were aware that the Supreme Guide in Iran spoke against the slogan of "throwing the Jews into the sea" and explicitly said that it was not "their intentions". In fact, comrade Ibrahim Amin in Al-Akhbar wrote that this ostensible goal was never a stated goal for any serious resistance group in the region and yet Zionist hoodlums made it out to be a cherished goals for Arabs when no Arab was found to have made it (I only found one sentence uttered by the founder of the Muslim Brothers, Hasan Al-Banna in 1948 in Al-Musawwar--research the archives here).

(Al-Banna talked about throwing Jews into the sea--that's interesting.) What, then, are we to make of Mr. Supreme's non sea-throwing remarks? He wants a referendum of "All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants," wherever they live, "in camps or in any other place." These "original people" will "determine the destiny" of millions of other people who won't be allowed to vote in the referendum because they lack the qualification of being "original."

The wording is not so clear, but I assume he means that millions of Jordanians and other Arabs of Palestinian extraction (and the Palestinians living in Palestine, of course) should vote on the "destiny" of Israelis, even native-born ones (except for a few with the correct grandparents), in a referendum in which the Israelis in question themselves are not allowed to vote. What would that "destiny" be? Leaving aside the Ayatollah's remarks that he himself does not support the sea-throwing option, what would actually stop that referendum from having a watery outcome? Other Iranian officials talk about Israelis "going home," so the likely result, at the least, of this little referendum envisioned by Mr. Supreme would be the severe depopulation of the ex-Zionist entity, whatever the Jews' ultimate destination, in order to make room for the folks that qualify as "original."

Does this mean that ethnic cleansing is OK as long as it does not involve water? It would be interesting to read a response from Asa'ad here, but the composition of such a response seems almost as unlikely as the Ayatollah's envisioned referendum.

SANA (Syria): "Venezuelan President: Syria is exposed to Foreign Conspiracy"

Progressives stick together until the end:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stressed on Sunday that Syria is being exposed to a foreign conspiracy led by the US and some EU countries.

In a statement published by Venezuelan newspapers, Chavez expressed his support and solidarity with Syria in the face of this conspiracy, saying "We, from Venezuela, express our solidarity and support to the Syrian people and President Bashar al-Assad."

He added the Syrian people,under the leadership of President al-Assad, are resisting an imperialist aggression."

In another of today's notable progressive pronouncements, Angry Arab explains that Turkey's influence is "on the wane" because it isn't tough enough on Israel.