Judeopundit

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

IRIB: "Castro victorious, even at bed"

I'm always fascinated by the bits of inter-dictatorship solidarity that appear at totalitarian news sites. Is there a subtext of nervous worry here that Cuba will be back in the bosom of the World Arrogance the minute Fidel goes the way of all despots who trade their green fatigues for red jumpsuits?

"With or without Fidel, renewed US efforts to topple the revolutionary regime in Havanas can do no good," two-monthly Foreign Affairs wrote in its latest issue for January and February 2007.

Implying that the American policy has been defeated in Cuba, the magazine wrote, "The smooth transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his successors is exposing the willful ignorance and wishful thinking of US policy toward Cuba."

"The post-Fidel transition is already well under way and change in Cuba will come only gradually from here on out."

According to the magazine, ever since Fidel Castro gained power in 1959, Washington and the Cuban rebel defectors have been eagerly awaiting the moment when he would lose power. "But that moment has come and gone," it said in article by Julia E.Sweig, adding that none of what Washington and the rebels anticipated had come to pass.

Power has been successfully transferred to a new set of leaders, whose priority is to preserve the system, Sweig admitted.

"Cubans have not revolted, and their national identity remains tied to the defense of the homeland against U.S. attacks on its sovereignty."

Monday, December 25, 2006

Der Spiegel: "Fatah By Day, Hamas By Night"

Here's a valiant attempt at a sympathetic treatment of the Palestinian spiral of thuggery:

By day, he's a member of Fatah security forces. By night, he wages holy war with Hamas. With the two Palestinian groups fighting against each other these days, Abu Khaled's life has become a dangerous balance. If need be, he says, he would even kill his friends.

The private car heads north out of Gaza City. A rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire echoes through the side streets, belying what remains a fragile cease-fire between Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinian Territories.

Both the driver and the guide are talking nervously into their mobile phones. Instructions are delivered, detours ordered, until finally the vehicle arrives in an empty street and pulls up next to one of Gaza's typical yellow taxi limousines with two rows of back seats. Motors running, the bulletproof vests are quickly loaded from the car into the taxi. The journey then continues in the Mercedes limousine -- until it reaches the end of the road, marked by the wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel.

It's cold and the sun is about to set into the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, sweat is running from under Abu Khaled's beard when he jumps into the taxi. Hardly surprising really. If the other soldiers he stands guard with at the gate of an abandoned military base knew his story, the lives of everyone in the taxi would be in danger.

By day, the 23-year-old serves in the Palestinian security forces, which are controlled by Fatah. When Abu Khaled's workday ends, though, he goes home, changes his uniform, pulls out his weapons and transforms himself into a fighter with the Qassam Brigades -- the military arm of Hamas. If his fellow Fatah security officers knew what he did at night, he says, "they would open fire on us immediately."

The next paragraph, following the caption "No wonder the situation in Gaza is so confusing," is pretty incredible:

"We are not a rarity," says the fighter. He estimates that about 30 percent of the men who officially serve with the Palestinian security forces are secretly active members of militia groups with ties to Hamas -- armed men who change sides depending on the time of day. No wonder the situation in Gaza is so confusing. In most of the gun battles between Hamas and Fatah in recent days, it was almost impossible to tell who was shooting at whom, when they were shooting, and why. After each new incident, the barrage of back-and-forth accusations merely triggered the next shoot-out -- a spiral of violence that is difficult to stop.

Waiting for the anti-Israel propaganda to start? The author, the aptly-named Ulrike Putz, never disappoints:

As the taxi drives slowly through abandoned streets, Abu Khaled tells his story -- the story of a young man who sees no other choice but to fight the enemy any way he can. "The official forces are poorly trained and armed," he says. "They could never do much harm to the Israelis."

He's likely right. A visit to a Fatah training camp that morning was unconvincing. Although the camp's 50 recruits were able to perfectly recite Fatah's various slogans after three months of training, most were incapable of performing even the most rudimentary of combat maneuvers.

But Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has recognized Israel and is no longer interested in doing damage to the country. Indeed, it is the party's moderation which has made it a negotiating partner for the West and Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, remains dedicated to eliminating Israel and has yet to renounce violence. Over the years, it has been responsible for numerous suicide attacks on Israeli citizens and is considered a terrorist organization in the West. [...]

He tells the driver to drive up and down a few more streets. Israeli cameras mounted on balloons hang over the wall and monitor their progress. It wouldn't be the first time a taxi was mistaken for a rocket launcher. "We expect the Israelis to attack at any time," says Abu Khaled. "They have broken cease-fires many times before." [...]

In some ways you have to hand it to U-Putz. There is some pretty stunning information in this article no matter how it's spun.

Ynetnews.com: Iran's growing Gulag

More evidence that Iran may be ripe for the overthrow of the Mullahs:

Well over half a million Iranians have been imprisoned by their regime since the start of the year, Director-General of the Cultural and Disciplinary Committee of the Iranian Prisons Organization Mansour Moqareh-Abed told Iranian newspaper Jomhouri Islami.

The interview was cited by the website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an umbrella organization for Iranian opposition groups in exile.

According to the NCRI, Moraqeh-Abed added in the interview that "it is not possible to accommodate 'the cultural and disciplinary' needs of this many prisoners."

The NCRI noted that "everyday 2,600 people are sent to prison; thus, in a year the figure grows to 1 million," a figure described as an "unprecedented world record."

The NCRI added in its statement: "Obviously, the actual number of detainees in Iran is much higher than the official figure since it does not take into account various unofficial penitentiaries and prisons.

"In particular, the regime has stepped up suppression to an unprecedented level and street arrests have increased in order to combat the rising number of popular demonstrations and uprisings."

Calling for human rights organizations to take up the plight of Iranian prisoners, the NCRI drew special attention to political prisoners jailed for their opposition to the Iranian regime. [...]

(Hat Tip: Daily Alert)

Arutz Sheva: "Jobless Gaza Arabs Miss Jewish Employers, Turn to Drugs"

Now the main exports of Gaza are Kassams and irony:

Gaza Arabs, left jobless by the Oslo War and by last year's expulsion of Gush Katif farmers, have turned to drugs that are smuggled from Lebanon and Egypt, the United Nations reported.

Tens of thousands of Arabs worked throughout Israel in factories and in construction until the Oslo War broke out in 2000. The constant flow of terrorists from Gaza forced Israel to severely restrict traffic and to withdraw work permits, which terrorists exploited to carry out attacks.

Thousands of Arabs still were able to work for Jewish farmers until the summer of 2005, when the government forced 10,000 Jewish residents out of their homes, destroyed their communities and turned them over to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Hopes for a robust PA economy turned to dust, and the former greenhouses (pictured above) became training grounds for terrorists. The situation has fostered a drug problem among the poor and jobless, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The U.N. agency cited the example of a 35-year-old man, Hassan, who worked for Jewish shippers and was left jobless after the Oslo War. "My life was normal," he said. "Everything was normal, but unemployment is difficult and poverty is more difficult. Bad conditions led me down a worse path. I have even had to beg for money," he said.

Since then he has been unemployed, a situation that drove him to drug addiction. To fund his habit, he first sold his wife's and children's clothes before stealing his brother's property to be able to pay for his drugs.

"Overall, drug dependency...is on the rise, according to...police and doctors," The U.N. report said. "This, they say, is due to a sense of hopelessness among ordinary Palestinians and the lack of both effective policing to catch the dealers and of a clinical safety net to help those already addicted."

Husni Shaheen, secretary general of the Palestinian Supreme National Committee against Drugs blamed Israel for the poor economic conditions in Gaza but added that most of the drugs come from Lebanon and the Sinai desert in Egypt.

Arabs who still were working for Gush Katif farmers banked on a government and European Union plan to foster a PA agriculture economy.

International donors, headed by former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, paid $14 million for the greenhouses of Jewish farmers. The Christian Science Monitor reported last year, "That hope was jeopardized when Palestinian looters damaged many of the greenhouses, stripping them bare, for instance, of computers that the settlers used to monitor crops. Irrigation pumps were stolen, electricity networks paralyzed, and protective sheeting for the hothouses was torn.

"Before Israel forced them to relocate, Israeli settlers cultivated 1,125 acres of land... The greenhouses once employed 3,600 workers, the overwhelming majority of them Palestinians.

The report noted that one worker, "Awad, said he was tempted to join his Jewish employers in their re-located farm.

Iran is especially unhappy with the Big Satan at the moment

Two items from IRIB Radio:

"US Occupation Troops Kidnap 2 Iranians"

Iraqi president advisor has deplored the arrest of two Iranian officials visiting Iraq at the invitation of Iraqi president, Jalal Talebani, for helping restore security to the violence-hit American-occupied country.

Haiwa Osman, media advisor to Talebani said: The Iraqi president is very unhappy about this misconduct of the US occupation forces.

US occupation forces after kidnapping the two Iranians are holding them at an unknown location.

Iran has strongly protested to the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which hosts the American interest section in the Islamic Republic in the absence of diplomatic relations. It has called for their immediate release and warned of the consequences of such US lawlessness.

"UN Security Council, A US Tool"

Iran's UN envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif Saturday revealed the secret process of the drawing up of the controversial Security Council resolution against Iran.

He said the UN has issued a resolution against an NPT member while the illegal Zionist entity, which refuses to sign the NPT and does not permit IAEA inspection of its atomic sites, recently admitted having nuclear weapons.
Iran has allowed IAEA inspectors full access to its nuclear installations that led to several IAEA reports indicating Iran's nuclear program has not deviated in any way.

This unjust measure indicates that the EU trio of France, Germany and Britain did not even study the proposals presented by Iran, because right from the outset they intended to use the United Nations Security Council as a tool to impose sanctions on Iran to try to prevent it from the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

(North) Korean News: "New Artificial Dura Mater of Brain Developed"

Here's a nightmare for you. It could be worse--they could announce the discovery an artificial substitute for one of the thinking parts of the brain.

Researchers of the Clinical Research Institute of the Kim Man Yu Hospital and Textile Research Institute of the Branch Academy of Light Industrial Science under the State Academy of Sciences have developed artificial dura mater of brain, the first of its kind in the DPRK. It is made with void-free polyester fiber.

The material is free from the adhesive with living body tissue and antigen-antibody reaction and is safe to acid, alkali and all inorganic and organic chemical medicines.

So far it has been transplanted to tens of patients, but no side-effects have been reported.

Aside from an enhanced appreciation of the undying feats of the Dear Leader.

Amir Taheri: "Wounded but Alive: Could Ahmadinejad Become More Dangerous?"

Taheri is always worth reading. Here are the closing paragraphs:

[...] Voting in Iranian elections is always problematic. Since all candidates are approved by the authorities in advance, most citizens are barred from running for office. Also, the results must be approved by a 12-man body of mullahs who could stroke anybody's name from the list of winners, often on spurious grounds. Nevertheless, many Iranians believe that even such limited and patently undemocratic elections could provide an opportunity for affecting the balance of power within the ruling establishment.

There is no doubt that this is what Iranian voters have done, at least as far as the AOE is concerned. The question now is whether Khamenehi, with the Damoclean sword that Ahmadinejad wished to hang over his head out of the way, will try to rein in the firebrand president.

Rafsanjani, possibly Iran's wealthiest man, represents the fears of the middle and upper classes that have seen the economy on the verge of collapse, businesses frozen and the outflow of capital turned into a flood, since Ahmadinejad's election. But it is hard to see what the Rafsanjani faction can do against an administration that has managed to maintain its base among the urban poor and remains popular within the segment of the Iranian population that still believes in the Khomeinist revolution.

The impact of Ahmadinejad's defeat in the AOE elections on Iran's foreign policy is even harder to gauge. Rafsanjani and his faction have no means of directly influencing decision-making in that field. But they could serve as a channel of communication between the European Union and Khamenehi and persuade the latter to offer at least some of the concessions needed to defuse the crisis over Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions.

However, that possibility may force Ahmadinejad to heat up his rhetoric further and adopt an even more aggressive posture to prevent any deal brokered by the European Union.

As always in Iranian politics under Khomeinism, good news comes mixed with bad. Ahmadinejad is wounded but still very much alive. And that, according to Machiavelli, is when a political animal is at his most dangerous.

Who will make it first to Dictator Heaven?

Castro or the Ayatollah? From Reuters:

A renowned Spanish surgeon has been rushed to Cuba to try to stop a steady deterioration in Fidel Castro's health, a Spanish newspaper reported on Sunday.

Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, an intestinal specialist, traveled to the Caribbean island on Thursday on an aircraft chartered by the Cuban government, according to Spain's left-leaning El Periodico de Catalunya.

Garcia Sabrido was due to carry out tests on Castro to see if he needs another operation after undergoing emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding in July, the newspaper said, citing hospital sources.

The doctor's plane was carrying advanced medical equipment not available in Cuba, the newspaper reported.

Officials at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital, where Garcia Sabrido is head of surgery, declined to comment, as did the Cuban embassy in Madrid.

Garcia Sabrido was among doctors who presented their work at a surgery conference in Havana last month, according to the conference's website.

Cuban officials say Castro is not dying and will return to public life. But he has skipped recent public appearances including his 80th birthday celebration, and appeared to be frail and walking with difficulty in video images released in October, fanning speculation that he is too ill to govern.

U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte said in an interview with the Washington Post published on December 15 that Castro was near death and had "months, not years" to live.

U.S. congressman William Delahunt, one of the leaders of a delegation that visited Cuba around the same time, said he had concluded from discussions with officials there that if Castro did resume a political role, it would probably be setting broad policy, not governing on a day-to-day basis.

IRIB: "Resistance only way for Palestinians"

Draw all the obvious lessons. The English is somewhat worse than usual, but this is yet another demonstration that the Palestinian position has hardened since the Oslo days. That means that the chances for a negotiated peace have gone from virtually nonexistent to resoundingly nonexistent.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Secretary General described resistance as the only option before the Palestinian people, adding the current sufferings of the Palestinians are masterminded by America in a coup against the popular election.

Ramadan Abdallah Shalah told al-Jazeera that Americans are seeking to force Palestinians to abandon resistance by disturbing situation among Palestinian groups.

"The Palestinian issue is an Islamic issue. We defend also the Islamic ummah besides the Palestinian nation," he added.

Abdallah noted that the Palestinians are deprived a clear political system and still fighting to achieve their national liberty.

"The current regime have been adopted from Oslo agreement and the ongoing conflict (in Palestine) is underpinned by a hollow matter," he cautioned.

Abdallah noted that the current conflict is not between Fath and Hamas. "There are Fatah-linked agents, actually failing to represent the movement, and they are seeking to determine the Palestinian fate as America and 'Israel' wish."

Asked why Abu Mazen is ready to meet Ehud Olmert but refuses to meet Palestinian Premier Ismail Haniya, he said: "It is shameful that a Palestinian hugs enemy but refuses to hold talks with the brother or scions of his nation."

"Hamas stood vote following the principle of "choose the worse from the worst".

They announced they'd rather change the rules of game," Islamic Jihad senior official said.

Concerning America's failure in its regional plans, Abdallah affirmed that Americans have found themselves incapable in the face of the Iraqi resistance.

He then raised the Israeli defeat at the hand of the Lebanese Hezbollah Fighters months ago and the recent defeat of American Republicans in Congressional and Senate votes.

"They (Republicans) want to escape the scarlet of defeat in Lebanon and Iraq through a series of actions in Palestine," he noted.

"They realize that Palestine is not an easy bite. The Palestinian Resistance and the missiles they initially derided managed to force Israel out of the Gaza Strip," Ramadan Abdallah Shalah said, adding, "'Israelis' are now grappled with a big military crisis."

"Islamic Jihad will do its best to prevent any sedition," Abdallah vowed.

IRIB is also carrying a statement from Hamas today: "No truce offer to Zionist regime."

And while we're linking to stories from Iranian News Agencies, Fars News is currently dominated by reactions to Saturday's UN Resolution, finally imposing some sanctions on Iran:

"Parliament Speaker: UNSC Resolution Stems from US Fear from Muslim Progress"

"MP: UNSC Resolution Illustrative of Double Standards"

"President: UNSC will soon Regret"

"Iran Slams UNSC for Indifference to Israel's N. Weapons"

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Linkim Motza'ei Shabbos 12/23/06

Haveil Havalim 99 is up!

Jewish News of Northern California: "S.F. leaders teach Israelis to promote pluralism"

Elder of Ziyon: "The Khaleej Times on freedom of expression"

Bagel Blogger: "Kim Jong Il Hailed as Great Strategist by two other great examples of 'Stately Hood'"

Fars News: "Muslim Scholars Capable of Standing Up to Bullying Powers"

Washington Post: "'Nyet' on Iran"*

"Michael Costello: No merit in a delusional approach to the Middle East"*

LGF Watch discovers the Miriam Shear incident.

Arutz Sheva: "U.S. Pollster Blames the Jewish State for Bethlehem's Ills"

LA Times: "Aiding and abetting the Taliban?"

MOT News: "Freed Holocaust Denier Retracts Remorse"

MENL: "U.S. Blocks Arms, Technology To Israel"

*(h/t: RCP)

British Muslims face next Holocaust Memorial Day

The next British Holocaust Memorial Day is coming up, and the Muslim Council of Britain (which got a lot of bad press for boycotting the last one) is evidently trying to figure out what to do about it. Salma Yaqoob has written an editorial in the Guardian (with a comments thread) arguing that "Muslims need to take part." Rolled-up Trousers posts in support (also with extensive comments). The Drink-soaked Trotskyite Popinjays for War have an interesting, although profanity-laden, negative response (h/t: Simply Jews) to Yaqoob.

The big irony of all this, of course, is that putting a Pro-Palestinian spin on the Holocaust is the reigning cliche of Israel-bashing. Israel-bashers discovered the Holocaust before they discovered Apartheid. Every Pro-Palestinian rally features someone who looks like this:

In fact, the Pro-Palestinian Spin on the Holocaust comes in several varieties nowadays. The mildest version asks, "How can the Jews blah blah blah the Palestinians when they were blah blah blahed themselves?" The more direct equation of the Israelis and the Nazis is probably more common. Put "Palestinian Holocaust" or "ZioNazi" into a search engine and see how many hits you get. Then, there's the Norman Finkelstein variation, which (our protester with the Magen-David-Swstika sign notwithstanding) pretends that the image of the Holocaust is always used to further Zionist ends.

Actually, the MCB's refusal to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day is itself an act of putting a Pro-Palestinian spin on the Holocaust since it pretends that the Pro-Palestinian theme is the true and denied message of the Holocaust. Recently we have begun to see assertions that Muslims in general are the "new Jews." It might be said that Muslims in general are appropriating the Holocaust from the Palestinians.

One has to wonder if all this Pro-Palestinian spin on the Holocaust is just not enough anymore for the British Muslim community. The adoption of a Finkelstein-like official position may be necessary to avoid squabbling with and being embarrassed by the Muslims (however many there are) who have adopted the outright Holocaust denial now promoted by Iran.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Arutz Sheva: "Bush Signs Anti-Hamas Bill into Law"

Is this a positive development? It appears to accept the notion that Fatah is moderate and that "the development of democratic insitutuions" is just waiting around to be "promoted." I guess I can't complain about outlawing the funding of Hamas:

US President George W. Bush signed a law Thursday forbidding direct aid to the Hamas Authority - but not Fatah - until it accepts Israel. Two more men have been killed in Hamas-Fatah fighting.

The new U.S. bill, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, outlaws aid to Hamas, but specifically permits funding to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. This anomaly is based on the split in the PA government: Hamas won elections a year ago, giving it the prime ministerial slot and a majority in the legislature, while Abbas (Abu Mazen) is the Chairman, parallel to the position of President.

Hamas and Fatah are greatly at odds, unable to agree on either a policy towards Israel, the formation of a government, or a date for new elections. Supporters of both terrorist groups have shot and killed each other over recent weeks, including in the last few hours . . .

And including in hospital corridors.

The new U.S. law also denies visas to Hamas officials. It demands that Hamas acknowledge Israel's right to exist, give up terrorism against Israel, and adhere to existing agreements with Israel. Hamas officials have said they do not accept these conditions.

The U.S. is anxious to bolster Fatah and Abu Mazen, at the expense of Hamas, which appears on the U.S. list of terror organizations. The new law "is designed to promote the development of democratic institutions" in the Palestinian Authority areas, Bush said in a statement.

Meanwhile, yet another ceasefire attempt between Fatah and Hamas has failed, both in Gaza and in the Shomron. One man was mortally wounded in crossfire between Fatah and Hamas terrorists in Shechem Friday morning. In Gaza City, a ferocious gun battle over the course of Thursday night left one person dead and another kidnapped. Hamas and Fatah fighters fired a barrage of some 2,000 bullets at each other, a witness told The Associated Press.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

MPAC-UK discovers the Miriam Shear incident

The charming name of the MPAC item is "Jewish Teleban: Any Outrage Yet?" Well, actually this story has generated mountains of outrage. Sorry MPAC, I wouldn't start concluding that the Taliban have been unjustly maligned just yet.

Fars News: "Ahmadinejad: Only one Short Step Left to Gain Full Access to N. Energy"

I wonder what the short step is. Reminding the engineer of what happened to the previous engineer?

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran is only one short step away from gaining full access to nuclear energy and pays no heed to the obstructions caused by the big bullying powers in this regard.

Addressing a large public congregation in Sar-e-Pol-e Zahab, Kermanshah province today, president Ahmadinejad added that the Iranian people will soon arrange nuclear related celebrations and join the list of the world's recognized states enjoying peaceful nuclear technology.

Saying that the US and a number of European states are already aware they are incapable of doing any harm to the Iranian nation, the Iranian president added that they think that the Iranian nation needs their permission for progress and construction, however, the Americans and Europeans should know that the Iranian nation has chosen its path which is none but dignity and glory.

Ahmadinejad said that the enemies of the Iranian nation are not worried about Iran's nuclear weapons rather what worries them is the progress achieved by the Iranian nation.

Making reference to the allocation of billions of US dollars by some US-based institutions, aimed at sowing seeds of discord among the Iranian people, Ahmadinejad reiterated that the Iranian people live under unity no matter what race or tribe they belong to and that they will resist the US to the last proving that the Americans have made another mistake.

IRIB: "Israel murdered Pierre Jumayel"

Israel, as we all know, has a great interest in eliminating prominent anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians:

A Zionist regime's aeroplane landed in Beirut's airport and stopped there for about seven hours on the same day that former Lebanese industry minister, Pierre Jumayel was assassinated, the Lebanese Islamic Resistance Movement, Hezbollah's official tv, Al Minar reported on Wednesday.

Al Minar tv said that after the Zionists' airplane landed on a direct flight from Tel Aviv, ten out of the eleven on board left the plane.

Al Minar named the type of plane as Falcon Alphafox and said the plane left Beirut to an unknown destination seven hours after landing.

Its against the Lebanese rule that an airplane which flies from the 1948 Palestinian occupied lands directly in Lebanon, so the official investigations should be undertaken into the issue, Al Minar urged.

Four American experts work on the second floor of Beirut airport, while their mission isn't clear, Al Minar said adding that they are paid 120,000 dollars per month.

And that's exactly the going rate for assassinating anti-Syrian politicians!

Former Lebanese industry minister, Pierre Jumayel was assassinated by unknown armed men on November 21, 2006.

Anyone out there who thinks that Israel did it to make Syria look bad is not thinking conspiratorially enough. Obviously Syria (or one of its allies) did it so that Israel would be blamed for doing it so that Syria would be blamed.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

NY Times: "Iran President Facing Revival of Students’ Ire"

If some sort of overthrow of the Iranian regime is possible, now would be a good time:

As protests broke out last week at a prestigious university here, cutting short a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Babak Zamanian could only watch from afar. He was on crutches, having been clubbed by supporters of the president and had his foot run over by a motorcycle during a less publicized student demonstration a few days earlier.

Babak Zamanian, a student at Amir Kabir, in Tehran, is on crutches because of a beating earlier by supporters of President Ahmadinejad.

But the significance of the confrontation was easy to grasp, even from a distance, said Mr. Zamanian, a leader of a student political group.

The student movement, which planned the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy from the same university, Amir Kabir, is reawakening from its recent slumber and may even be spearheading a widespread resistance against Mr. Ahmadinejad. This time the catalysts were academic and personal freedom.

“It is not that simple to break up a president’s speech,” said Alireza Siassirad, a former student political organizer, explaining that an event of that magnitude takes meticulous planning. “I think what happened at Amir Kabir is a very important and a dangerous sign. Students are definitely becoming active again.”

The protest, punctuated by shouts of “Death to the dictator,” was the first widely publicized outcry against Mr. Ahmadinejad, one that was reflected Friday in local elections, where voters turned out in droves to vote for his opponents.

The students’ complaints largely mirrored public frustrations over the president’s crackdown on civil liberties, his blundering economic policies and his harsh oratory against the West, which they fear will isolate the country.

But the students had an additional and potent source of outrage: the president’s campaign to purge the universities of all vestiges of the reform movement of his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami. [...]

The triumph of junk food

I love this story. From Seattle PI:

It was a lunch that would horrify a dietitian: a bag of Tropical Skittles, a Jones soda, two Little Debbie marshmallow treats, a deep-fried pizza stick and a bottle of sweetened iced tea.

Even though the Seattle School District does not sell sugary sodas in its vending machines, students find other ways to get junk food. Latanya Lucas, 15, goes to a fast-food restaurant near West Seattle High School to get a Sprite at lunchtime.
The high-calorie, sugar-packed treats are standard fare for Cleveland High School freshman Tikisha Spires, who travels off campus for lunch each day.

It's certainly not what the Seattle School Board had in mind two years ago when it adopted a rigorous nutrition policy and canceled a lucrative vending contract with Coca-Cola. Chips and cookies were replaced in vending machines with granola bars and trail mix; sugary drinks are no longer sold in schools. Cleveland fell into line with other schools, offering healthier foods in its cafeteria and vending machines.

Teens such as Tikisha fell into line, too -- out the door to find their junk food off campus.

"Our health teacher tells us about nutrition, but we sit in her class and eat what we want," Tikisha said.

The district had little luck persuading kids to change what they eat, but did manage to slash an important source of revenue that has forced some schools to cut student newspapers, cancel annual events and end other popular activities.

There's an important lesson in there.

Here's why: The policy meant to discourage students from eating junk food has instead driven student business to the grocery stores and fast-food joints near the city's high schools.

That in turn led to a significant drop in revenue for middle and high schools, which in recent years have relied heavily on money from vending-machine sales to supplement their budgets for student-body activities.

District officials still are trying to determine the total financial impact, but say it's about $103,000 a year for the district's 10 comprehensive high schools -- not including the $190,000 payment the district received and passed on to schools as a bonus for allowing Coca-Cola exclusive access to sell beverages to students.

In all, the district had received about $340,000 a year from the Coca-Cola contract, according to district documents.

At most schools, the money had paid for academic club events, school newspaper and yearbook production, school dances, transportation to athletic events and other activities.

Some high schools coped this year by raising fees for Associated Student Body cards or holding fundraisers. But not all schools can raise enough money, and some have pleaded with district officials to help make up some of the shortfall.

School Board member Michael DeBell, chairman of the board's finance committee, said he supports the nutrition policy but was troubled when representatives from several of the city's high schools reported they were hurting financially.

"They thought they might have to drop spring sports or cancel events," he said. "That's kind of when the red flag went up." [...]

LA Times: "Baby is sent through X-ray machine at LAX"

Does airport security serve any function at all? I guess it does, but still I wonder sometimes:

A woman going through security at Los Angeles International Airport put her month-old grandson into a plastic bin intended for carry-on items and slid it into an X-ray machine.

The early Saturday accident — bizarre but not unprecedented — caught airport workers by surprise, even though the security line was not busy at the time, officials said.

A screener watching the machine's monitor immediately noticed the outline of a baby and pulled the bin backward on the conveyor belt.

The infant was taken to Centinela Hospital, where doctors determined that he had not received a dangerous dose of radiation.

Officials, who declined to release the 56-year-old woman's name, said she spoke Spanish and apparently did not understand English.

She initially didn't want the baby transported to a hospital, but security officials called paramedics and insisted that the child be examined by a doctor.

The grandmother and the child were subsequently allowed to board an Alaska Airlines flight to Mexico City.

The rare incident drew attention to whether officials are staffing often-busy security checkpoints enough to prevent such an accident. And it raised questions about the danger of X-rays used to pick out suspicious metal shapes in passenger bags, given the medical community's warnings that even low amounts of radiation can build up over a lifetime.

"Rather than focus on the radiation dose, which is a small amount, we need to focus on why this happened, so it doesn't happen again," said Dr. James Borgstede, a diagnostic radiologist at Penrose-St. Francis Health Systems in Colorado Springs, Colo., and president of the American College of Radiology. "Human beings weren't meant to go through those things."

In the several seconds the baby spent in the machine, the doctor added, he was exposed to as much radiation as he would naturally get from cosmic rays — or high energy from outer space — in a day.

Security experts said the incident underscored a more widespread concern about the screening process at LAX and other airports.

"The screeners are still reporting that they're being pushed," said Brian Sullivan, a retired Federal Aviation Administration security agent. "If a baby can get through, what the hell else can get through?" [...]

Baby Fernando woke up the next day to discover that he had acquired mysterious powers . . .

IRIB: "DPRK: America, planning to attack"

What will they say when the attack doesn't happen? (IRIB stands for Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, by the way.)

North Korean official media Wednesday accused America of planning an attack under the cover of talks now under way in Beijing.

"America is trying to pull a dirty business against the DPRK (North Korea) behind the curtain of talks," wrote an analyst in the newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

"This is clear proof that it is seeking to vanquish the DPRK with a military strong arm, whetting its sword of aggression under the mask of dialogue."

That sentence about "clear proof" doesn't seem to refer to anything. Was this excerpted from a longer article?

Update: The longer version has been located.

Der Spiegel: "Uncle Hamas Cares for Palestinians"

The author of this is the aptly-named Ulrike Putz, and the bit about "Uncle Hamas" is the real title, not a joke:

The West classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization, but in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist organization is widely respected for helping families in need. International aid groups also praise Hamas for being free of corruption.

Etidal Sinati's life in poverty began one night in March 2003. Israeli helicopters were flying air attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza City and Etidal's husband Mohammed and a group of other men from the neighborhood went out to assess the damage. But the Israelis weren't done; an attack helicopter returned and fired on the onlookers. Etidal's husband was killed, leaving her with seven children and no one to provide for them. Overnight, the Sinatis became a welfare case -- and loyal to Hamas. The radical Islamist group took the destitute family under its wing.

"My husband was not a Hamas supporter. In fact, he was for Fatah," says Sinati, now a widow. It is cold in her two-room hut; a mentally ill uncle sits in a corner occasionally laughing to himself and pulling his wool blanket over his head. "But without Hamas we wouldn't have survived, and even with their support it's been difficult."

The official pension for the wife of a "martyr" -- a Palestinian killed by the Israeli military -- is €100 every three months. For a large family living in Gaza, this is about enough for one good seafood meal, but is not enough to live on. "So Hamas adopted my children," says Etidal Sinati. The widow receives €15 a month in child support for each child, and all of her children attend a school run by Hamas free of charge. "I voted for the crescent in the January election," says the illiterate Etidal. The crescent moon is Hamas's symbol.

The next section follows the heading "A party for the poor"

At first glance Hamas, a party that looks after the poor with its money and charity, appears to be playing a well-known tune on the instrument of populism. On the other hand, every major international aid organization is singing the Islamist group's praises when it comes to the quality of its work. "In the International Crisis Group's 2003 report, the most important American NGOs gave perfect marks to Hamas's work; they couldn't have achieved a better result," says Helga Baumgarten, a lecturer at Birzeit University in Ramallah. [...]