CAIR Canada attacks Jewish textbook

The Canadian version of CAIR, the Council of American Islamic Relations, has recently taken the trouble of attempting to have a textbook removed from the curriculum of a religious Jewish school. According to CAIR, referring to a text book called "2000 Years of Jewish History: From the Destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdash Until the Twentieth Century":

We discovered that the textbook uses inflammatory and hateful terms in describing Muslims, such as “rabid fanatics” with “savage beginnings” (page 45). The entire chapter devoted to Islam presents a pernicious and extreme portrayal of Muslims and the Islamic faith (pages 41 – 46). The material further denigrates the Prophet Muhammad as a “rabid Jew-hater” (page 41) and falsely portrays Islam as inherently anti-Semitic and devoted to hating Jews. Further, the descriptions refer to an ongoing attitude – not one that is static in history – defined as being “a combination of wildness and civility […] towards the Jews throughout history” (page 44). Overall, this teaching material undeniably leaves impressionable young Jewish readers with a sense of suspicion and even intolerance towards their fellow Canadians.

I learned about this whole business courtesy of the Loon Watch website, which has a post supporting CAIR's depiction of the book. Here are a few things you won't learn from Loon Watch, which sometimes tolerates my participation in comments threads. Here, for instance, is the paragraph containing the phrase "savage beginnings":

While the savage beginnings of Mohammed’s sweeping massacres were often reflected by anti-Jewish legislation and vicious attacks against Jewish life and property, there were also long periods in which the Arabs accepted the Jews in their communities and valued them for the cultural and commercial abilities. Indeed, it was largely under the rule of the Mohammedan Caliphs that the entire Jewish nation enjoyed the “Golden Age of the Geonim.”

Is the depiction of Mohammed as a "rabid Jew-hater" likely to inspire "suspicion and even intolerance" towards Canadian Muslims? Here is the sentence in question:

Like Paul of Tarsus, inflamed by Jewish rejection, Mohammed turned into a rabid Jew-hater.

Here is a sentence about Martin Luther (p. 152):

Like Paul of Tarsus and Mohammed before him, Luther's attitude took a complete turnabout. He became a rabid Jew-hater.

All this is not so politically correct and the writer is certainly no measured and judicious Bernard Lewis when it comes to his prose style (The phrase "rabid fanatics" refers to early Shi'as and contrasts them to more tolerant Sunnis). The book, however, if my brief investigations of the CAIR-highlighted language are any indication, doesn't single out Muslims for worse treatment than that accorded to Christians and other peoples in their Jew-persecuting phases. Luther has his academic defenders as does Mohammed, but surely Jewish textbooks are allowed to take a dim view of developments that ended the existence of entire communities without arousing the ire of civil rights groups. What's next? Demands for favorable depictions of the Disputation of Paris?

What did the Gazans think they were doing? Isn't it obvious?

Yaakov Lozowick, in a typically (although now infrequent) well-written and thoughtful post, states the following:

The question What the Gazans think they're doing, what they possibly hope to achieve by their actions, isn't easy to answer, and I don't pretend to know. It certainly doesn't look like anything rational. It's not as if anything they might throw at us will make us go away.

Funny, for all that typical thoughtfulness, I can't remember a time when I disagreed more with one of his posts. Here is what the Gazans thought they were doing:

1. Testing the post Arab-spring waters, and--no surprise--the waters were fine. To give only one example, Hamas et al had important Arab leaders visiting them during Operation Shale Stones/Pillar of Defense.

2. Testing/showing off the improvements to their arsenal--they can now hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

3. Shoring-up their Jihadist/resistance credentials. Leftists and other Arabs and Muslims won't accuse them of doing the Zionist entity's bidding by restraining Islamic Jihad for a while. They aren't going to sell out the Ummah, not them. Resistance forever.

4. Demonstrating that their capacity to disrupt Israeli life isn't going away. Isn't that the usual way terrorism works?

It seems to me that this was all a brilliant success. They got back the previous cease-fire with essentially no cease-reload while only suffering something like one tenth the casualties they suffered during Operation Oil Stain/Cast Lead.

What about Israeli achievements? Yes, they honed their most-moral-army shtick. So what, the usual suspects were as glib as ever with the war-crimes accusations. Yes, the star Hamas weapon in this last round had no defensive value. And yes, the star Israeli weapon had no offensive value. Is there some kind of moral victory there? It will be very small comfort if (when?) Hamas follows this success with the next one, G-d forbid.

"Iranian, Egyptian presidents call for int'l consensus against Israel " (IRNA-Iran)

The picture is better than the article:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi in a telephone conversation on Sunday reiterated the need for bringing about an international consensus on preventing the continuation of Israeli aggressions on Gaza.

Ahmadinejad thanked Musri for his efforts aimed at bringing back tranquility and sustainable security to Gaza.

'Our religious and humanitarian duties oblige us to try to prevent the further massacre of defenseless Palestinians and restoring tranquility and sustainable security in the region and throughout the entire Palestinian territories,' the Iranian president said.

'It is necessary that all-out efforts should be made for putting an end to killing and massacre of women, children and the oppressed people of Gaza and Palestine,' Ahmadinejad said.

Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi, for his part, said that he is concerned about what is happening to the people of Gaza and he is trying to prevent further massacre of the Palestinians in the region.

'I have also talked to many presidents of different countries, and I am trying to bring about an international consensus vis-à-vis the Israeli aggressions on the Gaza Strip,' he added.

"Kim Jong Un Greets Syrian President" (Korean News)

As Hendrix once commented, "Just ask the Axis/He knows everything":

Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, sent a message of greeting to Bashar Al-Assad, president of Syria, on Friday.

The message said:

Please accept my warm congratulations to you and the government and people of your friendly country on the 42nd anniversary of the rectification movement in Syria.

The rectification movement was a historic event which provided a landmark occasion in the struggle of the Syrian people to defend the sovereignty of the country and build a highly civilized and prosperous new society.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I wish you success in your responsible work, reiterating the firm solidarity of our people with the struggle of the Syrian Arab people to defend the sovereignty, peace and stability of the country.

Dictators have to stick together.

"Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems Presented to KPA Units" (Korean News)

We learn that "the presentation of the military equipment to the army is an expression of the ardent loyalty and patriotism by the mothers in Songun Korea." What did they do, knit the rockets?

Multiple-launch rocket systems "Nyomaeng-ho" associated with the ardent patriotism of the women across the country were presented to units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on the occasion of the 4th National Meeting of Mothers.

Those multiple-launch rocket systems "Nyomaeng-ho" were provided through a dynamic good conduct movement of the organizations and members of the Democratic Women's Union of Korea (DWUK) across the country.

A presentation ceremony was held at Hamhung Square in South Hamgyong Province on Monday.

Present at the ceremony were Thae Jong Su, chief secretary of South Hamgyong Provincial Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Jon Kwang Ho, chairman of the South Hamgyong Provincial People's Committee, officials concerned, service persons of the KPA and members of the women's union.

Ro Song Sil, chairwoman of the C.C., DWUK, made a presentation address to be followed by speeches.

The speakers noted that the presentation of the military equipment to the army is an expression of the ardent loyalty and patriotism by the mothers in Songun Korea to add glory to the immortal exploits performed by Generalissimos Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il for the army building and to make contributions to powerfully demonstrating the might of the powerful Paektusan revolutionary army.

They called upon all the women to take active part in diverse mass movements and the do-good-thing movement helpful to the building of an economic power and the improvement of the people's living standard and make devoted efforts for society and the collective, bearing Kim Jong Il's patriotism in mind.

At the end of the ceremony, the rocket systems left for units of the KPA amid warm send-off of women's union members in Hamhung City.

"Do-good-thing movement"--that's a new one.

"Senior Iranian Rabbi Asks for Stoning Israeli Rabbi Ari Shvat to Death" (Fars News-Iran)

Should Golestaninejad actually be considered a Rabbi? This article suggests that he does not know that the Biblical death penalties have not been operative for thousands of years. But then again, does he actually say the things attributed to him by Khomeino-journalists? We might find out some day:

After former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni disclosed personal details of her former career in Mossad, Rabbi Ari Shvat, one of the most famous rabbis of Israel, allowed Israeli women to have sex with the enemy in exchange for information, but Iran's Grand Rabbi Mashallah Golestaninejad described adultery as forbidden in Judaism, and stressed that Shvat should be stoned to death.

In an interview given 14 years ago but published in full for the first time last Friday in a pro-Livni newspaper and then cited by the British Sunday Times weekly, she described working undercover for Bayonet, Mossad's elite hit squad, where she answered the question if she had ever had sex to get information.

"If I'd been asked to do it, I don't know what I'd have said. In the office (Mossad's term for itself) there is a job tailored for everyone."

After the release of Livni's remarks, Rabbi Ari Shvat, one of the most famous rabbis of Israel, allowed Israeli women to have sex with the enemy in exchange for important information, claiming that Jewish law permits this type of action.

His remarks created chaos in the Jewish world and the Rabbis from different parts of the world reacted to Shvat's comments.

"The sources of Judaism have not allowed such a deed at all and it (adultery) is forbidden in our religion and based on the explicit instruction of the Ten Commandments, no one can embark on adultery at all," Iranian Grand Rabbi Mashallah Golestaninejad said.

In an interview with the Persian Daily, Javan, Rabbi Golestaninejad condemned Rabbi Shvat for his remarks, and said, "He is nothing more than a donkey and doesn't understand as much as a donkey… . Such a person with such comments is a renegade, belligerent and a corruptor on earth and based on the Torah instructions he should be stoned to death."

He further referred to Livni and said, "Ms. Livni is not a follower of any faith at all. The thoughts and goals of Zionism run counter to the faith of Judaism, and Zionists do not attach the least importance to the instructions of the Torah. Hence, it would be normal for them to embark on prostitution to attain their goals and objectives."

Noting that the Zionists using their own special Rabbis have created a fake regime for themselves, he said that they commit their crimes and wrong deeds under the name of Judaism but "they are the enemies of religion".

"A rabbi never approves of adultery and calls prostitution as a banned activity; therefore, anyone doing or saying anything to the opposite is an enemy of religion because a friend of religion is the one who considers God and not material interests whenever he wants to do something," Rabbi Golestaninejad reiterated.

Golestaninejad's previous appearances in this blog are here and here.

"Commander Warns of New US Plot in Syria" (Fars News-Iran)

Is Firouzabadi putting on weight?

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi cautioned that the US is seeking to spark new unrests in Syria in collaboration with sponsors of Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

The US, in collaboration with the sponsors of al-Qaeda, is planning to provoke a fresh series of conflicts in Syria, Firouzabadi warned on Friday.

He further advised Qatari officials not to further jeopardize their security by being lured into the Americans' trap.

"Muslims should unite and assist each other to cut the hands of the US from the Islamic countries, not to be in cahoots with the White House," Firouzabadi underscored.

His remarks came days after Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in October called for support for the foreign insurgents in Syria to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

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

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

"Judiciary Chief Hails Supreme Leader's Unifying Comments" (Fars News-Iran)

Stop the presses--someone sucked up to the dictator!

Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani appreciated Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei for his unifying remarks addressed to the heads of Iran's three branches of power.

Amoli Larijani in a letter addressed to Ayatollah Khamenei said that the unifying comments of his eminence have roots in pure fountain of Vicegerency.

The full text of the letter whose text is quoted in the Judiciary Force website is as follows:

Long Live His Eminence the Supreme Leader;

Inheritor of Vicegerency (from the late Imam Khomeini and Infallible Imams -P)

Salamon Aleykom

With all due respect, and congratulating your honor on the upcoming blessed occasion of Qadir-e Khom Eid, the blessed message of that most esteemed leader that has roots in the pure fountain of Vicegerency, addressed to the heads of the head of the three branches of power was wholeheartedly received with heart and mind.

I pray to Almighty Allah for assisting all of us to shoulder our responsibilities, and to obey and assist that Most Exalted Supreme Leader.

Sadeq Amoli Larijani

Cool unifying comments, exalted Big Guy!

"Construction of Mansugyo Soft Drink Restaurant Completed" (Korean News)

It's "fully furnished with modern equipment and sales conditions needed for the service of a variety of soft drink." The future is certainly rosy for the DPRK:

The Mansugyo Soft Drink Restaurant has been built on the bank of the River Pothong in Pyongyang.

The peculiar restaurant is a fashionable catering service base provided by the dear respected Kim Jong Un who is carrying out Generalissimos Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's intention for believing in the people as in Heaven.

The restaurant with a total floor space of more than 3,000 square meters is fully furnished with modern equipment and sales conditions needed for the service of a variety of soft drink.

An inaugural ceremony took place on Tuesday.

Present there were Kim Jong Gak, Mun Kyong Dok and officials concerned, soldier builders and employees of the restaurant.

Mun Kyong Dok, alternate member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the C.C., the Workers' Party of Korea and chief secretary of the Pyongyang City Committee of the WPK, in his address said that the completion of the restaurant is a significant event bringing joy to the army and people of the DPRK.

He called upon the employees of the restaurant to make positive efforts to put the level of dietary life and food culture of the Korean people on a higher level in the spirit of serving the people and thus translate into reality the intention of Kim Jong Un.

"Al-Qaeda manipulated by US, Israel: Analyst" (PressTV-Iran)

The "Analyst," turns out to be one Kevin Barrett. Wikipedia identifies him as a founding member of something called the "Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance" which this article refers to as the "Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth." Hmmm:

A political analyst says the al-Qaeda mercenaries in Syria are manipulated by the US and Israel into spreading sectarianism in the Middle East, Press TV reports.

“Al-Qaeda is really a manipulated group that serves to smear Islam. It’s created a negative brand name that only about seven percent of Muslims like, and the other 90 percent-plus don’t like. It’s destabilizing the Middle East on behalf of the Zionism and the US empire,” said author and Islamic Studies expert Kevin Barrett.

“These people are tasked by the Zionist and the [US] empire with spreading sectarianism in the Muslim world; that is breaking up Muslim countries into different sects and different nationalities,” he added.

Referring to the Syrian insurgents’ violation of the temporary ceasefire in the Arab country, Barrett said the al-Qaeda is trying to destabilize the situation by supporting the foreign-backed insurgents.

“That’s exactly the... Israeli plan, to destroy the Middle East by breaking it into tiny little pieces along ethnic and sectarian lines,” he said. “That’s exactly what these al-Qaeda people are working for. If one didn’t know better, one would think al-Qaeda was a brand invented by the Israelis themselves.”

The four-day ceasefire, which was brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), took effect on Friday.

The Syrian army has said that it is fully committed to the truce but will respond to attacks by armed groups that were in violation of the ceasefire. The Syrian army had repeatedly warned that it would react if armed groups carried out attacks or reinforced their positions, or if fighters crossed into the country.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the violence.

"Al-Qassam Brigades Vow to Retaliate against Israeli Aggressions" (Fars News-Iran)

This article refers, using standard Iranian Press rhetoric, to "Israeli air raids on the defenseless Palestinians," but the article certainly suggests that those killed were members of the Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades, which seems to be confirmed elsewhere. See this and this.

Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, warned the Zionist regime against the dire consequences of its new aggressions against the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Palestinian resistance movement will not leave any Israeli aggression unanswered.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Al-Qassam Brigades reiterated that the Zionist regime will pay for its aggressions which killed two Palestinians and injured five others on Monday.

"The Zionist enemy continues its crimes and aggressions against the Palestinian territories and people and it does not stop shedding the blood of the Palestinians. It (the Zionist enemy) is trying to create a tense situation to project its crisis (to the outside world)," the statement read.

On Monday, Israeli fighter jets targeted the village of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip which killed two Palestinians and injured five others.

On October 14, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades also condemned the Israeli air raids on the defenseless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip which killed at least five Palestinians, and vowed that the attacks would be retaliated with a crushing response to the Zionist regime.

"Al-Quds Brigades is committed to taking revenge and supporting the children of the Palestinian nation irrespective of their political affiliations," Al-Quds Brigades Spokesman Abu Ahmad told Ma'an news agency.

He also reiterated that Al-Quds Brigades and the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades of the Hamas Movement were both ready to respond to any stupid Israeli move against the Gaza Strip.

Spokesman of Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obadiah, also said on Sunday that "carrying out joint military operations between Al-Quds and Al-Qassam Brigades indicates the high level of coordination between them."

Hamas officials, including its former Political Bureau Chief Khalid Mashaal have on many occasions stressed that resistance of Palestinian groups would continue until the ultimate removal of the Gaza siege and re-opening of crossings into the territory. [...]

"Tunisian Islamist leader says Salafis must not be demonized" (Maan News)

What are the alternatives to "demonizing" them? There is some interesting maneuvering in this article:

Demonizing ultra-conservative Salafi Islamists is a mistake that will only lead to them eventually winning power, said the leader of Tunisia's ruling Islamist Ennahda party, Rachid Ghannouchi.

Secular opposition politicians in Tunisia said last week that a leaked video of a secret meeting between Ghannouchi and puritanical Salafis showed the government was not the moderate Islamist force it claimed to be.

Dismissing those claims, Ghannouchi told French daily Le Monde that Tunisia should learn from past mistakes, when cracking down on opposition forces radicalized them and emboldened some to try to overthrow the government.

Some elements within Salafi movements should be allowed to participate in Tunisia's transition toward democracy as long as they act within the law.

"One must distinguish between the fundamentalists that turn to violence and the others," Ghannouchi said in remarks published on Thursday. "If we demonize the Salafis, then in 10 or 15 years they will be in power."

Tunisia, where an uprising against secular strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali provided the first spark in last year's "Arab Spring" revolts, is now ruled by an Islamist-led government that has promised not to impose strict Muslim rules and to respect women's rights.

Liberals say policies touted by Salafis threaten human rights in a country once seen as a beacon of Arab secularism, but which is now under siege from religious hardliners who have attacked cinemas and artistic performances, arguing that they violate Islam.

In a video aired last week, Ghannouchi is heard discussing which parts of the state have fallen into the hands of Islamists and advising Salafis on where they should focus their efforts to spread their influence further.

Ghannouchi said the recording had been taken out of context and manipulated by opposition parties to influence Tunisian and Western public opinion to destroy the idea that there could be a distinction between moderate Islam and radical Islam.

"They wanted to put the two in the same bag," he said, adding the meeting was an attempt to persuade Salafis to work peacefully for change within a political framework.

Salafis also led an attack on the US embassy in Tunis last month that killed four people, after an anti-Islam film made in California sparked anger across the region.

Human Rights Watch said Monday the government was failing to crack down on Islamist violence against advocates of secularism including journalists and artists.

Ghannouchi said that those events had been significant, but not enough to transform Tunisian political life.

"Despite what is said, there is no impunity," he said. "It's a dangerous and complex phenomenon that stems from a mix of religious, political and social factors."

"Republicans, Democrats attacking Americans in bipartisan push for savage austerity" (PressTV-Iran)

I must have missed this story:

By all indications, the US ruling class of Wall Street financiers is determined to follow Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain down the road to drastic austerity. The financiers of lower Manhattan are thus ignoring the evidence offered by these other countries showing that austerity policies reduce employment, lower production, cause severe mass privation, introduce powerful elements of chaos into society, and actually increase the government budget deficits in future years -- meaning that austerity fails even in its own terms.

Since the 1930s, it has been widely recognized that a policy of deflation with severe cuts in government spending and in expenditures for social services will plunge a country deeper into depression. Once the depression has hit, usually as the result of the collapse of a speculative bubble like the $2 quadrillion derivatives mania of 2000-2008, the private economy shrinks rapidly, leaving government spending as the principal form of economic activity. If the government budget is nevertheless cut, this lowers the overall rate of economic activity; working people paying taxes are turned into recipients of public assistance, and the budget deficit grows rapidly. The classic case is the German government of Chancellor Heinrich Brüning in 1930-32, whose brutal austerity policies shrank the national economy by about 25% over the course of two years, but still could not prevent the German budget deficit from growing.

Despite all this, there is today a consensus between Wall Street and Washington that draconian austerity must be imposed in the United States. This will be the case no matter whether Obama or Romney wins the upcoming election. Romney has been very open about his determination to rule in the name of the top 1% of financiers and oligarchs, while imposing hardships and sacrifices on the rest of the population. Obama is somewhat more discreet, but he also has clearly signaled his desire for a sweeping austerity program to be agreed on by the two major US parties as soon as possible, probably before the end of this year.

Observers have noted that Obama and Biden, in their three debates held so far with their Republican rivals, have never mentioned the traditional Democratic Party platform planks of raising the minimum wage; preserving the funding of the food stamp program (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the US Department Of Agriculture) which keeps some 50 million Americans alive; maintaining and extending unemployment insurance payments to the jobless; or making it easier for trade unions to organize.

"Iranian FM Blames Israel for Beirut Terrorist Blast" (Fars News-Iran)

"[A}lthough the vigilance of the Lebanese people and parties who are aware of this plot will not allow Israel to obtain its goal":

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi blamed Israel for the Friday deadly blast in Beirut, and said the Zionist regime has carried out the terrorist attack in a bid to take the world's attention off its humiliation by a Hezbollah drone which penetrated deep into Israeli airspace earlier this month.

On October 12, Secretary-General of Hezbollah Seyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that the movement had sent a drone deep into the Israeli airspace, and stressed that the move demonstrated part of Hezbollah's capability.

The operation code-named Hussein Ayub saw Hezbollah's drone fly hundreds of kilometers into the Israeli airspace and getting very close to Dimona nuclear plant without being detected by advanced Israeli and US radars, Nasrallah said.

Salehi said the drone's penetration into Israel has caused deep fright among the Zionists.

"The (Hezbollah) drone which managed to penetrate into the occupied territories, frightened the regime and its weakness and inability was fully evident," Salehi said in a joint press conference with his Central African counterpart Antoine Gambi in Tehran on Sunday.

"Hence, it (Israel) committed such a big crime and martyred and injured a considerable number of the Lebanese citizens to divert the public opinion of the region from its weakness and inability to deal with its internal conditions," he continued.

Salehi warned that the Israeli plot "will make the regional conditions more complicated, although the vigilance of the Lebanese people and parties who are aware of this plot will not allow Israel to obtain its goal".

In relevant remarks on Saturday, a prominent Lebanese expert also took the Zionist regime responsible for the Friday blast in Beirut, calling it a plot to ignite civil war in the Middle-Eastern country.

Friday's blast left ten people dead and wounded dozens. It occurred in the mainly Christian district of Ashrafiya. Internal intelligence head Wissam al-Hassan was among those killed in the bomb explosion.

"Israel took revenge from Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan because of his active role in the many operations carried out to identify and arrest the Israeli Mossad spies," Professor of Beirut University Hassan Jouni told FNA on Saturday.

He underlined that the Friday blast in Beirut was meant to destabilize Lebanon and ignite sectarian strife in the country.

"Ahmadinejad: Arrogant Powers Looking for Conflict among World Nations" (Fars News-Iran)

Some Irangrish:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at the arrogant powers for their bullying policies, and said that these power seek to stir strife and conflict among other world nations.

"To continue their rule and dominance over the world, the arrogant powers are after sowing discord and conflict among (other) nations," Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Kuwait on Wednesday.

He stressed that if all the world powers want to make use of the apparatus that they have at hand against others, there will be no longer any trace of tranquility and security in the world.

The Sri Lankan president, for his part, reiterated his country's determination for expanding ties with Iran, and called for the removal of obstacles and problems blocking the path of broadened cooperation between the two countries in different fields, specially the energy sector.

President Ahmadinejad and the Sri Lankan president are in Kuwait for the first Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit. [...]

"Taking Iran channels off air is cultural terrorism, IRIB chief says" (PressTV-Iran)

Besides the world's cheapest use of the word "terrorism," how many examples of hypocrisy can you spot?

The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has criticized the ban on Iranian TV and radio stations as “cultural terrorism.”

Ezzatollah Zarghami made the remarks at the 49th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in the South Korean capital Seoul on Wednesday, Mehr news agency reported.

He called on international organizations, especially UNESCO, which do not have “deterrent laws for this type of cultural terrorism”, to adopt concrete laws to prevent such illegal actions.

Zarghami also said the ban on Iranian stations is meant to silence alternative media despite the fact that “the era of news censorship has come to an end.”

In a blatant violation of freedom of speech, European satellite provider Eutelsat SA ordered media services company, Arqiva, to take the Iranian satellite channels off one of its Hot Bird frequencies on Monday.

The channels include Press TV, al-Alam, Jam-e-Jam 1 and 2, Sahar 1 and 2, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, Quran TV, and the Arabic-language al-Kawthar.

The decision followed months of jamming of Iranian channels by European satellite companies.

Following the move by Eutelsat, Press TV launched a Facebook petition to protect the news channel across Europe.

Observers say the illegal move by Eutelsat SA is a step to silence all alternative news outlets representing the voice of the voiceless. [...]

I have never heard a dictatorship described as "voiceless."

"Leader Asks People to Avoid Western Life Style" (Fars News-Iran)

In which we learn that the Islamic Republic is the "most important target of this invasion":

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei asked people to avoid the western life style, warning that the western culture annihilates the culture and identity of the host nations.

"Of course, we do not intend to fight the West (in every move and aspect) but we emphasize according to the researches and studies carried out (in this field) that imitating the West will take nations to nowhere," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing a large number of people in North Khorassan province on Sunday.

"Basically, the western culture is aggressive and if it (the western culture) prevails in any given country for any given reason, it will gradually annihilate that nation's culture and identity," he cautioned.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to such great sins as homosexuality, the collapse of family foundations and other deep crises and problems as among abnormalities in the West which have turned into norms in the western societies.

He cautioned about the prevalence of certain aspects of the western culture in Iran, and asked officials to promote Iranian and Islamic culture to gradually correct these certain aspects of life style in the Iranian society.

In relevant remarks in June 2011, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution had also called on the Iranian nation to keep vigilant against the enemies' cultural invasion.

"The extent of the cultural invasion of the arrogant powers encompasses all the countries in the world, but the most important target of this invasion is the system of the Islamic Republic because the Islamic system has stood up to the arrogant powers and has proven through its steadfastness that is capable of resisting and making progress," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing members of Iran's High Council for the Cultural Revolution at the time.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that given the significant developments in the field of communications, the cultural war has expanded into a complicated field with various dimensions.

Gotta stay vigilant.

"MP: Zionists Buying Turkey's Bordering Areas with Syria" (Fars News-Iran)

"Zionists" could mean anybody:

Zionists have bought half of Turkey's bordering areas with Syria in Hatay province, a senior Turkish legislator revealed, warning that the move has posed a great danger to his country's national security.

Hatay Province's Representative at the Turkish parliament Mohammad Ali Adiboglu said that he discovered the danger after studying the documents in Hatay's Real State Registration Organization.

He further cautioned Turkey's Minister of Environment and Urbanization Erdogan Bayraktar that he'd better have a strong reasoning for selling the country's territories to the foreign nationals. [...]

Mondoweiss objects to calling Netanyahu "Bibi" because "A nickname humanizes a politician"

You can't make this stuff up:

The media should stop calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname, Bibi.

A nickname humanizes a politician. It makes them seem more affectionate. Very few if any politicians are referred to by their nicknames. Do the media call Prime Minister Cameron David? Do they say, Francois, the president of France? They don't.

When Joe Biden repeatedly called Netanyahu Bibi last night in the debate, yes it bothers me, because our politicians are way too soft on Israel. [...]

Isn't "Joe" a nickname for "Joseph"?

Cool Wikipedia page: List of Jazz Contrafacts

A "contrafact" is a melody written based on the chord-changes of a different tune. The Flintstones Theme (according to this) is contrafact of the Gershwin tune "I Got Rhythm." (Many Jazz tunes, as a matter of fact, use these chord-changes, and they are known as "rhythm changes.")