Judeopundit

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

There ain't nothing like a Dane

This ad was printed in Tehran Times. The first letters of each line spell out the word "Swine." More details here.

(Hat Tip: LGF)

BBC: "Holocaust denier to be released"

This illustrates the folly of putting Holocaust deniers in prison, as did the recent Holocaust-denying conference in Tehran. If there were no Holocaust deniers in prison, then Iran would have been denied all its posturing about providing a forum for "free discussion," etc. Also, it is a boon to Holocaust deniers in general to be able to insinuate that the powers-that-be who have something to hide are suppressing their viewpoint. Finally, and worst of all, when Holocaust deniers complain that their free-speech rights are being denied, they have a valid point. Irving is a thoroughly hateful public figure and his work is pernicious and deceptive, but it is grotesque for him to be in prison. So the first thing that needs to be done to more effectively fight Holocaust denial is to decriminalize Holocaust denial in countries like Austria, and thereby deny the deniers their one valid point.

An Austrian appeals court has ruled that UK historian David Irving - jailed for denying the Holocaust - should be released on probation.

Irving is now being held in police detention and will be deported to the UK on Thursday, officials said.

Irving was convicted in February in a case that sparked international debate about the limits of freedom of speech.

In 1989 he spoke in Austria denying the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz, though he later said he was "mistaken".

The appeals court in Vienna had heard calls for both a reduction and increase in his sentence.

Irving on Wednesday welcomed his release and said he was "fit and well".

The 68-year-old said he would urge an academic boycott of historians from Germany and Austria until the nations stopped jailing historians.

"I was put in prison for three years for expressing an opinion 17 years ago," he said.

The BBC's Kerry Skyring in Vienna said the presiding judge converted the remaining two years of Irving's jail term to a provisional sentence, upholding his appeal.

Speaking after the ruling, his lawyer, Herbert Schaller, said: "He is free, and he can leave, and he will leave."

The historian is now waiting for the necessary paperwork to be completed before he can leave a police detention facility in Vienna for the UK, officials said.

Irving's partner, Bente Hogh, told the Associated Press news agency: "He sounded like he was in good form. He's obviously very pleased to be free."

Both the prosecution and defence had challenged the length of the sentence. The crime carries a prison term of up to 10 years.

The 1992 law targets "whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide".

Irving's release on probation has dismayed Jewish groups.

Lord Janner, vice-president of the World Jewish Congress and president of the Commonwealth Jewish Council, said: "I am sorry that he did not serve out his full term, and I hope he will remain in Austria and not return to the United Kingdom, where he will not be welcome."

Asked about Irving's comments about historians being put in prison, Lord Janner said: "I do not believe that he was put in prison because he was a historian. And historians should be treated in the same way as anyone else."

Irving was arrested in November last year on a motorway in southern Austria. He was visiting to give a lecture to a far-right student fraternity.

The conviction had sparked intense debate, with supporters saying it was fully justified but opponents arguing it undermined the right of freedom of speech.

At the initial trial, Irving had said it was "ridiculous" he was being tried for expressing an opinion and that he had changed his views on the Holocaust.

(UK) Times: Disgusted Palestinian blood donors stop giving

This is a pretty amazing spectacle, even for those of us who have been insisting for years that terrorists are thugs, not freedom fighters:

As gunmen spilt it and warring politicians hailed its sanctity, ordinary Palestinians showed their disgust for feuding Hamas and Fatah gunmen by refusing to donate blood.

Doctors at Gaza City’s main hospital are used to a plentiful supply of volunteers queuing up to donate blood for victims of Israeli attacks. But faced with the selfinflicted wounds of the nascent Palestinian civil war, that supply has all but dried up. “We are all frustrated and depressed,” said Dr Jumaa al-Saqqa, director of publicity at the Shifa hospital.

He said that his staff were used to treating countless victims from battles with Israeli forces. But on a day in which his hospital became a battlefield, staff were dispirited at having to treat the victims of violence between Palestinians.

“We have a shortage of blood in the bank now. During Israeli incursions hundreds of people come to donate blood but now nobody. Why give your blood? For whom? For one to kill the other? I want to just take my white coat off and go home.”

Outside, Ismail Haniya, the Islamist Prime Minister, protested that the “smallest drop of Palestinian blood is dear to us”. Yet even as he spoke, his Hamas fighters were kidnapping, killing and wounding security personnel loyal to President Abbas.

And a day after Tony Blair backed the “moderate” Mr Abbas, fighters loyal to his Fatah faction sparked the day’s violence by using an ambulance to attack a Hamas unit at Shifa Hospital, killing one Islamist policeman with a rocketpropelled grenade and injuring ten in the gunfight that ensued. This set off a wave of revenge shootings and kidnappings across northern and central Gaza. Hamas reportedly captured the Fatah gunman suspected of firing the grenade, and shot him dead, dumping his body on the street. Six gunmen were killed and dozens wounded.

At least 11 people have died in Gaza since Mr Abbas called new elections on Saturday. A ceasefire declared in the wake of the first clashes broke down within 24 hours. Last night Hamas and Fatah agreed on another ceasefire, due to come into force this morning.

In Jabalya, Fatah intelligence officers who captured a Hamas official were surrounded yesterday by scores of bearded Hamas fighters, crouching in the doorways of homes, shops and a girls’ preparatory school as they threatened to attack the building with rockets unless their colleague was released.

Rival fighters took up position on street corners. Hamas police used radio scanners to issue orders to kill, while Fatah police broadcast warnings to all officers that Hamas was planning to use rocket grenades against marked security cars. Shifa hospital filled up with injured fighters from both factions, doctors working hard to keep the two sides apart. Dr Saqqa deplored the Hamas-led Government’s insistence on stationing its police at the hospital for the past four months. The hospital had become a “point of friction”, he said.

Masked and armed Hamas police took up positions on the hospital roof after withdrawing from their vulnerable ground positions attacked that morning. “We have redeployed to avoid direct clashes,” admitted one member of Hamas’s Executive Forces. “We were taken by surprise this morning. They came in an ambulance, which we didn’t expect. We lost heavily. We’re more prepared now for the tricks they might use.”

Four floors below, Shaaban Awad, a 23-year-old Fatah policeman, cursed the Islamist group as he was carried through the corridors with gunshot wounds to the leg.

“Hamas,” he spat, when asked who shot him. “It’s going to be worse than a civil war. Everyone is going to avenge the people who have already been killed and injured.”

In one ward, Dr Ahmed, another medic, was asked if blood donors were being put off.

“For sure, because we are fighting for nonsense.”

They always were. However unlikely it may be that it will come about, Palestinians need a culture of peace, not a culture dominated by terrorist groups. The apparatus of terror directed at Jews was always a warm-up for a future totalitarian state in which the apparatus of terror would be directed at Palestinians. The quasi-state of the PA is now demonstrating that clearly. The notion that that some sort of territorial settlement with Israel will even begin to solve their problems is pure fantasy. (Hat Tip: Captain's Quarters)

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Ma'oz Tzur and the Star Spangled Banner--the never-ending struggle to remember the second verse

Are you always embarrassed when they sing Maoz Tzur in public
because all you can remember is the first verse? I am.
Well, here is the second verse in transliteration courtesy of Wikipedia, which also provides the Hebrew text:

Ra'ot sav'ah nafshi, b'yagon kochi kilah. Chayai meireru b'koshi, b'shiabud malchut eglah. Uv'yado hagdolah hotzi et hasgulah. Cheil Par'oh vechol zar'oh yardu khe-even mtzulah.

Is it my imagination, or do you really need to cram syllables at the end? And while we're at it, here is the second verse of the Star-Spangled Banner, from the same source:

On the shore dimly seen, thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner: oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Just gotta play air guitar to that one.

Update: Learn about other things worth remembering at the Carnival of Lights, the Chanukah Blog-carnival.

[Repost] The Fifth Night of Chanukah

There is a Chassidic custom to regard the fifth night of Chanukah as special. It is the first night when most of the lights are lit. A more technical version of this point is that it is the first night when following the opinion of Beis Hillel to start with one candle and add one every night results in more flames than following the opinion of Beis Shammai (to light all the flames on the first night and take one away each day). The fifth night of Chanukah can never fall on Shabbos, which might be regarded as something negative, but one way of looking at it is this: The light of Chanukah can even overcome the darkness of never falling on Shabbos. One of my favorite stories about the Lubavitcher Rebbe includes this thought. Read it here. Another story about the fifth night is here.

Tags: Chanukah, Chabad

Monday, December 18, 2006

Jewish News of Northern California: "using the eight-day festival to warn about too much warmth and light"

Cringe. Chanukah should be celebrated, not co-opted:

For centuries, Chanukah has brought warmth and light to Jewish homes at the darkest time of the year. Now two Jewish organizations are using the eight-day festival to warn about too much warmth and light.

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs are teaming up this Chanukah for a nationwide education and advocacy campaign about global warming and energy conservation.

Both groups want to shed light on the global warming problem — but a more energy-efficient light.

The bright idea at the center of their effort this Chanukah, which begins Dec. 15, is to encourage Jewish institutions to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, which consume 75 percent less energy.

Apparently unable to choose among clever Jewish light references, the campaign is known both as “A Light Among the Nations” and “How Many Jews Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?”

COEJL Executive Director Barbara Lerman-Golomb is hoping that installing the bulbs will turn the public on to the need for greater energy conservation.

“The idea behind it is that we can start with a simple action that will lead to larger actions that we can take,” Lerman-Golomb said.

On Chanukah we specifically kindle lights that we are not going to make use of. Avoid turning off lights when you leave the room.

More than 350 Jewish institutions have signed on, and COEJL’s Web site is maintaining a running tally of how many bulbs have been sold and how much carbon dioxide has been kept from the atmosphere as a result.

“Chanukah is a time when we think about the Maccabees, a small group of people affecting a larger group,” Lerman-Golomb said. “In advocating switching to CFLs, we want to motivate the Jewish community to take this small act of tikkun olam which will have a huge impact.” [...]

We also emphasize using oil on the winter holiday of Chanukah. Obviously we should drill for oil in ANWR.

DEBKAfile: "Ahmadinejad’s Followers Ordered to Falsify Election Results"

DEBKAfile has the reputation of being interesting but not necessarily reliable. This is certainly an example of the interesting aspect:

The results of Iran’s elections for local councils and the powerful Assembly of Experts have been tensely awaited as the first test of the president’s popularity since he took office last year.

DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources report that his followers, seeing which way the wind was blowing, took matters in their own hands. Backed by armed Revolutionary Guards, they stormed the counting sessions Monday, Dec. 18, using threats and physical harassment to force the counters to falsify the results and reverse the gains.

Sixty hours after balloting ended, when only 10 percent of the returns to the key Tehran city election had been counted, the publication of further results was suspended.

Four prominent Iranians, including ex-presidents Hashem Rafsanani and Mohammed Khatami, protested that vote-rigging was taking place.

Ahmadinejad took fright from initial reports that the Reform-Seekers camp headed by Tehran mayor (and former RG officer) Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf were pulling ahead of his own candidates. When this trend showed in the early returns from a small number of provincial towns, our Tehran sources report, Ahmadinejad tried approaching the supreme ruler for a directive to “adjust” the ballot count and switch votes to his supporters. When he was told that Khamenei was too busy to talk to him, he ordered RG musclemen to take off their uniforms and shoulder their way into the ballot counting centers of Tehran, which holds one-sixth of the country’s population. He told them to move cautiously as Ghalibaf has his own armed militia.

By then, Ghalibaf has calculated from one-tenth of the ballots counted that he had carried up to eight of the 15 city council members compared with three for the president’s camp. One of the new pro-Ghalibaf councilors is Iran’s popular national wrestling champion Ali Reza Dabir. The president’s sister, Parvin Ahmadinejad ranks 11th out of 15 candidates on her list and may not win a seat.[...]

(Hat Tip: Iran-va-Jahan)

World Arrogance round-up

Fars News: "Iran Blames West for Conference Site Boycott":

Iran blamed pressure from Western governments and media for the decision by some think-tanks to boycott the Iranian institute that hosted last week's Holocaust conference.

The head of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Francois Heisbourg, said Saturday that the European and North American research institutes had decided to suspend contact with the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), a Tehran institute affiliated with the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Last week the IPIS convened a conference on the Holocaust to provide a fair atmosphere for both pros and cons to debate their ideas. Iran stressed several time both before and after the conference that the meeting was not aimed at all at denying or admitting to the Holocaust. The United States, European Union and Israel denounced the conference.

Guardian: "Iranian students hide in fear for lives after venting fury at Ahmadinejad":

Iranian student activists who staged an angry protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week have gone into hiding in fear for their lives after his supporters threatened them with revenge.

One student fled after being photographed holding a banner reading, "Fascist president, the polytechnic is not for you", during Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to Tehran's Amir Kabir university. At least three others have gone underground after being seen burning his picture. Vigilantes from the militant Ansar-e Hezbollah group have been searching for them. [...]

IRNA: "President: Iran a unique example of democracy, freedom":

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a unique example of democracy and freedom and its people are a great support for freedom-seeking and independent nations, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday evening.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, the president hailed the massive turn-out of Iranians in Friday's elections, saying on that day (Dec 15) "the Iranian people demonstrated their vigilance and surprised enemies of the country." [...]

Sunday Times: "Rabbi claims Holocaust dead ‘deserved it’":

A BRITISH rabbi who angered fellow Jews by speaking at a “Holocaust denial” conference in Iran now says millions did die in gas chambers but may have deserved it.

Ahron Cohen, an Orthodox Jew from Greater Manchester and a leading member of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta movement, sparked new controversy on his return from Tehran by suggesting that God would have saved the victims of the Nazis if they had deserved to live.

Cohen, whose house in Salford was pelted with 1,000 eggs last year because of his extremist views . . .

(h/t: Yeshivah World--ayein sham)

IRIB Radio: "TIME Drops Iranian President from 'Man of the Year' List":

The US weekly “Time”, under pressure of the American Zionist lobby, dropped the name of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from the list of its “man of the year” nominees.

Time’s Editor-in-Chief, Richard Stengel, was forced by the Zionist lobby to drop Ahmadinejad who topped the list of nominees.

On Saturday, Stengel, saying that for the first time since 1927 Time will not feature any particular Man of the Year on its cover, added that the title for 2006 goes to millions of its readers. The cover simply features a YOU sign written in big bold letters.

Update: Judeosphere: "William Blum Denies Holocaust Denial"

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles: "Iran's Jewish legislator criticized during L.A. appearance"

This has got to be a real dilemma for the Iranian Jewish community outside of Iran: Is Motamed the most the Jews in Iran can hope for in the way of an advocate for their interests or is he just another official from the Islamic Republic?

A group of local Iranian Jewish activists spoke out in protest of the Dec. 4 appearance of Maurice Motamed, the only Jewish representative to the Iranian parliament, at the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF) synagogue in West Hollywood, where he provided an update on the current status of Iran's Jewry.

Motamed's address to an audience of nearly 150 mostly older Iranian Jews painted a positive picture of the lives of Jews in Iran. He described them as generally financially well off and said they are allowed to practice their religion without being harassed. Evidence of this, he said, can be seen in the fact that a new Jewish community center is planned in Teheran on a land recently purchased for $5 million.

However, Motamed's speech sparked sharp criticism from the Council of Iranian Jews, a small Los Angeles-based Iranian Jewish group whose leadership said welcoming a member of Iran's current regime provided a forum for the repressive government.

"Our community members clearly know he [Motamed] is acting on the orders of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said George Haroonian, an activist with the Council of Iranian Jews. "He represents a regime that every day calls for the destruction of Israel, denies the Holocaust as a state policy and is the biggest financial and practical support of groups whose main goal is the murder of Jewish people."

Motamed dismissed those opposing his presence at the IAJF synagogue and, without naming names, accused them of attacking his character in order to advance their own personal agendas.

"Unfortunately those who say these things approached me three years ago and wanted information about the internal affairs of Iran," Motamed said in an interview with The Journal. "And since I have not given it to them, they have a personal opposition and vengeance against me."

Four IAJF board members attended, and Nessah Cultural Center's Rabbi David Shofet appeared briefly, but no other prominent local Iranian Jewish leaders were present at the event.

Frank Nikbakht, an Iranian Jewish activist and local expert on the treatment of minorities in Iran, claims Motamed's statements about Jewish life in Iran lack credibility. Motamed "has officially sworn to uphold the interests of Islam and the Islamic Republic upon entering the Islamic Assembly as the Jewish representative, as required by the government's constitution," Nikbakht said.

It certainly is true that freedom of religion for Jews is limited in Iran. For instance, according to a recent BBC article "if one member of a Jewish family converts to Islam he can inherit all the family's property." Yeah, that's freedom of religion.

Nikbakht questioned Motamed's allegiances based on a 24-page Persian-language report authored and distributed by Motamed at an event held at the Nessah Cultural Center during a visit to Los Angeles in 2002. In the report, Motamed outlined his activities as a member of the Energy Committee in the Iranian Parliament as well as his travels to Russia, where he urged Russian companies and officials to complete Iran's nuclear reactor at the Bushehr location.

IAJF leaders defended Motamed's current visit as well as his efforts to protect Jews living under Iran's fundamentalist regime.

"He is in a very sensitive position and is walking a tight rope in trying to keep our community there safe and sound," said Solomon Rastegar, vice-chair of the IAJF. "There are people here in Los Angeles with insufficient knowledge about life in Iran who try to attack him so they can gain credible for themselves."

Some local Iranian Jewish activists have been had odds with IAJF leaders who have long advocated keeping criticism of Teheran's regime to a minimum for fear of retributions that might be brought against the roughly 20,000 Jews still living in Iran.

During the question-and-answer segment of the event, Motamed defended his record as a Jewish advocate saying he had spoken out against comments made earlier this year by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denied the existence of the Holocaust. Motamed also said he has been trying to resolve the case of 12 missing Iranian Jews who tried to flee Iran nearly 12 years ago.

Motamed had been slated to speak at the Museum of Tolerance on Oct. 10 during a seminar on the future security of Jews living in Iran. The event was hosted by the Los Angeles chapter of Iranian Jewish Women's Organization (IJWO), but Motamed cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing scheduling difficulties.

During his speech at IAJF, Motamed denied accusations that his invitation to the Museum of Tolerance event had been withdrawn, and he claimed to have the full support and confidence of Iranian Jews worldwide.

"What is important to me is that I feel the support of the 20,000 Jews in Iran and the Iranian Jewish community outside Iran," Motamed said. "Therefore everything else that is said is unimportant to me."

Linkim 12/17/06

Haveil Havalim 98 is up! Carnival of the Insanities is also up. Update: So is Kosher Cooking Carnival 13.

A recent study reveals "Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians."

Seattle P-I: "Kosher foods catching on with non-Jews too"

Efraim Karsh: "The Iron Illusions of Rashid Khalidi" (h/t: Campus Watch)

Wall Street Journal: "Polite society helped pave the way for Iran's Holocaust conference." (h/t: Martin Kramer)

A Simple Jew has a number of Chanukah posts. Here is the latest.

Divrei Chaim examines "shabbos candles and chanukah candles."

Joseph Hertzlinger asks "Why did the chicken cross the road at the Holocaust Denier Convention?"

CrownHeights.info: "Offering Support for a Menorah, Unofficially" (and many other recent Chanukah posts)

Ynetnews.com: "Ahmadinejad good for Jews"

Jewish News of Northern California: "Pluralistic menorah will light up Sunnyvale mall"

So how did that Iranian election come out?

According to Iran Focus on Friday: "Most Iranians stay at home on polling day":

Voting stations were deserted on Friday which marked polling day for both the Assembly of Experts and the local city councils in Iran, according to eye-witness accounts and reliable reports.

One eye-witness account from Jame’e Mosque polling station in Tehran’s 15th district said that less than a dozen people came to the site to vote. Even still, several of those that did said that they had cast blank ballots and that they had been forced to participate or face loosing their civil service jobs.

According to reports from Tehran, numerous other districts were empty throughout many hours of the day.

In contrast, there was a high number of uniformed Revolutionary Guardsmen and agents of the State Security Forces on patrol at the polling stations. SSF commander Ismaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam recently announced that his forces would not be permitted to take a leave of absence on election day.

For several weeks, Iranian officials had been promising bustling voting stations across the country.

The Iranian opposition had on the other hand urged Iranians to stay in their homes.

The head of the opposition National Council of Resistance, Maryam Rajavi, called on Iranians to “boycott the sham elections”.[...]

The 86-member Assembly of Experts is an exclusively clerical body entrusted with the task of selecting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Following strict vetting of candidates by the ultra-conservative Guardians Council, some districts were left with only one candidate. [...]

According to Fars News, of course, turnout was great:

Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said wide public participation in Iran's Friday elections serves as a huge support for the country's armed forces and a deterrent to the enemies.

Addressing a meeting of his deputies here on Sunday, the General stressed that Iranian armed forces, enjoying a large public support, can defend the country against any threats.

He said that the astonishing number of votes cast by the people has surprised and consequently frustrated the enemies of the country, and reiterated, "Enjoying such a huge public support, the Islamic Republic does not need atomic bombs or any other non-conventional weapons."

"Such regimes as the occupying regime of the Zionists, founded on aggression, occupation, practice of force, assassination and terror, are in desperate need of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) to attain their aggressive goals and objectives," Najjar continued. [...]

Here is an MSM story on the results which seems to support the high turnout claims although the actual election results were not favorable for Ahmadinejad and his allies. From AFP:

Ultra-conservatives close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have failed to sweep twin Iranian elections with embattled moderate forces recording a respectable performance, initial results have showed.

Centrist cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani appeared to have sprung a surprise by reaping by far the most votes and beating a hardline rival in the election for the Assembly of Experts, the body that chooses the supreme leader.

In the keenly-watched race for Tehran city council, reformists were on course to take a handful of seats and end total conservative domination of the body which has prevailed since the last local vote in February 2003.

However the authorities were most keen to emphasise an unexpectedly high turnout, which appeared to have topped 60 percent for both votes, far higher than in similar elections in the past.

"The Iranian people have taken a decision to reach the summit of progress. As soon as they see that the enemy wants to stop them doing something, they carried it out," Ahmadinejad said, hailing the turnout.

However the news for Ahmadinejad's political allies was less positive, with the man seen as his spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, trailing behind Rafsanjani in the Assembly of Experts vote.

Although both men appear certain to have reaped enough votes to represent Tehran province on the Assembly for the next eight years, the results are a victory of vital symbolic importance for Rafsanjani.

Official results announced by the interior ministry based on half the votes counted showed Rafsanjani in first place and Mesbah Yazdi trailing in sixth. Reports said that allies of Mesbah Yazdi had failed to win seats in Iran's second city of Mashhad.

In Tehran city itself, Rafsanjani was more than 400,000 votes ahead of the second placed cleric, the ISNA news agency reported, citing official figures.

Such an outcome would be a significant reversal of fortune for the 71-year-old former president after his humiliating election defeat to Ahmadinejad in 2005.

His popularity appears to have been helped by a growing alliance with reformists, a fact symbolised by pictures of Rafsanjani voting side-by-side with liberal ex-president Mohammad Khatami widely reprinted in the press.

"Defeat for the supporters of the government," said the headline of the reformist Ayandeh No daily.

"The results show voters have learned the lessons of the past and have concluded that we need to return to balance on the political scene and support moderate figures," said the like-minded Kargozaran.

However government newspaper Iran interpreted things differently. "Decisive victory for the conservatives," read its headline.

The picture emerging from the local elections was mixed but it appeared that close allies of Ahmadinejad would not be dominating city councils over the next four years.

In Isfahan, Iran's third city, reformists had won three seats on the city council, with the other eight places going to a mixture of Ahmadinejad loyalists and independents, the Jomhouri Islami daily reported.

Although results for Tehran city council are not expected until well into next week, unofficial reports indicated the body would be shared between a mixture of reformists, Ahmadinejad allies and technocratic conservatives.

The Fars news agency said the strongest performance had been by the technocrats close to Tehran's current mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, an ex-police chief who has been happy to hand out posts to reformers.

It remained to be seen if Ahmadinejad's sister Parvin would be successful in her bid to win a seat on the body.[...]

Fars News: "Iran Stresses Scientific Nature of Holocaust Conference"

The Iranian Press now has to deal with all the criticism provoked by the Holocaust conference:

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini once again reiterated the scientific nature of the Tehran international conference on the Holocaust, stressing that prosecution of attendees will be a blatant violation of the freedom of speech.

Speaking to local and foreign reporters in his weekly press conference here on Sunday, Hosseini reminded that all the participants were among renowned thinkers, experts and scholars, who had conducted extensive research on the subject of the Holocaust.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has already announced that the meeting was not aimed at rejecting or admitting the Holocaust and that it was just meant to open an unrestricted atmosphere for experts, thinkers, researchers and scholars," he reminded.

Hosseini referred to the reaction of the European Union to the international Tehran conference on the Holocaust, and said, "Some western countries through their media have, unfortunately, endeavored to poison the atmosphere in a bid to accuse Iran of having preconceived and biased ideas."

Iran? Preconceived ideas? Perish the thought! As a token of our high regard for Iranian objectivity, we Jews sent many of our "Chief Rabbis" to the conference.

Asked about prosecution of the participants in the Holocaust conference by some western countries, he reiterated that any prosecution and interrogation of the attendees is a blatant violation of human rights and in direct contradiction with the claims of the western countries concerning their respect for democracy and freedom of speech.

In response to the question as to why Iran embraces danger under the present critical conditions concerning its nuclear issue, the spokesman said, "We adopt our stances and make our moves in full conformity with our religious and national values and principles, and holding the Holocaust conference falls within the same spectrum."

"You may raise logical issues which are undesirable to western countries. Under such circumstances, they start launching wide-scale propaganda against you. Attention here must be paid to the very fact that the Holocaust conference in Tehran was arranged to find answers to two or three simple and logical questions, and it was right after these simple questions that the western media started their extensive propaganda against Iran," he continued.

Hosseini further pointed to the country's nuclear issue as among the best examples in this regard, saying, "Statements of the Islamic Republic officials about the nuclear issue are all based on human, legal and logical principles and rights and are in full accordance with the international rules and regulations, but you may witness how they treat such a logical approach."

He reiterated that the other side is not willing to communicate with Tehran through logic, and mentioned, "They do not accept your points or refuse to attend talks even when the other side makes clear points through reasoning and asks for a fully logical discussion of any given subject."

As to the country's nuclear issue, the diplomat viewed negotiation as the best solution to remove the existing ambiguities in Iran's nuclear activities, and said that some western countries led by the US are treating the case through an illogical approach.

He criticized the group 5+1 for resorting to the Security Council measures, and called for the return of Iran's case to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reminding that the UNSC members do not share close stances.

The foreign ministry spokesman emphasized that his country's peaceful nuclear activities comply with the international rules and regulations, and added, "We will continue with our peaceful nuclear activities."

He further reiterated that his country's nuclear activities are in full conformity with the international rules and regulations, and stated that Tehran may not give up its nuclear activities even if the UN issues resolutions or imposes sanctions against Iran. [...]

Fars News: "John Kerry Willing to Visit Iran"

Maybe he could attend the next Holocaust conference.

US Senator John Kerry said on Friday he was willing to pay a visit to Tehran to talk to Iranian leaders.

Meantime, he mentioned that his visit to Iran would not take place during his current Middle East tour. "I don't have time and we were not able to make arrangements in the short time span we had but I would be willing to go," he told reporters in Cairo, the first stop on his tour.

Asked if he planned to make a trip later, he said, "At the appropriate time, at some point."

Glad to hear he wouldn't go at any inappropriate times. It is so important to have leaders who do not make rash scheduling announcements.

Kerry, the Democratic candidate in the US presidential election in 2004, is pressing the US administration to reverse its policy of setting preconditions for dialogue with Syria and Iran.

He will visit Syria during his trip with fellow Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd. Both are members of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Kerry said the purpose of the mission to Damascus would be to listen to the Syrians and find out more about the Syrian government's positions on Lebanon, the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah and the violence in Iraq.

"I'm going to push them (the Syrians) on a number of different issues. I'm curious about what they might or might not be willing to do as we go forward here," he said.

And is there anybody more qualified than Kerry to "push" the Syrians?

"Do they have any suggestions how the various equations in the region might be changed?" he added. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Friday that the United States and Europe must talk to Syria and Iran if they want a comprehensive solution to Iraq and other Middle East conflicts.

Assad told Rome's la Repubblica newspaper Damascus was ready to cooperate with Washington to resolve regional issues and challenged Israel to open up to Syria. A report released last week in Washington by a special panel recommended the United States engage Syria and Iran to bring about stability in Iraq.

The US administration of President George W Bush has argued that high-level talks with Syria are pointless because the Syrians do not respond to US policy requests. But Kerry said, "That's a mistake... It is nonsensical to set up not talking as some kind of reward/punishment barrier. I think we are shortchanging ourselves in that process."

The senator also found fault with Bush's campaign to make Middle East countries more democratic, which for a time was at the forefront of US diplomatic rhetoric in the region. "I don't think it's been particularly effective, in fact it has been counterproductive in certain quarters. It's created turmoil and uncertainty," he said. "We will always be a nation that advocates democracy...but we need to be smart about the steps we take and the pace at which we demand people make transitions," he added.

Good for him. Too few politicians these days are talking about the need to be "smart."

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Tehran Times: "London steps up psywar against Iran"

The dastardly World Arrogance is at it again. What exactly does this "psywar" consist of?

Concurrent with endeavors to ratify a resolution against Iran at the UN Security Council, Western countries are also conducting a psychological war against the Islamic Republic.

On the threshold of his visit to the Middle East and as the recent holocaust conference was underway in Tehran, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Iran a major strategic threat for regional countries.

“Iran is deliberately causing maximum problems for moderate governments and for ourselves in the region -- in Palestine, in Lebanon and in Iraq," he told reporters at his monthly media briefing on December 12.

Surely that wasn't an example of the "psywar"--it was merely a critical statement. The examples must be yet to come.

The British government has always been the standard-bearer for the enforcement of U.S. policies toward Iran.

Britain, France, and Germany recently submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for sanctions prohibiting the transfer of nuclear technology to Iran.

It seems that the British government intends to intensify psychological operations against Iran, a strategy Western countries always resort to when they feel they are at an impasse.

Psyops have become an increasingly important tool in the political, military, economic, communications, and public relations spheres for the United States, Britain, and other Western countries.

Psyops are meant to break the spirit of rivals in order to bring about a change in their policies and approaches.

Western countries have resorted to this strategy against Iran because they feel they have no other political cards to play.

In psychological warfare, propaganda and disinformation is disseminated to influence the opinions, ideas, emotions, tendencies, and behavior of opponents, allies, and neutral countries to realize certain objectives.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to the unilateral and authoritarian policies that Western countries are implementing in the Middle East.

Thus, in some ways, it can be viewed as a defeat for Western countries if they call for direct talks with Tehran.

Therefore, certain Western countries have decided to weaken Iran’s position in the region through psychological warfare.

Western officials are making statements against Iran in order to realize their objectives in complete coordination with their long-term strategy of preventing Iran from becoming an influential country in the near future.

Aha! "Statements"! Those are the psyops!

This strategy of psychological war has been chosen since a military war against Iran is not feasible due to the serious repercussions that would follow.

Since neither direct talks nor a military attack are possible, Washington and London have decided to pressure Iran through psyops and sanctions to force Tehran to call for cooperation with the West in efforts to seek solutions to the crises in the Middle East.

Tony Blair: secret weapon of the World Arrogance.

Friday, December 15, 2006

IRNA: "International support for Israeli boycott"

Throw away any Brian Eno CDs that you have:

Almost 100 leading writers and artists from around the world Friday expressed their support for a cultural boycott of the Zionist regime.

"Don't visit, exhibit or perform in Israel," said some 94 renowned authors, musicians, filmmakers and poets from Europe, North and South America, as well as Palestinians and Israelis.

In a joint letter to the Guardian, they suggested that an Israeli boycott, as called for by Palestinian academics and artists may be the way to peace in the occupied territories.

"Ten Palestinians are killed for every Israeli death; more than 200, many of them children, have been killed since the summer," the letter said.

"UN resolutions are flouted, human rights violated as Palestinian land is stolen, houses demolished and crops destroyed," it warned in calling on other writers and artists to back the campaign.

The call for a cultural boycott has already been endorsed internationally by university teachers in many European countries, by film-makers and architects, including in the UK.

The latest initiative was led by renowned British author John Berger, together with UK musicians Brian Eno and Leon Rosselson, filmmakers Sophie Fiennes and Elia Suleiman, singer Reem Kelani and writers Arundhati Roy, Ahdaf Soueif, and Eduardo Galeano.

They pointed out that the international challenge to apartheid was better fought with a campaign of boycott and divestment that led finally to UN imposed sanctions which enabled regime change in South Africa without terrible bloodshed.

"For archbishop Desmond Tutu, as for the Jewish former ANC military commander now South African minister of security, Ronnie Kasrils, the situation of the Palestinians is worse than that of black South Africans under apartheid," their letter said.

It also criticized western governments, who refer to Israel's "legitimate right of self-defence," for continuing to supply weaponry to the Zionist regime.

Al-Jazeera: "Bodyguard dies in attack on Haniya"

One of the two main Palestinian "political parties," in fact the one considered to be "moderate," just tried to assassinate the leader of the other one. Nobody expects anything better--this would almost be too trivial to bother reporting, except that these two entities, Hamas and Fatah, have a tremendous ability to influence the lives of the world's largest Jewish population. People feel that so much depends on all these questions involving the Palestinians: Will they recognize us, will they "renounce violence," will they negotiate, etc. It's farcical.

A bodyguard to the Palestinian prime minister has been killed when his convoy came under fire after crossing into Gaza through the Rafah terminal from Egypt.

Ismail Haniya's son, Abed, and a political adviser were also hurt during the shooting on Thursday night, which Hamas is describing as an assassination attempt by the Fatah faction.

Haniya was returning from a regional tour and had raised an estimated $35 million in aid. Border security prevented him from bringing the money into Gaza.

Hamas security forces later seized control of the crossing, which is regularly closed by Israel leaving thousands of Palestinians stranded in Egypt or stuck within the territory. Twenty people were wounded.

Haniya's convoy sped away after the attack and officials said he was unharmed.

Haniya said: "We know the party that shot directly at our cars ... and we also know how to deal with this." [...]

At least 20 people were wounded in clashes at the border between armed men from Hamas and the rival Fatah faction of Abbas, the Palestinian president.

Hamas fighters, angry that Israel was preventing Haniya from returning, stormed the terminal.

The pro-Fatah presidential guard, responsible for securing the area, opened fire.

The European monitors who police the crossing fled.

Hamas security officials chanted "God is Great, let's liberate this place" as they took over the arrival hall, and border guards escorted the European monitors to safety.

Two loud explosions rocked the area, and security officials said Hamas officials blew a hole in the border fence about half a mile from the terminal.

Thursday's unrest is likely to strain the US-brokered deal that turned over control of the crossing to the Palestinians last year after four decades of Israeli control. The border can only operate in the presence of European monitors.

A senior Israeli security official said Amir Peretz, the Israeli defence minister, had ordered the border to be closed not to block Haniya's entry but to keep the money out . . .

IRIB: "World holocaust office set up"

It seems that the Iranian Holocaust conference ultimately failed to determine whether the Holocaust occurred or not, but that they are still hopeful that if they press on with iron determination they might yet catch a glimpse of the light of truth:

Participants of the international conference on holocaust titled 'Holocaust: A Global Perspective' (December 11-12) agreed to establish a world foundation for holocaust studies and unanimously appointed Mohammad-Ali Ramin as its secretary general.

Ramin said on Thursday that one of the plans of the foundation is to assign a committee to find out the truth about holocaust.

"The participants of the conference representing 30 countries also selected five individuals as members of the central council of this foundation to assist the secretary general in executive affairs," added Ramin.

He noted that the main office of the world foundation for holocaust studies will be in Tehran.

"The office will eventually be transferred to Berlin, once proper grounds are prepared," he added.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Obesity labels for clothes in large sizes?

What about the problem with bureaucratic bloat? I propose special labels on large filing-cabinets, shipments of forms from printing companies, and other products likely to be used by obese bureaucracies. From the (UK) Times:

Clothes made in larger sizes should carry a tag with an obesity helpline number, health specialists have suggested. Sweets and snacks should not be permitted near checkouts, new roads should not be built unless they include cycle lanes and food likely to make people fat should be taxed, they say in a checklist of what we might “reasonably do” to deal with obesity.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the team says that “pull yourself together, eat less and exercise more” is an inadequate response to obesity, voiced only by “less perceptive health professionals” and the media. What fat people need is help, advice and sympathy to overcome their addiction to food, says the group of public health professional, which includes Sir George Alberti, the Government’s national director for emergency care.

Their checklist of possible actions includes:

# Printing a helpline numbers for advice with all clothes sold with a waist of more than 40in for men and 37in for boys, women’s garments with a waist of more than 35in or size 16 or above, and more than 31in for girls
# Banning the placement of sweets and fatty snacks at or near shop tills and at children’s eye level
# Taxing processed foods that are high in sugar or saturated fat
# Introducing health checks for all school leavers, both primary and secondary
# Allowing new urban roads only if they have cycle lanes
# Establishing a dedicated central agency responsible for all aspects of obesity [...]

Super-sizing government . . . (Hat Tip: Lucianne.com)

IRNA: "President: World problems rooted in disregard for religious principles by West, Zionists"

Just as Gladys Knight has the Pips, Ahmadinejad has the Neturei Karta. Of course, the Pips do better dance steps.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Thursday said that the world problems, clashes and genocide is rooted in the noncompliance of Zionists and some Western powers with religious principles.

According to a report released by the Presidential Office Media Department, the president made the remark in a meeting with Jewish rabbis who attended the two-day international conference on holocaust in Tehran, dubbed `Holocaust: A Global Vision' (December 11-12).

The president called on followers of divine faiths to establish a united front to confront the crimes committed against humanity and aiming to prevent prosperous human life.

Ahmadinejad added that such a front should include intellectuals and scientists believing in various religions, including Judaism, to stand up to Zionism.

The chief executive called for the need to solve the problems facing the world, including the Palestinian issue, through dialogue and the necessity for peace and paying attention to the prophets' instructions.

"Just as the fake Zionist regime was established by big powers based on lies, it should either pack up and leave or hold a free referendum to establish a government based on the will of the Palestinian nation in which all Palestinians, including Jews, Christians and Muslims will be given the chance to vote," he added.

Turning to the great controversies in the performance of and the slogans given by some of the so-called Western advocates of human rights and freedom, including those of the Zionist regime, he said, "While this fake regime has set up a large prison in the occupied territories of Palestine for their Muslim, Jewish and Christian residents, they lay claims on human rights and freedom."

The president referred to the opposition of faithful Jews, believing in the instructions of Prophet Moses (PBUH), to the crimes and stance of the world Zionism, Ahmadinejad said that vigilant and just human beings will not blame the Jews for the crimes committed by the fake Zionist regime and its supporters in the occupied territories, including genocide of defenseless and oppressed women and children.

He pointed to the growing vigilance of world nations on seeking justice and worshipping God and said that the day promised by all prophets when peace, brotherhood and justice are expected to be established is approaching.

A number of the rabbis thanked Ahmadinejad for his courageous opposition to the Zionist regime's crimes and hegemonic stance as well as his urge to restore the rights of Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, they said that President Ahmadinejad is considered as a friend and supporter of Jews and underlined that the crimes of world Zionism in various world regions, particularly in Palestine, are condemned by the Jews.

The rabbis further said that according to the instructions of Judaism, the establishment of the Zionist regime in Palestine is illegal.

So they're leavin', on that midnight train to Persia . . .

"The genocide of Jews during the World War II aimed to justify the formation of the Zionist regime," they concluded.

Got that?

Hamas and Iran becoming dynamic duo?

From Ha'aretz:

Members of the Israeli defense establishment are concerned by the close ties that seem to be developing between Iran and Hamas.

In response to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's recent visit to Tehran, experts here have said Iran is seeking to form a strategic alliance with Hamas.

According to these sources, the Iranians would like to develop a relationship with Hamas similar to that with Hezbollah in Lebanon, in which the "final word" - on matters regarding Israel, too - is Tehran's.

In Israel, experts are interpreting Hamas' move toward Iran as an act of defiance, in part based on the group's success in minimizing the damage caused by the international embargo on its Palestinian Authority government.

During his visit to Tehran last week, Haniyeh said Iran constitutes "strategic depth" for the Palestinians. He also stressed that his organization would never recognize Israel. This is the first time the Hamas leadership has publicly adopted such a view on Iran - a position directly opposed to that of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who regards moderate Arab states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan as the Palestinians' natural allies.

Abbas' Fatah is also very interested in building ties with the United States and the European Union.

On Wednesday, Haniyeh cut short his visit to Sudan and returned to the Gaza Strip in light of the growing tension between Hamas and Fatah. One of his aides said Haniyeh rushed back to assist in resolving domestic problems.

The close ties between the Hamas-led government and Tehran are also manifesting themselves in the links between the Iranian leadership and the group's political bureau, based in Damascus and headed by Khaled Meshal. Iran is actively contributing funds to boost these ties, and recently committed $250 million, which unlike previous grants will constitute a regular transfer to cover various PA expenses. The Iranian funding will be used in part to pay wages for civil servants and members of security forces affiliated with Hamas, as well as to construct camps for the security forces and to compensate Palestinian families that lost their homes in Israel Defense Forces operations.

"These gifts are not free," Israeli security sources told Haaretz. "The Iranians are expecting returns: a rise in influence among the Palestinians and Hamas compliance to their orders."

In the past, in part because Hamas, a radical Sunni Islamic organization, was wary of Shi'ite Iran, senior group officials were careful not to stress close ties overtly with Tehran.

Haniyeh's visit to Iran was closely monitored by Israel, as were the various statements by senior Hamas officials. The impression among various security officials is that Hamas has gained confidence in recent weeks, in part because of developments including Israel's decision to accept a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

While the cease-fire appears to be holding, even though five Qassam rockets were launched at the western Negev on Tuesday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the IDF to continue preparations for a major ground operation in the Gaza Strip if necessary.

Defense establishment assessments do not exclude the possibility of Iran pressuring Hamas to renew terrorist activities.

At this stage, IDF sources say, Hamas has been successful in maintaining the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, and is keeping its word like Fatah did in the past.

Regarding the launching of rockets, the sources say that other militant organizations are to blame, including Fatah and Islamic Jihad. However, most of the time the calm has been kept.

Hamas' military wing is exhibiting discipline and is following instructions from its leadership to avoid violence against Israel. [...]

Let's not get carried away. (Hat Tip: Daily Alert)