Juan Cole's post about the Hagel confirmation

The title is "Hagel Confirmed, but Bloodied by American Nationalists Seeking Wars & World Dominance." Here is the first paragraph or so:

The GOP senators have their own foreign policy, and it isn’t the same as that of President Obama or Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

For them, the US is a 900 pound behemoth that can boss the world around with its high-tech military at will. Their foreign policy is to shoot first and ask questions later, to cowboy it all alone, to never have regrets and never question American supremacy. They believe in a civilizational hierarchy, with Americans at the top of it, and for some of them ‘Americans’ means white Americans.

So we now have Pat Buchanan (but without the intelligence) for Secretary of State, and Juan is pleased. All that excoriating rhetoric about Republicans means that he's happy.

Gilad Atzmon at PressTV: "BDS takes stance against George Galloway to please its Zionist masters"

With Gilad, every day is Purim.

With BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), it’s never boring. Although formed initially to mount pressure on Israel, increasingly BDS campaigns are now, bit by bit, focusing on silencing any pro-Palestinian voice with an IQ over 90.

For the BDS leadership, intellect is a threat - and they may be right.

For a year now, we have noted BDS’ repeated assaults on leading activists and intellects such as Ken O’Keefe, Prof. Norman Finkelstein, Alison Weir, Greta Berlin, Daniel Barenboim, yours truly and many others. But this weekend, the BDS found a new potential punch-bag: British MP George Galloway.

On Wednesday, MP Galloway walked out of a debate at Christ Church, Oxford. Galloway was upset to find that he was about to be in debate with an Israeli. "I was misinformed" he said. "I don't debate with Israelis. I don't recognise Israel." Galloway later wrote on Twitter "No recognition, No normalisation. Just Boycott, divestment, sanctions."

Now surely, Galloway’s reaction, though impulsive, must be accepted or at least understood by Palestinians and their advocates. Not so, it seems. The ‘Jews in the movement’ were really distressed, so much so that Israeli BDS enthusiast Rachel Shabi confirmed on The Guardian yesterday that the BDS national committee was quick ‘to issue a statement’ to disassociate itself from Galloway’s attitude. It looks like the BDS Committee in Ramallah has, once again, had to bow to its paymasters.

On The Telegraph Toby Young maintained the exact same line. “Following George Galloway's dramatic exit from an Oxford University debate” Young wrote, A leading Palestinian organisation (BDS) has issued a press release saying it doesn’t condone boycotting individuals.” Young concludes, “It seems the Respect MP hasn't simply lost the respect of his political opponents after his antics at the Oxford debate. He's losing the respect of his political allies, too.” Somebody in Ramallah better advise us why did BDS joined the Hasbara campaign against MP Galloway. Seemingly in the BDS committee they are yet to grasp the notion of solidarity.

The BDS statement, brilliantly original as ever, reads as follows:

“The global BDS movement has consistently adopted a rights-based approach and an anti-racist platform that rejects all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.”

Pretty impressive. Anti-racism is certainly important except that Galloway did not once refer to Jews or to race. He referred to Israel and refused to debate an Israeli national. Now, I happen to think that Galloway was wrong but still, his decision, a purely political one, was entirely legitimate.

Interestingly, BDS leader Omar Barghouti is not exactly himself much of an anti-racist. In fact, it has amply demonstrated what a banal, racist mind he has. Recall how last year Barghouti was caught on video exploring some extremely vile, racist, biological determinist terminology when this essentially banal mind launched an attack on the White race.

For a while, Barghouti’s open racism bewildered me but I then realised that this Palestinian petty Marxist probably fell asleep during the relevant lesson and missed the most important bit. Israel is not South Africa and it is not the ‘White State’ or the ‘White man’ who plunders Palestine, it is actually the ‘Jewish state.’

In her Guardian article, Israeli Rachel Shabi explained in the clearest of terms why she has a problem with Galloway. “One reason that many left-leaning Jews don't join the BDS movement is precisely because the boycott is perceived to be about rage against people, rather than an effective political tool.” There you go, plain and clear, according to Shabi BDS is there to appease the ‘Left-leaning Jews’. It is not about Palestine or the Palestinians, not even about justice or universalism, it is just a ‘political tool’. In fact, this clumsy statement by Shabi may explain why more and more of us regard the BDS, in its current form, as nothing short of a ‘controlled opposition’ dominated by Jewish tribal interests. (According to some Israeli sources, it is also largely funded by liberal Zionist George Soros’ Open Society.)

But here are some critical questions for the BDS Committee, Shabi and Soros. Do you really want to form a totalitarian movement dominated by an intellectually lame ‘big brother’ that will tell us exactly what we may talk about and how we may express ourselves? Do you really want to turn Palestine into a synagogue and the solidarity movement into a yeshiva? Does the prospect of intellectual and spiritual freedom not appeal to you? After decades of abuse, don’t the Palestinian people deserve freedom?

Let me be clear. I believe that BDS is a force for good but BDS leadership had better reflect a little and start to focus on the real enemies of justice and of Palestine rather than harassing the most dedicated voices in this discourse.

But still, one question is still unresolved. Almost a year ago we discovered that BDS had compromised the most fundamental of Palestinian rights: the Right of Return. In an entirely underhand way the BDS National Committee had changed the wording of its mission statement from demanding that Israel ends its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands to its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967.

BDS made this change without alerting its affiliated organization. In fact an Israeli BDS activist confirmed to me that the change was made to appease the ‘Jews in the movement’. However, in spite of the wide publicising of this strange conduct by BDS, the organisation has, to date, failed to clarify its position. For more than 8 months since this crucial question was raised, BDS remains silent - but it took the BDS Committee in Ramallah less than five hours to react to Galloway and to disassociate itself from him.

The message is clear. BDS, in its current form, is an occupied territory. If it wants to save itself, (and I hope it does), it must be de-Zionised - and immediately. If it fails to do this, it will be remembered as possibly the most repugnantly treacherous chapter in the history of the Palestinian struggle. And this is indeed painful and tragic.

That's an interesting claim about Barghouti. I'll have to see if I can look into it.

Update: Here is that video.

"IRGC Tests Suicide Drones, Modern Warfare Units' Capabilities in Wargames" (Fars)

We learn that "IRGC forces also tested targeting hypothetical enemies' drones." Drones of hypothetical enemies? Or hypothetical drones? Only the mind behind those shades knows for sure.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force tested different asymmetric tactics and various types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs), including its suicide drones, as well as its special modern warfare units on the first day of the massive wargames underway in Iran's Southeastern province of Kerman on Saturday.

The IRGC Ground Force started massive wargames, codenamed Payambar-e Azam 8 (The Great Prophet 8), which include exercising different defense tactics, in Southern Iran on Saturday.

"For the first time, our special modern warfare task forces are conducting specialized operations," Spokesman of the Wargames General Hamid Sarkheili told reporters, elaborating on the missions and goals of the drills.

Sarkheili said the IRGC forces also tested targeting hypothetical enemies' drones, and used different types of UAVs in the wargames.

"In the other phases of the wargames, the reconnaissance as well as suicide drones, which are capable of attacking the enemies, have been used and their operational capabilities came under assessment," the spokesman noted.

He added that IRGC drones are now monitoring the moves of the hypothetical enemy in the wargame zone, while electronic warfare units are wiretapping enemy communications.

Earlier this month, Commander of the IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour had informed the media that the massive wargames would be held in Iran's Southeastern regions of Kerman, Siriz and Sirjan.

The IRGC drills are aimed at maintaining and improving the combat preparedness of the IRGC Ground Forces, testing the latest combat systems of the IRGC Ground Force and exercising different asymmetric warfare tactics.

"Amnesty International believes that the Memorandum of Understanding 'is an important contribution to the quest of justice'"

"Argentina's International Amnesty Politics and Justice Area coordinator" is an Amnesty International official speaking in an official capacity? It would be nice to see this reported widely enough to embarrass Amnesty International's central whatever into confirming or denying it. I'm not holding my breath, however.

Leah Tandeter, Argentina's International Amnesty Politics and Justice Area coordinator, defined today the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Argentina and Iran “as an important contribution to the quest of justice and reparation for the victims” of the 1994 Amia terrorist attack, because “it is Constitutional and respects the domestic legislations”.

During a dialogue with Buenos Aires Radio Nacional, she said that “from Amnesty International we believe that this agreement expresses both countries´will to advance in the elucidation of the AMIA attack”.

The agreement, she added, “makes possible the inquiries in Teheran and besides it creates the Commission of Truth, which will be made up by high-profile jurists of renowned prestige”.

Regarding the debate at the Argentine Senate yesterday, she said that “it is very healthy to have such a broad debate on such an important document, since it is within the Congress’s powers to approve this kind of agreements".

"U.S., S. Korean Provocations Push Situation to Brink of War" (Korean News)

Hmmm, the "Brink of War." Are your regular news sources keeping you up to date on how bellicose and threatening North Korean rhetoric is these days?

The U.S. and the south Korean puppet regime are busy staging madcap war drills in south Korea this month in their wake in January.

Anti-submarine naval maneuvers were kicked off in the East Sea of Korea on Feb. 19 with the U.S. forces and the south Korean puppet armed forces involved. "Winter-season combined maneuvers" of the U.S. Marines and the south Korean Marine Corps have been under way this month. A drill for gearing up for wartime operations has been staged between the U.S. 7th Air Force and the south Korean air force operational command since Feb. 12.

The 20th Division and the 55th Division of the south Korean ground force launched "a drill in biting cold" in the areas of Ryoju and Yangphyong of Kyonggi Province on Feb. 18 and it will last till Feb. 28 and its unit 6953 is now staging a ground drill in the area of Mugon-ri, Phaju City, Kyonggi Province.

The war exercises being staged by the U.S. and south Korea in the sky, land and sea from the outset of the year are serious military provocations pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region to the brink of a total war as they are aimed at invading the north to all intents and purposes.

What merits attention is that these drills are under way in the areas similar to forefront areas and the north's strategic vantage points.

The programs of the drills involve river crossing, precision strike, infiltration by use of skis and mobile drills for carrying out the scenarios for invading the north.

Also involved in the drills are warships equipped with new type cruise missiles capable of striking various areas of the DPRK and Northeast Asia.

What should not be overlooked is that the U.S. and the south Korean group of traitors are letting loose a spate of invectives hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK such as "calls for bringing down its social system" and "making a precision strike at the windows of the office of the north's headquarters", kicking up war atmosphere.

All these facts go to clearly prove that the military drills are the war exercises for mounting a surprise preemptive attack and nuclear war drills being staged in pursuance of their heinous hostile policy to stifle the DPRK.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region has reached an extremely dangerous phase owing to the hostile forces which are kicking up evermore frantic anti-DPRK racket over its satellite launch for peaceful purposes and its nuclear activities for self-defence.

Their noisy war drumbeats are a blatant challenge to the efforts of the international community to defend global peace and security as they are a product of their strategic scenarios to hold hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region including Northeast Asia.

Their claim that those war maneuvers are to cope with the additional provocation of the north is no more than sheer rhetoric to pass the buck for the escalating military tension on the peninsula and in the region to the DPRK and justify their acts of aggression.

If they ignite a war on this land, the army and the people of the DPRK will not miss the gold chance but deal decisive and deadly retaliatory blows at them and blow up the strongholds of aggression and thus achieve the historic victory in the war for the country's reunification.

"After listening to the historic speech made by Kim Jong Un with great excitement, the participants in the meeting extended highest glory and deepest thanks to Kim Jong Un, who is ushering in the greatest heyday of increasing the military capability with his extraordinary wisdom and stratagem, matchless grit and pluck and noble virtues"

And that isn't even the whole sentence:

An enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea was held under the guidance of Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the WPK, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army.

Present there were members of the WPK Central Military Commission, staff members of the KPA Supreme Command and commanding officers of the large combined units including the navy, air force and anti-air force and strategic rocket force.

The enlarge meeting of the WPK Central Military Commission discussed the issue of bringing about a great turn in bolstering up the military capability, true to the Songun revolutionary leadership of the WPK, and an organizational issue.

Kim Jong Un made an important concluding speech which serves as guidelines for further strengthening the KPA into a matchless revolutionary army of Mt. Paektu and defending the security and sovereignty of the country as required by the WPK and the developing revolution.

After listening to the historic speech made by Kim Jong Un with great excitement, the participants in the meeting extended highest glory and deepest thanks to Kim Jong Un, who is ushering in the greatest heyday of increasing the military capability with his extraordinary wisdom and stratagem, matchless grit and pluck and noble virtues and evinced their firm determination to unconditionally and thoroughly implement the militant tasks set forth by him in his speech.

The enlarged meeting of the WPK Central Military Commission held at an important time when a turning phase is being opened in building a thriving socialist nation and achieving the cause of national reunification will mark an important occasion in powerfully encouraging the army and people of the DPRK all out in the general advance of the new year full of conviction of certain victory and optimism and bolstering up the defence capability of the country in every way.

"Words do never work on the U.S. imperialists. I am eager to shower a fire on them at once" (Korean News)

Note the use of the word "annihilate":

The National Defence Commission (NDC) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Jan. 24 issued a statement declaring an all-out action against the United States after the adoption of the UNSC's recent "resolution".

The statement has enjoyed full support from all people of the country, including servicepersons. It also shows their will to turn out in the showdown with the U.S. imperialists.

Kim Yong Jin, an officer of the Korean People's Army, told KCNA:

"I am satisfied with the statement stressing that settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival. This fully reflects the KPA's will to annihilate the enemies.

Words do never work on the U.S. imperialists. I am eager to shower a fire on them at once."

Ko Kyu U, a teacher of University of National Economy, said:

"I can not but deride the meaningless UN 'resolution', which was adopted at the initiative of the U.S.

Such anti-DPRK campaign at the UN reminds me of 'rats' gathering in a fable. As rats can not hang a bell on the neck of a cat though they may play the whole gamut of tricks, any attempt can never block the advance of the DPRK.

We will rise up in the all-out action to punish the U.S. and its followers now that they employ every conceivable means to stifle our country."

"Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival." (Korean News)

This statement has been getting a fair amount of coverage. Here it is from the Songun horse's mouth:

The National Defence Commission (NDC) of the DPRK in a statement Thursday solemnly declared its stand as follows as regards the unreasonable resolution that was adopted by the UN Security Council taking issue with the DPRK over its successful launch of satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2:

1. We flatly reject all the illegal resolutions on the DPRK adopted by the UN Security Council.

Along with the nationwide efforts to defend the sovereignty, the DPRK will continue launching peaceful satellites to outer space one after another.

2. As the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK has entered more dangerous phase, overall efforts should be directed to denuclearizing big powers including the U.S. rather than the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. is taking the lead in encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, its allies are siding with it and the UN Security Council has been reduced into an organization bereft of impartiality and balance. Under this situation the DPRK can not but declare that there will no longer exist the six-party talks and the September 19 joint statement.

No dialogue on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will be possible in the future even though there may be dialogues and negotiations on ensuring peace and security in the region including the Korean Peninsula.

3. We will launch an all-out action to foil the hostile policy toward the DPRK being pursued by the U.S. and those dishonest forces following the U.S., and safeguard the sovereignty of the country and the nation.

The UN Security Council resolution on expanding sanctions against the DPRK, which was adopted on the initiative of the U.S., represents the most dangerous phase of the hostile policy toward the DPRK.

The drive for building an economic power being pushed forward by the army and people of the DPRK, the effort to conquer space that has entered a new phase and the endeavors to bolster the deterrence for safeguarding the country and defending its security will all orientate toward the purpose of winning in the all-out action for foiling the U.S. and all other hostile forces' maneuvers.

We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people.

Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival.

Korean News: "This is the party lifestyle for loyalty which regards the devotedly defence of the headquarters of the revolution as the main mission and life and soul, steel-strong party lifestyle to work as required by the party rules and voluntary party lifestyle to carry out any work unfailingly any time and in any place, without being known to anyone."

I sometimes describe this kind of writing using the phrase "totalitarian sentence structure." What do I mean by that? Read on:

The party cells serve as cornerstones upholding the Workers' Party of Korea and its might represents the fighting capability of the party cells, says Rodong Sinmun Monday in a bylined article.

It goes on:

The party cells are the grassroots fortress to cement the organizational and ideological unity and cohesion of the whole party centered on the leader, the main combat unit of the party which organizes and mobilizes party members and other people for implementing the party's line and policies and the main unit linking the party and the masses with blood ties.

The revolutionary and well-regulated party lifestyle is established in our party. This is the party lifestyle for loyalty which regards the devotedly defence of the headquarters of the revolution as the main mission and life and soul, steel-strong party lifestyle to work as required by the party rules and voluntary party lifestyle to carry out any work unfailingly any time and in any place, without being known to anyone.

As such party lifestyle is prevailing in any party cell, the WPK is demonstrating its might as an invincible party that gives steady continuity to the tradition of the single-minded unity.

There are many party cells which share weal and woe with masses after going deep among them, take care of frame of their minds out of mother's feelings and let the party's loving care reach masses.

As long as all party cells successfully carry out their functions and roles, no force on earth can break the single-minded unity of Songun Korea where the party and the people are linked with the same blood ties.

Invariable are the aspiration and will of the party cells which take the lead in carrying out the revolutionary cause of the party and that of Juche as the fortress and shield devotedly defending the party, concludes the article.

Fetzer is back at PressTV and Netanyahu was "behind 9/11"

When we last met James Fetzer at PressTV, he was blaming Israel for Sandy Hook. He isn't exactly striking a blow for sanity here:

A political analyst says that we are seeing play out of a Machiavellian plot to continue the American presence in the Middle East as part of the neo-con agenda that has warped American foreign policy for over a decade.

The comments came after US Senator John McCain said Washington should do more to help militants fighting government forces in Syria. McCain made the remarks in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Saturday.

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Fetzer, Veterans Today, to further discuss the issue. What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: It seems the US is pushing for regime change in Syria. Why not give dialogue a chance?

Fetzer: Well that is a very good question. John McCain is notorious for doing his little rendition of the Beach Boys song bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, it is disgusting. Iran is a peace loving country and has not attacked any other country for more than three hundred years that John McCain should say such outrageous things is disgusting and corrupt and immoral.

While the administration recognized the Syrian opposition council last month as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people, it provided no new legal basis to give weapons to Syrian rebels or to intervene.

The UN Charter prohibits member states from using force against or any intervening in the internal affairs of other states unless authorized by the UN Security Council or justified by self defense. Neither of those applies here.

Washington is in a hard way trying to figure out a way to do something it should have been doing in the first place.

Press TV: NATO is becoming physically involved in the crisis - with troops and equipment on the ground there near the Turkish border. How much are we are going to see a Libya-style invasion of Syria by NATO?

Fetzer: Well I think that is a very good question because as Wesley Clark reported when he returned to Washington from NATO Headquarters where he had been superior commander after 9/11 he was presented with a program to destabilize seven countries in the Middle East in the next five years beginning with Iraq, Afghanistan and of course Libya and indeed Syria and Iran.

I am afraid we are seeing play out of a Machiavellian plot to continue this American presence in the Middle East as part of the neo-con agenda that has warped American foreign policy for nearly, well actually over a decade now.

Press TV: Some observers say that Israel might be involved in this crisis. How much do you see this held true?

Fetzer: Well very powerfully Benjamin Netanyahu is all for. He was behind 9/11, the MOSSAD made a major contribution. The whole idea was to destabilize the modern sophisticated Arab states so that Israel could have an unchallenged hegemony over the Middle East.

That is still his agenda although many more seen through it. It is very, very unfortunate but in a recent article by John Belanger the third, in the Washington Post he suggested that there might not be a legal justification for entering the fray it could be done on moral grounds, that is preposterous with respect between nations is essence of moral relations internationally and the United States is doing nothing but violate legal and moral maxims worldwide in becoming the most despised and aggressive state in the world, sad to say.

Angry Arab's latest rant about Israel

A link on the word "funny" points to a NY times article on Israeli elections. AA's post is entitled "How Israel is viewed in the US":

Israeli comedians are always funny, its poets are always talented, its writers are always brilliant, its politicians are always gifted, its people are always wonderful, its army is always humane even when butchering children, its courts are always fair even when ruling for apartheid, its women are always beautiful, its children are always cute, its culture is always vibrant, its diplomats are always skilled. There is no sense in talking about Israel in the US.

Is the NY Times article supposed to illustrate what AA is talking about? Read it and see what you think.

"US planned 9/11 attacks to invade Middle East: Iran cmdr." (PressTV-Iran)

Considering much of their recent output, this is one of their relatively sane moments:

A senior Iranian commander says the United States planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks to use them as pretext to invade the energy-rich Middle East.

“The US, looking for a pretext to invade the Middle East, masterminded the 9/11 incident and pointed an accusing finger at Muslim countries,” Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan said on Saturday.

Pourdastan added that following the fall of the Soviet Union, the US introduced itself as the world’s sole superpower and moved to instill the new world order to prove its supremacy.

The Iranian commander noted that the US later found its geopolitical policies a failure and decided to follow a geo-economic policy and control the world’s energy resources, 60 percent of which was located in the Middle East.

“To achieve that goal, they launched preemptive attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, and Iran was their next target, but wise policies adopted by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei along with the unity of the Iranian nation prevented them from achieving their objective,” Pourdastan said.

On September 11, 2001, a series of coordinated attacks were carried out in the United States leaving almost 3,000 people dead.

The US, under the administration of former President George W. Bush, invaded Afghanistan in 2001 after claiming that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by members of al-Qaeda harbored by the then Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The US also attacked Iraq in 2003 claiming that the Middle Eastern country was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Washington’s wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed the lives of more than a million people.

PressTV: "British royal family propagates Islamophobic sentiments"

Iranian news articles are often vague, but this one must set some sort of record. What, for instance, are "British scientific bodies affiliated to the country’s royal apparatus"?

The history of Islam has gone through sensitive ears in the British Isles, the largest island in Europe, during the reign of rulers such as George Orwell and Elizabeth II, marked with a rise in Islamophobic sentiments.

The UK’s royal system has adopted the same discriminatory approach vis-à-vis Muslims, it used to exercise against the black population or other minorities of the country.

This means that the British monarchy has always been treating Muslims with some degree of discrimination and bigotry as compared to the white society of the nation.

To this end, the British scientific bodies affiliated to the country’s royal apparatus have always been threatening sociologists and historians not to refer to the royal family’s discriminatory approach towards Muslims.

In 1583 A.D., the British ruler at the time ordered his agents to employ as salves many Muslims from countries such as India, Morocco, and some nations affiliated to the Ottoman empire. The monarchs even used to force Muslims to convert to Christianity against their will.

In 1725, many Muslims were brought to Britain from North Africa to be employed as slaves by the country’s royal family.

Throughout history, the British rulers have been pursuing Islamophobic policies to prevent the spread of Islam across Europe.

Such sentiments are so strong in the West, Britain in particular, that the term 'Islamophobia' does not adequately express the full range and depth of antipathy towards Islam and Muslims.

Attitudes and policies towards Muslims in Britain and Europe have a mixture of dread (phobia) and outright racism.

PressTV (Iran): "Zionists massacred Jews across the globe "

A link to this article uses the shorter title: "Zionists carried out Holocaust":

Zionists are not only blamed by many Jewish rabbis and the Jews themselves for the atrocities carried out against Jews in Europe in the Holocaust.

Zionist in Israel are also blamed for what is called a Holocaust that took place in what we know now as Israel, after the supposedly “Jewish” state and homeland for the Jews was established. [...]

This other "Holocaust" turns out to be Operation Magic Carpet (!), the rescue of the Jews of Yemen. The rest of the article is largely filled out with Neturei Karta material. "Dr. Anisa Abd el Fattah," the one who cobbled the article together, concludes:

These testimonies show clearly that there was never an intent to establish a religious “Jewish” homeland in Palestine for all Jews. There are also other facts that completely negate the false premises upon which Zionists have been allowed to illegally occupy and colonize Palestine, The world has likely been subjected to a very sophisticated, yet very sinister Zionist hoax.

When we count the cost of this hoax in lives, money, time and resources we get an idea of how serious the problem we are faced with really is. We should also ascertain from these facts that the present situation is no longer sustainable and that we are urgently in need of a solution that will result in the dismantlement of the Zionist political entity in Palestine. The UN must demand an investigation into the issue of persecution and Zionist Israeli Holocaust against the Jews of Yemen and Israel must be held accountable for this horrible and reprehensible crime. Many Yemeni children were kidnapped, adopted out to European families and even perhaps murdered, yet Israel has never been made to answer the charge of genocide against Yemen's Jews or to account for the missing children.

Another day, another dose of crazy propaganda.

PressTV (Iran): "Zionist- controlled media spread violence across US: Mark Glenn"

Yet another PressTV article blaming "Zionists" for Sandy Hook. The Iranian press has been this sort of cesspool for years, but has there been a slight uptick lately?

An analyst says for generations Americans have been deliberately fed, through Zionist media, violence as a virtue to diminish resistance against war for Israel.

In the background of this we have over the past month seen renewed debate about guns in America and gun control laws after 20 small children were shot dead at an elementary school in Connecticut by one mentally unstable individual. Psychological drugs may also have been involved. The intensity of debate over guns, however, has virtually sidelined the issue of devastating side effects from pharmaceutical drugs pushed for profit throughout the US. And of course America’s violent culture has not been raised as an issue to be addressed.

Press TV has interviewed Mr. Mark Glenn, Crescent & Cross Solidarity Movement, Idaho about this issue. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: With the rise in gun violence in the US in shooting incidence it still seems there’s a rise in the purchase of guns, too.

Should people be defending themselves or is it the police who should be doing something about it?

Glenn: Well, the police cannot be everywhere at all times to protect people.

The problem here is human nature and particularly in the United States you’re dealing with a society that has been deliberately - deliberately - bred to embrace violence and to see violence as something of a religion.

My personal theory is that this has been done over the course of not just years or decades, but generations as a result of the Zionist control of our media in order to create a nation of people who would be willing to go to war against a billion and a half Muslims for a century if need be. And so this is the problem.

It’s not just the access to deadly weapons, after all, this is the same argument that Israel uses in order to demonize Iran. They say that if Iran has a nuclear weapons program then that means Iran is going to come and wipe Israel off the map and this is just simply not the case.

It comes from embracing violence; seeing violence as something of a virtue and if you take the guns out of the equation they will use some other method for inflicting violence whether it’s knives or baseball bats or even cars.

So the problem here is that we have a society that has lost its moral compass; deliberately so, we’ve been psychologically conditioned in order to be a very violent and militaristic society and I think the persons responsible for doing this conditioning did this with the sole purpose of bringing about this clash of civilizations so that Americans will not have a problem with going and murdering millions and millions of people in the Middle East.

Press TV: How much of a change can we expect to see in America’s gun laws and gun culture?

Glenn: I don’t think there is going to be much change at all. There will be some feel-good sound-good legislation that’s passed; but principally things will remain the same here.

There are just as many guns in America as there are cars. And Americans understand that they live in a violent society and they’re not going to be wiling to give up that one means of self protection that they have any time soon.

PressTV (Iran):"For decades, the Jewish Mafia has been reengineering the nation’s institutional infrastructure in order to wage a political and economic war exclusively against Americans of White, Christian, European ancestry."

It is funny to think that the Iranian regime sometimes pretends to be progressive. This article, entitled "Jewish Mafia tied to death of America," laments that "White Americans are discouraged from developing a sense of pride and self-worth." Completely orthodox neo-Nazi propaganda:

[...]Today, multiculturalism, feminism, gay and lesbianism, affirmative action and political correctness have overwhelmed America. The result of this war on US society has been socioeconomic decay, gender confusion and the breakdown of the family unit. The Jewish Mafia’s media-entertainment complex has been the primary weapon utilized in this socioeconomic war against America.

The masses have been coerced by various means to accept dangerous ideals which threaten the nation. For decades, the Jewish Mafia has been reengineering the nation’s institutional infrastructure in order to wage a political and economic war exclusively against Americans of White, Christian, European ancestry. Black pride, Mexican pride and Asian pride are emphasized and encouraged in the school system. In contrast, White Americans are discouraged from developing a sense of pride and self-worth. Under the rule of the Jewish Mafia, America’s educational establishment is now teaching students that race does not exist. [...]

There is a lot more in the same vein if you have the stomach for it.

"Al-Qaeda, Israel’s Trojan horse in Middle East" (PressTV-Iran)

I think they are getting close to a comprehensive theory explaining the entire universe:

An Iranian lawmaker says the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militant groups are playing the role of Trojan horse for the Zionist regime in the Middle East.

“The Zionist regime has become the largest training base for active terrorists in the Middle East region and the footprint of this sinister regime can be easily traced in recent terrorist operations,” Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, member of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Tuesday.

Referring to the al-Qaeda’s presence in Syria, the lawmaker said the group’s terrorist activities in the Arab country are apparent evidence to their close relationship with the US government.

Asafari emphasized that thousands of al-Qaeda-linked terrorists from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Jordan and other countries have entered Syria in recent months to fight against the Syrian government and have been provided with intelligence support by the Israeli regime.

Syria has been the scene of unrest since early 2011 and has witnessed the deaths of many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel in the violence.

Damascus blames Western countries and some of their regional allies for fueling the crisis in the country, and reports indicate that a large number of militants fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.

A recent UN report revealed that militants, mostly extremist Salafists, have infiltrated Syria from 29 countries to fight against the Damascus government.

Angry Arab pretends to be stupid

He quotes from an article about the HRW statement about Gaza rockets, ending with the following:

HRW's Sarah Leah Whitson said in the group's report on Monday that "The rocket attacks killed three Israeli civilians and wounded dozens. Palestinian armed groups made clear in their statements that harming civilians was their aim."

Then he comments:

I don't know which statements Sarah is referring to, but is she implying that threats are more deadly than actual harming of civilians, or does she mean that Israel should be forgiven for killing and injuring Arab civilians because it did not make clear statements that harming civilians was their aim?

How difficult is it to understand what the HRW statement is saying? The "threats" were simply offered as support for the assertion that Gazan terrorist groups are actually targeting civilians. As for his statement "I don't know which statements Sarah is referring to," I think I know of a resource that can help him out. The Love of the Land blog has screenshots of some tweets from @AlqassamBrigade quoting Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida. Always glad to help out a fellow blogger. Speaking of AA, he had an interesting and very telling angle on the business about the Mayan date for the the end of the world:

I was looking forward to the end of the world as it would have permitted me--even for a second--to witness the end of the Zionist entity over Palestine.

To use one of his favorite words, the man thinks hatred is cute.

Juan Cole on "the flowering of Christianity" in the Middle East

Juan Cole, who is certainly interesting most of the time, argues that "arguments you see for Christian decline in the region are mostly wrong." (He is perhaps answering this.) Here is a paragraph about Lebanon:

The argument for decline is usually made from Lebanon, where Christians were a bare majority in 1931, but are now something like 22%. But Lebanon’s population was about 800,000 in 1931, so Christians were 408,000. Lebanon’s population is now 5 million, and Christians inside the country are about 1.1 million. So with all the vast Christian Lebanese emigration abroad, to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the United States, Mexico, etc. (with perhaps 6 million Lebanese-descended people in the New World), there are still twice as many Christians in Lebanon in absolute terms now as there were in 1931. And although it is consequential politically that Lebanese Christians are now less than a third of the adult electorate, they are hardly powerless. They dominate the presidency, the officer corps, and the business world, and they are split between allying with the Sunni Muslims and allying with the Shiites, which gives them influence as a swing vote.

Yes, I guess if the total population increases six-fold in 80 years, you can lose a lot of ground percentage-wise and still have larger absolute numbers. I didn't say it was convincing, just interesting. Here is a sentence about Egypt, making a similar argument: "So in absolute terms, Egypt alone now has more than 11 times as many Christians as lived in the central lands of the Middle East 162 years ago. How is that a decline?" Don't know about that, Juan. 162 years sure is an awful long time. Aren't we talking about whether there has been a recent decline?

Juan also includes South Sudan and Eritrea in the Middle East. He also admits the decline in the Christian population in the West Bank in Israel because, I assume, he can blame Israel for it, while neglecting the fact that the Christian population has increased in not only absolute but percentage terms inside green-line Israel. He may be desperate to depict Christians as "flowering" in the "Middle East," but he isn't going to violate any of his Israel-bashing imperatives. There's more, of course. Reading it is the only way to see if I'm being fair here.

Update: Somehow I'm reminded of this:

Future bright for projectiles

You may have seen one of a number of headlines, such as the following from the Guardian: "US west coast may be within North Korean missile range, says Seoul." (North) Korean News, not surprisingly, has a number of stories about the "satellite" launch, including not-too-subtle hints as to the military significance. For instance, "Title of DPRK Hero Awarded to Contributors to Successful Launch of Satellite":

The title of DPRK Hero, gold star medals and Orders of National Flag (First Class) were awarded to Choe Chun Sik and 100 other scientists, technicians, workers and officials.

By successfully launching satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2 they instilled great national self-esteem and conviction of sure victory into the service personnel and people of the DPRK and dealt a sledge-hammer blow at the hostile forces' desperate moves to check the advance of the DPRK. They also made a great contribution to remarkably raising the international prestige and influence of the DPRK.

A decree was promulgated by the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK in this regard on Saturday.

Iran is denying that if had anything to do with recent North Korean missile advances:

Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics has denied that Iran cooperates with North Korea on missiles and expert exchange.

Brigadier General Ahmed Vahidi, Minister of Defense described the claims as ‘only speculations’ and said that Islamic Republic of Iran has not sent experts on missiles to North Korea.

In providing a response to the question on sending expert on missiles to North Korea, Vahidi said that no expert had been sent.

Iran admitted most of its role in supplying missile technology to Hamas (and got thanked publically for the rest) and it loves to take credit for things. We are bound to see more interesting statements from Iranian officials. Stay tuned.