BFF “An Iranian lawmaker says the Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is endangering global peace through his biased approach towards Iran’s nuclear program. “It appears that [Yukiya] Amano has become an anti-peace element who is dangerous to global peace,” Member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Javad Jahangirzadeh said. The lawmaker advised the IAEA to reconsider its communiques and statements and to speak based on accurate information, Mehr News Agency reported on Monday. “Naturally, if the Agency continues on the current path, [if it still] releases political reports which do not conform to realities and [if] the agency [continues to] act as a [US] State Department think tank, we will definitely see new decisions with regards to [our] relationship with the IAEA,” ……………”
No chemistry (no pun here), no love lost, no more comment. Cheers
mhg
“And we keep forgetting the inconvenient fact that, even if the regime changed, the nuclear program — which is popular as an expression of Iranian nationalism and power — will continue. The leaders of the Green movement strongly support that program and have repeatedly criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for making too-generous offers to the West. (All Iranian officials repeat constantly that they would never develop nuclear weapons. And in a recent interview with Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he had never “seen a shred of evidence that Iran has been weaponizing, in terms of building nuclear-weapons facilities and using enriched materials.”…………“
This is another dilemma that the West will continue to face from Iran, something I and a few others have written about. What they don’t seem to understand is that no matter who is in power in Tehran, be it the mullahs, the Mujahideen Khalq, the Greens, the Communists, or the American Tea Party, they all want to keep the nuclear program going.They all claim they have no intention of developing nuclear weapons, but they know that an independent nuclear program, of the sort the Israelis and the Pakistanis have, is a matter of national pride.Regime change in Iran is desirable by the West and very likely by many Iranians, but that does not mean an acceptance of the loss of independent decision-making. Cheers
mhg
“Palestinian efforts to join U.N. agencies beyond its cultural arm are “not beneficial for anybody” and could lead to cuts in funding sure to affect millions of people, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned Thursday. In an Associated Press interview, the U.N. chief reiterated the world body’s support for a viable, independent Palestinian state — but lamented the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to join U.N. affiliates before the U.N. itself………”
Moony seems to be in a hurry here, effectively taking sides. Effectively telling the Palestinians not to bother applying beyond the UNESCO. It is odd that a UN secretary general takes sides so quickly. Luckily Moony is just a top international bureaucrat and his opinion is unlikely to sway anyone except the already-swayed. Unlike other previous UN secretaries general, I have no doubt that Moony will easily win a renewed term. Especially now. Cheers
mhg
“Israeli officials: Palestinians routed, about to fold” YNet News (Israel)
“French president Sarkozy says UN will not vote on Palestinian state this year, promises a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli impasse within a year” Reports
Yesterday italmost looked like the Palestinian “authority”, never known for its backbone, had surrendered again. Reports quoted American and French officials that ‘negotiations’ will resume to reach a solution within one year. Sounds familiar? Remember 2009, when the new and “extremely naïve” Obama administration started negotiations with Israelis and Palestinians with a solemn promise that they will solve everything within one year. At that time I wrote here “forgetaboutit”. One year? It is too short a time to reach never. The Jewish people have a mantra that they repeated during their long Diaspora , especially at every Passover Seder: “Next year in Jerusalem”. It kept them focused on the promise and the goal, which they eventually achieved. Now the Palestinians will have to adopt a new mantra “Next year in New York” or maybe just “Next year at the UN”. Except it won’t be next year, or the year after, or any other year after, as long as the Likud and its right-wing allies rule the roost. Cheers
mhg
Rattlesnake Ridge 
BFF