“L’Iran a appelé lundi les Occidentaux à envisager la levée des sanctions s’ils veulent parvenir à une solution de la crise liée à son programme nucléaire controversé, et laissé entendre qu’il pourrait discuter du niveau d’enrichissement de son uranium. «Si l’Occident veut construire (un climat de) confiance, il devrait commencer par les sanctions, car cela peut aider à accélérer les discussions pour parvenir à une solution», a déclaré le chef de la diplomatie iranienne Ali Akbar Salehi àl’agence de presse ISNA………..”
That is the dilemma of the Iran negotiations with P5+1. Even if the Iranians agree not to enrich uranium to the 20% level, the Western regimes are in no position to lift the sanctions. Provided they are really willing to provide the isotopes needed for research. The Obama administration has painted itself into a corner, where it cannot lift the sanctions in exchange for Iranian concessions. In this political year, the sanctions have been tightened more than ever before, mainly for domestic US political reasons, pressure by the Republican right and AIPAC and the likes of Joe Lieberman. There is no way Obama can lift any sanctions this year; he certainly can’t get the Congress to go along. There is also no way the Iranian will agree to yield on the enrichment issue without a lifting of the Western blockade. That would be tantamount to surrender. In their eagerness to accommodate the American and Israeli right-wing, Obama and Hillary Clinton have made sure that there can be no deal this year. Not a very good job by the Clinton State Department. If Obama is reelected, he really should look for another secretary of state: the current one has not done a good job. Cheers
mhg
“The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, has said that Tehran does not intend to stop producing uranium enriched to a purity level of 20 percent. Jalili, who is Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, made the remarks during a press conference in Istanbul on Saturday after two rounds of talks between representatives of Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which ended a 15-month hiatus in talks. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton represented the 5+1 group in the nuclear negotiations and Jalili headedthe Iranian delegation………”
“MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi has said that the topic of lifting economic sanctions against Iran will be discussed during the next round of talks between Tehran and the major world powers, which is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on May 23. He also said that the issue of uranium enrichment is highly important to the Islamic Republic, adding that Iran has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency…………”
Interesting take, or maybe spin, by Iranian officials, through a semi-official news agency. Enrichment of uranium to 20% (i.e. 20% weight fraction of U-235) is usually needed for medical isotopes, while enrichment to 5% is needed for power generation. Neither is sufficient for developing a nuclear weapons. The Iranian official seems certain they will not give up on 20% enrichment needed for medical isotopes. They also seem certain there will be meeting in Baghdad next month. The two don’t seem compatible in view of previously-expressed official American opinion. Maybe the Iranians are also bluffing. We’ll have to wait the U.S. State Department comments this week, perhaps later today. Both sides seemed subdued this weekend, except for Netanyahu who is probably the most predictable politicians in the world. Netanyahu mouthed off his usual mantra, biding his time as he awaits the inauguration of Mitt Godot Romney.
(FYI: I am not a nuclear physicist, not anymore, or maybe not yet) Cheers
mhg
“A summit of nearly 30 Western Hemisphere leaders has ended without a joint declaration due to divisions over Cuba and Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands. “There is no declaration because there is no consensus,” said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as the summit’s closing news conference. Washington, backed by Canada, stood fast against widespread demands to include in the meeting’s final declaration language specifying that Cuba be included in future hemispheric summits. They had also balked at backing Argentina’s claims to the British-held Falkland Islands. “All the countries here in Latin American and the Caribbean want Cuba to be present. But the United States won’t accept,” President Evo Morales of Bolivia told reporters late Saturday. “It’s like a dictatorship.”……..”
So, no more Summits of the Americas unless ALL nations of the Americas are allowed to attend. Canada’s right-wing government and the United States’ allegedly communist socialist government blocked any consensus on Cuba (and perhaps Florida)and the Malvinas (Falklands). At least until after the 2012 elections. This time Canada got the Malvinas (Falklands) in exchange for Cuba (and perhaps Florida), next time: who knows. Cheers
mhg
“The 1961 Press and Publications Law in Kuwait stipulates that blasphemy is a crime punishable by a prison sentence that ranges from a few months to several years. Following more stringent laws in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the Kuwaiti Parliament just approved provisionally–pending a second vote–the death penalty for those who defame God, or the Prophet and his wives. Apparently, ”[t]he move to stiffen penalties for religious crimes came after authorities last month arrested a Shiite tweeter for allegedly cursing the Prophet Mohammed, his wife and some companions.” It also comes in response to increasing incidents of sectarian graffiti on mosques throughout Kuwait since the 2011 Arab uprisings as well as to growing calls to execute Hamza Kashgari in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Some Shi`i Parliament members also demanded the same penalty for those who curse any of the sect’s twelve revered Imams, but to no avail. The background to all this is in part the growing sectarian tension in Kuwait, and in the region. One potential ray of hope: the vote was not unanimous, though maybe for the wrong reasons…………”
They are changing the normally open tolerant society of Kuwait into a smaller Wahhabi tribal version of the most intolerant society in the world, Saudi Arabia. In that they are acting as a religious, cultural, and probably political Wahhabi fifth column. The Salafis and their Muslim Brother and tribal allies (their allies in this particular case in the sense of both being intolerant pro-Wahhabis) seem to think that God needs their protection from libel by mere humans. They took it upon themselves to claim representation of Allah, because that gives them some power over others. Assuming the others are naive enough to concede that these opportunistic pretenders do in fact represent the interests of Allah (unfortunately some of them are naive enough, others are just too afraid). These extremist opportunists represent their own interests and those of outsiders (they look upon the Saudi palace Mufti as their guide). It seems to be working for now. There may soon be a death sentence imposed not only for libeling Allah, but for criticizing historical figures that have been dead for fifteen centuries. That ought to kill any serious research in religious history and theology in my hometown, if there ever was any. There will be a death sentence for libeling God and some very dead gentlemen (and maybe ladies), unless some authority decides to put a stop to this travesty of religion and justice and freedom of expression, this march toward Wahhabism. Cheers
mhg
“Bernie Ecclestone denied all knowledge of protests and violence in Bahrain, as a 15-year-old boy lay in intensive care after being shot by anti-riot police. The bullish Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder for Formula One, also denied all knowledge of anyone being shot by police. “Nobody has been shot,” he said. “What are you talking about?” He thenswore and stormed of…………”
“Armed gangs and foreign militias are wreaking havoc in the country, attacking people, assaulting, stealing, destroying, breaking. Neither the law nor regime institutions seem to control them….”
No, this is not the Congo (either one) or Timbuktu or parts of Syria. It is not Dodge City or some wild town West of the Pecos, or New Orleans after Katrina. This last quote was a tweet by the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). This is Bahrain they are talking about, occupied Bahrain, its people terrorized by regime goons, foreign mercenaries, and Saudi (& Emirati) invasion forces. Bahrain on the eve of the Formula One Grand Prix event. Cheers
mhg
“Saudi Arabia has jailed a hard-line cleric who once called for demolishing the Grand Mosque in Mecca and rebuilding it to prevent mixing between the sexes at Islam’s holiest site, local media reports say. The news website Aleqt.com said Yousuf Ahmad was sentenced to five years in prison for “disobedience” to the ultraconservative kingdom’s rulers and “incitement” against them. The kingdom arrested Ahmad last July after he called for the release of political prisoners, media reports said. Some reports said he was arrested after posting a YouTube video in which he criticized King Abdullah and top Saudi officials for the practice of detention without trial. Authorities also slapped a five-year travel ban on Ahmad and fined him the equivalent of thousands of dollars. Ahmed has appealed the ruling, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency. The New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch says thousands of people receive unfair trials or face arbitrary detention in Saudi Arabia………….”
He was an extremist who wanted to end co-ed hajj, separate men from women in Mecca, but certainly that is not why he was arrested. His proposal for splitting the hajj was done two or three years ago. He is in prison because he criticized the Saudi theocracy and the alliance of the Princes and the muftis. He had to be truly on the extreme to be more extremist than the official Saudi palace Mufti Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh who a couple of weeks ago called for the demolition of all churches (and synagogues if any) in the Persian Gulf region. He also sentences sorcerers, magicians, and witches and anyone who deals with them to execution by beheading. He also sentences anyone who fornicates with the jinn to stoning (imagine the astronaut who used to fool around with Barbara Eden in the old days would be stoned to death). Extremism in the Kingdom of Segregation is relative, and this shaikh Yousuf Ahmad is entitled to express his opinion as much as the Mufti is entitled to express the opinions of the princes in their palaces. Cheers
mhg
“Israel is demanding that its allies set Iran’s complete surrender of its stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent as one of the goals of the nuclear talks scheduled for mid-April. Citing 2012 as the “year to stop Iran,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that he has held discussions with American and European officials in recent weeks with the goal of convincing them to set clear goals for the planned talks with Iran. The talks are scheduled to begin on April 13 between Iran and representatives of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany, known as P5+1. Disagreements still exist regarding the venue although Istanbul currently appears to be acceptable to all sides. Barak revealed what Israel’s goals are for the talks: 1) transfer of all uranium enriched to 20 percent – approximately 120 kg. – out of Iran to a third party country; 2) the transfer of the majority of the 5 tons of uranium enriched to 3.5% out of Iran, leaving just enough needed for energy purposes; 3) the closure of the Fordow enrichment facility, buried under a mountain near the city of Qom; 4) the transfer of fuel rods from a third party country to Iran for the purpose of activating the Tehran Research Reactor………….”
I am almost certain that if these Likud fools get their way, if the West follows their advice, the Iranians will end up with nuclear weapons sometime within the next few years. Even if, as they claim, they have no intention to do so now (they probably mean it for now). But I suspect the Iranian nuclear program has nothing to do with all this noise. If the Iranian mullahs were Italians, of the more down to earth kind, they probably would respond: vaffanculo (in Google-ese Eyetalian), or the equivalent of it. Cheers
mhg
“Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus from its Black Sea base for a naval exercise. The warship’s support group is on the way. debkafile’s military sources report that the Russian flotilla carried a threefold message for Washington: 1. The Russian-Iranian strategy of propping up the Assad regime which has brought the Syrian ruler close to victory over his foes, will continue: Diplomacy will be propelled by military impetus. 2. Russia is providing the Assad regime with defense systems capable of repelling foreign military intervention. 3. Consigning the Smetliviy warship to Syria illustrates Moscow’s new rapid response policy: Russia is launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean to match the “Noble Dina” air and naval maneuver the US, Israel and Greece are conducting across a broad expanse of sea between Crete and the Israeli bases at Haifa and Ashdod………………..”
Lavrov is certainly right about one thing: any attack on Iran, whether by Israel or the USA or both, will violate international law. It would be an act of aggression since Iran has not attacked anyone. The same applies to any Iranian attack on Israel or the United States since they have not attacked Iran yet, although they have been threatening to attack almost every two or three days. As for the ‘threefold message’ mentioned by this Israeli site, it makes sense in light of recent developments.Yet it is hard to see the same Syrian regime in power after all the violence that has happened.Yet it is also hard to see the same unsavory characters who lead the different factions of the fractious Syrian opposition taking power in Damascus any time soon. Cheers
mhg
“An official within the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice [CPVPV] acknowledged that the organization is having trouble monitoring female-only gatherings, particularly in light of reports that illicit and illegal activities are taking place at such gatherings. The source attributed the CPVPV’s failure to get to the bottom of what is happening at female-only gatherings to the absence of female CPVPV operatives. The CPVPV official, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that “we have received unconfirmed reports that behaviour contrary to Islamic Sharia law is taking place at closed female-only gatherings. These reports are unconfirmed due to the absence of female CPVPV operatives who can transfer credible information on this issue.” He added “in addition to this, some people may be providing the CPVPV with inaccurate or false reports.” The CPVPV official stressed that “in this regard, the CPVPV relies on other means [to uncover what is happening at female-only gatherings], including receiving reports from sources close to those taking part in such gatherings, as well as contacting the sites where such gatherings take place.”………….”
The Saudi Commission for the Propagation of Vice is worried that “behavior contrary to Islamic Sharia” may be taking place in gatherings where there are only women in the Kingdom of Segregation. Hence there are hints they might hire women to spy on gatherings of women. Now what kind of immoral behavior can there be in gatherings of women? There are no men at such gatherings, and the Saudi shaikhs probably cringe at the thought that some of them might be lesbians (some of the women not some of their shaikhs). The only “immoral” behavior possible is that they might discuss politics. Now gatherings of Saudi men are monitored, spied upon, and if necessary banned. The one major weak spot in this police state are women and their gatherings. The hairy perverts of the religious police can’t sneak into women gatherings, not unless they shave their beards (which, by their beliefs, might send them to hell), and don an abaya and a burqa (or niqab), plus some black kohl around their spying Wahhabi eyes. Hence the idea of looking into hiring women spies. The official media and semi-official media (like Asharq Alawsat of Prince Salman) are trying to make it seem like a “progressive” step; spying on women at their tea parties.
Speaking of “behavior contrary to Islamic Sharia”, have they tried spying on the princes and potentates? Besides the usual “immoral” behavior, there are a lot of “financial” irregularities that would have them condemned in the days of early Islam. Stealing and corruption are also against Islamic Sharia. Hell, they are even against the Ten Commandments of Moses. Cheers
mhg
“Cuba criticized the United States Tuesday for “aggressive” Cold War-style moves to block it from attending the Summit of the Americas which meets in Colombia this week. The US government vetoed proposals to include Cuba, the Americas’ only Communist country, among invited leaders to the summit in Cartagena, Colombia. “The veto, once again, by US authorities clearly demonstrates that Washington has no real desire to get closer to its southern neighbors, nor to change its aggressive policy against our country,” an editorial in the official Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma said………..”
The Cubans don’t realize that it all has to do with “Florida” this year. They don’t realize that Florida is a battleground state in the elections. That anything goes in what can be one of the most fierce election battle since Appomattox. If they knew, they would sympathize with the Obama administration. That is why China is not sanctioned: no Florida, a lot of trade.
