You beter prove to the man
You’re as strong as him
Cause in the eyes of god
You’re both children to him
Da da doo doo
Everybody come alive
Everybody live alive
Everybody love alive
Everybody hear my message………………” Jimi Hendrix
“Forty-five years ago, the United States sold my country a research reactor as well as weapons-grade uranium as its fuel. Not long afterward, America agreed to help Iran set up the full nuclear fuel cycle along with atomic power plants. The U.S. argument was that nuclear power would provide for the growing needs of our economy and free our remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals. That rationale has not changed. Still, after the Islamic Revolution in our country in 1979, all understandings with the United States in the nuclear field unraveled. Washington even cut off fuel deliveries to the very facility it supplied. To secure fuel from other sources, Iran was forced to modify the reactor to run on uranium enriched to around 20 percent. The Tehran Research Reactor still operates, supplying isotopes used in the medical treatment of 800,000 of my fellow Iranians every year. But getting to this point was not easy……….We have never failed when faced with no option but to provide for our own needs. All relationships — whether between parents and children, spouses or even nation-states — are based on trust. The example of the Tehran Research Reactor vividly illustrates the key issue between Iran and the United States: lack of trust………..”
Dr. Salehi is probably addressing the American people and not the government. Otherwise he would be better off addressing the government of Israel which is holding the peace of the Middle East hostage over the alleged Iranian nuclear bomb. The Israelis get a lot of help in that from the Saudi princes. Salehi should forward a copy of his editorial to the AIPAC. Cheers
mhg
““Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a military court, is now in a critical stage of a hunger strike which has gone on for 64 days. Foreign doctors who have been to see him have said he is at serious risk of death if he continues. The Bahraini government has rejected increasing international pressure to release him, and has limited outside access. His plight has begun to draw attention to the failure of reform in Bahrain, including an unusual White House statement yesterday. If he dies, it could mark a significant breaking point for the regime’s efforts to rehabilitate its tarnished reputation — and could accelerate the disturbing trend toward militant radicalization in the opposition. Hunger striking has become a distinctive phenomenon in the current round of Arab protest movements. It has a long history, marking many of the major emancipatory struggles throughout the world from British suffragettes to Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. It has recently emerged as a particularly important form of protest against tyrannical states. From Palestine, to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, prisoners of conscience have used the last thing they control — their bodies — as a tool of dissent. Palestinian Hana Shalabi was released by the Israelis after a 43-day hunger strike, while Mohamed Albajadi in Saudi Arabia is on his 33rd day. Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike, by dovetailing on the back of a revolutionary tide, and supported by a digitally wired and outspoken family, has elevated his protest beyond his prison walls……………” Foreign Policy
If Al-Khawaja of Bahrain and al-Bejadi of the Arabian Peninsula, with their brave acts of self-sacrifice, are trying to shame the Western powers they will not succeed. Western governments have proven their total hypocrisy and shamelessness this past year, from Washington through London and Paris to Berlin. They opposed the Arab uprisings until the fall of the despots in Tunisia and Egypt, then they rode the bandwagon. They were friends of Qaddafi until his country was split by revolt. They supported the despot in Yemen and, along with the Saudis, contrived to keep his hapless regime in power without him. They continue to support the murderous regime in Bahrain, ignoring its despotic and gangster nature. The only Arab people the Western powers seem to profess to really like are the Syrians. They have shown eagerness to help get rid of the dictator of Damascus, but only him among all Arab despots. Now if you think a reactionary opportunistic politician like Joe Lieberman is looking for the interests of the Syrian people, I still have that one-eyed lame camel for sale. Cheers
mhg
“The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, which is heading for the Persian Gulf, will have to answer the questions of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) at the “Sepah station” to obtain permission to enter the sea, the Persian service of the Fars News Agency reported on Saturday. According to the report, the IRGC Naval Force is tasked with monitoring the movement of foreign vessels in the Persian Gulf and all the vessels which want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz must report to the “Sepah station” on the sea. The USS Enterprise set sail on its final voyage on March 12, heading for the Persian Gulf. The U.S. oldest active-duty warship will be on standby in case of conflict with Iran, CNN reported. “Enterprise is as ready and capable as she has ever been throughout her 50 years,” Capt. William C. Hamilton, the ship’s commanding officer, said in a statement. The carrier, which holds a crew of over 4,000, has taken part in several wars. It will be deployed in the Persian Gulf together with other warships, forming a carrier strike group…………”Mehr News (Iranian semi-official)
Some Iranian officials made that same bizarre claim once before, last year, about the USS John Stennis, then wisely withdrew it. I expect this withdrawal will be repeated, given the firepower of the US carrier strike force. Given that Iranian officials often make personal ad hoc statements about policy. Adding to this, Iranian president Ahmadinejad for the first time yesterday visited one of the islands that Iran controls in the Gulf near the Strait. This is an unusual move considering he never bothered to do so since he came to power.Iran has had forces on the islands since 1971, but its ownership is disputed by the United Arab Emirates whose government was not amused by Ahmadinejad’s visit. Cheers
mhg
“In a surprise move that could cast doubt on the nomination, Allawi attacked McGurk as being “biased” and “unfit” for the position, warning that members of his Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc could boycott the new American envoy. Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc is entangled in a turbulent crisis with Al-Maliki, said he had sent a letter to the US Congress urging the American legislators to bloc McGurk’s nomination on the basis that he was backing the Iraqi Shia leader. Allawi previously led the Iraqi National Accord in his US exile, a group which played a key role in making the case for invading Iraq in 2003 and toppling the Sunni-dominated regime led by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein…………”
Allawi is the Saudis’ second most favorite man in Iraq. Okay, he is the favorite Shi’a of the Saudi princes and even the Wahhabi mufti might accept him in he has to. Hence, no doubt his opposition is coordinated with the House of Saud, who are also undoubtedly pissed at McGurck for the same reasons. Allawi is playing the Netanyahu game: he is trying to provoke the U.S. Congress to act against the President of the United States. Only Allawi, being a Ba’athist, is playing dirtier, addressing the Congress directly to block a president’s nominee. Come to think of it, Allawi to the Saudis is like Omar Suleiman of Egypt to the Saudis. They are/were both the favorite candidates of the princes to rule in Iraq and Egypt. In Iraq the plot to reinstate the former Ba’ath Party failed because of the divisions within Iraq, and it looks like it will also fail in Egypt.
Cheers
mhg
“A female audience member who was invited to participate in a circus performance in Modi’in on Sunday was removed from the stage after a religiously observant viewer complained. Rafi Vitis, an acrobat and host of “The Shambuki Show,” at the city’s Anabe Park, consented to the request of an ultra-Orthodox woman who found the participation of women offensive. He invited a male volunteer to replace the teenage girl, but was forced to suspend the show for a few minutes because other members of the hundreds-strong audience objected to the switch…………” Haaretz Yep, they are getting more Middle Eastern, more Salafi by the day. Once all the Arab states are ruled by fundamentalists, they can apply for membership of the Arab League. They would rename the Salafi Islamic heritage Revival Society as Semitic Heritage Revival Society. Cheers
mhg
“A onze jours du premier tour de la présidentielle, alors que les marchés restent nerveux face à la crise, Nicolas Sarkozy a agité le spectre d’une «France à genoux» si François Hollande, qui a confirmé sa volonté de renégocier le traité budgétaire européen, était élu…….” Sounds like Romney.
“After his first election in 2007, Sarkozy-Past enjoyed a celebratory vacation on the sumptuous multimillion-dollar 200-foot-long yacht of his billionaire buddy, Vincent Bolloré, off the coast of Malta. Quickly dubbed “President Bling-Bling,” Sarkozy’s nouveau riche image was consolidated when, in the early months of his presidency, he gave a 10 percent tax break to the country’s wealthiest 20,000 people (reducing their total tax burden from 60 percent down to 50 percent and adding to France’s burgeoning debt). The president’s main justification was not one of trickle-down economics. It was based on a sort of economic morality: All people, even billionaires, should retain at least half their gross income. This early Sarkozy, who promised the French that they would “work more to earn more” set his own salary at more than $300,000 annually — a 172 percent raise from the previous president……………”
They say Carla is his third wife, He may think France is his fourth, but I doubt it; he ain’t de Gaulle. I have a feeling the fifth one is waiting in the wings somewhere out there…… Cheers
mhg
I was intrigued by a tweet from a Saudi demanding “Freedom for Hamza. If it weren’t for racism he’d be at home now”. It was of course about Saudi journalist Hamza Kashghari who was arrested in Malaysia through Interpol and sent to Saudi Arabia to face death by beheading based on a sick Salafi definition of “blasphemy”. It took me a few seconds to realize what they meant by “racism”. It has to do with tribes, they meant “tribalism“. In our Gulf GCC states, the tribe is the most important thing to many people, the only true loyalty of many is to the tribe. The tweeter meant that if Hamza belonged to one of the large Saudi tribes, he would be out. He is not of a tribal background, as his name clearly indicates, hence he has no tribal advocates. This is a phenomenon in our Gulf states where some people profess loyalty to country but they are practicing deceit (tribal taqiya) because they have shown that their true loyalty is to the tribe. In one Gulf state, in my own hometown, tribal members stormed and trashed a television station last February because someone criticized the tribe in an interview. Another tribe also attacked and ransacked a television studio because they did not like what someone said about their tribal leader last month. One tribe sent hundreds, maybe thousands, out to the street when members were arrested. Tribal members spring each other out of prison and there are cases where journalists were shot for ‘disrespecting” a tribe. Tribalism also explains why next door in Saudi Arabia they have a system of soft rehabilitation for suspected al-Qaeda terrorists, but only for tribal terrorists. This means it does not apply to others like Hamza Kashghari or to Shia suspects because they are not tribal. They have no tribe advocating for them. This tribal system is all over the Gulf GCC states and it is like a disease that eats the social and political fabric. The ruling potentates usually like it because they used to believe that tribes were more loyal than city people. That is not always true, although it may be true in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for specific reasons. The Qatari ruler had serious troubles with some disloyal tribe that backed a Saudi plot to overthrow him during the 1990s. In the end tribal people are mainly loyal to their tribes. The tribes, on their part, are often loyal to more than one ruling dynasty, often depending on who pays more. Yet several tribes have their main branches inside Saudi Arabia, hence their deeper loyalties may be to the Saudi princes rather than the other potentates. This can happen in one or two other GCC states that host large cross-border tribes. Cheers
mhg
