The Natanyahu cartoon show is over at the UN, but the gushing continues in U.S. media. He wowed much of the American media: most of them thought his silly little cartoon of a nuclear program was the best thing since, oh, the iPod. The chicks on MSNBC and Fox both thought he was the most divine thing since Justin Bieber, albeit a bit long in the teeth. The chicks on CNN News were especially reduced to jelly by the graph and especially by the red magic-market line around the “head” (I didn’t see Wolf Blitzer at that moment). Let’s don’t forget the fat symbolism of the war-head with the red curve around the “head”. Nobody seemed to understand that the hustler of Tel Aviv was disrespecting them with his silly cartoon, insulting their intelligence. But that is okay: he was aiming at the American public and its penchant for momentary symbolism. I didn’t
see an “ACME” logo on the device, but I almost expected one. As I watched him deliver his silly cartoon explanation, and I expected any moment to hear “beep, beep” and Ahmadinejad zooming by as the Road Runner, upending his graph, spilling a lot of snake oil. Now that calls for war: a cartoon war.
One thing about Netanyahu: he has been prime minister of Israel for several years. In the 1990s, then in the 2000s. Israel has waged two wars since the late 1990s (2006, 2009/10), yet none of them involved Netanyahu as leader. He has never waged a major war in his years as leader. That is a good sign.
“The supreme administrative court in Bavaria state argues that Press TV must not use satellite services for broadcast in Germany. The surprising ruling comes just months after a Munich court ruled twice that Press TV can broadcast on SES Astra platform in the country. The Munich media regulatory body, BLM, had taken Press TV off the satellite platform in April. It said Press TV lacked the necessary license. Press TV lawyers subsequently took legal action against the BLM and won the case. BLM appealed but its plea was rejected by the Munich administrative court. The issue was then referred to the state court in Bavaria that ruled in favor of taking Press TV off the air. Press TV says the German government seeks to silence the alternative channel’s voice. It says the ban was meant to stop the channel’s extensive coverage of Germany’s social and economic issues. The channel has also covered the growing public anger in Germany over that country’s military involvement in Afghanistan. …………….”
Press TV is the main Iranian English-language television news network. It gives out the Iranian government position on regional and world events. It is in the same position as, say, Alarabiya which gives the Saudi government position on regional and world events. In some ways it is like the BBC or VOA, certainly a bit less independent. Last January the British government banned Iran’s Press TV, a surprising thing since the network’s programming is relatively mild. Perhaps the network was banned because its programs seemed too reasonable, not the usual expected rabble-rousing that would turn off people. Soon later, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in a show of supreme chutzpah, complained loudly when the Iranians in March blocked a British propaganda program aimed at Iran. The Iranian regime normally blocks many foreign networks and websites: they certainly are not strong believers in free speech. But the British are ‘supposed’ to be. At the time I called it in one of my posts here Mutual Hypocrisy.
Now the Germans are becoming too sensitive when someone else criticizes them, although again it is the Iranians who don’t allow free speech in their own country. Yet this is the West, that is the East, and the twain are not supposed to meet in censorship. And I had thought that free speech in Europe covers all sources of speech. What a silly notion.
Neck of the woods “Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who arrived in Tehran late on Sunday, attended the court hearing on Monday.
After his arraignment, he was sent to prison. He faces charges of inciting unrest after the 2009 presidential election. He returned home after spending three years in Britain. Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Rafsanjani, was also put in prison on Saturday as she had been sentenced to a six-month jail under charges of spreading propaganda against the system…………”
There are many in Iran who are of the system but against the ‘system’. There are many who support the system but oppose the regime. They include not only the younger generation, but also many older clerics in Qom and other places who do not accept the philosophy of an unelected supreme leader. Even those who support the concept of an Islamic Republic. Then there are the thousands who are unknown and are in prison. Cheers
mhg [email protected]
“Israeli President Shimon Peres offered his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a history lesson on Thursday, saying his lack of knowledge about the region was an embarrassment. “It was an embarrassing speech which showed a deep historical ignorance with regard to the deep historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel,” he said, adding that Ahmadinejad did not even know the history of his Persian ancestors. The name Israel first appeared at the end of the late Bronze Age and Israelite tribes were living in the area more than 3,000 years ago, archaeologists say. Shortly after 600 B.C., Babylonian forces swept through the lands and forced Jews into exile and captivity. But in 538 B.C. the Persians in turn conquered Babylon and King Cyrus let the Jews return to their old homeland. “Around 2,500 years ago King Cyrus, the King of Persia, granted the Jewish people led by Ezra and Nechamia the right to return to Israel and to rebuild their home. The Jews lived on the land of Israel for thousands of years and there is no lie or leader that can remove chapters of history,”…………….”
Shimon Perez is right of course, about the history. He is also wrong in claiming that Ahmadinejad is ignorant of the history. The history is all there in the old testament. Some of it is even in the Quran. Ahmadinejad also knows the history: he is not really questioning the history. He may question the more recent history, better-documented with living eye-witnesses, the history of the Holocaust, but not holy ancient history. Even someone like Bin laden would not contest that history. Cheers
mhg [email protected]
What looks like Saddam Hussein supporters demonstrate in New York City against the visit of Iran’s Ahmadinejad to the UN. See all the photos of a grinning leader-for-life, Saddam with the regulation thick black dyed Baathist mustache these MEK fans are carrying? They are protesting that he, Ahmadinejad, will leave office next July and they won’t have him to kick around anymore. Between next July and Next September when the UN general Assembly meets, they’ll have to hope for the new president of Iran to be at least as loud and outrageous as Ahmadinejad. Otherwise they’ll have to protest against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, something that doesn’t exactly excite American media or public (or maybe even AIPAC for that matter). Khamenei hardly makes public pronouncements, and is not likely to want to allow the likes of Piers Morgan to question him about whatever titillates the American and British public. I am beginning to suspect that if it were not for Ahmadinejad and his antics and loud mouth, the United States would have never removed the Mujahideen Khalq (MEK, MKO, WTF) from the terrorist list. No matter how much money they paid politicians of both Democrat and Republican parties. Which makes me suspect something really sinister, something I had never suspected before today.
Call it my epiphany: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may well be an MEK (or MKO or WTF) mole (aka agent, aka sleeper) in the heart of the Iranian government! Which also makes Ahmadinejad, by association an Israeli mole or agent in the heart of the Iranian government, since MEK is practically an arm of Mossad. All allegedly of course. Now that Saddam is dead (he was on trial when Mahmoud was elected in 2005).
Neck of the woods Piers Morgan on CNN tried to embarrass Ahmadinejad yesterday by asking him about homosexuals in Iran and their treatment. This is a question reserved by U.S. media only for the Iranian president. Of course the same treatment is common all across the Middle East and Africa and much of Asia (not just Muslims). Yet American media never ask other Muslim or Arab leaders about this crucial issue, saving it for Ahmadinejad. Come to think of it; they never ask other Middle East leaders about the Holocaust either, and I suspect some of them have even more controversial (call it more repulsive) opinions about it than Ahmadinejad. For example Shaikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi of Egypt, supported and sheltered by Qatar for years, publicly opines that Hitler was doing God’ work by extermination millions of Jews (His video clip here).
So Piers Morgan of CNN was interviewing a joint session of President Morsi of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan, and the Emir of Qatar. The Jordanian king is a favorite interviewee of American media (they love his accent which makes him sound credible). He is third only to Netanyahu (apparently Ahmadinejad is the number one favorite because Ayatollah Khamenei refuses to go on CNN).
So Piers Morgan asks his three guests about LBGT, about homosexuals (nobody cares about lesbians over there) in Egypt and Jordan and Qatar, and why they are persecuted and imprisoned (beheaded in Saudi Arabia). Mr. Morsi is confused: he was expecting a question about Hooters or some nude restaurant in Los Angeles (maybe a Sushi joint). The Jordanian king and Qatari emir respond in unison: I thought this question was reserved every year for Mr. Ahmadinejad? Cheers
mhg [email protected]
“An Iranian military official has warned that military conflict between Iran and Israel could “turn into World War III.” He added that if Israel “is putting the final touches on attacking Iran,” a preemptive strike against Tel Aviv would ensue.
Israel “cannot imagine” the force of Iran’s response if Tel Aviv attacks it, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iran’s Arabic-language television network. “It will sustain heavy damage and that will be a prelude to its obliteration,”he said. Hajizadeh added that Iran does not see this happening at the moment because he does not believe that Israel will conduct an attack without its strongest ally – the United States. If America does decide to back an Israeli plan to strike Iran, Hejizadeh insists Tehran will retaliate against both Tel Aviv and Washington. “Tehran will definitely attack US bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Afghanistan…there will be no neutral country in the region,” Hajizadeh said. “To us, these bases are equal to US soil.” The statement comes after the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that a war between Iran and Israel “will eventually happen.” Jafari did not speculate on a possible date or location of the war. ………….”
Some of these Iranians must have been listening and reading what Israeli officials have been saying since, oh, at least 1992. I posted on that here, and others have written about it. That they claim they would like to attack them at some point, not clear when, depending on how much prayers are performed in some royal palaces of the Middle East. That the Israeli leaders want a war and are not afraid to ask the Americans for it. So, change of plans. Stop the presses, forget what I wrote in my previous posting. The war is back on track. Not only that, it is aiming at no less than World War III. Or maybe the Armageddon. Cheers
mhg [email protected]
“The deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has said that the Zionist regime no longer constitutes a threat to Iran. “Today, we have crossed the boundary of concern about the threats of the Zionist regime,” Brigadier General Hossein Salami stated in an interview published on Sepah News, which is the official website of the IRGC, on Sunday. “Israel has bitter memories of confrontation with regional (allies) of the Islamic Republic during the wars of the past decade. Now, how can it be a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran?” Salami added, “Only a single infantry battalion of ours would be able to break the back of this regime, which only has a width of 24 kilometers in some areas, in a day.” “Iran has reached such a zenith that an attack on it is no longer put on the political agenda of the superpowers. The level of deterrence has risen to the extent that the idea of starting and imposing another war no longer exists in the mind and belief of all the major powers, and Islamic Iran is a known great power,” he said……………”
Okay, the Israelis are no danger to Iran anymore. I could have told this general a long time ago. I could also have told him to study the history of the Arab-Israeli wars, from before 1948 until now (leave out the 2006 war of Lebanon, that was exceptional defeat). So what does all this mean? Resumption of diplomatic relations? Full speed toward the nuclear bomb as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum and Don Rickles would claim? Can the Iranians breathe easier now that they have one less threat? What about Dhahi Khalfan’s threat to storm the Persian beaches and re-establish true Islam for the second time? (FYI: Dhahi Khalfan is the Chief of Police of Dubai and UAE shadow foreign minister and shadow head of the UAE CIA and chief of the UAE Revolutionary Guard Corps (UAE RGC), among other things). They also underestimated the Spartans so long ago (the Persians not the UAE), and eventually paid a price. Cheers
mhg [email protected]
“A large number of protestors staged a demonstration in front of a Saudi prison in Qassim province to demand the release of their relatives who have been arrested and locked up by the al-Saud regime for political reasons. The Saudi security forces blockaded the roads around a desert prison in Central Saudi Arabia on Monday where relatives of inmates were staging a demonstration to demand their release. The protestors had gathered since Sunday afternoon in the desert around the prison in Qassim province but were told by police they would be arrested if they tried to leave, protesters said by telephone. They complained they had no food or water because of the blockade but said they would keep up the protest……………..”
This was eagerly reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Here the Iranians are clearly enjoying this Saudi discomfort: people have been publicly protesting about their relatives being held for years in prison, often without charges. The Iranians of course have their own political prisoners, many of them. Some Saudi dissidents claim that the al-Haer prison, where many Saudi dissidents are held, is the largest in the Middle East. Most others outside claim that Iran’s Evin is bigger, it certainly is better known both inside and outside the country, more notorious. Iran’s population is more than three times that of Saudi Arabia, so it is more likely to have bigger prisons and more political prisoners by sheer numbers. On the other hand there are also many Saudi ways to get in ‘trouble’: there are thousands of corrupt princes (and princesses) that one can insult and get into trouble. Besides, the traditionally subservient Saudi citizens (not just in Qatif) are getting fed up and speaking out more often now. Things can only get more exciting in the Arabian Peninsula, from the birthplace of Islam in Hijaz to the oilfields of the Eastern Province. Things can only get more exciting in Iran as well, perhaps after the 2013 elections. I’d say, between the Iranians and the Saudis, it is a toss-up (as in flipping a fifty fils coin to see if it is “chap lo kittib”. You figure that last one out if you can, or call someone on the Gulf). Cheers
mhg [email protected]
Neck of the woods Breaking News: There are reports from my unreliable sources in Israel that Benyamin Netanyahu may announce later today that Iran is responsible for the murders of American diplomats in Libya. He will reportedly point the finger (you guess which finger) toward Qassem Suleimani of the Quds Brigade of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Netanyahu will quote an anonymous reporter of the New York Times who will be quoting an anonymous Israeli official who will quote a high Arab official in close contact with the Free Syrian Army. Brigadier General Suleimani will, as usual, decline to comment. My Republican source in Berkeley (CA) also reports that Mitt Romney may jump the gun and publicly declare his support for Natanyahu’s pointed finger before the Israeli prime minister makes his announcement. Cheers
mhg [email protected]
Multidisciplinary: Middle East, North Africa, Gulf, GCC, World, Cosmos…..
