Doc's Talk: Iran Early Bird-Wednesday

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Iran Early Bird-Wednesday

1. The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors will hold talks tomorrow on the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programs.

2. Speaking during a meeting with visiting Lebanon President Michel Suleiman, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advised the Islamic world to follow the example set by Hezbollah Lebanon. Khamenei stressed Iran's support for Hezbollah and urged the organization to persevere with its resistance, in practical terms too, so as to combat the dangers of the Zionist regime. Suleiman also visited the permanent Iranian Defense Ministry exhibition and emphasized Lebanon's desire to forge stronger security ties with Tehran. Click here for pictures from the exhibition. 3. Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has announced that he will be visiting Tehran in the near future, when he will again meet with his Iranian counterpart, Ahmadi-Nejad. Chavez refused to stipulate the date of the trip or its purpose.

4. Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has left Tehran for Jakarta to take part in the third session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, which will focus on cooperation in the fields of energy, politics and regional affairs.

5. Speaking at the Law and Justice Conference currently underway in Iran, Mohammed Qashani, a law lecturer and member of the board of Shahid Beheshti University, charged that all three state authorities were guilty of failing to uphold the law. According to Qashani, the signing in secret of oil agreements – a practice of all Iranian governments under the premise of preserving national interests – is illegal. Additional examples of illegal activity mentioned by Qashani included the Iranian Broadcasting Authority's absolute control of public opinion and the information that leaves the country, censorship at the Broadcasting Authority and in the media, and others.

1. Iran's general prosecutor has outlined the manner in which security forces uncovered the "Israeli spy network" and arrested "the Mossad agents," claiming that three of the six-member cell have been detained thus far. The other three, he said, were under tight Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence surveillance, but were still free. According to the general prosecutor, the first member of the cell to enter Iran was immediately identified by the IRGC's Information Security forces, who then kept him under surveillance, thus leading to the arrest of the three. The state prosecution would be demanding the death penalty for the spies, he said. Meanwhile, Iran's intelligence minister has stressed his ministry's role in the affair, commenting that "Iran will destroy the plots of its enemies anywhere and with the force of thunder." The separate announcements may be an indication of rivalry and disputes between the two bodies.

2. The deputy commander of Iran's Internal Security forces has announced that the "Security and Calm" drill that took place last week in the Tehran Province will be duplicated in three additional provinces by the end of the year. Similar exercises would also take place in the remaining provinces in the future, he said.

3. Speaking during a meeting of IRGC and Basij commanders, Iranian Chief of Staff General Firouz-Abadi said that Supreme Leader Khamenei had instructed him to inform all military commanders that he was aware of the threats facing Iran and that he expected them to be ready to deal with them and not be caught unprepared.

4. Six drug smugglers have been killed in a gun battle with Iranian security forces in the mountainous regions in the east of the country.

5. Iran has executed 11 members of the Sunni Jondallah organization.

1. For the first time in Iran, the Iranian Information Technology Company and the Statistical Center of Iran will conduct a survey on the characteristics of the country's Internet users, with the main objective of the project being to get a true picture of the Internet penetration rate in Iran. The information gathered will serve the Information Technology Company in the planning of future projects related to the development and management of the network. The data collected will be at the disposal of all relevant companies in the field, both from the private and the government sectors.

2. Italy's ambassador to Iran has expressed Rome's intention to expand commercial and economic ties with Tehran. The ambassador said that Italy's exports to Iran in 2007 had totaled some two million euros; imports from Iran, he added, had amounted to around five million euros.

3. An economic delegation from China's Jiangsu Province has visited oil, gas and petrochemical plants in the Markazi Province, expressing willingness to develop cooperation between the two regions.

4. Iran's trade minister has traveled to Algeria at the head of a high-ranking delegation that will hold talks with Algerian officials on developing cooperation in the fields of technical and engineering services, industry, pharmaceuticals and more.

5. The joint Iranian-Turkisk economics committee convened yesterday in Tehran for the 20th time. The committee is set to discuss the setting up of work groups on the subjects of trade, transportation, communications, oil, gas and electricity.

1. Fatemeh Haqiqat-Pajouh, who killed her husband after he raped her daughter, was executed this morning at Evin Prison. Note, Haqiqat-Pajouh was given a stay of execution twice before in the past by the head of the judicial authority, and she was twice returned to her cell from the gallows in light of public and international protest.

2. Human rights activists in Iran are reporting that Farzad Kamangar, the Kurdish teacher and activist who faces capital punishment, has been transferred from his jail cell to an unknown location. The human rights activists are concerned that the move may be an indication of the prison authorities' intentions to carry out the sentence. For its part, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has sent out an urgent request for help to international organizations, asking for their intervention to prevent the execution.

3. Students at Allameh Tabatabaei University continue to demonstrate – even in the wake of the arrest yesterday of four students who holed up in a building on the campus after they were suspended from their studies. Click here for pictures from the demonstration.

4. Iranian authorities have again blocked women's rights websites. The "Change for Equality" website has been shut down for the 17th time, and other women's rights sites and blogs have suffered the same fate.

5. Iran's Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry has shut down an Iranian photographer's exhibition, charging that the pictures undermine Islamic values and the sanctity of the religion.

6. A member of the Majlis Culture Committee claims that more than 4.5 million unauthorized satellite dishes are currently in operation in Iran. The committee member has called on the Internal Security forces to enforce the law on the matter and seize all illegal dishes around the country. The committee member also stressed the need to protect Iran's young generation from the cultural onslaught by strengthening its ties with the mosques.

7. An Iranian company exhibiting at the Iran Telecom 2008 fair has revealed for the first time a device that blocks Bluetooth transfers within a radius of 20 meters. A representative of the company noted that the device could be installed at mosques, in schools and libraries, and other locations at which Bluetooth technology may be put to improper use.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk