Doc's Talk: Iran Early Bird

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Iran Early Bird

* Ahmadinejad:Holocaust was West's main weakness (1)
* Iranian Transportation Minister: The brain of an Iranian student is four times larger than that of European students, who are like cows and sheep (5)
* Formation of human rights coalition: "Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran" (6)
* Fruit prices soar 29 percent last month (10)
* Senior transportation and fuel management official denies rumors of plans to reduce fuel allowances in the summer (13)
* Iran Khodro car manufacturer is reportedly suffering a liquidity crisis (14)
* Tender for sale of Baha’i-minority cemetery ground in Semnan area (15)
* Five Iranians who converted to Christianity arrested (16)

Political and Diplomatic Affairs

1. Ahmadinejad:Holocaust was West's main weakness

Speaking during a radio program (May27), Iran President Ahmadinejad said: “[Western] powers used it [the Holocaust] to oppress other nations, but we touched the issue of the Holocaust, which was their main weakness." Ahmadinejad’s comments came after he was asked if he accepted the criticism that his reference to the issue had amounted to "adventurism" in the country's foreign policy."Today, Iran's role is as important as that of the United States in the international arena. Is this adventurism?" he replied.

2. “Great Prize of Islamic Resistance” festival comes to “sow fear in the hearts of the Zionists”

Members of the Supreme Council and the principal organizations and bodies involved in the first international “Great Prize of the Islamic Resistance” festival have met to discuss the event’s policies. According to the secretary-general of the Ahal Albait international organization, the festival comes to perpetuate the memory of the fallen soldiers and martyrs, boost the spirit of resistance of the Palestinian people and “sow fear in the hearts of the Zionists.”

3. Iran Football Federation okays friendly matches with USA; U.S. women's national soccer team also expresses readiness to play against Iranian women's team

Ali Kafashian, the president of the Iran Football Federation, said Iran had agreed to the U.S. request to hold two friendly matches between the two countries' national soccer team. "We are interested in holding friendly matches against the United States,” he said. “The first leg of the match will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and the second leg in the United States.” He added that "the U.S. women's national soccer team had also expressed readiness to play against the Iranian women's squad in Tehran... We are considering the issue at the moment.”

4. Fars News Agency accuses Persian version of Google of generating anti-Iranian material

According to Fars News, when one types a letter to begin a search on the Persian version of Google, the suggestions that the search engine offers include sexual references, immoral perversions and anti-Iranian material. The site charges that Google is maliciously trying to sway the minds of the Iranian surfers.

5. Iranian Transportation Minister: The brain of an Iranian student is four times larger than that of European students, who are like cows and sheep

Commenting on his studies outside Iran, Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani said: “The mind and brain of every Iranian youth is four times larger than the brain of an European. The students there are like cows and sheep.” (i.e. stupid – Terrogence)

Domestic Affairs

6. Formation of human rights coalition: "Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran"

A coalition composed of grassroots pro-democracy political forces has been established (May 25) in Iran. The announcement of the formation of the "Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran" is an important development for those hoping for the establishment of freedom, democracy and human rights in Iran. For the first time, this coalition brings together many pro-democracy groups, labor union activists, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, university student activists, prominent moderate Muslim activists, intellectuals, and political prisoners. In the next month or two, it will become clear whether or not this effort will succeed. The founding document states: “The situation in our country is extremely grave and sensitive. In the past years, the ruling regime has undermined the most basic human rights of the citizens of Iran, ignored the international treaties on human rights and international law, as well as lacked commitment to the rule of law.” Click here for the complete document and list of founding members.

7. Mousavi's banners are burned in Isfahan.
8. Request to send Iran, Jam-e Jam and Keyhan newspapers cases to judicial authorities for breach of impartiality

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur, the chief of Mir Hoseyn Mousavi’s elections committee for the safeguarding of votes, has asked the Elections Campaign Committee to warn the Iran, Jam-e Jam and Keyhan newspapers against breaching impartiality in the presidential election campaign (by promoting Ahmadinejad) and to send their cases to the judicial authorities. (E’temad Meli, May 27)

9. Keyhan editor-in-chief criticizes Combatant Clergy Association's decision not to announce its preferred candidate

Criticizing the Militant Clergy Association's decision not to announce its preferred candidate in the upcoming presidential elections because it did not reach the required majority to do so, Keyhan editor-in-chiefHoseyn Shariatmadari said: "It was no place for silence.” Shariatmadari did praise Ayatollah Mahdavi-Kani, the association's secretary insistence on announcing his personal support for Ahmadinejad despite the association's silence. He concluded that the association could have issued a statement listing the criteria for a suitable candidate instead of adopting a meaningful silence. (Keyhan, May 27)

Economic Affairs

10. Fruit prices soar 29 percent last month

According to recently published Central Bank figures, fruit prices in Iran soared 29 percent last month. On the other hand, dairy produce prices remained stable, with only cheese rising 2 percent. Egg prices increased by 5.7 percent, red meat prices remained unchanged, and chicken prices climbed 15.7 percent.

11. Oil Ministry to issue more than $12 billion in bonds

As part of Ahmadinejad’s initiative to allow all Iranians to benefit from the country’s oil revenues, the Oil Ministry will be issuing bonds to the tune of more than $12 billion over the coming three years. In such a manner, the public will become partners in the country’s oil and gas field development.

12. Gazprom willing to participate in Iran-Pakistan pipeline project

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yankovsky has announced his country's readiness to take part in a multi-billion-dollar pipeline project to carry Iran's gas to Pakistan. “We are ready to join the project as soon as we receive an offer,” he said. Iran plans to connect the Caspian Sea with the Persian Gulf through an oil pipeline.

13. Senior transportation and fuel management official denies rumors of plans to reduce fuel allowances in the summer

Sardar Royanian, the head of Iran’s transportation and fuel management headquarters, has denied rumors published in his name by some media outlets that fuel allowances will be reduced during the summer months. Royanian stressed that no decision to this effect had been taken and that the rumors are designed to undermine the free elections in the country.

14. Iran Khodro car manufacturer is reportedly suffering a liquidity crisis.

Human Rights and Minority Affairs

15. Tender for sale of Baha’i-minority cemetery ground in Semnan area

Human rights activists are reporting that a tender has been issued for the sale of the land on which a Baha’i-minority cemetery currently lies in the village of Ayool, near Semnan. The cemetery is some 100 years old. In the early 1980s, the 20 Baha’i-minority families living in the village were forced to leave their homes.

16. Five Iranians who converted to Christianity arrested

Five Iranian citizens who converted to Christianity were arrested last week in Karaj during a prayer meeting at one of their homes. The five were taken to an unknown location and officials have not provided any information regarding their condition or whereabouts.

17. Execution of minor offender suspended

The scheduled execution of Mohammadreza Haddadi has been halted. His defense lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, wrote in a letter that Haddadi’s execution, which was scheduled to take place on May 27, was suspended following a Judiciary order. Meanwhile, sources in Iran confirmed that one of the individuals executed on May 20 in Shiraz was 17 at the time of committing the alleged offense.

18. Detained students will not be released before elections

Abas Hakomzade, the mother of one of the detained Amir Kabir University students, says that she was told by legal authorities that all the detained students will remain in custody until after the elections. The decision, she believes stems from the fact that students are not cooperating with their interrogators. She said her son was in serious condition as a result of the torture he has undergone.

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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.

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