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June 27, 2009
Links June 27 09

Please add your links, views and news in the comments.

Posted by b on June 27, 2009 at 05:47 UTC | Permalink
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This is a new non-lethal Indian weapon. It made me recall this one that the US has developed.
These trends in non-lethal weaponry arouse a lot of consternation in me. I’m not sure what to think — happy? Fearful? Angry?
I wonder if our understanding and rhetoric about “repression”, “violation”, “authority” and “force” are going to need to evolve a lot to account for these new weapons?
At any rate, just thought i’d toss these ideas out.
There aren’t many other places on the ‘net i’d feel comfortable discussing them.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 27 2009 9:32 utc | 1

Let’s get a few facts straight:
All Iran needs is a bit more assistance from the US and its people will spontaneously topple the current regime and replace it with a progressive, secular US-friendly government.
US help has always been welcome, like when we removed the socialist dictator in 1953 and replaced him with the Shah, who ruled benevolently and peacefully until he was toppled by a militant minority of Islamic radicals, who hold the county in their death gtip to this day.
Barring that, we can simply institue regime change in Iran by force, occupy the country and install a democracy, like we did with great success in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Free World will thank us for it.
Obama is a wussy for not doing so.
They hate us for our freedoms.
The more terrorists we kill over there, the fewer there will be to attack us at home.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Jun 27 2009 9:33 utc | 2

ralphieboy-
Heck, the more of us the government can kill, the less of us there are for the terrorist to kill. Now that’s patriotism!

Posted by: DavidS | Jun 27 2009 10:18 utc | 3

Despite my disagreementwith the overall conclusion of the Guardian article “Media fantasies in Iran” it at least confirms thatb this was anything but a Gucci-uprising and was in fact broadspread. It failed because of poor organization and savage regime reaction (Savagery In the Name of God is actually recommended in the Koran).
“The accidental Mousavi social movement has been galvanised and sustained by bottled-up anger, not an ideological political vision for the future. It has CB>rallied disparate sectors of society unhappy with the burdens of Islamic social restrictions, an economy whose horizon is always bleak, and three decades of international isolation.”

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:18 utc | 4

Perhaps Ahmadinejad should announce that the Iranian government is prepared to offer $20 million in grants to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in the US.

Posted by: blowback | Jun 27 2009 12:18 utc | 5

b, it’s a pity that you highlighted the Independent article but not the adjacent lkink by Karim Sadjadpour, one of the acknowledged foremost authorities on Iran and till now a fierce defender of Khamenei. He also confirms my description of the “stormtroopers” and their methods:
“In order to enforce Khamenei’s edicts, the regime’s shock troops will continue to have full authorisation to use force, and the more radical elements of the Basij militia – a kind of a cross between Hell’s Angels and Al-Qa’ida – continue to do so with enthusiasm.”

Karim Sadjadpour: “The crowds have gone but Tehran has changed forever”

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:23 utc | 6

Nope, there aren’t any references to Hezbollah, Hamas or Arab Stormtroopers standing side by side with uniformed police in that article … just some oblique rhetorical comment … I better read it again, maybe it’ll be different this time … nope, still no supporting or corroborating reference …

Posted by: Outraged | Jun 27 2009 12:33 utc | 7

Outraged, God you’re pathetic. You’ve embarked on a one-man crusade to wind me up. I see little difference between my various descriptions (of vigilantes, stormtroopers and Darth Vaders) and Sadjadpour’s description of “the more radical elements of the Basij militia – a kind of a cross between Hell’s Angels and Al-Qa’ida”.
Just becaue he didn’t use my exact words doesn’t mean the metaphors are dissimilar. Or maybe you thought I was LITERALLY referring to the characters in the George Lucas film arriving from an alien planet and lining the streets of Tehran? If so, I’m soooooo sorry for misleading you.
Oh, and maybe Sadjadpour meant the Hell’s Angels had LITERALLY been flown over with their choppers to bash Iranian brains?
Sometimes your knee-jerk objections to everything I write remind me of the tantrums of a spoiled 5-year-old.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:40 utc | 8

P.S. the Sadjadpour article is brilliant, pointing out among others things that “though the conservative Iranian parliament was invited to attend a celebration for Ahmadinejad’s victory, only 105 of 280 MPs showed up.”

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:42 utc | 9

My last post for today: I can’t help wondering why every highlighted (MoA-linked) article on Iran reinforces the general MoA philosophy, while far more expert commentary is omitted.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:45 utc | 10

Sorry I’m back, to submit a superb article by Chris Hedges, someone I’ve met in Iran and whom I admire very much:

Iran Had a Democracy Before We Took It Away

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 12:55 utc | 11

Parviz,
I might have my facts wrong, but I thought Mousavi went out very early on election eve, and declared himself winner. Was there a realistic chance that the votes would have been counted at that time, or did he do this out of political considerations?
It puzzles me, and degrades his credibility it true.
PS
Keep it up!

Posted by: FkD | Jun 27 2009 13:43 utc | 12

THE ONLY official record of who voted in a Westminster by-election that rocked the political world has mysteriously gone missing placing a question mark over the result.
In a surprise result in November last year, Labour won the Glenrothes by-election with a 6737 majority over the SNP.
All the major parties, including Labour on election night itself, had predicted that the nationalists would narrowly win the seat, which borders Prime Minister Gordon’s Brown’s constituency…
The SNP in Glenrothes applied to the sheriff court to obtain a copy of the marked electoral register (the official record of who presented themselves to vote).
Surprise! Surprise! It has gone missing.
Central Fife SNP MSP Tricia Marwick said the missing record of who voted places a question mark over the result.
She said: “The turnout at this by-election surprised everyone and the result was a surprise.”
Labour candidate Lindsay Roy won the Glenrothes by-election on November 6 2008 polling 19,946 votes with a 6,737 majority.
SNP candidate Peter Grant came second with 13,209 votes.

I guess it takes one to know one!

Posted by: hans | Jun 27 2009 14:34 utc | 13

(Savagery In the Name of God is actually recommended in the Koran). OK PARVIZ PROVE THIS, cite your quotes. I vehemently disagree with your assertion.
Someone suggested Parviz doesn’t need a lesson in Shia Islam. I don’t know that Parviz knows shit. Come on asshole, this is a simple challenge, cite your passages.
Your social stratification seems to have made you resent everything in your own tradition. Much like a Cuban exile, you have no perspective on anything and are self loathing.
The more “connected” you are the more derisive attitudes you are likely to hold toward brown folk.

Posted by: scott | Jun 27 2009 14:55 utc | 14

Savagery In the Name of God is actually recommended in the Koran I think Parviz is lucky he is leaving in Iran where he can write such blasphemous dribble and get away with it. I think we should send him to The USA or Saudi Arabia.
As the chants now ringing all over Iran say marg ba akbar shah

Posted by: hans | Jun 27 2009 15:26 utc | 15

From photo caption of Reuters article on AOL homepage about discovery of manmade cave near Jericho.

When Israeli archaeologists approached an underground cave in the West Bank, local Bedouins said wolves and hyenas lurked there, National Geographic reported. The team proceeded anyway, and discovered the largest man-made cave in Israel, dating to the first century. Here, team leader Adam Zertal examines the cave.

Is this the usual Reuters terminology for land the UN recognizes as belonging to the Palestinians? Or has all the settlement expansion in the West Bank accomplished, at least for Reuters, Sharon’s “facts on the ground”? Or is it just the view of the writer, An Rabinovitch, and editor Michael Roddy?

JERUSALEM (June 23) – Israeli archaeologists said on Sunday they had discovered the largest underground quarry in the Holy Land, dating back to the time of Jesus and containing Christian symbols etched into the walls.
The 4,000-square-yard cavern, buried about 10 yards beneath the desert near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho, was dug about 2,000 years ago and was in use for about half a millennium, archaeologist Adam Zertal said.
The cave’s main hall, about three meters tall, is supported by some 20 stone pillars and has a variety of symbols etched into the walls, including crosses dating back to about AD 350 and Roman legionary emblems.

(Checking the UN Closure Maps of 2008, it does show Jericho is still Palestinian; however, the magenta encircling of Israeli settlements,the “boundary” wall protecting the “closed areas,” checkpoints, closed roads are scary. Pretty soon all Palestinian cities will be like Gaza. Or are they, in reality, already that way?)
Unpleasant start to my internet browsing….

Posted by: jawbone | Jun 27 2009 15:45 utc | 16

I can’t help wondering why every highlighted (MoA-linked) article on Iran reinforces the general MoA philosophy, while far more expert commentary is omitted.
parviz, i posted a link that did not “reinforce the general MoA philosophy” in a rather weak attempt (on my part) to identify with the protesters, to find some common ground, but of course that doesn’t fit with your overall depiction of MoA, so you omit it.
i’m tired of making this point, but you’re ceaseless rhetoric demands it, so here it goes, one more time: we are not a homogenous group of “sectarian cultists” supporting the violent crackdown of your countrymen.

Posted by: Lizard | Jun 27 2009 15:48 utc | 17

(Sorry, this was posted just now the wrong thread):
Scott, since you “vehemently disagree” with my assertion I can only assume you profess to be an expert in the Koran. Have you ever actually read it? How can you “vehemently defend” something you’ve never read, or only partially read? O.K., here is a random smattering of examples:
4.89: “They long that ye should disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that ye may be upon a level (with them). So choose not friends from them till they forsake their homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them”. (In plain English: “Kill non-Muslims wherever you find them”, which forms the basic justification for the atrocities committed by Al Qaeda).
5.51: “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (= so much for religious tolerance!)

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:09 utc | 18

8.67: “It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.” (In fact, Tehran Friday Prayers leader Ahmad Khatami, by yesterday demanding that the protesters be ‘executed’ in order to “teach them a lesson”, is following the law of the Koran verbatim).
22.19: “These twain (the believers and the disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads,
22.20: Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted;
22.21: And for them are hooked rods of iron.
22.22: Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning.”
(= basically, non-Muslims will go to Hell, so you guys/gals had better convert pronto!).
I could go on and on, as I did on this Blog, a year ago, when I similarly criticized the Talmud which I believe is even worse. I don’t see what this has to do with ‘exile Cubans’, self-loathing and your other non-sequiturs. Kindly explain.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:09 utc | 19

Lizard, I wasn’t referring to you but to the above links on this new thread which cite the Guardian and Independent, since they apparently reinforce MoA prejudices, but not superb articles from universally accepted sources like Sadjadpour who echoes everything we others have been saying. He was very much pro-Khamenei before recent events.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:12 utc | 20

“I think Parviz is lucky he is leaving in Iran where he can write such blasphemous dribble”
hans, you’ve missed the point entirely. It’s Apostasy if Muslims DON’T do what the Koran says.
I’m not making a value judgement here, mainly stating the facts contained in a book I’ve read from cover to cover.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:15 utc | 21

In fact, hans, you’d make a great Muslim since you demanded a “tougher crackdown”. Ayatollah Hans. I’ll do the circumcision for free.
Disclaimer: I’m not a Doctor, which will make my amateurish attempts even more pleasurable.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:17 utc | 22

Goodness!
Parviz sounds like a good Born Again Baptist, now.
C’mon, Parviz —
i bet ya voted for Bush.
You can tell us.
(Eh. Maybe not. Payday’s a bitch, yeah?)

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 27 2009 16:19 utc | 23

From German-Foreign-Polocy.com
http://tinyurl.com/mmmqqw

BERLIN (Own report) -The German foreign intelligence service is predicting shifts in the global power constellation and is demanding “a geo-strategic debate in Germany.” According to a classified Federal Intelligence Service (BND) study, the collapse of the western national economies, whose recuperation is unpredictable, could lead to a drastic acceleration of China’s rise and the decline of West Germany’s long-term primary ally, the United States. This intelligence service paper is being currently discussed in Berlin and excepts have been leaked to the press to prepare public opinion for possible changes in global policy orientation. “A long-term global crisis” cannot, for the moment, be excluded, assesses the BND, who, if this happens, is anticipating “massive unemployment and movements of migration in unprecedented dimensions” as well as an escalation of nationalism and very serious international tensions. An essential question, for the future global conflict constellations, according to this paper, will be if Russia can be bound to the West or if Moscow will go over to the Chinese adversary.

The rest is worth reading.

Posted by: Thrasyboulos | Jun 27 2009 16:45 utc | 24

Parviz@22
I cringe, my legs automatically crossed, OUCH.

Posted by: DavidS | Jun 27 2009 16:55 utc | 25

China_Hand, exactly what is wrong with you? I made a statement, it was challenged, I proved my point and now you come bitching in and sticking your head where it doesn’t belong.
I frankly don’t like ANY religion (except possibly the Zoroastrian which died out after the Arabs invaded us), so where did you get that Baptist shit from?
Come on, you and many others have constantly insulted me, now it’s your turn: You and your sidekick Outraged are just two big overgrown babies playing a silly game of “provoke Parviz”. Grow up. If you believe the excerpts in posts 18 and 19 are false then cpome out and disprove them. But cut the ga-ga-goo-goo baby talk.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 16:55 utc | 26

Thrasyboulos, that was great but I couldn’t open the link to read the rest. FYI, the BND in 1975 predicted the Iranian Revolution, so this is really a source worth paying attention to.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 17:39 utc | 27

Recount of 10% of random votes , not only will be conducted and monitored by newly selected special council with presence of candidates representatives, it will be done with presence of Media.
Special council comprise of Velayati, Hadad Adel Rahimian, Aboturabi, Jahromi, Dori najafabadi.
Rafsanjani’s compromise face saving plan is written all over it, as expected he will sacrifice Musavi.
If this plan gets Musavi approval , it will be impossible for him to explain this to his supporter , because this council is more pro ANejad than Guardian council members
Rahimian: Leader representative in Martyr foundation
Hadad: Former parliament speaker , relative of leader
Aboturabi: Parliament member , Chairman Deputy
Dori: prosecutor general , former intelligent chief
Jahromi : prominent legal expert , former GC member
Velayati :former foreign minster, leader’s advisor

Posted by: Loyal | Jun 27 2009 17:52 utc | 28

China_Hand, exactly what is wrong with you? I made a statement, it was challenged, I proved my point and now you come bitching in and sticking your head where it doesn’t belong.
I know atheists and christians from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon, and not a single one has ever quoted those passages from the Koran to mixed, Western company.
Meanwhile, i have seen those specific tracts repeatedly highlighted in Israeli and US Evangelical propaganda, usually leading to some sort of conclusion along the lines of “so now let’s go bomb them until they don’t exist so we can please God.”
Odd, then, for a guy who claims to be a 60 year old Irani who’s got extensive experience with the West and a perfect command of English choose, for virtually his only select set of quotations, to highlight those hotly contested passages from the Koran, rather than any of the myriad selections that are daily emphasized in the religion itself among its believers, practitioners, and community faithful.
That’s what my problem is, Parviz:
You sound like a born-again baptist, or a “bomb Iran” type ADL member.
Giving you the benefit of the doubt, i’ll say it was a mistake on your part. But if you really are who you say you are, you’ll acknowledge the truth of what i’m saying and take a pass on the insults and word-stuffing you’ve recently gotten habituated to.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 27 2009 18:05 utc | 29

Here’s the full url, Parviz.
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56258

Posted by: Thrasyboulos | Jun 27 2009 18:23 utc | 30

parvis, it is not right to take the words out of context. you cut off the segment. read what comes directly after it. keep in mind (also, i believe the english translation is ‘guides’ not ‘friends’.
3. There are several verses in the Koran that refer to killing the unbelievers (worshipers of stones), such verses relate directly to the battle fields of 1500 years ago, when early Muslims were persecuted as the early Christians persecuted.

Hypocrites [4.88-91]
[4.88] What is the matter with you that you are two parties concerning the hypocrites when Allah has overthrown them for what they earned? Would you desire to guide those whom Allah has caused to be led astray? Whosoever Allah leads astray, you will not find for him a way.
Those who believe and those who do not are not equal [4.89-91]
[4.89] They wish that you would disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal. Therefore, do not take a guide from them until they emigrate in the way of Allah. Then, if they turn back take them and kill them wherever you find them. Do not take them for guides or helpers,
[4.90] except those who join to a nation in which there is between you and them a treaty, or they come to you with their chests constricted from fighting you or fighting their nation. Had Allah willed, He would have given them power over you, and then they would have certainly fought you. Therefore, if they keep away from you and do not fight you, offering you peace, then Allah does not make any way for you against them.
[4.91] You will find others desiring to be secure from you, and secure from their own nation. Whenever they are called back to sedition, they plunge into it. If they do not keep away from you and offer you peace, and restrain their hands, take them and kill them wherever you find them. Those, over them, We give you clear authority.

IOW, to read the whole section it is clearer. it basically says kill them when you find them unless (EXCEPT) if they are part of a nation you have a treaty with or come and surrender or leave you alone basically. but if they don’t leave you alone or come in peace, kill them. this is rules for warfare, is it not? either way they text (4.89-91) should be read as one passage.

Posted by: annie | Jun 27 2009 18:51 utc | 31

China_Hand, oh, sorry, dearie me, I thought the purpose of this Blog was to uncover the truth, which means that an honest intellectual shouldn’t hide facts simply in order to prove a point.
I even said that the Jewish religion was “even worse”, and I can also quote horrific verses from Deuteronomy, which puts paid to your pathetic ‘Evangelical Jewish’ propaganda accusation.
“Hotly contested quotations”? I have a hundred more, and maybe a thousand from the Babylonian Talmud. How does this all support ‘bombing Iran’, the nation I love?
You really screwed up on this one, big time, and aren’t man enough to say you’re sorry.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 18:51 utc | 32

Thanks, Thrasyboulos, it makes for very depressing indeed.

Posted by: Parviz | Jun 27 2009 18:54 utc | 33

jawbone #16. it is very common for people in israel to consider all of palestine israel. the maps don’t distinguish the west bank or gaza. they have t shirts all over the place in the tourist areas of the whole region w/ISRAEL on the map. i was talking to some kids at the youth hostel in tel aviv who were from LA, they walked me over to the big map on the wall (all the hostels have them) and insisted it was all israel. the map of course made no distinction whatsoever for the palestinian territory.
i am going to write something up about my experience there, it is just taking me a while to meld all the feelings i had about my trip and the people i met.

Posted by: annie | Jun 27 2009 19:06 utc | 34

annie @34 I went to Goa on a vacation, the IDF send their new conscripts to Goa for R&R, the soliders also was showing everyone the map of Israel, I remember saying “ah what happened to the west Bank”, they seemed to be so high on “E” they did not hear me or I might have been in hospital. Their are truly fu**ed MF. They must have worms growing in their brains.

Posted by: hans | Jun 27 2009 19:16 utc | 35

…oh, sorry, dearie me, I thought the purpose of this Blog was to uncover the truth, which means that an honest intellectual shouldn’t hide facts simply in order to prove a point.
Except that, as annie pointed out, your post not only hid facts, but hid them in a manner that purposefully distorted their meaning and intent.
And while annie called you on the facts, i pointed out that your behavior is not much like any of the Middle Easterners — whether Muslim or non-Muslim — whom i have had meaningful conversations and discussions with, but was instead much like US evangelical and Zionist propaganda i have come across.
You introduced your “facts” — which were shown to be incomplete, biased, and misleading — and i introduced mine.
Annie “won”, however. My comments are simply presented for what they are. I’m not going to argue with anyone about them; they come from my experience, and are simply my personal take on what’s going on here.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 28 2009 6:33 utc | 36

Many hostels in Thailand, the Philippines, and even some here in Taiwan refuse to house people who carry an Israeli passport. It’s not so bad for the women, but guys often have quite the hard time of it.
They find they cause too much trouble, among both customers and staff.
Some might call it “racist”, but there is certainly no Asian tradition of jew-baiting, or anti-semitism — and while Israel as a state has existed for some sixty years, it’s only in the last twenty or thirty that they’ve had any recognizable presence among the hostel crowd in Asia.
So the policy would seem, on its surface, to be the result of preponderantly bad experiences.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 28 2009 6:42 utc | 37

B’Tselem founder Amnon Kapeliouk dies
May he rest in peace and his legacy live forever

Posted by: Sam | Jun 28 2009 7:18 utc | 38

Annie@34
I’ve been waiting to read a report from your action. I thought I may have missed it when I was floating the river.
So I wait some more, let that thing fester in yer brain some more, and when it’s ready I’m sure it will crawl out 🙂
Ideas, as I’m sure you know, have a way of being like that.

Posted by: DavidS | Jun 28 2009 7:25 utc | 39

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