| Iran says revolutions will reach Europe Posted: 04 May 2011 06:12 PM PDT From Tehran Times: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has stated that the European nations will certainly rise up against their governments, which are blindly following the policies of the United States and the Zionist regime.
The Leader made the remarks during a meeting with thousands of teachers on Wednesday on the occasion of the National Teachers' Day....
"People's awakening in the Middle East and North Africa is the continuation of the Iranian nation's great movement, and this awakening will certainly spread to the heart of Europe," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
He went on to say, "The European nations will certainly rise up against their politicians and leaders who made them submit to the cultural and economic policies of the U.S. and the Zionists."
On the important role the teachers can play to push ahead the Islamic awakening, the Leader said the teachers should raise public awareness and strengthen unity and solidarity through developing talents and training strong-willed, faithful, insightful, committed, and knowledgeable students.
He also said that the most important obligation of the education system is training the people who are capable of safeguarding the principles of the Islamic system and promoting the Iranian nation's great movement. But when people rise up against Iran or Syria, they are just proving they are Zionist stooges. 
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| Reagan wasn't the last actor in the White House Posted: 04 May 2011 01:15 PM PDT A fascinating look behind the scenes of Obama's speech to the nation Sunday night, from Reuters photographer Jason Reed:  | | This photo was not taken during the speech! | As President Obama continued his nine-minute address in front of just one main network camera, the photographers were held outside the room by staff and asked to remain completely silent. Once Obama was off the air, we were escorted in front of that teleprompter and the President then re-enacted the walk-out and first 30 seconds of the statement for us. Poynter.org researched the history: Doug Mills, New York Times photojournalist and former Associated Press staffer, says it has been done this way "always, always … well, as long as I have covered the White House, going back to the Reagan administration. We [still photographers] have never, never, never, ever been allowed to cover a live presidential address to the nation!"
Poynter's Senior Faculty for Visual Journalism, Kenny Irby, explains, "The most obvious concern is noise. The 35mm cameras emit shutter noise, that would be multiplied by several photographers and increased by the echo which resonates off of the marble floors. The other visual distraction is the placement of the teleprompter that impedes the photographers' line of sight to the president." That article concludes: It is time for this kind of re-enactment to end. The White House should value truth and authenticity. The technology clearly exists to document important moments without interrupting them. Photojournalists and their employers should insist on and press for access to document these historic moments.
In the meantime, anyone who uses these recreations should clearly disclose to the reader the circumstances under which they were captured. Apparently, wire service photographers will happily descend that slippery slope between news and acting. This is of course not nearly as bad as the fauxtography and staged photos we are so used to seeing coming out of the Middle East. Even so, one would hope that the White House would not be acting like Hezbollah in even this small way. (h/t PB) 
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| Great article: "There's Something About Winning" Posted: 04 May 2011 11:50 AM PDT From the Jewish Journal, by David Suissa: I'll never forget sitting with a group of intellectuals several years ago, at the height of the messy war in Iraq, and discussing why President Bush and America had fallen so low in the esteem of the world. One great mind after another offered sophisticated analyses. My head was spinning.
Finally, someone piped up: "Everything would be different if Bush were winning the war."
At which point a distinguished professor from Israel said: "This is brilliant! Bush's real problem is that he's not winning!" I sat there, slightly stunned, thinking: How can something so complicated lend itself to such an easy insight?
I reflected on that insight the other night when President Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden after a nearly 10-year pursuit. Here was a president who had suffered relentless criticism for his handling of foreign affairs. And now, as Jeffrey Goldberg wrote on his blog: "Our President, in the blink of an eye, has gone from a hyper-criticized, seemingly-swamped possibly-one-term leader to an American hero, a commander-in-chief who calmly oversaw the killing of the greatest mass murderer in American history."
And why did he become a hero? Not because he made one of his inspiring speeches or announced a brilliant new policy.
He became a hero because he got a win. It's as simple — and as complicated — as that.
We love to teach our kids that life is not about winning and losing but "how you play the game." That may be true when you're dealing with people of good faith. But when you're dealing with people who are out for blood, it's a good idea to know how to win.
Naturally, Jews and Israel have always been juicy targets for people out for blood. So, how should one deal with such aggression?
I found a wonderful answer last week in a shoe store, of all places, on trendy St. Denis Street in downtown Montreal. The French Canadian owner of the store, who has been there for 25 years, decided last year to carry a woman's shoe line from Israel called Beautifeel. Well, wouldn't you know it, within a few months, a vicious boycott campaign was under way against the store, led by a popular local politician, Amir Khadir.
To give you an idea of the tone of their campaign, one of the boycotters' leaflets had an oversize image of a woman's shoe stomping on a pile of buried naked bodies — reminiscent of those horror shots of emaciated bodies you see in Holocaust documentaries. Written on the shoe was "Beautifeel. Made in Apartheid Israel." On top was the headline, in French, "Boycottons la boutique Le Marcheur" ("Let's boycott the boutique Le Marcheur").
Week after week, the boycotters recruited large and noisy crowds to hand out the leaflets and implore people not to enter Le Marcheur. Their mission was to pressure the owner, Yves Archambault, to stop carrying the Israeli shoe line so that the neighborhood would be "apartheid free." But Archambault refused, out of principle. It didn't seem right to him that he should be told how to run his business. His business suffered, but he held firm.
The story hardly ends there. The Jewish community in Montreal got wind of the boycott and went nuts. A "buycott" campaign was launched, and Jews from all over the city came to buy shoes at Le Marcheur. A woman bought a hundred pairs. Archambault became a local hero.
Meanwhile, creative minds went to work producing counter leaflets mocking the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement as "Boycott Derangement Syndrome," explaining the discrimination and hypocrisy inherent in the movement. These leaflets gave people the Israeli side of the story. Archambault did his own research and found out that the Israeli shoe company (besides making great shoes!) hired women, minorities and Palestinians and treated their employees very well. The Quebec General Assembly drafted a unanimous resolution condemning the boycott and supporting the store.
And what happened to the initiator of the boycott, Amir Khadir? He went low-key and stopped coming to the demonstrations. Apparently, he concluded that the backlash might not be good for his political future.
I tell you this story not to remind you of the insidious global movement to demonize the Jewish state. That's old hat by now. I'm telling you this story because it's a tribute to the noble virtues of fighting back and winning.
Too often, we recoil at the idea of fighting. It leaves a bad taste in our mouth. We dread the thought of "lowering ourselves to the level of mudslinging." We prefer notions like "engagement" and "bridge building."
But the nasty boycotters of St. Denis Street who used Nazi imagery to malign an Israeli shoe company were not looking for engagement or bridge building. They were looking for blood — and a victory.
Faced with such aggression, how else to respond but to fight back?
Yes, in such cases, life is a zero sum game. One side wins, and the other side loses. The Jewish community of Montreal, with the support of a brave French Canadian shoe merchant, fought back ferociously and smartly against what it perceived as a grave injustice to the State of Israel. And, guess what — they won.
It's not as dramatic as taking down bin Laden, but we'll take it. (h/t Max) 
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| The fruits of "unity:" Hamas terror TV being broadcast in West Bank Posted: 04 May 2011 10:52 AM PDT Palestine Today reports that in the wake of the Hamas/Fatah agreement, Hamas' "Al Aqsa TV" is now resuming broadcasts from Ramallah. That station is known for showing blatantly anti-semitic shows as well as the famous "Pioneers of Tomorrow" children's show inciting hate against Israel. I once made a humorous video about that show: Here's MEMRI's page for the station you you can see the fine quality of Hamas Terror TV for yourself. 
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| Afternoon links Posted: 04 May 2011 10:05 AM PDT Human Rights Watch head Ken Roth tweeted "Ban Ki-Moon wrong on #Osama bin Laden: It's not "justice" for him to be killed even if justified; no trial, conviction. Cluelessness defined: The National Jewish Democratic Council wrote, in response to the Fatah/Hamas unity agreement: We are hopeful that President Obama will show continuing strong leadership; that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not see this as a reason to be deterred from presenting bold steps towards a lasting peace; and that this reported accord will put pressure on the most extreme elements of Palestinian society to lay down their weapons and end this generation's old conflict. YNet must-read op-ed by Manfred Gerstenfeld on the nypocrisy of world leaders praising Bin Laden's execution when they vilified Israel for doing the same to Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004. Khaled Abu Toameh asks if Hamas will take over the PA. A good (subscription-only) article by Noah Pollak about B'Tselem. Ma'an lists the likely candidates for new PA PM. Israel Matzav notes that the fawning Vogue story about the Assads of Syria has mysteriously disappeared from their website. A new Israeli technology can help map archaeological treasures in 3D up to 150 meters underground. (h/t Noah, Gerald) 
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| Netanyahu's comments on the Hamas/Fatah deal (video) Posted: 04 May 2011 09:22 AM PDT |
| "CIA, Mossad set up drug labs on Iran's borders" Posted: 04 May 2011 08:52 AM PDT Today's bit of paranoia out of Iran from FARS News: CIA and Israeli spy agency, Mossad, have set up a number of drug laboratories along Iran's Eastern borders to produce and smuggle hallucinogenic drugs to Iran, sources reported.
"The CIA-Mossad Joint Staff has started setting up hallucinogenic-drugs production centers at Iran's Eastern borders (with Afghanistan) to produce and smuggle huge drug cargos to Iran through collaboration with the drug mafia operating on the other sides of Iran's Eastern borders (in Afghanistan), " Researcher and investigator Majid Abhari told FNA on Wednesday.
The source said this joint staff has embarked on encouraging drug-traffickers to smuggle these cargos to Iran through odd methods like credit transaction, because drug dealers and traffickers do all their transactions in cash, and credit transaction is meaningless as far as drug deals are concerned.
Earlier, Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar had warned that the Zionist and CIA agents are seeking to boost drug-trafficking in Iran.
"Zionists and CIA's intelligence and security agents stationed in the region are helping drug-traffickers to cross Iran's shared borders with Afghanistan," Mohammad Najjar said last month.
He added that the so-called human rights advocate (the US) is so furious at Iran that it has made large investments to replace traditional drugs with industrial drugs to change drug addiction habits in Iran.
The destructive effects of industrial drugs, like crack and Morphine, is more than the traditional ones and the enemy has planned to spread drug addiction, specially addiction to these industrial narcotics, in Iran, Mohammad Najjar warned. I think we have proof positive that some Iranians are on crack, from just this article. 
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| Who oversees US aid to Palestinian Arabs? (Joffe) Posted: 04 May 2011 07:54 AM PDT A very important article by Alexander Joffe in Hudson-NY: In Palestinian economics, where all the money goes is unclear -- but where does all the money come from? Which U.S. programs give how much and who has legislative oversight? Now that Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister Salaam Fayyad has announced a plan for September for unilateral Palestinian statehood, which includes a request for $5 billion over three years -- and presumes that the newly announced Fatah-Hamas rapprochement does not scuttle all American aid -- the problem of oversight is all the more pressing.
...Economic Support Funds provided by USAID can not go directly to the Palestinian Authority without a waiver to the Appropriations Committee from the U.S. president saying that it is in the interest of U.S. national security to provide them, and and a certification from the Secretary of State regarding the PA's treasury, payroll and civil service – all according to section 2106 of chapter 2 of title II of Public Law 109-13, a 2005 emergency supplemental defense and relief bill (and Public Law 108-199 of 2004 before it).
Public Law 109-13, for example, requires, among other things, that the President certify that Palestinian security services have purged their ranks of terrorists, that the Palestinian Authority stop incitement against Israel, and that it cooperate with the US. in investigations of Yassir Arafat's finances. These waivers have been provided annually despite the fact that Palestinian incitement continues, Palestinian security forces are still laden with terrorists, and Yassir Arafat's money is still missing.
...In fact, the legislative system of appropriations and oversight matters very little when it comes to U.S. aid to the Palestinians: the system of foreign aid permits the president to independently "certify" or "waive" requirements introduced by Congress. It demonstrates the extent to which U.S. aid to the Palestinians is an instrument of Executive policy rather than an altruistic enterprise authorized by the Legislative branch.
....Legislation proposed in Congress to limit or condition funds to the Palestinian Authority or UNRWA are largely meaningless in this light. The "UNRWA Humanitarian Accountability Act," for example, offered by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in 2010, demanded that UNRWA not be used by or support Palestinian terrorists. But like the appropriations bills described above, it offers the Executive branch an out by requiring only "a written determination by the Secretary of State, based on all information available after diligent inquiry, and transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees along with a detailed description of the factual basis therefore." Such a statement is a foregone conclusion. The mechanisms for Congress to review results independently, hearings, reports from Congressional staff, the Congressional Research Service, and the Government Accountability Office, have no weight except in the politics of the next appropriations cycle.
Aid the Palestinians is a microcosm of the larger question of how U.S. foreign aid works. Now that Hamas will evidently join Fatah in a Palestinian Authority poised to declare statehood and request vast additional support, creating genuine Congressional oversight -- with teeth -- should be addressed once again. Read the whole thing. 
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| Hamas executes "spy," already violating unity agreement Posted: 04 May 2011 06:57 AM PDT From Ma'an: Gaza's Ministry of the Interior announced the death Wednesday of a man convicted of collaboration, identified only as A.S., and said to have been found guilty of spying.
It is the sixth execution that has been carried out by the Gaza government, in contradiction to a Palestinian law that necessitates the approval of the president before death sentences are carried out.
The ministry said in a statement that the death sentence was carried out after all means of appeal had been completed, and after obtaining the approval of the Gaza government. So exactly what kind of "unity" is it when Hamas can brazenly do whatever it wants independent of the official Palestinian Arab leadership? The answer seems to be that Hamas does not believe that Abbas is the legal president! 
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| Carter's WaPo op-ed proves, again, he is an idiot Posted: 04 May 2011 05:52 AM PDT A couple of points in Jimmy Carter's op-ed in the Washington Post today calling on the world to embrace an illusory Palestinian Arab "unity" government that is filled with terrorists. One is that Carter is almost certainly mixing up what he wanted to hear with what he did hear from Khaled Meshal: In my talks with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, he said Hamas would accept a two-state agreement that is approved in a Palestinian referendum. Such an agreement could provide mutual recognition — Israel would recognize an independent Palestinian state and Palestine would recognize Israel. In other words, an agreement will include Hamas's recognition of Israel. Meshal is not generally a liar, but he is good at stretching the truth to gullible Westerners. He's pretty open about his anti-Israel positions. And what he has said publicly is not that Hamas would accept a two-state solution, but that Hamas would temporarily accept a Palestinian Arab state in the West Bank and Gaza as a first stage towards the destruction of Israel. There is a world of difference between the two. In 2006: [Meshal] promised, "Muslims will take over the world," and he explicitly said his organization's plan is to deceive Israel with semantics.
In his speech, the Hamas leader explained that his people are willing to continue fighting Israel even if it takes 1000 years for victory. Mr. Meshaal also said one aspect of Hamas's current strategy is to rely on such tools as using statements like "we love peace" or "we have given up the option of war," while still planning Israel's destruction.
Mr. Meshaal also promised: "Before Israel dies, it must be humiliated and degraded. … We will make them lose their eyesight, we will make them lose their brains." I have documented plenty of times that Meshal has played these very semantic games to imply recognition of Israel but without actually indicating any desire to do so. And just today, a Fatah spokesman dismissed any chance of Hamas recognizing Israel: A Palestinian official close to President Mahmoud Abbas has called the demand that Hamas recognises Israel's right to exist "unfair".
Mr Abbas's government is set officially to sign a reconciliation agreement with Hamas later today in Cairo, despite the terrorist organisation's continued refusal to fulfil US and Middle East Quartet demands to renounce violence and recognise the principle of Israel's legitimacy.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Shaath told Israel Radio that the requirements were "unfair, unworkable and [did] not make sense"."
He said all that was necessary was for Hamas to "refrain from any violence ... and be interested in the peace process". Nice how Fatah has redefined the Quartet's requirements to allow Hamas to maintain its belligerent, intransigent stance. Just like Jimmy! One other part of Jimmy's op-ed is noteworthy: If they [the international community] remain aloof or undermine the agreement, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory may deteriorate with a new round of violence against Israel. Even Jimmy Carter, who loves peace and loves "Palestine," admits that they will turn to violence if they don't get what they demand. He's half right. They will turn to violence if they don't get what they want. But they will also turn to violence if they do get what they say they want - because their demands will never end. Everyone knows what these demands are: releasing all prisoners including the worst terrorists, forcing Israel to allow millions of Arabs to "return", kicking all Jews out of the Old City of Jerusalem and much of the rest of the city as well, and uprooting hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in a massive exercise of ethnically cleansing Jews from their traditional, historic home in Judea and Samaria. These demands have not changed one tiny bit since 1988, over decades of Oslo through years of a terror war. It is nice to see that Carter admits that Palestinian Arabs are inherently violent. Too bad that this fact is so self-evident that it is not considered a problem anymore for enlightened, peaceful people like Jimmy. 
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| Rifts in "unity" - before the ceremony! Posted: 04 May 2011 04:28 AM PDT From YNet: The news agency Maan reported that the signing of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement in Cairo is being delayed because of a seating arrangement issue.
According to the report, an argument has broken out over the spot where Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal will sit. According to another report, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to sit next to Mashaal, and demanded to be presented as the Palestinian president instead of the head of his political party. From other Arabic news sources, it seems to me that Hamas is not accepting Abbas as president of the PA even under this agreement (this has long been their official position, since his official term in office ended.) Which is just one more indication that this agreement is a sham. Hamas will retain its own security in Gaza and it will be part of the government as much as Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's - enough to veto whatever they don't like but not subservient to it or subject to the PA's laws. (h/t Richie) 
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| Vowing revenge for Bin Laden in Jerusalem, Gaza (videos) Posted: 04 May 2011 02:27 AM PDT Here is a video of a preacher at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem calling for the death of Obama and Bush for killing Bin Laden: (original uncut video was uploaded by the preacher himself on Monday. YNet story here.) Here is Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh condemning the assassination and calling Bin Laden a holy warrior. He is now part of the Palestinian Arab government. (h/t Joel) 
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