יום חמישי, 16 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Islamic Jihad accidentally compliments IDF defenses

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 07:00 PM PST

Islamic Jihad newspaper Palestine Today has an article about the IDF's UAV, the Heron-1, that in many ways reads  like promotional literature:

The Zionist enemy does not stop even for a moment its development of combat, technical, and technological capabilities in all fields of military, due to the fear that lives in his being; he knows very well that the Palestinian people will not give up their usurped rights, and that what was taken by force will be retaken by force eventually.

The Zionist air force recently introduced two reconnaissance-type "Heron 1" UAVs for field work, which increases the burden of the Palestinian resistance, which to this day has been able to overcome these technical modern military tactics and baffle new methods of military occupation.

An [Islamic Jihad] "Media War" reporter conducted an exclusive interview with one of the leaders of the military intelligence agency of the Al-Quds Brigades, "Abu Mohammed," to identify the new capabilities of the reconnaissance plane. He said, "The Heron 1 is an unmanned fourth generation reconnaissance aircraft which was developed by the Zionist aircraft industries (IAI), Department of Unmanned Aircraft (UAV)", pointing out that it... can have any work long hours in difficult weather conditions.

He added: "This aircraft was built with modern technology and is very advanced. It can take off and land automatically, and it covers a large area of ​​land with high accuracy."

The Quds Brigades intelligence chief said that the Heron 1 used for reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting and directing fire at any moving target with high accuracy, stressing that the Heron has the ability to fly continuously for more than 52 hours at an altitude of 35,000 feet.

Abu Mohammed continued, "The plane is loaded with electronic sensors, including infrared sensors, and it has light sensors in addition to the various radar systems."

Abu Mohammed said that the Heron is able to connect to a permanent ground control station by linking to electromagnetic data waves directly or via Zionist satellite.

All the Mujahideen in all fields of jihad and the resistance on the blessed land of Palestine must take all degrees of caution and camouflage and follow all proper security methods to move away from the sensors and the other Zionist methods of spying and surveillance. Modern technology is used by the enemy to undermine the Palestinian resistance, so Mujahideen must comply with all security regulations to preserve their lives, so as not to be easy prey to the Zionist enemy that lurks on them day and night.
The page includes photos of the UAV that were taken off the Internet.

The Heron-1 is not new; the IDF bought them in 2005 and used them in Operation Cast Lead.

Islamic Jihad "inteligence" found nothing about the UAV that was not in the Wikipedia page about it.

Interestingly, the page shows that the Moroccan Air Force owns three of them!

01/15 Links Pt2: Law Frim- Drop ASA or face Civil Rights suit, Neil Young Tours Israel

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Walt Disney's Anti-Semitism, and Modern Day Bias Towards Israel
The irony is that while Meryl Streep was condemning Walt Disney for associating with extremists, she herself was doing the very same thing. The actress to whom she gave that award when she made her anti-Disney speech, her close friend Emma Thompson, is active in the anti-Israel boycott movement.
Streep hailed Thompson as "splendid, beautiful, practically a saint… a living, acting conscience." Yet this 'saint,' together with other British actors, publicly urged a boycott of Israel's Habimah theater troupe when it participated in a festival in England. Habimah, of course, has nothing to do with Israeli government policies or any political issues. Its only "crime" is that it's Israeli.
Employment Law Firm: Drop American Studies Assn membership or risk Title VII liability
While over 190 university presidents have denounced the ASA academic boycott of Israel, many have decided either to keep the membership or to leave the decision to individual American Studies Departments. Some others are switching the membership listing to their American Studies Departments, rather than the full University name.
Anything other than a full termination of Institutional Membership, however, opens up the universities to legal liability for national origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
That potential liability is explained in a recent article by two attorneys at the Seyfarth Shaw law firm.
Has your Rep signed Congressional letter against Israel academic boycott?
I reported last Friday on the draft Bipartisan Congressional letter to denounce academic boycott of Israel.
As of Friday, there were 36 signatories. As of yesterday, the number had risen to 57.
The final signature list should be released later this week.
Pro-Israel Christians Protest Dutch Pension Giant's Divestment From Israel
Hundreds of Dutch Christian activists demonstrated outside the headquarters of Dutch pension giant PGGM, to protest the pension company's recent decision to divest from Israeli banks.
The protesters, members of the pro-Israel group Christians for Israel, held up Israeli flags and banners saying "Stop the Boycott of Israel."



Understanding B.D.S. (h/t Daphne Anson)


Did the Indy get it wrong again? G4S denies being investigated over West Bank contracts
More recently, the Indy published an article by Business Editor Jim Armitage (based on an unnamed source) claiming the UK security company G4S "is facing an investigation by international authorities into its alleged activities in…the occupied Palestinian territories". However, this also may be completely inaccurate.
Though, according to Armitage, the "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) UK staff have indicated that it will be investigating the company's work supplying Israeli security services," according to a story in The Jewish Chronicle (The JC), a G4S spokesperson said that the Indy report was 'wrong'. The spokesperson further said that "the firm was not under investigation and that it had not been contacted by the OECD or any government department."
Further, per The JC, the "OECD said it was not directly involved with any such inquiries."
BBC Radio 4 reinforces political narrative through drama
From Selma Dabbagh one does not expect anything other than this kind of agitprop; she has, after all, built a career around producing literature with explicitly political messaging. What is notable is that a BBC employee responsible for the training of journalists found it appropriate to commission, produce and direct such an obviously political piece of drama – with public funding, of course.
'10-year max sentence for Iranian spying on US proves Pollard must be set free'
The 10-year maximum sentence set for an Iranian spy charged with spying on the US raised new questions about why Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard is still in prison, Labor MK Nachman Shai said Tuesday.
Mozaffar Khazaee, an Iranian engineer who worked with US defense contractors, was arrested Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey as he attempted to fly to Tehran via Germany.
He was charged in Connecticut with "transporting, transmitting and transferring in interstate or foreign commerce goods obtained by theft, conversion, or fraud."
A history lesson from David Ward MP
And then comes the history lesson. Brilliant. Cutting. Incisive. Like you've never heard before, Ward tweets: "Sharon's death makes you think. The brutal, genocidal treatment of Jews must never be forgotten but….the Palestinians were not responsible".
Ack!
Why did they never teach us this at school?! The Palestinians were NOT responsible for the Holocaust! Amazing insight. Brilliant. Totally relevant. And of course somehow related to Ariel Sharon's death.
British soccer bosses stay on sidelines with quenelle
The nonprofit Kick It Out, which partners with the FA in fighting racism, issued a statement on Dec. 28 saying only that it was aware of the incident and offered its support to the Football Association in any investigation.
Kick It Out spokesman Richard Bates declined to comment further, telling JTA that the matter is under investigation. A spokesman for the Football Association also declined to comment.
"Not good enough," John Mann, the chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism at the European Parliament, tweeted last month. "You should be leading on challenging this racism. Your statement is weak and puny."
ADL fumes as Polish soccer fans' anti-Semitic chants go unpunished
The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday called on the Polish authorities to reverse a decision by prosecutors not to bring forth charges against fans of the Lech Poznan soccer club who were heard making anti-Semitic chants during a September match against Widzew Lodz.
The ADL cited local media reports which claimed fans chanted "Move on, Jews!" and "Your home is at Auschwitz!" among other incendiary remarks.
Polish church to show painting depicting Jewish killing of Christian children
An 18th-century painting depicting the ritual murder of Christian children by Jews will be uncovered and available for viewing at a Polish cathedral.
The Charles de Prevot painting "Mord Rytualny," or "Ritual Murder," will go on display Thursday at the cathedral in Sandomierz as the Catholic Church marks its International Day of Judaism.
A plaque next to the painting will inform viewers that the Jews did not actually commit ritual murder because it is prohibited by their faith. The information on the plaque was prepared by the Polish Episcopal Conference's Committee for Dialogue with Judaism, according to the Polish daily Gazeta.
"Let's Burn the Jew" is not Anti-Semitic?
Anti-semitism sank to a new low in Canada after a Winnipeg judge ruled that grabbing a Jewish classmate, flicking a lighter to her hair and saying, "Let's burn the Jew," was not anti-Semitic. The incident took place between two fifteen-year-old classmates, where the defendant pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon. The lawyer for the defendant implied that it was the girl's fault that her hair caught fire -- because she pulled away. Then Manitoba Provincial Court Judge Robert Finlayson agreed with the defense that the action was one of teen impulsiveness.
The victim not only stated that the incident "changed her world upside down," but that she needed therapy to deal with her fears and felt that she was blamed by some people in the school for making too much out of the incident.
Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Joins CNN
The American-born Oren, a noted historian, served as Israel's top envoy to the U.S. from 2009-2013. He has already appeared on CNN several times, and penned an obituary for Ariel Sharon for the network.
'You Have to Fight the Battle for Israel in the Fight for Truth'
"15 years ago when the founders of Tagit-Birthright Israel came to me with the idea is to bring young Jews from around the world for 10 days to Israel, I thought these people were crazy, mushugana, loco," said Netanyahu.
"And then I thought, this country was founded by dreamers, great dreamers, and I said to myself, if you're crazy, I'm crazy to, and we are going to do it," he added.
"Taglit-Birthright Israel promises the future of the Israeli State and the Jewish Nation. When you go back to your countries, I want you to keep close to your heart everything you see here, but also share it with your friends, families, with your communities and with college friends because you have to fight the battle for Israel in the fight for truth, and I am counting on you to do it," said the Prime Minister.
Raised Muslim in Gaza, now bar mitzvah in Israel
Until four years ago, D. lived in Gaza with his Jewish mother and Arab father, with no connection to or knowledge of Judaism. L., his mother, moved to Israel from Uzbekistan when she was 14 and rented an apartment in Ofakim with her mother and sister. At 16, she went to work at a packing house in the area to support her family. There, she met A., a 17-year-old from Gaza working illegally in Israel.
German Anne Frank Miniseries To Air Next Year
Next year is the 70th anniversary of Anne Frank's death at 16 in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, and there will likely be a number of major events and projects to commemorate the life of Frank, whose diary, written while her family was in hiding in Amsterdam, has come to symbolize young people's literary introduction to the Holocaust.
One of the projects is a two-part miniseries from the German production company Constantin Film and public broadcaster ZDF, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Moove over touch: Control your iPhone via head movements
Israeli start-up uMoove released on Tuesday the first and so far only, head and face tracking-based app for iPhones and iPads, opening up a new world of interaction with handheld devices, said CEO Yitzi Kempinski. "uMoove's 'Flying Experience' is the only app for iOS that uses the camera and reads head movements to execute commands in a game," he told the Times of Israel in an exclusive interview on the eve of the game's official introduction in the App Store.
Pamela Anderson's holy honeymoon
After quietly remarrying former husband Rick Salomon on Sunday, the 46-year-old actress boarded an El Al flight headed straight for the Holy Land. She is staying at a suite in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
The newlyweds have already taken a trip down to the Dead Sea, reported Ynet.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse lead pack of veterans on the way to Israel
First and foremost, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young and his longtime garage rock backing band Crazy Horse will fill Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv with squalls of amplified grunge on July 17 in a show entitled 'The Past, the Present and The Future with Neil Young and Crazy Horse.'
It will be Young's second performance in Israel, following a 1993 show at the Caesarea Amphitheater with Pearl Jam following their collaboration on the Young album Mirror Ball.
With reports of shows by The Rolling Stones, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga still in circulation, 2014 is shaping up to be one of Israel's most active for musical imports. Did someone mention boycott?
The Everyday Life of Jews in Jerusalem's Old City 120 Years Ago
The oldest pictures of Jews at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City date from the 1850s, such as this photo taken by Mendel Diness.
In his 1871 travelogue, Travels around the World, former U.S. Secretary of State William Seward described the prayers of the Jews at the Western Wall (Kotel) -- "pouring out their lamentations over the fall of their beloved city." He reported the Jewish population of the city was 8,000, twice the number of the Christian or Muslim residents.
Many of the century-old photos of the Jews of the Holy Land were taken during their prayers at the Kotel. Far fewer were the less formal pictures of their everyday life in Jerusalem. We present such pictures here.

A short followup to "amazing Biblical archaeology find" post

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

For some reason, the article I posted (copied from Simcha Jacobovici's blog) about the Deir Alla inscriptions has been getting lots of attention. Metafilter has a thread about it that is typical.

While the article said that this was a "cover-up" - as the original artifact is not displayed anywhere - I don't think Jacobovici is saying that this is being deliberately hidden by scholars. I certainly don't think so. After all, it is mentioned in Wikipedia and other places. What is interesting is that the amount of attention given to this find in the non-scholarly world seems to be disproportionately tiny compared to its significance.

My guess is that Jordanians are not nearly as interested in Biblical-era archaeology as Jews and Christians generally are. There is evidence that Muslim archaeologists tend to discount the importance of Jewish or Biblical-era artifacts (and vice versa.) This does not imply a deliberate cover-up..

Now, let's talk about its significance. Critics are saying that this is not proof of the Torah's authenticity. I agree, and never said it was.

However, this does not make the find any less significant. Right now there are headlines whenever an artifact is found that might bear the name of someone obscure mentioned once in the books of Chronicles or Kings. Anything found from the First Temple period or earlier is considered big news. The mainstream media certainly covered (much scantier) evidence of external evidence pointing to David or Goliath.

Here, though, is something that certainly refers to a major Torah figure, from hundreds of years prior to the era of the Prophets whose artifacts generate press today. The inscription was found in the same geographical area as the Biblical event. The chances that there are two famous prophets named "Balaam, son of Beor" in Jordan is essentially zero.

While it is hard to compare, one would think that this is roughly as important as the Mesha Stele, which also corroborated stories from the times of the Prophets.

(The Biblical story of Balaam is also interesting because it is, I believe, the only story in the Pentateuch from Exodus onward where the Israelites aren't the central characters. They have no idea of the drama happening near their tents. )

I couldn't find any contemporary references to the Deir Alla finds in 1967 newspapers.

So, yes, this seems to be bigger news than something that is relegated to university libraries. The popularity of the post shows this to be true. How you interpret it is up to you.

Iran still engaging in Holocaust revisionism

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

While Hassan Rouhani puts a (sometimes) friendly face on the Iranian regime, its state-controlled media is still filled with the worst kinds of antisemitism (and anti-American rhetoric), including Holocaust revisionism.

In English.

Here are excerpts from a not atypical PressTV article today:

Zionist perversion of history threatens world peace

The planet is being held captive by two rogue terrorist states: the United States and Israel.

Behaving like rabid dogs on the world stage, these two enormous threats to world peace are content to spread their imperial hubris throughout the globe, invading weaker countries and laying siege to millions of defenseless innocents while condemning those who resist Israeli-American imperialism as "terrorists," "threats to peace" and "rogue actors."

..The creation of Israel was a war crime in and of itself, wherein at least 750,000 indigenous Arab Palestinians were either massacred or ethnically cleansed by Zionist gangs such as the Irgun, Haganah and Lehi.This murderous colonial project was sponsored in large part by Britain and the United States. The latter country was itself a by-product of British colonialism and harbours a damnable legacy even worse than that of Israel.

Less known is the role of Nazi Germany in helping the Zionists gain a foothold in Palestine. ...The German SS even provided the Haganah with weapons to do battle with Palestinian Arabs. ..This fact of history illustrates the farcical nature of Zionist-controlled Hollywood's depiction of Hitler as a villainous demon, when in fact Zionist Jews themselves were Hitler's most enthusiastic collaborators.

Upon close inspection, the official story of the holocaust crumbles into pieces. Anyone who has even a mild understanding of the facts cannot continue to believe in the myth of the "six million." ... It turns out the Zionist fixation on the magical number of six million originates with Jewish religious mysticism in the Kabbalah.

...The "new world order" vision of the Zionist elite and their sinister collaborators is a world filled with tyranny and death, where unwanted thoughts and ideas are ruthlessly extirpated, and dissent is crushed with an iron fist. Those seeking truth and justice will be deemed "enemies of the state" and will be promptly executed or relegated to concentration camps, as per the Bolshevik method.

Nothing gets published in Iranian media without government approval.

01/15 Links Pt1: Abbas Applauds Jihad in Jerusalem Call, Oxfam cancels homophobic Hamas speaker

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Left Foot Forward forces Oxfam climbdown over homophobic speaker
The 'Gaza: Through my Eyes' exhibition was due to be hosted by Oxfam and Ibrahim Hewitt, a trustee of Hamas-linked organisation Interpal who has called for the killing of apostates and homosexuals.
Mr Hewitt has previously referred to the "so-called Holocaust" and has demanded that homosexuals suffer "severe punishments" for their "great sin".
The event was scheduled to take place at the East London Mosque, notorious for hosting a number of extremist speakers.
Speaking to Left Foot Forward, Oxfam said it was "strongly committed to upholding universal human rights" and would therefore be cancelling the event.
Abbas applauds after Minister calls for Jihad in Jerusalem
Jihadi fighters should not be fighting in Syria but should go to Jerusalem. This was the message of PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash, in front of Mahmoud Abbas:
"Whoever wants resistance, whoever wants Jihad, the direction for Jihad is well-known and clear... Those who send young people to Syria or elsewhere to die for a misdirected cause must stop and understand that Jerusalem is still waiting. Jerusalem is the direction, Jerusalem is the address."
Al-Habbash was criticizing those who have sent Jihadi fighters from around the world to Syria to fight against Assad's forces. The Palestinian refugee camp in Yarmouk has been the scene of some of this fighting. Abbas, who was in the audience, applauded when Al-Habbash said that Jihadi fighters should not be sent to Syria but to Jerusalem.




Defense minister says sorry for scathing attack on Kerry
In a statement published in English and Hebrew, the defense minister's bureau said Israel greatly appreciates Kerry's efforts and that Ya'alon "did not intend to insult the secretary and he apologizes if the secretary was hurt by the remarks attributed to the defense minister."
The apology was issued after a reportedly long meeting between Ya'alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
The Obama administration had taken Ya'alon to task on Tuesday evening, in a rare public rebuke of a senior Israeli official.
America can dish out insults but can't take them
The Americans have become rather adept at dishing it out when it comes to dissing Israel and Israeli politicians. But it seems that they cannot take it when the roles are reversed.
Sarkozy and Obama insult Netanyahu
Not so very long ago, former President of France Nicholas Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "a liar". President Barack Obama very undiplomatically replied ""You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day.".
That wasn't the only time that Obama disrespected Netanyahu. In 2010 Obama refused to pose for official photos with Netanyahu during a visit to the White House, and then walked out on him while he went to a private dinner, leaving Netanyahu to "consult with advisers and "let me know if there is anything new", a U.S. congressman, who spoke to the Prime Minister, said."
Canadian MP Cotler calls to dismantle UNRWA
"Jurisdiction over the Palestinian refugees should be transferred from UNWRA, which, frankly, continues to engage patterns of incitement against Israel and in misrepresentation of the truth," Cotler said at an event in Jerusalem on Monday staged by the World Jewish Congress' Israel Council on Foreign Relations. The former Canadian justice minister delivered a speech about the Jewish refugees exiled from the Arab states following the establishment of the State of Israel.
Responsibility for dealing with the Palestinians should be transferred to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which handles all other refugee populations, he said.
Harper government's strong Israel stance not matched by official Foreign Affairs policies: former Israeli ambassador says
Alan Baker, a former Israeli ambassador to Canada, and the six lawyers have written to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird demanding the website be changed "to align it with statements and policies publicly expressed by the Prime Minister, yourself and other government representatives."
They are particularly incensed that the website refers to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as "occupied territories" and declares the construction of Israeli settlements and a large barrier inside those areas illegal.
Victims' families sue Livni in terror funding case
A right-wing Israeli civil rights organization on Tuesday petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni be made to respond to a New York court's request for information in a landmark case filed by families of victims of Palestinian suicide bombings.
The Israeli court gave Livni a week to respond to the petition.
Israel's intel succeeded where US failed on Syria nukes, Gates reveals
"Early detection of a large nuclear reactor under construction in a place like Syria is supposedly the kind of intelligence collection that the United States does superbly well. Yet by the time the Israelis informed us about the site, the reactor construction was already well advanced," Gates recalls. "This was a significant failure on the part of the US intelligence agencies, and I asked the president, "How can we have any confidence at all in the estimates of the scope of the North Korean, Iranian, or other possible programs given this failure? Surprisingly, neither the president nor Congress made much of it. Given the stakes, they should have."
Palestinian PM pulled over twice in a day
A vehicle carrying Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was stopped at the IDF's Zatara checkpoint near Nablus Tuesday evening, hours after Israeli police in the West Bank pulled him over for speeding, Army Radio reported
In Tuesday morning's incident, Hamadallah was released after several minutes, but not before he reportedly verbally abused the police officers and then demanded, and received, an apology from Israeli security forces for detaining him.
Palestinians apologize for Prague weapons cache
Palestinian officials have apologized for an illegal weapons stash found earlier this month at the home of the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic.
According to a statement issued Tuesday by the Czech foreign ministry, the Palestinians promised to prevent such occurrences in the future, the Associated Press reported.
Despite arrests, PA forces growing weaker in West Bank
An Israeli military source told The Times of Israel that this is not due to a lack of motivation. He said that the Palestinians do their best sometimes, but it isn't enough. He pointed to the PA's success in confiscating the funds of the Islamic groups, but also to its inability to deal with threats from "home" — Fatah activists in the camps — who do as they please. The source added that if Israel stopped its arrests in PA territory, a wave of terror could erupt against Israeli targets.
Another major problem that Palestinian commentators point to is the significant damage done recently to the status of Palestinian courts. When Salam Fayyad was prime minister, he placed a special emphasis on the standing and role of the courts, but since Rami Hamdallah came into office, the courts have lost their authority. As a result, Palestinian forces hold people in detention without a court order, and even if the court orders their release, they remain in custody. This phenomenon has led to public criticism and harms the legitimacy of the PA security services in the Palestinian street.
Hamas paramilitary camps prepare teens for martyrdom
The camps, titled "the pioneers of liberation," are run by Hamas's ministries of education and interior. Some 13,000 students in grades 10-12 participated in the one-week training camps this year, compared to 5,000 last year when the program was launched, Israeli sources with knowledge of the program said.
The corps of instructors consists mainly of active members of Hamas's security forces, and the curriculum includes weapons training, first aid, self defense, marching exercises and "security awareness" classes on identifying Israeli spies.
JPost Editorial: Egypt's fight for democracy
The proposed charter is not radically different from the one an Islamist-led assembly drafted and approved by a margin of almost two to one just over a year ago.
The new text includes some broader language protecting religious freedom and women's rights, and excises some sections that gave absolute priority to Islamic law in Egyptian jurisprudence.
The most significant changes concern increases in the power and autonomy of the military, police and judiciary – the three governmental institutions that teamed up to help force Mohamed Morsi from power.
US links Egypt aid to reforms, peace with Israel
The bill links the $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid to Egypt's sustaining its security relationship with the US and abiding by the Egypt-Israeli peace pact.
A Senate Appropriations Committee summary of the bill says some of the aid would be given only if the secretary of state certifies that Egypt has held a national referendum, supports a democratic transition and holds democratic elections.
US condemns Iranian FM Zarif for honoring Hezbollah chief
The United States on Tuesday condemned a decision by Iran's foreign minister to place a wreath at the grave of a former Lebanese Hezbollah leader accused of perpetrating attacks that killed hundreds of people.
State Dept: 'There Is No Secret Agreement' with Iran
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and lead negotiator Abbas Araqchi on Monday claimed that key points on the recently signed nuclear deal were contained in a 30-page secret document.
The confidential side deal purportedly contains critical details of how the nuclear deal is to be carried out.
The White House is additionally refusing to release the text of the official deal.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Tuesday that there is no secret deal.
Will we ever fully know the terms of surrender?
The new "moderate" President of Iran has declared victory and international surrender.
But what are the terms of our surrender?
According to Iran, we don't really know; according to the State Deparment, we will find out. Via L.A. Times, New Iran agreement includes secret side deal, Tehran official says :
Fmr. Kerry Aide: Iran Should Not Be Required to Cease Terrorism Against U.S.
A longtime aide for Secretary of State John Kerry is urging senators to oppose a new Iran sanctions measure because it would level tough penalties on Tehran should it carry out a terror attack against Americans anywhere in the world.
One of the requirements of a new bipartisan Iran sanctions bill in the Senate is that President Barack Obama certify "Iran has not directly, or through a proxy, supported, financed, planned, or otherwise carried out an act of terrorism against the United States or United States persons or property anywhere in the world" during nuclear negotiations with the West.
If Iran—one of the top global sponsors of terrorism—is caught committing an extremist act, the bill would require new sanctions to immediately take effect.
Obama can't be trusted on Iran
In the spring of 2006, a veteran Democratic senator visiting Boston was asked at a small gathering what the Democratic Party's strategy was to address the advancing specter of Iranian nuclear capability. "I don't know," he confessed. "With any luck Israel will do something about it and the rest of us will publicly blame Israel."
The senator was not being snide. He was being candid: For many Democrats, the Iranian nuclear issue is suffused with, if not dominated by, wishful thinking.
US-Iranian citizen caught smuggling F-35 plans to Tehran
A dual Iranian-US citizen was arrested in New Jersey last Thursday for attempting to smuggle to Iran the blueprints related to the F-35 joint strike fighter plane, according to US prosecutors.
Mozaffar Khazaee, 59, an engineer at Connecticut-based defense contractor Pratt & Whitney, reportedly arranged in November for a shipping company to transport 44 boxes labeled "household goods" to his brother-in-law in Hamadan, Iran, via Long Beach, California.
Embattled Turkish PM Erdogan Retreats as Islamist Allies Raided
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he was ready to withdraw a contentious bill aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary as he battled to contain the worst crisis of his 11 years in office.
His about-face came as the country's political tumult took yet another twist with police raids against an Islamic charity close to the government that is accused of shipping arms to Syrian rebels.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) branded the police raid - part of a wider operation against Al Qaeda - a "smear campaign" linked to a high-level corruption probe embroiling the Islamic-rooted government, echoing Erdogan's description of the corruption probe that has targeted key members of his inner circle.

Ex-Muslim: German Imam told boys to practice, on chickens, decapitating Jews (video)

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

This is an excerpt of an interview with Barino Barsoum, on Spiegel TV, from 2009:




(h/t Andrew Bostom)

"Racist" Israelis vote for Filipina caregiver on "X-Factor"

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

From AFP:
Celebrations broke out in the Philippines Wednesday after a Filipina caregiver working overseas became the winner of Israel's first "X Factor" television singing contest.

Rose Fostanes, one the millions of Filipino overseas workers who are lionized back home and form a crucial pillar of the country's economy, won the competition late Tuesday with a rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" that delighted fans in both countries.

Local television, news websites, and social media were filled with praise for the unmarried 47-year-old caregiver, who relatives said had worked abroad for more than two decades to support her family.

"We know the situation she was in and we are very proud that she has again given the Philippines pride in the showcase of her talent," President Benigno Aquino's spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters Wednesday.

"The Filipino has an innate advantage when it comes to the arts...It clearly shows that the excellence of the Filipino can be expressed anywhere, everywhere, when they are given the opportunity to show their talent."

Here is one of her songs:



Last year, an Arab Christian woman won Israel's "The Voice," and ersatz "journalist"/Israel-hater Max Blumenthal - in an astonishing display of stupidity even for him - tweeted "Tokenism works!"

I guess he thinks that Israeli voters again colluded to vote for a non-Israeli, not because of her talent but because they don't want to be seen as the racists that he knows Israelis really are.

"He might not speak Hebrew but he does visit Israel often, convinced the only reason he is allowed into the country is because of his "top-grade Ashkenazi Jewish sperm."

(h/t Yoel)

Who told the truth: the IDF or Hamas?

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 02:30 AM PST

Last week I noted that an Islamic Jihad terrorist was killed in Gaza in what every Arab newspaper called an Israeli strike, either from a drone or artillery. I cannot find a single report that gives any other possible reason for his death.

The IDF denied any activity in Gaza at the time.

Here we have a clear case of "he said, she said" - Israeli spokespeople versus Gaza's health ministry spokesman and other Gaza witnesses.

From years of watching the region, I was quite certain that the IDF was telling the truth and the Arabs were lying. Yet there are plenty of people out there who assume that every Israeli statement is a lie and they believe every single Arab claim, despite years of evidence showing the exact opposite.

So who was telling the truth this time?

PCHR publishes a weekly report of supposed Israeli crimes. If they don't mention something, it didn't happen.

They don't mention anything about anyone being killed on January 8.

This is hardly the first time that Gaza's health ministry was found to lie. Maybe one day the world's media will know not to believe a word they say.

Aw, who am I kidding?
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