Iran Calls Shots in Syria

MASSACRING THEIR OWN PEOPLE By Tom Gross April 26

This dispatch is a follow-up to my recent article on Syria.

Because some in the international media are still not covering the six-week-old Syrian uprising properly, and indeed certain journalists are still taking Assad regime propaganda at face value, I attach four videos below.

(As recently as yesterday, the correspondent for The New York Times, for example, was still referring to Bashar Assad as though he was some kind of moderate reformer who may have little or nothing to do with the current crackdown in Syria, much in the same way that for years other writers at The New York Times made excuses for Yasser Arafat, deluding themselves that Arafat had nothing to do with the terrorism which he was in fact initiating.)

Bashar Assad, even more than his father, has formed an ever closer alliance with the regime in Tehran, hence U.S.President Obama’s reference yesterday to the role of Iranian advisors in the present massacre of Syrians.

Israel is on high alert in case Assad and his partners in Tehran create a crisis in Lebanon or Gaza. We should not forget that the cause of the crisis that led to the 1967 Six-Day War was Syrian instability, and the willingness of Syria’s Alawite rulers to act against Israel in order to maintain their rule.

Carrying out acts of terror is nothing new for the Assad family, of course. They have been aiding and abetting terrorism against Israelis, Lebanese, Kurds, Iraqis and others for decades.

Al Jazeera is carrying interviews with witnesses in the city of Daraa, and in the Damascus suburb of Duma, saying that after Syrian security forces have shot unarmed demonstrators, they have then executed many of the injured, and shot anyone trying to help them. The authorities have turned off water and electricity in the area, so the injured can’t be treated properly in hospitals in any case.

Meanwhile, Syria is still in line to become the newest member of the (cruelly misnamed) U.N. Human Rights Council when a vote takes place on May 20 at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Be warned, this first video (filmed over the weekend) is one of the most graphic I have ever posted. (The other two videos after that are not nearly as gruesome. In particular I recommend watching the second video. There are some other notes after the three videos.)

-- Tom Gross

Iran: The Sodom of the 21st Century

As I read Amil Imani's account of behavior that Iran's 'Islamic Republic considers 'compassionate,' I could not help but think of biblical Sodom where a tall guest was put in a short bed and cut down to size while a short person was put in a long bed and stretched all night long. Local residents who welcomed guests were bound to be punished, and in fact one young girl was punished by being tied to a tree covered in honey. You can guess what happened to her. Iran, which considers itself to be moral and religious, sounds remarkably like Sodom in the way it treats those who are different.

Months later, she was informed that the sentence would be implemented at dawn the next day. This presented the last chance for the jailers to beat her as severely as they could before she died. They were intent at making the most savab (performing religiously meritorious acts) they could while they had the chance.

The beating she received on that day was so severe that she lost consciousness. When the executioners arrived to hang her, they could not revive her. They faced a serious problem. How can an unconscious woman who cannot stand on her feet be hanged?

A temporary stay of execution was ordered. In due time, Mrs. M regained consciousness only to suffer many more months of the dreadful ordeal. On several occasions, the order to hang her was re-issued. But the severe repeated beatings had shattered her body as well as her mind. She could no longer stand on her feet. She got around only by crawling. The jailers were relentless in their viciousness. On several occasions, they staged mock hangings. They would come to her cell and say the fatehe (prayer for the dead), place the noose around her neck, and hold her up and let her collapse on the ground.

Eventually, no one knows why, she was released from prison, a barely able to walk. She did not get to die in one day, as did her innocent beloved husband. The demonic agents of the Islamic Republic saw to it that she got to live a life of dying every day for the rest of her life.

The Islamist’s credo is fairly straight forward in dealing with religious minorities or infidels living in their midst: if you can’t reason with them to change their belief then literally beat some sense into their heads. And if that doesn’t work, then a bullet to the head or a noose around the neck ought to put an end to the “problem.”

Read the whole thing.

Labels: cruelty, Iran, religious freedom, Sodom

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:55 AM

Is Ahmadinejad in Political Trouble?

Iran’s president was missing from a cabinet meeting on Wednesday for the second consecutive time adding to speculation that the rift with the country’s supreme leader was widening on Wednesday, agencies reported.

The rift is over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision to dismiss Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi last week, a decision that was revoked by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr. Moslehi was present on Tuesday at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, the body that regulates educational and cultural issues, and which he chairs, Agence-France Press reported.

Mr. Ahmadinejad’s absence in that meeting was particularly noted, as he is known for never missing any opportunity to appear in the media and delivery fiery speeches, AFP said.

No reason was given for his absence by the state’s media.

Earlier on Saturday, in a speech that aired on state TV, Mr. Khamenei said he would intervene in government’s affairs “whenever necessary”—a rebuke to the president for challenging his all-encompassing authority.

The power struggle between the two leaders could be indicative of a serious political crisis in the making—especially ahead of legislative elections scheduled for March 2012. The presidential election will take place in 2013.

Analysts told The Associated Press that Mr. Ahmadinejad is looking to control the intelligence ministry in a bid to influence the next parliament as well as to determine the next president.

However, Mr. Khamenei is also seen as intent on helping shape a new political team, free of Ahmadinejad loyalists, to lead the next government.

It looks like the ayatollah is flexing his muscles to remind Mad Mahmoud exactly what "supreme leader" means.

UPDATE: After I wrote this, AP wrote this up about the topic:

A hard-line cleric warned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday to end an escalating power struggle with Iran's supreme leader, calling it a religious obligation to do so and accusing the country's enemies of trying to sow rifts among its leadership.

The split threatens to destabilize Iran at a time of tension with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program and appears to center on a battle for influence between the two men over next year's parliamentary election and a presidential election in 2013.

"Obedience to the supreme leader is a religious obligation as well as a legal obligation, without any doubt," said Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami. He did not mention Ahmadinejad by name, but it was clear he was referring to the president.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the final word on all matters of state in Iran, and hard-liners consider him above the law and answerable only to God.


As David G wrote in the comments, "'Obedience?!' What does he think Ahmadinejad is? A woman?"

Pan-Arabism First Casualty of Arab Spring

Pan-Arabism, the idea that all Arab countries would eventually combine or at least confederate, seems to be on its last legs.

Pan-Arabism had its heyday in the 1960s, when Egypt, Iraq and Syria federated to create the United Arab Republic.

It has been in decline ever since.

But wishful thinking about the power of a united Arab front continued, mostly in the form of the Arab League, which would meet regularly and where every such meeting would result in de rigueur condemnations of Israel and little else.

Now that Egypt's leadership role in the Arab world has faded as it struggles to discover its own identity, and in the wake of the other Arab uprisings, even the Arab League is falling apart.

A major Arab League summit that was to take place next month in Baghdad has been postponed, and no new date has been set although they are talking about September.

The reason for the postponement is that the Arab League members are squabbling with each other. Iraq is against Saudi Arabian and UAE supporting Bahrain's government in the current Shi'ite uprising there, and Iraq is siding with Iran.

The upheavals in the Arab world are taking the focus off of "Palestine" as each government must actually think about survival. The always-ready excuse of blaming everything on Israel has outlived its usefulness for Arab despots.

While pan-Arabism has been mostly a joke for decades, its most likely successor is not funny at all: pan-Islamism, a construct that Iran hopes to control. Iran also intends to ultimately make Arab identity meaningless, subsumed under the banner of Islam.

While it is too early to know how successful Iran will be - centuries of enmity between Arab and Persian cannot be erased so quickly, and neither can the Shiite/Sunni rift be patched up anytime soon - it is clear that the Islamic Republic is the early winner as the world witnesses the death of pan-Arabism.

FBI Catches POTUS Smuggling to Iran

U.S. businessman and his New York-based company and two others and their company in California were indicted today in Washington, D.C., on charges of illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computer-related equipment from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Jeng “Jay” Shih, 53, a U.S. citizen, and his Queens, New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 27 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without first having obtained the required license from the Department of Treasury.

The indictment charges Shih and his company with one count of conspiracy; 13 counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); 13 counts of making or causing to be made false statements to the United States; and one allegation for criminal forfeiture of property and proceeds derived from these offenses.

Shih was arrested on a criminal complaint in New York on April 6, 2011, and had his initial appearance in court in New York on April 7, 2011. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts and five years for each false statement count.


In addition, Massoud Habibion, 48, aka “Matt Habibion” and “Matt Habi,” and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, aka “Max Motamedian” and “Max Ehsan,” both U.S. citizens, and their Costa Mesa, California, company, Online Micro LLC, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 32 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without the required license from the Department of Treasury.

Habibion was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and four counts of obstruction of justice. Motamedian was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and one count of obstruction of justice.

Habibion and Motamedian were arrested on a criminal complaint in California on April 7, 2011, and had their initial appearance in court in the Central District of California on April 7, 2011. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts, and five years for each false statement and 20 years for each obstruction of justice count.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the Shih criminal complaint, in 2006, Commerce Department agents conducted an outreach visit to Shih’s business in New York where they met Shih and informed him about U.S. laws governing the export of goods from the United States to other countries, particularly embargoed countries like Iran. In April 2010, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents seized hundreds of laptop computers that originated from Sunrise and were destined for Dubai, UAE. Communications related to these shipments indicated that the purchasers were located in Iran, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit alleges that agents subsequently identified a company in Dubai that was purchasing millions of dollars of computers from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai. ICE-HSI agents arrested one of the company’s agents, who pleaded guilty in December 2010 and began cooperating with the government. In interviews with agents, this individual indicated that he and his company in Dubai had purchased millions worth of laptops from Shih in recent years for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month. The affidavit alleges that agents also obtained documents indicating that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih’s company to Dubai and later to Iran, between April 9, 2010, and May 28, 2010, alone.

In February 2011, the cooperating individual met with Shih in New York. In recorded conversations, Shih allegedly told the individual he was aware of the U.S. embargo against Iran and U.S. export control laws. According to the affidavit, Shih also told the cooperating individual how to avoid detection when shipping goods to Iran by using fake invoices and indicated that he treated the seizure of some of his shipments as a “loss” when reporting business income and loses on his U.S. taxes.

The affidavit filed in support of the complaint against Habibion and Motamedian alleges that a company in Dubai, referenced above, purchased millions of dollars worth of laptop computers from Online Micro and that these computers were subsequently shipped to Iran. According to the affidavit, the agent for the Dubai company, who was arrested, pleaded guilty and began cooperating with the government, told federal agents that Habibion and Motamedian sold roughly $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and that Habibion and Motamedian fully understood that the computers were destined for Iran.

In December 2010, the cooperating individual met with Habibion and Motamedian, wherein these defendants allegedly instructed the cooperating individual to make fake invoices to conceal that Iran was the destination of the shipments and to indicate that the end-users were in Dubai.

In addition, the affidavit alleges that in a Jan. 5, 2011, meeting, Habibion told the cooperating individual to lie to federal agents about conducting business in Iran, stating, “If they ask you, for instance, ‘Do you do business in Tehran?’ ‘No, I don't have any business in Tehran. I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there.’ They will ask such questions, it is part of their routine.”

ANOTHER VERSION

WASHINGTON – Three U.S. citizens and their two companies were indicted on Thursday for illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computers to Iran via the United Arab Emirates, the Justice Department said.

It said Jeng Shih, 53, and his New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were charged with 27 counts over exports of the equipment without obtaining the required Treasury Department licenses.

Massoud Habibion, 48, and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, and their firm in Costa Mesa, California, Online Micro LLC, also were indicted in federal court in Washington, D.C., on 32 counts for illegal exports, conspiracy, false statements and obstructing justice.

As part of the investigation, U.S. government agents identified a company in Dubai that had purchased computers worth millions of dollars from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai, Justice Department officials said.

They said one of the Dubai company's employees, who was not identified, pleaded guilty in U.S. court and began cooperating in the investigation.

The employee said laptops worth millions of dollars had been purchased from Shih for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month, the officials said.

Federal agents also obtained documents that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih's company to Dubai and later to Iran just in April and May last year.

In February, the employee met with Shih in New York and recorded conversations in which Shih allegedly said how he used fake invoices on shipments to Iran, the officials said.

They said the Dubai company also bought laptops worth millions of dollars from the California firm for shipment to Iran.

The employee said Habibion and Motamedian sold about $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and knew that the computers were going to Iran.

At a January 5 meeting, Habibion allegedly told the employee to lie to federal agents about doing business in Iran, urging him to say, "I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there," according to court documents.

Alan note: There are reportedly other "players" in this activity and possibly a South America transit point.

ALSO recently:

Iranian man accused of illegal metal exports
By Nedra Pickler

February 1, 2011

WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities announced Tuesday that they have charged an Iranian businessman who they say acted as a "lifeline" to his country's missile program by smuggling metals and other vital materials from the United States in violation of a trade embargo.

The Justice Department said 36-year-old Milad Jafari is at large and believed to be in Iran. He was secretly charged with conspiracy, illegal export and smuggling last July and the 11-count indictment was unsealed Tuesday.

Federal officials said Jafari ran businesses in Istanbul and Tehran that would buy metals like steel and aluminum alloy from U.S. companies and export them through Turkey to hide their true destination, since exports to Iran are prohibited without authorization from the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department said that between 2007 and late 2008, Jafari's network facilitated more than $7 million in transactions for subordinates of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization.

The Treasury Department described a family procurement business run by Jafari; his father Mohammad Javad Jafari; and brother, Mani Jafari; with his mother, Mahin Falsafi, handling the network's bank accounts. Jafari's Turkish associates, Muammer Kuntay Duransoy and Cagri Duransoy, helped with the transactions, Treasury said.

The Treasury Department on Tuesday designated the six individuals and five companies in the Jafari network as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction which freezes their assets in the United States in an attempt to isolate them from doing further business in this country.

"The Jafari network has established itself as a lifeline for Iran's missile program by providing essential materials and support for AIO," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The indictment alleged that in July 2006 Sanam Industrial Group, a subordinate of the AIO that has been sanctioned by the United States and United Nations for involvement in nuclear and ballistic missile activities, had requested that Jafari's company get a quote for 660 pounds of specialized steel welding wire. Less than a year later, Jafari's company paid a Nevada company $38,000 for that exact order while assuring the company that the wire would not be exported from Turkey or used for nuclear or ballistic weapons-related applications, the indictment said.

The charging documents also said that in 2007, Jafari's company ordered 4,410 pounds of high-grade, temperature-resistant stainless steel used in aerospace applications from an Ohio company, assuring the seller that it would not be shipped to Iran. The indictment said that a year earlier, Heavy Metals Industries in Iran placed an order with Jafari's company for 3,410 pounds of precipitation hardening steel.

Both shipments were detained by the Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement before they left the United States.

But the indictment said Jafari and his associates were able to get several other shipments of other materials to Iran via Turkey. Those shipments included 1,366 pounds of commercial bronze bars from Texas, electronic testing equipment from Illinois and 6.6 pounds of custom-made brazing alloy from a California company. The indictment also noted that Jafari arranged to export fiber-optic equipment from Pennsylvania and aerosol generators from Minnesota.

The indictment sought forfeiture of $177,867.92 in connection with Jafari's alleged crimes

"Shutting down the illegal acquisition of material destined for use in weapons programs is among the highest priorities in the FBI," said Sean Joyce, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch that investigated the case. "We'll continue to pursue illegal acquisition efforts and protect our nation from the grave threat these WMD-related activities pose to our national security."
J Kouri, Anti-Mullah

Some Sober Analysis of "Arab Spring"

turmoil in the Middle East is not unique. Half a century ago, a similar series of revolutions shook the ground beneath the Arab rulers. The immediate catalyst was the Suez crisis. After Gamal Abd al-Nasser, the charismatic young Egyptian ruler, nationalized the Suez Canal in July 1956, the British and French, in collusion with Israel, invaded Egypt to topple him. They failed; Nasser emerged triumphant.

...In the 1950s, the dominant ideology, pan-Arabism, focused on external threats: gaining independence from imperialism and confronting Israel. In contrast, today’s revolutionary wave is driven by domestic demands: for jobs and political representation. Yet the underlying ethos of both revolutionary waves is very similar. Then, as now, the people in the street believed that the existing order was dominated by corrupt cliques that exploited the power of the state to serve their own interests. In addition, then, as now, the revolutions tended to topple leaders aligned with Washington.

Although there is no personality like Nasser towering over the revolutionary events, there is one state taking a leaf from Nasser’s book: Iran. Under Nasser, Egypt opposed British and French imperialism, which it worked to associate in the public mind with Israel. Iran is taking a similar stand today against Britain’s “imperial successor,” the United States. And like Nasser, Iran has created an anti-status-quo coalition — the resistance bloc which includes Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

The bloc’s strategy seeks to turn the anarchy of the Middle East to the disadvantage of the United States. As the revolutionary wave expands political participation, the bloc will insinuate itself into the domestic politics of its neighbors. In countries divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, it will use terrorism and work closely with partners on the ground who are willing to make direct alliances, as we have already seen in Iraq and Lebanon. In more homogeneous countries, such as Egypt, the bloc will resort to more subtle and insidious means — for example, inciting violence against Israel through Hamas, in an effort to drive a wedge between Cairo and Washington.

Although the resistance bloc may not be as influential as Nasser was, it is nevertheless poised to turn the turmoil of the region to the detriment of American interests.


And from John Bolton in the WSJ:

Since the "Arab Spring" began four months ago in Tunisia, U.S. media have focused constantly and generally optimistically on the turmoil in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the rising threat of an Iranian Winter—nuclear or otherwise—is likely to outlast and overshadow any Arab Spring.

Iran's hegemonic ambitions are embodied in its rapidly progressing nuclear-weapons program and its continued subversion across the region. In a case that emphasizes the fragility of aspiring democracies, Iranian Winter has already descended upon Lebanon, where Iran's influence has helped replace a pro-Western government with a coalition dominated by Tehran's allies, including Hezbollah. Last week, departing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned Iran's "flagrant intervention" in his country.

In Syria, despite substantial opposition to the Assad dictatorship, regime change is highly unlikely. Iran will not easily allow its quasi-satellite to be pried from its grasp, and is reportedly helping the Assad regime quell this week's protests.

Then there's the Victoria, a ship containing tons of weaponry bound for Hamas that the Israeli navy seized last month. The episode recalls the Karine A, a weapons shipment from Iran to the Palestine Liberation Organization seized by Israel in 2002. Clearly Iran has a penchant for arming Sunni and Shiite terrorists alike.

...America's failure to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions—which is certainly how it would be perceived worldwide—would be a substantial blow to U.S. influence in general. Terrorists and their state sponsors would see Iran's unchallenged role as terrorism's leading state sponsor and central banker, and would wonder what they have to lose.

The Arab Spring may be fascinating, and may or may not endure. Sadly, Iran's hegemonic threat looks far more sustainable.


I touched on these themes in an earlier post that concentrated on how a resurgent Muslim brotherhood can only help Iran, despite the Shi'a/Sunni rift.

Read both articles (you need to find the Bolton article in Google in order to read the whole thing - the title is "Iranian Winter Could Chill the Arab Spring" so search for that.)

(h/t David G)


Elder of Ziyon

Iran: Claims Dogs Unclean and Should Be Banned

Dogs are “unclean” and should be banned from society. That is what 39 Iranian legislators have proposed to the country’s 290-member parliament, known as the Majlis.

Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the parliamentarians suggesting the ban on dogs and other pets deemed as “unclean” want the proposed statute to be part the country’s general Islamic law.

If the law passes, dog owners will be banned from taking their pets out into public spaces and into vehicles. First-time offenders will be fined five million riyals (approximately $4800); they will be given 10 days to get rid of the dog. If they fail to do so, health authorities will be called in to take the dog away from its owner. It is unclear what would be done to the dog.

The health ministry has been asked to enforce the rules, as have city councils around the Islamic republic as well as the parliament’s culture committee, according to IRNA.

The 39 MPs say that other than canines being “unclean,” keeping dogs as pets goes against Iranian values. The practice, they said indicated the influence of Western culture.
Elder of Ziyon

Malcolm X: What He Might Have Become

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. By Manning Marable. Viking Adult; 592 pages; $30. Allen Lane; £30. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

MALCOLM LITTLE had several names before his life ended in assassination in a New York theatre in 1965. As a youthful hustler, petty thief and drug-dealer he was “Detroit Red”. As a pious Sunni Muslim he became El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. But in most memories he remains Malcolm X, the charismatic public face of the Nation of Islam, which preached that whites were devils and that black separatism was the answer to America’s problems of race.

Whatever the name, Malcolm’s short life (he was slain at 39) makes a fascinating story and is told well by Manning Marable, director of Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African-American Studies, who sadly died a few days before his book was published this week. The fascination lies in the evolution of Malcolm’s beliefs: from the black nationalism and pan-Africanism of Marcus Garvey through the black separatism of the Nation of Islam to the colour-blind embrace of orthodox Islam. The tale includes the burning down of Malcolm’s childhood home, the ruthless brutality of Nation of Islam thugs, the sexual philandering of the Nation’s spiritual leader, Elijah Muhammad, and the enthusiasm with which political and religious elites embraced Malcolm on his trips to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Related topics

* African-American issues
* Race relations
* Social issues

Some of this detail comes from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, related by Malcolm to Alex Haley (later to become famous as the author of “Roots”) and published just after Malcolm’s death. But Mr Marable argues that the autobiography was more of a memoir—hence the exaggeration of the young Malcolm’s involvement in hard-core crime—than a solid exercise in objective fact. Rather than rely on the autobiography, Mr Marable has scoured contemporary press clippings in America, Europe and Africa. He has benefited, too, from the recent release to the public of hundreds of Malcolm’s letters, photographs and texts of speeches.

Malcolm was only one of the prominent black figures in America’s turbulent racial politics of the early 1960s. John Lewis, now a member of the House of Representatives, was organising the Freedom Riders in an attempt to register black voters in the American South; Martin Luther King was preaching non-violence in the black quest for civil rights; and Stokely Carmichael, one of the Freedom Riders but soon to join the Black Panther Party, was becoming impatient with non-violence and coining the slogan “black power”.

It was Malcolm, however, who appealed most to poor blacks, rural and urban alike: “Impoverished African Americans could admire Dr King, but Malcolm not only spoke their language, he had lived their experiences—in foster homes, in prisons, in unemployment lines,” writes Mr Marable. The question was how Malcolm would use this appeal.

He was originally Elijah Muhammad’s favoured disciple, but his attraction to politics did not fit with the Nation’s refusal to be involved in the civil-rights movement. By early 1964 Malcolm had formally left the Nation. The estrangement was both personal, thanks to the jealousy Malcolm had provoked at the Nation’s headquarters, and ideological: his conversion to orthodox Islam was at odds with the heresies of the Nation (not only did Elijah Muhammad claim to be a new prophet but the Nation’s founder, Wallace Fard, had claimed to be the personification of Allah).

Was the Nation responsible for Malcolm’s murder? Its leaders denied any link, but Louis Farrakhan, later to become the Nation’s leader on the death of Elijah Muhammad, had declared in December 1964 that: “Such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death.” As Mr Marable notes: “This code phrase was a call to arms within the sect.” The conviction of three men from the Nation failed to silence sceptics who suspected police and FBI complicity.

Mr Marable avoids judgment on the assassination. Instead he examines Malcolm’s legacy. Whereas King appeared on an American stamp and has a national holiday in his honour, Malcolm appeared on an Iranian stamp and has been lauded by al-Qaeda. Mr Marable speculates on what might have been if Malcolm had lived: “As his social vision expanded to include people of divergent nationalities and racial identities, his gentle humanism and antiracism could have become a platform for a new kind of radical, global ethnic politics.” Maybe. Yet some may feel that this conclusion rests more on the author’s wishful thinking than on the reality of the life he describes so well.

from the print edition | Books and Arts

Marable, The Economist

"Death to Zionist Saudis!"

From Iran's FARS:

Large numbers of Iranian students staged a rally in front of the UN office in Tehran to protest at the massacre of peaceful protestors in Bahrain and other Islamic countries in the region.

Protestors voiced their support for Muslims in Bahrain and other Islamic countries and underlined that they will continue their support for the oppressed people in those states.

The students chanted various slogans such as 'Allaho Akbar', 'Down with the USA', 'Down with the Zionist regime', 'Down with Zionist Saudis', 'Down with American-style Islam' and 'Saudi commits crimes and the UN backs it' to voice their support for people in Bahrain and other Islamic countries.

The students urged the Iranian government to dispatch voluntary forces to Bahrain and in other Islamic states.

Financial Times (behind paywall) reports

Iranian clerics and religious students abandoned their classes and staged protests inside their seminaries to show solidarity with Bahrain’s mainly Shia opposition and to denounce last month’s Saudi military intervention in the archipelago.

At gatherings in the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, which were attended by senior clerics and aired live on state television on Wednesday, protesters shouted, “Death to Zionist Saudis” and, “The wicked Bahraini ruler is an enemy to Prophet [Mohammed]."

Of course, we already knew that Saudi Arabia was Zionist.

Which is not surprising, since many Muslims know that the Saudis themselves are Jews.

Those Zionists are everywhere!

Japan: How Long Will Israel and Iran be Together?

An unusual cooperation amidst Japanese catastrophe: An Israeli team of 12 ZAKA (Disaster Victim Identification) volunteers sent to Japan to help out with rescue efforts worked alongside an unlikely team on Sunday – the official Iranian delegation.

In Kamaishi, ZAKA volunteers were able to rescue seven bodies belonging to one family that was buried under the rubble. They also assisted in the identification of the dead. The Israeli team taught the locals to spot crows and explained that, from their experience, dead bodies can be found where crows hover.

The Teheran rescue team also arrived in the city. "We shook hands and became friends. At one point they set up a stand and wanted to hand out food and medicine to the locals. We joined in and there we stood, side by side, handing out food and medicine. They removed the Iranian flag and removed our Israeli flag and we just stood there together. It was very odd," he added.

However, when the Iranians offered the Israeli crew some hot tea, the ZAKA team declined politely due to kashrut reasons. Meshi-Zahav joked and said, "It could have been beautiful if the Iranians tried to poison us in Japan."

In order to avoid a scene the Israelis agreed to drink orange juice from a closed can and later the two delegations took their picture together.

The Iranians told the ZAKA volunteers: "You know we are cousins. The wars and conflicts are between the leaders, but between the people there should be peace. We can't forget we were close once."

Odds are very good that within 48 hours, probably sooner, an Iranian official will denounce this photo.

Two Planeloads of Basij Militia Arrive in Syria

The Beirut Observer last week reported that two planes filled with Iran's Basij militia were flown from Iran to Damascus last Saturday. (The story was picked up by Kol Israel Arabic.)

The purpose was to protect the Assad regime from continuing protests throughout the country.

Arabic news sites also mentioned a YouTube video showing a funeral for one of the people killed in Daraa this week, with the protesters chanting "Neither Iran nor Hezbollah ... only to be a Muslim who is afraid of God."

100 Syrians protested in front of the Syrian embassy in Dubai yesterday, saying that "Israel is more merciful than the Syrian regime, she [Israel] did not do what he [Assad] has done to us" and they accused Syria of importing Hezbollah fighters as well to quash demonstrations, also chanting "Neither Iran nor Hezbollah..."
Elder of Ziyon

Iranian Site Recruits Martyrs for Bahrain

Iranian site recruiting "martyrdom volunteers" for Bahrain

Posted: 21 Mar 2011 01:23 PM PDT
A website called rahil.ir, based in Iran, is recruiting people to be "martyrdom volunteers" to fight in Bahrain. Presumably this means suicide bombers.

The site helpfully describes the Bahraini government as being "a puppet of the Great Satan America and Israel."

So far, according to the site, 1938 people have pledged to sacrifice their lives for the cause.

It points out how Iran has been supportive of the other Arab revolutions, no matter if the demonstrators were Shi'a or Sunni. For obvious reasons, they don't mention supporting the people who are being shot in Syria.
Elder of Ziyon

Iran Claims to Have Crushed Israel's Navy

Fantasy from Iran's PressTV:

A commander says during the Iranian naval mission in the Mediterranean the Israeli navy attempted to make contact at sea but was given a crushing response.

A two-vessel Iranian naval group received threatening signals from the Israeli navy, while sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal towards the Syrian coast in the Mediterranean.

“They (Israelis) mounted pressure on Egypt and even Syria to prevent necessary coordination with us from taking place,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying on Saturday.

“[They] even threatened [us] during the journey and tried to portray [the situation in] the region as dangerous but we paid no attention,” he added.

“Even at sea, Zionist (Israeli) forces asked our naval group to introduce itself, to which our naval group responded by saying, 'Shut up! It is none of your business' and then, ignoring the request from the Zionist regime [of Israel], it (the naval group) continued on its course.”

He hailed the Navy's reaction as a “determined response.”

Composed of two Iranian warships named Khark and Alvand, the group has successfully conducted the mission and returned via the Suez Canal.

Sayyari said the mission was intended to “convey the message of peace” to regional countries and to “strengthen relations with other countries.”

“They (the Israelis) tried very hard to obstruct our path, but we did not fear these issues and our behavior caused fear and distress for the Zionist regime [of Israel].”

When will Mondoweiss start reporting this "news"? They seem to believe every other idiotic anti-Israel rumor.


Elder of Ziyon

Anti-American Jew Haters Convene at White House

And the subversive anti-American Jew-haters at Code Pink in Egypt right now? There are no coincidences, folks.

I just phoned Tighe Barry, a great US activist with Code Pink, who has been in Cairo, Egypt, all week. Here is the audio.

With the release of the Wiki docments that showed the Obama adminstration secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising, who have been planning “regime change."

CODE PINK has been a frequent White House visitor.
Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

Is America Behind Turmoil in Egypt?

Wikileaks is claiming America is behind the revolution in Egypt. To what end? If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over, and/or an Iranian proxy, one would have to seriously question who and what is in the White House.

Obama took no such action with Iran -- a jihadist terrorist state agitating in countries all over the world. That was an historic missed opportunity.

Obama has finally spoke with Mubarak -- just moments ago. He had spoken to him up until now.

The Telegraph via Drudge: (hat tip Van)

Egypt protests: America's secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising

The American government secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning “regime change” for the past three years, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young dissident attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York, while working to keep his identity secret from Egyptian state police.

On his return to Cairo in December 2008, the activist told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011.

He has already been arrested by Egyptian security in connection with the demonstrations and his identity is being protected by The Daily Telegraph.

The crisis in Egypt follows the toppling of Tunisian president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office.

The disclosures, contained in previously secret US diplomatic dispatches released by the WikiLeaks website, show American officials pressed the Egyptian government to release other dissidents who had been detained by the police.

UPDATE: Obama is addressing the nation on Egypt. He is lecturing on human rights and free speech. The people of Iran must be vomiting. How stern he is being with Mubarak. Why was he not stern with Ahmadinejad?

Iran Sees Rise of Hard-Liners in Arab Lands

The NY Times
TEHRAN — Hopeful that the protests sweeping Arab lands may create an opening for hard-line Islamic forces, conservatives in Iran are taking deep satisfaction in the events in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen, where secular leaders have faced large-scale uprisings.

While the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confronted its own popular uprising two years ago — and successfully suppressed it — conservatives in Iran said they saw little similarity between those events and the Arab revolts, and instead likened the recent upheavals to Iran’s own 1979 Islamic revolution.

“In my opinion, the Islamic Republic of Iran should see these events without exception in a positive light,” said Mohammad-Javad Larijani, secretary general of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights and one of the most outspoken figures among Iran’s traditional conservatives.

He made it clear that he hoped the “anti-Islamic” government of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in Tunisia, would be replaced by a “people’s government,” meaning one in which conservative Islamic forces would gain the upper hand, as they did when Iranian people overthrew Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, establishing a quasi theocracy.

On the opposite side are the United States and France, he said, who are “doing everything they can to ride the wave and prevent the people from establishing the regime that they desire.”

“I am more optimistic about Egypt,” Mr. Larijani said in comments published Friday on the Web site Khabar Online, which is closely linked to his brother, Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament.

“There, Muslims are more active in political agitation and, God willing, they will establish the regime that they want,” Mohammad-Javad Larijani said.

Some here have even echoed the pan-Islamic rhetoric of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

“Today, as a result of the gifts of the Islamic revolution in Iran, freedom-loving Islamic people’s such as the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt and nearby Arab countries are standing up to their oppressive governments,” said a leading hard-line cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, who is believed to have influence with President Ahmadinejad.

In comments published Friday on the Web site of the semiofficial news agency ISNA, Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, who favors a political system in which elections merely endorse “divinely chosen” clerical leaders, congratulated the people of Tunisia and Egypt, stating that they had acted “based on the principles” of Iran’s Islamic revolution.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Iran’s “green” opposition movement, which spearheaded large street protests here two years ago after the disputed re-election of Mr. Ahmadinejad, have so far issued no statement on the events in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.

While foreign commentators have tried to draw comparisons and assess differences between the overthrow of Mr. Ben Ali’s government in Tunisia, many here have found such comparisons strained and unconvincing.

“No one can compare Arab and Iranian society with each other,” said a former reformist journalist who asked not to be identified to avoid drawing the attention of Iran’s security services.

The Muslim Takeover in Nigeria

Here's the backstory to some of the recent and not-so-recent stories at Atlas (the media continues to ignore Islamic genocide and religious cleansing of non-Muslims) by Muslim hordes slaughtering Christians in Nigeria (scroll and click on links). Just this past Christmas, five bombs went off in the Nigerian city of Jos as residents were celebrating Christmas Eve, leaving 31 dead, and hundreds wounded.

Iran arms smuggling details to be disclosed Telegraph (hat tip Awa)
A trial due to open in Nigeria at the end of the month is set to disclose embarrassing details of an extensive arms smuggling operation run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to supply guerrillas in West Africa.

A key defendant in the trial, which is due to start in Abuja on January 31, is Azim Aghajani, an Iranian national who has been identified by intelligence officials as a senior officer serving in the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Aghajani faces charges relating to the seizure of a cargo of weapons hidden in 13 shipping containers at the Nigerian port of Apapa, in Lagos, in October.

The weapons, which included rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and assault rifles, had been concealed in a cargo of construction materials and were discovered following a tip-off by the CIA to Nigerian security officials.

Nigerian officials claim the containers were dispatched by the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the unit responsible for supporting overseas Islamist militant groups.

The Iranians used a French based shipping group to transport the weapons cargo, which was intended for distribution among a number of Islamist militias in Nigeria and other rebel groups in West Africa.

They included the "Hisbah" Islamist militia, which is seeking to impose Sharia law in the north Nigerian province of Kano, and rebel groups fighting for control of Nigeria's lucratic oil revenues in the Nile Delta. Nigerian officials claim some of the weapons were also destined for rebel groups based in Senegal and Gambia.

"This was a sophisticated operation undertaken by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to destabilise a number of governments in West Africa," said a Western security official who has been closely involved in the case. "It is a major diplomatic embarrassment for Tehran at a time when Iran claims it seeks to improve relations with countries in the region."

Two Iranian citizens claiming to be businessmen sought refuge in the Iranian embassy immediately following the seizure of the weapons, sparking a tense diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Nigeria.

Intelligence officials in Nigeria established that the two Iranians were senior officers serving in the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who were named as Azim Aghajani and Ali Akbar Tabatabaei, who is described as the commander of Qods Force operations in Africa.

Iran made secret representations to the Nigerian government to allow the arms shipment to be returned to Iran, together with the two Revolutionary Guards officers. When the Nigerians refused Manoucher Mottaki, who was then serving as Iran's Foreign Minister, made an emergency visit to Abuja in November during which he persuaded Nigerian officials to release Tabatabaei, who was allowed to fly back to Tehran on the Foreign Minister's private jet. Tabatabaei is now understood to have been redeployed to Venezuela to oversee Iran's intelligence operations in Latin America.

But the Nigerian authorities insisted that Aghajani must remain in Abuja and face trial on arms smuggling charges.

Prosecution officials predict all the details relating to Iran's involvement in the arms shipment will be revealed during the trial of Aghajani, who was earlier this week granted bail by the trial judge until the end of the month.

New Black Panther Leader Embraces Ahmadinejad

It is important to remember Obama's close ties to these haters and subversives. Louis Farrakhan and Obama have a long history, and it was Obama's Department of Justice that refused to prosecute the Black Panthers who were threatening white voters in Philly.

This is a terrible thing, but it was expected. What makes it deadly is that Obama is in the White House.

Geraldo Rivera had me on with this Black Panther nazi, Malik Shabazz, equating the two of us (here).

Hat tip The Blaze.
In my book: The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America

Louis Farrakhan proclaimed Obama to be the messiah back in October 2008: “You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about. That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking.”[i] It became a joke, particularly among Republicans and conservatives, to call Obama the Messiah in view of the extravagant praise – and extravagant hopes – that were attached to him during the campaign.
[...]

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ, of which Obama was a member for twenty years, had roots in both Islam and economic radicalism: “But Wright was a former Muslim and black nationalist who had studied at Howard and Chicago, and Trinity’s guiding principles – what the church calls the ‘Black Value System’-- included a ‘Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness.’”[i] Wright was also a close associate of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who in November 2009 offered a doggerel version of Obama’s lofty post-American internationalism: “America,” he declared, “has run out of time. It is the time of the setting of the sun on the Western world.”[ii]

BLACK PANTHERS FOR OBAMA [2008]
Obama_black_panther

Islamic Show Trials Begin in Turkey

Dan F writes, "Historically, the military has been the guarantor of secularism in Turkey, stepping in whenever the country's Islamists (e.g. their current prime minister) threaten to take control. However, this time may be different because PM Erdogan is a very shrewd man and has built up his power gradually over time, reaching the point where he feels strong enough to engineer a reverse military coup."

If Europe dares to approve Turkey for EU membership, with its dreams of a resurrection of the Ottoman empire, it's the death of the continent.

While participating in a Middle East panel of the Academy of Achievement in Chicago in September of 2007, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against religious definitions of terrorism and specifically objected to the phrase "moderate Islam." Erdogan said, "Turkey is not a country where moderate Islam is sovereign. First of all, the 'moderate Islam' concept is wrong. The word 'Islam' is a simple word -- it is only Islam. If you say 'moderate Islam,' then an alternative is created."

Religious study is now mandated in state schools in Turkey.

The Judiciary becomes subservient to the government (The PM).

Further, in 2007, Turkey and Iran formed a military alliance. Ryan Mauro has a look at Turkey’s Islamization: One Step Closer

Devorah Hoffman Heads Israel Freedom Initiative

More good news. D'vorah Joy Hoffmann (דבורה ג'וי הופמן) is heading up the Israeli division of our global counter jihad movement, the Israel Freedom Initiative. D'vorah is a passionate zionist and is active in the political, cultural and existential battles Israel faces. We fiercely support Israel and wll be active in US/Israel counter jihadist actions. Israel is on the frontlines of the global jihad and is the prime target of the notoriously anti-semitic Organization of the Islamic Conference. We will promote a real, concrete understanding of Islam's war on Israel and deconstruct the media advanced, antisemitic propaganda.

We are targeting a major action September 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 911 attacks, when genocidal, bloodthirsty hatefest Durban III plans on descending on New York City like locusts. Start planning to be there now. Manhattan, September 2011. If you need to connect with the freedom initiative in your country, contact me.
Pamela Geller