Ahmanutjob vows revenge on the USA June 28, 2009

Usurper President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian President who staged a military coup in order to retain power after he was beaten into 3rd place in the presidential election has vowed that the USA will regret its criticism of the crackdown on the legitimate protests of the people (who had in fact voted for Mousavi and Kharoubi as president).

In very threatening language he stated:

“The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse.”

Despite the harsh crackdown, the people of Iran continue their nightly protest as they shout from the rooftop: “Allahu Akbar” and “Death to the dictator” and “death to Khamenei”. It is true to say that in some ways the regime is broken because the people no longer have trust in the unelected Supreme Leader and the unelected Guardian Council. Even so, the basij have taken to shooting the rooftop protesters, so there is more turmoil to come.

At the same time, it should be noted that whilst things seemed to be quieter, this is due no doubt to the fact that thousands have been arrested by the regime and have been taken to secret locations or to Evin prison, where they face brutal torture until they “confess”. Meanwhile the families of those who have been brutally slain by an evil and corrupt regime are being forced to pay a $3000 bullet tax and to sign a waiver over who is responsible for the death of their children, husband, wife or other family members. It has been rumoured that they forced Neda’s father to sign a form stating that she was killed by protesters, but we all know that this is not true – the protesters do not carry the guns, and the basij who shot her was detained for a time, with his ID removed, and his photograph taken.

In the meantime, many of those who have been using Twitter and the Internet to get out the story of what is happening in Iran have been arrested. It would seem that Yahoo has been assisting the Iran regime by providing details that has helped to round up the bloggers and tweeters. If this story is true then I believe that we should boycott Yahoo in order to teach them a lesson about supporting repressive regimes like China and Iran.

We must keep up the pressure to have the political prisoners in Iran freed June 28, 2009

I have just been to The Atlantic where Andrew Sullivan has been live blogging from Twitter. The news that I have seen is not good at all. It has been reported that the following people have been arrested:

• Persiankiwi
• 
  
• Mohammedali Abtahi
• Saeed Hajariyan
• Ali Mosleh
• Somaye Tohidloo
• 
  
• Ahmad Zeydabadi
• 
  

These people have not committed any crime. The only thing that they have done is to get news out to the the outside world about what is taking place inside Iran. It is not good news that they have been arrested because the regime is known for its harsh treatment of political prisoners.  Some of them turn up in the Tehran morgue marked as unidentified so that they will not release their badly beaten bodies to grieving relatives. This was the fate of one student activist murdered by the regime.

People are being arrested for doing things like visiting the site where Neda was murdered by a member of the Basij, or for going to her gravesite, and carrying a green sign. There have been several women arrested. These women need our prayers and our help because if they end up in Evin prison or elsewhere they will be tortured. The fact that they have been arrested means that they now have a criminal record, which will put an end to their studies or jobs.

Even worse than refusing to hand over the body to grieving relatives is the demand for a bullet tax for thousands of dollars so that grieving relatives can bury their dead. On top of that insult, the regime is demanding that their is no public mourning, and in the case of Neda’s parents, they were told to move from their apartment.

It is up to us, in the free world to start putting on the pressure on our own governments to at least stop dealing with Iran in an effort to see an end to the violence and bloodshed. There is no doubt that the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime in Iran is illegal. There is no doubt that there was, as one ex-Iranian guard member has stated that there has been a military coup after the election was held and before Ahmadinejad, the defeated President of Iran, was declared the winner. It must be kept in mind that Ahmadinejad planned this coup back in 2005, and that it had the approval of Khamenei and the Guardian Council. It is all about power.

This regime is now totally discredited and it is now up to the leaders of all the free world governments to announce sanctions against this illegal Iranian regime. Any sanctions imposed will support the people in their struggle to be freed from the tyranny of these old mullahs. We need to start putting on the pressure for the sake of those young and not so young lives, for all who have been prepared to seek that regime change.

There are mullahs in defiance of Khamenei June 24, 2009

It is not just the people and the students who have taken to the streets. CNN has a picture that shows several Mullahs also took to the streets of Tehran on the Sunday:

I count 5 Mullahs amongst the protesters. This is really quite significant because it shows the cracks in the ranks of the mullahs. They believe that the people have the right to peacefully protest. In fact it is written into the Iranian constitution that they have the right to protest.

Neda was murdered by the Basij and the Iranian regime June 22, 2009

I have been watching intensely the situation in Iran that has erupted after the coup perpetrated by Ahmanutjob and Khamenei (who is also a believer in the 12th Iman). The people know that they were defrauded because they did not vote for Ahmadinejad, such that when Khamenei makes claims like the big turnout was in favour of Ahmanutjob they are ready to continue their waves of protests despite the not so veiled threats to beware the consequences. They have sent the Basij into the streets to bash the protesters with their batons. Some in plainclothes have weapons. There are sharpshooters on buildings, taking aim and murdering people on the streets (this is probably the one thing that reminds people of what took place at Kent University when six students were killed). One of the victims of the Basij, a girl, an innocent bystander was Neda, and she was standing on a street corner, away from the protesters when a Basij took aim and shot her through the heart.

I am not going to place the pictures of Neda on this blog, and I am not going to place the video of her death on my blog, but I am linking to other blogs that are covering the story. One blog is Paul Coelho, the author, who is also blogging for the Iranians. He has a friend, a doctor, who was at the scene when Neda died. It was Paul’s friend who has provided the witness account of Neda’s death, testifying that it was the Basij that killed her – the Basij was on the rooftop, not on a drive-by motorcycle as some have reported.

I hope that Paul will not mind if I copy a few comments from his blog and repeat them here, because these brave Iranians are telling their story, and I think that more people need to hear from the doctors not just from Tehran, but from other cities in Iran where there has been protests and violence caused by the regime, not the protesters:

Hi

I`m from Shiraz , the city you once came in.Neda ` death was shocking for all of us in Iran. We witnessed 2 days ago the brutal beatting of an old lady near Shiraz Univercity by police. My sister in law was beatten badly 4 days ago with batune in the street and I as a doctor personally had a hard time treating 2 other victims of these brutalities. We feel raped by the goverment. It feels bad , very bad witnessing these things and only you can shout God is the Great at 10 pm every night. Because we are not worriors , we can not beating or killing these dictators , we only can tell them that we are here ,alive and alert. We love our country , we wish for it a future that contains hope for our children. A country that respects dignity of every human apart from relligious barriers.
This week I had 2 ways to rise hope for myself. First pray to god , second reading your 2 books : Zahir and Valkyries . They gave my the motivation to resist the waves of govermental propaganda who tries to kill our hope. I think the feeling of not being alone in this world, and following our dreams to the end is what you told me by your book. I appreciate that . Neda and Nedas are killing or beatten here for following the dream of a nation : FREEDOME .

God bless you.
IRAN
SHIRAZ

They tried to silence the protests and they killed Neda. Her name which is really significant as a call to justice, will live on as the spirit of the protest. We will not forget Neda. Her life here on earth is ended but her voice will not be silenced as she becomes the voice of all who are now standing up to both Khamenei the dictator and Ahmadinejad the defeated President who has staged a coup to seize and retain power.

Sham election results in Iran means that Ahmadinejad remains as President June 18, 2009

The Presidential elections in Iran did not promise to have an extraordinary outcome about 1 month ago. However, Mr. Mousavi managed to convince the people of Iran that he was an alternative to the nutcase Ahmadinjad.  Instead of the poor voter turnout of 2005 when roughly 52% of the eligible population voted, there was a voter turnout of about 81%.  With an increase of that size, one would expect that the people were voting for a change in their President. Imagine their surprise when it was announced that Ahmadinejad had won by a landslide – one that in fact seemed impossible.

Mousavi’s and Khourabi’s supporters are absolutely furious. They took to the streets in protest. To them it seems that there has been a coup engineered by Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei. A lot of things are happening behind the scenes yet at the same time the Basiji have been out in force killing the people who have been protesting. To date the official death toll is at least 7 – it should be at least 10 times that number according to eye-witness accounts.

So, what exactly is happening in Iran at the moment? Personally, I think that this is a protest that is the same size as events back in 1979. It is not a few thousand, or a few hundred, or even hundreds of thousands, for it is more likely that over 1 million people have taken to the streets in protest over the election results. The constant demand from the people is “Where’s my vote”.

Despite the fact that the Iranian regime has tried to prevent news from leaking to the world at large, the Iranians have used other resources to get out their message, including videos on Youtube that show the extent of the bashing, death, and damage that has been done by the Basij. It seems that some of the Police and the Revolutionary Guard are on the side of the people and they are not taking action against them. However, Ahmadinejad has imported Hezbollah from Lebanon to take on the work of the Basiji.

As a result of the information flow there are many good sites that have provided up to the minute news about what is happening, including graphic footage. The Christian Monitor has a good analysis from an expert on Iranian elections, which indicates that the figures were purely made up when Ahmadinejad was named the winner. You can read the article here.

Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic has also been doing a good job covering the situation. You can find up to the minute information from Sullivan here. Another one who is doing an excellent job (even better than Sulivan is Nico from the Huffington Post. (I normally do not read the HuffPo but the quality of Nico’s work on this subject is excellent and he deserves a pat on the back for his dedication).

More on the Al Dura Hoax March 11, 2009

Power Line – Al Dura Hoax Exposed?

The Al Dura Hoax is also known as a blood libel. In this case the boy in the photograph who is with his father was supposed to have been killed. The video footage that I have seen to date indicates that the boy and man were not in fact in any danger, that the Israelis could not possibly have hit that particular spot, and now it turns out that there is really no evidence that the boy actually died.

When the actual incident occurred the new footage was seen all around the world, and this alleged killing of a young boy became the cause for the Intifada against Israel. It has also been the reason why a lot of people around the world literally turned their backs on Israel. However, the whole thing has been a fraud – a hoax.  It was set up by the Palestinian factions who wanted to get even with the Israelis and provide what is known as blood libel.

A few years ago, I followed a case in the French courts regarding the exposure of this blood libel via the case of Phillipe Karsenty. The original verdict had gone against Karsenty, that is the verdict had stated that there was no hoax or fraud, but the French appellate court overturned that verdict in May 2008, and France 2 was ordered to release raw video footage of the incident.

On March 4 German public TV ARD have broadcast a documentary that confirms that the news report submitted by Charles Enderlin and broadcast by France 2 on September 30, 2000, is a fraud.

The evidence provided in the documentary is:

• via biometric analysis of the faces it has been proven that the boy who was filmed by France 2 was not the boy presented at the Gaza morgue. The eyebrows and lips are different.

•  using lip-reading technique the German TV read the father’s lips. They discovered that Jamal al Dura gave instructions to the people who were behind France 2’s cameraman during the filming of the scene.

• the boy whose funeral took place, as though it was Mohammed al Dura arrived at the hospital before 10.00 am, whereas the France 2 news report was filmed after 2.30 pm.

The deception of the al Dura hoax has caused irremediable damage to Israel. This is the problem with blood libel. It goes to show the depths to which the Palestinians will sink in order to lay false charges against Israel.

UN launches Tribunal to prosecute the assassins of Harari March 2, 2009

U.N. opens prosecution over Hariri assassination – CNN.com

A tribunal has been convened at the The Hague more than 4 years after Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.  The bomb had detonated as Hariri’s motorcade passed through the seaside district of Corniche. The bomb itself contained hundreds of pounds of explosives and it left buildings shattered and streets littered with the mangled wreckage of the vehicles. The blast killed 22 other people.

The Tribunal will have 11 judges, 4 of whom will be Lebanese. Four senior generals have been held over the killing, but the United States and the U.N. investigators believe that Syria ordered the assassination, even though this is denied by Syria.

The killing sparked widespread protests that led to the eventual withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon (followed by the build up of Hezbollah the Syrian puppet organization) and the election of the anti-Syrian bloc in parliament.

The U.N. investigators who were tasked to find the killers of Hariri found links between the Syrian government and Hariri’s asassination.

The U.N. says that the case is expected to be ready for trial by 2010.

Cold, Premeditated, Ritual Murder. The Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan. Part Two February 19, 2009

Chesler Chronicles » Cold, Premeditated, Ritual Murder. The Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan. Part Two

Phyllis Chesler has some searching questions regarding the murder of Aasiya Z. Hassan. This was no ordinary murder. She was beheaded by her husband. The question that is raised here is: was it an honour killing or just domestic violence? It does not matter to me what it is called because domestic violence that ends in death is as much an evil as honour killing. The difference though is that honour killing is a practice amongst cultures where the majority belong to Islam. This is why we make the link to Islam when we read and then talk about honour killings. Yet, there is always that cultural component to take into consideration. In this case Aisiya Hassan and her husband Mohammed came from Pakistan. Hassan is a well respected banker within the Muslim community in Buffalo.

This raises the question about honour killings, which is something that is often denied as being unIslamic. Just like in the USA, and the UK, Australia has had its share of honour killings, and the victim has almost always been a young girl who has brought “dishonour” about her family becuase she wanted to have an Australian boyfriend. The killer is usually the father, or another relative such as a brother, and the girl is usually brutally stabbed to death.

I do not believe that we understand the nature of honour killings. We do not fully appreciate the nature of Muslim society. We do not understand that the men own the wife, daughter or sister. This is why these crimes in Muslim lands are not criminalized. Some Muslims claim that honour killings are against Islam but that is also not true.

If anyone believes that this is not Islamic then think about the statistics that have come to light – that 90% of women in Pakistan are routinely beaten both in childhood and as wives and mothers. Also take into consideration that there are mullahs who have openly stated that it is ok to beat the wife or daughter, and remember that some of the most horrific crimes that are perpetrated these days are ones involving girls from Pakistan or other Muslim lands who have wanted to be freed from the violence.

I have a question for all of the feminists who want to reclaim the night, and who rail about domestic violence: why is it that not one voice is raised to help these women, who are our sisters when they are being treated like animals? Why is there not one voice being raised against honour killings?

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UN Suspends Aid in Gaza – Hamas caught stealing again February 8, 2009

The UN aid agency in Gaza has announced that it has suspended all aid shipments, accusing Hamas of seizing supplies of food.

The shipment consisted of ten lorries carrying flour and rice, which were taken from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The UN Secretary –General Ban Ki-moon has stated that Hamas must immediately release the shipment, and he has called upon Hamas to “refrain from interference with the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza”.

Despite the stern warnings from the UN, Hamas have given what can only be considered a sleight of hand response by stating that the goods would only be returned to the agency

“if it turns out it is indeed its property”.

Such a statement is no assurance that the goods will be returned. It is the kind of statement that is intended to give an “out”.

Hamas is being caught out in its double dealing and to add further examples of the double dealing it has been reported that Hamas is ignoring Gazans who are not supporters of Hamas, and that these other people have only received limited financial aid from Hamas, despite having their homes destroyed owing to the actions of Hamas. (I will deal with these actions in another post)

He lost his daughters and a niece… share the anguish February 6, 2009

An Israeli probe into the death of the three daughters of a Gaza doctor in a recent offensive has concluded that they were kiled by Israeli fire. The Israeli troops had fired shells at what was considered to be “suspicious figures in Dr. Isseldeen Abuelaish’s house, believing they were observers directing sniper fire.

Dr. Izzeldeen Abuelaish is an Israeli trained doctor who is fluent in Hebrew. He denies that there were snipers near his house. It could be that the snipers were indeed hiding nearby, knowing that the doctor was a friend to Israel (this is speculation).

His response to the inquiry shows the good doctor to be a remarkable person:

“We all make mistakes, ad we don’t repeat the.”

He also added ” I have two options – the path of darkness or the path of light. The path of darkness is like choosing all the complications with diseases and depression, but the path of light is to focus on the future of my children. “

Let us pray for the good doctor and his family during their time of sorrow and grief.