September 25, 2007

William F Buckley on inviting tyrants to speak at universities

UPDATE: Noah's post was discussed further at the Corner - I am adding some of their comments at the bottom.

Noah Pollak points us to a speech by William F Buckley from 1963. The Yale Political Union had invited Gus Hall, the secretary of the Communist Party of the United States, to speak. Buckley made a case that Hall should not be invited, which eloquently rebuts arguments for inviting Ahmadinejad to Columbia, such as these:

"You at least have to let the guy speak . . . Why should just one world leader be denied that chance? There will be questions. If I had been alive in the 1930s I would have wanted to hear what Hitler was saying. There's no point just covering your ears."
. . . Defending the decision to issue the invitation, Mr Bollinger said that it represented the "best of America" — "Faith in freedom has been and remains our nation's most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere," he said.
President George W Bush said Mr Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America".

The original article is a pdf. Read the whole thing. I am reposting Noah's transcription of some excerpts, below. But read the whole thing, especially if you felt there was something wrong about the Columbia invitation, but you can't put your finger on it.

I never thought, ten years ago, that I would ever speak approvingly of William F Buckley. . . .

Excerpts from "On Inviting a Communist Speaker to Yale":

Continue reading "William F Buckley on inviting tyrants to speak at universities"

Judith | 09/25/07 at 11:54 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 24, 2007

Connecting the Dots

Shiri Negari was one of the early victims of the 2nd Intifada, blown up on a bus in 2002. We were reminded of her today (photo by Michelle Malkin):

Judith | 09/24/07 at 06:13 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

NYC anti-Ahmadinejad Protests

Welcome, visitors from Hot Air. And LGF. And Michelle Malkin. Actually, Allahpundit got it wrong, the photos below are all from this morning. (Go here for photos from the protest at the National Press Club in DC. And lots and lots and lots of great photos and video from Pamela, especially from Ground Zero. The first photo from this post is a poster Mary tried to photograph and hers didn't come out, so I'm glad Pamela caught it.)

UPDATE: Irene at LGF:

The security guys at all the gates down at the World Trade Center this morning said that they had been given instructions not to allow Ahmadenijad in if he showed up. They were told to say it was too big of a security risk. The smile on the guys face when he told me this said it all.

UPDATE: Mary finally wrote her own post, which begins with the protests but goes on to Columbia's suppression of other speakers, its Saudi funding, and much more.

Photos below courtesy of Mary. You can see all her protest photos here. These are from Ground Zero, before the Port Authority moved them out. UN photos after the jump. The woman in the first three photos is Desiree, of whom Kevin McCullough says:

My listeners (about 160) in total were hustled away from the primary elevator shaft on the north side of the PATH train stop (the primary spot at Ground Zero on street level.)

The woman who was given the most grief was Desiree (Jones?) from Brooklyn a long time listener/reader AND a 911 family member. She had tasteful signs that were rested neatly along the outer fencing of the area where we were and was giving a talk to those in attendance about the dangers Ahamdinejad presented to the free world.

Her sobering question - she repeatedly asked those who were passing by and gathered to hear her was, “what if we knew enough to stop another one of these from happening?”

Continue reading "NYC anti-Ahmadinejad Protests"

Judith | 09/24/07 at 03:33 PM | 11 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

Ahmadinejad protest info - DC and NYC

UPDATE: Protests started today - CBS News video.

MONDAY, SEPT. 24:
What: Ahmadinejad to speak at luncheon at National Press Club by videolink
When: Protesters needed from 11:00-2:00. Come for however long you can.
Where: Washington, DC: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW
Please note: Attendance inside is limited to NPC members, their guests and accredited media only.
Our protest will be held outside of the NPC Building at the corner of 14th and F Streets NW which is close to the Metro Center metro station.
For More info: Contact Meagan Buren at 202-230-7389 or Brandon Gray at 202-857-6627

MONDAY, SEPT. 24:
What: Rally led by Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Community Relations in cooperation with United Jewish Communities, UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Speakers include Debra Burlingame, sister of Charles F. “Chic” Burlingame, III, (Capt., USNR, Ret.), pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.
When: 12 p.m. (rain or shine)
Where: NYC: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 2nd Ave. at 47th St.(across the street from the UN)
For more info: Conference of Presidents, 212-318-6111 or info@conferenceofpresidents.org or the JCRC, 212-983-4800, ext. 161 or info@jcrcny.org

UPDATE:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will use both a megaphone outside the UN and a microphone from the podium inside the General Assembly in the coming week to warn the world of the dangers of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a nuclear Iran. Livni, who arrived in New York Sunday to take part in the annual UN General Assembly meeting, is scheduled to address and take part in a demonstration against Ahmadinejad in front of the UN on Monday being organized by a coalition of Jewish groups.

. . . . An aide to Livni explained her participation in the demonstration, a rare step for diplomats at her level, by saying that she felt very strongly that the world was not taking tough enough action against the Iranian nuclear program, and that this was an opportunity to sound the alarm.

MONDAY, SEPT. 24:
What: Rally by students from Columbia and dozens of other organizations.
When: 12:30 - 3 p.m.
Where: NYC: Outside Columbia University at W. 116th St. and Broadway- only people with Columbia student IDs will be allowed on campus. The main protest will happen on Broadway on public space next to the building where Ahmadenijad is speaking, so even non Columbia people can protest at this event.

Also Liberty and Broadway 9:30 AM. Just in case Dinner Jacket shows up. More here. Even if he doesn't, it'll be a nice party.

Judith | 09/24/07 at 08:55 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 23, 2007

Ahmadinejad in NYC odds and ends

John Podhoretz constructs a fantasy dialogue in which Ahmadinejad quotes back to Bollinger all his Middle East Studies professors, starting with Said and working his way down to Nadia al-Haj. A must read. Very funny.

The Nose on Your Face blog has a list of the Top 9 Happenings That Could Prevent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad From Speaking At Columbia University.

The Columbia Coalition Against the War says about what you think it would.

Posters up all over Columbia U (via here)

Judith | 09/23/07 at 11:35 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

Letter to Bollinger from a fellow academic

I got this email with instructions to disseminate. The author brings up more crimes of the Iranian regime that I had forgotten about, like the persecution of the Bahais.

UPDATE: I just searched Juan Cole's blog for any mention of Ahmedinejad's visit. I thought since Cole is a Bahai he might have some thoughts on the matter. Didn't find anything. (Why we care.)

UPDATE: I googled Cole and Bahai and apparently he's an ex-Bahai, or at least at odds with the community in some way. in any case, he's shilling for the latest Iranian regime to oppress them.

So here's the letter from Dr. Denis MacEoin of Newcastle University:

Dear President Bollinger,

I write as an outsider to your university, but as a British academic with a background in Persian, Arabic, and Islamic Studies, and as someone versed in the complexities of the current Iranian regime. I have been advised that it is Columbia's purpose to invite the egregious President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to its staff students, and that, despite pleas for you to reconsider this invitation, it is your intention to go ahead.

I must say that I find this regrettable on several grounds. Ahmadinejad has surely been described to you (and with much accuracy) as an opponent of the best values of Western society, not least the academic values that you and Columbia uphold. He does not care for freedom of speech, indeed he has done much to suppress it during the short time he has been in power. It may not have been made clear to you that, during the last year, he has instituted a major clampdown on Iranian universities, dismissing lecturers and imposing on all institutions of higher education in the country a severe discipline of censorship and political and religious acceptability. . . .

Continue reading "Letter to Bollinger from a fellow academic"

Judith | 09/23/07 at 11:08 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

Academia too smart for its own good

UPDATE: Glenn suggests a guerilla action for creating the kind of discrediting which "tough questions" won't accomplish.

In case you were wondering how his Columbia U visit was going to be spun by Ahmadinejad:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that the American people are eager for different opinions about the world, and he is looking forward to providing them with "correct and clear information," state media reported.

. . . . "The United States is a big and important country with a population of 300 million. Due to certain issues, the American people in the past years have been denied correct and clear information about global developments and are eager to hear different opinions," Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying.

You would think a university president would be smart enough to forsee how he would be manipulated. Oh I forgot - this is academia we are talking about.

More mind-messing from the Dinner Jacket:

Continue reading "Academia too smart for its own good"

Judith | 09/23/07 at 02:20 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 20, 2007

Giuliani on rogue dictators roaming NYC

Rudy on Iran, in CNN video interview. And other foreign policy questions about which he is very blunt. There is no mistaking, no wishy-washiness, abouty his foreign policy positions. And he's still polling ahead of, or head-to-head at least, with Hillary.

The guy asks him about putting the Emergency Response HQ in the building he did, he points out that the CIA and the Secret Service also had their HQ in that building. Has anyone else brought that up before?

With Dinnerjacket still threatening to visit Ground Zero, some of us long for the days when Rudy was mayor.

More Rudy on foreign policy below:

Continue reading "Giuliani on rogue dictators roaming NYC"

Judith | 09/20/07 at 10:57 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

Bolton on rogue dictators roaming NYC

Stephen Spruiell at The Corner:

Even though the NYPD has rejected Ahmadinejad's request to visit Ground Zero, one local TV station is reporting that he might try to visit anyway, and that if he did, he would be "accompanied by a Secret Service protective detail, a detail provided to all heads of state when they visit the United States."

But former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told National Review Online this morning that the U.S. would be well within its rights as host country to limit Ahmadinejad's travel:

Under the U.N. participation act and our commitment as the host country, we have agreed going back to the beginning of the U.N. to let any head of state or any country that's a member of the U.N. send its officially accredited leaders and diplomats in to participate in U.N.-related activities. That's a pain in the neck, frankly, but that's part of the price of being the host country.

What we never gave up was the right to limit their travel outside of Turtle Bay and wherever their hotel happens to be. [The Iranians] will try to raise a fuss about that. I'm sure the visit was nothing but propaganda.

Apparently the U.S. government can keep Ahmadinejad from visiting Ground Zero if it wants to. So why wouldn't it?

UPDATE: One of Michelle's commenters notes that the Marines are filming an infomercial in Times Square very early that morning. Another blogger says:

In a world of perfect karma, Ahmadinejad would be captured by American "students" and held hostage for over a year, paraded before TV cameras and threatened almost daily with death.

i see the beginnings of a plan . . . .

Judith | 09/20/07 at 01:36 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 17, 2007

How to get from Israel to Iran

Department of "Things that make you go hmmmmm."

4-Mile Creek says, "If I were going to attack Iran . . . . "

. . . . If the Israelis were to disguise their airplanes, and fly in there sometime around 2000 hrs, then capture the airfield personnel, it would be several hours before anyone knew something was going on. Even with the Royal Saudi Land Forces barracks just down the road in the main part of KKMC, it would be several hours after that before the Royal Saudi forces could mount an attack. With only one easily defended road from KKMC to KKMC airfield, it wouldn't be that hard for the Israelis to beat off an attack. It would then be at least six or seven hours (and more likely 24 hours) after that before any sort of Saudi reserve ground force could be mustered from outside of KKMC and brought to bear. As with the airfield, there is only one road into KKMC proper (it's the road visible coming into KKMC from the left), and it wouldn't be too tough for a light battalion to control that high-speed avenue of approach for at least another several hours.

All total, the Israelis would have anywhere from 12 to 24 hours to use a well stocked, well built airfield from which their F-15s would be able to be refueled, re-armed and launched to strike nearly anywhere in Iran. Israeli F-16s could fly CAPs over the airfield to deter any Royal Saudi Air Force response coming up from PSAB, and even if the RSAF did attack, their training is mostly in air-to-air combat, not air-to-dirt bombing in support of a ground attack. Add in a few SHORAD sites around the airfield, and the RSAF would likely not affect much of the fighting on the ground.

After using it for maybe a day, the Israelis could load up and quickly cross into Iraqi airspace and hotfoot it home at low level.

Read the whole thing. Hmmmmm.

Judith | 09/17/07 at 09:46 PM | 17 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

June 27, 2007

Burn Baby Burn: Disco Inferno in Teheran

The news from Teheran these days is riveting. A genuine people's uprising is breaking out in Teheran, initially provoked by gas rationing but, I suspect, driven by many other factors, none of them involving cartoons or Zionism.

Gateway Pundit provides far more pictures and links than you can shake the proverbial stick at. Take it away, Jim.

While I admire their pluck in the face of tyranny, I have to wonder at the utility of protesting a gas crisis by burning down the gas stations. Hey, it's a start.

Van | 06/27/07 at 08:42 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 11, 2007

Bill on Hillary vs Pelosi (the comix version)

Speaking of Nancy "Peace in Our Time" Pelosi, Attila at Pillage Idiot took up the mantle of photoshopped political comic strips when Allahpundit laid it down (and took his off the web, much to the chagrin of many fans). Attila's latest shows Bill comparing Nancy's cojones to Hillary's, and he has the Clinton bullshitting cadence note-perfect.

More here (on the right sidebar). Including Nancy's first days in office with Waxman and Murtha and Co. Nancy and Harry Reid. Hillary starts a conversation. About global warming. Hillary speaks at Coretta King's funeral. Hillary on how she is a woman and John Edwards isn't.

Judith | 04/11/07 at 03:34 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

Is Nancy Pelosi a Rove mole?

[ UPDATE: Jules Crittenden: "Pelosi and Lantos, looking for love in all the wrong places." LOL. ]

[ UPDATE: I moved the Pillage Idiot stuff here. Plus more Pelosi comix links! ]

[ UPDATE: Allahpundit is also disgusted by the identity politics - see rant at the end of this post. ]

Undaunted by the bad smell she imparted to the Democratic Congress when she took it upon herself to spread her own foreign policy to Syria, bungling her pathetic attempt at shuttle diplomacy, Nancy Pelosi is planning to repeat the same performance in Iran, making a Republican win in '08 more likely. All we have to do is contain her mistakes until then and Thompson or Giuliani or some as yet unrisen muscular hawkish candidate will sweep the election and then we can get back to having a slightly more unified and aggressive foreign policy voice. Just grit your teeth, folks, even this cloud has a silver lining.

Last week Lee Smith was thoroughly disgusted with Holocaust survivor and formerly level-headed Rep. Tom Lantos (D) for aiding and abetting Nancy's "Dancing with Dictators" vanity production. I came up with some weak rationalizations for Lantos' behavior, which broke down in the face of his defense of Pelosi's behavior, and could only conclude:

Although conditioned by years of internet discussion to avoid violating Godwin's Law, I'm so tempted to ask if Lantos thinks the same would have worked with Hitler.

Well, now there is no doubt that Lantos has forgotten the lessons of history:

Continue reading "Is Nancy Pelosi a Rove mole?"

Judith | 04/11/07 at 01:59 AM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 10, 2007

Next year we are to bring the soldiers home

Via the Corner:

HOMAGE TO A GOVERNMENT
by Philip Larkin (1969)

Next year we are to bring the soldiers home
For lack of money, and it is all right.
Places they guarded, or kept orderly,
Must guard themselves, and keep themselves orderly.
We want the money for ourselves at home
Instead of working. And this is all right.
It's hard to say who wanted it to happen,
But now it's been decided nobody minds.
The places are a long way off, not here,
Which is all right, and from what we hear
The soldiers there only made trouble happen.
Next year we shall be easier in our minds,
Next year we shall be living in a country
That brought its soldiers home for lack of money.
The statues will be standing in the same
Tree-muffled squares, and look nearly the same.
Our children will not know it's a different country.
All we can hope to leave them now is money.

Judith | 04/10/07 at 12:55 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 06, 2007

Fighting men on Oprah

Hot Air has a roundup of negative reactions to the behavior of the British military hostages in Iran (also video of Col. Ralph Peters recommending a courtmartial; best line: "I've had ex-girlfriends treat me worse than that."), and John Derbyshire and Mark Steyn weigh in on the pervasive psychobabble surrounding the incident.

Derbyshire:

Continue reading "Fighting men on Oprah"

Judith | 04/06/07 at 05:31 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 06, 2007

"Quiet Diplomacy"

Occasional Kesher Talk commenter Ben (in NYC), on the impotence of quiet diplomacy: There is a lot of speculation: what was said behind the closed doors that got 15 British troops out of Iran? The British government insists: nothing at . . . more »

Judith | 04/06/07 at 12:15 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 04, 2007

Rally to Free the Navy 15

UPDATE: The hostages are being freed today. (Coincidence??? I think not!!!)** PS Why is that woman still wearing the scarf? Is she suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or is she afraid if she takes it off they won't let her leave? . . . more »

Judith | 04/04/07 at 10:04 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 31, 2007

Putting a clock on events

Mark Steyn has consistently had the best commentary on the (latest) Iranian hostage situation. Look at the timeline 25 years ago: On April 2nd, the Argies seized the Falklands, which were all but undefended. On April 5th a British task . . . more »

Judith | 03/31/07 at 11:27 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 29, 2007

Newt on Iran

[ RELATED: Robert Avrech has some scuttlebutt from spy land: ] This public kidnapping, an Iranian specialty, is an attempt to halt the covert war in its tracks, bring Western liberals on-board as jihadist water-carriers, and thereby assure a continuous . . . more »

Judith | 03/29/07 at 10:19 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 28, 2007

Not facing Iran

Mark Steyn: How many times does the Islamic Republic have to (a) seize sovereign territory (the US embassy in Teheran); (b) order mob hits on foreign nationals (Salman Rushdie and his publishers); (c) perpetrate acts of state terrorism against citizens . . . more »

Judith | 03/28/07 at 09:40 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 23, 2007

Iran gets belligerent

Casus belli? Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Fifth Fleet said the British crew members were intercepted by several larger patrol boats operated by Iranian sailors belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, a radical force that operates separately from . . . more »

Judith | 03/23/07 at 10:55 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 09, 2007

Anniversary of a hostage-taking

30 years ago today, Iran helped extricate Jewish hostages from Muslim terrorists. Yes, you heard that right. But it was a different Iran then. They killed a reporter and shot Marion Berry. They were pissed off about a movie about . . . more »

Judith | 03/09/07 at 01:29 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

March 04, 2007

Jews Celebrate Killing of Iranian Anti-Semites

I lifted that headline from this article:Jews in Israel and throughout the world Saturday night began celebrating the thwarting of a genocidal decree in 356 BCE, which was followed by the two-day killing of tens of thousands of the Iranian . . . more »

Judith | 03/04/07 at 11:11 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

February 21, 2007

Iranian dissidents

Va Norm Geras, some brave Iranians disassociate themselves from Achmedinijad's Holocaust Denial Conference. They have sent an open letter around the blogosphere. They are brave because they use their own names. They get the concept of moral equivalence: . . . more »

Judith | 02/21/07 at 12:01 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

February 15, 2007

Lebanon holds on

Four friends who have lived in and written about Lebanon during the last few years of political upheaval: Michael Totten says that Lebanese are resisting falling into civil war, in spite of provocation from Syria. Even Hezbollah is refusing to . . . more »

Judith | 02/15/07 at 11:20 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

February 10, 2007

Don't make me go in there

This is a relief. I hope Iran will renounce her belligerence, but I'm glad we're prepared to give her a good hard smack. Of course it's not a complete surprise - for several months news media and bloggers who follow . . . more »

Judith | 02/10/07 at 06:44 PM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

February 03, 2007

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassinated - Was Mossad Involved?

Stratfor had a report a few days back that I saw mentioned, which is now getting more traction, that the Mossad may have assassinated one of Iran's top nuclear scientists - showing that it is serious about preventing Iran from . . . more »

Alcibiades | 02/03/07 at 10:47 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

February 01, 2007

That's A Relief

President Jacques Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead . . . more »

Alcibiades | 02/01/07 at 02:11 AM | 23 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 31, 2007

The Solution for the Middle East

Stolen from Stephen Pollard, who stole it from Samizdata: "I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the pissed off people can live in one place and get it . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/31/07 at 10:22 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 29, 2007

What's Wrong with this Picture?

New evidence of Iran's role in Iraq will be made in Baghdad by the chief spokesman for the multinational forces in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell. The Directorate of National Intelligence worked over the weekend to clear new intelligence . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/29/07 at 02:08 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 27, 2007

John Kerry Among Friends At Davos

John Kerry announced this week he was not going to run for President this election cycle, leaving him free to "speak truth to power" by proclaiming that America is an international pariah among an audience of the like minded. . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/27/07 at 12:33 PM | 6 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 26, 2007

Shoot to Kill

Bush, at long last, has changed the rules of engagement for soldiers in Iraq, giving them the order to kill or capture Iranian operatives. A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the outlines of the Post . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/26/07 at 10:32 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 17, 2007

Iran shoots down US spy drone

Oh goody. A casus belli. We need one of those. It's not quite Pearl Harbor but maybe it will do. . . . more »

Judith | 01/17/07 at 08:10 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 15, 2007

The Cost of an Infamous Kiss

Remember this? A scion of Naturei Karta kissing up to 'Jad at the world Holocaust Denial Conference. We discussed it here. [Other naturei karta related posts are here.] Turns out that Moshe Aryeh Friedman's wife didn't much like the image . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/15/07 at 01:28 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 13, 2007

From Michael Totten in South Lebanon

Michael Totten and Noah Pollack visit South Lebanon guided by Said and Henry, who work for the Lebanese Committee for UNSCR 1559, an NGO which closely advises the Lebanese government and the international community on the disarmament of illegal militias . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/13/07 at 06:47 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

January 04, 2007

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Reported "In A Stable Condition"

Pajamas Media is noting that there is a report of the death Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. We at Kesher Talk wish him much stability. Meanwhile, has Iran entirely suppressed the results of its recent elections? Because worse than Khameini . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/04/07 at 04:17 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

December 28, 2006

Hizbullah paying Gazans for Kassam Attacks on Israel

Saddam's successor as an enabler of terror in Gaza has arrived - and its Hizbullah: Hizbullah is paying Palestinian splinter groups "thousands of dollars" for each Kassam rocket fired at the western Negev, The Jerusalem Post has learned. According to . . . more »

Alcibiades | 12/28/06 at 01:54 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

December 21, 2006

Looking A Tad Less Fearsome These Days, Ain't You

President Ahmadinejad spent part of Thursday mocking President Bush at a speech delivered in Western Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday mocked President Bush and said Iran's nuclear program was a source of inspiration for other nations. His typically outspoken . . . more »

Alcibiades | 12/21/06 at 11:51 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

December 17, 2006

Iranian Hardliners Dealt Double Blow in Elections

Finally some good less bad news from Iran. Iranians have dealt a blow to President Ahmadinejad’s hardline Government, by thwarting his allies in municipal and clerical elections. ...The President’s critics interpreted the high turnout as a shift in the popular . . . more »

Alcibiades | 12/17/06 at 10:25 PM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

November 10, 2006

The Big Gloat

And so it begins. This just in from Reuters: A purported audio recording by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as a top U.S. general said the military was preparing . . . more »

Alcibiades | 11/10/06 at 01:06 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 22, 2006

Where Exactly is the Line, Lisa?

We were remiss yesterday not to cover news of Columbia's invitation to Ahmadinejad to speak at the University at its World Leaders Forum. Eliana Johnon at the NYSun - still my favorite paper, even though for the last 3 weeks . . . more »

Alcibiades | 09/22/06 at 10:49 AM | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

September 15, 2006

Hope in Europe?

A French high court gives a sympathetic hearing to media critics fighting for their right to call BS on propaganda ... and politicians across Europe stand up for Israel. Finally, don't call Nicaolas Sarkozy a cheese-eating surrender monkey. Neo brings . . . more »

Asher Abrams | 09/15/06 at 01:31 AM | 1 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

August 27, 2006

12th Imam is Coming To Town

Judith had a lovely shabbat dinner the other night and mentioned the people's cube website, which I had never yet visited. So I went to pay a visit. And here collected for your amusement is the following: This one's a . . . more »

Alcibiades | 08/27/06 at 09:45 AM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

August 22, 2006

Okay, so it's now August 22 . . . .

[ UPDATE: Of course August 22, 2006 has its own blog. Via PJ Media, really thorough live-blogging. ] . . . . and Allahpundit says don't take Ahmadinejad's threat seriously or you'll look like a schmuck. If you want . . . more »

Judith | 08/22/06 at 12:02 AM | 1 Comments | 3 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

August 14, 2006

Lebanon: Prelude to Iran?

Democracy for the Middle East has returned to regular posting recently, for which we can be very grateful. Looking at the recent conflict in Lebanon, DFME has this to say: . . . more »

Asher Abrams | 08/14/06 at 02:26 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

August 11, 2006

Toward victory, and beyond . . .

What next? Israel's leader, facing an unprecedented crisis of confidence, must decide quickly which course to take in Lebanon; but the Israelis seem to be getting ready to shift tactics in favor of a more mobile approach. Islamic fascists in . . . more »

Asher Abrams | 08/11/06 at 12:39 PM | Categories: - Iran

August 09, 2006

A White House Divided

I've been kind of amazed at Condi's support for the war. My impression of her had been that she was much more of the "realist" school; and when it comes to Israel, the realist school always demands capitulation and diplomacy. . . . more »

Alcibiades | 08/09/06 at 02:57 AM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

August 07, 2006

We Go Together..Like the Fire That Needs the Flame

Londoners demonstrate their support for Hezbollah: Walid Phares: “The vast majority of intellectuals still live on a pre 9/11 planet. They refuse, even after the rise of democratic movements and dissidents in the region, to acknowledge that the jihadists are . . . more »

Alcibiades | 08/07/06 at 09:52 AM | 1 Comments | 2 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

July 20, 2006

The Looming Sunni-Shi'ite War?

[UPDATE: transcript now added below] Just heard a worrisome report on Hardball - Chris Mathews was interviewing former CIA Agent Bob Baer who, despite the shambles of a movie George Clooney turned his book into, still has insightful comments and . . . more »

Alcibiades | 07/20/06 at 08:24 PM | 6 Comments | 3 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

July 17, 2006

Dossier on Hassan Nasrallah

All you ever wanted to know and more about Hassah Nasrallah. [Hat Tip: Cliff May at the Corner] Reconsidering Iran: Bill Roggio, at Radio Blogger, discusses the fact that Iran's willingness to arm Hezbollah with sophisticated missiles on Israel's doorstep . . . more »

Alcibiades | 07/17/06 at 04:38 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

July 15, 2006

Israel Official: Iran Helping Hezbollah

BREAKING NEWS There were preliminary reports that Iranian soldiers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were helping Hezbollah after the missile struck Haifa, on Thursday. Now this item is being reported more widely, following after the missile strike on the Israeli . . . more »

Alcibiades | 07/15/06 at 10:21 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

July 14, 2006

The Promise and the Eagle

We've seen where "realism" has gotten us. Over the last few months, the mainstream press gave sneering praise to President Bush for apparently stepping back from his ambitious goals of ending tyranny in the Middle East. The dreaded neoconservatives - . . . more »

Asher Abrams | 07/14/06 at 02:00 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

July 13, 2006

Captured Israelis May Be Enroute to Iran

Although Meepas (cited at Regime Change Iran) regarded it as unlikely, it's now being reported that Hezbollah may be attempting to move the captured Israeli soldiers from Beirut, Lebanon to Iran: Israeli foreign ministry officials said Thursday evening it has . . . more »

Asher Abrams | 07/13/06 at 01:50 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

World War IV, hopefully without nukes

Via Pamela: Years from now, the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit will be regarded like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Against the backdrop of Kassam rocket fire on Israelis living within range of the Gaza Strip, it was the fate . . . more »

Judith | 07/13/06 at 06:01 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

June 19, 2006

Soccer semiotics

While Van was devising ways to make soccer itself more exciting, the 2006 World Cup was rife with political symbolism which may have upstaged the actual games. Germans turned out to protest Iranian president Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial: . . . more »

Judith | 06/19/06 at 11:32 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

June 11, 2006

Scenes from a Parallel Universe in Nuremberg

The photos and stories coming out of Germany today, from the Iran-Mexico soccer match, left me speechless. They seemed to float in from a parallel universe where Israel is an honored country with the full support of the West that, . . . more »

Van | 06/11/06 at 08:48 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 31, 2006

Dhimmi badges redux

[ UPDATE: On the one hand, I love being able to post at Winds of Change and get a larger audience. On the other hand, my posts there get all the comments and hits, for example big discussion on this . . . more »

Judith | 05/31/06 at 02:16 PM | 9 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 19, 2006

Yellow Badges for Jews, Red Badges for Christians...

[ New UPDATE: (from Alcibiades) Thanks to Judith for updating and correcting while I was away. When I left town on Friday, no one was yet disputing the story, and I return to find it largely discredited, with one exception. . . . more »

Alcibiades | 05/19/06 at 10:45 AM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 14, 2006

Iran in the Sudan

One challenge to the rationale for deposing Saddam is: "So why Saddam and not [insert your favorite Mass-Murdering Megalomaniac Dictator here]?" On one level, this is an example of "the best is the enemy of the good," and the appropriate . . . more »

Judith | 05/14/06 at 02:08 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 10, 2006

Cole Alert: The Light Dimming at Yale

[ A roundup of links to Cole's various misstatements, dishonest debate, historical inaccuracies, conspiracy theories, attacks, and whining. ] According to Michael Rubin from PhiBeta Cons, at NRO: The Yale History Department has voted to extend Juan Cole an offer, . . . more »

Alcibiades | 05/10/06 at 02:29 PM | 4 Comments | 2 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 08, 2006

Iran makes strange bedfellows

It's interesting to see certain national leaders who have reputations as appeasers react to Ahmadinejad's threats. First Jacques Chirac reverses his earlier position:President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France was prepared to launch a nuclear strike against any country that . . . more »

Judith | 05/08/06 at 05:00 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 04, 2006

Did Italian Communists Help Iran Coordinate the Murder of Italian Troops in Iraq?

Stefania, at Publius Pundit, is reporting that the Italian Intelligence overheard telephone calls coordinating an attack on Italian soldiers between Italian communists and Islamists. Italian communist groups helped kill 3 Italian soldiers in Nassirya I reported about here. An article . . . more »

Alcibiades | 05/04/06 at 11:33 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

May 03, 2006

Mr. Cole's "Eloquent" Refutation of Christopher Hitchens' Charges

Yesterday, Christopher Hitchens had a piece in Slate that pointed out some of Mr. Juan Cole's more egregious recent misstatements about Iran and Israel. In some ways, the continuing row over his call for the complete destruction of Israel must . . . more »

Alcibiades | 05/03/06 at 11:30 AM | 0 Comments | 2 TrackBacks | Categories: - Iran

April 28, 2006