perlustration

Isreal "Ambiguity", Iran "secrecy"!

2009-10-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

An interesting example of hypocrocy in "Western" journalism.

In this article the author writes:

Israel maintains a doctrine of "nuclear ambiguity" and has never confirmed nor denied having its own nuclear weapons program. It considers Iran a serious threat not only because of Tehran's nuclear program but also because of Iran's arsenal of long-range missiles, which can be fitted with nuclear warheads and are capable of striking the Jewish state.

Then says:

Iran's missile program and its nuclear work — much of it carried out in secrecy — have long been a concern for the West, which fears Tehran is intent on developing an atomic weapons capability and the missiles to deploy such warheads.

Why do you have to use "Ambiguity" for Israel and "Secrecy" for Iranian programs? Then why should only West right to have had "a concern" about Iran and no mention of Iran's right to be concern about "Ambiguity" of Israel nuclear missiles? If the concern is to talk about the tension shouldn't one need to address the both side of it?

Can you believe the headline in this item?

2009-02-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

Israeli police sappers pour water to cool the remains of a rocket launched by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip that hit the southern city of Ashkelon on February 3. A rocket fired by Gaza militants hit southern Israel on Friday, despite ongoing efforts to reach a lasting truce, a military spokesman said, adding that it caused no casualties or damage.

Israel: Militants launch rocket, violating truce

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says Palestinian militants have launched a rocket from Gaza, violating an unwritten cease-fire that ended Israel's Gaza offensive.

The military says the rocket hit near an Israeli communal farm, causing no damage or injuries.

Friday's rocket fire followed an incident late Thursday on the Gaza-Israel border in which Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian who the military said was armed with a grenade.

Israel unilaterally halted its devastating Gaza operation on Jan. 18, and Hamas followed with an announcement that it would hold its fire.

Militants have sporadically fired rockets into Israel since, and killed one soldier in a border bombing attack. Israeli troops have killed three Palestinians who Gaza officials identified as farmers in border shootings.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

Israeli forces shooting and killing a Palestinian is not violating the "un-written ceasefire", but Palestinian firing of a "rocket" that is put out by bottled water is!

Chiniese Lesson for Tow Truck drivers....

2008-12-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

Chicken Teacher

2008-12-01T12:29:00.000-08:00

A hen pecks an eagle. Chinese farmers are trapping eagles and other birds of prey and throwing them trussed up into chicken pens to make them so scared of poultry that they never return

Source

The Promised Land?

2008-11-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

The Promised Land?

Obama, Emanuel and Israel

By JOHN V. WHITBECK

November 07, 2008 "Counterpunch" -- -- In the first major appointment of his administration, President-elect Barack Obama has named as his chief of staff Congressman Rahm Emanuel, an Israeli citizen and Israeli army veteran whose father, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, was a member of Menachem Begin's Irgun forces during the Nakba and named his son after "a Lehi combatant who was killed" -- i.e., a member of Yitzhak Shamir's terrorist Stern Gang, responsible for, in addition to other atrocities against Palestinians, the more famous bombing of the King David Hotel and assassination of the UN peace envoy Count Folke Bernadotte.

Read the full article

Who is making money ...

2008-09-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

A congress man that said wait a minute...

And a congressman that is willing to sign the papers today, albeit with some modifications.

Lie for a cause....

2008-09-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

The real McCain

2008-09-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

small town values...

2008-09-10T10:53:00.001-07:00

Acceptance speech

2008-09-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

GDP

2008-09-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

2008-09-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department. Charged with conspiracy to riot. Footage from Rick Rowley and Brandon Jourdan.

2008-08-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Georgian state flag flies at half mast behind the statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in his hometown of Gori, now under control of Russian troops, August 20, 2008.
(David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Rather strange... town is suppose to be "under control of Russian troops" yet it flies the Georgian flag. Georgia is suppose to be the most democratic country in x-communist states, yet it maintains the statue of the Stalin!

Gucci Protest!

2008-08-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Russain soldiers stand guard as a Georgian protester shouts near the town of Igoeti, 50 kms from Tbilisi,Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Georgian activists got into a tense argument with Russian soldiers over the military conflict with Georgia as they held a rally in the town outside the strategic city of Gori. ( AP Photo /Sergei Grits)

McCain, not so smart, but has taste!

2008-08-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Is McCain another George W. Bush?

No, the man has better taste...

Do you support Bush more than you did 4 years ago?

2008-08-16T11:27:00.001-07:00

Ron Paul talks about Russia Georgian conflict in 2002!

2008-08-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

American Hypocrisy Institute (aka AEI)

2008-08-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Frederick W. Kagan of American Enterprise Institute has the following to say about Russian response to the conflict that Georgia started on opening night of Olympics:

The Russians have also established several principles and precedents:

* That Russia has the right to respond to conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia by strategic attack against Georgia

* That Russia has the right to use its military force to bomb and invade the undisputed sovereign territory of a neighbor for the purpose of defending the “dignity and lives of Russian citizens,” which was the basis that Medvedev has repeatedly advanced for the operation

There is nothing new about this "principles and precedents". In 1983 Ronald Reagan "invade the undisputed sovereign territory of" Granada for the purpose of protecting the lives of American Medical Students (whoes lives were not even threatened!) See: Remembering Reagan’s Invasion of Grenada

* That Russian Federation law extends to cover all Russian citizens, wherever they might be located.

* That Russian Federation law can be used to bring charges against non-Russian citizens who are not resident in Russia for crimes not committed on Russian territory, if their actions are “against the interests of the Russian Federation.”

How is that different than war on terror, Guantanamo bay.... There is 8 years of Bush administration precedence on these issues, all of which was supported or initiated by AEI. Why are they complaining now?

* That Russian military forces can take pre-emptive action, including ground occupation, to protect themselves from the possibility of danger posed by foreign forces on foreign soil.

Interestingly, a few years ago, while promoting The Project for New American Century, Bill Kristol and Mr Kagan say:

"We seem to have forgotten the essential elements of the Reagan administration's success: a military that is strong and ready to meet both present and future challenges; a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national leadership that accepts the U.S. global responsibilities."

It seems that, thanks to Neocons, the Russian have remembered the essential elements of Regan administration's successes!

Saakashvili the new Saddam?

2008-08-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia reminds me of President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. They both are very brave when it comes time to send their military to attack others but when it comes to themselves they are the chicken hawks:

The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, was pushed to the ground by bodyguards when a jet flew overhead during his tour of the Georgian city of Gori....

2008-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Home made arms?

2008-05-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

New York Times's "Iraq Team to Discuss Militias With Iran" article includes the following pictures:

With this caption: "Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji, an Iraqi commander in Basra, with a seized arms cache on Tuesday. "

The "arms cache" depicted in the picture looks about as home made arms as there can be. Yet the article still talks about it as if they have been made in Iran!

AS a side note: The author of the article is Michael Gordon, yes the same Michael Gordon that co-authored the Judith Miller lies on Iraq.

Juxtaposing General Patreaus comment and Bush Administration's Propaganda

2008-04-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

In his April, 9 2008 testimony at House Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq General Petraeus said:

Sons of Iraq have also have contributed to the discovery of improvised explosive devices and weapons and explosive caches. As this next chart shows, in fact we have already found more caches in 2008 than we found in all of 2006.

In the 2003 as the US forces were rushing toward Baghdad there were so few soldiers that they had to ignore the Saddam's weapons caches. As the Iraqi army fled, locals helped themselves to the inventory of weapons that Saddam had amassed for 30 years. General Peataeus seems to imply that now with help of the "Sons of Iraq" they are finding them.

This is interesting when you juxtapose this comment with the almost daily claim of Bush administration that Iran is supplying Iranian made weapons to Iraq. Or may be General didn't realize his claim of success would negate the other key porpaganda theme of Bush administration.

In 2007 Bush administration told the world that Iran is supplying weapons to Iraq. Now, 2008 General is telling us he has been finding large caches of weapons. Therefore in 2007 there were lot of Iraqi weapons available to the Iraqi insurgency. If there were such huge caches of weapons in Iraq, would it make sense for Iranian to actually ship any weapons to Iraq?

It just doesn't make sense.

What is common between China-Tibet, Israel-Palestine, and India-Pakistan conflicts?

2008-04-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

Israeli-Palestinian,
China-Tibet, India-Pakistan.

Answer: All three are legacies of the British Colonialism.

Show of Force!

2008-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Government forces cover their face, fire in the air to as "show of force" (desperation?)

Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari shouts instructions to Iraqi Army soldiers to secure a street in a show of force in a militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the southern city of Basra some 550 kilometers (about 340 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 2, 2008. An Iraqi commander led a convoy of troops firing into the air Wednesday in a show of force in a militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the southern city of Basra.
(AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani

Iraqi soldier secures a street in a show of force in a militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the southern city of Basra some 550 kilometers (about 340 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 2, 2008. An Iraqi commander led a convoy of troops firing into the air Wednesday in a show of force in a militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the southern city of Basra.
(AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Meanwhile the citizens are showing their view:

Iraqi children stand on top of a destroyed Iraqi Army's vehicle in Basra some 550 kilometers (about 340 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 2, 2008. The Basra joint operations center announced that a gun battle broke out during the raid and an Iraqi army vehicle was set on fire. An Iraqi commander led a convoy of troops firing into the air Wednesday in a show of force in a militia stronghold that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the southern city of Basra.
(AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

The Turks haven't learned the British way of denying past atrocities

2008-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

The Turks haven't learned the British way of denying past atrocities