The epic battle between Ahmadinejad and Paul the Octopus

From YNet:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Paul the Octopus, the sea creature that correctly predicted the outcome of World Cup games in South Africa, is a symbol of all that is wrong with the western world.

During a speech he delivered in Tehran over the weekend, Ahmadinejad said the octopus is a symbol of decadence and decay among "his enemies", and accused the octopus of spreading "western propaganda and superstition."

"Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values," Ahmadinejad said.

Mahmoud the Madman's problem with Paul is probably because of Islam's dislike for black magic.

But perhaps some of that visceral hate is because of the long tradition of anti-semites comparing the Jewish community (and, more recently, Israel) to that very creature.

From 1938:

to just last month: