Saturday, September 12, 2015

09/12 links; Iran claims to have discovered uranium reserves; Israeli mini-scanner tells what's in food, drink or pills

Ian is still unavailable, so here are some links that crossed my desk over the past day:

Iranian media: New uranium reserves discovered in Iran

Iran has discovered an unexpectedly high reserve of uranium and will soon begin extracting the radioactive element at a new mine, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Saturday.
The comments cast doubt on previous assessments from some Western analysts who said the country had a low supply and would sooner or later need to import uranium, the raw material needed for its nuclear program.

"I cannot announce (the level of) Iran's uranium mine reserves. The important thing is that before aerial prospecting for uranium ores we were not too optimistic, but the new discoveries have made us confident about our reserves," Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Why we should be wary of the Obama administration’s no-alternatives racket on Iran

Tune into a debate on the Iran nuclear threat in the United States and you’ll be sure to hear proponents of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) gleefully bemoan the lack of alternatives.
A congressional vote to block the deal (and override a White House veto) will encounter the “objection of the vast majority of the world,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in an Aug. 5 speech, thus making it harder to maintain the international sanctions that brought Iran to its knees. A vote to reject is therefore a “vote to allow Iran to get off scot-free, and to get all the sanctions relief” without “having to give up anything,” according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
They have a point. It will surely be more difficult for us to rally international support for continued sanctions after rejecting the agreement than it would have been had Obama just walked away when it became clear the Iranians would not settle for a low-proliferation-risk civilian nuclear program. And our collective display of schizophrenia won’t make it any easier to convince them we mean business next time around.
But the Obama administration deliberately put us in this no-win situation. Like a general burning bridges behind his retreating army, it has been working to undermine the viability of the very alternatives it now insists are unviable.

Hamas hatred: New documentary shows Iranian-backed terror group indoctrinating kids

A new documentary grimly predicts the role Iran plays in financing terror organizations and the indoctrination of children at military summer camps in the Middle East will significantly increase as a result of the imminent release of huge sums of money to Tehran under the nuclear agreement endorsed by the Obama administration.
"Iran: Billions for Terror?" depicts children blowing up mock Israeli villages and parroting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who is seen telling an adoring Iranian crowd, “The entire world – particularly the world of Islam – is duty-bound and obliged to help the Palestinian people with as many weapons as possible.”
Produced by the Center for Near East Policy Research (CNEPR) and filmed by a team of Arab reporters at various locations in Gaza this summer, one of the most disturbing aspects of the footage is the recent introduction of terror training for little girls. The Hamas summer camps mantra, “We will sacrifice our lives for the sake of Allah” is chanted over and over.

Germany 'took our Jews and gave us Arabs': French ex-minister

A former French minister stirred up controversy Friday after saying Germany "took our Jews and gave us Arabs" as France began taking some of the thousands of refugees arriving in Germany.
Patrick Devedjian, a right-winger who served in the governments of presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, made the remark at a press conference, but quickly tried to backtrack on social media.
"My humorous jest was misplaced," Devedjian wrote on his Twitter account, saying he regretted it all the more because he himself helps refugees in need.

Rosh Hashanah: Confronting the challenges of 5776

We must never take for granted that our generation is blessed to have a Jewish state. It requires little imagination to visualize what horrific conditions would face us in the absence of the state, which has empowered Jews for the first time since our dispersion. Any Jew is assured of haven in their Jewish homeland and we hope many more will make aliyah in the years to come. We pray that increasing numbers will do so out of a desire to live in their Jewish homeland rather than escaping persecution and discrimination.
So despite the fierce challenges confronting us, we should look to the future with optimism. Without detracting from the necessity of remaining alert and strong, we should dismiss the prophets of doom. We must continue to remind ourselves of the reality that we are indeed the most blessed generation of Jews since our exile 2,000 years ago. Much as we seek the friendship and support of other nations, we are fortified in the knowledge that today we independently determine our own future.

Israeli mini-scanner tells what's in food, drink or pills

An Israeli start-up has launched a pocket device which analyzes instantly the composition of food, drink, medication or other objects.
Consumer Physics says its SCiO tool sends data on the chemical makeup of a substance to the user's smartphone, where a variety of applications will present the results.
It is "the first molecular sensor that fits in the palm of your hand," says Dror Sharon, co-founder of the firm based in Hod Hasharon, near Tel Aviv.
Users will be able to see how many calories are in the burger on their plate, what is in their drink, or if that jacket is really leather

The State Department issues statement on UNRWA violations of neutrality

AP reporter Matt Lee tweeted this statement from the State Department:

The role United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) plays in providing critical humanitarian assistance to more than 5 million Palestinian refugees is indispensable. All sides must respect the humanitarian role of UNRWA. and we expect UNRWA personnel to observe the strictest decorum and uphold its stated policy of neutrality so that it can carry out its critical mandate.

Our commitment to overseeing UNRWA’s neutrality is long-standing. and the State Department takes its responsibility for oversight ot UNRWA very seriously. Our oversight is more than an annual checklist exercise; :the State Department closely engages with UNRWA throughout the course of the year on all facets of UNRWA‘s programs, including issues related to the neutrality of UNRWA staff, operations,. and facilities.

We are aware that the UNRWA is undertaking internal investigations into allegations that UNRWA staff posted discriminatory messages on social media accounts. We have asked UNRWAto keep the United States informed of the findings of its investigation.
For any additional details regarding the investigations. we refer you to UNRWA.

Clearly the research I've done (and that UN Watch publicized) is having an effect. which makes it even more interesting that UNRWA-USA is blocking me on Twitter.

Of course, UNRWA's internal investiagation will be a joke, and the State Department does not have the desire to really hold UNRWA's feet to the fire of fulfilling its mandate. This is all theatre that we've seen before - UNRWA will issue a statement that they take these thing seriously, maybe they will slap the wrists of some of the employees that I discovered with the worst antisemitic messages (the state Department pointedly does not mention the pro-terror Facebook posts that I discovered) and then everyone will breathe easier that the status quo has returned. The fundamental problems at UNRWA will not be solved.

But this is start.

UPDATE: There is as of yet nothing on the UNRWA site about this.

Rosh Hashanah music video rundown

Two people had the same idea:

If you are skeptical in only one direction, you aren't a skeptic

Famed atheist and self-avowed skeptic Richard Dawkins saw a completely fictional poster text and felt that it was believable enough to retweet it:

What followed was a discussion between antisemites who swore that the quotes were real and Jews who said they weren't. Dawkins followed up on one commenter:

@brianoflondon I only asked "What is this?" You have now told me your answer. Others have told me differently, so I'm still curious.
— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) September 10, 2015

If Dawkins cared about the truth, he could have looked up my link to the definitive debunking and explanation of every major fake Talmud quote out there.

.@RichardDawkins The best rebuttal of fake Talmud quotes online is here: http://t.co/eb8PcwMEpW @FuzzyLucifer @brianoflondon
— ElderOfZiyon (@elderofziyon) September 10, 2015

As it is, he left his opinion on the matter ambiguous. Some say it is true, some say it isn't, the truth must be somewhere in between.

Which made me wonder - if skepticism is a good trait to have (and I believe it is,) then if Dawkins shows skepticism in only one direction, he is not really a skeptic. He is like everyone else - looking for evidence to buttress his already enshrined beliefs.

Which makes him no less dogmatic than his opponents.

If Dawkins is really "curious" he would have continued the discussion. There are certainly things in the Talmud that sound strange to modern ears and an open discussion on such topics would be fine. But in this case, the famous self-described skeptic did not show any evidence of skepticism when some random hater sent him fake quotes with a picture of a smiling rabbi-type supposedly teaching that crap.

By coincidence, earlier this week I created a poster in response to another poster of fake quotes, that time attacking Zionists, showing how idiotic it is to ascribe more validity to a quote just because someone made it into a graphic.

Bassem Tamimi, father of "Shirley Temper" and the leader of the weekly rock-throwing protests at Nabi Saleh, is going on a speaking tour of the US - and Amnesty International is one of his sponsors, along with many other anti-Israel organizations who pretend to support "peace."

Tamimi's "peace" includes slinging rocks at high speed towards the heads of Israeli soldiers. And he supports his own family throwing rocks.

Not only that, but Tamimi - who is related to some of the most notorious terrorists in history - have said explicitly that he is only against more traditional terrorism for strategic reasons, not because it is wrong.

Taking up arms wasn’t, for Bassem, a moral error so much as a strategic one. He and everyone else I spoke with in the village insisted they had the right to armed resistance; they just don’t think it works. Bassem could reel off a list of Nabi Saleh’s accomplishments. Of some — Nabi Saleh, he said, had more advanced degrees than any village — he was simply proud. Others — one of the first military actions after Oslo, the first woman to participate in a suicide attack — involved more complicated emotions.

In 1993, Bassem told me, his cousin Said Tamimi killed a settler near Ramallah. Eight years later, another villager, Ahlam Tamimi escorted a bomber to a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem. Fifteen people were killed, eight of them minors. Ahlam, who now lives in exile in Jordan, and Said, who is in prison in Israel, remain much-loved in Nabi Saleh.

Tamimi himself is proud of them as well, just that he believes that blowing up Jews was not a smart move while Israel is strong enough to defend itself.

This person who condones terror, and who actively supprts some forms of violence, is being celebrated by "peace groups" such as Amnesty.

Which speaks volumes.

09/11 Links: Why does the Left care more about Islamophobia than antisemitism?; NYTimes charts "Jewish" opposition to Iran deal; 9/11 memorial in Israel

Ian could not do the linkdumps today.

US House of Representatives threaten legal action against Obama to stop Iran deal

In the US House, conservatives have begun pressing the case that Obama broke that law by not providing the texts of secret so-called "side deals" to the accord.

On Thursday the House passed a measure finding that the president violated the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, and that the 60-day review had therefore not begun.
Congressman Peter Roskam issued a legal challenge to Obama following the vote, demanding that the House get access to two "side agreements" negotiated between the US and Iran as part of the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
"President Obama broke the very law he signed by failing to provide Congress with the Iran-IAEA side agreements," Roskam said. "Withholding these documents from the American people and their elected representatives completely discredits the transparent review process the administration was legally obligated to provide. In light of this vote, I believe the House should pursue legal action against the administration for its blatant disregard for the law."
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner, said Thursday that the House will use "every tool at our disposal to stop, slow and delay' the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal."

Why does the left care more about Islamophobia than anti-Semitism?

Why do leftists care more about Muslims than they do about Jews? If that sounds confrontational, consider this: this week, the Met Police released the latest hate-crime figures for London. They show that offences against Jews have risen by 93% over the past year, while offences against Muslims have risen by 70%. And guess which story the BBC, Guardian and Independent, those voices of the British liberal conscience, have chosen to flag up? Yep, the 70% hike in Islamophobic attacks, not the nearly 100% hike in anti-Semitic offences.

The BBC’s headline is ‘Islamophobic crime in London “up by 70%”‘. The Guardian‘s is ‘Hate crimes against Muslims soar in London’. The Indie opts for ‘Hate crimes against Muslims in London “up by 70%”‘. What about the crimes against Jews? Sorry, no room for those. They aren’t mentioned. Whether as a result of how the cops chose to press-release their new figures or how editors chose to interpret them, or maybe a bit of both, someone down the line has taken the decision that a bashed-up or verbally abused Muslim is more newsworthy than a bashed-up or verbally abused Jew.

‘NYTimes’ Lambasted for Charting Congressional ‘Jewish’ Opposition to Nuclear Deal

Jewish organizations slammed The New York Times on Thursday for publishing a chart listing the number of Jewish Congressional Democrats who oppose the Iran nuclear deal.
The chart divides the anti-deal Democrats in the House and Senate into columns, one of which is headed “Jewish?” Another is called “District and estimated Jewish population.”
According to the article in which it appeared, “Though more Jewish members of Congress support the deal than oppose it, the Democrats against the deal are more likely to be Jewish or represent Jewish constituencies.”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called the chart “a grotesque insult to the intelligence of those voting on the deal,” and warned against the connotations its publication evokes.

US, Israel near deal to produce David’s Sling missile shield

US Navy Vice Admiral James Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said the US and Israel would soon sign a draft deal on the production of the jointly developed David’s Sling system, Reuters reported.
Robert Scher, assistant defense secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities, noted that Washington has provided Israel with $3 billion in funds for missile-defense programs since 2001.
David’s Sling, also known as Magic Wand, was designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the US defense firm Raytheon to thwart rockets and missiles fired from 100-300 kilometers (62-186 miles) away.
The system successfully passed a series of trial runs in April, and the Israeli Air Force has already begun training operators for the array, which is expected to become operational next year.

A prayer for 5776 (Caroline Glick)

The Obama administration’s animosity toward Israel is part and parcel of the world view that brought it to support Gaddafi’s overthrow and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. So, too, the administration’s refusal to take action to overthrow the Assad regime or destroy Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on the one hand, and its facilitation of Iran’s rise to regional hegemony and nuclear empowerment on the other, is a clear indication that identity politics play a key role in determining the administration’s foreign policy.
But there is still reason to hope that things can change in America. The fact is that two-thirds of Americans oppose Obama’s nuclear pact with the mullahs and support Israel. Obama has only been able to promote his radical agenda by pretending it isn’t his agenda.
As Israel seeks to secure and advance its interests in the identity politics-riven West, we must understand that our ability to impact the views of the other side is limited. The moment a society embraces identity politics, its members become incapable of rationally pursuing their own interests.
And consequently, they are lost to Israel.
As far as securing our relations with the US is concerned, we must take every opportunity to strengthen those who fight against identity politics and for rationality and reasoned analysis of reality.
And while we pray for their success, we need to recognize that this is America’s fight to win or to lose. We cannot fight it for the American people.
And so, just as we build fences along our borders, we need to prepare for the worst in order to secure our survival.
Israel’s greatest strategic asset is our willingness to see things for what they are. It is my prayer for the coming year that our vision becomes ever sharper and that through our moral and strategic clarity we rally the Americans and other like-minded nations to our side in our fight for ourselves and for the noblest attributes of humanity.

Iranian Justice: Cartoonist to have 12-year Sentence Extended for Shaking Her Lawyer’s Hand

Iran’s treatment of artistic expression is, like its suppression of the free press, a violation of human rights intended to terrify its opponents into submission. Atena Farghadani, 29, was sentenced to almost thirteen years in prison in part for drawing this cartoon of certain members of the Iranian parliament:

The regime’s response to her satire has been quite harsh. The initial three month sentence was extended into a new set of charges after she wrote letters of protest to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and drew new cartoons critical of her treatment in Evin prison. The new charges against her included were “insulting the Supreme Leader, the President, Members of Parliament, and the IRGC,” meaning the Revolutionary Guards Corps, and “assembly and collusion against national security.” The government hand-picked the judge they wanted to try the case, a man named Abolghassem Salavati who is known to hand down especially harsh sentences, including numerous executions.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, has been arrested and is also facing parallel charges of an “illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery” and “indecent conduct” for the handshake. By charging her lawyer as well as her, the regime sends a strong warning to any lawyers who might consider working on her case in the future. The detention may also prevent her lawyer from being able to submit an appeal within the mandatory deadline period, which would prevent her appeal from coming before a court that could reconsider the harsh sentence.

Remembering 9/11 in Israel

The easiest way to push a lie is not to say the lie directly.

It is to say something else, preferably an inspirational story that gets people emotionally involved, and then parenthetically relate it to the lie. When people who are already invested in a story see the ancillary falsehood, they are far more likely to believe the lie because their guard is down.

AP played this role perfectly:

A Palestinian-Canadian doctor has created a low-cost stethoscope using a 3D printer, the first in a series of inventions he hopes will help alleviate medical supply shortages caused by an eight-year blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Dr. Tarek Loubani says his stethoscope can be made for just $2.50 — a fraction of the cost of leading brands — and some doctors say the equipment is just as good.

The shortage of basic medical devices in the isolated Palestinian territory "is something that I think we can translate from a big problem to a big win for us in Gaza," said Loubani, an emergency medicine doctor from London, Ont., whose Glia Project aims to provide medical supplies to impoverished places like Gaza.

Hospitals have been struggling since the militant Hamas group took over the Gaza Strip in 2007 and Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on the territory. The import restrictions have led to shortages of medicines and basic supplies like medical consumables and IV bags.

Loubani hopes to "produce these devices locally so they meet local need and so that they are not dependent of the political winds of the Israelis and of the donor community."

Only one problem:

There are no Israeli restrictions on stethoscopes to Gaza.

Gaza doctors and hospitals can order all the stethoscopes they want and the devices will be delivered quickly through Israel and the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Now, there is nothing wrong with providing low-cost stethoscopes via 3D plastic printing. The story could have been written from that angle, saying that this innocative Canadian doctor of Palestinian descent had come up with a way to provide cheap but high quality stethoscopes to help out Gaza medical professionals who cannot afford them. 3D printers in Gaza may be problematic - people have built plastic guns with the technology, so they sound like a dual-use item that may be restricted - but apparently there a;ready is at least one is in Gaza already and using it for medical technology is laudable.

But the idea mentioned multiple times in the story that Israeli restrictions are the reason for the shortages is nothing short of slander, and AP must be held to account for pushing this lie.

UNRWA teacher teaches his kids to violently overthrow Israel

Hasan Musleh is an UNRWA teacher in Jordan.

Of course he teaches his children in class that they will one day "return" to the areas of British Mandate Palestine that are in Israel today. Here's the blackboard of his classroom with the representation of a key that is symbolic of this desire to "return": On the board he wrote "15th of May 1948," which he calls Nakba Day,

And how is this "return" supposed to be accomplished?

He answers that on his Facebook pages as well, with his ideal display of unity:

The three major terror groups of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas are represented here.

Does UNRWA expect people to believe that Musleh doesn't teach his students the message of the poster?

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

UPDATE: These specific photos have been taken down, but Musleh still has others that show that he believes in violence:

Were Palestinian Arab art posters from the 1960s-1970s antisemitic?

From Electronic Intifada:

A senior Palestinian Authority diplomat has refused to defend an initiative aimed at ensuring that the United Nations recognizes the historical significance of posters opposing the Israeli occupation.

Next month, a program run by UNESCO — the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organization — will approve a number of collections of documents deemed to have historical and universal value.

Approximately 1,600 Palestine-themed posters are among the nominations to Memory of the World, as the program is known.

The nomination has been strenuously opposed by a pro-Israel lobby group, the World Jewish Congress, which has argued that the UN should not associate itself with the posters as they “could fuel hatred and anti-Semitic perceptions.”

Supporters of the collection approached the Palestinian Authority seeking help in countering the pro-Israel lobby.

Elias Sanbar, the PA’s ambassador to UNESCO, refused to help.

In an email message, seen by The Electronic Intifada, Sanbar stated that he would not get involved in the issue because the feeling that some of the posters were anti-Semitic was shared by Irena Bokova, UNESCO’s director-general.

“Some of the posters, as I have been told, are ‘anti-semitic,’” wrote Sanbar, who is based in Paris. “As I have not seen the posters, I have no opinion on this fact. But this is the official opinion of the DG of UNESCO. And you will understand that I won’t let my delegation enter into this debate.”

The email message was sent in late February.

Dan Walsh, who has assembled the collection, said he was “stunned” by Sanbar’s attitude.

“It completely contradicts Palestine’s push to legitimate the country’s cultural patrimony via the United Nations,” Walsh added.

The PA’s refusal to cooperate represents something of a U-turn. Last year, the PA formally requested that UNESCO recognize the collection’s significance. Palestine has been a member of the organization since 2011.

Bokova may have bowed to pressure from the Israel lobby. She has reportedly threatened to veto a decision by a UNESCO international advisory committee if it approves the collection at a meeting in Abu Dhabi during the first week of October.

Walsh described the veto threat as “malfeasance.”

“It is not being used to advance the goals of the UN or UNESCO but rather the goals of Zionism,” he said.

Electronic Intifada and Sanbar are lying. Antisemitism isn't the reason that UNESCO's director-general was against including these posters - it was because so many of them glorified violence, as I mentioned earlier this year: She said some of the posters “would seem totally unacceptable and run counter to the values of UNESCO and its aspiration to build peace in the minds of men and women.”

Last year I noticed that the collection didn't have any Palestinian posters created before 1967. (It has one painting labeled 1960, but I think that is a typo since the rest of the series is from 1970.)

So this collection which is meant to show the history of Palestinian Arab nationalism through the medium of posters shows it quite clearly - there was very little such nationalism before 1967. I don't think that is the message that the curator wants to give to the world, however.

Despite Dan Walsh's clear anti-Zionist feelings, I happen to love the larger collection which includes incredible Zionist posters, as well as many of my own creations, which is most flattering. (I have lots more, Dan, if you are reading.)

It also is fascinating look at the evolution of Palestinian Arab political thought and propaganda - for example, trying to equate their movement with the Vietnamese or early attempts to use choldren's and women's rights as a weapon against Israel.

But I was wondering if any of the posters in the collection are in fact antisemitic.

Most of them certainly aren't. . Many are filled with lies, including fake quotes and other falsehoods, along with others that promote violence and terror. Some are truly disgusting, promoting child soldiers and celebrating the worst terror attacks against Jewish civilians,

But blatant antisemitism? Not too much.

Here is one:

This one can be considered antisemitic:

Some other Palestinian posters were antisemitic but were not included in the smaller collection meant for UNESCO. For example:

But I'm not seeing much else from the Arab side in the 1960s and 1970s.

I do see antisemitic posters by Jews, unfortunately, like this one that draws Hitler mustaches on children in a poster for Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria:

Whether or not UNESCO decides to incorporate these posters, I think that the project is a remarkable resource.

Laughably stupid Mondoweiss article. But I repeat myself.

From Mondoweiss:

The New York Times today has a story with a scary headline: “Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Israel Won’t Exist in 25 Years.” The first sentence repeats the idea that Iran’s leaders don’t want “Israel” to be around much longer.

Iran’s supreme leader predicted Wednesday that Israel would not exist in 25 years, . . .
This sounds alarming unless you’re familiar with the way the mainstream press has twisted Iranian leaders’ statements in the past. So patience is required because in the third paragraph Ayatollah Khamenei makes clear that he means not “Israel” but the “Zionist regime.”

“After nuclear negotiations, the Zionist regime said that they will not be worried about Iran in the next 25 years,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote. “I am telling you, first, you will not be around in 25 years’ time, and God willing, there will be no Zionist regime in 25 years. Second, during this period, the spirit of fighting, heroism and jihad will keep you worried every moment.”

The name “Israel” never appears in any quote in this story. Just “the Zionist regime."

See? The Ayatollah didn't say anything about Israel! He has nothing against Israel as a nation, just the "Zionist regime!" How can the ~~Jew~~ New York Times deceive its readers this way? How can any thinking person not see the obvious distinction between the "Zionist regime" and "Israel"?

Do I really have to debunk this?

OK, OK. From the Supreme Leader's website, the official translation of a speech he gave on July 18:

These are the people of Iran. It is the people of Iran who paint such a picture of themselves on the scene of worshipping God during the month of Ramadan and on the scene of fighting against arrogance, each in different ways. Our people should not be known through the hostile words of others. Rather, they should be known through themselves, through their slogans, through their movements and through such magnificent reflections. These are the people of Iran. ...The slogans of the people of Iran showed what our orientations are. On Quds Day, the slogan of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" shook the scene of the country. And these slogans were not particular to Tehran and large cities. The entire country stood under the umbrella of this movement.

Dear God, accept what the people of Iran have done with Your mercy and kindness.

Khamenei is saying that "Death to Israel" (and "Death to America") are what the Iranian people want and what Khamanei's orientations are - and God should accept their prayers.

The words "Zionist regime" are not mentioned in the speech even once! That must mean, by Mondoweiss logic, that Khamenei has no problem with the Zionist regime, but only with Israel.

(Remember - Mondoweiss is considered an excellent source of news by UNRWA's Chris Gunness.)

(h/t Aryeh)

09/10 Links Pt2: PA schools named after terrorists; Why you can’t sue the UN; Stephen Colbert voices Waze

From Ian:

PA schools named after terrorists by PA Ministry of Education

Dozens of Palestinian schools are named after terrorist murderers. The official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA now reports that the naming of state schools "is under the authority" of the PA Minister of Education. [WAFA, Aug. 25, 2015] "The naming of schools and changes are the responsibility of the Minister of Education, by a direct decision of the Ministry or the Name Committee," the independent news agency Ma'an added. Palestinian Media Watch documented 25 schools named after terrorists in its recent report Palestinian Authority Education: A Recipe for Hate and Terror.
Terrorist Dalal Mughrabi:
Three Palestinian Authority schools are named after Dalal Mughrabi - the terrorist who led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history, known as the Coastal Road massacre. She and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70, in 1978.
Terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh:
Two Palestinian Authority schools are named after Shadia Abu Ghazaleh - a terrorist who was active in the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) terror organization and involved in many attacks against Israel. While she was preparing a bomb for an attack in Tel Aviv in 1968, it accidentally detonated and killed her.
Terrorist Abu Jihad:
Three Palestinian Authority schools are named after Abu Jihad - a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks. These attacks, which killed a total of 125 Israelis, included the most lethal in Israel's history cited above.

Norwegian Councilor: Sever Ties with 'Terror-Honoring' Shechem

A member of the Stavanger city council in Norway has called on the municipality to sever ties with sister city Shechem (Nablus) following a report that yet another central square in the city had been named after a terrorist murderer.
According to councilor Mats Danielsson, "the cities we partner with need to share values, norms and practices common to our people. This is proof of the opposite. Our sister city Nablus honors terrorists."
Danielsson made the remarks in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Roglands Avis, after Palestinian Media Watch reported the Palestinian Authority had named a square in Schechem after terrorist Naif Abu Sharah.
Abu Sharah has been involved in numerous terrorists attacks targeting Israelis, including a double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv in 2003 which killed 23 people and injured dozens more.
According to PMW, a memorial built in honor of Abu Shahar in the square is in the shape of a map of "Palestine" including areas controlled by the PA as well as all of Israel.
The monument's design, clearly touting the desire to erase the existence of Israel altogether, also outraged the Norwegian city councilor.

JPost Editorial: The ANC’s stand

The South African Jewish groups are unsure about how deep support for Bapela’s controversial move runs – whether it is merely the pet project of ANC extremists or it is countenanced by wider ANC circles including President Jacob Zuma. The lack of clarity further diminishes Jewish South Africans’ sense of security.
South Africa’s Jewish community is less than half its size of 40 years ago and its today are leery of criticizing the government much, lest they be accused of racism.
Hence, in fairly restrained tones, the Jewish organizations argue that “this unfortunate political grandstanding by Bapela is motivated by his own narrow understanding of the Middle East conflict, which is based on religious fundamentalism and the BDS lobby within the ANC, and we would hope that it in no way reflects the views of the ANC. This is not the first time that Bapela has attacked the Jewish community and its leadership.”
The groups accused Bapela of displaying “classic anti-Semitism” by questioning South African Jews’ loyalty and belligerently agitating against Jewish businesses.
But it is not only Bapela. The degree to which the ANC has departed from its traditions is disheartening. The irony is that Jews were always liberal as no other whites in South African politics, especially in the Progressive Party and the ANC, whose liberation manifestos they helped author.

An Arab taxi driver had a flat tire right next to Ba'kaot checkpoint in the Jordan Valley.

He wasn't able to loosen the wheel bolts by himself so
an IDF soldier from "The Jordan Lions" (a new unit which has both female and male soldiers) came to help him.

A female soldier covered them while the tire was being changed.

A truck driver named Noah who passed by took photos.

"The media in Israel and around the world constantly show our soldiers in unpleasant and difficult situations and it was important for me to stop and photograph this event for all to see how troops are amazing...The truth is I was very excited. I approached the soldier and I said, 'good for you!.'"

The anti-ISrael crowd knows better, however. They know that every good thing ever done by an Israeli Jew for an Arab is a highly staged photo-op to distract the world from IDF crimes and the occupation and the genocide and the ethnic cleansing and the torture and all of the other things that everyone knows Israelis do every day.

(h/t Yenta)

Vic Rosenthal's weekly column:

Does Iran really think it can defeat the US?

How could it? The US is the greatest military power the world has ever known. Its nuclear arsenal is enough to turn any possible enemy into ionized plasma multiple times over. Its ICBMs can reach any corner of the globe. One nuclear aircraft carrier (and the US has 11 of them) can deliver enough high explosive to – you know the story.

But America is drawing back into itself. Its military has been severely weakened by budget cuts and ‘sequestration’, equipment has been used and abused in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and not replaced. Morale in the armed forces is low as the gains won at great cost in Iraq are given up as a result of the decision to withdraw regardless of consequences. Even funds for medical treatment of veterans are lacking.

Other countries like China and Pakistan have been spending large amounts of money modernizing and building up their nuclear forces. The US has basically abandoned its program, depending on weapons built decades ago. Can we even be sure they would work if needed? Apparently the theory is that with the end of the Cold War, all nuclear threats disappeared.

The opposite is true. Arguably the most serious nuclear threat of all – because it is made by America’s greatest enemy, one that has demonstrated its enmity by killing Americans almost since its inception in 1979, and which swears every day to destroy her – is from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

As I write, it has just been determined that President Obama has at least the 41 Senate votes he needs to sustain a veto if the Congress passes a resolution disapproving of the nuclear deal with Iran. There is a lot of discussion of how we got here, when it is clearly a treaty which should require 67 votes for ratification, but regardless of what the Congress does at this point, the deal is already a tremendous diplomatic defeat for the US.

It asserts that as soon as the IAEA confirms that Iran has taken certain specific actions (called “Implementation Day”), all sanctions on Iran – 6 UN Security Council resolutions going back to 2006 and others imposed by the US and the EU – will be removed. Much of the 159-page documentconsists of lists of organizations and individuals from whom sanctions will be removed. Details of how IAEA will perform its job are mostly hidden in a secret addendum to the agreement, but some disturbing ones have leaked out, for example that Iran itself will provide the IAEA with soil samples from its facility in Parchin. There are many additional serious issues with inspections, etc., which are discussed here.

The actions Iran is required to take before Implementation Day are all either easily reversible or difficult to verify. Although the deal calls for Iran to limit some nuclear activities for a period of 10 or 15 years, all sanctions will be removed on Implementation Day. Any attempt to re-impose sanctions are grounds for Iran to cancel the entire deal, and existing contracts are exempted from any new sanctions. Companies and nations are already behaving as though sanctions have been removed, sending missions of businessmen and diplomats to make trade arrangements. There can be no “snap-back.”

As soon as Implementation Day arrives (in early 2016) and sanctions vanish, Iran can simply proceed as though there were no restrictions placed on her by the deal. At that point she will have nothing to lose.

At the same time, she will get a windfall of about $150 billion in frozen funds to help pay for her worldwide subversion and terror operations, and of course her nuclear program.

Despite America’s international backing and massive military and economic superiority, the process of negotiation comprised one US capitulation after another.

The main reason seems to be that Obama never gave more than lip service to the military option. Only a credible military threat could have made Iran’s regime back down from what it sees as its most important military/political initiative since 1979, the one that will make it a regional hegemon and facilitate the establishment of a Shiite caliphate throughout the Middle East. But Obama would sooner see a nuclear armed Iran that carry out such a threat.

Two years ago Obama signaled his lack of resolve when he threatened to use force in Syria after Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against anti-regime forces, and then backed down in humiliation. At this point, the Iranians realized that they could dictate terms of surrender to the US (and at the same time Israel and the Sunni Arabs realized that they could no longer depend on America).

So what Obama has accomplished is to clear the way for America’s most resolute and implacable enemy to build nuclear weapons, while at the same time destroying the credibility of the US deterrent!

In terms well understood in the Middle East by both enemies and allies, he surrendered the honor of the United States.

Why did he do this? I think that he believes deeply that the West in general and the US in particular have historically oppressed ‘people of color’, and Muslims count as such. His sense of justice requires a sort of international ‘affirmative action’ in which formerly oppressed or colonized peoples are favored over their oppressors. The use of force or coercion is one of the main crimes of colonial oppressors and must always be avoided. He has in the past apologized for it, and now he is putting his contrition into action.

In addition, he believes that American society can’t deal with the side effects of war. They won’t accept the casualties or the cost. He believes that war in itself is always bad, even when the alternative is sub-optimal. Better to live on your knees than die on your feet.

Unfortunately, some of the ex-oppressed are not interested in justice. They are interested in being oppressors themselves, building empires and establishing caliphates. And they are not stupid. They understand the principles of ‘cognitive warfare’. The best way to defeat an opponent is to convince him not to fight you in the first place. So they appeal to Western post-colonial guilt on the one hand and to anti-war sentiment on the other.

The Iranian plan is not to face those 11 aircraft carriers – at least not for a long time. Meanwhile, step by step they will accomplish their intermediate goals, like the conquest of Iraq, the destruction of Israel, the building of a massive nuclear strike force based on ICBMs.

One day the United States will find itself on the receiving end of coercive diplomacy from Iran. But by that time, the balance of power will have shifted to the point that it won’t pay to try to defend itself. And that is what defeat will look like.

09/10 Links Pt1: Netanyahu: Tyrant Khamenei is wrong, Israel is here to stay; Anti-Bibi UK rally

From Ian:

Netanyahu: ‘Tyrant’ Khamenei is wrong, Israel is here to stay

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed comments by the Iranian supreme leader that Israel will have ceased to exist in 25 years, vowing the Jewish state is here to stay. The prime minister said remarks by the “tyrant” supreme leader left no “room for illusion” for supporters of the nuclear deal.
“Khamenei is not giving supporters of the agreement any room for illusion. He has made it clear that the US is the Great Satan and that Iran intends to destroy the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said after landing in London for talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “This will not happen. Israel is a strong country and it will become even stronger.”
The prime minister said the international community must band together to fight Iran’s “terrorism and aggression.
“However, the conclusion that arises from the remarks of the tyrant in Tehran is that all responsible countries must cooperate in order to stop Iran’s terrorism and aggression which, to my regret, will only increase as a result of the agreement,” said Netanyahu.

House Republicans will move to stop Iran deal vote clock

House Republicans have agreed on a new strategy to stop the clock on Congress' review period for the Iran nuclear deal.
Instead of proceeding with a resolution disapproving of the deal— certain to pass the House but facing procedural hurdles in the Senate— the GOP will now try to prevent implementation of the deal on legal grounds.
On Friday, September 11, the caucus will express a 'sense of the House' resolution asserting that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action— the formal name for the agreement— was not fully submitted to Congress by the Obama administration back in July. If accurate, this would stop the clock, as Congress' review period only begins once all documents related to the deal have been submitted.
"The House is going to make it very clear that without the [International Atomic Energy Agency] disclosures, the clock hasn't started," Rep. Peter Roskam, Republican from Illinois, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday evening, referring to agreements tangential to the JCPOA between the UN nuclear watchdog agency and Tehran.
Speaker of the House John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, has agreed to the plan, Roskam said.
With this new strategy, Roksam said, "the president is denied the ability to say that he's fully complied under the law."

Anti-Semitism in London, absolutely shameful

It is 09/09/2015. In the Middle East, millions are oppressed by their own leaders, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and untold numbers are still making their escape. Today the democratically elected leader of the only nation in the Middle East that provides freedom and protection for all its citizens came to visit the UK, and in London, at the very heart of the British democratic system, there was a protest. This protest was not about Syria, nor Iraq, it was not about ISIS, Libya, Yemen or Iran. It was a protest that waved the flags of Hizbullah and Hamas, the flags of proscribed terrorist organisations; this was a protest against the democratic State of Israel.
The people behind this protest are from groups like the PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign) and the ludicrously named ‘Stop the War coalition’, the backbone of BDS in the UK; these are the activists, the hard core; these are the ones handing out leaflets, trying to persuade others to join, disseminating disinformation on campus and whipping up the hatred against Israel. And they come to London with Hizbullah and Hamas flags in their hand. When the mask slips, it is important to memorise what you saw behind it.
If anyone is in any doubt, it is worth viewing some of the footage taken from the protest.

Today is the 100th birthday of one of the most popular Arab writers in history.

I'm talking about Egyptian writer Mohammed Khalifa Tunisi, allegedly the first translator of the perennial Arab best seller, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

Tunisi said "Jews seeking to demolish the governments in all countries, and replace them with authoritarian Jewish governments ...They say that they alone are 'God's chosen people' and they act in ways that are dictated them the Torah and the Talmud and rabbis and leaders."

The article notes that some people believe that the work is not authentic and that there is "controversy" over the issue, but the rest of it assumes that it is accurate.

The Protocols have been reported to be bestsellers in many Arab countries. Saudi textbooks quote them as authentic. Smash TV series have been created in the Arab world based on that book.

The US Holocaust Museum says that there was an Arabic translation in the 1920s, so it appears that Tunisi wasn't the first translator of the antisemitic forgery, but perhaps his translation was the most popular.