Iran to allow IAEA visit Parchin military site
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/uk-iran-n…
U.N. Nuclear Agency Worries Iran Has Been ‘Cleansing’ Weapons Site
By Jay Solomon
During the last visit by the IAEA they were not allowed to visit Parchin and this was blown out of proportion by the Western media that Iran is hiding it’s hidden nuclear weapons program. Now that they have decided to allow – yet another visit — to Parchin the Wall Street Journal comes up with an article saying Iran is cleaning up traces of its hidden nuclear weapons program at Parchin. It seems no matter how much Iran gives in there will be more suspicions and accusations.
If you want to read a very good article on the Parchin issue here is Gareth Porter laying it down for all to see. I want to thank Gareth Porter for consistently coming up with the facts and shooting down the nonsense and propaganda.
Iran, the IAEA and the Parchin Site
By Gareth Porter
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/23/iran-the-ia…
It should also be noted that Gareth Porter’s article did not even show up on Google News for Iran when it was posted but the Wall Street Journal is the first item with close to three thousand related articles.
Don’t you just love how war propaganda works in The Age of the Internet?
Making Israel the issue in Iran Affairs
By Cyrus Safdari
http://www.iranaffairs.com/iran_affairs/2012/03/ma…
“.. the more people learn about Israel’s role in pushing for a war on Iran, as well as the damage that uncritical US-backing of Israel has done to US national interests, the more isolated the lobby becomes, and the greater the popular backlash becomes, unless the lobby does something to contain this. They, and Netanyahu, have tried very hard to portray Iran as a danger to the US itself, rather than to Israel, and thus try to reframe their conflict with Iran as a US conflict with Iran. But as more Americans learn about Israel, the less likely they are to see Iran as the US’s problem.”
U.S. already at war with Iran
Interview of Gary Sick by Joe Holley
http://www.chron.com/default/article/Expert-U-S-al…
Q: Given your familiarity with Iran, can you envision a stable, confident country, one that respects the rights of its citizens and maintains peaceful relations with its neighbors?
A: You know, in reality, that’s what the revolution was all about. Getting rid of the shah was supposed to result in a government that would be more respectful of its people, that would be more open with its people, would be more open to democratic procedures and human rights. That’s what was advertised. And, of course, that’s not what they got. One of the things the mullahs have accomplished is quite a remarkable education system. Young people are chafing at the bit. They want to use their education, and the brightest of the bunch end up leaving the country, because there are no jobs, there’s no future for them. That is something that’s not going to go on forever, but it could go on for a very long time. There’s really no short-term solution.
Q: When and if Iran joins that 40-nation club, is it possible to erect a regime of monitoring, inspections and oversight that would lessen concerns about them building nuclear weapons?
A: I think the answer to that is definitely yes. For all of Iran’s bluster and their being very, very difficult to deal with, the reality is, they have offered on a number of occasions over the last five to 10 years exactly that – in return for the West lifting its sanctions.
Netanyahu, Obama Pushing Panetta to Rush Bunker Busters to Israel
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/03/06/netanyahu-obama…
“Top US officials are reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally requested that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta approve the sale of refueling aircraft and GBU-28 bunker buster bombs to Israel.
Israel has been seeking GBU-28 bombs for years, and while the nation reportedly did acquire some in 2009, both the practical matter of acquiring more and the propaganda value of having the US publicly send some on the eve of a major war with Iran would be significant wins for the hawkish Netanyahu government.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Wants More Supervision In Cyber Space
Radio Zamaneh
“Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter indicates that the goal of the new council is “the complete and up-to-date supervision of cyber space both inside the country and globally, as well as deciding on how to deal actively and wisely with internet.”
In the past year, Islamic Republic authorities have consistently warned against the “enemy threats” in cyber space and on the internet.”
On Iran, Questions of Detection and Response Divide U.S. and Israel
By David Sanger
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/world/middleeast…
“If Iran decided to race for a nuclear weapon, would the West detect that in time to stop it? And even if it were detected, would an airstrike be the best option?
From the administration’s top ranks down, American officials say they would almost certainly detect a sprint to manufacture a weapon.
The Obama administration asks what would be accomplished if an attack set Iran back by only three or four years, unified even the country’s opposition leaders against the West and pushed the program further underground. As Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a former official of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Energy Department with a deep background in nuclear proliferation, put it on Tuesday: “Both sides say we don’t want Iran to get the bomb. Where there’s a difference of opinion is that we don’t think an airstrike solves the problem, and the Israelis do.”
How Ayn Rand Became the New Right’s Version of Marx
By George Monbiot
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/05-12
Back in my college days I also read Ayn Rand and she does have an attractive style of writing that even caught the attention of Hollywood at some point but her economic and political views are kind of crazy and when applied to the real world they simply don’t work. So here is an excellent pulverization of Ayn Rand’s philosophy by George Monbiot that is worth reading.
And in case you are getting the impression this blog is all doom and gloom here is a joke for you:
A pirate walked into a bar and the bartender said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible.”
“What do you mean?” said the pirate, “I feel fine!”
“What about the wooden leg? You didn’t have that before.”
“Well, we were in a battle and I got hit with a cannon ball, but I’m fine now.”
“Well, OK — but what about that hook? What happened to your hand?”
“We were in another battle. I boarded a ship and got into a sword fight.
My hand was cut off. I got fitted with a hook. I’m fine, really.”
“What about that eye patch?”
“Oh, one day we were at sea and a flock of gulls flew over. I
looked up and one of them dropped shit right in my eye!”
“You’re kidding!” said the bartender, “You can’t lose an eye just from some bird shit”
“It was my first day with the hook!” recalled the pirate.
