In her speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has just offered the Iranian government the possibility of trying the AMIA massacre suspects in a third country if it believes they could not get a fair hearing in Argentina. She said that this offer would end the excuses being offered for the Iranian regime for not extraditing the AMIA fugitives.
Continue reading ‘AMIA Fugitives: Argentine Government Offers Iran Third Country Trial’
Imprisoned for the past two years in Tehran, Hossein Derakshan, a Canadian citizen, is now said to be facing execution. The self-described “Iranian blogfather” was arrested in November, 2008 on charges of collaborating with enemy states, insulting the Khomeinist religion, and making propaganda against the regime and for “anti-revolutionary” groups. The CBC reports that the death penalty is now what the prosecutor in Derakhshan’s case has recommended.
Read the rest of Terry Glavin’s storming post here. Also see Ben’s Z Word post about Derakshan’s disappearance nearly two years ago.
To protest is to recognize the futility of dialogue with Ahmadinejad, a man who, when it comes to lying, enviably blends classical totalitarianism with postmodern spin. As an interview subject, he should be left to the sort of useful idiot who thinks that a show on Ahmadinejad’s mouthpiece, Press TV is a mark of celebrity - serious journalists need not, and should not, follow there. They would be better off investigating why a regime media outlet like Press TV is widely, and preposterously, regarded as a legitimate broadcaster.
From my latest article on The Huffington Post.
On September 4, Shiva Nazar Ahari, a young female human rights activist incarcerated in Evin since last December, will enter a Revolutionary Court to face fabricated charges that carry the death penalty. Ahari, a leading activist with the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), stands accused of “anti-regime propaganda” and “acts contrary to national security.” She faces an additional charge in a category of criminality plausible only in societies run along totalitarian lines; what the ayatollahs deem mohareb, or “rebellion against God.” It would require the most blinkered apologist for the Iranian regime to suggest that someone charged in this way can expect a fair trial.
From my latest article on The Huffington Post.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representatives visited Sudan this week to discuss the African nation’s plans to build at least one nuclear reactor by 2020. The ambitious scheme, which oil-producing Sudan claims would be purely for civil use to produce electricity, is the latest in Arab nuclear initiatives, paralleling Iran’s highly controversial program.
Noam Sheizaf and Larry Derfner are worried about the possibility that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. No surprise there. What sensible person could contemplate such an idea with equanimity? However, both of them fall into the trap of assuming that all the risks are stacked on the side of attacking and none on the side of not taking military action.
Continue reading ‘Sheizaf, Derfner And What Deterrence Means’
Many readers will have already come across Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece in The Atlantic about the possibility of Israel resorting to force against Iran. Though it’s received a lot of attention, I don’t think it’s that interesting; it’s long on personal anecdote (by the way, for a seriously unflattering view of the Netanyahu family you ought to read Chapter 12 of this book) and the views of unnamed sources and short on analysis. People seriously interested in this matter still need to read Tira.
To those of you who can read Spanish I recommend following Luis D’Elía on Twitter. Why should he be of interest? Well, the rotund social activist is a prominent supporter of the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and on more than one occasion he and his followers have provided the street muscle to keep opponents of the government from holding demonstrations at sensitive locations.
I think this is what psychoanalysts call “projection.” After being decisively rejected by voters in east London at the recent British General Election, George Galloway is now prostrating himself before a man for whom voters are an irritant, to be beaten, tortured and imprisoned until they realize that the right to vote should be understood as the right to vote for him alone.
Read more at the The Jewish Chronicle.
For those readers who have forgotten how George behaves in the company of genocidal tyrants, here’s a reminder. Somehow, this footage never loses its nauseating quality no matter how many times you see it, but since a) it’s the weekend and b) Saddam’s regime is no more, you may choose to laugh rather than grit your teeth.
Now that UNIFIL has substantially endorsed Israel’s account of yesterday’s fatal shooting on its border, a couple of thoughts…
I have no special skills when it comes to predicting the future but I thought I might as well title this post as I have when it occurred to me that many, cough, anti-Zionists, would see three posts in four days about Iran as being a sure sign that something is up. After all, this blog is sponsored by the AJC and hey, come on, we all know what that means….
If you take a look here you’ll find a report by the Oxford Research Group about the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The report opposes any such action on Israel’s part but I, like you, knew that before reading it. It’s well worth a read though, in spite of its adherence to the bien pensant received wisdom on the matter in question. There are, however, a couple of questions about it that I’d like to bring up:
Subscribe to the Z Word blog via RSS - click on the orange button below. For more information on using RSS, please read this helpful guide.
RSS