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POPSIran, Obama and the Bipartisan Sanctions Bill “Suspicious aims.” New charges were also brought last month against Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, who was already sentenced to at least 12 years in prison on espionage charges. The regime has been going after other foreign nationals, including French teacher Clotilde Reiss, who is living under house arrest in the French embassy in Tehran. Christopher Dickey notes in Newsweek that “since Ahmadinejad took over four years ago, some 35 foreign nationals or dual nationals have been imprisoned for use as chump change in one sordid deal or another.” Diplomacy. In October, the U.S. and its allies offered to enrich Iran’s uranium in facilities outside the country, supposedly for the production of medical isotopes. Tehran finally came back with a counterproposal late last week, in which no uranium would leave Iranian soil. Even Hillary Clinton admits it’s a nonstarter:
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POPSToy Company introduces the 'Doll in a Burka' for Iranian export! We also included a removable plastic brain, since our friends in Iran like women that have that feature." They has also added new accessories for their Doll in a Burka line up...A pink suicide bomber vest! A jewel encrusted dagger, and an internal recording that shouts in Farsi.."Down with America!" "Next, for the anniversay of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, we'll be adding the Jimmy Carter doll complete with an array of sharp pins!" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told friends he was buying three to bring back home from New York City. Since he only has two daughters, speculation is that he wanted one for himself, since he often talked about 'peek-a-booing up a burka' as a source of getting turned on.
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POPSSecret Document Exposes Iran’s Nuclear Trigger
In September, Iran was forced to admit that it was constructing a secret uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom. President Ahmadinejad then claimed that he wanted to build ten such sites. Over the weekend Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that Iran needed up to 15 nuclear power plants to meet its energy needs, despite the country’s huge oil and gas reserves. Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said: “The most shattering conclusion is that, if this was an effort that began in 2007, it could be a casus belli. If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.” The Times had the documents, which were originally written in Farsi, translated into English and had the translation separately verified by two Farsi speakers. While much of the language is technical, it is clear that the Iranians are intent on concealing their nuclear military
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POPSIran Police Clash With Protesters Activists in Turkey say the Opposition used other methods to coordinate this protest, including distributing leaflets and CDs and simple word of mouth. Elsewhere, plain clothes members of the Government's besieged militia gathered on motorcycles ready to charge down any demonstrations. Protests like these are now infrequent but are a sign that Iran's government has failed to completely crush dissent.
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POPSIS ANYONE SUPRISED? Lots of issues out there, and shaky leadership everywhere, does any of this have a chance to end well?
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POPSBrazil Gets an Auspicious Visitor ...and not everybody is happy. In fact, it would appear that very few people are happy. Check out the variety of groups that have mobilized to protest his arrival, as listed in the last paragraph. If anybody can be less popular that George W. Bush down here, it is Ahmadinajad.
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POPSIranian Protesters to Obama: "You're Either With Us or With Them" "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect." Now the Iranian protesters know who the man is with. Since we've never had a President who favored tyranny over liberty before, this appears to be uncharted territory for not only the protesters -- but the American citizenry as well.
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POPSProtests flare in Iran's capital .... "....opposition protesters warned the Obama administration -- which is seeking to engage Iran to defuse a confrontation over Tehran's nuclear program -- that now's not the time for a deal." Hmmm....and this: "...Protesters chanted, "Death to the dictator" and "Russia is the den of espionage,".....
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POPSAhmadinejad Speaks at U.N.
This is a reasonable summary of the Iranian president's speech. Surprises? He says he wants to see the elimination of all WMD's -- and this would be a surprise if you believe propaganda that he wants nuke weapons and turn a blind eye to the fact that Israel has WMD's. 2. He doesn't want to drive Israel into the sea (more false propaganda). He wants a two-state solution. 3. He thinks the slow starvation of a million and a half people in the Gaza Strip is genocide. (This led to the walkout of many). 4. He doesn't deny the Holocaust (never has) but continues to annoy Zionist by asking why this is a topic of special concern to Arabs and Iran, pointing out there have been other great massacres and genocides and that 60 million were killed in WWII and he's sorry about all of that. 5. He thinks of U.S. actions in Iraq and Iran as invasions, doesn't like them and says there are still secret prisons, Gitmo, and bad deeds going on. (All true). 6. We need spiritual values. Too m
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POPS TenSION Obama On Iran: "I''m Not Interested in Victory" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD6nMxYcmjE&feature=player_embedded H/T Gateway Pundit HotAirpundit Well done Chip Reid You showed the President's hand Reid: Thank you Mr. President, you just mentioned sanctions that have bite, what kinds of sanction, and I know you can't get into details but what kind of sanctions at all would have bite with Iran, do you really think that any kind of sanctions would have any effect on somebody like Ahmadinejad, secondly some of your advisers today said that this announcement was a victory, do you consider it a victory and if so why didn't you announce it earlier since you have known since you were President elect?.. Obama flustered by the question, "I'm not interested in victory, I'm interested in solving the problem" Clearly, today is a big smokescreen, he doesn't wanna come across as "America good, Iran bad," the global citizen is all talk here, we're not going to do anything
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POPSUS Press Freedom Improves At the bottom of the list were Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea "where media are so suppressed they are nonexistent," said Reporters Without Borders. Iran dropped to No. 172 from No. 166, with Reporters Without Borders saying the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had fostered a paranoia about journalists and bloggers. "Automatic prior censorship, state surveillance of journalists, mistreatment, journalists forced to flee the country, illegal arrests and imprisonment -- such is the state of press freedom this year in Iran," the group said. The ranking was compiled from hundreds of questionnaires completed by journalists and media experts around the world and reflecting press freedom violations that took place between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009. The complete ranking can be seen at www.rsf.org/en-classement1003-2009.html Read more at source.
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POPS One Other Thought I know the pundits are all saying this means people will have to take him seriously and go along with the hopey peace thing. OK, only the sap pundits are saying that, but still … Mickey Kaus has a point . Maybe he should turn it down. Before he’s stuck with it, and its stuck all over him. http://slate.com/blogs/blogs/kausfiles/archive/2009/10/09/what-obama-should-do-with-his-nobel-peace-prize.aspx
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POPSCan Game Theory Predict When Iran Will Get the Bomb? positions shifted. American and Israeli national-security players grudgingly accepted that they could tolerate Iran having some civilian nuclear-energy capacity. Ahmadinejad, Khamenei and the religious radicals wavered; then, as the model reached our present day, their power " another variable in Bueno de Mesquita’s model " sagged significantly. Amid the thousands of rows on the spreadsheet, there’s one called Forecast. It consists of a single number that represents the most likely consensus of all the players. It begins at 160 " bomb-making territory " but by next year settles at 118, where it doesn’t move much. “That’s the outcome,” Bueno de Mesquita said confidently, tapping the screen. What does 118 mean? It means that Iran won’t make a nuclear bomb. By early 2010, according to the forecast, Iran will be at the brink of developing one, but then it will stop and go no further. If this computer model is right, all the dire portents we’ve seen in recent months . . .
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