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POPSTime To Man Up, Barry
The sentence for Kian Tajbakhsh was the longest prison term yet in a mass trial of more than 100 opposition figures, activists and journalists in the post election turmoil. The longest sentence so far, yet news accounts offer no explanation as to what Mr. Tajbakhsh did to deserve arrest, let alone a 12 year sentence. Apparently he was arrested at his home, not at a demonstration. News of his sentence was coupled with reports of lenient treatment given to a Canadian citizen: At the same time, Iran allowed another defendant to leave the country--Canadian-Iranian Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist arrested in the same crackdown who had been freed on bail over the weekend. Bahari joined his British wife, who is in the last days of her pregnancy, in London, Newsweek said on its Web site Tuesday. It could be a coincidence. But news accounts certainly raise a question whether the mullahs are publicly sticking their finger in the Obama administration's eye, letting a Canadian go . .
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POPSTop Ten Reasons to Give Back the Peace Prize Reason Number Three: The US Continues to Ignore Israeli nukes, while it acts as banker, diplomatic cover, and armorer its brutal Israel's sixty year occupation of Palestine. Reason Number Two: The US is Funnelling Billions Into Expanding Its Military Presence Across the African Continent. Reason Number One: It just ain't right.
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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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POPSIranians Rape Virgin Girls Before Executing Them And they would always fight back, so we would have to put sleeping pills in their food. By morning the girls would have an empty expression; it seemed like they were ready or wanted to die. "I remember hearing them cry and scream after was over," he said. "I will never forget how this one girl clawed at her own face and neck with her finger nails afterwards. She had deep scratches all over her." Apparently, this was known. From a book review in 2002: It remains to be said that the fate of women in the prisons of the Iranian Islamic Revolution is worse than the fate of men. It is not necessarily because women are less resistant and less tolerant to torture, but because women are considered from the theological perspective of the Iranian regime to be an element of seduction, and their bodies a place of evil and impurity. The torture of a woman's body may take the form of rape. Despite the necessity of secrecy that imposes itself in these cases . . .
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POPS7.9.2009 Iran Blogging 18 tir Tonight, via reader Wilcoy, a new post. 7:30 PM ET -- "Russia, Iran will never forgive you." From a reader, "Just wanted to say that one of the photos you linked to says 'Russia, Iran will never forgive you'. Iranians care a lot about how other countries respond to this crisis." Russia, as readers know, has celebrated Ahmadinejad's election "victory" and said little about the subsequent violence. 7:27 PM ET -- Allah-o Akbar! Earlier today, the NYT reported: An Iranian blogger wrote on Twitter about one hour ago that in the Amirabad district of Tehran, "people are all on the roofs" to resume the nightly ritual of shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is Great!") -- a form of protest turned against the Shah in the 1970s. Video from tonight... 7:12 PM ET -- "We are in this together." New York Times: A young woman, her clothing covered in blood, ran up Kagar Street, paused for a minute and said, "I am not scared because we are in this together."
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POPS Iran Uprising Live-Blogging 27 June, 2009 Jose Aznar, who was voted out of office in 2004, writes in today's Wall Street Journal: President Obama has said he refuses to "meddle" in Iran's internal affairs, but this is a poor excuse for passivity. If the international community is not able to stop, or at least set limits on, the repressive violence of the Islamic regime, the protesters will end up as so many have in the past -- in exile, in prison, or in the cemetery. And with them, all hope for change will be gone. Delayed public displays of indignation may be good for internal political consumption. But the consequences of Western inaction have already materialized. Watching videos of innocent Iranians being brutalized, it's hard to defend silence. More recently, it based a collection office in Los Angeles to take advantage of the Iranian expatriate community there. None of it, however, is a substitute for having CIA staff actually on the ground, says former CIA official Bob Baer.
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POPSYou're Scaring Me, Obama: Let the Bush Years Die
And then there's Robert Gates, widely rumored to be staying on as your Defense Secretary. Questions about Gates' role in Iran-Contra, not to mention his skewing of intelligence about Russia, still linger. But especially disturbing is his recent push for beefing up the US nuclear arsenal: "As long as other nations have or seek nuclear weapons - and can potentially threaten us, our allies and friends - then we must have a deterrent capacity that makes it clear that challenging the United States in the nuclear arena, or with weapons of mass destruction, could result in an overwhelming, catastrophic response. While we're on the topic of warmongers in your midst. Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff? Yet another hawk, hell-bent on Iran and enamored with nuclear weapons. And now we've got Clinton as Secretary of State. Why is it that none of the 23 senators and 133 House Reps who voted against the war in Iraq are even on a short-list for these critical posts?
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POPSIrishman Angry at the Bush Junket Disruption! Willie has 'balls'. Few would publicly crisis the disruptive Bush. Doesn't he know that the grinning George is responsible for the torture of more humans than all Americans to date? Does he think that being Irish makes him immune to waterboarding. Surely as a aircraft man he knows of 'extraordinary rendition' where you are on permanent tour of the best torture prisons on earth. Even Shannon seems to be on the CIA itinerary according to Amnesty. And your personal politics or none is no disbarment. From Israel, to Egypt, to Iran, to Russia, to Africa, to Cuba, to Abu Ghraib, to Bagram, all are catered for. Fear of flying is sorted with drugs and huds, in best gangster fashion. There are no numbers yet on 'lost in flight' customers, but getting there. After all, this was a favourite method of disposal for the US trained South American juntas. "Lost at sea" is permanent and 'clean'.
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POPSWhen will they ever Learn, when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn
Previously, I've offered the Bush gang some undeserved advice. It was simple and even more obvious with time. Whatever instinct they have to do something, then don't. Do the opposite or do nothing. Everything they touch turns to dust. Just a few: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, waterboarding, rendition, POWs, Dollar, Oil, Economy, Hamas, Gaza, West Bank, Katrina, civil rights, prisons, racism, FEAR. Only one state has prospered and at the US expense. It's economy roars ahead based on false security and terrorism. Iraq's government partly rules Baghdad's Green Zone. Now Lebanon's government may in time rule a Beirut Green Zone. Only Israel benefits. Bush ignored the democratically elected Hamas in Gaza. Then the US provoked a Hamas military takeover. Why? So Israel could practice judicial assassination and Hamas wouldn't talk peace? Never. And when Hamas through Carter offered the peace to the Zionists? The lamest excuse ever?
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POPSWhat Would Reverend Jeremiah Wright Do? In an emotional testimony he tells the world how, as he was watching YouTube clips of the Reverend, a voice said "Follow this man." He then made his hajj to Chicago, joining Rev. Wright's congregation. Everyone is acepted under Jeremiah Wright's large tent as long as they accept a few simple dogmas and agree to repeat them five times a day during prayers: * Being White is immoral. Every White person is guilty of conspiring against the Blacks * Being rich is immoral. Every rich person is guilty of conspiring against the poor * America is the infamous product of conspiracy by rich White males to create the source of all evil. Later it turned even more evil under the rule of Zionist puppet masters. * Jesus was a homeless African-American male who fell victim to a conspiracy of the rich Whites against the poor Blacks that resulted in racial profiling, followed by torture and crucifiction * The 10 Commandments are optional.
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POPSU.S. Leads World in Citizen Imprisonment Consider the high population of China, yet it has fewer in prison, and much lower rate per capita. Why? While the report talks about higher "crime rates" methinks that too many things have become a "crime" on paper, that do not justify incarceration. It is a very simple thing to become imprisoned now, e.g. a couple DUI offenses (it only takes moderate drinking to be over the limit) and you will be thrown into the slammer as a "criminal" in many states. This can be blamed on legislators of the states in particular. Tonight I saw, again, 4 police cars pulling over one vehicle and searching it. This "swarm" mentality of police training (based upon paranoia, as if everyone is an armed assassin) is a waste of resources and generally done for "paperwork" arrests that turn into drug searches, etc..
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POPSAnd On And On And On… • Challenge the lies about a nuclear buildup in Iran • Investigate official misconduct by Alberto Gonzalez • Investigate the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame • Charge those who allowed the torture of Iraqis • Close Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay Prisons • Challenge the abuse of signing statements by George Bush • Investigate the administration’s spying on Americans before 9/11 • Challenge the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act • Challenge directives giving George Bush dictatorial powers • Demand accountability for billions misspent and ‘lost’ in Iraq • Demand accountability for billions paid to private contractors • Expose the influence of PNAC members on US foreign policy • Challenge the lies to minimize the dangers of global warming • Restore the constitutional division of church and state • Protect a woman’s right to privacy • Restore habeas corpus and the Fourth Amendment …and on and on and on…
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POPSBUSH Best at American tradition: TORTURING since 1946 at least What is unique is Bush making torture official government policy! What he said may never have in reality had any effect on how others treated captured Americans. BUT, now they have an excuse to justify their behaviour. In time his words may cause a large loss of US soldiers' lives. It was one thing to be torturing but very much different to make it US policy. This a clever man, at least in slippery sly way, behind the moronic appearance and demeanour and the consequences of his words should/would be known in advance of his flawed delivery. He has insured that there never will be American hostages, just dead ones, tortured for fun. This may have been the whole point. His job will be even easier now. No crying family member seeking their loved one's return. They are dead. Cindy Sheehan said he was a cold fish, deadly cold. He doesn't do funerals either. The president of DEATH doesn't do dead. Nor did he serve, unless holding up a bar counts. Some commander-in-chief. 'Elect' TWI
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POPSIran declares US Army, CIA "terrorists" On Wednesday, the Senate voted 76-22 in favor of a resolution urging the State Department to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. While the proposal attracted overwhelming bipartisan support, a small group of Democrats said they feared labeling the state-sponsored organization a terrorist group could be interpreted as a congressional authorization of military force in Iran.
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POPS"The world’s greatest war criminal" addressed the UN, again "'No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,' a principle that the Bush White House has explicitly repudiated, both by renouncing the Geneva Conventions and subjecting those detained in the US “war on terror” to waterboarding, beatings, sensory deprivation, sexual humiliation and other forms of torture and degrading treatment. "The declaration affirms that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile,” practices that the Bush administration has carried out with impunity, through the holding of detainees without charges, not only at the infamous detention facilities in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, but also at secret CIA prisons around the world. It has introduced “extraordinary rendition” into the lexicon of foreign policy, a discreet term for kidnapping people, drugging them and then sending them in hoods and chains to other countries so that they can be tortured."
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POPSBush's New Moral Order Every moral tradition has a test for virtue that asks the agent to measure the rightness or wrongness of an option by asking, “What would you have others do unto you?”
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