Clipmarks | merrie's 'tehran' clips

Horrors! Olympics: Controversy In Iran Over Female Flag Carrier

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:36:04 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Whoever is responsible for this unforgivable act, he should know that this gesture constitutes an obstacle for the 'appearance' of Mahdi," said Elmalhoda.

He was referring to the mainly Shia Islam belief that imam Mohammed al-Mahdi will appear to fight a final apocalyptic battle over the forces of evil.

Followers believe he was born in the year 868 and has been in hiding ever since awaiting a decision from god to reappear.

from Adnkronos International, August 8:

Clip Source: www.jihadwatch.org

Tehran, 8 August (AKI) - Iranian religious figures have criticised that Olympic female rower Homa Hosseini was chosen as the flagbearer of Iran, calling the move a 'heresy'.

"To make a woman march with the flag of the Islamic Republic in Beijing, is pure heresy and shows total disobedience of the laws mandated by our spiritual guides," said Seyye Ahmad Elmalhoda, leader of Friday prayers in Iran's holy city of Mashad.

Hosseini, 19, grew up in Iran's Kermanshah province in western Iran, she is one of three Iranian female competitors at the Olympic Games and Iran's first ever female rower. The other two female competitors are Najmeh Abtin (archery) and Sara Khosjamal (Tae Kwon Do).

"To make this woman march means to openly declare war to our religious values.

Tags: tehran cleric, olympic female flagbearer, mahdi

Rice Says She Won't Block Strikes Against Nuclear Sites

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:38:31 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "We don't say yes or no to Israeli military operations; Israel is a sovereign country," Ms. Rice said.

"Every day that the centrifuges continue to spin brings Iran closer to a nuclear weapons capability and threatens the stability and security of the region and the world," Israel's ambassador in Washington, Sallai Meridor, said. "The international community should immediately apply additional robust sanctions."

The Security Council, which has imposed three rounds of mild sanctions on Iran since 2006, has traditionally taken its time before agreeing on compromise action that manages to satisfy Russia, China, and several European countries that prefer conducting business with Iran to halting its nuclear run. The process is also very slow, the American U.N. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, acknowledged yesterday.

Clip Source: www.nysun.com

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary of State Rice is signaling she won't stand in the way of an Israeli military action to stop Iran's nuclear program

Some diplomats even argue that any significant policy agreement among the powers on Iran must wait until next year, when a new American president takes charge.

Israel, a country Iran has threatened with annihilation, may not wait that long. Israel's air force carried out a major drill yesterday, simulating a response to a coordinated missile attack against it by Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, according to press reports. Israel also added new fighter jets and submarines to its arsenal recently. If the Iranians "provoke us, or attack us, our army is prepared to attack and to succeed uncompromisingly," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

She added, however, that Washington's diplomacy on Iran is well-coordinated with Israel. "They've said that diplomacy can work here," she said, referring to Jerusalem officials.

Tags: sec of state rice, israeli military action, iaf major drill, israeli jets/submarines inventory, defense minister ehud barak, tehran nuclear program

Islamic Iran's Effort To Wipe Out Dissent - Twenty-Nine Executed In One Day

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:24:34 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: IRAN HIDING UNCONTROLLED AIDS EPIDEMIC, WHILE EXECUTING DOZENS AT
A TIME.

Societal structure and conditions lead to incredibly greater infection by AIDS in the Islamic Iran population (similar to some African nations) because one third of Islamic Iran's population is drug addicted and shares needles.

A far higher statistic than the government wants to admit and is (as usual) suppressing the information and the reliable source the two medical brothers provided in their expert and experienced capacity.

Remember, one third of 70 million residents in Islamic Iran means OVER 20 MILLION addicted people, who for whatever reasons are vulnerable to contracting and transmitting AIDS and other infectious diseases.

Islamic Iran has the highest proportion of Heroin addicts to population of any country in the world.

pederasty definition ▸ noun: sexual relations between a man and a boy (usually anal intercourse with the boy as a passive partner)

Clip Source: noiri.blogspot.com

Two brothers, named Alai, both doctors in Islamic Iran, specializing for over the past decade in AIDS and HIV treatment and control, have both been arrested and are being held incommunicado.

Reports from Islamic Iran indicate the arrests stem initially from a disclosure by the two doctors of the huge, disproportionae rate of AIDS in the holy city of Ghom, south of Tehran, specially among the students at schools for those aspiring to join the ranks of the clergy.

In addition, reports say that ayatollahs and other senior Mullahs and regime officials apparently number among those who have contracted AIDS from the pool of infected students in Ghom and elsewhere throughout the Islamic nation.

In Islamic circles where it is a common, accepted practise, pederasty or sodomy is NOT considered a "gay" act.

However if two men perform oral sex on each other, THAT is being gay. Go figure!

Tags: hiv/aids, ghom iran students, heroin addiction, ayatollahs/senior mullahs/regime officials, regime's repression

Is Syrian President Assad Bluffing?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:04:39 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: something his country has always refused since it considered that Lebanon is just a Syrian province. This was a huge condition for the French who see it a pledge given by Damascus to Lebanese sovereignty.

Fifth, Syria has, according to Arab sources, made a big "summer housecleaning" by eliminating dozens of prisoners at the Sidnaya prison. Among them, two leaders of Jund al-Sham, the Islamist organization linked to Syrian services.

Sixth, according to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah, Syria also asked Hamas leaders based in Damascus to leave the Syrian territory. The latter could move into the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Hezbollah stronghold.

Seventh, Syria is allegedly trying to break up Hezbollah. Al-Seyassah believes that Syria has resumed its contacts with the former secretary general of Hezbollah and one of its co-founders, Sobhi Toufaili. Syria wants to strengthen Toufaili's faction to weaken Hassan Nasrallah and divide the party.

Clip Source: www.metimes.com

The real star at the French Bastille Day parade earlier this month in Paris was Syrian President Bashar Assad. It marked his return into the international community. In fact, the French Nicolas Sarkozy administration believes, along with to a lesser degree the Ehud Olmert government in Israel, that Assad can be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. But what are Assad's real intentions?

Since actions speak louder than words, let's look at the facts.

First, in February, Hezbollah terror master Imad Mugnieh was assassinated in Damascus in what is likely a Syrian-made operation.

Second, Assef Shawkat, the powerful head of Syrian security and Assad's brother-in-law was suddenly pushed aside. Shawkat is close to Tehran and has allegedly a hand in former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's murder in Beirut in 2005.

Third, Assad acknowledged publicly peace negotiations with Israel.

Fourth, Assad agreed on opening a Syrian embassy in Beirut,

Tags: syrian's bashar assad, nicolas sarkozy, hezbollah terror master mugnieh, syrian peace negotiations, israel, embassy in beirut

Multilateralism Comes With A Price

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:50:34 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: We must work with our allies, but we also must recognize that multilateralism comes with a price. Coalitions can dilute effectiveness. The European concept of multilateralism is Washington's obeisance to European positions. Western Europe exists in a bubble of stability and affluence, unable to fathom how dangerous extremist ideology in Tehran and Pyongyang can be. Multilateral organizations are not the answer; at best, they are ineffective soap boxes, at worst cesspools of venality. Rose petals and well-digging have never stopped bombs, racism or genocide. A strong military has.

Obama says, "Let us remember this history." Let us hope he first learns it. Leadership is about more than rhetoric.

Clip Source: www.meforum.org

Obama's words are inspirational, but if anything will be learned from the Bush administration, it is that leadership must run deeper than rhetoric. Berlin's freedom was won with blood and treasure. It was secured neither with withdrawals nor unilateral disarmament.

Consistency matters. Obama has yet to recognize that grand strategy cannot be as ephemeral as public opinion. Polls measure short-term desires, not long-term wisdom. After the devastation of World War I, Britons wanted no more war. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich convinced he had fulfilled their wishes, but his diplomacy only emboldened his enemies. The American public punished Harry S. Truman for sending troops to die in Korea. Today he is remembered as among the greatest presidents, and deservedly so, as any juxtaposition between North and South Korea attests.

Tags: obama, berlin, public opinion, multilateralism, western europe, extremist ideology, tehran, pyongyang

Now Bush Is Appeasing Iran

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:11:35 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: joined envoys from France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany in talks with Saeed Jalili -- Iran's nuclear negotiator and an Ahmadinejad confidant -- about incentives to give to Tehran.

[E]ven with record oil prices, mismanagement has driven the Iranian economy into the ground. On July 14, the Ministry of Housing reported an "historical" 125% rise in housing prices. The same day, Tabnak, a news Web site run by a former head of the IRGC, admitted foodstuff inflation had reached 50% annually. On July 8, 2008, a National Iranian Oil Company executive acknowledged in the Iranian press that, without significant investment in infrastructure, Iranian oil production would decline each year by 300,000 barrels a day.

In the past month alone, Iranian workers have struck for unpaid wages at the Khodro automotive plant (which assembles Peugeots), the Alburz Tire Company, and the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane factory.

Clip Source: www.meforum.org

On May 31, 2006, Condoleezza Rice drew a red line in front of Tehran's nuclear enrichment program. "The Iranian government's choices are clear," she said. "The negative choice is for the regime to maintain its current course. . . . If the regime does so, it will incur only great costs." She also offered an olive branch: "As soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will come to the table with our EU-3 colleagues and meet with Iran's representatives."

Two years later, Iranian officials have installed more than 3,000 centrifuges in a facility designed to hold 50,000. On July 9, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tested missiles which could reach Israel; the same day, Iranian Web sites carried President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pledge to launch a satellite, an event that would demonstrate a mastery of intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

Nevertheless, just 10 days later, Undersecretary of State William Burns

Tags: u.n. security council resolutions, tehran's nuclear program, centrifuges, missiles test, satellite launch

Will Washington Betray Anti-Regime Iranians?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:18:06 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: and I believe that that should lead to a review of whether they are still a terrorist organization or not."

Since then, an interagency group of the U.S. government, led by the FBI, has exonerated the Iranians at Ashraf of terrorism. After a British court ruled that the group was not "concerned in terrorism," the U.K. government in June removed the group from its terrorist list.

The Iranian regime is determined to destroy its main opponent and, with some success, has pressured the Iraqi government to disband Camp Ashraf and turn MEK members over to Iran.

Then, on July 9, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that the Iraqi government had decided to expel members of the MEK. The Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kezemi-Qomi, specified that the Iraqi cabinet had agreed quickly to expel the MEK from Iraq.

Iranian television reported on July 6 that "American military forces have announced their readiness to hand over" Camp Ashraf to Baghdad.

Clip Source: www.danielpipes.org

The fate of about 3,500 anti-regime Iranians will be decided in the course of status-of-forces negotiations between Washington and Baghdad.

They are members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK; it is also called the People's Mojahedin of Iran, or PMOI), the leading Iranian opposition group. Based at Camp Ashraf in central Iraq where they are recognized as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention, they have since 2004 been under the protection of U.S. military forces.

MEK's network of supporters inside Iran have provided invaluable intelligence. For example, it exposed Tehran's nuclear ambitions and its shipments of roadside bombs to Iraq.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, soon to be the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, already in May 2003 questioned the MEK's designation as an FTO: "I would say that any organization that has given up their equipment to the coalition clearly is cooperating with us

Tags: iranian opposition group, mek, mujahedeen-e khalq, camp ashraf iraq, gen. raymond odierno, top iraq commander, washington

Vienna-Based Investigators Getting Tough On Iran Now

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:38:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Why the emphasis now on sins Iran may have committed in the past? Wasn’t the finding that warhead design stopped in 2003 reassuring enough?

No, say nuclear experts inside and outside the international agency. Candor about Iran’s progress in designing a weapon matters because Tehran’s scientists continue to move forward on a related front. They are learning how to make uranium fuel. And if they already have a good warhead design in hand, the lack of fuel may be the one thing standing between them and the ability to make a bomb.

The American finding last December that Iran suspended its weapon-design work in 2003 created a classic case of a glass that could be seen as either half full or half empty.

That does not mean they have a workable design for the most frightening kind of bomb in today’s world — one miniaturized to about one ton so it can sit atop a missile, which is much faster and harder to stop than any plane

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Last week, the issue crystallized publicly when the inspectors issued an uncharacteristically blunt demand for more information from Tehran and, even more uncharacteristically, disclosed the existence of 18 secretly-obtained documents that suggest Tehran had high interest in designing a nuclear weapon before the program was suspended.

In their report last week, the Vienna-based investigators called the evidence of the early warhead work “a matter of serious concern,” and said that uncovering the real story “is critical to an assessment of the nature of Iran’s past and present nuclear program.”

As they have for years, the Iranians repeated their assertion that there was no such armaments program — that their nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes like generating electricity. But the inspectors showed their impatience with such responses, and with the lack of cooperation from Iran in general, by discussing the 18 suspicious documents.

Tags: tehran, vienna-based investigators, 18 suspicious documents, warhead work, uranium, miniaturized missile,

Mahmoud The Fauxtographer

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:11:51 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Update: This image, part of a framegrab from an Al Alam television broadcast of the launch (apparently taken at approximately the same time from a slightly higher elevation) makes it pretty clear which missile was conjured from borrowed pixels.

Clip Source: bp1.blogger.com

Clip Source: gatewaypundit.blogspot.com

Iran test fired a long range missile capable of reaching Israel and U.S. troops in the region. The regime reportedly fired off 9 missiles.

But, it wasn't this missile that was pictured on the Iranian Republic News website.

Clip Source: bp3.blogger.com

Clip Source: gatewaypundit.blogspot.com

This missile was fired off sometime before October 2007.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran's missile test bolsters the U.S. argument that Tehran is a threat -Breitbart.

UPDATE: Iranian blogger Kamangir has more bogus shots.

UPDATE 2: Charles Johnson says today's photos were photoshopped.

The Iranian rocket photos were not just dated but they were photoshopped.

Clip Source: www.suitablyflip.com

Unless Iranian missile exhaust tends to form remarkably regular patterns, someone's been busying himself with the clone tool.

Silly Mahmoud. We would've found you just as tough and manly with just the two missiles.

Tags: iran, shahab-3 missile, persian gulf waters, islamic revolutionary guard corps

Sufism, Sophistry And Politics

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:56:30 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Would the Pakistanis or the Moroccans burn their homeland by joining "the ball of fire" because Khomeinism is denied the bomb?

The "ball of fire" is a poetic expression, and I wondered where it came from.

Would Turks and Algerians jump on the "ball of fire" to show solidarity with a regime that has helped terror groups against them for decades?

Even the Syrian rulers are unlikely to risk their survival by trying to jump on El-Baradaei's "ball of fire" to please the mullahs. They like the mullahs' money, not the mullahs themselves.

Despite Tehran's massive handouts in recent years, one doubts even Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in general would take risks to show solidarity with a regime that, while generous, has been trying to impose ideological control.

That leaves the branches of the Hezbollah, especially the largest and best-financed Lebanese one. But then, as always what Hezbollah does will be decided in Tehran not Beir

Clip Source: aawsat.com

El-Baradaei, another great Egyptian.

As a diplomat and bureaucrat in charge of one of the United Nations' affiliates, he is bound by a duty of reserve. This means that he should not use his position to askew the terms of international debate on subjects concerning his department.

El-Baradei's primary duty is to establish whether the Islamic Republic is, as the United States and its European Union allies claim, violating the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). If he establishes beyond reasonable doubt, that Tehran is not trying to make a bomb, he would need no poetic cliché to prevent war. If, on the other hand, he cannot establish that or, worse still, feels that the opposite may be the case, he should not lend succor to the violator of a treaty of which he is guardian.

In any case, El-Baradaei should tell the world what exactly his "ball of fire" might consist of.

The greater Middle East, which is supposed to become "a ball of fire", is comprised of 25 countries

Tags: iran, el-baradei, middle east"ball or fire", syria, hezbollah, hamas, strait of hormuz,

An Iranian "Embassy" In Boston [mullahs lobby machine]

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:16:55 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Two year ago when Maleki came to Harvard, Sadegh Kharrazi, a close friend and collaborator of his, told Shargh newspaper in Tehran (May 28, 2006): "There is actually an Iranian lobby in US which illustrates itself occasionally…. [this lobby] should remain non-governmental, but the government could support it, promote it and rely on it". Maleki's goal has been to turn this "occasional" lobby to a full time and large scale machine of influence and misinformation.

It is now apparent that the policy of United States on Iran over the past has been packed with confusion and shortsightedness. It is certainly not a mere security oversight to allow so many former officials enter the United States. Almost certainly, the United States’ goal is to create a back door channel to the mullahs in Iran, a de facto Iranian embassy. Nevertheless, this “embassy” is acting more like a Trojan horse than an ambassadorial channel.

Clip Source: english.iranianlobby.com

Three former Iranian deputy ministers, Abbas Maleki, M. Jaffar Mahallati and Farhad Atai, have made Boston the base for their mission to assist Iran's strategic goals. These Mullahs' diplomats are recycled as scholars in Harvard or other fine American institutes. Senior among them is Abbas Maleki. ¹

A former revolutionary guard, a high ranking Iranian diplomat, and now a senior fellow at Harvard, "Professor" Maleki, is a prominent figure of the Mullahs lobby in the US.

In a series of articles and speeches in Tehran, Maleki has recently elaborated on "how to combat the US". He argues that the best means of countering the US pressure on Iran with respect to the nuclear issue is the use of "soft diplomacy", which according to him is to mount a large scale PR campaign. Maleki identifies AIPAC (Pro-Israeli lobby) as a role model for a successful PR campaign. (Iranian Diplomacy, March 27, 2008)

Tags: harvard university, boston, former iranian deputy ministers, former iranian diplomat, former revolutionary guard

Suicidal Mystics With Nukes

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:27:05 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks:
After more UN sanctions were threatened, Ahmadinejad stated:

As God promised, the oppressors will have their noses rubbed in the dirt. Now they are fulfilling this promise by themselves... Let it be known that in whatever we do, I see the hand of God and the hidden imam at every moment.

The expansion [of the city of Qom] is driven by an apocalyptic vision: that Shiite Islam's long-hidden 12th Imam, or Mahdi, will soon emerge -- possibly at the mosque of Jamkaran -- to inaugurate the end of the world. The man who provided $20 million to prepare the shrine for that moment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reportedly told his cabinet that he expects the Mahdi to arrive within the next two years.

Clip Source: directorblue.blogspot.com

According to 'Twelver' Shi'a Mulims, Imam Hujjat al-Mahdī ( المهدى) is the twelfth Imam and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of mankind. Twelver Shi'as believe that Muhammad was born in 868 and has been hidden by God (referred to as occultation) to later emerge to fulfill his mission.

Twelver Shi'as cite various references from the Qur'an and reports (Hadith) from Muhammad and the twelve Shi'a Imams. These texts predict the reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi which would, in accordance with God's command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world.

Shi'as believe that Muhammad al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason.

As mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reported to have ordered the city council to build a boulevard to prepare for the Mahdi. A year later, as Iran's president, he budgeted $17 million for a blue-tiled mosque in Jamkaran that is directly tied to the Mahdi.

Tags: madhi, tehran, ahmadinejad, islamic republic of iran, nuclear weapons

US Diplomacy On Iran Amid Reported Israeli Attack Exercise

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:35:29 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "I can certainly understand that, given the fact that the president of Iran has talked about wiping Israel off the map," he said. "So Israel does see Iran as an existential threat. But again, I am going to have to kick any questions about what was intended by this exercise, what its purpose was, what they hoped to accomplish, to the Israeli government. They're the competent officials to talk about those issues."

Israel staged a long-range air strike to destroy an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1980, and last September it bombed a facility in northern Syria said by some analysts to have been a reactor being built with North Korean help.

Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but Israel and key Bush administration officials, among others, believe it is seeking a weapons capability.

Clip Source: voanews.com

The United States Friday reiterated its commitment to a diplomatic resolution of the Iran nuclear issue amid a report Israel conducted a simulated attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

U.S. officials are expressing understanding for Israel's concern about the Iranian nuclear program and pointedly have not criticized the reported exercise.

But they are reiterating the Bush administration's commitment to a two-track diplomatic strategy of incentives and sanctions to try to get Iran to drop its uranium enrichment project, and say they still hold out hope diplomacy will work.

An Iranian technician works at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities (UCF), 420 kms south of Tehran (File)

Israeli exercise was conducted over the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

A senior official who spoke to reporters here said he did not think the Israeli military exercise would affect the Iran diplomacy

Tags: israeli military exercise, iran diplomacy, nuclear issue

Iran Supplying Equipment To Taliban To Fight British

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:38:21 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Evidence found by UK special forces is understood to concern the supply of the same bomb-making equipment Iran provides to insurgents in Iraq, namely components for explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs.

It is not clear whether the bomb that last week killed four British SAS reservists in Helmand province was such a device, although British military commanders fear that increasing Iranian involvement in Afghanistan may render irrelevant attempts to increase the number of armoured vehicles in the conflict. Yesterday four coalition soldiers were killed by a bomb in the province of Kandahar.

Meanwhile, as investigations continue into the use of Snatch Land Rovers in southern Afghanistan in which the four UK troops died last week, new figures obtained by The Observer reveal that more than 700 armoured vehicles that could be deployed to protect British personnel in Helmand are out of action.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

British special forces operating on the border between Afghanistan and Iran have uncovered fresh evidence that Tehran is actively backing insurgents fighting UK troops.

Documented proof that Iran is supplying the Taliban with devastating roadside bomb-making equipment has been passed by British officials to Tehran, prompting fears that the war in Afghanistan may escalate into a regional armed conflict.

Days after Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Britain would freeze the assets of Iran's largest bank to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, Whitehall sources revealed that they had forwarded 'documentation' that the Iranian authorities were supplying enemy forces in Afghanistan.

Nato spokesman James Appathurai echoed concerns that elements in Iran are providing support to insurgents fighting British troops. He said: 'Weapons of Iranian origin have turned up in Afghanistan in significant numbers.'

Tags: gordon brown, uk special forces, afghanistan, ahmadinejad, iranian efp's, coalition soldiers and british sas killed, helmand

Obama The Humble Savior

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:56:16 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Only last week, another of his pals bit the dust, convicted by a Chicago jury of 16 counts of this and that. "This isn't the Tony Rezko I knew," said the senator, in what's becoming a standard formulation. Likewise, this wasn't the Jeremiah Wright he knew. And these are guys he's known for 20 years.

"I face this challenge with profound humility and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people … . I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we........

It's a good thing he's facing it with "profound humility," isn't it? Because otherwise who knows what he'd be saying. But mark it in your calendars: June 3, 2008 – the long-awaited day, after 232 years, that America began to provide care for the sick.

Clip Source: www.ocregister.com

Speaking personally, I don't want to remake America. I'm an immigrant, and one reason I came here is because most of the rest of the Western world remade itself along the lines Sen. Obama has in mind. This is pretty much the end of the line for me. If he remakes America, there's nowhere for me to go – although presumably once he's lowered sea levels around the planet there should be a few new atolls popping up here and there.

Nothing in Obama's resume suggests he's the man to remake America and heal the planet.

Yet at the same time as he's being stunned by the corruption and anti-Americanism of those closest to him, Obama's convinced that just by jetting into Tehran and Pyongyang he can get to know America's enemies and persuade them to hew to the straight and narrow. No doubt if it all goes belly-up, and Iran winds up nuking Tel Aviv, President Obama will put on his more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger face and announce solemnly that "this isn't the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad I knew."

Tags: mark steyn, obama, corrupt, anti-american, rezko, ahmadinejad, tel aviv