Most stupid prediction of the year

 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and idol, the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

Unless somebody else wise or weird predicts the absurd about anything, but more specifically about the living or dead in this world of over 7 billion people, then the prediction of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Hugo Chavez would be resurrected along with Jesus and a sacred Muslim prophet will stand as the most stupid prediction of the year.

Ahmadinejad’s complete statement, which was reportedly released in Persian on the president’s official website was: “I have no doubt he will come again along with all the righteous people and the Prophet Jesus and the only successor of the righteous generation, the perfect human.”

The “perfect human” refers to the Hidden Imam, who Shiite Muslims believe disappeared in the ninth century but expect to re-emerge.

I understand how much Ahmadinejad idolized Chavez for crusading against the greatest power in the western world, and to belong to that exclusive cabal with anti-American sentiment, it was simply overwhelming and it made the members of the association prideful.

But knowing who Ahmadinejad is – the very same person that has infuriated the world by refusing to acknowledge that the Holocaust ever happened, and also saying that the state of Israel has no place in the Middle East or that its existence is an “insult to all humanity or that he wants Israel to be “wiped off the map” – one can’t help but question his sanity.

Now, who does he think he is to be making such a stupid prediction for the whole world to hear?

Well, my own divination is that if he won’t put his faculties back to order  and start talking sense, time will come when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will simply have him booted out of office.

Perhaps that would be a judicious decision to free the world of a hypocrite and a trouble monger.

Israel making life now harder for Palestinians

 

Start of new settlement project

When I wrote the last paragraph of my blog ‘Palestine’s U.N. nonmember status makes peace more elusive’, dated December 01, 2012, little did I know that I was having the right hunch of what it would be for the Palestinians after its de facto recognition by the UN from observer status to a “non-member state.”

This is what I said: ‘That is the key – not isolating Israel, but rather recognizing it as the Jewish people’s state and that could only be achieve through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and not via a symbolic vote at the UN General Assembly that would only make peace as elusive as ever and the situation more hellish than it already is.’

Not only has the Palestinian victory been short-lived, but the goal of having two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security not only seems harder to achieve now, but Israel is, in fact, starting making the lives of the Palestinians miserable.

It looked like the Israelis already knew what to do if the Palestinians pursued their plan of seeking an upgrade of their status at the UN, for hours after the UN vote, Israel immediately authorized 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and expediting planning work for thousands more dwellings in a geographically sensitive area close to Jerusalem, which critics said would kill off Palestinian hopes of a viable state.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom criticized the expansion plan, saying, it was   counterproductive to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks frozen since 2010.

Not only that. Israel has now announced that it was withholding this month’s transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Israel would not collect taxes on the Palestinians’ behalf, nor deliver the moneys to the PA, nor assist Ramallah in any economic matters.

Under the current economic agreements between Israel and the PA, Israel collects customs, border and some income taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and transfers the sums to Ramallah on a monthly basis.

Steinitz said that the government instead would use the money it was to transfer to the Palestinians to pay down their debt to the Israel Electric Corporation and other Israeli bodies.

“I have no intention of transferring the taxes due to the PA this month. They will be used to pay the PA debts to the Israeli electricity company and other bodies,” Steinitz said.

Without the transfer, the PA will not have the money to pay government salaries.

Only time can tell what else the Israelis have in mind for the Palestinians, who are being punished for allegedly leapfrogging negotiations and disregarding peace accords.

Israel itching for neutralizing nuclear Iran

Iran’s Shahab-3 missile

With Syria crumbling, Egypt experiencing a chaotic post-Mubarak regime, and as the Arab Spring continues to be an inspiration for freedom from despotic leaders in the Middle East, the Jewish state of Israel has all the reason to remain anxious of its existence.

But more than the rebellion displayed by people against oppressive government, and whether or not the end result will allow them to have peace and co-exist with Israel in the region, what has racheted up the Israeli government’s concern for safety, defense, and survival as a nation and people is the relentless development of Iran’s nuclear armament, despite the call for restraint and abandonment of their nuclear program by the international community, specifically the U.S.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public warning that Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu has declared that “all the threats currently being directed against the Israeli home front are dwarfed by another threat, different in scope, different in substance.”

This, after an unidentified source stated that new intelligence obtained by Israel, the United States and other Western showed that Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon is progressing far beyond the scope reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Tehran is said to have made significant progress towards assembling a nuclear warhead for a Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, putting the whole of Israel, including the Dimona nuclear reactor in the southern Negev desert, within the Islamic republic’s range.

It is for this reason that Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, called on the Western powers to declare that the negotiations with Iran, conducted by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, had failed.

Not wanting to jeopardize his chances of winning re-election in November, President Barack Obama is suggesting for more time for international diplomacy to succeed and in fact Washington has been saying that the U.S. had “eyes” and “visibility” inside Iran’s nuclear program and would know if Tehran made a “breakout” towards a nuclear weapon.

Breakout capability is commonly understood to be the point when a state acquires the knowledge, capability and materials to build a nuclear bomb if it wants to.

Israel, however, can’t seem to wait in any longer. Pressure is building in Israel to take action, this, after the Jewish state has reportedly invested billions in home-front defense, and holding emergency drills, alluding to a military exercise being held in cities across Israel to test a text message warning system against missile strikes.

Because of difference in perception between the US and Israel as to what constitute an unacceptable threat, Israel may decide to draw the first blood and neutralize Iran before it is too late.

After Iran, will Saudi Arabia be next?

 

Saudi King Abdullah with Iran President Ahmadinejad

This question is posed in the wake of Iran’s nuclear program that many think is for the purpose of building nuclear weapons rather than believing the country’s leadership that its goal in developing a nuclear program is to generate electricity and to provide fuel for medical reactors.

Surely, it is not only Israel that is restless about Iran, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is just as anxious as the Jewish state. It is more so now that nothing concrete has been discovered by the latest visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors simply because the Iranian government is uncooperative.

Both Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council want a WMD-free Middle East, but key members of Saudi’s royalty have already signified that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, then Saudi Arabia will get one too.

And for a reason. They don’t want to be sitting duck of Iran’s present irascible leaders.

It is for this reason that this rich Kingdom has already signed nuclear technology agreements with several states: China, France, Argentina and South Korea, in order to address its need for research reactors, nuclear power plants and wherever it may lead, if only to deter Iran’s threat.

With the help of their Sunni allies in Pakistan, the more that Saudi Arabia can easily acquire the technology for developing a nuclear bomb, if and when it becomes necessary.

Does this mean that the Saudis are bereft of any defensive capabilities? Certainly not. The Kingdom has existing fighter jets – Typhoons and F15s. It is also now seeking to replace its existing Chinese CSS-2 medium range missiles with the more accurate Donfeng-21, which is launched from mobile trailers.

It is reported that these weapons are already targeted on Iran’s major cities, notably Tehran, home to a fifth of the entire population. One thing going well for Saudi Arabia is that Russia decided not to supply Iran with $800 million worth of S-300 PMU missiles, one of the most advanced anti-ballistic missile defense systems.

There is no doubt that the U.S. will do everything in its power to prevent the Arab Persian Gulf States or the Middle East, for that matter, to be engulf in a nuclear arms race. It could only make matters worst than it is already today.

 

The world in dilemma with Iran

 

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

With Iran rearing its ugly head as never before in the wake of what its leaders perceive to be a threat to their nation’s security, what with the U.S and most European nations tightening economic sanctions to dissuade them from continuing with their nuclear program, one can’t help but wonder where this conflict is heading to.

The latest act of defiance by Iranian leaders, most notably by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the challenge hurled that it will be forced to close the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for about a fifth of the world’s oil trade, if the noose of economic sanctions gets tighter.

In fact this presumptive announcement is being felt globally as early as now, as being dependent to Iranian oil flow is getting to be a big, if not serious, folly already. A stricter embargo would definitely hurt the global economy, as Iran is the second biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after Saudi Arabia.

But, will the world community allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon?

Will the world be safer with Iran armed with a nuclear and biological weapons in its arsenal, when the world knows that it is a country that has gained notoriety for exporting its radical Islamist revolution, supporting Hezbollah and Hamas and actively opposing the Middle East peace process, involving in the bombings of the Jewish center in Buenos Aires and the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia, providing Al-Qaeda with safe passage and refuge, helping insurgents in Iraq, assassinating its own dissidents and oppressing its own people, etc.?

That Syria is having a revolution and President Bashar al-Assad continues to kill with impunity his own people and blaming the Western world for instigating the Syrians to oppose him, is because he finds strength in the material support of Iran’s leaders and government.

But, the most telling tale of all is that Iran is a nation whose leaders is said to have set themselves a strategic goal of wiping Israel off the map.

So, is this all about annihilating Israel and its inhabitants?

On their part, Israel has made it clear that it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon that would threaten the Jewish State.

If this has been Iran’s mantra all along, can the world blame if Israel has been keeping an eagle’s eye on Iran’s nuclear facilities?

The world is hoping that the sanctions imposed will awaken Iran to the harsh reality of imminent danger and a catastrophic one at that – even to the rest of the world, in economic terms.

What doesn’t look good is that Iran has gone too far, deep and wide in their desire to have this weapon developed and what is bad is that they are wallowing in their pride for this achievement.

The question now is how much longer can Israel wait before acting on a dismaying Israeli and western intelligence suggesting that Iran is already approaching the point of “invulnerability” where a military strike on its nuclear facilities would be ineffective.

Indeed, the world is in dilemma with Iran and time is getting short, while tempers of the protagonists are fraying.

 

Iran on warpath against Israel

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme leader Ali Khamenei

Is Iran the next flashpoint?

This seem to be the question the world is anxious to know about if one has to gauge from the exchange of rhetoric between Iran and Israel after the U.N. atomic agency released a report that said Iran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms.

It will be noted that Iran has always insisted that it is pursuing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and denied any military applications to its nuclear program.

Israel, as well as the US, however, are not taking this at face value. Knowing very well Iran and their cantankerous leaders, it is simply too good to be true.

As soon as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report came out insinuating that Iran is using the cover of a peaceful nuclear program to produce atomic weaponry, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad immediately lambasted the atomic agency, saying, that Iran won’t retreat “one iota” from its nuclear program.

This was followed by a strong and menacing remarks from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who, when talking to the students at a Tehran military college, said that Iran “will respond with full force to any aggression or even threats in a way that will demolish the aggressors from within.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres

The Ayatollah’s forceful remarks came on the heels of an equally aggressive posturing by Israeli President Shimon Peres who said that, because of the revealing report, air strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites were becoming “more and more likely.”

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to the international community to help bring about the cessation of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons which endanger the peace of the world and of the Middle East, their national media reported that he and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were seeking cabinet support for a pre-emptive Israeli attack on Iran.

The U.S. and allies claim that a nuclear-armed Iran could touch off a nuclear arms race among rival states, including Saudi Arabia, and that would really spell disaster in capital letters.

There is now urgency for the US and allies to placate Israel and for Iran to change course and stop their senseless ambitions of building nuclear weapons before it is too late.

China and Russia, both considered as Iran’s main sources of diplomatic support should heed the call of the US to use its influence and pressure Iran to stop pursuing their dreams of being a nuclear armed nation.

The world is not about to be fooled by Iran’s wicked intentions.

Israel to build fence along Egypt border

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered to construct a fence at a cost of 1 billion shekels (163 million pounds) along two segments of Israel’s border with Egypt, in an attempt to stem the infiltration of migrant workers as well as of terrorist elements into Israel.

The bold project is estimated to be completed in two years, where the first segment will be near the southern city of Eilat and the second segment near Israel’s border with Gaza strip.

“I took the decision to close Israel’s southern border to infiltrators and terrorists. This is a strategic decision to secure Israel’s Jewish and democratic character,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu said Israel would “remain open to refugees” from conflict zones but added, “we cannot let tens of thousands of illegal workers infiltrate into Israel through the southern border and inundate our country with illegal aliens.”

The barrier will not be erected along the whole border, but advanced surveillance equipment will be installed to help border control officers spot the infiltrators.

Nations arming for cyber war

 

Web security firm McAfee released a report warning of a “cyber space race,” with countries like U.S., Israel, Russia, China, and France gearing up for cyber offensives.

The McAfee report was prepared by cybersecurity expert Paul Kurtz, a former White House adviser. It said cyberattacks were on the rise and “cyberwarfare is a reality.”

“Over the past year, the increase in politically motivated cyberattacks has raised alarm and caution, with targets including the White House, Department of Homeland Security, US Secret Service and Department of Defense in the US alone.

“Nation-states are actively developing cyberwarfare capabilities and involved in the cyber arms race, targeting government networks and critical infrastructures,” the report said.

The Web security company said critical infrastructure such as power grids, transportation, telecommunication, finance and water supplies was particularly vulnerable.

“In most developed countries, critical infrastructure is connected to the Internet and lacks proper security functions, leaving these installations vulnerable to attacks,” McAfee said.

 

 

Nations arming for cyberwar

 

Web security firm McAfee released a report warning of a “cyber space race,” with countries like U.S., Israel, Russia, China, and France gearing up for cyber offensives.

The McAfee report was prepared by cybersecurity expert Paul Kurtz, a former White House adviser. It said cyberattacks were on the rise and “cyberwarfare is a reality.”

“Over the past year, the increase in politically motivated cyberattacks has raised alarm and caution, with targets including the White House, Department of Homeland Security, US Secret Service and Department of Defense in the US alone.

“Nation-states are actively developing cyberwarfare capabilities and involved in the cyber arms race, targeting government networks and critical infrastructures,” the report said.

The Web security company said critical infrastructure such as power grids, transportation, telecommunication, finance and water supplies was particularly vulnerable.

“In most developed countries, critical infrastructure is connected to the Internet and lacks proper security functions, leaving these installations vulnerable to attacks,” McAfee said.

U.S. scientist nabbed on spy charges

A Maryland scientist who worked for the Defense Department, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of attempting to pass along classified information to an undercover FBI agent he believed was an Israeli intelligence officer.

Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said.

The information was said to be “classified as both Top Secret and Secret that concerned US satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defense strategy.”

The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf   violated US law.

Nozette is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Tuesday. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

“The conduct alleged in this complaint is serious and should serve as a warning to anyone who would consider compromising our nation’s secrets for profit,” said US Assistant Attorney-General David Kris.