Iran accused Majid Jamali-Fashi in suspected show trial of ‘Israeli sponsored’ murder of Masoud Ali-Mohammad A man accused by Iran of carrying out an assassination “sponsored and designed by Israel” has pleaded guilty to the murder of an Iranian “nuclear scientist”. According to Iranian media, Majid Jamali-Fashi, 26, admitted killing Masoud Ali-Mohammadi , a particle physicist who Iran says was involved in the country’s nuclear programme, Jamali-Fashi confessed to having attached a remote-control bomb to a motorcycle parked on the street, which detonated and killed Ali-Mohammadi while he was leaving home for work in January 2010. But seasoned observers questioned whether it was a show trial intended to cover-up Iran’s embarrassment over its failure to protect its nuclear scientists. The extent of Ali-Mohammadi’s involvement in Iran’s nuclear programme is still not clear. At the time of the assassination, some expressed skepticism over claims that he was a nuclear scientist, saying that he had voiced strong support for the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the past. But it emerged later that Ali-Mohammadi could have been associated with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions after his name was seen on a list of an Iranian team at the Sesame Council, a joint-project involving different countries including Israel which runs a particle accelerator in Jordan. Prosecutors in the case accused Israel and its intelligence agency, Mossad, of being behind “terrorist groups” trained to kill Iranian scientists in order to halt the country’sIran’s nuclear programme. “The defendant had travelled to Israel to receive training from Mossad and had agreed to assassinate Dr Ali-Mohammadi in return for $120,000,” the English-language newspaper Tehran Times quoted the city’s chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, as saying. According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Jamali-Fashi said he was also assigned to carry out five other “terrorist operations” after the assassination. Ali-Mohammadi’s family asked for death penalty for the accused, according to Fars, but Judge Abol-Ghassem Salavati said sentencing would be issued in due course. Jamali-Fashi had previously appeared in a TV programme in January in which he confessed to having been hired by Israel and trained at a military base outside Tel Aviv before being dispatched to Iran to kill Ali-Mohammadi. The programme described him as “the main element” of any Israeli-trained network involved in the assassination. At the time of the broadcast, Iran’s intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, said Iran had uncovered “a US-backed Israeli operation” and arrested more than 10 people with links to Mossad. In response to Jamali-Fashi’s TV confessions, Israel denied any connection with him. In recent years, Iran’s nuclear programme has experienced a series of setback after the assassinations of its scientists and the Stuxnet computer worm, which was designed to sabotage its atomic facilities and halt its uranium-enrichment programme. The malware is believed to have targeted a control system used in Iran’s nuclear sites in July last year. In November, Majid Shahriari, a nuclear scientist, was killed and Fereidoon Abbasi Davani, Iran’s current atomic chief, survived assassination in two similar attacks to the one which Ali-Mohammadi died. In July, an Iranian academic, Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot dead by gunmen riding on motorcycles . He was initially described by state media as a nuclear scientist but officials later denied he was involved in Iran’s atomic programme. Rumours spread that at the time that the 35-year-old masters student might have been mistakenly killed instead of a nuclear scientist with a similar name, Darioush Rezaei. Iran Middle East Nuclear weapons Nuclear power Energy Israel United States The Mossad Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
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No immediate reports of injuries as epicentre traced to Virginia and tremors felt in New York and Martha’s Vineyard A 5.9-magnitude earthquake centred in Virginia has shaken much of Washington DC and was felt as far north as New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where the US president, Barack Obama, is on holiday. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile (800 metres) deep. Tremors were felt at the White House and all over the east coast as far south as Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The quake was centred north-west of Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and south of Washington. Obama and many of the nation’s leaders were out of Washington and on holiday when the quake struck at 1.51pm EDT (5.51 GMT). The shaking was felt on the Martha’s Vineyard golf course as Obama was starting a round. The east coast gets earthquakes, but they are usually smaller and the area is less prepared than California or Alaska. At Reagan National airport, outside Washington, ceiling tiles fell during a few seconds of shaking. All flights were put on hold. At the Pentagon, in northern Virginia, a low rumbling built and built to the point that the building was shaking. People ran into the corridors of the government’s biggest building and, as the shaking continued, shouted: “Evacuate! Evacuate!” In New York, the 26-storey federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan began swaying and hundreds of people were seen leaving the building.The social media site Twitter filled with reports of the earthquake from people using the site up and down the US east coast. “People pouring out of buildings and onto the sidewalks in downtown DC …” tweeted the Republican strategist Kevin Madden. “Did you feel earthquake in ny? It started in richmond va!” tweeted Arianna Huffington, the editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post. Virginia United States Barack Obama guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Editor's Note: What follows is a statement Mr. Bozell released earlier today regarding the FCC's decision yesterday to remove the so-called Fairness Doctrine from the regulation books. The FCC deserves a one-handed round of applause for this move. Years ago, striking the Censorship Doctrine – and that's exactly what the Fairness Doctrine was – would have actually meant something. But since the FCC started playing with policies of ‘localism,’ ‘media diversity’ and a nebulous requirement to ‘serve the public interest,’ with yet another unelected and unconfirmed “Diversity Czar” to implement these proposed regulations, the spirit of the Censorship Doctrine has remained very much alive. The path to censor radio airwaves is being paved through the back door. The threat of government control of media will not be dead until these concepts of localism and diversity representation in the media are dead. The fate of political free speech on radio airwaves lies in the balance, and shame on the FCC for not putting an end to ALL threats to free speech.
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Click here to view this media Some more telling images from inside Bab al-Aziziyah as the end nears for the despotic rule of Muammar Gaddafi. The statue seen in front of Gaddafi’s home is the Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane monument, in memorial to the 1986 bombing of Libya. CBS News’ Barry Pedersen and Sky News’ intrepid Alex Crawford report. Months ago Gaddafi spoke from the very same spot, calling the protesters pill-popping, drug-crazed youth. Famous parodies sprung up almost immediately.
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum lashed out at Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Monday, calling her “vile.” At a jobs summit at Inglewood High School Sunday, the congresswoman had said she wasn’t going to back down from her push for job-creation policies. “This is a tough game,” she explained. “You can’t be intimidated. You can’t be frightened. And as far as I’m concerned — the tea party can go straight to hell.” “She’s a caricature of what’s wrong with Congress,” Santorum told conservative radio host Steve Malzberg. “She’s vile. She’s always been that way, and she’s just one of these real, real nasty, you know, anti-basic traditional, fundamental values of this country.” “This is the left in America. They absolutely despise, you know, the founding principles of this country, that believes in free people, that believes in limited government. She is someone who believes she should control what’s going on in America, that she knows best, and that people that stand by constitutional principles of limited government are folks who are to be condemned.”
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Indian PM calls summit, although hunger striker accused of ignoring more urgent issues and backing xenophobic politicians Moves to resolve the political crisis in India triggered by a 74-year-old anti-corruption campaigner’s hunger strike have gathered pace. After a weekend of mass street protests, the government has appointed a representative to hammer out a deal to the week-long standoff, reports said. Anna Hazare, who has fasted for a week, wants the government to create an anti-corruption ombudsman with sweeping powers. His hunger strike has focused widespread anger over corruption – which is endemic in India – as well as broader grievances amid the growing middle classes. “It is not just about corruption, not just about one issue. People are very emotional about this,” Bhaskara Rao, a political analyst in Delhi, said. “However … there may be a deal relatively soon.” Following protests earlier this year, India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, proposed a small package of reforms.
Continue reading …Cameron’s blind spot over Andy Coulson shows he has no eye for detail | Chris Bryant
August 23, 2011 No Comment
Whatever the outcome of the Coulson saga, Cameron’s serial gullibility raises the question, is he fit to lead Britain? So now we hear that Andy Coulson was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by News International for several months when he was working for David Cameron’s Conservative party. This despite the fact that he let the Commons culture committee believe that he’d had no secondary income. It seems everyone in the Tory party is now running for cover. Nobody knew of anything untoward. Everyone is categorical in their denial. But what they surely cannot deny is that they never really did due diligence. This was a man who had resigned from the News of the World under a cloud. One of his employees had gone to prison for hacking phones, along with a commissioned freelancer. Did anybody ask whether Coulson was still being paid by News International when he arrived at Conservative Central Office? If not, that would be culpable negligence on the side of the accounting officers at the Conservative party in my book. After all, it is claimed that a senior member of staff at the Tory party in effect received a hefty subsidy of hundreds of thousands of pounds. If so, Coulson could be considered during his time to have been on a News International secondment, which should have been declared to the Electoral Commission as a donation to the Conservative party. And if that’s the case, for all its denials, the whole party would be as liable for the compromising position in which Coulson put himself as News International is for the conduct of its staff. Ignorance is simply no defence if you haven’t even been curious enough to ask the blindingly obvious questions. Some have said this also poses questions about Cameron’s own judgment. I think that misses the point. The real problem is not Cameron’s judgment but his personality. What the Coulson story shows is a Tory leader far too childishly eager to please his soignée News International neighbours to bother with details; a man too naive to suspect that a friend of his couldn’t possibly have committed a crime that really mattered. In short, a man too easily fooled, guilty of serial culpable gullibility. Cameron is fast becoming the blind-eye prime minister. We already know he gets irritated by detail, but when it comes to appointing ministers or dealing with international leaders like Vladimir Putin, whom he is meant to be visiting in a few weeks, the last thing Britain needs is a gullible leader. There are other specific questions that need to be answered. How much was Coulson paid? Were there any further payments when he went to work at Downing Street? Did he ever provide information the News of the World had garnered illegally to help the Conservative party? Coulson told the Commons culture committee when asked about his pay-off from the News of the World that it was a private matter that he was happy to explain privately to the chairman, Tory MP John Whittingdale. Did that conversation ever take place? If not, why not? If so, what did Coulson tell Whittingdale and why has it not been made public? Which brings me to another point. Parliament is going to have to tackle the specific matter of whether action should be taken against those who may have lied to it. Thanks to the way parliamentary privilege works, neither the courts nor the Leveson inquiry can question proceedings in parliament. But if the Commons is to do its job bringing the powers of the land to book, it has to be confident in its own ability to gather evidence and take action where necessary. In the US evidence is taken on oath and lying to a senate or house committee can constitute perjury. Surely it is time parliament brought in similar rules? Someone suggested the other day that there will have to be a film about the phone-hacking scandal. I fear we are still only in act three of a five-act play. It’s far too early yet even to draw up the full dramatis personae. One thing I am sure of, though, is that Cameron’s Conservative party deliberately set out to woo Rupert Murdoch and failed to blanch when problems arose. The former was a mistake that others have made, the latter may yet prove to be something far worse. David Cameron Andy Coulson Phone hacking News of the World Rupert Murdoch News International Conservatives Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Chris Bryant guardian.co.uk
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• Hundreds of rebels storming Gaddafi’s compound • Fighting continues in areas of Tripoli • Muammar Gaddafi’s location unknown • Click here to see how today’s events unfolded so far 5.14pm: Chris Stephen writes from Misrata that Nato’s actions are subject to scrutiny by the international criminal court just as Muammar Gaddafi’s are. The ICC’s statute prohibits attacks on civilians, of which there appear to be thousands in residential areas around the Libyan leader’s Bab al-Aziziya complex, Chris writes. But war law does allow for what amounts to “collateral damage” – if the target is military then civilian losses may be allowed if they are proportional to the damage inflicted. And ICC judges may be likely to agree that targeting what is the command and control complex for the Libyan leader, who is himself a legitimate military target, makes the compound a legitimate target, even if there are some civilian casualties. The problem for even the most hard-headed Nato lawyers is that the ICC has set no precedent for where lies the line between acceptable and unacceptable civilian losses; only a court judgment would do this and the alliance will be anxious, as it debates strategy in the coming hours, not to become the first test case. Chris Stephen is author of Judgement Day: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic . 5.10pm: Al-Jazeera just showed pictures it said were from inside Muammar Gaddafi’s compound showing rebel fighters holding up the head of a Gaddafi statue, and kicking it around on the floor. 5.09pm: Hello and welcome to Middle East live this evening as events move quickly in Libya. Here’s a summary of today’s key developments. Click here to read today’s live blog and see how events unfolded . Libya • Hundreds of Libyan rebels are storming Muammar Gaddafi’s main compound in the centre of Tripoli as the battle for the capital continues ( see 4.35pm ). There are reports they control one of the gates and have been firing into the air in celebration, an indication perhaps of their confidence. They appear to be meeting little or no resistance there. However, the compound covers a large area. Fighting continues in various areas of the city. • Gaddafi’s whereabouts are still unknown, although he is suspected to be in his compound. Russian chess federation chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he spoke to the Libyan leader today by phone and he said he was still in Libya, and apparently in the company of his son Mohammad, who reportedly escaped from house arrest by the rebels yesterday ( see 3.59pm ). A Nato spokesman said he had no idea where he was and played down his importance ( see 1.53pm ). • Nato officials in Brussels said the alliance’s warplanes were flying over Tripoli today, but that there are no “indications” they have dropped any bombs on the city ( see 2.49pm ). Nato ambassadors are meeting in Brussels at Nato headquarters to discuss the way forward in Libya and look at “options for a possible Nato role” once the conflict is over ( see 1.53pm ). This will not include Nato troops on the ground and any role would have to be requested by the new Libyan government and led by the UN. The Nato mission will continue until all Gaddafi’s forces have withdrawn to their bases and there is full humanitarian access. Reuters is reporting that the US is monitoring Libya’s few chemical weapons sites. Amnesty International warned that the continued fighting was posing a serious danger to civilians ( see 4.05pm ). Rebels from Misrata are rushing to Tripoli to help with the fight ( see 3.23pm ). • Confusion surrounds the reappearance last night of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam. Opposition figures said he had escaped from custody. The international criminal court has denied that it ever confirmed he had been arrested ( see 10.55am ). His reappearance is seen as an embarrassment to the court as it attempts to seek war crimes prosecutions. Britain’s deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said Saif’s reappearance was “not the sign of a comeback” . The rebels’ original report of his capture may have been an inept attempt at propaganda that has now misfired ( see 3.19pm ). • Bahrain recognised the National Transitional Council as Libya’s legitimate authority. Italy announced plans for meeting in Milan between Mahmoud Jibril of Libya’s National Transition Council and the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ( see 11.19am ). Syria • Eighteen people have been killed in the past 24 hours in Syria, according to activists ( see 3.31pm ). The UN human rights council has condemned and launched a new inquiry into the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protests ( see 2.40pm ). A UNHRC mission found evidence of a shoot-to-kill policy by the Assad regime and estimated that more than 2,200 had been killed since the protests began ( see 8.50am ). Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Military Nato Libya Syria Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Hundreds of rebels storming Gaddafi’s compound • Fighting continues in areas of Tripoli • Muammar Gaddafi’s location unknown • Click here to see how today’s events unfolded so far 5.14pm: Chris Stephen writes from Misrata that Nato’s actions are subject to scrutiny by the international criminal court just as Muammar Gaddafi’s are. The ICC’s statute prohibits attacks on civilians, of which there appear to be thousands in residential areas around the Libyan leader’s Bab al-Aziziya complex, Chris writes. But war law does allow for what amounts to “collateral damage” – if the target is military then civilian losses may be allowed if they are proportional to the damage inflicted. And ICC judges may be likely to agree that targeting what is the command and control complex for the Libyan leader, who is himself a legitimate military target, makes the compound a legitimate target, even if there are some civilian casualties. The problem for even the most hard-headed Nato lawyers is that the ICC has set no precedent for where lies the line between acceptable and unacceptable civilian losses; only a court judgment would do this and the alliance will be anxious, as it debates strategy in the coming hours, not to become the first test case. Chris Stephen is author of Judgement Day: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic . 5.10pm: Al-Jazeera just showed pictures it said were from inside Muammar Gaddafi’s compound showing rebel fighters holding up the head of a Gaddafi statue, and kicking it around on the floor. 5.09pm: Hello and welcome to Middle East live this evening as events move quickly in Libya. Here’s a summary of today’s key developments. Click here to read today’s live blog and see how events unfolded . Libya • Hundreds of Libyan rebels are storming Muammar Gaddafi’s main compound in the centre of Tripoli as the battle for the capital continues ( see 4.35pm ). There are reports they control one of the gates and have been firing into the air in celebration, an indication perhaps of their confidence. They appear to be meeting little or no resistance there. However, the compound covers a large area. Fighting continues in various areas of the city. • Gaddafi’s whereabouts are still unknown, although he is suspected to be in his compound. Russian chess federation chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he spoke to the Libyan leader today by phone and he said he was still in Libya, and apparently in the company of his son Mohammad, who reportedly escaped from house arrest by the rebels yesterday ( see 3.59pm ). A Nato spokesman said he had no idea where he was and played down his importance ( see 1.53pm ). • Nato officials in Brussels said the alliance’s warplanes were flying over Tripoli today, but that there are no “indications” they have dropped any bombs on the city ( see 2.49pm ). Nato ambassadors are meeting in Brussels at Nato headquarters to discuss the way forward in Libya and look at “options for a possible Nato role” once the conflict is over ( see 1.53pm ). This will not include Nato troops on the ground and any role would have to be requested by the new Libyan government and led by the UN. The Nato mission will continue until all Gaddafi’s forces have withdrawn to their bases and there is full humanitarian access. Reuters is reporting that the US is monitoring Libya’s few chemical weapons sites. Amnesty International warned that the continued fighting was posing a serious danger to civilians ( see 4.05pm ). Rebels from Misrata are rushing to Tripoli to help with the fight ( see 3.23pm ). • Confusion surrounds the reappearance last night of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam. Opposition figures said he had escaped from custody. The international criminal court has denied that it ever confirmed he had been arrested ( see 10.55am ). His reappearance is seen as an embarrassment to the court as it attempts to seek war crimes prosecutions. Britain’s deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said Saif’s reappearance was “not the sign of a comeback” . The rebels’ original report of his capture may have been an inept attempt at propaganda that has now misfired ( see 3.19pm ). • Bahrain recognised the National Transitional Council as Libya’s legitimate authority. Italy announced plans for meeting in Milan between Mahmoud Jibril of Libya’s National Transition Council and the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ( see 11.19am ). Syria • Eighteen people have been killed in the past 24 hours in Syria, according to activists ( see 3.31pm ). The UN human rights council has condemned and launched a new inquiry into the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protests ( see 2.40pm ). A UNHRC mission found evidence of a shoot-to-kill policy by the Assad regime and estimated that more than 2,200 had been killed since the protests began ( see 8.50am ). Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Military Nato Libya Syria Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Ben Stein Destroys Bill O’Reilly’s Idea Taxing The Rich Hurts The Economy
August 23, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Bil O’Reilly started his program off with his Talking Points Memo attacking Obama’s vacation. See, Liberals were upset that George Bush took over 1000 vacation days were just as wrong headed as conservatives who say that Obama’s 26 days off are more than Bush’s downtime . He’s the king of keeping it real. Bill did his usual propaganda, blaming all our deficit problems on Obama and says he’s glad the President is on vacation. His real point of TPM (and mission in life) is to cut our social safety nets and to spread his anti-tax increase on the rich dogma. He’s outraged at the idea we should raise taxes on the right-wing job producers because that’s a job killer in every economic time and Warren Buffett is out of his mind in Margaritaville for saying we need to raise taxes on the wealthy. (He really said Margaritaville) Anyway, Fox News stock “market gurus” Ben Stein ( Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ) and Wayne Rogers ( M.A.S.H ) joined him to discuss Bill’s brilliance. However, Stein didn’t play the game and he’s usually on board with the whole taxing thing. O’Reilly: Alright Mr. Stein, you know, you know that everything I said in the memo was true, correct? Stein: Absolutely not, I would say that almost every part of it is wrong except for the fact that it’s better he’s on vacation because he works terribly hard and he deserves a vacation… Then BillO did his usual interrupting routine by asking him if he thought Obama was a positive force in the economy. Stein shot back that Bush caused the recession and debt and Billie started yelling I mean now, now, now …Rogers said he was a neutral force because it’s up to Congress to pass the laws. They were brought on to talk about his opening remarks (of which Ayn Rand would be proud) but that’s Bill and that’s why he’s good at his job. I usually don’t find Ben Stein agreeable , but in this segment he flat out beat back the lie. Bill then held up the lie chart about IRS stats produced by the WSJ to prove his points about there are less wealthy people now to tax so what’s the point? By the way, that WSJ report was thoroughly debunked by Chelsea Rudman. O’Reilly: You get more money the better the economy is Stein: Absolutely. O’Reilly: If you take (meaning taxes from millionaires) then you’re helping the recession. You’re feeding the flames o fit. Stein: That’s not true. O’Reilly: Sure it is Stein: There’s no correlation, I’m going to call you Mr. O’Reilly. There’s no correlation Mr. O’Reilly, between tax rates on millionaires and people above that level (billionaires) and the growth of the economy… We had the highest growth in capitol and productivity and in the economy in general in the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s when we had much higher taxes then..(Bill: yea, but they were inaudible ) Higher taxes don’t correlate with inaudible growth… (Below is the TPM video that they discussed) (h/t Heather for coming through with the video)
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