Saturday 29 November 2008

How the BBC Reports on and Frames the Debate around Islamic Terrorism









Right well I have not blogged on the carnage in Mumbai as the situation is being extensively covered elsewhere. However here are the facts that the MSM including the BBC have not mentioned Re 27 November in Mumbai.

1. A series of attacks aimed completely indiscriminately at Western and Hindu citizens.
2. The targets included hotels, restaurants and a Jewish centre.
3. The perpetrators were Islamic Jihadis, which other group would kill Jews because they are Jews? Or ask people whether they are British or American before killing them and taking them hostage.



Okay so the problem is? Well all Al Beeb will call these people who are Muslims killing in the name of Islam is 'militants'. There is no discussion at all of the ideology (Islam) that motivated them and continues to do so.

That is until today 29th November. In a further example of the BBC's bias 'Any Questions' hosted a discussion where Mumbai was discussed. The panel was as is always the case with Question time composed predominately with people from the left. Indeed Caroline Lucas dribbled during and overwhelmingly (Dimbleby did not contradict her or allow an opposing viewpoint) blamed the situation on Israel and actions taken by the west.
The panel comprised of:

1. Caroline Lucas Green party (hard left).

2. Geoff Hoon Labour party (left).

3. Vince Cable Liberal Democrats (left).

4. David Willetts Conservative (centre-right).

So that is what you pay your licence fee for a panel that is 75% left wing and includes the hard left. Where is the balance and impartiality in that. Why in their reporting of an act of Jihadi terrorism will the BBC not accurately tell people who actually conducted the attack and why?







Tuesday 25 November 2008

A story with a happy ending from Iraq


'Bishop' with General Petraeus (center) and LTC Crider (right)







I found this story on Michael Yon's excellent website. Yon has travelled to and reported on the situations in Iraq/Afghanistan. His dispatches which he occasionally undergoes significant risk to produce are nothing short of marvellous and the man possesses a wonderful depth of humanity. This is a at times harrowing and yet uplifting story of hope over adversity, the story of 'Bishop'. Sadly many others had a more tragic ending. The full text below:





Between 2007 and 2008, I got to know a man in South Baghdad whose codename was “Bishop.” This is the short story of his life.His parents were Kurdish Sunnis. They moved to Baghdad 34 years ago – recently married and excited to make a new life for themselves and create a family. Bishop’s real name was Bashar Akram Ameen; the name given to him when he was born on October 6, 1978 in the Abu Ghraib apartments in Baghdad. Bashar had three sisters and one brother. His schooling included graduating from a Baghdad high school in the class of ’96 and attending the Agriculture College of Baghdad University from 1997 until 2002 when he graduated. America had just set its sights on toppling Saddam. Shortly after graduating, Bashar began service in the Iraqi Army Reserve, but that lasted only three months, because the U.S. crushed a great part of the Iraqi Army and then officially dissolved the rest. For three months, Bashar was one of those unemployed young men we worried about. He got a job in October of 2003 as a bodyguard for an Iraqi judge. His first job didn’t last long because insurgents assassinated the judge. Feeling lost and a bit frightened, Bashar decided to look for a “safer” job, and began interpreting for, as he called it, “the Sally Port Security Company” in al-Mansour, Baghdad. Insurgents in his neighborhood figured out that he was working for an American company, and on February 21, 2006, as he left his job at 6:00 pm, they started shooting at him in his car, “…but I miraculously survived,” Bashar explained to me, “and that was the reason to leave my job at that company.”His own safety, and therefore that of his loved ones, was in jeopardy, and so, as Bashar recalled, “I quit visiting my family for over four months.” Though he had used caution, his family was forced to flee in order to avoid imminent suffering or death from the insurgents. Bashar explained, “They had killed our neighbor’s son, so their father gave the key of his house to my father to keep the house safe until maybe the situation getting better. Then, on the next day, the same killers of our neighbors came to my father and asked him about the key, so he refused to give it away and he said that he don’t have it and he don’t know anything about it.” The insurgents warned Bashar’s father that they would check the validity of his information, and if it was untrue, “they will teach my father and us a lesson.” His family, doing what they must to survive, reluctantly left their home. Bashar wrote to me, “My father packed some basic stuff and moved from our own house in Ameriya, Baghdad; Iraq.”By now, the civil war was raging in Baghdad. Not everything was so bleak. Even at the height of the civil war, life went on. Bashar met a woman named Alyaa, who worked in legal administration at the “Sally Port Security Company.” They courted for a year, and got married on September 14, 2006 – all the while, sectarian violence raged around Iraq. A year later their first son, Mustafa, was born. Around that time, however, the local Shia militia (called Jaish al-Mahdi, or JAM) figured out that Bashar, who is Sunni, had worked for the Americans at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Falcon (where he got the codename “Bishop”). “They began coming around to bother my wife while I was at work,” he recalls. “So we moved again to live in al-Mansour, Baghdad. And since then, I stopped making any type of relationships with the neighbors just because you can’t trust anybody. In al-Mansour, we had very quiet time….” And so Bashar began working for the American Army as an interpreter, for various units, at the time of peak fighting. I first met Bishop when he worked for 1-4 Cav in South Baghdad. The 1-4 Cav soldiers kept Bishop busy, working him hard, and he became one of the team. As the months rolled by and I came back to 1-4 on several occasions, their area had become quieter and quieter until, really, there was nothing going on except progress. The younger infantrymen were proud of the progress, but wanted to get up to Mosul or out to Afghanistan, where the fighting was. But not Bishop. He’d seen the worst of it and did not want to see any more war. He was old beyond his years and wanted peace.

Bishop with General Petraeus (center) and LTC Crider (right)
The two most dangerous jobs for Iraqis were probably journalist and interpreter. Bishop wanted to come to the United States. As a result, 1-4 Cav Commander, LTC James Crider, and some of the soldiers Bishop had worked with helped with the paperwork. Just a small aside: LTC Crider and his battalion were serious contributors to success in Iraq. I got e-mails from LTC Crider about his struggles with Iraqi bureaucracy on behalf of Bishop, even after he went home to America. I’d seen this LTC Crider go to bat for Iraqis over and over again in Iraq. In just one example, Crider and his staff waded for months through the Iraqi legal labyrinth to try to free a man who had been wrongfully detained for a bombing he could not have committed; the bombing had never occurred. Crider and his battalion were welcome fixtures in that neighborhood, because he and his men had brought peace and serenity to a place that had previously been one of the most perilous places in Iraq. The last time I was there, I walked around with no body armor or helmet, and bought popcorn on the street. (I was just there again on about November 15; the progress continues without violence.)I heard that many Iraqis cried when 1-4 redeployed to America. One captain had even been offered a home if he would come back to live in the neighborhood. The captain knew how to get things done, while still making the time to learn the names of every kid there. And he knew their mothers and fathers, too. But that was it; 1-4 went home and Bishop was left behind, with his family scattered by the war. His father died in July 2007, his mother and two sisters still live in Baghdad, his brother in Kirkuk, and another sister in Syria. LTC Crider and others struggled…and struggled…and finally succeeded. On November 6, 2008, Bishop emigrated to America, landing in [Nashville], Tennessee along with his wife, Alyaa (who is carrying their second child), and their son, Mustafa. And the amazing 1-4 Cav keeps winning battles, without firing a shot, long after leaving the war.So now, Bashar is no longer “Bishop,” and he has begun an American life, with the many ups and downs we all have to face. His next fight is to find a job in our troubled economy and overcome a high-voltage dose of culture shock. He will come to understand that our culture is just as complicated as the one he left behind – but without the violence, threats and scars of war.Many people have welcomed him to America. I think Bashar can be of particular value to America at this time, simply by getting on the radio stations and talking to reporters and telling his story – the story of Iraq – and showing people how it really is over here. (I write this from Iraq.) Perhaps he can explain why many of us think that it was all worth it. I asked Bashar if I could publish his e-mail address, and he agreed.This is not just a happy ending, but a happy beginning. Please welcome this new family to America and pass this story to your local papers and radio stations. Ask them to talk with a real Iraqi who just got here. People need to know what happened in Iraq. Bashar can be reached at:
'bash.amen@yahoo.com

Sunday 23 November 2008

Who likes freedom of Speech? Not these guys, OIC Seeking to outlaw criticism of Islam at UN...


These guys are pleased at the OIC proposals.


From the WEA the Organisation of Islamic Conferences (a multi national Islamic bloc vote at the UN), attempts are being made to outlaw defamation of Islam. Why does this matter? Well for one thing it's an earnest attempt to introduce aspects of Sharia law. Furthermore it would give legal sanction to attempts to stifle criticism of Islam and the problems we face as a consequence of political Islam. Furthermore we should be free to state and honestly discuss all areas concerning religions. By that I mean for instance:





1. In parts of the Islamic world sexual abuse of children is institutionalised by marriage. This follows the example of Muhammad who 'married' a six year old girl whilst he was 54. (according to Hadith).





2. Islam's scriptures mandate warfare against 'non believers' including Jews and Christians until they submit to Islam, (Qur'an 9,29).

3. Islam suppresses women and condones violence against them if they are disobedient. (Qur'an 4, 34).

Now why not have frank and honest discussions about the above? Not according to the OIC you should not.

The WEA article:











The OIC & the UN: Islamophobia and "defamation of religion"
Nov 15, 2008
By: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth KendalTHE OIC & THE UN: ISLAMOPHOBIA AND "DEFAMATION OF RELIGION"(OIC: Organisation of Islamic Conference)Durban I -- the UN's first World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance -- which was held in Durban, South Africa, in early September 2001 ended with a walkout over its virulent anti-Semitism. Yet sadly it now seems clear that the Durban Review Conference (or Durban II), which will be held in Geneva in April 2009, is shaping up to be even worse.As a prelude to Durban II, a Second Preparatory Session of the 20-state Preparatory Committee -- of which Libya has been elected chair with Cuba, Pakistan and Iran as vice-chairs -- was held in Geneva from 6 to 17 October 2008. The resulting "Draft Outcome Document for the Durban Review Conference 2009" is now available on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) website at LINK 1.It is clear from the draft document, as well as from reports emanating from the subsequent 63rd UN General Assembly meeting held in Geneva during the first week of November, that a central focus of Durban II will be "Islamophobia", which is being presented as "a new form of racism".Muslims, the draft declaration asserts, are at dire risk of a racial "holocaust" due to "a new form of racism" -- "Islamophobia" -- which is incited through "defamation of Islam".The draft declaration recommends that local, national and international laws and human rights covenants be reviewed and amended as necessary so that "defamation of Islam" is made a criminal offence, losing the protection it has long enjoyed under the "pretext" of "freedom of expression, counter terrorism or national security". It recommends that legal instruments be established to punish offenders -- that is, those who "defame" Islam by associating it with violence, human rights abuses or terrorism.Anne Bayefsky, a York University professor and human rights lawyer who attended the Second Preparatory Session in Geneva, warns: "This is the new dimension of Durban 2, which in many ways makes it a greater threat than Durban 1. It's really setting up a war of ideas, that has rough implications, between Islamic states and everybody else. . . . Durban 1 was called an assault on Israel; a demonisation of Israel as racist and analogous to Apartheid South Africa. But in addition, Durban 2 is an assault on freedom of expression and other essential democratic rights and freedoms." (Link 2)---------------------------------The draft declaration has built on the 17 August 2007 report by Mr Doudou Diene, the then UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and the OIC's Observatory of Islamophobia.For background see:UN Human Rights Council: Watershed days. 18 Sept 2007WEA RLC News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendalhttp://www.worldevangelicals.org/commissions/rlc/reports/articles.htm?id=1411 (This posting gives a thorough critique of Doudou Diene's August 2007 report and considers its implications in terms of the Islamisation of international human rights.)ANDOIC: Eliminating "defamation" of Islam. 25 March 2008WEA RLC News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendalhttp://www.worldevangelicals.org/commissions/rlc/reports/articles.htm?id=1725 (This posting analyses the OIC's Observatory of Islamophobia which was launched at the OIC Dakar Summit in March 2008. The Observatory of Islamophobia, which is built on Doudou Diene's August 2007 report to the UNHRC, must be seen in the context of the OIC's "Ten Year Program of Action" through which it aims to address the most "prominent challenges facing the Muslim world today". This posting also presents scenarios and means through which the OIC might fulfill its goal of establishing international instruments to punish -- under the pretext of peace and human rights -- those whom they charge with inciting Islamophobia through "defamation" of Islam.)----------------------------------------Canada and Israel have already pulled out of Durban II while several other Western states have threatened to boycott -- most notably Denmark. As reported by Jette Elbaek Maressa in Jyllands-Posten (28 Oct 2008), Danish foreign minister Per Stig Moller told his Arab partners during a round trip to the Middle East that if the Organisation of Islamic Conference did not withdraw its proposal to make criticism of religion equivalent to racism, then Western countries will stay away from Durban II. "If the OIC pushes through this draft resolution, they shall not expect European or Western countries to be present at the table," he said. (Link 3)The Non-Government Organisation "UN Watch" has released a paper on the Durban II Draft Declaration. Entitled "Shattering the Red Lines: The Durban II Draft Declaration", it examines a "small selection of the 646 provisions of the Durban II draft declaration, highlighting several that breach the EU's red lines" (i.e. the lines the EU determined should not be crossed).In its opening summary, UN Watch charges that the draft declaration seeks "to distort human rights laws for the purposes of Islamic censorship" by "inserting a prohibition against 'defamation of religion' designed to restrict free speech and impose the censorship of Islamic anti-blasphemy laws".UN Watch's paper provides a clear, thorough and yet concise overview and analysis of the most contentious elements of the Durban II draft declaration. It is recommended reading. (Link 4)63rd UN GENERAL ASSEMBLYReliefweb has published a report on the 63rd General Assembly that was held in Geneva subsequent to the Durban Review Conference Second Preparatory Session. LINK 5The report describes representatives from Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Pakistan all expressing great concern over the threat posed by this "new form of racism" -- Islamophobia -- which is incited by "defamation of religion". According to the Libyan representative, freedom of speech is not the issue -- at issue is the "misuse" of that right.The representative from Iran told the assembly that modern-day racism is no longer based on supposed inequality between races, but is based on culture, nationality or religion. He claimed that xenophobic acts against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers; defamation of religions; religious intolerance and racial profiling are all expressions of this new form of racism which seeks legitimacy and protection under various pretexts such as combating terrorism.According to the representative from Saudi Arabia, Islam rejects all forms of discrimination and so in Saudi Arabia there are legal provisions to protect all the rights of all persons regardless of race, religion, status or gender.Various free, multi-racial Western democracies (a minority in the UN) denounced racism while making strong and clear defences of human rights including religious liberty and freedom of expression.The representative from France (speaking on behalf of the European Union [EU]) reminded the assembly that the EU had supported the organisation of a Review Conference as long as certain conditions were met and certain lines not crossed. He said that the primary goal should be the full implementation of existing normative framework and that new norms should only be drawn up if they were deemed necessary, were subject to a broad consensus and did not go back on universal achievements by restricting the current scope of human rights.He expressed the European Union's concern that the "thought process" on the possible creation of complementary norms was moving in a direction that could reduce the level of human rights promotion and protection. According to Reliefweb, the representative from France said the EU would "not allow the United Nations principles to be undermined" and would work in accordance with the principles that had been set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He said the Review Conference should concentrate on the implementation of the existing framework without restricting any human rights, establishing any hierarchy among victims, or excluding any one group. As well, the review conference should show how promoting human rights, especially the freedom of speech, could play an important role in fighting racism.The representative from the USA expressed concern at the trend of conflating issues of racism and religion which he said were two distinct issues. He likewise asserted that the cure for intolerance is more dialogue, not less.The representative from Israel regretted that alliances had trumped ideals and warned that nations with a genuine desire to promote peace should guard against the co-opting of legitimate language and ideas by racist demagogues. He expressed concern that Durban II risked becoming itself a platform of racial incitement, and he feared that words might quickly turn to actions.--------------------------The OIC formulated its Ten Year Program of Action (TYPOA) in Makkah in December 2005. Item VI on the TYPOA is "Combating Islamophobia". The OIC determined to do this by means of: 1) establishing an Observatory on Islamophobia tasked with monitoring Islamophobia and "defamation" of Islam and issuing annual reports; 2) getting the UN to adopt an international resolution on Islamophobia, and call on all States to enact laws to counter it; and 3) establishing international legal instruments to enforce anti-defamation laws and deliver deterrent punishments to those charged with inciting Islamophobia through defamation of Islam.The Observatory of Islamophobia was launched in Dakar in March 2008 and the UN has been passing resolutions against Islamophobia and "defamation" of religion ever since the OIC and Arab League-incited Cartoon Intifada of February 2006. All that is left on the OIC's agenda for combating Islamophobia is the legitimisation and implementation of national and international laws and legal instruments to punish offenders. It looks like Durban II might be a step in this direction.By E N KendalLinks1) Draft Outcome Document for the Durban Review Conference 2009http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/racism/DurbanReview/session2-documentation.htm2) Durban 2: New site, same debacle.Kevin Libin, National Post (Canada) 25 October 2008http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=9070043) Danish foreign minister threatens Western boycott of Durban IIJyllands-Posten 28 Oct 2008By Jette Elbaek Maressahttp://europenews.dk/en/node/154734) Shattering the Red Lines: The Durban II Draft DeclarationSelected provisions of United Nations draft published at Second Preparatory SessionBy UN WATCH http://www.unwatch.org/ (Oct. 2008).5) Strengthening respect for human rights key for preventing conflict, stabilizing post-conflict situations, Third Committee told.GA/SHC/3933Sixty-third General AssemblyThird Committee33rd & 34th Meeting (AM & PM)Hears from Special Rapporteur on Racism, Chair of Mercenaries Working Group; Religious Defamation, Progress towards Durban Review Conference among Issueshttp://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SHIG-7L3D9X?OpenDocument


Saturday 15 November 2008

A Pompous Ass on his travels








Stephen Fry presents his series on America during Sunday evenings on BBC1. I am in spite of Fry's commentary really enjoying watching this on Sunday nights on BBC1. Basically Fry travels America and meets people and goes to interesting places across America. I have one criticism, the supercilious nonsense that Fry continually comes out with. This is in keeping of course with the BBC's and Fry's anti-American prejudices. For instance he makes off hand comments when he meets a group of sophisticated Americans here. He says supposedly to himself 'if only their foreign policy was as sophisticated'. This seemingly innocuous piece of arrogance is off course recorded and broad casted. I do not mind off course except it would be great if someone would mention to Fry 'How is British foreign policy more sophisticated'. Of course the BBC love this sort of cheap politicking.




Later in Montana Fry is eating at a German American diner. His hosts like most Americans are of course friendly and indulge their guest. That does not stop fry making plain stupid comments along the lines of 'Invading Poland' etc. Such comments are of course jocular but where is the fun in such a stupid comment that demeans Fry. Again if this programme was actually meant to inform the viewing public about America it would have been fair to point out the unqualified support German Americans such as these gave in world war one/two to the allied cause. It is a fact of history that the last US soldier killed in 1918 was a German American Private Gunther. As for world war two names such as Eisenhower and Nimitz spring to mind. Of course Fry for ever the conceited buffoon he is never mentions this.




I feel this is a shame as generally people in the UK do not understand America. This series with Fry hosting it in such a stuffy and condescending manner represents a missed opportunity to actually tell a great story.




Tuesday 11 November 2008

We will remember them







Today is the 11th November 2008. The first world war ended 90 years ago on this day. Three Gentlemen with a combined age of 330 laid wreaths at the cenotaph to commemorate. They were veterans of that conflict. From the Telegraph:













Great War veterans applauded on 90th anniversary
Three of the last four survivors of the Great War, with a combined age of 330, joined forces at The Cenotaph to mark the exact moment when the guns fell silent.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Last Updated: 6:47PM GMT 11 Nov 2008
; http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid1913313243 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

The remarkable trio, the last historic focus for the commemoration, was led by Henry Allingham, Britain's oldest man at 112, an aircraft mechanic who saw action at sea, in the Battle of Jutland, and ashore on the Western Front.
Then there was Harry Patch, 110, a veteran of the horrors of Passchendaele, who is the only survivor of the trenches and Bill Stone, a relative junior at the age of 108, who ended up fighting two World Wars for the Royal Navy. Their faces a living memorial to the First World War, their presence a warning that the sacrifice of their colleagues they left behind should never be forgotten.
As a mark of respect the three men, covered in blankets in their wheelchairs to protect them from the biting wind, were accompanied by some of the most highly decorated serving personnel from the three Services.
L/Cpl Johnson Beharry, VC, helped lay the wreath for Mr Patch, who was injured in the bloody 1917 battle of Passchendaele. Mr Stone, the youngest veteran, was accompanied by Marine Mkhuseli Jones, MC. But it was down to the first female wearer of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Flt Lt Michelle Goodman, to help Mr Allingham place his memorial.
For four minutes Mr Patch struggled to rise out of his wheelchair watched by a silent group of onlookers that included the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and chiefs of the Armed Forces.
At one moment it appeared he had beaten the clock but he managed to rise only a few inches out of his chair.
As Big Ben struck at the 11th hour, of the 11th month, Mr Allingham was still fighting to place his own tribute to his fallen comrades. "Everyone was willing him to stand," said Alexandra Coode, a schoolteacher who was a few feet away. "But he just could not get up so he kissed the wreath to say goodbye. But he showed the spirit that got these men through the war."
The wreath was finally laid at his feet as the Royal Marine buglers sounded the Last Post followed by two minute's silence. Mr Allingham said: "I hope people realise what my pals sacrificed on their behalf. "May they never be forgotten. I can't describe what they mean to me."
The Right Reverend David Conner, Bishop to the Forces told the crowd of 5,000, that including more than 500 servicemen, to remember the price paid "by far too many people" in conflicts since the Great War.
In reference to Iraq and Afghanistan he added: "We shall most certainly not forget those who even at this very minute face danger as they try to make their contribution to the building of a safer future for our all too troubled world.
The ceremony complemented the commemorations that also took place on the site of the Battle of Verdun, France, attended by President Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, and the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
An estimated 20 million people were killed in the 1914-1918 war including 760,000 from Britain and the Commonwealth.
The Cenotaph service will almost certainly be the last significant anniversary that any of those who fought in the First World War will mark.
Of the five million men and women who served in the Armed Forces in the war, only four are still alive, including Claude Choules, 107, who lives in Australia.
After the ceremony Mr Patch, said: "It is important to remember the dead from both sides of the conflict. Irrespective of the uniforms we wore, we were all victims."




The second image is of the Commando memorial at Spean Bridge, Scotland. This is a desolate yet beautiful area and it is here that Allied Commandos underwent training during world war two. The US Rangers also underwent training there. It is a beautiful site worth a visit. What makes it particularly poignant are the nearby tributes to modern Commandos lost in Iraq/Afghanistan as well as local Scottish soldiers. I would like to dedicated this simple and unargumentative post to all those who served and have made the sacrifice. As well as those still serving along with their families.








Thursday 6 November 2008

Bridge for Sale! Iranian nutjob welcomes Obama's election!


Well now that Obama has been elected and we can see the liberal media (i.e. the BBC) having a smug love in this has come in from the said BBC.



A bit of info just to clarify matters on Ahmadinejad and his regime:


1. They have killed hundreds of US and UK troops with EFPs issued to Shia militants in Iraq.

2. They have issued rockets used to bombard bases in Iraq and the US Embassy.

3. They support that is they finance and equip Hezbollah whose aim is to destroy Israel.

4. The earlier mentioned Shia militants have killed thousands of Sunni Arabs in Iraq through ethnic cleansing.

5. He has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction and he also hosts holocaust denial conferences where some very unsavoury characters are invited.

6. His government hang homosexuals publicly from cranes.

7. He wants nuclear weapons and is developing them.


Now before anyone accuses me of making this stuff up I am only too happy to provide sources. Why am I saying this? Well look at what he said Re Obama's election below. He says of his desire for a new US administration 'want US intervention to be limited to its [own] borders, especially in the Middle East. It is highly expected to reverse the unfair attitude towards restoring the rights of the Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans.' He could not give a damn about the rights of people, least of all his own or Iraqis. What he wants is to be appeased and an administration that leaves him alone to pursue his psychotic agenda whilst his economy plummets. I really hope he does not get left alone and is not free to pursue his nuclear ambitions. The free world needs demagogues like him to be constrained, his name sounds like 'dinner jacket' he needs a strait jacket. If Iran was a real democracy he would probably be confined in one!



Iranian leader welcomes Obama win

President Ahmadinejad said opportunities were 'transient'
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has offered his congratulations to Barack Obama on his presidential win.
It is the first official message of goodwill presented to an American leader by the Islamic Republic.
In a key change to US foreign policy, Mr Obama has offered to open unconditional dialogue with Iran about its nuclear programme.
Mr Ahmadinejad called for the new US president to implement a foreign policy of "non-interference".
In a message carried on official news agency Irna, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "I congratulate you on being able to attract the majority of votes of the participants of the election."
The great nation of Iran welcomes basic and fair changes in US policies and conducts, especially in the region
Mahmoud AhmadinejadIranian President
"As you know the opportunities provided by the Almighty God, which can be used for elevation of nations, or God forbid, for their collapse, are transient," the message continued.
"I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem," it said, according to the English language website of Irna.
Justice and respect
Mr Ahmadinejad said Americans expected the government to "rectify the critical situation facing the US, restore lost reputation as well as their hope and spirit, fully respect human rights and strengthen family foundations".
He continued: "Other nations also expect war-oriented policies, occupation, bullying, contempt of nations and imposing discriminatory policies on them to be replaced by the ones advocating justice, respect for human rights, friendship and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.
"They also want US intervention to be limited to its [own] borders, especially in the Middle East. It is highly expected to reverse the unfair attitude towards restoring the rights of the Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans.
"The great nation of Iran welcomes basic and fair changes in US policies and conducts, especially in the region," President Ahmadinejad said.
Diplomatic stand-off
Formal contacts between the US and Iran are very rare, though the two countries held three rounds of talks in 2007 on the subject of security in Iraq.
The two nations have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the taking of hostages at the US embassy in Tehran for 444 days.
The country was a member of what President George W Bush called the "axis of evil", while the late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini described the US as the "Great Satan".
Dialogue with Iran has been criticised by US ally Israel, with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni calling on Mr Obama not to talk to Iran. She said such dialogue could project weakness.
Mr Ahmadinejad has made a series of blistering verbal attacks against Israel, calling for an end to the Israeli state, and he has described the holocaust as a "myth".