Link: http://trueslant.com/joshuakucera/2009/06/15/what-if-we-are-all-wrong-about-iran/

Here are a few of the things that we’ve “learned” the last few days about the Iranian elections and their aftermath:

— 3 million people protested Monday in Tehran
— the losing candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was put under house arrest
— the president of the election monitoring committee declared the election invalid on Saturday

These are just a handful of data points that have been shooting around the Internet, via Twitter or the opposition-friendly blogs. And all have been instrumental in building a public opinion case against the Iranian government for undercounting the support for Mousavi. The problem is, none of them appear any longer to be true. VDare.com/TPV: Are You Ready For War With Demonized Iran?

No, Twitter is NOT leading "us" astray. Nor are "we" ready for a war against Iran. People in Iran are FED UP with the dictatorship and the oppression -the Mullahs and the secret police. They want democracy. It's that simple. Now people are demonstrating in the thousands, filling up the streets. It is NOT the CIA & Mossad that have made them do this. They're doing this for and by themselves. They want CHANGE, just like people in America. -But unlike people in America, these people have courage, the courage to say: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Empire Burlesque: Hypocrisy and Hope: Western Coverage, Iranian Courage. You Tube: Basijis are shooting at civilans: What kind of person can do that? you have to be mentally sick in mind to be able to shoot and kill young men and women. My brothers and sisters I am speechless...! All I can do is pray for all of you guys, and I wish I was there to fight this dictatorship with you. -Yes, Iran is a dictatorship. Iran is not a democracy. It is an oligarchy -a country run by a small number of people. These people happen to be a caste of Mullahs, which means that Iran is a theocracy as well. They need a figurehead for their secular government. Ahmadinejad fits the bill. So the vote is rigged. This election is another tragedy for the people of Iran.

Link: http://www.google.com:80/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inRFaXp8ixkgLSc-zVGV8FwGGDSQD98RVKJ80

Harmful effects from global warming are already here and worsening, warns the first climate report from Barack Obama's presidency in the strongest language on climate change ever to come out of the White House. Global warming has already caused more heavy downpours, the rise of temperatures and sea levels, rapidly retreating glaciers and altered river flows, according to the document released Tuesday by the White House science adviser and other top officials.

Read more »

Link: http://www.imemc.org/article/60844

The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the home of Salim and Arabiya Shawamreh in Anata, which has already been demolished by the Israeli authorities four times and has become a center for the peaceful struggle against home demolitions, can be demolished yet again. The Shawamreh home has become a symbol of resistance to Israel's house demolition policies, and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions has launched a campaign to try to save the home from its fourth demolition.

Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished more than 24,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories, some as "collateral damage" in military operations (4000 homes were demolished in the recent invasion of Gaza), some as collective punishment (the obliteration of the Jenin refugee camp in 2002 being just one example), many others for lack of a building permit, though Israel intentionally withholds building permits from Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinian families have been forced to demolish their own homes under pressure of fines and imprisonment. Tens of thousands of demolition orders remain outstanding in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and can be implemented at any time.

Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,630805,00.html

In the West, the Iranian elections and ensuing opposition protests are seen as yet more proof of Iran's perfidy. Russia views things differently -- and welcomed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with open arms on Tuesday.

Link: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3463008-40-percent-conservative-another-goofy-poll

Words mean things, but not always the same things to the same people. In a Gallup Organization survey released earlier this week, 40 percent of Americans described themselves as "conservatives." In the same survey, 35 percent called themselves "moderates" and 21 percent rated themselves as "liberal." The fascinating number to me was the 4 percent who answered "don't know."

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061700172.html

Iranian reformist Web sites as well as blogs and Western Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over the declaration of election victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Guardian: Iran's regime cracks down on opposition and media. + The Guardian News Blog: Iran's post-election unrest: live.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/15/chelsea-owner-roman-abramovich-yacht

It has all the usual mod cons you would expect for a yacht belonging to a football-loving billionaire – helipad (well, two actually), a cinema, sports complex and even a disco. It also boasts a mini-submarine and looks like a sleek naval destroyer. According to reports today, Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, is now also the proud owner of the world's most expensive private yacht, the Eclipse. Costing €340m (£288m), it has many original features, including a German-built missile defence system – useful in the event of attack. The Eclipse set sail from Hamburg's Blohm + Voss shipyard last week, and is due to be delivered to Abramovich next year, after the finishing touches have been applied. Nearly 170 metres long, it is bigger than Abramovich's other three mega-yachts – and is 11 metres longer than the world's previous biggest yacht, which belongs to Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai. Asked why Abramovich's yacht looked like a scary grey military frigate, the expert added: "It's a trend. Private yachts look like military boats these days. The yacht is a statement for many people. It's a statement about power." Stolen money. Every single penny. -Stolen from the hard-working people of Russia.

Link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-06/17/content_8291108.htm

A waitress who fatally stabbed an official and injured another choked back tears as she walked free from a Hubei court after a guilty verdict with "diminished responsibility" yesterday. Deng Yujiao, 21, whose plight caught the attention of millions around the world, was found guilty of intentional assault at Xiongfeng Hotel in Yesanguan on May 10 but was not penalized because she is manic depressive. Daily Telegraph: Chinese waitress freed after stabbing official to death during sex assault.

Link: http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/06/12/garry-trudeau-comic-is-anti-semitic-bemoans-adl-how-to-cook-a-gentile-is-ok/

The ADL is demanding Garry Trudeau to apologize because he "maligned Judaism" and is guilty of promoting "anti-Jewish stereotypes and biblical illiteracy". I will leave this for concerned religious scholars to decide, but my concern is the multi-faced, racist, hate-promoting ADL and how they work tirelessly to tag anyone and everyone asbeing an anti-Semite if s/he touches or even comes close to anything Jewish, Israeli or Zionist (even if it's baseless), while they play deaf and blind when obvious and clear hate, racist, anti-human and anti-Gentile cartoons are promoted by Zionist-Jews (if you don't know what a Gentile is, well, then according to Zionist-Jews, you're probably a Gentile). So the question is: How come Abe Foxman finds no hate in the "How To Cook A Gentile" cartoon? Redress: The biblical ignorance of the “Anti-Defamation League”.