IRAN'S supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today the Islamic republic is willing to change if US President Barack Obama leads the way by changing American attitude towards his country.
Speaking a day after Obama offered Tehran a "new beginning" to turn back the tide on decades of mutual animosity, Khamenei said Iran is yet to see any change in Washington's attitude towards Tehran.
"We have no experience with the new American government and the new American president. We will observe them and we will judge. If you change your attitude, we will change our attitude," Khamenei said in an address to thousands of Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad which was broadcast on state television.
Tehran, he said, had yet to see any change in US policy towards Iran.
"We cannot see any change. What is the change in your policy? Did you remove the sanctions? Did you stop supporting the Zionist regime? Tell us what you have changed. Change only in words is not enough," Khamenei said.
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#1
Okay, let's start by changing Iran into a real democracy. Then the Iranian people can make the next change, that of putting Mullah heads on poles and parading them around.
Syria has asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to prevent his special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen from interfering in Damascus' relations with Lebanon and stick to his mandate, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Friday. The newspaper said that Syria's ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari delivered an official letter to Ban accusing his special envoy for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 of "misinterpreting the logical framework of his mandate." About Syrian-Lebanese relations, the letter said: "The establishment of diplomatic ties and demarcation of the border between Syria and Lebanon are issues linked to the sovereignty of countries and are solved through agreement between the Syrian and Lebanese governments."
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2009 00:00 ||
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US President Barack Obama spoke "directly" to Iran''s people and leaders in a videotaped message released Friday to coincide with the Nowruz new year holiday, the White House said. Here is the full text of the message: "Today I want to extend my very best wishes to all who are celebrating Nowruz around the world..." Remainder at the link. Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Barack Obama spoke "directly" to Iran''s people and leaders in a videotaped message
He simply ain't got a clue.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/21/2009 11:43 Comments ||
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#2
about half way through his 2nd paragraph i felt my lunch lurch and i had to quit reading..
the clue bus don't stop at his house that's for sure.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
03/21/2009 16:03 Comments ||
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#3
For phuechs sake! When will someone please have a look at this man's credentials?
Jordan's King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks in Amman on Friday, part of a flurry of diplomatic moves to close Arab ranks ahead of a summit later this month in Qatar, officials said.
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2009 00:00 ||
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Three hundred Lebanese police officers have undergone training to protect four judges appointed to a UN tribunal to try the accused killers of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, a security official said on Friday. We had this yesterday, but the question keeps running through my head: "Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?" I'm not sure that's an accurate quote, but it's an accurate question. Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Is it just me, or does this simply beg the question of who was protecting Hariri in the first place?
Russian Federal Council Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, said: "we don't talk we act. The 10 MIG 29 fighters are an effective (form) of aid to Lebanon's government. This is a message to Israel or any other country that there is a balance of power in the region." I thought all the MiG-29s were grounded because they're pieces of junk?
He added that Russia supports Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity. Margelov said that Russia helps the role of the Lebanese state "we do so to a democratically advanced state, a sovereign state that plays an important role in the region." I can't recall the last time a Russian aircraft shot down a U.S. manufactured aircraft, except for the occasional airliner.
Margelov was speaking Friday to 'Russia Today' satellite channel from Beirut. He added that Russia has placed no conditions on Lebanon regarding the use of the MIG 29 fighters. " There are no conditions made by the Russian government on the Lebanese government regarding the use of these fighters. The Lebanese government has the legal right (to use them) as it pleases . Margelov left Beirut on Friday to Doha.
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
And Israel has the right to treat active threats as an act of war and respond accordingly. Israeli pilots have recently had lots and lots of practice hitting their targets. I hope Russia was paid upfront.
#3
Reminder to MiG pilots: Your most important piece of equipment is your ejection seat.
Posted by: ed ||
03/21/2009 0:53 Comments ||
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#4
The MiG 29 is not the best aircraft in the world, especially if it goes up against the latest model of F16 or F15. And most definitely not if it is piloted by an Arab - some of the worst pilots in the world. Of course, ins'allah maintenance on the planes does not help any.
#5
USAF people I know say it's a very good plane that was designed to go up against F15s and F16s. A lot depends on whether they gave the Lebanese upgraded avionics and Russian pilots and maintenance crews.
#9
A lot depends on whether they gave the Lebanese upgraded avionics and Russian pilots and maintenance crews.
If the Russians also gave pilots and crews, I'd worry, because they ought to be well-trained. If the Lebanese are doing either, not nearly so many worries. Either way: targets.
#10
tw, I don't think the Russians expect payment. The chance to cause Israel problems was enough for them.
I would expect them to withdraw maintenance (which would really make these migs targets) should the Lebanese get too uppity about wanting the Syrian proxies out of the country.
#11
And I expect the main use these planes will see is in bombing potentially pro-western areas in the next battles of the civil war. I would expect in that case that not only would Israel not do anything about it, but that you'd see people posting here that it was really a good thing or that it's just one group of animals killing another or something like that while the Syrians were consolidating their power.
#13
I remember hearing stories from the '73 Arab-Israeli war about how Syrian pilots, flying Russian MiGs would bail out the second they got painted by Israeli pilots' radar.
The Israeli pilots are the best in the world, and have been for a long time.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/21/2009 21:52 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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