In the wake of a series of publications worldwide regarding the rape and torture of dissident prisoners in Iran's jails, supporters of Ahmadinejad gathered with him in Jamkaran, a popular pilgrimage site for Shi'ite Muslims on the outskirts of Qom, on August 11, 2009. According to Iranian pro-democracy sources, the gathered crowd heard from Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and Ahmadinejad himself regarding the issue.
According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), an independent Israeli intelligence analysis organization, Mesbah-Yazdi is considered Ahmadinejad's personal spiritual guide. A radical totalitarian even in Iranian terms, he holds messianic views, supports increasing Islamization, calls for violent suppression of domestic political opponents, and, according to the ITIC, "declared that obeying a president supported by the Supreme Leader was tantamount to obeying God."
At the Jamkaran gathering, Mesbah-Yazdi and Ahmadinejad answered questions about the rape and torture charges. The following text is from a transcript alleged by Iranian dissidents to be a series of questions and answers exchanged between the ayatollah and some of his supporters.
So we do not know if this very troubling exchange is true and complete. But it's interesting that it's making the rounds.
Asked if a confession obtained "by applying psychological, emotional and physical pressure" was "valid and considered credible according to Islam," Mesbah-Yazdi replied: "Getting a confession from any person who is against the Velayat-e Faqih ("Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists", or the regime of Iran's mullahs) is permissible under any condition." The ayatollah gave the identical answer when asked about confessions obtained through drugging the prisoner with opiates or addictive substances.
"Can an interrogator rape the prisoner in order to obtain a confession?" was the follow-up question posed to the Islamic cleric.
Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The necessary precaution is for the interrogator to perform a ritual washing first and say prayers while raping the prisoner. If the prisoner is female, it is permissible to rape through the vagina or anus. It is better not to have a witness present. If it is a male prisoner, then it's acceptable for someone else to watch while the rape is committed."
This reply, and reports of the rape of teen male prisoners in Iranian jails, may have prompted the following question: "Is the rape of men and young boys considered sodomy?"
One aspect of these permitted rapes troubled certain questioners.
Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi: "No, because it is not consensual. Of course, if the prisoner is aroused and enjoys the rape, then caution must be taken not to repeat the rape."
A related issue, in the eyes of the questioners, was the rape of virgin female prisoners. In this instance, Mesbah-Yazdi went beyond the permissibility issue and described the Allah-sanctioned rewards accorded the rapist-in-the-name-of-Islam:
"If the judgment for the [female] prisoner is execution, then rape before execution brings the interrogator a spiritual reward equivalent to making the mandated Haj pilgrimage [to Mecca], but if there is no execution decreed, then the reward would be equivalent to making a pilgrimage to [the Shi'ite holy city of] Karbala."
One aspect of these permitted rapes troubled certain questioners: "What if the female prisoner gets pregnant? Is the child considered illegitimate?"
Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The child borne to any weakling [a denigrating term for women - ed.] who is against the Supreme Leader is considered illegitimate, be it a result of rape by her interrogator or through intercourse with her husband, according to the written word in the Koran. However, if the child is raised by the jailer, then the child is considered a legitimate Shi'a Muslim."
Continued on Page 47
I'm testing a comparison with the Daleks here to see if it works.
Three recent editorials in Iran's major conservative dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-e Eslami gave a detailed account of Iran's position vis-ￜ-vis the U.S. peace plan. It was claimed that the U.S. and Israel are trying to force on the Palestinians a plan that safeguards their own interests and perpetuates Palestinian inferiority, by activating the U.S.'s and Israel's proxies in the region - that is, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arabs from the "conciliation camp." Jomhouri-e Eslami called on the Palestinians to reinforce their resistance front and to reject anything less than Israel's annihilation, calling it "a goal within reach." Kayhan purported that "the Arabs who are in favor of conciliation," whom it dubbed "hypocrites within the [Islamic] nation," "are collaborating in the implementation of the Zionist-American version of peace by giving a green light to the Americans." It added that "peace - whether according to the Arab or the American formula - is tantamount to recognizing the brutal and artificial Zionist regime," and said that "unless this regime is completely eradicated from the region's political map, no Middle East peace is possible." [1] "EX-TER-MIN-ATE! AN-NI-HI-LATE! DES-TROY!"
In another editorial, Kayhan called on the Muslim countries not to participate in the talks with the U.S. and the Zionists, which the U.S. has set for September 2009, concomitantly with the U.N. General Assembly, in order to discuss the U.S. comprehensive peace initiative in the Middle East. The paper reiterated that "a solution [in the Middle East] can be achieved only by completely annihilating the Zionist regime, which is the source of all insecurity in the region," "THEY MUST BE EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED! EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED!"
and that "the establishment of two states, Palestinian and Zionist, would be the same as totally crushing the rights of the Palestinian people, rather than securing these rights for them." It was also stated that "the conflict [between the U.S. and Israel] is not genuine, but merely a fraud aimed at deceiving the Arabs from the conciliation [camp]." [2]
Following are excerpts from the Jomhouri-e Eslami editorial:
"Peace - Whether According to the Arab or the American Formula - Is Tantamount to Recognizing the Brutal and Artificial Zionist Regime" "ARE YOU REA-DY FOR WAR?"
"Official Palestinian recognition of the Zionist regime by the Palestinians is Israel's most cherished dream. It would deal a death blow to aspirations for a Palestinian state, grant everlasting legitimacy to the Zionist regime, and lay the ground for the attainment of its expansionist goals in the Middle East.
"The Zionists came close to fulfilling these aspirations when Yasser Arafat consented, by means of a disgraceful agreement [i.e. the Oslo accords], to eliminate [the article on] combating the Zionists from the Palestinian charter. But the Palestinian nation was not prepared to acquiesce in this disgrace; following the example of the Islamic Revolution, which has never stopped fighting the Zionist regime, it turned to Islam [for a solution]. "DO NOT BLAS-PHEME! DO NOT BLAS-0PHEME!"
"Yasser Arafat fell captive to the dirty games of the Zionists, the Americans, and the Europeans. He died having lost his hold over the Palestinian people and stripped of all his past triumphs as a fighter. I'm snipping the rest of the spittle. Continued on Page 47
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Lebanese authorities are holding in custody a prominent Shi'ite financier close to Hizbullah on suspicion of fraud after he invested hundreds of millions of dollars of other people's money before declaring bankruptcy, judicial officials said Wednesday.
The Kuwait-based newspaper Al-Watan reported that Hizbullah incurred some $683 million in losses as a result of Salah Ezzedine's activities.
Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities earlier this week after declaring himself bankrupt. The officials said he was then taken into custody and is being investigated for possible crimes including "the defrauding of large amounts of money." He has not been formally charged yet.
The case has drawn comparisons in Lebanon with that of Bernard Madoff, the New York financier whose multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme wiped out thousands of investors and charities worldwide. Madoff was sentenced in June to 150 years in prison.
Ezzedine, a wealthy businessman from the town of Maaroub near the southern port city of Tyre, is a prominent financier particularly among Shi'ite circles in Lebanon. He is the owner of Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House, one of Lebanon's most prominent publishers of religious Shi'ite books that also prints books written by Hizbullah officials. He also owns the Al-Hadi television network for children. Employees at the publishing house have refused to speak to reporters about the case.
An official with close links to Hizbullah confirmed to the Associated Press that Ezzedine "has extensive connections" with senior members of the group but could not say whether any senior members had business dealings with him. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The judicial officials said Ezzedine had major business interests, particularly in oil and iron industries in Eastern Europe, and suffered substantial losses when oil prices dropped starting in the middle of last year.
He tried to make up for his losses by taking money from Lebanese investors, promising them up to 40 percent interest on their deposits, which he could not repay, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Lebanese regulations.
Many Muslims consider interest paid by banks as un-Islamic, and therefore prefer to invest their money in businesses such as the ones run by Ezzedine.
Media reports said that among Ezzedine's victims are high-ranking members of Hizbullah, as well as Shi'ite investors from southern Lebanon and the Hizbullah stronghold south of Beirut.
Al-Mustaqbal, a Lebanese daily, said that among those who filed charges against Ezzedine was Hizbullah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan. Repeated calls by The Associated Press to Hajj Hassan went unanswered Wednesday. It was still not clear whether Ezzedine knowingly deceived investors.
Ezzedine is known for being involved in charity work. He headed an institution that organized pilgrimage trips to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Hizbullah incurred some $683 million in losses
heh heh.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2009 10:00 Comments ||
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#2
Yes. You know that one-laigged nigger dat b'longs to old Misto Bradish? Well, he sot up a bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much. So I stuck out for mo' dan fo' dollars, en I said 'f I didn' git it I'd start a bank . Well, o' course dat nigger want' to keep me out er de business, bekase he says dey warn't business 'nough for two banks, so he say I could put in my five dollars en he pay me thirty-five at de en' er de year.
"So I done it. Den I reck'n'd I'd inves' de thirty-five dollars right off en keep things a-movin'. Dey wuz a nigger name' Bob, dat had ketched a , en his marster didn' know it; en I bought it off'n him en told him to take de thirty-five dollars when de en' er de year come; but somebody stole de wood-flat dat night, en nex day de one-laigged nigger say de bank's busted. So dey didn' none uv us git no money."
A little something for the 57th Georgia Light infants. Still, it covers this as well as many other stories.
[Iran Press TV Latest] With the debate on the new Ahmadinejad Cabinet spilled over to another day, Iranian lawmakers will vote on the nominees on Thursday, after the president offers his last words about his picks.
Parliamentary debate on the line-up began on Saturday and is expected to end by Thursday noon. The president will then address the lawmakers in defense of the 21 nominees who await a vote of confidence.
The voting is set to take place after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech.
So far, 19 nominees have outlined their four-year plans in front of the lawmakers, with defense minister-designate Ahmad Vahidi seeming to be enjoying a tacit approval by the Majlis, the Iranian Parliament.
The nominees for the energy and oil portfolios are yet to present their plans to lawmakers.
Iran's outgoing commerce minister Masoud Mirkazemi who has been nominated to head the oil ministry is expected to come under careful scrutiny as there are talks that he lacks expertise in the vital sector.
Mohammad Ali-Abadi, who has previously served as Tehran's deputy mayor, vice-president and head of the Physical Education Organization, will also present his plans as the minister of energy against Majlis officials.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2009 00:00 ||
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US President Barack Obama has reportedly sent his second direct message to Iranian authorities.
Tabnak on Wednesday said Iran has received a second letter, but did not mention the exact date the correspondence had reached Tehran.
"The first letter was dispatched in Ordibehesht, before the elections," Tabnak said referring to the second solar month of the Persian calendar corresponding to 21 April to 21 May.
According to the report, Obama's first letter was not left without an answer.
"The leader at the time replied to the letter by providing argumentation," the report added without revealing the contents of the letter.
Obama, whose campaign for the White House included a pledge to open talks with Iran, struggled to make a clean break from the Bush administration by offering an 'extended hand' to Tehran after his election.
In his first sit-down interview in January, the US president said, "If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations for nearly three decades. The two countries severed all ties in 1980 in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution and the US embassy takeover by Iranian revolutionary students.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
