That's that, then. They are determined to have the bomb and will not be disuaded by anything short of massive force.

It's time to consider the lesser of two evils: A nuclear-armed Iran or a massive unilateral (or bilateral) preemptive attack on all of its nuke sites, all of its Republican Guard stations, all of its ports and pipelines, all of its radio and TV stations and antennae, and all of its command and control, including its houses of government and homes of leading maniac clerics.

I'm not at all cheerful about the latter. I am not rah-rah-ing for that. But I do not see any other possible alternative than to massively attack Iran's capacity for governance and control.

Via Drudge & Allah: Iran trying to build nuclear missile.

Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian concludes.

The warning came as Iran raised the stakes in its dispute with the United States and the European Union yesterday by notifying the International Atomic Energy Authority that it intended to resume nuclear fuel research next week. Tehran has refused to rule out a return to attempts at uranium enrichment, the key to the development of a nuclear weapon.

Posted by: Ace at 05:23 PM | Comments (68)
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MRC's annual "awards" presentation.

Boy, that Brian Williams is really coming on strong, isn't he?

Thanks to Brad.

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Iranian TV: the gas chambers and crematoria were for "hygenic purposes."

Well, yes, to purge the Aryan race of unclean blood, I guess.

Political analyst Hosein Rouyvaran: ... For hygienic reasons, they used to burn the bodies of those who died of typhus or contagious diseases. This means the crematoria were used for hygienic, not political, purposes, and even this was not systematically. That's one thing. The crematoria... The gas chambers were for disinfecting the clothes and the possessions of the prisoners. This too was done for hygienic reasons.

And there's more:

The Jews in Europe lived in isolation from the European society for social reasons. Either they lived in ghettos - areas segregated from society - or else the Europeans isolated them, and there was racist behavior towards the Jews. Or maybe the Jews had a tendency to set themselves apart. At any rate, the Europeans were not friendly towards the Jews, and did not regard them as part of their society. Consequently, and as a result of the unique economic activity of the Jews in Europe, the Europeans wanted to liberate themselves from the Jews. There were other reasons too. The Zionist movement raised the issue of the Holocaust. All kinds of pretexts were used to enable Europe to liberate itself from the Jews.

Europe... liberated itself... from the Jews. Let that sink in.

Also: the world Zionist Movement signed some sort of secret pact with the Nazis in 1937. The things one learns.

On Syrian TV, meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Minister thinks military strikes against terrorists are the equivalent of the Holocaust.

Did I say equivalent? I meant they're worse.

[Syrian FM] Farouq Al-Shar'a: ...

What has happened recently is amazing and astonishing. The US has come to the region with massive forces. It has taken Afghanistan, and entered Iraq, and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has aligned himself with it. He would kill the Palestinians with missiles, from the air. Then they have complaints if a certain president [i.e., Iran's nutjob president] talks about the Holocaust.

Is this not a Holocaust? Of course it is. It is like the ovens and even worse.

But Allah's Not Done Yet Update: Just when you think the Iranians can't get more batshit crazy:

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic had to become the “Mother of All Sciences” in the Muslim world. -- From Iran Focus

The only "science" he can possibly mean is the bomb, something near and dear to their hearts.

Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a parliamentary committee that his remarks calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and describing the Holocaust as a “myth” had a profound impact on Muslims around the world, providing a “shock” that was needed “to awaken the Muslims who are in a state of lethargy”, a government-owned news agency reported on Tuesday. -- From Iran Focus

For the hat-trick, Iran's former president, an alleged "moderate," has decided that now would be the perfect time to begin threatening neighboring states (besides Israel, I mean).

I don't really want to go to war with Iran. But I can't see allowing these psychotic bastards to have a bomb.

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Bolton gets tough:

The United States warned Syria on Tuesday that its president and other top officials should submit to interviews by U.N. investigators probing the murder of a former Lebanese prime minister.

The U.N. commission set up to investigate the assassination of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has asked to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as his foreign minister, Farouq al-Shara.

"No one is immune the obligation to provide evidence to a legitimate judicial inquiry," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters, as his moustache made provocative and threatening gestures.

Okay, I made that last bit up.

It will be interesting to see if the UN is worth a damn. We were told that if only the US had been more aligned with the UN, we'd have better results than acting "unilaterally" (i.e., free from the vetoes of despots who don't want the precedent of tyrants being forcibly deposed).

I'm not rooting against this outcome, unlike many on the left who actively root for US failures in order to validate their political beliefs. If the UN and US together can pressure the Syria regime so hard that it cracks -- and without direct military action -- well, I'm all in favor of it, even if it gives Jonathan Alter a decent talking point.

Thanks to Allah.

Speaking of Jonathan Alter:

When did he ditch the rug?

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They claim it reduces crime:

Giving homeless alcoholics a regular supply of booze may improve their health and their behavior, the Canadian Medical Association Journal said in a study published on Tuesday.

Seventeen homeless adults, all with long and chronic histories of alcohol abuse, were allowed up to 15 glasses of wine or sherry a day -- a glass an hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. -- in the Ottawa-based program, which started in 2002 and is continuing.

After an average of 16 months, the number of times participants got in trouble with the law had fallen 51 percent from the three years before they joined the program, and hospital emergency room visits were down 36 percent.

"Once we give a 'small amount' of alcohol and stabilize the addiction, we are able to provide health services that lead to a reduction in the unnecessary health services they were getting before," said Dr. Jeff Turnbull, one of the authors of the report.

"The alcohol gets them in, builds the trust and then we have the opportunity to treat other medical diseases... It's about improving the quality of life."

Any downside to the program?

Three of the 17 participants died during the program, succumbing to alcohol-related illnesses...

Ah. Well, there's always that, right?

...that might have killed them anyway, the study said.

Studies say a lot of things.

Thanks to Allah.

Posted by: Ace at 03:09 PM | Comments (30)
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It's amazing their population isn't shrinking:

Love comes at a hefty price in South Korea.

There are up to 21 anniversaries, special days and celebrations a year for couples to shower each other with affection and gifts, and as a result some relationships are crushed under the weight of festivities.

South Korean companies looked at the wild success of Valentine's Day celebrations in their country and found ways to sell their goods and services through a tie-up with love, marketing officials say.

Thanks to shrewd marketing in a society focused on commerce as well as love and matrimony, there is a special day on the 14th of each month for lovers to celebrate as well as a few other goodies along the way.

I observe only three love-related holiday's:

February 14, Valentine's Day -- Or, as I call it, "All You Can Eat Sizzler's Buffet Day." Ladies love Sizzler's.

June 17, "Eternal Love" Day -- where I spray my junk with Bactine before gettin' it on so I can last longer than 30 seconds. This is almost a holiday for me. When I break the 45 second mark, I tell you, I feel like the Green Lantern or somethin'.

Thanksgiving, or, "Prove To Me You'd Be A Good Mommy Day" -- where I make my special lady take care of all my illegitimate children on my one court-supervised visit per year. They're an energetic bunch of rapscallions. I call them "My Li'l Bastards," which is funny because it's true.

21 days? I don't think I could handle it.

Thanks to Allah.

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Great:

When Israel left Gaza four months ago, full control over the 1.3 million people was ostensibly transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA). But its authority in this coastal territory has deteriorated to such a state of anarchy, that the best-armed gangs or families are effectively the law now.

...

With Palestinian Legislative Council elections scheduled in three weeks, the violence in Gaza has heightened as dozens of armed factions, most claiming ties to Fatah, jostle for control. On Monday, even the Palestinian police donned masks and shot their guns in the air in a mass protest against the PA's lack of will to give police permission to aggressively tackle the escalating crime.

All throughout the days here gun shots ring out. From time to time, explosions from homemade bombs, rockets, and the countering Israeli artillery fire echo through the graffiti-ridden streets.

But the police Monday had an additional demand of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, one that is being made increasingly by leaders of his Fatah Party: delay the elections. "We are in a dangerous situation in which any attempt to hold elections might bring about battles between armed factions and the police," PA Police Chief Ala Hosni told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

As Karol often headlines, "Quick, Give These People A State."

H/t to Allah.

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Well, there's this.

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May introduce low-cost PC with Google-created operating system.

Can someone explain to me how the hell this happened? Far as I can tell, IBM was beaten by Microsoft, which produced software instead of hardware; now Google eclipses Microsoft by producing etherware instead of software.

How do you top that? It seems that you get ahead by producing, in a way, less and less, or at least something less and less tangible.

Kinda gives me hope for this blog. Apart from King Atrios, I must produce the smallest amount of substance on the Internet. Now how do I monetarize that skill?

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A: Because he doesn't want to. I've asked him several times.

I've also asked Steven den Beste, incidentally, who also turned me down cold.

Well, not cold. He was polite. But as uninterested as Jack Twist at a stripper's convention.

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