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Bias Cut
« on: 2008-09-25 04:37:52 » |
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Livni: Ahmadinejad speech makes mockery of UN vow of 'never again'
[ Hermit : I intended to comment this in two colums. Unfortunately I lost it multiple times and my computer is currently so slow that editing is very painful. I may revisit this when I have another opportunity and am saving it here to preserve it for that purpose. It is a very skewed article. ]
Source: Ha'Aretz
Authors: Barak Ravid (Haaretz Correspondent), News Agencies
Dated: 2008-09-24
The head of the ruling Kadima party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, blasted the United Nations on Wednesday for granting Iran's president a platform to deliver an address against "Zionist murderers" that contradicted its vow to prevent another Holocaust.
"[Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's speech makes the situation absurd for an organization that raised the banner of 'Never Again' upon its establishment," said Livni. After winning a Kadima leadership primary, she was invited by President Shimon Peres on Monday to form the next coalition government.
Ahmadinejad, in an address that opened with a long discourse on God, justice and morality, told the 192-nation UN General Assembly on Tuesday that a few "deceitful" Zionists were manipulating Americans and Europeans and controlled the world's financial and monetary systems. Click here for the full text of his speech.
Livni continued: "The ultimate [challenge] is still ahead of us as Iran requests to join the UN Security Council. The significance would be to let a criminal become his own judge.
"It is absurd that a state unparalleled in threatening the security of its neighbors and calling for the destruction of another state should be a member of a body whose goal is to further global security."
The foreign minister also said that Iran currently is under UN Security Council sanctions because it is making nuclear weapons and is supplying terror organizations with arms, while violating the Security Council's resolutions.
Opposition chief Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iranian leader's statements heighten the urge for Western action against Tehran's nuclear activities.
"I can understand the frustration of Israel's ambassador to the UN ," Netanyahu told Army Radio on Wednesday, referring to the envoy having to hear the applause for the Iranian president. "The president of Iran unites all of Israel given the threat. The West still does not spot the danger and even if it does spot it, it still is not acting. Israel needs to do what is needed so that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon."
When asked if Israel was capable of effectively destroying Iran's ability to develop an atom bomb, Netanyahu preferred not to elaborate. "Any public discussion on this matter is superfluous," the Likud chairman said.
"The year is 1938 and Iran is analogous to Germany," Netanyahu told Army Radio. "Europe is sleeping, it's napping, unfortunately not for the first time but Israel must not absorb the negative consequences of that."
Peres says Iran guilty of worst anti-Semitism
On Tuesday, Peres said that the Iranian president's speech to the United Nations was reminiscent of one the most notorious anti-Semitic tracts in history.
"This is the first time in the history of the United Nations that the head of a state is appearing openly and publicly with the ugly and dark accusations of the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'" Peres said after Ahmadinejad's speech.
He was referring to an anti-Semitic tract published in the early 1900s that described a Jewish and Masonic plot to take over the world. The document has been discredited and is widely considered to be a hoax and a fraud.
"It never took place in this building or in the United Nations," Peres said, adding that it recalled the "the darkest accusations in an air of hatred" and anti-Semitism.
He reiterated Israel's position that Iran has become a "center of terror" with its support for the militant groups Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Peres was responding to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech earlier on Tuesday at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he said "The Zionist regime is on a slope to decline,"
adding there is no Israel can "get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters."
Ahamdinejad also accused "a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists" for dominating financial and political centers in Europe and the U.S. in "a deceitful, complex and furtive manner."
Ahmadinejad said Iran supports a referendum in Israel and the Palestinian territories that would determine the nature of government in one state that would encompass Jews and Arabs.
The Iranian President also lashed out at "bullying powers" that are trying to interfere with the country's nuclear program, saying "Iran is for dialogue but won`t accept illegal demands on nukes."
Ahmadinejad also issued a harsh rebuke of what he called American attempts at 'hegemony', blaming U.S. military interventions around the world in part for the collapse of global financial markets, saying "the American empire is reaching the end of its road".
The Anti-Defamation League released a statement shortly after the speech saying that it put Ahmadinejad's "anti-Semitism on full display" and "shows the true threat that the Iranian regime poses to the West."
On Wednesday, the ADL urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to speak out against the "hate-filled diatribe" delivered from the podium by Ahmadinejad.
The League also urged Ban Ki-moon to convince Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the General Assembly, to decline an invitation to a September 25 dinner in New York, sponsored by five religious organizations, attended by the Iranian president.
"It would be wholly inappropriate for the President of the General Assembly to honor the Iranian President through his attendance at such a dinner," said Abraham Foxman, the National Director and Chairman of the ADL.
Last year, thousands rallied at the United Nations to protest Ahmadinejad's speech. When Ahmadinejad was ushered to the podium of the General Assembly to speak, the U.S. delegation walked out, leaving only a low-ranking note-taker to listen to his speech.
"Problems do not arise suddenly," Ahmadinejad told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Tuesday. "The U.S. government has made a series of mistakes in the past few decades. The imposition on the U.S. economy of years of heavy military engagement and involvement around the world? the war in Iraq, for example. These are heavy costs imposed on the U.S. economy."
"The world economy can no longer tolerate the budgetary deficit and the financial pressures occurring from markets here in the United States, and by the U.S. government," The Iranian president added.
In a separate interview with National Public Radio, Ahmadinejad said he does not want a confrontation with the United States. He said he wants diplomatic relations to develop between the two countries and that he was willing to cooperate on upholding security in Iraq.
"We do not have confrontations with anyone," he said. "The U.S. administration interferes, and we defend ourselves."
According to a report on Tuesday on the Web site of Iran's National Public Radio, Ahmadinejad claimed that "the people of the world - the majority actually - support our stand."
Despite UN sanctions against Iran over its enrichment of uranium, Ahmadinejad claimed vast international support for his country's nuclear program and said the campaign against it consisted of only three or four countries, led by the United States and its allies.
Ahmadinejad also said the West's policy toward Iran is at the root of the confrontation. He maintained that the United States and its allies believe they own the world and want to interfere in anything that goes on in the world.
The West is concerned that Iran's nuclear program masks a push to make nuclear arms. Iran insists its nuclear activities are geared only toward generating power. But Israel says the Islamic Republic could have enough nuclear material to make its first bomb within a year. The U.S. estimates Tehran is at least two years away from that stage.
The Iranian leader warned over the weekend that the military would strike back against anyone targeting his country's nuclear facilities.
"If anyone allows himself to commit even a tiny offense against Iran's legitimate interests, borders and sacred land, our armed forces will break his hand before he pulls the trigger," Ahmadinejad said during a military parade Sunday.
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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Hermit
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Re:Bias Cut
« Reply #1 on: 2008-09-27 11:10:33 » |
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[/u]Full text of Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly September 2008[/u]
Hermit's Helpful Analytic Paintbox
Blue: Social Lubricants
Green: Religious rants
Yellow: Substantive discussion
Red: Israel and related to Israel
Yellow: USA and related to USA
Orange: May be about Israel and related to Israel or about the USA and related to the USA or about both
[ Hermit : Given that this is a translation, it is fair to ask if there were any significant differences between the Farsi and English versions of the speech. If there were, neither I nor Ha'Aretz could find them.
As Ahmadinejad's worldview, like that of the American and Israeli leadership, is permeated with a turgid mix of religious and moral strictures, I have attempted, probably not always successfully, to be charitable when identifying religious pablum. It should be noted that Ahmadinejad himself might disagree with my analysis and regard all of his words as being more akin to a prayer. We can still analyze all but the purely religious, and thus that has been my primary measure.
Regarding his speech, it is very poetic and often diagnostic rather than accusative. When in this mode he frequently elides the actors about who he is speaking, particularly when dealing with the USA and Israel. In my opinion this is not entirely unfair, given the immense influence that John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt proved that the "Israeli lobby" plays in the politics of the USA. Where I was unable to determine which party was involved - or where it was clear that he meant both, I have used Orange tagging.
I read this speech through multiple times to attempt to find anything remotely "anti-semitic" (understanding the authors of the claims above to mean anti-Jewish people, even though many Palestinians and Lebanese are purer semitic speakers than most Israelis, but noting that criticizing "Zionists" or even the State of Israel is indubitably NOT anti-semitic unless it is based on prejudice against all Jews (either as a religion or as a race) one cannot validly accuse somebody who blames a small subset of a group of acting through prejudice towards the entire group), or even any threats against anyone. I failed to. I invite you to try for yourself, the speech was surely short enough. Which brings us back to the hysterical claims of the first article on this thread. If all the threats and prejudice attributed to Ahmadinejad are deliberate lies, then who is the one at fault here?
We might argue that he needs better speech writers; we might take issue with his dislike for atheists and secularism; we might even criticize his logical failures in being unable to determine that individual ethical capacity is an a priori requirement for an ethically competent religious investment and so, like most Christians he has the horse tied to the wrong end of his cart. These are blatantly not justifications for the attacks, distortions and hate mongering we see against him and his country.
Source: Haaretz Service
Authors: Iranian translators, President Ahmadinejad
Dated:2008-09-24
The following is a copy of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations General Assembly early Wednesday morning, as translated by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran News Service:
Mr. President, Excellencies,
I am grateful to the Almighty for granting me another opportunity to be present in this world Assembly.
In the last three years, I have talked to you about great hopes in the bright future of human society, and some solutions for achieving sustainable peace and expanding love, compassion, and cooperation.
I have also talked about unjust systems governing the world; pressures exerted by some powers seeking to trample the rights of other nations, oppression imposed on the majority of the global community, especially on the people of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Africa, Latin America, and Asia; about challenges we are faced with, such as efforts to shatter the sanctity of families, destroy cultures, humiliate lofty values, neglect commitments, expand the shadow of threats, as well as about the arms race and the unfairness and inability of the systems governing world affairs in reforming the status quo.
With the occurrence of various new developments, the debility of existing mechanisms has been revealed even more. However, at the same time, an encouraging trend, which has originated in the thoughts and beliefs of peoples, has blossomed and become stronger. Posed against the despairs caused by the new developments, this trend has ignited the ray of hope for a brilliant, desirable and beautiful future in the hearts of men.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
Today I would like to talk to you about the main reasons behind the conditions ruling the world and the means to tackle them. Of course, you are already aware of what I am talking about, but I think it is necessary to remind ourselves.
It seems that the roots of problems lie in the way one views and perceives the world and humankind, as well as in the important issues of freedom, obeisance to God, and justice. The world, humankind, freedom and obeisance to God, and justice, have been of utmost importance to humans throughout history.
1. The World:
God Almighty purposefully created the world. This world is the bedrock for the evolution and growth of a creature called man, and the laws governing the world and all other creatures are at the service of man's quest for loftiness. The world should provide the needed opportunities for the fulfillment of the purpose behind man's creation. No phenomenon, creature, or indeed anything has been created in vain. Together they all pave the ground for the flourishing of mankind in a complex and purposeful system, and they are, each, one of the signs of God Almighty. All are His creations and He is the sole creator and ruler of the world. All existence including power, knowledge and wealth come from Him.
2. Humankind:
God created the world for humans and humans for Himself. He created humans from mud and in the soil, but He did not want them to remain in the soil and with animal instincts. He kindled the light of guidance in their souls and asked them to rise from the soil to the heavens and to Him with the help of wisdom, prophets and perfect men.
The world will ultimately disappear, but God has created man for eternity and has made them a manifestation of Himself. Creativity, mercifulness, kindness, knowledge, wisdom, zeal, concealment of sins, splendor, justice, bounteousness, generosity, greatness, love, glory, dignity, forgiveness, insight, kingship and all other goodness and beauty are attributes of God.
God has not created humans for aggression, bloodshed, rancor, selfishness and destruction. He made humans His vicegerents on earth and has asked them to, on the one hand, make earth prosper by using their God-given potentials and to prepare the ground for the growth of divine attributes in all humans, and to provide all with a life full of beauty, amity, freedom, justice and goodness; and on the other hand in pursuance of this path, to prepare for a prosperous, everlasting life endowed by God's mercy.
God has obligated humans to live divinely and socially, for it is only through social life and interactions with others that divine attributes may emerge.
3. Obeisance to God:
God Almighty has tied their perfection and true freedom of humans to their devotion and obedience to Himself. True freedom and obedience to God are in balance and in fact are two sides of the same coin.
Obeisance to God means confessing to monotheism and obeying His commands, and to be free from ungodly worship.
Obeisance to God means the acceptance of the absolute truth, the absolute light, and the absolute beauty.
Obeisance to God means abandoning selfishness and animal instincts, power-seeking and aggression, surrendering to righteousness, justice, love, and perfection.
And in this way, humans can achieve their true freedom and flourish, they can grow and manifest divine attributes, have affection for others, stand up for justice, and fear no power or threat, and defend the oppressed. In such an environment, one's freedom will not impinge on any others.
Contention and conflict are characteristic of materialistic freedom and animal instinct. The essence of all divine religions and obeisance to God and true freedom is disassociating from oppressors and instead obeying and worshiping God, for:
- God is omniscient and knows all that is revealed or kept secret, and He is kind and merciful.
- All creatures are humble before Him and resign to His will.
- God is alive and is the Creator of the universe and all life.
- God loves His creatures and desires nothing but goodness, blessings, and perfection for them, and is against bullying, injustice, selfishness and domination.
4. Justice:
Justice is the foundation of the creation of humankind and the whole universe. Justice is tantamount to placing every phenomenon in its own place, and providing humans with opportunities to actualize all their divine capabilities. Without it, the order of the universe will collapse and the opportunity for perfection will fade away. Without justice, it would be impossible for human society to taste real peace, beauty, joy and happiness. Justice is the main pillar of social life and without it, social life cannot continue or grow.
Humans need to know God in order to realize a prosperous society in this world as well as to strive for a beautiful eternal life, and to this end they first have to know themselves and strive for loftiness in themselves and their societies. However:
- as long as the world is construed as closed, limited and aimless,
- as long as eternal life is considered imaginary and illusory and afterlife and the Judgment Day as well as reward and punishment are thought of as fictional and unreal,
- as long as morals and commitment to them are called backwardness, and immorality, lies, deceit and selfishness are considered desirable, and humans are limited to a materialistic life in this world,
- as long as attempts are made to replace obedience to God and following His prophets and true freedom with servitude to materialistic tendencies and animal instincts and servitude to oppressing human beings, and contention reaches its pinnacle,
- as long as the aggressors, because of their financial, political and propaganda powers, not only escape punishment but even claim righteousness,
- and as long wars are started and nations are enslaved in order to win votes in elections,
not only will the problems of the global community remain unsolved, but they will be increasingly exacerbated.
Friends and Colleagues,
Let's look at the situation of the world today:
Iraq was attacked under the false pretext of uncovering weapons of mass destruction and overthrowing a dictator. The dictator is toppled and WMDs are not uncovered. A democratic government is established by the votes of the people but, after 6 years, the occupiers are still there. They insist on imposing colonial agreements on the people of Iraq by keeping them under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Millions of people have been killed or displaced, and the occupiers, without a sense of shame, are still seeking to solidify their position in the political geography of the region and to dominate oil resources.
They have no respect for the people of Iraq and disregard any dignity, rights or status for them. The UN is not capable enough to solve the problems and to remove aggression, occupation and imposition.
In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is still ongoing at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land by displacing, detaining, and killing the true owners of that land.
With advance notice, they invade, assassinate, and maintain food and medicine blockades, while some hegemonic and bullying powers support them. The Security Council cannot do anything and sometimes, under pressure from a few bullying powers, even paves the way for supporting these Zionist murderers. It is natural that some UN resolutions that have addressed the plight of the Palestinian people have been relegated to the archives unnoticed.
In Afghanistan, production of narcotics has multiplied since the presence of NATO forces. Domestic conflicts continue. Terrorism is spreading. And innocent people are bombarded on a daily basis in streets, markets, schools and wedding ceremonies. The people of Afghanistan are the victims of the willingness of NATO member states to dominate the regions surrounding India, China, and South Asia. The Security Council cannot do anything about it because some of these NATO members also happen to be the major decision makers in the Security Council.
In Africa, efforts are made to reestablish the relationships of the colonial era. By starting civil wars in large countries including Sudan, disintegration of those countries is planned in order to serve the interests of some corrupt powers. In case there is a national resistance, the leaders of the resistance are put under pressure by legal mechanisms created by the very same powers.
In Latin America, people find their security, national interests and cultures to be seriously endangered by the menacing shadow of alien domineering governments, and even by the embassies of some empires.
The lives, properties and rights of the people of Georgia and Ossetia and Abkhazia are victims of the tendencies and provocations of NATO and certain western powers, and the underhanded actions of the Zionists.
The never-ending arms race and the proliferation and stockpiling of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and the threats to use them, and the establishment of missile defense systems, have made the situation unstable.
With regard to Iran's peaceful nuclear program, despite the inalienable right of all nations including the Iranian nation, in producing nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes, and despite such facts as the transparency of all Iranian activities and our country's full cooperation with the inspectors of the IAEA and the Agency's repeated confirmation of the fact that Iran's activities are peaceful, a few bullying powers have sought to put hurdles in the way of the peaceful nuclear activities of the Iranian nation by exerting political and economic pressures against Iran, and also through threatening and pressuring the IAEA.
These are the same powers that produce new generations of lethal nuclear arms and possess stockpiles of nuclear weapons that no international organization is monitoring; and, the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were perpetrated by one of them.
Indeed, they are not against weapons, but they oppose other nations' progress, and tend to monopolize technologies and to use those monopolies in order to impose their will on other nations. But it is very natural that the great Iranian people, with their trust in God, and with determination and steadfastness and with the support of its friends, will resist the bullying and has defended and will continue to defend its rights.
The Iranian nation is for dialogue. But it has not accepted and will not accept illegal demands. The time has come for the IAEA to present a clear report to the international community on its monitoring of the disarmament of these nuclear powers and their nuclear activities, and for a disarmament committee to be established by independent states to monitor the disarmament of these nuclear powers.
The theories of development that are in line with the hegemonic system and not in accordance with the true needs of humankind and human societies, have turned into repetitive and bland tools for assimilation of economies, expanding hegemonic domination, destroying the environment and destroying the social solidarity of nations. There is no end in sight to this. Poverty, hunger and deprivation are hurting more than one billion of the world's population and have dashed their hopes for a decent life.
The dignity, integrity and rights of the American and European people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists. Although they are a miniscule minority, they have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the US in a deceitful, complex and furtive manner. It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premiere nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support.
This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against their will.
Friends and Colleagues,
All these are due to the manner in which the immoral and the powerful view the world, humankind, freedom, obeisance to God, and justice.
The thoughts and deeds of those who think they are superior to others and consider others as second-class and inferior; who intend to remain out of the divine circle, to be the absolute slaves of their materialistic and selfish desires, who intend to expand their aggressive and domineering natures, constitute the roots of today's problems in human societies.
They are the great hindrances to the actualization of material and spiritual prosperity and to security, peace and brotherhood among nations. I explicitly state that the Iranian people and the overwhelming majority of peoples and governments are against those deeds and perspectives of the world- domineering powers. Establishment of justice requires people who have achieved moderation and justice inside themselves, and have restrained their domineering attitudes and actualized their attributes of self-sacrifice and are at the service of humanity. The complete and full-scale manifestation of such characteristics can happen only under the rule of the righteous and perfect human being who is obedient to God and who is promised by the divine Prophets.
Dear Colleagues,
Of course with the grace of God Almighty a hopeful trend is flourishing in the heart and soul of human societies. The universal eagerness for justice, purity, and love for others, monotheism and the quest for perfection is clearly and increasingly on the rise. A universal resistance against the acquisitiveness, aggression and selfishness of the bullying powers is being formed.
Today, the bullying powers' thoughts, practices and strategies are rejected by nations and governments, and all are seeking to establish new human relations based on justice with a view to attain prosperity, perfection, security, and sustainable welfare. This is the very auspicious phenomenon that all the traditions of creation and the ruling laws of the universe emphasize and support.
Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters. The Islamic Republic of Iran, while fully respecting the resistance of the oppressed people of Palestine and expressing its all-out support for it, submits its humane solution based on a free referendum in Palestine for determining and establishing the type of state in the entire Palestinian lands to the distinguished Secretary General of the UN.
American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders. Today, the thought of hegemony quickly becomes a demerit.
And now a few words with the expansionist governments ruling global relations:
Be aware that living with obedience to God and carrying out His orders, compassion for people and striving for the fulfillment of justice is to your advantage too. I invite you to return to the path of God, the Prophets and to the path of the people of the world and to the truth and justice.
The only route to salvation is a divine straight path. Otherwise, God's hand of power will emerge from the sleeve of oppressed nations and will make your life difficult, and will put an end to your hegemony.
Let's love the people of the world and respect their rights. Rectify past behavior. This will benefit you and the human community. The Iranian people are prepared, along with other nations, to help you be rescued from your current situation and to establish peace and prosperity.
My Friends,
Fortuitously, opportunities are accessible. With the grace of God Almighty, the existing pillars of the oppressive system are crumbling. Great developments in favor of humankind as well as its true and real rights are on the way. A golden and brilliant future is awaiting mankind. A global community filled with justice, friendship, brotherhood and welfare is at hand, as I have elaborated.
A community which will tread the path of beauty and love under the rule of the righteous and perfect human being, the One promised by all divine prophets and the One who is the true lover of humanity. A community that will be devoid of any fear, despair and privation. Such a community will soon be ours. The community promised by the great divine Prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ and Mohammad (PBUH) is about to materialize.
Let us, hand in hand, expand the thought of resistance against evil and the minority of those who are ill-wishers. Let's support goodness and the majority of people who are good and the embodiment of absolute good that is the Imam of Time, The Promised One who will come accompanied by Jesus Christ, and accordingly design and implement the just and humanistic mechanisms for regulating the constructive relationships between nations and governments.
Oh great Almighty, deliver the savior of nations and put an end to the sufferings of mankind and bring forth justice, beauty, and love.
Friends;
Let's have a proper share in the establishment of that illuminated and promised divine age
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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