Turkey Refuses Israeli Aid Even Though They Have "primitive equipment"

I couldn't understand why Turkey would refuse aid from experienced Israel, yet agree to accept aid from ill-prepared countries like Iran. IsraelMatzav has a great explanation why.  

Search-and-rescue personnel working in the Van earthquake zone have decried their “primitive” working conditions and lack of technical equipment as they try and reach survivors from the eastern province’s devastating temblor.

"We are working with primitive tools, we have no equipment," one rescuer told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Emergency personnel said they heard cries for help coming from under a collapsed building this morning and started to work on the wreckage to reach the survivors. The cries had stopped at around noon, they said, adding that they had to dig out the dead bodies of quake victims.

"We can't get to survivors fast enough," one rescue team member said.

The spirit among rescuers is noticeably low, and some members could only weep in frustration at the situation.

There is a device to find people under rubble, rescuers said, but added that they only had one of the devices in the district of Erciş, which was worst hit by the Oct. 23 quake.

"We yell into collapsed buildings, asking if anybody is there," a rescue team member said.

Aid inadequate

Only one food distribution point was set up in Erciş and there was a significant lack of supplies and equipment. No new aid truck or supplies arrived for the hours that the Hürriyet Daily News was in Erciş.

Banks, hospitals and stores were all damaged or destroyed in the quake but there have been no reports of looting as people have continued to walk around Erciş in shock.

Many survivors said the only thing they wanted was some bread.

All but one of the homes in the nearby Yedikonak village was flattened in the quake.

Hurriyet

Iran will "investigate" assassination plot; wants details of arrests from the Americans

Iran is ready to “investigate” U.S. charges that its elite Quds Force plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Monday, while continuing to deny any Iranian involvement.

“We are ready to patiently investigate any issue, even if it is fabricated,” Salehi told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. “We also asked America to give us the information related to this scenario,” he said of the U.S. accusations.

Salehi and other Iranian officials nevertheless continued to maintain that Iran had nothing to do with the alleged plot, which has seriously increased tensions with the United States and its regional ally, Saudi Arabia. The request for documents seemed aimed at punching holes in the U.S. allegations, which Iranian officials have dismissed as a “bad Hollywood script.”

In a television interview Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he loved the American people and did not understand why some wanted war with Iran.

“I think there are some people in the U.S. administration that want this to happen, but there are also wise people who know that it wouldn’t be in the U.S. interest to do that,” Ahmadinejad told the al-Jazeera satellite network.

read it here

here is the devil himself:

Syria Claims to Have Seized Israeli-made Weapons

I wouldn't place my bets with the Syrian or Iranian news sources. But if their claim of Syrians using Israeli-made weaponry to kill Syrian soldiers is true, this is an interesting development.

The Syrian security forces have seized Israeli made weapons from armed groups responsible for the killing of hundreds of people across the country. 

was the Tavor one of the weapons seized?

The Syrian ambassador to the regional grouping of the Arab League (AL) made this announcement at an emergency meeting in the 22-member body's headquarters in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday. 

Youssef Ahmad said, "They are Israeli made automatic weapons. This is proven and we'll show it on TV channels," Syrian state television reported. 

“These are the weapons used by the armed opposition to kill the sons of our nation.” 

Ahmad complained that no Arab partner had acted to condemn neither such instances of Tel Aviv's contribution to domestic violence in Syria nor the killings of Syrian armed forces. 

...

The Syrian and Lebanese authorities have recurrently intercepted weapon shipments, while they were being smuggled into the country amid the unrest. 

The last of the consignments, which had been loaded onto two cars, consisted of rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, pump-action shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, and various types of ammunition. 

Tehran Times

Mossad and British Defence Officials Plotted to Topple Iran Regime

Adam Werritty, the self-styled adviser to former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, plotted with the Israeli intelligence service Mossad to topple Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it has been claimed.

In February this year, Mr Werritty then arranged a dinner with Dr Fox, Britain's ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, and senior political figures – understood to include Israeli intelligence agents – during an Israeli security conference in Herzliya, during which sanctions against Iran were discussed.

Despite Mr Werritty having no official Ministry of Defence capacity, an Israeli source said there was "no question" that Mr Werritty was regarded as anyone other than Dr Fox's chief of staff who was able to fix meetings at the highest levels, and was seen as an "expert on Iran".

The Foreign Office declined last night to comment on any aspect of Mr Werritty's activities.

The plot could well have proved impossible, but Mr Werritty's activities are seen to fly in the face of the British Government's efforts to pursue a diplomatic solution, through the UN, to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The new revelations will also fuel concern in the Foreign Office that the man - who had unrestricted access to one of the Cabinet's most important ministers - was at the same time trying to unseat the Iranian President as part of a "shadow foreign policy".


read it all here

Modesty Police in Iran Arrest Woman for wearing "sexy" Shoes

This "Modesty Police" is part of the great efforts of promoting women's rights:






Back in April, Fox News had this article:

Without fanfare, the United Nations this week elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a theocratic state in which stoning is enshrined in law and lashings are required for women judged "immodest."

Just days after Iran abandoned a high-profile bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, it began a covert campaign to claim a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women, which is "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women," according to its website.

Here is another fine example of women's rights being practiced by the UN-appointed role model:

This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: An Iranian actress was sentenced to 90 lashes for starring a movie about how Iran mistreats its actresses, an opposition website reported.

Marzieh Vafamehr was also sentenced to a year in prison for her role in My Tehran for Sale, an Iranian-Australian collaboration which was furiously excoriated by the country’s conservatives for its depiction of the Islamic republic.

Vafamehr was arrested in July; her verdict was reportedly issued Saturday.
According to state media, My Tehran for Sale was never officially approved for distribution in Iran. Watch the movie’s trailer after the jump:




The Daily What via iOTW

Iranian Warship Route to U.S. Coast Leaked Online

by Buck Sexton

Last week, an Iranian Naval Commander threatened to deploy ships off the U.S. coast as a provocative show of force.

Now it looks like Iran might actually be serious.

Russia, for the first time, blames US and Israel for Stuxnet worm

Russia has for the first time laid the blame for the Stuxnet worm at the door of the US and Israel, describing it as "the only proven case of actual cyber-warfare."

Left-Leaning Evangelical Christians: Iran Obtaining Nuclear Weapons is Divine Punishment Against Israel on Palestine Issue

Titled "An Open Letter to America's Christian Zionists" David Gushee and Glenn Stassen of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good denounced American Christian Zionism as "sinful" and instead tout Palestinian statehood. They also warn of possible divine, even nuclear, judgment upon Israel if it doesn't accommodate the Palestinians.

'China will not stop Israel if it decides to attack Iran'

"Of course we understand that Iran aims to acquire nuclear weapons and we are concerned about this," said Prof. Yin Gang. "While it declares that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes, the Chinese government and intelligence services believe that Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb." This clear statement was made by an independent Chinese expert on the Middle East who recently visited Israel at the invitation of Signal, an organization that furthers academic ties between Israel and China.
         

Professor Ying Gang

Gang, who was here to participate in a symposium at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He defines himself as an independent scholar who is not affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party or the government, and his knowledge of Iran also stems from visits there. His insights offer a glimpse into Chinese foreign policy and its apparent contradictions, which Israel sometimes has difficulty understanding.

.

Like Russia, China has refused to join the United States and other Western countries in imposing new, tighter sanctions on Iran in response to the latter's refusal to obey UN Security Council resolutions demanding that it cease uranium enrichment. But on the other hand, China did vote for weaker sanctions against the ayatollahs' regime. China purchases oil from Iran, but has refused to build nuclear reactors there or sell it equipment for its nuclear program.

Nevertheless, Ying views China's policy on the Middle East in general, and Iran in particular, as clear and consistent. "It is a policy based on our philosophy of refraining from taking sides in conflicts," he said. "We try to remain neutral in the Middle East conflict. In the past, during the Cold War, we sided with the Arabs against Israel. But this has changed. Today we see ourselves as friends of Israel, and at the same time we attempt to maintain friendly relations with all countries. We are friends of Israel and the Turks and the Iranians and the Arabs."

In his estimation, "China cannot do much to influence developments in the region. We do not export revolution and we do not support democratic movements. We need oil for our economy, and for that we need a stable Middle East. Only when there is peace will oil flow."

Anti-missile defense talks between Russia and USA: possible consequences

Russia and the US are getting ready to have another round of anti-missile defense talks. It happens so that the topic became the major one in the Russia-US bilateral relations. Moscow is really concerned about the USA’s anti-missile defense in Europe.

The disputes are obviously dragged out. There are two parties participating in the disputes – Russia and the USA. However, there are some other parties concerned. Sometimes it seems that the 2 parties just talk about different notions and do not want to understand each other.

USA’s stance:

According to Evgeny Olkhovsky, the leading expert of Masterforex-V Academy, the US authorities, who started the confrontation, are constantly speaking about their desire to deploy some anti-missile defense systems in Eastern Europe.

According to the US, the new anti-missile defense program should will a reliable shield protecting Europe and America from possible nuclear attacks that can be initiated by North Korea and Iran. There is some logic in the statement because the new idea appeared after Teheran started its own nuclear program while Pyongyang started nuclear weapons testing.

Russia’s reaction was negative. The Russian authorities thought that the new anti-missile defense system is designed to defend Europe and America first of all against Russia. The first round of talks damaged the US-Russian bilateral relationship.

Turkey to Iran: stop spoiling Assad!

Turkey has warned Iran "not to spoil" the Syrian leadership whose security forces have been cracking down on protesters since mid-March, a Turkish daily quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Friday.

Erdogan told the daily Hurriyet, "I cannot say there has been tension with Iran but we warned them (the Iranians) that 'the Assad administration is getting spoiled with your encouragement.'"

Erdogan said he had discussed the matter with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Later he sent an envoy. We talked with him too. There has been a change in their approach," Erdogan said.

Turkey has expressed frustration with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his iron-fisted regime for failing to listen to the people, whose almost daily demonstrations for democracy have been met with violent repression, at a cost of more than 2,600 lives according to the UN.

Iran is concerned about the possible collapse of its principle ally in the Middle East and has never condemned Syria for the violence while suppressing mass protests, as it has supported similar protests in other Arab countries.

Iran Demands Turkey Explain NATO Missile Shield on Its Soil

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi on Saturday called on Turkey to explain its plan to deploy a NATO missile shield system in its territory, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Salehi said the radar system which will be set up in Turkey has caused concerns in Iran and other neighboring countries, according to Mehr.

Iran does not think such a system is necessary, taking into consideration the current developments in the region, Salehi said, adding that Iran hopes that Turkey will provide necessary explanations on this issue.

Iran always seeks to solve its problems with the neighboring countries and to move in the direction of ensuring peace, security and stability in the region, the Iranian foreign minister said, " We hope to continue the same path in the future."

Salehi also expressed hopes that all the regional countries will narrow their differences and avoid providing any opportunity for their enemies who are seeking to sow discord among the regional nations.

According to earlier reports, a NATO warning radar system is going to be deployed in Turkey by the end of this year and it will be used to track missile launched from Iran.

xinhua