Imad Mughnieh got killed; the man who, according to David Barkay (a former major in unit 504 of Israeli military intelligence who was in charge of Mughniyeh’s file), had “no weak points, no women, money, drugs – nothing” to endanger him.
I don’t know how he got trapped or who won the sum of US$25 million dedicated to his head (dead or alive) by FBI. Israel denies responsibility, though there are some evidences which suggest that this regime might have been a determinant to the attack, including the number of ‘Israel’s enemies’ killed by car bombing since Dagan was appointed to direct Mossad in 2002. Hizbollah vows to retaliate and promises ‘an open war’ if Israelis are eager to embrace this kind of war.
I wonder what would have been likely to happen if (late?) Sharon had been assassinated in New York with Hizbollah denying responsibility. Not so hard to imagine the consequences of such an event when we consider that Israel devastated a country in response to so-called kidnapping of two of her soldiers by a movement which fights a legally-defined occupation, whatever the intentions of that group.
February 21, 2008
The man who had no weak point
February 9, 2008
Iran determined to fight AIDS
Dr. Mohammad Reza Jahani, Vice President of 'Committee to Counteract Drugs', announced that two condom machines would be installed in poor districts of Tehran. These machines would serve sterile syringe as well.
Multiple use of the same syringe is believed to be number one cause of AIDS infection between drug addicts. Beforehand, sterile syringes were to be distributed in prisons where drug addicts used to share one syringe. This is part of a comprehensive effort to fight AIDS. This effort included a plan to produce introductory materials for high school students, describing AIDS and ways to avoid HIV infection. Use of condom was introduced to students as well, and Ayatollahs in Qom (the city located in south of Tehran and home to the most powerful and conservative Shiite clergies) appeared to be approving of the plan.
Dr. Mohammad Reza Jahani added that Iran is the main route of drug smugglers transporting opiates from Afghanistan (number one producer of opium) to Mideast, Turkey and Europe, and this fact contributes to the higher risk of addiction in Iran.
Source: Isna (Persian)
Period.
February 4, 2008
His Undeniable Charisma
Ahmadinejad, during nearly 3 years of his presidency, failed to fulfill some of his well-known slogans, such as those mentioned by Elinor. One might even doubt if he really were determined to do some of those slogans, i.e. they were just some slogans to win the election.
But, it's worth noting that Ahmadinejad distributed a very huge amount of money between people, a fair part of it distributed in non-metropolitan populations; this would lead to a short-term convenience for people though followed by a long-term inflation. He built (or at least began to build) several hospitals in small cities which have been mostly neglected areas during previous administrations; he paid visit to almost every part of this country, while some of these people have not ever graced to meet a provincial governor during previous administrations; to conclude, he has done several things (either real action or just propaganda) to win the hearts of the people out of metropolises… and, to my knowledge, he has been successful to reap some short-run benefits (in the terms of increased popularity and else) in the expense of long-run national benefits (for example, during his current term, the amount of money in this country got almost doubled, an unprecedented event which will cause a great damage to the economy of this country in the coming years).
