Iranian leader 'not anti-Semite'

[Snoshi]

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he is not an anti-Semite.

"Jews are respected by everyone, by all human beings," he told a news conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The remarks come months after Mr Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be wiped off the map - and described the Holocaust as "myth".

In response to questions about Iran's controversial nuclear programme, he said the Iranians "do not need a bomb".

The Iranian president's comments on anti-Semitism came during remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem.

"No, I am not anti-Jew," he said. "I respect them very much."

"Let us remember that there in Palestine there are Muslims, Christians and Jews who live together," he said.

Later, he added: "We love everyone in the world - Jews, Christians, Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Jews, non-Christians... We are against occupation, aggression, killings and displacing people - otherwise we have no problem with ordinary people."

'Nuclear talks'

The Iranian president said he was "at a loss" in understanding what further guarantees Iran needed to provide to prove its nuclear programme was, as it claims, entirely for civilian purposes.

Iran has failed to meet a UN deadline to suspend the enrichment of uranium.

However, Mr Ahmadinejad said talks with the EU on the issue were "on the right path".

"Hopefully others will not disrupt the work," he said

He said Iran was willing to negotiate on suspending uranium enrichment "under fair and just conditions", but gave no timetable.

Mr Ahmadinejad also accused the US of double standards, asking what it had done to destroy its own nuclear weapons and accusing it of developing new ones.

'Old system'

In comments taking in issues ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Hurricane Katrina, the Iranian president was also critical of the international political system.

He said the current system emanated from a "group of victors who emerged from a world war and are ruling the world".

He said that some members of the UN Security Council sat in judgement of other countries, despite the fact that they were parties to some of the world's conflicts.

He did not specify which countries he was referring to.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Ahmadinejad accused the US and UK of using the UN Security Council for their own ends.

He accused the two of being prosecutor, judge and jury in their differences with other countries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5368458.stm


Does he suffer from Schizophrenia or some other dual personality disorder?

[BusterHyman]

All of the above.

[Snoshi]

Later, he added: "We love everyone in the world - Jews, Christians, Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Jews, non-Christians... We are against occupation, aggression, killings and displacing people - otherwise we have no problem with ordinary people."

^^ lol... they love everyone... Death to USA and Israel , death to the Satans...

[Moledet]

Yeah, they love and respect Jews, but they have to pick on the Jews that died in the holocaust while respecting the deads of all the other nations.

BTW, now Egypt wants "nuclear energy".

[mailmannz]

Gosh darn, why didnt the BBC push him on his many comments about destroying Israel?

Mailman

[John Crighton]

PLEASE correct me if i am wrong, but aren't muslims "semites" as well?

And yes, I do think he is a douche bag.

[XS203598]

Iranians are Persians. Arabs are Semitic people.

[fantomas]

Persians generally hate Arabs, have so for centuries. Abbasid empires resisted Arabic conquests throughout their history

[Hollis]

Iranians are Persians. Arabs are Semitic people.


Yes, but antisemitic does not mean anti-semitic.

It is a word with a meaning, Grew out of N.Germany, meaning anti-Jewish.

You can google Antisemitic of the definition.

[Daniel1115]

BTW, now Egypt wants "nuclear energy".I recall a few months back, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood announced in an interview that he wanted Egypt to have nuclear weapons.

[ofpbhd]

"I am not anti-Jew. I respect them very much....i ehhhh just want ta wipe em off da map is all" This guys funny. Btw, i made up part of that, just incase anyone wants to jump me for having some humour. p-)

[phoilme]

And you know, this idiot's flip-flopping is enough to passify the democrats in America. How they loved his superior intellect compared to that dummy Bush. I wish all two-bit scoundral "leaders" in this world would come over here and bash us. It's refreshing. Also exposes my enemies.

[CruddyLeper]

BTW, now Egypt wants "nuclear energy".

They sh1tcanned their nuclear programme back in the 90s. Don't sweat it, Google it.

EDIT: Appears ******* have deleted it. Here's the original;-



By Francois Murphy
VIENNA (*******) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chided Egypt in a confidential report Monday for failing to declare nuclear sites and materials but said its inspections had so far found no evidence Cairo is seeking nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in the report obtained by ******* that Egypt did not understand it had to declare some nuclear sites and materials, including a plant for separating plutonium, which can be used in an atomic bomb.

"The repeated failures by Egypt to report nuclear material and facilities to the agency in a timely manner are a matter of concern," the IAEA said in the report circulated to diplomats ahead of its Feb. 28 board of governors meeting.

The agency said it was still investigating, but added: "The nuclear material and facilities seen by the agency to date are consistent with the activities described by Egypt."

Egypt says its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes only.

The IAEA began looking closely at Egypt last year after learning its scientists had worked with uranium and other materials that could be used to make atomic weapons.

One facility Egypt failed to report was a hydrometallurgy pilot plant designed to separate small amounts of plutonium, which Cairo said it never completed.

Egypt signed construction contracts for the laboratory with a foreign company in the late 1970s and should have declared it under a safeguards agreement which came into force in 1982.

Egypt said it conducted tests at the plant in 1987 that would not have produced plutonium, the report said, adding that the plant was now used for work other than plutonium separation.

There are legitimate uses for plutonium, such as in reactors and nuclear waste management. However, Egypt also has a history of conflict with its neighbor Israel, which is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons.

Egypt failed to provide a complete inventory of its nuclear materials in 1982, including some uranium metal, which is used in fuel rods but can also be used to make weapons, the report said, adding that some of the metal was imported and some was made by Egypt. The amounts involved were small, the report said.

Current news story on Egyptian nuclear interest;-

http://today.*******.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-21T200725Z_01_MCC172343_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-EGYPT-MUBARAK.xml&archived=False

[Aptrganga]

Persians generally hate Arabs, have so for centuries. Abbasid empires resisted Arabic conquests throughout their history

Indeed, but this does not change the fact meanwhile they mostly are Arabs - genetically, many of them are into surgery in order to look "Aryan" ;)
- here's an Iranian cartoon about this:

http://tinypic.com/2wmncpd.jpg

[newb]

since when being anti-Israeil is antisemitic? this tactic of labeling someone who opposes Israeli's policies antisemite is getting old already.

[Hollis]

since when being anti-Israeil is antisemitic? this tactic of labeling someone who opposes Israeli's policies antisemite is getting old already.


Maybe or maybe not, But then again I guess you missed the dictionary meaning of antisemitic.
Or instead of hating Jews one can used the new term for Jews, "Zionist"... heck meanings of a word can be anything you want it to mean, right?:roll:

[Lt. James Anderson]

Well, I never understood that either. From time to time you can read in the newspapers that Arabs are antisemitic ... which doesn't make any sense at all.. To be antisemitic you have to dislike Jews, Arabs, Armenians, etc. not just one group. Arabs can't be antisemitic as that would mean they hate themselves which is BS.

[Mr.K]

armenians are semites??

[CruddyLeper]

Well, I never understood that either. From time to time you can read in the newspapers that Arabs are antisemitic ... which doesn't make any sense at all.. To be antisemitic you have to dislike Jews, Arabs, Armenians, etc. not just one group. Arabs can't be antisemitic as that would mean they hate themselves which is BS.

Had this very argument a couple of years ago... anti-semite comes from Germany. Was applied to hatred of Jews.

When it got imported into English, nobody actually thought to check who was Semtic and who wasn't.

Too late to fix it now. It means anti-Jew even though the use of it is illogical.

[Hollis]

Had this very argument a couple of years ago... anti-semite comes from Germany. Was applied to hatred of Jews.

When it got imported into English, nobody actually thought to check who was Semtic and who wasn't.

Too late to fix it now. It means anti-Jew even though the use of it is illogical.


Cruddy, I hope you can make some sense to him, I tried, OH Lordy have I tried.

I think some of these folks have gone and burnt their dictionaries.

[Snoshi]

Folks.. everyone knows that Arab are semitic.. But the term anti-semitic usually refers to anti-Jew.

[loganinkosovo]

Just another week at the U F'n N.

An Islamo-Fascist Thug Dictator Calls for an new aryan race and Prays for the End of the world.

A Communist Thug Dictator Calls President Bush the Devil.

Both of them Echo Move-on.org


http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/tehran_lunatic_spreads_his_vile_poison_in_nyc_regionalnews_clemente_lisi_and_andy_soltis.htm


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092000798.html



Time to move Kofi....Load up that POS you call a truck and move to Geneva.......Geneva, Switzerland that is. Diplomats, Prostitutes, Chocolate.......

[Mr.K]

Why thugs? Chavez and the other dude talk but don't walk the walk.

[loganinkosovo]

Why thugs? Chavez and the other dude talk but don't walk the walk.

Why Thugs?????

A$$mandinJihad is a Terrorist. He was the Head Terrorist that held the Hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Iran during the Jimmy "The Jacka$$" Carter Administration. 90% of the Iranian people hate him and his regime.


Chavez is a thug of the same magnatude as Castro.

For no apparent reason, the leftist strongman is arming Venezuela to the teeth. He's also supporting local narcoterrorists and other Latin revolutionaries.

Venezuela is stirring the security pot, too, sowing fear among its neighbors. From Russia, Chavez is buying 50 advanced MiG-29 fighters, 40 helicopter gunships and 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles. He's also bought arms from Spain and Brazil.
A cashiered former army colonel, Chavez also plans to increase the size of the army reserve as "an honorable answer to President Bush's intention of being the master of the world."
Gen. Bantz Craddock, commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command, finds Venezuela's weapon extravaganza worrisome because Chavez's motives are unclear. "We're wondering just what the intent here is," the general told the Senate in recent testimony.

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed040505a.cfm

The Iron Fist Of Chavez

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,146472,00.html


The Venezuela of Hugo Chávez: The truth in numbers
By Gustavo Coronel



In parallel with the Venezuela of words and promises that Hugo Chávez expertly delivers both inside and outside the country, there is a real Venezuela that is well known to Venezuelans but only vaguely known to the outside world. This real Venezuela is a sad country, where streets and avenues remain dark at night because cables and bulbs are vandalized or stolen, where the public art works of recently deceased Venezuelan master Jesus Soto are dismantled by scavengers to be sold as scrap metal (remember the environment portrayed in Mel Gibson's The Road Warrior or Mad Max?) and where thousands of street children drug themselves and sleep half naked in the sidewalks of our cities.

No matter how many times I describe these horrors and write about the tragic social involution generated by the authoritarian and now socialist regime of Hugo Chávez, there will always be many honest and idealistic people located outside Venezuela who will say: "This guy is exaggerating or, worse, he is lying. He probably lost his privileges when Chávez came into power. For all I know he is a corrupt member of the elite that Chávez is trying to dismantle." Therefore, I am trying now to present numbers, which corroborate this dismal picture of my country. Of course, people can always say that the numbers are not real, that the statistics serve to prove almost anything. Although this is true, I believe that many more people will pay attention to the Venezuelan tragedy generated by Hugo Chávez if I mention some numbers, almost all of which come from a source that is very credible: The Venezuelan Central Bank (http://web.archive.org/web/20050307064935/http://www.bcv.org.ve/EnglishVersion/Index.asp). These numbers came out before the President of the Bank was ousted by Chávez because he refused to hand over to the Chávez government the monies that properly belong in the Bank, since they represent a portion of the country's international reserves.

The numbers pertain to the six years, 1999 to 2004, of the Chávez period and show the chaotic economic performance of the Chávez regime.

1. The petroleum income during this period has been the highest in Venezuelan History.

The last five presidents of Venezuela have received the following amounts of money from petroleum production and sales:


Luis Herrera
USD $80.3 billion
Jaime Lusinchi

$51.4 billion

Carlos Andrés Pérez

$57.8 billion

Rafael Caldera

$73.3 billion

Hugo Chávez

$120.9 billion






Source: Venezuelan Central Bank

The Bank has also said that the Chávez income could be significantly greater as the government has failed to deposit petroleum income in the Bank, as the law dictates.

Where has this money gone?

2. During the same period the Gross Domestic Product has fallen 11%.


Meanwhile, during the period,

3. The expenditures of the government increased 323%.


And the public debt increased significantly, as follows:

4.


1998

2005
Internal Debt
$4.2 billion

$20.0 billion
External Debt
$23.3 billion

$24.8 billion

The total debt has increased by 63% in these six years, in spite of the highest petroleum income ever.

The volume of petroleum exports has fallen, due to the collapse of PDVSA in the hands of the regime.

5. In 1999 exports of petroleum were over 2.8 million barrels per day (b/d). In 2004 petroleum exports were of 2.4 million b/d, a drop of about 400,000 b/d, representing a loss to the country of some USD $6 billion only during that year and of some USD $25 billion during the Chávez period.

What we have had, then, is an inexplicable and unjustifiable situation, as follows:

6. During the period the Petroleum income has increased 142%, the national debt has increased 66%, public expenditure has grown 323% and the per capita Gross Domestic Product has decreased 11%.

But inflation is the highest in Latin America.

7. Accumulated inflation during 1998-2004 has been 292% but, worse, the inflation related to food costs has been 383%.

Workers salaries have remained far below food related inflation.

8. From 2002 onwards the gap between salaries and food inflation have widened. The word for this is impoverishment.

Unemployment is the highest in Latin America.

9. In December 1997 the rate of unemployment was 10.5%, 15% in December 1999, 19.5% in June 2003 and 16.7% in June 2004. These figures are official Venezuelan Central Bank figures but the Venezuelan Business and Labor associations claim that the real rates are always 3 to 4% higher. The rate of under-employment is close to 50% (including the people working as street peddlers).

Venezuela is one of the top ten countries in the world where hunger prevails. The growth of underfed population in these countries is as follows, 2000-2002:

10.
Country
% of growth of underfed

population
Jordan
300
Congo Democratic Republic
191
North Korea
119
Guatemala
100
Liberia
100
Botswana
100
Gambia
100
Swaziland
100
Venezuela
87
Turkey
80

Source: United Nations


These are some of the numbers that I felt were pertinent, in order to show what the reality of Venezuela has been under the self-proclaimed defender of the poor, Hugo Chávez. The reality is that our country, Venezuela, has been into a steep descent into chaos. What started out, six years ago, as a democratic feast has turned into a horrendous national tragedy characterized by inefficiency, corruption and ideological logorrhea. Six years ago Hugo Chávez said to Venezuelans that he would solve the political problems first and then he would tackle the social and economic problems. This sounded logical at the time but, six years later, he is still muddling through political problems artificially created by his egocentric manners, while the social and economic afflictions of Venezuelans have grown much worse. One of his cronies, Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez, in an effort to defend the increasingly authoritarian nature of the regime, claims that Latin Americans, given to choose between democracy and the solution of their economic problems would choose the latter. What he says is true since a survey of UNDP suggests that slightly more than half of Latin Americans feel that way. But this is not what we are experiencing in Venezuela. In our poor country we are witnessing a tragic double whammy of lack of democracy combined with galloping poverty.

This is a combination that no one in Latin America or anywhere else wants to experience.


www.venezuelatoday.net/gustavocoronel.html (http://www.venezuelatoday.net/gustavocoronel.html)



Venezuelan children: the greatest victims of Hugo Chávez

All of the dictators of our times have paid special attention to the education of children as a tool to consolidate their political power. Stalin's Pioneers and Hitler's Youth were programs that converted millions of children in blind followers of those dictators. In the Hispanic world Fidel Castro in Cuba, Francisco Franco in Spain, and Eva Peron in Argentina did the same, Castro in an intense manner through the Union of Communist Youth. In Venezuela we never had such attempts. From Guzman Blanco, in the 1870's, to our days Venezuelan dictators had no particular interest in creating a dynasty or an ideologically controlled state. Hugo Chávez is the first Venezuelan dictator trying to do so.

At this time Hugo Chávez is promoting a Venezuelan education program which consists of two main ideological components: one, the conversion of Venezuelan civil society into a military society; and the other, the creation of new generations of Venezuelans having a strong ideological affinity with the Socialist and Communist societies left in the world, the so-called rogue states. This is a process that has been taking place for some time now, before the eyes of an indifferent or unbelieving international audience, a repetition of what happened with Stalin, Hitler and Fidel Castro, to mention just three relatively recent historical examples. World opinion only reacted against these dictators long after they had converted their countries in tragic tools of their abnormal ambitions of supremacy. Even today, in spite of all the evidence, it's still possible to find pockets of vocal Stalin, Hitler or Castro admirers in the democratic world.

It is urgent that the world knows about the crime being committed today by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez in the field of education. The current Venezuelan Minister of Education, a man called Aristobulo Isturiz, leads the execution of this crime. Many years ago Isturiz was a teacher. He later became a labor union leader and entered politics. Although he was originally opposed to Chávez, to the point of suggesting that he used cocaine, he became one of his stooges in the customary manner the unprincipled are converted: he was given an "important" political position, that of Minister of Education. In this high post he loyally follows Hugo Chávez orders.

In a recent speech in the city of Barquisimeto, some 200 miles southwest of Caracas, Isturiz said the following (my translation):

"Teachers should be the first soldiers of the revolution." A Minister of Education in a civilized country could not utter such a statement. To educate is to teach the young to become capable of choice, to become members of a civilized, open society. Teachers who are ideologically committed to a Communist/Socialist revolution can only produce children who cannot think for themselves;



"Closing down private schools will not do any harm to Venezuelan education." Private schools in Venezuela represent the last stronghold of true education. Most Venezuelans have their children in private schools, including many Chávez followers. This is due to the dismal quality of public schools, where teaching is tragically poor and where the most basic equipment is lacking. However, the Chávez dictatorship is intent on closing them down because they still teach democratic values.



"The new Venezuelan education is becoming consolidated with the help of Cuban advisors." This statement is clearly indicative of what Chávez is doing to Venezuelan children, indoctrinating them just as Fidel Castro has indoctrinated Cubans. Castro has converted millions of Cubans in slaves. This is what Chávez is starting to do in Venezuela.



"We have a single boss: Hugo Chávez." This is the central theme adopted by the Venezuelan dictatorship for the education of Venezuelan children. Minister Isturiz acts like a pimp, bringing children to the government television station to recite poems and to sing songs praising Chávez, Castro and Che Guevara. This is what we remember from Hitler and Stalin's times. This is what has been done in Castro's Cuba.



"No Director of a public school shall have his, her job validated unless an evaluation is made, so that we are certain that they know what is the type of republic we want." In other words, either the Director of the school falls in line or is dismissed. No ideological deviations will be allowed. This is pure fascism.



"The curriculum has to be adapted to the historical reality of our country." In other words, what can be taught in Chávez's Venezuela is what fits into his ideological construct. This is the antithesis of true education, which has to do with the objective analysis of history.



"Those who claim that mass college education leads to loss of quality lie. We will simply not accept quality criteria as relevant." Minister Isturiz favors the elimination of all entrance examinations and passing grades (everybody should pass) and claims that selectivity in college education is not justified. In other words, thanks to the revolution anybody can be a medical doctor or an engineer. Although the members of the Chávez regime promote this philosophy of education, whenever they are ill they fly to Boston or Houston. They do not go to the Venezuelan public hospitals and put their lives in the hands of revolutionary doctors.

In the Venezuela of Hugo Chávez education has given way to political indoctrination of the worst kind. Children are becoming members of revolutionary cadres and are being armed by the criminal regime of Hugo Chávez. This is happening in Venezuela in the 21st-century, a country that is a member of the Organization of American States. This organization has a charter that specifically prohibits this type of perversion. But while the gentlemen representing their governments in this organization spend their days in air-conditioned comfort in Washington, one of the most beautiful cities of the world, a Venezuelan criminal called Aristobulo Isturiz, day after day, instills poison in the minds of Venezuelan children.

It is true that the first reaction should come from Venezuelans themselves. Are we Venezuelans just a bunch of cowards? Why don't we react?

Reading about the way Nazism, Fascism, Stalinism and Castroism took control of their societies it is not clear that this was due to the fact that all Germans, Italians, Russians and Cubans were a bunch of cowards. They proved their immense collective courage at other times. What is the problem then? I guess that societies subject to this type of process cannot realize what is happening to them because they are too close to the problem, immersed in a day to day progression that robs them of the possibility of acquiring a true perspective on the gravity of the problem. Many individuals are selfish and will not act until they themselves are touched by tragedy. Many are cowards, yes. Many see possibilities of advancement on the basis of the tragedy of others. Many just don't care. Many are plainly afraid and feel isolated from other citizens who might feel the same way. The overwhelming tendency for the members of these societies is to keep muddling through, hoping that something magical will happen or that somebody else will solve the problem for them.

I am convinced that if a well-known member of the international educational community took interest in the Venezuelan situation and started to talk about it, to denounce it as the crime it is, his could become the triggering mechanism needed by the Venezuelan educational community and by the parents of the millions of Venezuelan children who are in imminent danger of political indoctrination, to lead a massive protest against this crime.

I wish someone could help me in this crusade. Venezuelan children need immediate help.


http://venenews.net/gustavo-coronel/venezuela+children_victims_hugo-chavez.html

If you are unfamiliar with what happens to a country run by a thug dictator just go here to educate yourself.....

http://www.therealcuba.com/

[Moledet]

since when being anti-Israeil is antisemitic? this tactic of labeling someone who opposes Israeli's policies antisemite is getting old already.
He also denies the holocaust and claims that it's a conspiracy made by the Jews and that so many Jews were never killed.
He does this while not saying a word about the deads of any other group even though the Jews are just a part of the deads in WW2.

[Snoshi]

since when being anti-Israeil is antisemitic? this tactic of labeling someone who opposes Israeli's policies antisemite is getting old already.

Charles Small of Yale University conducted a study based on a survey of 5,000 people: 500 citizens in each of 10 European countries. Their report, published in August 2006, concluded that anti-Israel sentiment reliably predicted the probability that an individual was an anti-Semite, with the likelihood of measured anti-Semitism increasing with the extent of anti-Israel sentiment observed. The authors write that, based on their analysis, "when an individual's criticism of Israel becomes sufficiently severe, it does become reasonable to ask whether such criticism is a mask for underlying anti-Semitism." [96]

The study found that 56 percent of those who voiced strong anti-Israel opinions held anti-Semitic views. Those who believed the IDF "intentionally targets Palestinian civilians" and that Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israeli civilians are "justified" also believed that "Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind," "Jews have a lot of irritating faults," and "Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want."
http://www.h-net.org/~antis/papers/jcr_antisemitism.pdf