Dreams Into Lightning 2

Well, that's quite a change from the Bush years.

"The study by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) will likely cast further doubt on Tehran’s denials that it is seeking atomic bombs as the UN nuclear agency prepares to publish a new report on Iran in the coming days."

Iran's Regrettable Failure

The White House put out a statement using more than the usual number of hand-wringing words like "regrettable" and "unfortunate".

"We regret the failure of Iran to reach an agreement this week with the IAEA that would permit the agency to fully investigate the serious allegations raised in its November report," the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Wednesday at his daily news conference.

The nuclear watchdog on Wednesday acknowledged its "failure" in trying to probe suspicions that Tehran has worked secretly on atomic arms. ...

Presumably this is diplo-speak for "we're really pissed". Go to the link for the rest; we'll see what happens next.

Random Roundup

I've been on hiatus for a while, due to a busy personal life. Here's a sampling of some odds and ends that caught my eye recently.

What have the Romans ever done for us? 'Like the rest of the Old City's streets, these straight roads are narrow but, unlike the others, they preserve a historical skeleton of sorts that forms the basis of the Old City we know today. This skeleton was created, most archaeologists agree, not during Jewish, Christian or Muslim rule, but during the Roman period, when the city of Aelia Capitolina was built on the ruins of Jerusalem following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. ...'

Breaking the eyeglass monopoly. 'Both fed-up and puzzled over paying hundreds of dollars for a product that’s been around for hundreds of years, the Warby Parker team is shaking up the eyewear industry by selling prescription glasses online, at a price tag of just $95 a pair. ...'

Lab-grown meat a step closer. 'We are happy to report that the first “shamburgers” should be coming off the grill in October—albeit for the paltry sum of $348,000 each and with a 10–20 year timetable for mass production. But don’t let these figures ruin your appetite; researchers expect to be able to scale up the process and dramatically reduce costs. ...' Winston Churchill was a proponent of the idea, not to mention Samuel R. Delany.

Clayton Sotos, visual innovator. The video is a spoof (er, obviously, Ace!) but it's a brilliant one.

Jihad Fail

The Iranian regime, in search of that elusive kaboom, apparently entrusted one Saeid Moradi with a suicide bombing operation. Mr. Moradi, for his part, seems to have been bent on setting the record for "most incompetent suicide bombing attempt":

An Iranian man carrying explosives blew off his own legs and wounded four other people in two blasts Tuesday in Bangkok, Thai authorities said. A third blast occurred in a nearby house.

Police say a passport found at the scene indicated the man was Saeid Moradi from Iran. Authorities in Tehran could not immediately be reached for comment.

I'll bet they couldn't.

I'll let Harry's Place have the last word on this:

Yes, I know Iranian agents will no doubt continue to try to kill Israelis. And unfortunately there’s a chance that sooner or later they’ll succeed. But in the meantime, I hope I can be excused for finding some grim humor in their failures.

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Morning Report: 2012-01-24

Laughter and tears in Iran. Firoozeh Dumas at Huffington Post: 'Two weeks ago, my translator in Iran, Mohammad Soleimani Nia, was arrested without any reason. For every one of you reading this article, his name means nothing but let me tell you something about my friend, Mohammad. ...' Read the rest at the link.

Would-be impostor arrested in Iowa. Des Moines Register:

A Des Moines man arrested Friday on charges he attempted to illegally use the identity of Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz had campaigned for President Barack Obama during the 2008 election cycle.

In addition, Zach Edwards, 29, was employed until Friday by a local political consulting firm well connected to Iowa Democrats.

Edwards was arrested on charges alleging he fraudulently used or attempted to use the identity of Schultz, a Republican, or Schultz’s brother, Thomas, with the intent to obtain a benefit. The alleged scheme was intended to falsely implicate Secretary Schultz in perceived illegal or unethical behavior while in office, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety. ...

More at the Iowa Republican. PowerLine: Not just a dirty trick, but a crime.

Russia to throw Assad under the bus? Via Stratfor (free): 'Russia can no longer help Syrian President Bashar al Assad, the Kremlin's Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee chairman and special Africa envoy Mikhail Margelov said Jan. 23, Reuters reported, citing Itar-Tass. ...'

Morning Report retires. I've been using the "Morning Report" format since May 14, 2004. At its best, it's been a useful gimmick for getting me to sit down at the computer and pick out a few important news items to collect in a single post. But my life is busier now than it was in 2004, and I'm finding that the self-imposed pressure of a (quasi-)daily feature is more of a deterrent to posting than an incentive. Blogging shouldn't be a chore.

So, the point is: Posting at Dreams Into Lightning will continue, and I am hoping that putting aside the Morning Report format will mean more posting, not less.

Living Under Terrorism

Hamden Rice on the legacy of Martin Luther King.

US - Israel Joint Exercise Cancelled

Israel and the US canceled a missile defense drill previously scheduled for April. The reasons aren't clear; officials made vague statements about "technical and logistical" problems.

It's also unclear whose idea it was to scratch the exercise; the Post says that

Talks about postponing the drill took the Americans, as well as the Israeli Air Defense division, responsible for missile defense, by surprise.

But according to Ynet,

Israeli officials said the Americans asked to delay the drill so as not to heighten tensions with Iran over its nuclear program and avoid drawing any additional attention from the Arab countries during such a turbulent period.

Meanwhile, Reuters, via Ha'Aretz, reports that Netanyahu is "disappointed" with the Obama administration's reluctance to approve tough sanctions on Iran. But Iran confirms receipt of a message by the United States regarding the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

UPDATE: Israeli officials say "Washington wants to avoid causing further tensions in region after various foreign reports of U.S. and Israeli preparations for strike on Iran".

CNN has more. It's notable that some of these reports cite the desire to avoid "unwanted headlines" as the reason for the delay, rather than a rift between US and Israel.

Ex-Observer Anwar Malek Speaks Out on Syria

"Blackmail ranged from threats of death, to public humiliation. We were meant to be monitoring a peace-keeping effort but instead watched people being killed, beaten up, and arrested by police, soldiers and militiamen," he related.

Pakistan Taliban Leader Reported Killed

Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike on January 12 in North Waziristan, according to Pakistani officials who cited radio intercepts.

Goldstone: The Report that Won't Die

UN Watch:

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the notorious UN Human Rights Council session that created the Goldstone Report, a 500-page document that excoriated Israel—for defending itself from deadly rockets—while exonerating Hamas.

The core charges of the report—that Israel's leadership intentionally plotted to murder Palestinian civilians, and did so from racist motives—were famously retracted by Judge Goldstone in op-eds published last year in the Washington Post and the New York Times. ...

Now the International Criminal Court is considering a Palestinian request to prosecute Israelis. Full story at the UN Watch link.

Morning Report: 2012-01-13

Al Qaeda in Somalia names new Kenya leader. Long War Journal: 'Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, has named a radical Kenyan preacher who has advocated jihad across the globe to lead to lead their branch in Kenya. The Muslim Youth Center, a radical Islamist group in Kenya, said that Shabaab named Sheikh Ahmad Iman Ali its "Supreme Amiir", or leader, on Jan. 10. The Muslim Youth Center released a statement on their blog, which was obtained by the SITE Intelligence Group. ...'

Iraq: Who controls the oil? Strategy Page:

While the Sunni Arab terror groups are being beaten, as long as they can still carry out their attacks, which mainly kill civilians, the entire Sunni Arab community will keep feeling the hate. In response, some Sunni Arab politicians are demanding an autonomous Sunni Arab state, extending from Baghdad (parts of which are still exclusively Sunni) north to Kurdish territory and west to the Jordanian border. Unfortunately, this idea has little support in the Sunni community because this autonomous Sunni Arab area has almost no oil. At the same time, the Kurds are allowing foreign firms to develop oil fields in areas the Kurds have controlled for two decades. This annoys the Shia dominated Iraq government but there is no enthusiasm for invading the Kurdish north. The Shia can take comfort in the fact that they still control most Iraqi oil. It's the oil, and billions in oil revenue, which occupies the attention of most Iraqis. Given the continued (since Saddam's rule) corruption and inept government, Iraqis have more to be upset about than a few terrorist bombings. If the corruption could be reduced, wiping out the terrorists would happen a lot more quickly. ...

Read the rest at the link, and scroll down to find out who's working with the Mossad and why.

More Arab League monitors quit Syria. Stratfor quotes Arab League monitor Anwar Malek on why he's getting out of Syria.

Turkey flirts with Hamas. Walter Russell Mead:

In the past, Hamas has drawn much of its funding and its political support from Israel’s most bitter opponents: Syria and Iran. Mubarak era Egypt and Kemalist Turkey wanted little to do with the Hamas.

Now increasing Islamist influence in both countries makes Hamas a much better match for them, ideologically at least. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see whether Hamas’ likely new paymasters and supporters will want to see Hamas position itself vis a vis Israel. Turkey and Egypt (who may become rivals in the next stage of Middle East politics) have different international interests and priorities than Syria and Iran. ...

Graffiti, Allenby Street, Tel Aviv

View of Yaffo

Tmol Shilshom

Allenby

Allenby Street, Tel Aviv. Taken 2011 November 13, Sunday.

Jaffa Street, Jerusalem

Japan On Board with Iran Sanctions

Reuters reports that Japan has agreed to cut Iranian oil imports and take other measures advocated by the United States, following a visit to Tokyo by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Full article at the link.