02/03/12

Permalink Barak: If sanctions fail, Iran must be hit

Israel's top sociopaths are busy little warmongering bees: Barak: If sanctions fail, Iran must be hit --Ya'alon says Tehran is developing missiles capable of reaching the United States. 03 Feb 2012 Claiming that all of Iran's nuclear facilities are vulnerable and that a military option is real and ready to be used if sanctions fail, Israel's top political and military leadership issued a series of warnings to the Islamic Republic on Thursday in some of the most candid comments on the [alleged] nuclear threat in years. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said there was a consensus among many nations today that if diplomacy and sanctions failed to stop Iran, a military strike should be launched. "If sanctions don't achieve the desired goal of stopping [Iran's] military nuclear program, there will be a need to consider taking action," he declared.

Haaretz: 'Certain countries' could take Iran nuclear matter into their own hands, U.K. official says
Haaretz: Panetta lets stand report that Israel may attack Iran by June
Russia Today: ‘Israel to strike Iran in April, May or June’ – US Defense Sec
John Glaser: Israel Ramps Up Push for Attack on Iran
ANSWER: “No War on Iran” protests Feb. 4 set for at least 56 cities - 12 noon at the White House

Permalink Europe's Cold Snap Claims More Lives

Eastern and central Europe continue to shiver under a blanket of heavy snow Friday, with more deaths reported after bitter cold overnight temperatures.

Ukraine is probably the worst affected, with Poland, Romania, Serbia and Belarus also suffering much more severe winter conditions than usual. Thirty-eight people have died of hypothermia in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, according to the state-run news agency Ukrinform, citing government ministries. The latest deaths take the total number killed in Ukraine in the cold spell that started January 27 to 101, the news agency reported. Twenty-nine people had died in Poland as of Thursday, according to the publicly funded Polish Radio's news website. Other cold-related deaths have been reported in Serbia, Romania and elsewhere.

Joe Lowry, spokesman for the International Red Cross Europe Zone, said many people across the region are in urgent need of help. "If 163 people have frozen to death on the European streets, it is a disaster," he told CNN. The homeless and elderly are among the most vulnerable, Lowry said, as well as those who often find themselves on the margins of society, such as alcoholics or people with mental health issues. He said the Red Cross is helping people by providing warm clothing, boots, hot drinks and food, as well as shelter in heated tents and moral support. Local authorities must also react effectively to the crisis to save lives, he said. The sudden start to the bitter cold weather after what had been a mild winter for some parts of Eastern Europe caught many people unaware, Lowry said.

EuroNews: Europe’s homeless dying in arctic conditions
The Telegraph: Europe's cold spell: Death toll rises to 220 and no end in sight

Permalink Google starting to censor blogs

Following Twitter’s decision last month to begin censoring the messages of users based on restrictions of their respective countries, Google has followed suit and announced that it will begin a similar practice with its own blogging service. - Blogger, the web-log service run by Internet giant Google, will begin censoring the personal posts of its users in order to comply with local laws rather than encouraging an internationally open Internet. While the company has previously allowed users of the World Wide Web to post wide-open opinions on its Blogger site, it will now allow individual jurisdictions to govern what can and can’t be posted on the Web. Under Google’s new policies, personal pages hosted on Blogger will be redirected to country-specific URLs, such as “.in” for India and “.au” for Australia. The company writes that “Migrating to localized domains will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law.” By implementing this, adds Google, “content removals can be managed on a per country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers." Specifically, they acknowledge that "Content [will be] removed due to a specific country's law.”

Permalink US, allies exploring prospects for Assad exile

The United States, European governments and Arab states have begun discussing the possibility of exile for Bashar al-Assad despite skepticism the defiant Syrian president is ready to consider such an offer, Western officials said on Wednesday. - While talks have not progressed far and there is no real sense that Assad's fall is imminent, one official said as many as three countries were willing to take him as a way to bring an end to Syria's bloody 10-month-old crisis. Two sources said no European states were prepared to give Assad sanctuary, but one official said the United Arab Emirates might be among those open to the idea. With the White House insisting for weeks that Assad's days in power are numbered, it was unclear whether this marks an attempt to persuade the Syrian leader and his family to grasp the chance of a safe exit instead of risking the fate of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who was hunted and killed by [the CIA's] rebels last year. But with Assad showing he remains in charge of a powerful security apparatus and the Syrian opposition fragmented militarily, it could also be an effort to step up psychological pressure and open new cracks in his inner circle.

Permalink Haaretz: Netanyahu misuses the Holocaust for cheap political stunts

Anti-Semitism must be condemned, exposed, and persecuted – but to keep warning that the next holocaust is around the corner is intellectually dishonest, morally problematic, and politically unwise. - The Holocaust is one of humanity’s most terrible historical episodes and the greatest horror that has befallen the Jewish people. It must be remembered and it must be studied. The Holocaust must, by no means, be used for political purposes. Never, and by no one.
It is time for Benjamin Netanyahu to stop misusing the Holocaust. I want to make it very clear: I do not compare Netanyahu’s use of the Holocaust to either the obscene abuse of Holocaust paraphernalia by Haredi demonstrators, nor to Glenn Beck’s smearing of George Soros. But in order to protect the memory of the holocaust, Netanyahu must stop using it as a trump card to score political points. Doing so cheapens the Holocaust; it clouds the mind, and it distorts historical and political judgment.

Permalink Bruce Springsteen on Steven Van Zandt’s Netflix series ‘Lilyhammer’

“Fargo” meets “Sopranos” meets…well, Norway. Netflix unveiled its first crack at original programming tonight in New York City.

The new series is called “Lilyhammer” and it stars former “Sopranos” star and current E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt. He plays a mobster from New York who chooses, of all places, a very snowy Norway for witness protection because he liked watching the Olympics on TV there and because he wants to avoid Florida because melanoma is for the old mob guys.

His new name is Giovanni Hendriksen and he’s 100 percent wise guy. But instead of burying Adriana, he’s on snowshoes with a pistol chasing a killer wolf. He’s wearing reindeer sweaters too, and he’s endearing himself to his new countrymen. In fact, one refers to him as “the classiest immigrant I’ve ever met.”

The premiere party tonight featured “Sopranos” cast members, plus Tony Bennett, Harvey Weinstein, Lorraine Bracco and many other stars. Van Zandt joked that the show had a budget equal to that of the catering budget for “Boardwalk Empire.”Oh, and did we mention The Boss, Bruce Springsteen was there? Speakeasy caught up with him after the screening and asked him what he thought. “I loved it, it was fun. It was fun to see my buddy,” Springsteen said. At the after party Van Zandt told us Netflix came to him with the idea for the show. "Lilyhammer” premiered in Norway in late January and will be available here on Netflix on February 6, 2012.

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