"We condemn such remarks as ugly and immoral, especially for someone who intends to lead a country claiming civilisation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said, smoking a killer cigarette supplied by US tobacco manufacturers...

Someone sneezes...

"We condemn such remarks as ugly and immoral, especially for someone who leads a country claiming civilisation..." US Secretary of State Rice said, bringing back on the table the desire by Tehran to annihilate Israel.

"Hey! We're terrorist thugs!!" Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini answered... "You've been telling us for yonks that's what we are..."

"What if we say we really love youse?" US Secretary of State Rice replied.

"Us or our oil?"

"Youse, really..."

"Then we love youse too" replied Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini... "and to tell the truth, we love Israel too. But it needs to do the hard yards towards helping their brothers, the Palestinians..."

"Bugger that.." said Olmert in a very diplomatic way.

"We will stop funding Israel from today if one more brick is laid to build Jewish settlements on occupied territories." admonished US Secretary of State Rice...

"Okay, okay... let's kiss each others.."

And all went to the pub for a ...

"Alcohol is illegal.." said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini...

"The counter-snacks are full of bacon!!!!!!" Popped Olmert.

And so the brawl started again...

No, gang... The Aussie pub crawl would not work to solve the world's problems... But you can carry on talking about it while enjoying a coldie...

From Robert Fisk

...

"You in the West have a moral duty in Europe to educate the United States more about the Middle East. If they don't listen to you, they will not listen to us. They will continue with their mistakes." I don't think they're going to listen, I mutter. But Mr Moallem is in full flow.

"When we announced our position in the Security Council against the invasion of Iraq, the Americans adopted a policy of isolating Syria. We know that the United States is a superpower and many countries prefer to follow its policies without question. We say: 'We differ ... we belong to a region where we are in the middle of the eye of the storm. The United States is 10,000km far away from us. We are directly involved and influenced by regional issues. We consider dialogue, despite differences, is the most important in diplomacy. The message of President Assad to France is that the old policies are wrong, that only dialogue can solve difficult issues."

When McCain was shot down, on October 26, 1967, he was busy bombing what he would describe as a "heavily populated part of Hanoi."

What follows is a a rather entertaining passage in which Moore then asks what you would do to a man who "fell out of the sky" after dropping bombs on you or your children. But the most important question comes at the end:

John McCain is already using the Vietnam War in his political ads. In doing so, it makes not just what happened to him in Vietnam fair game for discussion, but also what he did to the Vietnamese … I would like to see one brave reporter during the election season ask this simple question of John McCain: "Is it morally right to drop bombs and missiles in a 'heavily populated' area where hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians will perish?"
Of course, no member of the "mainstream" media is going to ask John McCain that question. (And given his famous quips on "Bomb-bomb-bomb-ing Iran" or, when asked to comment on the U.S. exporting cigarettes to the country, on the speculation that "Maybe that's a way of killing them,", the answer may be too disturbing to bear.) Regardless, this is the same press that obligingly calls McCain a "maverick" and McCain's campaign bus the "Straight-talk Express." Going after his war hero credentials? Why, that would be ... un-American.

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 See toon at top...

ps: I had to add here that the tactic of bombing civilian area was not new to Vietnam. Germany and France used it in the 1914-18 war, the US used it in blanket bombing of France and Germany in WWII, and of course used it in Hiroshima to the power of nuke too. Even Genghis Khan himself used to raid civilian areas — and the Roman armies did the same during their conquests. Thus war is a messy business. The masses cop it generally. What is to be noted is that the US is trying to "minimise" collateral damage in wars with new "targeting" technique that does nothing more that spin the same old: death, conquests, invasion, pillage, while trying to remodel the non-remodel-able. The more force is used the more resistance there is.... In Vietnam the damage was shown to be too great to the innocent. In Iraq, the embedding of the press made sure this damage would not be shown, ever again...

Washington has given rare approval for a research body to open an office in Iran, although it stressed United States policy had not changed.

The American Iranian Council was given a licence to establish a presence in Tehran by the US Treasury Department.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control enforces US sanction on Iran.

The AIC is a policy think tank devoted to improving relations between the US and Iran, which have been mutually hostile since Iran's 1979 revolution.

A spokesman for the US state department, which guides the policy for issuing non-governmental organisation (NGO) licences to places under US sanctions, like Iran, Sudan and Cuba, said the move did not signal any change in policy.

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Gus: The CIA could not do better than to get some thinkers on the ground in Iran... May be the US will learn sumpthin'... see toon at top

Amidst the financial wreckage around the world, one government is celebrating.

Watching the global gnashing of teeth, the Islamic Republic of Iran is enjoying the ride.

"We are very happy that America's economy is in jeopardy and they are paying the price for their misdeeds. God is punishing them."

That is the verdict from Ayatollah Jannati, one of the most senior clerics in Iran.

President Ahmadinejad has pronounced on the collapse of global capitalism, and announced that Iranians should stand ready to manage the world.

If there is a Persian word for "schadenfreude", this is it.

And for the moment, Iran does seem to be above the fray.

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Idiots...