ViceZilla’s Views

For what its worth, here is the complete text of a letter to Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University in response to his “welcoming” speech of President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The following is the full text of the letter.

Mr. Lee Bollinger
Columbia University President

We, the professors and heads of universities and research institutions in Tehran , hereby announce our displeasure and protest at your impolite remarks prior to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent speech at Columbia University.

We would like to inform you that President Ahmadinejad was elected directly by the Iranian people through an enthusiastic two-round poll in which almost all of the country’s political parties and groups participated. To assess the quality and nature of these elections you may refer to US news reports on the poll dated June 2005.

Your insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the president of a country with a population of 72 million and a recorded history of 7,000 years of civilization and culture is deeply shameful.

Your comments, filled with hate and disgust, may well have been influenced by extreme pressure from the media, but it is regrettable that media policy-makers can determine the stance a university president adopts in his speech.

Your remarks about our country included unsubstantiated accusations that were the product of guesswork as well as media propaganda. Some of your claims result from misunderstandings that can be clarified through dialogue and further research.

During his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad answered a number of your questions and those of students. We are prepared to answer any remaining questions in a scientific, open and direct debate.

You asked the president approximately ten questions. Allow us to ask you ten of our own questions in the hope that your response will help clear the atmosphere of misunderstanding and distrust between our two countries and reveal the truth.

1- Why did the US media put you under so much pressure to prevent Mr. Ahmadinejad from delivering his speech at Columbia University? And why have American TV networks been broadcasting hours of news reports insulting our president while refusing to allow him the opportunity to respond? Is this not against the principle of freedom of speech?

2- Why, in 1953, did the US administration overthrow the Iran’s national government under Dr Mohammad Mosaddegh and go on to support the Shah’s dictatorship?

3- Why did the US support the blood-thirsty dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, considering his reckless use of chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers defending their land and even against his own people?

4- Why is the US putting pressure on the government elected by the majority of Palestinians in Gaza instead of officially recognizing it? And why does it oppose Iran ’s proposal to resolve the 60-year-old Palestinian issue through a general referendum?

5- Why has the US military failed to find Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment? How do you justify the old friendship between the Bush and Bin Laden families and their cooperation on oil deals? How can you justify the Bush administration’s efforts to disrupt investigations concerning the September 11 attacks?

6- Why does the US administration support the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) despite the fact that the group has officially and openly accepted the responsibility for numerous deadly bombings and massacres in Iran and Iraq? Why does the US refuse to allow Iran ’s current government to act against the MKO’s main base in Iraq?

7- Was the US invasion of Iraq based on international consensus and did international institutions support it? What was the real purpose behind the invasion which has claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives? Where are the weapons of mass destruction that the US claimed were being stockpiled in Iraq?

8- Why do America’s closest allies in the Middle East come from extremely undemocratic governments with absolutist monarchical regimes?

9- Why did the US oppose the plan for a Middle East free of unconventional weapons in the recent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors despite the fact the move won the support of all members other than Israel?

10- Why is the US displeased with Iran’s agreement with the IAEA and why does it openly oppose any progress in talks between Iran and the agency to resolve the nuclear issue under international law?

Finally, we would like to express our readiness to invite you and other scientific delegations to our country. A trip to Iran would allow you and your colleagues to speak directly with Iranians from all walks of life including intellectuals and university scholars. You could then assess the realities of Iranian society without media censorship before making judgments about the Iranian nation and government.

You can be assured that Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests.

Read it Here

Tags: Media Idiots by vicezilla
No Comments »

Parts of a transcript from an interview of President Bush by Al Arabiya, an Arabic-language television station based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

President Bush, interviewed “in the room where I make decisions,” said that he “never really thought about the decision to put men and women in harm’s way” when he was running for president.

But the war in Iraq is necessary, Bush said, noting that he has “made a pledge to the American people” to settle his dispute with Iran diplomatically. He dismissed as “empty propaganda” and “baseless gossip” rumors in the Arab press that he is planning a strike against Iran this winter.

“One of the hardest things for me is to meet with a mother,” Bush said. “I met with a mother yesterday in Pennsylvania who lost her son in combat. And you know, those can be very tearful and emotional moments, and I understand that. And my — the only thing I try to do is provide as much comfort as I can, and to assure the mom, in this case, that I thought the decision was necessary for peace, and necessary for our security; and that I valued the fact that her son would volunteer, and that I vowed to honor that sacrifice by achieving our objectives.

“Well, first of all, I believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God,” he said. “I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren’t religious people.

Oh really? Does that above statement include you as well Mr. Bush?

I find it funny that Bush claims he “made a pledge to the American people” to settle HIS dispute with Iran.

Hey Chimpy, leave US out of anymore of your disputes. You’ve gotten US into enough trouble already!

Read more

Tags: Bush Administration, War in Iraq by vicezilla
No Comments »

LONDON (Associated Press) - An Iranian opposition group claimed Saturday that Iran’s capture of 15 British sailors and marines was planned in advance and carried out in retaliation for the U.N. sanctions imposed against the country, as an Iranian diplomat said the case had entered a legal phase.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran” the political wing of the Iranian MEK opposition group which is listed as a terrorist group by Britain, the U.S. and the European Union” said the British crew’s capture was planned in advance, but offered no evidence to support the claims.

Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami told reporters on Saturday that he hopes the current standoff will be resolved peacefully “instead of facing a new disaster not only for Iranian-British relations, but for Iran internationally.”

As the reasons for the war on terror are becoming unraveled at an alarming pace, the political finger pointing and rhetoric are reaching “Pinocchio” proportions. Seemingly one lie that started this whole war/occupation nonsense in the first place, has evolved into a multi-country game of chicken. Who’s telling the truth? Who knows at this stage. But it looks as though things are going to get worse before they get better.

Tags: War on Terror by vicezilla
No Comments »

Q: What’s more maddening than the Bush Administration lying to it’s people, and the world in order to start an illegal war against a Middle Eastern country?

A: A potential Presidential candidate singing about bombing another Middle Eastern country!

Don’t be alarmed. That banging you are hearing is just the sound of my head bouncing against the wall. I keep on flicking the channels on my TV hoping to hear the voice of Peter Funt declare, “Smile, your on Candid Camera!” But there must be a technical glitch somewhere, because all I keep hearing is Senator John “village idiot” McCain singing “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran” to the beat of the Beach Boys Barbara Ann song.

I now realize that I am going senile! Yes, I can’t deny it any more. I am officially certifiably crazy! Why am I crazy, you ask? Because it is inconceivable. Absolutely impossible that a person hoping to become the next President of the United States, would do, or say something so utterly STUPID in public. It’s impossible for my head to grasp that reality, so it must be a trick my mind is playing on me. Some sort of very bad acid flashback.

Now I know it’s a lie because FOX news is reporting it! Whew, I thought I was a nut case there for a moment! Crap, I am crazy after all! It’s all over the network news channels. Internet too! Somebody please tell me I’m not hearing what I think I’m hearing!

OK, it’s true. John McCain is in fact the Arizona Idiot! It’s now confirmed. I thought he was done playing the idiot after he tried to convince the world that Iraq is a much safer place now than it was 4 years ago, after his leisurely stroll through the streets of war ravaged Baghdad a few weeks ago.

Now this lyrical vomit that has spewed from his mouth should serve to drive a nail in his nomination campaign’s coffin. Right? He’s not going to be able to run for President, right?

Senator Idiot’s,err I mean McCain’s comment only strengthens the fact that the Republican Party, under George W. Bush has become a war mongering “Old Boys Club”.

Just look at who Bush has surrounded himself with. These are just a few of Bush’s “Old Boy Club”.
Cheney: No need to analyze this guy. He’s only in it for the oil, with his buddy Bush.
Rove: “Bush’s Brain”. Need I say more?
Gonzalez: Bush owes him a “solid” for his help way back in Texas when Bush ran into legal trouble. So it’s only fitting that Bush announces that the Attorney General doesn’t have to testify under oath about the part he played in the firing of several US attorneys.
Rumsfeld: He’s no longer in the picture, but you get the idea.
Wolfowitz: Here’s the guy that explained how the war in Iraq could pay for itself by using revenue from Iraq’s oil sales. Isn’t it funny how Bush is demanding more tax dollars to fund the military occupation of Iraq?

Now we have another Republican “Old Boy” wanting to throw his hat in the ring to be President of the United States. I wonder if he realizes that his credibility with American voters is shot after his remarks? Probably not, because Bush doesn’t realize that America’s credibility is also shot with the world population because of his remarks and actions leading to the war in Iraq.

McCain’s Verbal Vomit

Tags: Political Rhetoric by vicezilla
No Comments »

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - The United States has growing evidence of Tehran’s involvement in destabilizing Iraq, with more sophisticated Iranian weapons being found, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.
Jim Jeffrey, principal deputy assistant secretary of State for Near East Affairs, said Iranian interference in Iraq had intensified in recent months. Tehran denies this.

“It’s growing, it’s quite frightening. We are getting much more accurate indirect fire and we see this as both Iranian munitions and possibly Iranian training,” Jeffrey said in an interview with Reuters.

He said over the last couple of months many more recently manufactured Iranian rockets and other “modern munitions” had found their way into Iraq. He did not provide figures.

“It is various caliber mortars and rockets and better, what we call, fire control,” said Jeffrey, whose main dossier is Iran at the State Department.

This rhetoric coming from Washington sounds eerily familiar. Whether or not Iran is involved in these allegations, the truth is the world is not going to be so easily fooled by Bush’s “evidence” again.

It was Bush after all who so eloquently stated, “”There’s an old saying in Tennessee , I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says, fool me once, shame on , shame on you. Fool me , you can’t get fooled again.”

Tags: War in Iraq by vicezilla
No Comments »