The comeback of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

It is clear that Iran’s former firebrand-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president from 2005-2013, is attempting a political comeback.

First were the well-timed media profiles of visitors making the pilgrimage to his home in Tehran’s Narmak neighborhood seeking favors; next, the Iranian press accounts of Ahmadinejad’s opportunistic trips to Iran’s provinces; then rumors from spokespeople that he intends to run for the presidency in 2017; and now a public letter to the president of the United States seeking the repatriation of $2 billion of assets frozen in the US.
But will all of these efforts and publicity help him succeed in reclaiming the presidency, and winning the mandate of the Islamic Republic’s hardliners?

An Iran poll survey suggests that the former president now trails incumbent Hassan Rouhani by just eight percentage points in a head-to-head match-up, compared with 27 points in May 2015. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story – indeed, Ahmadinejad faces an uphill battle in regaining the regime imprimatur due to heavy political baggage.

Ahmadinejad was the Supreme Leader’s darling when he began his reign in 2005. It is believed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quietly supported Ahmadinejad while his influential son Mojtaba openly endorsed him in 2005, all in the midst of a run-off between Ahmadinejad’s campaign and that of the moderate former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

But as early as 2008, the bloom was beginning to come off the rose, with reports circulating that Khamenei was disappointed with Ahmadinejad’s economic policies, which “had led to steep inflation in basic necessities, from food to property values.”

Then came his hotly contested reelection in 2009, which saw the Supreme Leader publicly bless Ahmadinejad’s purported victory during a dispute between his camp and that of his challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. But at the same time, the cracks in the relationship continued to grow, with the Supreme Leader having to publicly chastise Ahmadinejad for his accusations of corruption against his opponents during live televised debates, saying “[o]ne doesn’t like to see a nominee, for the sake of proving himself, seeking to negate somebody else.”

Ahmadinejad soon fell even deeper out of favor. In 2011 he fired his intelligence minister, accusing him of being a spy who disseminated information to the Supreme Leader on his chief of staff – and preferred successor – Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. This led to Khamenei having to reinstate the intelligence chief, prompting Ahmadinejad to begin his “great sulk” – not appearing in public or participating in cabinet meetings for two weeks.

The mullahcracy in Tehran long had its eye on Mashaei, whom it suspected of attempting to undermine their religious authority.

Throughout the rest of his presidency, a fifth clerical column routinely targeted Ahmadinejad’s allies – in 2011 he saw at least 25 lieutenants arrested and accused of “black magic.” According to media reports, one arrested supporter was dubbed by a conservative daily as a “man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with unknown worlds” and was “accused of summoning a genie, who caused his interrogator to have a heart attack.”

By the 2013 presidential campaign season, the former president was considered damaged goods. In a final political rebuke, rumors ran rampant in Tehran that Ahmadinejad would face 74 lashes or six months in jail after he illegally accompanied Mashaei to register as a candidate. In the end his loyal confidante Mashaei was barred from running for the presidency.

Even after Ahmadinejad left office his record continued to haunt the halls of power in Tehran.

His first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, was sentenced to five years in prison and forced to pay a $300,000 fine on undisclosed embezzlement charges; Hamid Baqaei, Ahmadinejad’s vice president for executive affairs, was arrested in 2015 on unspecified grounds; his ally and billionaire Babak Zanjani was sentenced to death for fraud and economic crimes in profiting off of sanctions imposed on Iran; current regime officials have called for Ahmadinejad himself to stand trial for mismanagement of the country; and the most recent “pay slip-gate” furor over the inflated salaries of the heads of state-owned companies seems to have begun during his reign.

Finally, let’s not forget the power of the Guardian Council. There is a precedent for a former president being prohibited from running for the presidency again: in 2013, the Guardian Council thwarted former president Rafsanjani’s ambitions for a third term, suggesting that Rafsanjani was too old. His battles – like Ahmadinejad’s – with the Supreme Leader have become legendary.

Ahmadinejad could find himself sharing a similar fate.

So, while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is once again entering the political limelight, his record and reputation precede him. His list of enemies is long, but will memories of his reign be short with the lack of economic improvement in the aftermath of the Rouhani administration’s nuclear deal? Only time will tell.

Official Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-comeback-of-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-464765

Turkish tanks enter Syria to clear ISIS from Jarablus

Turkish tank units have entered Syria as part of a military operation backed by Turkish and US-led coalition warplanes to clear the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group from the Syrian border town of Jarablus, according to Turkish state media.

Turkish special forces had crossed the border and entered Jarablus early on Wednesday, officials said.

“The operation, which began at around 4am local time (01:00 GMT), is aimed at clearing the Turkish borders of terrorist groups, helping to enhance border security and supporting the territorial integrity of Syria,” Anadolu Agency quoted Turkish officials as saying.

Turkish media said the operation involved artillery and rocket shelling as well as warplanes, before the ground forces, including heavy armoured vehicles, entered Syria towards noon.

So far, Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters backed by Turkey have captured four villages and total of 46 ISIL fighters have been killed in the operation, Dogan news agency said on Wednesday.

Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that Turkish tanks in Syrian territories blocked ISIL’s support routes and Turkish fighter jets along with coalition jets pounded ISIL vehicles headed from the al-Bab region to support ISIL fighters in the Jarablus area.

Meanwhile some 5,000 FSA fighters, including groups from the Sultan Murat Brigade, Sukur al-Jeber, Sham Front and Feylek al-Sham, were reportedly advancing toward central Jarablus.

PYD and ISIL targeted

The operation is targeting ISIL and Syrian Kurdish fighters in northern Syria to end attacks on Turkey’s border, President Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in the capital Ankara on Wednesday.

“At 4:00 this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country, like Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIL] and the PYD [the Syrian Kurdish group],” he said in a speech in Ankara.

Turkey had pledged on Monday to “completely cleanse” ISIL fighters from its border region after a suicide bomber suspected of links to the group killed 54 people at a Kurdish wedding in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Turkey is also concerned about the growing influence of Syrian Kurdish groups along its border, where they have captured large expanses of territory since the start of the Syrian war in 2011.

Turkey sees them as tied to the PKK, which has been waging an armed campaign mainly in the country’s southeast.

“It is hard to conduct this operation without the green light from Moscow, Tehran, Damascus and Washington,” Metin Gurcan, security analyst, told Al Jazeera from Istanbul.

“The open objective in this operation is that Turkey is trying to create an ISIL-free humanitarian zone by clearing Jarablus for possible flow of refugees,” he said.

“The covert objective is another one. The PYD’s recent advances alarmed Ankara. Turkey aims to deny the PYD’s objective of connecting cantons it controls and creating monolithic Kurdish entity.”

The military operation against ISIL comes as Syrian rebels, backed by Turkey, also say they are in the final stages of preparing an assault from Turkish territory on Jarablus, aiming to pre-empt a potential attempt by Syrian Kurdish forces of PYD to take it.

The PYD, a critical part of the US-backed campaign against ISIL, took near-complete control of Hasaka city on Tuesday.

The group already controls chunks of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syria war – a development that has alarmed Turkey.

Official Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/turkish-tanks-enter-syria-clear-isil-jarablus-160824082508482.html

Breaking News: Red Heifer Born!!

‘In next war, thousands of rockets will hit in heart of Israel’

Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan, speaking at a conference today (Monday) shared some projections of what a future conflict in Lebanon would bring to the home front in Israel’s heartland.

“In the 2nd Lebanon war, 70 tons of explosive warheads hit Israel. Let’s estimate the next war will bring four times that and round up. So we’re talking about 300 tons per month. That’s equal to what our Air Force drops in five hours.”

However, Golan argued, the challenge was not insurmountable. “Don’t you think we can withstand this? Do we not have a national sense of  fortitude?”. He also offered statistics that brighten the picture somewhat, “Of all the rockets fired up till now, only 4% have hit in built up areas, and only 1% have hit buildings directly.”

Golan was speaking at a conference organized by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), marking the 10-year anniversary of the 2nd Lebanon war. NEMA was created in the wake of the aforementioned war to better coordinate military and civilian action during states of war or national disaster. Attendees at the conference include Amir Peretz, who was Defense Minister during the 2nd Lebanon war, the head of NEMA, the head of the Home Front Command, and other Defence and Emergency Response officials.

According to Golan, “We’re the country best equipped to deal with this kind of emergency. I look at the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. How many rockets will land there? Several dozens. We can handle that. The Home Front Command has prepared directives for all relevant government bodies, and we just need to make sure that everyone is doing their job and ensuring preparedness. Israel has a peerless early warning system that lets civilians know exactly what to do.”

Regarding preparations for dealing with the threat from Hezbollah, Golan said some populations may need to be evacuated from areas adjacent to the border, but made sure to note that he is “opposed in principal to evacuations, despite the fact that some small scale evacuations may be necessary.”

Golan summarized, “The IDF knows that the best defense is offense, the removal of the threat. We need to make sure to strengthen the home front, but make sure to remember that wars are won by accomplishing offensive objectives. We’ve had worse times in our history. Our situation is anything but catastrophic, no one has stopped fighting, and we need to keep our heads. The last war in Lebanon saw the deaths of 42 civilians and I certainly don’t dismiss this. It’s been difficult, and things will get more difficult, but there is no doubt we have the ability to handle the situation.”

Amir Peretz, who served as Defense Minister during the war, also spoke at the conference and warned of the inadequacy of the rocket and bomb shelter infrastructure in the North, saying “It’s not good, to put it mildly, and we can’t put it on the inhabitants of the North to solve it themselves.”

Regarding the lead-up to the war, Peretz said: “Our policy of containment created a perception on the Hezbollah side that we were frozen, and they took full advantage.”

Responding to recurring accusations that the IDF wasn’t operationally or logistically prepared for the war, Peretz demurred, saying: “I was Defense Minister for two months when the war started. I could have shifted responsibility for the results on to others, but I didn’t.”

Expressing pride in the war’s accomplishments, Peretz remarked that Israel had enjoyed “10 years of quiet on the northern front. Children don’t know what a Katyusha is and farmers can work in peace. I commend all who were a part of that military campaign and accomplished such wonderful things.”

Reflecting the conduct of the war itself, Peretz highlighted the constraints of the pre-Iron-Dome era. “I had to pay attention to what was going on in our offensive operations at Bint Jbeil and elsewhere and to the Home Front situation in Haifa, all at the same time. The Iron Dome isn’t only an effective military tool, it also gives command the ability to make decisions more calmly. Without it there are far more questions; to evacuate of not to evacuate? I am not a big fan of evacuations but sometimes it may be absolutely necessary as an executive decision and then that opens up the entire matter of where to put all the people who’ve left their homes.”

Peretz also addressed today’s agreement with Turkey, expressing the belief that “this agreement is important. I sympathize with the families of the MIAs, and if it was promised to them that any agreement would include the return of the bodies–that’s a grave issue.”

Yona Yahav, the Mayor of Haifa, spoke at the conference about public bomb shelters, calling them “death traps,” and lamenting the fact that “12 out of the 14 dead in Haifa were hit on their way from their houses to the shelter. The state must fund the building of more reinforced rooms in private apartments.”

Official Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/214157#.V3E-uLsrLx8

Legalize human genetic engineering to cure serious diseases, says Nobel Prize-winner

People destined to inherit serious diseases could be cured by a type of genetic engineering currently illegal in Britain, a Nobel Prize-winner says.

The invention of a new genome editing tool called “germline therapy” means precise changes to genetic material can be made to correct faulty DNA in human sperm, eggs and embryos.

However, the procedure is banned in Britain and many other states because the genetic changes would be passed down to future generations with largely-unknown risks.

Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, speaking to the Guardian, says the risks and benefits of the procedure, which could create the first genetically-modified humans if given the green light, need to be debated.

“It’s definitely a major step, there’s no getting around that.

“What we need is a diverse and transparent group of people to really come together and get to grips with how we go about using this tool and are there red lines. They may well decide there are red lines we shouldn’t cross.

“The concern I have is the same as with any other technology, which is that once a technology is feasible, we may well regulate it but someone somewhere may start using it in ways we consider unethical.”

At a meeting in Washington, DC, in December, scientists decided not to impose their own global ban on modifying human embryos destined to become people but stated that to do so would be unacceptable given the unknown risks today.

‘GM crops shouldn’t be banned’

Meanwhile, the Royal Society, of which Ramakrishnan is president, will publish a report on Tuesday about genetically modified crops.

According to the report, half of the UK population does not feel well-informed about GM crops, and a further 6 percent have never heard of them.

Crops that are modified to resist pests, grow in harsh conditions and contain more nutrients may become increasingly important as the world’s population grows, Ramakrishnan says.

“We wanted to provide the background and facts about some of the most important questions people have on GM crops.

“If we have better tools at our disposal, should we use them or not? It’s a question society has to decide.”

In 2015, GM crops were grown in 28 countries and on 180 million hectares – the equivalent of seven times the land area of the UK.

But in the same year, more than half of the EU officially banned farmers from growing GM crops, including Germany, France, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The bans were imposed despite EU regulators finding GM crops pose no risk to health or the environment.

Ramakrishnan argues crops should not be judged on whether they are GM or not.

“GM as a technique is no more dangerous than any other agricultural technique. What most scientists believe is that any new crop we introduce needs to be tested on a case-by-case basis according to its traits, not how it was reproduced.”

Among the concerns about GM raised by environmental groups and NGOs is the risk that large companies may monopolize agriculture and wield too much power over growers.

“I can understand how a backlash happened against GM. But the solution is not to ban GM, it’s to take it out of the hands of a few corporations,” Ramakrishnan says.

Official Source: https://www.rt.com/uk/344190-human-genetic-engineering-law/

Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Up on Grand Isle Beach

GRAND ISLE, La. — Residents woke up to hundreds of thousands of dead fish washing up on the beach Tuesday morning, just days before Memorial Day weekend.

“Thousands and thousands, they go as far as you can see,” said Bill Long, describing the scene he saw on the beach.

Long has been coming to Grand Isle since 1968 and said he has never seen, or smelled, anything like this.

“Smelled them for the first time this morning, probably ten o’clock or so,” he explained.

Grand Isle Mayor David Carmedale explained that torn commercial fishing net dumped hundreds of thousands of fish into the Gulf. Their lifeless bodies washed up covering nearly four and a half miles of beach.

“On the drive in I could smell tons of dead fish the whole way,” said Sophie Kerl. She and her friends drove in from New Orleans expecting a relaxing camping trip on the beach. “Then we got on the beach and here were just piles and piles of dead fish everywhere.”

Residents are worried about the beach with Memorial Day weekend right around the corner.

“There will usually be a lot of folks down here and this is really going to be a huge issue for everybody,” said Long.

Carmadale said that Daybrook, the company that owns the fishing vessels, has hired a contractor for the cleanup. This way Long and his two grandsons don’t have to spend the weekend stepping over mounds of dead fish

“The beaches are going to be very clean and we’re going to make sure that the families have a great time on our beaches,” Carmadale said.

(© 2016 WWL)

Official Source: http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/thousands-of-dead-fish-wash-up-on-grand-isle-beach/214159245

WARNING! Google Patents Mini Particle Accelerated “Watch” Secretly – Connection With CERN?

Something Strange Is Happening Worldwide! (END TIMES)

If You Die Today, Where Will You Go, Heaven or Hell?

Netanyahu: I’d fly to Paris tomorrow to make peace with Abbas

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected a multilateral French “peace initiative” as he met his French counterpart on Monday, offering instead to hold direct talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Paris.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he would speak to President Francois Hollande about Netanyahu’s proposal.

Direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority are “the only way to proceed to peace,” Netanyahu said. He offered “a different French initiative” of face-to-face talks with Abbas in Paris.

Despite Netanyahu’s rejection of the French initiative, the Israeli premier began by thanking Valls for his “commitment to Franco-Israeli relations” and “stalwart position against anti-Semitism and that of Francois Hollande.”

Netanyahu also thanked Valls for his recent statement acknowledging that France’s support for a UNESCO vote which denied the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount was a mistake.

“I have to be honest: I wrote a letter to Francois Hollande and expressed my shock that France had voted for a decision denying the Jewish people’s link to the Temple Mount, which spans thousands of years,” Netanyahu related. “And the reason that this vote was so troubling for us is that it implies that the Jewish people have no right to be here. And I think that remains the core of the conflict, the refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to have a nation-state in their ancestral homeland.

“I hope you encourage other nations that voted for this outrageous resolution to follow your lead and admit it was an error. And of course, the most important thing is that it doesn’t happen again.”

Moving on to the French peace initiative, Netanyahu stated: “though we have some disagreements on the best way to achieve peace, I deeply appreciate your commitment to pursue it.

“I know how much you care about ending the terrible violence that has plagued our region for far too long, and I want to thank you and President Hollande for your commitment to peace.”

“We share the same goals: peace, two states for two peoples, an end to war,” he added, but emphasized his position that the only way to end the conflict is via direct talks, without preconditions.

“This weekend you said that direct talks are very difficult right now,” he told Valls, citing comments in which the French PM explained the rationale behind engineering a “peace summit” to which neither Israelis nor Palestinians were invited. “And you’re right. They are, but they’re the only way to proceed towards peace.”

“Peace just does not get achieved through international conferences, UN-style,” said Netanyahu. “It doesn’t get to fruition through international diktats or committees from countries around the world who are sitting and seeking to decide our fate and our security when they have no direct stake in it.

“Peace is achieved through direct negotiations between the parties and in direct negotiations, the Palestinian leadership must face a stark choice and this choice is simple: recognize the Jewish state or continue educating your people that one day Israel will be gone.”

The PA, he said, seeks to “create a Palestinian state not to live side-by-side next to Israel, but to eliminate Israel.”

“The Palestinian leadership doesn’t see the French initiative as an inducement to compromise, but rather as a way to avoid it,” Netanyahu insisted. “In fact, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Hamdallah, let slip the other day his hope for an imposed timetable, rather than a negotiated peace.

Noting how Israel made peace via direct negotiations with Arab neighbors Jordan and Egypt, Netanyahu reiterated his willingness “to make difficult decisions,” if PA leader Mahmoud Abbas would simply agree to direct talks.

“That’s why I would gladly accept a different French initiative, and here’s the one important change. This initiative can still take place in Paris, because that would be a marvelous place to sign a peace accord,” Netanyahu offered.

“It’s a marvelous place anyway. It can still be called the French initiative, because you would host this genuine effort for peace, but here’s the difference: I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Élysée Palace, or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table: mutual recognition, incitement, borders, refugees and yes, settlements – everything.

“There is no issue too complex to solve if both sides are willing to talk to each other. And I am more than willing; I am eager. I was injured in battle; I lost a brother; I lost many friends in battle. Israel wants nothing more than peace. And I hope you encourage President Abbas to accept this French initiative: direct negotiations without preconditions, between the Israeli prime minister, the Palestinian president in Paris.”

“I’m ready to clear my schedule and fly to Paris tomorrow,” he added, before quipping: “well, I think tomorrow we’re expanding the government, but the day after tomorrow.”

Valls is visiting Israel and the Palestinian Authority to advance his country’s plan to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

The “peace conference,” scheduled for June 3, has been panned by Israel but welcomed by the PA. It would essentially involve world powers – without Israeli or PA representatives in attendance – deciding on a solution to the conflict, and would be followed by a second conference in the autumn to which Israelis and Palestinians would be invited.

France says the goal is to eventually restart negotiations that would lead to a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu in particular has criticized the initiative and called for direct negotiations between the two sides.

Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.

Netanyahu has repeatedly offered to meet Abbas for direct talks, but the PA leader has declined to respond, instead taking unilateral actin via the United Nations and other international bodies, in violation of previous agreements with Israel.

Official Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212679#.V0MboPkrLx8