Snapped Shot

It would seem that the tiny tin-pot tyrant has officially taken over the Islamic Revolutionary News Agency, the official news agency of the Iranian government. No word on how this will affect their already ridiculous coverage.

Keep reading for more Iranian silliness, plus a bonus appearance by my favourite little maniac. Also, be sure to check out our previous story on Iranian missiles of peace. Continue reading »

Allah reports that it's very likely that Iran does not have 3,000 centrifuges installed and running, and they are very possibly not mass-enriching uranium at this time.

Shocked? Not me—I said basically the same thing yesterday (see the second paragraph under the large photograph).

You see, to dictatorial regimes, appearance is more important than reality. Internationally, yes, but it's more important internally—to create a picture of governmental strength and resolve which helps to keep the local citizens under the illusion that the ruling regime is undefeatable, and thus discourage any movement to overthrow the dictatorship.

Yes, the "ruling regime" as in the "Islamic Revolution."

Why do you think North Korea does not allow any foreign media to broadcast within their borders? Or the "peaceful" Islamic Revolution in Iran, for that matter? The same condition existed in the former Soviet Union, though the citizens would always find creative ways around the media restrictions.

By my theory, Ahmadinejad set up the whole press event for internal publicity, nothing more. I think when we dig deeper, we'll find that there is no operational nuclear capacity there, merely the illusion thereof, created to appease the citizens of the Islamic Revolution, and to keep the mullahs who run the country in power. I'm glad to see, via Allah, some confirmation of this suspicion. I can only hope that I'll continue to be right here—the mere thought of a nuclear mullah-ocracy is definitely unthinkable.

It looks like today is Nuclear Day over in Iran today, complete with celebratory "Death to America" protests and everything. I'll be following the day's events as best as I can, so be sure to check back here for more Nuclear Day fun throughout the day!


I'll be keeping photographs on the extended version of this article, for your entertainment. Feel free to peruse them while I hop on down to Hallmark to shop for my National Day of the Nuclear Technology Day cards!

As usual, Gateway Pundit is covering these festivities, too. Hot Air is reporting that 3,000 centrifuges will be installed for uranium enrichment—I find this highly suspect, considering Iran's recent troubles with their supplier, though it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility that such an announcement would be made for (shock!) propaganda purposes.

As usual, I've got a roundup of today's festivities in the extended article, so be sure to keep reading for more fun and excitement! Continue reading »

The "missing American" in Iran has been identified as former FBI agent Robert A. Levinson, who, as "John Doe" over at Jawa points out, seems to have been visiting Kish Island, a "free-trade" resort area off of the southwest coast of Iran.

What's interesting to note, as commenter Rodger Morrow (homepage) points out, is that Mr. Levinson appears to be a former expert on counterfeiting.

Counterfeiting?

As in North Korean supernotes? The kind which the UN can't seem to find?

This is very interesting. We speculated late last year about a cash nexus existing between Iran and Hezbullah, potentially being supported by counterfeit currency, and furthermore that the counterfeit bills may have come from North Korea, but this one incident seems to tie all of these players together rather succinctly. The prior speculation didn't pan out, of course, so please do take all of this with a grain of salt.

Is there more going on here than meets the eye? Hopefully, new developments will continue to shed light on these possible connections.

Update: The all-knowing Dr. Rusty "John Doe" Shackleford (okay, now I get it) suggests that Mr. Levinson was arrested detained for "Vacationing While American," which definitely makes sense. All I know is that a counterfeiting expert "disappeared" in Iran, a country which is definitely capable of it. Other than that, I'm sure it's entirely possible that Rusty's right. He usually is, anyway--That's why he's so all-knowing! I'll continue digging and see if anything shows up that's of interest, in the mean time.

Many thanks for the new details, Rusty!

Update again: Here's some additional info: Mr. Levinson has been missing since mid-March (2 or 3 weeks now), and was reported to be working on an independent film project over in the vicinity of Kish Island (pictured above). Consider that another check mark in Rusty's column. Dang!

Update: Does Mr. Levinson "like spy movies?" Even more check marks towards the good Dr. "John Doe." Nuts!

Rodger notes in the Comments section below that there may be even more to this than I've listed so far: He points to a potential link to a film producer named Neil Docherty, who is reported to be connected with Frontline NBC, on what I'd imagine would be the film that he was reported to be in the area working on. Rodger also mentions an Iranian Petroleum Bourse, which he suggests might be a money-laundering connection--one of Levinson's specialties. It'll be interesting to see if anything turns up on those angles, and maybe to discover what kind of film he was working on over there.

Thanks for the additional details, Rodger!

Check this little tidbit out. This photograph is supposedly of a group of women supporting Iran's nuclear rights. However, upon looking more deeply at the context provided by Iranian bloggers, is that really what we're seeing?


Leave it to the Associated Press to, well, fail to associate reality with much of anything...

Update: I'm getting a general look of befuddlement from Kamangir, via e-mail, so it's entirely within the realm of possiblity that I'm out on a limb here. Stay tuned for a "Curses, Foiled Again!" which I will have ready to go, in the event that this story self-destructs...

Did somebody say fake photographs?

It seems that Iran's recent display of its new missile technology isn't worth the, well, bytes it was transmitted with. According to Gateway Pundit, ever the expert on military technologies, not only were the pictured photographs not capable of achieving orbit, the pictures are actually from Woomera, Australia!

Iran: Outsourcing its space race? More like inventing a space race out of whole cloth!

Excellent work on the sleuthing there, Gateway! I'm sure that somewhere, someone is crying their little eyes out!

It would appear that we can add Tom and Jerry to the list of we evil Zionist conspirators... Oy vey!


(h/t MEMRI, via The New Editor)

It seems that time might be running out on dajenidamhA, as thousands of students have reportedly taken to the streets in commemoration of "Students Day" and in protest of the Dictatorship of the Mullah-ocracy. This could be good news, if the elements in the Iranian government that are seeking to destroy the world via nuclear weapons are suddenly removed from power. Bad news if ol' Maddy is replaced with someone far more, well, evil. (There really aren't many other appropriate words to describe the guy, what can I say?)

In any case, GatewayPundit has the details, as always:

** Thousands of Iranian students rallied against the regime today in Tehran! **

Iranian Students at Tehran University gathered earlier today to commemorate "Students Day" and protest the brutal regime.

The students shouted, "Death to the Dictatorship!" And... "We have nothing to lose to defend Freedom!"

My favorite highlight from GP's photo roundup:

It appears that one of my favorite tyrants has written a long and heartful letter to another dastardly tyrant United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, complaining that "the Jewish State was repeatedly threatening to bomb it."

As REUTERS notes, this is the same Ahmad-johnny who has repeatedly declared that Israel ought to be wiped off the face of the earth.

I'm sure the irony is lost on our friends at al-Reuters.

... always a terrorist? At least, from the evidence presented by Gateway Pundit (h/t Larwyn), that seems to be the case.

It would appear that one of my favorite little tyrants might have a long history of committing terrorist acts. It's not definitive (as if any digital photograph could possibly be declared 100% true at this point - the photograph in question is purportedly an enlargement of an archived AP photograph, found by the Russian newspaper Kommersant), but it certainly raises a rather interesting question, which is thus: THIS is the man that Europe WANTS us to negotiate with?


Update: AllahPundit and an expert or so are casting doubt on this actually being a matched identity.

Curses, foiled again? Could be.

To the original theory's defence, I'd suggest that the man in the 1970's photograph is tilting his head down, so it's possible that his hair outline is being distorted by the angle. I'd also pay close attention to the ears, as they're one of the most significant traits which can be used to identify a person (due to the fact that they don't change significantly as one ages).

In either case, the photographs available online are too low-resolution to work with, and as a result, we're left to speculate. If only someone could post some higher-resolution copies of those photographs...

Оцин Пужалста?

In a brief update again, commenter jasnell at the HotAir thread linked above filtered the photograph through a few filters, and shows that it's possible that the hair only looks dark due to the deep shadow under that guy's lip. Stack that up as another possibility, Allah.

I'm amused to note that Iranian President Amadhatterguy's blog is down as of 16:00 Eastern Time. What's the matter? Have you been pwn3d by Mossad, Mahmoud?

The press is lying to you whenever they suggest that Iran intends to use its nuclear technology peacefully.



Update: Curses! Sweetness & Light beat me by mere minutes on this one!

In a followup to Jeha's excellent article yesterday, it would appear that Iran is preparing to start operating its second nuclear centrifuge in a matter of days.

Anyone out there still believe Ahmad Hatter is only seeking "peaceful" nuclear technology?