Who's Paranoid Now?

From the increasingly rare file of excellent NY Times Op-Eds, we have this fascinating look at the political uses of charging the other guy as paranoid.

'Conservatives and libertarians dubbed Lee a “liberal eco-terrorist” inspired by a “green climate of hate.” They pointed out that he traced his political “awakening” to Al Gore’s apocalyptic rhetoric. They cited an F.B.I. statement calling eco-vigilantes America’s “No. 1 domestic terrorism threat.” This was all a little ridiculous. But of course it was really an attempt to turn the tables on liberals, who have spent the last two years linking conservative rhetoric to hate crimes and antigovernment maniacs. (It’s a hard habit to break: the liberal site ThinkProgress.org quickly suggested that James Lee was actually a right-wing extremist, because his hostility to “parasitic human infants” extended to the children of illegal immigrants.). ... There’s the 32 percent of Democrats who blame “the Jews” for the financial crisis. There’s the 25 percent of African-Americans who believe the AIDS virus was created in a government lab. There’s support for state secession, which may have been higher among liberals in the Bush era than among Republicans in the age of Obama. And there’s the theory that the Bush White House knew about 9/11 in advance, which a third of Democrats endorsed as recently as 2007....But obsessing about the paranoia of the masses is often a way for American elites to gloss over their own, entirely nonsymbolic failures. In the Bush era attacking the conspiracy theories of the “angry left” made it easier for conservatives to avert their eyes from the disaster the Iraq war had become. Today, establishment liberals would much rather fret about the insanity of the Republican base than reckon with the unpopularity of Barack Obama’s domestic program.'

Remember, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.  Just ask Margaret Thatcher.

Closing thought: I wonder how many people will take this one seriously.

UPDATED: A Perversion of Faith (and an interesting development in Iran)

Update 1: Atlas Shrugs has an interesting time line on confrontations with radicalized Muslims in the US. While she and I would disagree on the fundamental nature of Islam, she makes a good argument and certainly presents a disturbing trend.

CNN reports on 'Young Pioneers,' a Hamas-run kids program:

'It's meant to be a children's program, but "Young Pioneers" on Hamas-run television is well-known for pushing the boundaries of what most people would deem suitable content for children. [That's an understatement.] One episode raised eyebrows when it first aired two years ago on al Aqsa TV, featuring two young Palestinian children being shown a re-enactment of their mother's preparations for and execution of a suicide bombing. The show was recently aired for the children of the bomber and other youths in a studio audience. The young anchor sounds a defiant note: "And here we say to the occupier that we will follow her doctrine, the doctrine of the martyr mujahida Reem Riyashi, until we liberate our homeland from your illegitimate hands." Riyashi killed four Israelis in a 2004 attack at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. In the video, an actress playing her prepares explosives for her mission, ignoring her children's questions about what she is doing. "Mummy, what are you holding in your arms -- a toy or a present for me?" her daughter asks. Her daughter then sees a news report about the suicide bombing and sings, "Only now I understand what was more important than us."The camera cuts back to the faces of her two children watching the re-enactment. ... Dr. Eyad Sarraj, a leading Palestinian psychiatrist in Gaza, worries about how glorifying suicide bombers affects children. "Three years ago, we did a study on children in Gaza between the ages of 12 and 14, and we asked them, what would you like to be when you are 18?" Sarraj said. "At that time, 36 percent of boys said, 'I would like to be a martyr,' and 17 percent of the girls said the same."'

Apart from the obvious pathology of training kids to glorify death and murder, the abuse and manipulation of the feelings of the children whose mother was herself subverted into murder, is a complete perversion of all teachings in Islam (much less other faiths). Islam in the hands of many of the leaders and governments in the mid East and central Asia has become only (and nothing more than) the Islam of terrorism.

On a separate note, the BBC is reporting that the head of Iran's nuclear program (and the country's VP), Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, abruptly submitted his resignation three weeks ago.

'The report said the nuclear chief had submitted a letter of resignation to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nearly three weeks ago. It was not immediately clear what triggered the resignation.'

Aghazadeh is a veteran bureaucrat, who has served in several different ministries (including oil). It would be interesting if this move is further indication of developing splits within the government.

UPDATED: Ongoing Clashes in Iran

UPDATE 3: From Saeed Valabaygi: "Plainclothes forces with hot and cold weapons(gun and knife) along with organized cyclists attacked some of the politechnic dormitories. Plainclothes forces in a attack to Golashan dormitory in Beh Afarin St beaten up several students and dormitory's guards."

UPDATE 2: Reportedly, the owner of the openDemocracy blog, who has written about equal rights for women, has been arrested.

UPDATE 1: The BBC is confirming heavy riot police and Basij presence at and around Tehran University and the use of tear gas and the cut-off of mobile text messaging services. Reportedly arrests have been made, including the arrest of Mohammad ali Dadkhah, a lawyer representing the Human Rights Defender's Center.

Revolutionary Road is live blogging protests in Tehran that are being held on the tenth anniversary of the 1999 student uprising. If you're on Facebook, you can link to Saeed's FB updates off the Revolutionary Road website. He's reporting seeing military helicopters, tear gas attacks, random Basij attacks on buses and bystanders, and protests at the Chinese embassy.

The BBC has documented protests and clashes beginning yesterday, as has the Associated Press.

More to follow later this afternoon.

ABC News: Now and Then

In 1996, Ted Koppel (then the anchor of ABC's Nightline), walked out of the Republican Convention, rightly saying that it had become a staged and media-controlled event. In 2002, ABC made clear that Nightline would no longer be permitted to be a hard-hitting news show, and Koppel left, eventually moving to the BBC, PBS and NPR. While there are certainly many who would disagree with Koppel's positions and coverage of events, it's certainly fair to say that his career has been about reporting and understanding news.

ABC news used to reflect that kind of reporting, but no longer. Now, ABC has cozied all the way up the White House, to the point of 'hosting a health care town hall,' during prime time. Once the news leader, ABC is now the well-loved mistress of the White House.

One wonders what Ted would have to say.

The New Dear Leader?

The BBC and several other media sources are reporting that Kim Jong-Il has chosen his successor. And the winner is ... Kim Jong-un. This is his youngest son, and reportedly the one who most resembles his father. Kim Jong-un is relatively young, and speculation revolves around the possibility that the nuclear and subsequent missile tests of the last two weeks stems from Jong-Il's attempt to secure power and homage for his son in a culture that traditionally respects age and seniority. Reported changes in senior positions may provide evidence for that hypothesis.

Time Magazine published this fascinating little interview with Kim Jong-Il's former sister-in-law, Sung Hae Rang, who fled North Korea, and lives in an undisclosed location fearful of reprisals. The interview provides a glimpse of the total insularity and sense of divinity with which Kim Jong-un has been raised. The Telegraph has a short profile comprised of short tidbits about the 'Prince,' but in truth very little is known about the new 'Dear Leader-in-waiting.'