Ever wonder where those stereotypes of Arab-Americans come from?

An Iranian-born man faces up to five years in federal prison for conspiring to violate a U.S. embargo by providing Iran with military aircraft parts.

Hassan Keshari pleaded guilty Monday to a single count in Miami federal court.

Prosecutors say Keshari, a 48-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in California, was a middleman between Iranian buyers and a supplier based in South Florida. The supplier also has been charged and is scheduled to go to trial in May.

Keshari lawyer David O. Markus says his client is cooperating with investigators and wants to get the matter behind him. The parts were for such aircraft as the F-14 fighter jet, the C-130 cargo plane and the AH-1 attack helicopter.

[source]

…people are dealing with hangovers.  That said, here’s some news!

If you’re from India and looking to do some world travel… you may want to avoid Pakistan as tensions between the two countries are still running a little hot.  No one is looking to go to war (fingers crossed) but things aren’t exactly civil, and as a result India’s Foreign Ministry is warning it’s citizens to stay away from that border if they can.  Probably help tensions some if everyone stayed in their own airspace… but hey…

Meanwhile in Iran, shoe throwing has become the protest of choice as calls for the release of the shoe throwing journalist who nearly pegged the surprisingly nimble soon to be former President Bush at a press conference earlier this month continue, while the man awaits trial for his zany actions.

In bummer news, one time Catwoman Eartha Kitt has passed away as a result of colon cancer at age 81.

There’s a new green fuel being used- liposuctioned fat!  Unfortunately the man who had been doing the surgeries was allowing unlicensed assistants help him out leaving some of his patients scarred, and it’s illegal to use medical waste to fuel machinery.  Ah well, it was worth a shot.  Next up is used VHS tapes  just a thought…

Good news for lazy bums who enjoy their naptime- apparently sleeping a little more can help prevent calcium deposits from forming in the heart.  So next time someone yells at you for sleeping in, just tell them you’re not lazy, you’re healthy!

While the economy may be down, and retail chains are posting record low numbers and in some cases closing their doors, there’s one company that did quite well this holiday season- Amazon.com had it’s best season ever after 14 years of being active.  Apparently brutal winter storms, long or inconvenient hours of work (for those who still have jobs), gas prices, and a desire to avoid shopping nightmares like black friday, along with general laziness and the ease of button clicking as a shopping method, all contributed to people just staying in and shopping from home and making Amazon a winner this year.  Good for you.  (btw… late gifters, Amazon.com also carries my books of poetry, I’m just sayin’)

Who’s having the best year ever?  Why it must be President Elect Barack Obama who now tops the list of people most admired by Americans according to a recent poll, topping former #1 George W. Bush, who now sits in 2nd place.  One could pro’lly make the case that whoever holds the Presidency will pretty much always be at the top of the list, but it’s still worth noting.  Who else made the list? 

USA Today says one-third of about 1,000 people interviewed named Mr. Obama as their first or second choice. The report published Friday says it is the first time a president-elect has topped the yearly survey in more than 50 years.

U.S. President George Bush fell to a distant second in the survey after holding the top spot for seven years.

Hillary Clinton – Mr. Obama’s pick for secretary of state – emerged as the most-admired woman in the poll, a position she has held for 13 of the past 16 years.
 
Republican John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, came in second on the women’s list, while McCain himself ranked third among men.

Pope Benedict, the Reverend Billy Graham and Hillary Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, tied for fourth most-admired man.

Among the most admired women, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey came in third, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice placed fourth and Mr. Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama, ranked fifth.

The survey was conducted by phone in the middle of December.

USA Today says this year’s support for Mr. Obama is the second-highest rating in the survey’s history, behind President Bush’s 39 percent in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The paper says support for President Bush has declined almost every year since then, falling this year to just five percent.

So there you go folks your post Christmas wrap-up, now I’m off to take a nap… just looking out for my heart!

Suck it, you bastard:

ADDITION:

You can view more Israeli graffiti here and here.

The Iranian government is doing to “na, na, na, na, na” song after claiming to have captured three alleged Mossad spies.

One of the spies admitted under (I’m assuming, tortured) confession that “he was a salesman who obtained high-end but security-compromised pieces of electronic equipment from the Mossad and sold them to military and defense centers in Iran.”

Both Iran and Israel have been building a cold war between the two as Iran continues to call for Israel’s obliteration and Israel continues to hold off on launching their F-35’s to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.

This claim of capturing Israeli spies sorta reminds me of THIS fiasco.   ‘Membah that Photoshop disaster?

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is preparing to travel to Washington later this month to visit outgoing President Bush one last time.  It’ll be the last meeting as their respective countries leaders as both Bush and Olmert (arguably two of the worst national leaders) have been elected out of office.

With that being said, Olmert’s taking advantage of these last two months of Bush reign to wack the administration’s “pinata filled with goodies” one last time:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit President George Bush in Washington later this month in an attempt to reach last minute agreements and extract a number of promises before both leaders step down.

Olmert is looking for commitments from Bush on the peace process with the Palestinians, U.S. military aid and various arms deals.

Here’s his laundry list of goals:

• the peace process with the Palestinians and Syria
• dealing with Iran and its allies
• the future of U.S. military aid and cooperation
• the cancellation of the visa requirement for Israelis who want to visit the U.S.

And what response do we expect from President Bush to PM Olmert?

Olmert will have to make due with a verbal promise that Bush will pass on his support for Israel on the matter to his successor. This will not commit Obama, but American presidents tend not to ignore their predecessors’ promises.

Enjoy your trip to Washington, Olmert.  I hear the trees look lovely this time of year.  Don’t forget to take your camera and get a picture next to the Lincoln statue.

[source: Haaretz]

It’s something we’ve suspected all along and finally we have confirmation that Iran has been supplying militants across the Middle East including Lebanon and Iraq:

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran is supplying weapons to “liberation armies” in the Middle East, a top Revolutionary Guards commander said, offering the first official confirmation the country provides weapons to armed groups in the region.

Gen. Hossein Hamedani, deputy commander of a volunteer militia that is part of the elite Revolutionary Guards, did not provide specific details in the report on the state-run Borna news. The U.S. military has accused Iran of arming Shiite militias in Iraq, and Iran is widely believed to provide weapons to Lebanon’s militant Shiite Hezbollah group.

“Not only are our armed forces self-sufficient, liberation armies of the region get part of their weapons from us,” Hamedani said, according to the report on Borna’s Web site late Sunday.

In the past, Iran – a majority Shiite country – has denied arming Hezbollah, saying it only provided political and financial support. The Iranian government has also denied providing weapons or financial support to Shiite militants fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

But the U.S. military has said it has evidence that elements of the Mahdi army, an Iraqi militia loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, have been armed by Iran.

Next on Americas “to do” list is a cross border Iranian raid.

Photos from the first graduating class of Iranian policewomen! Fierce!

[source: Gawker]

Features include:

• Automatic transmission (naturally).
• Parking aids (I’m not quite sure what this could be.  Have they hidden a small boy in the trunk to pop out during tough parallel parking moments?  Complete with signaling flags?).
• A jack for changing tires without getting dirty (They make jacks like this?  If so, why limit them to the Iranians.  Hook a girl up, yo!)
• “Other features are proposed to make it easier for women when they are doing the family shopping or taking their children to school.” (Apparently it comes fully equipped with a nanny.)
• The car will come in a range of feminine colors and interior desinges.  (Because the world really needs more Mary Kay cars on the road.)

The BBC’s Jon Leyne quips in his article about the new car design, “If that suggests a degree of sexist stereotyping in Iranian society, it is, just possibly, true”.

Yes, possibly.

Update on X-band radar

This may be the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard from the IDF as of late:

Israel is wary of the deployment of the new US high-powered radar facility in the Negev, Israeli officials were quoted as saying Thursday.

“It’s a like a pair of golden handcuffs on Israel,” one top official told Time Magazine.

The magazine reported that IDF officials feared that although the radar would enhance Israel’s protection against Iran, it might also reveal Israel’s military secrets to the US.

The radar will allow the US to keep a close watch on anything moving in Israeli skies, “even a bee”, a top Israeli official, who asked not to be identified, told Time.

“Even a husband and wife have a few things they would like to keep from each other,” said the official. “Now we’re standing without our clothes off in front of America.”

I heart Israel just like a vast majority of Americans heart Israel. But really?  We’re in one of the most sensitive and potentially destructive times for the State of Israel (Iranian threat).  Is it just me or does this concern of revealing secrets to the United States sound more like hurt pride over American technology run by American soldiers on Israeli soil?

This is one of the larger issues between the two U.S. Presidential candidates, McCain and Obama.  Should the United States have direct talks with Iranian leader, Ahmadinejad?

McCain says,  “Absolutely not.  The guys a terrorist!”  Obama says, “Absolutely yes.  The guys a terrorist!”

The Bush administration was prepping to send a diplomat to Iran considering the accelerated rate at which Iran was developing nuclear capabilities.

But now Bush has changed his mind and it’s gonna have to wait until a new president is elected:

The proposal to send US diplomats to Teheran for the first time in three decades attracted great attention when it was floated seriously midyear, but has been placed on indefinite hold as November’s election nears and Iran continues to defy demands to halt suspect nuclear activities, officials told the AP.

The officials said it had been decided to leave the decision to the next US president because it could be seen as a reward for Iran’s nuclear intransigence especially when Iranian policy has become a major part of the heated campaign between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

My personal opinion? The Bush administration is a bunch of spineless pussies.