Ahmad Batebi Survived Torture In Iran

It's a story the Iranian government doesn't want you to hear; a story a man risked his life to tell. His name is Ahmad Batebi, and quite by accident he became one of the most famous dissidents in Iran.

He says he endured years of torture in an Iranian prison, after his picture appeared on the cover of The Economist magazine. He escaped from Iran last year, and told CNN's Anderson Cooper how he did it.

...Batebi says he spent 17 months in solitary confinement, trapped in a tiny cell not much bigger than a bathtub. "They kept the light on 24 hours a day. You have no information about the outside. You have no contact with the outside, and after a while you become mentally disoriented. This kind of torture doesn’t affect you physically, but it does affect you mentally and emotionally."

..."They kicked me in the teeth and broke them. There was a toilet that was stopped up with feces. They put my head into the toilet," he said.

Batebi told Cooper the bottom of his feet and his back were beaten with a cable, and that his testicles were beaten as well.

..."They also used sleep deprivation against you, kept you up day and night. And they hung you from the ceiling with your hands tied behind your back," Cooper remarked. "At least five or six times they did this," Batebi replied.

Batebi told 60 Minutes he never knew which days he'd be tortured or which technique they would use. Once he says, they cut him, and rubbed salt in his wounds.

"I hadn't slept for maybe 72 hours. I couldn't think clearly. I was drooling. I wanted to sleep but they would slap me to keep me awake. In the final hours when even the slapping wouldn't keep me up, they cut my arms and hands and put salt in my wounds so the burning would keep me awake.

60 Minutes

Don't Bogart That Joint My Friend...

~click~

H/T to SondraK

North Korea Launches Missile

Obama has issued a statement:

North Korea’s development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology pose a threat to the northeast Asian region and to international peace and security. The launch today of a Taepo-dong 2 missile was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind. With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations.

We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council. I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions.

Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is a high priority for my administration. The United States is fully committed to maintaining security and stability in northeast Asia and we will continue working for the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks. The Six-Party Talks provide the forum for achieving denuclearization, reducing tensions, and for resolving other issues of concern between North Korea, its four neighbors, and the United States. North Korea has a pathway to acceptance in the international community, but it will not find that acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and abides by its international obligations and commitments.

What's going to happen when N.Korea won't miss the next time?

We Are The World

~Dude~

h/t to Ace

Obama: "America has been arrogant and dismissive towards Europe"

Gabriel Malor at ASHQ said it best:

I don't really have anything to add to what the Powerline Guys say. Except that if Obama loves Europe and dislikes the U.S. so much he should just stay there.

The President's new comments aren't the mere embarrassments we've all come to expect from him over the past three months. Yes, he's a bumbling buffoon when it comes to representing America. It's not really something to get angry over. Rather, we'll just have to suffer until he and his wife learn on the job how to comport themselves with a little dignity.

On the other hand, this latest speech was planned and plotted, a neon-lighted "Fuck You" directed right at us while he campaigns for European Suck-up of the Year. And that is something to get angry over, the quisling fucker. The Powerline Guys use words like "contemptible", "reprehensible", "slanderous." All true, but it doesn't go far enough.

This guy is going to stand up Over There and badmouth Americans and President Bush? He's a coward with an inferiority complex, a desperate desire to win the approval of his perceived European betters. What an ass.

Obama, His Adm, Rev Wright..Gives The Nod To UK's Engagement With Hezzbolah

Via Gateway Pundit:

Obama's church of 20 years supported Hezbollah so it's not a total shock that his administration supports the UK's engagement with Hezbollah.
The Jerusalem Post reported:

The Obama administration is "comfortable" with the British government's attempts to engage Hizbullah, a senior British diplomat asserts.

Bill Rammell, Britain's minister of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs, said in a brief interview late last week that despite protests to the contrary, the new US administration doesn't object to the fledgling contacts with the "political win" of the Lebanon-based Shi'ite Muslim group, which also has a heavily armed militia.

...Do you suppose the Obama's missed this church bulletin, too?

Well worth reading it all..

Obama: What Next, The Internet?

Via Mother Jones:

Should President Obama have the power to shut down domestic Internet traffic during a state of emergency?

Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) think so. On Wednesday they introduced a bill to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor—an arm of the executive branch that would have vast power to monitor and control Internet traffic to protect against threats to critical cyber infrastructure. That broad power is rattling some civil libertarians.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of national security." The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.

The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce "access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.

Read it all...

Next: Mandatory uniforms

The Artist Formerly Known As: Prince

According to L.A. Times music critic Ann Powers, Prince's performance at the Congo Room and Club Nokia at L.A. Live was worth more to write home to rather than his performance at Nokia Theatre. I was at the Nokia Theatre that evening and I thought his performance was outrageously good. I'd say the constant deafening roar of the crowd felt the same way. Course, taking into consideration the fact that the last concert I've been to was WAR, sometime ago, I might have thought opera diva, Wanda Yang might have been just as good. So maybe Ann Powers should take a chill pill and retire for about a year. Then perhaps she would be able to appreciate a good thing when she sees one. You know....too much of anything is not good for anyone. You become numb to it.

Okay, so this is an old Prince song. But you get the gist of it all. He was damn good. Course his concert was all about pushing his new album Lotus Flower.

~music video~

Prince’s three-in-one concert experience Saturday at downtown’s L.A. Live nightlife complex often felt like a date with a special someone that wasn’t going quite as expected. You know how such evenings can be: Your beloved insists on making all the decisions; he (or she) directs the conversation toward unfamiliar topics; he makes you wait, but when he’s finally fully present, announces he can’t stay too long. Such a night can frustrate, but then it turns around completely on the strength of just one perfect, loving gesture. Despite many challenges, Prince still managed just that kind of metaphorical final kiss.

...He also struggled with the sound system, notably during the opening Nokia Theatre show. A bad buzz afflicted his vocal microphone and the mix was weak in the middle. Later, a long line to get into the final show at Club Nokia left some fans frustrated, after they missed that ending set's first few songs.

TGI Friday........

Hopenchange

Via Gateway Pundit:

Unemployement jumped to 8.5% in March.
This is the highest unemployment rate since 1983.
Even with the 9-11 attacks, the Clinton Recession, and Hurricane Katrina, President Bush never came close to seeing such a high number of unemployed workers.

It looks like the Democrat's tax and spend policy may not be working out so well...

The country has lost nearly two million jobs already.

Read it all...

Hat tip to: Gateway Pundit

Bowel Detox

Government DMV Automotive Repair Center

'Bring It....

Rush: "It's not what Obama knows. It's what you think he knows. It's what he makes you think he knows. He doesn't know anything about the automobile business. He doesn't know how to change a tire."

Rush is sounding the horn on President Obama: "He really believes it his job to return the nation's wealth to its rightful--quote unquote, rightful owners."

Royale' with Cheese

Does it really matter that Michelle Obama touched the Queen? Everything's good.

America's First Lady Michelle Obama broke royal protocol during a reception at Buckingham Palace when she placed her arm around the Queen.
But rather than take offence, Her Majesty took the unusual step of returning the gesture by putting her arm round Mrs Obama's waist - almost as if to confirm the special relationship the politicians are so keen to play up.

The extraordinary scenes took place yesterday as Barack Obama made his first visit to Britain as U.S. President.

Hey. The Obama's are Loved worldwide. They can do no wrong, seriously.

Waiting Time: Two Years

Check out some of the recent headlines from the U.K. and its "National Health Service" (NHS). This is the type of system that Obama and the Statists intend to implement.

h/t SondraK