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From the left: The Strength of White Nationalist Pride

Did the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville prove their strength or their weakness? At Slate, Jamelle Bouie says its tempting to say weakness: Hundreds came to march in support of white supremacy, but they were outnumbered by thousands of residents who turned out to oppose the rally. The rally was scheduled to last for five hours, but it was over after 15 minutes. But thats wrong. None wore a mask or hood; They werent just unafraid; they were proud. And the lack of a forceful response from the White House reinforced their gambit: No, they couldnt secure physical space in the city. But they can still claim a kind of victory. They revealed the extent to which they can threaten and intimidate with a certain amount of impunity.

From the right: Harsh Rhetoric on N.K. Is Whats Needed

President Trumps tough talk on North Korea is still eliciting handwringing from Democrats who want the president to tone it down. To this, I say: brutal talk is just what a brutal dictator like Kim Jong-un needs to hear, writes foreign-policy hand Alice Stewart at CNN. Indeed, Democrats and their failed approach have contributed to the position we are in today. There was the Obama administrations strategic patience, but during the last eight years North Korea conducted at least four nuclear tests, constructed a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon, worked to develop ballistic missiles that can deliver a nuclear warhead, and constructed an experimental light water reactor at Yongbyon. Fact is, Diplomacy has not worked with the madmen of Korea. Its time to replace tepid talk with tough talk.

Israeli intel chief: Nuke Deal Helping Iran Replace ISIS

ISIS is receding, but Iran and its terror proxies are filling the vacuum, warned Israels Mossad chief Yossi Cohen at a Cabinet meeting Sunday. And part of that is thanks to the Obama administrations nuclear deal, which freed up Iranian cash with which to make mischief across the Middle East. The Times of Israels Judah Ari Gross sums up Cohens point: The Mossad chief noted that in the two years since the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Tehran has not abandoned its desire to develop nuclear weapons, and that the agreement only reinforced that trend and strengthened Iranian aggression in the region. The deal did nothing to curb Irans regional ambitions, and Cohen said Iran was now enjoying economic growth and international contracts in the deals wake.

Dem senator: The Lefts Self-Defeating Hostility to Faith

The vast majority of Americans including the majority of Democrats are people of faith, noted Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). But, he sighs, you wouldnt know it from listening to an increasingly large swath of the Democratic Party: According to a recent Pew study, more than one-third of Democrats including 44 percent of self-described liberal Democrats think churches and religious organizations actually have a negative impact on the United States. Thats a shame, because progressive values arent just secular values. We can get to some of our most important public-policy priorities whether on the environment, taxes, immigration or criminal justice through both secular and scriptural routes.

2020 Watch: The Rich-Basher Whos Making Bank

Elizabeth Warren is cashing in: Prayer candles. Action figures. Temporary tattoos. Coloring books. As Politicos Lauren Dezenski reports, Warren has become a cult figure on the left, and now shes a merchandising industry unto herself. Warren officials are cagey about the size of the Warren merchandising-industrial complex. Online marketplaces like Etsy and the Warren campaigns own online store host most of the business. And its safe to say no other senator has anything like it. A leading light of the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party who reflexively demagogues the supposed sins of the rich, Warren isnt just building a war chest. With a possible 2020 presidential run ahead of her, the senator knows being a merch queen helps build Warrens brand on both a local and national level.

Compiled by Seth Mandel

Original post:
A sick 'victory' in Charlottesville, Iran replacing ISIS & other comments - New York Post

'If (the Americans) want to visit a base, they should go to the the military sites in the US.'

Lieutenant Commander of Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Hossein Salami stressed Tehrans vehement opposition to the United States inspecting its military sites, during an interview with state-run television on Saturday night.

"Both the great Iranian nation and the US and the world should know that if there is only one demand in the whole world which will be rejected and if there is only one wish that will be taken to the grave, it is the Americans' demand to visit our military centers," General Salami had said, as reported by the Iranian Fars news agency.

Salami suggested that "if (the Americans) want to visit a base, they should go to the the military sites in the US."

"The Americans should not allow themselves at all to speak about Iran, he added.

Sundays report by Fars news agency also noted that Aerospace Force Brigadier General, Amir Ali Hajizadeh made similar remarks last week regarding visits to Iranian military sites by officials from the US and other western countries.

We will not give them such a permission," General Hajizadeh had said last Monday.

General Salamis remarks were made against the backdrop of US President Donald Trumps assertion this past week that Iran was failing to abide by the spirit of the nuclear deal it reached with the P5 1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in 2015. Nevertheless, the Trump administration certified last month that Iran was complying with the delineated terms of the agreement.

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Iranian General speaks against US inspections of Iran's military sites - i24NEWS

A senior Iranian official said on Saturday night that the regime will never allow any foreign government, and especially not the US, to visit its military facilities.

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said in a television interview that under no circumstances would Iran allow any such inspections, Irans Fars news reported Sunday.

The great Iranian nation, the US and the world should know that if there is only one demand in the whole world which will be rejected and if there is only one wish that will be taken to the grave, it is the Americans demand to visit our military centers, Salami said.

He stressed that only Iranians would ever be permitted to inspect the sites.

The Americans should not allow themselves at all to speak about Iran and if they want to visit a base they should go to the the military sites in the US, he said.

Iranian military trucks carry surface-to-air missiles during a parade on the occasion of the countrys Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)

In comments Sunday, Salami also boasted that the rate of our missile production is so high that we are faced with the problem of space to keep them in, state television reported.

The comments came in light of US President Donald Trumps repeated threats to renegotiate or abandon the nuclear deal struck by world powers under his predecessor.

Iran was also slapped with a sanctions bill targeting its missile program and alleged human rights violations, which Trump signed into law last week.

Tehran protested that the new sanctions violated the nuclear accord. President Hassan Rouhani warned Sunday that if the US intends to stand against the deal, the entire world will stand before the US.

Read the rest here:
Iran official: We will never tolerate US inspections at military sites - The Times of Israel

While August seems usually a passive time of the year in politics, it has been quite the opposite for Iran and the wide variety of developments around this controversial international dossier.

A senior delegation of United States Senators travelled to Tirana, the capital of Albania, today, August 12, 2017, to meet the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The delegation, Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans Affairs committees, also visited members of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in the Albanian capital.

NCRI

The NCRI is a political coalition calling for regime change in Iran and considered the main threat to Tehrans mullahs. The MEK is the main member of this coalition of a variety of Iranian dissident groups and individuals.

Led by Senator Blunt, the delegation congratulated the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents outside of Iraq and wished them success in their struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran, according to an NCRI statement.

Rajavi expressed her gratitude for the tireless efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania.

Senator Blunt was among several American dignitaries, including senior former officials, who at a July 2014 Senate briefing strongly condemned Irans highly destructive role in Iraq. While describing Tehran as part of the problem plaguing Baghdad and the entire country, Senator Blunt joined the initiative in demanding the urgent transfer of PMOI/MEK members stationed in a former US military base known as Camp Liberty near the Iraqi capital.

Senator Blunt and his colleagues John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and former Senator Carl Levin had urged former Secretary of State John Kerry to press for the protection of Camp Liberty and to expedite the resettlement of the Camp Residents to countries outside Iraq, including the United States.

NCRI

Earlier in April, Senator McCain, a long supporter of the Iranian opposition and a staunch critic of Tehrans policies, also visited the MEK in Albania and met with Rajavi. MEK members were able to depart Iraq after a long 4 year ordeal in Camp Liberty following a forced transfer from their 26-year home in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad. From 2009 following the transfer of their security from the US military to the Iraqi government, the MEK came under eight major ground and missile/rocket attacks staged by Iran-backed proxies against Ashraf and Liberty. This was parallel to a seven-year logistical and medical siege closing them off from the outside world. After losing over 160 of their colleagues to the attacks and blockade, MEK members were finally able to transfer out of Iraq to a variety of European countries, mainly Albania.

Saturdays high-profile visit by the senior U.S. Senators comes at a time when Washington has slapped major new sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missile drive, support for terrorism and human rights violations. Irans Revolutionary Guards is now subject to sanctions under Executive Order 13224, and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Considering the Guards control over 40% of Irans economy, these new sanctions come as a heavy blow to Tehrans future ambitions. Analysts believe this visit sends a strong signal to Tehran over how the NCRI is gaining momentum through a growing consensus in Congress over the necessity of adopting a policy of regime change vis--vis Iran. This time last year Irans ruling clerics appeared determined on weakening or dismantling the PMOI/MEK. Only a year later, the tides have turned and it is the Iranian opposition that is now on the offensive. More such developments threatening the very pillars of Irans rule are most likely set to come in the near future.

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Harvard-educated, Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a world-renowned businessman, a leading Iranian-American political scientist, president of the International American Council on the Middle East, and best-selling author. He serves on the advisory board of Harvard International Review.

Dr. Rafizadeh is frequently invited to brief governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as speak, as a featured speaker, at security, business, diplomatic, and social events. He has been recipient of several fellowships and scholarships including from Oxford University, Annenberg, University of California Santa Barbara, Fulbright program, to name few He is regularly quoted and invited to speak on national and international outlets including CNN, BBC World TV and Radio, ABC, Aljazeera English, Fox News, CTV, RT, CCTV America, Skynews, CTV, and France 24 International, to name a few. . He analyses have appeared on academic and non-academic publications including New York Times International, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Fareed zakaria GPS, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The Nation, The National. Aljazeera, The Daily Beast, The Nation, Jerusalem Post, The Economic Times, USA Today Yale Journal of International Affairs, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, and Harvard International Review. He is a board member of several significant and influential international and governmental institutions, and he is native speaker of couple of languages including Persian, English, and Arabic. He also speaks Dari, and can converse in French, Hebrew. More at Harvard. And You can learn more about Dr. Rafizadeh on HERE.

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Senior US Senators meet Iran opposition leader in Albania - HuffPost

Sweden is violating a United Nations human-rights treaty in its attemptto deport a prominent Iranian actress who revealed her conversion from Islam to Christianity after arriving in the European nation, according to a charity that defends persecuted Christians worldwide.

Aideen Strandsson would face punishment and prison, possibly even rape and death, if returned to the mullah-led Islamic nation, arguesthe U.K.-basedBarnabas Fund.

The group citesthe 1951United Nations Refugee Convention, which statesa refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.

In Strandssons case, the international Christian ministry said, she undoubtedly would face prison at a minimum for her conversion to Christianity.

In fact, Iranian prisons are a particularly dangerous environment for any woman, the organization said.

Rape has been widely used against female prisoners since the 1979 Islamic revolution on the pretext that women offenders must not be allowed to remain virgins, as this could result in them being admitted to paradise. Added to this, as both an apostate from Islam and a nationally known actress who has appeared in films and on TV, Miss Strandsson is likely to be viewed as a significant embarrassment to the Iranian government. As such, her life will be in serious danger, the Barnabas Fund said.

Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians tells of the perseverance and courage of men and women who suffer because of their faith in Jesus Christ

The organization saidthe actress had a conversion experience after watching a video in Iran of a woman being stoned to death.

I decided at that moment I dont want to be a Muslim anymore, she said.

Strandsson said that shortly after that, she had a dramatic spiritual encounter.

I had a dream about Jesus. He was sitting near me and he took my hand, she said.

But she, like many others in Iran, kept her faith quiet, allowing word of it to come out only after she safely was in Sweden.

At that point, in 2014, she asked for a public baptism.

I want to have a baptism in public because I want to say I am not afraid anymore I am free, I am Christian. I want everyone to know about that, she explained, according to Barnabas.

Now, however, Swedish officials have told Aideen that becoming a Christian was her decision and now its her problem and not theirs.

At her asylum hearing, a Swedish migration official even told her it would not be as bad for her in Iran as she is expecting because it would only be six months in prison, Barnabas said.

The U.N. convention disallows sending a refugee back to a nation where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.

The planned deportation is part of Swedens attempt to tamp down the backlash to its admission of huge numbers of migrants from Muslim nations.

In a worrying new trend, which may affect Christians in other European countries which have recently allowed in large numbers of migrants, decisions on asylum appear to be influenced not just by human rights but also by government targets, with little or no recognition of the specific persecution faced by Christian minorities in countries such as Iran, Barnabas Fund said.

A lawyer working on her case, Gabriel Donner, told Barnabas Fund the government officials do not care about injuries they may create.

They have promised the public in Sweden that they will deport more people than before and so they have to fill the quota.

Donner saidmany Swedish officials are so ignorant ofreligion and Christianity they assume its simply a lifestyle choice.

A convert says, I converted because of the love I received from Jesus Christ, and they almost mockingly ask the convert, What do you mean by love? They dont understand the message in the Bible. Its just completely alien to them, he said.

Donnerestimated there are 8,000 asylum-seekers now hiding in Sweden to avoid deportation.

Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians tells of the perseverance and courage of men and women who suffer because of their faith in Jesus Christ

More here:
Sweden plans to deport Christian actress to Iran! - WND.com