Iran gives the Senate majority a lesson in constitutional law

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, today said that "in our view, this letter [from 47 Republican Senators] has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy. It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history. This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content."

He also noted that "the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy."

So, now do we try the 47 Senator for treason?

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Iran's PressTV uses fake Hurricane Sandy photo from the eco-tastrophe movie "The Day After Tomorrow"

By Mona Goldwater, Society Editor

Iran's PressTV used a photo from the 2004 eco-catastrophe movie "The Day After Tomorrow" to illustrate this morning's article on Hurricane Sandy.

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Contrary to the wingnuts' claims, BHO is no dove. He's a Scoop Jackson Democrat.

Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Image from JP Moore at Buzzfeed.

I've never doubted BHO's bellicosity; I never thought he was soft on war. He let us know that from the very beginning.  He was never against war, but he was very particular about which war he wanted.  The difference between him and President George W. Bush was the focus of their multi-pronged war, not war itself. In some ways, he's a Scoop Jackson defense democrat (if you doubt that, look at the current defense and war budgets), who is now facing potential action in Pakistan, and if things blow up, Iran.  And those wars are in addition to sending troops and advisers into other various hot spots and troubled regions (for example, Libya and Egypt).  He may not be a hawk, but he is a Defense Democrat ala JFK.   Appeasement?  Come on.  President Barack Obama is no George McGovern or Gene McCarthy.  And he most certainly is not a Neville Chamberlain.  

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The Stuxnet Worm-->Noble American-Israeli Mischief?-->Cyber Warfare Begins-->Revenge of the Nerds?

By Jack Brummet
Digital Warfare Editor

The most fascinating news--actually rumor and speculation [ed. note: hey, how much difference is there in 2011?]--to emerge recently concerns the possible genesis of the Stuxnet Worm. The Stuxnet worm (which most people call a virus) was discovered last summer. "It is the first discovered worm that spies on and reprograms industrial systems."

Computer security people think Stuxnet was created to target "high value infrastructures."

News reports state that the infestation by this worm has damaged Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and probably delayed the start up of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant--by four or five years! I think most of us in the West agree that is a good thing.

Interestingly, the Stuxnet worm--unlike almost all other "malware"--does no harm to most PCs and servers. According to Wikipedia "the attackers took great care to make sure that only their designated targets were hit..." The worm does this because it attacks in layers: first Windows, then the Step 7 industrial software that runs on top of Windows, and finally, it hits a Siemens PLC (a programmable logic controller rootkit).

On those very specific machines, the worm patches into the variable frequency drives, and changes their speeds, which hamstrings or cripples the computer under attack.

Symantec says whoever created the worm was well-funded, with numerous programmers (up to ten) on the project. They also estimate it would have taken six months to complete.

It is little wonder, then, that people are speculating that the worm was created by American or Israeli Intelligence, or even by the US Dept. of Homeland Security.  Sunday's New York Times reports that

"Though American and Israeli officials refuse to talk publicly about what goes on at Dimona, the operations there, as well as related efforts in the United States, are among the newest and strongest clues suggesting that the virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program."

Israel has acknowledged recently that it has a cyber-warfare with both offensive and defensive branches. What a fascinating story.

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