Iran’s Latest American Hostages

November 11th, 2009 James Phillips

Iran’s list of hostages is steadily growing despite the Obama Administration’s zealous efforts to engage Iran’s brutal dictatorship. Three young American hikers who accidentally strayed across the Iranian border last summer now face charges of espionage, which is punishable by the death penalty in Iran. Yesterday an Iranian prosecutor indicated that the three hikers, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 30, and Joshua Fattal, 27, were being investigated as spies after they were arrested, allegedly on the Iranian side of the poorly-marked Iraq-Iran border on July 31. Today Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad piled on by stressing Iran’s right to punish people who illegally crossed its border and suggesting that the United States was responsible for the kidnapping of an Iranian pilgrim in Saudi Arabia.

Last month an Iranian-American scholar, Kian Tajbakhsh, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison because of alleged subversive activity. Tajbakhsh was arrested during the unrest that broke out after Iran’s sham elections last June and he never received a fair trial, which is par for the course in Iran.

Iran also still has failed to satisfactorily explain the disappearance of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI investigator who disappeared in Iran in 2007 after meeting with David Belfield, an American convert to Islam who fled to Iran after he assassinated an exiled Iranian opposition leader, Ali Akbar Tabatabai, in 1980 in Bethesda, Maryland. Levinson is believed to be held in a secret prison in Iran. Clearly, President Obama’s engagement policy has done little to help hostage Americans, let alone the millions of Iranians who are being held hostage by Iran’s criminal regime.

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Urban Conservative Officially Relaunches

October 29th, 2009 Billy Hallowell

Hello, America!  I am extremely excited to be writing to you this evening, as I officially begin my journey as editor-in-chief of UrbanConservative.com.  My name is Billy Hallowell and I am honored to introduce myself to you all.  

I have been a contributor to this site for the past two years.  I am a journalist and commentator who has been working in media for nearly 11 years (Im 26, so I started fairly young).  In 2003, I founded Pathufind Media and I am currently the host of RENEWtv, a web show devoted to renewing American conservatism.  And now, Im officially a member of the Urban Conservative family!

But enough about me.  You can surely read more on my Web site, but Im guessing youre most interested in what will be happening here on UrbanConservative.com!  Tomorrow, we will become a daily publication.  Many of you have been actively reading UC for years.  This new change will afford you even more access to valuable news and information!

Youll notice weve launched a plethora of new topics.  While these subjects are of great importance to American politics, please be patient as we build our content around them (i.e. there may be a lag before all topics have streaming content).  But, we will be branching into new and uncharted news categories, as you can see.

Also, in November, my show RENEWtv will officially join forces with Urban Conservative.  

These are just some of the changes in store as we move forward!  Please be patient as we transition, add new blogs to the CONLIST and forge our path moving forward.  I thank you for your support and readership and I look forward to serving you!

Billy Hallowell, Editor-in-Chief


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Benjamin Netanyahu back in office, bummer for Iran

April 1st, 2009 Urban Conservative

Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote; and I am only writing now due to recent developments in the Middle East.

Just yesterday, in an interview with The Atlantic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel could go it alone and attack Iran if the country went nuclear. He said in unusually blunt language (according to the article) of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran” … and dammit, he is absolutely right.  A nuclear Iran would surely wreak havoc not only in the Middle East but the world abroad.

He also said that “The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons … and that Israel would not necessarily need American approval to launch an attack.”  This will prove to be Obamas first major test in the Middle East.

The issue, in my opinion, is not Israel’s Military capability. Foreign leadership across the globe knows that Israel does not play games when it comes to protecting their land from foreign invasion. Past history is clear that those who attack Israel get dealt with very badly – no holds barred, no protesting from Code Pink, no congressional approval, no remorse.  The question here is simple.  Does Netanyahu have the stomach to launch a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities? I think he does.

Now will someone from Mossad go shut Chavez the hell up? His big mouth rhetoric is sickening to my ears.

Tags: Iran, Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad, Obama, pre-emptive strike, nuclear


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Breaking News: Israeli Military exercise seems directed at Iran

June 19th, 2008 Urban Conservative

Watch out Ahmadinejad. The heat is coming; but the Iran Military is waiting. It’s been reported that Israel has facilitated a major military exercise earlier this month as a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Irans nuclear facilities.

According to the International Herald Tribune (the global edition of the NY Times), several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the militarys capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Irans nuclear program.

According to these officials, more than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighter jets participated in air maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June; which also included helicopter exercises.

In the past, Israel has carried out two preemptive strikes against nuclear sites in the Middle East. In 1981, Israeli jets leveled Iraqs nuclear plant at Osirak after it was confirmed that it was part of Saddam Husseins nuclear weapons program.   And more recently, Israel aft bombed a structure in Syria that housed a nuclear reactor built with the aid of North Korea.

Can you really blame Israel for taking a proactive approach in dealing with this issue? Or, maybe they should take a more diplomatic approach. Yeah, that should work. Long live Israel!


Tags: Israel, Iran, Nuclear site, weapons programs, syria, Osirak, military, air strikes, israeli military exercise, israel military exercise, iran comments on israeli air maneuvers, iran military, israel greece military exercise, israel june 19th and military exercise, israel military exercises iran,


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Ahmadinejad Needs to Get Dealt With, Now!

June 18th, 2007 Urban Conservative

And if you dont agree with me, you need to get dealt with too! Since taking power, Irans so-called president Ahmadinejad, has made some insane comments which have garnered the attention of the world, or at least those who care to know what’s going outside of their liberal communities. Here are some direct quotes taken from this lunatic of a leader:

  • “The Holocaust is a myth and never really happenedâ€?
  • We dont shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world
  • “Irans culture of martyrdom-seeking is the countrys best guarantee of national securityâ€?
  • In an open letter to President Bush, Ahmadinejad invited Bush to become a Muslim; then later said in an interview, Those who refuse to accept an invitation to good will (to follow Islam) will not have a good ending or fate.

For those uninformed liberals that don’t know, Ahmadinejad follows a radical sect of Shia Islam that is awaiting the return of the 12th Imam, or the Mahdi, a figure Shia Muslims believe will return to earth and usher in a time of peace and justice; of course the caveat is that this is all supposed to take place after Islam has taken over and dominated the world. Seems to me like these are fightin’ words but since the U.S. is too afraid of public opinion to deal with the task at hand, I am sure he will get dealt with really soon by Mossad; like they did his boy Ardeshire Hassanpour.

And to think that most liberals complain about Bush and call him a dictator and terrorist just baffles me!

Technorati Tags: liberal, liberalism, conservative, israel, palestine, hezbollah, jews, cnn, Ahmadinejad, Iran, Mossad


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An Open Letter to Sean Penn

March 27th, 2007 Urban Conservative

I am sure many of you tuned in the other night to watch that punk Sean Penn read his open letter to President Bush in front of the usual suspects. He framed it quite eloquently when he called Bush, Cheney and Condi villainously and criminally obscene people. I was actually really impressed with his vocabulary. Mr. Penn, your high school education really paid off that evening. While I do respect the fact that the courageous Mr. Penn toured the streets of Baghdad during this occupational war; that does not make him an expert in foreign policy. The fact of the matter is Mr. Penn; you dont know what the hell you are talking about. All you do is complain about the war in Iraq and boast that Iran is such a great country. If Iran is such a great country, why not shack up with Ahmadinejad and take up residence there? Believe me Sean; you would be doing all of us level headed people a huge favor.

On the flip side Sean yes you are an above average actor. And, yes, I am a fan of some of your movies (i.e. Falcon and the Snowman and Mystic River); but you left-wing rhetoric puts you on the same playing field as Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon and, of course, your fearless leader Cindy Sheehan. Its people like you that make the Democratic Party look ridiculous and God knows that even they want all of you Hollywood types to shut the heck up!

Technorati Tags: liberal, liberalism, conservative, sean penn, sean penn muslim, sean penn muslim, sean penn saddam hussein, sean penn punk


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Enemy of the Week, John Edwards

February 23rd, 2007 Urban Conservative

Presidential Hopeful John Edwards is perhaps the most dangerous democrat running for office: Perhaps the Greatest Short-Term Threat to World Peace Is the Possibility That Israel Would Bomb Irans Nuclear Facilities were his words.

There are other emerging fissures, as well. The aggressively photogenic John Edwards was cruising along, detailing his litany of liberal causes last week until, during question time, he invoked the I word Israel. Perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace, Edwards remarked, was the possibility that Israel would bomb Irans nuclear facilities. As a chill descended on the gathering, the Edwards event was brought to a polite close.

Threat to world peace? What planet do you live on Johnny? You, like most of the other democrats are just crowd pleasers. You dont have a backbone, flip flop on every issue and will say anything for a vote. I wonder if it was you Johnny who helped craft that wonderful letter of peace from Ahmedinijad to the American people. After all, Iran is not a threat to world peace, right?

Technorati Tags: liberal, liberalism, conservative, israel, Ahmadinejad, Iran, john edwards


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Enemy of the Week, Ardeshire Hassanpour, assassinated by Mossad

February 5th, 2007 Urban Conservative

Lets face it, there are some people in this world that are better off not breathing. Please dont take this the wrong way; no dissresepect to Ardeshire, the PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist, for all the great work hes done for Irans Nuclear Program; but cmon, did you think Israel is going to sit around while Ahmadinejad and his power crazy thugs acquire nukes? He should have known that he was a walking dead man, just like everyone else in Ahmadinejads clan. Thank you Mossad for having the balls to take action! I wonder whos next?

Technorati Tags: ahmadinejad, Iran, israel, Mossad


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Top Democrat Ahmadinejad Writes Letter to the American People

November 29th, 2006 Urban Conservative

Today, Top Democrat (you will see what I mean later) and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written an open letter to us, the American people. I have quoted a few of his words and provided my responses accordingly.

Were we not faced with the activities of the US administration in this part of the world and the negative ramifications of those activities on the daily lives of our peoples, coupled with the many wars and calamities caused by the US administration as well as the tragic consequences of US interference in other countries?

Millions of people have been freed under the actions of the United States since WWII. No other nation can make this claim. Although we are not perfect and have made several mistakes in our infancy, we try and stand on the side of good. The actions of the U.S. are honorable. If not, why do so many flee your country (and every other country for that matter) and come to ours for freedom?

And if we did not share a common responsibility to promote and protect freedom and human dignity and integrity… Both our nations are God-fearing, truth loving and justice seeking, and both seek dignity, respect and perfection.

Huh? Why does your country vow the destruction of Israel if you fear God and promote peace!

Both greatly value and readily embrace the promotion of human ideals such as compassion, empathy, respect for the rights of human beings, securing justice and equity, and defending the innocent and the weak against oppressors and bullies. We are all inclined towards the good, and towards extending a helping hand to one another, particularly to those in need. We all deplore injustice, the trampling of peoples rights and the intimidation and humiliation of human beings.

So, how do you explain the treatment towards women in your own country? 

Our nation has always extended its hand of friendship to all other nations of the world.

With the exception of Israel, of course.

We, like you, are aggrieved by the ever-worsening pain and misery of the Palestinian people. Persistent aggressions by the Zionists are making life more and more difficult for the rightful owners of the land of Palestine. In broad daylight, in front of cameras and before the eyes of the world, they are bombarding innocent defenseless civilians, bulldozing houses, firing machine guns at students in the streets and alleys, and subjecting their families to endless grief.

Rightful owners? Its been Israels land since the beginning if time; and year after year they keep giving it to people that have no rightful ownership (Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Lebanon, etc). Oh, and you forgot to mention Israels strategy of suicide bombing.

Lets take a look at Iraq . Since the commencement of the US military presence in Iraq , hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, maimed or displaced. Terrorism in Iraq has grown exponentially.

Yes, you are right; killed by Iranian supported insurgents.

With the presence of the US military in Iraq , nothing has been done to rebuild the ruins, to restore the infrastructure or to alleviate poverty. The US Government used the pretext of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq , but later it became clear that that was just a lie and a deception.

That is crap!!! There are tons of efforts going on right now to rebuild Iraq. Dont even get me on the subject of WMDs. Try telling the families of the 100,000 Kurds that were killed with the WMDs by Saddam. It was the same WMDs that supposedly never existed.

You have certainly heard the sad stories of the Guantanamo and Abu-Ghraib prisons. The US administration attempts to justify them through its proclaimed war on terror. But every one knows that such behavior, in fact, offends global public opinion, exacerbates resentment and thereby spreads terrorism, and tarnishes the US image and its credibility among nations.

You must be referring to the Known mass-graves related to Abu Ghraib when Saddam was in power, right? Do you think the beheading of infidels offends the global community too?

The US administrations illegal and immoral behavior is not even confined to outside its borders. You are witnessing daily that under the pretext of the war on terror, civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning. Judicial due process and fundamental rights are trampled upon. Private phones are tapped, suspects are arbitrarily arrested, sometimes beaten in the streets, or even shot to death.

Civil liberties??? I am laughing so hard right now? You are talking about civil liberties which you yourself dont even adopt for your own people!!! Your regime severely limits freedom of speech and the press, cracking down on blogs and blocking access to many Internet sites. According to the State Department:

  • Citizens who peacefully exercise freedom of expression and voice opinions contrary to the regimes, can be prosecuted for instigating crimes against the state.
  • Insulting Islam, as interpreted by the regime, can be punishable by death.
  • Journalists are often threatened, and many have been jailed. Imprisonment can involve torture or deplorable solitary confinement conditions.
  • During the past five years the regime closed more than 70 reformist newspapers and magazines sentencing many managers to jail.

Source to the State Department Website

Id also like to say a word to the winners of the recent elections in the US :
The United States has had many administrations; some who have left a positive legacy, and others that are neither remembered fondly by the American people nor by other nations.
Now that you control an important branch of the US Government, you will also be held to account by the people and by history.

If the US Government meets the current domestic and external challenges with an approach based on truth and Justice, it can remedy some of the past afflictions and alleviate some of the global resentment and hatred of America . But if the approach remains the same, it would not be unexpected that the American people would similarly reject the new electoral winners, although the recent elections, rather than reflecting a victory, in reality point to the failure of the current administrations policies.

And there you have it; an open letter not only to the American people but to his comrades in the democrat party. I assume that Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders are also happy that the democrats took control of the house and senate.

To Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, thank you for the suggestions on how we should run our country. Lord knows you do a much better job of this than we do. The millions of people you have suppressed and cut off from the real world is a great show of leadership.

Last question Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would you allow President Bush to submit an open letter to the citizens in your country and get the same publication and broadcasting?

Technorati Tags: liberal, liberalism, conservative, israel, palestine, hezbollah, jews, cnn, Ahmadinejad, Iran, Fox News, kurds, Saddam

 


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