Buy cheap Armani,Hugo Boss,Versace suits for man

A trip through my sweater drawer
  I guess like most man I love clothes — except in my case it’s man’s Mens Suits Fashion . I don’t know why I like man’s sweaters so much — perhaps it’s because they can be so very practical, yet very stylish and fashionable, at the same time. All I know is that I have been wearing sweaters for a long time (since my very earliest days, in fact) and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.One of the things that I think I’d be interested in man’s sweaters was the fact that I learned to knit when I was a teenager — I used to sit for hours and hours with my grandmother and we would knit all sorts of things — and eventually, when I was a bit older, I tried my hand at knitting a sweater. And when I discovered that you could find all sorts of free knitting patterns for man’s sweaters on the Internet — I nearly went ape! Now I have knitted about a half dozen sweaters — all types and sizes for myself and other family members.One of my most valued sweaters is an old woolen woman’s ski sweater that has an old-fashioned snowflake applique design across the front — it doesn’t fit me so well anymore, because it was given to me as a gift by that very same grandmother when I was just a teenager. But it is too precious to me, for the memories that it holds, to ever dispose of it.When I came to this country I was adopted by a nice American couple, who are (at least partially) of Irish extraction. So very early on I learned of the existence of thick, warm Irish knit Affordable Suits — as a matter of fact I have a fond love for all the northern European countries which are located in cold climates — that’s why I also love my Icelandic design Bergen man’s cardigan as well. Both of these types of sweaters are just perfect to wear when it gets REALLY cold outside!Of course, I’m not a little girl anymore — I put on a little bit of weight here and there through the years, so I was glad to see that more and more manufacturers are producing  Mens Armani  in a plus-sizes. I have a couple of man’s plus size angora sweaters that I like to wear on special occasions — especially when my husband and I like to spend some romantic time together (he just seems to love cuddling up with me when I’m wearing one of those very soft angora sweaters!).Of course an angora sweater is not something that I want to go around wearing every day. When I’m busy cleaning up around the house I like to wear a sweater vest, because it is sleeveless and won’t get caught on objects as I move around home. I think that man’s sized sweater vests are a great practical addition to any woman’s wardrobe (any woman who loves sweaters, that is!).I’m trying to get my older daughters interested in both knitting and sweaters. How am I doing that? Well I have purchased a few 100% cotton man’s Navy Pinstripe Suit for them — they’re not as expensive as some of the other types of man’s sweaters. I have also begun teaching them how to knit — right now we’re working on some tall man’s ski sweaters — they’re a little bit too big for them to wear, but they like the idea of slipping into something that is oversized — it seems that oversized garments, particularly sweaters, are favored by the young these days.Well, that’s a trip through my sweater drawer — I hope that these few thoughts have perhaps ignite your interest in taking a knitting, or might inspire you to purchase a sweater or two for your self or a loved one — and if that’s happened, I’ll be more than satisfied! www.shirts-lake.com  wyt120329

A Shopping Guide For Cashmere Sweaters
    Copyright (c) 2011 Sandra TiffanyCashmere Navy Blue Suits are considered to be the Cadillac of sweaters for man because they are very desirable and considered very fashionable to wear. They are a status symbol and the high end designers all use the material for their more costly tops. However there are less expensive sweaters that contain a blend that are just as nice and not quite as pricey.Many man are looking for a way to make the next great fashion statement. The concept of wearing an expensive sweater can be part of the statement. man shopping for a sweater or cardigan may want to shop at department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom’s and Dillard’s. J.C. Penney’s or Macy’s are also department stores to find more affordable sweaters or fabric blends.Magazines are a source for finding sweaters and great bargains. They may also have Theory Suit with different colors and styles as well as pairing them with jeans, skirts or jackets. The buys that you can get out of a catalog or magazine can be of great value. Victoria Secret, or instance, is likely to offer a great cashmere sweater in their catalog that will be in your size and will be extremely affordable. A company like Lane Bryant also offers reasonable items for man in all sizes or look on line at Overstock.com. Overstock.com offers an assortment of colors, sizes and styles when it comes to cashmeres. Styles and prices range from: 1. J.C. Penney’s shawl sweater-$47.22 2. J Crew casual White Suit For Men  $29.00 3. Ralph Lauren Sport V-Neck-$199.95 4. Joie mans LaDonna Stripped Blue Suits Men   $299.99 A consumer would and should want plenty of choice when shopping for man’s cashmere sweaters and blue happens to be one of the favorite colors. The sweater that a woman happens to buy can be great for a dinner party or merely just for relaxing at home. You want to make sure, however, that you do not end up spilling anything on yourMens White Suits , but if you do make sure you do know a way to clean it. Let’s not forget to mention cashmeres for men too. The top brands are Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo and Banana Republic. The sweaters prices range from $49.99 to the designer label starting at $299.00.Cashmere sweaters are desirable, fashionable and vary greatly in price. Determine what your pocketbook can afford, choose the style and color and have a great time shopping.www.shirts-lake.com  wyt120329

Western Bulldogs veteran Daniel Giansiracusa says the club has learnt the hard way that a slow build through the AFL pre-season competition is better than winning it.
The Dogs made a modest start under new coach Brendan McCartney in Blacktown on Saturday night, losing narrowly to a vastly under-strength Collingwood after scraping past newcomers Greater Western Sydney.

But Giansiracusa said after spending the past five months working on their new gameplan, there was enough to like in their first competitive hit-out, with the results not too important.

“I’d hope that we weren’t playing at our best in the first round of the NAB Cup,” Giansiracusa told reporters on Wednesday.

“We’ve probably learnt at this club that we won a (pre-season) premiership a couple of years ago and we were cooked by about round 18.

“So it’s a timing thing, we’re putting things in place with our training and as I said, we’ll build up until round one against West Coast.

“There’s things to work on definitely.

“We didn’t walk away going, ‘Yep, we’re ready to go and we’re ready to win 17 or 18 games.’

“But we were happy with the competitive effort.”

The 29-year-old forward said winning the 2010 pre-season competition had been a thrill at the time, but hindsight showed they suffered later from going too hard, too soon.

“I know I’d prefer to be going that well at the business end of the season,” Giansiracusa said.

The Bulldogs have this weekend off, before meeting Carlton in round two of the pre-season competition on Sunday week.

Stars Adam Cooney and Brian Lake, who had injury-hampered 2011 seasons and did not play on Saturday night, are likely to return for that match.

The Bulldogs’ top national draft pick, hard-nosed 18-year-old midfielder Clay Smith, had his first taste of senior football on Saturday night.

Smith has already earned lavish praise from McCartney, who last week said the teenager “plays football the way you like to see it played” and was set to become an instant fan favourite.

“That’s just how I’ve been playing my whole life and obviously that’s the way he likes the game played,” the youngster said on Wednesday.

“I’ve come to a club and I’m lucky that the coach, it’s his sort of game style.”

Slow pre-season suits Bulldogs

A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York.

“It was fun the first couple of years. Then it got like, I’m never going to get out of this funk,” he said Monday, a day after the Yankees dealt him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a pair of low-level prospects.

After signing an $82.5 million U.S., five-year contract, Burnett helped the Yankees to their 27th World Series title in 2009. Then he slumped to a 21-26 record with a 5.20 ERA over the following two seasons.

He led the major leagues with 25 wild pitches last year and allowed a career-high 31 homers.

“I let a few too many people tinker with me, maybe,” Burnett said. “When you let that happen, you start doubting yourself sometimes. You wonder, ‘Am I doing it right? Is this how it’s supposed to feel?’ and things like that. In ’09, nobody messed with me. I was able to do what I wanted to do on the mound, whether it was turn around, close my eyes and pitch upside down. Then you have a few bad games and you start changing and listening.”

Pittsburgh is paying just $13 million of Burnett’s salary: $5 million this year and $8 million in 2013. The Yankees are paying the rest.

In a smaller market with reduced expectations, there should be less pressure on the 35-year-old right-hander.

“It’s going to be a fresh start,” Burnett said. “It’s going to be fun. I’m going back to the National League, where I can hit and bunt and get the joy back into the game.”

A 13-year veteran, Burnett will move into the top spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation. General manager Neal Huntington thinks Burnett can return to his form of a few years ago.

“Our scouts still saw very good stuff,” Huntington said. “They saw power to the fastball, although the velocity is down from four or five years ago. He’s still got good movement. He was still one of the better ground-ball pitchers in the American League last year, which is going to play well in our ballpark.”

Burnett also will be expected to provide a leadership role for younger players.

“Hopefully, I can just lead by example,” Burnett said. “I’ll take the ball every five days. I’m not going to make excuses. One thing I can take from my time in New York is I’ll never back down from anything. I’m not a cheerleader, shaking pompoms. But I know right and wrong and, hopefully, I can share that with the younger players.”

Escape from Bronx suits A.J. Burnett just fine ‘I let too many people tinker with me’

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The fight for the Novack family fortune is underway.
Attorneys representing several Novack family relatives filed a claim in Broward County arguing they alone are the rightful heirs to the estate. The attorneys represent Maxine Fiel, Ben Novack’s aunt, as well as a couple of cousins, including Andrea Wynn, wife of Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn..
“They are entitled to what belongs to them and their family,” attorney Mark Hanson said Wednesday at his offices in Palm Beach Gardens. “And to have some unrelated person come in and benefit from the fruits of their labor is something our client finds objectionable. We’re not here as money grabbers, if you will. We’re here to do justice on behalf of our clients.”
Ben Novack Jr. was beaten to death in a New York hotel room in July 2009. His wife, Narcy Novack, was charged a year later with his killing. She is also accused of arranging the murder of Novack’s mother, Bernice. Prosecutors claim Narcy hatched her “diabolical plot” to kill off Ben and Bernice so she could take over the family’s estate estimated to be worth between $6 and $10 million. Ben Novack’s father once owned the famed Fontainebleau Hotel and Ben had created a successful convention planning business.
Hanson said the purpose of his claim was to “cut off the blood line” of Narcy Novack so that neither Narcy, nor any of her descendants, would profit from Narcy’s alleged crimes.
But that may not be so easily done. Ben and Narcy Novack were married more than eighteen years, and Ben considered Narcy’s daughter, May Abad, to be like his own child. And when May started a family of her own, Ben considered her two boys to be his grandsons – even though technically they were his step-grandchildren.
Ben’s will leaves the two young boys a portion of the estate, but Hanson and the other attorneys are seeking to block those provisions.
Hanson said under what’s known as “slayer’s law” the killer can not in benefit from the crime by inheriting the victim’s money. Hanson said the “theory” they are working on is that if any of the Novack money goes to May Abad or her two boys, then there is the “potential” that they could turn around and give some of that money to Narcy Novack.
Neither May Abad nor her attorney responded to numerous requests for an interview.
On Wednesday, Bernice Novack’s 85-year-old sister, Maxine Fiel, explained she was moving forward with the claim on the money because she didn’t want to see it end up in the wrong hands.
“Not one of my children or I have ever discussed the money,” she said by phone from Saratoga Springs, New York. “I want justice. I want that woman [Narcy Novack] put away forever and never see the light of day.”
When confronted with the fact the lawsuit she was filing was, indeed, about money, Fiel responded: “Yeah, well, now it is. Everybody else seems to be after it. I want to make sure it goes to the family where it belongs.”
The attorneys representing the Novack relatives also raised doubts about the size of the estate. They said they believed the publicly stated estimates that the estate is worth between $6 and $10 million – including a $2 million collection of Batman memorabilia – may be low. They said they think Ben may have hidden millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts.
“There is the possibility that Ben may have had money in the Cayman Islands,” said attorney Michael Zweig.
Added attorney Harvey Morse: “Ben’s business was worth approximately $50 million a year. So where did the money go? Where is it?”
Morse said FBI agents were looking for hidden bank accounts and had questions Maxine. “The FBI has interviewed Maxine to see if she has any information – and she does not,” Morse said. “But she also believes there is significantly more money than what is currently known to us.”
Broward Suit Will Lay Claim To Novack Fortune

If you want to feel way older than you are, give Agnes a call. She’s guaranteed to make you feel bent and creaky before your time.
“Agnes” is an acronym for “Age Gain Now Empathy System,” a head-to-toe “old-age suit” developed by engineers at MIT’s AgeLab. Using Dickies coveralls as a base, the suits feature bungee-cord-like bands that prevent full extension of limbs, braces that make it harder to move them, shoes that impede balance and glasses that blur the fine print. It makes anyone who puts one on feel like he or she has the body of the average 75-year-old.

Used first by engineers in their mid-20s, the adjustable suits are now being tried out by corporate designers, product developers and even sales executives who want to understand the difficulties of opening a jar, maneuvering through a store or just walking down the street when you have a dowager’s hump, diabetes or arthritis.

“Most people are so fatigued after five minutes of wearing one that they have to fight the urge to sit down,” said Angelina Gennis, the MIT research associate in charge of Agnes management.

“One guy tried to open a box of his own company’s cake mix and said, ‘This is too hard, I’ll just buy a ready-made one.’ It really allows you to pick up on things that older adults have just learned to cope with over time, like having more difficulty turning a doorknob.”

Another reason that Agnes may become increasingly useful for market research is that no previous generation has ever been more against appearing old.

“Baby boomers, especially, want their stuff to look cool,” Gennis said. “They don’t want anything that screams ‘geriatric,’ like those bulky gray cellphones with four buttons.”

Agnes is also providing a public service, Gennis said, by persuading at least some of her wearers to improve their health habits while they’re young

‘Old-age suit,’ aka Agnes, mimics challenges, limitations of elderly

LOS ANGELES — A judge granted a motion Tuesday to dismiss concert promoter AEG Live from a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson’s father.
City News Service said Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos agreed with AEG attorneys who said Joe Jackson should have joined a separate suit filed by his wife, Katherine. The judge said the law does not favor multiple suits by individual heirs.

She said that to allow Joe Jackson’s suit against AEG Live to go forward would “allow the heirs of a decedent to file as many suits as there are heirs.”

“Allowing Joseph Jackson to continue with his subsequent suit against AEG Live, alleging the same wrongful death claims as the related case, would contravene the purpose of the one-action rule,” she said.

AEG also argued that Joe Jackson is not a legitimate heir to his son’s fortune. The father was not mentioned in the King of Pop’s will.

“At the time Michael Jackson died, (his father) was estranged from his son, who repeatedly and publicly accused him of physical and other abuse,” the AEG Live court papers said.

The decision leaves Dr. Conrad Murray and Applied Pharmacy Services of Las Vegas as the only defendants in Joe Jackson’s suit. Murray is in jail after having been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death. He says he is broke.

Katherine Jackson alleges in her suit that AEG Live is responsible for medical decisions made by Murray.

AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam called the ruling a major victory for the entertainment giant. Joe Jackson’s lawyer Maureen Jaroscak called it a temporary setback and suggested that the 83-year-old Jackson might now try to become a party to his wife’s lawsuit.

Michael Jackson died in June 2009 from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, which Murray was administering to him as a sleep medication.

Joe Jackson Lawsuit: Judge Dismisses Concert Promoter

And should our own Sir Percys still be picking or evaluating top coaches in this professional era?
IN 1988 ex-steelworker Harry Perkins “the simple minded fool” led his far left Labour Party into government but he was soon to become embroiled with Sir Percy and the senior civil servants, the hidden men in A Very British Coup . Perkins, like referee (Dave) Pearson, was exposed by those faceless men in suits.
Newton must have been thinking of Paris when he came up with his third law; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What unfolded did bring a reaction from me, catching me by total surprise. As the seconds ticked by I began to feel sorry for the protagonists. Truth be told, I started feeling sorry for myself but then I realised I didn’t have to pen my piece for Monday morning! On this realisation I began to look deep into the crowd and feel their pain.
Less than 24 hours later I received an email from Dublin 7 stating: “I have attended 51 consecutive Ireland Six Nations games since 2001, that is every game every year home and away . . . but on a matter of principle I intend to break the sequence as I feel all travelling fans were shown how much they are truly valued; my protest may have little impact on the commercials of the modern game but it is the only form of protest available to me.”
The error I made was accepting the “cool” control the French appeared to have on the climate. To what extent the Six Nations requires bums on seats over sponsorship and TV is a matter for the number crunchers but the unions need to wake up to the pendulum that’s swinging away from the Six Nations to the provinces.
Irish people are looking for reasons to justify non-attendance and last Saturday is one such opportunity. What are the faceless men in suits in the IRFU going to do to soften the blow? Aren’t Heineken Cup teams fined if their venue is unplayable? Didn’t the FAI’s John Delaney and Sunderland’s Niall Quinn put their hands deep into their pockets for the fans?
Timing can be cruel but also kind so I wondered about Declan Kidney. But then I found myself wondering, why am I feeling sorry for Declan Kidney? After all he is a highly-decorated and very well-paid head of the pack whose role is to take the extremely successful franchises at provincial level, positively bursting at the seams with talent and winning culture and to blend those available assets into a winning combination.
The lull in play this week allows time to dwell on this point. Is Kidney maximising the assets available to him? Benchmark him to Wales and the answer is not really or even no.
It appears Ireland take years to move the ship in a new direction where both Australia and Wales can reinvent in a matter of short seasons. Look at Australia’s run into each RWC, generally spluttering from crisis to crisis, before a reinvention of the scrum or patterns and, hey presto, contenders again.
Warren Gatland has in a short space built on the natural Welsh culture of offloading to build a very potent force. In the meantime what have Ireland been doing?
Let’s start with Kidney’s coaching/management team, where there’s been much talk of Les Kiss. When I was in schools and club rugby, where Kidney’s journey began, the man who coached the attack and the defence was known as the coach. In that he was “the coach”. Others came in to aid him, such as the odd kicking, scrummaging or lineout session from a past player. They would provide the necessary focus and different voice that proved a welcome distraction. But the coach remained in charge of policy and this unfolded in the attack and defence sessions. Kiss (An extremely decorated and talented professional rugby man.) is the man tasked with defence and offence. Does this not then make him the coach?
If that be the case then what is Kidney’s role and is there confusion amongst the ranks?
With Harry Perkins in mind, I want to float to the level where these major decisions are being made. Who actually appoints the coaches at national and provincial levels and what indeed is their pedigree and process? But more importantly, what is their understanding of the professional game and the role of the coach therein?
Ulster’s rather harsh looking ousting of Brian McLaughlin is a good place to start, where a winning formula is judged insufficient. But Ulster’s director of rugby, David Humphreys, is perfectly placed to make, or at least guide the committee on, those decisions. With over 70 caps for Ireland his pedigree is not in doubt but that they spanned the amateur and professional days is crucial.
Humphreys retired from Ireland but six years ago and Ulster but four. He is the new elite along with Conor O’Shea that understand the requirements of any professional coach, speak their language and most importantly, are qualified to sit in judgment of their performance. Not just that as a professional himself, Humphreys is living and breathing Ulster rugby daily, mixing with the coaches, the players and the academies.
It’s been 17 years since 1995 but there’s not one former pro in the IRFU committee. In A Very British Coup, Sir Percy, born to the position, was wielding the axe. Who in the IRFU is sitting in Kidney’s judgment and are they qualified to pass judgement and source the new Kidney? The IRFU website www.irishrugby.ie/irfu/committee/index.php is worth a visit to see the commonality of the names strewn throughout the committees. Let us for a moment suspend reality once more. What criteria and questions would the IRFU appointing committee, led by chairmen Finbarr Crowley or Martin O’Sullivan, ask of World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry to establish his suitability for the Irish job? Would they follow the FAI format and ask former pros close to the game (Ray Houghton etc) to source their man? In 2008, Neil Jackson, Pat Whelan and Noel Murphy were instrumental in Kidney’s nomination but also in Eddie O’Sullivan’s extension.
As Humphreys and his team-mate Mark McCall raised the European Cup aloft way back in 1999 immediately behind them in the stand were Irish and British and Irish Lions legend Noel “Noisy” Murphy.
He is an incredible rugby man and a massive asset to Irish rugby but is there space in the professional game for an amateur in assessing the performance of our Irish and provincial coaches and driving Ireland’s play forward over someone like Humphreys?
Connacht, for so long the fourth estate, are leading the way on a number of fronts. Obviously their underage game has flourished in recent times but it is the appointments that have been made almost stealthily that are worth watching. They have advertised for a new CEO and it’ll be very interesting to see who fills this role and how ambitious Connacht are in getting the next Conor O’Shea into the ranks.
The world of professional rugby is changing, and very fast. Are the Irish rugby team performing to their best and if not who judges them? The faceless men in suits!
Six Nations suits could pay for disregarding fans

For older Americans looking for work, finding a job can be a tremendous challenge. Someone 55 or older will typically take three months longer to find employment than the average job seeker.
And with more people of all ages looking for work in the slow economy, age discrimination complaints are on the rise — but becoming harder to win.
Employment law experts say that has a lot to do with one particular case: Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc.
‘Persona Non Grata’
One day in 2003, Jack Gross saw a memo detailing staffing changes at the insurance company where he worked.
“I got this ahead of time, and it just jumped off the page,” he recalls. “Everybody that they’re naming here is my age or older. Nobody under 50 was getting demoted. The only promotions were people who were basically a generation younger than us.”
Gross, 54 and a vice president at FBL Financial at the time, was among a dozen employees demoted that day. All were older workers, and all were high performers. But Gross alone decided to sue his employer for age discrimination.
“That was terrible. Once you file suit against your company, you’re pretty much persona non grata,” he says. “I felt like I was crossing enemy lines.”
Former friends at work spurned Gross. He was excluded from meetings and received virtually no emails or phone calls. The ostracism made him sick with stress, but he stayed on the job another nine years because he felt he had no choice. What employer in his native Des Moines, he thought, would hire someone older who had also filed an age discrimination suit?
Gross eventually won in lower court, but the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — where Gross lost. In a 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that a plaintiff must prove, with a preponderance of evidence, that age was the reason for discrimination.
In effect, Gross v. FBL increased the burden of proof for age discrimination suits. Because of the ruling, experts say hundreds of other cases have been thrown out.
“Personally, that’s one of the things that I resent most,” Gross says. “That my name is being associated with so much injustice and unfairness.”
Complaints On The Rise
Even before the ruling, it was costly and difficult to bring such cases. Gross says it cost $11,000 just to print the documents related to his case.
And Gross’ suit coincides with a time when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says age discrimination is becoming a bigger problem.
Stuart Ishimaru, an EEOC commissioner, says age-related charges make up a growing number of complaints filed at the commission. And, he says, “I think that the number of formal complaints that come in to us understate the nature of the problem.”
Ishimaru says that’s because dismissal or demotion cases like Gross’ are hard enough to prove. It’s even more challenging, he says, to figure out how to prosecute age discrimination in hiring.
Of all the issues the EEOC deals with, Ishimaru says, hiring has been “a real conundrum for us. And frankly in this economy, where people are looking for jobs, they don’t have time to worry about a discrimination suit. They’re not going to be thinking about this.”
Gerald Maatman, a Chicago attorney who represents employers in age discrimination cases, says such suits are high stakes for companies because the monetary damages involved are typically higher than other claims.
But, Maatman admits, plaintiffs have a difficult time bringing hiring cases. “Those claims are very, very difficult to prove, in that the smoking gun evidence that needs to exist to prove a successful claim is very difficult to find in those circumstances,” he says.
‘A Chilling Effect’
Gross’ case has had a chilling effect, according to Dan Kohrman, a senior attorney at the AARP Foundation, which helps bring age discrimination cases.
“These kinds of decisions scare off workers and scare off lawyers,” Kohrman says. “Because the clear trend is, it’s harder to prove an age case. You may not get a fair shake in all kinds of interpretations of the law.”
Kohrman says these days, plaintiffs are seeing better luck in state courts than at the federal level. States like California, Michigan and New York all have relatively strong protections for older workers.
But, Kohrman adds, “If you don’t live in that kind of state, then it is tough. It is really tough.”
As for Gross, he says his best hope is that his case will prompt Congress to pass tougher laws against age discrimination.
Age Discrimination Suits Jump, But Wins Are Elusive

Iran-watchers have had their work cut out this week making sense of the attacks on Israeli diplomats in Asia, confusion over a ban on oil sales to EU countries, a vaunted advance in the country’s nuclear programme and a cleverly formulated offer of a new round of talks on that hot and contentious issue.
It all made for a slew of mixed messages that underlined just how hard it is to understand the opaque reality of one of the most important countries in the Middle East, and, some observers warn, to overcome politically loaded western preconceptions about its behaviour.
Tehran flatly denied any part in the incidents in Thailand and India. But despite the Keystone Cops storyline of inept bombers and bungled plans, the attacks did look like retaliation for alleged Israeli killings of Iran’s nuclear scientists – and provided a glimpse of a covert dirty war that risks spiralling out of hand as tensions rise.
Publicly, though, there was one unambiguous signal when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled new centrifuges he claimed were able to enrich uranium more quickly – to a resounding lack of interest either at home or abroad. Experts agreed that this did not constitute a significant advance towards a nuclear capability that Iran insists is purely peaceful.
Iran’s intention, argued Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, was to show it would not be impeded by sanctions, sabotage or assassinations. “These announcements will further inflame talk of military options, which has reached feverish pitch in some quarters in Israel and the US,” he said. “But even in the highly unlikely event that everything Iran has announced is true, it would still take Iran a couple of years to produce a handful of weapons.” Ahmadinejad’s news, sniffed the US state department spokesman, was “not terribly new, and not terribly impressive”.
But in a year that has seen confirmation that Iran is producing 20% enriched uranium, stored in a bombproof mountain near Qom, US aircraft carriers sailing through the strait of Hormuz and the imposition of painful new western sanctions, this issue is not going away.
Israel’s warnings that it faces an “existential threat” from a nuclear-armed Iran have created an ominous sense that a decision is imminent – piling the pressure on Barack Obama in election year. Israel, an undeclared nuclear power, is said by those in the know to be recalculating its options every day. But bluff, rhetoric and deliberate misinformation are likely to be part of this story, too. So are internal divisions in Israel, where Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, insists that sanctions are not working, while Ehud Barak, his defence minister, says he thinks they are starting to be effective.
Complicating it all is uncertainty over who calls the shots in Tehran, where Ahmadinejad is locked in a power struggle with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who controls the Revolutionary Guards and threatened in a recent Friday sermon to punish Israel. “Everything suggests disarray,” says Ali Ansari of St Andrews University.
Wednesday’s announcement of a ban on oil sales to six EU countries is a case in point. EU sanctions banning Iranian oil imports were agreed in January but were not due to be implemented until July. So the announcement – immediately denied – looked foolish and counter-productive. “It’s a symptom of a headless government,” said Vahe Petrossian, an Iran energy expert. “They are just making things up as they go along.”
Fears of a low turnout in next month’s parliamentary election (being boycotted by an opposition that has never accepted the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s “stolen” second term in 2009) is a factor. Another is the deteriorating economic situation, with sanctions imposed by many countries now biting hard.
“There is a real malaise about the whole system,” says Ansari. “Some of my friends think it is terminal. People either don’t care any more or they are just too busy trying to make ends meet.”
Hardliners are said to find the sanctions a useful way of reinforcing their view of unremitting hostility from the west and Israel. “Israel is a convenient bogeyman for Iran’s own right-wing,” argues the political scientist Arshin Adib-Moghaddam. “Cyclical, confined confrontation with Israel is politically useful in order to foster support for the country’s policies, both domestically and in the wider Arab and Islamic world.”
Yet the risks are obvious. “Some of the things that have happened are signs of desperation and recklessness,” said a western diplomat who follows Iran closely. “They are feeling pretty beleaguered.” Another Tehran-watcher sees an alarming combination of “belligerence and schizophrenia”.
Nor is all well in the region. True, Iran has been influential in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and is a big player in Afghanistan as well. But it now risks losing Syria, its only Arab ally and link to Hezbollah, its partner in Lebanon. “Iran’s internal problems are far greater than they seem and beyond the region its external power is marginal,” argues analyst Baqer Moin.
Emile Hokayem, of the Institute of Strategic Studies, sees only bombast, risk-taking and incompetence in recent Tehran’s latest moves: “The Iranians may win something in terms of perception, but all in all they are on the losing side.”
On paper, Iran’s conventional military capabilities are no match for its enemies. But its forces are tough, battle-hardened and highly motivated: the naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard corps has experience in “assymetric warfare” using swarm tactics that combine small fast boats, missiles and mines that could play havoc in the strait of Hormuz.
“The fundamental problem is that Iran’s friends and enemies both overestimate its power and influence,” says Hokayem. “The west believes its own perceptions. Israel’s officially endorsed existential concern about Iran makes Israelis feel more vulnerable and more nervous … than warranted, which is massively counterproductive. In Washington, the hawks exaggerate to create a sense of urgency. The Gulf states hype things, too. But if you look at the substance, Iran doesn’t come across as a particularly powerful country. It’s trying to find its place in the international system and it’s failing. We need to rightsize the Iranian challenge.”
Iran is in crisis – but it suits everyone to exaggerate its power