Iran is planning a conference on the Holocaust (Arabic), to deny it that is. [Via Crossroads Arabia]
TEHRAN (AFP)- Iran has said it will still go ahead with its plan to host a conference questioning the Holocaust, with the event now scheduled for later in 2006.
The controversial idea emerged after hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the systematic slaughter of an estimated six million Jews during World War II as a "myth", and the event was initially set for early this year.
In January, British Prime Minister Tony Blair described plans for the conference as "shocking, ridiculous, stupid", and advised Ahmadinejad to "come and see the evidence of the Holocaust himself in the countries of Europe".
But Iran responded by inviting Blair to take part in the conference and "defend the Holocaust" as an historical fact.
Iran is off course capitalizing on the Middle East’s (sans Israel) ignorance of the history of the Holocaust. Such an event will most probably take place and be tolerated because it is against the Jews and, you know, that is ok. I consider this to be a stupid move by the Iranian government and a disgrace not only for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust but also to Poles, Roma, disabled people, communists, homosexuals and many other groups who were considered racially inferior or undesirables and thus were exterminated in Nazi concentration camps. Trying to prove that the Holocaust didn’t happened is like concluding that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were an act of imagination. FYI: The Mushroom cloud was actually a twister.
Supposedly, Iran is going to examine “scientific evidence” 
that questions the scale and number of victims of the alleged Holocaust. But would this conference include counter evidence to their theory? Would they provide free access to information about the Holocaust? Some copies of Anne Frank’s diary maybe? I highly doubt it. It would add a human dimension to the conference and this cannot be allowed. God forbid anyone associates with the victims.
It seems that the Iranian regime has been investing time and energy to host this conference? But to what end? Other than alienating themselves and provoking the rest of the world, I don’t see any benefits coming out of it. Since they seem to have interest in genocide and have all of these resources, I wonder why not host something beneficial instead. Here is a hint: There is an ongoing genocide in Darfur, or maybe you can remind us about Srebrenica.
This conference and how it will be perceived in the Middle East makes me think about our own education and how most of our population lacks the tools to make fair judgments about such events. It is no surprise that we are in dire need for real historical education. Has anyone ever heard about the Cambodian Genocide in our schools? I didn’t (neither did my classmates). Do they teach us anything related to the plight of others? Absolutely not. But hey, we get to learn about our own victimization and how the West is out to get us. Our historical education is limited to the cult of personalities of our leaders coupled with inadequate geography and history lessons and we are set for life. Who to blame? All of us (West not included).
It is quite interesting to observe the search terms that bring visitors to this blog (Thanks Google Analytics). And lately I have been receiving World Cup related inquires. Those searches vary from the normal: looking for details related to the games (sorry no help on this one – go to the experts for that: Yazeed’s blog), to the bizarre: World Cup porn (quite specific in their demands aren’t they?) However, I was surprised to discover that many are searching for an answer to the question: “Is soccer an un-American game?” 
I am not an American, therefore, I don’t know if Soccer qualifies as un-American. However, I do know that the driving force behind this game is passion and dedication, both are key for its global following. 
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