SERENDIP

When is it going to stop??

2011-06-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Interrupted Lives: Portraits of Student Repression in Iran

Since Iran's revolution in 1979, the government has systematically targeted students and deprived them of basic human rights. This trailer is a preview of a documentary that tells stories of students who have suffered repression, imprisonment, torture and worse.
» View full film (21 minutes)

Raped and tortured in Islamist Prison

2011-06-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Nazanin Sadighi
Prisoner raped and tortured in 1980s

Ahmad Batebi: "My heart is not Free"

2009-04-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Batebi: 60 Minutes
Ahmad Batebi interview on how he was tortured for 9 years
CBS) Much of the attention on Iran over the last few years has focused on its mysterious nuclear program. Another mystery that has received far less attention is torture in Iran's prisons. It's a story the Iranian government doesn't want you to hear; a story a man risked his life to tell. His name is Ahmad Batebi, and quite by accident he became one of the most famous dissidents in Iran. He says he endured years of torture in an Iranian prison, after his picture appeared on the cover of The Economist magazine. He escaped from Iran last year, and told CNN's Anderson Cooper how he did it.
To escape from Iran, Batebi was smuggled by car, and then by donkey, through mountains and minefields. He documented the dangerous journey on his cell phone camera. The men who helped him were from an underground Kurdish group and they were taking him into Iraq. Batebi never intended to be a famous dissident. He wanted to be a photo journalist, but it was a picture of him that changed his life and almost got him killed. In July 1999, demonstrations rocked Tehran. Outraged by a government crackdown on dissent, students took to the streets. Batebi, a film major at Tehran University joined in. When police fired into the crowd, a student standing next to Batebi was hit. "The bullet hit the wall and ricocheted back into my friend's shoulder. I heard the bullet go by my face," Batebi remembered. "It sounded like a bumblebee going by my ear." Trying to help, Batebi took his friend's shirt off. "To put pressure on the wound. It was bleeding. And so I tried to use his shirt to keep the blood in. Then we took him to the medical facility," he recalled.

(CORBIS)After helping his friend, Batebi returned to the protest, and waved the bloody shirt to show what police had done. That's when a photographer took a picture of Batebi that would appear on the cover of The Economist and was seen around the world. Just days after the picture appeared, the government arrested him. "They took me to a special prison for intelligence. And I was in solitary confinement for several months. After seven or eight months we went to court, but they didn’t tell me where we were going. I was blindfolded, and I thought this was just part of my questioning. They sat me in a room and opened my blindfold," Batebi told Cooper. That's when a judge showed him The Economist. Batebi told Cooper it was the first time he had seen the magazine. He says the judge told him, "With this picture, you have signed your own death sentence." "He said, 'You have defaced the face of the Islamic Republic that is a representative of God on earth. You have defaced it around the world. And therefore you have to be sentenced to death.' It took less than three minutes," Batebi recalled. He was held in the notorious Evin Prison, on the outskirts of Tehran, which 60 Minutes could only photograph secretly from our hotel window. Batebi says he spent 17 months in solitary confinement, trapped in a tiny cell not much bigger than a bathtub. "They kept the light on 24 hours a day. You have no information about the outside. You have no contact with the outside, and after a while you become mentally disoriented. This kind of torture doesn’t affect you physically, but it does affect you mentally and emotionally." "It can drive you crazy," Cooper remarked. "Yes," Batebi agreed. Psychological torture is one thing, physical torture another. And Batebi says there was plenty of that too. "They kicked me in the teeth and broke them. There was a toilet that was stopped up with feces. They put my head into the toilet," he said. Batebi told Cooper the bottom of his feet and his back were beaten with a cable, and that his testicles were beaten as well. Asked how long this went on for, Batebi said, "This happened the whole time I was in solitary confinement. It also happened at other times."

Read his story of Great Escape Here!

Islamic Republic of Horror fears Christians

2009-04-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

from FCNN:
The Shahrara church of Assyrians in Tehran will be permanently closed following a court order by the revolutionary court and the announcement by the parliamentary member of the Assyrian community of Iran.
According to reports received by the Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), March 19th has been declared “Fathers’ Day” in the Assyrian community of Iran. On this day, March 19, 2009, the Assyrian member of the Islamic Parliament, Mr. Younatan Bet-Kelia, in speaking to the Assyrian community has announced that the Shahrara Church will be closed in the very near future by the order of the revolutionary court.

In this report it has been emphasized that primary reason for the closure of the church is the attendance of many newly converted Muslims in the worship and fellowship services of the church.

This announcement has been made in the context of recent comments by the Assyrian member if the Islamic Parliament, who represents more than 35,000 Assyrians in Iran, and in his opposition and protest regarding the manner in which the pastor and the leaders of the church are permitting the attendance of non-Assyrians into the services, has been predicting the soon closure of the church building in the near future.

In reaction to these developments, on first Sunday of the new Persian New Year, Pastor Victor announced, in protest to the comments made by the Assyrian Member of Parliament that either the church will revert to being a purely Assyrian speaking church or it will be shut down.

The committee of Christian Representatives of the International Human Rights Organizations considers this order by the islamic revolutionary court a direct assault on the Farsi-speaking Christian community of Iran in an attempt to eradicate the growth of the Christian community and the preaching of the gospel.

This action is a direct violation of the basic human rights of these citizens in the freedom of changing religious beliefs and the freedom of thought and expression.

It is important to mention that even from a month ago, the special Farsi spoken worship services were temporarily suspended by the pastor and the leadership of the church. No reasons were given for this action.

The Pentecostal church of Shahrara, for more than 8 years, has been conducting special gospel and worship services in the Farsi Language on Fridays and Sunday for the Farsi speaking members and seekers.

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U.S. Jet Shoots Down Iranian Drone Over Iraq (Updated)

2009-03-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

"An American fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it was flying over Iraq, U.S. military sources in Baghdad tell Danger Room.
Details of the previously-unreported shoot-down, which occurred last month, are still sketchy. But we do know that American commanders have long accused Tehran of supplying weapons and training to all sorts of Iraqi militant groups. Shi'ite militias fired Iranian rockets at U.S. troops in Iraq, according to the American military; Sunni militias allegedly used Iranian armor-piercing bombs to reduce U.S. vehicles to ribbons.
In early 2008, however, the torrent of Iranian weapons into Iraq slowed to a trickle, the U.S. said. And now, the new Obama administration is looking for ways to reach out to the Tehran regime -- dangling invitations to international conferences, and offering promises of renewed relations.
Which means the drone incident comes at a particularly sensitive time.
Iran has built an array of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. The pneumatically launched Ababil ("Swallow") has a wingspan of more than 10 feet, and cruises at 160 knots, according to Globalsecurity.org. The Mohajer or Misrad ("Migrant") drone is a bit smaller, and slower-flying.
Iran has supplied Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group, with both models. Misrad drones flew reconnaissance missions in both November 2004 and April 2005. Then, in 2006, during Hezbollah's war with Israel, the group operated both Misrads and Ababils over Israel's skies. At least one was shot down by Israeli fighter jets.
Since then, Tehran claims to have radically upgraded its unmanned fleet. In 2007, Iran said it built a drone with a range of 420 miles. In February, Iran's deputy defense minister claimed its latest UAV could now fly as far as 600 miles -- a huge improvement over crude drones like the Misrad, if true. Iran often exaggerates what its weapons can do. But, if this drone really can stay in the air for for that long, the Washington Times notes, "it could soar over every U.S. military installation, diplomatic mission or country of interest in the Middle East." Including those in Iraq.
UPDATE: So I finally got a hold of a spokesman for Multi-National Corps - Iraq. His response "I believe MNF-I [Multi-National Forces - Iraq -- Corps' bosses, basically] is taking the lead on this incident." So then I reach out to MNF-I. A spokesman there wouldn't confirm the shoot-down. Nor would he deny it. "We've got nothing for you, Noah," the spokesman said.
[Photo: Globalsecurity.org]
h/t to: CJ

Spirit and Self

2009-03-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Jill Bolte Taylor
She was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. Jill Bolte Taylor talks with Oprah about how she watched her own mind completely deteriorate, and about the spiritual and medical metamorphosis she experienced after.Season 2: Part 1
Season 2: Part 2
Season 2: Part 3
Season 2: Part 4

Ten Months and 30 Lashes for War Veteran

2009-03-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from Potkin's blog:

Etemad Meli daily printed in Iran, has reported a war veteran, Dr. Reza Jalali, as having been sentenced to 10 months in prison, 30 lashes and payment of a monetary penalty by the Gorgan court. Dr. Jalai was found guilty by the court for 'making illegal speeches' and 'insulting government officials' . He was previously rejected by the Guardian Council to stand as a candidate for the Islamic Assembly.

Dr. Jalali is a member of the university's scientific committee and served a total of 70 months in the fronts from the age of thirteen defending Iran against Saddam's invasion . He is also categorised as 70% wounded during the war. A hero of the war against Iraq who suffered Saddam's shrapnels now has to face the lashes of the Islamic Republic.

The plaintiff against him was the Gorgan governor, Major Ja'far Gorzin, who never served in the fronts himself but has been promoted for his servile conduct towards the Islamic Republic authorities.

More and more war veterans in Iran are standing up against the injustices and the monopoly of the power by the few in the Islamic Republic, for this is not what they fought for!

See the clip made for Dr. Reza Jalali:

Iranian women's demonstrate against Hejab in 1979

2009-03-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Happy International Women's Day!

For International Women’s Dayby Azadeh Azad08-Mar-2009
From: Iranian.com
On the splendid plateau of my land
For the last thirty years of choked breath
Cloaked bearded men of Islamic brandTime-traveller tyrants from old Arabia
Have planted phallic bars of Sharia Law
And celebrated dark demons of deceit
With dictators of worst kind in command.
Blades of injustice have ripped through
Women’s mind leaving one million signs of
Pain behind one million wounds to mend
Under bruised skies of a bloodthirsty trend.
But in this darkest field of steel weeds
And strangler vines there are gentle breeds
Of swaying blossoms splashing stars that turn
The darkness into light stillness into dancingWith glancing floods of love on the lights
Of Cyrus Cylinder first charter of human rightsDreaming not of a Saviour not of a
ClownWho is like no one but of themselves alone
The way they ought to be when they’re awake.
They go on the road door to door quarter
To quarter city to village voicing words
Passing pamphlets enacting ordeals collecting
Signatures in support of changes to tribal laws
Against women in defiance of sordid men
With thickened crevices in their brains.
They go through revolving doors
Of Evin jail, of the Dark Ages minds
In the language of quiet change convicted
Of pregnancy with the concept ofWomen’s parity in all realms of life.
They emerge from that hell with celebrations
Gather in each other’s houses refresh their vows
And keep at it hard and heavy till Enlightenment
Comes in to win their rights in the Year of One.
For now one million signs of pain blaze and burn
Into their One Million Signatures Campaign
As the curves of their minds become new paths
To the garden of fair play and their persistence
Opens the floodgates to their righteous way.
May one day victory of daughtersOf Anahita be rejoiced by everyone
Throwing flowers into the Goddess’sFlowing waters in not so far future. ©2009, Azadeh Azad This poem is dedicated to the following Iranian feminists and members of the grass-root "One Million Signatures Campaign to Change Discriminatory Laws Against Women," who have been attacked, arrested, found guilty of acting against national security, imprisoned in solitary confinement and / or forbidden to leave the country.

Marine One Security Breached by the mullahs!

2009-03-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Pa. company says blueprints for Marine One found at Iran IP address
NBC News and msnbc.com
A company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks has discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama's helicopter, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported Saturday.
Employees of Tiversa, a Cranberry Township, Pa.-based security company that specializes in peer-to-peer technology, reportedly found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.
Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, told WPXI-TV: "We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One, which is the president's helicopter."

Islamic Republic of Necroracy

2009-02-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

IRI's preocupation with death has led Robert Fisk to call Iran an infantile necrocracy in his latest essay on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Here is the latest evidence confirming the accuracy of his observation. Last week, The "martyr Cultivating" (Shahid Parvar) IRI nation decided to bury the bodies of "Unknown Soldiers" who were killed some 20 years ago during the Iraq-Iran war in the Middle of Amir Kabir University Campus. This propagandists behavior was confronted by mass student protest against turning the university into a Cemetery.

Potkin has the latest on brutal assault against the students by the Islamists thugs (basiji):

Seventy students are reported to have been arrested after the protests by AKU students against propaganda burial of 'unknown martyrs'. Seven are reported to be in critical condition in hospital after having been physically attacked by Ansar Hizbullah hired thugs and twenty five are hiding in the student dormitories while the Islamic regime's forces have surrounded the university but as yet have decided not to enter the university grounds and attack the dormitories, in case another 9th of July student uprising takes place.

So, what's the real motivation behind such a childish and vile propaganda? Ms. Amiri explains in her essay, "Bones Really matter":

The truth is that this policy of IRI’s rulers is not at all to honor the Iran-Iraq War veterans, but it is to claim religious and ideological ownership over Iranian universities, to ensconce requisite “guards” and “caretakers” for the sites who might come in “handy” if student protests break out, and thus to arrange pro-regime (basiji) presence where they have been resisted for three decades.

It's abundantly clear that the IRI uses/have used the dead as a propaganda tool since its inception in 1979 (see the gory Fountain of Blood in Behesht Zahara cemetery). In fact, the dead or the martyrs are IRI's most valuable assets/props against any form of political dissent because it exploits the war martyrs' heroism to defend their country to revamp some sort of legitimacy in the face of growing illegitimacy as the rulers of Iran. It reminds me of the proverb, "The lions roar the loudest when nights are the darkest".

IRI celebrates the dead to silence the living.

Iran: The Friendliest People in The World

2009-02-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

Timesonline:

Beaming smiles, gel and a joke about lavatory brushes and weapons of mass destruction - Iran overturns all expectations

The metal door to the synagogue swung open and a small boy skipped across the courtyard. He looked puzzled at the three people who stood before him, two of whom were clearly not Iranian. He led us up some steps to the temple, where I slipped a skullcap on to my head. A lady came towards us, smiling. “Are you Jewish?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “Sorry.”
My friend Annette and I went inside anyway, past a table of food laid out for Passover, and sat at the back as an elderly man read from the Torah in front of eight others.
I'd never have guessed that my first time inside a synagogue would be in Tehran, but Iran is full of surprises. It has a fundamentalist leadership that many in the West believe to be as nutty as a box of pistachios. But it also has a population of 65 million, most born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution (which culminated in the return from exile of Ayatollah Khomeini 30 years ago this month), and far removed from the dour and menacing stereotype often portrayed on the 10 o'clock news. The ordinary Iranian people are by far the friendliest and most welcoming I've met in more than 20 years of travelling.
Our ten-day trip took us from traffic-snarled Tehran 600km (370 miles) south across the Zagros Mountains to Shiraz and the magnificent ruins at Persepolis, started by Darius I in 515BC and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330BC. (I have never been to a historical site where the past felt so approachable.)
Then we headed back north to the capital via Esfahan and the holy city of Qom, passing near the controversial nuclear facility at Natanz, which looked more like a car assembly plant. I assume, though, that most car factories aren't protected by banks of anti-aircraft guns.
Our guide for the journey was the ever-smiling Mr Sassan, a font of knowledge and always ready with a new story. At the start of the trip I believed all he told me, but as the week got longer his tales got decidedly taller.
We learnt that it paid to sit down when he started to talk, for with Mr Sassan there was no such thing as a quick skip through 3,000 years of history and the conspiratorial goings-on as empires rose and fell, invaders came and went.
“Now this is a sad one,” he'd say before recounting a tale of humble beginnings, love, jealousy, power, betrayal, exile and death. And when we seemed incredulous he'd look slightly hurt. “No, it's true, I'm telling you,” he'd reply. He was also adept at scooping handfuls of nuts and fruit for us from displays in open-fronted shops, walking away waving his cane shouting “Free samples, they don't mind,” as we scurried off. He was also a Mr Fixit.
In Shiraz, after guiding us to the tombs of the classical poets Sa'di and Hafez - as Shakespeare is to us, so are these to Iranians - he tracked down the best local faludeh, a wonderful frozen dessert flavoured with rose water.
The Mausoleum of Shah-e Cheragh has supposedly been closed to non-Muslims for the past three years, since a mullah objected to the revealing outfits of some Spaniards, so we headed through a winding, covered bazaar to its back entrance for a peek through the gates.
Yet, rather than shooing us away, a young caretaker welcomed us inside on the proviso that Annette put on a chador (an enormous cloth that covered her from top to toe) and that we didn't go inside the main shrine.

Containment: Obama's Iran policy!

2009-02-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

..."If diplomacy fails, another Obama advisor wrote in the same report, the alternative "is a strategy of containment and punishment." That was the conclusion of Ashton B. Carter, Obama's reported choice as an undersecretary of Defense, who also warned: "The challenge of containing Iranian ambitions and hubris would be as large as containing its nuclear arsenal."

Most (and maybe all) of Obama's advisors see the costs of attacking Iran as outweighing the benefits. If Iran gets closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, they've warned, military action won't look any more appetizing than it did under George W. Bush.

But that doesn't mean the United States would do nothing. Instead, Obama aides suggested in their writings, the U.S. should pursue a Persian Gulf version of the containment strategy used against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. What would that mean? For starters, a nuclear-capable Iran would face continued, serious pressure from the United States and its allies to dismantle whatever it had built. Obama might declare that a nuclear attack on Israel would be treated as an attack on the U.S. homeland. And the U.S. military would act to bolster Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states against conventional-warfare threats from an emboldened Iranian regime.

And there is some optimism among administration officials that a nuclear Iran would practice restraint. Gary Samore, Obama's top advisor on nuclear proliferation, and Bruce Riedel, who is running Obama's review of policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, wrote last year that a nuclear-capable Iran, while undesirable, would not be the end of the world.

For example, they argued, it seems unlikely that Tehran would give nuclear weapons to terrorists."If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it is likely to behave like other nuclear weapons states, trying to intimidate its foes, but not recklessly using its weapons," Samore and Riedel wrote in a report for the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations. "As such, Iran will be subject to the same deterrence system that other nuclear weapons states have accommodated themselves to since 1945."

None of this thinking means Obama has abandoned hope in negotiations to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. At this point, one official said, the administration is focusing on Plan A, not Plan B. But it's welcome evidence that behind the slogan of hope lies a realistic appraisal of the possible outcomes.During his presidential campaign, Obama called the idea of a nuclear Iran "unacceptable," and offered to meet with the Tehran regime without precondition to persuade it to change course. And his advisors agree that there's still a window for diplomacy.Samore and Riedel forecast that Iran is "at least two or three years away" from being capable of building a nuclear weapon, and note that there are several stages between capability and deploying a bomb -- stages at which the United States could still work to freeze the program and contain Iran's behavior.

The first step, Ross wrote, would be to gather support from Europe, China and Russia. (Undersecretary of State Bill Burns is working on that already.) Next, Obama would seek direct, comprehensive talks with Tehran -- with a tangible threat of tougher economic sanctions if the Iranians don't cooperate, and the promise of rich rewards if they do.So what should we expect? The contacts with Iran might start with secret talks in Europe between special envoys on both sides, but they're unlikely to begin before Iran's presidential election in June. To pave the way, Obama and his aides have toned down their rhetoric on Iran and talk mostly of outstretched hands and mutual respect. (They are learning to live without the phrase "carrots and sticks," which Iranians say should be used only when talking about donkeys.) Negotiations won't be easy, and they won't be fast. It's not even clear whether the faction-ridden Tehran government will be able to agree on a coherent negotiating position. Still, Obama has two advantages his predecessor didn't. First, he has sent unambiguous signals that he's ready to talk with Iran and recognize its legitimacy.

That gives Tehran no clear reason to walk away, and Russia and China no easy excuse for opposing tougher sanctions.Second, with oil revenues tanking, Iran's mullahs are likely to be feelingmore vulnerable -- perhaps the onlysilver lining in the global financial crisis. Russia, Iran's biggest arms supplier, and China, Iran's biggest nonmilitary trading partner, will have less to lose from joining in sanctions if Iran is cutting back on foreign purchases.Ross, Carter, Samore and Riedel all declined to talk last week when asked if they wanted to expand on what they wrote last year.

But their work on Iran before they joined the government adds up to this forecast: Negotiations with Iran are worth trying, but they're not likely to succeed. If talks fail and Iran moves closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, the United States and its allies will have three options: more sanctions, even though they haven't worked; containment, including a stronger security commitment to Israel; or war. And of those three unpalatable choices, containment -- with all its uncertainties -- will look like the middle way.

Ahmadinejad's 'Jewish Family'!

2009-02-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

..."Mehdi Khazali, the son of the conservative Ayatollah Khazali, has written on his personal website that he recently learned that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has Jewish roots. Khazali notes that Ahmadinejad changed his family name from Saburjian, and says that the origins of the Saburjian family in the town of Aradan should be investigated.Ahmadinejad's relatives had told Britain's "The Guardian" following his election that the family had changed its name for "a mixture of religious and economic reasons.""The name change provides an insight into the devoutly Islamic working-class roots of Mr. Ahmadinejad's brand of populist politics," journalist Robert Tait wrote in "The Guardian." "The name Saborjhian derives from thread painter -- sabor in Farsi -- a once common and humble occupation in the carpet industry in Semnan Province, where Aradan is situated. Ahmad, by contrast, is a name also used for the Prophet Muhammad and means virtuous; nejad means race in Farsi, so Ahmadinejad can mean Muhammad's race or virtuous race.” Ahmadinejad, of course, is known for his frequent slurs and threats against the Jewish state of Israel. The claim about his background should be seen in the context of a growing rift among the president's political allies, the so-called principlists, in the run-up to the June presidential election.-- Golnaz Esfandiari

Not very queen like

2009-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Queen of England on her official website, sent her congratualtions to the ruling theofascists of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 30th anniversary of the Khomeinist's thugs revolution.

Iranians are increasingly informed that the British government, via Persian BBC , was instrumental in installing the mullahs in 1978 with the explicit approval of Carter et al.

The Queen's thoughtless statement could have been written by Iranian novelist Iraj Pezeshkzad, whose comic hero, Dear Uncle Napolean, saw a British hand in all of Iran's internal and foreign affairs.

ADDICTED TO OIL

2009-02-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

FUEL OPENS LA!
Submitted by Rebecca Harrell on Sat, 02/07/2009 - 11:32pm
Los Angeles Times Review Friday, February 13"Fuel is a vital, superbly assembled documentary…doesn't dwell on muckraking, however; it's more focused on broadly inspiring viewers than preaching to the converted….Smartly animated interstitials, memorable archival material and a lively soundtrack round out the fast-paced proceedings.”
'Fuel' to the fire of oil addiction
"Fuel" is a vital, superbly assembled documentary that presents an insightful overview of America's troubled relationship with oil and how alternative and sustainable energies can reduce our country's -- and the world's -- addictive dependence on fossil fuels.
The film's structure is built around director-narrator Josh Tickell's personal journey of enlightenment, which started in childhood after moving with his family from idyllic Australia to murkier Louisiana, where he came to realize the oil-rich environment was being ravaged by the omnipotent petrochemical industry. Later, as a young adult, he spent 11 years crossing the country in his vegetable oil-powered "Veggie Van," promoting biofuels and compiling footage for what would become this impressively comprehensive film.
The events of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina factor in both visually and thematically, providing provocative anchors for the movie's indictment of what Tickell believes is the Big Oil-cozy, ecologically indifferent Bush administration. Johnny O'Hara's WGA Award-nominated script doesn't dwell on muckraking, however; it's more focused on broadly inspiring viewers than preaching to the converted.
Interviews with a wide range of environmentalists, policy makers and educators, along with such "green" celebrities as Woody Harrelson, Sheryl Crow and Larry Hagman offer serious fuel for thought -- as well as for action. Smartly animated interstitials, memorable archival material and a lively soundtrack round out the fast-paced proceedings.
-- Gary Goldstein "Fuel." MPAA rating: unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes. At Laemmle's Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500; AMC's Loews Broadway 4, 1441 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. (310) 458-6232.

Must Watch

2009-02-18T17:05:00.001-08:00

Human rights violations persist in Iran 30 years after Islamic revolution

2009-02-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

Thirty years ago, the change of government in Iran changed the landscape of the Middle East. The government that took power on 10 February 1979 led to the creation of the world's first Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic of Iran was created following a nationwide referendum on 1 April 1979. Another referendum, in December 1979, approved the constitution and confirmed Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader. Previous governments appointed by the former Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were widely regarded as corrupt and responsible for egregious human rights violations. Ayatollah Khomeini promised that all Iranians would be free. However, the past 30 years have been characterised by persistent human rights violations. The multitude of especially severe violations that marked the early years of the Islamic Republic declined over time, but today the human rights situation still remains grim. Hopes for a sustained improvement rose during the period of reform under President Khatami (1997 to 2005), which saw some easing of restrictions on freedom of expression, but have been firmly dashed since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Four years later, ahead of new Presidential elections later this year, impunity, torture and other ill-treatment, as well as the use of the death penalty remain prevalent. Some sectors of society – including ethnic minorities – continue to face widespread discrimination, while the situation for other groups – notably some religious minorities – has significantly worsened under the current President. Those seen as dissenting from stated or unstated official policies face severe restrictions on their rights to freedom of belief, expression, association and assembly. Women continue to face discrimination – both in law and practice. Impunity for human rights abuses is widespread.In the last three months alone, Amnesty International has received reports of waves of arbitrary arrests and harassment, directed particularly against members of Iran’s religious and ethnic minority communities, students, trade unionists and women’s rights activists. Amnesty International is aware of the apparent arbitrary arrest of, or other repressive measures taken against, over 220 individuals. Many of those arrested, if not all, are at risk of torture or other ill treatment. Other individuals arrested before this period have been sentenced to death. In addition, several newspapers have been closed down, and access to internet sites has been restricted, including some relating to human rights or operated by international broadcasters. These measures may in part be intended to stifle debate and to silence critics of the authorities in advance of the forthcoming presidential election in June 2009.Amnesty International has been documenting human rights violations in Iran since the middle of the 1960s. Representatives of the organization have not, however, been permitted to visit Iran for first-hand investigation of the human rights situation since shortly after the Islamic Revolution."Thirty years on, some of the worst abuses of the Shah’s time – torture, executions and the suppression of legitimate dissent – are still being replicated in Iran, despite the efforts of the country’s growing and valiant community of human rights defenders," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "It is high time that Iranian authorities lived up to their obligations under international human rights law."
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Iranian Aids doctors tried in closed hearing (News, 8 January 2009)

Authorities close key human rights centre in Tehran (News, 23 December 2008)

China, Iran and Jamaica go against trend on executions (News, 28 November 2008)

Economic Meltdown

2009-02-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

LOL

2009-02-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

The Ugliest Man in the world

2009-02-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Irreconcilable Differences

2009-02-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sobering interview with Abbas Abdi. Abbas Abdi is one of Iran's most influential reformists. He was the first person to storm the United States embassy in Tehran, along with other students, during the early years of the revolution.

His insightful analysis of the power structure in Iran sheds new lights on the real reasons behind the Islamic Republic's reluctance to normalize its relationships with the US.

Part I:

علی گلدوست: جناب آقای عبدی، سوال اولم را به صورت کلی عنوان می‌کنم. این دو کشور چرا نمی‌توانند رابطه خودشان را عادی کنند؟
AG: Mr. Abdi, my firs question is a general one. Why can't the US and Iran normalize their relationships??

عباس عبدی: دلیل اصلی این است که تقاضاها و مطالباتشان قابل جمع کردن نیست. بازی آنها از نوع صفر و یک شده. در واقع آمریکائیها یک تعبیری از نظام بین‌المللی دارند، و می‌خواهند با ایران در همان چهارچوب عمل و برخورد کنند عین کشورهای دیگر. دولت ایران هم از سوی دیگر این نظام بین‌الملل را قبول ندارد.

Abbas Abdi: The main reason is that their demands and claims are irreconcilable. Their game has become of zero and one game. In reality, The US wants to approach Iran like other countries in the framework of the Americans perception of the international order, on the other hand, the IRI does not accept the International order.

وقتی ایران می‌گوید که اسرائیل نباید باشد، پیش از اینکه این شعار ناشی از خصومتی با یک کشور باشد، بیشتر یک نوع مقابله با نظام حاکم بین‌المللی است. چون فقط دشمنی با یک کشور نیست.

When Iran says that Israel should not exist, more than being a hostile posturing toward one country, it is a kind of confrontation with the International order. Because it's not just enmity toward one country.

با یک نظامی است که این حکومت را پذیرفته؛ حالا به هر دلیلی حق یا باطل، کاری به آن نداریم. بنابراین، تعارضشان از نوع بازی آنهاست. بازی صفر و یک شده است. مطالباتشان ناقض همدیگر هستند. البته ظاهرا در سی سال گذشته همیشه به این شکل نبوده. ولی اگر قرار می‌شد که در روابط خود یک گامی به جلو می‌رفتند، این مشكل اثر خودش را به سرعت نشان می‌داد و طرفین عقب‌نشینی می‌كردند.

It is the enmity toward an Order that has accepted this government (Israel). For whatever reason, right or wrong, we won't bother with that. Therefore, their oppositions are a kind of a game; a zero and 1 game. Their claims are self-contradictory. Of course, on the surface, in the past 30 years, it has not always been this way. But if they were to step forward in their relationship, this problem would not have shown its affect so rapidly, and the parties would have retreated.
علت اینکه می‌بینید این رابطه دو جانبه درست نمی‌شه این است.
در حالی که شما می‌دانید که خیلی از کارشناسان هم قبول دارند که آمریکا و ایران منافع مشترک چشمگیری هم در منطقه دارد.

The reason you see this reciprocal relationship does not work is that as you know and many expert know is that the US and Iran have notable common interests in the region.

اما علی رغم این منافع مشترکشان به دلیل این ویژگی با هم سازگاری ندارند. در اروپا هم می‌بینید که این دو كشور سربازانشان کنار همدگیر و بر علیه صربها می‌جنگیدند. یعنی در آنجا کاملا هم خط بودند. حتی در عراق و افغانستان هم خط هستند. اما چرا با هم این رفتار را می‌کنند؟ آمریکائیها معلوم است که چرا از این نظام بین‌المللی دفاع می‌کنند چون منافعشان در این است. دولت ایران نمی‌تواند تصور بکند که از موضع خودش کوتاه بیاد چون این گزاره هزینه‌های خیلی سنگینی در داخل برایش دارد.

But despite, these common interests because of this peculiarity , make them incompatible. In Europe, you will see that these two countries put their soldiers side by side and fight against the Serbs. That means they were on the same page/line on that war. Even in Iraq and Afghanistan they are on the same page. But why do behave toward each other? Americans obviously are defending the International order because that is in their interests. However, Iran cannot conceive that they should back down from their stance because this kind of capitulation is going to be very costly domestically/internally.

اصطلاح عمیق تر شدن این مناقشه بین دو کشور شده؟ چون که بهرحال این دو کشور... ، البته شما الان فرمودید که این دولت با این نظام کنونی جهانی مشکل دارد؛ چون بهرحال قبل از انقلاب سال ۱۹۷۹ اینها با همدگیر بهرحال ارتباط داشتند. چطور شد که ناگهان روابط تیره شد؟
Why had the fight between these two countries have deepened...of course, you said that this government has a problem with the international order, because before 1979 these two countries had relationship. What happened that suddenly the relationship darkened?

عباس عبدی: بخاطر اینکه انقلاب شد، آنچه که جانشین شده، با دولت آمریكا مسئله دارد. در واقع دولت آمریکا هم متقابلا با ایران مساله دارد. اما یک نکته که خیلی مهم است اینه است که اتفاقات تاریخی چندان تعیین کننده نهائی نیستند. مثلا" هر چه ما به رویداد تاریخی نزدیکتر باشیم، تاثیرش باید بیشتر باشد. یعنی اگر من و شما الان اختلاف داریم، در واقع یک ساعت دیگر باید بیشتر از این اختلافمان متاثر باشیم تا اینکه یک ماه دیگر. یک ماه دیگر زمان گذشته و فراموش می‌کنیم. اما شما می‌بینید که مثلا" اشغال سفارت اگر یکی از این عوامل باشه، ریگان که کلاسیک ترین رئیس جمهور، ارتدکسترین رئیس جمهور است، آمده بود که خیلی از یخها را آب کند و همان موقع کیک و شیرینی و اسلحه فرستاد که روابط را درست کند. حکومتها خیلی در بند تاریخ نمی‌مانند. گرچه یک رسوباتی وجود دارد اما خیلی هم جدی نیست. بنابراین تاریخ را می‌شود خیلی سریع از آن گذشت و بعضی از وقایع را در آن نادیده گرفت.
Abbas Abdi: After the revolution, what has replaced it has a problem with the American government. In fact, the American gov't has a problem with Iran. But one point that is very significant is that the historical events are not ultimately, that detrimental...in fact, as the time passes by the differences should dissipate and forgotten. As you see, after seizing the American Embassy hostage, President Reagan tried to thaw out the ice between these two countries and at that time, he sent in arms, cake, and pastries to fix the relationship...Generally, Governments are not too tied with history. But there of course, residual but it's not serious. Therefore, you can pass by history and overlook some historical incidences.

علی گلدوست: مثلا" یک بحثهائی که وجود داشت جناب آقای عبدی این بود که به عنوان مشخص ترین مورد از نقش آمریکا در کودتای ۲۸ مرداد سال ۳۲ صحبت می‌کردند...
AG: For example, the role of US in the coup of 1953...

عباس عبدی: بله، تردیدی نیست. این نقش وجود داشت، حمایت بسیار شدید بعدی هم از شاه وجود داشت، بعد در دوره جنگ سرد و اقداماتی که در ویتنام، شیلی و جاهای دیگر انجام گرفت، اینها یک فضائی را ساخته برای نسل آن موقع. ولی خب بعدش... بعد هم زمان جنگ عراق علیه ایران، زدن هواپیمای ایران و غیره، اینها چیزهائی بوده که وجود داشته، ولی کسی با گذشته زندگی نمی‌کند.

Abbas Abdi: Yes, there is no doubt. There was support of the Shah during the cold war...then the Iran-Iraq war, shooting the Iranian airplane and such, these are the things that has existed, however, no one lives with the past.

یکی از عللی که گذشته زنده شده است این است که این دو كشور الان دعوا دارند. توجه می‌کنید. یعنی اگر من الان بخواهم با شما دعوا کنم، خیلی راحت گذشته را زنده می‌کنم و اگر بخواهم صلح کنم خیلی سریع از آن می‌گذرم. آن موارد گذشته یک امر جنبی هستند. نه اینکه تاثیر نداشته باشند ولی جنبی هستند. خودشان ذاتی نیستند چرا که زمان زیادی از همه آنها گذشته است.

One of the reasons that the Past has been revived is that these two countries are fighting each other...if you notice, meaning that if i want to fight with you , I very easily bring up the past and if I want to make peace I overlook the past much more quickly. The past is secondary. Not that it doesn't influence things but its secondary; It is not intrinsically a problem because a long time has passed.

آخر کدام کشورها هستند که شصت سال پیش خودشان راموضوع دعوای امروز خود کنند یا مثلا" موضوع سی سال پیش خودشان را. آمریکا و همه کشورها فراموش می‌کنند. نسلهای جدید می‌آیند، می‌روند، و آن وقایع فراموش می‌شوند. اما وقتی که امروز دعوا دارند، طرفین سعی می‌کنند که آن گذشته را هم بیاورند پشتوانه دعوای امروزخود قرار دهند. البته آن موقع که گروگانگیری شده بود خیلی مسئله حاد بود اما می‌بینیم که چند سال بعدش ریگان می‌خواست روابط را باز سازی بکند و مشکل خاصی هم نبود شاید هم همان موقع دو طرف به نتیجه می‌رسیدند در حالی که آن موقع قضیه گروگانگیری خیلی خیلی تازه بود.

Which countries bring up something that happened 60 years ago and make it a topic of today's problem, or something that happened for 30 years ago for that matter.

The parties, bring up past grievances to bolster their present hostilities between them....

بنابراین تاثیر تاریخ به این ترتیب است.

البته درست است، در هر مقطعی كه رویدادی پیش آمده و به این دیوار بی اعتمادی یک رجی اضافه شده گرچه این اضافه کردن مهم

است اما مهمتر دفاع از این دیوار است که وجود دارد. والا اگر اراده‌ای باشد که این دیوار برداشته بشود، فوری گذشته هم به تاریخ سپرده می‌شود.
Therefore, every incident has added to the wall of mistrust; the defense of this wall has become more important because if there was a will to remove this wall, past history would have been forgotten easier.

علی گلدوست: گذشت نقشی دارد جناب آقای عبدی در زد و بندهای سیاسی در بعد بین‌الملل؟
AG: does forgiveness has a role in political dealings and wheelings of International dimension?
عباس عبدی: گذشت یک مقوله اخلاقی و در سطح رفتار فردی است. و كاربردش در اینجا درست نیست. در رفتار بین‌المللی به آن می‌گویند سازش، مصالحه. در واقع طرفین موازنه سود و ضرریا سود و هزینه را نگاه می‌کنند و مطابق آن تصمیم گیری می‌کنند. خب این هم می‌شود یک نوع گذشت، اما یک گذشت عقلانی، نه گذشتی که بر اساس عطوفت و رحمت و اخلاقیات و اینجور مقولات باشد.

Abbas Abdi: Forgiveness is an ethical construct and at the level of individuals, and it usage here is incorrect. In international behavior, the call it "Compromise". In fact, the parties do a cost and benefit analysis and they make decisions based on that.

علی گلدوست: آقای عبدی چطور شد که در طی سی سال گذشته یک فرصتهائی پیش آمد که این دو کشور بخواهند عادی سازی کنند؛ به عنوان مثال شما قضیه ریگان را فرمودید که ایشان یک هیاتی را با گل و شیرینی فرستاده بود. در یک برهه جدیدتر هم در زمان آقای خاتمی بود که خانم آلبرایت، وزیر امور خارجه دولت آقای کلینتون، یک عذر خواهی لفظی از ملت و دولت ایران کرد. چطور شد که اینها نتوانستند از آن فرصتها استفاده کنند.
AG: mr.Mr. abdi, what happened that in the past 30 years, there has been opportunities for these two countries to normalize, however despite these efforts by Albright and Reagan, and Clinton, they didn't take advantage of these opportunities.

عباس عبدی: نه اینکه اینها نتوانستند. آن مشکلی که من گفتم، آن مشکل کماکان وجود دارد. یعنی حکومت ایران به این سهولت نیست که بیاید و این قضیه را حل کند. حکومت ایران حس می‌کند که اگر وارد مقوله عادی سازی بشه، بنیان راهبردش تغییر پیدا می‌کند. بهبود رابطه با آمریکا یکنوع پذیرش نظم جهانی است و عدول کردن از مجموعه سیاستهای خودش تلقی خواهد شد. تصور این است که اگر این کار صورت بگیرد، ممکن است که حتی در بعد سیاست داخلی هم مشکلات سیاسی برایش بوجود بیاید. منظورم از حکومت کل ساخت قدرت است، نه لزوما گروههای اصلاح طلب و یا تندرو که از همدیگر متفاوت فکر می‌کنند. به همین دلیل است که...

Abbas Abdi: not that they couldn't. The problem that I mentioned, still exist. Meaning that the Iranian government will not easily solve this problem. The Iranian gov't feels that if it normalizes relationship, fundamentals of its steering will change. The believe that if this normalization takes place, it might create political problems in the internal politics. By government I mean the whole power structure, not necessarily the reformers or the hardliners.

اگر شما مطالب من را پیگیری کرده باشید، می‌دانید که من از سه سال پیش هم گفتم که این قطعنامه‌ها وتحریمها تاثیر زیادی بر سیاست ایران در موضوع هسته ای ندارد. همه فکر می‌کردند تا بخواهد این قطعنامه‌ها دارد صادر می‌شود، ایران کوتاه می‌آید. منتها ابدا" اینطوری نیست. ایران کوتاه نمی‌آید چون هزینه‌های کوتاه آمدن برای حكومت خیلی سنگینتر از این چیزی است که دیگران فکر می‌کنند. منظورم هزینه‌های سیاسی برای ساخت قدرت است، چرا که اگر قدرت باید کوتاه بیاید، این هزینه‌ها نقد است در حالی که هزینه‌های تحریم نسیه است.
If you have been following my arguments for the past three years I have said that these sanction and resolutions will not have any effect on the politics of Iran on the nuclear issue. Everyone thought that Iran will retreat after the issuance of these Resolutions. But that was not the case. Iran will not retreat/capitulate because the costs of retreat is much steeper for the government than what others think. I mean, the political price for the power structure because if the Power retreats, these costs are immediate while the cost of sanctions can be deffered.
علی گلدوست: این هزینه‌ای که در بعد داخلی شما به آن اشاره می‌کنید، منظورتان فضای سیاسی است که اگر عادی سازی صورت بگیرد اینها باید این فضای داخلی را باز کنند و این قضیه نهایتا" برای حکومت گران تمام خواهد شد؟

AG: This cost that you mentioned in the internal side, do you mean the political environment that if it becomes normalized they have to open the internal environment and the cost of this kind of openness will ultimately be very expensive for the power structure.
عباس عبدی: کلا" حکومت در مواجه با مسائل ناشی از عادی سازی روابط با چالش مواجه می‌شود.
Abbas Abdi: In sum, the power structure will face problems stemming from these normalization.
علی گلدوست: آنوقت شما بفرمائید با توجه به این نکته‌ای که شما به آن اشاره کردید که اگر اینها بخواهند به ترتیبی این گره را باز کنند، نظام سیاسی ایران با بحران مواجه می‌شود، به این ترتیب آیا هیچ امیدی وجود دارد که اینها بخواهند این رابطه را عادی کنند؟
Ali Goldust: given what you just said, if the Power structure normalizes the relationship, it will political order will face crisis, therefore, there is no hope in normalizing the relationship between the two countries?
عباس عبدی: ببینید وضعیت ایران و آمریکا بعد از قضیه هسته‌ای عین دو خط نه کاملا" موازی است. یعنی موازی نیستند اما یک زاویه‌ای ولو اندك دارند. خب اینها دیر یا زود به هم می‌رسند. در این فاصله هر اتفاقی هم می‌تواند رخ بدهد و این کار را سرعت ببخشد. عوامل جانبی است که این را به تاخیر می‌اندازد، ولی اینها دارند مسیری را طی می‌کنند که خلاصه به هم خواهند رسند. مگر اینکه در سطح ایران اتفاقی رخ بدهد. یعنی قبل از اینکه به آن نقطه برسند، در ایران نگران بشوند و حساسیت زیاد بشود و مثلا" تعدیلی در بنیان نظری آنها رخ بدهد. البته این تغییر احتمالی به این معنی نیست که اینها دربست در اختیار آمریکا قرار بگیرند.

Abbas Abdi: Look, the situation between Iran and US after the nuclear issue is almost like two parallel line. They are not completely parallel and there is tiny angle. Sooner or later, they will reach each other. In the meantime, anything can happen and expedite the process. Factors are secondary that will impede these situation but they are following a path and will reach one another. Unless, something happens in Iran before they reach the point; in Iran they can become paranoid or sensitivity increases and for example, the underlying ideology becomes flexible, but this probable change doesn't mean that they are completely at the service of the USA.

بلكه كافیست كه این نظام بین‌الملل را به ترتیبی می‌پذیرند. البته وقتی این را بپذیرند، آنوقت می‌توانند در آن بازی کنند. اینطوری نیست که اینها بروند و دربست در اختیار آمریکا قرار بگیرند. اینها می‌توانند سر طیف مخالف قرار بگیرند. اما مخالف قرار گرفتن با نپذیرفتن خیلی فاصله و اختلاف دارد.
It's enough that they accept the international order in some ways. Of course, when they accept the International order, then they can play in it. Opposition is different than not accepting the international order ...
Continued in Part II.
علی گلدوست: یعنی در این نظام کسی هست که به سمت آن راه حل متفاوت از جریان کنونی در حال حرکت باشد؟

Hamas negotiators stopped with suitcases of cash

2009-02-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

""CAIRO – Hamas negotiators left Egypt without a long-term cease-fire with Israel on Thursday — but not before some members of the militant group's delegation were stopped at the Gaza border carrying millions in cash.

The delegation walked away from the cease-fire talks because of disagreements over the blockage on Gaza and border security. Talks will continue at a later date.

An Egyptian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. When the group relented, authorities found $7 million and 2 million euros ($2.5 million) in cash in their suitcases. Another security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said $9 million and 2 million euros were found. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained...

Hamas is also brutalizing Palestinians in Gaza: go here and here

Hitchens on Iran

2009-02-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

IRGC hires 10,000 Basiji thugs as bloggers

2009-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

'بسیجی ها با ۱۰ هزار وبلاگ می آیند'

هدف از وبلاگ نویسی بسیجی ها، تولید محتوای ارزشی در اینترنت عنوان شده است
هفته نامه صبح صادق، ارگان دفتر سیاسی سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی، در تازه ترین شماره خود، اینترنت را ابزار انقلاب مخملی در ایران خوانده و از ورود اعضای بسیج به حوزه وبلاگ نویسی خبر داده است.

این هفته نامه خبر داده که ۱۰ هزار وبلاگ ‏برای ۱۰ هزار پایگاه بسیج در ایران راه اندازی شده و هدف آن
....
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Take on the Internet
From I&D Guest Blogger Hamid Tehrani, Global Voices Iran Editor
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) at the end of 2008 made a historic announcement: a project to launch 10,000 blogs for the paramilitary Basij forces. (1)
IRGC’s official press organ, Sobh Sadegh, writes that it considered the Internet and other digital devices including SMS as a threat to be controlled. It announced that the 10,000 blogs will promote revolutionary ideas. IRGC considers the Internet as an instrument for a “velvet revolution” and warned that foreign countries have invested in this tool to topple the Islamic Regime...more

NATO: Members may use Iran for Afghan supplies

2009-02-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

NATO: Members may use Iran for Afghan supplies

By Slobodan Lekic - The Associated Press
From: Armytimes

KABUL — NATO would not oppose individual member nations making deals with Iran to supply their forces in Afghanistan as an alternative to using increasingly risky routes from Pakistan, the alliance’s top military commander said Monday.

Gen. John Craddock’s comments came just days after NATO’s secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, urged the U.S. and other members of the Western military alliance to engage with Iran to combat Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

“Those would be national decisions. Nations should act in a manner that is consistent with their national interest and with their ability to resupply their forces,” Craddock, an American who is NATO’s supreme allied commander, told The Associated Press. “I think it is purely up to them.”

Securing alternative routes to landlocked Afghanistan has taken on added urgency this year as the United States prepares to double its troop numbers there to 60,000 to battle a resurgent Taliban eight years after the U.S.-led invasion.

IRAN AFTER 30 YEARS

2009-02-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

Most comprehensive Report on the Iranian revolution and the current power structure of the fascist theocracy. A report I might add Obama would like to read before setting his Iran policies. Go Here.

True Friendship

2009-02-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Iran and Russia, strategic partners

2009-01-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

Russia is on the path to make Iran a strategic partner, a counter to the United States in the regions of rivalry.

The United States falls into a trap in assuming that Russia doesn't want a nuclear-armed Iran. Russian officials repeat over and over that they have no evidence that Iran has a weapons program. US officials discount that statement but shouldn't. The United States needs to remember that Russia has nuclear engineers inside Iran working with the Iranians. also exchanged e-mails on this subject with a former European ambassador to Tehran. His made a very interesting point. Iran is the only potential competitor for natural gas to Europe. He said Moscow doesn't want Tehran to get too close to Europe to the point it could jeopardize Europe's dependence on GAZPROM. We've seen the evidence of Russia and GAZPROM leverage over Europe recently.

Ahmadinejad is Jewish

2009-01-29T05:01:00.000-08:00

Shalom Ahmadinejad

...Khazali, son of Ayatollah Abu Al-Kassam Khazali, says that Ahmadinejad changed his Jewish name on his ID card in order to hide his roots.Khazali the son says that the president hides his Jewish roots by attacking Israel and the Jews, and by expressing strong Muslim religious beliefs. more

As an aside, A new study recently revealed that large percentage of Muslims throughout the ME, also can trace their roots to Jewish heritage.

Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes

http://www.pnas.org/content/97/12/6769.fulll

Courageous student in Iran

2009-01-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Iranian students did not volunteer for martyrdom against Israel!

2009-01-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

This is a message of the Iranian Student Movement for Freedom and Sazman SAMAN 1360
From: Tina Ehrami
The Iranian regime recently claimed that over 70,000 students signed up for martyrdom operations against Israel. We believe that Israel has as much right to exist as Iran does, that the United States does, that any other nation in the world does, and that is our final answer as a people and as students in Iran.

This weak and disgraceful attempt by the Iranian regime to stain the reputation of Iranian students and honor, claiming that the Iranian students are signing up to become martyrs, is yet another attempt by the Iranian regime to force the world into believing that the Iranian people support the Islamic regime’s global terror.

Iranian students, as the rest of the Iranian population, are a hostage of this regime. We are fighting for our rights and freedom from within a harsh and brutal prison. The regime controls our newspapers, our day to day life, our votes, and our unviersities. But they can not silence our voice or our desire to be free.

Those which the Iranian regime refers to as "Iranian students signing up for martyrdom" are no more than trained anti-Persian terrorists who have been purposely inflitrated and planted during the years in Iranian schools and universities across Iran to oversee student activities and to stop Iranian university students from their constant demand and call for freedom and justice through various ongoing demonstrations held by our university students across Iran.

Furthermore, there have been a number of these thugs whom we do not recognize as being university students. Those well- paid thugs which the Iranian regime claims have signed up for martyrdom against Israel are no more “Iranian students” than Hamas and Hizbollah terrorist thugs are "freedom fighters".

A regime which fabricates political events in Iran in order to select an anti-Persian thug like Ahmadinejad as the speaker of the Iranian people and sells him to the world as the "democratically elected" speaker of the Iranian people is very well capable of producing a list of 70,000 or 700,000 for that matter of martyrs in the name of “Iranian students”.

These so- called disputed 70,000 martyrs are among those who were entered in Iranian universities by the Iranian government itself without any proper educational background merit. Most- if not all- are with little education except for the one they received in Islamic madrassa (schools) or terror training camps.

These thugs are trained to specifically disrupt the education process in Iran and Iranian universities. They are trained to infiltrate student movement organizations, and to observe, spy, report and harass the Iranian students. They are trained to specifically abuse female students and discourage the Iranian female student population across Iran from attending universities due to lack of security and concern for safety for their life. These trained terrorists placed in universities across Iran by the Iranian regime have the task of disgracing the name of “student and education” with the goal of putting an end to all student demands and calls for individual rights, along with student rights, justice, democracy, and calls for better education, safety, and conditions in the Iranian universities.

The ultimate goal of the Iranian regime is to terminate higher education in Iran and turn every University in Iran into a "graveyard" or an Islamic Madrassa with the mentality of the dark ages.

The Iranian regime has an elaborate and ambitious policy to one day turn Iran into a big jihadist nation against the entire non-muslim world. This is a systematic elimination of conscience, empathy, and of clear reasoning. It is being implemented by the Iranian regime across the nation through various tactics, from the use of force, fear and the introduction of the most dangerous addictive drugs known to mankind.

Their policy are the same tactics which Hitler’s SS and the Nazis used to advance their vision of a new Germany and the world. That same strategy is used by the Iranian regime and what Iranian students are faced with and are fighting against on a daily basis without any moral support from the rest of the world.

One must ask oneself why it is that the Iranian regime goes to such extend to distant the people of Iran further from the rest of the world? Maybe it is because the Iranian regime knows once the people of Iran connect to the rest of the world it is all over for this regime.

A real academic student in Iran will never involve herself/himself in anything having to do with terror or death. And a real education seeking student in Iran will never side with policies of hate promoted by the Iranian regime. No conspiracy of any kind can defeat this rising Persian spirit: Long live freedom and life!

Sazman SAMAN 1360 / Iranian Student Movement for Freedom
Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Iran rejects Barack Obama's planned policy of incentives and sanctions

2008-12-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

(...)

"The carrot and stick policy has no benefit," Qashqavi told reporters during his weekly press briefing. "It is unacceptable and failed."But Obama expressed hope in his interview Sunday that the international community could develop a set of incentives that would persuade Iran to alter its nuclear program, which the U.S. and many of its allies suspect is cover for weapons development but Tehran says is focused on power generation."You know, in terms of carrots, I think that we can provide economic incentives that would be helpful to a country that, despite being a net oil producer, is under enormous strain, huge inflation, a lot of unemployment problems there," said Obama.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005 after promising to improve economic conditions for the country's poor. But the hardline president has since been criticized by both conservatives and reformists for his mismanagement of the economy. Economic conditions in Iran have worsened recently as oil prices have plummeted about 70 percent from record highs in July.Obama said the U.S. should step up diplomatic efforts with nations like China and Russia that do business with Iran to convince them to tighten the three round of U.N. sanctions levied against the country for failing to suspend uranium enrichment — a process that can produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon or fuel for a reactor.

Launch of One Law for All - Campaign against Sharia law in Britain

2008-12-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

ONE LAW FOR ALL, NO SHARIA CAMPAIGN

Let's get behind this worthwhile campaign.

What a great initiative by Maryam Namazi, the spokesperson for council of ex-muslims in Britain.

It is so heartning to see plenty of Muslim names associated with this effort , giving a voice to the many Muslims who know how the inhumane (see the latest barbaric stoning by the IRI) Shariah laws (see Iranian court sentences man to be blinded by acid) work and don’t wish to be subjected to its rules.

One Law For All
Your View, December 1st 2008, 2:17 pm
This is a guest post from Maryam Namazie
The One Law for All campaign against Sharia law in Britain is to be launched at the House of Lords on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2008 from 4:00 to 5:00pm.
Even in civil matters, Sharia law is discriminatory, unfair and unjust, particularly against women and children. Moreover, its voluntary nature is a sham; many women will be pressured into going to these courts and abiding by their decisions. These courts are a quick and cheap route to injustice and do nothing to promote minority rights and social cohesion. Public interest, particularly with regard to women and children, requires an end to Sharia and all other faith-based courts and tribunals.
The campaign has already received widespread support including from AC Grayling; Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Bahram Soroush; Baroness Caroline Cox; Caspar Melville; Deeyah; Fariborz Pooya; Gina Khan; Houzan Mahmoud; Homa Arjomand; Ibn Warraq; Joan Smith; Johann Hari; Keith Porteous Wood; Mina Ahadi; Naser Khader; Nick Cohen; Richard Dawkins; Shakeb Isaar; Sonja Eggerickx; Stephen Law; Tarek Fatah; Tauriq Moosa; Taslima Nasrin and others. It has also received the support of organisations such as Children First Now; Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran; European Humanist Federation; International Committee against Stoning; International Humanist and Ethical Union; Iranian Secular Society; Lawyers Secular Society; the National Secular Society; and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
The campaign calls on the UK government to recognise that Sharia law is arbitrary and discriminatory and for an end to Sharia courts and all religious tribunals on the basis that they work against and not for equality and human rights.
The campaign also calls for the Arbitration Act 1996 to be amended so that all religious tribunals are banned from operating within and outside of the legal system.
In the words of the Campaign Declaration: ‘Rights, justice, inclusion, equality and respect are for people, not beliefs. In a civil society, people must have full citizenship rights and equality under the law. Clearly, Sharia law contravenes fundamental human rights. In order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of all those living in Britain, there must be one secular law for all and no Sharia.’
Roy Brown, immediate past president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union said, “IHEU is lending its full support to this campaign. It is intolerable that the very values on which UK society is based - human rights, equality and the rule of law - are being undermined by the quiet and insidious application of systems of law that have no basis in equality or justice.”
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, which is also supporting the One Law for All campaign, said: “It is a grave error for the authorities in this country to give credence to Sharia in any form – whether legally or in terms of informal arbitration. When women are being subjected to violence in their marriages, it is not acceptable for religious authorities – which are, by definition, misogynistic – to arbitrate. A two-tier legal system, with women’s rights being always secondary to religious demands, is unnecessary, undesirable and ultimately unjust.”

One Law for All
Campaign against Sharia law in Britain
Declaration
We, the undersigned individuals and organisations, call on the UK government to bring an end to the use and institutionalisation of Sharia and all religious laws and to guarantee equal citizenship rights for all.
Sharia law is discriminatory
Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are discriminatory, particularly against women and children, and in violation of universal human rights.
Sharia law is unfair and unjust in civil mattersProponents argue that the implementation of Sharia is justified when limited to civil matters, such as child custody, divorce and inheritance. In fact, it is civil matters that are one of the main cornerstones of the subjugation of and discrimination against women and children. Under Sharia law a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s; a woman’s marriage contract is between her male guardian and her husband. A man can have four wives and divorce his wife by simple repudiation, whereas a woman must give reasons, some of which are extremely difficult to prove. Child custody reverts to the father at a preset age, even if the father is abusive; women who remarry lose custody of their children; and sons are entitled to inherit twice the share of daughters.
The voluntary nature of Sharia courts is a sham
Proponents argue that those who choose to make use of Sharia courts and tribunals do so voluntarily and that according to the Arbitration Act parties are free to agree upon how their disputes are resolved. In reality, many of those dealt with by Sharia courts are from the most marginalised segments of society with little or no knowledge of their rights under British law. Many, particularly women, are pressured into going to these courts and abiding by their decisions. More importantly, those who fail to make use of Sharia law or seek to opt out will be made to feel guilty and can be treated as apostates and outcasts.
Even if completely voluntary, which is untrue, the discriminatory nature of the courts would be sufficient reason to bring an end to their use and implementation.
Sharia law is a quick and cheap way to injustice
Proponents argue that Sharia courts are an alternative method of dispute resolution and curb legal aid costs. When it comes to people’s rights, however, cuts in costs and speed can only bring about serious miscarriages of justice. Many of the laws that Sharia courts and religious tribunals aim to avoid have been fought for over centuries in order to improve the rights of those most in need of protection in society.
Sharia law doesn’t promote minority rights and social cohesion
Proponents argue that the right to be governed by Sharia law is necessary to defend minority rights. Having the right to religion or atheism, however, is not the same as having the ‘right’ to be governed by religious laws. This is merely a prescription for discrimination, inequality and culturally relative rights. Rather than defending rights, it discriminates and sets up different and separate systems, standards and norms for ‘different’ people. It reinforces the fragmentation of society, and leaves large numbers of people, particularly women and children, at the mercy of elders and imams. It increases marginalisation and the further segregation of immigrant communities. It ensures that immigrants and new arrivals remain forever minorities and never equal citizens.
One law for all
Whilst arbitration tribunals are part of British law, they are subject to such safeguards as are necessary in the public interest. Clearly, public interest, and particularly the interests of women and children, requires an end to Sharia and all faith-based courts and tribunals.Rights, justice, inclusion, equality and respect are for people, not beliefs. In a civil society, people must have full citizenship rights and equality under the law. Clearly, Sharia law contravenes fundamental human rights. In order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of all those living in Britain, there must be one secular law for all and no Sharia.
Petition
One Law for All
· We call on the UK government to recognise that Sharia and all religious laws are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular. Citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable.· We demand an end to all Sharia courts and religious tribunals on the basis that they work against and not for equality and human rights.· We demand that the Arbitration Act 1996 be amended so that all religious tribunals are banned from operating within and outside of the legal system.

The Iranian Web of Influence in the United States

2008-11-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

DAI:

..."In 1997, many US corporations, including Caterpillar and Xerox, came together and started to fight the ILSA (Iran Libya Sanction Act). This fight reached its summit in 2001 when the Act came back to the Congress for its renewal. It passed by a large majority in the Congress and the Senate, and was extended for years. In the midst of despair, Bob Ney came up with an encouraging and visionary idea:7
A year later, Ney's Iranian advisor, Trita Parsi, became the president of an organization called the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). As I have explained in detail,8 Parsi and his Iran based partner Siamak Namazi, unmasked a roadmap in 1999 to create an Iranian lobby in the US to influence the Congress.
To this date, NIAC has not diverted a bit from the roadmap. Namizi, along with his father, brother and sister, are notorious proprietors of numerous key enterprises in Iran facilitating the mullahs’ financial and business affairs. The NIAC’s role in lobbying for relieving pressure off Tehran’s rulers, under the disguise of empowering Iranian-Americans, is now well exposed. Even the Iranian pro-government newspaper Aftab, described these activities as the "Iranian lobby" acting as the regime's "unofficial diplomacy."10
In addition to this "classic" lobbying effort, mullahs have now focused on using the mafia web of businesses connected to them to influence the US policies towards their interests. Naturally, some American businesses which see financial benefits in dealing with Iran and entering Iran’s markets have not resisted lining up with Iran’s financial Mafia.
To recruit Iranian-American executives of the US companies as new members to its web, the Iranian regime, has undertaken a new initiative spearheaded by Siamak Namazi in Tehran. In June 2007, the newly founded organization called the "International Association of Iranian Managers (I-AIM) held a major workshop in Tehran.10
Abbas Maleki, the Iranian deputy foreign minister under Rafsanjani, advisor to the Supreme Leader and one of the chief organizers of Iranian lobby in the US, was one of the key speakers. Hassan Alaghband from Balli group was another key speaker and one of the main supporters of the event. Namazi is certainly a known figure in the Mullah’s lobby machinery in the West. Following the trails from this meeting leads to the discovery of the broadening web of influence of mullahs in the US involving some new players and many of the familiar faces of the Mafia web.11
The Iranian lobby in the US is financially fed by sources that are conspicuously tangled with Tehran’s interests. One jaw dropping example: Vahid Alaghband (the elder brother) is a major donor (among very few) and an "ambassador and supporter extraordinaire" of US based Parsa foundation.12 -13-14 This group has, in turn, been a principal financial supporter of NIAC in 2007. It is, indeed, a small world!
Certainly there is strong evidence than the Mullahs’ web of influence in the US, including a number of lobby organizations, business interests and pseudo-academics are hard at work to reduce pressure on Tehran and buy them time to pursue their aspiration to gain hegemony in the region and the world. The unavoidable end result may be a catastrophic war between Iran and the US. To prevent that war, we must stop the Iranian lobby and their American cohort enterprises. This is not the case of a smuggler helping a mullah get an airplane ride. This is a matter of national security and the interest of the Iranian and American people.
Notes:
1- http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2008/bis_tdo03212008.html
2- Bob Ney's plea agreement: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/September/06_crm_622.html
3- Iranian newspaper: http://baztab.com/news/24835.php
4- Iran versus Fouad ALzayat in British court http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article3505782.ece
5- Vahid Alaghband's 11 month prison: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aEodr6ltrnoQ&refer=germany
6- Vahid and Hassan Alaghband sentenced for fiduciary duties: http://www.kloeckner.de/investor/en/pm.php?type=pm&id=92&year=2005
7- Ney told AIC in a June 2001 speech. http://www.american-iranian.org/pubs/aicupdate/05262005.html
8- Iran's Oil Mafia: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=b30e945b-5f1f-4a57-a7aa-f4975d12fc4c
9- Aftab Newspaper, http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdccpoq2biqpp.html
10- I-Aim 23-28nJune event: http://www.i-aim.org/content/en/video-entrepreneurship/video-entrepreneurship%20.aspx
11- I-Aim 23-28nJune event: http://www.i-aim.org/content/en/video-entrepreneurship/video-entrepreneurship%20.aspx
12- Parsa's major donors: http://www.parsacf.org/honor-roll/honor roll/avicenna/?searchterm=vahid%20alaghband
13- Vahid Alaghband, Ambassador and … EVENING PROGRAM
14- Parsa donation to NIAC: http://www.parsacf.org/grant-seekers/past-grantees

Facing political Islam

2008-11-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Maryam Namazi is one the brightest human rights activists based in London. Listen to her most intelligent and passionate speech on political Islam:

Her essays and articles are incredibly informative and original. You can read her articles here. and here.

Obama is given canned expert advice

2008-11-20T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hassan Daie:
"Dear friends, A few days ago, Trita Parsi et al presented in the Senate a report that was already published in 2007 under Trita Parsi's name. Please read my article and send it to your friends".
American Chronicle:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/81956

Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader

2008-11-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

If you want to understand the sham elections in Iran's kleptocracy, this book will provide you with factual account of what is going on in Iran now and who runs the Islamic Republic, reading this book is a must!

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
As Iran's nuclear program accelerates, all eyes are on the blacksmith's son who could have his finger on the trigger. Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What drives him? To whom, if anyone, does he answer? Internationally acclaimed Iranian journalist Kasra Naji has spent years interviewing Ahmadinejad's friends, family, and colleagues to tell for the first time the true story of how he came to power. What emerges in this riveting account, featuring never before published color photographs, is a picture of a man who is much more of a force to be reckoned with than the caricatures offered up so far suggest. While Naji documents Ahmadinejad's often strange behavior, he also shows him to be full of complex contradictions: a man gripped by apocalyptic beliefs, yet capable of switching spiritual allegiance in the quest for power. A man tough enough to fight street battles in the name of Ayatollah Khomeini, crude enough to invite the German chancellor to join him in an anti-Jewish alliance, yet sophisticated enough to win the support of the all-powerful Revolutionary Guard. Kasra Naji takes us inside the shadowy council chambers of Tehran, and shows us the plots, passions, and personalities that will influence Ahmadinejad's next move, while the world waits with bated breath.

From the Inside Flap
"An excellent biography, one that is lively and informative, and at the same time sets the President in his international and domestic contexts. In so doing, Naji provides a most informative portrait of Iran today, and of the many, conflicting, forces that are at play within it."--Fred Halliday, author of 100 Myths about the Middle East

Potkin has more on the Islamic Republic's so-called Elections: "As If We Will Hand in the Presidency on a Plate"!!
Cleric Mohammad Ali Abtahi points out an interesting point on his blog made by Ayatollah Jannati during last week's Friday Sermon. Abtahi quotes Ayatollah Jannati when he lashed at the newspapers who have been criticising President Ahmadinejad's government saying 'They think we are going to hand them the presidency on a plate'. Abtahi then humours the sermon speech saying, so it sounds like the Presidency is an appointed position. Sounds like it is!

Islamic Republic of Drug Addicts!

2008-10-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Report: Bush to declare renewal of ties with Iran

2008-10-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Several American media outlets reported on Saturday that President George Bush is likely to announce after next month's presidential elections that he intends to restore the diplomatic relations with Iran, almost 30 years after they were suspended.

Quoting U.S. civil servants, the reports said that Bush's decision to postpone the announcement until after the elections was meant to rid the two presidential candidates of having to deal with the controversial move.

In the first stage, the American administration allegedly seeks to appoint a low-level diplomatic delegation, and has already started the recruitment process.
Tehran has already been informed of the initiative, but its view on the matter remains unclear. Similar reports were published a few months ago, but the plan was then put on hold. Earlier this month, the American Iranian Council, a U.S.-based organization, was banned from operating in Iran. However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a U.S. tour last month that he would consider restoring his country's relations with the U.S. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said Tehran would favorably consider such proposal, as long as it was to be carried out bilaterally. U.S. sources said the purpose of the diplomatic effort is to better communicate American messages to the Iranian people, which are largely hostile to the U.S. They said that it does not signal a conciliatory approach to the Iranian regime or any change of policy vis-à-vis the contentious issues that are on the table, namely Iran's nuclear program. The United States severed its diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, in the wake of the Islamic revolution that ousted the Shah and brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. A group of Iranian students, supported by the Islamists, took over the American embassy and held its workers hostage for over a year. Related articles:
ANALYSIS / Are U.S.-Iran ties undergoing significant change?
Senate urges Bush to declare Iranian force a terrorist group
U.S. drops plan to set up diplomatic outpost in Iran

Mrs. Palin

2008-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

U.S. student arrested in Tehran while working on thesis project

2008-10-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

CNN: Esha Momeni, a graduate student at California State University-Northridge, was arrested October 15 in Tehran for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving, according to Change For Equality, an Iranian women's movement.
"We're seeking additional information about this case," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Wednesday. "We stand with all those in Iran who are working for universal human rights and justice in their countries."
Momeni, who was born in Los Angeles, California, is a member of Change for Equality's California chapter. She arrived in Tehran two months ago to work on her masters thesis project on the Iranian women's movement, according to the group, which is in touch with Momeni's family in Iran.
Momeni is being held in a section of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison that is managed by the Intelligence Ministry, the group said. Evin Prison houses many Iranian dissidents and political prisoners, and it is where four Iranian-Americans were held for several months last year. All have been released.
Iranian officials had promised Momeni's family that she would be immediately released if the news of her arrest was not published, the organization said.
"While Esha's friends and colleagues were insistent about announcing the news of her arrest immediately, based on requests from her family this news was announced with delay," Change for Equality said on its Web site.
Momeni's parents decided to release the information after they went to Iran's Revolutionary Court on Sunday -- five days after her arrest -- to inquire about her case, and they were told not to return until the investigation into her case has been completed, according to Change for Equality.
The Momeni family returned to Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, but Esha had gone back to the United States several years ago to study for her masters degree, according to a blog post from her journalism professor, Melissa Wall.
A separate blog calling for her release (for-esha.blogspot.com) has been established and includes an interview with Wall, who describes her student as "an exceptionally bright person, very creative and artistic." She calls herself "shocked" to hear of Momeni's arrest.
"I'm aware that such things happen in Iran, but I'm confident that they have nothing to fear from Esha's research project," Wall said. "It is simply an academic exercise, not meant for publication outside of academic circles. I cannot image why she should be held in detention."
On her personal blog, Wall said, "She is a videographer who was simply interviewing Iranian women. She has broken no laws, has not done anything wrong."
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All About Tehran • Evin Prison

Islamic Republic of Child Laborers

2008-10-22T09:36:00.001-07:00

Nothing upsets me more than seeing children distressed and unhappy. Every child should enjoy their childhood to the full. No child should ever be humiliated, hurt or have to endure such hard labour as seen in these pictures of Iranian children working in brick factories.

How can this be possible in a country with so much natural wealth and oil income?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures are the answer to the pathetic claims by those who pretend to represent the working classes like the Socialist Workers Party with their pathetic Stalinist statistics and figures of how things have improved for the poor in Iran since the revolution blah, blah.... Makes your blood boil."

And there are still who want to have tea with the representative of this criminal leadership. Iran has 10% of the world's oil reserves; there is no reason for such an abject poverty.

Reprinted from Potkin's blog

Islamic Republic continues to kill Christians while Larry King interviews Ahamdinejad

2008-10-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Islamic Republic's religious apartheid regime continues to hang Christians.This report is from a great blog, Internation Musings:

Hossein Soodmand converted from Islam to Christianity in 1960, when he was 13 years old.
Thirty years later, in 1990, he was hanged by the Iranian authorities for that decision.Today, Rashin Soodman the daughter of Hossein Soodman, living in London, fears that her brother, Ramtin, held in a prison cell in Mashad, Iran's holiest city, will face the same 'faith'.
He was arrested on August 21. He has not been charged but he is a Christian. And Rashin fears that, just as her father was the last man to be executed for apostasy in Iran, her brother may become one of the first to be killed under Iran's new law; "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against.
Today, only in Islam apostasy is punishable (It’s virtually impossible to find a Christian state which persecutes. Most of the countries which do persecute are Muslim–with a few Communist or former Communist states thrown in). And its punishable by death in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, Mauritania and the Comoros. In Qatar apostasy is a capital offense, but no executions have been reported for it.
Here the article.
Note: Many ex-Muslims in Great Britain have faced abuse, violence, and even murder at the hands of Muslims; one estimate suggests there are 200,000 apostates in Britain. There are similar reports of violent intimidation of those electing to reject Islam in other Western countries.Other examples of persecution of apostates converting to Christianity have been given by the Barnabas Fund from Kuwait, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, and Bangladesh.
More info herrreeee and herrreeee and herrreeee.

Thousands of Christians flee killings in Mosul

2008-10-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

By Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers
Sat Oct 11, 6:43 PM ET

BAGHDAD — Christians in Mosul are fleeing their homes after a spate of killings this week that left 12 Christians dead in one of the largest Christian communities in Iraq .

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The killings follow large protests by the community last month against the passage of the provincial elections law. An article that would give representation to Christians and other minorities was removed from the law before its passage.

Now the last safe haven for Christians is gone, said Canon Andrew White the vicar of St. George's church in Baghdad .

After a spree of killings and forced evictions of Iraqi Christians in Baghdad last year, many fled to Mosul . But even there they could not escape the danger. In February of this year the Archbishop Paulos Faraj Raho of Mosul was kidnapped and killed.

"Christians are being killed in the only place they felt safe, in Ninevah," White said, referring to the province of which Mosul is the capital. "This is where they fled to and now there's no safe place for them."

Over a thousand Christian families have fled Mosul for outlying villages and villages in the Kurdistan region in search of safety, a spokesman for the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs said. Posters are being put up with guidelines on how to leave.

"The Christian families left in Mosul are very few indeed," said Mariwan Nakshabandee, spokesman for the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs , which oversees Christian communities in Mosul .

Iraqi Assyrian and Chaldean Catholics trace their roots to ancient Mesopotamia and Christian communities were prominent in many major Iraqi cities, including Mosul in the north and Basra in the south and Baghdad . The capital had enclaves in the central neighborhood of Karada, the eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad and nearby al-Ghadir as well as Dora in the capital's south.

Christians once were estimated to be about 3 percent of the Iraqi population or about 800,000 people.

But as Iraq grew bloody and violent the Christian community dwindled. Now some estimate that more than half of Iraq's Christians have fled. White believes that the Christian community is about a quarter of the estimated 800,000.

"It isn't easy for these people to leave," he said. "They have no representation... we need the Christian world to do something about it."

On Saturday, three more Christian men were found dead in Mosul . Among the 12 killed just this week were doctors, engineers, pharmacists and at least one disabled man. Three empty homes of Christian families in eastern Mosul who had fled were reduced to rubble as a warning, police in Mosul said.

Some of the assassins told those they killed "you want an autonomous region," said Auxiliary Bishop of the Chaldean Patriarch in Baghdad Shlemon Wirduni, who was getting updates every few hours from churches in Mosul . The assassins were referring, he said, to aspirations of some Assyrian and Chaldean Christians to create an autonomous Christian region in the northern plains of Ninevah Province .

Wirduni lamented that despite outcries to the international press, United Nations officials and Iraqi government officials nothing was being done.

In Ninevah province, governor Duraid Kashmoula said the increase in attacks on Christians was due to the failure of a recent security operation in Mosul . He blamed Al Qaida in Iraq , an extremist Sunni group, for the recent string of killings.

Mosul remains a volatile province despite a recent security operation and both Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police officials said they'd seen and uptick in Al Qaida in Iraq activity in the area.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE.)

"Killing the peaceful Christians is a crime and it doesn't pass without punishment," he said. According to Kashmoula, the killings were because of "the failure of the security plan and the fleeing of the elements of Al Qaida from Anbar to Mosul unchecked."

The Hammurabi Association for Human Rights released a statement demanding international attention to the assassinations of Christians likening it to "genocide."

"We call on the authorities, central and local and international to stop this Christian bloodshed and to contain the violations and violence and terrorism that Christians in Mosul are facing," the statement said.

"We also are victims of the civil war between Iraqis and the objective of the threats of Al Qaida is to displace Christians because they are a minority in Iraq ," said Salwan Khoshaba from Al Tahira Church in Mosul .

Latin leftists gloating over 'Comrade' Bush's bailout

2008-10-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Socializing our banking and mortgage system:

By Tyler Bridges McClatchy Newspapers
CARACAS, Venezuela — They don't call him President Bush in Venezuela anymore.
Now he's known as "Comrade."
With the Bush administration's Treasury Department resorting to government bailout after government bailout to keep the U.S. economy afloat, leftist governments and their political allies in Latin America are having a field day, gloating one day and taunting Bush the next for adopting the types of interventionist government policies that he's long condemned.
"We were just talking about that this morning on the floor," said Congressman Edwin Castro, who heads the leftist Sandinista congressional bloc in Nicaragua. "We think the Bush administration should follow the same policies that they and the International Monetary Fund have always told us to follow when we have economic problems — a structural adjustment that requires cutting government spending and reducing the role of government.
"One of our economists was telling us that Bush has just implemented communism for the rich," Castro said.
No one in Latin America has been making more hay of Bush's turnabout than Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist who is the U.S.'s biggest headache in the region.
"If the Venezuelan government, for example, approves a law to protect consumers, they say, 'Take notice, Chavez is a tyrant!'" Chavez said in one of his recent weekly television shows.
"Or they say, 'Chavez is regulating prices. He is violating the laws of the marketplace.' How many times have they criticized me for nationalizing the phone company? They say, 'The state shouldn't get involved in that.' But now they don't criticize Bush for having nationalize . . . the biggest banks in the world. Comrade Bush, how are you?"
The audience laughed and Chavez continued.
"Comrade Bush is heading toward socialism."
That certainly isn't the view of the Bush administration, which sees the government plan to buy toxic mortgages and the takeover of a major insurance company as well as two huge mortgage lenders as distasteful but necessary temporary measures to right the listing U.S. economy and prevent a worldwide depression.
Mark Weisbrodt, director of the leftist Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, advises numerous Latin American governments.
He called the recent Bush administration policies ironic.
"The biggest nationalization in the world was of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The biggest nationalization of an insurer was AIG. People are saying that Bush is privatizing risk and socializing losses," Weisbrodt said.
John Ross, who has begun providing advice to the Chavez government, along with his boss, former London Mayor "Red" Ken Livingstone, criticized the U.S. president and his conservative political allies.
"They have abandoned every policy that they've advocated that other governments should follow over the past 20 years," Ross said by telephone from London. "And they've adopted the measures that they've condemned other governments for taking.
"This is not the end of capitalism. But it is the end of Reaganism and Thatcherism," he added.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a conservative, was a close ally of President Reagan in the 1980s.
In Peru, Congresswoman Nancy Obregon said she thought Bush's actions were sounding the death knell for capitalism.
"He's driving it into the ground," said Obregon, a socialist. "He's imitating Evo Morales."
Morales is the socialist president of Bolivia who has nationalized a half dozen foreign companies.
But Bolivia's ambassador in Venezuela, Jorge Alvarado, took issue with Obregon's comparison.
"Bush is guilty of a double-standard, but it would be an exaggeration to say he's imitating Evo," said Alvarado. "He'd have to be re-born to imitate Evo!"
Manuel Sutherland, a senior official in the Caracas-based Latin American Association of Marxist Economists, said that Bush has become a fellow traveler.
But Sutherland said he wasn't about to let Bush join his group.
"He carries out nationalizations to save capitalism," Sutherland said. "We want to sink it."
MORE FROM MCCLATCHY
Venezuela's Chavez sees America as a 'sinking ship'
Chavez seeks to pull Paraguay's new leader into his orbit
Morales survives Bolivian election test, but foes also gain
Sandinista anniversary celebrated in Nicaragua with mixed emotions
McClatchy Newspapers 2008

Sober analysis of New Economic Realities!

2008-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

CEO -- Chief Embezzlement Officer.
CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance,

the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use

What did the trees do wrong?

2008-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Islamic Republic of Vampires in Iran chopped off the trees in a historic Isfahan Bahai cemetery in a vicious act of desecration and hatred against Bahai.

What did the trees do wrong?

The callous wave of destruction against bahai cemetries is nothing new. Last year, The bulldozing of a Baha'i cemetery was the start of this series of incidents in a government-led campaign of hatred against Baha'is.

The list of anti-Baha'i incidents is growing, as are human rights violations against other groups in Iran.

Islamic Republic of Vampires

2008-10-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

"Profits of War" (translated into farsi, under the title "Pol-e-Khoon") written in 1992 by a fugitive Israeli-Iranian intelligence operative named Ari Ben-Menashe...

Hizballh in Africa

2008-10-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

...Sheikh Zakzaky is being positioned by the mullah regime as the Nasrullah of Africa. He is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden.

The importance of Islam at the present time

2008-10-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

Q: How deeply rooted is that image still in Western culture and in the Western psyche?

A: I would say it was deeply rooted for quite a long time when the West was more or less continuously under attack. First, it was the Arab conquest was in Spain and then the Turks in Europe. Then it began to fade, but now, of course, it has revived for obvious reasons.

Q: Is the hatred of Muslim extremists towards the West greater than their hatred towards each other?
A: There is no one answer to that. It depends on the time and the place and the mood. There are different answers in different times and places.

Larry vs. Mahmoud

2008-10-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

From: Iranian.com

Once again, the cowardice and ignorance of modern American journalism allowed the wrong idea to seem like a fantastic solution.

Well, all I can say is, that I'm just glad I ate before I sat down to watch last week's CNN Larry King interview with Iran's pseudo President Ahmadinejad, or as I now call him A@*H&%$#.

Hours before the interview, the "submit your questions" page of CNN that was sent around the internet for Iranians to fill in, was most surely filled in, with great submissions that King could have chosen any one of to really put the non-leader of Iran on the spot with, and grind the logic-failure of Iran's great Islamic proposition with. Instead though, King showed why he is the epitome of the lackluster, ignorant, lazy, and "feed the beast your children", of American journalism.

Why we would expect anything short of a "if it bleeds it leads" mentality from King is beyond me. King seems to be beyond the twilight of his career, apparently more concerned with the state if his corned beef and pastrami on rye sandwich at his local daily deli visit, and when he is finally going to die, than leaving any lasting legacy of journalistic integrity through insightful observation and putting evil on the spot.

No, capitulate instead, Larry. By all means!

As if verily mastered by Iran's ministry of dis-information's head puppet master, each question was masterfully delivered with the softest of touches, so that A@*H&%$# could gay-swing and smack each one out of the proverbial ballpark, like Barry Bonds after a freshly injected cocktail of Hank Aaron's man juice, with a Babe Ruth DNA chaser. If he was a girly Bonds.

Moronic questions like; (I am paraphrasing here for effect, not accuracy, if you want accuracy you'll have to be bi-lingual, listen to both versions the sexy English translation by that sexy female translator, against his own words in Farsi . For now, trust me, here's the gist.)

King: "Do you think there can be peace with the US and Iran?"

Obviously A@*H&%$# answered, "Yes". But with the brilliant added tome, "Of course the hostility is not from us! It is America that is hostile. We have no issues with the American people, but when America uses the language of war, we have to be ready to defend ourselves."

More idiocy by King: "Has the President (Bush) responded to your letter?" (Referring to the moronic rambling letter by A@*H&%$# asking Americans to "Can't we all just get along" as long as you essentially convert to and embrace Eslam)

Of course A@*H&%$#'s answer would be, "No". which makes it look like A@*H&%$# is the peace loving end of the donkey, and has reached out his hand.

King goes on to dig himself into the ground even further, "Why do you think Bush, Obama, or McCain don't want to talk to you?"

A@*H&%$#: "You should ask them, we are willing to talk."

Brilliant.

King: "You would agree that they consider you to be a hostile state, would you not?"

A@*H&%$#: "Iran has never ever attacked anyone, the only war we have been involved in was to defend ourselves against Iraq, which everyone knows was encouraged and instigated by America. Our defense was our legal right, our human right."

Genius.

King: "Can you tell us what you are doing with regards to Nuclear weapons?"

A@*H&%$#: "Look, it is fundamentally against our fundamentalist religion to seek weapons of mass destruction of any kind."

Can this guy run for US President? Because with answers like that, I think he could win.

King finally got down and dirty, asking a series of questions on the Middle east conflict, even though it was only to stand up for his fellow Jews by asking the consummate question that no Israeli lobbyist has ever been able to get an answer to: "But you will allow Israel to exist?"

To which A@*H&%$# masterfully responded: "Look, this is something for the people of Palestine to decide. There should be an election, a democratic election, and the people should be allowed to decide for themselves. The thing to remember is that it is not the fault of the Palestinians that the Jews were displaced by Europeans and the West. This is like throwing a party for yourselves, using the pocket of someone else to pay for it."

I have said it before, and I will say it again, other than China, Iran is the smartest country on the planet right now. They have convinced the world of the validity of an obvious invalid position, through expert showmanship like this, the new naked Persian Emperor, against even the most obvious opponent, will in fact convince you to agree with their ill-argued proposition, feigned as it may be.

Meanwhile China has convinced the world that it's oppressive regime and subjugation of a third of the world's people, is in fact the happiest place on earth, with a full blown child labor factory knockoff of a Disneyland theme park as Disneycountry, complete with backlot secret stage doors, and "Characters" you can only take pictures with, but cannot talk to.

Next time Larry, if you can get yourself to take off your Israeli Boy Scouts suspenders for a minute, consider asking A@*H&%$# this question: "Mr. President, if Iran's constitution prohibits amendments, and if all of the power rests in the hands/turban of the Supreme Leader for life, Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the power to declare war, set foreign policy, and who the military, the secret police, and the Revolutionary Guard of Iran reports to, and who also appoints the president of Iran, a president in name only, that has no decision-making power whatsoever, what pray tell, are you doing here? And a quick follow up- Can you arrange to have Mr. Khamanei come here next time, because this is a UN meeting of world leaders, and clearly you can't even fix a parking ticket in Tehran."

That would make it really "lead if it bleeds", because it is very likely A@*H&%$#'s head would explode. Live. In HD. That would even put that whippersnapper blackberry blogging punk Anderson Cooper in his place!

Mahmmod Strikes Manhattan

2008-09-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

He supports terror networks around the world.

He calls for the destruction of the US and Israel.

He is developing nuclear weapons in defiance of the U.N.

He jails and executes women’s rights activists, religious minorities and others in Iran.

He supports stoning women

He supports killing religious minorities

Be there: Monday September 22nd at 11:45 AM- Across from the UNRain or Shine

Mark Your Calendar For the "Madman in Manhattan" Protest

Organizing the event, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an international human rights activist and former Miss World Canada, will lead off the line up of the "Wall of Shame" by asking: "Ahmadinejad why are you executing children?" Nazanin's actions on behalf of the children on death row in Iran began when she was told of a young girl on her namesake that was going to be executed for stabbing one of three men who attempted to rape her. Nazanin was instrumental in saving this girl and since then has been dedicated to saving more lives.
"There has been 6 children hanged this year alone in Iran and over 130 children on death row awaiting execution," said Nazanin Afshin-Jam, President and co-founder of the Stop Child Executions (SCE) organization. "While the UN legitimizes Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran by having the door open to him at the General Assembly, the Iranian people feel betrayed by the false representation. In face of the west's obsession with Iran's nuclear development, the voices of the Iranian people have been stifled and human rights abuses have been overshadowed.
This 'Wall of Shame' demonstration is hoping to give a 'voice to the voiceless' and address the concerns of the vast majority of Iranian people who believe in a united, secular, democratic Iran based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and no military intervention on Iran," said Nazanin. Groups and individuals participating in the "Wall of Shame" demonstration include those who have faced oppression under the current regime such as women under gender apartheid, students who have been imprisoned and tortured and ethnic and religious minorities who have been persecuted. Focus will also be given to other human rights atrocities in Iran including stoning to death, dismembering of limbs, and throwing people from heights as methods of punishment.
Nazanin states, "The government of Iran cannot on the one hand expect the international community to trust its leaders with nuclear energy while it openly disregards the most basic internationally recognized child rights conventions such as the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Charter of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which it is state party."
Stop Child Executions invites all media and the general public to join this demonstration for Human Rights. SCE will release the latest list of minors facing the death penalty, and an 8 part plan of recommendations addressed to Iran's heads of state, Parliament, Judiciary, United Nations and international community which will also be made available on the htttp://www.stopchildexecutions.com website following the rally.
For Further information or an interview with Nazanin Afshin-Jam please contact Leslie Taylor at Big Machine Media at 212-572-0760 or leslie@bigmachinemedia.com.
Stop Child Executions is the leading organization providing information and updates on the situation of minors on death row in Iran. It is a volunteer based, independent, non-political human rights group whose aim

aim is to put a permanent end to child executions in Iran and abroad. http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/ Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=833195 Contact:Leslie TaylorBig Machine Media212-572-0760

Email ContactSource: Stop Child Executions

Further News on Hunger Strike of Two Political Prisoners in Iran

2008-08-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sayyah Hassan: Further News on Hunger Strike of Two Political Prisoners in IranAccording to the latest news received from Section 4 of the Gohardasht Prison in Iran Both Mr. Khaled Hardani and Mr. Mansour Radpour are on the 3rd day of their hunger strike. Mr. Hardani and Radpour started their hunger strike on August 5th 2008 in response to the increased physical and psychological torture towards political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison.

Mr. Hardani and Radpour have written a letter to the prison officials setting out their demands, however there has been no response from the prison officials in regards to this hunger strike. It must also be mentioned that Mr. Radpour was taken to an unknown location yesterday (August the 6th) at about 10:30 am, and up until this point there is no news about his whereabouts, safety and well being.

This is a great cause for concern for The Voice of Human Rights in Iran. A copy of the letter in Farsi can be found on the website of Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran.The Demands of Mr. Hardani and Mr. Radpour are as follows:

1. The recognition of political prisoners in Iranian Prison.

2. End to the oppression and inhumane treatment of political prisoners and their families.

3. Separation of political prisoners from non-political and dangerous prisoners.

Iran: Unspeakable torture

2008-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

شکستن پا و دندان زندانی زیر شکنجه های وحشیانه
گزارش دریافتی: بر اساس اخبار بدست آمده از زندان تبریز به نقل از افرادی که امروز موفق به دیدن حمید والایی، وکیل، مدافع حقوق بشر و نویسنده آذربایجانی شده اند، بر اثر شکنجه های که طی دوازده روز گذشته بر وی وارد شده، دو دندان جلو و دو دندان عقب فک بالای وی شکسته است. همچنین این زندانی بر اثر صدمات وارده به پای راستش که منجر به شکستن آن شده، قادر به حرکت نیست. علاوه بر این بر اثر صدمات وارده به سر وی چندین بار بیهوش شده و در حال حاضر دچار سرگیجه شدید می باشد.

Quick Translation:

The Iranian regime continues to torture dissidents in the most barbaric fashion.

Hamid ValAAie, a human rights lawyer in Tabriz's Prison has been tortured savagely over a a period of 12 days. His interrogators broke four of his teeth (2 in the front and two in back). They broke his right leg and he cannot move. He had also passed out repeatedly during these torture session, and he suffers from severe dizziness.

IRAN:29 hanged only in Tehran in one day!

2008-07-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hanged: Iranian authorities execute 29 criminals in one day

The hangings were carried out at dawn behind the high walls of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where inmates are routinely tortured.

I must congratulate all the appeasers and liberals who still work hand in hand with the despots in Iran. But it is only fair to see some statistics and feel the “Blood money”, and then perhaps there may be some conscience left to react to those who still sing in favor of this regime.
This morning, according to Government controlled media, 29 people, mostly youth, who were arrested during night surges in recent unrests, were hanged by the neck in Tehran.

The state-run news agency Mehr quoted the prosecutor general as saying, "The entire legal procedure has been exhausted on their cases at highest levels and they will be hanged."The Irony is that these 29 so called “criminals” were hanged exactly in conjunction with the anniversary of massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988(supporters of the main opposition MKO/PMOI).
Events in the past few days:
-On July 22, in a statement the EU called on the mullahs' regime not to uphold the execution sentences for two young men, Mohammed Fadaei and Behnood Shojaee , who are both sentenced to death for alleged crimes committed when they were minors.
- In reverse and in defiance of this warning On Saturday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a clear sign of defiance to the international demand of halting all enrichment activities announced the boost in the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges to up to 6,000.
-A few hours after the U.S. announcement, the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that Iran will not cross its red line (namely halting uranium enrichment), but that nevertheless he permitted the negotiations!
-On June 10, the mullahs executed a 17-year-old boy named Mohammad Hassan-Zadeh in the northwestern city of Sanandaj for a crime he had allegedly committed when he was only 14.-
-According to the rights groups 114 youths face gallows for the crimes allegedly committed when they were minors. The youngest is a 13-year-old boy named Ahmad Nowroozi sentenced to death by the mullahs' judiciary three years ago in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.
-Eight women and a man are waiting to be stoned to death. Under mullahs' penal codes, an individual sentenced to death by stoning, if a man should be buried up to his waist, while a woman is buried up to her neck. Stones are thrown until the condemned dies.
-According to Abbas pouriayi, the prosecutor general for the northeastern province of Golestan, there will be a new plan implemented to control chastity which includes “mobile judges”. This would “promote security” in public. What these judges ( or mullahs) would do when a couple are arrested in the park is up to his personal judgment of course.
This coin has two sides of course: at least 6500 protests and demonstrations in one month, despite the curfews and suppression.
The paradox is that there are still those who aid Iranian lobbies and back the tyrants in Iran, while they are ignorant of the slightest idea of the nature of this regime. It is obvious that this “show of force” displayed vigorously by Tehran, through despicable political blackmail and deception on one side and brazen human right violations on the other is in reality “a show of fear of being toppled”. The appeasement policy is a blank check which has encouraged this regime in this blood bath. Government officials have reiterated a number of times that they see fear and weakness from their counterparts in discussions. I would think it is time to ask for help from those who have resisted the same tyranny though out these years and have not once retreated from their goals. A display of might and courage against the “axis of evil” that has been the nightmare of foreign policy for the so called “policy makers” of the West and US. Some links to help visualize events in Iran:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtktSKav8n4

Clip showing people in Darab trying to protest for not havening any drinking water and Guards shooting into the crowd , while the crowed retaliate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95wGx7INCc

Anti nuclear demonstration in one of the towns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrEWSFeaSM

IRAN: A Culture immersing further in the Dark Ages

2008-07-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

جشنواره زنان سرزمین من؛ اوج فروماندگی

English: Focus on Iranian Women

IRAN: Arrest of Family Members of Massacre of 1988

2008-07-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:
What does MR. Obama think of the Islamic Republic's Crimes against humanity?? Does he still see the Islamic Republic's demonic leadership as rightfully aggrieved???

Arrest of family memebers of massacre of 1988

The Recent Summons and Arrest of Family Members of Political Prisoners who were Mass Murdered in the Summer of 1988

As the 20th anniversary of the 1988 mass murder of Iranian political prisoners approaches, the Regime has started summoning and arresting family members of prisoners who were murdered, in order to create a general atmosphere of fear and to prevent any participation in the commemoration services of this tragedy.For example Mr. Mohsen Naderi (50 years old) who had been summoned to the Revolutionary Courts on Tuesday July 22nd 2008 was arrested and placed in a temporary holding cell in the Evin Prison.

Last year in the month of September Mr. Nadri who had lost a loved one (Mohammad Hossein Davoud Abadi Farahani, long live his memory) participated in an event commemorating the 19th anniversary of the mass murder of political prisoners in 1988
Following his participation in this event on September 9th 2007 he was attacked by about 12 Ministry of Intelligence guards who arrested and transferred him to Section 209 of the Evin Prison. He was interrogated for 21 days in solitary cells, by two interrogators named Saeed and Rahmati.

During the 21 days of interrogations he was subjected to brutal physical and psychological torture by his interrogators. He was released after 21 days on bail and was eventually tried in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Courts before a Judge called Mousavi.

Mr. Naderi is one of the many political prisoners who were arrested in the early 1980’s. He was imprisoned from 1981 to 1986 on the charges of being a supporter of Mojahedin’e Khalq. During his time in prison he was subjected to inhumane torture.
It should be mentioned that those family members who had participated in the 19th commemoration ceremonies of the 1988 Mass Murders were attacked by the Ministry of Intelligence Officials and taken to Section 209 of the Evin Prison. They were subjected to the most inhumane physical and psychological torture for more than 4 months, and were kept in solitary confinement.

Later they were transferred to Section 350 of the Evin Prison where a number of them still remain imprisoned to this day. The names of the family members who are still imprisoned include Mr. Ali Saremi (60 years old), Mr. Mohammad Ali Mansouri, Ms. Misagh Yazdan Nejad and Mr. Naser Sudagari.

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran condemn the continuation of arrests, new wave of arrests and the summons of the families of political prisoners who were mass murdered in 1988. Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran urge the International Community to form a commission to investigate the mass murders of 1988 and to bring to justice those who were responsible for this great tragedy.

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran

23rd July 2008

http://hrdai.blogspot.com
pejvak_zendanyan10@yahoo.com
pejvakzendanyan@gmail.com
tel. : 0031620720193
http://hrdai.blogspot.com/2008/07/67.html

h/t to:Sayyah Hassan

20 Years of Silence

2008-07-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

The 1988 prisoner massacre

by Kaveh Shahrooz
22-Jul-2008

This summer, thousands of bereaved families will defy the Iranian government and gather at the mass graves in Tehran’s Khavaran cemetery to mark the twentieth anniversary of the 1988 (1) massacre of Iranian political prisoners. If you have forgotten this grim anniversary, then you are not alone. In fact, you are not alone if you did not even know that such a massacre ever occurred.

In scale and brutality, the 1988 massacre is unparalleled in contemporary Iranian history. It is the darkest irony of this very dark episode, that of all its human rights violations the Iranian government has been most successful at keeping the 1988 killings a secret from the international community and from many Iranians. By now, virtually everyone knows of the reign of terror that immediately followed the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government’s assassination campaign abroad, and the “Chain Murders” that targeted opposition intellectuals and activists in the late 1990s. Tragically, however, there is very little public awareness of the 1988 executions. Not only has there been no prosecution of the criminals who orchestrated and carried out that summer’s gruesome murders, but the government continues to deny that they even occurred.

In this article, I want to do three things. First, I want to tell, in a condensed form, the story of the 1988 massacre. This story needs to be told repeatedly because many simply do not know it. Such repetition is also important, because in its retelling we commemorate the victims and ensure that their deaths were not in vain. Secondly, I want to discuss why this twenty year-old crime matters. Finally, I want to briefly outline a blueprint for future action.

There is also one approach that I specifically want to avoid in this piece. I do not wish to delve into the reasons why, for two decades, little has been done to pursue justice in this case. That is not to say that past failures are unimportant. They teach us a great deal about the difficulties ahead and the pitfalls to avoid. What I mean is that devoting energy to blaming the actions of this political party or the omissions of that human rights organization distracts from the real and difficult tasks now at hand: Making the world aware of the crime, investigating the massacre, and preparing for future prosecutions.

What happened in 1988?
Throughout the 1980’s, Iranian prisons were filled with political prisoners of every age, gender, and ideological affiliation. As has been noted by Amnesty International, the vast majority of these political prisoners had been sentenced to prison—in trials that fell far short of international standards—for non-violent political activity. While in prison, they had endured appalling torture and other forms of brutality.

In late 1987 and early 1988, prison officials began the unusual process of interrogating political prisoners again and separating them according to their party affiliations, religiosity, and length of sentence. In Tehran, this meant that some prisoners were moved between Evin and Gohar-Dasht prisons. This preliminary segregation of prisoners strongly indicates that there were pre-existing plans for mass killings. Furthermore, the filtering process belies the notion that the 1988 executions were in response to armed attacks on Iranian territory.

At the end of July 1998, shortly after Iran had accepted a cease-fire in the war with Iraq, and days after its military had soundly repelled an attack by the Mojahedin-e Khalq on Iran’s western border, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gave two unprecedented secret orders(2) to begin the re-trial of all political prisoners across the country and to execute those who remained steadfast in their opposition to the Islamic regime. To give effect to Khomeini’s order, a commission was assembled—called the “Death Commission” by the prisoners—consisting of a representative from the Judiciary, the office of the Prosecutor, and the Ministry of Intelligence. In Tehran’s Death Commission, those government agencies were represented by Jaafar Nayyeri, Morteza Eshraghi and Mostafa Pourmohammadi respectively, although others also played a role. The task of the Death Commission was to determine whether a prisoner was a Mohareb(3) or Mortad-(4)and to execute both groups. In the case of most Mojahedin prisoners, that determination was often made after only a single question about their party affiliation. Those who said “Mojahedin” rather than the derogatory “Monafeqin”(5) were sent to be hanged. In the case of various leftist prisoners, the Death Commission asked about religious belief and willingness to cooperate with the authorities. Sample questions included: “are you a Muslim?”, “do you pray?”, and “are you willing to clear minefields for the military of the Islamic Republic?” If a plurality of judges felt that the prisoner was a Mohareb or Mortad, the prisoner was sent to hang immediately.

Several thousand political prisoners were killed in a matter of two months. Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri estimates that the number killed was somewhere between 2,800 and 3,800. Others believe the number is higher. Even those who survived the questioning of the Death Commission did not always fare well. Some could not bear the emotional pain of what they had witnessed, or the physical pain of the regular floggings they received, and simply committed suicide. The prison guards are said to have encouraged that decision.

To add insult to injury, the Iranian government did not inform the victims’ families about the re-trials until the executions had been carried out and the bodies had been buried in mass graves. Once informed, the families were not told of their loved ones’ burial spots and were ordered not to erect any monument or hold any ceremony. When asked about the killings by the Western press, representatives of the Iranian government—Abdollah Nouri, Ali Khamene’i, and Hashemi Rafsanjani—flatly denied them. The Iranian government continues to deny the 1988 elimanation of opposition prisoners.

Why Does 1988 matter?
Even after reading the story above, it is fair to ask why, in a world of finite activist resources and limited attention spans, it is worth focusing on a case from two decades ago. Why not instead focus on something more immediate and pressing?

There are two answers. The first is that—while one does not want to be in the business of comparing suffering—the scale of the crimes committed in 1988 makes the case qualitatively different from the Iranian government’s other human rights violations. As mentioned at the outset, the murder campaign of that summer is a crime without parallel in Iran’s tumultuous modern history. In fact, the executions have all the elements required by international law to be labeled as crimes against humanity: The murders were widespread and systematic, they were directed at a civilian population, and, as made clear by Ayatollah Montazeri in his memoirs, they were a policy preconceived at the highest ranks of the Iranian government. The sheer magnitude of the 1988 massacre makes it too large to ignore, even after twenty years.

The second reason to focus on 1988 is that the absence of accountability for those crimes has led to the culture of impunity so rampant in today’s Iran. Why would Iranian officials hesitate to murder intellectuals, torture students, or kill an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist? After all, they know that their colleagues (i.e. Ismail Shooshtari or Mostafa Pourmohammadi) who bear immense criminal responsibility for the same types of acts in 1988 have been rewarded with cabinet posts under the Khatami and Ahmadinejad administrations? A focus on 1988 sends a strong signal to Iranian officials that the human rights community has a long memory and that, like Milosevic, Pinochet, and numerous Rwandan genocidaires(6), they will one day have to account for their crimes. A campaign to widely identify the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre may also shame future Iranian administrations into marginalizing those individuals. A publicity campaign will alert the Iranian government that giving public roles to known criminals will further isolate it from the international community.

What is to be Done about 1988?
On this sad anniversary, it is important to hold gatherings, lay flowers, and observe moments of silence. But remembrance is not enough. What we need now, after twenty years of silence, is to map out a strategy for demanding accountability. To decide on such a strategy, we will need input from survivors, victims’ families, lawyers, human rights activists, and journalists. To start this important conversation, I outline below a few preliminary thoughts on the course of action. The list below is not exhaustive and the steps outlined are intertwined:

* Telling the world: I began this article by mentioning that the vast majority of people simply do not know that the crimes of 1988 ever occurred. Our failure to publicize this crime is the most shameful disservice to the victims and their families. It is also the single greatest obstacle to the pursuit for justice since we cannot expect an international outcry over a crime about which the world simply does not know. To rectify the situation, we need to begin a thoughtful information campaign; a campaign that goes beyond insular gatherings of former prisoners and a small group of devoted activists; a campaign that vividly presents the 1988 case as a human rights issue that matters to all Iranians rather than a political issue that benefits only those opposition groups whose members were executed. We need to write op-eds in newspapers, both local and national, in Persian and in the major languages of the world, without hyperbole or generalizations. We need to have professional-looking websites that disseminate information on this topic. We need to talk to the journalists we know and ask them to cover this story, and if the journalists ask us for information, we need to have well-written resources to provide. We need to blog about 1988. Our academics need to write scholarly papers on the topic. We need to host conferences on the issue. In short, we need to make sure that we shatter the pervasive silence of the past twenty years.

* Telling our representatives: An important part of our information campaign needs to focus on our elected representatives at every level of government. Through meetings with representatives and candidates, letter writing, and through the use of our emerging diaspora lobby groups, we first need to inform the leaders of the countries in which we live about the atrocity that occurred in 1988 and its importance to the Iranian community. We then need to demand action from these governments, letting them know that they will only have our votes if they seriously address our concerns in this regard. Government action can come in many forms. For example, we can request that our governments formally recognize the 1988 massacre as crimes against humanity. The mere act of recognition by a foreign government will surely get Tehran’s attention. We can ask that our governments insist on tough human rights pre-conditions in all future dealings with Iran, namely an independent investigation of the 1988 massacre. We can also demand that our governments use any legal mechanism available to them, be it through the exercise of “universal jurisdiction” or other means, to threaten the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre with arrest and prosecution.

* Pressuring the human rights organizations: It is baffling that two of the world’s most powerful human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have simply never written full reports on a crime as widespread as the 1988 extermination campaign. To give credibility to our cause, this needs to change. What is needed here is public pressure on these organizations and their Iran researchers in the form of letters, emails, and phone calls, asking them take up the case more seriously. Instead of blaming and condemning them for their failure up until now, it is important to convince them that their investigation would alleviate some the suffering of the victims’ families and would have a positive impact on Iran’s political culture. If they are unwilling to pursue the case, we need to ask for clear reasons. If they say that they will consider it, we need to follow up. Persistence is the key in this regard.

* Consulting with other communities and learning from their experience: There is a wealth of knowledge and experience among various communities about how to deal with human rights atrocities. Those of us in the Iranian human rights community should form alliances with such groups and learn about their successes and failures. For example, we may attempt to learn from the Chilean example, where brave activists began documenting the atrocities of the Pinochet regime back in the bleak days of the 1970’s when there was little hope for change. Though the Chileans were never successful in obtaining a conviction against Pinochet while he was still alive, they scored a major victory in 1998 when Pinochet was arrested in England on a Spanish warrant for human rights crimes. With their tireless efforts, the lawyers and activists ensured that the former dictator’s last days were spent in real fear of prosecution. A different yet equally instructive example is to be found in neighboring Argentina. There, the famed “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” began their struggle in the 1970’s against the military junta that had abducted their children in the brutal Dirty War. Their protests continue to this day, though the Dirty War is long over and the military junta is gone. The Mothers have had many successes and some failures. Their model is also one that we ought to study in closer depth.

* Gathering the evidence and preparing for prosecution: Even if we had ready access to the 1988 culprits, the prospects of prosecutions in the near future are slim. Simply put, at the moment, with the Islamic government firmly in control of Iran, it is not clear where any claim against the perpetrators of the 1988 crimes could be brought. The Iranian Judiciary, itself a tool of Iranian government repression, will not pursue this case. The newly-established International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction to address the issue for a variety of legal reasons. Moreover, the national courts around the world are reluctant to make use of the notion of universal jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for crimes committed in another country.

* We should not be deterred, however, by the current absence of a proper venue. For now, we should focus on preparing a case, with an eye towards a future opportunity to present the evidence in an Iranian, foreign, or international court. What is currently needed is for an organization to compile all documents and testimony from all survivors, victims’ families, any perpetrator who is willing to speak (perhaps with the hope of future amnesty), any current or former official who may have inside knowledge of the massacre (such as Ayatollah Montazeri), and any other person willing to come forward with relevant information. We will need to hold meetings between lawyers who have expertise in various jurisdictions to discuss possible legal theories. The preparation of documents and evidence will of course facilitate any future prosecution. But it will also assist in the information campaign and lobbying efforts I have outlined above.

Obtaining justice in the 1988 case will require a sustained and serious effort from the human rights community. Much groundwork needs to be laid before we can even seriously begin the project of prosecuting the responsible parties. Two decades have already passed without any serious action on these crimes against humanity. In these two decades, memories have faded and evidence has been lost. We need to get to work. There is no time to waste.

This article was originally published in gozaar.net.

NOTES
(1) 1367 in the Iranian calendar.
(2) A copy of the order pertaining to the Mojahedin is now widely available.
(3) Combatant against God.
(4) Apostate.
(5) Hypocrite.
(6) Those responsible for mass killings.

These were kids just like anyone else, some in the ninth grade, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade. Looking forward to completing high school and preparing for college qualifying exams. Some were pergnant women. They lived at home with their parents. Many of these parents were already alarmed and were trying to get their kids out of the country and out of these rapidly deteriorating and dangerous conditions after the hijacking of the revolution by the Islamists thugs.

The Regime apologists on this website have the audacity to defend mass murder and rape of virgin female prisoners. Please read their vile comments on the blog to get an idea of what kind of mindset Obama wants to cater to.

Note: According to Sharia, if you're a virgin, you will go to heaven. The Islamists thugs raped these very young female prisoners the night before their execution so they will not go to heaven when they died. Have you ever heard anything more vile or barbaric in your entire life??

These are the type of people Obama wants to please.

Please read the comments of the regime's apologists here.

The audacity of talking about Freedom

2008-07-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

Osanlou, the leader of Bus Union workers
Obama is willing to appease the tongue cutters in Iran... He has the audacity to talk about freedom and liberty in Berlin..what a hypocrite!!

Islamic Republic's Domestic Terrorism

2008-07-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

From Potkin's Blog:

Kidnapping of an 11 Year Old

I have never written anything about Fazad Kamangar, the Iranian Kurdish teacher who is due to be executed. This is because there has been much written about his plight in other websites and I have none of my reliable sources in Iran who can give me first hand information about him. The Islamic regime accuses him of having ties with the armed Kurdish separatist groups, but if I jott down how many times these representatives of the clerical regime have blatantly lied, I will never finish.

However when I read about the kidnap and torture of Kamangar's 11 year old nephew, in the website of Human Rights Activists in Iran, I was really shaken. I have a nephew of the same age myself. Islamic Republic has a horrific track record of killing teenagers during the eighties by madmen like Khalkhali and Lajevardi, even pregnant women were executed by this regime in the eighties. One of CIS members who now lives in Germany, spent the first five years of his life growing up in Islamic Republic prisons in the same cell with his mother and other female political prisoners, watching them being taken for interrogations, and then returned bruised, battered and bleeding. Believe me, you need nerves of steel to listen to or read about the accounts of these children whose misfortune was they were born to parents who were political dissidents during the eighties in Iran.

According to the Human Rights Activists in Iran website, Kamangar's 11 year old nephew who had popped out for some shopping errands, was forced into a white car belonging to the IRGC, taken to an unknown place, and beaten while the assailants hurled insults and threats at his family and at Kamangar in particular for several hours. At the end, this 11 year old boy was released 5 Kilometers outside the town at 21:00 hours, bleeding from his eyes and ears. It took him more than one hour to walk back and find his home. Naturally the kid is in shock and extremely frightened. His family have lodged a complaint with the authorities, who have postponed the hearings from witnesses to Saturday. I can not even imagine the rage this family must feel at the moment. Even if Kamangar is connected with a separatist Kurdish group, what on earth does that have to do with his 11 year old nephew?? Is there no limit to the barbarity of these neanderthals?

Of course according to groups like CASMII and now a newly formed group, 'Iranians for Peace', with the same old familiar faces [Haleh Afshar, Elaheh Rostami, Ziba Mir Hosseini and the rest of the usual IRI apologists and lackeys...], we must not talk about these things at the moment, while we face an external threat! The same external threat that we have been told we face constantly and continuously for the last 28 years. If the regime continues to treat people like this, there will come a time when people will even welcome the external threat, treat your people right however and no external threat can ever match the resolve and support of your people.

All dictatorships have always used the 'external threat' excuse for their human rights abuses. Talk to a brain washed North Korean and he or she will tell you that the Socialism led by their Dear Leader, Kim Il Jong, is so desirable and precious that the whole world is plotting against North Korea. Even the Dear Leader's bulging stomach is not because he stuffs himself while his people starve but because he constantly worries about his people!

Its funny, or perhaps revealing, how during the Pahlavis time, 'external threat' was never a consideration by these people who make up these CASMII and 'Iranians for Peace' type of groups. When Reza Shah came to power, Iran was on the brink of being torn to pieces by separatists like the British backed Sheikh Khaza'l in the oil rich Khuzestan and the Russian backed Mirza Kuchak Khan in the North. Reza Shah was forced to abdicate when the Allied forces of Britain and Russia invaded Iran in 1941. The Russian backed separatists even tried to separate Azerbijan from Iran, and during the second Pahlavi's rule, Iran was constantly under threat by the Soviets to the North and Saddam Hussein's Iraq to the West.

Yet the likes of these IRI apologists who make up CASMII and 'Iranians for Peace', they are old enough and most were political activists against the Shah at the time, were never heard saying 'We must not talk about Human Rights abuses, because we face external threats'. These people welcomed external threats, they saw Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the Soviet Union as liberators!
They went out of their way to exaggerate the human rights abuses under the Pahlavis.

Iranian diaspora must not be fooled by their anti-war rhetoric and peace loving gestures. The best way to remove an external threat is to help establish a regime which respects human rights and allows all Iranians to participate in running of Iran. A democratic secular government which promotes citizens on their merits and not on their ties to the ruling clergy is the best defence against any 'external threats'."

And Obama wants to talk to this regime unconditionally...

Iraqi Government wants the troops out by 2010

2008-07-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ali al-Dabbagh, no other, said today that the Iraqi government wants the foriegn troops out by 2010. No buts and no ifs.

See, in Arabic:
http://www.radiosawa.com/arabic_news.aspx?id=2015401&cid=24

Note: Radia Sawa is US-funded!

Things have to Change

2008-07-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

BBC: Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed nation, according to a report from several US charities.

Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed nation, according to a report from several US charities.

The report found that the US ranked 42nd in the world for life expectancy despite spending more on health care per person than any other country.

Overall, the American Human Development Report ranked the world's richest country 12th for human development.

The study looked at US government data on health, education and income.

The report was funded by Oxfam America, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Conrad Hilton Foundation.

Among other findings:

Of the world's richest nations, the US has the most children (15% or one out of eight) living in poverty
Of the OECD nations, the US has the most people in prison - as a percentage and in absolute numbers

25% of 15-year-old students performed at or below the lowest level in an international maths test - worse than Canada, France, Germany and Japan

If the US infant mortality rate were equal to first-ranked Sweden, more than 20,000 babies would survive beyond their first year of life.

The BBC article tells us:

Asian males in the US were found to have the highest human development index score and were expected to live 14 years longer than African-American males, who had the lowest human development index rating.

More US babies die in their first year than in most other rich countries

The 20th district, around Fresno, California, was ranked last - with people earning one-third as much as residents of the top-ranked US district,- in Manhattan, New York.

The US north-east has the highest overall ranking because people there earn more, are more highly-educated and have the second highest life expectancy.

West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama are four of the five bottom states on the index. Mississippi is ranked lowest.

Either we have Nuclear Conflict... or we have Nuclear Conflict!!

2008-07-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Benny Morris: Why Israel will bomb Iran
Adam LeBor, July 19th 2008, 7:10 am

Benny Morris, the famed Israeli historian, argues in the New York Times that Israel will ‘almost surely’ attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in the next four to seven months. His scenario of the possible consequences is terrifying. Registration is required, so here is the whole article. It’s grim reading.

ISRAEL will almost surely attack Iran’s nuclear sites in the next four to seven months — and the leaders in Washington and even Tehran should hope that the attack will be successful enough to cause at least a significant delay in the Iranian production schedule, if not complete destruction, of that country’s nuclear program. Because if the attack fails, the Middle East will almost certainly face a nuclear war — either through a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange shortly after Iran gets the bomb.

It is in the interest of neither Iran nor the United States (nor, for that matter, the rest of the world) that Iran be savaged by a nuclear strike, or that both Israel and Iran suffer such a fate. We know what would ensue: a traumatic destabilization of the Middle East with resounding political and military consequences around the globe, serious injury to the West’s oil supply and radioactive pollution of the earth’s atmosphere and water.

But should Israel’s conventional assault fail to significantly harm or stall the Iranian program, a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level will most likely follow. Every intelligence agency in the world believes the Iranian program is geared toward making weapons, not to the peaceful applications of nuclear power. And, despite the current talk of additional economic sanctions, everyone knows that such measures have so far led nowhere and are unlikely to be applied with sufficient scope to cause Iran real pain, given Russia’s and China’s continued recalcitrance and Western Europe’s (and America’s) ambivalence in behavior, if not in rhetoric. Western intelligence agencies agree that Iran will reach the “point of no return” in acquiring the capacity to produce nuclear weapons in one to four years.

Which leaves the world with only one option if it wishes to halt Iran’s march toward nuclear weaponry: the military option, meaning an aerial assault by either the United States or Israel. Clearly, America has the conventional military capacity to do the job, which would involve a protracted air assault against Iran’s air defenses followed by strikes on the nuclear sites themselves. But, as a result of the Iraq imbroglio, and what is rapidly turning into the Afghan imbroglio, the American public has little enthusiasm for wars in the Islamic lands. This curtails the White House’s ability to begin yet another major military campaign in pursuit of a goal that is not seen as a vital national interest by many Americans.

Which leaves only Israel — the country threatened almost daily with destruction by Iran’s leaders. Thus the recent reports about Israeli plans and preparations to attack Iran (the period from Nov. 5 to Jan. 19 seems the best bet, as it gives the West half a year to try the diplomatic route but ensures that Israel will have support from a lame-duck White House).

The problem is that Israel’s military capacities are far smaller than America’s and, given the distances involved, the fact that the Iranian sites are widely dispersed and underground, and Israel’s inadequate intelligence, it is unlikely that the Israeli conventional forces, even if allowed the use of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace (and perhaps, pending American approval, even Iraqi air strips) can destroy or perhaps significantly delay the Iranian nuclear project.

Nonetheless, Israel, believing that its very existence is at stake — and this is a feeling shared by most Israelis across the political spectrum — will certainly make the effort. Israel’s leaders, from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert down, have all explicitly stated that an Iranian bomb means Israel’s destruction; Iran will not be allowed to get the bomb.

The best outcome will be that an Israeli conventional strike, whether failed or not — and, given the Tehran regime’s totalitarian grip, it may not be immediately clear how much damage the Israeli assault has caused — would persuade the Iranians to halt their nuclear program, or at least persuade the Western powers to significantly increase the diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran.

But the more likely result is that the international community will continue to do nothing effective and that Iran will speed up its efforts to produce the bomb that can destroy Israel. The Iranians will also likely retaliate by attacking Israel’s cities with ballistic missiles (possibly topped with chemical or biological warheads); by prodding its local clients, Hezbollah and Hamas, to unleash their own armories against Israel; and by activating international Muslim terrorist networks against Israeli and Jewish — and possibly American — targets worldwide (though the Iranians may at the last moment be wary of provoking American military involvement).

Such a situation would confront Israeli leaders with two agonizing, dismal choices. One is to allow the Iranians to acquire the bomb and hope for the best — meaning a nuclear standoff, with the prospect of mutual assured destruction preventing the Iranians from actually using the weapon. The other would be to use the Iranian counterstrikes as an excuse to escalate and use the only means available that will actually destroy the Iranian nuclear project: Israel’s own nuclear arsenal.

Given the fundamentalist, self-sacrificial mindset of the mullahs who run Iran, Israel knows that deterrence may not work as well as it did with the comparatively rational men who ran the Kremlin and White House during the cold war. They are likely to use any bomb they build, both because of ideology and because of fear of Israeli nuclear pre-emption. Thus an Israeli nuclear strike to prevent the Iranians from taking the final steps toward getting the bomb is probable. The alternative is letting Tehran have its bomb. In either case, a Middle Eastern nuclear holocaust would be in the cards.

Iran’s leaders would do well to rethink their gamble and suspend their nuclear program. Bar this, the best they could hope for is that Israel’s conventional air assault will destroy their nuclear facilities. To be sure, this would mean thousands of Iranian casualties and international humiliation. But the alternative is an Iran turned into a nuclear wasteland. Some Iranians may believe that this is a worthwhile gamble if the prospect is Israel’s demise. But most Iranians probably don’t.

Benny Morris, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Ben-Gurion University, is the author, most recently, of “1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War.”

Negotiating with a Cult leader??

2008-07-19T09:40:00.001-07:00

Ahmadinejad is a hardcore Khomeinist. Khomeinist like this character believe that they are destined to rule the world with the help of hidden Imam Mahdi.

Shameless IRI Shill

2008-07-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/043397.htm

هوشنگ امیراحمدی در تهران، رقت بار و مضحک
هیه و تدوین: حسن داعیhassan.dai@yahoo.com
http://www.iranianlobby.com/

همزمان با بالا گرفتن فعل و انفعالات پشت پرده بین غرب و حکومت ملایان، امیراحمدی دوباره روانه تهران شده و با التماس از رهبران رژیم میخواهد تا وی را نیز در این بازی شرکت دهند. گذشته از اصل داستان، یعنی تلاش سران هفت خط رژیم آخوندی برای خرید وقت و از سر گذراندن این چند ماهی که به انتخابات آمریکا مانده، یک نکته جالب در مصاحبه اخیر امیر احمدی با سایت تابناک وجود دارد که صحبت در باره آن ضروری است. ضروری از این جهت که ما را با یکی از پیچ و خم های کار لابیست های رژیم ایران در آمریکا آشنا میکند. این مصاحبه را میتوانید با کلیک روی این لینک مشاهده کنید: http://tabnak.ir/pages/?cid=13929

اصولا قاعده کلی برای لابیگری بنفع ملایان این است که باید برای طرفهای آمریکائی طوری جا بیندازی که با آخوندها رابطه قوی داشته و مورد اعتماد آنها هستی. وگرنه تو را تحویل نمی گیرند و بدین ترتیب، بودجه های کلانی را نیز که بنیادها و موسسات آمریکائی برای پروژه های ملاپسند در نظر گرفته اند از دست میدهی. از طرف دیگر، برای آنکه رژیم ملایان نیز به رابطه با تو ادامه دهد و دکان وطن فروشی ات گرم و پررونق بماند، باید لیاقت و توان خود را نیز در رابطه با مقامات آمریکا نشان دهی. یعنی در یک کلام برای مقامات حکومتی ثابت کنی که قادر به حل یک مشکل از آنها هستی. حال با درک این نکته کلیدی، به داستان خنده دار رقابت بین لابیست های آخوندی در آمریکا برگردیم.

همانطور که میدانیم، امیراحمدی شورای آمریکائی ایرانی خود را در سال 1997 براه انداخت و با بهره گیری از سخاوت بی اندازه کمپانی های نفتی، یکه تاز لابی بنفع ملایان بود. در سال 2001، یک جوان ایرانی - سوئدی بنام تریتا پارسی که شم بازاریابی قوی و حساسی داشت، به آمریکا آمد و بعنوان مدیر داخلی شورای وی استخدام شد.

در مدتیکه تریتا در شورای امیر احمدی بود، با محافل طرفدار نزدیکی به ملایان آشنا شد و بدرستی فهمید که بازار خوبی برای بازکردن یک دکان جدید وجود دارد. از اینرو، در سال 2002 به کمک مرشد خود، یکی از نمایندگان کنگره بنام "باب نی"، یک شورای جدید بنام انجمن نایاک براه انداخت. "باب نی" که بعنوان یکی از فاسدترین نمایندگان آمریکا معروف شده، مشغول گذراندن دوران محکومیت در زندان است. بخشی از جرم وی نیز دریافت رشوه از دلالان وابسته به ملایان میباشد.

از زمان راه اندازی نایاک تا کنون، دست بالا را تریتا پارسی داشته و موقعیت امیر احمدی بسیار پائین رفته است. در یکی دو سال گذشته نیز چند سازمان جدید لابی براه افتاده و در نتیجه، هم ملایان و هم محافل آخوندی در آمریکا با افزایش عرضه در بازار دلالی و وطن فروشی مواجه شده اند. البته این به معنای کوتاه آمدن امیراحمدی نیست و وی به این آسانی کنار نمی کشد. در طول یکسال گذشته وی سعی کرده تا دوباره خودش را و توانائی های خود را به رخ مسئولان حکومتی بکشد تا شاید دوباره وی را بکار گیرند.

اضافه بر مسئله رقابت بین لابیست های کوچک و بزرگ، یکی دیگر از مشکلات امیر احمدی یا تریتا پارسی این است که در ایران آخوندی جنگ و جدال بین باندهای حکومتی بیداد میکند و بعضی از اوقات ترکش این دعوا به خارجه میرسد و چوبش را لابیست هائی میخورند که اصولا برایشان هیچ جناحی فرقی با آن دیگر ندارد.

به این قسمت از مصاحبه سایت تابناک با او که چند روز پیش در تهران انجام شده نگاه کنید. خبرنگار به امیراحمدی تذکر میدهد که دیگر در آمریکا قدرتی نداری و برای رژیم ملایان ارزشی نداری. وی در پاسخ، ضمن اعتراف به اینکه برای ملایان لابی میکند و ضمن گله از دعوای بیهوده باندهای حکومتی، قیمت خود را به رخ خبرنگار میکشد: (http://tabnak.ir/pages/?cid=13928 )

"تابناك: اما ديدگاهي در ايران وجود دارد كه سطح شما آن‌قدر هم بالا نيست و در آمريكا اعتبار زيادي نداريد.

اميراحمدي: اين ناشي از تصوري است كه در ايران وجود دارد كه به جاي تقويت لابي حامي خود، آن را تضعيف مي‌كند. به طور نمونه بارها شده است كه مقامات رسمي آمريكا خواستار مذاكره با ايران شده‌اند و من با مقامات ايران صحبت كردم، اما مقام ايراني گفت كه الان زمان آن نيست و مدتي بعد از طريق طرف آمريكايي فهميدم كه اين ملاقات انجام شده است كه يك مورد آن ملاقات رسمي آقاي ظريف با آقاي خليل‌زاد، معاون وزير خارجه وقت آمريكا بود و اين هم ناشي از آن است كه دولت‌ها با مسئله به طور جناحي برخورد مي‌كنند و مي‌خواهند كار تنها از طريق خودشان صورت گيرد اما در عمل نيروهاي كاردان ندارند.

البته من فرد جناحي نيستم و با آن‌كه شخصا به آقايان هاشمي، خاتمي و احمدي‌نژاد علاقه دارم، در جناح هيچ يك از آنها نبوده و نيستم و خود را فردي با هويت ايراني و مسلمان مي‌دانم كه تمايلات عدالت‌طلبانه و سوسيال‌دمكرات دارد. بنابراين در همه دولت‌ها تلاش خود را براي كمك به ايران انجام مي‌دهم و البته اين كار نيز بسيار مشكل است. چراكه در آمريكا برخلاف ايران لايه‌هاي دوم و سوم، مسئولان طراز اول هستند كه تعيين‌كننده و تصميم‌سازند و اين افراد هم اكثرا مرتبط با لابي‌‌هاي مخالف ايران هستند و فراهم كردن زمينه مثبت در اين شرايط بسيار مشكل است. البته من هم تلاش خود را براي فراهم كردن زمينه كار انجام مي‌دهم."

یکبار دیگر این سوال و جواب را بخوانید و حال رقت بار امیر احمدی را ببینید. البته این میزان از وقاحت و به رخ کشیدن خدمات خود به آخوندها، تنها از کارت های سوخته ای مثل وی برمیآید. وی در قسمت دیگری از مصاحبه، ارادت خود به آخوند آدمکش خامنه ای را نیز نشان میدهد و او را وطن دوست و آباد کننده ایران معرفی میکند:

"در همين دوره، در يكي از سفرها براي بازسازي، ملاقاتي با مقام معظم رهبري كه در آن زمان رياست‌جمهوري را بر عهده داشتند، انجام دادم و ايشان دو نكته به من گفتند كه هنوز به خاطر دارم، يكي اين‌كه گفتند به آمريكايي‌ها بگو ما به دنبال عقب بردن اين كشور نيستيم و هرچه هم در جنگ خرابي به بار آمده باشد، آن را بهتر و مدرن‌تر خواهيم ساخت و ديگر اين‌كه به بنده توصيه كردند، هميشه ايراني بمان و ايران را فراموش نكن."

در پاسخ به امیر احمدی باید این داستان را تعریف کرد. از آخوندی پرسیدند که آیا از خودت شارلاتان تر هم دیده ای؟ گفت بلی.

با تعجب از او پرسیدند که مگر میشود؟ گفت: از من شارلاتان تر کسی است که مرا خوب می شناسد ولی وقتی بمن میرسد میگوید: حاج آقا التماس دعا داریم.

De facto American Embassy in Tehran

2008-07-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

US diplomats stationed in Iran within a month!

US Exports to Iran has increased Ten fold during Bush Admin!!

2008-07-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the US has exported and continues to export hundreds of millions of dollars in commodities to Iran.

In fact, despite Bush Administration's ‘axis of evil’ rhetoric, the number of exports has increased “tenfold,” during the past eight years, including $158 million worth of cigarettes alone. When asked by a journalist about this issue, the Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain said jokingly that “maybe that’s a way of killing them.” However, What was more disturbing was the fact that he did know about this and had to check into it.

How could a Presidential Candidate who calls Iran the greatest threat to America not know this significant piece of information???

The Mullah's End??

2008-07-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

The Mullahs’ Dead End?
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, July 14, 2008

Frontpage Interview's guest today is Hassan Daioleslam, an Iranian human rights activist and political scholar. Daioleslam was born in Tehran in 1957. After finishing his primary and high school in Tehran, he entered the Polytechnic University of Tehran in 1974. In the years after the 1979 Iranian Islamist Revolution in Iran, he became a student movement leader standing up against Khomeini's repression and mass executions. He eventually left the country and settled in France. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Daioleslam was active with Iranian secular movements, human rights activities and the defense of Iranian political prisoners.

In 2001, Daioleslam moved to the United States and concentrated on political research. Since 2005, he has been collaborating with two independent Iranian journalists inside Iran focusing on the Iranian Regime's lobby in the U.S. His reports have been largely published by major Farsi websites and several US journals. Daioleslam has frequently appeared as an expert guest on the Voice of America-TV as well as on other outlets of Persian media.

FP: Hassan Daioleslam welcome back to Frontpage Interview.

Daioleslam: I am delighted to be back.

FP: In our last interview we discussed the new calls for negotiating with Iran. You talked about the fact that negotiating with the Iranian government is really not new and that it has been going on for the last three decades to no avail. So if we should not negotiate with the Mullahs and if as you have argued before, military action against Iran is a disastrous option, what course of action is left? What could the US do to curtail the Iranian nuclear ambitions and stop its drive to dominating the Middle East?

Daioleslam: Before suggesting a realistic and viable approach, we must first understand the situation in Iran. There are a range of suggested solutions there. Unfortunately, many of them are based on a very poor or wrong understanding of the state of the Iranian government. Probably the main reason for that is the sophisticated misinformation campaign of the Iranian lobby in the US. A clear example of such misinformation campaign is the war mongering boastings of Trita Parsi, the president of the Iranian lobby NIAC that suggests Iran is so powerful now that the US has to share the Middle East with them – as if Middle East is someone’s to give and someone’s to get. An accurate understanding of the internal state of affairs of the Iranian regime places numerous winning cards in the hands of the international community to stop the Mullahs’ drive to expansionism and nuclear weapons.

FP: So what is the situation in Iran? Ahmadinejad has a good grip on the country, yes?

Daioleslam: The Iranian regime is experiencing its most difficult situation of the past thirty years. As some Iranian analysts are arguing, the regime is at a turning point that will eventually decide the fate of the Clerical rule. The governmental figures use words such as: “economic disintegration,” “political impasse,” “leadership crisis,” “unprecedented social unrests,” and “total corruption” to describe the conditions in the country.

FP: Could these words be just excessive rhetoric rather than the reality of the situation?

Daioleslam: Good question. Let me quote some of the Iranian politicians. Recently, there was a very interesting dialogue between two famous politician and analysts in Iran. Saeed Hadjarian was interviewed by Abbas Abdi. They are considered as the pillars of "reformist" faction. Let's read an excerpt of the dialogue:

A. Abdi: It has been a while that the people I encounter ask me about the future, they want to know what will happen. Apparently, for many, the future of the country is uncertain. Do the people ask you the same question?

Hadjarian: Yes. They have no clue about their tomorrow and feel insecure. The government can't control anything. There is actually anarchism in the country. The government is being disintegrated. It is like the end of the time. We have descended in the hell.

Another Iranian commentator, Ahmad Zeidabadi, compared the regime's difficulties to a “seven head dragon”.

Ibrahim Yazdi, the former foreign minister and one of the most experienced Iranian politicians, went even further and recently talked about the regime's total impasse:

"I believe that the regime as a whole is going to a total impasse. There is something wrong that whatever they do, the situation gets worst. The Economic situation is worsening and Ahmadinejad is bringing the economic disintegration.

The situation is so bad that the regime should quickly opt for a historical and fundamental turn."

FP: How does this situation affect the outcome of the Iranian nuclear issue?

Daioleslam: There are two distinct views about the Iranian choices and the path it will eventually take. There are those who believe that the regime is in such a weak position that it will finally surrender to the international pressure. Ibrahim Yazdi for example said:

"At the end of the war with Iraq, Iran was in such a bad position that finally accepted the UN resolution. We are in the same position now because the catastrophic political and economic situation will force the regime to surrender to internal exigencies in much worst conditions. Briefly, if we take into account the two experiences of war with Iraq and the US embassy hostage taking, we should be concerned that the regime would eventually surrender to the UN resolutions in such bad terms that the national interests would be jeopardized."

There is also another view which I personally believe will dominate. This point of view is that the regime cannot or should not retreat. Any retreat is like a breach in a dam and will only stop with the regime's total surrender. This is the dominant belief among the Iranian leadership. As Rafsanjani has recently declared: "if we retreat on this issue, we will allow our enemy to interfere with all the issues of our country."

FP: Ok, so some critics argue that, because of this situation, there may be some flexibility from the Iranians on the nuclear impasse. The deal that the West is offering Tehran is very sweet and might be hard for them to turn down.

Daioleslam: Let me explain this further. In order to understand the Iranian regime's dilemma, we should go back to 2002-2003 when the regime passed a fundamental turning point. The result was the emergence of the Revolutionary Guards as the dominant force in Iran, symbolized later by Ahmadinejad's ascendance to power. That turning point is the root cause of the actual gloomy conditions in Iran and the mullahs’ incapacity to accommodate the demands of the international pressure.

FP: Elaborate on this please.

Daioleslam: Ok, I will try. Let’s start with a question. Why in 2005, did the Iranian leadership replace Mohammad Khatami, a smiling and internationally greeted president with a radical and repelling personality as Ahmadinejad? Note that in Iran, despite the masquerade of elections, presidents are selected rather than elected. It is naïve to believe that Ahmadinejad's triumph was the result of a popular democratic process. The 2005 elections were particularly rigged. For the first time in the three decade history of the Clerical rule, all the candidates (except the lucky winner) publicly talked about massive intervention of the Guards and organized cheating.

So, the question is why the Iranian regime underwent such a radical transformation. Why was there a need to unify the power under the Guards' control?

FP: Are you suggesting that Ahmadinejad was Tehran’s answer to a challenge?

Daioleslam: Exactly. In 2002- 2003, the Iranian clandestine nuclear program was uncovered and the regime was under immense pressure. At the same time, Iraq was invaded by the coalition forces and Tehran was faced with US massive presence. These two new elements were on top of the most important threat that regime was facing: the internal unrests and a growing social and political dissent movement.

To face these three challenges, regime had two choices: First choice was to come clean in nuclear dossier, get along with new regional geopolitics and finally liberalize the political atmosphere inside the country. We know that Tehran did not follow this path. The Ayatollahs opted for the second choice:

- Confronting the new regional order and using it as a stepping stone for their expansionism,

- Buying time to advance the nuclear program, and

- Crushing the social and political movements.

All three of these elements required means of implementing them: Mullahs' armed forces- The Pasdaran Army (Revolutionary Gaurds); Hence Ahmedinejad’s presidency. The current catastrophic economic, political and social conditions, international isolation and placing the whole region at the verge of a dangerous war, are all consequences of this strategic choice by Tehran.

FP: Are these conditions irreversible, or can the regime get out of this?

Daioleslam: Let's for the sake of argument imagine that tomorrow, the West gets tenfold more generous and even offers the whole Middle East on a tray to the Iranian regime. And then in return, requests that Iran abandon its nuclear program. Since the nuclear program has been largely under the Guards' control and because of the missile program directly related to the nuclear program, the first step in verification should have to be total access to the suspected Iranian military bases and weapon facilities controlled by the Guards. Tehran will undoubtedly refuse. In Iran the Revolutionary Guards are the dominant power players. They have operations in many Middle Eastern countries. They have strategic military build ups in Iraq, Lebonan and several other countries. They have direct and active partnerships with radical groups in the region. They have direct involvement with Iraqi government. Can they possibly open their doors to the Western observers and inspectors?

Furthermore, for the past five years, Iran with the help of their lobby machinery in the US, has played the role of victim, targeted and harassed by the Israel-US hawks. How can they afford to lose this card and become guilty of pursuing a secret and advanced nuclear weapon program?

If the scope of Iranian weapon program becomes visible, the Western public opinion will push for a Libya or North Korean scenario: to bring and end to their whole nuclear program. Iran will not genuinely agree to any meaningful inspection of their facilities.

FP: One could argue that the incentives are so high that the Iranian regime would accept all these consequences.

Daioleslam: In order to predict what kind of incentive would bring the Iranian to a negotiating table, we should first understand how much Iran has spent on their nuclear project. I mean political cost, economic cost and diplomatic cost. The nuclear program has been the single most important project in Iran for almost three decades. It has bled the oil rich country to poverty. What can the West pay Tehran for stopping a program that is so heavily invested in? For Ayatollahs, this project is a weapon of power projection in Islamic world and not a weapon of deterrence.

FP: What about the argument that Iran should be given security guarantees in return for stopping the nuclear program?

Daioleslam: Iran's main threat comes from the Iranian people. What kind of international guarantee could reconcile the Iranians with their rulers? Iran's surrender to the international exigencies will weaken the regime against the Iranian people. A clerical rule, confined to its borders and under strict international inspection is a naked king before its subjects. More than anyone else, mullahs know that.

Remember the end of war with Iraq. Immediately after Iran was forced to accept the cease fire, a huge demand for social and political freedom grew in the country. Khomeini responded by massacre of political prisoners and then, to fill the vacuum of the war, he issued the infamous fatwa against Salman Rushdie. The repeat of this scenario would be almost impossible for the regime.

FP: Based on your argument, the Iranian regime on one hand is incapable of retreating from its nuclear aspirations and accommodating the international community. On the other hand Tehran is suffering from a catastrophic economic, social and political situation. What is the impact of this dilemma on the Iranian leadership?

Daioleslam: Confusion. Weakness. Chaos. The lack of authority in the government is so obvious that even if the West comes to Tehran for surrender, we would not know whom we should surrender to! Just a few days after the 5+1 proposal, there was a fight between different factions each claiming to have the final authority to respond to the proposal.

FP: Is this state of disorientation well perceived in the Western capitals?

Daioleslam: I believe that the decision makers are aware of the economic, social, political and the leadership crisis in Iran. Of course it does not prevent the Iranian lobby to stick to its traditional campaign of projecting a powerful and unified Iranian leadership. To give an example, let's go to the predictable CFR Iran expert, Ray Takeyh, a champion of distorting the Iranian reality. He recently wrote in the Washington Post:

"Although Iran's theocratic regime is perennially divided against itself, it has sustained a remarkable consensus on the nuclear issue. In today's political climate, neither Western sanctions nor offers of incentives will fracture state unity."

Of course, a newspaper reader in Iran sees that instead of this imaginary "unity", there is a disintegrated leadership.

FP: Is the crisis in leadership an additional hurdle for a hypothetical deal with Iran?

Daioleslam: Absolutely. Many in Iran compare the current situation in Iran to the last year of Iran’s war with Iraq in 1998. At that time, Iran was forced to accept the UN resolution “drank the cup of poison” as Ayatollah Khomeini described it. Now, Iran has to drink a more potent poison while the regime lacks Khomeini's authority to minimize the political and social consequences. The patient is weaker, the poison more fatal and no one in the Iranian leadership capable of drinking it.

FP: Mr. Daioleslam, thank you for joining us.

Daioleslam: Thank you for the opportunity to share my views with your readers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jamie Glazov is Frontpage Magazine's managing editor. He holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in U.S. and Canadian foreign policy. He edited and wrote the introduction to David Horowitz’s Left Illusions. He is also the co-editor (with David Horowitz) of The Hate America Left and the author of Canadian Policy Toward Khrushchev’s Soviet Union (McGill-Queens University Press, 2002) and 15 Tips on How to be a Good Leftist. To see his previous symposiums, interviews and articles Click Here. Email him at jglazov@rogers.com.

Did NIAC Defraud the National Endowment for Democracy and Congress?

2008-07-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hassan Daioleslam
June 18, 2008
National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and its president Trita Parsi have arranged to receive congressional appropriated funds from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) through an expedited process. They have spent these funds on trivial activities aimed at enhancing false-flag Iranian NGOs that were in fact managed and controlled by Iranian Deputy Ministers or high level officials- making a mockery of the term "Non-Governmental". At the same time, NIAC and Trita Parsi have lobbied the congress to stop appropriating other funds meant for dissident democratic movements and NGOs in Iran through non NIAC channels. While NIAC´s actions appear paradoxical, it is a cohesive, targeted and deceptive tactic that has three distinct but related goals:

to block resources to the NGOs not controlled by the government,

to provide resources to their showcase NGOs ,

and to funnel the American taxpayers´ money to the Iranian lobby in the US to benefit Tehran´s goals.

NIAC´s actions with respect to the congressional appropriated funds are suspect of defrauding American taxpayers and deserve nothing short of a full congressional investigation.

NIAC obtained NED congressional appropriated funds

National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, non-profit, grant-making organization that receives an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress through the Department of State.

In 2002 NED, in an unusually expeditious review process, provided a grant to NIAC to "design and implement a two-day media training workshop in Iran for forty staff members from five civic groups..." [1]

It is noteworthy that NIAC´s published mission is focused on empowering Iranian Americans in the US civil life, and has no provision on civil life inside Iran. It is baffling why such newly founded organization as its first action item applied for funds to do capacity building in Tehran. The first grant was obtained in less than 4 weeks after NIAC was created. NED requires a two month review process after the application is submitted.

The original grant was renewed at least two more times. These grants are about $200,000 so far. It is also unclear how a startup group, with no track record, can secure a grant from NED in four weeks. At the time, Trita Parsi´s only noteworthy credential was founding the Iranian lobby organization, IIC (as Parsi himself had declared*) and being connected to Bob Ney. [2]

NIAC Spent NED´s funds to work with Hamyaran

NIAC used NED funds to send two of its members (with non-technical background and experience) to work with de facto Iranian government agency Hamyaran to teach NGO members how to use computer based digital media [3]. The NIAC members conducting the training were Dokhi Fassihian (NIAC executive at the time) and Hadi Ghaemi (NIAC membe):

"Among the NGOs present were BoomIran, an environmental group, the Family Planning Association, a health-based NGO focusing on reproductive health, the Cultural Research Bureau, Hamyaran, a networking and capacity-building NGO, and the Children´s Literature Council, a publishing house specializing in children´s books." [3]

In fact Hamyaran which organized the workshop is not an NGO but a government initiated false flag agency incepted, initiated, founded and managed by the theocratic regime of Iran. At the time Hamyaran was managed by the Deputy Minister and Under Secretary of Health Hossein Malek- Afzali. Malek-Afzali has held high level governmental positions since 1984. Hamyaran is packed with Iranian government high level officials. Family Planning Association is again headed by Deputy Minister Malek –Afzali [4] and the Iranian high official Safieh Afshari [5]. Two of the other NGOs mentioned, were large-scale established publishing and cultural enterprises controlled by government. These two organizations have sophisticated computer and digital media infrastructures and are not in need of two non-experts to teach them how to use computers. The fifth NGO attending the workshop (BoomIran) is a small organization which shares management with Hamyaran. We will discuss these so-called independent NGOs later in this paper.

It is noteworthy that in addition to the high level management of Hamyaran by the government officials, according to Hamyaran´s site, many of their daily activities such as their capacity building workshops are "under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior as part of their nationwide capacity building plan for NGOs".

NIAC´s lobby to block US funds to Iranian NGOs through non NIAC channels

NIAC, while requesting and receiving the funds from NED to work with the Iranian NGOs, has lobbied congress to stop direct support for genuine and independent Iranian NGOs through non-NIAC channels. In this endeavor, they have organized petitions, congressional briefings, PR plugs and articles. Trita Parsi, shedding crocodile tears for the hardship of American taxpayers writes:

"Congress is adept at throwing money at a problem. Far better to continue doling out cash on a project than to admit it´s not working. Or is it? After all, bridges are falling. We are facing major challenges in Iraq. Millions are without health insurance. In a time when the budget is increasingly stretched, Congress should reassess its spending — particularly on programs that have done more damage than good. The Iran democracy fund is a prime example of such a program. …. Come September, Congress will be looking for ways to fill in these budgetary potholes without increasing the budget. Where better to look for savings than in the bloated budget of the democracy program, which has hurt the very people it is aimed to assist? … Not only would this help ensure that no more bridges fall in the American heartland, but it would also ease the burden on the most effective agent for change in Iran — the Iranian people." [6]

"The reality is that there are smart ways to help Iranian civil society and there are incredibly stupid ways. NIAC, through funding from NED, had chosen the former." [7]

Hamyaran: Iranian regime´s means to control NGOs

In 1998, in an attempt to divert attention from crack down on the internal dissent, Iranian theocratic rulers created a showcase of several Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) under one umbrella organization called Hamyaran. Hamyaran, was the outcome of a conference of three sectors. The first sector, according to the conference outcomes report [8] was deputy ministers and representatives of several Iranian ministries and the Iranian parliament. The second sector was Iranian "non-governmental organizations" headed by Malek Afzali, (an influential deputy minister himself!) The third group, according to the report, was International organizations´ representatives (including United Nations). Since no representative names were included in the report, an independent determination of who these representatives were was not possible for this author. This conference of the mostly Iranian government agents decided that a new umbrella NGO, Hamyaran, will manage, coordinate and represent the showcase Iranian NGOs. This left Tehran´s hands open in brutal suppression of other NGOs. Hamyaran is currently headed by Baquer Namazi (the father of Siamak Namazi who was Trita Parsi´s partner in forming the Iranian lobby in the US.) Malek Afzali, remains the key member of Hamyaran management.

In addition to monitoring and controlling the Iran´s NGOs, Hamyaran is charged with channeling all contacts and relations of the NGOs with the international organizations and the UN. Under the supervision of the government, Hamyaran is also charged with creating communication channels with the Iranians living in the US to utilize them as part of the Iranian lobby.

Hamyaran´s report of one of their meeting in the "ministry of foreign affairs" with various government agencies attending is a clear indication of the Iranian government's strategy to use NGOs to recruit the Iranian Diaspora. The meeting was held on March 16th, 2002 to review the "grounds for mutual cooperation in the area of strengthening the ties between the Iranian Expatriates and corresponding agencies in Iran with specific emphasis on the role of NGOs in this process." In this meeting "An overall agreement was reached on the nature of cooperation between the Government Agencies, International Agencies, and concerned Iranian NGOs both domestic and abroad. " According to Hamyaran´s report [9] "Workshops on specific topics related to the Iranian Expatriates and the International Conference on the Role of Iranian Expatriates were considered as immediate action plans."

Baqer Namazi, Hamyaran´s current leader, in 2003, the height of the brutal suppression of the Iranian civil society, said:

"… At present the new policies of the Foreign Ministry have a more facilitating role and direct cooperation of Iranian NGOs with international counterparts is smoother and easier. We invite government officials to participate, and several have come to do so. The government´s professional staff has welcomed such initiatives. … To come back to the question of the Iranian expatriates, the Foreign Ministry has been encouraging us to reach out to the Iranian experts in the Diaspora, either individually, or in a more institutionalized form such as through Iranians working at the World Bank. So in terms of policy, the trend is becoming more positive, and the regulations are being made easier, there is verbal encouragement, but there are also the banal problems such as getting visas et cetera. But generally the government is positive towards the NGOs networking with the expatriate professional Iranians who are working in Europe and in America" [10]

Conclusion

Congress and the board of National Endowment for Democracy must provide detailed information on how NIAC obtained NED funding in the first grant and in the subsequent applications. They must inquire into how the funds were spent. They must also inquire if NIAC president and members had knowledge of the active management of these NGOs by the Iranian government.

IIC site (active from 1997 to 2002 included the following statements under "Frequently Asked Questions" : Q: How long has IIC existed? A: IIC was founded in August 1997 by Trita Parsi, the present Chairman. While conducting research on Iran for US Congressmen in Washington DC in 1997, he recognized the necessity of establishing a lobbying organization in order to protect the socio-economic and political aspirations of the Iranian people on one hand, and to promote the historical and contemporary cultural and scientific contributions of people of Iranian heritage worldwide, on the other. This consequently led, in collaboration with a large number of intellectuals and experts, to the formation of Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC). "Q: What is IIC? Is it a political party or a lobby organization? A: IIC is not a political party or even a political organization. We consider ourselves a lobby organization; we use our constitutional rights to influence our elected representatives."

References:

1] http://www.ned.org/grants/02programs/grants-mena.html

2] http://www.tritaparsi.com/biography.htm

3] http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=2

4] http://www.hamyaran.org/productinformation.php?pid=8

5] http://www.fpairi.org/org.htm

6] http://thehill.com/op-eds/fund-bridges-not-failed-policy-2007-09-11.html

7] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trita-parsi/smells-like-desperation-_b_73575.html

8] http://www.hamyaran.org/fulltext.php?tid=30

9] http://web.archive.org/web/20030402193515/www.iranngos.org/

10] http://programs.ssrc.org/gsc/publications/quarterly10/shaeryham.pdf

A True Story

2008-07-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

I believe that pledge for justice differs from vengeance for bloodshed

by Majid Naficy
14-Jul-2008
The Persian version of this piece, "nemitavanam bebakhsham", was written on October 31, 2002, published in Shahrvand (Toronto) and Kayhan (London) as well as my book I "Am Iran Alone and Thirty-Five Other Essays" (man khod Iran hastam va si-o panj maqaaleh-ye digar) Afra/Pegah Publishers, Toronto, 2006.

No! I cannot forgive you.

I was her husband and comrade, and now as an heir, I cannot shrug off this murder. Ask her to forgive you herself. Go to Infidel Cemetery and find her unmarked tomb by pacing eight steps from the gate and sixteen steps against the wall; call out her name; say that you regret killing her, and beg for her pardon.

Perhaps after twenty-one years she will stand up again, rub her heavy eyelids, and look at you. You will notice the bullet wound in her chest, and remember that cold day in January, when the prisoners were brought forward, blindfolded. They were fifty-two individuals: two women and fifty men.

You aimed and shot her and saw that she fell down. Did you ask yourself why you were killing her? In the name of God and the Islamic state? Khomeini endorsed her death warrant; the head of the judiciary added her name to the list on death row; the Islamic judge announced her sentence; the jailer tied her to the torture-bed; the interrogator cornered her with his questions; an Islamic republican guard carried her from the hospital to the prison; and a man in Aria-Shahr called the local Islamic police committee to come and capture her who, while fleeing, had jumped down from a wall and broken her pelvis. You are still looking at the bullet wound, remembering when you put her cold body into a plastic bag and threw it into the mortuary truck with other corpses to be brought to Infidel Cemetery; and the Islamic republican guards hastily buried them in a mass grave without any stone tombs.

Then you will hear her voice asking you, "When you came to arrest me did you show me a warrant? Did you let me have an attorney at the time of cross-examination? Did you bring me before an open court with a jury and let my lawyer defend me without fear? When the prosecutor charged me, was his indictment based on true and objective facts, or forced self-incrimination and false testimonies? Was my sentence fair and proportionate to my alleged crime? Did I have the right to appeal?" Now, tell me what your responses are to her questions.

Without justice how can one speak of the right of heirs to pardon? Reconciliation is possible only when the mass graves are uncovered and the process of seeking justice begins, the roles of those who have participated in this crime are determined, and each person receives a fair sentence accordingly. Pardon prior to justice leads to forgetting the injustices in the past and yielding to more injustices in the future. One who remains indifferent toward yesterday's cruelties becomes an accomplice to today's crimes.

How can I, as the survivor and heir to my wife Ezzat Tabaian, executed on January 7, 1982 in Evin prison in Tehran, forgive the crimes of the participants before her murder is investigated by an independent grand jury? Who are these collaborators? One who endorsed her death sentence; one who gave the verdict; one who tortured and interrogated her; one who instigated her arrest; and the one who, on that snowy day in January, put a bullet in her chest. They all have dirty hands. Each is responsible for his act, despite the fact that these men are products of an outdated ideology that justifies their brutality. They should be tried in an open court with juries and lawyers and be held accountable for their crimes so that justice prevails. Only then can one ask the heir if he is willing to pardon the criminals.

No! I cannot show magnanimity and generosity because no independent court has been created yet to indict and condemn the criminals so that I can ask for their pardon. Reconciliation prior to the process of justice would mean forgetting the agony that my wife, Ezzat, and thousands of other women and men went through because of their beliefs, and approving other similar injustices that are currently being committed in my homeland.

No! I cannot forgive. Not because I advocate revenge; quite the contrary. I believe that pledge for justice differs from vengeance for bloodshed. An avenger of murder merely wants to satisfy his personal anger and does not care about the social consequences of his violent act. One who seeks justice should not take matters into his own hands, but find a competent third party, that is, an independent court capable of making an objective judgment about a committed crime without violating the rights of the accused. Revenge and retaliation derive from tribalism and completely differ from the independent judicial system of our era. In modern law the goal is to rehabilitate criminals and prevent crime. But in religious retribution and tribal retaliation the objective is an eye for an eye.

Neither revenge and violence, nor amnesia and submission to tyrants! A murder is committed and needs to be reviewed by an independent court. Until that time, I, as the widower of the murdered, have no right to forgive you. Go to Infidel Cemetery at Khavaran Road, Tehran. Find the burial site of my wife among the other graves in that place of grief that has greatly expanded over the past twenty-one years. Tell her that you are regretful of the crime committed against her, and that you agree to appear in front of an independent court. Then look around. Perhaps you will see me next to her grave.

Lion Club

2008-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps the most moving video I've ever seen on YouTube. I'm afraid of watching it again cause I know ill cry again.

Read the whole story by clicking here.

h/t to TW

"Your Hands Will Never Reach me"

2008-07-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

Gatewaypundit:

"Your hands will never reach me."
Free Iranian Dissident Ahmad BatebiTaunting the Regime in IranNew York Times InterviewJuly 12, 2008Iranian student activist and dissident Ahmad Betebi was sentenced to death and severely tortured for years in the notorious Evin Prison in Iran. He escaped safely to the United States in late June.During a break from prison, Batebi fled Iran traveling through a free Iraq to Austria and finally arriving in Washington DC.

Ahmad Batebi arrived in the United States after years of torture and imprisonment. Broke, weak and afraid, Batebi described his flight from Iran through a free Iraq to The New York Times today. He tells of the Iranian agents who followed his escape from Iran and he talks about the day in 1999 that made him famous. It is an unimaginable story of heartache and courage.Here, Batebi talks about the brutality of the regime:
Mr. Batebi described 17 months in solitary confinement, including repeated torture by interrogators trying to force him to say on television that the famous T-shirt was stained with paint or animal blood.His jailers thrashed him with a metal cable, beat his testicles and kicked in his teeth, he said. They held his face down in a pool of excrement. They tied his arms behind his back and hung him from the ceiling. At other times, strapping him to a chair, they kept him awake night after night, cutting him and rubbing salt into the wounds. To stave off madness, he said, he fought back. “If the interrogator cursed me, I would curse him back,” he said. “If the interrogator hit me, I’d try to hit him back.” What an incredible story.This is awesome...At his Yahoo blog, Mr. Batebi taunts the Iranian regime.His blog reads in Farsi-- "Your hands will never reach me" and he includes the instructions to "Click here": Click to EnlargeWhen you click on the link this photograph pops up: It shows Ahmad Batebi posing in front of the United States Capitol!Terrific!God, they must hate him.Previously on Ahmad Batebi:

Brutal Death of Iranian Activist Akbar Mohammadi

Iranian Political Activist Ahmad Batebi Re-Arrested in Tehran

Iranian Political Activist Batebi Gets Nine More Years at Evin Prison

Noted Iranian Activist, Ahmad Batebi, in Serious Condition

Harvard Students Will Protest Khatami for Release of Ahmed Batebi

BREAKING: Iran's Most Famous Political Dissident Escapes to United States!

Iran's Famous Activist Ahmad Batebi Talks About His Harrowing Escape

A thousand and one nights

2008-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Painting by Catherine Eyde
So Scheherazade is still talking—but she seems to be listening as well.

Thank God She is American

2008-07-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Iranian.com
Rocker born in Iran is a genetics professor at Harvard
Watch the program (NOVA) on PBS

PARDIS C. SABETI, MD, PhD, profiled Wednesday night on NOVA Science Now [Watch]. Sabeti is lead singer & guitarrist of THOUSAND DAYS-"ABSCENSE" with Bob Katsiaficis & Dana Goulet. Pardis C. Sabeti is also a Rhodes Scholar, M.D. Ph.D (Biological anthropologist), and Assistant Professor at Harvard University. (BROAD INSTITUTE-HARVARD & MIT) Pardis C. Sabeti is ranked as #49 among the top 100 living geniuses. She is working and studying how the genetics of human DNA populations have evolved to resist Malaria and Lassa fever using modern tools such as HapMap, Human Genome Project, DNA Sequencing, etc.

Thank God that although she was born in Iran, now she is an American. Because let's face it, in Iran the mullahs would be more interested to see that her head is covered rather than caring about what's inside her skull. She would also be considered as half-human being in comparison to men, according to sharia.

Wives Outnumber Singles in Tehran Sex Trade

2008-07-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Tehran -- More married women are involved in sex-work in Tehran than single females, while the age of those working has come down and now ranges from 15 upwards, Iran's Sarmayeh newspaper said on Wednesday quoting academic research.

"According to recent research carried out in Tehran, the phenomenon of prostitution is being seen in married people more than single individuals," Kazem Rasoulzadeh Tabatabai, a specialist in women's studies, was quoted as saying.

The academic, who the newspaper said was presenting the result of studies on sex-work at a conference in Tehran, said that younger people have now become involved.

"The age of prostitution was over 30 in the 1980s and 1990s but now the age has fallen to 15 and above."

Rasoulzadeh Tabatabai, who heads the study group of "harmed women and girls" as well as the psychology group of Tehran's respected Tarbiat Modares university, said motivations have also changed.

"If prostitutes were only looking for the covering their basic needs in the past, now they are concerned about their secondary demands," he said.

Sex-work is strictly illegal in Iran and punishable by prison sentences and lashes. However, officials have long openly acknowledged the capital has a problem.

Typically, sex-worker in Tehran used to be young women who had moved from the provinces to the capital in search of a job or to study and entered the sex trade in order to make ends meet.

But Rasoulzadeh Tabatabai said that even this was changing.

"The phenomenon of prostitution was previously more common in migrants but now this has been spreading more among the local Tehranis. We cannot relate it to the issue of migration anymore."

The lecturer also said that more educated people have become involved in prostitution.

Another participant in the conference, titled Islam and Social Harms, underlined the importance of poverty in pushing women into sex-work.

"Some 11 percent of prostitutes in Tehran are involved in the business while their spouses are aware of it," said Hossein Ali Zahedipour, a member of the study group.

"These statistics show that there should be more attention paid to the issue of the unemployment of men as much as of women," he added.

Iran Eyes Death Penalty For Web Crimes

2008-07-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

TEHRAN -- The Iranian parliament is set to debate a draft bill that could see the death penalty used for those deemed to promote corruption, prostitution and apostasy on the Internet. MPs voted yesterday to discuss as a priority the bill that seeks to "toughen punishment for harming mental security in society." In addition to such crimes as rape and armed robbery, for which the death penalty is already applicable, it includes "establishing Weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy." Under Iranian law, the standard punishments for these crimes are "hanging, amputation of the right hand and then the left foot as well as exile."

The Internet is widely used, despite restrictions on access and the blocking of thousands of Web sites.

Freedom for Batebi

2008-07-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Iranian.com Student activist interview with VoA after escape from Iran

PART 1 -- PART 2 -- PART 3 -- PART 4 -- PART 5 -- PART 6
Ahmad Batebi gained notoriety for his appearance on the cover of The Economist magazine holding up a bloodied shirt belonging to a fellow student who had been beaten by the Basij paramilitaries. The photo, which has been called "an icon for Iran's student reform movement," was taken during the Iranian Student Protests in July 1999 in Tehran. Following its publishing, Batebi was arrested, tried in closed-door proceedings, found guilty of "creating unrest," and sentenced to death. This was reduced to 10 years after domestic and international outcry.

Global finanacial storm

2008-07-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Barclays warns of a financial storm as Federal Reserve's credibility crumbles
US central bank accused of unleashing an inflation shock that will rock financial markets, reports Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide
financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the
inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below
zero".

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the
bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock underway.
This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going
into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do
well if they can preserve their wealth."

Barclays Capital
said in its closely-watched Global Outlook that US headline inflation
would hit 5.5pc by August and the Fed will have to raise interest rates
six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral. If it
hesitates, the bond markets will take matters into their own hands.
"This is the first test for central banks in 30 years and they have
fluffed it. They have zero credibility, and the Fed is negative if
that's possible. It has lost all credibility," said Mr Bond.

Does Hana Deserve 5 Years in Prison?

2008-06-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

Potkin: Hana Abdi was arrested by Islamic security officers in the City of Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran, on 4th November, 2007 after she left her grandfather's house. She was charged with taking part in a gathering and colluding to commit a crime against, yes you guessed it, 'NATIONAL SECURITY'. Hana was put through a series of psychological and physical tortures for two months until she was sent to Sanandaj prison, waiting for her sentence.

Last week Hana was finally sentenced to 5 years. Below is a letter by Hana's mother, Maliheh Asghari, to the women of the world:

'I have not just been Hana's mother, I have also been like a friend who has always stood by her side. Hana used to talk to me about women's rights and helping the poor and illiterate women, had become her objective. All the women who know Hana, also know Hana's objectives and her kind nature. Hana used to hold literacy classes for women and with the donations she received she would help the needy ones. After a while she set up the Azarmehr Women's Association, and many women joined up. Hana, her friends and I were always together.

Hana's friend, Ronak, who is also suffering a similar outcome, was always with Hana too. They took their first step by putting together a small library. They would go to the surrounding villages and gather women in schools and mosques and teach them how to read and write. They would also invite lawyers as guests in their meetings and they would explain to the women their rights. They held classes and workshops which taught women about the history of women's struggles and held ceremonies and celebrations on woman's day and mother's days as part of their activities.

Hana was only 21 when she was arrested, but since she has gone, I see older women who were her students, and they say to me, 'since Hana is gone, we feel we have lost our mother'.

I now know that I have only one daughter called Hana, but she has thousands of daughters who are waiting for her.

I have only talked about a minute part of the help Hana offered to the needy women in this letter, but at the end of this letter, I want to ask the women of the world,
Does Hana Deserve 5 Years in Prison?'

More Peace Offerings from religion of Peace!

2008-06-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Gatewaypundit: Aqsa Parvez often argued with her father about the hijab and her desire to follow Western fashion trends. Aqsa would leave home in traditional dress and then change as soon as she arrived at school. This didn't go over well with her family.

16 year-old Aqsa Parvez was strangled to death by her father and brother for not wearing the hijab. This week Aqsa's brother was charged with murder for strangling his little sister.The Globe and Mail and Religion of Peace reported...

The brother of a Mississauga, Ont., teenager who was strangled to death in her home has been charged with first-degree murder.Aqsa Parvez was 16 when she was strangled to death in December 2007 during what friends said was a family dispute over her reluctance to wear a hijab.Her father, 57-year-old Muhammed Parvez, was charged with first-degree murder soon after his arrest that month.Her brother Waqas Parvez, 27, was charged with first-degree murder as well following his arrest on Thursday...A Peel police spokeswoman says investigators think they have the two primary suspects but believe there may be others who witnessed or have knowledge of the crime.

Aqsa's 57-year-old father, Muhammad Parvez, was already charged with murder. Aqsa’s 26-year-old brother, Waqas Parvez, was earlier charged with obstructing police. Yesterday he was also charged with murder. They may have been others involved in the killing.

Previously:Toronto Girl Is Dead-- Strangled By Father For Refusing Hijab

Uprising in Mashhad

2008-06-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

یک به صد
from nanazola2.blogspot.com !

مث کفتار هار از مردم بی دفاع ایران میترسند :

((امروز در پارک ملت مشهد چه خبر بود ؟

: میدونستم که ساعت پنج قرار هست یک تجمع اعتراض امیز در پارک ملت برگزار بشه ! ساعت چهار راه افتادم و یک دوری حومه پارک ملت زدم ببینم اوضاع از چه قراره … هر چه که به چشم میخورد نیروهای انتظامی بود که دور پارک ملت رو به محاصره در اورده بودن ! داخل خیابونهای فرعی اتوبوس های مملو از نیرو پارک شده بود !
ساعت پنج نیروها قبل از اینکه شعار ها شروع بشه شروع به بازداشت کردند ! ماشین ها پر میشد از بازداشت شده ها و راه می افتاد … تجمع کم کم شکل گرفت و شلوغ شد …نیروهای لباس شخصی همه جا پر بودند و هر کس رو که میگرفتند کتک میزدند ! یه لباس شخصی بود این پفیوز فک کنم بوکسور بود … چنان هر کس رو که میگرفتن زیر مشت و لگد میگرفت که انگار دشمن خونیشه ! مردم که شروع کردند به شعار دادن و سوت زدن یکدفعه نیروهایی با جلیقه سبز حمله کردند و بلافاصله نیروهای لباس پلنگی که مسلح به اسلحه هایی بودن که تا حالا ندیدم بودم ! اسلحه ها تقریبا شبیه سیمینوف بود اما با لوله هایی بزرگتر و جلیقه های ضد گلوله و سپر که به تجمع حمله کردند ! یه عده از نیرو ها هم لباس سرتاسر نارنجی پوشیده بودن که در نگاه اول فکر کردم رفتگر هستند ولی فهمیدم نیروهای ویژه هستن !
چیزی که برام جالب بود نیروهایی بودند که لباس هاس فرم سر تاسر مشکی پوشیده و کلاه های کش باف مشکی به سر مجهز به کلت کمری و کارد با دستکش های چرمی بی انگشت و قیافه های سوخته و البته ورزیده ! ایندفعه بر عکس دفعه قبل نیروها قبل از اینکه تظاهرات شروع بشه وارد عمل شدند و میتونم بگم اکثرا شانسی میگرفتن و از روی قیافه ها بازداشت میکردن !
جوانی رو گرفته بودند و داشتند میزدند و میبردند که مادرش رسید و دست پسرش را کشید که یکی از این مامورها با باتوم زد روی دست مادرش و پسر رو بردن ! نیروهای زن چند نفری به زنان حمله میکردند و یک نفر اونها رو که میگرفتن نیروهای لباس شخصی دست هاشون رو به هم دور اونها حلقه میکردند و به طرف ماشین نیروی انتظامی میبردند تا مردم برای ازادی اون زن نتونن کاری بکنن !
یک پیر مرد رو گرفتن و نمیدونم چی دیده بودن ازش که خیلی بهش سخت گرفتن و بازجویی بدنی کردند ازش و وقتی اعتراض کرد زدن توی دهنش که بنده خدا دندون مصنوعی بالاش از تو دهنش افتاد و اون رو از روی زمین برداشت …با اینکه ماشین جا نداشت این پیرمرد رو به زور هل دادن و توی ماشینش کردن و ماشین راه افتاد !
با یکی از نیروهای لباس شخصی روی هم ریختم و گرفتمش زیر سوال ..گفت از تمام شهر های استان نیرو اومده مشهد …میگفت از هفت صبح اینجاییم و پاهام شل شده ! بهش گفتم حاجی یه چیزایی این مامورا دستشونه چیه ؟ گفت اینا شک وارد میکنه … میگفت اشعه داره و به هر کسی بخوره نمیتونه حرکت کنه و میفته ! گفت این دیوونه ها نمیدونن چقدر نیرو اومده ! همینقدر که نیروهای لباس رسمی هست همینقدر هم لباس شخصی اینجا هست !
داشتم برمیگشتم روبروی کلانتری سجاد شلوغ بود … مادرهایی که دنبال گم کرده های خودشون بودن !))

گزارشی بود از پیک ایران

این حرکات باید همزمان در همه جای ایران به وجود بیاید تا دیگر نیروی
کافی برای سرشکن کردن بین مردم این شکل بالا نداشته باشند

Poland Commemorates Her Refugees in Iran

2008-06-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Poland commemorates her refugees in Iran
Iranian.com
by Ryszard Antolak
24-Jun-2008

The Polish Postal Service has commemorated the role Isfahan played during World War 2 in caring for Polish orphans.

The new stamp, "Isfahan - the City of Polish Children", went on sale earlier this month. It depicts a pupil at School No. 15 near Isfahan
(Stanislaw Stojakowski), standing in front of a Persian carpet woven at the city's Carpet School in 1944.

In 1942, Isfahan housed thousands of Polish orphans released from the Soviet work camps of Siberia and Kazakhstan. At its peak, twenty one areas of the city were exclusively allocated to the welfare of the ragged and emaciated orphans who had been sent there from reception centres in Anzali, Tehran and Mashad. Many of them remained in the city for up to three years, earning it the title "City of Polish children", the name which also appears (in Polish) on the stamp's First Day Commemorative Cover. In addition, the cover sports a design showing hundreds of the Polish names fading illegibly into oblivion.

Between 1942 and 1945, Iran played host to almost 150,000 men, women and children of the "Polish Exodus from Russia". The majority of the children ended up in Isfahan.

The stamp, issued on 10th June 2008, has a face value of 2 zloty 40 groszy,
and is already proving extremely popular with the Polish public.

Book Review!

2008-06-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Seven Valleys of Love
Editor, Sheema Kalbasi
P.R.A. Publishing
ISBN Number: 978-0-9727703-8-5

Reviewer: Alice Osborn
Born in Tehran, Iran, and now living in the Washington, D.C. area, Sheema Kalbasi is a poet, human rights activist and the editor/translator of Seven Valleys of Love, which features over one thousand years of Persian women's poetry. What makes this collection remarkable is that these voices are gathered in one book, making them all finally accessible to an English-speaking audience. In the introduction by Dr. Ali Alizadeh, we learn that the titular "Seven Valleys of Love" refers to a medieval Persian fable, called Mantegh ot-Tayr, or Conference of the Birds, written by Farid od-Din Attar. In the story, thirty birds journey to find the Si-morgh, a mythical bird symbolizing wisdom. They never find the Si-morgh after crossing the Seven Valleys of Love; instead, their individual identities are erased and reformed into the Si-morgh. Like the birds finding greater strength through unity, the women represented in Seven Valleys combine their individual talents into a formidable assembly.

The poems in this collection are no more than forty-two lines long, yet they all make their message palatably clear to the reader in a short amount of space. These are poems of longing and loss, yet they all honor the esteemed place poetry holds in Persian culture. In addition, these female poets are reveling in their right to freely speak their minds and transfer their hearts onto the page—certainly not a small feat in the eleventh or even the twenty-first century (in the last thirty years Iranian women writers have struggled to be heard in their own country due to the Cultural Revolution of 1979 as well as the current leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). With so many Iranians living abroad as a result of the Cultural Revolution, a poetry collection such as this one is made all the more important, strengthening national pride, and also applauding Iranian women writers across genres and across the ages.

One remarkable classic poet, Tahereh Ghoratolein, born in 1817, was one of the founders of the Baha'i religion, which teaches unity and one-worldism. She unveiled herself in public in 1848 and as a result of this crime and her Baha'i faith, the Shah of Iran sentenced her to death in 1853. Her poem is in the form of a modified ghazal, a 5-couplet rhyming form popular among Persian and other Arabic poets. In the ghazal, the poet speaks of unrequited love:

You who are the Mecca
And the seeker dressed in white,
You who are the mosque
And the shrine, you who are
The pleasure and the right.
I, the deflated lover, I am.

"Come to me," the Beloved said,
"Free from the blindness and pride."
I, manifestation of the One, I am.

When you love Tahereh, she becomes
A woman and shines, drunk by your
wine, awaiting you, the sublime divine.
I, Eve offering the apple, I am.

In this case, Ghoratolein writes about how she is not worthy of the love of her beloved and that she is like Eve who wickedly tempts her lover. She is human, unlike her lover, who is god-like. Ghoratolein and other poets in this collection reference Adam, Eve and the Garden of Eden to represent lost innocence and the failings of mankind (Adam and Eve are not only found in Genesis, but also in the Quran, the Talmud, and in various gnostic texts).

Padeshah Khatoon, a thirteenth century artist and poet who was later assassinated, also alludes to Eve as she voices her strong views about perception and reality. In just a few lines we feel her pride and anger:

I am the woman, who dwells in grace,
Covered and veiled but audacious.
O, you who behest me to abide by his rules
Do not veil me! Enthrone me! Thus
Live Eve and the Empress.
To zephyrs travel, those who are pretentious
Fairness and goodness are my resting place.
Not every able one is a seaman or has a face,
Not everyone disguised is as pure or chaste.

In "Adam!" by contemporary poet Farzaneh Seyed Saeedi, the subject of Adam and Eve drive the poem's theme of longing:

Adam!
I am lost among so many Eves
And you among so many choices
Giving life to Cain
Captivated by the earth without an
Eden
How will you indeed find me?

In many of the contemporary poems Kalbasi selects, we see imagistic elements that reference ordinary details from the real world to describe love and longing. In "Matrimony," by poet and translator Farideh Hassanzadeh, we hear a woman who loves her husband, yet both are unable to deeply connect with each other.

We pass one another
I walk to the kitchen
You depart for the office
I walk to the mountain of plates and clothes
And you are off to the forest of desks or files.

We pass one another
Now and again
Without a glance
And sometimes
Perchance
At night our bodies
Find time to socialize
Despite the silence
Despite the exhaustion

A few more editorial details contained within the pages of this collection would have enhanced my reading. Each woman's story is fascinating; reading the poem, the poem's date of publication, and the poet’s background together on the same page would have given me a clearer sense of the woman and her work. Instead, I had to settle for reading each poet's story in the biography section and learn that many of these women were leaders and innovators and put to death because of their views. Also, in either an appendix or in the front matter, a joint Western and Persian timeline would have given me and other Western readers a better historical perspective, contextualizing the various literary periods represented in this collection.

All of these poems honor Persian women's courage and their need to express themselves, especially during times when they were violently suppressed. Seven Valleys of Love is a one-of-a-kind collection that celebrates Persian culture, life and the universality of love.

Worst of Times for Iran

2008-06-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure 19 pounds 19 shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 20 pounds and six pence, result misery," said Charles Dickens' Wilkins Micawber in the novel David Copperfield. Households in President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's Iran must suffer on a Dickensian scale, for they spend 10% more than their income, according to the country's central bank. Iran's data are more hilarious than reliable, to be sure, but they illustrate how ordinary Iranians are perishing in a sea of petrodollars.The price of oil more than doubled since I warned last year (Why Iran will fight, not compromise Asia Times Online, May 30, 2007) that Iran's Islamic kleptocracy had reached the end of its rope. Despite the surge in oil revenues, conditions are worse than they were a year ago, as the price of necessities soars out of ordinary reach. Not only the theft of the oil windfall, but the manner of the heft, puts Adhmadinejad's political future in doubt, as Sami Moubayed reported on this site on June 21 ('President' Larijani: A star is born). Changing the man at the top, however, is no cure for fecklessness of Central African proportions. Underneath Iran's imperial ambitions and messianic pretensions suppurates a pre-modern patronage system that corrupts everyone who comes near it.The system is rotten, and must either break down, or break out, that is, through military adventures. Western observers who hope for reduced tensions through replacing the feckless Ahmadinejad with Majlis (parliament) speaker Ali Larijani will be disappointed. On that more below.Iran's economic disaster looms large in the twilight war now in progress in the Middle East. Israel has just conducted the sort of public display of force that a nation does not do if it actually plans a surprise attack. Israel engages Syria, Egypt engages Hamas, and everyone else engages Iran - but to what end? It may be Sitzkrieg (sitting or phony war), but it is war nonetheless. Wars arise not from whim, but from circumstances that the prospective belligerents cannot bear. Iran has shown in the most vivid fashion that it cannot solve its internal problems. It is therefore likely to seek an external solution.

What happened to the US$35 billion of oil revenues that Iran's Shabab News, in a now notorious account, claims disappeared from official accounting during the year through March 2008? Half the country's oil revenues disappeared from the books. A great deal of it left the country for banks in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere; capital flight already was running at a $15 billion annual rate last year, by my estimate.During the past year, though, conspicuous consumption in the form of a luxury housing boom has absorbed even more of Iran's oil windfall. Luxury apartments in Tehran's better neighborhoods now sell for $15,000 per square meter, Agence France Presse reported May 26, equal to the best neighborhoods in Paris or New York. A 200-square-meter apartment in northern Tehran sells for about $1 million. Real estate prices in outlying suburbs and some provincial cities have doubled over the past year.Corruption has metastasized, that is to say, for the scale of the property boom implies that tens of thousands of Iranians are taking six-to-seven figure bites out of the oil budget. Rather than a handful of officials siphoning state funds into bank accounts in Dubai, an entire class of hangers-on of the Islamic revolution is spending sums beyond the dreams of the average Iranian, and in brazen public view.Ahmadinejad's patronage system generates payoffs to the political class that have set in motion uncontrolled inflation - officially 25% per year but certainly much higher - and a rush into real assets. A side effect is that the average Iranian urban household, which spends $316 a month, is gradually being priced out of the rental market.Not only rents but foodstuffs, fuel and other essentials have registered double- or triple-digit price increases during recent months, according to fragmentary reports trickling out of the country. The government's 25% inflation figure cannot be correct. The German Suddeutsche Zeitung's Tehran correspondent wrote on June 17, "Price increases follow one another in batches. After the prices of rice and detergent suddenly jumped by a multiple, tea prices have their turn. In just a few days different types of tea have become 300% to 700% more expensive." It is too early to speak of hyperinflation, but the the Iranian bazaar already presents with symptoms of incipient hyperinflation. How do households survive?"Iranian urban households spent an average of 35 million rials (US$3,700) for current annual living expenses (about 2.9 million rials per month)" in fiscal year 2005-2006, reports the country's central bank, of which just under 30% bought food. But it also reports that "urban households had an annual average gross income of 31,674 thousand rials [US$3,423], about 2,640 thousand rials per month, out of which 74.6% was the share of money income and 25.4% was the share of non-money income."These are the most recent data available from the central bank, which does not explain how it is possible for households to spend more than they earn in a country that has no consumer credit (nor for that matter what "non-money income" involves). Part of the explanation seems to be that every poor Iranian has a part-time job, from selling black-market gasoline to prostitution. The latter appears to be the most lucrative source of extra household income. Some 300,000 prostitutes ply the streets of Tehran, or one out of 10 of the city's female population of child-bearing age, [1] according to the most frequently cited sources (see Jihadis and whores Asia Times Online, November 21, 2006.)In addition, tens of thousands of Iranian women are working as prostitutes abroad, notoriously in the Gulf States, but in Europe and Japan as well. The US State Department recently downgraded Iran to a "Level III" country, that is, one that does nothing to suppress the trade in female flesh.Prostitution incorporates such a large proportion of Iran's marriageable females as to accelerate the country's demographic decline, which by 2030 will leave Iran with as high a proportion of pensioners as Western Europe, just as its oil reserves run out. Unlike Norway, which entrusted its oil windfalls to a national trust under professional management, Iran has allowed the political class to steal its patrimony.The Persian pocket empire never had a government or a civil society: it only had a court and a bazaar, which are incapable of managing the affairs of a modern society. There is no political party, no social movement, in fact no form of popular organization of any kind capable of handling $350 million a day of oil revenue at present prices."Regime change" is a buzzword among Western strategists, but it is not at all clear what sort of regime might replace the court-and-bazaar combination that has characterized Persian politics for the past 2,600 years. Apart from a thin crust of Western-oriented students in the larger cities, the Iranian population remains sullenly dependent on state subsidies as well as its own cupidity.Apart from oil, Iran exports mainly fruits and nuts. Its most talented people have emigrated, leaving behind only the leeches of the bazaar who hope to grow fat on state oil money. Its demographic problems are insoluble. It has no employment to offer its last generation of young people, half of whom have no visible employment, and no way to support a rapidly aging population. I am in no position to judge the likelihood that the Twelfth Imam of Shi'ite soteriology will reappear in the near future, but it is a fair assertion that nothing else is likely to steer the Persian pocket empire out of the ditch. Western analysts start with the premise that a solution exists for every problem, and set out to find it. I do not believe there is any way to save Iran from terminal dysfunction; it is only possible to prevent Iran's problems from turning into a disaster for the region.It is no surprise that Iran's leaders remain obsessed with Shi'ite revolution. Larijani told the Islamic Coalition Party on June 19, "The jihadi forces of the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas are the pioneers of change in today's world," Iran's official press agency reported. Larijani added, "Interpreting the moves made within the Islamic World as terrorism under such conditions that the Islamic society enjoys the pride of having jihadi combatants is a grave mistake, since those groups are the soldiers of Almighty Allah." IRNA continued:
Larijani reiterated, "During the course of the 33-day war [in 2006] the global arrogance invaded against an oppressed nation with all its might having assumed that they could in confrontation with the jihadi combatants fighting for Allah's sake crash them fatally."He reiterated, "The US Secretary of State had at that time directed the March 14 group to disturb the internal situation, assuring them that the Zionists, backed by the US, too, would wrap up the work of Hezbollah, and that was their strategic mistake." The parliament speaker said, "The Lebanese nation, in the framework of Hezbollah, resisted against the United States and Israel so that even their friends confessed to their defeat."Larijani said, "The sagacious stands adopted by [Hezbollah leader] Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah regarding the recent developments in Lebanon revealed the plots hatched by the arrogance and they begged assistance from the small country Qatar, where they yielded to the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon."He considered all such jihadi victories as fruits of the martyrs' pure blood, arguing, "The martyrs were those who changed the conditions and were involved in deciding the fates of nations." (Emphasis added)The fact that Larijani holds a doctorate in European philosophy and has authored books on the philosopher Immanuel Kant impressed political observers in Germany, that is, until he spoke at the annual Munich Conference on Security in February 2007. As Der Spiegel reported, "Larijani was cornered. In his answer he talked about an 'overreaction' to the Holocaust. In any case, he said, 'That's a historical matter,' which has 'nothing to do with us'. He was 'neither for, nor against' the idea that the Holocaust had really occurred, saying it was an 'open question'. He thus delicately danced around a straight denial of the Holocaust, which is illegal in Germany. If Larijani had voiced the well-known opinion of his own president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, he could have been arrested."Adhmadinejad is a boor from the back streets of Tehran, while Larijani is the polished son and the son-in-law of two ayatollahs. No matter; German universities during the 1930s were crawling with Kant scholars who enthused for Adolf Hitler. Larijani's enthusiasm for the blood of martyrs as the determinant of national destiny is not a philosophical, but an existential view, and Iran is one of the few venues in the world in which existential despair is sadly justified.Note1. Assuming that the distribution of female population in Tehran is the same as that in all of Iran. According to United Nations population data, in 2005 half of Iran's women were between 15 and 44 years of age.
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