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.