English doxdo (www.doxdo.com)

Advertise on Blogs

2009-11-09T10:33:00Z

Blog advertising has become main stream medium across the marketing world in last ten years or so. Savvy marketers advertise on blogs and reach out to their desired niche in the way the need and want...

Saudi Arabia: The Houthis, Iran and Saudi Arabia

2009-11-09T06:07:36Z

John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia connects the dots between the Houthis in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The way memory works

2009-11-09T02:22:33Z

Today is sunny. We drink coffee and laugh, and the laughter stays in my memory. I have a lot of memories. I have a good memory; I remember faces and details well. I play them in my head. Sounds, laughter, everything. I remember what people wear and if they have worn them before. It makes me happy, the act of remembering. But remembering comes with nostalgia since you are so absorbed by the memories. They haunt you in a way, if you remember too much. I am so nostalgic, almost always. I remember, for example, the perfume my cousin Sasha's mother used to wear, and if I smell it now, it'll remind me of the two of them, how me and Sasha were best friends and how we always seemed to be together. It's worse, remembering how once your house was full of faces, people, and they no longer have a presence. And even worse when you see them again, and they no longer fit that memory. They've changed. You've changed. And it's just not the same. It's worse when these are people who are part of you, by blood. You know, like brothers, fathers, grandmothers. It's worse when you remember how they hug you so lovingly, so deliberately, so well that it hurts, it really hurts the memory of their touch. But it's not so bad. You'll die with so many good memories, so many details in your head. The smells, the way they wanted their coffee, the way they talked and asked you how you were, how your silence worried them, made them ask, "something is wrong, tell me, what is it?" So we finished our coffees and I looked out, to the New York that was once just another place I wanted to conquer. I felt nostalgic, because our coffees finished, because we got up and got in the car and then they drove away, because it wasn't yesterday anymore, because I was alone again with everything I ever wanted.

Helen - Hesse Tazeh

2009-11-08T19:46:00Z

Ranikot

2009-11-08T14:39:00Z

Sindh has been cradle of ancient civilization. The explored archaeological sites are testimony to this fact. But much is still in the store to be explored and investigated in the field of archaeology...

Don’t Poke Your Fork There

2009-11-09T10:55:00Z

The land of cultural diversity I come from is full of beautiful and happy ways to live. Only most of the things have been relegated during our race of modernity. Lately, my friend Muhammad Yaqoob...

"I padroni del mondo"

2009-11-08T01:41:16Z

Se la notizia risultasse confermata sarebbe molto grave la situazione.
Ci troveremmo anche noi coinvolti come complici in quanto presenti ed alleati in Afganistan con gli Usa.
Nessun gruppo...

Leggi ancora | Pubblicato da GEOPARDY | Commenti

Tag: terrorismo

4 months gone

and I know now

I can never make you love me

2009-11-07T23:33:00Z

4 months gone

and I know now

I can never make you love me

and if you do,

you won't tell me...

I lost!

again and again and again

Bonnie Raitt-I can't make you love me

2009-11-07T23:31:00Z

Officials: Police detain more than 100 at protests on Wednesday

2009-11-07T21:30:54Z

Officials say police detained 109 protestors on Wednesday as the demonstrations marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the US Embassy and the illegal seizure of American diplomats took place. But the annual demonstration, usually a day the government uses to stir anti-Western sentiment, was hijacked by supporters of the Green Movement. The detained individuals were charged with public order offenses. The BBC has more:

Security spokesman Azizollah Rajabzadeh said 62 are due to face trial while the others were released after questioning.

In recent months the opposition has used officially sanctioned demonstrations to come out in big numbers and publicise its own own messages.

Witnesses told the BBC the security forces had used tear gas and batons on Wednesday. The government defended the response, saying that the protests had been illegal.

Videos on YouTube and other sites that have emerged these past few days have confirmed this but also shown that members of the opposition are fighting back.

Posted in Events in Iran Tagged: Iran demonstration, Iran demonstrations, Iran protests, Iran unrest, Iran violence

twt.fm / nah yoonsun [6q - voyage] -- "jockey full of bourbon (tom waits cover)"

2009-11-07T20:58:14Z

twt.fm / nah yoonsun [6q - voyage] -- "jockey full of bourbon (tom waits cover)" Jockey full of bourbon
Download Song: Amazon

hamidandco
hamid tekebaye

Googoosh

2009-11-07T19:31:00Z

Clip from Dar Emtedaade Shab, 1978 (Along the night) ... things that led to the Islamic Republic of Iran ... pity! She, Faegheh Atashin, known as Googoosh, was/is a great star. I didn't know pre-revolutionary Iranian film had this much flesh! Here's her official web site with lots of cool pictures.And this is for Iran, now, ... She still sounds GREAT after 30 years!

Kandhar Ke Anaar

2009-11-07T08:26:00Z

Owais Mughal Among many things that Pakistan has been blessed with, the quality of fruit is an important one. Especially worth mentioning is the Pakistani pomegranate. It is hard to find a rival...

just an excuse to update!

2009-11-06T20:32:00Z

Ok, so I'm sitting here in the library trying to get some work done. but it is a universally known fact that you can not get any work done until you update your blog! and you can not update your blog until you waste at least an hour tryng to come up with stuff to write about. and so after wasting enough time I thought I should just get it over with so I have no excuses left to not work. here it goes:

I used to be filled with ideas to write about, and in the past year I see myself getting less and less inspired. in writing, and in photography, and probably in life in general. is that a side-effect of staying too long in school and feeling unmotivated about anything and everything?! maybe. Or maybe it's because I used to whine about my love life a lot, and then just got tired of it...whatever it is, the only thing left for me to write about seems to be books and movies. and TV of course.

I have fallen in love with "the flight of the conchords"! It's so original, and so weird... this series follow two New Zealanders who are in a "digi-folk" band and like to get famous in New York City. Their characters are just unreal, stupid but cute at the same time and the songs are too funny if you listen to them in the context of the series. Their music (not necessarily the lyrics) is actually pretty good I think. Anyway, you definitely need a special sense of humor to find this series funny. Give it a try for one or two episodes, and find out for yourself.

I have also been watching "Law and Order: special victim unit" whenever I could catch it on TV and although I like it, I can't help but feel paranoid about everything after watching it. The whole series is about s e x u a l crimes, mainly involving women and children and it sometimes makes you sick to your stomach. of course the stories are fictional but it still hurts to watch! anyway, not for the faint of heart, but if you're into crime series it may be a good choice. it is a pretty old series as well, about 10 or 11 seasons, so lots of episodes to catch up on if you get into it.

hmmm, what else... I can't think of anything! I miss writing here... should try to update more often, with stuff other than movies and TV!

The more you cheat the more I make money

2009-11-06T17:24:00Z

I just read a very controversial article on Globe and Mail on line. The article introduce Noel Biderm the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at AshelyMadison Agency. Believe it or not the website is for married people who wants to have an affair. Noel is also the writer of the book called "Cheaters Prosper".

I entered the website, this strange quote caught my eyes "Life is too short , have an affair".
These are the facts about this agency:
1- The website has been operating for 8 years now and have over 4.8 million members.
2- The ratio of the men to women are 70 to 30.
3- In average men tend to be between 35-60 years old, while women come in two distinct groups: married 30-50 and single 20-30 years old.
4- There are many single women on the site who are looking to be with an attached man for their own personal reasons

He was available on-line today to answer people's question. During the on-line debate Noel was saying that he himself is faithful to her wife and he is just providing facilities for those who are already cheating but through his website it's become easier (plus he is making money out of it).

He believes that divorced is not a choice for everyone, there are family, extended family, financial, and a whole host of other foundations to a marriage - at least by having an affair the person can recharge him/herself.

What really bothering me is that: in a nutshell this man is a business man and he makes more money as more people cheat on their partner. please note that he is not encouraging people to have open marriage, no he encourage them to have an affair. He does not simply accept the fact that this is all about money. He is trying to justify that what he is doing is good for mankind. He is saying that "The research from geneticists is more clear - it is not in our DNA to be monogamous"!!!!

Not in our DNA? Actually I don't think this kind of social agreements has anything to do with our DNA. Is it in Arab Saudian's DNA that a man can have four women. I don't think so!

I believe instead of encouraging people to have an affair, it's better to encourage them not to rush to get married. No one put a gun on our head to marry (at least not in North America). If someone think staying with only one person for his/her entire life is a torture, fine! stay out of it; have an open relationship. I could understand if someone has open marriage because it's not cheating anymore both side are adults and agree on a new form of social agreement. But Noel makes money by encouraging people to cheat.
One more thing, if someone after a while for whatever reasons feels his/her marriage does not work get divorced.

I don't believe that cheating on your partner can save your marriage. The moment you cheat your marriage is literally ended and it's useless to stay in that misery . I mean what kind of marriage is that when you have to cheat to save it.

A Note by Sajedeh and Fatemeh

2009-11-06T19:01:48Z

Daughters of Feizollah Arabsorkhi - who has been detained since the Jun 12th election.

——————-

I bring this to the attention of those mediums who still have some spirit left in them to disseminate information. Those who still are and who are courageous enough to spread word about the most spirited people on this earth and to bring their plight to the attention the great people of our country.

I ask that you never again write or report of the great Arabsorkhi family and its martyrs. We were getting prepared to go see our dad. Everything was prepared. The shining red arils of the pomegranate were separated from the peel and placed in a bowl, the oranges were washed and ready in our basket - when “brother seyed hossein” called and said: “your meeting today has been canceled. Why have you spoken to Mir Hossein Mousavi about Mr. Arab Sorkhi and have quoted him as saying that “if I die today, I will join my martyred brother”?

My mother said: “really? They are scaring us because reporters were willing to write about his spirited presence? They control these meetings, if this is the only thing they can do, let them cancel it. They’ve taken my husband, the father of my children, they think not letting us meet him is worse than what they have already done? They say we are not allowed to speak? I think they have forgotten something very important. The father of my children too is in prison for speaking. Apparently, we all, should not be heard or seen.”

Dear media! Apparently the rest of the world should not find out that we are Muslims and from a family of the revolution, war and martyrs. We must get used to our silence so that we can have the privilege of meeting our father for a few minutes. The same father who dreams of something as great as the revolution and the Imam, and who does not want to see the blood of thousands of martyrs gone to waste and has thus decided to endure this great pain. How naive they are. We are the children of a thousand cries. We are the children of the green paths of this land. We are the children of mighty, tenacious cypress trees. We are not allowed to see our father?

Who cares? We are not more special than the children of our uncle who have not seen their father for years now [who was killed during the Iran-Iraq war]. We have our uncle, and our father and the lord almighty who patiently and kindly hears our cries.

Mr. Interrogator, I recommend that instead of roaming around and worrying of news on filtered sites, you should worry about the will and strenght which has gathered in the streets of our lands.

Mr. Interrogator, do you really believe that we are should not speak? Do you think people are waiting to see what we say and do as we tell them? Were you not in the streets today [13 Aban]? You should have been there, you should have seen the people. There were bullets in the air and tear gas and batons. The smell of burning garbage and plastic had devoured the entire city. But no one was frightened. People were shouting “Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein” and holding green pieces of cloth up in the air. I was scared and I rolled up the car window. But thousands of men and women, young and old were in groups and chanting loudly. You should have been there to see it.

Today, Taleqani street stretched as far as “azadi” (freedom), “esteghlal” (independence), Beheshti and Motahari [all streets which Taleqani leads to] and the cries of “Islamic Republic” were heard everywhere.

Mr. Interrogator, what goes through your mind? My father has never before been seen as vividly in his life. Even more vivid than the reporters who have upset you. Even more shining than those who covered front page news.

[from the Koran] The lord knows and hears all things.

You Gotta See This

2009-11-06T18:00:00Z

LASIk technology is creating waves by the benefits people are getting out of it. Explore iLASIK and learn about LASIK technology and how it can help, how is it affordable, safe and rather...

Texas Shooting

2009-11-06T17:06:00Z

There is a lot of talks about the Texas shooting. I keep thinking about the way that this incident is going to be portrayed. What are its long term effect. It can be played either way:1. This incident shows the deep social wounds that America has carries as the results of the two wars. It shows serious unease with the trend of events in these war. This guy might be a Muslim, but more

Digital vs. Analog TV

2009-11-06T14:59:00Z

What happens to your old TV when you switch to digital (LCD/Plasma) TV?

"The major digital TV switchover in north-west England has coincided with a huge increase in dumped analogue TVs" - reports The Guardian:

This year, the council has recycled 50,000 analogue TVs thrown away by households, of which 30,000 could have been upgraded to receive digital TV signals with a simple £20 set-top box.

The e-waste dumps in developing nations are piling up. US government is even thinking about asking electronics manufacturers to offer free door-to-door pick-up service of used devices. Tree Hugger reports:

In the US, only about 18% of the 23.9 million toxic CRT TVs thrown out in 2008 were recycled. And Sarah Westervelt, a Basel Action Network official, said about 80% will actually be shipped abroad to be "recycled" in China and Africa - and that is a violation of provisions of the Basel treaty that ban the shipment of toxic waste from the rich countries to poor ones.

Over the long run, it is likely better to have an extra set-top box and not a new TV. It's just a matter of actually telling people this, and encouraging them to keep what isn't broken.

Image via Jaymi Heimbuch, Tree Hugger

♪♪ You say you don’t want a rev-ol-u-tion… ♪♪ The Fab Four and

2009-11-06T15:30:35Z

♪♪ You say you don’t want a rev-ol-u-tion… ♪♪ The Fab Four and not so Fab Three! Basijis paying homage to the Abbey Road album by the Beatles, Tehran, November 4, 2009. (Thanks to Nima and B. Orz for...

Timeline of Withdrawal of US Forces From Iraq

2009-11-06T12:50:00Z

(click on image to enlarge)

The draw-down from Iraq includes the withdrawal of approximately 128,700 U.S. troops, over 115,000 contractor personnel, the closure or transfer of 295 bases, and the retrograde of over 3.3 million pieces of equipment.

U.S. Government Accountability Office has this excellent report on the progress of this draw-down.

Via Raed Jarrar.

twt.fm / cesarea evora [montecarlo nights - nouveau be] -- "tiempo y silencio"

2009-11-06T10:09:42Z

twt.fm / cesarea evora [montecarlo nights - nouveau be] -- "tiempo y silencio" tiempo y silencio
Download Song: Amazon

hamidandco
hamid tekebaye

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we

2009-11-06T08:12:00Z

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." Albert Pike

Tavasol.com

2009-11-06T05:52:48Z

Tavasol.com is a site where you leave your prayer. I’m trying to figure out who the site belongs to, it seems to have a very religious theme, but there are some really funny prayers in there. Including this one:

“dear god, [please help] this girlfriend of mine have her period so I can rest assured that she’s not pregnant.”

Granted, it doesn’t sound funny in English. But given the look and feel of the site, the image of the mosque, the name, … seeing something like that takes you by surprise.

To Subsidize or Not to Subsidize

2009-11-06T05:30:00Z

The debate over subsidization is getting tense, head of government and speaker of the house, Mr. Ahmadinejad and Dr. Larijani exchanged pleasantries over it. A. wants Majlis to give him full authority and do not bother him with formalities such as budgeting the money. It is getting interesting.

Get Together 55 PMA Long Course Lahore Chapter

2009-11-06T05:00:00Z

Our course mates (55 PMA Long Course) always look for an excuse to get together (sometimes they meet without an excuse though). Last evening Brig (Retd) Muhammad Zahir Khan, Col (Retd) Athar, Col...

Melanie Fiona - Give It To Me Right

2009-11-06T01:35:00Z

Gable acc. to David Thomson, film historian, understander of sexual charisma, smart guy

2009-11-05T22:45:30Z

“Gable succeeded on-screen because of the promise of force behind the smile—that’s what made the smile knowing… He was like Jack Dempsey in a tuxedo…. Joan Crawford said [being near him made her have] “twinges of sexual urge beyond belief.”
- David Thomson, film historian, understander of sexual charisma, smart guy.
• Split screen photo grab by the fantastic Bohemea

The Footnotes of Mad Men.

FT.com / Books / Essays - Grime and punishment

2009-11-05T22:11:40Z

By John Thornhill
Published: October 30 2009 23:33 | Last updated: October 30 2009 23:33
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf
By Victor Pelevin
Trans by Andrew Bromfield
Faber £8.99
FT Bookshop price: £7.19
The Good Angel of Death
By Andrey Kurkov
Trans by A Bromfield
Harvill Secker £12.99
FT Bookshop price: £10.39
One More Year
By Sana Krasikov
Portobello £10.99
FT Bookshop price: £8.79
She Lover of Death
By Boris Akunin
Trans by A Bromfield
Weidenfeld & Nicholson, £16.99
FT Bookshop price: £13.59

The death of Russian literature has been declared many times. Russian poetry was supposed to have perished tragically early, interred with the body of Alexander Pushkin in 1837 following his fateful duel. Then along came Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam and Marina Tsvetaeva, an astonishing quartet of poets who revived and reinvented the genre in an explosion of creativity in the early 20th century.
Epic Russian novels, meanwhile, were pronounced dead after Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. But in describing the brutalities of the second world war and the gulag, Vasily Grossman and Alexander Solzhenitsyn proved worthy heirs of those 19th-century masters.
Once again it has become fashionable to argue that Russian fiction is over, buried under the rubble of the former Soviet Union. Critics have decreed that no classic works of Russian literature have emerged in the past 18 years.
That may be true, but green shoots are now pushing through the fallen masonry. Four new Russian novels reveal flashes of fabulous writing, at times reminiscent of the wild imaginings of Mikhail Bulgakov, the dystopic visions of Yevgeny Zamyatin or the gentle humanity of Anton Chekhov. Russian literature has long ago left Socialist Realism panting behind – now it is striding out in the company of Capitalist Surrealism.

Scary Middle East Developments

2009-11-05T21:17:00Z

I have a strong suspicion that the Middle East is going for a new round of large scale confrontation. Things are quite cool and smiles and handshakes and photo shots are going on. But underneath Iran and the west are re-arranging their cards and are getting ready for the scenario of "what if all these talks fail?"Just looking at the trend:1. US is working on stronger oil and gas emabargo

The raw, the cooked and Claude Lévi-Strauss

2009-11-05T20:12:05Z

Posted by Jonathan Jones

Wednesday 4 November 2009 guardian.co.uk

If it weren't for the great anthropologist, who has died aged 100, I would never have learned a radical new way of looking at art history

The news that Claude Lévi-Strauss has died at the grand age of 100 brings back memories of my student days, which coincided with the intellectual dominance of this great French anthropologist.
For young would-be intellectuals in the 1980s, his books The Savage Mind and The Raw and the Cooked had a biblical status. Lévi-Strauss was the high priest of structuralism. Building on the linguistic ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, he argued that all myth, and hence all pre-scientific thought, can be understood in terms of binary oppositions – such as, er, raw and cooked.
The strange and troubling grandeur of Lévi-Strauss lay in his insistence on the "synchronic" and contempt for the "diachronic": that is, he was interested in structures of thinking that endure over the very long term. He was apparently not interested in history, in change. Paradoxically, his ideas were of great interest to historians….

Iran: Green Movement defies regime again

2009-11-05T19:23:19Z

Iran's Green Movement opposition organized mass street protests on the 4th of November (13th of Aban), taking advantage of the official rallies being held on the same day to mark the 30th anniversary of the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran. The opposition protests were met with a violent crackdown by security forces.

As has come to be expected, Iranian citizen media recorded “history” on their mobile phones.

Protesters in Tehran trampled on a portrait of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an act that would have been unimaginable a few months ago.

A message to Obama: Either you are with us or with them.

Mehdi Karoubi, an opposition leader, among the people.

Security forces attack protesters

Texas Rep. Introduces Resolution Supporting Iranian People’s Struggle for Rights

2009-11-05T19:43:30Z

Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX) has introduced a resolution expressing continued support for the Iranian people as they stand up for freedom, human rights, and fundamental elements of democracy. The legislation, H.Res. 888, “condemns the brutal suppression of the Iranian people through censorship, imprisonment, and continued acts of violence” and calls on the international community to maintain robust communication with the Iranian people via the media, the Internet, and telecommunications.

Rep. Granger, as a founding member of the Trans-Atlantic Parliamentary Group, is also coordinating with members of the European Union Parliament and the Canadian Parliament to introduce similar resolutions in their respective bodies. Thus, the initiative transcends any one country or government, uniting an coalition of nations in support of the principles Iranians are standing up to defend: those of freedom, human rights, and fundamental elements of democracy.

If these are principles that you support as well, ask your member of Congress to support H.Res. 888.

Posted in Congress, Human Rights in Iran, Iranian American activism Tagged: Democracy, human rights, Iran, Kay Granger, NIAC

Falls

2009-11-05T19:00:00Z

Falls; Gottingen, Germany, November 2009

I'm in control...

and I will choose!

and when I do,
I will

2009-11-05T19:19:00Z

I'm in control...

and I will choose!

and when I do,
I will remember all the tears I shed
and all the pain I went through
all the years...

Iranian Nuclear Official: No Reason to Reject Nuclear Deal

2009-11-05T19:09:53Z

ILNA interviewed an Iranian nuclear official recently who criticized the Iranian leadership for not accepting the proposed nuclear deal offered by the P-5+1. The official, Ahmad Qarib of the Iranian Atomic energy Organization, said Iran does not currently have the capacity in its nuclear infrastructure to use all of its enriched uranium, and that therefore they have nothing to lose from signing on to the deal.

In an interview with the Iranian news agency ILNA, Ahmad Qarib, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Scientific Committee member and former director of the organization’s research institute, criticized Iran’s rejection of the Vienna draft proposal under which Iran would transfer 75% of its stock of enriched uranium (its total stock is estimated at 1,600 kg) for further enrichment in a third country, so that Iran will have a supply of fuel for its Tehran nuclear reactor.

Qarib stated that because Iran does not have an infrastructure of nuclear plants that would require such a stock of enriched uranium for operation, the country really has no reason to reject the Vienna proposal. He also pointed out that the Tehran facility is not expected to operate efficiently for longer than another 10 years.

Qarib explained: “Iran has no reactor besides the Tehran research reactor and the Bushehr plant [which is not yet operational]. All this fuss [by Iran] over fuel for them comes at a time when the Bushehr [plant] is not yet finished; and even if it is completed, Russia will supply the fuel that it requires. In effect, right now we don’t need all of the 1,600 kg of uranium that we now have…”

He added that “in the era of the Mir Hossein Mousavi [government, 1981-1989], Iran purchased 680 tons of uranium, and so far has used only 12 tons of that, as fuel for the research reactor in Tehran. Over 660 tons remain – and our enrichment process [at the Natanz facility] is ongoing.”

He continued, “So it is not clear why this issue has become so complex, [when] the Tehran research reactor will be operating [efficiently] for no more than another decade [and then will have to be shut down]; [in any event,] it does not need all that fuel.”

Posted in Diplomacy, Events in Iran, Nuclear file, UN Tagged: Ahmad Qarib, IAEA, ILNA, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Iranian nuclear program, Negotiations, nuclear deal, nuclear proposal, P-5+1

Green Wave Tracks Down Pasdaran

2009-11-05T18:04:25Z

Government police can longer get away with hit and runs as this recent Facebook post shows. Having investigators of their own, members of the opposition tracked down this member of the Pasdaran who apparently beat a woman left her in comatose after yesterdays protests.They posted his work and home address on Facebook. Keeping in line with a peaceful civil rights movement, “The aim of recognizing the assailants is not to encourage violence” notes the post. Rather, their goal is to shame and embarrass him.

Posted in Events in Iran Tagged: 13 Aban, Green movement, NIAC NIAC blog, Nov 4, Pasdaran, Peaceful Protest

Reporter Arrested by Security Forces

2009-11-05T17:30:41Z

The Associated Press is reporting that a reporter working for the Agence France Presse was arrested on November 4^th. The Agence France Presse has said it has not heard from reporter Farhad Pouladi since Wednesday.

The AFP’s acting bureau chief in Tehran said Iranian reporter Farhad Pouladi was taken into custody Wednesday as he headed to cover a state-sanctioned rally outside the former U.S. Embassy. Anti-government protesters also clashed with anti-riot police during counter marches not far from the rally.

Since the June elections in Iran, foreign press agencies have been barred from covering protests. Numerous reporters, both from foreign and domestic media outlets, have been arrested by the government in the months following the disputed election.

The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is reported to be examining Mr. Pouladi’s detention.

Posted in Events in Iran, Human Rights in Iran Tagged: human rights, Iran, Iran demonstration, Iran demonstrations, Iran politics, Iran protest, Iran protests, Iran rally, Iran unrest, NIAC, NIAC blog, NIAC insight, niacINsight

Ebi - Maste Cheshmat

2009-11-05T17:33:00Z

My love stays for me!

2009-11-05T17:25:00Z

I love me!
and I won't love people who don't love me...

yes, I love very CONDITIONALLY!

13 Aban @ Universities in Tehran

2009-11-05T16:41:43Z

There were dozens of videos going around of 13 Aban yesterday. But these I found particularly intriguing.

This one is from Amir Kabir (Tehran Polytechnic). That girl is FEARLESS.

These two are from the University of Tehran:

In the first, the students bring down the Iranian flag and replace it with a green flag.

The second is a demonstration inside the campus. The sound quality is really good, and I must have watched it a dozen times.

All you can see is an ocean of green and the young, energetic sound of students.

And in this last one students are shouting: dictator-e goosaleh, bazi edameh dareh [this game will continue you big cow of a dictator] and basiji amadeh bash, 16 azar ham miyad [basiji prepare yourself, 16 azar (4th of December) is coming.]

I wish I had time to sit down and write about the collection of songs and chants people have come up with in the past four/five months. Some of them are so witty, heartfelt and precise.

Arrests on 13 Aban

2009-11-05T16:03:57Z

I’m trying to round up news of all the arrests on 13 Aban.

One new development yesterday: we had reports of universities across Iran. Demonstrations are not limited to Tehran and we are actually hearing about it.

[Agh Bahman]

Seven students from the University of Tafresh (Central Iran) were arrested yesterday.

The homes of students with Tahkim Vahdat were raided the night before 13 Aban and many were arrested, including some (Hojjat Sharifi and his wife Nafiseh) during the demonstrations. Those who were arrested the night before include: Mohammad Sadeqi, Ali Malihi, Hasan Zeydabadi, Mohammad Hashemi.

[Mowjcamp]

Mowjcamp writes that “hundreds” were arrested yesterday - including many girls.

In a separate report they also write of an attack by militias on the campus of University of Shiraz- not sure if/how many students were arrested.

They also give a complete list of Tahkim students who were arrested the night before 13 Aban.

[RadioZamaneh]

Agence France Presse reporter, Farhad Pouladi, remains in custody in Tehran.

RadioZamaneh also reports of clashes between families whose children were detained yesterday and security forces. One of the mothers told Radio Zamaneh: “The officers beat the families and addressed them using obscenities and told some us that for now we shouldn’t be after the release of our children.”

They write that “numerous” people were arrested, but nobody really knows the numbers right now.

——————-

Remember when authorities kept warning that anyone out for the greens for Quds day would be arrested and that didn’t really happen? (at least as severely as they had warned) Well, they meant it this time.

If you want happiness…

2009-11-05T15:21:16Z

If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day – go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month – get married.
If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else.
Chinese Proverb

What Now?

2009-11-05T15:41:52Z

According to just about every reliable report I read of 13 Aban, there was more security in the streets than there had ever been in any of the post-election demonstrations. The main grounds of the rally were sealed off completely to everybody except for pro-government factions. Outside these grounds, security forces made sure that large groups of protesters were not able to gather.

The violence/confrontation was also unprecedented, where many reports indicate that anyone who was passing by in certain areas (Haft-e Tir, Taleqani, etc) whether wearing green or not, whether shouting loudly or not was brutally beaten (I certainly hope it ends there. We did not hear about the deaths for weeks after June 15th. Although I did not read too many reports of gun shots.)

The number of arrests too seem to have grown exponentially compared to previous demonstrations. Mowjcamp writes about the unknown whereabouts of a large group of girls who were arrested. RadioZamaneh reports that families of detainees clashed with the police.

This is a photo of Habibolah Peyman, 65 year old member of the Freedom Movement of Iran who was attacked yesterday:

He spoke to the BBC after this incident, and gave vivid accounts of the violence he saw (one of the friends he was with was unconscious for some time after he was hit in the head.)

Taken all of this into consideration, it just seems to me that street protests aren’t viable meeting grounds anymore - but they are what has kept the movement alive.

I’m not sure if I were Mousavi, I would release another statement days before the next gathering (16 Azar). Mousavi never directly asked them to attend, and plans were already underway, but his statement was enough to further mobilize everybody.

So what do we do now?

Despite the voracious advertisements for Twitter and facebook’s role in “helping the Iranians” and article after article with titles like “this revolution will be won on the internet” - IMHO, if this revolution is fought on the internet, it will be lost on the streets of Tehran.

First there is the question of access - a large majority of Iranians still haven no access whatsoever. And for those who do, dial-up connections are simply too slow and frustrating to create a significant battleground on the internet. ADSL is still very new, expensive and not widely available.

All of that aside, there is the question of how that online activism will translate out on the streets and as we saw yesterday, there are too many additional variables that we simply can not control.

You could however, argue how the students are utilizing the internet. They have easier access to the medium than any other group in Iran - through their schools, although that too is limited in many ways. But they have access and they have community - and thus have a better opportunity to transfer activity from one mode to the other.

Satellite television remains the only other alternative. That is why opposition groups in Iran (and specifically Karoubi for years) have been trying to launch their own channel.

But that has yet to go anywhere.

Mousavi keeps referring to “social networks” and “communities”. The trick with that is that it makes individuals much more vulnerable. If people were to begin organizing events in their own community, they would be giving away their privacy: their address and their name could be identified. Any antagonist in the neighborhood could easily blow up their efforts. Before the revolution, people met in mosques. Each neighborhood has a mosque. Now, at least from rumors we hear, people might have even been held up in mosques. Whether these rumors are true or not, mosques are no longer an alternative (and amen to that!).

Be it in schools, in neighborhoods, at work - it seems to me as if smaller group activity may be a better alternative from now on.

I have no idea what I’m talking about or where to begin in case you’re wondering …

Windows on Iran 97 / Breaking News

2009-11-05T14:06:28Z

Protests continued in Iran on the anniversary of the day the students took over the American embassy in Iran. Today, however, protestors were out to protest the summer election results and show their support for the Green Movement (Photo: November 4th, 2009).

Dear All,

Wednesday, November 4 was an important day in Iran. The official commemoration of the day the students took over the American embassy after the 1979 revolution turned into another occasion for widespread protests against the government of Mr. Ahmadinejad.

November 4 Demonstrations

Another photo from the November 4th Green Movement protests.

* Those who think the Iranian riot police defends the public properties against violent rioters must watch this short clip:

Mr. Karrubi in today’s protests:

Tehran Links:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1074346277817&ref=mf

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=103708769645910&ref=mf

Shiraz, very disturbing:

Shiraz:

Kerman:

Kerman:

Tehran, Metro Station:

Tehran, though people disperse to avoid the riot police, large crowds form:

Mashhad University (Azad):

Mashhad University (Azad):

Mashhad University (Ferdousi):

Tabriz University:

Ahvaz University:

Shahre Kurd University:

Isfahan:

Najafabad University:

Tehran, “guns, tanks, and Basijis don’t change anything”:

Tehran, ”Green Iran does not want nuclear weapons”:

A Book by one of my Stellar Students!

* Before the political events in Iran took over the windows, I used to introduce great books about Iran from time to time. I have one for you in this window called the Tribeswomen of Iran: Weaving Memories Among Qashqa’i Nomads. The author? My very own student in Persian (2003-2004) Julia Huang. Julia continued to study Persian at Yale (in addition to Turkish and Arabic). She graduated from Yale in 2008. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey in 2008-2009 and conducted research on NGOs there. She is currently coordinating three NGOs in Mumbai, India. Next year (2010-2011) she will be studying at the London School of Economics and will be writing about her NGO work in Turkey, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and now India. Check the book out at Amazon.

Dr. Etemad on Persian BBC

* Should Iran have nuclear energy? Should it allow western countries to enrich its uranium? Should it stay a member of NPT and IAEA? Dr. Akbar Etemad, the founder and first president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 1974 to 1978, is known as the ”father of Iranian nuclear technology.” He addresses these issues in an interview with the BBC Persian program. I am sorry not to be able to provide you with English subtitles. Still, I am sure many Persian speakers on the list would find his angle on the subject very enlightening: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/tv/2008/12/000000_ptv_hardtalk.shtml

Hengameh Shahidi

Hengameh Shahidi on Hunger Strike

* Hengameh Shadidi is an Iranian human rights activist, who has been in prison for the last 124 days, despite her heart condition. She decided to go on a hunger strike to protest her arbitrary detention and after 8 days she lost consciousness. She is currently in the hospital. To the right is a beautiful picture of her.

Mohamad Ghouchani

I’temade Melli’s Editor-in-Chief Released

* I’temade Melli’s editor-in-chief, Mohamed Ghouchani, was released from Evin Prison on October 30th after 131 days in prison. He was left on the street at 2:00AM—no explanations, no accusations.

What is the Best Course of Action for the U.S.

* The Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi thinks the U.S. must press Iran for Human Rights violations: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/77184.html.

Iran One of the Five Friendliest Nations

Open Travel says "Iran's most precious jewel is its people" and that Iran has some of the friendliest people in the world. They conclude: "The hospitality of ever-smiling Iranians is sincere and simple - they are always eager to help travelers, offer a cup of tea, pay for your lunch or invite home for dinner."

* How is friendliness measured? No idea, but you can see the article for yourself: http://opentravel.com/blogs/5-friendliest-nations-on-planet-earth/.

Opera Based on Rumi’s Story of Moses and the Shepherd

* Let’s end on a musical note. A performance of a story by the medieval Iranian poet Rumi by the L.A. Symphony and the Iranian Mastan Ensemble in September:

Good Night,

Fatemeh

===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
==================================

A Thrilling Match

2009-11-05T12:12:00Z

"They are going to be talking about those three consecutive sixes for a long time in Chittagong." - Cricinfo

The match situation was like this:

End of over 47 (3 runs) Bangladesh 198/9 (24 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 4.21, RRR: 8.00)

Then something happened:

47.2 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, Naeem dances down the track and launches that on over long-on for a six to bring up his half-century, that was a length ball

47.3 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, wow, what a shot that is, another length ball, Naeem gets under it and whacks it over the bowler's head for another six

47.4 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, A hat-trick of sixes, Naeem Islam is going berserk here, Chibhabha not learning his lessons, offers a length ball again, Naeem smashes it over wide long-on for another six

And Bangladesh went on to win the match clinching the series against Zimbabwe 4-1. All hail Naeem Islam. A hero was born today.

:(

2009-11-05T06:08:00Z

you got me gifts first week that we dated
an AE shirt, and a purse, and 3 DVDs...
and when I asked you why 3? you said cause you didn't know which one I liked

then after a month you got me something else
and on and on...

after 4 months,
you got me a Citizen watch
and a big set of Clinique Happy that I liked...
there you told me that you were in love with me...

then after 6 months,
for our 6 month anniversary,
you got me Gold earrings...

after 7 months,
you took me to the store
and told me that I can buy anything I want
anything I choose...

and....on and.............on..............

and you were only a student!
with your TA income...

you made me feel special...
cause you tried for me...
I was SOOOO happy
and I was SOOO sad...you made me mad all the time...
You were perfect
but I just couldn't be with you...

and you weren't the only one;
people tried before you, and after you,
but only one or two as close as good as you...

It's been sooooo long that no one that I let get close to me,
would do as such a good job as you...

and I wonder if I am ever gonna be that happy...
and I feel SOOO sad
cause with the person who seems perfect
I don't feel that happy....
and I don't feel as sad as the time that I was with you either...I'm somewhere in the middle...

I think I'm going nuts :(

me is the one who wants to call you all the time
who wants to

2009-11-05T06:00:00Z

me is the one who wants to call you all the time
who wants to hear your voice
who wants to be with you
me is the one who can love you
who cares for you
and wants to be loved too

me is this...very simple...

but if I have to restrict me
for you to love me at some point,
then this, is not me anymore...
then maybe this is not love...

RajaNews Hacked

2009-11-05T03:47:38Z

UPDATE: they now redirect rajanews to farcenews.

————————————

RajaNews is a website dedicated to die hard Ahmadinejad supporters (it’s supposed to be a “news agency” but really, Brad Pitt fan sites are more respectable than this shithole.) He’s free to have websites dedicated to worshiping his chivalry and eloquence of course. The problem is that RajaNews is a VERY well funded establishment - and we’re paying for it. The language they use on that site makes me sick to my stomach. Literally, it makes me sick. Sometimes, they are even worse than FarceNews.

If you go to their website today, their second headline (highlighted in red) is: (mocking) Photos of their great numbers! Photos of devilry on 13 Aban.

If you click on this link however (and all the other links for that matter), you’ll get this:

This site has been hacked for spreading lies, supporting the hated dictatorial government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all his thuggish allies.

Amen!

Iran Unrest Part Two

2009-11-05T02:55:56Z

Relative calm has returned to Iran after a day of protests. Widespread pro- and anti-government protests, and the police forces’, Basij’s, and IRGC’s attempts to suppress the Green movement using force have come to an end.

Here is the second part of the Green Freedom Wave’s report on anti-government protests across Iran:

(Again, translation copyright New York Times Company – please give credit if you quote it)

Today’s demonstrations all across Iran were the scene of the widespread presence of Greens protesting the Coup d’etat of Khordad 1388. The scene of the protests in most of the cities across Iran today was the scene of complete aggression. An aggression without guise and naked, in which the main actors were plainclothes civilian forces using maces, Basij forces using weapons, and riot control police and people without any refuge, whose only crime was wanting to participate in demonstrations, were the innocent sacrifices of these forces. Green Freedom Wave’s reporters in Tehran and across Iran inform us about bullets being fired in the air and the irregular usage of pepper spray and tear gas, by the riot control police, in order to disperse the assemblies of the people. And in addition to this, as we reported before, Mehdi Karroubi and two of his bodyguards were subject to brutal attacks by uniformed Basij forces and were targeted by bullets. The condition of one of his bodyguards is serious and they have transferred him to a hospital. Likewise repressive forces opposite the Iranian Academy of Arts did not allow Mir Hossein Mousavi’s entourage to move towards the demonstrations. And they began attacks and beatings and creating fear amongst the people by spreading tear gas in the area.

Based on the reports that have come into the Green Freedom Wave, in addition to the injuring of a number of patiots resulting from baton beatings and the use of tear gas, a number of demonstrators today have been sent to the hostpitals and a minority have been arrested. Amongst the arrested are political activists such as Mohammad Hashemi [A leading hostage taker in 1979 and husband of Massoumeh Ebtekar their spokeswoman] central member of the Office of Unity, Fayyeseh Za’-Kohan a journalist, Hojjat Sharifi a member of the Bureau of Consolidating Unity (the leading student protest group), Vahideh Molavi a member of the group Women’s Square, Ali Mashmooli – member of the Islamic Students of Sharif University of Technology, Ali Malihi – member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity, Hamad Sadeghi — member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity, and Hassan Asadi-Zaydabadi — member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity. A small number of the protesters were taken from the streets and transferred to strange, unmarked homes and we do not know what has happened to them.

The reports of the Green Freedom Wave from Neyshapur (near Mashhad) indicate that there was a widespread contingent of Green-wearing protesters in the streets there and they have recorded the people’s attempts to escape the from the hands of the coup d’etat government. In this city two girls who were being attacked by plain clothes forces were given a chance to escape by some people standing nearby and the Green Freedom Wave finds this report very interesting. Likewise the brave artists and teachers of this city were present at the Green demonstrations and they played an important role in guiding the people away from the hands of the repressive forces. Quoting from the Wave’s reporter in Neyshapur, teachers used their educational ID cards to protect people who were under threat of being arrested.

Likewise Green Freedom Wave’s reporting from Rasht (in the north of Iran) records that there was a large presence of Green-wearing protesters in this city, and they were subject to violence by coup d’etat government officials. According to the Wave’s report, news media report that Green supporting youth were marching from Toshiba Square towards Culture Square when, after having marched half of their path, a group of plainclothes security forces and men on motorcycles attacked them wildly. But the green youth changed their patht o move towards the University of Sciences of Gilan and they moved in that direction. A number of students were trying to enter the main area of the University when plainclothes security forces suddenly showed up and prevented them from entering the University. Students linked up with the people standing opposite the University gates and shouted the slogans “Death to the dictator!” “Down with Russia and the eyeless government!” Likewise in the Government’s office square in Rasht which was on the official demonstration’s path, reports indicate many confrontations occurred. This happened while the champion of Gilan’s local government, alongside Ayatollah Ghorbani (the Supreme Leader’s Representative in Gilan), and Bijan Nowbaveh an MP from Tehran, who had a special presence as the main speaker at the government’s ceremony, were all present at a special location. While the Basijis and government-supporting teachers were shouting slogans from loudspeakers, a number of young boys and girls suddenly began chanting in response: “Our nation says Death to Russia!” and their numbers quietly increased – shocking the audience. Plainclothes security forces first looked at this scene with surprise but then they suddenly attacked these protesters using batons. Police forces entered the scene after the Basij attack, as they usually have in recent months, and instead of helping the people they arrested a number of protesters. There still is no accurate information on the number of arrested in Rasht but eyewitnesses inform the Wave’s reporter in Rasht that about 15 people were arrested in the government office’s square. It is still unclear where these people were transferred to.

Green Freedom Wave’s reporter in Mashhad also report a self-organized movement of students at the Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, who began marching in front of the Engineering University in Mashhad and moved towards the Engineering department, the Mathematics department, the administrative sciences department, and continued towards the Dentistry department, and later moved out of the University towards Freedom Square. At about 1 in the afternoon they were on Vakilabad street towards Freedom Square – near Ali al-Khosoos across from Ferdowsi University – when they met with heavy traffic. They could see Special Forces police units across from the main gate of Ferdowsi University. At the same time, at the start of the protests, the Basij forces received help from University teachers in using loudspeakers and other tools to create disorder in the protests, to which students responded with slogans like “Basiji, be Ashamed! Free the University [from your terror]!” Green students at Ferdowsi University who were increasing by the minute, were being filmed by forces covering their faces, to which they responded “Turn off your cameras! Listen to what we say!” They also shouted “Ahmadinejad, show us where you got your 63% from!”

Likewise eye witness reports in Mashhad indicate that many students carried signs saying “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic” (as opposed to Khomeini’s slogan, “Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic”), and they shouted the slogan “The Embassy of Russia is the Den of Spies” (Iran calls the ex-US Embassy the Den of Spies). It is said that the students living on campus were preparing to continue their protests into the night.

Allameh Tabatabaie University was also the site of a widespread Green protest. According to Green Freedom Wave’s reporter in Tehran, today in the Econmoics department at Allameh, located at AbbasAbad street on the intersection with Bucharest street, nearly 200 students assembled near the south door of the University and shouted anti-government slogans, and they were met by support from the people living on AbbasAbad street. Nearly 2000 students assembled outside the university on AbbasAbad. After nearly 30 minutes of the students’ assembly, IRGC forces (wearing IRGC uniforms!) broke down the doors to enter the University and they proceeded to beat a number of male and female students severely – which resulted in one of the students getting a fractured skull. Likewise many tear gas canisters were fired into the University and 3 students were hit directly by these canisters. These IRGC forces who had violated the privacy of the University were confronted by even the university’s Basij student contingent – and they physically confronted the Basij students and intimidated them. All of the classes at Allameh were cancelled for the day.

Likewise thousands of students at Qazvin Free University (in the north of Iran) organized pro-Green assemblies there. These students shouted slogans supporting Mousavi and Karroubi.

Scattered reports across Tehran and from universities across the nation indicate that people are going to shout “Allah Akbar” tonight from 9pm to 10pm.

Posted in Events in Iran, Human Rights in Iran, Iran Election 2009 Tagged: Green movement, Iran protests, Karroubi, Mousavi, NIAC blog, NIAC insight, November 4