English doxdo (www.doxdo.com)

Iran protests...

2009-07-06T23:17:00Z

1. I have to admit since the protests in Iran has taken place in the June, I am more proud of being Iranian. Now, when I go out and claim I am Iranian either people say, you have brave young people. They have shown class they have protested against barbaric government or many other complements. many show some green color or show their finger with V sign as sign solidarity with Iranian people. now

All For Nothing

2009-07-06T22:30:00Z

Mohammad Iqbal, an Indonesian blogger living in Bahrain analyzes the plights of a Bangladeshi worker in Bahrain:

I recently met a Bangali who works for a hotel as a casual housekeeping attendant. He is actually Public Area attendant, one who takes care all public areas in a hotel, cleaning glass windows, or mopping floors of the lobby. He is not in charge for guest rooms. He does not make up rooms.

What’s not fair?

He spent BD1,500 to get working visa in Bahrain. He’s entitled 2 year permit. He’s paid BD10 a day, it means he earns BD240 a month. It’s pretty good pay? Wait..! He has to pay his flat, water, electricity, meal and of course sending money home.

Let’s calculate. For housing, he spends a sharing flat for let say BD50 a month. Then water and electricity will be additional BD10, and then meal for BD40 a month. Don’t forget, since he has a landlord or agent who arranged his employment, including job placement in different places, he has to pay for the agent fee at least BD25. So, total take home pay will be only BD115 a month.

In a year (12 month), he can safe BD1,380. This amount is still not enough to pay back the “visa” or “entrance fee” which is BD1,500. I have no idea whether this amount is legal or not, but one thing I really don't get is that within 2 years he can only safe BD1,260 net. As a conclusion, he spends 1,500 and sacrifices his two years working very hard for only BD1,260.

To extend another 2 years “working visa” he has to invest again BD1,000. This means, within 2 years, he gets only BD260 net to safe and I still have no clue how he pays for his flight ticket. I really don’t understand since it’s just not fair!

Its really hard to understand how the manpower agents lure these poor people into this nightmare and the governments ignore the truth.

Via Ayesha Saldanha, Global Voices.

Central Square

2009-07-06T21:33:00Z

Central Square, Golders Green, London, July 2009
Yesterday was such a beautiful day

Ahmadionomics: Part I

2009-07-06T19:58:35Z

On Privatization, Justice Shares and Plan to Remove Subsidies

Under the Khatami government, a comprehensive 6 year privatization plan was drawn up to submit partial ownership of state companies through IPO’s. This has the full backing of the supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave an executive order in July 2006 (during Ahmadinejad’s term) authorizing the divestment of 80% of several state-owned companies (while envisaging continued state ownership of the upstream oil sector and key banks). This was based on his reinterpretation of Article 44 of Iran’s constitution, which bans private ownership of “mother industries”, including oil and gas, telecoms, banking, insurance and mining. The decision broadened the range of state-owned firms deemed suitable for privatization from the more limited number already selected for divestment under the fourth development plan (2005-09).

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated his support for privatisation in his speech to mark the Iranian new year on March 21st 2007, arguing that implementing new policies was “definitely the most effective way” to counter-attack the “economic war” fostered by “global arrogance” (undoubtedly a reference to Western powers, in particular, the US). Mr. Ahmadinejad has modified this privatization plan announcing in 2006 that 50% of shares moved from public control would be transferred to disadvantaged people as “justice shares” .

Yet so far it has been very unclear as how these shares have been distributed and based on what mechanism. This has drawn large criticisms from local economists and the parliament. There has been such a lack of transparency on how, to who and based on what criteria these shares have been distributed that in early 2008 some economists have gone as far as to claim that there is not enough evidence besides what the government claims that scheme has actually been implemented.

The uncertainty continues to cloud the government’s plan to distribute “justice shares”. To this date, Some sections of the media have poured scorn on the government’s claim to have started distributing the shares and even questioned whether the scheme is real or merely a political gesture. Government claims that two phases have been completed and a third round is under way are extremely vague, and basic questions —for example, how the shares relate to particular companies or even who these shares have gone to already — remain largely unanswered.

Additionally justice shares, have mainly been criticized by the economists, among them former economy minister of this government Danesh Farniya for not being carefully studied or planned.

A similar program that the government wanted to launch before the election entailed scraping the huge subsidies in the energy and fuel market. The plan, or we can more accurately say, the lack of planning, was such that it created a widespread fear among economists that this could potentially and dangerously destabilize the economy with significant social and political consequences. Although almost every economist from both the conservative and reformist camps opposed this, the government kept pressing it through. It faced major criticism in parliament (where conservatives have a majority, among them 1/3 are dedicated Ahmadinejad supporters).

One source of the criticism was that the government had not submitted a substantial plan outlining what it planned to do. After days of loud criticism, the parliament finally received a two page proposal about the plan. This was subject of much ridicule for quite some time amongst ordinary people, in taxis, family gatherings, and text messages. It became a country-wide joke. A majority in parliament voted down the plan. Some local economists think that the justice share plan would have faced the same consequences had it been sent through parliament.

I may also add that Mousavi reiterated time and time gain, that under his government the justice shares would continue. Especially after the Ahmadinejad camp spread rumors that the plan would be axed under Mousavi. Mousavi continuously spoke of, and wrote of (in the small booklet outlining his plans) that they would continue, but, that they would undergo more research and become more TRANSPARENT.

One last note is the credibility of such a plan all together. Especially in a volatile market such as Iran’s, how beneficial would it be to secure money for more impoverished families in the stock market? If you were living as a retired worker in the U.S. and had seen your pension evaporate with the recent market crash, would you be too keen to the idea of holding your life savings to the mercy of the market? Particularly if you keep in mind that based on this scheme people need to hold the stocks for quite a few years and receive payouts based on the earnings.

But the catch is that most of these companies (except a small number in the petrochemical industry) are widely believed to be suffering significant losses and what has kept them going is current government support. Most likely many of these state run companies will have significant problems if privatized completely and may even face bankruptcy, considering Iran’s current economic landscape. Who would for example guarantee that in few years time when apparently (again we are not sure of the details due to the lack of transparency) these people are allowed to sell their shares, they will not be subject to manipulation by crooked traders and investors in ups and downs of the stock market ?

Mr. Ahmadinejad has spent more time speaking publicly about how his government is planning to propose solutions to solve world economic crises or turn Iran into a economic super power within the next few years than he has spent time thinking about this justice share plan.

What would have happened if in the 2004 the US government had distributed 50% of GM shares among the economically unprivileged? Those who claim this idea shows the “anti-capitalist” roots of Ahmadinejad: in fact, it is quite the opposite. Putting the poor to the mercy of the market … How very Enron of him.

————

With thanks to A. :*

  Chiamata del "Movimento...

2009-07-06T19:08:22Z

Chiamata del "Movimento dei Verdi iraniani" per sciopero islamico* lunedi 6 luglio , martedi 7 e mercoledi 8.
Alla chiamata ha risposto gran parte della gente in...

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Coming back to normal life

2009-07-06T18:56:00Z

I came back from Iran.
So many things that I probably won't talk about, so many images that I would never forget.
Iran I went to is not the same country that I left. Something happened, I don't know how long it will take but change is on its way...

Nima and I arrived home late at night, we took a sleep pill and went to bed. Yesterday we tried to rest; had a little shopping , checking e-mails, doing some laundry, yeah we returned to our normal life.

Today I am trying to catch up. I made a note for myself before I left home month ago so that when I came back I knew what I'm supposed to do for the research. It's a big help believe me.

The weather is so nice, around 20 degree It is not like Toronto summer at all. I'll write more about my trip as soon as I catch up a little.

American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse

2009-07-06T18:03:30Z

WIRED MAGAZINE: 17.05

By Randall Sullivan 04.20.09

The Georgia Guidestones may be the most enigmatic monument in the US: huge slabs of granite, inscribed with directions for rebuilding civilization after the apocalypse. Only one man knows who created them—and he's not talking.
Photo: Dan Winters

The Georgia Guidestones Guidebook

Published by Elberton Granite in 1981: Download Complete Book [70MB PDF]

The strangest monument in America looms over a barren knoll in northeastern Georgia. Five massive slabs of polished granite rise out of the earth in a star pattern. The rocks are each 16 feet tall, with four of them weighing more than 20 tons apiece. Together they support a 25,000-pound capstone. Approaching the edifice, it's hard not to think immediately of England's Stonehenge or possibly the ominous monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Built in 1980, these pale gray rocks are quietly awaiting the end of the world as we know it.

Called the Georgia Guidestones, the monument is a mystery—nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clues to its origin are on a nearby plaque on the ground—which gives the dimensions and explains a series of intricate notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars—and the "guides" themselves, directives carved into the rocks. These instructions appear in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a peculiar New Age ideology. Some are vaguely eugenic (guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity); others prescribe standard-issue hippie mysticism (prize truth—beauty—love—seeking harmony with the infinite).

What's most widely agreed upon—based on the evidence available—is that the Guidestones are meant to instruct the dazed survivors of some impending apocalypse as they attempt to reconstitute civilization. Not everyone is comfortable with this notion. A few days before I visited, the stones had been splattered with polyurethane and spray-painted with graffiti, including slogans like "Death to the new world order." This defacement was the first serious act of vandalism in the Guidestones' history, but it was hardly the first objection to their existence. In fact, for more than three decades this uncanny structure in the heart of the Bible Belt has been generating responses that range from enchantment to horror. Supporters (notable among them Yoko Ono) have praised the messages as a stirring call to rational thinking, akin to Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. Opponents have attacked them as the Ten Commandments of the Antichrist.

Meet Mr. Kamran Najafzadeh

2009-07-06T17:54:35Z

For those familiar with Iranian state TV, the name Kamran Najafzadeh might be a familiar one. He runs a segment on Bist o Si (the news program at 8:30 p.m. on IRIB2) which is notorious for its outlandish commentary and Najafzadeh’s own unpredictable antics. He ridicules and abuses just about everybody and everything: woman’s rights, reformist newspapers, reformist politicians, anything youth related, ad nauseum. Personally, given his voice and body language, I think this is just the case of the gay man with too many years of sexual oppression under his belt.

Watching his perverted psychological condition has been especially excruciating the past few weeks as he brutally abuses the protesters, students, dissidents and political leaders aligned with them.

He started out as a writer for the newspaper Keyhan, the state sponsored paper (= it is being published with OUR money) that prints crude commentary and asks for the execution and imprisonment of just about anyone the the Nazi-in-chief, Shariyatmadari, happens to dislike.

His segments might be worthy of attention as comedy routines, but as a regular fixture on the most watched nightly news program, they are quite nauseating. (Not more so than Nazi sympathizers like Anderson Cooper or Wolf Blitzer I may add)

Now to “bring Kamran Najafzadeh down” my friends have been emailing me the following poster the past two days:

The top reads “Battling the oppressors is as worthy [in god’s eyes] as prayer”

Then it reads: “Non-Violent Resistance: no blood, no pain, no stitches”

“Let’s boycott the 8:30 news program by causing power outage”

“How?”

“All we need to do is to turn on every last electric appliance in the house every night a few minutes before 8:30″

The last part is the funniest.

The ministry of energy has for years now run advertisements with a famous song & slogan: “Let’s turn off unnecessary light bulbs”. The light bulb in the picture is the famous one they use in their ads.

In parody of those ads, this one reads: “Every night at 8:30 Let’s turn ON unnecessary light bulbs.”

Role of K Alliance in Computer Education

2009-07-06T16:23:00Z

You Geek

2009-07-06T16:21:00Z

Chi è Ahmadinejad !?!

2009-07-06T11:06:56Z

Tehran, Iran - Il figlio di Ayatollah Khazali accusa Ahmadinejad di avere cambiato il suo nome ebraico.
Mahdi Khazali è il figlio di uno dei...

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job

2009-07-06T15:19:00Z

"Any position is what you make out of it".-- My Israeli neighbor

Islamic Iran propaganda about protests

2009-07-06T13:53:00Z

Islamic Iran’s state-own media was busy long time before election but let’s look at one of their recent attempts to associate protests against fraudulent election result with foreigner agencies, particularly CIA.

In above video, Islamic Iran compares Iranian protests with the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002. Any impartial observer would know that it is ridiculous to compare these two events, for following reasons:

Coup in Venezuela was done by military that led to pro-Chavoz uprising.
In Iran pro-Ahmadinejad armed forces brutally suppressed anti-Ahmadinejad uprising which were protesting for their votes, or it is better to say anti-fraud-election protests.
Also Carmona was a pro-US government but Mousavi is not pro-US, he is moderate but he is not pro-American. In fact, if he was pro-US, he couldn’t stand any chance to get approval of Guardian Council for presidential candidacy at the first place. The Guardian Council has barred anyone that they suspect that would be a threat to Islamic revolution.

By comparing death of the women in Venezuela and in Iran, PressTV pushing lies to the extreme, I am just fed up that they are airing false information about people who got shot in Venezuela and Iran. There are established facts that people who got shot in Venezuela, specially the woman in the footage at 2:27, wiki states:

There is no consensus as to who was responsible for the deaths on April 11, 2002, and this remains one of the most controversial issues in Venezuelan politics today. The opposition version of events puts the blame on Chávez, or at least on his supporters. Several private television channels in Venezuela showed footage (following photo) of people using handguns to shoot from the pro-Chávez counter-march being held on Puente Llaguno, an overpass that crosses one of central Caracas's busiest avenues; it is unclear who they are shooting at but the commentary and juxtaposition with separate video of the dead made for a clear story. These shooters were four pro-Chávez political activists identified as Rafael Cabrices, Richard Peñalver, Henry Atencio, and Nicolás Rivera. They were captured by the police and jailed for one year as they awaited trial, but charges were dropped before the trial began. Rafael Cabrices died from a heart attack three years later, August 30, 2005.

Courtesy of Wiki

In case of Neda Agha Soltan young Iranian lady, with commentary and juxtaposition of two separate videos of the dead we can see that armed forces from up the street shot at the direction that Neda and her music teacher were walking down the street:

Also in “Who killed Neda?” we have interview of the doctor who was right in the scene. If you didn’t watch the footage of Neda’s last moment, click here.

I asked following questions from Islamic regime’s propagandists but still none of them come up with an answer. These questions say it all:

Why only protesters got shot? Why most of them got shot in head, neck and chest? If people (or as state-own media puts it rioters!) had gun, why they didn’t shoot any Basij militia? Why didn’t they defend themselves in front of Basij militia snipers? Why didn’t they shoot riot police? Video footages speak loud and clear that armed forces are the one who shoot at people.

Press TV stop lying!

Hat tip: IranNegah

Iran updates – July 6

2009-07-06T13:36:56Z

4:16 pm: IRIB uninvited from EBU’s annual meeting -According to PeykeIran, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has removed the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) from the list of attendees at its annual gathering “in response to Iran’s policies regarding foreign journalists during the recent events.” IRIB responded by calling EBU’s act “unprofessional” saying “the purpose of regional radio and TV unions is using the full capacity of media, collecting and publishing information and providing freedom and advancement of the media in the world.” IRIB is an associate member of EBU.

4:13 pm: PeykeIran released a report based on Mousavi’s meeting with friends and relatives today.

On the anniversary of Imam Ali’s birthday (which is also father’s day) Mr. Mousavi meet with friends and supporters at his residence and stated: there are two kinds of accountability: accountability that is driven from popularity and political accountability. When a government is formed outside the norms and laws that it creates it loses accountability in the eyes of the people. This weakens the government and forces it to take coercive measures. All governments try to have higher levels of accountability, however this government has lost its trust and accountability of the people and this has caused it to be substantially weaker.

If this government does not change its behavior it will not gain the accountability that it has lost and will face a strong opposition from the people, something which will not be beneficial to the government and the nation. My aim is to oppose this government within the realm of the law.

4:09 pm: SMS out of service again – Amir Kabir newsletter reports that shortly after it was reactivated, text messaging service in Iran is once again out of service. The officials have never given an explanation to the public about what the problem is.

1:27 pm: Parleman News: Artists who support Mousavi have been forbidden to appear on IRNA

According to Parleman News, Iranian artists who support Mousavi will not be allowed to appear on IRNA.

“Hundreds of renowned artists including directors, actors, musicians, writers, and poets had announced their support for [Mousavi] during the 10^th presidential elections…It seems like these artists, who played an important role in encouraging people to participate in the elections, have to pay a heavy price.”

Parleman News reported that as the first step, the names of several artists were removed from the production list of an upcoming program. “The reason was said to be their support for Mousavi. Other individuals have also been banned and their names will soon be announced.”

12:31 pm: According to state-run Fars News, Mousavi’s campaign hired “beautiful women” who were each assigned the task of recruiting at least 10 male supporters each day. The women were reportedly paid $50-100 per day for their services.

Also, Fars is reporting that Mousavi’s campaign budget was an estimated $800 million. (It should be noted that Barack Obama’s campaign, the most successful in American history, did not raise that much money in nearly 2 years.)

12:13 pm: Mousavi campaigner killed – Khatami’s facebook page released this story yesterday, though it remains unconfirmed:

Hamid Maada Shorche–who was one of Mousavi’s campaign managers in the city of Mashhad–has been killed. According to Khatami, this individual was arrested a few days ago and suffered a beating and was tortured. Upon his release his conditions deteriorated and he passed away a few days later. “The official autopsy has reported that the death was due to an internal bleeding of the brain.”

12:07 pm: BBC Persian is reporting that supreme leader Ali Khamenei has released a statement:

“Feeling depressed and sad after your favorite candidate has lost is normal, however it is the fault of western nations for giving our people titles such as hooligans.

The west should not meddle in our affairs and their reaction to the current events will play a significant part in the future dealings with these nations.

Khamenei further described the competition among the presidential candidates as a “sibling competition.”

12:01 pm: Poem for the Rooftops of Iran – “Listen Closely” – This video, taken on June 20, was posted by the same young woman who previously posted this video poem.

“Khodaya khob gosh kon agar khabidi bidar sho daran sedat mikona” – “God, listen well, if you are asleep please wake up, they are calling your name…”

11:40 am: Mousavi’s twitter page is urging his supporters to take to their roof tops every night at 10 pm and shout ‘allah akabr’. This should be done till the grand demonstrations which are planned for July 9.

10:42 am: Amir Kabir Newsletter: The father of Ahmadinejad’s son-in-law disowns his son – The father of Mehdi Khorshidi, Ahmadinejad’s son-in-law, disowns his son 22 days after the elections. Prior to the elections, Ahmad Khorshiki Azad said in an interview with Etemade Melli newspaper that he will vote for Rezaei. Khorshiki Azad said “unfortunately, the next day my son said that ‘my father’s statements are personal and have been influenced by others…Now it is my responsibility to announce a few things.” Khorshiki Azad said that during the past four years he has been the target of “accusations and character assassination” and warned that if this continues, he will “reveal documents to inform the people about what is being done to a disabled war veteran who is alive by relying on oxygen mask.” Khorshiki Azad continued by disowning his son saying that “I no longer have a child named Mehdi…I gave a polite and devout son to Mr. Ahmadinejad but he returned someone who does not refrain from any accusations against his own father.”

9:59 am: On its front page today, Karroubi’s official newspaper “Etemadmeli” reported that Mousavi will form a new political party.

The party will consist of Mr. Mousavi and his close supporters, with the aim of legally and politically representing the people of Iran.

The newspaper is reporting that by establishing a political party Mousavi is following in the footsteps of Karroubi who in 2005 formed his own political party called ‘Etemadmeli’.

Mousavi’s political party does not have a name yet. “It’s official goal is to challenge the flaws of the central jurisprudence of the Islamic Republic and to represent the people of Iran”.

9:53 am: “Students who participated in protests will be deprived of education” – According to the newsletter of Amir Kabir Polytechnic University, Mahmoud Mollabashi, Vice Minister of Science, Research and Technology in Hamdedan, said that students who participated in recent protests “have harmed the nation materially and emotionally…and upon identification, they will be deprived of education.” Mollabashi added “the students who were active in protests will be dealt with harshly and this ministry is in the process of analyzing the gathered information and will announce the results regarding these students in several universities in the country.”

9:40 am: According to Moujeh Sabz and IRNA, a meeting has been scheduled between Mousavi, Hassan Khomeini (Khomeini’s grandson) and Hashemi Rafsanjani. The purpose of the meeting is to protest the election results.

9:35 am: Karroubi’s facebook page just sent this message to all its members:

For countering Ahmadinejad’s false propaganda, we are in search of volunteers. Please reply if you are interested and say what country you are residing in. Thank you.

Posted in Events in Iran, Human Rights in Iran, Iran Election 2009 Tagged: Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iran demonstrations, Iran election, Iran unrest, Iran violence, Karroubi, khamenei, Khatami, Mousavi, NIAC blog, NIAC liveblog, niacINsight, Rafsanjani

Chi è Ahmadinajd !?!

2009-07-06T11:06:56Z

Tehran, Iran - Il figlio di Ayatollah Khazali accusa Ahmadinejad di avere cambiato il suo nome ebraico.
Mahdi Khazali è il figlio di uno dei...

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evening towers

2009-07-06T07:12:39Z

Stormy evening in Downtown Toronto. Shooting RAW on Panasonic LX3 can produce great tonal range.

Iran’s biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown.

2009-07-06T06:03:00Z

The statement by the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom is an act of defiance against the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has made clear he will tolerate no further challenges to Mr Ahmadinejad’s “victory” over Mir Hossein Mousavi.

“It’s a clerical mutiny,” said one Iranian analyst. “This is the first time ever you have all these big clerics openly challenging the leader’s decision.” Another, in Tehran, said: “We are seeing the birth of a new political front.”

read more...

Ahmadinejad to President Obama: Do Not Meddle in Iran’s Affairs!

2009-07-06T05:36:56Z

In the aftermath of the Bam Earthquake in Iran in 2003, the Islamic Rulers of Iran (IRI) had no qualms in accepting humanitarian help from the less-than-pure-infidel, non-muslim nations, which they profess to want to dominate, rule, subdue or annihilate. IRI authorities even pocketed much of the cash aid for themselves, as usual. IRI even accepted and [...]

نامه دختر ابطحی: بابای خوب و نازنینم روزت مبارک

2009-07-06T03:43:00Z

سلام بابای خوب و نازنینمروزت مبارک. خیلی دلم می¬خواهد مثل هر سال برایت هدیه¬ای بخرم و به دیدنت بیایم. مثل هر سال، در آغوشت بگیرم و حضورت را حس کنم. مثل هر سال لبخند زیبایت را ببینم و در کنارت باشم. هیچ وقت فکر نمی¬کردم لازم باشد برای تبریک روز پدر برایت نامه بنویسم؛ آن هم نامه¬ای که می¬دانم حتی نمی¬توانم به دستت برسانمش.پدر مهربانمدلم گرفته است. عجیب گرفته است. کاش می¬شد لحظه¬ای ببینمت. می¬دانم

United 4 Iran, July 25

2009-07-05T19:50:00Z

Join us in organizing a global day of action in solidarity with the Iranian people!

Join us on July 25, 2009 for a rally in your city in support of the Iranian people and in condemnation of the human rights abuses being committed by the Iranian government. Learn how you can get involved by emailing united4iran@gmail.com.http://united4iran.com/

paris I

2009-07-05T22:02:00Z

Paris, viewed from the top level of Centre Pompidou, June 09.

Please Read This if you are trying to understand how Iran's "Green Revolution" is played out in the world.

2009-07-05T18:15:00Z

By CounterPunch: The Iranian Uprising Green, But Not Velvet

How long, must this feeling go on
Waiting for the night
Waiting

2009-07-05T19:33:00Z

How long, must this feeling go on

Waiting for the night

Waiting for the right time to run

Letter from the son of a jailed journalist Isa Saharkhiz to Ahmadinejad:

2009-07-05T15:59:00Z

Issa [Eesa, Isa] Saharkiz is one of the most credited post-revolutionary journalists of Iran. His house was raided two weeks ago and he was in hiding, but today his son has twittered that his father is violently arrested.

Eesa Sharkhiz is one of the founders of the "Association of Freedom of Press" that awards journalists who have paid a price for defending freedom of speech. Here's his son's open letter to Ahmadinejad. Those who consider the Greens Western-puppets, take particular attention!!!

Ahmadinejad, if you know my father, you would learn honesty from him!

By Mehdi Saharkhiz

Ahmadinejad,
I call you only Ahmadinejad, because I have difficulty calling you "sir".
I have picked up pen to introduce my father to you. So you know who it is that you have jailed today.

First of all, I tell you that my father is a revolutionary. It was thanks to his service and other like him that the oppressive regime of "Taghoot" (i.e. Shah's Regime) ended so that a new chapter begin in our dear country. He spent all his life on obtaining and attaining the revolution.

Did you know that my uncle, my father's brother, was martyred in the [Iran-Iraq] war? It was thanks to my father and his comrades that an inch of this land didn't fall in the hands of the enemy. They risked their lives n the path of God and on the order of Imam so that this country do not become ruins. But neither knew that in future, the command of this country will fall in the hands of someone who hasn't the least respect for them and their sacrifices.

Did you know that when my father returned from the war, he put down his gun to pick up a pen to transfer the message of revolution to those who didn't know it. to my generation who was absent during the revolution, and during the war only sensed his long absences from home. He picked a pen such that this revolution move in the path of people's wishes and its leader.

Did you know that my father was the head of the Islamic Republic's News Agency (IRNA) in the United Nations?

Did you know that my father was the chairman of the Internal Press in the Ministry of Guidance and Islamic Culture?

I wish you knew my father, so he taught you honesty. I wish you knew him so you learned lessons in dignity, service and sacrifice.

My father is a defender of Muhammad's Islam, but you are a defender of your own profits! He has dedicated a lifetime to defend the republican basis of the regime. He wants the world to know that in IRan, people's vote is sacred, so sacred and valuable that if necessary one must die for it. He is trying that in Iran a religious rule of people be established, but you and your accomplices are wasting people's struggles and sacrifices for your worldly profits.

after many years, I have now been able to see your famous "halo" [Ahmadinejad is on vide tape, explaining to some Mullahs that when he gave his first speech in the UN a sacred halo surrounded him and the audience was captured to that light radiating around him!!!]. But unlike your claims, it wasn't a halo of light, but a halo of lies, deception, accusations, hypocrisy, injustice, and foolish populism! I know that in front of a mirror you are proud of yourself, but I am sure that even the mirror hates you!

Ahmadinejad, know that just as the history has judged our forefathers, it will judge you and my father too. Lucklily, your oppressive and censoring hand can no longer hide the truth. [The history] will know you as someone who cheated on people to keep his position, and sacrificed revolutionaries such as Abtahi, Taj Zadeh, Mir Damadi and many others. Know that his post will not bring you any respect.

"When the thorns were growing on the wall, I knew that a lowlife doesn't become elated by such a raise!"

IRI's response to people calling "God is Great" on their roof tops: shooting children!!

2009-07-05T15:19:00Z

Please see the previous posts as well; and please be watchful of two groups in the mainstream media of your countries:

(1) The leftist liberals who consider this a "Western and Zionist" plot to do "regime change" in Iran. (They are often pro-palestinians and are foolish enough to believe IRI is a defender of Palestine and Lebanon!)

(2) The rightist conservatives who think this justifies military action against Iran! (They are often neo-conservatives or zionists who are enjoying this and are trying to glue themselves to the Green revolution of Iran only to discredit it. Among these are also some Iranians who run the CIA funded Los Angeles Iranian media!)

These two groups are just as harmful to Iran as are the fascists who have hijacked Iran! In fact, these two above mentioned groups are WHY Iran's revolution is hijacked and dragged to the mud as it is now!

Those who are suffering in Iran today are demanding nothing other than their human rights, their rights to political and social expression, their rights to peaceful protest, their rights to accountable elections.

Stand in solidarity with us and help the two groups of enemies mentioned above, who are free to operate within your free press and society KNOW that you are not fooled by either!

BLINDNESS

2009-07-05T16:20:18Z

In this wild, media Blitzkrieg, in this age of misinformation and blood thirsty hypocrisy, I have always turned to progressive outlets for at least a GLIMPSE of the truth. But the very people who have carved a career and a voice out of exposing the blood and evil behind the military-industrial complex in the Western world were suddenly mute when the same horror took place in Iran. Or, were busy writing drivel and uninformed commentary. The blind and bigoted they have spent a lifetime fighting against have done a tremendous job of taking out their own eyes as well. There was such shallow commentary with so very little understanding or depth, just word-for-word opposites of what was being screened on TV.

This is only a reminder of how phenomenally powerful the media is in the Western World. It has stripped humanity of its ability to THINK. The most many of the so called progressives did throughout this ordeal was to turn the word’s of the media around 180 degrees. No ingenuity, no attempt to LOOK more closely or to decipher REALITY or at least to SHUT THE FUCK UP if they hadn’t a clue to what is going on. They just heard the words “justice shares” and “money to poor” and without knowing any details, lost complete hand/eye coordination. The TRUTH is neither the media’s word nor its opposite, but somewhere else across that vast spectrum. I wonder the credibility of men like James Petras, someone who I highly respect, when they write such drivel on Iran. Naomi Klein has not even uttered a word.

In fact, the ONLY good commentary to come out of sources like CounterPunch was written by an Iranian journalist who has worked extensively for Etemad and Shargh newspapers in Iran, Farid Marjai (h/t Naj).

The most astonishing thing to come out of the blogsphere in the aftermath of the Iranian election, is the branding of Mousavi as a “neo-liberal”. Even the label shows that touch of ignorance. The “need” to label us Iranians with familiar categories and tags even if they are COMPLETELY irrelevant. The media couldn’t understand what those people were doing on those streets and labeled them “the green revolution” as reminiscent of Western color-coded revolutions they were so familiar with. In this endeavor, they were GREATLY helped by moderate neo-cons and warmongers, the “Iran experts”, Trita Parsi, Reza Aslan and many more. They gave the Nazis in Iran the perfect gift: the best excuse to go wild and savagely silence their opponents.

The leftist intellectual morons, taking their cue from the media, labeled the leaders of this fairy tale “revolution” the Western backed CORPORATE ELITE - the neo-liberal. They too gave the Nazis that exquisite gift: the fascists can now show that the “reasonable Westerners agree with us word for word”

Where NEITHER of these analogies explains what is happening on the ground.

The only records of Mousavi we have are his 8 years as prime minister and in those years he kept strong state control of the economy - so how did he suddenly become the neo-liberal?

One source of such rumors was the Mousavi-Rafsanjani link. As we all know by now, Ahmadinejad had a HUGE falling out with Rafsanjani. And he has not stopped using the “R” weapon . Opposing Ahmadinejad has become synonymous with supporting Rafsanjani. All three other candidates were linked to him.

On the blogs I read that Mousavi/Rafsanjani posters were everywhere … that is a LIE. I read that Mousavi defended Rafsanjani. That too is a LIE. I LISTENED to the entire debate. During the Mousavi/Ahmadinejad debate, Ahmadinejad named FIVE high ranking IRI officials, including Ranfsanjani and accused them of being crooks and thieves. He used very offensive words too, as if he were engrossed in a street conversation as is his personal style. Mousavi replied: “As a Muslim, I find your words very distressing. Whatever you have against these people, you must take that to the court of law. You can not hurl such words at people when they are not here to defend themselves.” (I may add, even Ahmadinejad’s chums, the judiciary chief, and the Supreme Leader denounced his accusations!)

Here you can find excellent commentary on that debate. And there was no clear winner because both men performed as their supporters would have expected them to.

But how is that DEFENDING Rafsanjani? And how does that make Mousavi a neo-liberal?

Adding fire to these baseless charges is also men like Robert Dreyfuss who writes: “with organizational and financial support from the Rafsanjani family and wealthy mullahs and businessmen tired of Ahmadinejad’s cronies running the economy, Moussavi built a formidable countrywide campaign machine.”

The TRUTH is that campaign funding in Iran is quite fuzzy and unclear. We don’t know where or how Mousavi funded his campaign. Just like we don’t know how Ahmadinejad or any of the other candidates funded theirs.

I may also add that the same hardline parliament that accuses Rafsanjani of “accumulating millions of dollars of wealth” accused Mahsouli, Ahmaidnejad’s interior minister, of “accumulating BILLIONS of DOLLARS of wealth“. Who is this man? And how did this comrade accumulate such vast amount of riches? And if the “progressives” have become such imbeciles to use the Zionist weapon, “guilt-by-association”, why do they only use it ONE WAY?

I’ll tell you how: the military-industrial complex is not only growing up plump& pretty in the Western world. In Iran, with thanks to men like Mahsouli and their supporters, Ahmadinejad, we are going through the same ordeal. And the Iranians have always been ahead of those Western imbeciles, instead of wearing the blood-diamonds and Armani suits, they parade as the “saviors of the poor and the oppressed”. They parade and bounce boisterously as those “tough enough” to handle Israel! The fucking IMBECILES were in DIAPERS while the likes of Mousavi WERE on the battlefields ACTUALLY FIGHTING for IRAN!

Except that we Iranians SAW what was coming and are doing EVERYTHING we can to stand in their way. We were never sitting on our lazy ass drinking Coca-Cola to let them steal our country WITHOUT A FIGHT! Just because we DID get a RANDOM recount by the very orchestrators of this charade - which by the way, the Americans didn’t even GET when their election was stolen - does not change the equations.

Mousavi is the person who introduced the concept of a state-controlled economy to Iran. Rafsanjani and Mousavi were always strongly opposed in this regard and word of their falling out many years before over these issues is widely known. So how did Mousavi suddenly become the neo-liberal?

In the next few posts, I will go through Ahmadinejad’s economic record. I will also translate some of Mousavi’s economic plans as outlined by his campaign before the election. From all that I’ve read and translated, it is quite clear that Ahmadinejad ran an extremely unorganized, nontransparent and chaotic government. That was a point he himself could not deny and when pressed on them during the debates, only retreated to using the soccer metaphor once more.

But since when is socialism equated with chaotic, nontransparent government?

SINCE WHEN DID SOCIALISM BECOME EQUATED WITH CHAOTIC, NONTRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT AND MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR TELECOM AND OIL CONTRACTS FOR THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX?!!! SINCE WHEN DID “PROGRESSIVE” BECOME ONE WITH SALUTING HALLIBURTON WHEN IT SPROUTS TO LIFE IN IRAN? IT IS A MOST DANGEROUS TIME THAT THE RIGHTEOUS “TRUTH-SEEKERS” AND FIGHTERS FOR “SOCIAL JUSTICE” HAVE TURNED INTO UNRECOGNIZABLE REPLICAS OF THEIR ENEMIES. THEIR NEW SLOGAN SHOULD BECOME: “FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD” BECAUSE BOTH GROUPS OF PIGS ARE AIDING THE NAZIS IN IRAN!!!!!!!!!

For the first time the neo-cons and the leftist liberals have AGREED to something:

TO RENOUNCE THE TRUTH IN THE STREETS OF IRAN AND FIGHT FOR SAVAGE SILENCING OF IRANIAN PROTESTERS!!!!!!!!!!

Cartoonists’ view of Iran’s election crisis

2009-07-05T14:17:00Z

Cartoonists inspired by fraudulent election results in Iran, post-election crisis, protests and violent suppression of protesters. Here I have collection of them which I am not sure who exactly draw them to give them credit although most of them have signatures. So if you have more info about these cartoons please write here in comment box then I can update this post. Thanks.

Satisfaction by Mana Neyestani, an Iranian cartoonist

While they fight for freedom, Islamic regime accuses people for spying for foreign countries and/or acting against national security!

Since International journalists banned from reporting of protests and then deported from Iran, young tech savvy Iranians became citizen journalists and report from the streets.

They brutally suppress any voice about Democracy.

Basically says it all, a fraction between two sides. I meant, one. Oh, I am just confused. Kidding! It is a fraction in hierarchy of theocratical power structure

This is my favorite and says how Iran governs by Ayatollahs!

Hat tips: Ahmad Rafat and The Week, link 1 and link 2

Iranian-American singers sing for Freedom in Iran: "Freedom, Glory, Be our Name".

2009-07-05T13:43:00Z

From left to Right:Raam, the lead singer from Hypernova, a now world-famous underground band from Tehran.Johnny B is an Iranian born/New York City raised composer, vocalist, poet, and front man of the musical group Electric Black: The most punk rock country-blues orchestra on earthAli Eskandarian - Born in Pensacola, Florida but raised in Iran, Germany, and the US, this singer/songwriter has

Iran: Stand by me

2009-07-05T11:22:40Z

Ianyan reports on the recording of a song sung in English and Farsi to show solidarity with the Iranian people. The blog notes that joining Jon Bon Jovi for the song is Iranian-Armenian pop star Andy Madadian. Unzipped also covers the release of the song.

Iran:The head of Judiciary targets hostile websites

2009-07-05T11:09:26Z

According to news sites “the head of Iran's judiciary called on Sunday for the prosecution of people working for increasingly influential anti-establishment satellite TV channels and websites.”

How Russia Can Influence Speech in Iran

2009-07-05T11:04:04Z

Bruc Etling from Berkman Center for Internet and Society of Harvard published a post entitled: How Russia can influence speech in Iran.

Ski Rental Delivery Service

2009-07-05T07:58:00Z

I am dismayed by the so called "pro-palestinian intellectuals" who are condoning the crimes of the IRI,

2009-07-05T06:28:00Z

and who call the anger that has mobilized the Iranian intellectuals AGAINST the tyranny, a "Western plot"!

I suggest they excuse themselves and their Middle East expertise from waxing intellectual on Iran! I also ask them to take a good look at the images which are coming out of Iran and tell me how exactly is the savagery of the Iranian government any different from the savagery of Israel in Gaza?!

Mousavi's moto was something like this: "you cannot call yourselves champion of the dignity in Gaza when you are denying the dignity of Iranians." (what about this is pro-Western?!)

Anyone who thinks Mousavi is a pro-western or westernized opportunist who is looking to the western support in this, needs to educate himself/herself by reading HIS statements, rather than by DEDUCING a logic from "which neo-con or which Zionist is cheering Mousavi on!"

For your information: Mousavi doesn't give a damn who is cheering him from abroad! Has he ever ASKED any foreign power to HELP?? Show me evidence that he has. In fact the only one who seem to have been seeking foreign approval is Ahmadinejad! Guess who has been cheering him on? Russia!!

In fact, Mousavi has stated OFTEN that he is not the LEADER, rather he is the FOLLOWER of the people's wish! Keep in mind that it is the people who are dragging him along and are forcing him to "resist", no the other way around! He has also continuously warned that the "foreign enemies" are trying to take advantage of this situation! But I guess you have been too busy reading what Zionists say about Iran to have noticed that!! Go to the source; many of us are doing our utmost to provide translations; and many of us who do so, have not just popped up ... (Remember, neo-resistance was created to fight neo-con and zionist disinformation against Iran in 2006!)

Mousavi has been telling people to stay home, it is they who have said "no way"!

Mousavi has been trying to get "permits to protest", people have defied his wish and have drenched in cold blood facing hot bullets!

Today, the West is busy with Health care and with Michael Jackson; but the fight for freedom goes on in Iran.

No, it is not the freedom of dress, but the freedom of press that we are after!

They are not jailing jigolos, they are jailing journalists!

How is it that you go all hoohaa if Zionists control the Western press but you overlook it when a government is jailing, torturing and intimidating Iranian reporters?! Where is your moral anchor?!!

You condemn the mainstream media in the west for spreading hateful propaganda, but you are ignoring it when the Iranian state-controlled media are spreading lies and hatred and invoke violence but cowardly blame it on the victims of the violence?! What is your "intellectual" stance on this?!

Do not you compare anything of Iran's movement to that in Lebanon, or in Egypt ... Also, don't you conflate Iran's problems with those of the Middle East!

Arab-Israeli problems are really not ours, not part of hour historical discourse! No one in Iran has any visceral hatred for Israelis or a visceral love for Arabs! If Iranians like Arabs, its because of common religion, and if they like Israelis its because of common disdain for Arabs ... and that is a historical and cultural sentiment, not a geopolitical one! And that too is paradoxical like many other things in Iran.

BUT, We do not run our elections on a "Middle East peace process" platform! We seek economic, cultural and political clarity in the acts of our governments, which we wish aligned with OUR national interests.

Furthermore, be informed that we do not take any pride in having been educated in French or American universities! The best Iranian universities are not run by American and French missionaries (as they are in Lebanon or Egypt), and this generation who is fighting against dictatorship is not the one who has grown pampered in Western delights!! I doubt if Mousavi even speaks a second language!

We have been in this fight for over a century and the west has sure tried to milk it to its advantage. But at this particular instance, by calling Mousavi a western puppet, you are standing on the wrong side of the history: you are standing with the Zionists and the Imperialists who NEED Ahmadinejad to justify them!!

plane and bmo tower

2009-07-05T08:16:42Z

BMO tower in downtown Toronto.

This is how Tehran sounds at night

2009-07-05T05:18:00Z

And what is pi$$ing the "security" guards off is that much of it is happening in the poorer South Tehran!

Rafsanjani doubts ‘any wakened consciousness’ satisfied with Iran election

2009-07-05T04:28:00Z

Tehran, Iran (CNN)-- A former Iranian president who backed the top opposition leader in last month's disputed elections has delivered strong and carefully worded support of the grass-roots protest movement, saying he doubts "any wakened consciousness would be satisfied with the resulting situation."Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani-chairman of Iran's Assembley of Experts and a

Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election. NY Times article

2009-07-05T04:17:00Z

Cairo-The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country's supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country's clerical establishment.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/world/middleeast/05iran.html?em

Purdah by Sylvia Plath

2009-07-05T00:33:00Z

Text here.

How does European's care for Iranians in DANGER of IRI's Human Right's abuse look like?

2009-07-04T21:45:00Z

This is an email response to a journalist and political activist (who happens to be a medical doctor) with a death sentence hovering over his head!

Dear Dr. X,

The Embassy would like to emphasize that we consider your mail as a request for general information, and not as an application for asylum. In order to apply for asylum in X you must be in X or at the Xian border.
[did you know airlines do not fly anyone to an Xian border UNLESS proof of proper entry visa is provided?]
Refugees outside of Europe are requested to ask for protection from the UNHCR.

An application for asylum/resettlement should preferably be forwarded through the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

We are sorry to hear about your situation. However, immigration to X has been restricted since 1975, and permit to stay is only granted under certain circumstances. The process of receiving refugees in X is primarily based on collaboration with the UNHCR and their refugee quota programme. Thus, in order to be accepted as a quota refugee, an application must be submitted and recommended by the UNHCR. Please note, however, that a recommendation from the UNHCR does not automatically result in an entry permit to X . Each case will be considered according to the criteria for selection of refugees under the annual refugee quota.

For further information please see the Xian Directorate of Immigration's web page:http://blahblah

You may alternatively be granted a work permit in X under the condition that you have been offered a job in a Xian firm. For more information on Visa procedures, please refer to http://www.blahblah

[Simply DISGUSTING!]

Look at this beautiful artist's view on the "other"

PLEASE ACT BY CONTACTING THE MINISTERS OF IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF YOUR COUNTRY: The lives of these individuals are in danger!

2009-07-04T20:52:00Z

Thousands of young Iranian activists are imprisoned. Many of those imprisoned have been injured and dragged out of hospitals to incarceration.

PLEASE ACT BY WRITING TO YOUR COUNTRY'S EMBASSIES AND the DEPARTMENTS OF IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE AFFAIRS IN YOUR COUNTRY!

(you can also help me by posting in the comment section the contact information you find in the comment section.)

I have been trying to save a friend of mine who was hiding in Iraq, but Canadian, Norwegian, and American offices have turned him away. Given that he is from a religious minority, he has a death sentence waiting for him, but faced with the humiliation of the COLD bureaucracy of our Human-Right-Defending Western countries, he prefered to go back and at least see his wife and two young children, before being assassinated in Iraq. (We have decided keep his name private, unless he is arrested!)

But there are plenty others who do not have "journalistic or academic credentials" that would make their execution a case of bad PR for the IRI! So PLEASE ACT and have your countries take refugee cases seriously and have professionals handle calls to asylum!

Here are some of the names, ages, all arrested after the first demonstration against the election fraud (source: http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?%2Fnews2%2F18623%2F
) They are now TRANSFERRED TO EVIN PRISON, this means they were not intimidated properly in the police station and may face torture or "accidental" execution (like Zahra Kazemi)! PLEASE ACT!

(with every post, I am thinking of the book "The Blood of Others", I just pray my genuine wish to help will not get any of these individuals in trouble; but i don't know any of them personally, so whichever Evin interrogator might be going to use this as an evidence of foreign involvement, I suggest to them to go look in the mirror and repent! I am doing what any concerned human would do to prevent further bloodshed. This is something humanity stands for, UNITED, unless the governments and the media distort the facts and realities and hide them from humanity! The charge of foreign plot is now a boring cliche!

Leyla (or Leila) soleimanifar, 26
Ardalan Sarabi, 22
Reza Mohseni, 27
Nariman Gohari, 20
Abbas Akhtari, 31
Shahab Abdi Nasab, 22
Yunes Salimi, 28
Ali Hadian, 18
Hamid Noroozi, 19
Siamak Ahmadi, 22
Ehsan Hosseini, 25
Nariman Ahmadi Moghadam, 23
Mostafa Hajizadeh, 20
Hossein Atabak, 32
Abdollah Noori, 27
Vaheed Esmaili, 24
Shahin Nasiri-nia 30
Seena Farahmand, 23
Nima Partovi
Javad Oskui, 27
Behrooz Noroozi 24
Roozbeh Amani 26
Kiumars Ahmadi 27
Mohammad Mohammadi 21
Yusef Dadashi 28
Hamed Bagheri 27
Ali Pasha 20
Morteza Kamali 22
Hadi Dashti 29
Saeed Bagheri 25
Mehdi Majidi (?)
Mojtaba Nikzad, 25

Protests at Kashan University on July 3rd.

2009-07-04T23:37:00Z

anti Coup D'etat demonstrations at Kashan Universityhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4au9DNJPv8

July 4 – Iran Updates

2009-07-04T22:19:56Z

NYT: Iran’s Most Important Religious Group Defies Khamenei

The most important group of religious leaders in Iran has called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

The statement by the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult — if not impossible.

Editor of Kayhan calls for Mousavi’s arrest for “treason” (via BBC)

Kayhan accused Mr Mousavi of “killing innocent people, inciting riots, hiring thugs to assault people, evident co-operation with foreigners and playing the part of US fifth column”. The newspaper, whose editor is appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there were “undeniable documents” proving that Mr Mousavi had links with foreign countries. It also accused former reformist President Mohammad Khatami of playing a key part in the unrest. “Mousavi and Khatami should account for these horrendous crimes and evident treason in an open tribunal”. Earlier this week, Iran’s pro-government militia, the Basij, called for Mr Mousavi to be prosecuted.

Haaretz: US opposed to new Iran sanctions; will not engage Iran in bilateral talks

The United States is opposed to enacting a new set of financial sanctions against Iran that are due to be discussed in the G8 summit next week, diplomatic officials in New York reported Friday.

According to officials, sanctions against Iran are expected to top the G8’s agenda. Sources are also predicting a pointed debate between the heads of the industrialized nations over an appropriate response to Iranian authorities’ suppression of reformist demonstrations in Iran led by Mir Hossein Mousavi and other Iranian opposition leaders.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hinted in a newspaper interview earlier in the week that the G8 is due to decide on new financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Berlusconi disclosed that he had spoken with the heads of the G8 nations and has discussed such steps with them.

According to the Italian prime minister, “the general leaning [among G8 leaders] is toward sanctions.”

However, diplomatic sources in New York reported that American officials are working behind the scenes to prevent new sanctions from being imposed against Iran.

U.S. officials claimed that a tough stance toward Iran could backfire, bringing about an opposite outcome to that desired by those who support such measures.

The Obama administration, according to the diplomatic sources, has discarded the notion of direct talks with Iran. However, the United States is still interested in re-engaging Iran through the renewed discussion of its nuclear program through the five permanent United Nations Security Council members and Germany.

Grand Ayatollah Saanei reiterates support for demonstrators

While extending my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the recent tragedies, and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, particularly for our precious and devoted student body in Esfahan, shiraz, Tehran, and other cities, who have stood up for their rights and have of late protested against the ambiguities surrounding the election results, seeking clarification which is indeed their right, I hereby express my grave sorrow and grief at the detestable incidents as have taken place and also express my aversion to those who had a hand in those disasters and tragedies. I hope that the wishes of the people will be fulfilled and their demands will be met by those responsible in the system, whose foremost duty should be the protection of people’s life and property.

Posted in Diplomacy, Human Rights in Iran, Iran Election 2009, Sanctions Tagged: Ahmadinejad, Diplomacy, Iran demonstrations, Iran protests, Iran violence, khamenei, Mousavi, Mousssavi, Obama

Underground Music!

2009-07-04T20:09:00Z

Really cool lyrics! I love it!

roozmaregi - Kiosk

Geryeye Mard - Abjeez
Lovely adaptation of Santoor to new fusion music!!!

10_ Sange Sabour - Mohsen Chavoshi (www.Sarzamin.org)

Windows on Iran 75 (Election Special 22)

2009-07-04T20:18:47Z

Supporters of Mr. Mousavi published their first weekly online, called "Sabzine."

Dear All,

I hope you are well and those of you who live in the U.S. are enjoying a safe and happy 4th of July weekend.

First Issue of Sabzine

* Supporters of Mr. Mousavi published their first weekly online, called Sabzine. Click here for the first issue of Sabzine in pdf format. file. Sorry, it is in Persian only. I am sure the Iranian window readers would like to

stay connected.

Iranian Mothers: We will not Forget what the Government has Done!

* Mothers of the young people killed in post election demonstrations in Iran gathered in Park Laleh in Tehran yesterday. They carried pictures of Mr. Mousavi, green flags. Their statement read “We are inviting all the people to protest every Saturday at 7 p.m., to congregate at Tehran’s public parks, in particular the one in Laleh, to remember our children, unjustly killed by police authorities during the recent protests.” http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.0.3496133350

Demonstration by Kashan University Students

* Mr. Mousavi ’s Facebook page has just posted this lively demonstration by Kashan University students in that City:

Three Week Boycott planned by Mousavi Supporters

* The disconnection of text-messaging on the day of the election is supposed to have been crucial in disconnecting the Mousavi campaign volunteers from their headquarters and from each other. To protest this, Mousavi supporters are planning a three week boycott of text messaging throughout the country. More detail on

that will be released.

Nocturnal Chants of Allah o Akbar

* July 2nd, 2009:

Mr. Ahmadinejad Faces Isolation in the World

* While sanctions could harm the people of country which is subjected to it, political/diplomatic isolation could create pressure on the government. Signs of such pressure on the government of Mr. Ahmadinejad started with him being barred from the African Union Summit. While the need for Iran’s oil and gas can weaken some countries’ resolve to isolate Mr. Ahmadinejad, there are at least some sings of it in the international

diplomatic circles already: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-ostracize3-2009jul03,0,3454095.story.

Ahmadinejad’s Classmate Reveals Devastating Facts about Him

* Domestically, Mr. Ahmadinejad cultivates a populist images. He presents himself as the lone defender of moral principles, fighter against corruption, and a champion of the underdog. Well, a classmate of his – from graduate school in “Ilmo San’at University” – called Amir Mianji has just published a very courageous open letter revealing reckless, opportunistic, and less than honest moves on the part of the Mr. Ahmadinejad to enhance his career. These include breaking all sorts of rules (for which he has accused others), and serving some of the politicians whom he now accuses of corruption. The letter has been sent to the daily newspaper Ayandeh.

Money Withdrawal from State-run Banks

* A plan is circulating by supporters of Mr. Mousavi to withdraw their money from state run banks to keep it at home for a week and then deposit it in private banks. Recommended private banks prioritized according to their lack of connection with the government are: 1. Saamaan, 2. Towsa’eh, 3. Kaar Aafarin, 4. Mowlal Movahhedin, 5.Eghtesaade Nowin, 6. Paasaargad, 7. Seena, 8. Paarsiyan, 9. Sarmaayeh.

Assaults on People, Absolutely Unacceptable Even if Ordered from the Top!

* The Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sane’i issued a new and important ruling mostly addressed to the Basij and the security forces to the effect that they have no excuse for assaults on people and their property, even if they are ordered to do so by their commanders: http://saanei.org/page.php?pg=showpayam&id=77&lang=fa.

My Green Vote Was Not Your Dark Name!

* It is often assumed that Mr. Mousavi is supported only by young urban population. But this is certainly not entirely true:

The caption on the elderly gentleman's sign reads: "My Green Vote was Not Your Dark Name!"

Have a great holiday weekend.

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
==================================

Letter from Tehran/Vienna - Epilogue, 4 July 2009

2009-07-04T15:33:00Z

Dear all,

We're out. On 3 July, at 4.05 in the morning, we caught the plane to Vienna and landed shattered at 6.00 am. Shattered, because we had to get up at 1.00 am to catch the plane three hours later, as is the usual practice in Tehran - nearly all flights start at night, and you have to be there 2 hours in advance, plus one hour to get through the city to the airport. The drive to Imam Khomeini Airport leads you past the overwhelming Imam Khomeini memorial, which sports four overseized Islamic towers at all corners and an enormous building in the middle that houses practically nothing else but his shrine. It is space enough to host millions, and that usually happens once a year, on the day of Khomeini's death, or demise as it is being referred to regularly in Iran.

Our exit was surprisingly swift and pain-free, unlike at other times. We had no overweight, there was no problem with our passports or visas, and we even didn't have to wait much at either of the two security check-ups. Shoes stayed on, and my full-metal old-style film camera did not raise any eye-brows. We felt as if we were supposed to leave, but this is rubbish of course. No statement whatsoever was made in reference to the United Nations during the last weeks, at least not in a critical or negative sense. Rather, the Foreign Minister, during his lecture to the international organisations and embassies some weeks ago, referred to the positive record Iran believes to have with the UN, overall. After all, there are 19 different UN agencies in Iran.

It is somewhat strange to be back in the West, after several months in a stretch in Iran. We spent two days with the packers, who put our household into exactly 176 boxes - 27 cube metres - and told us that it would arrive in 2-3 months in Copenhagen. The dispatch is done by sea, excitingly past the pirates that plague the sea between the Arabian peninsula and Africa. We have bought insurance. It felt quite a relief to have all the stuff out of the house and live like campers in our 400 square metre house - campers with style, since the pool was still full and heated. The daily routing of "Allahu Akbars" has not changed and we felt that it has even gained some intensity since it is the only thing they are allowed to do.

My staff, who was overwhelming in their hospitality and friendship over the last days, shared the last titbits of information with me, before I was to be cut off of all news from Iran, like all the rest of you. For one, the feeling of having had their votes stolen persists with all of them, and they are not satisfied with what has so far been offered to them. I am quite sure that it will not take four more years before these feelings break out into the open again. In fact, the youthful protesters among the Iranians I know told me that they now planned a low intesity campaign to not make the last weeks forgotten and lost. They want to spray paint a huge number of walls green in the city; they also sent out a request to everyone they knew to write "Where is our vote?" onto all bank notes everyone gets into their fingers. This is a huge feat because the high inflation in the country (official economic data: roundabout 25%; Ahmadinejad during a pre-electoral TV debate: 15%) everyone regularly handles dozens of notes in cash every day.

In Vienna, a protest march is planned for tomorrow. It seems a bit delayed of the real events in Iran, but clearly the Iranians abroad want to be part of the movement no matter what. I am, however, not sure if the motivation for all those marches are very savoury and in the spirit of the original groups in Iran, given that so many Iranians have been unable (or unwilling, given the political situation there) to go back to the country for many years. I gather that there is a huge disconnect between the Iranian community in Los Angeles and Iran, for instance - the former having left the country shortly after the Shah fled.

I have been walking around town while Georgina has been trying to get back on her feet after she again had a bit of a dizziness attack. It now appears - she saw an Austrian doctor yesterday - that it is much more likely a stress- and burnout syndrome than anything directly related to the balance organ or iron deficiency. Hence, she is trying to take it easy. Anyway, when I was walking around I ran into an Iran-contrast programme; several hundred demonstrators walked up the Viennese city centre, loud pop from the 80's providing the background music. You guessed it - the Gay Pride parade. I somewhat expected something else after kids held Moussawi-green balloons in their hands, but now - the predominant colour was rainbow, meaning all colours as on the flags for the peace movement.

So, life goes on. On one day walking around the city on a hot summer's day, you encounter more skin than in Iran in a whole year, and it feels strangely relaxing to be back in a "normal" place. Yet, I would not want to miss the experience - having been to Iran, I mean. I will try to keep contact with Iran, and if there is something interesting to share, I will send you some more news. But for now - we are preparing for two weeks of holidays; I have booked a little Middle Eastern experience for us, of the other kind. On Monday, we're off to Israel. Shalom!

Best to you all,

The Nitzsche Creatures

Visit flickr.com/photos/anitzsche

Iran: Protest in Kashan University

2009-07-04T13:21:44Z

A film on student protest movement in Kashan University in Iran.

Iran:Press TV New Footage of Basij Military Base Attack

2009-07-04T13:03:17Z

Thanks to Irannegah, we can watch Iran's State-run Press TV new footage of Basij military base attack.

Looks like Syria is leaving Ahmadinjead on his Own.

2009-07-04T14:26:00Z

It can be inferred from the article that Syria deems new relations between Syria and the United States as more feasible than relations between Syria and Iran. Perhaps Ahmadinejad is running out of money to sway Syria anymore. This does beg the question as to how many friends Ahmadinejad has remaining.Syria's First Lady has exclusively told Sky News she would welcome the Obamas to Damascus.Asma

Grieving Mother's to Gather in parks every Saturday. Rooz online article.

2009-07-04T14:25:00Z

چهارشنبه ۱۰ تير ۱۳۸۸هر شنبه در پارک ها جمع می شویمدعوت مادران عزادار از مردمآرش معتمدبه دنبال دستگیری بیش از 20 نفر از زنان سیاه پوشی که چند روز پیش برای سوگواری در مرگ عزیزان خود در پارک لاله گردآمده بودند، "مادران عزا" با صدور فراخوانی از ادامه این عزاداری ها در روز شنبه هر هفته، بین ساعت 7 تا 8 در پارک های مختلف تهران خبر داد.در اعلامیه گروه "مادران عزا" آمده است: "سوگواری خاموش و آرام مادران

Irananian Basiji and Anti-Riot forces don't get much sleep. Rooz online article.

2009-07-04T14:11:00Z

ماموران روزهاست که نخوابیده اندجلال کیهان منش‏ سه روز پس از تائید انتخابات 22 خرداد و انتصاب احمدی نژاد، تهران همچنان ناآرام است و نیروهای نظامی، امنیتی و لباس شخصی به مراکز خود باز نگشته اند. اگر چه مسئولین بعد از تایید انتخابات، برای نشان دادن وضعیت سفید، سرویس پیام اس ام اس را از ساعت 5 عصر دیروز به کار انداختند اما آماده باش نیروهای امنیتی، در حدی که حتی مرخصی ها آنها نیز لغو شده، نشان دهنده

English doxdo (www.doxdo.com)

Iran protests...

All For Nothing

Central Square

Ahmadionomics: Part I

&nbsp; Chiamata del &quot;Movimento...

Coming back to normal life

American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse

WIRED MAGAZINE: 17.05

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Role of K Alliance in Computer Education

You Geek

Chi è Ahmadinejad !?!

job

Islamic Iran propaganda about protests

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Chi è Ahmadinajd !?!

evening towers

Iran’s biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown.

Ahmadinejad to President Obama: Do Not Meddle in Iran’s Affairs!

نامه دختر ابطحی: بابای خوب و نازنینم روزت مبارک

United 4 Iran, July 25

paris I

Please Read This if you are trying to understand how Iran's "Green Revolution" is played out in the world.

How long, must this feeling go onWaiting for the nightWaiting

Letter from the son of a jailed journalist Isa Saharkhiz to Ahmadinejad:

IRI's response to people calling "God is Great" on their roof tops: shooting children!!

BLINDNESS

Cartoonists’ view of Iran’s election crisis

Iranian-American singers sing for Freedom in Iran: "Freedom, Glory, Be our Name".

Iran: Stand by me

Iran:The head of Judiciary targets hostile websites

How Russia Can Influence Speech in Iran

Ski Rental Delivery Service

I am dismayed by the so called "pro-palestinian intellectuals" who are condoning the crimes of the IRI,

plane and bmo tower

This is how Tehran sounds at night

Rafsanjani doubts ‘any wakened consciousness’ satisfied with Iran election

Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election. NY Times article

Purdah by Sylvia Plath

How does European's care for Iranians in DANGER of IRI's Human Right's abuse look like?

PLEASE ACT BY CONTACTING THE MINISTERS OF IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF YOUR COUNTRY: The lives of these individuals are in danger!

Protests at Kashan University on July 3rd.

July 4 – Iran Updates

Underground Music!

Windows on Iran 75 (Election Special 22)

Letter from Tehran/Vienna - Epilogue, 4 July 2009

Iran: Protest in Kashan University

Iran:Press TV New Footage of Basij Military Base Attack

Looks like Syria is leaving Ahmadinjead on his Own.

Grieving Mother's to Gather in parks every Saturday. Rooz online article.

Irananian Basiji and Anti-Riot forces don't get much sleep. Rooz online article.

Chiamata del "Movimento...

How long, must this feeling go on
Waiting for the night
Waiting