June12, 2009

Two years.  The beginning of the end for tyrants in our homeland.  Two more years?  Five more years maybe?  Or more?  The end is near.  It's only a matter of time.  Long live Iran.    

Native Americans' objection to "Geronimo" as code name for Bin Laden raid

He was a Native American military leader.  Sure, he was a warrior and probably killed many American soldiers.  But he was fighting Mexico and America's expansion to the West, his ancestral lands.  Code Name for Bin Laden?!  Not Cool. 

Here's the Washington Post article.

“I was celebrating that we had gotten this guy and feeling so much a part of America,” Tom Holm, a former Marine, a member of the Creek/Cherokee Nations and a retired professor of American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, said by phone Tuesday. “And then this ‘Geronimo EKIA’ thing comes up. I just said, ‘Why pick on us?’ Robert E. Lee killed more Americans than Geronimo ever did, and Hitler would seem to be evil personified, but the code name for bin Laden is Geronimo?”

“It’s how deeply embedded the ‘Indian as enemy’ is in the collective mind of America,” she said. “To this day, when soldiers are going into enemy territory, it’s common for it to be called ‘Indian country.’ ”

Osama Bin Laden buried @ sea?!

What?! And according to the Islamic tradition, a U.S. official has said. Islam only allows sea burial if there is no access to land, which means death on sea. And that is not where Bin Laden was killed. He died on land, presumably. It would have been nice to release photos of the body. It has been done in the past. Not sure why not this time. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day.

Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya...

The Green Movement (موج سبز) is alive and kicking!

Okay so today's demonstrations were not as huge as June or December 2009, but the Iranian nation showed the government and the world that the movement is not dead.  It has been sustained for almost two years and will not die down.  The youth won't let it die down.  The women won't let it die down.  I am in awe of their courage.  They're all my heroes.  Here are the latest videos from today.  Remember foreign press is virtually nonexistent in Iran.  These videos are shot by ordinary (for the lack of a better word -- nothing ordinary about their courage) Iranians while facing danger and precautions.  Long live Iran.  Long live freedom.   

I just had to share this! - What's the big whoop about Egypt's uprising?

Okay this is satirical, but mostly true.  Click here for the hot link.  When you read it, try to go beneath the humor and comprehend what he is trying to say.  I am not one to compare Egypt and Iran.  But come on.  It's hard not to.  Enjoy!

The only constant is change!

Change is brewing in the Middle East.  First Tunisia and now Egypt.  Algeria is being the good neighbor following up on what's happening in the neighborhood.  Jordan's king Abdullah II dismissed the government and appointed a new prime minister.  Yemen's President Saleh announced that he will not run again after mass protests.  It begs the question: what regime is next in the region?  Hmmm...

"The only constant is change" by abbeyz71

Future

Something fishy is going on in Egypt!

The Egyptians were duped.  Army's apparent siding with the masses may have just saved Mubarak, at least for the near future.  This maneuver gave him just enough time to regroup and strategize.  Let's see.  The army praises Egyptians and respects their rights to assemble, and almost immediately after Mubarak's speech the army asks people to stop protesting  so life and business would resume in Egypt.  Hmmm…  The Egyptians were not only duped, they were snubbed.  The army used its relationship of trust with the people to come to Mubarak’s aide. 

Okay.  I'm hinting at a conspiracy theory.  But I can't help it.  I'm Iranian.  I'm middle-eastern.  It's in my DNA.  Part of me wants to encourage Egyptians to finish Mubarak while he is down.  Go for the kill.  But then what?  What's next?  Could the Egyptians reorganize and start their journey to so called democracy after such an abrupt end.  On the other hand, Mubarak will have until September to complete the transition.  In a perfect world it's a win/win situation.  But is it in Egypt?  A lot could happen in nine months.   

Why so much praise for Tunisians!?

So what began as an act of self-immolation mobilized a whole nation in days, resulting in the President of Tunisia fleeing.  All of the sudden North Africa seems to be gripped in chaos.  There have been demonstrations in Algeria and Egypt so far.  Moreover, many scholars of Iranian studies and pundits alike have already begun comparing Tunisia with the Green Movement of Iran.  Some have even gone to praise the Tunisian people for so called toppling their government so swiftly. 

But wait a minute.  There are more differences between the two countries than similarities.  Actually, Tunisia and Iran are both developing countries with authoritarian regimes with populations that are mostly Muslim.  And that is where the similarities end.  To use Tunisia as point of analysis does not make much sense. 

First, nothing has changed in Tunisia so far other than the President fleeing.  The people in power pretty much remain the same.  Tunisia still has the same Prime Minister and the acting President is the President of the Legislature.  The impact of President Ben Ali’s departure remains to be seen.  The Tunisians are at the beginning of the road.  They didn’t even topple their government.  They just forced the President to quit and flee.  So praising them for toppling a crumbling administration should be done with caution.  I applaud them for what they achieved and wish them the best, but the hardest part is yet to come.  The difficult task of reorganizing their government and political system will not be without setbacks.   

 

Second, there have been some suggestions that Tunisians are more politically advanced than Iranians and the leaders of the Green Movement.  I beg to differ.  Up until independence from French rule in 1957, Tunisia had a long history of foreign rule dating back to Romans.  More recently, they were conquered by Arabs, who changed their language to Arabic and brought Islam.  Since Independence, they have only had TWO presidents including Ben Ali.  They show no signs of political maturity.     

In contrast, Iran has a history of home rule that dates back to more than 2500 years.  While we were invaded and occupied by the Macedonians, Arabs, Moguls, and Afghans, we retained much of our identity including our language.  Our foreign rulers adopted aspects of our culture that they believed to be superior to theirs.  Macedonians adopted our system of appointing local rulers as satraps (governors) in order to better rule their subjects.  Arabs brought Islam to Iran.  I am not here to discuss the dynamics of the Arab conquest, but the Arab dynasties flourished culturally and scientifically because of Persian ingenuity and culture.  Moguls became Muslims after remaining Iran’s rulers for centuries and embraced our culture and literature.   

 

Additionally, over a century ago our forefathers drafted a constitution despite the difficulties.  We have had a functioning parliament -- more or less -- ever since.  Our despotic ruler modernized Iran and built a nation around a strong central government at a time when Iran was torn in bits and pieces.  We were the first country that nationalized its oil industry.  The Islamic revolution of 1979 became the greatest revolution of the last century.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not here to defend it.  It has been a bitter experience and our people are still paying a heavy price for it.  But we have been forerunners of progress in our region.  Because of the Iranian experience with an Islamic government, intellectuals in the Islamic world are staying away from advocating such a system of government.  After 31 years, we have arrived at the Green Movement.  With all of our imperfections in the last 100 years or so, we have made progress through experimentation.  But we have done it in a very chaotic way, paying dearly and heavily every step of the way.  We have taken one step forward, two back, one forward again.  At times, we have moved sideways or have just madly spun until exhausted.  But to say that somehow we failed because we could not achieve what the Tunisian did recently is not only foolish.  It is flat out WRONG.  Think about it!

 

I am not here to offer a solution.  The matters of politics in Iran are very complicated.  The Green Movement has not been perfect.  However, contrary to most preceding movements in Iran it has decided to take the higher road and be nonviolent.  That's good enough for me -- for now.  While we could learn from the experiences of other movements, our solution relies within our own country and our own history.  And definitely not with Tunisia and Tunisians!

Governor Crist's dilemma: whom to choose as Senator Martinez's replacement?

How does a governor appoint a replacement for the Senate seat that he himself will be running for in less than a year? This is exactly what Florida Governor Charlie Crist is facing after Senator Martinez announced his resignation on Thursday.

Let's see what Governor Crist's options are:

1) He could appoint himself as the replacement.

2) Or he could appoint someone else.

Easy enough? Not exactly.

Option #1 could easily alienate voters for next year's primary. I'm sure Governor Crist believes that he is the right person for the job, but appointing himself could also cast him as a self-nepotist to the voters. Did I just invent a new word? Anyway, is it really possible for him to have an unbiased opinion of himself?

Option #2 is not exactly easier than #1. He is expected to appoint a fellow Republican, a person who is not only projected to run for the seat come election time, but will also be a very winnable candidate. Someone that will be the Republican nominee! Wait! That means beating Governor's Crist for the nomination. How could he appoint someone to beat him for the job? Conversely, how could Governor Crist appoint someone that he is sure of beating in the primary? It's a lose/lose situation for him. Can you say conflict of interest?

I guess option #2a would be to appoint a placeholder for the seat...not really fair to Floridians. They deserve a lot better than that. Option #2b would be to appoint a Democrat to avoid the crises that options #1 and #2 would cause. Not very sensible either.

I wouldn't want to be Governor Crist right now. Your thoughts?

p.s. Back in December 2003, then HUD Secretary Martinez resigned to run for the Senate seat.

This day in Iranian history

August 5, 1906 - Official date of the royal proclamation by Mozaffar-e-Din Shah (Qajar monarch) for the formation of Majlis (Parliament) and the drafting of Constitution, finally paving the way for a constitutional monarchy after a hard-fought campaign by constitutionalists. Fast-forward exactly 103 years to August 5, 2009, an illegitimate President's inauguration in front of the same Parliament.

Have we digressed since 1906? Not exactly. We have actually made significant progress, moving one step forward and then sometimes couple of steps back. Or one step to the left and a couple to the right. The net result has been moving forward. We just always had to blaze our way through the path to reform, making mistakes along the way. That's all. Not perfect by any means, but effective nonetheless.

Constitutional monarchy, oil nationalization, 1953 coup d'etat, 1979 revolution, reform movement, June 12 coup d'etat,...

My thoughts او

I drafted this exactly a year ago after I read an article about Dr. Fatemi's letters from prison and his courageous spirit right before facing firing squad.

I thought it's fitting for these days.

اشکها جاری میشوند و گرچه بعد از مدتی خشک میشوند و شسته میشوند زخمی بر روی صورت به جای میگذراند. زخمی که با تکرار اشک ریختنها آنقدر کهنه و عمیق میشود که کم کم به استخوان میرسد. آنوقت است که در واقع نتیجه دیوانگیست! دیوانه وار به در و دیوار میزند. زمین و زمان را به آتش میکشد تا اینکه هستی را نابود کند

و

بالآخره نابود میکند. سکوت خرابی به او آرامش میدهد اما بعد از مدتی درد آن زخم کهنه برمیگردد. اشکها دوباره جاری میشوند و... و

آری. این است سرنوشت ملت ما و اگر کسی حتی بخواهد در مورد درمان این زخم صحبت کند نابودش خواهند کرد

دوشنبه، ٢٤ تیر ۱۳۸٧

Too busy monitoring what's going on!

My head is spinning. I'm shocked, numb, yet not really surprised. Hard to tell what's happening there right now, but something ain't right...worried about bloodshed...try to post links to reports that I find somewhat credible. Until now, I've been too busy and occupied trying to make sense of it all. We will never really find out exactly what happened!!!

Who will be Iran's next president? - my predictions

Iran's seventh president will not be elected today, because none of the four candidates will win a majority of votes, 50%+1.

President Ahmadinejad will win a plurality of votes only by virtue of being the incumbent. He will then be followed by Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rezaei.

Next Friday, Mousavi will beat Ahmadinejad in the runoff. It won't even be close.

What do y'all think?

One man's thoughts about the presidential elections in Iran

The following is a series of Facebook statuses from my childhood friend in Iran. He brings up valid points and makes the reader ponder even if you don't agree with him.

They start from May 30th and end today. His mind goes through a series of twists and turns. I find it very interesting! It's actually not as long as it looks.

Enjoy!

چرا کاندیداهای ما هرکدام یک رنگ از پرچم ایران را از بقیه جداکرده اند و آخری مشکی را ازکجا اضافه کرده است؟

به قرمز و زیبایی گل سرخ و توت فرنگی و سرخی لبان یار میاندیشم و احمدی نژاد و ... چهار سال دیگر؛ یک احمدی نژاد دیگر کافیست تا پایان همه کارها و راهها

کار ما شاید اینست .... که در افسون گل سرخ شناور باشیم

چرا وقتی میشه بعد از حد کثر 4 سال از شر خیلی چیزها راحت شد 20 سال صبر کنیم تا برسیم به چشم انداز! من بین بد و بدتر هیچکدوم رو انتخاب نمیکنم اما هرکسی بدتر رو انتخاب کنه باهوش تره؛

بنظرم احمدی نژاد مرديست كه برای گفتن حقايق اين دوران سی ساله از آبروی خودش هم مايه گذاشت و حتی آقای موسوی هم نتوانست پاسخ مناسبی در مقابل سوالات او ارائه دهد ولی در كل توجه دوستان را به تاييدات هردونفر به تمام بيكفايتيهای 30 سال گذشته جلب ميكنم! همه اين 4 نفر به نوعی از بيكفايتيهای خود و منش سياسيشان و همينطور 30 سال دروغگويی و دخالتهای ديكتاتور مآبانه آرمانگرايان و انقلابيون در قانون و حتی قوانينی كه خود وضع كردند

هيچكسی به اندازه احمدي نژاد از شجاعت بيان و جسارت گفتار در ميان دولنمردان گذشته تا كنون ايران ندارد؛ گو اينكه برخي دلايل و براهين ايشان ظاهرا كذب محض است ؛ اما در باطن نشان از اسراری دارد كه حقيقتا از نزديك آنها را لمس كرده ام هرچند مدركی براي اثبات آنها هم كسی نتواند ارائه دهد حقيقت حقيقت است و بهترين دليل همان وضعيت فعلی است؛ كه برايند اين سی سال حكومت بسته

اينكه احمدي نژاد و موسوی برای دفاع از خطاهای خود دخالت رهبری وقت خود را به عنوان شخصيت فراقانونی اعلام ميكردند مساله ايست كه نشاندهنده آلت دست بودن ريس جمهور است و نهايتا تداركاتچی

احمدي نژاد مساله اش دفاع از خودش بود در مقابل اتهامهايی كه كانديدای معرفی شده هاشمی رفسنجانی به او ودولت وارد كرده بود و بسيار هم هيجان زده بود و اين نشان از صداقت او دارد ؛ آقاي موسوی از ابتدا تمام سوالات احمدی نژاد را با وارد كردن اتهامهای مختلف بي پاسخ گذاشت و خونسردی او نشان از تعليم ديدن در مكتب رفسنجانی است يادمان باشد دروغگويان حرفه ای در خونسردی كامل بدون بروز دادن تلاطمات درونش دروغ را مثل راست بيان ميكند

در كل نمايش كمدی هيجان انگيزي بود كه ماهيت نظام را برملاكرد

هر كدام كه رئيس جمهور بشوند فرقی نميكند اگر بخواهند نظامشان بماند بايد اقتصاد بازار آزاد واقعی را راه اندازی كنند. لازم دارند اقتصاد آزاد را به سمت توليد و حمايت از توليدات صادراتی هدايت كنند چون ميزان استخراج نفت ما ديگر فقط صرف مصرف داخلی ميتواند بشود پس فرقی نميكند كدامشان بشود مجبورند برخلاف گذشته كه فقط فيلمش را بازی ميكردند مجبورند واقعا به آن بپردازند

به این فکر میکنم : احمدی نژاد با فاش کردن خلافهای دیگران تنها گذشته افراد را زیر سوال برد و عملکرد آنها را و نه دیکران؛ رضایی ، کروبی و موسوی با زیر سوال بردن احمدی نژاد و نسل جوان طرفدارش نه تنها اورا بلکه اهداف آموزشی انقلاب را که از ابتدا پیاده سازی کردند زیر سوال بردند! ممکن است بگویید دیگران هم نسل جوان بعد از انقلاب هستند اما واضح است هیچکدام از این دیگران در سالیان گذشته از آموزههای آنها طرفداری نمیکردند

مخالفان احمدی نژاد (کاندیداهای دیگر) مبانی اعتقادی خود را نفی میکنند زیرا آنچه احمدی نژاد کرده درسهایی است که پای منبر این آقایان فرامیگرفته ؛آنها گذشته خود و عملکرد خود را نفی میکنند همه میدانیم یک گزاره شرطی فقط در یک صورت همیشه صحیح است وقتی که قسمت اول گزاره همیشه نادرست باشد . آیا آنچه منجر به ظهور و بروز احمدی نژاد و انتخاب همفکران او شد ، عملکرد و آموزه های مسئولین پیش از او نبوده است!؟؟؟؟؟

همه کسانیکه احمدی نژاد را محکوم میکنند در اصل آیده آل ها و اهداف اسلام انقلابی و انقلاب امام خمینی را نفی میکنند ؛ نمیخواهم انقلاب را به نفع یک گروه خاص مصادره کنم ! نه اما بیایید صادق باشیم برایند آموزه های 24 ساله قبل از احمدی نژاد باعث شد تا مردم او را انتخاب کنند؛ اما نمیدانم چرا عوام که بسیار هم احساساتی هستند؛ فقط به احساس زمان حال خود فکر میکنند و نمیخواهند کمی هم به عواقب بعدی تصمیمات خود بیاندیشند؟؟؟؟!!!؟

می اندیشم برای اینکه غده سرطانی را از بدن بیرون آوریم نیاز به عمل جراحی داریم

آیا تا بحال فکر کرده اید چرا مردم به احمدی نژاد رای دادند 4 سال پیش؟ آنها از اصلاح طلب نما ها قهر کردند! چون آنها هم مثل احمدی نژاد بعد از انتخاب شدن آرای مردم را برای خودشان مصادره کردند و همه چیز را بین هم فکران خودشان تقسیم کردند؛ موسوی هم مستثنا نیست! بخصوص که ایده ای برای حمایت از نهادهای مدنی مستقل ندارد؛

شما بگویید با شرکت در انتخاباتی که نتیجه ای جز رشد طرفداران ایده آل های انقلاب ندارد بهتر نیست به کسی رای دهیم که جدی تر و سریعتر به سمت این ایده ها حرکت میکند؛ چرا میخواهید اینقدر به کندی و با اتلاف وقت انقلاب را پبگیری کنید؟احمدی نژاد از هر لحاظ کامل ترین شخص برای این مقصود است؛

با آسپیرین بچه ها نمیشود سرطان بدخیم را معالجه کرد؛ موسوی همین آسپیرین بچه هاست

معلومه که بیمار سرطانی از شیمی درمانی و جراحی خوشش نمیاد؛ جامعه ما هم از احمدی نژاد خوشش نمیاد!

من اصلا با انتخابات این جوری مخالفم ...!!! کجای حرفم طرفداری از احمدی نژاده .... اینکه سیاست یعنی حقه بازی

اصولا دجال دارای يك پيكر است با سر های بيشمار؛ هر كدام از اين سرها يك صدايي دارد كه سليقه يك عده اي را بيان ميكند و هيچكدام از اين سرها استقلال ندارند و برای يك بدن ارتزاق ميكنند

آيا به اين فكر كرده ايد : مير - حسين - موسوی ----- --------------------------باراك - حسين - اوباما

بنظرم اين حسين است كه ارزش دارد -نه موسوی نه اوباما

از دوشنبه تا حالا دارم فکر میکنم با این جمعیتی که توی خیابونها هستند خدا بخیر کنه ؛ الان وقت اغتشاش و حرج و مرج نیست ؛ به اندازه کافی همینطوری همه چی رو هوا هست!!!؛ بعضی ها منتظرن یکی از رو جوی آب بپره دنبالش

در یک انتخابات دموکراتیک پس از تایید صلاحیت نامزدها مراکز قدرت سعی در حذف دیگر کاندیدها نمیکنند : جمع کردن فتوای مراجع به عنوان این که پیروان آنها شخص را ترد کنند یا تکفیر کاندیدا خدشه دار کردن یک چهره هرچند چهره ای که مورد اقبال مردم نیست قبل از برگزاری انتخابات یعنی مراجعه نکردن به آرای مردم و این یعنی حذف رقیب با زور آقایان اگر داعیه دیکتاتور نبودن دارند ملاک رای مردم است ؛ امام معصوم به رای مردم احترام گذاشت

اگر انتخابات یعنی احترام به رای مردم دخالت آقای هاشمی یعنی توهین به شعور و اراده مردم درست این بود که اجازه میدادند مردم منتخب خود را با دادن رای خود اعلام میکردند ؛ هر چند که شخصا موسوی را بیشتر از بقیه برای اهداف خودم مناسب میدانستم و در کل تفاوتی بین این 4 نفر قایل نیستم ؛ اما آنهایی که دم از دین میزنند نباید مخالف خود را با روشهای غیر منصفانه از میدان خارج کنند ؛ این انتخابات غیر دموکراتیک است

IRI canceled air show upon Russian warning of Israeli plan to destroy all 140 warplanes

This news story is from DEBKAfile, a Jerusalem-based open source military and intelligence website. So I'm not totally sure about its accuracy and truthfulness. It certainly makes you ponder though. What do you think?

IDF and Peres give conflicting signals about attacking Iran, or are they?

Are these two reports really conflicting? One is talking about preparations to attack and the other about not planning to attack. Are preparations to attack and not planning to attack two separate things? Read both news reports and you be judge. I'd like to hear your comments.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is basically saying it's making preparations to be able to launch an aerial attack on Iran's nuclear facilities within days or even ours of being given the green light. An Israeli intelligence official further stated that Israel would not make the threat without the force to back it.

Yet only last Thursday President Peres dismissed speculations that Israel is planning to attack Iran. He further stated that progress with Iran depended on international cooperation and exploring whether dialogue presented a real opportunity or if Tehran was just stalling.

Israel cries wolf by Roger Cohen

Please read and ponder.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/opinion/09iht-edcohen.html

Iran's inflation in 2009, 5th highest in the world - not the shocking part of this news story

Oh no. I'm actually insulted that we're 5th. I was hoping more for 1st or 2d. What's shocking is that Press TV - English language 24-hr. news channel funded by the Iranian government - cites a CIA report for this finding!!! Never thought I would live to see this.

Here. Check it out for yourself:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87879&sectionid=351020102