Kamangir (Archer)

Brzezinski’s Article

Kamangir | April 24, 2006 | Category Iran

At last a reasonable article about Iran (see). I think Brzezinski exactly knows what he is talking about. The way to make Ahmadinejad loose is to let Iranians think, not get excited. I think that means being patient. By the way, I have worked with Iranian engineers. A project which is supposed to last six months will not result in less than three years there. So, don’t be worried! They can not launch a single nuclear missile in a couple of years.

Second Dinasty

Kamangir | April 24, 2006 | Category Iran

Second Dinasty, courtesy of A. Sakhavarz (see).

Ahamadinejad Talks

Kamangir | April 24, 2006 | Category Iran

Ahmadinejad had a news conference, the second one in his term. He talked about many different things but I was really amazed to hear two ideas from him. First, a reporter asked him about the brain drain. He replied “…the Iranian nation is free to go where ever they want and to live there…we are not disappointed that Iranian scientists work for others…” (see) (see).
Mehr:محمود احمدی نژاد با بیان اینکه ایرانیان اقصی نقاط جهان را سرمایه های خود می دانیم، گفت حساسیتی بر مهاجرت انسان ها به کشورهای دیگر نداریم چون ملت ایران آزاد است در هر کجا زندگی کند، اما این ملت نیز نشان داده که در هر کجا که حاضر بوده، فرهنگ و ادب ایران نیز همراهش بوده است.
Fars: رئيس جمهور در خصوص فرار مغزها گفت: ما حساسيتي روي مهاجرت انسانها نداريم و ملت ايران آزاد است هر كجا كه خواست برود و زندگي كند،چون هر كجا رفته مولد پيشرفت و توسعه بوده است.
Also, ISNA quotes a strange sentence from him (see), which I can not find in the other agencies which have tighter relations to Ahmadinejad. As ISNA reports, in response to a a reporter’s question that “your provincial trips are costly” he stated “I believe that those trips reduce our costs. The president and the ministers have to go to different provinces and their group trips reduce the costs. For example, we have bread and cheese and sweet tea in the morning. Sometimes I do not eat cheese and some others follow me. Also, we have a very ordinary launch and sometimes we do not have dinner”. I have not seen these sentences in other reports of the event. Though, my understanding of this man does not reject the possibility that he may think like this.
ISNA: خبرنگار‌ي از رييس‌جمهور در مورد سفرهاي استاني و آن‌چه برخي مبني بر افزايش هزينه‌ها از بابت اين سفرها مطرح مي‌شود سوال كرد كه وي پاسخ داد: اتفاقا معتقدم سفرهاي استاني هزينه‌ها را كاهش مي‌دهد. رييس‌جمهور و وزرا موظف هستند كه به استان‌هاي مختلف سفر كنند و سفر دسته‌جمعي آن‌ها باعث كاهش هزينه‌ها مي‌شود. مثلا صبح‌ها نون و پنير و چاي شيرين مي‌خوريم كه در بعضي از مواقع من پنير نمي‌خورم و ديگر همراهان نيز پيروي مي‌كنند. در موقع ناهار نيز يك ناهار معمولي مي‌خوريم و در بعضي مواقع شام نيز نمي‌خوريم.

Women Can Watch Football Now!

Kamangir | April 24, 2006 | Category Iran

Police kicking a girl in March 2006 because she asked for the right to watch football in the stadium. Now Ahmadniejad says “despite the imagination and the propaganda, women’s presence brings morality”. Photo by Yalda Moaiery.

I remember when I was a teenager and I was frequently asking my mom why she yelled at me when I did that tiny childish thing a few years before. Many times her final answer was yelling again. Soon, I realized that she really didn’t have any reason, maybe she was only enjoying her power as a mother. Then, she realized a way to ease the tension, namely to allow me to do “bad things” without “remembering” her own word against them. As I was very curious, sometimes I asked her about the reason for the new discipline and her answer was yelling again.
For a long time, girls were banned from going to the stadiums. They even had their own peaceful movements, in which they gathered in front of the stadium and carried banners. Sometimes (see) they were beaten. Never anybody gave a reasonable argument why girls can not watch a game live, rather than that “bad boys swear in the stadiums”. Now, Ahmadinejad has given an order to let girls enter the stadiums (see). In his letter he says “football is very interesting” and “despite the imagination and the propaganda, women’s presence brings morality”. He does not mention who was advocating that the stadiums are very bad places for women. After a few sentences about the importance of women’s presence in the society he asks for “arranging a part of the best location of the stadiums for women”. My only question is, who will apologize from all those girls and women whom were beaten and mistreated only because they were asking for the very same thing? Or maybe you should not ask?
I was imagining the time when Ahmadinejad would give an order to stop nuclear enrichment because “despite the imagination and the propaganda” it have proved to be not important for the nation.

“Translated” by BBC Persian

Kamangir | April 24, 2006 | Category Iran

I am not fond of the theories about the ways media exaggerate news to gain their goals. But, BBC Persian translators seem to need to become more careful. Though, I do not think it is a translation problem. The BBC Persian translation of Senator Kennedy’s talk in the “Meet the Press” show focuses on the “attack Iran” side. Comparing the original source (see) with the Persian translation (see) you can see how the translation ignores Kennedy’s arguments. To my understanding, he is trying to show how much irrational it is for America to get engaged in a nuclear strike and emphasizes the importance of diplomacy and, when other efforts failed, the “inevitable” need for conventional attack. BBC focuses only on the final part. Thanks Bucket (see) for her comment and clarification. The link to the original text is also from her.