Kamangir (Archer)

Darfur Is Dying

Kamangir | May 31, 2006 | Category Iran

Darfur is dying. That’s the name of a game in which you can seek for water and return it to the camp (see). At least you can give it a try. But be aware of those militia trucks which are everywhere. For a few seconds I felt the actual pressure and then I was again in my fancy cubicle. By the way, there is this nice text there that shows the direction and your distance. I don’t think there is anything like that in Sudanese deserts.
Hat trip to Liberal Symmetry (see).

Bush’s Marvelous Offer

Kamangir | May 31, 2006 | Category Iran

“President Bush wants a new and positive relationship between the American people and the people of Iran - a beneficial relationship of increased contacts in education, cultural exchange, sports, travel, trade, and investment” says so Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (see). And the price tag for this marvelous offer? “The nuclear issue is not the only obstacle standing in the way of improved relations. The Iranian government supports terror, is involved in violence in Iraq, and is undercutting the restoration of full sovereignty in Lebanon under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559. These policies are out of step with the international community and are barriers to a positive relationship between the Iranian people and the people of the United States and the rest of the world.” Well said. I would say that’s the best news for Mr Ahmadinejad after he participated his dad’s funeral. To me the offer means “be friends with us and we won’t bother thinking about what you are doing to Iranians”. In the time of the vibrant protests among students and ethnic groups I do not think Mr Bush is talking for the benefit of the Iranians who fear retaliation from the regime the most.

God in the Funeral

Kamangir | May 31, 2006 | Category Iran

Photographers seem to have found the events surrounding Ahmadinejad’s father’s death a good occasion to show off their photography skills. Look at the clergy man’s hands and his face. It seems that God himself is attending the funeral. Look at the glare of light.

Iranian Democracy, The Most Perfect in the World

Kamangir | May 31, 2006 | Category Iran

I am really fed up with people who claim the Iranian democracy has flaws in it, or that it is not a democracy at all. Look at this picture. Where in the world you can watch inside the grave of the president’s father? Hah? Where?

Another Face of Ahmadinejad

Kamangir | May 31, 2006 | Category Iran

After all, we are all human beings. Ahmadinejad in his dad’s funeral.

A Conference for Praising Local Nuclear Technology

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy of international affairs of the Atomic Energy in the conference for “Nuclear Technology, Local Science, National Wealth” held in Tehran university. Compared to the enthusiasm of the speaker, few students actually showed up.

Support for Religious Blogs

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

The “Office for Religious Blog Development” (Persian: دفتر توسعه وبلاگ ديني ) was established in Qom (see). The list of its goals includes research, training, and support for religious blogs, including financial supports. The report also gives a link (see) which is redirected to a blog with only one post with an establishment annoucement (see). The report also mentions that since last year the office has trained more than 500 clergy students bloggers. It seems to me that they have been active before the official establishment. The picture in the left shows the office’s logo which seems to very much resemble Internet Explorer’s icon. I don’t know if Microsoft has decided to sue these people or not.

Lisa in We Inform

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

Visiting Auschwitz

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

“Why, Lord, did you remain silent?” the German Pope is quoted during his visit to Auschwitz.

Ahmadinejad Lost His Father

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

Ahmadinejad has lost his father. The bottom picture shows Supreme Leader’s secretary entering Ahmadinejad’s dad’s house, where the service is happening. The typical house in downtown is equipped with state-of-the-art search to safeguard top ranking attendents.

Girls Yes, Women No

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

If they can not use sexy women to advertise for their new gadgets they sure can use little girls. The picture shows a banner for Nokia cell phones in Tehran.

25 Minues Above the Vessel

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

We Inform Begins

Kamangir | May 30, 2006 | Category Iran

A Fatwa, Please

Kamangir | May 29, 2006 | Category Iran

I have read an excerpt of the book “Satanic Verses”. I have also watched the “Da Vinci Code” movie. Though, I think if the Iranian Ayatollahs are serious about the integrity of not only Islam but also the whole concept of religion they have to look a bit farther. Lately, I have been reading the book “Invitation to the Sociology of Religion” by Dr Zuckerman. The author is from a Jewish background but expresses himself as a non-believer. While the author clearly asserts in the first chapter that the book does not have anything to do with faith and can’t argue its “correctness”, after a short while you see yourself asking the obvious question “who can ever claim to have found the ultimate religion?” I do agree with him that faith is like taste, you can not argue with me why I love “Ghormeh Sabzi” (Persian: قرمه سبزی, is a Persian dish with vegetables, beef, and beans as its ingredients and is served with rice). Though, clearly, I will not issue a Fatwa against an “infidel who has deliberately insulted the most delicious food of all”. The comparison between the food we are fond of and our choice of religion has always fascinated me. Frankly, I have not found any discriminating difference between the two of them. Furthermore, the most informing answer I have ever got from religious people has been the not very polite version of “do you feel OK?” If I was going to write a book about religion, and if I had the deep knowledge that Dr Zuckerman has, I would have certainly written a very similar book. There, after giving examples about the correlation between people’s religion and their parent’s ones, the typical points at time when an individual converts from one religion to another one, and the pattern of spiritual experiences of people in different religions he gives two examples about how Sociology affects religion in a chapter titled similarly. There, he talks about the racist attitude of Mormonism in which black people were not allowed to become priests and the sudden turning point when top clerics announced that they have been inspired by God that the burden is over. Zuckerman gives clues about the social situation when Mormonism was established and treated black people as decedents of evil characters, with the slavery in the background, and when “Negros” were suddenly started to be assumed as ordinary human beings, coinciding with the civil rights movement. He also talks about the effects of feminism on a synagogue, based on his observations in his thesis. After I read most of the book, two chapters are still remaining, and Azadeh and I talked about the contents and the idea of the book we both had this very obvious question “is there any real difference between different religions?” and “didn’t they all come to ask people to behave themselves well?” Then, Azadeh put it very precisely “but there are people who benefit from discrimination between religions, this will exactly be the end for them.” Zuckerman does deserve to be killed, if Ayatollahs tend to enjoy their power for a few more decades.

Turkish Protest in front of Parliament

Kamangir | May 29, 2006 | Category Iran

Turkish students tried to protest in front of the parliament but were scattered by Police.

p.s. I use the term “Turkish” while some others use the term “Azeri”. I am not aware of the differences. Basically, the meaning is the same.

ICRPRHPS’06

Kamangir | May 29, 2006 | Category Iran

“The International Conference on Reviewing Public Relations in Holy Prophet’s Speech and the Ceremony for founding Public Relations Confederation of Islamic Countries”. Pardon?

Honesty and Taheri’s Case

Kamangir | May 27, 2006 | Category Iran

Amir Taheri very recently published an article in National Post in which he claimed that the Iranian Parliament has passed a bill that will enforce the usage of badges for minority religious groups. In his report he even talked about the color of badges for different groups. My posts against his article’s consistency (see) (see) seem to have made people confused about my idea about the whole matter. Basically, Bucket (see) and I have been fighting over the article and its implications. Here, I try to clarify the situation.

Silence in Tehran

Kamangir | May 26, 2006 | Category Iran

The news that comes from unofficial sources implies that the administration is applying a serious censor strategy while underneath it is facing student and ethnic protests very harshly. Some reports indicate five people being killed in the clashes in Azerbaijan. Other news say the administration and its civil-style fanatics are pursuing an underground kidnapping strategy to silence the student movement. In the absence of any independent source nothing can be concluded.

Fifth Suicidal Squad

Kamangir | May 26, 2006 | Category Iran

At the same day that Iranian ambassador to the United Nation expressed Iran’s preparedness for direct talks with the US (see), another group of people in Behesht Zahra were pushing hard for the contrary (see). Behesht Zahra (Persian: بهشت زهرا), means Zahra’s heaven named after prophet’s daughter, is the giant cemetery outside Tehran. The importance of this place returns to the burial of many victims, or as they prefer it martyrs, of the Islamic Republic history including the war with Iraq. For this reason Behesht Zahra has long been one of the gathering points of Basij and the Islamists. Yesterday, the fifth suicidal squad announced its establishment in Behesht Zahra. The squad is named after Nader Mahdavi (Persian: نادر مهدوي). Mahdavi has reportedly been the commander of Sepah navy suicidal squad who was killed during a 1986 raid against the American navy force in the Persian Gulf (see). The announcement was carried out with scenes of American soldier’s coffins in the International Islamic Movement’s Martyrs Section of Behesht Zahra.

p.s. Also see this (see).

Violent Protests in University of Tehran Dormitory

Kamangir | May 24, 2006 | Category Iran

Nasle Farda writes (see),

According to the previous announcements, the plan was to gather on 9:30pm to protest against the decision to expel nine professors from the University of Tehran and also against Tabriz arrests and activist’s arrests and the dean['s policies]. From 10pm students started to gather in front of the main door of the dormitory. Then Police attacked the students and they they began defending and the battle continued till 4am when civilian-like people came in. They were completely structured and came with motorcycles. Then, the battle became more serious. The motorists came inside the dormitory with Police support, while Tehran chief Police was in the scene. Our reports indicate that 12 students are arrested and more than 45 others are injured. The dormitory is now under siege and Police and Ansar [the civilian-like militia with ties to Basij] is attacking students. There are also some fights here and there. We have heard that students from University of Tehran, Allameh, Amirkabir, and Sharif are planning to protest against this attack. More news will follow.

The photos were originally copied from ISNA (see). But the link now shows “error in recalling the news.”

National Post Apologizes

Kamangir | May 24, 2006 | Category Iran

… the National Post … admitted Wednesday it had not checked the piece thoroughly enough before running it.
…
“It is now clear the story is not true,” Douglas Kelly, the National Post’s editor in chief, wrote in a long editorial on Page 2. “We apologize for the mistake and for the consternation it has caused not just National Post readers, but the broader public who read the story.”(see)…

Protest in Tehran

Kamangir | May 24, 2006 | Category Iran

Students in Amir Kabir University and Tehran University protested against “dictatorship” and “lack of freedom”. I am still waiting for reports and photos from bloggers inside Iran.

Nine Years Ago, This Day…

Kamangir | May 23, 2006 | Category Iran

Today is the Khordad the Second in Iranian calendar. For eight long years the phrase “Khordad the Second” has been used in Iran by youth and reformists as it has implied “all good things together”. The phrase refers to May 23, 1997, when Khatami won the presidential election with more than 20,000,000 votes, a record high for the Islamic Republic. From that day, the expression “Khordad the Second’s message” was added to the political literature of Iran, meaning “people’s demand for a better life”.

Khatami began his first term while many people were shocked. Some were speculating him to be Iran’s Gorbachev. At least some of his serious enemies in the clergy were attacking him as the one who is too tolerant and will “legalize homosexuality in Iran”. For the first months new blood was injected into the veins of the nation, or at least to student’s vein. Then, the right forces began shaping a front and attacked several times. Two of his ministers were attacked in the streets, one of his advisor’s was assassinated, student dormitories were attacked, newspapers were banned and his answer to all these and other problems was to apologize from the nation. He was a gentleman left to fight with barbarians.

He left the office at the end of his second term right before Ahmadinejad stepped in. For many people, including me, Khordad the Second is still a sign of a new Iran that we may have. Iran without the clergy, with Islam as a personal practice, and with transparency in all aspects. Is it possible to enjoy that Iran? I am not sure, at least not in a close future…

Taheri Insists and Further Speculates

Kamangir | May 23, 2006 | Category Iran

Fury Over Cartoon, Now Inside Iran

Kamangir | May 23, 2006 | Category Iran

If Iranians were as democrat as Canadians, we would have heard “press one for Persian” in telephone services. However, pluralism is not the case in Iran. Not only in religious and political strategies, but also in ethnic affairs, Iranian administration pushes hard to make a unity, often by sacrificing other groups.
In the north-west side of Iran, close to the Turkey and Azerbaijan, people speak Turkish. For majority of them Persian is only the second language they have to learn to communicate in the global Iranian sphere. Not only they never have the option “press two for Turkish” but also their children are banned from speaking Turkish in school and they have to watch the same Persian-speaking national television in their leisure time. It is very much like the central government is having an official unannounced “wipe the language” policy.
Iranians have a very serious sense of humour. I have to be frank, compared to Iranian jokes the English ones are not even funny. I admit that it is partly because of my linguistic deficiency. But, I have asked native English speaking people to analyze a joke for me and to show its core and I have never found the deepness of an Iranian joke. Basically, Iranians have too many subjects to laugh about. There are plenty of ethnic groups in Iran, such as Fars, Turk, Lur, Curd, Arab and so on. Also, many cities have their own stereotypes like people of Isfahan and Ahvaz who are famous for their stingy attitude and the passion for being fashionable. So, Iranians laugh at each other. However, this is the optimistic side of the story.
With a country striving under a centralist regime which does suppress every aspect of the life of the citizens, jokes are not always very funny. For some people, including my father who is a Turk, jokes indicate foreigners’ attempt to harm Iranian’s unity. As it is Iran the number one suspect is the British Empire. Very recently, right after many people’s guess that however is trying to “get rid of Ahmadinejad” may start from the ethnic problems, a cartoon made Turkish people very angry.
The cartoon was published in the children’s portion of Iran Newspaper, the official publication of the Iranian News Agency. Titled “what to do to stop beetles defeating us” (the Persian title literally says “what to do to stop beetles beetling us” Persian: Ú†Ù‡ کنيم Ú©Ù‡ سوسکها سوسکمان نکنند), the article gives advice to how to stop beetles at home. Among the others, it asks to “not to talk to beetles because their language is too hard to understand that more than eighty percent of them do not know it and prefer to use other languages”. The insulting part lies in the accompanying cartoon in which a child is saying something in “beetle’s language” to a beetle which then replies “what?” in Turkish.
Tabriz and Orumieh are protesting. Turkish members of parliament are demanding the culture minister to be impeached. Then, to ease the situation, the newspaper is banned and the cartoonist and director of the newspaper are charged (see) (see). But, people are not satisfied. Some Turks are remembering that they do not really belong to the brutal country which insults them to this extent. To make everything worse Police with tear gasses intervenes and Banks are set on fire. At least one is shot and hospitalized. Iranian Woman suspects that this is the beginning of the end (see) (see). At least there was an empty direction in the “Coming Forward” map which is now filled (see).

p.s. 54 are arrested last night and the officials are talking about connections between teh events in Tabriz and Ahvaz. Ahvaz was the scene of expolisions a few months ago.