As a Labor Day event, selected workers met with the supreme leader to “benefit from his thoughtful remarks”. While the faces show that many of these attendees are simply Basij-of-industry members, it seems that the administration cannot even trust them. To my count there are two layers of guards before the leader. The funny part is, he is on a balcony which obviously has an emergency exit to a safe house. The title Fars has chosen for the regarding event is even funnier: “The Supreme Leader: The main approach of the Islamic regime is to help the poor and to spread justice”. I guess not everyone likes to be helped with. More pictures here.

With the Labor Day approaching, Kargozaran, one of the last remains of independent journalism in Iran, chose a rather outstanding text for the front page; “Request for the Right to Strike”. I am not sure what the law mandates, but attempt to strike is generally regarded as being against the national security.

Frankly, lately, Kamangir has not been updated as frequently as it used to be. That is mainly because of my efforts to carry out a rather radical moderation in Balatarin. The fact is, to my deepest sorrow, and joy at the same time, trying to crackdown on copy-and-paste blogging resulted in a bloody coup. The positive side is, I will have more time for Kamangir and also for my research. My prof is just back from a conference with a handful of papers which I have to go through and then apply in my own research. Also, the candidacy exam is coming close and I have to prepare for the first half of my degree. So, we are back on track with juicy, and bitter, stuff from the Blogestan.

This is the English translation of a humorous post from Mulla Hasani.

It is the most obvious for everyone that there are two types of living:

In the first type, you cannot take off your cloths when you go swimming. You get into water with your cloths on so that they swim and enjoy themselves. You will dive in with your pajamas, the same ones which you wear at home. There is no bathing suit in your life. In fact, many thing do not exist in your lifestyle.

In the first type, the heavy protective and dominating hands of men are on the shoulders of women. In the second type, the couple will be hand-in-hand.

There are early reports of a sever attack in University of Amir Kabir (AKU), the most politically active university in Tehran. Reportedly, Basij members have distributed phony newsletters with the logos of student groups on them. The newsletter has reportedly contained material offensive to the administration, including a cartoon of the supreme leader. Then, Basij has attacked the students with knives and other cold weapons. The university administration has banned all student newsletters. A pro-Ahmadinejad website calls this event the “political suicide of a few students“. More news to come.

The Police Chief Commander met with grand ayatollahs to discuss the recent crackdown on the veil. Apparently, this was not a very simple meeting.  More pictures here.

“Yes …! You have understood it correctly! I am in war with you! What are you going to do to me? Will you delete me? You cannot kill a person because a person’s name rises by death. What are you going to do to my ideas?”

These are not the last words of Che Guevara. This is a comment a user has written in Balatarin. Why? Because I, as a moderator, have deleted one of her friends’ account. Why? Because after one of his links was mistakenly deleted, by another moderator, he started bullying and posting irrelevant links. Why? Because it is built into our genes, as Iranians, to be suspicious about any structure and find ourselves being oppressed by “others”. Why? You have to be an Iranian to understand this.

The story is even stranger than that. After I banned another user, for creating four accounts, he wrote this comment in Kamangir,

It seems that you are confused and unpleased with my last behavior in linking to my own blog in Balatarin and voting it through several identifications. I agree you and think that it must not be repeated, but you know… my produced content on the net is not neither unmoral nor political…I am trying hard and work many hours a day to provide …the best possible quality reports…[but] my efforts are being left disregarded and ignored… I emailed you personally once and wanted you to dedicate your time…[and] address [my posts]… All my emails were been left unread and unanswered… in such circumstance, which way is ready for me to be passed along except I have to advertise my works without any aids?

It was quite simple if we were trying to maintain a pornographic source for Iranians. Even a let’s-have-fun website would find its way very easily. However, trying to start and maintain healthy discussion amongst the Iranians seems to be a very tough job. Balatarin has clearly addressed the rules regarding submitting a link. The fifth rule clearly asks the user to avoid submitting a link to content which is copied from other sources. Once I tried to diligently visualize what my understanding of that rule is. However, there are still links in Balatarin which violate the copyright. The question is, why do I care so much?

Let’s be frank; one of the main goals of any blogger is to be heard. That, partly, if not totally, means you need your counter to rise. However, you might tolerate, for the sake of your own happiness, some fake boost, including copying some hot stuff in your blog. Well, that’s your obvious right, I guess. If we open this door in Balatarin, that would mean producing layers of reproduction in Balatarin which then mean the importance of one link in Balatarin will degrade to half and even less. So, it is clearly stated in the laws that users can post anything they want, given that it is something they have produced themselves, or they have no reason for thinking the source has stolen the content from somewhere else.

Pursuing this “obvious and well-stated” policy inspired an angry user to cast a pornographic montage of my face a short while ago. My conclusion is, anarchism is an essential part of Iranians’ genes. A good way for measuring that is to ask the average Iranian about their idea of 9/11 or the Holocaust. Please do not understand me wrongfully. That does not mean that Iranians are doomed to be suspicious people. That is just the result of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of oppression and ineffective politics. A Persian proverb says “the one who is attacked by a snake is scared of a rope”.

People who have hated for a long time like to hate. We are unfortunately such complex machines that we find “proper” argument for anything. Just remember the time we all “believed” that the earth was flat. My understanding is, the only way to make people less arrogant and more easy-going is to give them stuff to enjoy their lives with. Thanks to the great lakes and the empty spaces, to my understanding, the average Canadian does not even have any idea what hatred means. Whilst, in our dry and crowded country, the beloved Iran, the best part of the daily life is to find another reason to draw a line between yourself and something you might even have no idea about.

It was clear that Police brutality in enforcing Islamic covering would cause objection and protest by the general body of blogestan. What was not so clear was that the more conservative bloggers would also rise against it. Koroush writes,

I don’t know who has mandated the veil in this general and inclusive form. Neither in history nor in the life of the prophet you hear anything about this. Even if the veil is mandatory, which is not, it is not so inclusive. Furthermore, I don’t know how they infer that the veil is mandatory…They refer to Quran and the scholars. I have read the same books and I have not found any trace of the veil in either Quran or the life of the prophet.

Then, he goes on by asking

Even if the veil is mandatory according to Sharia and also necessary according to the law, have you [the Police] solved all other problems?… Do you not see the fake and lethal drugs which are available everywhere? Do you not see murder, rape, armed robbery? It is just due to a few girls’ hair, which if goes under the veil the whole country would become safe?

Malakut is angrier. He writes,

I just saw the footage of Police attacking a girl whom to their understanding is immodest. She is screaming that she is not going with them. The policewomen pull her to put her in the car. She screams. Sad people gather around. Everyone is watching the scene and no one can do anything. It ruined my night. I had never scene anything more annoying that this. They are treating her as if she is a murders. This is not a rumor or a fake video. I am sure every Iranian has seen such a scene in person. Let’s think this is the only instance this has happened. Let’s think by pure chance this only time is also taken on a video and is surfaced. This very event is enough to destroy the reputation of the Police and the regime. I know that the administration does not care. I am writing these to heal my own feelings…Religion, morality, and fear of God is dead in this country…They have killed the God and they have made themselves the God.

He then goes on by quoting Quran and concludes “they have changed God’s message and have turned it into this horrible thing”.

As you might know, the Islamic Republic has started a summer veil program to face “immodesty”. The conduct of this event has caused distress and objection all over the Iranian blogestan. For example, female bloggers have started a game titled “does everyone have to wear Chador?” At the middle of this social unrest, one picture has become a legend. Titled “Let’s all go to heaven“, Maryam Majd published a set of photographs, among which was the begging-kid picture shown above, which I pointed at previously as well (link). This picture has been mentioned of, and even copied in, many other blogs. Doing a very hasty search I found these: The Spilled Fragrance, Lalipo, Long Live Iran, Cold, Masih. No surprise they fear blogging this much.

p.s. Please let me know if you know of any other source.

Update: Now there is a video of Police brutality.

Update II: What is being said here,

Girl (screaming): I am not coming. Let me go. You man! Don’t touch me! Let me go! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!

Police (to people): Do not gather! Go!

Update III: BBC picks the footage.

I think all the moderation that I did in Balatarin finally paid off. Last weekend we were playing the fantastic Iranian game at-the-middle (Vasati), which is similar to Dodgeball, when I twisted my ankle and fell down. Since then, I have had a pain in my left ankle. Today, they gave me crutches and took an X-ray. Knowing that after a long and freezing winter we are having a very sunny spring and that I have just bought a fascinating, and expensive, pair of running shoes and that Azadeh just got me a great bike, I think you don’t need any explanation on how awful I feel right now. The moral lesson is, do not make people angry; a bit more of copy-and-paste blogging does not hurt anyone. An injured ankle does.

p.s. We, Iranians, do believe in evil eye. :)

Update: I just received a call from the clinic. It seems that, to my deepest regret, there is no fracture down there. Thanks for your support anyway.

This is the English translation of a post by Masih Ali Nejad. She is a reformist journalist, whom if I remember correctly was banned from entering the parliament building after her revealing stories made MPs frustrated. This post talks about a picture taken at the scene of the ungoing anti-immodesty raids by the Police.

A Child Begging for Her “Immodest” Mom

Just look at this picture, which I have copied from my dear friend’s blog. Do not look at the woman who is being questioned by the Police. Do not look at her fist and how she is pulling the police officer’s Chador [black veil] in front of the bus, which is there to carry “immodest” people. Follow the mother’s fist, to see another person who is pulling the Chador. That is a kid who is too small for this much humiliation, but the ignorance of the police officer has forced her to cry. I can even hear her cry. I feel like I am being humiliated there.

The anniversary of the Armenian Holocaust in Tehran (Google Map). More pictures here.

An Armenian church (location). The text on the banners from top to bottom: “April 24th 1915 is the anniversary of the massacre of more than 1,5 million Armenians by the Turkish government”, “Massacre is condemned, anytime anywhere”, “Turkey! Shame on you! For all this crime!”.

Last night, Azadeh and I watched Bewitched. I should say I found the movie admirable in two aspects. One, it proved how much efficient Hollywood is in turning a ten-minute story into a one-hour movie. Two, I should thank Nicole Kidman for keeping her cloths on for the entire movie.

Aside from the humor, she played fantastically, but did I see it correctly that her name was only the second when the movie opened?

p.s. Anyone having a problem with the feed?

Just a quick note that I am playing around with Kamangir’s feed. I am trying to use Feed Burner to get statistics on feed usage. Please let me know if anything stops working. I am a total stranger to all this.

There is a new war going on in Iran, between the administration and students of Shiraz University (Balatarin). More than two thousand students in University of Shiraz gathered on the campus and refused to attend their classes (link). When the dean of the university tried to talk to them they interrupted him by chanting “liar! liar! resign! resign!” Other sentences they shouted were “this is not a barrack” and “shame on you”.

The protest started after a newly announced law tried to regulate the conduct of the students in the dormitory. The new law forbids the students from wearing shorts and pajamas in the halls. It also forbids students from bringing guests to the dormitory and gives the security the right to enter dormitory rooms without permission. According to the students, there has been one incident in which a security personnel entered a room and woke everybody up to ask them for their IDs. He has reportedly shouted “we have a terrorist here” (link). According to the new law, doors of the dormitory will be closed from 23pm to 5am (link).

The university insists that the law has been in effect since a a long time ago. “It is only announced again”, said Dr Sadeghi, the dean (link). The administration has also expressed preparedness to revise the law according to the demands of the students.

The story had a happy ending, when yesterday afternoon, at 4pm, dean told to the students “if you find this law offensive, I apologize”. Then, the students told him that they have not had launch and asked the dean to have dinner with them. He accepted (link). He also stated “we respect privacy of people”.

Can you imagine an old dad who has been so cruel to his children when he was young? That’s the Islamic Republic. The administration has so many problems to deal with and everyone remembers a reason to avenge for. At least that is my understanding of this Pajamas War.

Demands of the students: 24-hour Khwarizmi [probably the name of a library on campus], non-filtered Internet, free student press, improvement on the food services, service 4 [probably a campus shuttle] to be changed, freedom for extra curriculum activities. [Thanks to JE for correcting my mistake]

In an absolute coincidence, last year this day, I tried to clarify what the Islamic Republic means by the term “immodesty” (link). These days the same term is used very frequently in the streets of Tehran. While the administration is trying to regulate outfits and talks about men’s immodesty, for a portion of Iranians this is a war to be fought until the last moment. The ammunition of this battle is the ability to talk back.

Balatarin, the Iranian Digg, is rushing forward and similar to any other first-time experience, the practice of conversation in the Persian Blogsphere has its highs and lows. One of the threats in this route, to my understanding, is copy-and-paste blogging. As a moderator of Balatarin, I am accused of being tougher than necessary. Here is how I look at the process of finding a link and posting it in Balatairn. To my understanding, ending up in the red square means freedom is abused.

“In Full Support of this Godly Motion”

After angry protesters chanted against “immodesty” at the end of Friday Prayers, it was obvious that the Police was going to implement its harsh words against “improper public conduct”, as stated a short while ago. As the summer arrives, in the boiling and polluted city of Tehran, “the essentials of Islam” start shaking with the Iranian youth enjoying short-sleeves and clear scarves.

The Summer Veil Program has just started in Tehran. That means a few bad weeks for the Iranians before the Police realizes that they are just making people more enthusiastic in turning the streets of Iran into a fashion hall. Did you know that according to many visitors, Iranians always look like they are either coming from a party or going to one?

“Effective March 21st, women with improper cloths will be fined, News”, The old man:] “Try wearing proper cloths so that you are not fined…my pension is not that much, you know”.

A very obvious question for those who follow the news about Iran is that, if the Islamic Republic is such a cruel entity and if Iranian hate it so much, why do they not revolt against this oppressive system. The answer, or one of the answers, is that the regime has done a very cruel job so fantastically well. The sad fact is, there is no reputable alternative either in Iran or in diaspora. That is partly because after the Islamists took over the revolution, about thirty years ago, they deliberately annihilated the roots of any opposition. That you might call a very deliberate move from an entity which knows sooner or later it will be faced with the same people who established it. Of course by that I do not mean to underestimate the anti-IR flares which are not rare in Iran at all. People obviously have many reasons to hate the Islamic Republic and to want to overthrow it. However, without the presence of any unifying decent opposition force, these actions all fail. A clear example of this happened in the student clashes on July 1999. Then, the Supreme Leader was openly cursed in the streets of Tehran. Unfortunately, a harsh reaction from the regime was enough to take back the scene in less than a week.

A more recent example of lack of political insight can be clearly seen in the recent series of protests in Mazandaran. On the surface, the students are demanding very decent requests (background). The blog which covers the events has been attracting thousands of viewers every day, a record for a blog which has been established about a week ago. Even Gateway Pundit seems to be amazed by their coverage. That, unfortunately, is not the whole story.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the arguments of Ahmadinejadists for his popularity is the hundreds of thousands of letters people give him in his provincial trips (background). These letters are mainly about people’s personal problem with a bank they have taken a loan from or with an employer who has fired their son. While the fact that people have to resort to complaining to the President shows how much functional the administration’s connection to the people is, Labirent recently shed more light on what happened to the letters in one trip.

After Ahmadinejad received couple of bags of letters in his trip to Bouyer Ahmad Province, one of the most poverty-striken areas in Iran, the writer of each letter was sent the equivalent of $50. Knowing that this happens in places where families live on $100 for a month, it is obvious how many more letters he will get in his next trip. The conduct of the event was as shown in the pictures; the names of writers were listed in papers, the number of which Azadeh and I estimated to be a hundred. If each sheet contains 20 names, that would be 2,000 names, making a $100,000-show for Ahmadinejad. Given how much Ahmadinejad will benefit from the propaganda, this was amongst the cheapest populist moves of his administration. All pictures are from Labirent.

This is a Police announcement Bahman has found in Tehran. It carries the logo of the Islamic Republic Police. Here is the English translation of the text on the banner,

The Police Force of Tehran

According to the order of the Public Places’ Supervision [not the exact translation of the name, it is a part of the Police which watches over the public conduct in public places], the followings must be practiced in public places (traditional coffee shops and restaurants)

1- People below 18 are forbidden from entering in any circumstances.

2- Irrelevant indulgence and being impolite is forbidden.

3- Smoking is forbidden.

4- Addicted individuals are forbidden from entering in any circumstances.

5- Speaking aloud is forbidden.

6- Carrying cold weapons (knives and others) is forbidden in any circumstances.

7- Motorcycles and cars are forbidden from making a honk and parking in inappropriate places.

8- Families [meaning women and children] are forbidden from entering.

Police is Always at Your Service

Update I: Many readers have expressed doubt about the origin of this picture. Understandably, this is too silly for many. To make sure, I sent an email to Bahman. This is his reply “that picture is real. I took it off Revolution Sq. on the western side of Worker St.”. Bahman has written the same point in his blog, in Persian. This is the exact position Bahman is referring to. Not to mention that he is a very reputable blogger (interview).

Today was the National Army Day in Iran. In many cities, army units marched in front of the administration figures, that would be Ahmadinejad in Tehran. Predictably, the Islamic Republic tried to link this national day to its ambitions. The banner in the picture below reads “peaceful nuclear energy is a fundamental necessity of the country”. The relationship between “peaceful” nuclear energy, a big rocket, and Khomeini’s portrait is something only the Islamic Republic is able to establish. More pictures of the event here, here, and here.

Fars delightedly reports that the British sailors left Iran without their equipment. “riffles, ammunition, GPS devices, and their two boats are not handed over to the UK”, Fars writes.

Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, one of the topmost Shia clerics in Iran, gave his analysis of the Virginia Tech massacre (FARS).

The incident in Virginia Tech is a sign of deviation from faith in God, logic, and human emotions. There is a lesson in this event for everyone in the world. …the shooting proves how much insecure the materialist world is….If this had happened to one person in one of our universities, the Westerners would make a fuss out of it. The experts, who are on their payroll, would give analysis which the enemy likes and they would wrongfully claim that the person has been killed because of lack of freedom, poverty, tuitions, and other reasons. Now that this happens in their country, nothing is done and after a few days everything will be forgotten. If it had happened here, it would be talked about for months. This is their world! This must be enough for everyone to know whom they are dealing with. We are in an insecure world where we deal with unjust and illogical people. Muslims must be unified to be able to pursue their rights and stop others from oppressing them.

Three days ago, students in a small University in the northern province of Mazandaran started a protest against the oppressive policies of the Islamic Republic. While student protests are nothing new in Iran, this time there is something indeed new. In three days, students have started a blog and have managed to fill it with pictures and statements. There is also footage from the kidnapping of one of the students by the Police in the blog. There is even more to that. In fact, one of the pictures taken in the protest shows a banner which invites people to follow the events through the blog. I have no idea what this people are asking for, but the fact that freedom of speech has went one, rather big, step forward is thrilling.

“Follow the news through this blog: http://eteraz-e-daneshjoo.blogfa.com/”

Following the UFO-sighting two days ago, today, the air defense system at Isfahan UCF center became active for fifteen minutes. The official sources say that it has only been a drill to “measure the preparedness of the site”. Formerly, some city officials had connected the incident to a Basij rescue and metropolitan-war maneuver. The officials also denounced any relationship between the shooting and any UFO-sighting in the region. “The site had undergone maintenance and the drill was geared towards finding out its preparedness”, the officials said to Fars. The official statement finishes with “in recent years, the drill had been carried out every three months. Recently, due to the tense military situation of the region, that period has been cut shorter”.