Kamangir (Archer)

State-Run Newspaper Mocks Ahmadinejad

Kamangir | April 12, 2007 | Category Iran

Jam-e Jam is the newspaper published by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), head of which is assigned by the Supreme Leader. The newspaper also holds the highest publication rate in the country. Today, in an appendix to the newspaper, a serious article which discussed the relativity theory was decorated with a picture of Einstein writing on a blackboard. The problem is, the text on the blackboard is not a set of bizarre mathematical equations, as we might expect it to be. Using Pinglish, wiring Persian with English alphabet, “Einstein” writes,

I made the worse mistake ever to discover atom and stuff!! Hey! Mahmoud! for God’s sake forget it!

Source: Pro-Ahmadinejad website RajaNews.

The Friend You Don’t Like and the Enemy You Hate, On My Criticism of Fakhr-Avar and Hoder

Kamangir | April 12, 2007 | Category Iran

Let’s be frank, it is an Iranian custom to criticize people. Even there is a term for it in the Iranian diaspora: “to be an LA-Iranian”. I guess that’s because there are many Iranians in Los Angeles, half of whom hate the other half.

I have criticized at least two Iranians in this blog, Hossein Derakhshan (Hoder) and Amir-Abbas Fakh-Avar. I should say that if I want to draw a line, which separates Ahmadinejad from myself, both of them are in my side of the line. I may not like their approach, but, any way, they are doing what they find to be the right thing and none of them, to my knowledge, has committed any crime. So, this is an apology.

p.s. Yes, for your information, I did receive an angry phone call.

War of Words (Updated)

Kamangir | April 11, 2007 | Category Iran

Jalal Sharafi, the Iranian diplomat who was set free “coincidentally” exactly right after the Islamic Republic freed the British sailors, attended a news conference today and discussed what he has gone through in the 57 days he was kept captive by an unknown group in Iraq. He claimed to have been interrogated by an English-speaking person who had claimed to have connections to the US Embassy. His extensive list of torture included drilling his feet and a fake execution. The conference was held in the Foreign Ministry and was followed by photographers taking pictures of his wounds, while he was sitting on a wheelchair for the whole event. More pictures here. Mehr had reported yesterday that the Red Cross representative in Iran has also visited him and has examined his wounds. Since the begining of this story many Iranians have been asking why he did not look sick at all when he first came to Iran. In fact, he left Tehran four days ago to go to his hometown, Kermanshah (ISNA). His return to Tehran and his hospitalization and then the statement by his doctors that he needs to be looked after for many years are the mysteries of this dilemma. A commenter in Balatarin writes “the government does not even have access to good filmmakers”.

In another news, the Armed Forces announced that a documentary is to be published regarding the arrest of the British sailors. In the meantime, in the UK, Faye Turney is talking to the press about her fear of rape and also a bashing conversation with Ahmadinejad (also see this). At least, no one dies when they shoot words.

Viva Yellow-Blogging, Or Democracy Takes Off

Kamangir | April 10, 2007 | Category Iran

When Balatarin, the Iranian Digg, was established about nine months ago, many Iranians, including me, thought of it as a good opportunity to boost the Iranian blogosphere. In fact, it did a great job in helping Iranians from around the globe know each other and interact, peacefully for the most part. The outcome of this movement is not exactly as I dreamed it would be.

The important aspect of Balatarin is the fact that it is a democracy. Every user can post links which then would be voted for by every other user. Creating an account in Balatarin is also very simple, for everyone who has an email address and can read the Persian instructions. So, Balatarin knocked the old and grumpy Sobhaneh out and took off. Its take-off however, proved how much wrong many people have been.

As a man I am not supposed to pay any attention to the yellow magazines, all of which are deliberately put close to the cashiers. Frankly, I do watch all the cover pages. I have always thought who takes this stuff seriously. These days, when I open Balatarin, it is for the most part a combination of horrendously ordinary blog posts and nationalistic-emotional material. I remember once I thought looking at Balatarin is like you are standing in a street in Tehran asking the first guy about his idea on the best economical decision for the country. Then, I realized that this is essentially what democracy is; the fact that every person can have a say and the fact that sometimes everything is seriously shallow.

Nuclear Madness

Kamangir | April 9, 2007 | Category Iran

As anticipated, the Islamic Republic is partying for what they call “becoming an industrial producer of nuclear fuel“. As always, “people” celebrated the event by setting flags in fire and pointing fists at the sky. The first set of pictures shows the celebrations in front of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). As always, the state-run agencies tried to find less-modest girls in the crowd to make the show look like a national carnival. More pictures here.

The IR Goes Tough on Social Freedom

Kamangir | April 9, 2007 | Category Iran

During the pre-election campaigns, Ahmadinejad kept insisting, with a very kind voice, that the rumors that he would limit social freedom is a myth. In a famous TV interview he asked if the country’s problems were just a few girls’ hairs. Today, Tehran Police Chief said “our society is a value-based society and breaking these values is against the norm (Fars). Thus, the people will not stand breaking the values and Police, as the body responsible for the values of the society, would intervene.” Examples of such violations were mentioned by him as “short pants, short scarves, short and tight manteaus, and transparent cloths”. Regarding the practical way of dealing with “immodesty” he listed three levels: “if the violation could be resolved in the street, the violator would be guided and after the appearance is corrected the person would be let go. If the appearance can not be corrected in the street, they will be arrested and transferred to Police centers, where the families will also get involved. In case of resistance, the Judiciary will step in.”

In another news (Entekhab), the Police also announced that people will be asked for their Military Service Cards. According to the law, every male citizen must serve for two years in the army. After that, a card will be issued. Only at the time of war the Police would ask people for their cards. During the war with Iraq, failure to producing that card would result in being arrested and even transferred to the front.

Thanks to Smileme for the hint.

A Nuclear Surprise Might be on the Way (Updated II)

Kamangir | April 8, 2007 | Category Iran

Evidence presented last year to “prove” that the Islamic Republic had successfully enriched Uranium in experimental scales. The text on the rods, which are now kept in Imam Reza Shrine Museum, reads “UF6 3.5 enriched”. Read the whole story here.

Following the early announcements that the Iranian administration will soon have good news to say about its nuclear program, three days ago, Bahonar, a high-ranking pro-Ahmadinejad MP, said “in three month we will successfully carry out the whole enrichment process”. In a related news, Fars reports that Ahmadinejad will open the celebrations for the national day of nuclear technology in Natanz nuclear facilities. Last year these days, the Islamic Republic suddenly announced that they have completed the experimental enrichment procedure. The proof was a suitcase and the two rods shown in the above. Some reports suggest that the Islamic Republic may announce a temporary suspension of its nuclear activities, after a joyful announcement of the like Bahonar is speaking of. For more details on last year’s events see here.

Update I: Unofficial reports suggest that Ahmadinejad will announce the installation of 3,000 centrifuges in Natanz. The number of centrifuges installed currently is 350.

Update II: For the celebration of the nuclear day, students will encircle some nuclear sites (IRIB).

The War Which did not Happen

Kamangir | April 6, 2007 | Category Iran

The rumors that the US might be preparing for an attack on Iran, in Good Friday, were taken by the administration quite seriously. As Baztab reports, the air defense system which protects Bushehr Nuclear Plant woke up the locals at 4am, when they started shooting for twenty minutes. Apparently, some locals spotted a red object in the sky. Given that the source of the rumors were Russians, the obvious question is why did they do that? Maybe making the Islamic Republic a bit worried so that they would take it easier on the struggle with the UK? Any way, this time nothing happened.

Iran Minus Ahmadinejad

Kamangir | April 5, 2007 | Category Iran

Aside from Ahmadinejad, the Iranians are living their lives. That includes the second International Robocup of Iran which started today (IRNA). The participants of the two-day event are 361 teams, 17 of which are from other countries. More pictures here and here.

The Story Begins: Iranians Blame Ahmadinejad

Kamangir | April 5, 2007 | Category Iran

“It’s enough Mahmoud!”, By Nikahang Kowsar, Rooz.

The story of the British sailors ended happily, after they left Iran with backpacks full of presents from Ahmadinejad and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Sepah), the same body who had arrested them. The fact is, the story has just begun for Ahmadinejad.

The conduct of the incident by the Islamic Republic was so bizarre that it almost overshadowed many important events, including the arrest of two activist women, who were subsequently transferred to the infamous Evin Prison. Especially, Ahmadinejad’s reference to “Islamic compassion” as one of the reasons for the release of the Britons was considered rather embarrassing by many bloggers.

Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh were arrested a few days ago on accounts related to fighting for women’s rights.

Haji Kensington asks why the compassion did not apply to the detained activists. Jomhour finds Ahmadinejad’s remark embarrassing when he responded to the question whether the sailors were traded for an Iranian diplomat (who was released yesterday) by saying “if we were to trade, we should have traded them for a hundred thousand people”. Maryam asks what the final outcome of all this has been for Iran. She uses the title “Fifteen-one for the UK”. Mahjad feels pity for the people who protested in front of the British Embassy, asking for a harsh fate for the sailors. He writes “this proved that we do not bow to what we do not like unless it is too strong”. To him, it was all “a silly soap opera“. Yaghi goes further and asks if this has not been a British plot to boost Blair’s popularity. Omid asks where on earth the highest administration figure shows up to say goodbye to a few detainees. Behrang compares this with the hostage-taking of the Americans about thirty years ago. He asks why what formerly was called “lack of dignity” is now addressed as “Islamic compassion”. Malakut finds Ahmadinejad’s comments silly, especially when he asked the British Government to not to prosecute the sailors for “admitting the truth”. Keyvan thinks what has happened is solely Ahmadinejad finding the chance to show up in front of cameras and journalists. Elnaz writes “when Ahmadinejad complained that a British mother has been sent to the front, the camera rolled on a female journalist’s face and she was smiling sarcastically”.

Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh with handcuffs on the way to prison (Farnaaz).

The conclusion is, the arrest of the British sailors brought about many results. Inside Iran, for many, the obvious outcome was feeling ashamed because of having such a president.

A Cheesy End (Updated IX)

Kamangir | April 4, 2007 | Category Iran

Please scroll down, more updates below.

So, at the middle of his news conference, Ahmadinejad ordered the sailors to be freed and granted Bravery Medals to those who arrested them. He said, “The fifteen soldiers will go to the airport, after this news conference, to go where their families are” [exact translation]. More pictures here. Apparently, when the detainees heard the news, which was translated for them on–line, they “shouted in happiness“. “Faye Turney burst into tears”, Fars adds.

Update: They were not still happy with the propaganda. So, after his news conference, Ahmadinejad met with the soldiers and they “again apologized”. The event was shown live on the national television (IRIB).

Update II: They are free.

IR: No Evidence the Missing American Came to Iran

Kamangir | April 3, 2007 | Category Iran

According to IRNA, a local authority in Kish Island said “there is no reliable evidence that the American national [who is reported missing in Iran since two weeks ago] has entered the island”. He also called the statements made by American media and administration to have no value. He asked the Americans to publish more information about him “to help the authorities research into this”.

Happy Ending for a Crisis

Kamangir | April 3, 2007 | Category Iran

Fars has published pictures of the British sailors. Apparently, the Islamic Republic have decided to let the female sailor show up without the veil. This is what I call a happy ending.

Ahmadinejad: Nuclear News To be Announced

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

According to IRNA, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated “the Iranian people will soon hear some news regarding the Iranian nuclear development “. While I think what he intended to say was that “the world will hear” the “news”, I guess they have a very good reason to prolong the sailors’ crisis. Thanks to a pro-IR friend who poined this out.

Blogging, Marriage, and Democratic Dictatorship (Updated)

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

This post is written a few weeks ago when I first knew about the idea of applying moderation in Balatarin.

A few nights ago, I went to my mother in law’s place, just to be whipped by her and by my angry wife, Azadeh, both of whom are members of the Iranian community, Balatarin.

Earlier that day, I had shown the email Mehdi, one of Balatarin’s owners, had sent to me and a to few other users. There, he had talked about the need for having some level of moderation in Balatarin, “to make sure the links abide the laws and also to prevent abusive users”. I had agreed with him. As the number of users of Balatarin are increasing, so is the number of users who think it is funny, and genius, to vote for a link with multiple usernames which read like ali1, ali2, ali3, ali4, ali5, etc. Also, we have started to see links to pornography and anti-Islam offensive content posted in Balatarin. So, it was very easy to understand; we did need moderation.

After I pushed the buzz, Azadeh came to the door. I could sniff trouble. Even the cat was looking at me angrily. I went to the kitchen and sat down. That was when I was bombarded by sentences like “hello, Mr. Supreme Leader”. “Guess who was talking about democracy a while ago”. As much as I remember, I was under heavy artillery fire for over an hour.

Right now, at the middle of over thirty activist women having been arrested, and Iran being on the brink of a war, the three most clicked-on links in Balatarin are as follows; a creatively sexist ad for a lotion, a part of a Shah-era movie shot in a women’s public bathroom, and an X-ray of a kiss (shown in the above). In fact, there is only one “intellectually decent” link in the list of the ten most popular links in Balatarin. I guess this proves, as if anyone had any doubt, that the Persian blogsphere is interested in what the rest of the world is interested in, you might say a bit excessively though. This discussion probably shows that a link-list which targets the Blogestan, and, to some people’s understanding, is in fact nothing but an archive of what Iranians find interesting, should be as Balatarin is slowly turning into. Or, should it?

Everyone has the right to be interested in anything they want and to write about them in their blogs. That’s probably why Google returns over a hundred million entries when you search for “one plus one is three“. That, however, does not mean that the Internet, in a general meaning, is a lousy place. Having said that, I never begin my day by searching “Iran” in Google. So, to my understanding, Balatarin is not just a smaller sample of the Internet. This is also emphasized in the “add new link” page in Balatarin. For example, Balatarin policy states that “your description should be related to the link you are posting. If you have any personal idea about the link you can always write about it in your blog and then post the regarding link”. Also, copying content from other sources and using offensive language are banned. Having said all this, I think the ladies pointed out a very serious threat, that Balatarin may become close to what Sobhaneh has turned into.

I was talking to Alee, another to-be moderator of Balatarin, a short while ago. He told me that on top of everything else, Balatarin had helped him “know more people”. I thought he meant in a general way, but he continued, “before, I knew people who were around me and were in fact very much like me”. I agree with him. Balatarin users come from very different backgrounds, and I think that’s one of the factors that makes Balatarin strong. I guess there are many teenager users in Balatarin, whose interests are completely different from mine, an almost thirty-year-old man who is losing his hair.

I made peace that night with the ladies, not through strong reasoning or begging. We kind of reached the point that we all knew what the worries were. I think we need the same thing in Balatarin. After all, any of the moderators will lose their “position” if they start acting like a Khameneii.

Update: A respected commenter seems to have got the wrong message from my sentence “we have started to see links to pornography and anti-Islam offensive content posted in Balatarin”. First, the point is that from the thousands of links ever posted in Balatarin, only a couple of them have been found to be offensive/pornographic and thus have been removed. As much as I remember, there was only one irrelevantly offensive anti-Islam link. Maybe it helps to remind you that Balatarin is known to be a liberal website to many people. Sometimes, blogging is harder than writing a scientific paper! (Thanks to Mehdi for the reminder)

A Truckload of Lies

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

This picture was seen by many around the world. Apparently, it shows Basij members bringing a truck full of bricks and stones to help them attack the embassy more efficiently. Rajanews, a website close to the attackers, gives a “convincing” story about the truck,

While the students were attacking the embassy, a truck full of bricks, stones, and soil passed by. The students used the load of the truck to throw at the embassy.

While it is obvious that with the Police presence around the embassy (see) it is not imaginable how that truck might have reached there, at the exact time it had been needed, Azadeh and I are almost sure that, according to the law, no truck is allowed to travel inside Tehran in daylight. The conclusion is, guys brought their weapons themselves.

Job: Protesting in the Streets

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

Last August, while going through pictures of Lebanon-related protests in Tehran, I had the chance to regularly meet a very nice lady whose job seems to include chanting death-to in the streets. Today, in the protest in front of the British Embassy, the same lady showed up. I just wanted to pay tribute to her and thank her for ruining the country 1/70,000,000 of which is supposedly mine.

August 2006, in two different protests.

Today

Basij: Deport the British Ambassador (Updated)

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

Basij members and people from other “student” organizations attacked the British Embassy today, asking for the deportation of the British Ambassador, as well as treating British captives as “foreign military invaders”. These are pictures of the event. More pictures here: link, link, , link, link, link, link.

“Deport the British Ambassador”

The Sad Story of Iranian Fake Activists

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

Important Notice: Please read this note before reading this post.

For the background on the self-assigned Iranian activists see this. One of these fake activists is Amir-Abbas Fakhr-Avar. A while ago, the political detainee Ahmad Batebi published a letter in his website regarding clamis made by Fakh-Avar. This is the English translation of that letter.

Correction on and Description about the Claims Made by Amir-Abbas Fakhr-Avar

Recently, Mr Amir-Abbas Fakhr-Avar, who has recently left Iran, has called himself one of the leaders of the Iranian students’ movement in the media. He has also claimed to have a especial political relationship with me and other political activists and others who fight for democracy and human rights. To clarify these matters, I should mention a few points.

During my political activities and the years I have spent in prison I have had political and also friendly relationship with many prisoners and political activists. These people have been members of many different political groups. Mr Amir-Abbas Fakhr-Avar is one of these many people. The claims that he has had especial political relationship with me and that my political views are in line with him are false and unrealistic. My relationship with him has been solely humanistic and nothing else.

Nevertheless, I think it is necessary to friendly remind him of an important point. Attaining social-political reputation is a known and timely process. Only those people can claim to have social influence and effectiveness in a society’s efforts towards wellbeing that first have a known and clear theoretical framework and second have a distinct social position. Trying to blow like a balloon and benefit from political doping through making false statements and manufacturing exaggerated background for yourself by claiming to have been the leader of the students’ movement might produce benefit in short term but the thorough look of the social-political bodies and citizens will carry out the correct, and cruel, judgment. After all, the unjustifiable efforts of those who try to obtain personal benefit from the honest tries of the social activists would not remain hidden in the eyes of the people.

Ahmad Batebi

July 2006

The End of Blogging about Iran (Updated)

Kamangir | April 1, 2007 | Category Iran

Couple of months ago, I would browse into Persian news sources and I would find interesting news to talk about in my blog. A month ago, I would look at Pajamas Media for the news. These days, I just turn on the TV and watch the rather pacifist CBC. Unfortunately, I might say devilishly, no one needs me anymore; a few hours after Fars published pictures of the Basij members chanting against the UK, CNN picked the news. I know this might seem a bit pathetic, but how would you feel if when you started talking about your last night’s romantic dinner, everybody knew everything? What if they even corrected your mistakes? For some reason, the world is looking straight into the Islamic Republic’s most private areas. I am not sure what that means, if anything other than sniffing big trouble.

Here is a short account of what was NOT covered in the news, or cautiously speaking, what I did not find in the news.

Ahmadinejad flew to Khuzestan, the scene of the eight-year war with Iraq “to visit the [former] front“. His visit was greeted by two F-5 planes doing a short airshow. Then, he watched a night-drill by the army. In another news, tomorrow, couple of students’ organizations will protest in front of the British Embassy. The list of the organizations published by Rajanews, a pro-Ahmadinejad website, contains the name of an anti-Ahmadinejad pro-reform group, namely Tahkim-e Vahdat.

Update: Sorry! Bad vocabulary.