Dec. 9 2005 

Here is my Op-ED in the San Francisco Chronicle  today. This is my first piece in American papers. I hope to have more chance to make more stories and comments.

Here is the first two paragraph of this Op-Ed:

"The Bush administration claims it is promoting democracy and human right across the Middle East. But for those of us in Iran who are fighting for these basic freedoms, the White House's policy is doing more harm than good.

When President Bush labeled Iran as part of "the axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union Address, his comment caused shock as well as outrage in Iran. Understandably, we found it insulting for our country of nearly 70 million people to be considered evil en masse..."

 Dec.

7 2005,

Is sanction against Iran one of the causes of the last plan crash in Tehran Tuesday? Some of the Iranians bloggers have mentioned that US is responsible for the plane crash in Tehran and some of the others believe that’s the Tehran officials who don’t care about the health of the people in different ways. Like always BBC tries to have a mediator role, but to say, that’s the Americans are at fault, softly.

I think both are true. There is no doubt about that Iranian government does not care about the health of the citizen. Tehran has been for two days off because of the air pollution. Is it the American sanction effects? Many people die during the year time because of the air pollution. Iran has the most died number of the road accidents in the world as the statistics indicate. Are Americans involved in that?

So, mismanagement and bad governance which is all over the country affected the people widely.

At the same time, we can consider the role of the sanctions in our country. The Americans have established the sanctions to limit the Islamic government political and economical maneuver. But what is the result? They have just caused decreasing the safety of the aviator systems and ultimately affect the ordinary people. Recently the Islamic regime has bought a luxury plane for the officials. So they will never hurt by useless sanctions since they have billions of dollars oil money

My friends, we can blame the Americans because of the stupid kind of sanctions, but don’t forget to blame the government who don’t care about the health of the people. Just don’t forget that the number pf people who died at the Bam earthquake in 2003, more than 26000, were more than all the killings between Israel and Palestinians since 1967. What does it mean?

Dec 6, 2005

Many of journalists, reporters, photojournalists, TV journalists died in a plane crash today. I am sad, so sad. The most unbelievable day since I remember. I knew some of them. Mohammad sadegh Nili was one of them. I just talked with him at the end of March at a press conference in Tehran. For more than two hours. I am so sad, he will not come back home tonight. He was just 26 years old. The C-130 was under the American sanction. It was old and worn out. One of my friends called me from Tehran. “How politics is dirty sometimes”, he said. I am so sad, while my friends are sorrow-stricken, i can not share my condolence with them..., with Nili's family and the others. Ah......

Iran plane crash kills 115 Washington Times
All 94 people on crashed Iran plane feared dead Reuters
Plane hits tower block and leaves 116 dead, Telegraph, UK

Nov 10, 2005
Little by little pressure on the Media by the new government is increasing. However most of the independent papers and magazine have been closed or try not to make sensitive the new government. The media atmosphere now is on the stand-by position. Journalists and social activists are waiting for the new gesture of the intelligence service about print media. But there is not any optimistic perspective. Some of the journalists have changed the sections they used to cover. Some of them have changed their job and now they prefer to wait for the future. The future that seems now is becoming more unpredictable.

November 6, 2005
here is a funny clip about EU3 talk with Iran about the Nuclear energy. Really funny

November, 1, 2005

Just eight years ago the president of Iran talked about “Dialogue among civilization” and the year 2001 named as this title by UN. Now, the new president talks about wiping off the Israel from the map. That’s one of the signs makes the Iranian society complicated. All are covered by the western media is just about burning the flag of USA in the streets during the Friday prayer ceremony and many of the people are shocked about the new changes in Iran. They all have many questions which is basically is “Does Iran turn to a fundamentalist society/”?

I am not sure about that. All changes in Iran during the last years shows an active and dynamic society which strongly tend to a democratic society than any other forms. But, at the same time the picture that is shown by the governmental propaganda machine do not reflect the whole picture of society. Now, many of the people are surprised by what he has said and many of them consider the amateur way of his governing as a president of the Islamic republic. It seems the new presidents can not separate the domestic slogans which are just for a tiny group of his supporters and the international community interests. “He must be the president of the people under 18 years old. What he says is just for the students in this age.” Says Ebrahim Nabavi an Iranian famous writer.

However, what is Israel are doing in Palestine is kind of embarrassing and I think somebody must stop them. But the way is not that mentioned by the president. The new president is destroying what Khatami achieved in international community during the last year.

After hostage crisis at the beginning of the revolution, what he said is a kind of most awful things which has ever said by any Iranian officials. It could be like an attack order and would create huge problem for the country.

Sep 17, 2005
President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad, talked at the general Assembly about the Iranians rights for achieving the nuclear Energy today. He had an Interview with Christian Amanpour who originally an Iranian. She was one of the reporters who believed that Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani capture the presidency desk. So she had a exclusive interview with him a few days before the last presidential election on July. “Iran peruses achieving the nuclear fuel circle” Says Mr. Ahmadinejad at his interview with Ms. Amanpour.

What Ahmadinejad has said has not a new point that the past. He has charged the Americans by the Nuclear Apartheid. Amanpour believes that the Iranian president talk includes a kind of aggressive points and that’s just a confrontation statement. Is it?
Listen to a part of the interview here-CNN
Iranian rails against US over nuclear weapons- Telegraph, UK
Iran's Nuclear Defense-TIME
UK attacks Iran nuclear stance-BBC News

Ahmadinejad, a radical Islamist won the presidential race. At first nobody believed. But it’s true. The Former mayor of Tehran won the battle between the legacy and poverty. Many people believed that if Hashemi Rafsanjani comes to the second round will loose the votes. Hashemi never could clear his background that is mixed by many stories about his legendary legacy. There were many stories about his family, corruption, serial killing, supporting the investors instead of poor people and some other issues which were engraved the voters’ mind.

Hashemi hurt by all that came from the past. But Ahmadinejad which used a populist campaign talked about many things such as better life, more jobs, and equality. He used many mottos that were popular at the beginning of the revolution. Mottoes which could mobilize the poor and marginalized people collapse the Pahlavi regime.

In practice many of these mottoes are unusable. For example giving the money of rich people to poor people as one of the mottoes is practically ridiculous. A foreign journalist asked me about the policies that they can do it. “There is no policy for the mottoes that they talk about it during the election period.” I said. Actually they don’t have ant commitment about what they say. Like the other periods, they only try to gather more votes by any ways. As they have talked about the social justice before and now, you can see how the gap between poor and rich class has increased a lot simply. Or the other mottos that they have insisted on at the beginning of the revolution. One of them is to export the revolution to the world. It was as a strategy for the revolutionary government after revolution for more than ten years. They spend much money on this thought but every one who has visited Tehran nowadays can tell you who we are importing everything, from culture to westerns goods.

So, why the Mayor captured the election? First I think that many people hate any religious aristocracy figure which was represented by Hashemi for many years. Hashemi has been in the power for many years and I he could do anything seriously, he would do it. When he failed at the Parliamentary election 6 years ago, he went to the supreme council and it was the highest council in the Islamic revolution. So nothing happened for the normal people. They always hear his name and nothing change in their life. So, when somebody comes and say he is going to change their life they trust him. Especially poor class which has a weak historical memory. They even don’t remember the revolution and all mottoes that they have heard before.

I think it is something for soothing. The mayor shows his home at his clip and it is actually so simple and that’s a reason for many people to feel so close to him. And also the mayor is not a cleric. Many people think that all of their afflictions are because of some clerics who can not govern the society well. Beside, many people think that Hashemi is the symbol of Islamic regime so many of them didn’t vote to him. I have heard that many middle class has voted to Ahmadinejad to increase his chance to win. They think that a one handed regime go forward collapse better. As they mention, Khatami postponed the period of collapse. “They can not govern the society. If everything is under their control they will make man mistakes and so they loose their power completely.” They say. However, I don’t believe at this idea. I don’t know how we can loose all our achievement and wait for any changes. Sitting and looking that something is happening is an Iranian style for changes traditionally.

In all, Poor people were outrider at the last Iranian style election. They showed a real populist society that the impact of intellectuals on them is not huge. They can change the direction of any social movement to another ways so there many messages for the intellectuals, academics, and journalist and source groups in all, for the Future. They have shown their power again. Poor movement can destroy the democratic achievements that we had. Poor movement has no consideration about the democracy and the related issues and there are many things to learn about what happened just 3 days ago

There are many points that I am going to talk about it. But perhaps for the next comment

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Small Media will move the people; SMS, face to face talks, calling the relatives.

Twelve thousands of people attended at the Dr.Moin campaign yesterday. “It is the most popular campaign that I have ever seen in Iran during the last days.” a reporter from Italy said. Many of reformists were there too. I saw Scott Peterson the Christian Science Monitor’s staff journalist who was talking with youth. I talked with some of the other journalists. They were surprised by the passion of people, youth and old.

Here it’s a risk for most of the candidates to invite people at a sports ground. They can not mobilize more than a few hundreds. I was wondering by the presence of the huge number of people.

Moin and his fans today came to more than 20 squares of Tehran and tried to persuade people to vote for Dr.Moin face to face. Many of journalist, academics and intellectuals support Moin. Two days ago the state TV showed the Moin’s clip. It was so effective. In this film he asked some question of people. “Even the supreme leader must act by considering the constitutional law.” Reza Khatami one of the Moin strongest supporters said. . It’s so radical in the Iranian context to criticize leader directly or indirectly.

The day before yesterday Christian Amanpour interview with Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani. Most of the foreign journalists believe that he will win the poll. I think the gap between Dr.Moin and Hashemi is extremely lower than the gap between these two candidates and the conservatives candidates such as Ghalibal. Christian Amanpour in some of interview reflects her interests but not the reality. She is so famous but I wonder how she ignore a part of reality and show a picture that she like it. Perhaps, It is because of her nostalgia about Iran.

Anyway, I think people must come to vote. There is no way. This is our piece from democracy. Consider that the result of election has a direct effect on our life. For us, it will appear very soon. But for the others will appear too.

So please go for voting. I am going to ask the Iranian out of Iran to call their family in the country and persuade them to vote. The face to face and phone to phone media can be strong during the last hours to starting the tight race of election. Small Media such ad SMS, face to face dialogue, and also calling the relatives and friends to vote are the ways that can move people for vote. We are so close to keep the society and our life away from the fundamentalist which are representative of only 15 % of the citizens. W.e have to choose as soon as possible; to be a responsible citizen about our destiny or a irresponsible one who is apathy.

Monday, June 13, 2005
The formal surveys show that Hashemi Rafsanjani is the first chance for th Friday presidency race with 28%. The second is Ghalibaf with 18% and the third is Dr.Moin with 14%. However, most of the time, because of many factors these kind of surveys don’t work. I think in  big cities the chance of Hashemi is not too much. However in provinces many people don’t know Dr.Moin and Ghalibaf. At this time, a miracle can change the numbers and percentages and honestly, I don’t fell about appearing any miracle.
For the reformists, the gap between Hashemi and Dr. Moin is smaller that the gap between these two candidates with Ghalibaf of the other conservative candidates. Many of journalists and intellectuals tried to mention the danger of one handed government by conservatives. They mentioned that as Dr.Moin can not win the election, it is better not to look at the political play black and white. “Hashemi is more tolerated than all the other conservatives and so we have more sphere for breathing during his period.” They believe.
Two days before election, nobody can anticipate how many people vote and to whom. Because sometimes in Iran, at the 90 minute some astonish able events happen.
 
Sean Penn warms to journalist role in Iran
"If the number of candidates is a proof of democracy, we are ... better than the Americans in this regard," newspapers quoted Rafsanjani as telling Penn.
 
US swings behind UN's ElBaradei, takes aim at Iran Reuters