OPEN LETTER

............

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc_7ZJdv1o0

One day I'll hear
the laugh of children
in a world where war has been banned

One day I'll see
men of all colors
sharing worlds of love and devotion.

Stand up and feel
the .........,
find the power of your faith.

Open your heart
to those who need you
in the name of love and devotion.

Yes I believe

I believe in the people
of all nations
to join and care
for love.

I believe in a world
where light will guide us,
and giving our love
we'll make heaven on earth.

Mehdi stand behind what you say

and don't run away from reality.

Ebadi is being paid directly by Israel? Show proof before you assasinate such a character.

When did Ebadi ask any foreign powers to "possibly bomb Iran"? Are you out of your mind? She is even against sanctions. You claim I misrepresent the facts, maybe you can clean up your own act a little bit first before going after others. But as always- find fault in others before bothering to make yourself better. Typical IRR behavior.

and have a thing or two to learn about being.... fair.

If Ebadi accomplished anything inside Iran until now, remember "now" has changed. In case you haven't heard, on June 12 2009, the most hardline elements of the IRR conducted a coup in which they brutally suppressed all opposition, even loyal ones, and accused it all of being plotted by foreign powers, with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. And you are echoing such nonsense here, which itself can be called treason against the Iranian people. So by your own measure, it would be fair to imprison you without trial as well on grounds of treason against the Iranian people.

But such behavior would be allowed only in the most uncivilized of countries, like the IRR. While the USA is far from perfect, you would be much better position to defend yourself in such circumstances.

If you are really worried about Iran being destroyed, before you worry about Israel or any other foreign country doing so, you should focus on your own destructive thought process, which is the thought process prevailing in Iran's government today, and is destroying more Iranians than the US or Israel ever did.

Think about it.

-Fair

Ali's (Karroubi) mother

Ali's (Karroubi) mother claimed that her son was taken from the mosque to a security base, where he received further beatings before he was released. She wrote that one agent told Ali that "his family would receive his corpse" if he was allowed to continue the punishment for another day.

Such a better government than that US..POSSIBLY.  

Also, five more Bahai have been detained for  their roles in being Bahai.  

Are the Baha'is reading?

Un-Fair

Another point that I made. The reason some people think that the only thing they can do is ask foreign powers to intervene and possibly bomb Iran is because of an incredible amount of lies and misrepresentations. That is why i brought up US stats, etc. Because the reports about Iran are super-exagerrated and contains a lot of falsehood, and such reports are taken heavily out of context. If one was honest and put everything in its accurate context, and removed all lies and misrepresentations, one would see that there are millions of better way to improve Iran.

If you think that improvement in Iran is impossible, then you must be saying that Ebadi, as an example, never accomplished anything for as long as she lived in Iran. Of course you are also again misrepresenting facts by saying the regime is torturing everyone in Iran. The individuals who have been jailed, have been jailed due to the recent activity such as rioting and cooperation with foreign forces. Right now, Ebadi could be jailed for treason, and I for one would consider that a fair treatment, as she is being essentially directly paid by Israel and others to destroy Iran. 

Dear God

This kid is putting the spin on himself and he doesn't even realize it.  The very fact that he's freely allowed to speak against the US government is a testament to the delusional state of people who believe the conditions in Iran are better than in the US.  I'd like to know when was the last time that the US charged someone for "fighting against God", only allowed 15 minutes for the lawyer to see him, and executed him before ever having a chance to say goodbye to his parents.  So disgusting.  And look at the treatement nidal hasan is getting after killing 13 soldiers.  

But all this kid can say is, "the conditions in Iran is bad - EVEN though possibly better than US".  

Yeah, whatever you say pal.  And nice backtracking on your US prison population.  2.3 million are incarcerated. The rest ARE NOT IN PRISON.  

Sorry Mehdi

but when you say

Nothing here suggests or implies that Iranians should not do all they
can to improve things in Iran - human rights or whatever. What I AM
disagreeing with is the WAY some people are trying to supposedly do so,
which is a way that will make things, including human rights worse.
What I am saying is that Ebadi WAS helping human rights by setting an
example for people in Iran and showing them that change and
improvements are in fact possible within that system, if anybody is
honestly interested. But now, she is just another stooge of US and
Israel and is happy to get approval from such destructive oppressive
forces. THAT IS A SHAME.

I think by now it is safe to say that change and improvements are in fact NOT possible within that system, as that system is now torturing and imprisoning its own supporters. Let alone human rights activists.

To call Dr. Ebadi a stooge is ludicrous. She is appealing to international human rights organizations, as any human rights advocate should.

If you have a better suggestion for where she should turn to make her case, perhaps you can state it here.

-Fair

don't put a spin on what I said

One more time, this is the stats for US, as some of you seem to be unable to do a simple Google search:

In 2008, over 7.3 million people were under some form of correctional supervision including:

Jail - confinement in a local jail while pending trial, awaiting sentencing, serving a sentence that is usually less than 1 year, or awaiting transfer to other facilities after conviction.

Parole - period of conditional supervised release in the community following a prison term, including prisoners released to parole either by a parole board decision (discretionary parole) or according to provisions of a statute (mandatory parole). These data include adults under the jurisdiction of a parole agency, regardless of supervision status (i.e., active supervision, inactive supervision, financial conditions only, absconder status, or supervised out of state).

The source is: //bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/corr2.cfm

And again, I never said or implied that since things are worse in the US we should not try to improve Iran. What I did say is that it makes no sense for someone to go ask the US and Israel to sanction Iran or possibly attack it because the conditions in Iran is bad - EVEN though possibly better than US. Who is the US/Israel to decide what country respects human rights better?

If human rights are so well respected in the US, then why are so many people in the hands of their justice system?

Some people here seem to claim that it is OK that so many people in the US are jailed because at least they are not jailed as a political prisoner! What hypocracy. So if IRI jailed the same people and called them drug dealers, then that would be OK? Or if Iran's policies lead to people getting jailed for other reasons then that would make it OK? I can't believe you guys.

Look, it is very simple:

1) You cannot judge Iranian society ONLY based on what Americans think  a society should look like.

2) The US and Israel and others have no right to enforce human rights as they themselves are among the worst to violate it.

Nothing here suggests or implies that Iranians should not do all they can to improve things in Iran - human rights or whatever. What I AM disagreeing with is the WAY some people are trying to supposedly do so, which is a way that will make things, including human rights worse. What I am saying is that Ebadi WAS helping human rights by setting an example for people in Iran and showing them that change and improvements are in fact possible within that system, if anybody is honestly interested. But now, she is just another stooge of US and Israel and is happy to get approval from such destructive oppressive forces. THAT IS A SHAME. 

I can do it because America does it

is the common pathetic defense that people like Mehdi and waffen SS major and so many other defenders of fascism say. Well once again I would like to say to them:

THIS IS IRANIAN.COM. IT IS NOT AMERICAN.COM OR PALESTINE.COM OR HEZBOLLAH.COM OR HAMAS.COM.

I am Iranian. I don't care if America does these terrible things, because I have to take care of my house first. Whenever my house is fixed, I might consider joining the (already many) people who are active trying to fix the wrongs of America.

Furthermore, once again, I say to you, if America has all these bad things, it has also made tremendous contributions to humanity that all people of the world benefit from today: telecommunications, the automobile, the airplane, computers, the internet, medicine, biology, science, etc. etc. etc. Can you name ONE JUST ONE contribution that your pathetic Islamic Rapist Republic has made to planet earth, other than the export of  hundreds of thousands of the brightest brains to other countries?

Hint: NO. BECAUSE THEY HAVE NONE.

There is no defense of fascism. PERIOD. UNDER ANY NAME.

Therefore, you are

1) the enemy of Iran

2) the enemy of humanity

And you are doomed. It is just a matter of how many more innocent Iranians you will rape and kill and imprison, and how many more billions you will steal from the poor needy people of Iran before you go back to the sewer you came from. That is the tragedy.  And your are the perpetrators of this tragedy.  Traitors to the Iranian people.

-Fair

Mehdi is not really

Mehdi is not really interested either human rights in Iran or the US. He is only concerned that others should not blame specifically,  the beloved IRI for committing human rights violations.

He is a benficiary of the regime and highly vested in preserving the system that feeds him..

Good posts Amir and Prophet

But some people just don't want to see the truth due to their warped priorities.  Mehdi's priority is to be opposed to the US and West at every cost.  If that means supporting a regime that treats its people like animals, then deception and denial are the tactics.

Re: Getting really tired

There is no way to compare feedoms in the US with those in IRR. In the US:

• We have a bill of rights!
• We don't have a group of unelected running the place.
• I can say whaterver I want without being taken away to jail.
• I can form any political party I want.
• I can publish whatever I want no matter what person it offends.
• I can have any religion or none and switch them at will.
• No one has to wear hijab.
• No one gets stoned because they went out on a date.
• Women are not treated as half a man

Frankly anyone who does not see the difference between US and IRR is in a dream.

Mehdi: numerically challenged

Here is what you said verbatim: "There are over 7,000,000 individuals in prison in the US." The links you provided state the number is 2.3 million. And you accuse me of lying, you lying liar? I already knew that the U.S. has the world's largest prison population, and I disagree with the policy in the U.S. of imprisoning people for non-violent drug offences. And I DO blame the U.S. federal and local governments for this policy. Your use of the Orwellian term "anti-Iran cheerleader" for Iranians who oppose the most violent regime in the country's recent history is an exact echo of the character who calls himself Sargord Pirouz, but whose real name is Mark Pirooz. Either you are plagiarizng that third-rate intellect or you're one and the same person. BTW, Iran is also among the world's top jailers per capita. Moreover, it executes people for a range of non-capital crimes, such as "apostasy, "sodomy", etc. Oh yeah, that happens all the time in the U.S.

But, I always find it very instructive that IRI cyber groupies always express their admiration for the Democratic People's Islamic republic of Iran while they are living in the decadent West. Why is that so? Why not move and settle down in the IRI? Hey, life there is no worse than in the U.S. At least, you will be closer to your "meehan". Okay, "baradar".

How many of the leaders of the Revolution that brought the rapist regime to power lived in foreign countries under the protection of foreign governments or collaborated with foreign political forces: okay, here we go: Emam-e Aziz lived in Iraq and France, where he had the protection of the French government to keep him from harm; Mostafa Chamran and Mohammad Boroujerdi fought With Amal in Lebanon; Ali Akbar Velayati, Ali Shariati, Qotbzadeh, Bani Sadr, Massoumeh Ebtekar, and Ebrahim Yazdi all lived and received a significant portion of their education in the West; both Khatami and Ayatollah Beheshti lived in Germany for some time--just remember that the next time you hear IRI groupies and their Fellow Travelers yammer on about the dastardly "exiles".

Getting really tired

Of these dishonest comparisons between the IRI and US government.  It's almost as if these pro-IRI people are subconsciously striving to meet the standards of the US in every way.  

 For arguments sake, let's say the US arrests protesters, tortures them, arrests their families, closes down newspapers that report it etc etc.  Does that mean that the IRI is justified to act the same way?

Mehdi

You need new batteries. Maybe get rid of the old vacuum tube radio; get a transistor one and move into the modern world :-)

maqshush, mehdi

maqshush, don't hold your breath to get an answer from tahgord.  he's got his phoney survey that he's peddling and his other source of news is iri-sanctioned press tv.  he doesn't answer to criticism of his sources and does not answer to sources provided by others. 

mehdi, you're evading the charges that have been brought against the islamic republic of iran.  you can bring all the statistics of widespread torture and repression in countries like china and russia or even brutality in u.s. prisons between common criminals.  but you're not answering to rape, torture and execution of people who're objecting to the iri regime.  are people in the u.s. being executed on charges of being against god?  are those in charge of prisons in the u.s. systematically sodomizing men and women so that they put fear in the general population as not to protest their government?  do you know why people revolted in 1979?  do you have a conscious?

We are not going to be silenced

VPK, I can't hear you. You are coming across VERY weak. What did you say? :-)

vildemose:

1) Just because I disagree with the concept of asking foreign powers to intervene with Iranian affairs does not mean that I am asking people to do nothing. Labeling someone "passive" is name-calling and is easy to do as "passive" has no clear and exact definition. Even you could be called a passive person because, you could have done more of your violent activities.

2) I never said or implied that if US is worse than IRI, then nobody should do anything about it. My point is that we need to put facts in proper perspective - not just show a one-sided perspective. It is hypocracy for the UN/US/Israel, etc to have some of the worst record for human rights and then claim that Iran has such a bad record. To be just, we must first and foremost be honest - not liars. 

AMIR1973: Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’

For those hypocrits who claim that human rights in Iran is the worst, or even very bad, here is proof to the contrary:

//www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html

//www.nowpublic.com/world/u-s-has-worlds-highest-number-prisoners

//www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1209-01.htm

If Iran had so many prisoners, all anti-Iran cheerleaders would blame it all on the regime.

You think there is torture in Iran? Do a quick Google of rape in US prison and you will find out that Iran is VERY safe.

//bravemantherapy.com/articles/prison.htm

//www.geniebusters.org/915/35b_prison.html

I never said that Iran is perfect and I never suggested that nobody should try to improve our country. I only disagree with resorting to foreign powers, including the UN which is a tool of the oppressive countries more than an organization representing united nations. Please stop misrepresenting Iran - stop lying.   

General Assembly resolution L.37 of 11/09

Referring to the UN resolution on Iran mentioned by S. Ebadi in her article, Sargord Pirouz asks below, "Didn't Israel sponsor that UN Resolution against Iran?" and then answers himself when he claims that Ebadi trumpets "Israel's resolution against Iran."  However, according to 

//talkradionews.com/2009/11/un-resolution-con...

"Resolution L.37 was brought forward by the government of Canada in an
appeal for action by  the 192 member UN body. The resolution was
co-sponsored by 42 other countries ..."  So where does Israel figure in this?

Yes, you are right

I did check it today (took me two hours :)

It was "Inherit the Wind" with Spenser Tracy.....my old age is getting on my way of recalling all the details :)

I've seen this movie 35 years ago for the first time.....Then saw it again long time ago. 
I find it fantastic!

Dear Souri

Thank you for some good advise. I will gladly let it go. 

On a different note, I think the movie you mentioned on the "Love in Koran" blog about priest and lawyer was "Inherit the Wind". It did not have James Stuart in it though. Now you got me interested. Will you please check and see if that is in fact the movie you meant? 

Thanks in advance,

Dear VPK, if I may....

Just a friendly suggestion : Let it go dear.

I've  been there already. first she accuse you of calling her, names, and then she will finish by calling you names! It's a cliché now. She did it to many other people, too. Just let her go.

Niloufar jan

Thank you for clarifying. I think deep inside we are all very proud of this lady:)

Niloufar

I was going to let it go. But now that you brought it up I like to ask a favor. Please point out what name did I call you? I always make sure not to use swear words or insults.

VPK

i would never wish for you to 'remain silent'. that would be a loss. i was just asking that you take it easier with the name-calling and accusations, at least against those who do not do the same with you.

VPK: so true. I'm told

VPK: so true. I'm told that  the Shah supporters and the left wingers at the  time of revolution   opened up Iran for a take over by the fascists Islamists khomeinists

Both sides should admit that they underestimated the sheer blood thirst nature of the Clerics and not repeat their same mistakes as before.

We have suffered enough from both the left and the right. Enough is enough.

We are not going to be silenced

I have been very outspoken in my condemnation of IRR and its barbaric abuses. In return I have been called: Islamophobe; Over the top; Nazi among other things. These attempts are made to silence criticism. 

In the 60s and 70s the Islamists and the Marxists were very vocal. Our side, the side of secular democracy was silent. Had we been more vocal we may have been able to prevent the disaster that is the IRR. I find it interesting that voices who call for gradual reform are coming from the same sources who would accept nothing less than a total collapse of the Pahlavi regime. Why was it right to destroy the forward thinking Phalavi regime. But now that is IRR's turn we should go slow. Wait for reform on their terms! 

I see a whole chorus from Islamist to leftist all making excuses for IRR. Giving reasons why we should not ask for too much. Trying to tell us that: Iranians really love the regime that steals; rapes and murders! From fake polls to Soviet style parades. Are we so stupid to believe polls and parades in a military dictatorship? Have we learned nothing?

We learned not to remain silent. To IRR supporters: the gig is up. We are not going to shut up. I don't care if it is not Politically Correct. When I see my fellow Iranians hanged and raped I will not remain silent. 

parvaneh jan

i am a total fan of shirin and have told her so in person. my earlier post seems to have been badly written. i only meant to highlight how difficult it must have been for her. i did not mean it as a criticism of her decision to leave at all. we were all surprised at how she lasted there so long.

Mehdi: The two tasks

Mehdi: The two tasks (exposing US and IRI) are not mutally exclusive...

I think you already know that but refuse to admit it...Your motivation is to silence 'all' criticism of IRI, period Your mission is to promote sinister pacifism as the Nazi d

Comments from the historian Martin Gilbert:

It is not an exaggeration to say that between 1938 and 1943, the PPU offered the most bizarre intellectual spectacle witnessed during the second world war: an avowedly pacifist movement whose public statements, more often than not, excused, or even exalted, the most ruthless user of military force known to modern man.

[...]

Peace News persistently printed flattering accounts of life in the Third Reich by pacifists – usually unnamed – who were alleged to have recently visited Germany, or to be experts on German life and culture.

[...]

In November 1938, [Peace News] had reported the Kristallnacht riots in a manner calculated to minimize the gravity of the pogrom unleashed by the authorities against the Jewish community in Germany. Peace News’s 26 November edition assiduously echoed the nazi press’s claims that far worse offences than the Kristallnacht events were a regular feature of British colonial rule and appealed to its readers not to be too ’unctuous’ in their judgments of Hitlerite Germany