Iranian of the Day

2 points

1. Every schmuck knows that taking/buying scientific equipment for Iran will get you into trouble. We've been saying it here in conferences for years now. (At least in the medical field I personally know this is true. Even taking a simple software package to Iran can get you into trouble). What the hell was this genius thinking?

2. What is it with everyone always claiming Sharif University to be Iran's top school? For years now, the top ranking school of Iran has been Tehran University, even in engineering.

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tehran#World_rankings

They far outnumber Sharif even in the # of publications. And they have a much better campus, with an actual history, and architecture, and facilities and more alumni celebrities (Lotfizadeh, Ebadi, etc). If Sharif is modeled after MIT, UT was helped by a dozen schools such as USC, Johns Hopkins, UI-Urbana Champaigne, UC-Boulder, etc. See:

//fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7_%D8%A2%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%85%DB%8C%DA%A9_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%88_%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7#.D8.B1.D9.88.D8.A7.D8.A8.D8.B7_.D8.AF.D8.A7.D9.86.D8.B4.DA.AF.D8.A7.D9.87.DB.8C

Plus, UT students have always been at the forefront of reform battles and plotical change in the academic scene. Sharif students are always after getting a visa for studying in top American schools. 

Please give credit where it's due! 

Souri: no access

Souri

Sorry I am confused. I got the dates wrong. Apologies. I should have read the date. I got it totally mixed up. You are right about my confusion over you blog. I promise you I will read it fully tomorrow.

VPK, again

I don't know what you talk about? I wrote that blog in Nov. 2010 and posted its link for you at 6:30 am (west ) here.

Anyway, whatever you say, is okay.

Just read everything please, before speaking.

Thanks.

Souri

I have not yet read your blog. I want to do it justice and planned to read it tomorrow. I am not going to lie to you. I will read it and comment. I got side tracked with this one and another one plus other things today.

In fact I realized you had written it about 2 hours ago. Please don't be so sensitive. It may take me a bit of time to even realize you posted something. Do you want me to jump in with ***. Or to read it and make a half way intelligetn post.

One more Souri

I don't think railroading this guy helps America. How does it help America to put him away if he turns out innocent? Do you realize America released many from Guantanamo already. It is no good for America.

Now for a nice conspiracy theory. Maybe IRI wanted to get rid of him and blame USA. If they really wanted stuff why not get it from China or EU. Why not send a grunt to buy it. Rather a big name and admit it openly. It does not make any sense.

But if they wanted to get rid of him. IRI would assure him it is safe. Tell him to get buy the stuff in USA. Make sure FBI gets tipped about it. Then get a "spokesman" to admit it basically sealing his fate. Nice huh; get rid of him and blame the Americans.

Dear VPK & Souri Khaanoom:

As you have written correctly, the word "many" is an exaggeration of the facts here. It is also true that nothing has been established, yet.

If some people don't care about this professor's affiliation with the regime, sobeit! There are Iranians and Iranian-Americans, however, who do care! And that should be understood, as well!

VPK

Did you read that blog about Hezbe Toudeh, which I have posted for you this morning? I hope so.

Honestly, I don't belive that you have read all the comments in that blog. Yes, dear, you are among the very people whom I consider as " are not interested to read what I write". Altough you are a fair mind, but you are more interested to talk than to read (in my opinion)

Next time, if you address me in a comment, I will first ask you some questions about my blog, to see if you have really read it thoroughly, or you just want to continue talking .

Oh! You Mean Ardeshir Omani?

I don't think we fully understand his articles. You don't believe me? Ask regime's apologists who keep egging him on!!!

Dear Souri

We do not do this; only a few people do that. How many people on IC have done this? I am way to the right of you. I am deeply anti-IRI but I did not convict him. 

I right from the beginning argued that he is innocent until proven guilty. Just read the stuff I was told. "Nobody is interested in ready my posts". Will you please prove them wrong by stating you are interested? I may be on the "right" but I want justice.

I do not want revenge or dumping people in Gitmo. And based on what Ommani said. What does that have to do with anything! To attack a man without any proof. At least the police are supposed to have evidence. What proof do IC posters got.

Dear Harpy Eagle

I wholeheartedly agree with you about presumption of innocene. People who are making those judgment calls ignore all due process. Rules which were put in place to protect all people. Including you; I; all people.

Please just read the way they respond to me and note tone of the posts. The insults; name calling. As well the presumption that "nobody wants to read what I say". Then imagine: do you want them running Iran post Islamic Republic.

we convict a fellow Iranian before even the courts in the US do

Great words, Harpi-Eagle.

Unfortunately "this" is becoming a habit in here. Why we do "this"?

Mabye because in our heart , we feel more American, than Iranian. The interests of America and Americans go first.

again, Why?

Because we feel weak and insecure and fearful! The powerful America can protect us.....LOL.

PS- I don't consider myself among the "we" here, of course.

Shame ...

What a pity that many of us on this site have allowed our hatred for the Murderous, Trasonous Akhoonds blind our judgement and our logic to the point that we convict a fellow Iranian before even the courts in the US do.  We take the word of a corrupt organization (FBI) as gospel and just go with it.  Floks we are talking about FBI, the same organization that silenced the voice of their own investigator when she tried to warn everyone about Mohammad Atta and company in Phoenix Office of FBI, the same institution that had a hand in the assassination of JFK & RFK.

I have no idea about this man's affilations, nor do I care about them.  All I know at this point is that he is an associate professor in one of  the most prestigious engineeirng universities in the world, including MIT, and he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  I don't care if his first name is Seyed Mujtaba or Arash, he is my fellow country man and more imprtantly a fellow human being, and all who say he should be given a one way ticket to Gitmo, should be ashamed of themselves.

Anytime you feel like passing judgment on others remember "Judge and ye shall be judged."  Also those famous excerpts:

When they came for the jews, I stayed silent as I was not a jew,

When they came for the communists, I stayed silent as I was not a communist,

When they came for the homosexuals, I stayed silent, for I was not a homosexual,

When they came for me, there were no one left to protest on my behalf.

Payandeh Iran, our Ahuraie Fatherland

Attention everyone who is asking for absolute proof in this case

please go to this blog:

//iranian.com/main/blog/ardeshir-ommani/prevent-another-war

and ask Mr. Ommani for his proof regadring his following claims about the United States:

"5. Financed & armed terrorist groups to bomb Iranian mosques, and buses, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and security guards;"

6. Assassinated five Iranian scientists by planting networks of agents in Iran;"

Let's see if you're so outraged by lack of proof for those claims as you are for this guy's arrest.  you know...just to prove you're objective. 

Awesome exchanges

Absence of  fact and information, should not prevent the great contributors at IC to still pitch their verdict.

Ari jaan -I have a very simple code when it comes to IR elements

who are in the U.S.  They shouldn't be here.  And for all the nonsense that they spew against the U.S., they should really enjoy the accomodations at Guantanamo.  And they are not my opponents.  I have a lot of opponents---on this site alone--that I treat with respect.  These are opponents of humanity--and I am referring solely to IR elements. 

AO

Thanks, but please remember that the law benefits both the good guys in your mind and the bad guys in your mind. Here's a wise dialog  from Robert Bolts's The Man for All Seasons with you playing the role of William Roper and me playing the role of Sir Thomas More (In the next play, you can be the hero and I'll play the shortsighted character).

AO: O, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!

Ari: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

AO: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that! (Ari's note: as you did with U.S. law in your comment about jailing your opponents in Guantanamo)

Ari: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake! 

About the prof.

Many people go to a jail only because they were too opportunistic.  Too opportunistic mind has a good potential to generate a crimal act.

MAYBE, this is the case for the prof.

Peace-loving IC contributors.

Peace-loving attribute initiates from a person's life style.  Their attributes manifest a balanced impromptu reaction
of those unique individuals in a personal life level.  It shows strenghth of those individuals in their life endeavours outside Iran.  They have taken a route to maintain their balance in their private life.  I always have a peaceful time reading their comments.  

VPK: US export license requirements

Any practicing engineer in US who works above the level of building/designing/writing  and testing devices/equipment/SW would be at least familiar with the US export license requirements and which two counties are right ath the top of the list. yes you guessed it right! and the other one is N. Korea.....

How this "professor of electronics" missed this, just beats me...

VPK, agreed, he should just try to get himself a green card and join NIAC. Although at 55, he is well below the minimum age requirement and somehow too intelligent for the average NIAC crowd.

"Personal business must yield to collective interest."

VPK:

That's where AIPAC comes in handy. And that's the beauty of this whole plot. You know how much these Islamists hate to be helped by the Jews!

RG & Jeesh

I have a feeling the Professor may well prefer to remain here. Probably get a better lab and be able to get all the stuff he needs. 

The one glitch is that he needs to be let off the hook.

There must be a academic immunity as much as there is

Good points Ari

You're fired! You just made Atarodi's defense more difficult by admitting to the attempt to purchase. It doesn't matter how simple the equipment he bought or what use he had for it. Buying equipment to export to Iran without a license--even if it's just a screw driver--is against U.S. law these days. It may be that Iranian law is arbitrarily applied, but here in the U.S. the letter of the law is taken seriously.

Nicely put.  They just admitted he was here to buy equipment, which, regardless of their nature, is against U.S. laws.  See folks, no one jumped the gun here.  They admitted it.

Incidentally, I wonder how the FBI found out about this.  It appears as if the guy was arrested at LAX, which means they knew about this before he came to the U.S.  I wonder how they got the intelligence. 

Nutty professor

A bifurcated political tit for tat by the United States to not only warn other Iranians in US, but hopefully facilitate the exchange of the nutty professor with the CIA operator captured in Iran. We are told, that one was buying equipment and the other one went there to buy pistachio.

My Legal Advice:

Mr. Atarodi should apply for a green card to remain in the US! At this point, all he needs is a team of Jewish immigration lawyers with close connections to AIPAC. We all know AIPAC is controlling the US government. Those guys can do miracles!

After a year or two, he can simply walk to Iran's interest section at Pakistan's embassy in Washington and tell them he wants to go home. And they'll make arrangements for his safe return home.

What happens at home is none of our business. After all, we in diaspora, have no right to say anything about what IR is doing to Iranians!

VPK - do you have the ability to read a one line comment?

the "naneh man ghareebam" was not directed at this guy or his "presumption of innocence," but rather at you, for crying foul every single time someone says something to you that you don't like.  This time, you were claiming that people want to stop you from stating your opinions, when all I had said was why do you claim to "respond" to people when they're not addressing you.  That's all.  You pollute this site with nonsense 24/7, as MG-who you are now praising--had pointed out to you in the past (as HTG).  Really, no one cares. 

Now, do you have tha bility to understand this simple concept?  Perhaps you should take a course in reading comprehension.

So What!

The Mullahs are running the affairs of a once prestigious nation in the world!

The professor is in jail and it makes no difference who he is.  Let's wait and see what happens next.

The guy may even want to remain in the US, after all. Imagine living in IR's Iran!

Info and comment to Sharif U spokesman

Info:

"The Sharif University spokesman said Atarodi was engaged only in
civilian research. “The fact of the matter is that he was just a
professor, and he was trying to buy some equipment for his lab, and the
equipment was very, very simple, ridiculously simple stuff that anybody
can buy,” the spokesman said." source.

To Sharif U spokesman:

You're fired! You just made Atarodi's defense more difficult by admitting to the attempt to purchase. It doesn't matter how simple the equipment he bought or what use he had for it. Buying equipment to export to Iran without a license--even if it's just a screw driver--is against U.S. law these days. It may be that Iranian law is arbitrarily applied, but here in the U.S. the letter of the law is taken seriously.

.

Responses

Regarding "nane man gharibam": presumption of innocence is a basic human right. It has been a part of civilized world since the Roman times. In America it follows from 5; 6 and 14 th amendments in the Bill of Rights I know some consider this "nane man gharibam". But to me basic rights are not to be dismissed as a joke. Making a joke of it speaks more of the person than the right. For more details please see: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innoce...

Regarding why I responded to AO's remark. I was not talking to him rather responding to a comment in a public forum. I have nothing to say to this person. But I will respond when comments are made that I want to respond to.

Regarding anyone interested: people should be the ones deciding whether they want to read my posts. Not Mr. AO. I only have to respect the guidelines of IC and that is it. These I have always tried to respect.