Litany

I was right, partially!

(1) I assumed that Mousavi would be elected and conjectured that in 4 years we would be where we are since Mousavi will not interfere with fundamental ills of IRI (wolf is jackal's brethren or "gorg baraadare shoghale"). I was only partially right! With the re-election of doctor AN, everything is sped up and we are already where I conjectured to be in 4 years; i.e., we are 4 years ahead of schedule!

(2) Either votes are rigged or people truly voted for doctor AN. Either way it is a sad reality for those naives who thought that the revolution of 1979 and dismissing of the shah would cure all the ills of iran, and still those gullibles who preached voting so that it would make a difference -- they simply did not know people of iran and what kind of characters amongst them would go through anything to maintain power and wealth of the country.

Winding up

As we wrap up another thread, I would like to thank everyone for their comments and insights.

I sincerely hope that all of us come out of these discussions richer and more enlightened. Even if I don’t agree with the opposing views, I cherish the gift of being exposed to other perspectives.

We shall meet again…

Dear Laleh

Thank you for another good article. Although I am sympathetic to the argument that you are presenting here, neverthelwess, I tend to associate myself with some of the points presented by others regarding the election of Moussavi over Ahmadinejad.

In an idealistic sense, neither candidate would satisfy what you and I, and many others want for Iran: A Secular Democracy. However, we live in a real world, and as such, our actions have practical and real-world consequences.

As others have pointed out, for those who live in Iran, the election of Moussavi over Ahmadinejad would be an improvement in many ways. Of course, we all know that the whole election process is a form of Kabuki Dance. Nevertheless, for those who on a daily basis have to deal with real life issues, Moussavi's election would be more tolerable.

Having said that, and as you have pointed out, we should all strive to educate people more and more, and make them realize the significant benefits of a Secular Democracy over a theocratic regime. I do know that you are perhaps a bit impatient, and as you have pointed out, you may prefer a more militant approach, rather than a civil one. However, as I have mentioned in a previous article by you, there is no question in my mind, that this regime will ultimately implode from within.

I would like to re-iterate what I have said previously: You are a highly talented lady who needs to temper her enthusiasm with a dose of reality and practicality. Please take this as a constructice criticism.

Again, Looking Forward To Your Next Article - Best, IRAN PARAST

Regardless of who "wins"

The only thing that is certain is that the clear losers of this process are the Iranian nation and the Iranian people.

The "election" is a complete sham, but the negative outcome for our country and our people are very real.

Ms. Gillani is absolutely correct when she says that this is a trap laid by the regime. The regime is playing the people, just as they have been for the past 30 years. It is utterly amazing how some of you supposedly "educated" people are so gullible as to interpret the most superficial phoniest gesture from Tehran as a sign of "reform".

One of my biggest concerns is the inevitable backlash that will result from this, no matter the end result. Pro-Moussavi and pro-Ahmadinejad factions will undoubtedly become inreasingly aggressive towards one another, and before you know it, Khamenei will enforce a even greater crackdown against the people. I only wonder what the contingent of apologists and enablers will say to cover their asses once that happens.

Moussavi, Ahmadinejad, Rezai, Karroubi. Before that, Rafsanjani, Moein, Khatami, Tavakoli, and all the rest. They are all cut from the same bundle of soiled cloth. Cloth that is permanently stained with the blood of millions of Iranian men, women and children.

And yet it is we who oppose this farce who are called "warmongers". To those of you who label us as such, I say "go to hell."

Why Criticizing Mousavi Only?

Q wrote: ”You claim you are both opposed to the regime itself, so why is it that only one candidate (Mousavi) is getting all your criticism?”

Speaking for myself, I have criticized only Mousavi and have not addressed Ahmadinejad’s campaign because of these reasons (in no particular order of importance):

1. Ahmadinejad is doing a fine job of exposing his own legacy. He honestly doesn’t need anyone’s help in this area.

2. Ahmadinejad hasn’t changed his colors. He is what he was from the first day: A pathetic liar.

3. Mousavi presided over a body of government who is responsible for the mass murder of thousand of innocent Iranians.

4. From being a disciple of Imam and carrying his orders to execute political prisoners, Mousavi has become the advocate of human rights. This shift is extremely fascinating and tantalizing to me. I honestly can’t help but being mesmerized by such an “evolution.”

5. Mousavi and other reform leaders have the potential to derail our struggle for democracy. Although in the long run, their hands will be exposed, for the time being, it is the responsibility of all patriots to speak out.

6. Mousavi supporters have been intimidating political activists opposing him. I am not going to be intimidated by any thugs even when they are wearing green colors and boast of being reformists. The more they bully me, the bolder I get.

7. Our country deserves better than the likes of Mousavi. A motherland that has reared Amir Kabir and Dr. Mossadegh can do better than Mousavi!

8. The Iranian youth was caught up in the heat of the last revolution without thinking twice what they were getting themselves into. At the same time, there were few voices of reason and foresight. Another young generation is making a similar mistake this time around. I am compelled to speak out.

The Former Prime Minister

Mommad wrote: “In Iran, the intelligence Minister and the Judiaciary are picked by the Faghih and are controlled by the Faghih, not by the president or the prime Minister.”

Your statement isn’t accurate.

The president who is elected directly by the people selects and presides over the Council of Ministers. In reality, the ministers are picked by the elected president and then approved by the Faghi. Once the final stamp of approval is received, then the body of the government works together to serve the wishes of the Faghi.

When Ali Khamenei became president in 1981, he failed to get the approval of Majlis for Ali Akar Velayati to become his prime minister. At the end, Khomeini interfered and advised Khamenei to accept Mousavi as his prime minister.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi was Imam’s favorite. The former prime minister often met with Imam to get advice and directions from him. The Council of Ministers was hand-picked by Mousavi and immediately approve by the Imam.

Mousavi served as the prime minister until 1989. The constitution was then amended to remove that title and position. It was replaced by the post of first vice presidency.

delete

pls delete

dariush

next time you visit tehran from your yol tappeh, ask a tehruni (that's a word too) what hamsade means. and next time you post something, make sure there is something of substance in it. i believe that the avatar of ferdowsi that you've put up has given you a false illusion that you're a learned man. you are not which is apparent by your idiotic posts.

if you have something of substance to say about the blog or how to conduct sceintific surveys, please do not hesitate to write.

Hamshireh?

There is no such word as Hamsadeh! Hamsayeh yes.

When you were in Iran (if you were), you probably had a neighbor who Zabunesh migerefteh, and call you hamsadeh. Now you think that's a word. lol
(Paste from dictionary: Word not found in the dictionary) lol

baaleh, hamsadeh shoma dorost migin.
Baba aslan hamsadeh, DK va gilani baayad hezbeh Razmandehaye panbeyee bezanan. I will join. They know too much to let it go to waste. Gilani knows so much about Iran and her history that is just unthinkable for a person to have so much dedication and love just for Iran. Learning so much about history, religion, arts, politics.

Hamsadeh, yaad begir, bebin cheghad miduneh :)

dear mamali

you can cut down on the length of your post by half if you just cut the sarcasm out. i'll just respond to one of your items, you wrote:

5. If one did not participate in a poll, then that poll is questionable. You see, the question is not even the accuracy or the scientific basis of the poll (questions that could be quite legitimate), rather it is "me" participating in it or not.

i believe ms. gillani was referring to herself as a representative of those who didn't vote. for example, i didn't partake in that survey because i don't intend to vote. therefore, it is likely the i will not vote category is under-reported. you see? then there's the problem of voting more than once. is there a mechanism that people won't vote more than once in this scientific survey? if there is no such mechanism, then people who want to prove a point such as yourself (i'm not saying that you did) can cast multiple votes. in that case, the number who will vote could be over-represented. if you consider both of those biases, the margin of error could be as much as the difference between the vote/no-vote categories. i hope that makes better sense.

Giving Credit Where It is Due

Mammad wrote: “Islam and everything Islamic are rejected, but, hey, when it is convenient, we can have Ayatollah Montazeri, who was instrumental in establishing the system of Velaayat-e Faghih and still defends it (albeit in a dilute form) as our witness (of course, what he has said is correct, but that is not the point).”

I have been time and again called a “bigot” by the likes of you because I criticize Islam and its teachings. However, for once, when I give credit where it is due, you are compelled to turn it into a weapon to decimate your opponent.

Well, it didn’t work! I am proud to say it again:

Ayatollah Montazeri, regardless of his religious convictions and stature, chose to be a human and answered to his conscience. For that, he holds my admiration forever.

lol

This Moral Leader is funny. She reminds me of North Korean leader.

I call her "Razmandeye panbeyee" and I think fits very well.

Gilani, baaaleh shoma dorost migin.
Thank you for your hard work typing these great wisdom to all of us. The most important thing is to take yourself seriously :0

The Dear Leader with Moral Clarity

Let's see:

1. One is either a partriot by not voting or a pawn by voting.

Boy, Iran seems to be a country of pawns today. Why should one either bother to fight for a nation of pawns from the blogs of iranian.com? Ahaa, I know why: the Dear Leader wants to convert it to a nation of patriots in his/her mold.

2. Up until a few weeks ago, it was being said that, "nothing is going on in Iran. No one cares about the elections." But, hey, even the blindest of the blind cannot deny what is happening. So, what is the cause of it? great propaganda, and fooling people to allow themselves to be a nation of pawns.

Boy, the great nation of Iran with 100,000 bloggers, 23 million users of the internet on a steady base, and 90% literacy rate is simply fooled soooooo easily; it is a nation of fools and pawns.

3. See the height of arrogance here: Enlightened people who are opposed to the voting have said that, people who live in Iran live in a completely different situation than those who live outside Iran. Therefore, they should decide for themselves, based on the conditions on the ground, whether to vote or not.

But, the Dear Leader with moral clarity would have none of it: You either agree with the Dear Leader or you are a pawn and a fool.

Again, if that is the case, why is this nation worth fighting an extremely dangerous war from the blogs of iranian.com?

Of course, we know why. That great nation of pawns and fools needs a Dear Leader with moral clarity, of the same type that the neocons and Reaganites always claim to have. 

But, wait, there is more:

4. Islam and everything Islamic are rejected, but, hey, when it is convenient, we can have Ayatollah Montazeri, who was instrumental in establishing the system of Velaayat-e Faghih and still defends it (albeit in a dilute form) as our witness (of course, what he has said is correct, but that is not the point).

Oh, that is great. The Dear Leader with moral clarity apparently believes that even the mullahs can be useful to the extremely dangerous and couraeous fight from the blogs of the IRI. As Aaghaam Lenin used to say: ends justifies the means.

5. If one did not participate in a poll, then that poll is questionable. You see, the question is not even the accuracy or the scientific basis of the poll (questions that could be quite legitimate), rather it is "me" participating in it or not. 

6. And then, when one runs out of everything, one uses tons of glues to attach someone to a crime in which he played no role. This is ignorance at its height:

In Iran, the intelligence Minister and the Judiaciary are picked by the Faghih and are controlled by the Faghih, not by the president or the prime Minister. Anyone, including the Dear Leader, who claims to know anything about Iran should know this. But, hey, ends justifies the means. Let's pretend to be ignorant.

Conclusion: 

The Dear Leader with moral clarity is not just at the center of Iran, the Earth, the solar system, or even the milky way galaxy. The Dear Leader is at the center of univerrse, with the whole universe revolving around the Dear Leader. 

Even the universe that is revolving around the Dear Leader, as vast as it is, is finite. But, the arrogance and ignorance of the dear Leader is infinite. 

Mammad

The Future of Reformists

Shifteh wrote: “I am sorry that the new generation, especially in Iran, cant seem to have a better alternative. I am afraid to say that they are not willing to take the extra step and holding these guys responsible for their acts. Once again, it is the herd mentality, over and over again... “

Better alternatives will be formed out of necessity once the dream sold by the reformist leaders collapses. The vast majority of the reformists aside from the top ranking officials are ordinary Iranians whose only goal is to build a better life for themselves and their countrymen.

Right now, these individuals are still faithful to IRI and its unconditional survival. This allegiance is entirely due to religious convictions. They are not ready to face the fact that Islam has failed to deliver the nirvana to Iran.

Once they cross this hurdle and are prepared to put Islam back into mosques, the rank and file of the reformist movement will abandon the government insiders who have stolen the fervor of the movement.

Youth are not choosing Moussavi because of Moussavi

They are choosing him because of what he represents!

his popularity has also to do with Khatami standing behind him and khatami's popularity is because of what he represented for the people not that people are in love with Moussavi or Khatami!

People love the symbols these guys represent not the guys themselves.

Let's just hope when Moussaiv lets them down as surely as Khatami did, they just do not let go completely as they did with Khatami but put more and more pressure on Moussavi and keep it up!

Delete

Pls delete, unrelated to the main topic.

DK

Do you know who Shahram Homayoon is? If you knew, you would inform RP not to grant an interview to him, and preserve some dignity for himself.

Homayoon is simply a con artist who has changed colours so many times that I for one have lost track of. Even in Los Angeles, supposedly a bastion of monarchist, he is known as such.

Mammad

FYI/Special French Edition on the Elections (TF1)

special Edition on Channel One in France on the elections and general atmosphere and opinions amongst Iranians. Some harsh images of drug addicts also.

//tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/moyen-orient/0,,4439925,00-edition-speciale-en-iran-.html

Shifteh

This is not the way I see things now. How I see this event is :

A backward government  came in power (Mousavi) people were not happy, then they brought another backward government in power which seemed to be worse (Ahmadinejad) and now people are content to go back with the same first backwardness( Mousavi). Nobody changed here. Nothing has changed. Have anyone heard a single word of regret about the past from Mousavi? That's it.

The fact is that, all this is only the fruit of a massive advertisement, well organized in Iran. The whole international imperialism and Zionism is defending Mousavi Vs Ahmadinejad. In all western countries if you listen to the news, you will see how they promote Mousavi and his wife as the "reformist" and moderate and they all wish success for Mousavi. This, by itself should tell you something.

French Resistance Were Also a Minority in 1940 ...( 25 %)

I am VERY Proud to belong to the minority who is not participating in these elections ...

MY CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR !

VIVE LA RESISTANCE A L'OBSCURANTISME !

DOWN WITH THE IRI !

We all know...

how Mousavi acted when our brightest, bravest, and most passionate sons and daughters were slaughtered in the hand of the regime...

And, we all know how a Komitaee Khahars va Anjoman eslami baradars became school principles and vice principles, despite their lack of degree, education, or experience.  Why are we surprised of Rahnavard getting a degree without sweating for it?  I personally know many Khahars and Baradars who got into the Phd programs without having the credentials, and many super intelligent people who got rejected for the same Phd program because they did not pass the background check.  Why everyone acts so surperised?!!  That was the norm those days and no one, i repeat no one, dared to question it.  I was the time of war, explosions, tortures and deaths.  Have you forgotten those days???

People change, Mousavi and Rahnavard changed.  How many of you know of friends who were the most Chap, or Mojahed, and now are enjoying the fruits of capitalism?!!!  That is not necessarily bad; but, deferring the responsibility and not accepting one's role or lack of it, is dishonest.

What i dont like are people (Mousavi and Rahnavard amongst them) denying their role, thier passion, and their acts in 66 and 67.  I have friends who nowadays condemn everyone who was active in those days; despite the fact that they themselves have been super active and even have been jailed in 66 and 67!  They want to reject that part of their realities from their consciousness; and that is what Rahnavard and Mousavi are doing: denying their roles.  To me, that is dishonest.

I am sorry that the new generation, especially in Iran, cant seem to have a better alternative. I am afraid to say that they are not willing to take the extra step and holding these guys responsible for their acts. 

Once again, it is the herd mentality, over and over again...

FYI/How Khamenei Treated Bani Sadre (FIRST PRESIDENT)

Check this out. A speach given by Khamenei in regard to President Bani Sadre, the First "democratically" elected President of the Islamic Republic. Says alot on Khamenei's mindset:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPA1VAsH0Wg&feature...

Informed decisions

I do not want Ahamdi Nejad to get reelected.  But I think that people should be able to present facts so that the electorate could make informed decisions. 

The Poll on Iranian.com

Q wrote: “How do you explain that even the poll on iranian.com (a site banned in Iran) has only 25% of the people boycotting the election? Do these 25% of the people think the other 75% are idiots?

I didn’t participate in the poll conducted on Iranian.com. Could it be that most of the individuals who boycotted the election also didn’t participate in the poll?

I don’t believe that those who participate in the election are “idiots.” They have allowed themselves to become pawns in the hands of mullahs once again.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, our struggle has only begun… Sooner or later the masses will realize that the reformist leaders can’t deliver the promised democracy because with that democracy comes the downfall of mullahs.

FYI/Montazeri on the Mass Murders (Video 2 Parts )

Apparently Montazeri ( who legally should have been Velayateh Fagih before Khamenei's Coup to remlace him) is Very Ill. I am not sure he even got to vote or with the help of someone who brought him to the election poll.

Here is what he says regarding the Massacres and the Unholy nature of this crime:

PART I

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3XNaI0zno

PART II

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=df0jH5w_J_Q&feature=related

Journalist Nourizadeh about Montyazeri and Boroujerdi:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPwYa7ILwsY&feature=related

Do You Know What Ayatollah Montazeri Did?

Q wrote: “You know and I know that Mousavi had absolutely nothing to do with the order to kill Mujahedeen prisoners. If you understand Iran and Khomeini's tremendous influence, nobody in no position could have stopped him.”

The order came from Khomeini and was carried out by the government whose prime minister was Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

The former prime minister had an active role in forming the committees and selecting his government’s representatives to commit the mass murders. Hence he is legally and morally responsible for the life of each person killed under his watch.

Do you know what Ayatollah Montazeri did when he learned about the order and the mass murders? Do you know what he has done since then? Do you know why I don’t hold him responsible for the slaughtering of the political prisoners?

Irandokht Jaan ;0)

RP may have not invented Civil dissobedience But He Did VOICE IT from the VERY First Day he Took Oath as King "Roi de Jure".

//www.payvand.com/news/09/jun/1103.html

Obviously all Iranian women and also men who have been struggling for 30 years all in their own right and possibilities are to be hailed for this.

RP never took credit for this. He simply reminded anyone in the press interviews or in all public speaches in the past 30 years EVERY TIME he could of this hidden and largely ignored by the Western Press reality of an Iranian Civil Rights Movement.

Without Targeting You or Mr. Parsi, or NIAC (created Only in the aftermath of Sept 11Th) but I find the Hypocrisy of some Last Minute Patriots barely old enough at the time of the Revolution trying to give lessons in patriotism to others who have been struggling for more than 30 years or of criticizing LA Stations and wanting to give them lessons about Human rights quite entertaining ...

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPdHwoE9o-w&feature=related

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO6NqlUmPqg&feature=related

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=itxpjHUuA88&feature=related

And N'En Déplaise à NIAC/AIC et Le Beau et Parfumé ex Monarchist  turned "Pro IRI Lover", Houman Majd, ... : 

THAT:

I WAS, AM AND WILL BE FOR REGIME CHANGE !

And they Are Free to Join Us Whenever they wish !

VIVE THE IRANIAN SOLIDARNOSC

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

LOL

My Sweet Laleh

Although your idealism is admirable, and there is no doubt in my mind that you are a highly intelligent woman, nevertheless, from your writings it is obvious that you have much maturing to do.

It is very easy for people such as you, and myself, who reside outside of Iran, to tell the people who actually live in Iran to "Lengesh Kon". This is a term that is used customarily by spectators around a wrestling mat, telling the Champion Wrestler what to do!

For our Iranian Hamvatans who actually live in Iran, to go from an Ahmadinejad to a Moussavi, is a breath of fresh air. I know that Moussavi is not the ideal candidate, but in many ways, he is better than Ahmadinejad for people who actually live in Iran.

You have to learn that things are not quite so black and white as you think they are! Whether we like it or not, the present regime in Iran is what we have. To change it, or even to overthrow it, is going to take a considerable amount of time and effort.

In America there is a saying:"It is much Easier to get in to something, than to get Out of It". The Iranian People voted to establish this Islamic Republic almost 30 years ago. Have no doubt that it would be much more difficult to get rid of these people, and their Islamic Republic, than it took to establish them.

Finally, try to use your energies in a more realistic manner. There is no doubt that someone with your intelligence, and the vigor that you have, could put her talents in a more useful and practical way. Remember: "Rome wasn't built in one day, and it will not come down in one day!".

I hope that you think seriously about what I am saying here ... In the New Testament of The Bible, there is a saying: "Do Not Throw Your Pearls To The Swine" - Use your talents in a manner that is fruitful! - Nothing More, Nothing Else :)

Wishing you the Best .....

CASMII Mob Sense the Collapse is Near

""For the last three decades the majority of the 'academics' who have signed this statement below:
Statement of 'Academics'

have ignored the plight of their countrymen. They stood silent when Iran's universities were intellectually cleansed during the 'cultural revolution'. They stood silent when the clerics seized every instrument of power after the 1979 revolution. They stood silent against the crimes of mad Khalkhalis, Gilanis, Lajevardis and a whole array of Islamic Republic psychopaths. They stood silent during the massacre of Iran's political prisoners, even when minors and pregnant women were summarily executed. They stood silent when corruption spread to unimaginable proportions and Iran's wealth was plundered by the clerical mafia and their off springs. They ignored the rise in poverty, prostitution and drug addiction. They stood silent when our women were forced to become second class citizens. They ignored medieval punishments like public executions, stoning, cutting off hands and limbs which had thrown Iran back to the dark ages.
They ignored the brutal crackdown on Iran's students after the uprising in 1999 and the list of their treacheries goes on.

But some on the list did not just ignore what was happening to their countrymen, they even went out of their way to promote the regime. The likes of Elaheh Rostami, Ziba Mir Hosseini and Haleh Afshar even made outrageous cliams that Iranian women were better off now than before the revolution. The likes of Abbas Edalat, Mohammad Kamali and bourgeoise Communists like Ali Fathollah-Nejad, went out of their way to suppress any news of human rights abuses which would portray a negative image of the Islamic Republic in the world.

Suddenly these 'academics' have sensed the desire for change amongst the Iranians. Suddenly the 'eruptions of pent-up rage' of our people against the Islamic Republic's 'empire of lies' has rang their alarm bells and so they have decided to produce a statement asking for the very things they have always refused to highlight in the past when they were asked to do so.

It is obvious that the centres of real power in Iran are not going to read their statement or show any concern over it, nor will these 'academics' engage in any campaigns for the rights of their countrymen. The reason they have written this statement is one thing only. In case the Islamic Republic collapses, they want something to exist somewhere, which in their mind would exonerate them.

But we should never forget these turncoats and the harms they have caused to the freedom and the well being of the people of Iran. Their objective has always been to boot lick whoever is in power for their own personal gains. We should make sure the future generations of Iranians learn that betrayal and boot licking has grave consequences.
""

dear laleh: Please translate

dear laleh: Please translate this into English. This needs to be posted on sites such as dailykos and Huffington post and CIF. thanks again for being a visionary and not selling your humanity cheaply to the highest bidder.