[linskyjack]

Since Iran, is among the whackiest places on earth, I thought I would start a thread with bizzare stories from Iran-----I think that any of the apologists for the Islamic State would have a hard time reconciling their liberalism with the ways of a country ruled by mentally ill Mullahs.

So for our first post for all our western feminist friends:

Iran launches sex-segregated parks
Sat. 29 Jul 2006
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 – Iran will soon launch new women’s only parks in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran.

The City Islamic Council in Qom announced that it had put forward a plan to segregate four of the city’s parks.

In August, the National Women’s Council announced that a sex-segregated park was under development in the north-eastern city of Mashad.

The development of sex-segregated parks was given a big boost after hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, became Iran’s president. Prior to his rise to the presidency, Ahmadinejad was the Mayor of Tehran. One of his first decisions in the city hall was to order gender segregation on elevators.

[Fidelista]

Everybody can cast a vote on official Iranian website. >f
Vote here >>> http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fancy averting the third world war? Ever wanted to cast a vote in the Islamic Republic of Iran but feared how your degenerate western opinions might go down?

Well the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who started his own rather tedious blog this week, is giving you a unique chance to do exactly that.

In an online vote, the hardline Islamic president is asking in badly translated English: do you think that the US and Israeli intention and goal by attacking Lebanon is pulling the trigger for another world war?

So far the vote is not going the way some of his more zealous revolutionaries would wish. Some 139,986 people or 55% are currently saying no, while 45% or 113,047 say Israel and the US have pulled the trigger.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/arc...your_vote.html

This result could mean that Iranians with internet access are mainly moderates horrified at their own president's views (for the full anti-Zionist tirade see his official site), or the vote has proved hugely popular with bloggers in the United States and Israel determined to scupper any propaganda value he might gain in having thousands agree with his bigotry.

[linskyjack]

Yeah, I read that---I voted! (even though I dont read arabic).

[linskyjack]

TEHRAN, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) - Iran's conservative Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi vowed Friday to rein in the media as part of a new clampdown on "wicked manifestations in society".

The minister said there too many domestic news agencies in the Islamic republic and that their number needed to be reined in to create more quality and less quantity of news output.

He said 11 news agencies were already operating with his ministry's authorization and another eight were awaiting permits. A further 50 to 60 had also submitted applications to the ministry, he added.

"I have no choice but to restrict the extent of these things, when the investment has been more in quantity than quality," he said.

Saffar-Harandi said the move would be part of a wider campaign to revive the values of the Islamic revolution in cultural life.

"Unfortunately, we witness inappropriate and wicked manifestations in society today ... But now, you have my word that we will purify the cultural atmosphere," he said in a speech carried live by state radio.

"In the near future, we will not witness an unhealthy cultural product among books, movies, shows, music, etc."

In a bid to combat the "cultural invasion of the West", Iran has long imposed a widely flouted ban on satellite dishes.

Production of music, films and books are also subject to supervision by Saffar-Harandi's ministry.

And since 2000, the hardline judiciary has clamped down on the reformist press, shutting down scores of titles and detaining dozens of journalists.

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

Since Iran, is among the whackiest places on earth, I thought I would start a thread with bizzare stories from Iran-----I think that any of the apologists for the Islamic State would have a hard time reconciling their liberalism with the ways of a country ruled by mentally ill Mullahs.

So for our first post for all our western feminist friends:

Iran launches sex-segregated parks
Sat. 29 Jul 2006
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 – Iran will soon launch new women’s only parks in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran.

The City Islamic Council in Qom announced that it had put forward a plan to segregate four of the city’s parks.

In August, the National Women’s Council announced that a sex-segregated park was under development in the north-eastern city of Mashad.

The development of sex-segregated parks was given a big boost after hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, became Iran’s president. Prior to his rise to the presidency, Ahmadinejad was the Mayor of Tehran. One of his first decisions in the city hall was to order gender segregation on elevators.

Another Lanmaster type misinformation thread!

[compushlep]

Originally Posted by bassetman

Another Lanmaster type misinformation thread!

Maybe someone should inform Linsky that IranFocus.com has been described as a front for MKO ... you know, a terrorist group

But maybe he knows that already, in which case he's not just shooting from the lip but his backside is simultaneously sucking air

Imagine that, Linsky fronting a terror organization ... looks like we got ourselves a resident 'freedom fighter'

[linskyjack]

Yes, and aliens have landed in British Columbia and are about to attack you trailer. Genius, let me break it down for you---

1. Both stories were widely reported. If you dont believe they are true---proove it.
2. You are such a sick character that you would probably deny the Holcaust Cartoon contest


Here are so more: From Gay.com--hardly an Iranian front group:

From: The Editors of MAHA - An E-magazine for LGBT Iranians

With regard to the July 19 International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran:

We note some differences of opinion in the international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement about how to best support LGBT people in Iran.

We would like to express our view, and we believe that a great number of our readers share our opinion.

Iranian society has developed despite the oppression. The demand for democracy and human rights is growing in our country.

We believe that the human rights of Iranian women, students, workers and LGBT people are not western phenomenon but aspects of universal human rights and are important for human freedom, dignity and fulfilment in Iran - and everywhere.

Despite all our difficulties and dangers, the Iranian LGBT community is getting more and more informed and is expressing its demand for human rights. We identify as LGBT people and want the same freedoms that LGBT people worldwide want.

Let no one claim there is not homophobic oppression in Iran. Every LGBT Iranian is at potential risk of arrest, imprisonment, flogging and execution.

Avoiding such a fate requires leading a double life and hiding one’s sexuality. Even though there are secret gay parties and magazines, we are all at risk. Great discretion is the only thing that keeps many of us from the jails of the authorities – and worse.

Any disagreement over the reason for the execution of Mahmoud and Ayaz in the city of Mashhad last July does not alter the fact that the execution of men and women indulging in same-sex relations is mandatory in the penal code of Iran.

For the record, we believe the two teenagers were hanged because of their homosexuality.

The authorities are well-known for pinning false charges on the victims they execute. We urge people to never take at face value the charges claimed by the courts and newspapers.

They are not reliable. In late July 2006, for example, a BBC television programme in England exposed how the Iranian authorities made false allegations about Atefah Sahaaleh, who was executed in the city of Neka in 2004 for “crimes against chastity”.

The Iranian courts even lied about her age, claiming she was 22 at the time of her execution. In fact, she was only 16 – a minor, like Mahmoud and Ayaz.

We express our appreciation and admiration for the united efforts worldwide on July 19 in support of Iranian LGBT people, against homophobic oppression and all executions in Iran.

These efforts gave us Iranian LGBTs hope and inspiration. It is good for our morale to know that people in other countries care about us and are pressing the Iranian authorities to halt their homophobic persecution.

Some prominent authorities here in Iran publicly condemned same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage, following last year’s international protests against the Mashhad hangings. This shows that your protests are having an effect.

The authorities in Tehran are concerned about the bad publicity they are getting all over the world. Please do not stop. International protests are effective and we urge all groups around the world to work together for the common good of LGBT Iranians.

There is growing activity by Iranian LGBTs, both inside and outside Iran, to enlighten people about sexual diversity and respect for individual sexual orientation. Our E-magazine is part of that process.

Form Human Rights Watch:

New York, August 3, 2006) – The Iranian government should immediately allow an independent investigation into the suspicious death in prison of student activist Akbar Mohammadi, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said that if responsibility for Mohammadi’s death in Tehran’s Evin prison on July 30 lies with the prison or other state authorities, the relevant individuals should be identified and prosecuted.

Mohammadi, 38, is the second inmate to die in the notorious Evin prison in the past three years. In June 2003, Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist, died while in custody there. Iranian authorities arrested her as she was photographing Evin prison. A few days later, Kazemi fell into a coma and died. According to lawyers for Kazemi’s family, her body showed signs of torture. The Iranian authorities have not charged anyone in connection with her death.”


From the Guardian:

“International pressure is growing on Iran to release a prominent philosopher and writer, Ramin Jahanbegloo, who was arrested two months ago on unspecified charges.

His incarceration in the notorious Evin prison has left Tehran’s intellectual circles concerned about his fate and their own. His friends insist that he is not politically active. Although Iran has an abysmal human rights record, Mr Jahanbegloo’s arrest at Mehrabad airport in Tehran has created greater interest abroad than usual because he is well known among foreign academics.”

From the Iranian Government news agency FARS:





Iran hangs Afghan in public
Bam, Iran, August 8 – A young Afghan man was hanged in public on Monday on a highway close to the ancient city of Bam, southern Iran, the government-run news agency Fars reported.

The man, identified as Najib Karzahi, was hanged in public in the presence of the deputy commander of a local Revolutionary Guards garrison, Qassem Rezai; the governor of Bam, Majid Etemadi; and a number of other provincial officials.


He was accused of taking part in an armed attack on a group of people in May. Karzahi was also accused of membership in an armed Baluchi group calling itself Jondollah.

In March, the group claimed responsibility for an armed attack on a convoy of government officials in the province of Sistan-va-Baluchistan, which left twenty-two government and provincial officials dead and at least seven, including the governor of the city of Zahedan, critically wounded.

The group claims that it does not target civilians.

Kerman Province has witnessed a sharp rise in protests and strikes by students, workers, and disenchanted citizens.

There have been a series of large anti-government protests in the earthquake-stricken city of Bam, since the ancient city was devastated in December 2003. Iranian authorities have been severely criticized by survivors for failing to provide adequate support more than 18 months after the quake which left at least 100,000 dead or injured.

From Amnesty International:

Tehran, Iran, Oct. 20 – A top international human rights organisation condemned Iran on Thursday for handing down death sentences to minors and continuing to issue sentences of stoning to death.


Amnesty International said that it was “outraged” at the sentences.


“Iran has executed at least seven juvenile offenders in 2005 including two minors who were under 18 at the time of their execution”, Amnesty said in a statement.


Amnesty said that a draft law currently under consideration fell “far short” of the measures which Iran had to fulfil to meet its international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).


Amnesty International also expressed concern at a stoning to death sentence recently handed down to a woman called Soghra.


“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR, to which Iran is a state party. Article 6 of the ICCPR states: ‘Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age’. Methods of execution such as stoning, which are specifically designed to cause the victim grievous pain before death are of particular concern to Amnesty International, as the most extreme and cruel form of torture”, the statement added

[compushlep]

You're a terrorist!! Admit it!! We got your mumber!! A rabid Zionist in cohuts with the MKO

Oy vey ... no wonder you're constantly confused

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

Since Iran, is among the whackiest places on earth, I thought I would start a thread with bizzare stories from Iran-----I think that any of the apologists for the Islamic State would have a hard time reconciling their liberalism with the ways of a country ruled by mentally ill Mullahs.

So for our first post for all our western feminist friends:

Iran launches sex-segregated parks
Sat. 29 Jul 2006
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 – Iran will soon launch new women’s only parks in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran.

The City Islamic Council in Qom announced that it had put forward a plan to segregate four of the city’s parks.

In August, the National Women’s Council announced that a sex-segregated park was under development in the north-eastern city of Mashad.

The development of sex-segregated parks was given a big boost after hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, became Iran’s president. Prior to his rise to the presidency, Ahmadinejad was the Mayor of Tehran. One of his first decisions in the city hall was to order gender segregation on elevators.

No, I can think of whackier places...Like, Alabama, before 1964...
The thing is, every country has to go through their growing pains. Unfortunately,
others get in the way....For whatever their reasons, such as peace or profit...

[linskyjack]

Growing pains? So this is acceptable behavior because they are going through growing pains---Heck the fanatics have been running that country since the Shah was overthrown----I guess that the Nazis were still going through growing pains in the 1930's? Maybe if we waited until the 1960's they would have grown up.

Tell us, when are they going to grow up? More importantly, when are you going to grow up?

[iltos]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

Growing pains? So this is acceptable behavior because they are going through growing pains---Heck the fanatics have been running that country since the Shah was overthrown----I guess that the Nazis were still going through growing pains in the 1930's? Maybe if we waited until the 1960's they would have grown up.

nobody in the west "likes" the behavior, jack, and i'd wager there are even a few countries in the middle east that are concerned

this post is not like you...throughout most of your time here (except for the namecalling and stuff) you've done, imo, a great job of inserting historical context into your comparisions, and making your point on the back of that context

your support of israel seems to have made that unnecessary

i've not the depth of knowledge you do regarding these matters, but still, comparing the rise of nazi germany and the "growing pains" that are prevalent throughout the mideast strikes me as ludicrous, if for no other reason than since the overthrow of the shah, iran has gone from a period of extreme religious withdrawal, centered around the edicts of that nutcase khomeini, who eventually turned his vision to international terrorism and then had the gall to just up and die, to a country that, while still heavy into a fundamental view of islam is also much more vocal and involved in the world.....

this cannot be discounted and remains a concern to be sure, but it strikes me as an accurate description of "growing pains", if by that definiton we are talking about a country trying to find it's place in the world and not being led by a nazi style leader whose goal is global conquest.

as a sidebar to this whole continuing discussion, it strikes me that as long as their exists in the mideast the current array of sheikdoms and religious leaders masquarading as countries, the idea of some kind of hitler arising in the region and leading the holy war that seems to be the unspoken fear that drives our discussions is pretty absurd....there are just too many separate and disparate issues bouncing off the walls of that cage.

and to add a little more gasoline to the fire, this editoral presents what will certainly be considered by many here to be an absurd viewpoint....but i liked it for its difference

August 18, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Start Talking to Hezbollah
By LAKHDAR BRAHIMI

WHAT a waste that it took more than 30 days to adopt a United Nations Security Council resolution for a cease-fire in Lebanon. Thirty days during which nothing positive was achieved and a great deal of pain, suffering and damage was inflicted on innocent people.

The loss of innocent civilian life is staggering and the destruction, particularly in Lebanon, is devastating. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have condemned the humanitarian crisis and violations of international humanitarian law.

Yet all the diplomatic clout of the United States was used to prevent a cease-fire, while more military hardware was rushed to the Israeli Army. It was argued that the war had to continue so that the root causes of the conflict could be addressed, but no one explained how destroying Lebanon would achieve that.

And what are these root causes? It is unbelievable that recent events are so regularly traced back only to the abduction of three Israeli soldiers. Few speak of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, or of its Lebanese prisoners, some of whom have been held for more than 20 years. And there is hardly any mention of military occupation and the injustice that has come with it.

Rather than helping in the so-called global war on terror, recent events have benefited the enemies of peace, freedom and democracy. The region is boiling with resentment, anger and despair, feelings that are not leading young Arabs and Palestinians toward the so-called New Middle East.

Nor are these policies helping Israel. Israel’s need for security is real and legitimate, but it will not be secured in any sustainable way at the expense of the equally real and legitimate needs and aspirations of its neighbors. Israel and its neighbors could negotiate an honorable settlement and live in peace and harmony. As often happens in complex conflict situations, however, the parties cannot do it alone. They need outside help but are not getting it.

It is perhaps too early to draw lessons from this month of madness. What is clear, however, is that Hezbollah scored a political victory and its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has become the most popular figure in the Muslim world. As for Israel, it does not seem to have achieved its stated objectives. Should these trends continue, it is hard to imagine stability coming to the region soon.

So what can be done? The international community should take several steps — some concrete, some conceptual — to address the current crisis.

First, priority must be given to ensuring Lebanon’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and the full implementation of the 1989 Taif accord, which I helped negotiate on behalf of the Arab League. This agreement specifically required that the Lebanese government, like all states, have a monopoly over the possession of weapons and the use of force.

Second, we must recall that Hezbollah came into existence as a consequence of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Like all movements, it has evolved: it was initially a militia and a resistance movement against foreign occupation. It then developed into both a political party and a social organization, providing valuable services to its impoverished community.

Rather than trying to isolate Hezbollah, we should be encouraging it to play a responsible role in the internal dynamics of Lebanon. It would then, in turn, be legitimate to expect Hezbollah to accept the Lebanese state’s exclusive right to possess armaments and use force.

Third, it is something of a paradox to ask Iran and Syria to sever relations with Hezbollah while asking them to use their influence to obtain its compliance with the cease-fire resolution. Would it not be more effective to demand that both countries, as well as all other states in the region and beyond, scrupulously respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and abstain from interfering in its internal affairs?

Fourth, the most valuable contribution Israel can make to lasting peace across its northern border is to withdraw its troops from all the territory it currently occupies, including the Shebaa Farms.

Finally, urgent and sustained attention must be focused on the problem that underlies the unrest in the Middle East: the Palestinian issue. A wealth of United Nations resolutions and other agreements already exist that provide a basis for a just and viable solution to the Middle East conflict.

One approach could be for a team of mediators to be mandated by the Security Council and an international conference (including the Arab League) to take on the formidable task of reviving the pre-existing agreements that work best and then seeing that they are put in place.

If the United States and other key countries could see this conflict through a different lens, there could be a real chance for peace. This would be the best way to signal genuine respect and atonement for the suffering inflicted on so many innocent people for so many years.

Lakhdar Brahimi is a former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary General.

[sy2]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

Yeah, I read that---I voted! (even though I dont read arabic).

I'm assuming the second choice is No, right? Anyone?

[linskyjack]

Originally Posted by iltos

nobody in the west "likes" the behavior, jack, and i'd wager there are even a few countries in the middle east that are concerned

this post is not like you...throughout most of your time here (except for the namecalling and stuff) you've done, imo, a great job of inserting historical context into your comparisions, and making your point on the back of that context

your support of israel seems to have made that unnecessary

i've not the depth of knowledge you do regarding these matters, but still, comparing the rise of nazi germany and the "growing pains" that are prevalent throughout the mideast strikes me as ludicrous, if for no other reason than since the overthrow of the shah, iran has gone from a period of extreme religious withdrawal, centered around the edicts of that nutcase khomeini, who eventually turned his vision to international terrorism and then had the gall to just up and die, to a country that, while still heavy into a fundamental view of islam is also much more vocal and involved in the world.....

this cannot be discounted and remains a concern to be sure, but it strikes me as an accurate description of "growing pains", if by that definiton we are talking about a country trying to find it's place in the world and not being led by a nazi style leader whose goal is global conquest.

as a sidebar to this whole continuing discussion, it strikes me that as long as their exists in the mideast the current array of sheikdoms and religious leaders masquarading as countries, the idea of some kind of hitler arising in the region and leading the holy war that seems to be the unspoken fear that drives our discussions is pretty absurd....there are just too many separate and disparate issues bouncing off the walls of that cage.

and to add a little more gasoline to the fire, this editoral presents what will certainly be considered by many here to be an absurd viewpoint....but i liked it for its difference

This is where you and I differ. If you really think that the President of Iran is "not a nazi style leader, whose goal is global conquest" then answer the following:

1. He uses antisemitc propoganda to rally his people---
2. He oppresses, arrests, intellectuals who have the audacity to crtique the regime.
3. He oppresses homosexuals
4. He oppresses women
5. He involves himself in the affairs of other countries by de-stablizing them.
6. He is secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon.
7. He wants to recreate the mystical Caliph---a Muslim world that would spread from Spain to India.
This list is only partial In it you will see almost a precise echoing of Hitlers behavior during the Weimer Republic. What I find stupendous is that the left in this country will never, show concern for this clear danger.

As far as the UN article you posted, its obviously a piece of propoganda---and is historically wrong----If you want me to take it point by point I will-----but I have discussed much of it already.

[iltos]

Originally Posted by linskyjack

This is where you and I differ. If you really think that the President of Iran is "not a nazi style leader, whose goal is global conquest" then answer the following:

1. He uses antisemitc propoganda to rally his people---
2. He oppresses, arrests, intellectuals who have the audacity to crtique the regime.
3. He oppresses homosexuals
4. He oppresses women
5. He involves himself in the affairs of other countries by de-stablizing them.
6. He is secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon.
7. He wants to recreate the mystical Caliph---a Muslim world that would spread from Spain to India.
This list is only partial In it you will see almost a precise echoing of Hitlers behavior during the Weimer Republic. What I find stupendous is that the left in this country will never, show concern for this clear danger.

As far as the UN article you posted, its obviously a piece of propoganda---and is historically wrong----If you want me to take it point by point I will-----but I have discussed much of it already.

i understand your concerns, and do not discount them...i trust you understand that

but let's take a look at your laundry list, shall we? i take no issue with any of them, and your comparison is noteworthy....everybody understands that fundamental islam is pretty dang strict and not real big on equality...and like christainity, wants to see itself everywhere on earth (not comparing methods here, only goals)

so....iran can easily be considered "primitive" and "reactionary" in its world view, as your list certainly illustrates.....

but, to my way of thinking, the 'leader' of freedom in the world, which is no less than us, is currently doing some laundry of its own....struggling with some growing pains regarding #3, and, if the ruling yesterday is to be considered important at all, having a bit of difficulty with its own scholars and journalists and intellectuals

and #5.....hmmmm....seems that what's good for the goose should be good for the gander

if you lived in another country, one might think that america is moving in a discouraging direction as well

[linskyjack]

Of course, you are correct that we have some issues---particularly number 3 and 5, and my list doesn't preclude the US from being guilty of some of this behavior. Big difference is that we have laws on the books that protect citizens from attack because of sexual orientation and that come September, we have the power to kick out Bush and those who brought us to Iraq.
I think that if I lived in Iran, I would probably think what the government told me to think---for fear of oppression.