Bloggers support the jailed Iranian student activists

August 5th 2007 is the 101-th anniversary of the Iranian constitutional revolution. BUT Iranian people still struggle for democracy and student activists are still sent to jails.

Several student activists spend this year's anniversary in jails. They include Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Nikoonesbati, Ali Vafghi, Bahareh Hedayat, Mehdi Arabshahi, Hanif Yazdani, Abodllah Momeni, Bahram Fayyazi, Habib Hajiheydari, Morteza Eslahchi, Mojtaba Bayat, Ezatollah Ghalandari, Masood Habibi, Saeed Hossein-nia, Arash Khandel, Ashkan Ghiasvand, Mohammad-Hossein Mehrzad, Ahmad Ghassaban, Majid Tavakoli, Ehsan Mansouri, and Amir Yaghoub-ali.

In support and memory of our fellow activists, a group of Iranian bloggers will change their blog title to "August 5th: The day of support for jailed Iranian students". We invite you to participate in this cause.

Why Iranian students don't return to Iran?

Back on March 3rd, Radio Zamaneh interviewed two Iranian students on the reasons the Iranian students stay abroad after their studies rather than heading back to Iran (titled چرا مغزهای جوان به ایران باز نمی‌گردند؟). It was a sober talk; many reasons brought up like personal dignity, quality of life, economy, opportunities for making the dreams come true, professional ambitions, ...

Having said that, it was a pity that the socio-political issues were pretty much ignored. Though the focus was more on "personal reasons", it was left out that most of those personal issues stem from socio-political issues plaguing Iran today. Most people in the developing world face similar issues but they don't feel like us that their voices are completely ignored or they can't participate in building their country. Look around and see many students from India, South-Korea, and even China head back home after their studies. Further, some of those who opt to live in the West would end up serving, even unintentionally, their homelands better through establishing professional and economic ties. Probably there is no better example than Jewish professionals in the West helping Israel. I even see Chinese professors or Indians in hi-tech sector establishing startups in their countries these days.

Our educated people have had a minimal influence in shaping our country. It sounds something is seriously wrong with us :(

Lost opportunity in 2003

See NIAC's conference in February 2007 titled "US-Iran relations: collision, stand-off, or convergence?" in Capitol Hill featuring speakers including Francis Fukuyama, Colonel Larry Wilkerson (Colin Powell's Chief of Staff), Bruno Pellaud (former deputy chief of the IAEA), Daniel Levy (former advisor to Ehud Barak).

Full conference transcript (very interesting, especially see the morning two sessions which gives details on how the process initiated from the Iranian side and lost at the American side; and how IAEA sees Iran nuclear program).

2003 Memo Says Iranian Leaders Backed Talks, Washington Post, Feb. 14, 2007.
The roadmap document
Blown Chance, Newsweek, Feb. 8, 2007.

Would we be still in the current mess if they had gone public about it? Oops! I forgot! Talking to American was such a taboo back then... The failure of this initiative served the right wings of both countries...

John Stewart's Iranian Hostage Crisis

Don't miss out on last Thursday's show of Daily Show on Iranian Hostage Crisis, The Next Generation. This is another laugh or cry story!
"Hey Iran, do you know how hard we're working to keep President Bombs-A-Lot from throwing down on you?"



http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=84520

Ahmadinejad: A secret agent? :)

For a good laugh or maybe cry:
Ahmadinejad, our secret agent in Iran
And its translation in Rooz: !احمدي نژاد، متشکريم

پست یکم

خوب دیگه... این بیماری وبلاگ داری به من هم رسید. بعد از چند سال تاخیرالبته... حالا هم نمی دونم چقدر عمر میکنه و چیزه بدردبخوری ازش درمیاد یا نه. حداقلش امیدوارم که کمی نظم به این تفکرات و علایق پراکنده بده یا کمکی کنه یک روزی تا به یاد بیارم این روزا به چی فکر میکردم...ـ