Latest News From Tehran: General Atmosphere is calmed down. No tensions observed/reported.%
New Colleagues: I was surfing the web while I noticed a newly born or better called right-out-of-the-box community blog named “mashregh” (The East) which targets the Iranian community’s general behavior, and as I noticed in the introduction page their aim is to give a bright over-view of the Iranian culture and social events. The “meat” will be prepared using a highly “unbiased” and “professional” staff so it might be a trustworthy news feed. It’s in the English by the way….! It seems as if we’re going to have colleagues. I, myself, appreciate the act and announce here that I’ll be happy to help in case of being asked.
Thursday, June 19, 2003 ::: Rabbles to Appear on TV Screens Wait for the TV Broadcasts of the Rabbles There has been a report of disorders in Mashhad (North Eastern Iran) involving at least 200 protesters which the police could get the control. Regarding the news, Ali Akbar Ahmadi, the security deputy of the Home Minister told ISNA: “Regarding the report intake, Isfahan, Mashahd, Shiraz and Kerman experienced disorders in [pre]defined intervals… And the disorders soon were sorted out with the Police interference.” Speaking of the Tabriz University disorders he added: “It was a University gathering involving 150 protesters whom 70 of them were arrested. [After the arrest process] it cleared out [for us] that 35 of them were celebrated rabbles of the city. He also added in Isfahan’s ShahinShahr some disorders have also been conducted during last night that involved [a total] rabble presence and basically none of the gatherings of the city did involve students. The security deputy of the Home Ministry stated that following the latest decision of the “Provincial Security Council” the provincial officials are to find and arrest the disorder agents and as the Prosecutor has said they can be interviwed by the media. But in Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashahd the arrested protesters will appear on the screens and describe their motifs and relations [(!)] for condcting disorders [and riots.] [Revised][Good Day] {Breaking News}
The general atmosphere [of the dormitory site] is calm but the panic is still present. I went to the dormitory after 6 days. [While entering] I saw a heavy man standing at the door. It stroke to my mind that he might be an Ansar (Plainclothes man Revolutionary Guard) J … [Zahra] [Revised] {Correspondent View}
The Islamic Union of the Universities has issues its third statement titled as “The recent movements and the plainclothes men.” Criticizing the government, they have asked for taking firm stands against these actions. Following the release of the High Council’s statement of exam schedule delay, some of the students are leaving the dorms and some whom exams are not so hard and they haven’t taken complicated subjects are staying and preparing themselves for exams which are due in a week. Police still has an active presence in the dormitory site. [Original] [An Iranian’s World] {Breaking News}
Wednesday, June 18, 2003 ::: Note From IranHall The following blog was added to our feed list. Also, I am going to categorize the posts. -Par (Feather) (par.blogsky.com) {Informative PS}
Managing the weblog has been an interesting task [for me] these days. I’d like to share these experiences with my friends whom I sympathy with. A weblog can be installed using some sort of easy to achieve facilities; typing and Internet [access] I mean; which any student has [access to]. Using the [high tech] anyone can be much more effective. At least forty percent of the dudes have access to the Internet [Note: Estimation Not Confirmed] and they partially master computer better than me. Imagine a quarter of them to publish blogs and what changes will take effect! How does it make sense when Mehdi [possibly mehdi110.blogspot.com] was arrested at the university and the news was spread up to southern Jamaica in less than 17 minutes? Do you know if the bloggers’ community’s [population] grows higher we may have much more security?! Can you imagine [if we keep on blogging] when the IRIB (National Broadcasting) airs the video of some student youngsters, calls them as “rabble” And their friends recognize them and recall them in their weblogs no one can continue the [arrest and faulty announce propaganda] race? [Source: Par] [Revised]
Managing the weblog has been an interesting task [for me] these days. I’d like to share these experiences with my friends whom I sympathy with. A weblog can be installed using some sort of easy to achieve facilities; typing and Internet [access] I mean; which any student has [access to]. Using the [high tech] anyone can be much more effective. At least forty percent of the dudes have access to the Internet [Note: Estimation Not Confirmed] and they partially master computer better than me. Imagine a quarter of them to publish blogs and what changes will take effect! How does it make sense when Mehdi [possibly mehdi110.blogspot.com] was arrested at the university and the news was spread up to southern Jamaica in less than 17 minutes? Do you know if the bloggers’ community’s [population] grows higher we may have much more security?! Can you imagine [if we keep on blogging] when the IRIB (National Broadcasting) airs the video of some student youngsters, calls them as “rabble” And their friends recognize them and recall them in their weblogs no one can continue the [arrest and faulty announce propaganda] race? [Source: Par] [Revised]
The High Council of the Universities has issues a circular (an internal order) stating that the dormitory residents ( non-Tehrani students) can take their [final] exams during the last week of September and the first week of October. The students who want to follow the order must hand in their rooms not after Saturday and return home. The students who want to take the exams right now can still stay. The Tehrani students must appear on the exam sessions according to the prior exam schedule.
While I am posting this text, three police officers are jerking in the study hall. The ranked officers of the police are everywhere, inch by inch. On the roofs, on the corners, among the trees and vice versa. I encountered one of them playing with water cooling system while I was preparing the tea staff in the kitchen… [Revised] [Source: An Iranian’s World]
Why? The statement of the Students’ Islamic Association (SIA) of Tehran University and the Medical School: “Some were arrested recently and while broadcasting some videos of them, they were called as rabbles… Why a plainclothes man or a member of [Islamic] hard liner is never arrested or his video broadcasted or him be dubbed as a rabble? Isn’t it right that the riot is being operated under the supervision of the people who threaten and attack the students with knife, dagger and club?….”
Oh My! How dreadful are the pictures of the Tarasht dormitory. The scene of broken doors, affects anyone. Imagine the moment they were pounding and bumping the doors; how frightened the resident students might have been. How did they feel, by the way? Just think a moment and you’ll be invaded by frighten. I can’t believe these [attacks] have been conducted by a human being. A human being, surely, has heart and the heart doesn’t rule him to do so. I am sorry for the occupants of [Tarasht] dorm whom their doors are broken. Imagine, we lock the doors each night but if they want to attack, they’ll do. [source: Zahra]
“Riot in Tehran” As you might have heard the news, a student-led riot is being held in Tehran at the moment. Iran Hall’s author recognized the foreign and overseas Iranian media news spread as fake, misleading and with enriched with politically motivated propagandas; so the blog’s editorial decided to spread minute-to-minute news from Tehran. Blog’s author does not live in Tehran but tries to find, edit, filter and translate precise news from trustworthy narrators. Our sources mostly consist of: - Good Day (behzadfarahmand.blogspot.com) - Zahra (zahra-hb.com) - An Iranian’s World (mehdi110.blogspot.com) Following the post, I’ll launch the first edition of the “Riot in Tehran” Iran Hall
Saturday, May 17, 2003 ::: Iranian e-freedom at stake
Finally the long-waited promise by the government turned into a bitter reality. The Iranian telecom, serving at least 5 millions of cellular and wired phones, officially started blocking the certain sited over its net services. The policy shift occurred weeks after the arrest of the Iranian blogger and journalist, Sina Motallebi who is said to be arrested in wake of his posts on his personal weblog. Mr Motallebi was freed some days prior to the official blue pencilism! The censorship has been condemned by the Iranian bloggers society in term of ridiculing posts targeting mainly the Telecom and its engineers. One of the popular youth category blogs submitted: “You have pressed the cut button wrongly! Iranian Women site is planned to be blocked and the dude in the censorship stuff has given the knock to the wrong button (as he might have been so booby), instead of blocking the domain, he bans the IP and nothing else! As my weblog, cappuccino magazine’s, hasanpix, Nafiseh Gallery, and the Persian Tools’ were on the same server, they suffer blockages.” (source: http://weblog.ehsanix.com) The above sentences (translated into English by IranHall) show the great illiteracy behind the whole story and of course the general anger in turn. But the simple logic consumed by the telecom for the blocking process and the wide scale usage of the European and American fed ISPs have turned the block wave into a waste. At the zero time of the censorship the escaping methods for ignoring the filters have been widely spread among the users and mirrors became popular. Condemning the attack, HoDer, the Iranian blogging pioneer, called for the formation of a general opposition movement against the Internet censorship in Iran and described it as a three stage process: “ The Internet censorship started officially. The involvement of the administration which we indirectly elected seems so peculiar. But to put the story in the nut shell, opposing the censorship is a three staged process: First, discovering technical shortcuts [and exits] for ignoring the filters and introducing it widely [among the people], 2) Spreading the news [updates of the censorship events] universally 3) Syndicate and group level opposition [movements].” (Source: http://i.hoder.com ; Translated by IranHall) Altogether, the future of the Iranian browsing is not clear. May be it is just a bit of a bigger plan. What’s YOUR idea?
Friday, May 02, 2003 :::
Persian Blogging "Catch 22" State With the blogging wave booming and the fact that blogging issue is potentially enriched enough for changing into a post modern media, the Iranian or better say Persian blogging experiences its first bust shadowed by a state-led opposition in form of a legal case. The Persian blogging experienced a spot-lightism last week in wake of the arrest of the Iranian journalist and film reviewer, S. Motallebi. The "arrest" itself ignited a new form of oposition among the growing culture of the persian bloggers. In response to a call put forward by the Persian blogging pioneer, Hossein Derakhshan, the state-led conviction of Mr Motallebi received a new format condemnation. Mr Derakhshan succeeded in absorbing a world scale support for Motallebi by introducing an online movement in form of an online petition. The persian blogging criteria in most of the Internet thermometers geared up by help of the Freedom Seeking banners developed by Derakhshan which was soon spreaded among bloggers. (Refer: www.hoder.com/i) Mr Motallebi's conviction is said to be related to his blog's contents and this term has induced dilemma and hesitation in hearts of the persian bloggers as their post contents might seem "sensitive" to the Islamic government, specially conservative and extremist run organizations. Persian blogging, especially the "Inside Iran" blogs are between a rock and a hard place. Mr Motallebi's convictions are not clear yet, officiually but the movement posed by his supporters is adorable. Of course, the final verdict and the terms of conviction can change the destiny of the both the opposition movement an the whole persian bloging phenomenon. We keep our fingers crossed for him anyways... Mr Motallebi used to be one of my favourite journalists while working in the independent daily, Hayateno. Hayateno was banned sooner this year for publishing a picture which was beleived to resemble the late Ayatollah Khomeini. The court sessions of Hayateno haven't opened yet.
::: posted by NY at 7:59 PM
Friday, March 21, 2003 ::: A Year-End Message Prologue Perhaps two most critical but joy and graceful moments of each year is the beginning and ending of each. Then you face the upper-most unity one can find throughout a nation, the unity in belief, happiness, and sympathy. Perhaps the most beautiful sensation is the moments before the great shift… a shift that fuels changes, sometimes flashes a metamorphosis and as a result a year changes and the digits mount to a one more… But what about the qualities? Do they gear up too? Wish so. Every and each year the “opening” is so glamorous for me- and for any fellow. For me it is accompanied by up-tempo heartbeats, beats that revolutionize the spirit and guarantee that yes! This is the beginning of a new birth, a new life.
A Renaissance Have you ever thought of the New Year eve circulating over the year? If you had the choice, when would you assign as the New Year? I think the best moment would be the rebirth time! When the nature gets back its spirit and revitalizes the residents of this old planet. The most appropriate one could be the beginning of the Natural Renaissance; Spring. The collision of spring and the Iranian New Year is not something accidental; but reveals the pure taste of our ancestors which regarded these times as special… and they are special truly. You can feel the depth of its genuine in the holy unification one has over Haft Seen, the Iranian traditional spread in behalf of the New Year. Almost everyone, country-wide, is looking at its ingredients and thinks of the same idea: What he has done and what he is going to do.
A Glimpse of the Past As the year-end deadline passes second by second, the chance for remembrance increases. To remember what you have done during the past year. If you have reached the goals you expected. As I look back the days I have passed during this year I tell myself: “Wow, what a great journey of events it had been.” I have done so many things to remember.” At the beginning years of the new millennium, the history has seen so many events that one can rarely find during the past centuries. So many advancements and in return so many conflicts. We are standing proudly on the cutting-edge technology and at the same time fueling the conflicts over the world. As we are starting the New Year world is facing one of its devastating wars: The war on Iraq. Wish the flames of the war not to be the warming tone of our hearts and the blood-shed the color of our life.
…So this is New Year and So is coming the New Year, with its magnificence and hope, strength and energy. The magnificence of a true art, the art that softens the spirits and gathers the hearts. Hopes for better organized future, a will of goals and strategies. The strength for restarting a new life and managing to keep it go on safe and sound and the energy to love, learn to love and to teach to; As this is the first and the last God had gifted us: to love and to be loved.
The Final and the Start I wish you all the dear readers to experience a happy new year, a year with the family and their warm supports, a year full of happiness and hopes. A year with the most sweet days and nights. A year with the loved ones. A year full of peace and relief and a year full of achievements under the support of the God. Merry New Year!
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 ::: Once More, I Open the Door Hi again.... I had abondoned the page for a couple of weeks but I am back now. It has always been a big question for me how the correspondants prepared and edited the news. Perhaps blogging is one of the new approaches of media in the great millenium and it has enrouted the news makers, I mean the reporters than the agencies, hold their own weblogs as uncensored, unedited sources of their own viesws. This could be a good market for the journalists. A shadowed market perhaps. Any ways, to put the story in a nut shell, Iraq matter is facing its final stages, and to be precise, it is entering another phase. The destiny of all Iraqis wil be cleared out tonight or so; with the ultimatum addressed and teh reflections and reactins spread. From a month ago ( or two) major News Companies worldwide have sent their correspondants or better to say "headquarters" to the region and neighbor countries. It is good to hear their direct view points. Kevin is a CNN correspondant who says of his views and of course technical difficulties in Northern Iraq...
