New York Times: [Judiciary Spokesman Alireza Jamshidi] also announced punishments for 54 followers of the Bahai faith who were arrested early last year in Shiraz, in southern Iran. He said three had received prison terms of four years on charges of “propagating against the regime.” The other 51 received suspended prison terms and were released on the condition that they take courses taught by the state-run Islamic Propaganda Organization, Agence France-Presse reported. Iran’s theocracy does not recognize the legitimacy of Bahaism.

  

 

RAWA: "A young Afghan journalist, Parwiz Kambakhsh has been arrested and sentenced to death in Afghanistan. Kambakhsh is accused of printing, distributing an article from the Internet, which points out controversial verses of the Quran regarding women’s rights. The book “Religion in the History of Civilization” (by Will Durant) taken from his living room has been kept as an evidence against him in the court!"

  

 

دکتر احمد کریمی حکاک: من امیدم این است، مملکتی به نام ایران وجود داشته باشد که تنوع ملی وقومی خودش را به رسمیت بشناسد؛ و براساس یک وفاق همیشه معتبر، باقی بماند. ولی برای من آرمان نهایی بشریت، رسیدن به آزادی است. هر قومیتی، هر ملیتی اگر فکر کند حضورش در متن یک مملکت مشخص، مخل و محدودکنندۀ آزادی اوست، این حق را دارد که بر آن نظام بشورد و ملت و مملکت خودش را تشکیل بدهد. امید من این است که ما ایرانیان بتوانیم از تعصب‌های نژادی، مذهبی و زبانی و فرهنگی فاصله بگیریم و ایرانی‌ را که می‌گویند غنا یش در تنوع قومی و ملی و زبانی اوست، به رسمیت بشناسیم و همیشه هویتی به‌نام ایران باشد. ولی اگر قرار باشد ایران وجود داشته باشد، ولی براساس سرکوب یک قوم توسط قوم دیگر، یا سرکوب اقوامی توسط اقوام دیگر شکل بگیرد، من آن مملکت را دوست نخواهم داشت.

  

 

Three Turkmen have been killed and 300 have been arrested in Iran. Their families are not notified of their whereabouts. The 1,100,000 Turkmen are a major ethnic group in Iran.

  

 

Tim Wilson writes: “Divide and Conquer is an ancient, well-known and accurate military aphorism. Throughout its history, the United States has successfully applied this principle to win the War of Independence, the Mexican War, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. This history of success has been marred recently when the enemy effectively applied it to us on our home front – to some extent in Korea and most notably in Vietnam. The same tactic has been applied with some success by the Islamists, led most notably by al Qaeda, with regard to Iraq." I personally think if nations ruled by terror-sponsoring regimes are divided into smaller states; a geopolitical security or the safety of democratic nations is not guaranteed. It multiplies the problem and increases the difficulty of dealing with them.

  

 

Iran: Human Rights Crimes

An Iranian university student, Ebrahim Lotf Allahi was severely tortured and killed in Kurdistan. In addition Hasan Hikmet Demir, a Turkish national, who had frost damage to both his legs as a result of exposure to severe cold after his prison escape before his arrest by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, was denied a lawyer and hanged in Iran. Despite the continues crimes committed by the Iranian regime, Trita Parsi and in Hassan Daioleslam's words the Iranian regime’s lobby in the United states continue to play Grand bargain card and buy time for the regime. Justin Elliott at Mother Jones writes: "Parsi has been arguing for a while that Iran is a rational, pragmatic actor in the Middle East, not an uncontainable rogue state on an unswerving path to nuclear holocaust, as the country is so often portrayed." One wonders why the president of the National Iranian American Council and a so called Iran expert and scholar finds the Iranian regime a rational and pragmatic one!

  

 

Do You Hear the Captive Voice?

Recently I wrote a short (Persian) review of SIN, selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad translated by Sholeh Wolpé. After decades of censorship, and women fighting for their rights we still face the same obstacles as women before us did. Sheida Mohamadi is another Iranian writer whose first poetry collection had to be published unauthorized in Iran.

  

 

Crimes Against Humanity

Human Rights First: "China claims that it cannot control what the government of Sudan does in Darfur. But China’s direct investment in Sudan exceeded $300 million in 2005. That buys a lot of leverage. And the lives of innocent Darfuris continue to hang in the balance."

  

 

I don't care much for Hillary win or lose especially after learning that Hassan Namazee is one of her fundraisers. But it is amazing how some (black) Americans play the race card in this country. Obama compares himself to Kennedy and MLK when he has never been present in any important voting or decision making or put his life or even comfort on the line for his convictions. His "opposition to the war from the beginning" line is as repetitive, boring, and ridiculous as Giuliani’s noun-verb-9/11.

  

 

Iraq to Restore Former Baath Party Followers

According to NPR news Iraq's parliament passed a long awaited measure on Saturday to ease restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party. It is an essential step for the future of Iraq and peace in the country to have the Baath party return to public life.

  

 

I watched a short clip of Ayatollah Khamenei the supreme leader of Iran where he says one third of all women are beaten by their husband. Then I recall this verse 34 of Surah al-Nisa where it says: If you fear highhandedness from your wives, remind them [of the teaching of Allah], then ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them. If they obey you, you have no right to act against them. Allah is most high and great (the Qur'an). I may be wrong but I don’t recall any other leader who finds joy and pride in beating the women as a religious excuse!

  

 

IRAN: Breaking World News

The Iranian regime has found a new way to execute Iranians. Pushing people off the cliffs! In addition they have amputated the hands and legs of five Iranian Baloch. Do we really need more amputation punishments? And only recently Iran has been paid twelve million dollars to help the Afghan refugees but the same refugees are forced to leave the country in the freezing cold weather. With all due respect for the Taste of Cherry director, why are we such a welcoming and adoring nation when it comes to Abgoosht eating actresses who return to the west and never mention a word about the human rights crimes in Iran?

  

 

The Democratic Nominee

The United States needs a problem solver. It is losing its edge in economical terms, innovation, energy, etc. It needs substance, experience, and not a fluff like Barack Obama. Despite him being a great speaker he has been copying Hillary Clinton’s plans and has not attended important senate voting.