[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great

[The New York Times]

Those Friendly Iranians

May 05, 2004
The New York Times
Nicholas D. Kristof
Source: http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2004&m=05&d=05&a=8#

Finally, I've found a pro-American country.

Everywhere I've gone in Iran, with one exception, people have been exceptionally friendly and fulsome in their praise for the United States, and often for President Bush as well. Even when I was detained a couple of days ago in the city of Isfahan for asking a group of young people whether they thought the Islamic revolution had been a mistake (they did), the police were courteous and let me go after an apology.

They apologized; I didn't.

On my first day in Tehran, I dropped by the "Den of Spies," as the old U.S. Embassy is now called. It's covered with ferocious murals denouncing America as the "Great Satan" and the "archvillain of nations" and showing the Statue of Liberty as a skull (tour the "Den of Spies" here).

Then I stopped to chat with one of the Revolutionary Guards now based in the complex. He was a young man who quickly confessed that his favorite movie is "Titanic." "If I could manage it, I'd go to America tomorrow," he said wistfully.

He paused and added, "To hell with the mullahs."

In the 1960's and 1970's, the U.S. spent millions backing a pro-Western modernizing shah — and the result was an outpouring of venom that led to our diplomats' being held hostage. Since then, Iran has been ruled by mullahs who despise everything we stand for — and now people stop me in the bazaar to offer paeans to America as well as George Bush.

Partly because being pro-American is a way to take a swipe at the Iranian regime, anything American, from blue jeans to "Baywatch," is revered. At the bookshops, Hillary Clinton gazes out from three different pirated editions of her autobiography.

`It's a best seller, though it's not selling as well as Harry Potter," said Heidar Danesh, a bookseller in Tehran. "The other best-selling authors are John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel."

Young Iranians keep popping the question, "So how can I get to the U.S.?" I ask why they want to go to a nation denounced for its "disgustingly sick promiscuous behavior," but that turns out to be a main attraction. And many people don't believe a word of the Iranian propaganda.

"We've learned to interpret just the opposite of things on TV because it's all lies," said Odan Seyyid Ashrafi, a 20-year-old university student. "So if it says America is awful, maybe that means it's a great place to live."

Indeed, many Iranians seem convinced that the U.S. military ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq are going great, and they say this with more conviction than your average White House spokesman.

One opinion poll showed that 74 percent of Iranians want a dialogue with the U.S. — and the finding so irritated the authorities that they arrested the pollster. Iran is also the only Muslim country I know where citizens responded to the 9/11 attacks with a spontaneous candlelight vigil as a show of sympathy.

Iran-U.S. relations are now headed for a crisis over Tehran's nuclear program, which appears to be so advanced that Iran could produce its first bomb by the end of next year. The Bush administration is right to address this issue, but it needs to step very carefully to keep from inflaming Iranian nationalism and uniting the population behind the regime. We need to lay out the evidence on satellite television programs that are broadcast into Iran, emphasizing that the regime is squandering money on a nuclear weapons program that will further isolate Iranians and damage their economy.

Left to its own devices, the Islamic revolution is headed for collapse, and there is a better chance of a strongly pro-American democratic government in Tehran in a decade than in Baghdad. The ayatollahs' best hope is that hard-liners in Washington will continue their inept diplomacy, creating a wave of Iranian nationalism that bolsters the regime — as happened to a lesser degree after President Bush put Iran in the axis of evil.

Oh, that one instance when I was treated inhospitably? That was in a teahouse near the Isfahan bazaar, where I was interviewing religious conservatives. They were warm and friendly, but a group of people two tables away went out of their way to be rude, yelling at me for being an American propagandist. So I finally encountered hostility in Iran — from a table full of young Europeans.

[Guest]

[Persian]

Thank you Nicolas!

Finally people are telling the truth about Iranian people.
Iranians are not terrorist, they are taken hostage in their own land by a bunch of European backed fascist terrorist clerics.

You want Anti American and Anti Semite comments, go to Indymedia and other European "activist" websites! It's full of it.

Iranian youth must also know their main enemies reside in LONDON not Tehran or even Qum!

About Time Iranian Youth Send a Load Clear Messege to the Outside World by Prosting Against European Governments!

In front of British Embassy!

Many of the youth are commiting suiside these days for seeing no future for temselves or their nation. TAKE THAT TO THE BRITISH EMBASSY AS WELL!

[Jack Straw Is Evil Man]

[Facts Regarding British]

Islamic Fundamentalism - A Major Distraction for 25 Years

Introduction

1- Ever since the rise of the so called Islamic Fundamentalist which was planned and executed by the combined efforts of the intelligence Services of Certain Countries, in particular the English MI5, and a certain so called rouge elements within the CIA of United States who due to their on going relationship with their English Counter Part, facilitated and help the rise of Islamic Fundamentalist, who in fact are nothing but a bunch of Murdering, thieves and bullies who if any thing, they should be called the true Hezbe-Satan, in contrast to what they like to call themselves which as every one knows is Hezbollah or Party of God, which in fact based on their deeds they are most definitely deserve to be within the camp of Satan .

Then if one believes in God and also in the devil, then if and only if the followers of the Devil or Satan had some how organized themselves into a collection of like minded Murderers, Thieves and Liars, would they call themselves the Party of Satan or Hezbollah (the Party of God)?


2-The natural question for those who are not familiar with the political and economy of the past 30 to 35 years is why did Britain and United States, two of the leading Western countries through their intelligence Services would want to devise a Plan, to create and support a movement of so called “Islamic Fundamentalist”, that on the face of things, and with respect to the current status of the world events, having proven and shown their true identity can only be considered to be detrimental to our way of life, threatens / destroys our livelihood and can eventually destroys Civilizations. The only logical explanation is that the Greed and thievery of Government of England, which does not recognize any boundary, frontier or rights of other countries, and who are willing to steal, assassinate, deceive, lie and cheat and every other characteristics that can be affiliated with followers of Satan on one hand and the Greed of International Oil Companies, with the help and assistance of the hired hands from the Intelligent operatives of MI6, MI5, and their bodies, and friends in the CIA, managed to orchestrate and produce the scenario and the theater and the acts that we have witnessed to date.


Background

3-During the late 1960’s the British Economy was in shambles and to some extent the US Economy was in relative weakness, where the English Government was forced to apply and solicit for Large Loans/ funds from the International Banking Circles, with little or no success. During this period, the labor Government was in Power and there were a considerable unrest within the various Labor Unions and the English Government was constantly on the brink of major shakedown.

4-It was during this particular period that a group of White Hall Civil Servants, of English decent, decided to take the Matters into their own hand and to use whatever mean necessary to remedy the economy and the political unrest, which included but not limited to manipulating the election in England, dirty tricks / or assassination or disappearance of key labor union personnel and hence thereafter resulting in the Conservative Party’s winning of the Election.

5-It is worth noting that the so called Defense Industry in England is a major Exporter of Arms to almost any one who wishes to place purchase Orders, and in the early 70’s among the many contracts that were in place was the Limited Production and final Assembly of the Chieftain Tanks in a City in the Western Iran. This contract like most other Contracts was signed by the Shah of Iran, a true friend to the United States. At the same time there was a Financing arrangement whereby the City of London was the recipient of a one Billion Dollar Loan from Iran to repair the aging sewer and Water Distribution system, the first installments of $ 300 Million having been paid . Some time during the 1976 -1977 Period there was a complain against the British Company involved in the Chieftain Tanks project as to not doing the work satisfactorily per signed Contract/ agreement and this issue was brought up to the attention of the Higher ups all the way to the Shah, who wanted to know why the English Company was not performing the Work per their Contractual obligation and Schedule. As it is generally the Case, the English Company did not respond in a Satisfactory Manner, resulting in Shah stopping the second payment of the

$ 300 Million of the $ 1.00 Billion loan to the City of London.

Devil At Work

6-Subsequently, James Callaghan, the British Prime Minister at the time flow to Tehran wanting to meet with the Shah of Iran, to inquire why the $ 300 Million was not paid out. Once in Tehran he was kept in waiting for almost two hours before meeting with the Shah, where both sides discussed the Issues, but James Callahan Left this meeting with the notion that they (The British Government, and in particular the Civil Servants of the English Government who work in the White Hall) have to topple the Shah, one way or another. Of course, then all the dirty tricks, lies, deception, black mail, assassinations and what ever else, which are the Standard tools of the Intelligence Service, can be employed in order to achieve their set objective.

7- Roughly at the same period, on the other side of Atlantic, The worst president in the History of United States, the brainless, Jimmy the Teeth, Jimmy Cater had been elected. Some fellow Georgians, who had gotten excited by this election and who were very close friends and supporters of Jimmy Cater, convinced Jimmy Cater, that this is their time to get rich and for Jimmy to Contact the Shah, and arrange for Shah to cancel a large Contract for a Project to Construct a Major Port in Southern Part of Iran. This contract had been given to a leading well know Construction Company in United States, namely Brown and Root and then shah was asked to add ten percent to the Contract value and sign a new contract with the Corporation owned by friends of Jimmy Carter, then in turn these friends of Jimmy Carter were to sign a Contract with Brown and Roots for the same amount as before, and pocket the ten (10) percent, with obvious kick backs to Jimmy Carter, or his Lackey brother, Billy Carter.

8-Somehow or rather Shah did not accept this arrangement and declined to cancel the Brown and Root Contract, resulting in Jimmy Carter feeling rejected, thinking to himself that since he is the President of a Super Power, and he deserves the Kick back. From that time Jimmy Carter had adequate personal reason to start his Human Right Campaign, against the Shah. This is a demonstration of well know human weaknesses

“Pure Greed”, from there Jimmy Carter’s Campaign of Human Rights against the Shah of Iran was orchestrated, with all the necessary support from the White House.

9-On the other side of the Atlantic, the English Government with the use of their intelligence services such as MI5 and MI6 and through their Network of Spies found out about the failed attempt by Jimmy Carter at extortion by his Georgian cronies and knew that they have a solid allay in the President of United States , and the British Government( MI5, MI6 Staff and the Civil Servants in white Hall) devised a plan where by they would use the resources of United States as well as their own assets, and told their lackey’s the Turban wearing murdering thieves the in Iran that since they were far removed from Power, and they have to rely on Government’s Hand outs, if the British Government ( MI5, MI6 and the Civil Servants in White Hall) are successful in dethroning the Shah , then all the proceeds and the resulting Revenue from the Sale of Iranian Oil would be paid to the English Government. Then the so called Clergy or Mollahs, having every thing to gain and nothing to lose, agreed to this proposition. Another Ally of this British Plot was Shah of Iran’s closest American friend David Rockefeller of Exxon, who financed the Iranian Upheaval to the Tune of more than one Billion Dollars whose company Exxon continued to purchase 300,000 Barrel Per Day of Iranian Crude Oil at considerable discount for many years after the fall of the Shah, which by the way was then against the then laws of the United states.

10-The rest of events have been adequately documented, except since the American Companies were no loner able to openly deal in Iran, the British MI5, who were instrumental in bringing to Power a Brutal Bunch of Turban wearing Murderers, and thieves under the well promoted and advertised slogan of Islamic Revolutionaries ( a creation of MI5, MI6) proceeded to instruct the Mollahs to keep the anti- American Fever alive, and if they think to do otherwise, then they will have to face the wrath of the Americans as well as the Iranian People if and when they make a come back to power. The creation of the Islamic Schools or Maderssa in neighboring and /or other countries such as Pakistan, and Turkey were part of the same plan, to change or influence the Politics of these countries and reduce or Eliminate the Reach of US Government and US Corporation in that part of the world, resulting in a environment that there are no safety for a United States Passport holders to travel.

11- However, it is worth noting that those U.S Corporation that could make the necessary arrangements could still go and work on various projects in Iran using Canadian Passport. This British Plan has been in effect, and since they are getting extremely rich by stealing the Iranian Oil Revenue, the estimated amount of which is well over a Trillion Dollars resulting in not needing to borrow any money, and to be able to renovate the entire Public infrastructure in England. Also this infusion of sudden wealth has pushed the price of the Real Estate to very high levels, increases of over 500 % or more over the 1979 Values, since the fall of the Shah, all over England, including Northern England. Obviously they have not invented any thing drastic to become so Rich, except being Good at what they have been doing, Stealing other peoples money and Wealth.

12- From the point of view of the English Civil Servants in White Hall it pays to steal the wealth of other countries, other people’s money, and the English have a very long and distinguished history in that whether to Partner with Pirates of the High Seas, and award them with Knighthood such as Captain Drake or steal the wealth of the Other Countries under the pretext of Common Market.


13-One should not ignore that if for whatever reason the access of British Government ( Civil Servants in White Hall) to this wealth of Iranian Oils, which by any and all interpretation of International law is being stolen by illegal means every day, then it is only common sense that one should realized that the British Government will do its out most to prevent any and all things that may effect this arrangement , in fact based on the recent events it appears that they want to expand this arrangement to Iraq, whereby they are working with the assets of United States ( The full United States Military), but the end result within a few years could be a similar Government of Turban Wearing Thieves and Murderers as that of Iran, and the Oil Revenues of both Iran as well as Iraq would be paid to the Accounts under the control of British Government in London or else where, which the English Civil Servants in White Hall may refer to as a “Bounty” which they have earned/ deserved , and they may even offer kick backs to their allies or counter parts working with them in various positions of Power within the United States establishment, including but not limiting to US Congress, US Mass Media, and Writers of Political Column, or pens for Sale etc.

14-It is worth noting that the Sales Office of National Iranian Oil Company is and has been in London, England, since the events of 1979 and the proceed from the Sale of Iranian Oil is deposited into various accounts designated by the British Government, and is used like a huge slush Fund.

15-Therefore the only way to prevent the spread of the terrorism is to stop this theft and the financial arrangement between the Thieves in London and their lackey’s in Tehran and to deposit these funds into a Trust account to be used by the rightful Government of Iran once a free election can take place.

16-Now, it seems that some time after September 11, the United States Government confronted the British Government about their hanky Panky dealings with the Turban wearing thieves and Murderers in Tehran, and wanting to know about the financial arrangement and how much money the British Government are making and as always they lied and said that they are only getting 50 %, the actual number is 100 % of Oil Revenue as well as financing all the purchases and Letters of Credit issued by the so called national Iranian Oil Company at 20 % Interest through various well known Banks in London.

17-One should see the way the British Government through their Intelligence Services has set up this financial arrangement, they would in a heart beat and gladly sacrifice their Own Government or Prime Minister in order to keep the financial arrangement of Stealing other peoples money or as they may feel “the free Money”, and to allow it continue for as long as possible. Knowing that the British Government has the biggest lobby in the United States, They are able to influence the election in United States, if need be, defeat President Bush in the election of 2004, in the mean time using the instrument of the United Nations to arrange for the so called free election in Iraq, and then by the shear numbers as well as the dominance of the predominately Shiae majority, a Government , very sympathetic to the religious majority with discreet ties to the British Government would come to Power. As result of the previous events United States will be promoted to the most hated nation which was not the original intention, but resulted from behind the scene manipulation while pretending to be the stead fast ally of the United States, mean while stabbing the United States in the back.

18- It is a well know fact that after 1979, several of the British Television programs where referring to the fall of the shah in a way as that the United States has been Kicked out of Iran and the British have revenged their loss of 1953, when the Government of Mosadegh nationalized the Iranian Oil, and kicked the British out of the Country.

19- In fact, let’s for a moment assume that all the above statements are true, and put ourselves in place of continuously scheming MI5, the tool of White Hall and British Government. What would we do, what are the actions that we should instigate that would be financially beneficial for the British Government, in the short term as well as the Long Term security for the criminal Enterprise that has been established under the auspices of the British Government? We would encourage as much buffer as possible between those who serve our interest such as the Turban wearing Murderers and thieves in Tehran and those who would like nothing better than getting rid of these animals. Then it would become obvious that the Civil Servants in White Hall and the Staff of MI5 would provide their lackey’s all type of weapons through third parties, and encourage these Cronies to reach out and expand their own circle of influence, thereby the British sphere of influence.

20- The moral choice lies with the free people of United States; who in the opinion of some English Men are considered still to be living in the Colony, whose independence was never signed off by the British Crown.

21- In our opinion the fathers and mothers of the US Military should know the full picture and know why their sons and daughter are in Middle East fighting against the Terrorist and who are the true Masters and beneficiary of the Terror that we are all faced with.

22- It may require the might of United States to be used against the Civil Servants in White Hall and the MI5 and MI6 Agents to prevent any further escalation in the War against Terrorist. The English Government are the only one who can tell their hired hand, the turban wearing thieves and Killers that they have to vacate the seat of power in Tehran and stop the support of terrorist Groups. Otherwise Iraq, will be a battlefield where a lot of brained wash people will perish and the world will further destabilize and again the only Party that is financially benefiting from this situation will be the lazy English Government, who by their genetic nature will always resort to theft than working their way to a relative economic prosperity.

23- It would be relatively easy to confirm the above through the investigative process, for all to know, who are the true Terror Masters, sitting behind a desk in White Hall and their so called MI5 & MI6 agents who are without any and all scruples, and there is nothing that they would not do, including lies and deceit.

24- During the early stages of the War in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban, on of the reports in the News paper described how the British forces are unable to find any person from the Taliban or Al Qaeda,and they are able to sit very relaxed in local Tea Houses, while the US Military Personnel have to watch each other back as they move through the streets, for they would be fired upon. Then soon after the British forces were sent home. This can only be possible if the understanding exist that the British are the true Friends and the United States are the True Enemy.

25- It is relatively easy for the United States Congress to initiate a fact finding mission to verify where have the British Government been receiving all these funds and their position as the True Terror Masters of the World.

At end of the day one should watch “What They Do”, and not just lesson to “What They Say”.

26- Due to the shear size of the Oil and Gas Fields of the both Iran and Iraq, it is important that true Democracy is brought to both Iran and Iraq, and let them both freely flourish, to the benefit of cross section of Industries, and do not allow the interest of International Oil and Energy Companies to supersede the other sector of Industries. Otherwise if the world allows that the Greed and thievery of one nation which by no means equals to the damage done to the US Economy as result of the Sept. 11 , then

This event was also a off shoot of the so called Islamic Fundamentalist, except this time, it is a Wahabi , Sunni imitative, Which in the over all scenario is another layer to prevent the broader US economy to have a effect in that region.

27- The Government of Britain under the pretext of Pro- Freedom has been housing political Extremist in England. The plot to assassinate Ahmad Shah Massoud was hatched in England, and the British system of Government vouched for the two assassins as legitimate Newspaper Reporters / Film Crew. Please be aware that denial is another weapon. It is like catching a liar, or thieve and expecting truthful response / honesty.

28- Let us assume that it is the battle of Good against Evil, well we know who is on the side of Evil, perhaps the Grand Master of Evil. But don’t expect to roll call and any body to stand up and introduce themselves as such. The problem with the British Establishment is very deep and probably genetic. If one looks at any of the recent video tape of The British Ambassador to United Nations or for that matter Tony Blair, one can see that they taste the wealth, which is being deposited into their various accounts every day.

29- For the purpose of informing the uninformed, one of the results of this thievery by the English Civil servants has been the biggest Exodus in history, whereby close to 4.5 million people from Iran have left their country, that is how truly close the English and the Mollahs rank as good Servants of their Great Grand Master, Satan.

Proposed Solution

By Hook or Crook these arrangements between the Civil Servants in White Hall all the way up the chain to Tony Blair, the Prime Minister and their Cronies the Turban Wearing Thieves and murders in Tehran must be terminated.

It is obvious that in a capitalist society one needs security to flourish, but for Thieves and Killers the more chaos the better, they will thrive in insecurity and injustice. May God show no mercy to their Soul, for they are truly evil!

The purpose for this article at this junction of time is to place the spot light over the darkness of evil, and let the forces of light win the fight against the dark forces that have brought havoc to our world since 1979. LET THE SUNSHINE IN.

God Bless.

Mostean
_________________
--free forever... on earth and in the next place--

[Liberty Now !]

Great Article! you forgot the link dear.


here is where you can find this article, or send them your Editted version (could use some editting!)

http://www.setad.org/magalat-Dateien/true%20helper.doc



spread the word
_________________
Paayande Iran

[asher]

Thank you so much for this article on British influence in the Iranian regime. I am trying to get the word out on my blog (Dreams Into Lightning) about the London-Tehran axis. Britain and America are on opposite sides of more than the Atlantic Ocean here.

And that Kristof article ... great observation in the last paragraph!

[Article Origin]

[Article Origin]

[IsraelForIran]

Something seems strange to me though:
How did he enter Iran without being caught by the Ayatollah forces???
After all, he is a well known reporter.
On the other hand, the Ayatollahs are WAY too dumb to think about it.
After all, I still remember how a European plan had to land in Iran, even though it had dozens in Israeli on it, and the Ayatollah didn't notice.
The Iranian, of course, were very nice to the Israeli, and even the caps didn't care if they talked Hebrew in the hotel in which they waited until the Plan could take off again.
The most horrific thing is, that there were EUROPEANS there, who see the misery of the Iranian people, and ENJOY it, only because Bush wants freedom for the Iranian people!!!
This is literally European New-Colonialism!!!!

[abaucero]

Not all Europeans are supporters of the Iranian regime. I for one hope to see its end as soon as possible, I would dearly like to visit Iran and see its wonderful people free from the fascist theocracy. I signed the petition, will it really reach Bush and make a difference?
_________________
Andrea Baucero

[stefania]

Kristof’s Iran

New York Times columnist ignores the people’s plight.

By Michael Ledeen

http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200405170730.asp

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times has been to Iran for a few days, and he's full of deep thoughts about it. But, in keeping with the ideology of his social set, they are his thoughts, not those of the Iranian people. To be sure, he quotes Iranians — he's astonished to discover that they do not fear being named — including some senior ayatollahs, to demonstrate the contempt of the people for the regime. Ayatollah Taheri calls the ruling mullahs "society's dregs and fascists who consist of a concoction of ignorance and madness...(and) those who are convinced that yogurt is black."

Kristof's trip was worth the expense for that one quote alone. But instead of following the logic of the Iranian people's enmity to the Islamic Republic — will the "Arab street" not be influenced by the utter failure of Islam in the region's largest and most powerful country?-?he lapses into politically correct dithering: "There's a useful lesson here for George Bush's America as well as for the ayatollahs' Iran: when a religion is imposed on people, when a government tries too ostentatiously to put itself 'under God,' the effect is often not to prop up religious faith but to undermine it."

Huh? Islam has failed in Iran, so utterly and dramatically that even the most senior religious leaders are attacking the theocracy. Has anything of the sort happened in America? No. Is religion "imposed on people" in America? No, indeed the opposite takes place; religion is banished from the public square and the faithful are disparaged as ignorant rednecks. Moreover, in America church and state are separate, while Iran is a theocracy. The two systems have nothing in common, except the New York Times's party line, that religion is a bad thing and religious people are dangerous.

Kristof's feeble attempt at moral equivalence (Bush=mullah) is embarrassingly silly.

Then he turns to the nature of tyranny, a subject on which he has a considerable reputation. He tells us that Iran is not an efficient police state. "It cracks down episodically, tossing dissidents in prison and occasionally even murdering them.... But Iran doesn't control information...and people mostly get away with scathing criticism as long as they do not organize against the government."

That "occasionally even" is pretty bad. He might have mentioned the slaughter of thousands of dissidents in the late 1990s, as he might have deigned to notice the relentless tempo of public executions today. To say that Iran "doesn't control information" is disgraceful, since Journalists Without Borders has branded the regime the single-greatest predator of press freedom in the Middle East. Kristof tells us that "satellite television is ubiquitous," yet thousands of satellite dishes have been torn down in Tehran alone, and those caught watching it are imprisoned, beaten, and tortured.

Then he tells us that America's allies in the region are worse than the Iranians. Iran has elections after all, while the Saudis don't, and two Iranian vice presidents are women. Well, Stalin had elections, too, of precisely the same sort the Iranians have: The regime chooses the candidates, and the voters perforce elect them. To claim that Iranian elections are a sign of freedom is an insult to the tens of millions of Iranians who boycotted the last vote in protest against the tyrannical regime. And to say that Iran has female vice presidents is to miss the whole point: The "government" is powerless, so whoever holds the empty chairs is there for publicity purposes or as a sinecure to favored families.

Kristof has missed the point of Iranian tyranny, which he could have discovered by looking more closely at the way the prisons function. Iranian jails are far more than detention centers; they are part of a vast system of intimidation. Iranian prisoners are released periodically, for periods ranging from 24 hours to several weeks. They are released so that their friends and families can see the horrible consequences of the tortures inflicted on them. The presence of these doomed people in the society at large is an open threat to the rest: If you challenge us, you will end up like this.

But Kristof only talks about "crackdowns," not about torture. Yet in the same days he had, in his words, "just about convinced myself that Iran is not a police state," Amnesty International was again calling for support of Siamak Pourzand, a 74-year-old who once headed a cultural center in Tehran, and is now suffering through an 11-year prison term that has reduced him to a human skeleton on the verge of death. He is suffering from spinal stenosis, for which he desperately needs surgery, and recently survived a massive heart attack, but no medical help was provided to him for many days. He barely survived, and the regime's "crackdown" was such that he was chained to his hospital bed and kept in isolation from his family.

Kristof writes that "people mostly get away with scathing criticism as long as they do not organize against the government (he means "regime")." But Siamak Pourzand did not direct scathing criticism against the regime, and he certainly did not organize a political force. He was simply an elegant and refined voice calling for greater artistic and cultural freedom within the Iranian tyranny. His real crime was, and is, his refusal to make a phony confession that would slake the regime's thirst for the humiliation of those who dare to think for themselves.

There are scores of prisoners undergoing similar tortures, and their names are well known throughout Iran. It would have been easy for Kristof to write about them, describing their misery, praising their moral courage and physical stamina, and denouncing the regime that is trying to break them, and any other Iranian who seeks freedom.

He didn't. The event that convinced him that it would be wrong to say "Iran is not a police state" was not murder or torture. It was being asked for 90 minutes if he was a spy for America or Israel, and he brags to his readers that "I tried to explain that my views make me unemployable by either the Bush or Sharon administrations," a gratuitous bit of self-congratulation that is quite wrong, as his Iranian interrogators surely knew. Do you think the CIA and the Mossad only run spies with impeccable conservative credentials? Give me a break.

The Kristof articles either repeat what we already knew (thousands of column inches, and innumerable public acts have long since documented the Iranians' hatred of the regime and love of America), or — with rare exceptions like the Taheri quote — mislead us about the evils of the regime, or trot out the snide self-indulgence of the East Coast liberal elite.

Par for the course.
_________________
Referendum AFTER Regime Change

"I'm ready to die for you to be able to say your own opinions, even if i strongly disagree with you" (Voltaire)

[salinescape]

[stefania]

Andrea, if you mean the European citizens, then you might be right..As for the European countries, ALL OF THEM SUPPORT THE REGIME ! SURELY THEY DO NOT SHARE THE MULLAHS' IDEOLOGY,BUT "WHO CARES ABOUT THAT WHEN THEY CAN GIVE YOU OIL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS?" THEY SAY...
_________________
Referendum AFTER Regime Change

"I'm ready to die for you to be able to say your own opinions, even if i strongly disagree with you" (Voltaire)

[IsraelForIran]

Dear Andrea:
The problem is, MOST of the European citizens think that "Iran"(aka the ayatollahs regime) is a democracy, because there were "elections".
They don't understand that the regime let ONLY to those it wants to run for the Parlament, and that the Clerics still have all the power, and there is not seperation of authorities there.
Instead of carrying for Iran, that tries to attack Europe in 3 area:
1)Balkans
2)Europe countries themselves
3)Chechnya

But they don't care, all they care about is the "vicous Zionist entity" and the "poor" Palestinian militants.

Anyhow, why should we give a damn, in 20-40 years there will be no more Christian Europe, it will be called Europestan,
and it will be ruled by imigrants mullahs!!!!