Berkeley Forum

What Has America Done for Europe?

2008-10-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

I was at a pub last night discussing politics with a group of friends. We talked about the US presidential election this November and various other topics. Throughout our friendly chat, I was reminded once again why the US, and the world, needs Barack Obama. Our image around the world has been very badly tarnished by the Bush administration, and a new Obama administration would do all it can to improve America's prestige around the world. That is the least he could do.

In the middle of our chat, a brilliant young lady from Germany asked me, "What has the United States done for Europe?" That question took me by a surprise. After all, the US was deeply involved in both World Wars, Europe's post war reconstruction, the Cold War, and a million other projects and initiatives directly benefiting Europe. Before going any further, allow me to make a full and complete disclosure. I am very aware of the fact that America's involvement in Europe was also aimed at preserving and protecting US interests. Having said that, it is justified to say that Europe benefited greatly from America's presence and support in the continent.

To prove this point, I am going to pose a few questions. What would have happened to Europe without an American intervention in WWII? Could Britain defeat Nazi Germany alone? Could the Soviets push the Germans back without a Western front opened by the US? What about the post war years? Could Europe pay for its reconstruction after having fought a bloody and costly war? What about the fight against communism and the USSR? Was it not the US that carried out the massive "Berlin airlift?" Was it not the US that helped West Germany secure its borders, and then committed American men and women to defend Germany against a possible invasion from the east? What about Bosnia and Kosovo? Was it not NATO, lead by the US, that stopped a genocide in the Balkans? These are just a handful of examples I came up with in five minutes.

You tell me. What has the US done for Europe?

Let's Hate!

2008-10-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

John McCain's negative campaigning is now hurting McCain himself. But what really bothers me is how willing people are to demonize the opposition's candidate. I have voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates in the past, but I never thought the person I was Not voting for was evil or a terrorist. Watch this clip now and you will find out what I am talking about. This kind of hatred is bad for the country. Do you think Obama is a terrorist? I certainly don't and I will proudly vote for him.

This Makes Me Mad!

2008-10-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I got really upset today. Well, first of all, I am in London. I have been here for almost three weeks. Anyhow, I spoke to my mother today and informed her of my packages' arrival. She told me she went to the post office to mail a jacket and a few shirts to an orphan child she takes care of in Iran, and the person at the post office told her "Shipments to Iran are temporarily unavailable”... and that she needed special permission from so and so to send those clothing items to a 7 year-old boy in Iran.

That makes me mad! Mr. Ahmadinejad spends millions of dollars helping out those organizations labeled as "Terrorist" while Iranian children are bereft of basic supplies for the upcoming winter. Mr. Ahmadinejad speaks so shamelessly of freedoms in Iran as if there are no political prisoners there.

Two weeks ago, there was the Quds Day rally here in London. Only a handful of loyalists showed up. Do you know who pays for these events? The Iranian government! They are so fond of throwing such events in London and Islam Abad yet they forget about the needs of 7 year-olds in their own country.

Mr. Ahmadinejad! Iran is facing grave dangers. You might have noticed! What have you gained from your hostile, racist, and violent rhetoric? Has it been anything but more pain, suffering, and agony for your own people?

Hillary's Lack of Courage

2008-06-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton ran a losing campaign second to none in modern American history. She made numerous strategic mistakes such as lack of infrastructure in post Super Tuesday states. She was so confident of Obama’s defeat on Super Tuesday that she failed to set up the most basic campaign facilities in post Super Tuesday states such as Nebraska or Washington. Mark Penn, Clinton’s chief strategist, only added to her troubles by not knowing California’s primary was NOT a winner take all contest! This was a huge mistake by someone who has spent a life time in US politics and was credited to have been one of Democrat’s best strategists.

Clinton’s camp made mistakes, and no one is denying that. But what really caused Hillary the presidency was her bad timing to enter the race. Clinton announced her candidacy convinced of an anti Bush/anti GOP mood in the country. She thought she picked an easy fight,until Obama entered the race. Clinton’s calculations about an easy Democratic victory against a GOP candidate were correct. She made only one mistake: She ran four years too late! Obama and his message of change was much more appealing to the disgruntled, angry Democratic voter and Hillary’s moderate stances did not stand a chance.

Hillary lost her dream because of her political calculations in 2004. You may ask why? The Democratic Party entered the 2004 election without a quality candidate. Kerry supporters voted against Bush and not for Kerry. The Democratic nominee for presidency in 2004 was mediocre at best. He ran a terrible campaign and lost to President Bush in November. Hillary did not enter the race because she believed it was not possible or too hard to unseat a president. She could have easily won the Democratic primaries in 2004 but Hillary did not have the COURAGE to pick a fight. She set her sights on an easy victory in 2008 and gladly, she lost!

That is why Clinton, in my opinion, is a political opportunist! She tried to ride the waves of dissent and dissatisfaction in 2008. She could have had it all had she run 4 years earlier. Sometimes in politics, courage is much more important than precise calculations.

Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama for courageously making history this past week!

Are Americans Ready for a Woman President?

2008-03-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

By Jacinda Chan
UC Berkeley

As International Women’s Day passes, a celebration of the achievements of women’s right, can we say the United States has advanced to the point of electing a woman as president? Well, let us look at some basic facts.

Despite advancements women have made, they still earn only seventy-seven cents for every $1 their male counterpart earns, and women of color earn even less than that. Women still face the challenge of balancing work and family. To get to the top of your career, a woman must sacrifice her family life. According to one report, 42 percent of corporate women are childless by age 40, but only 14 percent planned to be.

Obviously, women are still somewhat second class citizens in the workplace because they cannot have both a family and a career like men. Because of this disparity, America is clearly not ready for a woman to hold such a high power position because the discrimination that happens in this country has to do with careers.

Even after Clinton’s victory in Texas, she will still not able to beat McCain because not enough people like her. A good strategy for Clinton would be to get Obama to choose her as his running mate. This way the two can combine both their supporters to hopefully outnumber McCain, who will probably get more support just for being a traditional Caucasian man. Not only that, but they can combine the best of both plans, and in this way Clinton can prepare the U.S. for having a woman leader. Plus in eight years, if Obama is reelected, Clinton will become the most likely nominee of the democratic party. Nobody ever said it would be easy for a woman to advance her career. In fact, it would probably be a struggle, but at least, this way she would be making progress for all women.

From Fidel to Raul: No Change will Occur

2008-02-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

By Jacinda Chan
UC Berkeley

Raul Castro has officially taken office as the new leader of Cuba. Some media experts expect a change, economically, but they are wrong. No change will occur. They say Raul intends to implement a Chinese economic model of state-led capitalism like Deng Xiaoping, but Raul is missing two of the three necessary requirements needed for a growing economy.

For starters, for Cuba’s economy to really develop, Raul Castro will need to allow more privatization. Right now a barber earns as much as a street vendor and people working for foreign company’s must pay huge amounts of taxes to redistribute the money evenly. The way China’s economy started growing was by allowing economic disparities. Deng Xiaoping believed that people worked best when they were able to keep their earnings. Raul’s Cuba does not allow the people to thrive the way Deng Xaioping believes is needed for a growing economy, and wanting to continue rule with an iron fist will not allow privatization.

More importantly, reporters have stated that Raul will open Cuba up to foreign investment, but for this is to work, Raul will have to be selective about which imports he allows to choose one’s that will not outdo local businesses.

Currently, a main importer, the U.S., has an embargo on Cuba, and in a recent debate, Clinton has refused to negotiate with Raul until he has implemented reforms, and Obama would meet with Raul only to discuss human rights issues. Because Raul does not intend to change much, he can expect little help from the U.S. if a democrat is elected.

Even if the U.S. decides to lift the embargo, they would probably not let him choose the imports or buy out U.S. businesses once they are established, another criteria for successful foreign investments according to Deng Xiaoping. The U.S. does not trust Cuba. So giving Cuba choices and the option to buy out business would give them more power, scaring the U.S.

Unless Raul Castro’s plans to improve Cuba’s human rights record and the economy involve drastic privatization, and the U.S. changes its stance on how to treat Cuba, Cubans can expect to be stuck in a drudge forever. Not only will this embargo severely limit economic growth, but who know where Raul will go for foreign investment, possibly aligning himself with even more oppressive governments, and the U.S. will have no say because Cuba will not be dependent on it.

Reconsider Obama’s Iraq Strategy

2008-02-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

-By Jacinda Chan
UC Berkeley

Does Obama really know what he is doing when it comes to Iraq? He wants to just pull out of Iraq and talk to Middle Eastern leaders, but do you really think that will work? Of course, pulling out in such a way will benefit American troops, but what about the Iraqi people who we pulled into this mess and have to live with the consequences? Let’s take a quick survey of two world examples of what happened when countries decide to pull quickly out of another’s mess, only this was our mess.

Let’s look at when Britain decided to leave India and Pakistan hastily. Obama wants to talk to the leaders of the Middle East just like Mountbatten tried to talk to Nehru, Jinnah, and Gandhi but to no avail. The British decided to leave anyways without a resolution, and India and Pakistan continue to have crisis to this day. As result of these crisis, India and Pakistan have a constant threat of nuclear war. I don’t think you want Iraq to pose such a threat.

The second example is Rwanda. As soon as all the U.N. troops left the camps they were guarding, the Tutsi had no more protection, which allowed the Hutu to sweep in and commit mass GENOCIDE. Same as now, the world just thought it was civil war. However, if we withdraw the way Obama wants to, we could witness more nuclear threats, or even worse,

Obama,Flaws and All-Why I Support Obama

2008-02-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

By Dr.Clive Leeman

I've been supporting Barack Obama since his announcement of candidacy a
year ago on the steps of the Springfield Capitol before 30,000 people
standing in freezing rain.  I realized then that he is the kind of gifted leader
who only comes along perhaps once in every 50 years.

He has a superb creative intelligence and gift for empathy.  Each one
of his major speeches is different from his other speeches--always original,
graceful, and philosophically challenging, rather like Martin Luther King's.

The best piece on Obama I've read is "Barack Obama's unlikely political
education. The Agitator." by Ryan Lizza, The New Republic, Issue date:
03.19.07.

It explores his years as a community organizer in Chicago's South Side,
a job he took instead of one of the $500,000 corporate positions offered top
Harvard Law School graduates.

I came away from reading that article in a state of awe about the man.
It concentrates on his years as a community organizer when he excelled at
inspiring demoralized communities and became the best local grassroots organizer
in living memory.  During his successful run for the state senate, he
demonstrated that he had a spine of steel and unerring political instincts.

The South Carolina primary has shown that, in a groundswell, more and
more Americans are recognizing his presidential capacities, even his
authority.  I hope and pray he stays safe for our sake and the sake of history.

During the campaign, Obama, a strong supporter of Israel, has spoken
sympathetically about the Palestinians, running the risk of antagonizing the
pro-Israeli lobby.

He has even more directly defied another powerful lobby (anti-Castro
Cubans)to say he will meet with Castro once he's President.

Obama is the only one of the candidates except Kucinich to have spoken
out against the war before the occupation of Iraq.  I support him partly
because of my own antiwar principles.

Some of hls more recent statements on the Iraq war and on the Middle
East in general, however,  have disappointed me and his health insurance plan
is not as strong as I would like it to be (single payer).  And, although he
has refused to take money from corporate lobbyists, raising millions of
dollars from ordinary people online, he does not seem to recognize the criminal
nature of U.S.corporate foreign policy (see John Perkins's Confesssions of an
Economic Hit Man).

But my policy disagreements with Obama have not prevented me from
understanding that he has become an extraordinary presence on the
political landscape, aforce for good; that he has come to us in the
midst of MLK's "fierce urgency
of now"; that his transformative gifts are just what we desperately need after
the dreadful desolation of the Bush years; that, in journalist Laura Flander's
words, he has the capacity to be a "charismatic optimist" as president,just
like FDR, who began as a moderate but, through his sympathetic connection with
the people, was able to carry out the most radically significant legislation
in U.S. history.

It is Much Easier on the Democratic Side

2008-01-31T18:54:00.000-08:00

The Democratic Party is surprisingly more united than the GOP in this election cycle. Despite the occasional Obama/Clinton mud slinging that is typical of campaigning, the Democratic candidates are rather united ideologically. Both Clinton and Obama take very similar positions on issues from health care to the war in Iraq. The fight on the Democratic side is not an ideological one, rather it's a popularity contest.

On the Republican side however, the fight is between the different factions of the Republican Party and the conservative movement as a whole. McCain, Huckabee, Romney and Paul, all represent a different facet of the Republican Party.

The McCain/Giuliani wing is what I call the neo conservative faction. Although not everyone may agree with this, Sen.McCain's foreign policy is of an interventionist and unilateral nature. He has been and still is an outspoken supporter of the war in Iraq and the fight against "radical Islamic extremism" is the dominant message of his campaign. His list of foreign policy advisers include names such as William Kristol , Robert Kagan and Randy Scheunemann, all outspoken neo conservatives.

Huckabee represents the evangelical wing of the party. The religious/evangelical wing of the GOP has enabled the Republicans to dominate Southern politics in recent years. They are also very influential in the Midwest and many western states such as Arizona and Nevada. The evangelical base is a very loyal segment of the Republican Party which has proven its political significance by showing huge turnouts in every major election for every major Republican candidate.

Romney represents the fiscally conservative wing. Despite his recent change of heart on many issues, the true Mitt Romney who lead in Massachusetts, was a secular and pragmatic Republican who came from a very successful business background.

And finally, Ron Paul. He is the libertarian side of the GOP. Despite his irrelevance on many issues, Paul has been able to attract the attention of many likely voters with his opposition to the war in Iraq and his support for an isolationist foreign policy.

The Democrats, myself included , have a much easier task. Whether it is going to be Barack or Hillary, the Democrats are united on almost all the issues. But the race on the GOP side is about core issues facing the party of Abraham Lincoln. Is the party going to be a religious party or a fiscally conservative one? Is it going to favor preemptive warfare or is it going to restrict American involvement around the world? This is a defining moment for the Republicans and their decision in 2008 will have long lasting effects for the party.

Are There Any Conservatives Left?

2008-01-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Rudy left the race too. Giuliani's departure and his endorsement of McCain would embolden McCain's already prominent position in the race. His victory in the winner takes all contests in Florida has given him more confidence to believe that he can become the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. I hear my conservative friends describing the current Republican field as"very diverse". I hear "...Republican voters had many options to choose from". Really? I don't think so.

The Republican field had a Libertarian, a liberal, a neo conservative, a convert, an evangelical and a few irrelevant contenders. But what the GOP field lacked was a true CONSERVATIVE. Someone like Ronald Reagan who was for low taxes, small government, socially conservative values and a firm belief in free markets. Reagan embodied what a true conservative should be like.

Is there anyone in the race today who has all those qualities? You may say that Romney comes very close. Yes, but Romney has also been a flamboyant advocate of gay rights, abortion, and gun control when it served him politically. Romney is the convert. And many doubt his sincerity.

What the GOP field didn't have and continues to lack is a true conservative. After Rudy's departure, the race is between McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Paul. Paul and Huckabee have no real chance of winning the primaries so the GOP must pick between a liberal and a convert.

As I write this piece, the GOP candidates are debating only a very short distance away from me at the Reagan Library. I am not watching the live broadcast of the debate but I am sure that Reagan's name will be mentioned many many times tonight by the candidates. It is up to the voters to pick between the candidates while asking themselves the following questions:
Can we trust McCain? Can we trust Romney? Who would be a better fit for the needs of a Republican Party so devastated by Bush's leadership? This election may decide the relevance of the Republican Party in American politics for many years to come. So choose carefully my friends, choose carefully.

Who Won the Debate Tonight?

2008-01-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

The GOP debate in Florida turned out to be more civil than expected. Despite fierce competition between McCain, Romney and Giuliani , the debate went on without any personal attacks as we saw a few nights ago on the Democratic side. So who was the winner of tonight's debate?

Romney has been moving up steadily in the polls while Giuliani has managed to lose his lead and is now trailing in third place after Romney and McCain. Romney did a great job tonight, while staying away from direct attacks he managed to focus on his record as a true conservative.

McCain and Huckabee exchanged a few friendly remarks and McCain praised Giuliani on his leadership after 9/11. So, who won? I'd say Hillary Clinton! She was mentioned in this debate more than Ronald Reagan. She is the right's boogie man or to be politically correct, boogie woman! The right hates nothing more than the Clintons back in the White House. Although Hillary Clinton does not really represent the left wing of the Democratic party, yet the Republicans despise the Clintons for their political skill, sleekness and Bill's successful presidency of 8 years. They don't hate Hillary for her tax policies now as much as for her involvement in policy making as the first lady. After all she deified the traditional role of the first lady while Bill was in office.

So she was mentioned several times at the GOP debate. Why? To mobilize the Republican base who passionately dislikes the idea of Hillary Clinton as the Commander in Chief. So Berkeley Forum declares Hillary Clinton the winner of tonight's debate. She received free air time and was presumed to be the Democratic nominee.

MLK Holiday & Human Rights Assessment of the Candidate's Health Care Plans

2008-01-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

Elahe Amani

While today in our city Martin Luther King Parade Brought Community Out To Remember & Celebrate, many reflected on the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as a leader with conviction and passion for civil rights and human rights as it is important to take the meaning of this day further than an exercise in platitudes and official declarations from the White House the State House or City Hall and ask the candidates some tough questions such as what are they really doing to address, in Dr. King's words, "the shocking injustice" that is our health care system? Are they seriously committed to protecting our health? Their health care proposals to date suggest otherwise.

Historians Fear MLK's Legacy Being Lost and candidates running for president wondered how they measure up to his legacy. Even Black Agenda Report suggests to Give the Candidates the MLK Test .

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative and the National Health Law Program have assessed the candidates' plans,using a framework based on the human right to health care. The results are a wake up call: Anja Rudiger, Right to Health Program Director believes that "we need to tell candidates to stop treating us as consumers who can choose to buy or forgo health care. Instead, they must put forward plans for real change: for universal access to quality care for all, on an equitable basis" and I agree with her!

To read the assessment, visit

http://www.nesri.org/Human_Rights_Assessment.pdf?sku=C8821 or

http://www.healthlaw.org/library/item.176974

Peace,

Elahe

In Search of Cyrus the Great

2008-01-22T22:35:00.001-08:00

With the presence of world's most renowned scholars and top performing artists

on January 26, 2008 at UCLA (7.00PM)

IN REMEMBRANCE OF CYRUS THE GREAT

" In Search of Cyrus the Great" is a factually-based documentary film

in need of your help and participation.

Date: Saturday January 26, 2008 (7:00 PM)

Place: UCLA Freud PlayHouse | MAP | Direction

http://www.spentaproductions.com/UCLA_Cyrus_the_great.htm

Tel: 310 825 2101

Thompson Finally Leaves the Race

2008-01-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

Fred Thompson is finally gone. He made an announcement today and left the race to those who are serious about running for the Republican nomination. I never understood the hype when Thompson decided to run. He was not a very well known politician and he certainly was not a world class celebrity. What he had going for him were some similarities that his supporters drew to an Ronald Reagan. That Thompson was an actor just like Reagan and that he is tall as was Reagan and that he was a true conservative who could unify the party.

Thompson proved to be none of the above. He could barely meet expectations with his poor performances in the GOP debates. He did not have a clear message and did a poor job campaigning in the early states.

I still don't know why some seasoned political observers considered Thompson to have a good chance at winning the nomination. He never had a shot at it. In a Republican field dominated by Romney's money, McCain's appeal and Huckabee's evangelicalism , Thompson could only get the crumbs . This country does not need lazy politicians or lazy presidents. we don't need someone " lazy like a fox" as Newsweek put it. We need a uniter, a hard worker and an American hero who understand the daily lives of middle class Americans.

Huckabee and the Grand Dragon

2008-01-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was Martin Luther King day. A holiday not well received in many parts of our country. It saddens me to learn that racial bigotry still plays a role in our presidential election. When Mike Huckabee announced his candidacy for seeking the Republican nomination, I was the only one among my friends who had ever hear of him. You might ask me what does Huckabee have anything to do with MLK? I will tell you.

I saw Huckabee as a very likable guy, someone form humble roots and self made man who had risen to the top in his state of Arkansas. Huckabee had also lost over 100 pounds to prove that even a southerner can say no to fried food!

At any rate, Huckabee was never my favorite candidate. I never thought of voting for him , mainly because of his religious fanaticism but I found him to be a genuine man, someone who knew what it means to be poor and not have loads of money and special privilege.

But Huckabee went to South Carolina and turned us all off. He said the unimaginable. Huckabee was supposed to be "...the kind of conseravtive who wasn't mad at anybody...". Well I guess not. As Huckabee went to South Carolina, he started making the most insulting remarks a decent man could make. He began defending the Confederate flag and how no one should mess with it! Really Mike, Because I never thought you sympathized with the Confederates and I know you Don't. So why now? Just to win votes? What's next? Photo op with David Duke and the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan?

McCain's Momentum

2008-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

As the primary season continues, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proves to be a viable candidate for the Republican nomination. He is well seasoned in foreign policy, a former POW and a decorated war hero. McCain is certainly a man of principle. He has voted against his own party on a variety of issues from immigration to campaign finance reform laws. McCain has proven to vote his conscience on issues like torture and treatment of war detainees.

With his victory in South Carolina, McCain has defeated the GOP establishment once again, an establishment that has never been that friendly towards Arizona's senior senator. McCain's early win in New Hampshire and the momentum he gained from that win, has aided his rise to the top. His slide in poll numbers this past summer and a major lack of funds in his campaign's war chest worried many observers that the 71 year old senator's dream of presidency was never going to be realized. After all, Arizona senators have a tendency of NOT becoming presidents. Barry Goldwater, the legendary conservative leader of the Senate and the GOP presidential nominee in 1964, ran a terrible campaign and lost to President Johnson in a land slide. McCain occupies the very same seat. As Arizona's senior senator, he may finally have the chance to make history, to be the first president from Arizona and also the oldest man to ever hold the top job. Yes, if elected, McCain would be 72 on inauguration day, beating Reagan by two years!

Letter to the Editor

2007-10-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Can we believe Tim Rutten when he makes the following sweeping statement
about the MoveOn.org ad which referred to General David Petraeus as "General
Betray Us"? (Calendar, December 6):

"It was...rejected out of hand as an expression of loony narrow-mindedness by
most Americans who oppose the war."

What evidence does Mr. Rutten have that most opponents of the war rejected
the ad out of hand?

The violent occupation of Iraq, which is based upon the loony and
narrowminded fantasies of the Bush militarists, is in itself a betrayal
of this country, of Iraq, and of international stability.  Any political or
military leader like General Petraeus who actively advances the lies
undergirding the occupation contributes to this betrayal of world peace.

I seriously doubt that antiwar critics of the ad constiture a majority.
In my own circle of peace proponents, I know of only one who disapproved
of the MoveOn.org ad, not because of its loony narrowmindedness (the text of
the ad is actually carefully argued and backed up by significant documentation)
but because he believed that the play on General Petraeus's name became a
distraction from the issue of the war itself.

Another antiwar critic of the ad, Jon Soltz, the Iraq veteran who co-founded
VoteVet.org, said: "What we need to do as veterans of the Iraq war is distance
ourselves from personal attacks and focus on the policy issues."

Taking into account, however, the 25 Senate Democrats who voted to support
MoveOn.org, as opposed to the 22 Senate Democrats who bowed to the Bush
intimidation machine (thus rendering their motives suspect) and voted
to censure them, one has to wonder whether the ad  "was rejected out of
hand...by most Americans who oppose the war."

The vast majority of Americans are so disgusted and sickened by this war that
they cannot wait for it to be brought to an immediate end.  Do you think they
really care about this silly brouhaha in the face of the horror of the
war?

Unless Mr. Rutten can provide persuasive evidence to back up his statement,
his credibility will remain in question.

Clive Leeman

The Cost of War

2007-09-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

This piece was written on September 21st, 2007:

-Berkeley Forum

Today, September 21st is the International Day of Peace. This day was first inaugurated on the third Tuesday of September, 1982 and the goal of International Day of Peace was to "devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as of the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways. It should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples."

In 1999 filmmaker Jeremy Gilley launched Peace One Day to document his efforts to establish an annual Peace Day and in 2001, UN member states unanimously adopted the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace, fixed as 21 September.

Beginning on its 20th anniversary in 2002, International Day of Peace has been set to be permanently observed on the 21st of September every year. The UN resolution said Peace Day is to be "a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day." Last year on Peace Day, more than 3500 Peace Day events took place in 200 countries.

The day-long celebration serves to remind us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind in human community, is to peace. May this Peace Day indeed be a day of peace.

But, despite the desire of the world community for peace and human
rights, the military expenditures in US and the world skyrocketing.
What is the cost of war to human community and to people in US?

World military expenditure in 2005 reached an estimated $1.1 trillion per year. This corresponds to 2.5 percent of the world Gross Domestic Product, or an average $173 per capita. (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute 2006) while the UN total budget for humanitarian programs amount to $10.5 billion a year.

This year, June, July, and August have marked the bloodiest summer so far for U.S. troops in Iraq. (U.S. casualties in Iraq are 65 percent higher this year than at this time in 2006. As of August 29th, 3,731 U.S. troops have been killed and more than 27,660 have been wounded in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. ( US Department of Defense, 8/29/07).

Congress has already appropriated nearly $477 billion for the war in Iraq since March 2003. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the U.S. is spending an estimated $10 billion per month in Iraq. (CRS, 6/28/07)

COST OF THE WAR BROKEN DOWN
* Month: $10,000,000,000
* Week: $2,307,692,380
* Day: $329,670,330
* Hour: $13,736,264
* Minute: $228,938
* Second: $3,816

Now, Imagine, what can be accomplished with a fraction of the cost of war.

* Repair the 70,000+ bridges across US rated structurally deficient: $188 billion
* Rebuild the levees in New Orleans to withstand a Category 5 hurricane: $50 billion
* Cover all eligible but unenrolled kids in SCHIP for 5 years: $47.5 billion
* Equip U.S. public safety officials with interoperable communication equipment: $18 billion
* Enroll 1.4 million more children in Head Start programs: $10 billion
* Double the annual budget for the National Cancer Institute: $9.5 billion
* Hire one new librarian for each public school in America: $4.6 billion

Let us all remember that genuine, lasting peace is impossible in the absence of justice.

True and lasting peace requires justice to all and respecting the basic human rights and human needs of all regardless of everything that diverse us as human race.

PEACE is more than the absence of war. It is about transforming our societies and uniting our global community to work together for a more peaceful, just and sustainable world for ALL.”

-Elahe Amani

My Morning View

2007-09-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

These two beautiful creatures crawled into my backyard this morning. I had seen them a few days earlier too but didn't have the chance to take pictures. here they are. Its just lovely to wake up and see deers running around in your backyard.

Peace Day, Sep 21.

2007-09-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting clip on Peace Day. I for one didn't know there was a Peace Day!
Click Here to Watch

Presidential Shortcomings!!!!

2007-09-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

I love this picture!!!
I wonder what Ahmadinejad told the tall Basketball player!!!
" can you see my halo from up there?"

Google Gone Wild!

2007-09-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

I saw this cartoon in Rooz by Nikahang Kosar, one of my favorite political cartoonists. It's about the recent filtering of Google in Iran by Iranian authorities.

A Call to Action

2007-09-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

This report was on September 11, 2007. A day associated with the “ War on Terror”. Although the report is about State of Illinois, but the situation in California, other states and the rest of the world is not much different.

At the beginning of the report, Dr. Beth E. Richie, Associate Dean African American Studies Department, University of Illinois, Chicago has been quoted, " We are almost 30 years into the recent form of anti violence movement. And we began this work not because a foundation got big grant or because policy makers passed legislation. We began this work because women sitting around kitchen tables or at the bus station or outside a child care center started to talk about the private terrors they were experiencing."

"We have millions of women who are safer in this country that's good news. The bad news is that there are some women who are in as much danger as ever. In fact, some may argue more danger because of the work we have done. We don't talk about women who are involved in prostitution, or women who are in prisons, or lesbians who are battered, or people with disabilities, or people who are here illegally and can't get access to programs. If we are taking seriously ending violence in the lives of women in a broader context, then we have different kinds of work that we have to do today as social justice movement - as a social change initiative."

Elahe Amani

Coalition of Women from Asia and the Middle East (CWAME)

Here is the Report:

A “Call to Action” for the safety of women and girls

(Sept. 11, 2007) Stalking needs to be taken more seriously by women, men, parents, law enforcement and court officials if we want to make Illinois the safest state for all women and girls, according to a report released today by Chicago Foundation for Women.

“Frankly, we are ignoring the dangers of stalking, despite the fact that it’s one of the strongest indicators of more extreme violence. If we are talking about true prevention—we must address stalking because we can prevent a lot more women being harmed,“ said Hannah Rosenthal , the Foundation’s executive director.

Stalking was just one of the issues addressed when the “Call to Action, Part 1” report was released at their 22^nd Annual Luncheon and Symposium. Stalking is the most prevalent form of violence against women and girls. A national survey found about 1 million women over 18 say they have been stalked—but in only 10 percent of those cases did women feel safe enough to call the police.[i]One in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime. Eighty-seven percent of stalkers are men.[ii]

“A Call to Action, Part 1” contains 100 recommendations—divided into seven key issues and directed at 10 specific groups of people. The 43-page report summarizes the Foundation’s yearlong, statewide anti-violence campaign, “What Will It Take?” In announcing the findings, Mary Morten , the Foundation’s associate director thanked Gov. Blagojevich for helping fund this work, but she also called on the governor to make Illinois a national leader in violence prevention by appointing a special assistant to coordinate the millions of dollars that already come into the state to serve women who are victims of violence.

“We need someone who is strategically overseeing what we are doing, coordinating the work between departments and advocating for what needs to be done to keep women safe,” said Morten. “What we found is disturbing—violence against women and girls is considered normal and normal is dangerous for women. One out of three women will be physically or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. We need dramatic changes and that calls for dramatic leadership.”

The Foundation launched one of the country’s first statewide strategic efforts to engage men in the movement, conducted 10 town hall meetings and 40 community meetings; ran a public awareness campaign reaching millions through radio and television PSAs and a website; organized a speakers’ bureau; awarded $1 million in grants, and collected answers from thousands of Illinoisans to the question, “What Will It Take?”

The steps the report lists include:

Men. This is not just a woman’s issue. Men commit the vast majority of violence against women and girls—more than 90 percent—yet the majority of men are not physically violent.[iii] Only with men as allies will there be significant improvements in the epidemic of violence against women and girls. We must raise standards. It’s not enough to excuse demeaning and threatening behavior by saying, “Boys will be boys.” Men must not fund sexism, the sex trade, or purchase or support anything that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner.

Businesses, unions, schools and religious institutions. Violence is a workplace, a school and a religious institution issue. There is a human cost to the violence but also a financial one: It costs businesses more than $5.8 billion a year.[iv] Businesses and unions need to sponsor community programs and internal programs for employees. Religious institutions can bring the message to the pulpit, mosque or temple. Schools can make sure children get the message that violence is not how to handle problems.

Parents. Children see violence everywhere—on TV, in music, movies, magazines and video games. Yet being exposed to violent programming at a young age gives children a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life. An average 18-year-old has already witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. And children’s shows are just as bad—an average of 14 violent acts per hour.[v] Parents should monitor what their children watch. But we should also realize this is bigger than just a family issue—it is a societal issue. We need to stop programming that accepts violence as normal and start teaching children that violence is never acceptable.

Elderlywomen are more vulnerable to physical, sexual and economic abuse. But it is often invisible. It is estimated that for every report of elder abuse made, 14 cases go unreported, and 90 percent of incidents are by someone the woman knows—usually family members.[vi] You can do something. Check in on your older neighbors. Spread the word about the Illinois elder abuse hotline. More people need to be able to recognize the problem and know where to go for help.

Women with disabilities are—in some cases—up to 10 times more likely to be abused as non-disabled women.[vii] Service providers often do not ask women and girls with disabilities about abuse. Yet these women and girls not only experience violence at much higher rates, they run into different problems. They need information on comprehensive sex education, healthy relationships and sexual assault. Domestic violence and rape advocates can empower disabled women and girls, teaching that it is a human right to say, “No” to unwanted contact.

Bullying in school. Don’t look the other way when bullying happens—step in and say something. In a recent study, when compared to other students, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students in Chicago were three times more likely to miss school because they felt unsafe going there, three times more likely to report being the victim of sexual assault and almost three times more likely to report attempting suicide in the past year.[viii]

“We need people to understand that violence against women is everybody’s issue,” Rosenthal said.

Chicago Foundation for Women is one of the largest women’s funds in the world. Its work is rooted in three principles of women’s human rights: economic security, health and freedom from violence. Since 1986, it has awarded more than 2,500 grants and $15 million to hundreds of Chicago-area and statewide organizations. It also achieves social justice through advocacy, leadership, and public and grantee education. Learn more at cfw.org.

[i] Tjaden, Patricia and Nancy Thoennes, April 1998, Stalking in America : Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey. <http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/169592.txt> 25 July 2007

[ii] U.S. Department of Justice, “Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women,” 2000.

[iii] “Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey.” And “Men’s Violence Against Women: Theory, Research and Activism.” 2007

[iv] National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.

[v] American Academy of Pediatrics. 2000. Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children, www.aap.org/advocacy/releaes/jstm-tevc.htm 26 July 2007; Huston, A. C. et al. 1992. Big world, small screen: The role of television in American Society. Lincoln , NE : University of Nebraska Press; and Wilson, B. et al. 2002. Violence in children’s television programming: assessing the risks. Journal of Communication, 52, 5-35.

[vi] Illinois Center for Violence Prevention.

[vii] Dick Sobsey, “Sexual Offenses and Disabled Victims,” Vis-A-Vis, 1988.

[viii] 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Chicago High School Survey. Chicago Public Schools Department of Specialized Schools and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Letter to the Editor

2007-09-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

To the Editor, Los Angeles Times:

Your Katrina stories and photos today are all
white In your front-page story today on the second anniversary of Katrina,  "An old
city revels in its new spirit of innovation," and the accompanying
eight stories and five photos which take up two full inside pages, everybody covered
in the stories and photos is white.

Isn't New Orleans a predominantly African American city?  Isn't it true that some
250,000 African Americans who had to leave New Orleans after
Katrina and want to return are still stuck in communities all over the U.S.?  Isn't
it also true that all the former residents of St. Bernard public housing
who have tried to return to their homes have been locked out by the authorities?
And isn't it true that many public schools are still closed?

African American New Orleaners are not only being locked out of New Orleans,
they're being locked out of the Los Angeles Times.

In today's story, even the Canal Street representative, Roger WIlson,star of
the film trilogy Porky's, is white.

We hear no African American voices in your story, no ideas from African Americans,
no dreams from African Americans.

It's as though what the critics had to say about Porky's has come true all
over again in your coverage of New Orleans:

"The cast is so white washed it's painfully obvious their world is
lacking any racial diversity."

Professor Clive Leeman

Human Wrongs

2007-07-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

On June 30th Iranian Labour News Agency reported that Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of Human Rights Committee of Iran, had a meeting with the German Green Party parliamentary representative and the the group accompanying him. In this meeting while both parties emphasized the importance of developing and improving the relationship between Iran and Germany, the head of Human Right Committee of Iran and the Judiciary Consultant on International Matters stated that the west criticizes Iran on two accounts. The first criticism concerns the proper implementation of law in Iran and "The second criticism is about our laws, such as death penalty, stoning, and so forth. We have to say that the criticisms of the western countries are beyond the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitments since our international commitments do not include any of these cases."

Global community is outraged that Iran continues to pass death sentences on minors and juvenile offenders (those convicted of crimes committed before the age of 18), and that it is still passing sentences of stoning to death, despite having announced a moratorium on such executions. Iran imposed a moratorium upon stoning in December 2002 under a directive from the Head of the Judiciary, and while the global community has been waiting for a response from Iranian authorities concerning stoning in Iranian laws, now, all of a sudden, the authorities in Iran clearly state that Iranian governments international commitments does not include stoning, death penalty, and other human rights violations.

Although the ultimate goal of human rights defenders is to abolish death penalty as an inhumane punishment and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR to which Iran is a signatory, however, stopping execution by stoning is of immediate concern, when we consider the fact that this method of execution is specifically designed to cause the victim grievous pain before death and which is the most extreme and cruel form of torture.

The human rights defenders must hold the governments accountable for their commitments to human rights as a fundamental tenet of foreign policy. The stated position of Iran is two steps back as far as protection of human rights in Iran is concerned.

-Elahe Amani

Bush Moves to Martial Law

2007-07-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last October, President Bush surreptltiously signed into law new
security legislation which allows him to declare martial law at any time.
 Nobody in the mainstream media seems to have noticed this law, which supersedes the
Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the only U.S. criminal statute to outlaw
military operations directed against the American people.

The new John Warner Defense Authorization Act allows the President to
declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take
control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor
or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."

Detentlon camps for citizens rounded up as "undesirables" are already
being constructed by Halliburton and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
according to the Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.

This law in effect opens the way to dictatorship.   Only one more piece
of legislation would have secured an absolute dictatorship: a clause
abolishing the 22nd Amendment which prohibits the President from serving more
than two terms. But so many Amendments (habeas corpus, for example) have already
been suspended since the passing of the Patriot Act and other anti-terror
legislation, why not another one?  A state of emergency can justify anything.

The oldest democracy in the world may soon be no more.  Where are you,
Paul Revere?

-Prof. Clive Leeman

Irvine Restaurant Helps Iranian Immigrant

2007-06-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is the story that was covered by OC Register on June 11th. While Mojdeh Teimorzadeh is not the only victim of domestic violence in Iranian community, but she now is the public face of domestic violence in Iranian community. She was first on the AM 670 popular radio show of Dr. Holakoyee, then was helped by other community organizations and now living a life without fear with the support of her community and community at large.

Her story is consistent with the pattern of abuse that other DV victims experience in immigrant communities. Each story is unique and equally painful. Each of these women coming to US with the hope of a better life, fleeing the societal restrictions imposed on women and girls in Iran and some find themselves in the vicious cycle of power and control and exposed even to harmful physical and mental situation.
-Elahe

Read the OC Register article HERE.

A History of Regime Change

2007-06-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

The Iraq disaster is not the first time, "regime change" has backfired on the US and resulted in catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
Here's a history of post-World War II regime change in Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam and Chile. Every one of these actions was a violation of the Constitution and the UN Charter.
Little has changed since, just the names...
National Security has become Homeland Security...The War against Communism has becme the War on Terror...
Notice the George Bush Moyers refers to in this video is George Bush Jr's father.

"Once we decide that anything goes, anything can come home to haunt us." - Bill Moyers.

WATCH THE FILM HERE

Mr.Above the Law!

2007-06-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

What can you say when the Vice President of the United States of America talks of a special place and privileges the constitution has afforded him? What can you say when the Veep claims he is not a part of the executive branch? “What special place Mr. Veep?” one might ask? The privilege to classify information when he wants and to declassify it when he wants? The privilege to out an undercover CIA operative for political retribution against her husband? The privilege to become the most influential Vice President in the history of the U.S and not be accountable to anyone?

Dick Cheney’s most recent argument that he is not part of the executive branch but a member of the legislative branch as the president of the Senate, raised many eyebrows. Most conservatives who believe in strict interpretation of the constitution could not believe what they were hearing!

Mr. Cheney and the GOP must know that this not just another partisan battle with the Democrats. True conservative will not back Cheney and his “above the law” attitude. I strongly support Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to cut Cheney’s funding as a member of the executive branch and reassign him new staff budget as t he president of the Senate. I also urge all law abiding Republicans not to sit quiet and react accordingly to Cheney’s lack of respect for the law. After all, we are a country of laws , so lets keep it that way!

Elections Can be Bad Too

2007-06-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

Hamas’s violent takeover of Gaza came to many observers as a surprise. To those of us who are more familiar with the region and know the mentality of militant Islamic groups like Hamas, the recent events were less shocking. But regardless of Hamas’s nature, the fact that fair elections in the Palestinian territories brought them to power cannot be disputed. The Fatah establishment decided to refuse to share power with the newly elected members of Hamas. At the same time, the Western world boycotted the Hamas government with the intent to paralyze Haniyeh’s cabinet. Less than a year later, violent clashes broke out in Gaza – Hamas’s stronghold- and Fatah was routed, at least temporarily.

Elections alone do not bring democracy. As a matter of fact, the democratic process does not necessarily begin by holding free and fair elections. The U.S can pressure Saudi Arabia or Egypt to hold free and fair elections tomorrow and guess who will be triumphant? The current corrupt rulers or the radical Islamic hardliners? Your guess is probably correct. And once they come to power they will most likely behave in an irresponsible fashion, just like their predecessors.

A Western democratic form of governance does not serve the needs of every nation. The truth is that many countries in the world will reject those democratic values we cherish so dearly. Free speech in the Muslim world can only go so far. Try drawing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad for instance and see what will happen to you. Western democracy is not for everyone.

That does not translate into support for dictators in the Middle East. The first step towards a stable system is political tutelage. People of any given land ought to learn how to respect their opponents’ views no matter how repugnant those views might be to them. There is a lack of tolerance in the Middle East. Lack of tolerance for opposing political, religious and social views. Without greater levels of tolerance, holding a thousand free and fair elections will make no significant difference. The ruling parties or factions cannot come to power with the intent of eradicating the opposition, what Hamas and Fatah have been doing to one another. Many countries in the Middle East are not ready for full fledged democracy yet and no one can force them to change over night.

Temporary Success: Stoning of Mokarrameh and her Partner Suspended

2007-06-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to report a temporary success on this case. Thank you all of you who created such a powerful movement utilizing Internet technologies in such a short time frame and let the Iranian official hear our voice loud and clear that the global community of human rights defenders, peace activist, non-violence activists, women organizations etc. are demanding an stop to the practice of stoning in Iran and other countries.

Peace,

Elahe

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

2007-06-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, colleagues and human rights defenders--

Here i an urgent action from Stop Stoning Forever Campaign. We learned about this scheduled stoning today. The clock is ticking and this public stoning is scheduled for Thursday morning 9:00AM, Iran's time. let us all remember that as Martin Luther King once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Peace,

Elahe

URGENT ACTION ALERT

No. 86-3-b

19 June 2007

Take Action Immediately!

You Only Have Hours to Oppose the Scheduled Public Stoning of Mokarrameh and Her Partner

The stoning of Mokarrameh Ebrahimi and her partner is scheduled to be carried out in public in the city of Takistan, Ghazvin, at 9:00 am on Thursday, June 21, for committing adultery and having a child out of wedlock. The decision for execution of stoning in public, and moreover, inviting the public to participate in the stoning have been made by the Ghazvin Municipal Security Council or Showraye Tameen of Ghazvin. The news of the scheduled stoning has been published by the campaign activists on June 19, 2007. (Please read more at http://www.meydaan.org/news.aspx?nid=392)

The Stop Stoning Forever Campaign invites all citizens of the world to contact the Iranian officials by phone and/or fax and ask them to stop the public stoning of Mokarrameh Ebrahimin, the 43 year old mother of three children, and her partner, the father of her 11 year old child. Please note that email may not be effective.

Also, please note the time difference since the stoning is scheduled for Thursday, June 21, in the morning, Tehran time, which is Wednesday evening and midnight in the US and Europe. Please act now before it is too late!

Ghazvin State Government Office, includes Ghazvin Municipal Security Council.

This office is open from 7:15 am to 2:15 pm Tehran time.

Tel:

+98 281 3682811

+98 281 3682812

+98 281 3682813

+98 281 3682814

+98 281 3682815

+98 281 3682816

Fax:

+98 281 3682941

+98 281 3682895

You can also contact the following offices in Iran:

· The Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Khamenei

Tel:

+98 21 64412020

· The Head of Judiciary: Ayatollah Shahroudi

Tel:

+98-21 22741002

+98-21 22741003

+98-21 22741004

+98-21 22741005

· The President: Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Tel:

+98 21 88825071

+98 21 88825072

+98 21 88825073

+98 21 88825074

+98 21 88825075

If you have difficulty contacting the officials inside Iran, please contact the Iranian officials in your country of residence for some of whom the telephone and fax numbers are listed below.

· United States: Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington, D.C.

Tel:

(202) 965-4990
(202) 965-4991
(202) 965-4992
(202) 965-4993
(202) 965-4994
(202) 965-4999

Fax:

(202) 965-1073
(202) 965-4990

· Canada: Embassy of Iran in Ottawa

Tel:

613 2354726

613 2325712

· United Kingdom: Embassy of Iran in London

Tel:

02072253000

Fax:

02075894440

· Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Switzerland, Geneva

Tel:

(41-22)332 21 00-21

Fax:

(41-22)733 02 03

· United Arab Emirates: Embassy of Iran in Abu Dhabi

Tel:

+9712-4447618

Fax:

+9712-4448714

· Denmark: Embassy of Iran in Copenhagen

Tel:

39160003

Fax:

39160075

· Norway: Embassy of Iran in Oslo

Tel:

(+47) 23 27 29 60

Fax:

(+47) 22 55 49 19

· Russia: Embassy of Iran in Moscow

Tel:

9178655, 9179679, 9175219, 9177282, 9170039, 9172442, 9178959

Fax:

2302897 , 9179683

· Finland, Embassy of Iran

Tel:

+358-9-6869 240

Fax:

+358-9-6869 2410

· South Africa, Embassy of Iran

Tel:

+27 (012) 342 58 80 / 1 -

Fax:

+27 (012) 342 18 78

· Germany, Embassy of Iran in Frankfurt

Tel:

+49 (0) 69 56 000 739 - 740

Fax:

+49 (0) 69 56 000 728

· India, Embassy of Iran in New Delhi

Tel:

+91-11-23329600/ 01/ 02

Fax:

+91-11-23325493

To contact campaign activists in the US or Iran, please email Soheila Vahdati <soheilavahdati@gmail.com> or Shadi Sadr <shadisadr@gmail.com>.

This Thursday One Man & One Woman Will be Stoned to Death in Takistan

2007-06-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

I received this disturbing news from the Campaign to Stop Stoning Forever. Please do whatever you can do to spread the news and stop stoning of this couple which is scheduled for about 30 hours from now.

http://www.meydaan.com/news.aspx?nid=391

Peace,

Who is the Real Deal?

2007-05-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

A friend asked me who's my favorite candidate for president.
I'm leaning towards Edwards.  He's the straightest and clearest (apart  from Kucinich)
about Iraq, his presentation of his universal health plan is  by far the best I've heard, and he's
deadly serious about ending poverty.    A friend of mine who was at the
California Democratic Convention last month  said Edwards got more ovations than the other
candidates combined.  Of course, Obama is the one in my heart.

My research shows that heis an  awesome politician with a spine of steel, the most gifted leader to come along 

in a generation.  Unlike the other candidates, what Obama inspires in  millions of people is LOVE.
He knows his life is in constant peril (he's already receiving Secret  Service protection). I'm deathly
afraid that he's going to go the way of John and Bobby, of  Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X,
and Martin Luther King.  His life is in mortal danger because he is the REAL THING.

-Clive Leeman

Student Affairs Professional Recognized for Community Service and Activism

2007-05-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Elahe Amani Honored With Inaugural Award

You have seen many post under then name Elaheh. Well, Elaheh Amani is a great family friendand an extraordinary woman. She has been a human rights activist for many years . Her great work through various charitable organizations has helped the lives of many . Berkeley Forum congratulates Elaheh on her most recent achievement!

Elahe Amani has served the needs of students since 1999 — first in student financial services and now as director of technology services in student affairs at Cal State Fullerton. The Iranian-born Amani also has been involved in activities that enhance students’ educational experience, ranging from lecturers on gender and culture, leadership and multiculturalism to getting funding for a financial literacy program on campus. In the community, she has been an organizer of statewide conferences, served as chair of the Coalition of Women from Asia and the Middle East, and is a member of the board for the Women’s Intercultural Network. She has served on the community advisory board for the Natural History Museum of LosAngeles, a board member and representative on the California Women Agenda and a research chair for the California State Economic Network. She has made numerous presentations, and last year, gave commentary and context during a screening of the film “Kandahar” — about an Afghan-born Canadian journalist’s efforts to return to her homeland to reach her sister. Most recently she took part in the 51st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

For all the things that she has done, Elahe Amani was recognized May 9 by the Women’s Studies Department at Cal State Long Beach, where she once worked as an accounting tech, financial aid disbursement supervisor and as a lecturer. Elahe was one of the inaugural recipients of the Lillian Robles Award for her efforts in community service and feminist activism. Robles was a Juane-o elder and Cal State Long Beach faculty member who battled to protect 11 acres of university land from development in the 1990s. At one point she camped out on the site for several days, said Elahe, who had known Robles when Elahe worked at Long Beach. “She was someone who stood up for issues that were important to her,” said Elahe, adding that Robles had been a foster mother for several hundred children and had been honored as Los Angeles County Mother of the Year. “She was really the soul of a caring woman. “I am so honored to be named to receive an award named after her,” Elahe added. “I am totally humbled and surprised by this recognition.”

Reclaiming Mother’s Day

2007-05-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today, May 13, 2007, America will observe “Mother’s Day” with a $16-billion commercial blitz of cards, flowers and restaurant meals. .While many people value and celebrate the contributions of mothers to their family not too many people know that " Mother's day actually began as a women's peace proclamation which has clearly being expressed in the Julia Ward Howe's 1870 English Language Poem.

Today, a group of mothers led by prominent and well known war opponent Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq, reclaiming “ Mother’s Day” as a day to protest war and started a 24 hours vigil outside the white house to protest the war in Iraq.

She said in a press conference " I don't want any more mums to grieve for a child lost in this unjust, unnecessary war in Iraq,"

So, as America celebrates Mother’s Day, let us remember that prior to 1914 when the first mother’s day was enacted, Mother’s day was a day in which women would rise up for peace in the world. Let us remember that motherhood is not only a biological fact, it is the quality of nurturing. Many women who never experience being a mother, mother the world by nurturing and healing the communities, locally and globally. They all believe that another world is possible. A world with peace, equality and respect to human rights. .

Mother's Day Proclamation

Arise then ... women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy,
and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the voice of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead,
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace.

-Elaheh Amani

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

In 1872, Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic",proposed an annual Mother's Day for Peace. Committed to abolishing war, Howewrote: "Our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage... Our sonsshall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach themof charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs".

-Clive Leeman

President Bush in Military Garb Contravened A Constitutional Safeguard

2007-05-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

Now that we have passed the fourth anniversary of President Bush's 
"Mission Accomplished" speech and been painfully entertained once again by
the sight of him strutting around the deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln in a flight
suit (codpiece intact) with a flight helmet under his arm, isn't it time for
us to wonder why a sitting president, who is constitutionally always a civilian
commander in chief, was wearing military gear that day.

No U.S President, with one exception as far as I can tell, has ever worn
a military uniform while president.  George Washington's donning
his old uniform and leading the army into western Pennsylvania against
the Whiskey rebels of 1794, is the only known instance, I believe, of a
sitting presidentacting officially while in unifom.

On that Mayday four years ago, George Bush revealed a disdain for the constitutional
desgnation of commander in chief as a civilian and always a civilian.

Perhaps he was also  compensating for his shabby record with the Texas Air National Guard
by swooping on to the flight deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln
in a fighter jet and then  parading around before the whole world as some
kind of fighter pilot hero.

What a pathetic spectacle.


-Professor Clive Leeman

The Legacy of Vietnam

2007-05-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

April 30, 1975 – the fall of Saigon. The day that Vietnam fell to communism. On this morning, the streets of Saigon stood deathly still, subdued by a sense of impending doom. From the north, the Viet Cong were coming; their military tanks could be heard in the near distance.

Some of the men, like my grandfather, burned their uniforms and fled for their lives. Others such as my father, too young to fight, stood and wept bitterly for the freedom that was now lost. The Americans had left long ago. Nothing could save them from the vengeance of their worst enemies, their own countrymen.

In the days that followed, a new era of totalitarian rule was unleashed upon the Vietnamese people. The world could only watch and cringe as the newly reinstated Socialist government began its systematic persecution of opposition political leaders and their followers. Thousands of innocents were tortured and executed in “work” camps, mere euphemisms for concentration death camps. In this society, where any deviation from the party line had punishing consequences, few dared to protest.

For many Vietnamese, living the nightmare of socialism and poverty, enough was enough. It’s commonly said that in a system where people have no political voice, they vote instead with their feet. Two million desperate Vietnamese fled to the high seas; only an estimated half of these refugees, among them my parents, were lucky enough to find haven in sympathetic neighboring and Western nations.

As we flashforward to the present, little has changed. In 2007 Vietnam was ranked as one of the worst violators of human rights in the world by Freedom House. No freedom of religion, no freedom of political expression, and no freedom of the press. All thanks to a regime that efficiently imprisons and silences a population of 85 million.

That is the deep heartbreak of the Vietnamese people, as thirty-two years later, we look upon this date today and mourn for a nation that is still not free.
This inevitably leads me to ask – what is the legacy of this day and the suffering of the Vietnamese people? As our nation questions whether Iraq has become this generation’s Vietnam, the disheartening tragedy that befell the Vietnamese after U.S. withdrawal should be a compelling lesson for us in Iraq.

Under the Paris Accords of 1973, the U.S. government had promised it would continue to provide financial support to the South Vietnamese even after withdrawing American troops from the country. In 1975, President Gerald Ford asked Congress to approve legislation granting financial assistance for the South. But Congress denied Ford’s request, and effectively cut off the final remaining lifeline for the Vietnamese dream of freedom, leaving the population at the mercy of the Viet Cong.

In March of this year, President Bush called upon Congress to renew legislative funding for our troops in their efforts to keep Iraq secure for democracy. In response, Congress has demanded a clause mandating the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops, perhaps as early as the end of this year. Already it appears that many in the House and the Senate are ready to turn their backs on Iraq as well.

I have this last piece to say. Our country simply can not betray the Iraqi people as it did in Vietnam. Our troops must stay to keep the peace until it is certain that the peace is lasting. That much we owe to the Iraqi people.

The obligations we assume in securing stability and democracy abroad are ones that we must keep and ultimately fulfill. And if we truly do not want another Vietnam to unfold in Iraq, then that is a promise that we cannot afford to break. Our nation must stay the course in Iraq.

History’s shown us what unfolded in Vietnam after we departed. Let us not repeat that same mistake.

-Jessica Vu
UC Berkeley

Sarkozy vs. Royal

2007-04-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

The French presidential runoff between the center right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and the Socialist Segolene Royal will be held on May 6^th. Mr.Sarkozy is the leading by a few points in most opinion polls and if the same trend continues until Election Day, we will have a centrist, pro-American president in France. Sarkozy has proven to be tough on crime as France’s interior minister. He has also demonstrated his understanding of the global economic system by not wanting to isolate France economically and thus encouraging French businesses to enter the globalized world markets faster than ever.

Moreover he has not been an American basher as most European politicians seem to be . He understands America’s role as the world’s only superpower and the sole protector of the Western way of life.

Sarkozy has criticized American efforts in Iraq but he is more willing to lend his support to American led NATO efforts of reconstructing Afghanistan and the war on terror in central Asia. Ms.Royal in the other hand has no clear foreign policy plans except bashing anything American. Her isolationist economic policies will not suit a country which claims to be the political leader of the EU.

The French people have a great decision to make. They can choose to elect a man who remembers the dark day s of communism and has nit yet forgotten the role played by the U.S to keep his country safe. Or they can vote for a radical socialist whose only plan is to lecture about how evil American influence is.

Rosie O'Donnell

2007-04-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am not going to say much about the following video clip since I want you to be the judge and tell me what you think about Rosie's comments.
Watch the Clip Here.

Call For the March 8th Demonstration in Iran

2007-03-06T00:47:00.000-08:00

The women activists in two major campaigns, Stop Stoning Forever, and One Million Signatures to Change the Discriminatory Law have been arrested along with many others on Sunday morning. The following is the Call for the March 8th demonstration in Iran was issued prior to the arrest.

http://iran8march85.blogspot.com

Please find below the reports about the arrest of Iranian Women activists in their peaceful gathering in front the "Revolutionary Court".

Iran-Emrooz,Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 04, 2007

http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news1/12208/

50 of the women's rights movement activists were arrested in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

The security police forces attacked a peaceful gathering of women's rights activists that had taken place at 8:30 am in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran in objection to the recent governmental oppressions and the summoning of some of these activists. The police forces who used violence to scatter the crowd, arrested at least 30 of the protesters.

According to the report published by Advar News, the list of the arrested is as follows:

Asieh Amini, Jila Bani Yaghoub, Mahboubeb Abbasgholizadeh, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh, Sara Loghmani, Zara Amjadian, Mariam Hossein Khah, Jelveh Javaheri, Niloofar Golkar, Parastoo Dokoohaki, Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, Maryam Mirza, Saghar Laghayee, Khadijeh Moghaddam, Saghie Laghayee, Nahid Keshavarz, Mahnaz Mohammadi, Nasrin Afzali, Tal'at Taghinia, Fakhri Shadfar, Maryam Shadfar, Elnaz Ansari, Fatemeh Govarayee, Azadeh Forghani, Sommayeh Farid, Minoo Mortezayee, Sara Imanian.

Nooshin Amhadi Khorasani, Parvin Ardalan, Shahla Entesari and Susan Tahmasebi—five prominent members of the women's rights movement—who had to attend their court hearing left the court session in support of their fellow activists. They, too, got arrested upon their departure from the court.

The police officers hit Nahid Jafari's head to the police van and as a result of such violent actions, her teeth broke and the officers are currently refusing to take her to the emergency room.

JIB JAB

2007-02-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

JibJab is a website featuring Flash cartoons. It is run by two Americans, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, who call themselves "the JibJab Brothers". When they are credited together (such as when they are co-directors), they call themselves Grevan Spiridellis, which is an amalgamation of Gregg and Evan.

JibJab was started in 1999. The brothers had made several short films prior to the 2004 presidential election, including several Rumple sketches (Rumple was the President's fictional three-inch tall imaginary friend) even though the website was not as well-known as it became when the "This Land" video was released. Some of these movies involved politics, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor in California's 2003 recall election, and another one involved the 2000 presidential election.

here is their most recent production; Nuckin' Futs!!

THE CAMPAIGN TO END LEGAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN & GIRLS IN IRAN

2007-02-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

The 51st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will be meeting in NY starting the last week of Feb. This panel will be addressing the Legal Discrimination Against Women and Girls and also the practice of "Stoning" in Iran. Yakin Erturk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has been Invited and hopefully will be able to attend. This panel will give more visibility to the issue of the Legal Discrimination Against Women and Girls in Iran.

PANEL: THE CAMPAIGN TO END LEGAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN & GIRLS IN IRAN

UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 2007

FEBRUARY 28, 2007

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM

Church Center

*Yakin Erturk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (Invited)

*Dr. Mehrangiz Kar, Visiting Scholar & Researcher, Harvard University Law School - Human Rights Program, Iran/USA

*Jacqui Hunt, Director, Equality Now, England

*Elahe Amani, Chair, Coalition of Women from Asia & the Middle East (CWAME) & Board Member of Women Intercultural Network (WIN), USA

*Lois A. Herman, Coordinator-WUNRN, Women's UN Report Network, Global

*Dianne Post, Attorney at Law, Transnational Women Rights Defender, USA

*Sanam Dolatshahi, Feminist Journalist, Student, Iran/USA

*Dr. Soheila Vahdati, Coordinator - Stop Stoning Forever Campaign, Iran/USA (Moderator)

Children of Afghanistan

2007-02-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

This is a powerful video with beautiful and emotionally charged Afghan music. Seeing this video brought back many memories of my trip to Kabul in 2003.

May all the children of the world enjoy the basic human rights such as food, shelter, education, health, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYHoDvG6EI

Peace,

Elahe

Is There Going to be Another War?

2007-02-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Rumors about a pre-emptive strike against Iran have been circulating everywhere. “It’s not a matter of whether or not the U.S will strike Iran but when" said a UC Berkele y professor who spoke to Berkeley Forum with the condition of anonymity. An attack on Iran could have a wide range of consequences for the U.S and the region. Iran could be a potential partner for the Bush administration in its efforts to stabilize Iraq and strengthen the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. But the recent U.S military allegations about Iran providng weapons and training to some Iraqi militias are seen by many observers as Washington's rhetoric to start a war with Iran. "Iran is a significant contributor to attacks on coalition forces, and also supports violence against the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi people," said a senior defense official, who was joined by a defense analyst and an explosives expert, both also from the military. (Washington Post)
Iran is accused of suppliant Shiite militias with "explosively formed penetrator" or EFPs which can easily penetrate through armor. The first known attack using such weapons in Iraq occurred in May 2004, and the rate of attacks using them has nearly doubled in 2006. They have also been used in southern Lebanon.

Now my question is this: What would Iran gain from an unstable Iraq or a U.S military attack against Iran? I would like to know what you think.

Give Petraeus a Chance

2007-02-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

President Bush’s decision to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq has started a debate here at home on whether or not the troop surge is necessary. Most Democrats and a few Republicans( Such as Sen. Hagel)have gone on the offensive- taking advantage of Bush’s low job approval ratings- and have characterized the surge as an “escalation” of the war in Iraq. Regardless of what they chose to call it, the troop surge is absolutely necessary to stabilize Baghdad and bring law and order to the Anbar province.

Over one thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed by the insurgents only in the past week. Sophisticated American military machinery such as Army Black Hawks and Apaches are shut down almost every week by insurgents using the most basic weapons such as RPG’s (rocket propelled grenades). This is demoralizing to U.S troops and is counter productive to American efforts trying to stabilize and rebuild Iraq. And the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki seems completely impotent in dealing with the daily violence.

The troop surge of 21,000 (I strongly believe that more troops are needed in Iraq and more troops can certainly be sent over to the region) is going to allow the new American commander, Gen. David Petraeus, to clean up Baghdad and deal with the growing violence in Iraq. General Petraeus is the Army’s most reliable counter insurgency expert and he deserves a chance to implement his new strategy in Iraq and bring about relative peace to Iraq’s major cities.

The old Iraq policy implemented by the Rumsfeld- Abizaid – Casey has clearly failed. Now it is time for fresh ideas and a new plan to bring about change in Baghdad and secure America’s most vital interests in the region. General Petraeus deserves a chance so give him what he needs and he will deliver!

Send More Troops Mr.President

2007-01-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

President Bush finally decided to send more troops to Iraq, notably to the troubled city of Baghdad. He has finally realized that the insurgency cannot be defeated by a “light U.S military footprint” as, Gens.Abizaid and Casey liked to put it, but the real solution is a combination of overwhelming force and diplomatic negotiations. The recent 21000 troop deployment to iraq may solve the problem for a short period of time, it may crush the insurgency in the capitol city of Baghdad and retake control of the Anbar province. But is that all the President could do? Are 21000 combat troops enough for a country of over 2000000? The Washington Post recently proclaimed: "The United StatesIraq would need at least 500,000 and perhaps more than 1 million troops" to bring order to the country. and its allies in House majority leader Steny Hoyer declared: "As a practical matter, there are no troops to increase with." Neither of these statements is true.

In one of his recent pieces in the Weekly Standard, Frederick W. Kagan sees things differently. Kagan notes: “A study of post-conflict operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and elsewhere conducted by Ambassador James Dobbins showed that success in those operations--characterized by severe ethnic and sectarian violence--required force ratios of 1 soldier per 100 inhabitants. Iraq poses challenges that are in some respects more severe, at the moment, but it also offers its own rules-of-thumb. Successful clear-and-hold operations in Tal Afar required a force ratio of around 1 soldier (counting both U.S. and Iraqi troops) for every 40 inhabitants. On the other hand, in 2004 Major General Peter Chiarelli suppressed a widespread uprising in Sadr City (an area inhabited by about 2.5 million Shiites) with fewer than 20,000 U.S. soldiers--a ratio of about 1 to 125.”

He argues that “The U.S. command repeatedly and correctly points out that about 80 percent of the violence in Iraq occurs within a 35-mile radius of Baghdad, among a population of perhaps 10 million. Baghdad itself has roughly 6.5 million inhabitants, including the 2.5 million Shiites in Sadr City. These figures provide the basis for a more realistic estimate of the force levels needed. Applying the high-end ratio used in Tal Afar over the entire metropolitan Baghdad area would generate a requirement of 250,000 troops--both U.S. and Iraqi. There are currently about 100,000 Iraqi army troops that the U.S. command considers trained and ready. There are almost 150,000 American troops in Iraq now, including perhaps 70,000 combat troops. Conducting Tal Afar-type operations across the entire capital region all at once would require concentrating all available forces in the area and a "surge" of about 80,000 U.S. soldiers--a large number, to be sure, but very far from the "hundreds of thousands" or even "millions" generated by the use of specious historical examples.” He correctly points out that the U.S can and must send more troops to Iraq in order to stabilize the capitol and crush the insurgency. “n truth, we could send more. As of October 1, there were approximately 81,000 active Army soldiers in Iraq, 21,500 active duty Marines, 15,600 Army National Guard, and a little more than 7,000 Army and Marine Reserves--in all about 125,000 troops (13,000 sailors and airmen and a number of other reserves brought the total up to 139,500). Since then, another 8,000-9,000 soldiers and Marines, mostly active duty, have also been committed to the theater. There are another 24,000 members of all services now in Afghanistan as well.”

The U.S has 2.4 million atvice, reserve and gurad members . The President must look at all his options first before sending only a small 21000 man force to Iraq. President Bush must send an overwhelming unbmer of troops to Iraq and consider the possibility of entering direct negotiations with Iran and Syria. Yet he must conduct such negations from a position of strength, that is after reducing the level of violence in Iraq and gaining control over Baghdad.

DON'T FIGHT OVER A DEAD CRIMINAL

2007-01-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Saddam Hussein was executed justly. He was a blood thirsty criminal who killed hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. He came to power by brutally murdering all his rivals. Then he invaded Iran which ended with his humiliating defeat. But that wasn’t enough for him. He had to invade Kuwait this time where his military machine was buried in sand after the Coalition Forces got involved. He gassed thousands of Kurds and Iranians and committed genocide against the Shiites.

In the following video clip, an Iraqi journalist ( Al-Mousawi) and an Iraqi MP ( Al-Jabouri) get in a ridiculous fight on Aljazeera over Saddam Hussein while broadcasting live.

WATCH HERE.

No Front-Page Headline for Newly Elected Speaker Pelosi

2007-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

To the editor of The Los Angeles Times:
Your newspaper has an idiosyncratic sense of news, to put it mildly.
The day after the unprecedented and historic election of a woman to be Speaker of the House, the headline for your main lead story read, "U.S.-Iraqi Assault Hits Sunni Haven," and your front-page photo of Speaker Nancy Pelosi headed a story with the following title: "Bush Shows Democrats Another Side." The two Pelosi stories were consigned to pages 10 and 11.

The Iraq story headline gave the erroneous impression that U.S. and Iraqi troops were really on the move against insurgents in Diyala province (the text of the story revealed they're actually having a difficult time), and the Bush story merely showed that the President knows he is in trouble and is trying to placate Democratic leaders with military plane rides and Christmas Day phone calls, not with any substantial consultations on policy.

Apart from your front-page photograph of Speaker Pelosi the day after she made history, the Times did not give her the courtesy of a front-page story.
At least five of the largest daily newspapers in the U.S. greeted
Speaker Pelosi's election with front-page headlines (The New York Times,
Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Denver Post).

Why not the Times?

-Clive Leeman

Ahmadinejad is Making American Friends!

2006-12-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

I don’t know how to interpret Mr.Ahmadinejad’s recent actions. As you all know by now, Ahmadinejad held a conference in Tehran to discuss the “myths surrounding the Holocaust”. The most notable guest, at least to those of us who are interested in American politics, was David Duke, a Former KKK leader and a Louisiana Congressman.

David Duke is no friend of the Iranian people. He has allied himself with the despotic regimes of the Middle East in order to fight the “Zionist Entity”. Inviting a known racist like David Duke to a conference in Tehran is not bad enough for Ahmadinejad that he had to meet with the former “Wizard of the Klan” in person. Even Bashar Assad, with all his wrongdoings and lack of experience, did not meet with Duke when the former Klansman visited Syria last year.

Is this a desperate attempt on Ahmadinejad’s part to attract more negative attention towards Iran? Is he trying to win the “hearts and minds” of Iran’s Arab neighbors so one day, they will support Iran in her nuclear dossier? Or is Ahmadinejad just trying to make some American friends!?

You can listen to Duke's speech in Tehran here:
Part I
Part II
Part III

And Here is Wolf Blitzer's interview with Duke: CNN VIDEO

Help Fight The Epidemic

2006-12-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical monolith that charges nearly $1,000 for a 30 day supply of one of its HIV/AIDS medications, is donating $1 to the National AIDS Fund for each person who simply visits their website and "virtually lights a candle." The tally is 1,306,478 now.

Please, please take a minute to "light a candle":

www.lighttounite.org

This really will take just a second!

P.S. Please, take a few seconds to repost this so that the word can get out to as many people as possible. Thank You!!!!

Engineering an Empire: The Persians

2006-12-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

The History Channel will be airing a program entitled:

Engineering an Empire: The Persians

9 pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday, December 4th, 2006

9 pm Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, December 05, 2006

For further details please

CLICK HERE.

The program will be hosted by Peter Weller. A number of historians will be interviewed, including Professor Patrick Hunt of Stanford University and Professor Llwellyn-Jones of the University of Edinburgh .

Pelosi-Harman Friction strains Democrats' unity

2006-11-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

To the editor of the Los Angeles Times;
Twice in five days you have run a front-page story suggesting that the Democratic Party is in trouble because of problems with Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi's leadership. And once again, you have missed the main point.Nowhere in today's front-page story about the differences between Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jane Harman (D-CA) do you mention the most obvious and significant issue dividing them: the war in Iraq.

Pelosi voted against granting President Bush authority to use force in Iraq and has adamantly opposed the war since the March, 2003 invasion; Harman was a hawk on the war from the beginning and resolutely backed the Pentagon and the intelligence community as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Commitee.In fact, her surreptitious participation in the secret White House briefings which led to the scandal of domestic spying by intelligence agencies without warrants now renders her completely unfit to be the chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

How could Speaker-elect Pelosi possibly be expected to appoint somebody as compromised as Rep. Harman to head up the very agency which will be investigating the misdemeanours of the intelligence community?

-Clive Leeman

Me vs. Facebook

2006-11-21T00:40:00.000-08:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Me vs. FaceBook -Video sent by omemarian

I came across this young lady a few days ago on the Berkeley campus. She was advocating for more " human and personal interactions" and thought websites such as facebook, myspace and others have created obstacles for people to have a more "personal and real relationship" with each other. Interestingly enough, she was advertising for another website, Me.com! Click on her picture to watch the interview

UCLA2

2006-11-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Dailymotion blogged video
UCLA2
Video sent by omemarian

Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Taser GUN

2006-11-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

The UCLA police department taser gunned a student several times, inside a library on the UCLA campus. These questionable tactics, recorded on a video-ready cell phone, have angered many Iranian Americas and UC students. The officers shocked Mostafa Tabatabienejad with several thousand volts of electricity many times to coherce him into cooperation. You can read the LA Times article Here.

Watch the entire video Here.

You can read the UCPD statement here.

Koppel on Discovery: Iran

2006-11-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Award-winning journalist Ted Koppel was allowed three weeks of rare access to examine the roots of 27 years of distrust between Americans and Iranians. In KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: IRAN - THE MOST DANGEROUS NATION, Koppel talks to Iranians in all parts of the country about the harsh rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and about his determination to pursue nuclear technology. The two-hour world premiere special airs Sunday, November 19 at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Channel.

Koppel was able to travel outside Tehran to the holy city of Qom, the old capital Isfahan, to the busy border with Iraq, and into the rural areas that are a significant base of support for President Ahmadinejad. In so doing, he conveys the deep sense of Persian pride in their 2,700-year history and rich culture.

Countdown

2006-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Arash- "Having frightened us, having bullied us, having lied to us, having ignored and rewritten the Constitution under our noses, having stayed the course, having denied you’ve stayed the course, having belittled us about "timelines" but instead extolled "benchmarks," you’ve now resorted, sir, to this?"

Those are the words of Keith Olbermann, the host of MSNBC's Countdown, on the eve of the 2006 midterm elections. Olbermann is one of the few, if not the only, liberal newscasters who openly criticizes the Bush administration. You can watch the entire video here.

Cyrus The Great - Documentary

2006-11-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

Arash- Many Iranians feel their history of 2500 years is neglected is the West . There have been several movies made about the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans but not one motion picture about Persia has ever seen the wide screen.
This Video below is a short clip from a documentary currently being made on Cyrus the Great.

Watch Here.

The Grand Old Party

2006-11-08T18:37:00.000-08:00

ARASH-The Weekly Standard claims that “the Canadians of American politics are finally back.” I voted Democratic this time to protest the many wrongdoings of the GOP leaders and the Bush administration. I believe in balanced budgets, reducing the deficit, better education for our children and a small government. The Republicans failed me and many other voters on all those counts. When they took power in 1994, the GOP promised change, but Washington changed the GOP. Corruption became the motto of the party and they became involved in some of the most bizarre scandals of modern politics. They lost their credibility not only with the moderate voters but with the conservative base as well.

The Republican defeat of Tuesday was no surprise. The Republican Party abandoned its conservative ideals, small government was chief among them. Over the past 6 years the GOP has been responsible for the expansion of the bureaucracy to an intolerable level. The eavesdropping on American citizens and invading their privacy, voting to legalize torture and the mistreatment of detainees lead many Americans to believe that the GOP does not represent their values. The GOP – Grand Old Party – must change its name to the GOG – Grand Old Government-.

In 1994, after the Republican take over of the House after nearly 50 years of Democratic control, many Democrats justified their Republican votes by saying this: We didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left us. Today many conservatries have a similar justification for their upset votes: We never left the GOP but the GOP left us!

"1325 Award" - Advancing Gender Equality in Conflict & Peacekeeping

2006-10-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

While on daily basis many women making history, doing peace work, constructing civil societies and redefining gender roles, very few are being recognized for the work they do. It is energizing to hear that this time, an amazing women from Liberia won the 2006 " 1325 Award". The award is given to an individual or a civil society organization in a conflict zone to promote the women's human rights and to increase political participation and presence at the decision making and peace negotiations.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which was adopted unanimously on women, peace and security on the day of October 31st, 2000 is one of the important UN Resolutions that deserves to be more learned and recognized.

Etweda Cooper, a human right activist from Liberia who is also called "Sugars" is known for her speaking out: "she shows no remorse for her stance on issues of politics and human rights as they relate to women and children. Because of her leadership skills and ability to quickly organize and mobilize she proved to be the right person to let out the frustration of women who were being victimized during the hay days of the civil war in Liberia".

Elahe

"1325 Award" - http://www.1325award.nl/index.php?id=10&ln=en

PeaceWomen Newsletters:
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/1325News/1325ENewsindex.html

PeaceWomen "1325 Award" Article:
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/1325News/Issue81.htm

Letter to the Editor

2006-10-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

Arash Aramesh - Prof. Clive Leeman teaches English at Moorpark college. During my years at Moorpark,
I took every course offered by the good professor. His classes were always open to discussion
and he allowed everyone to speak his/her mind. Here is a letter Clive wrote to the Los Angeles
Times.

Letter to the Editor:
Los Angeles Times Demeans the Rule of Law

All nations which subscribe to the rule of law conform to a fundamental
principle--that nobody accused of a crime can be convicted and
sentenced without being charged and tried in a court of law.

The Bush administration has treated this principle with contempt im
Guantanamo and other places ever since 9/11, and a failure to be vigilant about
upholding this legal axiom is not only impugning the reputation of Congress but
beginning to permeate other institutions, including, regrettably, the Los Angeles
Times.

David Wise, in his article "Now who's leaking the secrets?" (Los
Angeles TImes, October 1, 2006), is critical of President Bush for his legally reckless
leaking of state secrets to suit his own purposes, but Wise is himself legally careless when
he describes one of the suspects recently moved to
Guantanamo, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as "the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks,"
unfortunately omitting the ever necessary adjective alleged "mastermind."

In other words, the Los Angeles Times, like the Bush administration,
has already tried and convicted Shaikh Mohammed before he's even been
charged, let alone appeared in court.

If I had been that negligent when I was a cub reporter on a large metropolitan daily
newspaper many years ago, I would have been
seriously pilloried by my irate news editor for such an egregious breach of legal and
journalistic ethics.

Clive Leeman

postscript:

Ironically, just after I sent off my letter to the Los Angeles Times yesterday, NPR did a quick correction in another case on Talk of the Nation. A Lebanese journalist being interviewed on the show referred to the crimes committed by Rep. Mark Foley, and the interviewer said: "Hold it right there. Mark Foley is simply accused of these crimes." Somehow I don't think the interviewer would have rushed to the defense of the Muslim Shaikh Mohammed's legal rights as quickly as she did to defend the Republican Mark Foley's. Thanks and blessings, Clive

A Lonely Clinton on Tape

2006-10-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

Arash- After watching Chris Wallace's interview with President Clinton, I immediately thought of the days when Clinton was still president but no one paid any attention to him. Yes, I mean the days of post Monica Lewinsky scandal and in the midst of the 2000 presidential campaign.

During that time, most presidential advisors were either aiding Gore in his bid for the presidency or setting up their lobbying firms on "K" street.
The very thought of those days made me want to share this video clip with you.
Enjoy

Afghanistan - Rise in Honor Killings

2006-09-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Dear friends--

October 7th 2006 marks the 5th anniversary of the start of Operation Enduring Freedom. The plight of Afghan women for equality, justice and peace made headlines five years ago. However, violence against women is on rise in public and private spheres. During my visit to Kabul in May 2003 as part of Women Intercultural delegation, Afghan women repeatedly expressed their concerns and asked us to bring this message to their American sisters and society at large. " Do not forget us". All the recent reports indicates that the Taliban culture and it's presence is at rise in the life of Afghan women . It is a harsh reality of our world that women's rights, security and empowerment is a benchmark of the presence of religious extremism/fundamentalism. No matter in Iran, India or Afghanistan , the regressive forces attempt to redefine the position of women at home and in society and violate their rights as an equal human being. " Oppression can only survive through silence " and that is the reason that Afghan women will not be silent and coming to the streets of Kabul to protest the rise in honor killings.....

Peace,
Elaheh

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55574&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

Health Care for All Californians

2006-08-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Arash-  I just recieved this email from a one of my dearest professor's at Moorpark college:
Did you know that if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs it next week,
a bill providing all Californians with universal health coverage will actually
become law on or before Thursday, August 31? The media have barely
mentioned this truly historic development.  I only found out about it last week (and I tend to be reasonably well-informed).
A Universal Health Care Bill (SB 840) sponsored by State Senator Sheila Kuehl has already passed the state senate by 25-15 and appears likely
to pass the state assembly early next week (41 votes are needed; 40 votes are committed).

Here's the rub:  Schwarzenegger has indicated that he will veto the
bill.

It is now time to flood his office before August 31 with hundreds of
thousands of messages in support of the bill.  Schwarzenegger must be
made to realize that if he does veto the bill, this whole issue will explode in his
face on election day next November.

Email
governor@governor.ca.gov
Capitol Address
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CAÂ Â 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

SB 840 will provide comprehensive, high quality health insurance for
all Californians using a single-payer system.
Look up the following website for more information and for signing a petition:  

Health Care for All”California Home Page; Achieve Universal Health ...
Health Care for All is a nonprofit grassroots organization working for
high
quality, universal, single payer health care in California.
www.healthcareforall.org

Galloway vs. the U.S Senate

2006-08-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Arash- "I have had two meetings with Saddam Hussein, once in 1994 and once in August of 2002. By no stretch of the English language can that be described as "many meetings" with Saddam Hussein." George Galloway

George Galloway( MP UK) has been a controversial figure for many years. He appeared before the U.S senate during the Senate's investigation of U.N's Oil For Food program. Galloway made some interesting remarks. You can watch the senate hearing HERE .
I must agree with Ali on one of his recent posts where he compared Galloway to a "hardcore Berkeley liberal". There are plenty of Galloways here on the Berkeley campus whom you cannot have a decent discussion with. Galloway makes some good points about Bush's war plans and the lack of evidence for the existence of WMDs. But Mr. Galloway proudly shook the hands of Saddam in 1994, a man who is responsible for the death of over a million Iraqis, Iranians and Kurds. You can Watch his comments about Saddam Hussein Here where he claims that most Iraqis actually liked Saddam! Watch the video and judge for yourself.

Domestic violence in Afghanistan is ‘endemic,’ perpetrators go unpunished – UN study

2006-08-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Arash- Once again , Elaheh Amani has opened our eyes to what is happening around the world, especially to the poorest and the weakest among us. The women of Afghansitan have suffered decades of war and injustcie. This male dominated society( like Iran , Iraq , Saudi Arabia and many others) has opressed its women for centuries. The world community needs a wake up call.

The following study once again exemplifies that women experience violence in different spheres and at personal as well as political life. Women not only experience the violation of their rights in society they experience violence at home. Respect of Women's human rights in society and at home are interdependent and one can not truly flourish without the other.

Read the entire article HERE.

Iranian - African Child From Botswana

2006-08-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

Aramesh - Watch Aref , an Iranian- African child who was born in Botswana and adopted and raised by his Iranian parents. The story is about a family from Iran who went as far as Botswana to adopt a child who was in need. Watch the entire story HERE.
I promise you will be amazed.
This is another Current TV production and they do a geat job covering stories that you never see on Fox or CNN.

A Plea for Life

2006-08-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

Aramesh- Former Miss World Canada ( Nazanin Afshin Jam) struggles to save 18-year-old Iranian woman from execution

Watch the CNN report HERE.

Women's Fashion Show in Iran

2006-08-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

This is just amazing. The first ever government sponsored fashion show for women in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 was held in Tehran just a few weeks ago.

Although the models were completely covered, following the Islamic dress code, no men were allowed to watch the show live.

You can see the pictures of the fashion show HERE.

CAMEROON: Campaign Launched to Counter 'Breast Ironing'

2006-08-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Arash- I recieved an email from a dear friend and human rights activist , Elaheh Amani, regarding breast ironing in Africa and I would like to share it with all of you.

Breast Ironing is one of the many forms of body modification which is widely being practiced in some of the African counties specifically Cameroon. This brutal and harmful cultural practice is currently inflicted on 25% of all girls in Cameroon. An additional 3.8 million girls are also at risk of breast ironing. According to BBC News many mothers and female relatives in Cameroon support the practice despite the fact that it is unlawful and they face a three year prison sentence, because they believe, detracting attention from sexuality means more attention to education for girls. The following is an article and a recent interview of AWID ( Association of Women's Rights in Development ) Resource Net with Bessem Arrey Ebanga Bissong that can shed some light on this harmful practice. Breast Ironing is one of the concerns of women in Africa under the category of health and reproductive rights. Bodily integrity is a women's human rights!

p.s. while reading this interview, I reflected at the dichotomy of our world. In America, breast augmentation /implant among young women are increasing at an alarming rate. Between 1992 and 2004 the number of the augmentation surgeries performed on girls ages 18 and younger has increased 293 percent.

you can read the entire article here.

Who's Afraid of Shirin Ebadi?

2006-08-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Arash- I read this editorial piece in the New York Times today. It is a sad day when a regime treats its only noble laureate, the first Muslim woman to win such an award, in such horrible ways.

Shirin Ebadi has been active for decades fighting for women's and children's rights. Her record on defending Human Rights speaks for itself and needs no further explanation by me.

Yet the Islamic Republic find new ways everyday to harass her. The same applies to many of Iran's best and brightest, men like Akbar Ganji , Saied Hajarian , Taghi Rahmani and many others who are constantly harassed by the regime , simply because of criticizing the government.

Ready For Hillary?

2006-08-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Arash-Are you prepared for 2008 Presidential elections???

Here is something for you!!

Click here and make sure your speakers are on.

Enjoy

A Few Clarifications

2006-08-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

In the his previous post , Omid has brought up a few points. I appreciate his comments but I must clarify a few things for our readers.

First of all you accused me of saying “Then he mentions that how this wave of terrorism is an outcome of the Wahhabi ideology “. I certainly believe that Wahhabis are responsible for a large portion of terrorist activities around the world, but I certainly don’t believe they are the only group of people who do so.

Second, when I said “I am not after finding the faulty side here” I was referring to the Israeli- Lebanese conflict. I meant that I was no going to determine who started the war first. That quote had nothing to do with Wahhabis and if anyone reads my text carefully, you will see my point.

You claim that “Different version of Islam, have different readings, including Wahhabism”. Not true. Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam have various understandings of Islamic readings. The same applies to Christianity and Judaism. But Wahhabism by definition is a “fundamentalist interpretation of Islam”. You can find this definition in any encyclopedia.

You said “I think it is not precise to accuse a part of Islam on what is happening now in the region, while the roots of terrorism in the region related to many complicated factors such as economy, history and the lack of good governance among Middle East countries”. Good points. Where have I said that the Wahhabis are the only cause of terrorism in the region? But there is no doubt that the Wahhabi establishment was and is the principle financial and ideological supporter of many radical terrorist groups such as the Sepah-e- Sahabeh in Pakistan, more than 10 Wahhabi jihadist groups in Iraq including the Zarqawi network, the Janjaweed in Sudan, the Somalian Islamic fundamentalists such as Sheikh Nur Barud and the Council of Ulema, more than 60 Wahhabi groups in Russian( according to Russia’s interior ministry and reports by interfax) including those of Aslan Maskhadof and Shemil Basayef. The Wahhabi produce such violent ideologies and their wealthy Saudi supporter pour hundreds of millions of dollars into their cause. This is just a short list.

You said” Corruption of the rulers is a common pain for the countries in this region It is not just Saudi Arabia, which I think its rulers try to be more pragmatic in the International policy making processes.” I never said Saudi Arabia was the only corrupt regime on the planet. Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and many more government alike are corrupt as well. Regarding the Saudi’s level of pragmatism, we all know that the Saudi regime is America’s Stooge. And what kind of pragmatic policy would endorse 200 or more small and large terrorist organizations in the world?

“What Arash says about the Mecca and Saudis’ palaces, are not something to discuss”. Why not? Do I not have the right to express my opinion about Islam’s two holiest shrines? I cannot believe that some of our leading scholars and journalist are so bogged down by such levels of political correctness that they self censor themselves and ban anyone from speaking against the occupation of the holy land because it may hurt the feelings of some Wahhabis. If that is the case, so be it. We must embrace free speech and not limit it. I cannot censor myself just because it might hurt someone’s feelings. I stated my opinion about the condition of the two holy cities and I stand by it.

At the end I encourage our readers to study the history of Wahhabism. Wahhabism is not just another version of Islam like the Hanafis or the Malikis. Wahhabism is a strict and harsh interpretation of the religion and anyone who claims to be a practicing Wahhabi adheres to those principles. At the end I must say that not all Saudis are Wahhabis. There are many Saudis who are fed up by the current system and are fighting for more civil and political liberties. May peace and success be with them.

-Arash

Some notes on a post: Why this issue is so complicated?

2006-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Omid- “In one of the earlier comments Arash, has claimed that Saudi rulers do not support Hezbollah because of their hypocrisy, which is very true in some ways. He also says:

“The Wahhabis rule the corrupt kingdom of Saudi Arabia and enjoy from its
billions of dollars of oil wealth.”

Then he mentions that how this wave of terrorism is an outcome of the Wahhabi ideology. He continues:

“They have lost their credibility before the Muslim world for they have
lost their prominence to a small Shiites group in southern Lebanon called
Hezbollah. They are cowards who brainwash young men to carry out suicide
operations while they sit in their palaces and enjoy their many wives.”

And while he claims “I am not after finding the faulty side here”, he accuses Saudi rulers as the core of the terrorism in the region.I have some notes on this post:

1-Different version of Islam, have different readings, including Wahhabism. What he claims about Wahhabi followers and the Saudi rulers, to some extent is the same for Shiites and Sunnis and so on. There are radical readings of all branches of Islam like Christianity and Judaism. All the people who have breathed in the Islamic world atmosphere are familiar with this concept. I think it is not precise to accuse a part of Islam on what is happening now in the region, while the roots of terrorism in the region related to many complicated factors such as economy, history and the lack of good governance among Middle East countries.

2- Corruption of the rulers is a common pain for the countries in this region. We know that most of the countries in this region, suffer from corruption, bad governance, lack of political participation, lack of freedom of expression and so on, more or less. It is not just Saudi Arabia, which I think its rulers try to be more pragmatic in the International policy making processes.

3- What Arash says about the Mecca and Saudis’ palaces, are not something to discuss. I think words such as “cowards”, “brainwash”, “enjoy their many wives” and so on. Nobody among the people who are trying to bring peace in the region use this tone. No one of the people who have basic knowledge of terrorism and know how this disaster can be reinforced, use such a provocative tone, which is just swear word and comes out of a huge anger. Especially in Iran, while the former president was advocate of dialogue among civilization but not accusing the others on creating terrorism, this tone does not represent the voice of democrats and civil society activist of the region.

4- Such a judgement on who is behind the terrorism, no matter who express, is hurtful for any kind of peace promotion process in the region. That’s why many peace activists emphasize that we should carefully judge the people of the other sects and religions..

Ahmadinejad the Teacher

2006-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

If you happened to watch some parts of Mike Wallace's interview with Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, you would have noticed the numerous times in which Ahmadinejad made "teacher-like" jokes. For example, when Wallace pushed Ahmadinejad to give a clear "yes" or "no" answer to a question, Ahmadinejad asked if Wallace's interview was a multiple-choice test. There were a number of other instances when Ahmadinejad had "teacher-like" comebacks. It certainly reminded me of the old school days in Iran.

This is because Ahmadinejad in fact was a teacher and a professor prior to entering politics. In his campaign speeches he often boasts about this and uses it as an illustration of how "connected" he is to his people. You can read a brief biography of Ahmadinejad's life HERE.

By the way, Ahmadinejad has just joined the 80,000 plus blogs that are writting in Farsi on the web. He's now a blogger, a source of (mis)information! You can read Ahmadinejad's blog in english HERE.

Ahmadinejad on CBS

2006-08-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Arash-I watched Mike Wallace’s interview with Ahmadinejad yesterday. I must admit that Ahmadinejad’s answers were calculated. The general assumption about Ahmadinejad is that he is an uneducated man who can poorly articulate himself. But his performance on 60 minutes was surprising and proves that assumption to be wrong. He answered most of the questions in a very politically sound manner. He spoke comfortably and tried to make his case while keeping a meaningful smile on his face. He is still an illegitimate leader in my eyes who is driven by ideology and not by Iran’s national interest, but I am not going to bother you with my opinion on his performance as president so far. I leave that for another time. You can watch most of the interview here.

Wahhabis Are Islam's True Enemy

2006-08-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Arash- Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Muslim world has begun to view this Iranian backed group in a different way. In the piece that you are about to read, I am not after finding the faulty side here. I will not address the question of “who started this war?” But I will focus on the response of the Wahhabi establishment who claim to be Muslims and call all Shiites, including Hezbollah, heretics. The Wahhabis rule the corrupt kingdom of Saudi Arabia and enjoy from its billions of dollars of oil wealth. Thus they establish Madrasahs or seminary schools around the world to preach their harsh, inhumane version of Islam. Lets just assume for a minute that Hezbollah is not a terrorist group but an organization that provides welfare for the poorest of Lebanon and also fights the Israeli occupation. Most Muslims would agree with the above premise. Second, Israel is claimed by the Wahhabis to be the root cause of all evils in the region. If the 2 premises above are true, then why are the Wahhabi clerics so adamantly oppose Hezbollah in its fight against Israel? Why is it that Wahhabi terrorists kill tens of Iraqi civilians just because they are Shiites? Why have many Saudi Muftis have given out Fatwas –religious decrees- against Hezbollah? Isn’t Hezbollah fighting the Zionist occupiers? Isn’t Hezbollah’s goal the destruction of the state of Israel? It was The Wahhabi ideology that produced Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab Al- Zarqawi. It produced hijackers and suicide bombers and the Saudi Royal family is the principle backer of these terrorists. The most outrages occupation of Muslim lands, in my opinion, is the occupation of Mecca and Medina by the corrupt and sinful Saudi family. The Wahhabi fundamentalists and their harsh interpretation of Islam are doomed to fail. They have lost their credibility before the Muslim world for they have lost their prominence to a small Shiites group in southern Lebanon called Hezbollah. They are cowards who brainwash young men to carry out suicide operations while they sit in their palaces and enjoy their many wives. Their abominable acts will discredit them even further and they will soon find themselves in a real Wahhabi hell.

Imported vs Homegrown

2006-08-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Arash- Homegrown terrorism is going to be the free world’s most fierce challenge. It is easy to deny visas to outsiders and monitor their activities once they arrive at your country. Furthermore, these outsiders are not citizens of that country and can be deported easily. But what must be taken into consideration as a major threat is home grown terrorism. Young men and sometimes women of mainly Arab and Pakistani origins who are devout Muslims and attend mosque regularly are easy preys for radical Islamist who are in desperate need of recruiting the alienated Muslim youth. What happened in London and in Canada a few months ago illustrates the increase in number of homegrown terrorists.
The West must deny entry to radical preachers such as Abu Hamza Masri. Preachers like Masri only invite trouble and recruit trouble makers. Masri and his likes must be dealt with in courts and either be deported or incarcerated so their venomous preaching won’t infect anymore of the Muslim youth.

Iranian Leader Speaks To Mike Wallace

2006-08-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Arash-(CBS) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sat down with Mike Wallace in Tehran on Tuesday in a rare, exclusive interview with a Western reporter. In the wide-ranging interview, the Iranian leader comments on President Bush's foreign policy, the lack of relations between Iran and the United States, Hezbollah, Lebanon and Iraq. Speaking about President Bush's failure to answer his 18-page letter that criticized U.S. foreign policy, Ahmadinejad said, "Well, (with the letter) I wanted to open a window towards the light for the president so that he can see that one can look on the world through a different perspective. … We are all free to choose. But please give him this message, sir: Those who refuse to accept an invitation will not have a good ending or fate. You see that his approval rating is dropping every day. Hatred vis-à-vis the president is increasing every day around the world. For a ruler, this is the worst message that he could receive. Rulers and heads of government at the end of their office must leave the office holding their heads high."

Read the rest of the report here.

Scottish MP on Hezbollah

2006-08-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

The video of George Galloway's (UK MP) interview with Sky News has been circulating on the web for the past few days. I personally got emails from a few of my friends, some sympathetic to Galloway's views and some not. You can watch this interview HERE.

He sounds like a hardcore Berkeley liberal in this interview. Then again, he has a point. As long as you don't change the preconditions that give rise to terrorism, eliminating this or that terrorist group would just open the door for more extremist groups to take their place. It's like market demand and market supply: as long as the market demands terrorism, one firm or another will produce terrorism.
Galloway is married to a Palestinian woman by the way.

Ganji's Talk at UC Berkeley

2006-08-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

omid- Akbar Ganji, the most prominent dissident and Human Rights activist, who was released last March from 6 years of imprisonment, will deliver a lecture on "Gender Apartheid in Iran".

Since releasing from the jail, Ganji has left Iran for a tour around Europe and the United States. He has been in many cities and has had different talks. His talk, at UC Berkeley, has sponsored by the Peace & Conflict Studies Program,Institute of International Studies, and the Center for Middle Eastern.This trip has been an amazing opportunities for Ganji and talk to many prominent scholars around the Western countries.

Harry Kreisler, executive director of the "Institute of International Studies" is supposed to interview Ganji for his very famous and amazing series of interviews, "Conversation with History".

Dr. Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Study at Stanford University has translated many articles of Ganji to English which provide a better understanding for people in US to listen to him.I talked to Ganji during the last days to organize this event in Berkeley. As we belong to the similiar atmosphere and the same social life, have common perception on different things. He is going to talk on "Gender Apartheid in Iran" for the first time.

He tries to associate himself to the universities and not any political groups or even people who love him; however he tries to go through the academics....The hall he is going to talk is exactlly the one that Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Noble Peace Prize winner in 2003, talked a few months ago...

What Will Happen In Lebanon?

2006-08-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

How will the current war in Lebanon affect the country's internal politics in the years to come? I think that Israel took a huge gamble going into this conflict. This war can affect Lebanon's internal politics in two possible ways.

If the non-Shia majority in Lebanon (composed mostly of Sunni's and Christians) identifies with this war as its war, then Hezbollah will emerge out of this conflict stronger than before: the cause of "Liberation" will gain momentum once again, the investigation into Rafiq Hariri's assasination will fade into the background, and the calls for Hezbollah's disarmament will lose much of their vigor; the Lebanese government will be isolated more than ever before, and Hezbollah will add to its legitimacy as a competent and viable force for (much-needed) resistence.

On the other hand, if the non-Shia majority in Lebanon does not identify with this war as its war, then Hezbollah will bear much of the blame for the destruction of the Lebanese infrastructure. More people, even from within the Shia community, will call for Hezbollah's disarmament, and Hezbollah's political appeal will diminish within the general population. As an organization dedicated to active resistence, Hezbollah will lose much of its credibility, both within and without the Lebanese community.

How the non-Shia Lebanese majority will view this war, in my opinion, depends ultimately on how well Israel could manage it (a parallel can be drawn here with the shifting attitudes of the Iraqi population towards the U.S. as the war dragged on and the insurgency grew). In the end, the frequency of humanitarian disasters such as the Qana Attack could easily tip the balance one way or another.

It Is a Bad Year For Dictators

2006-08-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

Arash-It is very likely that the world is going to be rid of another dictator very soon. Yes, I am talking about Fidel Castro the Cuban dictator who has ruled over Cuba for 40 years with nothing but fear and terror. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled their homeland after the Cuban Revolution and a big portion of this exiled community reside in Florida. I saw pictures and video clips of their joy. I saw them cheering in the streets of Miami. I saw many exiles who hope to return to their homeland once the shadow of a bloodthirsty dictator is lifted from Cuba.
"Castro has gone under successful surgical operation and his condition is stable” said the Cuban official television. Many think he is dead and others think that he is too weak and sick to be able to handle the affairs of his nation. That is why he handed over all operational powers to his brother, Raul Castro.
It has been a pretty bad year for dictators. Milosevic died in jail while Saddam has been on a ridicules hunger strike while being trialed for crimes against humanity. Fidel doesn’t feel that great and Chavez and Ahmadinejad are becoming more and more isolated. Lets hope this year would be even worse for dictators .

Israel’s Destruction of Lebanon: Pushing Back the Prospect of Lasting Peace in the Middle East

2006-07-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Omid-Karim Sadjadpour is an analyst in International Crisis Group, and was a visiting fellow at the American University of Beirut during the 2003-2004 academic year. A few days ago I interviewed him for Roozonline website. Meanwhile, I asked him to answer some questions for my blogs. Here are three questions on the current crisis in the Middle East:

are there any positive prospects for the Middle East peace process anymore?

I think the likelihood of a successful Middle East peace process has now been knocked back years, if not decades. This latest crisis has only deepened the tremendous mutual mistrust and resentment that already existed between the two sides. Few Arabs have the will or desire to make peace with Israel these days. And likewise, few Israelis believe that the Palestinians or the Arabs will ever accept their existence.

Why the Arab leaders couldn’t interfere to establish a ceasefire or play a mediating role? do they agree that Hezbollah can be destryed by Israel?

Aside from Bashar Assad in Syria, Arab leaders have been torn over how to react to this crisis. On one hand, they are extremely pre-occupied with Iran’s growing regional ambitions and are concerned that a strong showing by Hezbollah will only heighten Iran’s status in the region. But although they initially criticized Hezbollah for provoking Israel, the Israeli response has been so destructive and unremitting that Arab leaders have since been forced to issue strong criticisms of Israel in order not to alienate their own populations. Israeli and United States officials say that this war is a part of war on terrorism.

Do you think that this attack can bring peace to Middle East?

I hope I am wrong, but I fear that Israel’s destruction of Lebanon has pushed back the prospect of lasting peace in the Middle East another generation. There is simply no trust between the two sides, and the younger generations in the Arab world and Israel that are watching this war on TV are getting prematurely jaded.

Is It Excessive Force?

2006-07-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

The past 2 weeks have been of extreme importance to those who follow the news.The Middle East is up in flames once again. It seems like this region of the world will never see long lasting peace. Just think about the many wars between the Arabs and the Israelis, the Iran-Iraq war, the 2 Gulf Wars and many smaller conflicts including tribal warfare, separatist movements and etc. Israel is responding to what it calls “provocative attacks” by Hezbollah. Hezbollah has always protested to the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. So hell broke loose two weeks ago when the 2 sides went at it again. The Israeli army started the bombardment of towns in Lebanon with heavy artillery and Hezbollah launched many Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Today, Israel attached a building in Qana and killed 60 civilian including 19 children.
Let’s just assume that any nation has the right to defend itself when it is attacked. But is Israel taking it too far? I want to know what you think.

Iran: The Next War? (Rolling Stone)

2006-07-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Omid-Have you read this article in Rolling Stone? "Iran: The Next War "

"...At the far end of that room, on the morning of February
12th, 2003, a small group of eavesdroppers were listening intently for evidence
of a treacherous crime. At the very moment that American forces were massing for
an invasion of Iraq, there were indications that a rogue group of senior
Pentagon officials were already conspiring to push the United States into
another war—this time with Iran...."

Even though many poeple believe that it is very hard and difficult for the US administration to start another war, I still think they are thinking on a kind of attack to Iran. It seems that US offcials, no matter they are republican or democrat, has come to this conclusion that they can not talk with the current political system in Iran. While they charge the Islamic republic of Iran as a supporter of many terorrist groups around the Middle East, how they can talk about, for instance, security arrangement in the region?I think articles like what has appeared in Rolling Stone just show this approach....

A NUCLEAR INDIA AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS FOR THE REGION

2006-07-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

Arash-Professor Darren C. Zook teaches in Political Science and International and Area Studies at UC Berkeley. His research interests include human rights, comparative Asian politics, international law, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He is currently at work on a book-length manuscript on the legal and political dimensions of decolonization and its legacy for global politics.

Q: as a scholar on south and southeast Asia, how do you see the recent nuclear
agreements state-going to be a motivating factors for those countries seeking nuclear
technology ? i.e: Iran

A:I was extremely disappointed with the US-India nuclear agreements. The idea behind this from the perspective of the Bush administration seems to have been that (1) it was the best
we were going to get with India anyway, and (2) India could be promoted as a "good" model of new nucelar country because it is secular and democratic and, of course, opposed to terrorism. The problem with both of these lines of reasoning is that they overlook and undermine the principles embedded in the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which might make it easier to deal with India in the short term, but will make it difficult if not impossible in the long term to establish any
credible way to oppose other nucelar aspirant states. Also, many people forget that when India
declared itself a nuclear state in May of 1998 by conducting a series of nucelar test explosions, it
did so under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party which, though not
necessarily extremist, has certainly dedicated itself to undermining secularism in India and at
times has hinted that only Hindus could be "authentic" Indians and that Christians and Muslims
should go elsewhere.

Q: how do you think the regional nuclear powers - India and Pakistan- will deal
with a nuclear Iran? do these countries favor a harsher tone of rhetoric against Iran ? do they
prefer military strikes?

A:Iran is not the most important concern for Pakistan. What Pakistan really wants is
to be treated as an equal to India; that is, it will also want the "special treatment" from
Washington. Otherwise, it looks as if the Bush administration accepts a "Hindu bomb" but not an
"Islamic bomb." If Pakistan does not get equal treatment, then it will look to China for
leverage and certainly will find common cause with Iran.

India, of course, does not want a nuclear Pakistan and certainly does not want a
nuclear Iran. I doubt seriously that India would engage in any kind of provocative action toward
Iran, but it will certainly use its image as a "non-extremist" country to preserve its special
arrangement with Washington.

From Iran's perspective, it is difficult to take the Bush administration seriously.
The agreement with India specifically allows some nuclear reactors to remain under Indian military
control, and therefore outside the purview of international monitors. Why would Iran agree to a
strict monitoring regime if India does not have to?

The final factor is, of course, China. China has cultivated ties with Pakistan and Iran at times, hoping to keep India off balance (not necessarily in military terms, but certainly in economic and
political terms). It is possible that the key issue here for India is not nuclear military power
but nuclear energy. India's economy is energy-hungry and one of the things that keeps India from
competing seriously with China in the world economic stage is the inability to have a consistent
energy supply upon which to build its economy. It is possible that the Bush administration is
really hoping to make India a democratic economic alternative to China to keep pressure on China
to democratize or simply to thwart its regional Asian ambitions. The question is, will the
economic payoff for this strategy outweigh the potential nuclearization of an increasing number of
countries as the NPT framework dissolves into uselessness? I think not.

Top 10 Presidential Moments

2006-07-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

I find the following video clip to be extremely funny. It is the top 10 screw ups by President Bush in front of camera. We all know the man is not very articulate. Regardless of your personal feelings toward President Bush, watch the clip and enjoy it. I don't watch David Letterman's show on a regular basis but I had to share this clip with all of you. Hopefully the next president will have better abilities to articulate him/herself !!

Iran and Hezbollah

2006-07-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

The situation between Israel and Lebanon is becoming more and more difficult to resolve. It worries me particularly because Iran may become involved in this dispute. Iran’s support for Hezbollah is no secret. But what if Israel decides to go ahead and punish all Hezbollah supporters, i.e. Iran and Syria. Iran can also take advantage f the current situation by diverting the world’s attention to the fighting in Lebanon and not to the Iranian nuclear crisis. If the Hezbollah attacks were calculated moves by Iran to minimize the world attention on Iran’s nuclear activities, I must say their strategy has worked. The leaders of Iran now hope the conflict won’t escalate any further for it would be bad for all the countries in the region. But when Israel and the U.S are engaged in their own wars and the Arab world is more worried about Israel than a nuclear Iran, then what would stop Iran to follow the footsteps of North Korea?

An Iranian's View

2006-06-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

One of our readers has been kind enough to share some of his thoughts with us. I think that he points out a number of interesting things.

The last paragraph, in particular, is worth reading twice. I have talked to many people inside Iran, and they have a completely different perception of what Ahmadinejad is about. The same is true with some of my friends from Latin America about people like Hugo Chaves and Eva Morales. In their domestic speeches, these leaders seldom talk about contentious international issues. They just promise more freedom and justice, over and over again.

Since the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office many have voiced their
concern about implementing democracy in the Middle East. Not too long
ago, Palestinians also voted Hamas into office. A growing number of journalists, scholars and politicians are arguing that establishing democratic systems in the Middle East would lead to the further radicalization of the regime. [But what accounts for the popularity of radicals in the region?]

In the absence of efficient governments, in a region where in
almost every country an oligarchy of royal families, or military officers, or
religious elite rules, there is no surprise to see people turning to guys who
are similar to themselves. For many decades now, secular Arab autocrats,
backed by the West, have ruled the region. The public suffers from no
representation, from the feeling that it is not involved in any affairs and
that its obedience is necessary at all times.

In reacting to such conditions, people vote for “outsiders,” for “underdogs,” for
Ahmadinejad’s. They are not embracing fascism – but just voting for
someone who promises them a better life. If one listens
to Ahmadinejad regularly, he won’t hear much about wiping Israel off the
map. But in every occasion he will hear about building gyms for women and
the youth, employment opportunities, new schools and hospitals, roads, and
such. Many know that such promises won’t come true – but at least they
are made and provide a glimpse of hope for the future.

Purported Iranian letter of 2003 proposing cooperation with USA

2006-06-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

The following document appears to be a letter sent to the Bush administration from Iranian authorities in 2003. The topic of the letter is the Arab Peace Initiative. Berkeley Forum has not verified the authenticity of this document therefore does not support nor reject the contents of this letter.

Berkeley Forum Exclusive

2006-06-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

David Hopkins is an instructor of political science at UC Berkeley. He teaches American politics, including an in depth course on political parties in the United States. Mr. Hopkins is originally from Boston, moved to New York and is now at Berkeley, California. He has assisted Professor Nelson Polsby in publishing his famous book “How Congress Evolves" and is currently assisting Professor Polsby with the new edition of “Presidential Elections”. Berkeley Forum asked Mr.Hopkins a few questions about the upcoming presidential election of 2998. Here is the entire script:
-Aramesh

Who do you think would be the greatest challenger to Sen. McCain in the 2008 Republican primaries? and why?

I think it's way too early to tell. Presumably, Republicans will face something of a tradeoff between McCain's electability and the greater ideological or partisan purity of an alternative candidate. I'm not sure the Republican electorate in the 2008 primaries will find McCain unacceptably moderate, although Republican activists and officeholders might prefer a candidate without McCain's history of occasional party disloyalty. Since any litmus test which disqualifies McCain certainly rules out Giuliani as well, that leaves George Allen and Mitt Romney as the preeminent alternatives among those we know of at the moment.
But making predictions about presidential nominations is a risky venture, especially two years in advance. Some candidates crash on takeoff, while others come out of nowhere. Most Washington insiders, including Bush's own strategists, anticipated that Steve Forbes, not McCain, would be Bush's chief rival for the nomination in 2000. Similarly, I remember the well-hyped Phil Gramm campaign in 1996; he was widely predicted to be a formidable threat to Bob Dole that year. But Gramm placed fifth in the Iowa caucuses and that was the end of him. It's sometimes frustrating that the presidential nomination process is so unpredictable, but I suppose that can make it exciting to follow as well.

What is your estimate of Hillary Clinton's success in the primaries for the Democratic Party? Do you think that other candidates such as Joe Biden or Mark Warner would stand a chance in the Democratic primaries?
Again, I'll resist the temptation to make a prediction, hoping I can address your question in a slightly different way. If she runs, Hillary Clinton will be a formidable candidate in the 2008 Democratic primaries, and I don't mean to suggest otherwise. However, we should be very careful about interpreting the results of national polls as being in any way meaningful. At this early stage, they chiefly measure name recognition, and Mrs. Clinton has by far the broadest name recognition among the national electorate of all the potential 2008 candidates, excluding Gore and Kerry. Almost everybody else--Warner, Bayh, Feingold, Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Vilsack, etc.--is basically unknown outside of his home state. But that would change overnight if one of them won the Iowa caucuses or exceeded media expectations. In 2004, nobody really knew who John Kerry was until he came in first in Iowa and New Hampshire, and all of a sudden Kerry was the front-runner and Howard Dean's goose was cooked. The presidential nomination process is extremely volatile in its early stages, and we have no way of knowing today what the political environment will be like in 2008.
Mrs. Clinton will have the strong support of a segment of the Democratic Party. How big that segment will be is impossible to say right now. But the nomination process will probably proceed in a way that will cause one or two of the numerous other Democratic candidates to emerge as the chief alternative or alternatives to a Hillary Clinton candidacy, while the others fall by the wayside. There's just no way right now to know exactly who those alternatives will be. After Iowa and New Hampshire, the nomination process becomes much more predictable, due to the immense influence of the outcomes in the first two states on media coverage and, therefore, the behavior of voters in subsequent primaries. So if you could tell me who wins in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2008, I'd be more likely to venture a prediction about the identity of the presidential nominee!