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Would Iranians really bring back the Shah?
Would Iranians really bring back the Shah? American Thinker, Monica Showalter, January 3, 2017
[T]here once was another Iran, one where women had freedoms; living standards were rising; human rights were improving (he learned that the Shah's much vilified SAVAK secret police, for instance, committed far fewer crimes than Soviet-linked propagandists had claimed); and the country was integrated with, not isolated from the world community. The Shah, Cooper argued, really did want to see his country advance in the world, and he enacted many democratic reforms.
Is it really that far-fetched that the [deceased] Shah['s son, Reza Pahlavi] might be seen as a legitimate alternative for Iran? Not with these current things going on. Right now, U.S. policymakers should be ignoring the Stanford establishmentarian elites on Iran and reading Cooper's book as fast as they can.
He appears to have no ulterior motive other than doing what he can to help his countrymen in Iran and his willingness to become the necessary catalyst to dislodge the current brutal regime. Reza Pahlavi wants the Iranian people to rise up against the regime and establish a parliamentary democracy based on democratic values, freedom, and human rights.
Pundits have marveled at what a big surprise it is that ordinary Iranians have revolted against the mullahs. It's a surprise to them, but no surprise to American Thinker's readers, whose Iranian contributors have kept us posted for years about what is really going on in Iran.
Just look at these pieces by Hamid Bahrami, Reza Shafiee, Hassan Mahmoudi, Amil Imani, and Shahriar Kia. Over and over again, these writers warned there is a problem, and now Iranians' protests against corruption, soaring prices, environmental ruin, Revolutionary Guards thuggery, poverty, and bank collapses have become the "surprise" story of the day.
One writer at Politico correctly noted that the "surprise" stems from reporters covering only Tehran's elites, not the doings in the hinterlands. The hinterlands, of course, are where the trouble started, beginning in Mashhad, and these are the parts of the country American Thinker's writers have been bringing us information on. These writers showed long ago that what we are seeing now isn't your garden-variety protests of city elites seeking "reform" or "fair elections." These protests are smaller, but they're the real kind, revolutionary ones, actual calls for the overthrow of the regime and the initiation of a new government. Protests now aren't coming from the comfortable elites who just want a little bit of tweaking.
Now with eyes on Iran, one essay, published six months ago at American Thinker, stands out: Amil Imani's piece titled "Is Reza Pahlavi the Only Hope to Overthrow the Mullahs?"
On the surface, it sounds ridiculous that anyone would want to bring back a king, even as a constitutional monarch in a democracy. But it's real. Here is an account by Voice of America about the rise of the late Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, a smart, photogenic, democracy-oriented leader, waiting in the wings as an alternative to the corrupt, sneering mullahs.
As Imani noted:
Reza Pahlavi is the son of the late Shah of Iran. I have never had the honor of meeting or speaking with him, although I judge any man based on what he says and what he does.
As I watched this man grow and become a seasoned politician, my admiration for him grew stronger. In my opinion, Mr. Pahlavi has become the very asset that the opposition has needed for many years.
American Thinker's writers, most recently Hassan Mahmoudi, have noted that in the shouted slogans in the crowds, many were calling for the return of the Shah. Russian propaganda organ Sputnik has noted the phenomenon in the streets, too.
It's worth noting that kings are easily understood by average people and for that reason have appeal, especially in light of the failure of the current regime.
I have one story of my own that suggests that a return to the Shah may not be as far-fetched as it seems.
An old friend, Andrew Scott Cooper, spent years of research to write a fascinating scholarly book about the last days of the shah of Iran, titled The Fall of Heaven, published by Henry Holt & Co. last year. He actually managed to reach and interview the former shabanu, or, queen, of Iran, Farah Diba, who was living in exile in Europe. From that, he wrote a fascinating, unique account of the Shah's last days, largely told through her eyes.
It was a sympathetic analytic history, intended, as he told an audience at the Nixon Library last year, to show that there once was another Iran, one where women had freedoms; living standards were rising; human rights were improving (he learned that the Shah's much vilified SAVAK secret police, for instance, committed far fewer crimes than Soviet-linked propagandists had claimed); and the country was integrated with, not isolated from the world community. The Shah, Cooper argued, really did want to see his country advance in the world, and he enacted many democratic reforms.
Naturally, saying something out of the ordinary, or contradicting the conventional wisdom, is a good way to get panned, and so publication of the book was followed by several critical book reviews – in the top papers, often by Iranian-Americans affiliated with the elite establishment centers of Iran research, such as Stanford. These were scholars who had an interest in maintaining the conventional wisdom and who may have had interests getting contracts from the mullahs. These are the same people whom policymakers and newspaper editors tend to consult as experts and were the people who said all was well; just stay out of Iranian affairs and let them handle it. In addition, there was a creepy campaign on Amazon to drive down the ratings of the book by similar people who had never even read it – and Amazon put a stop to it. What this all showed is that there existed a large entrenched establishment with an interest in maintaining the status quo, and its operators were aghast at the idea – now being shouted in the streets of Iran – that maybe bringing back the Shah could be good. Of course, they hated this louche idea.
But this came against another subplot of the publishing of this book, which was that a hell of a lot of those books, thousands of them (showing Iranians their own history and teaching them that Iran was once a very different place), somehow got smuggled into Iran, and the locals lapped them up.
As a result of this, within a few days, a full Farsi translation of the book will be coming out, which should stoke conversation about this in Iran even further, given the interest shown. Publishers don't publish books in non-Western languages if they don't think they will sell. Obviously, the publishers knew that something big is going on and published the costly translation. Iranians, starved of information about their own history, are likely to lap this up just as they lapped up the English-language version.
Given what is going on in Iran now, call it fat on the fire.
Don't think there hasn't been wild interest on this side of the hemisphere, too. Iranian-Americans on the West Coast flooded an author's event held at the Nixon Library last year in September, shortly after the publication of Cooper's book. It was standing room only, and it's important to note that the Nixon Library is not all that close to where most Iranian-Americans live in the Los Angeles area, which is Beverly Hills and its outskirts. The Nixon Library is about an hour's drive away from that in Yorba Linda, Calif., and it's an arduous drive, through a truck-convoy-route highway. Here is a photo I took of how the audience that night looked:
Here is Andrew Cooper signing copies of his book – which sold out with a line waiting.
Is it really that far-fetched that the Shah might be seen as a legitimate alternative for Iran? Not with these current things going on. Right now, U.S. policymakers should be ignoring the Stanford establishmentarian elites on Iran and reading Cooper's book as fast as they can.
Categories: Iran - human rights, Iran - regime change, Iranian corruption, Iranian dissidents, Iranian Islam, Iranian prisons, Iranian protests, Iranian resistance, Reza Pahlav, Shah of Iran
Tags: Iran - homan rights, Iran - regime change, Iranian corruption, Iranian dissidents, Iranian Islam, Iranian prisons, Iranian protests, Iranian resistance, Reza Pahlav, Shaw of Iran
One Less Brick in the Wall
One Less Brick in the Wall, PJ Media, Michael Walsh, December 31, 2017
So let's all root for the Iranians who are, once again, trying to overthrow their reactionary Islamic regime. A victory against the mullahs in Iran would have beneficial results for everybody except devout Shi'ite Muslims and their allies of convenience on the American, largely atheist and most certainly anti-Christian, Left. By removing the source of Hezbollah's support, pressure would be relieved on Israel and on American forces still in the dar-al-Harb theaters of war. By demolishing rule-by-mullah, Iran would pose much less of a nuclear threat to civilized nations. And by freeing the Iranian people to choose a new government, the Western democracies could find a valuable new ally in a strategically important part of the world.
For millennia, the people of Iran have been unable to decide where to cast their lot. In its attempts to move westward, the Zoroastrian Persian Empire was defeated repeatedly by the Greeks, by Alexander the Great, and by the Byzantines; later, Persia was conquered by the Muslim Arabs, by the Mongols (who really put paid to the "Golden Age") and by Tamerlane, among others. If Iran can successfully overthrow the Islamic Republic, de-institutionalize Islam, rediscover its own genuine nationalism, and elect a real republic in its place, this historically pluralistic nation will likely find a warm welcome.
Islam has brought nothing but misery to Iran. Perhaps it's time for Iran to try something different.
The end is near for the mullahs of Iran, which is bad news for the Islamic Republic of Iran, but good news for the Persian people, who have a chance to free themselves of the baleful effects of the Arab conquest and — finally — join the community of Western nations by casting off its imposed Islamic theocracy and, it is to be hoped, Islam itself. The late Shah of Iran attempted, in part, to de-Islamicize historic Persia of its foreign influences via the restoration of the Peacock Throne, but his revolution was overturned, in part via the Soviet-inspired meddling of the Iranian Tudeh Party, which left the gates open for the ayatollah Khomeini.
Both the Russians and the Americans lost when Khomeini came to power, and Iran shortly thereafter seized the hostages at the U.S. Embassy, precipitating (among other events, including the disastrous American economy) the fall of the Carter administration and the election of Ronald Reagan. Ever since, Islamic Iran has been unremittingly hostile to the United States, as well as to its schismatic co-religionists elsewhere in the Muslim-conquest world, especially Sunni Iraq and, of course, Saudi Arabia.
That's been a triumph for Shi'ite Islam, but a disaster for the Iranian people, whose numbers include not only ethnic Persians but Jews, Assyrians, Kurds, and many others. The brief flowering of art, science, literature and poetry during the so-called "Golden Age" of Islamic Persia was soon enough snuffed out. As I write in my forthcoming book, The Fiery Angel:
It is fashionable today to cite the Islamic "golden age" – a direct result of its contact with Christian Europe, we should keep in mind – as a model, not just for what Islam could one day again become (unlikely, since militant Islam explicitly wishes to return to its seventh-century purity), but also as an apologia for Islam's many and violent sins against the international order. But until Islam casts off Saudi-fueled Wahhabism and Irian Shi'a millenarianism, gives up its supremacist designs, and becomes willing to accommodate peaceful co-existence contact with West – beyond its oil-driven importation of Mercedes-Benz and Maserati automobiles and Western firearms – this is unlikely.
As the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus — quoted by former Pope Benedict XVI in his controversial 2006 Regensburg lecture (controversial only to apologists for Islam, that is) — observed in 1391:
Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.
Little more than half a century later, in 1453, Constantinpole fell to the Muslim Turks, marking the final end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the long night of darkness that has enveloped the Middle East pretty much ever since. Christendom lost control of the lands of its origin, including the reconquered Crusader states of the Levant (one of which still survives, barely, as Lebanon), and the battle line between Europe and Islam was drawn from Gibraltar to the Balkans — the beginning of a long, uneasy truce that lasted until Sept. 11, 2001. As I wrote on Twitter (@dkahanerules) last week:
Mícheál Breathnach@dkahanerules
If Christendom reasserted control over its historic birthplaces, the world would be a better, happier, more peaceful place. The Levant, Anatolia, Constantinople, Roman Africa. Imagine. https://twitter.com/pspoole/status/945165504712409090 …
2:34 PM – Dec 25, 2017
The events unfolding in Iran right now are therefore a long time coming, and ought to be welcomed not only by those fearful of the "Islamic bomb" that Iran is hell-bent on possessing and which the Obama administration's disgraceful, faciliatory "deal" made all but inevitable, but by all adherents of the Western notion of freedom. During the last serious protests in Iran, the "green revolution" of 2009, Obama reacted supinely, standing idly by as the youthful demonstrators were shot in the streets of Tehran and the "clerics" restored iron-fist rule.
A lot has changed since then. For one thing, the Shi'ite-partial Obama is gone, having been replaced by his polar opposite in Donald Trump:
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
Big protests in Iran. The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!
8:03 AM – Dec 31, 2017
13,25713,257 Replies
24,38924,389 Retweets
83,98683,986 likes
For another, the Iranian exiles who fled their country in the late Seventies and early Eighties (taking a great deal of wealth with them) for the U.S. and elsewhere has given birth to a new generation of secularized Iranians, who are in no mood to trade in the liberties of the West for the repressively "theology" of militant Shi'ite Islam. Having seen what happened to their parents and grandparents, they are unlikely to feel a sudden surge of Islamic patriotism; in fact, it has been the prospect of losing these people for the ummah that lies behind so much of the Islamic propaganda that has been allowed to flourish, shamefully, in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West since 9/11.
Categories: Iran - human rights, Iran - regime change, Iran's future, Iran's new Persian Empire, Iranian corruption, Iranian dissidents, Iranian economy, Iranian ideology, Iranian Islam, Iranian prisons, Iranian protests, Iranian refugees, Iranian resistance
Tags: Iran - human rights, Iran - regime change, Iran's future, Iran's new Persian Empire, Iranian corruption, Iranian dissidents, Iranian economy, Iranian ideology, Iranian Islam, Iranian prisons, Iranian protests, Iranian refugees, Iranian resistance
Iran's 1988 Mass Executions Result in US Congress Resolution
Iran's 1988 Mass Executions Result in US Congress Resolution, Iran News Update, June 2, 2017
A recently introduced resolution in the U.S. Congress, H.Res. 159, refers to the horrific mass executions of political prisoners by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mike McCaul, the House Homeland Security Chair, introduced the resolution, and it was cosponsored by Ed Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, as well as Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and Rules Committee Chair Representative, Peter Sessions.
It came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, recently re-elected to a second term, and was addressing the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Associated Press reported that thousands of people gathered outside the United Nations to protest Iran's human rights abuses, executions, and the 1988 massacre of more than 30,000 prisoners.
Speakers for the Resolution included former Democratic vice Presidential candidate, Senator Joe Lieberman, and Sir Geoffrey Robertson, former Head of UN war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone. Robertson wrote a report on Iran's 1988 massacre, published on the United Nations Arts Initiative.
The resolution "condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and [calls] for justice for the victims."
It adds that "over a 4-month period in 1988, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out the barbaric mass executions of thousands of political prisoners and many unrelated political groups. … [A]ccording to a report by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, the massacre was carried out pursuant to a fatwa, or religious decree, issued by then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that targeted the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK)."
The resolution quotes one of Iran's own senior former officials, the late Hussein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah who served as Khomeini's chief deputy, who said the 1988 massacre was ''the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us."
Accordingly, in 1988, the Islamic Republic executed the thousands of prisoners who had even slight affiliations with the main opposition movement Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), because of their political beliefs. The victims were buried in mass graves in Iran after they were shot or hung over a period of just a few months.
Amnesty International reported on November 2, 2007, ''between 27 July 1988 and the end of that year, thousands of political prisoners [in Iran], including prisoners of conscience, were executed in prisons nationwide."
Noted by H.Res. 159, "Those personally responsible for these mass executions include senior officials serving in the current Government of Iran; … [P]risoners were reportedly brought before the commissions and briefly questioned about their political affiliation, and any prisoner who refused to renounce his or her affiliation with groups perceived as enemies by the regime was then taken away for execution."
Accordingly, "thousands of people, including teenagers and pregnant women, imprisoned merely for participating in peaceful street protests and for possessing political reading material, many of whom had already served or were currently serving prison sentences," were among the victims.
Stated in the congressional resolution, "[P]risoners were executed in groups, some in mass hangings and others by firing squad, with their bodies disposed of in mass graves."
According to Amnesty International, ''the majority of those killed were supporters of the PMOI [MEK], but hundreds of members and supporters of other political groups . . . were also among the execution victims.''
The resolution further states, "The later waves of executions targeted religious minorities, such as members of the Baha'i faith, many of whom were often subjected to brutal torture before they were killed." It add "The families of the executed were denied information about their loved ones and were prohibited from mourning them in public".
The resolution mentions a recently disclosed audiotape, where Hussein Ali Montazeri can be heard to say that the 1988 mass killings were "the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us."
Amnesty International's report concluded, "there should be no impunity for human rights violations, no matter where or when they took place. The 1988 executions should be subject to an independent impartial investigation, and all those responsible should be brought to justice, and receive appropriate penalties''
The resolution says, "The current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly aware of, and later publicly condoned the massacre."
The Montazeri audiotape was released by Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri's son, Ahmad, a moderate cleric, who posted the confidential audio of his father on his website. He was ordered by the intelligence to remove it, and was later arrested.
On the tape, Montazeri states, "You [Iranian officials] will be in the future etched in the annals of history as criminals. The greatest crime committed under the Islamic Republic, from the beginning of the Revolution until now, which will be condemned by history, is this crime [mass executions] committed by you."
Ironically, the people Montazeri is addressing and warning on the tape appear to enjoy high positions currently. They include:
• Mostafa Pourmohammadi was appointed by the Hassan Rouhani to be justice minister. After the release of a tape, Pourmohammadi defended the commission of the massacre and said he is "proud" to have carried out "God's commandments" in killing the political opponents.
• Ebrahim Raeisi was appointed as the head of Astan Quds Razavi, which has billions of dollars in revenues.
• Hussein Ali Nayeri is now the deputy of the Supreme Court of Iran. In his memoir, Montzari writes that he told Nayeri to stop the executions at least in the month of Moharram religious holidays, but according to the BBC, Nayeri said, "We have executed so far 750 people in Tehran… we get the job done with [executing] another 200 people and then we will listen to whatever you say."
These people are only few of those who were involved in the 1988 massacre. They have been awarded more senior positions, power, and money.
Montazeri warned them, "Beware of 50 years from now, when people will pass judgment on the leader (Khomeini) and will say he was a bloodthirsty, brutal and murderous leader."
The message from Iran's ex-heir Supreme Leader highlights the methods that the officials of the Islamic Republic use to oppress the opposition. Executions or brutal punishments are common, as Iran ranks top in the world when it comes to executions per capita. Crimes against humanity continue to occur. These are the means that the government uses to silence the opposition.
Human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) must conduct investigations, and bring those who have committed and continue to commit these crimes to justice. Calls for justice are increasing. Those who commit crimes against humanity should be held accountable.
Congress must follow up on the recent Congressional resolution.
Categories: Iran - executions, Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian dissidents, Iranian judicial system, Iranian prisons, Iranian resistance, U.S. Congress and Iran
Tags: Iran - executions, Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian dissidents, Iranian judicial system, Iranian prisons, Iranian resistance, U.S. Congress and Iran
In Iran's Women's Prisons, Injustice and Atrocity
In Iran's Women's Prisons, Injustice and Atrocity, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Abigail R. Esman, March 23, 2017
(Please see also, Dr. Majid Rafizadeh: Why the Islamist State of Iran is So Dangerous. What are we going to do about Iran? Where are the "feminists?" Can't we at least support the resistance movement? — DM)
On a warm day last April, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe dressed her toddler Gabrielle, kissed her parents goodbye, and set off to catch her flight back home to London.
She never made it.
Instead, Islamic Revolutionary Guards apprehended the then-37-year-old at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport and transported her to Iran's infamous Evin prison, where prisoners are routinely tortured and women subjected regularly to sexual abuse and rape.
In September, the dual British-Iranian citizen, who had been visiting her parents in Tehran before being apprehended, was sentenced to five years imprisonment on vague "national security charges."
To date, no evidence has been produced to substantiate the charge. Her family believes it stems largely from her work as an executive with the Thomson-Reuters Foundation, whose mission, to "stand for free independent journalism, human rights, and the rule of law," is not wholly compatible with the Iranian regime. Employees of charitable organizations are also a frequent target of Iranian officials, who often accuse them of being spies.
In the meantime, her daughter, who has British but not Iranian citizenship, remains with her grandparents, while Zaghari-Radcliffe's British husband, Richard Ratcliffe, continues to fight from the UK for her release.
Iranian arrests of dual-nationals are not uncommon – the current government does not recognize the second nationality of its citizens – and arbitrary arrests on trumped-up charges of spying are a signature of the regime. In addition, women, both Iranian and dual-nationals, increasingly are being targeted as they speak out against the misogyny of their rulers. As the Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) observes, "Under the mullahs' rule in Iran, women are supposed to stay home and therefore, having any kind of political or civil rights activity is considered a serious crime for women and evokes greater retaliation by the government."
Zaghari-Ratcliffe has felt that retaliation. For nine months, she withstood agonizing conditions in solitary confinement: "Every day and every second I would submerge more and more in an ocean of doubt, fear, threat, loneliness and more than anything mistrust," she wrote in a letter to her husband earlier this month. "… My wails would go unheard in that tiny, dingy, cold, grey cell … In solitary, there was a moment when I realised that there is a level of pain that I hadn't experience before, a pain thousands of times longer, more overwhelming than child birth, without a happy ending."
But prison conditions for women, who endure the same forms and level of torture as male prisoners, can be even more horrific. They are raped, groped, and subjected to other forms of sexual abuse. Their genitals may be forcibly subjected to invasive "searches." Even their fellow female prisoners can pose a threat: except at Evin, where prisoners are segregated according to the nature of their crime, women prisoners are held together regardless of the charges against them. Consequently, political detainees can be housed "amongst ordinary and often dangerous inmates," the NCRI reports.
But Evin, where most political detainees are incarcerated, is in every other way far worse than most other prisons. Women are thrown immediately into solitary confinement, where they will remain for months before being released into an overcrowded, vermin-infested women's ward. And it is at Evin that some of the most horrifying torture takes place, particularly against political prisoners. The NCRI report describes women detainees hung by their hands and feet, subjected to repeated cigarette burns, and suffering beatings severe enough to cause internal bleeding. They may be threatened with rape or execution and, as at all Iranian prisons, denied communication with family or even an attorney.
Conditions are even worse at Qarchak Women's Prison, where a single hall holds 600 beds for 2,000 prisoners, most of whom therefore sleep on the floor, according to Al-Arabiya. In addition, the NCRI notes, "there is no good drinking water. The prisoners who [can] not afford to buy mineral water have no option but to drink salty water." And regular inspections of women's genitals in the name of "security" can be violent, resulting in severe injury. Those who dare protest are subjected to physical torture, or placed in solitary confinement with a "psychologically disturbed prisoner," reports Al-Arabiya.
Added to this are the abysmal physical conditions of women's prisons overall, which receive a miniscule portion of the overall prison budget. Most are therefore situated in repurposed warehouses and other abandoned buildings. Some lack walls or roofs. At others, AIDS, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases are rampant, the possibility of contamination made worse by lack of ventilation in the wards.
Yet despite the disease, the abuse, and the injuries that result, political prisoners – male or female – are generally denied access to medical care. Some have gone blind as a result of their treatment. At Evin, Zaghari-Ratcliffe reportedly is having trouble walking, considered suicide, and recently collapsed when finally permitted to visit the prison clinic.
None of this is particularly new. Iran has a long history of abusive treatment of women prisoners, reaching back to the 1980s when virgins were routinely raped before being executed, a practice that became "systematic," according to the British Foreign Policy Centre. Often, such rapes were justified on religious grounds, based on Quranic verses that describe virgins as inherently innocent. In other cases, female political prisoners were married off to their jailor rapists or even lawyers in exchange for avoiding execution. Such practices continued, according to several reports, well into the 1990s and later.
Moreover, the misogynistic nature of Iranian society makes women especially vulnerable to psychological torture. The Foreign Policy Centre report describes a history of women forced to choose between "confessing" to promiscuity, describing often invented details of their sex lives to their families or even on television, or serving sentences for political crimes they had not committed. Given the possible repercussions women can face for sexual promiscuity – honor killings among them – many have chosen prison. Those who do not, frequently now live, even after their release, in continued fear of the vengeance of family and community.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and family.
Yet even these kinds of choices do not seem to have been made available to Zaghari-Ratcliffe, whose husband provides continuing reports online on her condition. Moreover, because Iran does not recognize her British citizenship, she has had no access to UK consular services, and the British government can do little to help her. Diplomatic pressures may not matter anyway. In 2011, Iran executed a Dutch-Iranian woman despite assurances to the Dutch government that her life would be spared.
Nonetheless, in her March 14 letter to her husband, Zaghari-Ratcliffe described her determination to fight back, despite "my shattered dreams and their broken, empty promises….We shall overcome this pain. Today freedom has got one day closer."
Categories: Iran - human rights, Iran and rape, Iran and women, Iranian Islam, Iranian judicial system, Iranian prisoners, Iranian prisons
Tags: Iran - human rights, Iran and rape, Iran and women, Iranian Islam, Iranian judicial system, Iranian prisoners, Iranian prisons
Iranian Political Prisoners in Dire Need of the Support of the International Community
Iranian Political Prisoners in Dire Need of the Support of the International Community, Iran News Update, January 11, 2017
(Perhaps if we referred to them as "Palestinians" the international community might notice their plight. — DM)
Silence of the global community sends a message to the Iranian regime that it can get away with these crimes, and that is a message not to be condoned with silence.
An article in The Hill by Ali Safavi, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and president of the Near East Policy Research, discusses the alarming reports which from came from Gohardasht Prison, that activist and political prisoner Ali Moezzi, had disappeared on January 4, 2016.
Moezzi spent years in prison in the 1980's for his affiliation with the Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK). Beginning in 2008, he served two more years, for having visited his two daughters residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Arrested again in 2011, seven months after his latest release, for attending the funeral of a fellow political prisoner, he's been imprisoned ever since. He has faced much pressure, including the extension of his current prison term beyond its specified four years.He's also be subjected to numerous explicit death threats.
Reportedly, he's undergone routine beatings and torture and the absence of medical care for his pre-existing health problems. Moezzi's arrest came shortly after he had been released from a hospital after undergoing surgery following a cancer diagnosis.
The regime has repeatedly been charged with disregard for the health and well-being of prisoners, especially those detained for political or religious offenses. A recent example is Arash Sadeghi, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful human rights activism. Sadeghi began a hunger strike shortly after his wife was arrested. Sadeghi finally ended his hunger strike after judicial authorities granted his wife temporary release from her pre-trial detention. His hunger strike lasted more than 70 days befor the regime agreed to even that, and it was not the likelihood of Sadeghi's imminent death that prompted them to act, but the massive support that his protest had garnered within Iran and abroad. Hundreds of Iranians gathered outside of Evin Prison, to protest his treatment. His cause was promoted on the internet and via banned social media networks by several thousands of supporters.
Salve writes, "It may not be a coincidence that Moezzi disappeared from Gohardasht Prison just one day after it was announced that Sadeghi had been hospitalized and brought back from the brink of death." He adds, "Both incidents demonstrated that the Iranian regime has no qualms about endangering the lives of its political adversaries, but the ruling mullahs can only take such a situation to its drastic conclusion if relatively free from public scrutiny."
He says that it may be easier for the regime simply allow political prisoners to die, if those deaths occur in secret locations, so that they can claim "plausible" deniability.
Iran's domestic activists or the international community may still be able to save Moezzi in much the same way they saved Sadeghi, but it is impossible to know Moezzi's current condition, much less to follow its deterioration in real time. This is a challenge as it is difficult to rally around a cause that they cannot see. However, these atrocities must not be allowed to continue in the shadows.
This is the challenge that requires serious commitment, and a campaign that includes the international community and media. "World powers must take an interest in this case, and in the overall plight of Iranian prisoners of conscience," writes Salvi.
Which is actually underscored by the recent success of the Sadeghi case. Silence of the global community sends a message to the Iranian regime that it can get away with these crimes, and that is a message not to be condoned with silence.
Categories: Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian prisons, Iranian resistance
Tags: Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian prisons, Iranian resistance
During My Five-Year Imprisonment I Witnessed Numerous Crimes of Iran Regime
During My Five-Year Imprisonment I Witnessed Numerous Crimes of Iran Regime, Iran Focus, December 9, 2016
"They pushed me and they hit me a lot…They grabbed my hair and pushed my head and wanted me to say what they wanted to hear. They tortured my brother, even more in front of my eyes. They increased the pressure and even more in the interrogation they said they would kill me and threatened to execute me. Nobody knew where I was, I was alone and I heard the sounds of other prisoners being tortured. They would cry out and it was the most horrible sound."
London, 9 Dec – During My Five-Year Imprisonment I Witnessed Numerous Crimes of Iran Regime
A former Iranian political prisoner has told The Express about the barbaric way she was treated and why the West must support the democratic alternative to the Iranian Regime.
Shabnam Madadzadeh, 29, was imprisoned for seven years for her support of the political opposition group, the People's Mojaheidn Organisation of Iran (MEK).
She was beaten and tortured, forced to listen as guards raped other female prisoners and forced to watch as intelligence agents beat her brother, Farzad.
Madadzadeh, a computer science student at Tarbiat Moalem University in Tehran, was arrested with her brother in 2009 for speaking out against the Iranian Regime's human rights abuses.
She said: "I arrived and spent three months in solitary confinement and there was torture, both mental and physical. My cell was just 2x3m and I was alone with no connection to the world. My family was not allowed to contact me and they could not find out anything about me or what it was like for me in jail."
When she was released from solitary confinement, Madadzadeh bravely smuggled letters out of prison to raise awareness of the brutality that she and other political prisoners were subjected to.
She refused to answer interrogators, to which they responded with violent interrogations of up to 10 hours each day.
She said: "They pushed me and they hit me a lot…They grabbed my hair and pushed my head and wanted me to say what they wanted to hear. They tortured my brother, even more in front of my eyes. They increased the pressure and even more in the interrogation they said they would kill me and threatened to execute me. Nobody knew where I was, I was alone and I heard the sounds of other prisoners being tortured. They would cry out and it was the most horrible sound."
She revealed that prisoners were often electrocuted or tortured via the medieval method of stretching on a rack before being beaten.
After her release, Madadzadeh fled the country in fear for her life. She urges Western governments to stand up to the Iranian Regime and President Hassan Rouhani.
She said: "The West cannot negotiate with the regime. It's the most criminal in the world. The face of the regime is not the smiling faces and shaking of hands. My message to European leaders is stop negotiating with the regime."
She recommended that Western leaders side with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a democratic group which acts as a government-in-exile and works alongside the MEK.
Earlier this week, Madadzadeh spoke to the European Parliament about the horrors of the Regime.
She said: "During my five-year imprisonment I witnessed numerous crimes of this regime particularly against Iran's innocent women and girls and today I am here to be the voice of the voiceless, the voice of those being crushed in the clutches of this misogynist regime in face of the world's silence and inaction."
She continued: "The message of the Iranian people to western governments, and my message today is that you must adhere to the three decades of struggle by the Iranian people to break free from the clutches of this regime and accept the true freedom fighters, the National Council of Resistance of Iran as the true representative of the Iranian people, and refrain from any type of negotiations or deals with this notorious regime, because the true price of your deals is human lives, gallows in the streets of Iran."
This references the numerous executions in Iran, which has the highest per capita execution rate in the world. In 2015 alone, the Regime ordered the deaths of around 1,000 people for mostly low-level, non-violent crimes.
Madadzadeh said: "The Iranian people have the will power to overthrow this regime, and with the tireless efforts of the Iranian resistance they will overthrow this regime."
Iran: Latest on a Female Political Prisoner
Iran: Latest on a Female Political Prisoner, Iran Focus, November 4, 2016
London, 4 November – A political prisoner in Iran had a visit from her mother for the first time since her imprisonment on October 24.
Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was imprisoned for writing an unpublished story about the brutal act of stoning in Iran.
The Intelligence Revolutionary Guards were dressed in plain clothes when they came to arrest her; they kicked and punched the door in order to intimidate her, refuses to give their identities or produce ID or a court order.
Iraee was prevented from taking her asthma medication and according to her mother, the IRGC taunted Iraee, asking what use the medicine would be as she wouldn't live very long anyway.
They handcuffed and blindfolded her in front of her neighbours and took her to Evin Court.
When in court Iraee explained the mistreatment she had suffered and she was finally allowed her medication before being transferred to prison.
Her mother, who is recovering from one surgery and on the waiting list for another, gave an interview to a Persian newspaper.
She said: "Golrokh is very much concerned about Arash's (her imprisoned husband) hunger strike because he takes medicine and he is injured in [the] shoulder area while he was being detained by the Revolutionary Guards forces."
Iraee requested that the person in charge of Evin Prison (where she is being held) call the person in charge of Hajiloo prison (where Arash is being held) to ask him to stop his hunger strike, as he will be unable to visit his wife unless he stops.
Iraee's mother was told that this would be the only time she could visit and is unsure whether the Regime will change their minds.
Arash Sadeghi is a political prisoner who went on hunger strike to protest his wife's imprisonment.
Categories: Iran - executions, Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian law, Iranian prisons
Tags: Iran - executions, Iran - human rights, Iran - political prisoners, Iranian law, Iranian prisons
My Father joined me on my warship for the ceremony marking the withdrawl of Israeli forces from the Sinai after the peace agreement with Egypt.
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Hundreds injured as fierce protests rock Beirut amid simmering crisis January 19, 2020
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Tristan Thompson's BM Maralee Nichols Issues Statement After He Admits To Paternity
He's once again become a social media pariah after it was confirmed that Tristan Thompson fathered a child outside of his relationship with Khloé Kardashian. The NBA star has been the subject of numerous cheating allegations, as well as accusations from women who claimed he is the father of their kids. While a paternity test about a young boy previously proved Thompson was not the child's dad, a DNA test of Maralee Nichols's newborn confirmed paternity.
Khloé has found herself at the center of it all as she receives support from those who empathize with yet another cheating scandal, but the reality star mogul has also been the subject of negativity from people who don't know why she stays with Thompson.
The couple parents three-year-old daughter True Thompson and although they present a happy family, Thompson's antics have often blurred that persona. He recently penned a lengthy apology to Khloé, acknowledging that she doesn't "deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you." After the note went viral, Maralee Nichols issued a formal statement to PEOPLE. Thompson initially denied that he was the father of her child and even reportedly filed a lawsuit against her.
"There was never any doubt that Tristan Thompson was the father of Maralee Nichol's baby," her representative reportedly said. "Tristan made numerous false and defamatory statements and declarations about Maralee over the past few months, and she is taking his contrite statement today in the context of all of those statements."
Nichols previously stated that Thompson told her he was "single and co-parenting" with Khloé. The new mom shared a sneak peek at her and Thompson's baby over on her Instagram. Check it all out below.
'feverdreamer' features beautiful harmonies from Brooke Falls

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Appearance of a non-official mascot called "Schuss". He was portrayed as a little cartoon-like character on skis.
The International Olympic Committee's Medical Commission worked in two different areas- the femininity test and doping controls. It was the first time this had taken place during the Olympic Games.
The Grenoble Games were the first Winter Olympic Games to be broadcast in colour.
The pictogramme of the relevant sport appeared on the Olympic medals.
Owing to an increase in temperature and the track being exposed to too much sun, the luge events were delayed and could not be continued to the end, despite the fact that they were spread out over 12 days. A similar misfortune also befell the bobsleigh events, although they took place on another track. Each time the final ranking was established after the third round, as the fourth had to be cancelled.
Vladimir Belousov (USSR) and Jiri Raska (TCH) were first and second in the large hill ski jump, setting the bar at 100 metres for the first time in the history of the Games. Despite very changeable conditions (a 20° difference), Czech Jiri Raska also won the normal hill ski jump event.
In figure skating, owing to the high number of competitors, the events (compulsory figures) began very early in the morning at 6 a.m., 6.30 a.m. or 7 a.m. depending on the category.
In 1967, the engineers responsible for the speed skating track discovered that using frozen demineralised water produced a faster track than tap water. Thus many world and Olympic records were beaten at these Games, despite the weather conditions not being too favourable.
Grenoble, 6 February 1968. Opening Ceremony. Young girls wearing traditional costume.
It represents a snow crystal amongst three red roses, the symbol of Grenoble, and the five Olympic rings in monochrome. The words "X Olympic Winter Games - Grenoble 1968" are written around the image.
French hero Jean-Claude Killy swept the men's Alpine events, but only after great controversy. Killy's Austrian rival, Karl Schranz, claimed that a race official crossed his path during the slalom race, causing him to skid to a halt. Given a restart, Schranz beat Killy's time. However, a Jury of Appeal disqualified Schranz and gave the victory to Killy.
Toini Gustafsson of Sweden starred in women's cross-country skiing, winning both individual races and earning a silver medal in the relay. Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, an elegant married couple from the USSR, successfully defended their pairs figure skating title. Eugenio Monti of Italy piloted his two-man and four-man bobsleighs to gold medals.
The USSR's Vladimir Belousov and Czechoslovakia's Jiri Raska won gold and silver in the large hill ski jump. In doing so, they both jumped further than a 100m for the first time in the history of the Games. Jiri Raska also won the normal hill ski jump event.
On the obverse, the official emblem designed by Roger Excoffon.
On the reverse, the pictogram of the relevant discipline, also designed by Roger Excoffon. The process used was a photographic transfer onto acid-impregnated steel. The engraving and finishing work was done by the Coins and Medals Administration in Paris.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, a medal was made for each discipline. In accordance with article 43 of the Olympic Regulations, the first and second place medals were made of 925/000 standard silver. The winners' medal was covered with six grams of pure gold.
It was created by the publicist Jean Brian. 170,000 copies were produced.
The "Xth Winter Olympic Games: official report" is composed of a two-volume set. Volume 1 addresses the preparation of the Games, and volume 2 their running and competition results. Published in 1969 as a bilingual French/English edition, this was the first official report of a Winter Games available in the IOC's two official languages.
Grenoble 1968-Ice hockey matches. The match URS 1st - TCH 2nd 4:5.


Cancer patients, survivors and advocates gathered inside the Statehouse Monday for the annual "Cancer Day at the Capitol".
The event is hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The group spent the day urging lawmakers to pass legislation to fight cancer.
Cancer is the number one cause of death in Idaho. An estimated 8,100 Idahoans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and 2,900 will die from it.
The top priority this year: to raise the sales age for all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, in Idaho to 21 .
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Idaho, and it's responsible for roughly 27 percent of cancer deaths in the state.
Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, will introduce the legislation this session.


Situated in a 1,000 year-old olive grove, way up in the Pollensa hills, this rustic farmhouse commands beautiful views towards the Puig de Maria, Pollensa and Alcudia. This villa affords a tranquil and peaceful ambience. Approached off a winding single track lane, the arched covered front terrace has a characteristic polished stone dining table overlooking the kidney-shaped swimming pool with furnished sun terraces. The brick built BBQ is next to the original bread oven adjacent to the covered terrace.
Upon entering is the spacious hall with an inner archway leading into the living/dining room with stone walls, a feature fireplace and Satellite TV. The pine fitted kitchen has a microwave, dishwasher, electric oven, fridge/freezer, twin sink unit and a walk-in pantry. The doorway opens from the kitchen out to the poolside terraces for those ice-chilled drinks. From the living room a second inner archway leads into one en suite double bedroom and also at ground floor a bath/shower room with half bath.
Stairs lead up to the first floor and the rest of the sleeping accommodation which comprises two double bedrooms and two pretty twin bedrooms (one double en suite) and the other bedrooms sharing a shower room. There is also a terrace which boasts spectacular views and is an ideal place for relaxing.
This house is comfortably furnished throughout in Mallorcan rustic style with many interesting crafts and features. The kidney shape gated swimming pool area can now be closed off for children. Outside, a little casita houses the washing machine.


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You have many areas to consider when purchasing a dental practice and you should use an independent business advisor who specialises in the dental sector – rather than approaching a bank direct – that way you know you will be getting the best possible advice and most competitive terms.
To find out more call FTA Finance directly on 0330 088 11 57 or click here. Alternatively, provide your details below and we'll pass it on to them.


Anjali Monteiro is a Professor at the School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Masters degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Sociology. She is involved in documentary production, media teaching and research. She teaches courses in documentary and video production as well as theoretical approaches to image making practices and has done pioneering and innovative work in critical media education with various groups including activists, school and college students, parents and teachers.
Jointly with Prof. K.P. Jayasankar, she has won thirty-two national and international awards at documentary film festivals. A presiding thematic of much of their work has been a problematising of notions of self and the other, of normality and deviance, of the local and the global, through the exploration of diverse narratives and rituals. These range from the stories and paintings of indigenous peoples to the poetry of prison inmates. Their most recent award is the Basil Wright Prize for So Heddan So Hoddan (Like Here Like There) at the 13th RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film 2013. Retrospectives of their work include Vibgyor Film Festival, Kerala, 2006; Bangalore Film Society, 2010; Madurai International Film Festival, 2012 and Parramasala Sydney, 2013. An adaptation of their film Saacha (The Loom) was a part of the art exhibition Project Space: Word. Sound. Power. at the Tate Modern, London, in 2013; and at Khoj, New Delhi in 2014. They have served as jury members and as festival consultants to several film festivals in India. They have mentored many award-winning student and fellowship documentary film projects as commissioning editors.
Her doctoral work involved an ethnographic study of television audience reception in a working class neighbourhood in Goa, in the late 1980s. She currently writes in the broad area of media and cultural studies, with focus on documentary film, censorship, critical theory and issues of media representation. She has been a visiting professor at several Universities, including University of Technology Sydney, University of Western Sydney, Lund University, Sweden and University of California, Berkeley. She has a book entitled A Fly in the Curry: Independent Documentary Film in India (Sage, 2016), co-authored with Prof. K.P. Jayasankar. She is active in campaigns against censorship and for freedom of expression.


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2 Indianapolis-area Babies R Us stores among 182 Toys R Us closings
Toys R Us announced late Tuesday the company will close up to 182 stores as part of bankruptcy reorganization plans, according to reports from the USA TODAY Network.
Two Indianapolis-area Babies R Us stores are on the chopping block — the Clearwater Crossing location at 3928 E. 82nd St. in Indianapolis and the Greenwood Shopping Center location at 8800 U.S. 31 South.
Going-out-of-business sales for affected stores are slated to begin in February.
According to the report, Toys R Us will shrink its store fleet by about 20 percent, or some 6.9 million square feet, if all 182 stores are closed.
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According to the report, the company intends to convert some locations into combined Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in addition to store closings. The locations of those conversions have not yet been announced.
Toys R Us will continue to operate four remaining stores in Indiana. Locations include 9251 E. Washington St., Indianapolis; 8250 Castleton Corner, Indianapolis; 11850 Northeast Executive Dr., Edinburgh; and 3400 N. Morrison Road, Muncie.
Click here for a complete list of closings.
Chris Sims is a digital producer at IndyStar. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.


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THE WEEK THAT WAS – More automaker consolidation
There was more automaker consolidation in the news this week as Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors agreed a strategic alliance that will see the former take a 34% stake in the latter and become the biggest shareholder with nominating dibs on the new board chairman. MMC has been struggling with yet another major product quality cover-up scandal in recent weeks, this time because it has overstated the fuel-efficiency of its vehicles for over two decades. Many of those were built on an OEM basis for Nissan. The company's share price has fallen by around 50% since the scandal first came to light last month and orders for new vehicles have dropped sharply since it admitted falsifying fuel-efficiency tests.
There was more automaker consolidation in the news this week as Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors agreed a strategic alliance that will see the former take a 34% stake in the latter and become the biggest shareholder with nominating dibs on the new board chairman. MMC has been struggling with yet another major product quality cover-up scandal in recent weeks, this time because it has overstated the fuel-efficiency of its vehicles for over two decades. Many of those were built on an OEM basis for Nissan. The company's share price has fallen by around 50% since the scandal first came to light last month and orders for new vehicles have dropped sharply since it admitted falsifying fuel-efficiency tests.
Our Man in Asia today described the deal as good news for both automakers. Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a press conference this week he is optimistic that, with its help, Mitsubishi will be able to win back the trust of its customers. The deal brings together a medium-sized automaker, Nissan Motor, with around 5.3m sales globally last year, and one of the smallest global brands, with sales of just 1.2m units. It is not a deal that will shake up the global automotive industry, but it will no doubt help improve the performance of both companies globally over time.
Honda said at the beginning of the week it was widening its recall of vehicles fitted with Takata airbags by 20m units and today announced a surprise fourth quarter loss due to that ongoing horror story. Toyota said it had a profitable fiscal 2015/16 but forecast a downturn ahead due to currency swings.
With sanctions lifted, automaking and parts opportunities are opening up in Iran and PSA and Chinese partner Dongfeng have signed new agreements to build on their current JV. Not to be outdone, the VW-FAW JV has announced it'll build its fifth car plant.
Pure electric vehicle fans like to think the vehicles emit no pollution at the point of use but scientists at a Scottish university beg to differ. They say electric, hybrid and other eco-friendly cars kick out as many toxins as diesel vehicles because 'greener' vehicles produce more tiny particles from tyre and brake wear because their batteries make them heavier. Under acceleration and braking, tyres and brakes wear faster so producing more particulates while more particles are also whipped up from the road surface because of the extra weight.
Have a nice weekend.
Graeme Roberts, Deputy Editor, just-auto.com
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This bright and friendly, fully equipped conference room, has more than enough space for up to four people. The "Michel" room is available to you both during the week and at weekend, and can be booked either with or without beverages and catering services. The price includes a flipchart, pin board and Internet and our popular.
Conference rooms are essential especially for concentrated dialogue with colleagues or with business partners. In addition to a basic set of comfortable chairs and glare-free light, you can enjoy the general atmosphere of a room for a successful outcome of a meeting which is of major significance.
This means that you can achieve working results more quickly, and can have better support if all of the participants feel at home during the discussions.
It is for this reason that the Lilienhof Business Center in Hamburg has attached great importance to the design of the conference rooms. In addition to the quality interior, the rooms are bright and very quiet in order to ensure a comfortable and efficient working environment for everyone.
Then come and see us now. With us, you will find everything you can expect from a professional office service, and perhaps even that little bit extra.


The president pointed out the folly of pursuing the same kinds of failed "you're on your own" economic policies that got us into the worst recession in 75 years. Weak regulation helped cause the Great Recession. Why would anyone expect the same policies to get us out?
"Remember that in those same years, thanks to some of the same folks who are now running Congress, we had weak regulation, we had little oversight, and what did it get us? Insurance companies that jacked up people's premiums with impunity and denied care to patients who were sick, mortgage lenders that tricked families into buying homes they couldn't afford, a financial sector where irresponsibility and lack of basic oversight nearly destroyed our entire economy.
Unsurprisingly, the right wing media, led by Fox News, wants to take us right back to the kind of Bushonomics that crashed the economy in 2007. Progressive taxation doesn't sit well with Fox's high-income anchors, let alone its billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch. As our friends at Media Matters document nicely, Fox immediately launched a broadside against the president and the notion of tax fairness, misquoting him when it was convenient, and accusing him of class warfare and socialism.
One might almost lament that Obama lacks opposition in the primaries; debates featuring Republicans drive sane thought off of the news pages. None of the Republican candidates appears to subscribe to the free enterprise economics of Milton Friedman and/or Paul Samuelson, for example. The radical right wing, experimental economics bandied about in the debates stands perpendicular to free market economics as practiced successfully in the U.S. and other places over the past 40 years — but with every Republican candidate so far out on the radical economic scale, it might appear to a non-careful reader that they speak Mainstream.
Wholly apart from the disastrous economics of "off-budget" warfare given to us by Republicans, the policies of Republicans gave us an economic disaster in 2008. As a nation we have not moved far enough to correct those errors, and now Republicans block the action of the consumer protection agency designed to prevent another housing bubble to burst America's economic dreams.
Polls show Americans don't think Obama deserves a second term. I find it hard to believe that a majority of voters will choose to go back to the disaster that Obama hasn't been able to fix, however. Americans are not quite that stupid, I hope.
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 10:53 am and is filed under 2012 Campaigns, 2012 Elections, Economics, History, President Obama.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Obama hasn't had a "solid" Democratic majority from the start. The Senate was split by party, but controlled by conservatives from January 3, 2009 — they had an 18-day head start on Obama, and the Republicans have done absolutely everything they can to derail any proposal to get us out of the doldrums.
Worse, I suppose, would be a Republican who pledges to cave to the problem. Trickle down policies are at the root of our economic woes, and contrary to all the standard, free-market economic models. Yet, that's what Republicans propose. I don't think the radical social and economic engineering Republicans propose have any chance of doing anything other than plunging us over another cliff.
Weak federal regulatory oversight was a key problem that got us into this mess. Reducing regulation is a recipe for greater disaster.
But most people flunked high school economics, it appears from discussion — at least, most conservatives did.
I'm not overly hopeful for the nation. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have promised to get Obama, as Limbaugh said, to "make him fail," even if it brings down our nation. Lamar Alexander backed off that make-America-fail pledge, but I don't think that's enough to save us.
Well that's because if you look at objective economic data, he doesn't deserve a second term.
I think the operative phrase here is "Obama hasn't been able to fix." I'd also add the fact that he hasn't been able to fix it in 3 years and that unemployment is at 8.6% – almost a percentage point higher than when he started (7.8%). And the main reason that it came down recently is because more people exited the labor force than became employed (i.e., the denominator effect).
Sure he inherited a mess, but he's had three years to fix it, with a solid Democratic majority for two of those three years.
The only reason Obama will still likely win the election has nothing to do with his economic record (it is an embarrashment), but more to do with the fact that the Republican Party is not putting anyone up against him aside from Romney or Huntsman who doesn't seem insane.


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The Batanes Provincial Board is the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial legislature) of the Philippine province of Batanes.

The members are elected via plurality-at-large voting: the province is divided into two districts, each sending three members to the provincial board; the electorate votes for three members, with the three candidates with the highest number of votes being elected. The vice governor is the ex officio presiding officer, and only votes to break ties. The vice governor is elected via the plurality voting system province-wide.

District apportionment

List of members
An additional three ex officio members are the presidents of the provincial chapters of the Association of Barangay Captains, the Councilors' League, the Sangguniang Kabataan
provincial president; the municipal and city (if applicable) presidents of the Association of Barangay Captains, Councilor's League and Sangguniang Kabataan, shall elect amongst themselves their provincial presidents which shall be their representatives at the board.

Current members
These are the members after the 2019 local elections and 2018 barangay and SK elections:

 Vice Governor: Ignacio Villa (Liberal)

Past members

Vice Governor

1st District

 Municipalities: Basco, Mahatao
 Population (2020): 11,220

2nd District

 Municipalities: Itbayat, Ivana, Sabtang, Uyugan
 Population (2020): 7,611

References

Provincial boards in the Philippines
Politics of Batanes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Trent Center
Faculty and Faculty Associates
Research Ethics Education
Humanities in Medicine Lectures
Faculty Colloquia
Work in Progress Seminars
Endowed Lectureships
Kidney to Share: A Living Kidney Donor's Experience and Lessons Learned
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Humanities in Medicine Lecture
Martha Gershun and John D. Lantos, MD
Register here for Zoom webinar
In 2018, Martha Gershun donated a kidney at the Mayo Clinic to a woman she read about in the newspaper. In this talk, Ms.Gershun will discuss her decision to donate a kidney to a stranger and the long, complicated process that finally led to a successful surgery nine months later. Dr. John Lantos, physician and bioethicist, will use her story to illustrate the ethical issues that arise in recovering and allocating organs from both living and deceased donors. They will suggest ways that the medical community could thoughtfully and safely reduce the burdens on living donors. Doing so could shorten the waiting list for transplants and save lives.
Martha Gershun is a nonprofit consultant, writer, and community volunteer. Previously she was Executive Director of Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and the Reach Out and Read National Center. In addition to co-authoring Kidney to Share, she has written Care & Custody: A Novel of Three Children at Risk. Her work has appeared in The Kansas City Star and The New York Times Magazine.
John D. Lantos, MD holds the Glasnapp Family Foundation Chair in Bioethics at Children's Mercy Hospital and University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine. His books include Do We Still Need Doctors? and Neonatal Bioethics. Following the publication of Kidney to Share in early 2021, his most recent book, Ethics of Shared Decision Making, was released this Fall. He is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Bioethics and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics.
108 Seeley G. Mudd Building,
10 Bryan-Searle Drive,
Email: trent-center@duke.edu
medschool.duke.edu duke.edu dukemedicine.org


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Home > urban > My Twin Sister Was Taken as a Miko and I Was Thrown Away but I m Probably the Miko > CH 324
My Twin Sister Was Taken as a Miko and I Was Thrown Away but I m Probably the Miko CH 324
Author:Ikenaka Orina Category:urban Update time:2022-10-21 02:19:29
Chapter 324 – Girl and ruins – Part five
"Feel spirits…"
I look at Freinet with surprise in my eyes.
She was sitting on my head, but now she's floating towards the small pond.
"Ah, Freinet.
It's dangerous to get close all of a sudden.
What if there's something there"
"It's all right.
You don't get a bad feeling, right I don't sense anything bad either.
And… This one here doesn't have that power."
She says before touching the water and looking a little sad.
Freinet then sits on one of the large stones around the pond.
"One here…"
There is something like a lingering scent of spirits here.
This small tree… Is definitely a scrap of a place where spirits that existed here rested, a spirit tree."
"This was a spirit tree"
I look closely at the tree coming out of the water.
This small, powerless tree was a spirit tree
It's different from even the one that had its energy sapped by that plant monster.
The feeling that I get is that this one just naturally became small.
And now that I'm focused on it, I do feel something that's like the presence of spirits.
While feeling that this is weird, Freinet and I peek more closely at the pond.
"I think there was a spirit tree here.
Then as time went on, it created a sheltering tree, and left this behind.
The new spirit tree is probably somewhere else."
Apparently the magic energy in this place was so concentrated, that people couldn't live here anymore.
Maybe spirits couldn't live here either."
I think it became hard for spirits to live here.
That means they either died, or moved with the sheltering tree to a new spirit tree…"
Says Freinet while staring at the water.
Doanea said that the concentration of magic energy made it impossible for people to live here.
Spirits are more sensitive to magic energy than people, so they're more influenced by it.
That's probably why the spirit tree moved, and now there's just this remnant of a spirit tree from a long time ago.
It feels weird.
"These stones too… They've become spirit stones.
They can be used for all sorts of things if we take them with us."
"Spirit stones They're created in places related to spirits, right"
"Yes, surely because there were spirits here a long time ago.
After all that time, they've become spirit stones.
The spirits that were here were probably water spirits."
"Water spirits… I see.
There was a water miko here a long time ago."
Mister Douroean and Doanea said so.
There was a miko who was loved by the water god.
I'm sure there were water spirits in this spirit tree that were friendly with that miko.
It feels strange to think about that.
There were spirits here.
And people lived their lives in these buildings that are now decaying.
"What is it, Freinet"
It sounds like she found something in the pond.
What is it I can't see anything.
"…Still alive."
"A small spirit is still alive.
I'm surprised.
She stayed even after it became difficult for people and spirits to live here.
She has lost most of her power, but still… I think she has been here all this time."
Freinet says a spirit is alive.
Apparently this small pond is deeper than it looks.
She says the spirit is protected underwater by the tree.
I concentrate and try to focus my eyes.
I see something like a transparent film, and what looks like a small girl.
She's curled up, making her look smaller than she really is.
Her eyes are closed, and she looks weak.
She probably can't use her strength.
I say as I look at this small girl with pale blue hair.
"Freinet, what's going to happen to her"
"If we leave her, she is going to disappear eventually.
That spirit has no place to rest, and can't build up strength.
She was probably pretty powerful to begin with, and that's why she's still here and hasn't disappeared.
But I think she's reaching her limit."
"Disappear Isn't there anything we can do"
I don't want the spirit that managed to survive to just disappear.
"Well… I think she might live if you, a miko, give her magic energy.
I can't say she will be greatly compatible with a miko of the sky god, but still, magic energy from a miko can become strength to us spirits."
She says while sitting on a stone and looking at the small spirit, whose eyes are still closed.
Compatibility between miko and spirits depends on what kind of spirits they are and what god loves the miko.
I'm loved by the sky god, so I'm compatible with beings that fly and wind spirits like Freinet.
The same can't be said for a water spirit, but Freinet says a miko's magic energy can still become strength for a spirit, regardless of what god loves her.
If a spirit like Freinet says so, it has to be true.
I go to touch the water right away, but Freinet stops me.
"But Lerunda… That spirit might not want that.
I think that spirit might want to stay here, even if her body is being whittled away until she disappears.
There's no other reason for a powerful spirit to stay here.
She may have stayed here intentionally because she wanted to disappear in this land.
So let's make sure to listen first before we do anything.
If you heal her with your magic energy even though she doesn't want that, she might get mad at you."
Says Freinet, and she has a point, so I stop.
Then let's try talking."
I say, and we try talking to the spirit in the water.
—Girl and ruins – Part five
(The miko finds a spirit deep inside a small pond.)


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ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Pricing of $75 Million Public Offering of Common Stock
Nov 4, 2021 2:54 AM UTC
ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIP) ("ANI" or the "Company") today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 1,500,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $50.00 per share. The gross proceeds of the offering to the Company are expected to be $75 million, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. In addition, ANI granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 225,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about November 8, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Guggenheim Securities is acting as lead book-running manager for the offering. Raymond James is also acting as book-running manager for the offering. H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as lead manager for the offering.
The securities described above are being offered by ANI pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-239771) which was initially filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 9, 2020 and was declared effective by the SEC on July 17, 2020.
A preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering was filed with the SEC on November 3, 2021 and is available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The final prospectus supplement relating to and describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website. Before investing in the offering, you should read each of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering in their entirety as well as the other documents that the Company has filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, which provide more information about the Company and the offering. Copies of the final prospectus supplement, when available, and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Guggenheim Securities, LLC Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017 or by telephone at (212) 518-9544, or by email at GSEquityProspectusDelivery@guggenheimpartners.com, and from Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Attention: Equity Syndicate, 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716, by telephone at (800) 248-8863 or by email at prospectus@raymondjames.com.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on delivering value to our customers by developing, manufacturing, and marketing high quality branded and generic prescription pharmaceuticals, including for diseases with high unmet medical need. We focus on niche and high barrier-to-entry opportunities including controlled substances, oncology products (anti-cancers), hormones and steroids, and complex formulations.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein, including without limitation statements regarding expected net proceeds from the offering, expected use of proceeds, and the timing of the closing of the offering, are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause ANI's actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks and uncertainties related to market conditions and satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offering, as well as the risks and uncertainties set forth in ANI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 7, 2021, August 6, 2021 and November 1, 2021, the preliminary prospectus supplement related to the proposed public offering and subsequent filings with the SEC. Any of these risks and uncertainties could materially and adversely affect ANI's results of operations, which would, in turn, have a significant and adverse impact on ANI's stock price. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and ANI specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


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General Audience: The Dialogue with the Great World Religions
The Acts of the Apostles relate St Paul 's discourse to the Athenians, which seems very timely for the areopagus of religious pluralism in our times. To present the God of Jesus Christ, Paul starts with the religious practices of his audience, expressing his appreciation: "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god'. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22 -23).
On my spiritual and pastoral pilgrimage around today's world, I have repeatedly expressed the Church's esteem for "whatever is true and holy" in the religions of the various peoples. I have added, following the Council, that Christian truth serves to "encourage the spiritual and moral good found among them, as well as their social and cultural values" (Nostra aetate, n. 2). The universal fatherhood of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, spurs us also to dialogue with religions outside Abraham's stock. This dialogue offers a wealth of themes and challenges, when we think, for example, of Asian cultures deeply imbued with the religious spirit, or of African traditional religions, which are a source of wisdom and life for so many peoples.
At the root of the Church's encounter with world religions there is a discernment of their specific features, that is, of the way they approach the mystery of God the Saviour, the ultimate Reality of human life. Every religion, in fact, presents itself as a search for salvation and offers ways to attain it (cf. CCC, n. 843). Dialogue presupposes the certitude that man, created in God's image, is also the privileged 'place' of his saving presence.
Prayer, as an adoring recognition of God, as gratitude for his gifts, as an invocation of his help, is a special form of encounter, especially with those religions which, although not having discovered the mystery of God's fatherhood, nevertheless "have, as it were, their arms stretched out towards heaven" (Paul VI, Evangelii nuntiandi, n. 53). However, dialogue is more difficult with certain contemporary forms of religious belief in which prayer often ends up as an enhancement of one's vital potential in exchange for salvation.
Christianity's dialogue with other religions takes various forms and operates at different levels, beginning with the dialogue of life, in which "people strive to live in an open and neighbourly spirit, sharing their joys and sorrows, their human problems and preoccupations" (Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction Dialogue and Proclamation: Reflections and Orientations, 19 May 1991, n. 42).
The dialogue of action has particular importance. Among these works we should mention education in peace and respect for the environment, solidarity with the world of suffering, the promotion of social justice and the integral development of peoples. Christian charity, which knows no borders, gladly joins forces with the shared witness given by the members of other religions, rejoicing over the good they accomplish.
Then there is the theological dialogue, in which experts try to deepen their understanding of their respective religious heritages and to appreciate their spiritual values. Meetings between the specialists of different religions, however, cannot be limited to the search for a least common denominator. Their purpose is to lend courageous service to the truth by highlighting areas of convergence as well as fundamental differences, in a sincere effort to overcome prejudice and misunderstanding.
The dialogue of religious experience is also becoming more and more important. The practice of contemplation answers the great thirst for inner life of those who are spiritually searching, and helps all believers to enter more deeply into the mystery of God. Some practices derived from the great Eastern religions hold a certain attraction for people today. Christians must exercise spiritual discernment in their regard so as not to lose sight of the conception of prayer as it has been explained by the Bible throughout salvation history (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Orationis formas, on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, 15 October 1989: AAS 82 [1990], II, pp. 362-379).
This necessary discernment does not hinder interreligious dialogue. In fact, for many years meetings with the various monastic communities of other religions, marked by cordial friendship, are opening ways for the mutual sharing of other spiritual riches "with regard to prayer and contemplation, faith and ways of searching for God or the Absolute" (Dialogue and Proclamation, n. 42). Mysticism, however, can never be invoked to support religious relativism in the name of an experience that would lessen the value of God's revelation in history. As disciples of Christ, we feel the urgent need and the joy of witnessing to the fact that God manifested himself precisely in him, as John's Gospel tells us: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1:18).
This witness must be given without any reservation, but also in the awareness that the action of Christ and his Spirit is already mysteriously present in all who live sincerely according to their religious convictions. And with all genuinely religious people the Church continues her pilgrimage through history towards the eternal contemplation of God in the splendour of his glory.