Why Cannes screening of Persepolis, angers Iran
Nima Sharif
Is it not just a movie? Well, not if you were a Mullah.
As reported by various news agencies, the Iranian Mullahs’ have once again exposed to the world their limited tolerance for views that might be slightly different than theirs.
Apparently, Iran has sent the French Embassy in Tehran a letter of protest regarding the screening of an Iranian film maker’s movie, Persepolise, at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
The movie is about a child growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution.
The letter sent by the state-run Farabi Foundation in Iran reads, "This year the Cannes Film Festival, in an unconventional and unsuitable act, has chosen a movie about Iran that has presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some of its parts."
In other words, the Mullahs are trying to say, “Hey, we did not have a chance to cutup pieces that we didn’t like you to see, before you got to see it.â€Â
Iran – Here comes Sahraroodi
Mousa Afshar
"The international community must recognize participation rights of all countries, especially when it comes to problem solving for the whole world. They cannot eliminate one or two countries," Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister stated on Iranian media on May 4, 2007.
This was the mullah’s foreign minister’s assessment of the recent Sharm El-Sheikh Conference. This conference has been the largest international gathering about Iraq so far. The mullahs complain they were excluded from the conference even though they were allowed to attend.
The head of the Guardian Council, the top council above parliament, mulla Jannati made an even bigger objection and called the Sharm El-Sheikh conference “invalidâ€Â. He said: "Do the people of this region want their guardians to be from the US and the UK? Do they want these countries to make decisions for Iraq?"
Iranian assassin, member of delegation to Sharm El-Sheikh
Stop Fundamentalism, May 16 – Iranian opposition sources reported today that a member of the Iranian delegation to the Sharm El-Sheick Conference in Egypt, May 3-4, had an international warrant issued to his name for taking part in 1989 assassination of Iranian Kurdish dissident leaders in Vienna, Austria.
“Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi was sent by the Mullahs regime to attend the international conference and was seated on the same table with about 50 Foreign Ministers of different countries,†the Naitonal Council of Resistance of Iran reported today on its website www.ncr-iran.org.
Sahraroudi attended the conference as the delegation’s number two.
Has MySpace Become MyBully
Jeffrey A Solochek
MySpace has recently gone out and shut down any US based company that had software addons for helping people to use MySpace. One company they shut down was Spacepromoter which had software to allow marketers to create multiple MySpace profiles. Shutting down a company like this makes a lot of sense because in their terms they say you are only allowed to have one MySpace profile.
Iraqi Dinar rising slowly against Dollar
Stop Fundamentalism, May 15 – Iraqi Dinar closed just above 1261 Dinars per Dollar Tuesday at Iraq’s Central Bank Auction.
Moving up slowly for the past two months, the exchange rate of the Iraqi Dinar has risen significantly at the expense of Dollar since the start of the daily auctions at Iraq’s Central Bank and the introduction of new Iraqi Dinar. The currency has demonstrated great potential in gaining value against Dollar.
Why Iran wants War
Ahmadinejad & Co. starring in Armageddon
Slater Bakhtavar
“The Iranian nation will wipe the strain of regret on the foreheads of those who want to bring about injusticeâ€Â, President Ahmadinejad scorned at a recent rally in the province of Zanjan. Iran “will cut off the hands of any aggressorâ€Â, any attack would be met with a response that is double-fold including suicide attacks across Europe and the United States, he warned. “Israel should be wiped off the mapâ€Â, the predominately Jewish nation “cannot survive†and is headed “towards extinction†quipped the fanatical President.
If one were to listen to his rhetoric alone, even the most astute political intellectuals would think Iran is a nation equipped with the most dangerous military arsenal capable of hallenging any nation. But Iran’s rhetoric has little to do with their outdated and dismal military, their fledging economy or their detested government. The root of the government’s fiery tone may be traced to their Shi’te ideology messianic belief in a mysterious, mystical twelfth imam who ventured into hiding over a thousand years ago.
The Spring of Discontent In Iran
Ali Safavi 
Spring in Iran was marked by the outbreak of protests nationwide by virtually every sector of Iranian society, beginning with demonstrations and strikes by tens of thousands of workers in March. By April and May, the level of discontent had escalated dramatically as tens of thousands of workers kept their pledge to turn out en masse.
More than one hundred thousand staged a rally in Tehran on May Day, making it one of the largest protests in Iran in the past two decades. Chanting "death to oppressors" and "freedom is our inalienable right," they displayed their burning desire for change.
US – Iran talks in Sharm El-Sheikh: Whose change of behavior?
Mohammad Amin
In the eve of the Sharm El-Sheikh conference in Egypt, the Iranian mullahs have raised voice about the recognition of their hegemonic role in Iraq.
Keyhan newspaper (a paper in Iran run by the official representative of the Supreme Leader, reflecting regime’s political snrategy) in its editorial of April 22nd states: “Not only Americans have had no impact on limiting our operations in Iraq but the Iranian and Iraqi governments have strengthened their ideological, and political-security pacts.â€Â
Anther article published on April 30th in Keyhan reaffirms: “No guarantees about the future of Iraq will succeed or work unless Iran agrees to its principles.â€Â
In an unprecedented manner the Iranian theocratic official papers published a Washington Post article in its entirety on April 27th. The article titled: “Signs of a Spring Thaw, Interest on both sides on U.S.-Iran Talks†says: “The decisions the Iranian leadership makes over the next several weeks about diplomatic strategy will shape Iran’s future, as well as that of the Middle East…. But a process of bargaining is underway between Iran and the USA. That’s what became clear this week, in two different diplomatic channels…. To reassure the Iranians, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took the unusual step of disavowing any U.S. plans for regime change. "It [regime change] was not the policy of the U.S. government. The policy was to have a change in regime behavior.â€Â
Iran – Dhul-Qarnayn besieged by Gog and Magog
Sanabargh Zahedi
“I will release water into Sivand Dam personally,†announced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s hard-line president, on April 17. Two days later, on April 19, with his orders the process began.
Although it may seem that this is a simple routine to start filling a dam with water, the announcement was actually the end of a quarrel that had lasted many years. This was a subject that has been one of the main headlines in Iran’s media during the past few months.
The Sivand Dam has been built in an area that if filled, the water will cover some of the greatest and most precious world known, ancient and historical sites that still exist today such as the Pasargadae (Cyrus’ tomb) and the Morghab fields in Iran. In fact the Pasargadae will be completely submerged in water.
