A women's rights defender

Don't you love it when Mr. Ahmadinejad implies that the US is not advanced enough to elect a woman as president?

A MehrNews wire was quoted in the New York Times but unfortunately, I was not able to find the original article.

We all know what the situation in Iran is. I have blogged about it a number of times and things aren't getting better.

But my question to our president is: can a woman be elected as President in Iran in the first place? And since he said that: "Presidency of a woman in a country that boasts its gunmanship is unlikely." Does it mean that Iran is also great at boasting its gunmanship? (and I have no wish to posts links about this...)

Davos, bis and worse

OK, one more on Davos and then I stop, but there is no way I cannot reiterate how anything can be said and not be challenged, I really wonder what the point is.

Or is it perhaps the Open Forum? Because, I must admit that when Mr. Mottaki and Mr. Hashemi Shajareh had to face Mr. Khalilzad, things were quite different, although the latter go some heat for it afterwards, it seems.

But lo and behold, it was truly painful to hear yet another time Ayatollah Hadavi:

" I suggest it, if the is a group of expertise in human rights, they come and they evaluate the human rights situation in Iran and in the United States and give a neutral report about the situation and you can say the human rights situation in Iran is worse than the human rights in the United States, I would like you to do this, because some of the Americans have done it before and they say that the human rights situation in the United States is worse than the human rights situation in Iran. I am not saying so, a Jewish professor in the United States said it in 2004."

The name of that famous professor will remain forever unknown... and, of course, we will completely overlook all of the UN human rights reports made by experts...

A little visit

OK, I know, I have not been blogging for nearly a month now -- call it blogger fatigue, depression about the state of the world, rivalry of Facebook, or a combination thereof. So much had been written about the National Intelligence Estimate and so little about the adoption of the UN General Assembly's resolution on the human rights situation that it seemed pointless to blog about either.

But tonight, I have seen one of the best films of the year. It's not about Iran, and not about human rights. It's about Egyptians and Israelis, peacefully. It's poetic, profound, with a great sense of humour. It's a must see.

Next?

There was indeed much of a hullabaloo at the visit of our President, but after all, it can be summed up in one word: denial. We knew about his first denial, now at Columbia he informed us that there are no homosexuals in Iran, and during his UN press conference he enlightened us with the fact that the Baha'is don't have a Prophet.

Clearly, after all that everyone will believe him when he says that Iran is not trying to get the bomb.

Above and beyond Mr. Ahmadinejad's gesticulations, the issue remains what is going to happen to our country. Initially, Mr. Abdi's recent interview made me quite depressed, then today I read Abbas Milani's excellent piece -- remarkably, they are saying the same thing.

Preach and practice

On Monday, Mr. Javad Zarif, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Anan, to protest the US threats against Iran.

In the meantime, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir, was issuing a statement indicating that she was “highly concerned by information she has received concerning the treatment of members of the Bahá'í community in Iran.”

It seems that a number of branches of our government, including the Ministry of Information, the Pasdarans and the Police have been requested to identify all the Baha’is…

She then goes on to say that she is “apprehensive”. Well, rightly so, I would say. History has unfortunately told us that identification of a group of people, particularly of those belonging to one religion, by a government, does not augur well for their fate.

Surely, Iran’s chief representative who has just criticized the US for its “contempt” of the UN will take it upon himself to ensure that the requests of the Special Rapporteur calling upon his country “to refrain from categorizing individuals according to their religion and to ensure that members of all religious minorities are free to hold and practise their religious beliefs, without discrimination or fear" will be implemented.

Anyone feeling betrayed?

The BBC has these “your perspective” entries. I think they should have one on what people feel about the US and Iran holding talks about Iraq.

How do the supporters of a regime change in Iran feel? And those who rally in front of Mr. Ahmadinejad shouting “death to America”?

Just a thought.

And a question: if it is to be about Iraq, why is it that it was Mr. Larijani who made the first announcement?