Takhti, the People's Champion

Today is the birthday of Iran's greatest wrestler, Gholamreza Takhti but Takhti has not remained in the hearts of Iranians just for his sporting prowess and his medals, he was an icon of a true champ, a humble, gracious and valiant man who loved his people and stood by them until his last day. He had the strength of an ox, the heart of a lion and a legendary benevolence that will keep his memory alive for future generations of Iranians.

Takhti was born eighty years ago on this day in South Tehran's working class district of Khani Abad and started to train in the ancient art of zoorkhooneh and submission wrestling before being introduced to freestyle olympics wrestling and his subsequent successes in Iran's most popular sport at the time..

In 1961, in Tokyo, Takhti faced his Belarussian counterpart, Alexander Medved, who had an injured knee. Rather than taking advantage of his rival's weakness and injured knee, Takhti made sure he went nowhere near Medved's injured knee. This honourable sportsmanship by Takhti earned Medved's respect and he spoke many times about Takhti's nobleness. Medved has visited Takhti's grave in Ebn Babooyeh cemetery in South Tehran several times since Takhti's death.

During the oil nationalisation struggle, Takhti wholeheartedly embraced the national movement of Iranian resistance and became the honorary member of the movement's central council. Despite his ever growing popularity because of his sporting prowess, his charitable work, his patriotism and loyalty, he remained as humble as ever. His untimely death devastated a whole nation, thousands joined his funeral procession and seven people reported to have committed suicide in the sorrow of losing Takhti.

Whose side would Takhti be on if he was alive today? Have no doubt, Takhti never submitted to bullies and dictators.

The Hero Amongst the People

Takhti, First followed by Russian and US champions

Takhti Proudly Carrying the Sun and Lion Flag

What Women Should and Should not Watch

More from Ahmad Khatami, Tehran's Friday Prayer Leader. This time he talks about what women can watch and can not watch and 'useful idiots' think by supporting these clerics in Iran they are 'progressive' and working for peace :)))

See exact translation of what he says below:



'The contaminated look, saws the seed of lust and this is the agent of sedition, this satellite aerial has no common ground with the religion and morality of your children, you open your eyes and see a child without a religion has been brought up in this house, boy and girl with no religion have been raised, satellite channel films, even the scientific ones are with sexual attraction, their sport programs are also with sexual attractions, their mission is nothing but to subvert the viewers, not just Iranians or Arab countries, they have the mission of subversion, so know that these satellite dishes and programs have nothing other than the subversion of religion and morality of your children, some times they say we want to watch their sports programs, see their scientific programs, these are all excuses, praise Allah, our own state TV produces the most advanced scientific programs, most advanced sports programs for our youth, just one contaminated look at a contaminated film causes them to distance themselves from the mosque and Hosseinieh, I want to emphasise that is also haram for women to watch namahram men, women do not have the right to watch a wrestling [film] that is being shown on TV, this is the stipulation of the fatwas by the sources of the emulation, they[women] are not allowed to watch swimming [films] shown on TV where male swimmers are, this is haram, these have been stipulated by grand sources of emulation, do not tell me so why does the state tv show them? well the state tv shows these but it does not mean every person is allowed to watch every program. Of course let me emphasise here that television should observe the sharia laws in its programs, we are not here to justify [wrongs] but this is the crunch of the matter, what is decreed for this woman who is watching tv when a wrestling match for youth or otherwise is shown, is she should not watch them,'

Finally Some Common Sense About the 1953 Coup

You only have to search my blog to see how I have been screaming about apologists and useful idiots who keep using the 1953 coup as an excuse for justifying their support for the atrocities committed by the current theocracy in Iran. How often have I come across useful idiots who no matter what the Iran related topic is, whether it is Neda's murder or Zahra Kazemi's murder, somehow think it is relevant to bring up the 1953 coup against Mossadegh. Those who read my blog will know how often I have been reminding these apologists and useful idiots that the main culprits of the 1953 coup were non other than the Iranian clergy and their army of cut throat thugs and hoodlums always at their disposal.

At last I think some common sense is finding its way through. Ray Takeyh's article in the Washington Post correctly concludes:
'American politicians have a penchant for acknowledging guilt and apologizing for past misdeeds. But responsibility for the suffocation of the Iranian peoples' democratic aspirations in the summer of 1953 lies primarily with those who went on to squash another democratic movement in the summer of 2009 -- the mullahs. It is they who should apologize to the Iranian people.'
Well done Ray Takeyh for finally knocking some sense into the issue of the 1953 coup.

More interestingly, is the recent revelation by Iran's first elected president, Banisadr, who was ousted by an impeachment signed by Ayatollah Khomeini in June 1981. In an interview with Iran-Emrooz, he reveals that the messenger cleric who received the fatwa, in support of the coup, from Grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi, the Major Source of Emulation for the Shiites at the time, and passed it to Ayatollah Behbahani,  was none other than Khomeini himself. Well there you go, no wonder Ayatollah Khomeini hated Mossadegh and even the mention of his name so much! Will the apologists and useful idiots now stop justifying the regime's atrocities with the 1953 coup?

Sermon on Good Words and Respectful Speaking

Translation:

Tehran's Friday Prayer leader speaking on Good Words and Respectful Speaking:

"In the battle of Siffin, Amirolmemenin [The leader of the faithful – the prophet's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, the first Shiite Imam and fourth Sunni Khalif] saw some of Islam's early disciples, some distinguished disciples in fact, I don't want to name names, were insulting Moavieh's [opposing side of the battle of Siffin] disciples, the Amir told them not to, he said 'I don't like you to be vulgar and shout obscenities at others, instead of hurling profanites at them lets show them the wrong path they have taken, there is no need to use foul language'.

At the end of this however, I have to say that to clarify one's position is not the same as uttering profanities, chanting Death to America and Death to Israel is not profanity as some people suggest, it is declaring where we stand, It says it in the Koran itself, 'Death to the unbelievers' or 'May the unbelievers be damned forever' is a statement on where one stands, no one should interpret these as bad language, this is not profanity, this is in the holy Koran, Death to America is a statement of distancing ourselves from unbelievers, because a Muslim must seek friendship with the faithful and keep his distance from the unfaithful. Meaning a Muslim has both holy compassion and holy rage at the same time. And so this was my talk on speaking good words and respectful speaking"

Ali Karimi v Ajorloo, Good v Hypocrisy

There have been some reports in the Western media on Ali Karimi, dubbed 'Maradona of Asia', having been sacked from his club, Steel Azin, for refusing to fast during a football match. There is more to all this however than just the fasting issue during the month of Ramadan. Ali Karimi's saga is part of a wider story which is going on in Iran right now, the divide between those sportsmen and artists who are standing by the people against the coup administration and those sycophants who are going out of their way to endear themselves to the ruling oligarchy.

Ali Karimi was one of the six Iranian national football team players who wore green armbands in solidarity with the Iranian protesters during the world cup qualifying match with South Korea in Seoul. Apart from his sporting heroics, Karimi is a true people's champion. Former Iranian national football team player, Hamid Steeli who scored with the unforgettable header against the US in the 1998 world cup, describes Karimi as a truly genuine human being who, unknown to most people looks after several orphan kids, he is frank and speaks fearlessly for what is right, I have never known someone so frank, especially that his candid remarks are often made in support of others.

Steeli has not been the only one to speak up for Karimi. Khodad Azizi, also a former national team player, said in support of Karimi 'when Karimi speaks, he dares to say what millions of people are too scared to say, I too broke the fast during the football matches, to fast or not to is not a matter that can be forced on people. We are all responsible for our own actions in the afterworld.'

Karimi's team mate at Steel Azin club, Gholami in a truly sporting spirit has also stood up for Ali Karimi and said 'I came to this club because of Karimi, we will all do everything to reinstate him'. Gholami also confirmed national team player, Mehrzad Madanchi's statements that everyone in the club that day had lunch in a restaurant. Madanchi said 'We are all Muslims but we can not fast during football matches, it is impossible. There were water bottles by the side of the pitch for the players but I never saw Karimi drink one during that football match'.

Babak Massumi, the former captain of Iran's indoor football team told IPNA news, "People must know that when I was diagnosed with cancer and the medics had lost all hope, it was Ali Karimi's generosity that made sure my medical bills were paid. He even paid for me to be upgraded to a private room and yet he never told a soul about this'.

Within hours of Karimi's sacking, thousands joined a facebook page set up in his support (حمایت از علی کریمی). 

Yesterday, even pro-Ahmadinejad sites admitted that during Steel Azin's match without Ali Karimi, the crowds continuously chanted in support of Ali Karimi.

So you get the picture what sort of a person Ali Karimi is and the support he enjoys amongst other players. Lets see now who his adversary, Mostafa Ajorloo, the managing director of Steel Azin, who is responsible for sacking Karimi is.  This is how Mostafa Ajorloo described himself on the popular sports program, Ninety:
'I am Mostafa Ajorloo, a revolutionary guard, and I have faith in all religious values, after all, our Islamic revolution, as described by the Supreme Leader and the late Imam, as being all about observing our religious values and nothing else, and I am not here just for football, I am here for my religious values' - Enough said I think.


Karimi with orphan kids:

Karimi with Babak Massoumi:

People's champion:

New 'Your Excellency' Replaces the Old 'Your Excellencies'

So finally Press TV broadcast Galloway's interview with Ahmadinejad last night. Galloway kept referring to Ahmadinejad as "Your Excellency". At 14:14 he also tries to endear himself to Ahamdinejad by referring to the 'attack' he suffered in the House of Commons! The 'attack' he refers to of course is when we asked him how he could go on about the brutality of the UK police when he worked for Saddam and now Ahmadinejad.



And here is another excellency he was very keen on in the past:



and of course the Mother of All Your Excellencies, the indefatigable Saddam Hussein :

More Pictures From the Conference of Iranians Abroad in Tehran [Ahmadinejad Propaganda Circus]

Some more pictures from the Great Conference of Iranians Abroad".

An Iranian "elite" expat raises his fist in the air and demands that "a new suit is his blatant right for participating in the conference". Naturally he gets one the next day:

Expat lovers of the "popular" president in the conference rush towards him to get his autograph or pass on their letters of request to him. A female Iranian expat in the process is surrounded by men and seems to like it:

The most sickening picture of the conference. How low must one get to kneel in front of Ahmadinejad?

Letter from One of the Participants in the Pro-Ahmadienjad Conference

This letter has been received from one of the participants in the pro-Ahmadinejad propaganda circus which was named 'The Great Conference of Iranians Abroad'.

'I am an experienced doctor currently residing in Germany who took part in the conference you wrote about and was unwillingly used for the propaganda purposes of this administration. I just wanted to tell you about some aspects of this conference which until now have not been reported.

1- The conference was supposed to be a two day conference only and even then one day only was allocated for the conference, the first day was supposed to have been for rest and settling in. As soon as we arrived however, they told us they were extending the conference to three days.

2- When we arrived in the airport we were kept behind for five hours. They told us this is because they wanted to issue us with proper conference photo IDs, but after they scanned our passports and all the waiting, we were issued with very ordinary passes with no photos and just our basic details. I will explain later why they did this.

3- No one had told us Ahamdinejad would turn up in the conference. We were told we would be divided up into working groups based on our expertise and there will be work shops which will be participated by the country's relevant universities. Needless to say that none of these workshops happened and we were surprised when Ahmadinejad turned up.

4- More than 700 people had been invited but if you look at the pictures you will see many empty chairs. This is because something around 250 people left the conference room when Ahmadinejad appeared. More left when they heard Ahmadinejad's speech and on the second day of the conference, some even left their hotels and went and stayed with their families.

5- From the minute we got to our hotels, an argument broke out between Foreign Ministry staff and those working for the presidential office. At the end the argument intensified so much so that the Foreign Ministry staff decided to leave altogether and were replaced by more from the president's office.

6- Both the FM staff and those from the president's office were continuously asking the conference guests how they could apply for a scholarship and go abroad to study. These questions became so repetitive that on the second day one of the conference guests screamed back and said 'why do you think we are university scholarship agents?'

7- None of us managed to make the slightest contact with any of the universities. In fact any such attempt was blocked by security staff.

8- Just before the opening ceremony, we saw a large batch of conference cards brought into the conference room and handed out to people who looked nothing like academics nor had they come from outside Iran. None of the guests in any of the three hotels ever saw them staying in the hotels either. This was why Foreign Minister staff had been arguing with staff from the president's office. The Foreign Ministry office staff wanted to issue photo id conference cards and only let the invited guests from outside Iran into the conference but the presidential office staff had plans to mix in their own stooges and stage manage the propaganda exercise.

9- That person you mentioned in your post about kneeling down in front of Ahmadinejad, was one of those who was not from abroad and was planted in. He was their own stooge and it seemed they had rehearsed this stomach wrenching scene many times before. It was all planned, he knew exactly which way to go and when and where to kneel in front of Ahmadienjad.

10- Lastly let me tell you about the AIC president, Hooshang Amirahmadi, who was in Tehran at the time too. I was in the same hotel with him. I walked up to him when I saw him and exchanged greetings.
I asked him if he will be speaking at the conference? He said no I am not even coming to the conference, it is not expedient and will be controversial if I do. I then asked jokingly, have you brought a message from Obama? He said curtly 'No.' I said 'So are you carrying a message from here to Obama?' his reply was a long drawn 'we will see'

Who is Threatening the 'National Security'?

Mohammad Mostafaei, the lawyer who was defending Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and many others including more than 100 political prisoners is accused of threatening Iran's national security by the regime's intelligence ministry, presumably by creating bad publicity for the country with the Sakineh story. Mostafei however is not the one who is keeping the Sakineh story in the news. The Sakineh story was about to run out of its newsworthiness until the regime's intelligence ministry tried to arrest Mostafaei. That then became new news. Then they took his wife and brother-in-law as hostages to get him back, this again became new news. Then they arrested his father-in-law, again this meant the Sakineh story was still news worthy. They then continued to incarcerate Mostafei's wife even on their daughter's seventh birthday. Keeping an innocent mother away from her daughter even on her seventh birthday once again stirred emotions and it became new news. Yesterday they made Sakineh to confess on TV against herself and her lawyer which once again hit the international headlines.

If the Islamic judiciary in Iran sees the Sakineh publicity as a threat against national security, then it only has itself to blame. In order not to appear to give in to international pressure, the regime is digging a hole for itself that is even distancing its own allies like the Brazilian president De Silva. It is the regime itself that by insisting to keep a barbaric law like stoning in its penal code is showing its true outdated medieval nature to the world public opinion, not a lawyer who is only doing his duty, defending his clients.

They Pulled My Teeth Out to Teach Me a Lesson

Ahmad Bab is a Kurdish civil activist from Marivan. He worked with various civil groups in the Iranian Kurdistan, including the environmental NGO, CHYA in Marivan.

Two years ago he organised a peaceful demonstration by 1000 unemployed workers in Marivan outside the governor's office, with their main slogan of 'Bread, Peace, Freedom'. He has never been a memebbeen in and out of Islamic Republic prisons in the last seven years for his involvement in civil activities, but this time things were different. On September 27th last year, armed agents burst into his house at night and took him away with them. His seven year old son, Karo, has suffered a stutter from the sheer fear he experienced that night ever since.

Galloway's Broadcast from Tehran

George Galloway's Press TV broadcast from Tehran after he attended Ahmadienjad's propaganda conference last week:

Richard Frye's Reward

The American academic, Richard Frye, got more than the Iranian expats who took part in the Ahmadinejad propaganda circus last week. Apart from free flight ticket and accommodation, Professor Richard Frye was also given a residential house in Isfahan.

Frye accepted this generous award at a time when the regime had issued an arrest warrant against the human rights defence lawyer, Mohammad Mostafei, and had taken his family as hostages. Frye accepted this reward when 17 Iranian political prisoners are on hunger strike and their families have been beaten up for protesting outside Evin prison. Why are these academics so remote from what goes on this planet? How long does the 90 year old Frye think he has left? Is it worth taking this blood gift in the last days of one's life? Is it worth leaving such a legacy? I hope the regime's days are as numbered as his.

See pictures below:

Presumably they expect him to convert into Islam in return, they have left him a prayer mat in his bedroom:

Showing off his state of the art shower, but will be able to wash off the stain on his name:

I wonder who he will dine with:

When They Murdered Bakhtiar

Today is the anniversary of the murder of Shapour Bakhtiar. Killed alongside his secretary, Soroush Katibeh, by the agents of the Islamic Republic and with the collusion of Mitterand's Socialist government in France.

Bakhtiar, a long time opponent of the Shah, who had served a total of six years in the Shah's prisons, accepted his premiership in the peak of the 1979 frenzy, because he had the foresight to see the catastrophe that was about to happen in Iran. If only more people had the vision of this great Iranian secular politician.

This year France released one of his killers, who received a hero's welcome by the Islamic Republic officials.

The Treachery of Iranian expats who Took Part in Ahmadinejad Propaganda Conference

For several months, Islamic Republic embassies throughout Europe and North America have been searching for Iranian expats to attend a propaganda conference to promote Ahamdinejad and his administration. A masquerade disguised as the get together of the Iranian 'elite' outside Iran, but the real purpose was none other than to demoralise the population inside Iran by pretending the government enjoys widespread support outside Iran.

Once the so called expat 'elite' were short listed by the embassies, the letter seen on the left here was sent to them. The last paragraph undertakes the entire cost of the trip and the accommodation etc. will be paid by the government.

This conference was held over the last two days in Tehran. So lets see who some of this pro-Ahmadinejad elite are.



And why not start with our own favourite George Galloway, who despite losing his seat in the parliament, is still introduced by the Iranian state TV as a UK MP. How he fits in with the Iranian 'elite' baffles me:



and here is Sheikh Mansour Laghaii, the Iranian Shiite cleric who was deported from Australia. Does he still count as an 'elite expat'?

And of course the familiar London based Parivash Fatemi, who used to wine and dine with the Shah's generals in the imperial court cocktail parties [Picture on the Left] but is now suddenly keen on wearing a scarf [Picture on the Right, back row] and applauding over enthusiastically for Ahmadienajd:

This character, I don't know who he is yet, wins the super sycophant award of the conference. He claims he trains pilots abroad and that he was about to sign a business deal worth 8.5 Million Euros but because there was a petty insult against the popular Mr. President, I refused to sign the contract! Yeah Right!

And here is a BIG Iranian expat 'elite' studying the lunch menu next to probably some clueless arsehole expat 'elite' who has probably been put off lunch for a while:

And watch this from last year, take it forward to 2:46, yes it is Ali Dezaii who sadly couldn't attend this year's conference, as he is now a guest of Her Majesty's Prison.

Now They Have Arrested Mostafaei's Father-in-Law

Never underestimate this regime's ability to shoot itself in the foot. The stoning of Sakineh story which had grabbed the headlines in the Western press was about to pass its newspaper sell by date, when the Islamic Republic's 'intelligence' agents decided to arrest Mostafaei, Sakineh's lawyer. When Mostafaei went into hiding, the regime instead embarked on one of the things it is best at, taking hostages. Mostafei's wife and his brother-in-law were taken hostages and so the Sakineh story got a new life in the Western press.

Over the weekend the regime has shot itself once more in the foot, they have now arrested Mostafaei's elder father-in-law on Saturday.

My heart in all this goes to Mostafei's six year old daughter, more than anyone else. It is her seventh birthday tomorrow. It should have been a happy occasion and a cause for celebration with friends and family around. Instead this poor little girl is now all alone with her elderly grandmother looking after her.

They told the severn year old Parmida, that her father is away seeing a client in a provincial town and her mother and uncle have gone away for a short break, but Parmida is not eating and is crying all the time. She is convinced her parents have died and they are not telling her the truth. Now she is missing her grandfather too. This talented little girl will now be scarred for the rest of her life.

Damn this regime, damn its supporters, damn those who choose to remain silent against all this evil.

Families of Political Prisoners Gather Outside Prosecutor's Office

In Iran, when there is no news from political prisoners and visits are stopped, it is usually bad news. It reverberates memories of the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Back then too, just prior to the massacre, all contacts from inside and all visits by family members were stopped.

Yesterday, families of some political prisoners gathered outside the prosecutor's office and protested to the worsening situation of political prisoners in Iran.