A Cry for Help from a Sea of Flowers and a Desert of Death

The following text is a free translation of a post writen by Dutch-Iranian refugee and Leiden University lecturer, Afshin Ellian, published earlier today in Elsevier Magazine.

The world commemorates Neda.

Last Friday thousands of Persians went in mourning to Tehran Cemetery where Neda and other victims of the Islamofascist regime lay buried. A sea of flowers in a desert of death.  Remembrance and mourning are the only weapons at the disposal of powerless people. This is our weapon against those in power, who wish to expunge history. 

You, dear reader, needs to jump into action. Act against torture! Already thousands of citizens, prominent politicians and mainly young people have been arrested. The messages human rights organizations and I have received are very worrying indeed. The mullah regime tortures without restraint. They want to force confessions.

The detained are forced to confess that their instructions to destabilize Iran came from rich Jews, Israel, the U.K., the E.U. or America. A NewsWeek journalist has already confessed. Think of something! Write petitions and send them to the Secretary General of the U.N. and the E.U. Presidency to force Tehran to release its political prisoners.

Torture and detentions cannot restrain the longing for freedom. Even Real politicians, like Farid Zakaria, believe Islamism has no future in Iran. Apparently even opportunists - who demanded President Bush faced up to reality - have seen the light.

What was that? The Islamic Government is supported by the people, and therefore Western countries must talk to them on an even keel? That sort of nonsense is in short supply these days. Those types thought the West should not heed people like me. It's very ironic that they should want to talk to me now.  Until a year ago I was a traumitized refugee, but all of a sudden I'm an expert!

I don't want to talk to these charlatans anymore. I'm not even an expert. I'm just a little Neda, a little voice. We've been trying to press home for thirty years now that the regime is immoral, and that it doesn't have popular support. But some Western politicians begged to differ. In fact, they share a world view with Ahmadinejad.

The glory of freedom.

Ahmadinejad still believes the people love him and his regime. He called the protesters "hay and straw": Khas wa Kashak. He also called them hooligans. The people have reversed that and call themselves Khas wa Khashak. They wrote on a placard: the "epic story of straw and hay".

Artists have made this beautiful rendition:



Iranian liberty loving men and women now also have international artists on their side. Famous performers like John Bon Jovi have already sang songs for the people of straw and hay. 



They sing about the glory of liberty. Why are European performers so silent?

Many wear green wrist bands in solidarity with the rebellious Iranians. Green: the nature of liberty. Why did Mousavi choose the colour green? Red is the color of Communists and Socialists. Isn't green the color of Islam? But this isn't about Islam. It's also one of the colors of the Iranian flag - which has also nothing to do with Islam. Green is the symbol of nature's rebirth. In this way the color green is being de-Islamized.

Mousavi is a gifted painter, who has had expositions in Tehran. A friend in Tehran told me: "Mir Hussein (Mousavi) has accidentally used too much green paint and the situation has gone out of control. Now we're swimming in green, the green of Persia, the green of nature. And that's freedom. That's the nature we want. The green of the Prophet needs to get tender again."

The Green Revolution is the revolt of the nature of man, shouting for liberty. The epic story of hay and straw. 

Mousavi's future is unknown. But we do know that the world needs to support the green wave of freedom. Liberty is more attractive than Koranic rant. Thirty years of Koran, Jihad, Sharia and the Prophet Mohammed have brought forth children who yearn for freedom and not Jihad. Isn't that wonderful?

Here's how you can keep up to date with the rising Iran Body Count. The sound of imploding collectives is always grim.

US Independence Day: the gist

The most central piece of philosophy separating the United States from the rest of the world and leading to its true exceptionalism, is the axiom that rights derive from God or Nature, NOT from the state. This makes these rights inherent and universal to mankind, and unalienable. 

This profound premise also divorces the nation's founding principles from the current occupier of the White House, who is a quintessential statist. One cannot help wondering how this structural incompatibility will work out in the future.

Wishing our American readers a very happy 4th of July, May God continue to bless the United States for the wellbeing of all men!

To remind us, here are a few excerpts from HBO's miniseries on the life of John Adams and the first 50 years of the United States.

- Filed on Articles on "Americana" - 

Americans Waking Up to Socialist Surge

Watch the video interview with Rasmussen here.

The President of Polls is not going to be amused ... 

NewsMax: "Rasmussen Poll: Obama's Popularity Plunging"

The latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll shows that President Barack Obama for the first time has a negative approval index — more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve. (...) >>>

Then learn about the hidden welfare cost skyrocketing (link to PJTV video) ... Obama permanently "spreading the wealth around".

Iran: an Update and an Exposé of the Paramilitary

Defend Your Vote: "Mousavi Calls for General Strike" 

Mir Hossein Mousavi (...) get the Voice out to fight the Bullets.

اعتکاف سراسری، در این فضای آلوده

رسانه شمائید .. ایمیل و موبایل و مموری کارد و کپی و هر کمک دیگری هم حق شماست

and Mousavi further challenging the regime ...

Times Online: "Defiant Mousavi says Iran protests should not be abandoned"

Iran's opposition leader flagrantly courted arrest today by labelling President Ahmadinejad's government "illegitimate" one day after the regime said it would tolerate no further challenges to the election result. Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, issued a brave and defiant statement on his website declaring: "It is our historical responsibility to continue our protests and not to abandon our efforts to preserve the nation's rights". (...) >>>

In his blog today Afshin Ellian provides us with a rare insight into the intricacies and origins of the various violent militias operating in Iran and elsewhere. Here's a translation: 

Iran's security system is violent and totalitarian through and through (...) who are the men atttacking civilians (...) who leads them (...) who protects the regime?

1. Ansar Hezbollah. Shortly after the revolution groups of men came together and called themselves Hezbollah [the party of Allah]. These consisted of scum and ultra religious people. They attacked opponents with knives and other weapons. They made victims everywhere: left, right, liberal intellectuals, and even moderate believers. Hezbollah was above the law and was protected by the leader of the revolution, imam Khomeini. They were refered to as the SA [Sturmabteilung, Storm Troopers] of the regime.

2. The Revolutionaire Guard (RG) was also founded after the revolution for the defense of Islam and the new regime. They too resorted directly under the imam. RG probably consists of 120,000 men of which eighty percent are conscripts. The latter are a security risk for the regime. Advanced rockets, the nuclear program and other military secrets resort under the RG. They are also aimed at supporting militant Islamic movements all over the world. They are present in Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, the Gulf states, and were also involved in the wars in the Balkans and Afghanistan.The Lebanese and the Afghan Hezbollahs and the Badr Army in Iraq have been founded by the RG. They wear uniforms, but also civilian clothing. They run their own intelligence services and secret prisons. We used to call the RG Khomeini's SS and their intelligence service the Gestapo.

3. Basij, means mobilization. The paramilitary unit was first founded during the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War. All mosques, universities, factories, schools and public service offices have an armed Basij unit. They have license to arrest and interrogate. As an organization they resort under the RG. With few exceptions, these groups consist of thugs. [See the comments on CIIDG, and the photos on The Vigilante Journalist.]

Apart of these three militias, the Islamic Republic also has a regular army, a Ministry of Intelligence and countless other security forces. It's not a pleasant country.

The following are excerpts of a rare interview with someone who was both a member of Hezbollah and the Basij. Amir Farshad Ibrahimi was Secretary of Ansar Hezbollah. He finally fled to Europe. Over the last few weeks he helped identify quite a few members of various organizations as they wreaked havoc on the people of Iran. Ibrahimi explained in detail how these groups operate with the RG and the Basij.

He was asked by Radio Farda if he has any information on the presence of foreign jihadis. His answer was quite detailed, as is the rest of his story.

“The Tharallah division of RG is responsible for security in Tehran. But they operate independently. They take orders directly from the imam. They are comprised of two foreign units.” (He provides an address in Tehran.)

“One of those foreign units is Iraqi, remnants of the Badr Army. The other is Lebanese Hezbollah. They are reserves, presently training in Iran”. (Address follows.)

“On the recent video footage I recognized two Lebanese. One is well known, because he's the brother of Ali Monir Ashmar, a suicide terrorist who was killed in Lebanon and is revered as a martyr. So Hezbollah of Lebanon has in fact troops in Tehran, participating in the oppression of Iranian citizens”.

Do you believe me if I speak of Islamofascism? During a recent 9/11 commemoration (former [Dutch, Postmodern] Green Left MP [of Iranian descent]) Farah Karimi typified the Lebanese Hezbollah as a resistance movement. She should be ashamed of herself. Imagine someone calling the Dutch SS a resistance movement!

Hezbollah's Dutch friends we can get rid of democratically, but those in the Middle East are another matter. They will have to be forced out of existence. And this is precisely what Iran's students are doing. But nobody knows as yet if they will succeed in chasing them out of Iran.

Riddle of the Day: the Obama Ideology

American Thinker: "Obama's Attraction to Human Rights Violators", by Lauri B. Regan

(...) Sadly, the Obama presidency keeps getting "curiouser and curiouser." According to Obama, Israel's settlement building is illegal, the Iranian elections are legitimate, and the Honduran military's respect for the rule of law is not legal. In other words, it is fine for the Obama administration to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign ally, it has no interest in defending a popular uprising in which people are dying in the name of freedom, and it will support the Chavez-cloned dictator in the face of a democratic struggle.

- Cartoon: William Warren - 

Many have suggested that due to the voter fraud pervasive during his campaign, Obama is not troubled by a similar occurrence in the Iranian and Honduran elections. Yet this is the same man that made human rights a benchmark of his campaign speeches. And how does one rationalize his completely irrational responses to the various events taking place across the globe as citizens of repressed nations attempt to achieve freedom and democracy. The leader of the free world persists on choosing the wrong side of the fight.

The only discernable pattern to Obama's foreign policy decisions since taking office seems to reflect an attraction by Obama to dictatorial governments and disdain for freedom loving democracies. How else can one rationalize the disparity between his silence and weak response to the protests and bloodshed in Iran and his powerful and demanding response to the coup in Honduras? America's President is consistently supportive of tyrants at the expense of oppressed citizens who bear a terrible price for his policies. (...) >>>

We claim, it's the Postmodern philosophy - of which BHO is the quintessential adept - making a bee-line from the Anti Modernist (or the Counter-Enlightenment) movement headed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant and Hegel, straight to Marx (Socialism, Communism), Nietzsche (proto Nazi), Heidegger (Nazi and full-blown pomo), to post WWII Existentialists (Stalin and Mao apologists) to the Deconstructionists (Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Richard Rorty, et al).

This is what author Richard Wolin has to say about that branch of anti philosophy:

"Time and again [these] commentators express their surprise of postmodernism ending up on a par with Nazi, Fascist or extreme Nationalist ideas, expressing their shock, shock at postmodernist involvement in Nazi scandals, or anti-philosophes suddenly spouting crypto Fascist propaganda. Richard Wolin admits that the postmodern assault on reason familiarly rings of the standard European reactionary critique as traditionally expressed by the anti-modernists [Richard Wolin, "The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism", Princeton University Press, 2004, Introduction p. 12]. "

The discerning observer might notice what connects these thinkers and ideologies: collectivism and an abhorrence for "middle-class" democratic values, individualism and capitalism.

On the other hand, another contributor lately came up with this novel approach, which may be the same conclusion by another route. What do you think?

American Thinker: "Obama, the African Colonial", by L.E. Ikenga

Had Americans been able to stop obsessing over the color of Barack Obama's skin and instead paid more attention to his cultural identity, maybe he would not be in the White House today. The key to understanding him lies with his identification with his father, and his adoption of a cultural and political mindset rooted in postcolonial Africa. (...) >>>

- Filed on Articles in "The Pomo Presidency" - 

Iran: The Fall Out

After the indignation and outrage, the rejections and the errors, there are emotions, opinions and peoples hedging their bets. A few wise men have written op-eds in support, among them former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton - a keen observer as ever - and former Spanish PM, Jose Maria Aznar. Rejectionists talk of the geopolitical need for a stable Iran, as if an oppressive regime isn't inherently always instable.

Present blog has - reluctantly at first - endorsed the popular participation in the revolt. The de facto leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is after all a man steeped in the history of the bloody Islamofascist Republic.

On the other hand, thanks to the theocratic system, he's all they've got! If Iranians have entrusted him with their destiny, then so be it!

The alternative is the status quo. Only the most deluded libtard can believe nuclear war is still avoidable by parley with the regime.

Yeah, like Chamberlain: peace in our time. It has now become quite clear what Obama's 'negotiation rounds' with despots will lead to: nuclear extortion and the legitimization of evil regimes, while democratic movements and innocents are left in the lurch.

It beggars belief, but the most cynical of Postmodern nihilists even side with them. They believe in the Great and the Small Satan as much as the regime does. But it is not too late to let wisdom prevail over foreign policy by false emotion.

So, what the world is presented with here is a unique opportunity to change the course of history, which in its current trajectory may prove very ugly indeed. Almost inevitably we will find Mousavi wanting, but that does not warrant the cold rejection of this brave effort.

Pamela Geller has these observations (Brava! she also chased down the Swiss bank accounts):

American Thinker: "The Case for Iran: Fighting for Freedom"

Many people (including Barack Obama) have pointed out that Mir Hussein Mousavi, the defeated presidential candidate and a key figure in the Iranian protests, is scarcely different from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After his numerous overtures to the mullahs, it is not hard to know why Obama is hoping the opposition will be crushed. But there are signs that many of the Iranian protesters are not fighting for Mir Hussein Mousavi. Mousavi is an Islamic Republic establishment hack. Are people in Iran dying for more of the same thing they have been getting from the Islamic Republic for thirty years? (...) 

The ultimate question is what a regime change, or even modification of the regime with a Mousavi as president, would mean to Iran's nuclear program. I am optimistic on this front for two reasons: one, because I do not hear Mousavi saying bad things about the U.S. and Israel to whip up the crowds; and two, if he wants rapprochement with the West, he will have to give up the bomb. And I think he does want the support of the West. If he becomes President, he will need the West as a bulwark in his defenses against a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism.

He is a Muslim -- nothing much has changed about that, but he may bow to pressure from the Iranian people for a relaxation of Shari'a rule and a return to something like the way Iranian society was under the Shah. This could lead him to moderate things in Iran a bit: no bomb, and perhaps no Syria, Hezb'allah and Abbas as proxies by which to wage terrorism. It is conceivable.  This result would be wonderful in light of the ongoing radicalization of Syria, Turkey, and Pakistan. A moderate Iran could be a very stabilizing thing in the region. This is why Obama's failure to seize the moment is so shortsighted and stupid. (...) >>>

Amen to that. In his blog today Afshin Ellian writes that Makhmalbaf, the Iranian film director and Mousavi's representative in Paris called upon Mousavi not to send the people home, oppressed by loneliness and disappointment. "Do not demand from an illegal Government its permission to demonstrate. The majority voted for you and awaits your orders. Ask us to go onto the streets, for picketing and combat".

"Makmalbaf is a incisive intellectual. Yes, the people want a leader. They are not afraid for Basieej and other scum. (...) The entire Middle East is watching Persia closely. If the Persians can obtain a modicum of freedom and the rule of law, it may well spread like an oil spill all over the Middle East."

"One thing is for sure: the tyranny in Persia is collapsing on many fronts. The hegemony of Islamofascism can no longer be taken for granted. Mousavi will not forsake Iran's Nedas."

Just in: a young man molested yesterday by state thugs at a "legal" rally:



Mousavi site in English, more link ups. And honor where due, The Guardian has been very good during this entire episode. They're now putting faces to the missing, killed and detained. Report them with The Guardian.

Shout (فریاد) Update

... and then there's this! 



The above comes courtisy of Afhin Ellian's blog on Elsevier. He writes:

"Mohammed Reza Shadjarian is presently the most famous, traditional singer in Iran. He is not a modernist. But his music was barely tolerated. Shadjarian demanded that Iranian state broadcasting would no longer play his patriotic songs. For the ralliers he sang this impressive song: "The Shout".

Artists have made it into a video clip. The images are wonderful: women with open arms, a petrified man standing over a corps, hope and a green heart. This is the translation:

I knock with my fist on a door;
I rub my hand over the windows.
I am suffocating, oppressed, suffocated.
It's closing in on me, unbearably.
I will shout;
Oh, I am with you;
Open the doors.

I am looking for space
on a roof

on a mountain top
in the heart of a dessert
to breath fresh air.
I want to shout long and hard,
so that my voice be heard.

I will shout;
my pain will heal through righteousness.
Who of you sleepers will emerge,
to shout along with me?
When I pound the door with my fist (...) 

Anatomy of a Power Struggle

Consider also this interview with former CIA operative Robert Baer.

Here's more footage of today's demos at Ghoba Mosque.  This is far from over.

A Tribute to the Heroes of the Democratic Movement of Iran

By Meanstreak

Revolution in Iran updates the list of those who paid the ultimate price.

The Axis of Pomo

The New York Times for once conformed to reality in palpably painting the atmosphere of melancholy that has descended on the city of Tehran like a suffocating blanket. Reuters relays Human Rights Watch reporting that "paramilitary Basij forces stage nightly raids in Tehran, invading private homes and beating residents in an attempt to stop protests against Iran's disputed election."

"Witnesses are telling us that the Basijis are trashing entire streets and even neighborhoods as well as individual homes trying to stop the nightly rooftop protest chants," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a June 26 report by the New York-based group.

State terrorism has been part of Marxist revolutionary theory from the outset. One might translate the justification into what Alexander Solzhenitsyn called "the lie": the ethics of our goal is so noble, that all live by the convention to pretend we reached "cosmic achievement", if not .... 

Reality is incontrovertible, but lies and pretence can be extorted. The pretence of having reached the culmination of human makeability never fails to sharply contrast with the reality of poverty, misery, oppression, and amorality followed by spiritual death.

This is all made possible by the fallacy that thought creates reality (leading to pretence, wishful thinking and make-believe), resting in turn on the omission to distinguish between metaphysical reality and man-made reality (notable exception: global warming).

We've written extensively about the relationship between coercion and Utopian ideology in a series entitled "The Left's* Default Position: Coercion" of which the third part is yet to be posted. 

Not all may have gotten the picture at the time, but the Islamic Revolution in Iran was heavily injected with the serum of Postmodernity. The result is a highly corrosive potion of Islamism, Socialism and Fascism, also known as the Unholy Alliance. Waller R. Newell explains it brilliantly in "Postmodern Jihad" in The Weekly Standard.

But back to updating the situation, there's some breaking news vying with events involving President Zeyala of Honduras, yet another Postmodern, Chavist President displaying the usual contempt for the Constitution of his country, and whose army doesn't intent to wait till freedom has been forfeited altogether (we'll pick up that story elsewhere; Fausta has more on what is by now is a full blown coup; WH reiterating polylogistic Prime Directive).

CNN: "Iran allows demonstration despite weekend clampdown"

It may well be a ploy, but the regime will allow a demonstration at Tehran's Ghoba mosque Sunday, CNN has confirmed.  The gathering is officially meant to honor Mohammad Beheshti, a hero of the 1979 Islamic Revolution who was killed in a bombing on this date in 1981. (...) A post on a Web site associated with opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi urged people to go to the rally. (...) >>>

Also, local staff members of the British Embassy in Iran have been arrested. (...)  "The Foreign Office did not confirm the number of people held. Last week, Tehran expelled two British diplomats. London responded by booting two Iranians. Iran then recalled its ambassador to Britain, saying it would reconsider its diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom."

- Caption: first image from Ghoba Mosque. Also watch Twitcaps for the latest tweet pictures. First video on YouTube - 

! The latest: AP: "Iranian police clash with up to 3,000 protesters"

The reports could not immediately be independently verified because of tight restrictions imposed on journalists in Iran.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

The reason why the golden opportunity to steer Iran off its nuclear collision course with history was squandered, is that it sadly coincides with a Postmodernist currently occupying the White House. Enough has been commented on the failed Iran policy over the last few weeks. But no mistake: this is a wake-up call. It is not all that difficult to peek into the future by the art of extrapolation. If so, do Gird Your Loins! The forces of retrogression are gathering.

* "the Left" here stands for Leftist and Rightist Socialists