IRAN: Campaign launched to annoint Neda Agha-Soltan Time magazine's Person of the Year 2009

The flickering images of Neda Agha-Soltan’s last moments in a Tehran street on June 20 before she died from gunshot wounds gripped the world, galvanized the nation and made the 26-year-old music student the face of Iran’s recent protest movement.

Five months after an unknown assailant took her life at a demonstration in the Iranian capital staged by pro-reform activists, supporters across the world have spearheaded a grassroots initiative in a move to immortalize her.

Through the use of various social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, they are pushing to make Agha-Soltan Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2009.

Each year, the U.S.-based magazine grants the title to one or several persons who "most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year."

Administrators of the more than 1,000-member strong Facebook group "Nominate Neda Agha-Soltan as the Time Woman of the Year" say she deserves the title because she has become “the symbol of the recent Iranian movement towards democracy and freedom" through her tragic death that shocked the world.

Members of the group are encouraged to send letters to Time magazine to vote for Agha-Soltan and spread the word to their friends.
The campaign is also triggering traffic on the micro-blogging service Twitter, where supporters of the initiative are "tweeting" their thoughts on why Time magazine should choose Agha-Soltan as its Person of the Year and calling on fellow Twitterers to give her their vote.
Last year, Time magazine named President Obama its Person of the Year.
When he won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, a surprised and humbled Obama made, perhaps, an oblique reference to Agha-Soltan when he said in his acceptance speech that the award was not only about the work of his administration but also about the "courageous efforts of people around the world" who strive for "justice and dignity."
While giving examples of whom he considered courageous, President Obama spoke of "the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets."
Coinciding with the calls for Agha-Soltan to be named Time magazine's Person of the Year, Glamour magazine recently named the women activists behind Iran's One Million Signatures initiative its "Women of the Year 2009." The campaign calls for more women's rights in Iran and urges an end to alleged discriminatory laws against women in Iran.

Iran will not ship uranium out of the country

November 7, 2009 3:37 a.m. EST

IAEA inspectors arrived at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran early on October 25, 2009.

IAEA inspectors arrived at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran early on October 25, 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Report: Iran would not ship low-enriched uranium out of the country

* Was a major part of a nuclear deal between Iran and international powers

* Measure had been supported by the United States, France and Russia

RELATED TOPICS

* International Atomic Energy Agency

* Iran

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- A senior Iranian politician said Saturday the country would not ship low-enriched uranium out of the country, which is a major part of a pending nuclear deal between Iran and international powers, according to semiofficial state media.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chief of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the proposed deal to send uranium out of the country is "called off," Iran's semiofficial news agency ISNA reported.

This issue is part of a deal being negotiated by a U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. The draft agreement has been supported by the United States, France and Russia.

It calls for Iran to ship low-enriched uranium outside the country, possibly to Russia, to be converted into fuel rods.

The material then would be shipped back to the Tehran research reactor that produces isotopes for use in medical treatments.

The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency said under the deal, Iran would get the converted fuel back by the end of 2010.

Video: Iran's nuclear plans

But Boroujerdi, an influential member of the parliament, said he does not see the uranium shipment happening.

""Iran is not to give any of its 1,200 kilograms fuel to the other party to receive 20 percent (enriched) fuel and whether gradually or at once, this will not be done and is

Protests in Iran Green November

The opposition takes to the streets again

THIRTY years ago, the world was mesmerised by pictures of 52 blindfolded Americans being taken hostage in their embassy in Tehran by Iranian students. This week’s anniversary provided more gripping scenes, as Iranians used the official celebration of that event to take to the streets once again, this time to protest against their own government and their country’s controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose re-election in June they still hotly dispute.

The green movement, as the opposition calls itself, had held no big rally since Jerusalem Day in mid-September, when protesters turned an officially sponsored event into an anti-government one. On November 4th they did it again. Thousands came on to the streets, despite dark warnings from the authorities. There were big demonstrations in Tehran, and reports of others in provincial cities such as Arak, Isfahan, Mazandaran, Rasht, Shiraz and Tabriz. The internet hummed with tales of opposition protests, replete with videos and photographs. It was hard, however, to assess the size of the crowds.

Mehdi Karroubi, a cleric who ran for president and has since been one of the most outspoken critics of Mr Ahmadinejad’s government since his disputed re-election, made an appearance in Tehran but left swiftly as his car and guards were attacked by security forces. Other opposition leaders were unable—or were not allowed—to appear. Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is popularly thought to have really won the election, was said to have visited a cultural centre but was surrounded by security forces. Muhammad Khatami, a former reformist president who backs the opposition, was unseen. All the same, without the backing of bigwigs, the government’s foes poured on to the streets.

Death to nobody!

As before, the police and the baseej, a vigilante force that backs Mr Ahmadinejad and answers to the powerful Revolutionary Guard, came out in strength too. Protesters were beaten, arrested and drenched with tear gas. Some chanted “death to the dictator”, often shouting accusations that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was a murderer. Others, in a new twist of sloganeering, cried “Death to nobody!” At the official rallies celebrating the taking of the American hostages, American and Israeli flags were burned as usual. But footage of the opposition demonstrations shows posters of Mr Khamenei’s bearded face being stamped on.

So the image of Iran’s official leaders is still being tarnished in the lingering post-election turmoil. The protests are unlikely to bring the government down, but its legitimacy is being questioned in a way that was once unthinkable.

The top echelons of politics and the clergy are riven with dissent. The day before the celebration of the siege, Hossein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah now aged 87 who was once the heir apparent of the Islamic republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, said that the occupation of the American embassy in 1979 had been a mistake.

Such divisions may partly be causing Iran’s government to equivocate in the face of the West’s latest proposals for solving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear plans. In a statement issued on the anniversary, Barack Obama said America did not wish to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs. But he stressed that, while his fist was still unclenched, the onus was on Iran to grasp it. Instead, Mr Khamenei once again lambasted America for its attitude to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Police clash with protesters in Tehran

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The following article has been retrieved from the archive and no longer contains the original video.

Police have clashed with protesters in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Hundreds of people took to the streets shouting, “Death to Dictators”. They are supporters of two opposition leaders – Mir-hussain Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who also took part in the protest.

The crowd were angry about the disputed presidential election in June, that led to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning a second term. The police used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. A reformist website is reporting that police also fired shots, however there is no independent confirmation. Reports in Iran are also claiming that at least five people have been arrested.

The protesters joined in an official rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the US embassy. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the allied Basij militia had warned opposition supporters not to use the sanctioned event as an opportunity to vent their anger. So, anticipating trouble, hundreds of police were in the main squares, ready to deal with the protesters.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Clashes, Iran

Officials: 12 killed in Fort Hood shootings; suspect alive

Fort Hood gunman identified

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Suepect in shootings wounded but alive, Army official says
• Source: Gunman identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist
• Senator: Hasan was "upset" about scheduled deployment to Iraq
• Shooting happened in building that is one of last stops before soldiers deploy

(CNN) -- At least one soldier opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 31 others, officials at the Army base said.

The gunman, who officials initially said was killed, is wounded but alive, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.

Cone said that man is believed to be the only shooter. Two other soldiers briefly taken into custody after the incident were later released, a spokesman said.

The gunman, who officials said was wounded by emergency personnel, was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement source told CNN.

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Hasan was a psychiatrist who was licensed in Virginia and was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records. Previously, he worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Video: Shooting at U.S. army base

Video: One shooter 'a soldier'

Video: Ft. Hood shooting 'horrifying'

"Timeline: Fatal shootings on U.S. bases"

RELATED TOPICS

• Fort Hood
• U.S. Armed Forces
• Shootings

A federal official said Hasan is a U.S. citizen of Jordanian descent. Military documents show that Hasan was born in Virginia, and was never deployed outside the United States.

Hasan was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq "and appeared to be upset about that," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said.

"I think that there is a lot of investigation going on now into his background and what he was doing that was not known before," Hutchison said.

At least 10 of the dead also were soldiers, Cone said.

Watch developments live

The shooter had two weapons, both handguns, Cone said.

iReport.com: Are you there? Send pics, video

Hutchison said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan," according to CNN affiliate KXAN in Austin, Texas.

The readiness center is one of the last stops before soldiers deploy. It is also one of the first places a soldier goes upon returning to the United States.

The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of the suspects, Cone said.

The base reopened Thursday night after being under lockdown for more than five hours.

A witness in a building adjacent to where the shooting happened said soldiers were cutting up their uniforms into homemade bandages as the wounded were brought into the building.

"It was total chaos," the witness said.

A woman who lives on base, about eight blocks from the shooting, said she and her daughter were at home when her husband called and told them to stay inside.

"And I asked him why, what was going on. He said that there was a shooting," said the woman, Nicole, who asked that her last name not be used. She said her husband called her back about 20 minutes later and told her to go upstairs, stay away from doors and windows and keep the doors locked.

"It's just been crazy," she said. "Sirens everywhere."

A soldier who asked not to be identified told CNN that an e-mail went out to all base personnel instructing them not to speak to the media.

President Obama called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.

"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, posted an online appeal for blood as it began receving victims. "Due to the recent events on Fort Hood, we are in URGENT need of ALL blood types," it said.

Fort Hood, with about 40,000 troops, is home to the Army's 1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located near Killeen, Texas.

The headquarters unit and three brigades of the 1st Cavalry are currently deployed in Iraq.

At least 25,000 people are at Fort Hood on any given day, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon said.

Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues.

In June, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, told CNN that he was trying to ease the kind of stresses soldiers face. He has pushed for soldiers working a day schedule to return home for dinner by 6 p.m., and required his personal authorization for anyone working weekends. At the time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well below those of other posts.

Nearby Killeen was the scene of one of the most deadly shootings in American history 18 years ago when George Hennard crashed his truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and began shooting, killing 23 people and wounding 20.

Hennard's spree lasted 14 minutes. He eventually took his own life.

AIEA/El Baradei: L'Iran doit signer

04/11/2009 | Mise à jour : 21:36 | Commentaires 3 | Ajouter à ma sélection

Le Moyen-Orient pourrait être plus "stable" si l'Iran acceptait de signer la proposition sur le nucléaire que lui a soumis l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA), a estimé aujourd'hui à New York le directeur de l'Agence, Mohamed ElBaradei.

"L'Iran pourrait ouvrir la porte à un Moyen-Orient stable", a affirmé M. ElBaradei au cours d'une table ronde au Conseil des Relations internationales, un organisme de réflexion et d'échanges diplomatiques.

L'AIEA a proposé le 21 octobre un accord aux termes duquel l'Iran ferait enrichir à l'étranger son uranium faiblement enrichi pour obtenir du combustible pour son réacteur de recherche de Téhéran, une proposition destinée à apaiser les inquiétudes sur le nucléaire iranien.

Les trois négociateurs --Etats-Unis, Russie, France-- de ce projet d'accord l'ont accepté. Mais Téhéran ne l'a encore ni approuvé ni rejeté.
"Si nous réussissons (à faire en sorte que l'Iran signe le texte), cela pourrait paver la voie à une nouvelle ère, où l'Iran et les Etats-Unis pourraient oeuvrer ensemble", a ajouté M. ElBaradei, citant notamment l'Irak et l'Afghanistan comme pays où la situation pourrait changer.

"Pour la première fois je vois un désir sérieux de s'engager, des deux côtés", a-t-il ajouté.
Si Israël devait bombarder des installations nucléaires iraniennes, cela "transformerait le Moyen-Orient en une boule de feu", a-t-il poursuivi.

La communauté internationale a mis lundi la pression sur l'Iran, lui demandant de répondre rapidement au projet d'accord de l'AIEA, mais Téhéran réclame de son côté une nouvelle réunion internationale sur le combustible nucléaire pour son réacteur de recherche.

Dans un discours aux Nations unies le même jour, Mohamed ElBaradei a de nouveau exhorté l'Iran à être le plus ouvert possible et à répondre rapidement à sa proposition sur le nucléaire.

Clashes' in Iran protest rally

Police have clashed with opposition supporters during a rally in the Iranian capital, Tehran, reports say.

Police fired tear gas as demonstrators chanted "death to dictators", the reports cited witnesses as saying.

Police were also reported to have made several arrests, and to have used batons to disperse protesters.

Reformist leaders had urged supporters to turn out to peaceful rallies to mark 30 years since the seizure of the US embassy in Iran.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards had warned opposition groups not to hold protest rallies.

Since June, Iranian opposition supporters have been staging protests over elections they say were rigged to ensure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Iranian Regime Bans Pro-Reform Business Daily

Reuters

An Iranian media body banned on Monday the publication of a leading business daily, Sarmayeh, which is critical of the economic policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government. The official IRNA news agency said Iran's press supervisory body took the decision because of "repeated violations of the press law." It did not give further details. "Based on a decision by the press supervisory board ... the authorization for the publication of Sarmayeh daily was annulled," IRNA said. Sarmayeh editor Saeed Laylaz, an outspoken government critic, was arrested shortly after Iran's disputed election in June. The opposition says the vote was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad's re-election. The authorities deny vote rigging, and have portrayed the huge street protests that erupted after the election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic state.

In August, authorities shut down Etemad-e Melli newspaper of pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi, who came fourth in the poll. He had angered hardliners with his allegation that some detained opposition supporters were raped, a charge officials deny. The June poll and its turbulent aftermath plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, exposing deepening divisions within its ruling elite and also further straining relations with the West. Iran arrested thousands of people after the vote, though most have since been freed. About 200 people remain in jail, including Laylaz, on charges of fomenting the post-vote unrest. The opposition has denounced their trials as "show trials."

Latest Reports on Prisoners

Human Rights Activists in Iran

The Tehran Prosecutor ordered Ahmad Zaid-Abadi’s transfer to the general ward in Evin. Zaid-Abadi met with his family yesterday after being held incommunicado for 50 days. The public relation’s office of the prosecutor’s office also announced that Zaid-Abadi case has been sent before the Evolutionary Court and that he will be tried shortly. Zaid-Abadi is the secretary general of the Graduate Students’ Organization. Mohammad-Ali Abathi’s case was also sent to the Revolutionary Court, which has referred it to its 15th branch. Abtahi’s family say the trial will be held in the coming days.

Zaid-Abadi was arrested on June 13th, 2009, whereas Abtahi was arrested on June 16th, 2009. More than 4 months after his initial arrest, Shahram Boloori remains detained in Ward 209 of Evin. He was arrested after the presidential election in June. Boloori’s family posted the $35,000 bail one month ago and was expecting him to be released. Boloori has been charged for acting against national security by talking to foreign radio stations. He was arrested on June 23rd and has been detained in Evin since. 50 days after his initial arrest, there is no news on the progress of Mohammad Davari’s case. Davari has only contacted his family once, and his lawyer, Mina Jaffari, has not been able to access his file despite her repeated requests to the Court.

Davari is the editor-in-chief of the Etemad-Meli website. He was arrested on September 8th, 2009 and is yet to be charged. Isa Shahar-Khiz had his first court hearing on Monday. Sahar-khiz is the founder of the Association for Freedom of Press and is a well know journalist. The court extended his remand for another 2 months. Sahar-Khiz suffers from a broken rib caused by torture. The prison and judiciary authorities have completely ignored his condition, which remains untreated. Sahar-Khiz has been charged for insulting the Leader and disseminating propaganda against the regime, a charge that traces its origins to an interview he had given. He confessed to and accepted responsibility for the charge. His lawyer, Nasrin Sotoodeh, thinks that, under the circumstances, there is no justification for her client’s detention. Sahar-Khiz was arrested on July 3rd, 2009 following a wave of arrests that targeted journalists and political activists. He has been detained in solitary confinement since his arrest. More than 140 days after their arrest, Mirdamadi and Taj-Zadeh met with their lawyers in Evin. Mirdamadi is the secretary general of the Participation Front and Taj-Zadeh is a senior member of the Participation Front and the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution Organization.

Hooshang Babai, who represents both men, said he met separately with them this morning. The lawyer visits took place in Evin and lasted 1 hour for Taj’Zadeh and a half hour for Mirdamadi. Babai said both his clients are in good health condition and described their spirits as being extraordinary. He added, “Since the trial for both my clients will be held in the coming day, Mr. Hossein-Abadi and I will be preparing the defense together. Mirdamadi and Faizollah Arab-Sorkhi are detained in the same ward, and Taja-Zadeh is detained in the same ward as Mohsen Aminzadeh. Mirdamadi and Taj-Zadeh were arrested in June and have been detained since. The families of political prisoners started their gathering at 11 AM today. The family members of several political prisoners were among the crowd of protesters. The gathering was held in silence and the families held pictures of their loved ones; they protested the ongoing detention of journalists and reformist activists. The families also held signs that read “Where is the independence of the Judiciary?”, “Is taking part in Komail prayer a crime?”, and “Free political prisoners”. There was a very noticeable presence of intelligence agents and plainclothes officers around the demonstrators. The families were asking the officials to put a stop to temporary detentions, heavy sentences, lack of access to lawyer, and trials that are not inline with legal procedures.

Iran Students Carry on Protests

The Los Angeles Times

The opposition plans large demonstrations Wednesday, the first in six weeks. But in the West, some analysts have begun to discount the opposition movement's power. Students in the western Iranian city of Ahvaz in recent days launched an impromptu protest in a campus auditorium. In Kashan on Monday, a group took over the campus cafeteria, singing anti-government songs. A couple of weeks ago in Tehran, others cheered wildly as someone threw a shoe at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's former culture minister. Then on Monday, students shouted down the ex-minister, Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, once again. Largely absent from international media reports and discounted by Western policymakers more focused on Iran's nuclear program, the protest movement that erupted after Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 reelection has continued to smolder, mostly on college campuses. Defying warnings by security officials, protesters plan to stage their first large public gatherings in six weeks on Wednesday. This time they plan to turn an annual nationwide march commemorating the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy, held on the 13th day of the Persian calendar month of Aban, into an anti-government rally.

"The 13th of Aban is another appointment for us," opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi said in a statement published by reformist websites. "It is here to remind us, once again, that the people are the leaders." In the West, some analysts have begun to discount the opposition movement's ability to affect Tehran's decision-making. Some say months of repression have gutted the protest movement of its organizational capacity and leadership. "Our view is that the regime has largely neutralized the opposition," said Mark Fowler, a former CIA analyst who now heads Persia House, a service run by the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm in Washington. "It seems to us that they have pretty much decapitated the opposition in terms of leadership. I don't think the government is particularly worried about it." Many also doubt the opposition's ability to serve as an alternative to the hard-liners who have the upper hand in Tehran. "Mousavi is not a liberal per se," said Fowler. "When he was prime minister, he would have made the conservatives and the hard-liners proud." (Read more...)

Pictures of the day

Stunned farmer Zheng Dexun dug up a crop of fleeceflower, or Chinese knotweed, and found one shaped like a person, in Langzhong, China. The eerie-looking plant, measuring 62 centimetres tall, has clearly defined arms, legs, and head. Zheng said: "I don't know whether it is good or bad to dig out a Chinese knotweed that looks like a human. I'd better put it back in the earth!"

a prisoner in "Rajayee Shahr's prison was raped by the command of proson keeper with a bunch of prisoners

A prisoner in jail yesterday Rajayee Shahr prison in Karaj command by a number of prisoners were raped. According to Human Rights Activists The prisoners in Iran yesterday, November the second prisoner named Abdullah Hemmati "command" Ali Mohammadi, "Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj Deputy Executive by a number of prisoners SrkrdhgySomeone called "lovely" as a lawyer, section 4 - Hall 11 prisoners were raped. According to witnesses not show this prisoner following Deputy prison, addressed to the Supervisor of attorney hall implicitly called murder or rape the prisoners after he is out of this ton or responsibleW prisoners as a lawyer Srkrdhgy Hall of action and then beating a prisoner to rape. After this event the only responsible reaction to this transfer of prisoners to the prison has been reported 5. Rape in prison, especially the young and young prisoners of the "reform and education center" Antql given to adult prison, the issues and problems raised is in prison. This act is considered criminal in prison practical experience Rajayee Shahr prison authorities had no measure intended to address this type of crimes Ndadhand. Source: Agence Hrana

Iranian filmmaker criticizes Ahmadinejad’s policy

Munich — The Iranian filmmaker Narges Kalhor who applied for asylum in Germany has described the policy of Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as “highly dangerous”. The 25 year old filmmaker, whose father is a close adviser to Ahmadinejad, told the news magazine “Focus”:
“Even we Iranians don’t know what is happening in our country. We have no idea whether our government is working on the construction of the atomic bomb or not.”

Kalhor, who says that after the controversial reelection of Ahmadinejad she took to the streets together with thousands of people, had participated in the Nuremberg “Film Festival of Human Rights” in mid October, where she presented a movie about torture in Iran. After the festival, she did not return to her home country, but applied for asylum. She says she is absolutely sure that the leadership in Tehran will never forgive her and her father would have “turned her in” to the authorities.

Mehdi Kalhor is a close adviser to Ahmadinejad and has been planning the president’s media appearances for 4 years. “Our parents, the entire elder generation that supports this system, is sinning against us young people,” said 25 year old Narges Kalhor to “Focus. “There are so many cases when parents who support the regime dissociate themselves from their children if they cause trouble. In such a case they will simply say: This is no longer my child.”

UN nuclear inspectors head to Iran to visit site

AP Photo/Hans Punz Advertisement Buy AP Photo Reprints Interactives Iran's power structure Iran's recent political history Depth of Field: Covering the Iran elections Protesters in Iran challenge police Iran elections Iran's protests: Then and now Latest Iran News Iran may ship 'part' of its uranium abroad UN nuclear inspectors head to Iran to visit site Iran, Israel eyeball at Mideast nuke conference Iran arrests suspects in attack on military chiefs Iranian-American academic gets 12 years in unrest PHOTO GALLERY Latest Iran Photos Your Questions Answered Ask AP: Depleted ozone, military VIPs in Congress VIENNA (AP) -- A team of U.N. inspectors went to Iran on Saturday to visit a recently revealed nuclear site, amid new efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency experts are slated to examine an unfinished uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom to verify it is for peaceful purposes. Disclosure of its existence last month raised international suspicion over the extent and aim of the country's nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear program serves to generate power and denies allegations it is trying to make nuclear weapons. Tehran asked for more time Friday to consider a U.N.-backed plan to ship much of its uranium to Russia for enrichment. The U.S., Russia and France endorsed the deal Friday, but Iran's representative to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran wants until next week to respond President Barack Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday to discuss Iran. "The two chiefs of state stated their perfect convergence of views on the Iranian nuclear issue," according to a statement from Sarkozy's office. It would not comment further on what they discussed or the timing for an eventual new international meeting on Iran. The White House said Obama thanked Sarkozy for France's close cooperation on the issue and that they agreed to continue consultations in the weeks ahead. Obama also spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, stressing the need for unity between Washington and Moscow on Iran, according to the White House.

Maine girl with 'mermaid syndrome' dies at 10

AP – In this Dec. 20, 2007 photo, Shiloh Pepin laughs with her parents while sitting on a counter in the family's …

Sat Oct 24, 4:09 pm ET

PORTLAND, Maine – Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with fused legs, a rare condition often called "mermaid syndrome," and gained a wide following on the Internet and national television, has died. She was 10.
Doctors had predicted she would only survive only for days after her birth at the most, but the girl, described by her mother as "a tough little thing," died at Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon, hospital spokesman John Lamb said. She had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly a week.
Being born with "mermaid syndrome," also known as sirenomelia, meant that the Kennebunkport girl had only one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and legs fused from the waist down.
Some children who have survived sirenomelia have had surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh did not because blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system would have been severed. She had received two kidney transplants, the last one in 2007.
Her story was featured recently on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and other national television programs.
Earlier this month, her mother, Leslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct. 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
For a while, Leslie Pepin said, things were looking up. "She's a tough little thing," she said of her daughter earlier this week.
Shiloh was a fifth-grader at Kennebunkport Consolidated School. "She was such a shining personality in that building," said Maureen King, chairwoman of the board of the regional school district. Counselors will be available next week to talk to students.
Through the television shows, news articles, Facebook and other Web sites, Shiloh inspired many.
"I live in Iowa. I have cerebral palsy. I love your video," 12-year-old Lydia Dawley wrote to Shiloh on Facebook. "You have a great personality I wish you lived close so we could be friends and hang out. You opened my eyes because you are so brave."

Iranian-American sentenced to 15 years in prison

Iranian-American Kian Tajbakhsh has been sentenced to more than 12 years in an Iranian jail.

The United States is “deeply concerned” that Kian Tajbakhsh has been sentenced to prison, spokesman Ian Kelly said.
“Mr. Tajbakhsh poses no threat to the Iranian government or its national security,” Kelly said. “Given the groundless nature of charges against him we call on Iran to grant his immediate release. As an independent, internationally respected academic, Mr. Tajbakhsh has always sought to foster better understanding between Iran and the United States and Iran and the international community.”
Kelly said the prison sentence is for 15 years. Iran’s state-run news agency, IRNA, reported that Tajbakhsh had been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
Tajbakhsh’s attorney said he plans to appeal the verdict from Iran’s Revolutionary Court, IRNA reported.
Tajbakhsh was arrested in July and was one of more than 1,000 people detained following a massive government crackdown. He was tried along with nearly 100 others, including journalists, reformist leaders and former government ministers.
Exactly what Tajbakhsh was convicted of was unclear. He had been accused of numerous charges, including plotting a “soft revolution” against the Iranian regime through his work with George Soros’ Open Society Institute, according to IRNA.
Tajbakhsh resigned from his position with the institute after he was arrested and detained for four months in 2007 on unspecified charges. He holds dual citizenship in Iran and the United States.

Tajbakhsh was the only American among the nearly 100 people on trial for their role in the post-election unrest. The State Department has expressed its deep concern over Tajbakhsh’s detention and trial and has called on Iran to release him. The protests were primarily against a decision by Iran’s election authority, which declared incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the overwhelming winner of the June 12 race. Opposition supporters accused the government of fraud.
The mass trial included Tehran-based Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari, who was released from prison on Saturday.
Bahari, who is an Iranian and Canadian national, arrived in London, England, on Tuesday to witness the upcoming birth of his first child, the magazine reported.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the mass trial a “sign of weakness” that shows that the Islamic republic “is afraid of its own people.”
“It is a show trial, there’s no doubt about it,” Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on his “GPS” program. “It demonstrates I think better than any of us could ever say that this Iranian leadership is afraid of their own people, and afraid of the truth and the facts coming out.”

Defending Freedom in Iran's Universities

Defending Freedom in Iran's Universities

On 15 June 2009, riot police and militia attacked the University of Tehran student dormitory, causing extensive damage, injuring 150 students, and killing at least one. This was just the latest example of brutal repression by the governments in power as a response to civil rights activism at Iranian universities.

In the first prominent example of this repression, three students were shot dead in December 1953 after protests against the visit by then–vice president Nixon to Iran (this event occurred after the CIA-backed coup in August of that year, which overthrew a democratically elected government and reinstated the Shah). Similar repression occurred at Iranian universities in 1978. In 1999, after a peaceful demonstration protesting the banning of a pro-reform newspaper, several students were sentenced to death for provoking civil unrest (the sentence was commuted to 15 years imprisonment following domestic and international outcry). The latest attack on Tehran University dormitory was followed by attacks on other universities such as Esfehan and Shiraz; arrested students remain in custody and information about those who were wounded or detained is unavailable. After about 4 months, Iranian authorities failed to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the attacks, leaving the issues in a haze of ambiguity. Recently, they expelled many students from Tehran Dormitory.

Over the past 4 years, Iran's universities have grown increasing...

Over the past 4 years, Iran's universities have grown increasingly unhappy with the rigid academic as well as social restrictions established by the fundamentalists who run the government. Iran's university movement remains largely frustrated due to lack of leadership, and lack of support from the universities themselves (most senior officials of which are appointed by the government).

Iranian student and academic movements have been pessimistic as to the support they might hope for from Western colleagues. Western universities and international scholarly societies should grasp the opportunity to rebuild trust with their Iranian colleagues by expressing their solidarity and support for Iran's universities and condemning the government's violence against them. However, nothing is more important in the days and weeks ahead than for Western governments to refuse to recognize conservative and fundamentalist Ahmadinejad as the next president of Iran. If Western governments recognize him, as they did with the Shah, it will be a major setback to the current civil rights movement and lead to the further isolation of Iran's scientists and academics. If the West shakes Ahmadinejad's hand now, it will be decades before Iran's scientists and students will be able to freely shake the hands of their counterparts in the West. After overwhelming pressure on universities in the last few months, hundreds of students recently staged an anti-government demonstration at several universities in...

Animals Will Always Be Animals—Video Shows Iraqi Humvees Running Down Iranians at Camp Ashraf

Karzai accepts runoff in Afghan election

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AP – Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks as Kai Eide, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, …

• Slideshow:Afghanistan
• Play Video Video:Runoff for Karzai in Afghan election Reuters
• Play Video Video:Karzai agrees to Afghan run-off election CBC.ca

By TODD PITMAN and HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writers Todd Pitman And Heidi Vogt, Associated Press Writers – 4 mins ago

KABUL – A grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and agreed Tuesday to a runoff election Nov. 7, acknowledging he fell short of a majority after U.N.-backed auditors stripped him of nearly a third of his votes. With the fraud investigation completed, election officials must now scramble to organize a new ballot as the fierce Afghan winter approaches and the country faces a growing threat from Taliban insurgents. President Barack Obama said he called Karzai to welcome his willingness to run in a new election against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah. "President Karzai's constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan's new democracy," Obama said." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also complimented Karzai's decision but stressed that a new election will be a "huge challenge." "We have learned very valuable but painful lessons from the first election," Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. "We must not repeat what they have done last time." Karzai spoke at a news conference after meeting at least four times with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.