March 28, 2008
Global Voices, angry on Tibet coverage by media, does the same to Iran - sadly
Founders of Global Voices, a project I was involved in it first few months, Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca MacKinnon are outraged by how the Euro-American media is misrepresenting, twisting and even fabricated the facts of the recent incident in Tibet.
I left two comments under their related posts in which I tried to say how all this is similar to the way Iran has been treated for almost 30 years by the same media. There are clues on why I have distanced myself from the Global Voices in the past couple of years.
I left this for Ethan:
Great post, Ethan. But I wonder why the Global Voices coverage on Iran is so terribly biased against the Iranian state and is so similar to what you read everyday in the mainstream media? Why is everything so one-sided?
Frankly, I think there is need for more editorial care when it comes to Iran. No one can trust an anonymous section editor with a pseudonym who can easily hide his or her politics behind a mask of anonymity. And this is worse when there is only one person or view that is covering a huge blogosphere.
And this for Rebecca, who is actually the drive behind this coverage since she lives and works in China:
Great job and great observation, Rebbecca. I'm glad you moved to China, because now you can understand what people like me have been saying for a long time about how the Euro-American media easily twists the facts and gets away with it.
What is happening to reporting on China is actually very similar to the coverage on the Iranian elections, anything that Ahmadinejad says, women, student and workers protests, etc.
I'm affraid to say even the Global Voices' coverage on Iran follows the same pattern in just reproducing the Israeli-American propaganda against Iran, by heavily quoting from a small group of opposition bloggers.
Just take a look at the coverage yourself and compare it to the Chinese coverage. It's quite one-sided and not balanced at all, especially in terms of the topics that are selected and also the blogs that are quoted. Can you for example find anything positive about Ahmadinejad or the state in general, while there is a big chunk of the Iranians blogs now who are supportive of the state and even Ahmadinejad.
Russian, Syria, Iran, Venezuella, Cuba and now China are being misrepresented and demonised on a daily basis in the Western press and sadly Global Voices more or less repeats the same type of coverage.
The good thing is that you are now in China and can see the ugly reality of such propaganda. But what about the rest?
I'm sure by living in Iran for six months and being able to speak the language and hang out with people outside the Northern Tehran bubble, you'd reach to the same conclusion.
January 11, 2008
We'll enjoy seeing you Mullah pimp in prison, a reader writes to me
I just received this gracious email from a reader, whose name I keep to myself. It's quite telling about the dominant discourse among the Iranian opposition (Pahlavists, Rajavists, and Rafsanjanists):
Hossein Jendeh,
I've just been talking to a group of university students from Rome and Florence who have been reading all about you. Apparently EVERYONE in Italy knows that you're a psycho pimp whose daddy is a servant of the akhounds. Ha Ha. You're the only one who's in a coma kosou boy.
The first thing they asked me is, are you Iranian? Do you know this guy who calls himself Hoder? What's wrong with this guy....he thinks people are stupid and don't know how to recognize a liar? So I laughed and told them that everyone now knows that you're a Mullah pimp and that your daddy is one of the regime's biggest pimps.
By the time we're all done with you (oh yes, there are hundreds of people out there exposing you and if you only knew just who knows about you, you'd have a heart attack). Keep up the good work because you're the only one who has NO IDEA what is being dug up out there and who is doing the digging. By the time we're done with you, your bosses back in Tehran will have to drag you back to Tehran for having made a bigger mess of your mission and you'll be in Evin's 209 for a little slap and tickle. I'll enjoy the news of you in those dungeons.
[signature]
November 14, 2007
Tough times for the Iranian 'Blogfather'
I was in Canada two weeks ago for a panel discussion in a Canadian organization. So it was a good chance to raise the issue of free speech, both in Iran and in the 'West.'
The following is an article that was published in Ottawa Citizen when I was there. (Direct link to the article)
The Blogfather
Times are hard for Iran's online free-speech pioneer NN
Don Butler
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, November 02, 2007
These are trying times for the Blogfather of Iran.
Beset by legal troubles, abandoned by former allies and angered by the West's hostile characterization of his native land, Hossein Derakhshan could be forgiven if the topic he is to address in Ottawa today -- the role of the media in democratic development -- isn't top of mind.
The 32-year-old Iranian Canadian, known as the Blogfather for his role in kickstarting Iran's blogging revolution, flew in from Britain for a panel discussion this afternoon sponsored by the International Development Research Centre.
But Mr. Derakhshan has more pressing matters to attend to while in Canada. Mehdi Khalaji, a visiting Iranian scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has just filed a $2-million defamation suit for critical comments about him on Mr. Derakhshan's groundbreaking blog, Editor: Myself. So now the Blogfather needs a lawyer.
"It would cost me so much money to find a lawyer, and so much time," Mr. Derakhshan moaned this week from London, where he has just begun an MA program in media studies. "It's really devastating."
After Mr. Khalaji's lawyers filed notice of libel in August, the Florida-based firm that was hosting Mr. Derakhshan's blog terminated his account, forcing him to migrate to a new Internet provider.
That Mr. Derakhshan's blog was shut down by an American company is more than a little ironic. It is, after all, the same blog that Iran's regime, so reviled in the West, has been blocking since 2004. (It still reaches a limited number of Iranians by e-mail or other roundabout means.)
And because he visited Israel last year in a high-profile effort to foster better understanding between Israelis and Iranians, Mr. Derakhshan can no longer return to his homeland without risking arrest.
But that's how things have been going lately for Mr. Derakhshan, whose former friends have cut him loose for his outspoken opposition to western attempts to portray Iran as a threat to global security.
So worried is he about the demonization of Iran that he has ceased all criticism of his homeland in English. (He still offers critiques, but only in his Persian blog.) "We should keep our internal problems to ourselves for a while until the threat is gone," he argues.
This summer, he shut down a website documenting censorship in Iran because he feared it would add fuel to the anti-Iranian campaign, though he says he may revive it later, in Persian only.
He has criticized NGOs such as Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, saying their campaigns against censorship and human rights violations in Iran are often counter-productive and serve American interests more than those of Iranians.
He has even defended Iran's right to possess nuclear weapons for defensive purposes, and has publicly declared that he will return to defend his native land if the West attacks.
All this has left him isolated from the community of politically active expatriate Iranians who formerly supported him. Some bloggers have removed links to his blog. Others have actively urged readers to boycott him. Interview requests from western-based Iranian media have dried up, as have invitations to ex-pat events and panel discussions.
It's quite a change for someone once widely viewed as a free-speech techno-hero. The darkly handsome Mr. Derakhshan has been sympathetically profiled in such diverse publications as Wired and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. More than 7,700 people have watched his interview on CBC's The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on YouTube.
Mr. Derakhshan arrived in Canada in December 2000 with his Iranian-Canadian wife (the two have since split) keen to experience the West's vaunted economic and political freedoms.
Within nine months, writing from the kitchen table of his Toronto apartment, he had started his blog, using the nom-de-blog Hoder, a contraction of his first and last names.
Mr. Derakhshan, who wrote about the Internet and digital culture for newspapers in Iran, was attracted to blogging by the freedom it offered. "I didn't want to be censored by the publishers and editors in Iran."
At the time, blogging was unknown in Iran. But Mr. Derakhshan soon sent it into overdrive by writing simple instructions that let Iranians blog in their own Persian language.
He also promoted new tools and technologies, linked to other blogs and bugged his journalist friends in Iran "to use this amazing technology to bypass the local editors and the limiting structure of the Iranian press."
When he started out, he hoped there would be 100 Iranian bloggers within a year. Instead, there were thousands. "I was very pessimistic," he acknowledges.
Today, Iran is one of the world's top blogging nations, with an estimated 800,000 blogs, though not all are active.
Though some bloggers have been arrested or harassed, the vast majority are left in peace, Mr. Derakhshan says. Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a blog.
The regime tolerates blogging, Mr. Derakhshan says, because unlike technologies such as satellite TV, it is not primarily associated with secular, anti-government forces.
Most Iranian bloggers are neither secular nor opponents of the regime, he says. "That's why the government embraced it rather than rejecting it. They don't see blogs as a destabilizing medium or technology."
Blogging has helped expand Iranian civil society, he believes, at least among the country's wealthier, more educated urban residents.
"Within this small fraction of the whole population, the effect has been quite significant, because it has opened up a whole new space for public debate. It has significantly affected public intellectuals because it has helped them engage with a different sort of audience in a much more interactive and lively way."
Though Mr. Derakhshan initially blogged only in Persian, he added an English blog about a year later, in part to show the world how swiftly blogging was catching on in Iran.
But even as acclaim for his pioneering work poured in, Mr. Derakhshan's enthusiasm for his new western home was waning.
As a student in Iran, he says, "I never understood or had any kind of interest in Marxist theories. As soon as I arrived in Canada, after maybe six months and maybe three months of working full time in a company, I realized what he was saying."
As his critiques of western society have become more pointed, he has been heartened by supportive messages from some non-political ex-pats that echo his own journey. "They left Iran with the same hopes and dreams that when they came to Canada or the U.S., everything would be perfect there," he says. "You would have such a happy life.
"When they see the nuances and realities of things in the West, they realize it's not like what they were thinking. They start to question many of these presumptions and presuppositions."
Since emigrating to Canada, Mr. Derakhshan has returned to Iran only once, during the 2005 elections that chose Mr. Ahmadinejad as president.
As he was leaving the country, he was detained and interrogated by officials from the ministry of intelligence about things he had written in his blog.
Their concerns included disrespectful comments about Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opinions about Iran's nuclear program that were "out of the government's line," and his irreligious views. His interrogators were also unhappy with him for helping Iranians bypass Internet censorship.
Officials ultimately forced him to sign an apology before allowing him to leave.
His trip to Israel in January 2006 appears to have cemented his status as persona non grata. When he appeared on an Iranian news channel recently, the producers received a call from Tehran "asking why did you invite this guy and please do not do it again," he says.
"This is very frustrating to me. They are so paranoid that they can't distinguish their friends from their enemies.
"The fact that I have been to Israel is just enough for them to rule out any possibility that I could be genuinely defending my people and the legitimacy of my government."
While he's a critic of Mr. Ahmadinejad, that doesn't mean he condones the way he's treated in the West.
"It's really, really unfair and wrong and unethical the way they treat him. At the end of the day, he's elected by my people and he represents Iran, for better or for worse."
Mr. Derakhshan's inability to visit his homeland gnaws at him. "I can never have the experience of talking to ordinary Iranians on the street," he laments.
He thinks the West is missing a golden opportunity to build bridges to the Muslim world by isolating and demonizing the Iranian regime, which he insists is not a threat to others.
If the West removed its existential threat to Iran, he's convinced its political discourse would broaden. Iran, he says, could be "an amazing role model for the whole Muslim world to stop being reactionary toward the West and start some sort of positive interaction."
Iran's Islamic republic is still a very new concept and remains a work in progress, he says. Given the chance, "the major force that could democratize the region is a successful Islamic republic rather than an oppressive, colonizing United States."
A year ago, Mr. Derakhshan was convinced an attack on Iran was likely. Now, he thinks the risk is minimal, mainly because western nations have invested so much time and energy in economic sanctions.
Western politicians also realize a military attack would be "counterproductive by any calculation," he says. "Even the most ideologically driven ones, like Cheney, have realized that they wouldn't gain anything from any kind of military clash with Iran at the moment."
As Iran's Blogfather struggles to gain purchase in a time of trouble, that, at least, is something to hold on to.
- - -
FAST FACTS
The Event: A roundtable discussion on media and democratic government features Iranian-Canadian Hossein Derakhshan, known as the Blogfather for his role in kickstarting Iran's blogging revolution.
The Lawsuit: Mr. Derakhshan needs a lawyer, as he is being sued for $2 million by Iranian scholar Mehdi Khalaji, who accuses Mr. Derakhshan of defaming him.
The Context: Despite acclaim from human rights groups, and being unwelcome in Iran thanks to a 2006 trip he made to Israel, Mr. Derakhshan finds his enthusiasm for the West waning.
- - -
BLOGFATHER BASICS
Bio: Hossein Derakhshan, a.k.a. Hoder. Born in 1975 in Iran to a religious family. Emigrated to Canada with his former wife in 2000. Settled in Toronto, where he started a Persian-language blog, Sardabir:khodam ("Editor: Myself") in 2001. Added an English-language version in 2002. Dual citizen of Canada and Iran. Now pursuing MA in media studies at University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
Claim to fame: One of the first people to blog in Farsi, the Persian language. Credited with sparking the blogging revolution in Iran by disseminating simple instructions on how to adapt free online tools to handle Persian characters.
Blogging in Iran: Estimates of the number of blogs range upwards of 800,000, though not all are actively maintained. Relatively few are political. Blogs about culture, the arts and technology are popular.
Prominent blogger: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Harassment: Iranian regime has blocked Mr. Derakhshan's blog since 2004. During visit to Iran in 2005, was detained, questioned about the blog's content and forced to sign an apology. Because he visited Israel in January 2006, can no longer enter Iran.
Shifting views: Has ceased external criticism of Iranian regime because of concern over western efforts to demonize Iran. Believes reform debate should continue, but internally. Outspoken opponent of military action against Iran; supports Iranian nuclear weapons for defensive purposes.
Legal troubles: Served with $2-million defamation suit by Mehdi Khalaji, an Iranian fellow at U.S. think-tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, for critical comments posted on his blog.
Appearance in Ottawa: Hossein Derakhshan will take part in a roundtable discussion on the media and democratic development from 1 to 3 p.m. today at IDRC's head office, 150 Kent St. Other panellists are Chilean journalist Alejandra Matus, South African journalist Mathatha Tsedu and Humaira Habib, who runs a women's community radio station in Afghanistan. Registration to the event is closed. For information, call 613-236-6163, ext. 2244.
October 30, 2007
Mehdi Khalaji's $2 million lawsuit against me over my blog posts
Mehdi Khalaji, an Iranian 'expert' at the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy (WINEP) has now officially filed a libel and defamation lawsuit against me in Canada and has claimed $2,000,000 damages. َQuite a modest champion of free speech, isn't he?
Why? Because I've been very critical about him serving the likes of Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, James Woosley and the rest of those filthy warmongers at the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy (WINEP), which was established by and is strongly associated with the Israeli Lobby's in the United States, according to Mearsheimer and Walt. As a result, I have written that Khalaji, an advoacte of the economic warfare against Iran, is a traitor to his people and his country, as a result.
The new claims are again based on the same mistranslation of my writings on him which I exposed and refuted in length a while ago, when he threatened my hosting company (Florida-based Hosting Matters) that led them to promptly terminate the accounts I had with them.
Now apparently, with the backing of his friends at the Israeli lobby's think-tank, he is trying to bankrupt me by starting this silly legal procedure.
I would appreciate it if you could spread the word in your blogs or websites and also if you've got any tips on the right organisation or lawyer to approach. One way would be obviously Digging it.
Here is the full text of the claim if you like to see.
Here is also again his claims and my refutation. I wonder if the court had accepted the claim in the first place, had it known it was based on aa mistranslation of my writings:
These defamatory statements by Hossein Derakhshan directly and by innuendo:
a) state falsely that our client is a traitor to the government and people of Iran;
Mehdi Khalaji is hired by a think-tank, created by the Israeli lobbying group in the US (AIPAC)[1] and has openly advocated for military action[2] or economic sanctions[3] to overthrow the government of Iran[4]. Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and James Woolsey, all strong advocates for regime change in Iran[5][6], are on its board[7].
Washington Institute for the Near East Policy (WINEP), Mr. Khalaji works for[8], has a clear agenda against Iran and that makes Mr. Khalaji, an Iranian citizen, a 'traitor' based on the definition of the word. (The American Heritage dictionary defines 'traitor' as “One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust.”[9])
b) state falsely that our client has worked for U.S. Vice-President Cheney's office; and by innuendo is a dupe or puppet of the U.S. government;
Mistranslated. The correct translation is that Mr. Khalaji “indirectly” and “through WINEP” gives advise to vice-president Cheney's office.
WINEP's director, Robert Satloff says that its products have been made accessible to “high-level Washington-based officials, prominent journalists, and senior diplomats.”[10] Vice-president's office is surly where many “high-level Washington-based officials” work and therefore WINEP's products, that includes Mr. Khalaji's contribution, reach Mr. Cheney's office.
There are also strong ties between WINEP and Cheney's office. For example, John P. Hannah, a deputy director of WNEP now serves[11] at a high position at the vice-president's office since 2001.
c) state falsely that our client has counselled the Vice-President of the United States of America to bomb our client's former offices in Iran;
Mistranslated. What I have written is that it is Mr. Cheney who wants to bomb Iran[12], not that Mr. Khalaji advises him to do so. Mehdi Khalaji has worked [13] as a section editor in a newspaper, titled Entekhab run by Taha Hashemi, a cleric appointee[14] of Ayatollah Khamenei in a government-funded organization related to the Qom's clerical school.
Mr. Khalaji wrote later in an article for the BBC Persian that the publishers of Entekhab had the personal support of Ayatollah Khamenei for the newspaper.[15]
A military attack on Iran surly could also destroy the building of Entekhab newspaper in central Tehran, where Mehdi Khalaji was once working.
d) state falsely that our client has counselled the Vice-President of the United States of America to bomb our thousands of men, women and children;
Mistranslated. Again, what I have written is that it is Cheney who wants to bomb Iran, not that Khalaji advises him to do so. Obviously thousands of men and women and children would be killed in a military strike against Iran.
e) state falsely that our client counsels enemies of Iran and of humanity;
Based on its output, it's clear that WINEP does not have a friendly policy toward Iran and openly advocates for regime change. So they are enemies of Iran and Khalaji counsels them.
Given the grave consequences of the illegal US-led invasion of Iraq, I believe those who supported and administered that invasion are enemies of humanity. At least two of these people, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle are on WINEP's board where Khalaji counsels and WINEP had repeatedly and openly supported the invasion.[16]
f) incites others to follow the defamer Hossein Derakhshan's lead by spitting in our client's face;
Mistranslated. The correct translation reads “I don't know what name you want to give this conscious intellectual contribution by Mr. Khalaji to the most merciless and dirtiest enemies of Iran and humanity. But I know that if someday I face him in person, instead of saying hello, I will through a big spit on his face.” There is nothing inciting others to do anything here.
g) state falsely that our client holds and publicizes the belief that political change is not possible from within Iran;
This is not false. Mehdi Khalaji finishes his presentation at the AFPC meeting with the following paragraph in which he bluntly rejects the possibility of reform (5' 55 form the video)[17]:
“The majority of people might not be [unclear word] to the political agenda of the government, but instead suffer from its policy and restrictions upon social freedom without possessing any concrete effective means for any change or reform. Idealism has been reconstructed not only in terms of government's perception of politics, but also in terms of citizens public ambitions. Thus, the regime seems to be more solid and stable as ever before. Therefore the prospect of the prospect for political change is dark.”
Moreover, in an interview with Radio Zamaneh he adds “well, for me the Islamic Republic is similar to Dariush Mehrjooie's film, 'Ejarehneshin-ha.' The owner of the building... doesn't permit any minor changes... Then what will happen? The whole building collapses.”[18]
h) state falsely that our client struggles to converse and express himself in the English language;
Mistranslated. Correct translation reads “Mehdi Khalaji, while sweating to read smoothly from the English translated text of his article.”
But it is true that Mr. Khalaji has problems, at least in terms of reading, pronunciation and intonation. The recorded video of his speech (mentioned above) clearly shows that Khalaji mispronounces or struggles to read and pronounces many words including 'entirety,' 'unprecedented' and ' judicial.'
i) state falsely that our client counsels the government of the United States of America to choose military action and economic sanctions against Iran, over and instead of diplomatic talks;
Mistranslated. The correct translation reads that Khalaji “tried to show why political change from within is impossible in Iran and therefore the U.S., in order to remove 'the increasing threat by Iran against world piece' should not negotiate with Iran. Instead, through economic sanctions (or implicitly even through military invasion if its it was feasible.)”
Khalaji said these words in a conference to an audience at the AFPC, not to the government. I didn't quoted from him, but sumerised in my own words what could he ultimately mean by his speech.
The words in quotation mark ('the increasing threat by Iran against world piece') refers to a widely used theme by the media and the politicians and by doing so I'm trying to mock the sterotypical aspect of those words.
j) state falsely that our client's academic research paper are in reality thinly veiled instruction manuals on how to locate and attack the weaknesses of the legitimate government of Iran;
In May 2006, Mehdi Khalaji says to a Wall Street Journal reporter “Western countries must push the internal conflicts inside the Iranian government.”[19]
In July 2007, in an article published on WINEP's website, Khalaji writes:
“For the West, there are many advantages if Iran's leadership is weakened by internal disputes. Such an Iran would be busier domestically and therefore less able to concentrate on foreign adventures. It would also be more aware of its weaknesses and therefore more likely to compromise. To be sure, a weak Supreme Leader would presumably have less authority to impose difficult compromises on objecting factions. That, however, seems like a price worth paying in order to see a less powerful revolutionary leadership.“[20]
k) state falsely that our client is a proponent of, and openly supports, civil unrest, revolution and a regime change in Iran through the use of the military, and violence if necessary; and
Mistranslated. I never implied Khalaji supports violent change. It is Khalaji's employer, the Washington Institute, who has advocated regime change through violence.
In February 2007, Jeffery White, a defence fellow at the Washington Institute, writes[21]:
“The choices for dealing with the Iranian challenge, both in and outside Iraq, are not clear, and the consequences of making the wrong choices are dire. But by the time the choices are clear, it will be too late for anything but acquiescence to the presence of a nuclear-armed Iran driven by hostility toward the West -- or a war to prevent it. “
But in his interview with Radio Zamaneh he explicitly advocates for a 'fundamental change', defining it as the removal of Ayatollah Khamanei, the Supreeme leader of the Islamic Republic, in a similar fashion to non-violent revolutions in Eastern Europe. He then adds that this fundamental change is “impossible without foreign assistance.”[22]
l) clearly evidence a personal vendetta being waged by Hossein Derakhshan against our client, under the guise of alleged "commentary."
Before Khalaji started working for the Washington Institute, I had written positive posts about him and his writings. [23] [24]
But since he started working for the neo-conservative Washington Institute with its clear agenda to overthrow the Islamic Republic, even through military action if necessary, I have been critical about Khalaji's contribution to such entity. The same way I have been critical of Mohsen Sazgera who was a fellow there before Khalaji. [25]
I have never met Khalaji and never had anything personal against him, either in public or private and what I have written about him is only based on his work.
At the same time, I am a established commentator on Iranian affairs. Aside from my bilingual blog that I have written in the past six years, I am a columnist for The Guardian[26], Washington Post[27] websites. My writings have also appeared on The New York Times[28], International Herald Tribune[29],, BBC News[30], Die Zeit[31], etc. and I have been interviewed by various print or broadcast media on Iranian affairs. [32]
- ^ http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2520
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=257
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/download.php?file=Soref2006.pdf
- ^ http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=4200
- ^ http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3422.htm
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=133
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC10.php?CID=33
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/traitor
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=21
- ^ http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/2926
- ^ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/18834.html
- ^ http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2007/04/058513.php
- ^ http://www.shareh.com/new/persian/magazine/hawzah/61/01.htm
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2005/08/printable/050803_mj-mkhalaji-qom-press.shtml
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=1486
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAhLUjGPJ8Y
- ^ http://www.radiozamaneh.org/special/2007/04/post_188.html
- ^ http://www.opinionjournal.com/wsj/?id=110008382
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2638
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2567
- ^ http://www.radiozamaneh.org/special/2007/04/post_188.html
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/archives/2003/08/030805_007814.shtml
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/linkdooni/2004_03.html
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/archives/2005/03/050322_013794.shtml
- ^ http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hossein_derakhshan/index.html
- ^ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/hossein_derakhshan/
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/28/opinion/28Derakhshan.html
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/30/opinion/edhossein.php
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4947354.stm
- ^ http://www.zeit.de/2005/27/Iran
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hossein_Derakhshan#References
August 31, 2007
'Free Haleh' and its links to 'pro-democracy' projects
Did you know that 'Free Haleh', the most active online campaign about Esfandiari's prosecution in Iran, is run by the pro-Bush, pro-Iraqi invasion, Zainab Al-Swaiji of the American Islamic Council? The other noteworthy fact is that Free Haleh is hosted by Middle East Youth (its staff), another neo-conservative-leaning 'pro-democracy' project.
August 29, 2007
Refuting Khalaji's mistranslated threat of legal action
As you might have seen, only a few bloggers wrote anything against the termination of my previous web host account as a result of the threat of a defamation lawsuit by Mehdi Khalaji, a fellow at Washington's Institute.
Most of those who reacted, simply, took the terribly mistranslated text -- sent by Khalaji's lawyer to my web host and my domain registrar -- as utter truth and their defence of me was only from the free speech point of view.
As if I had manufactured the evidence based on which I wrote my post on Mehdi Khalaji; and that he is nothing but an innocent, poor victim of my 'defamation' who had just reacted too harshly to my writings.
Almost no one, except for Niki Akhavan, pointed out the mistranslations in Khalaji's lawyer's note (and its typos too) and almost no one acknowledged that the facts I had gathered about Khalaji were not false.
So what follows is a detailed and documented refutation of what Mehdi Khalaji's lawyer called my 'defamatory statements' against his client. You will also see how they have mistranslated my original post to construct their threat.
These defamatory statements by Hossein Derakhshan directly and by innuendo:
a) state falsely that our client is a traitor to the government and people of Iran;
Mehdi Khalaji is hired by a think-tank, created by the Israeli lobbying group in the US (AIPAC)[1] and has openly advocated for military action[2] or economic sanctions[3] to overthrow the government of Iran[4]. Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and James Woolsey, all strong advocates for regime change in Iran[5][6], are on its board[7].
Washington Institute for the Near East Policy (WINEP), Mr. Khalaji works for[8], has a clear agenda against Iran and that makes Mr. Khalaji, an Iranian citizen, a 'traitor' based on the definition of the word. (The American Heritage dictionary defines 'traitor' as “One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust.”[9])
b) state falsely that our client has worked for U.S. Vice-President Cheney's office; and by innuendo is a dupe or puppet of the U.S. government;
Mistranslated. The correct translation is that Mr. Khalaji “indirectly” and “through WINEP” gives advise to vice-president Cheney's office.
WINEP's director, Robert Satloff says that its products have been made accessible to “high-level Washington-based officials, prominent journalists, and senior diplomats.”[10] Vice-president's office is surly where many “high-level Washington-based officials” work and therefore WINEP's products, that includes Mr. Khalaji's contribution, reach Mr. Cheney's office.
There are also strong ties between WINEP and Cheney's office. For example, John P. Hannah, a deputy director of WNEP now serves[11] at a high position at the vice-president's office since 2001.
c) state falsely that our client has counselled the Vice-President of the United States of America to bomb our client's former offices in Iran;
Mistranslated. What I have written is that it is Mr. Cheney who wants to bomb Iran[12], not that Mr. Khalaji advises him to do so. Mehdi Khalaji has worked [13] as a section editor in a newspaper, titled Entekhab run by Taha Hashemi, a cleric appointee[14] of Ayatollah Khamenei in a government-funded organization related to the Qom's clerical school.
Mr. Khalaji wrote later in an article for the BBC Persian that the publishers of Entekhab had the personal support of Ayatollah Khamenei for the newspaper.[15]
A military attack on Iran surly could also destroy the building of Entekhab newspaper in central Tehran, where Mehdi Khalaji was once working.
d) state falsely that our client has counselled the Vice-President of the United States of America to bomb our thousands of men, women and children;
Mistranslated. Again, what I have written is that it is Cheney who wants to bomb Iran, not that Khalaji advises him to do so. Obviously thousands of men and women and children would be killed in a military strike against Iran.
e) state falsely that our client counsels enemies of Iran and of humanity;
Based on its output, it's clear that WINEP does not have a friendly policy toward Iran and openly advocates for regime change. So they are enemies of Iran and Khalaji counsels them.
Given the grave consequences of the illegal US-led invasion of Iraq, I believe those who supported and administered that invasion are enemies of humanity. At least two of these people, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle are on WINEP's board where Khalaji counsels and WINEP had repeatedly and openly supported the invasion.[16]
f) incites others to follow the defamer Hossein Derakhshan's lead by spitting in our client's face;
Mistranslated. The correct translation reads “I don't know what name you want to give this conscious intellectual contribution by Mr. Khalaji to the most merciless and dirtiest enemies of Iran and humanity. But I know that if someday I face him in person, instead of saying hello, I will through a big spit on his face.” There is nothing inciting others to do anything here.
g) state falsely that our client holds and publicizes the belief that political change is not possible from within Iran;
This is not false. Mehdi Khalaji finishes his presentation at the AFPC meeting with the following paragraph in which he bluntly rejects the possibility of reform (5' 55 form the video)[17]:
“The majority of people might not be [unclear word] to the political agenda of the government, but instead suffer from its policy and restrictions upon social freedom without possessing any concrete effective means for any change or reform. Idealism has been reconstructed not only in terms of government's perception of politics, but also in terms of citizens public ambitions. Thus, the regime seems to be more solid and stable as ever before. Therefore the prospect of the prospect for political change is dark.”
Moreover, in an interview with Radio Zamaneh he adds “well, for me the Islamic Republic is similar to Dariush Mehrjooie's film, 'Ejarehneshin-ha.' The owner of the building... doesn't permit any minor changes... Then what will happen? The whole building collapses.”[18]
h) state falsely that our client struggles to converse and express himself in the English language;
Mistranslated. Correct translation reads “Mehdi Khalaji, while sweating to read smoothly from the English translated text of his article.”
But it is true that Mr. Khalaji has problems, at least in terms of reading, pronunciation and intonation. The recorded video of his speech (mentioned above) clearly shows that Khalaji mispronounces or struggles to read and pronounces many words including 'entirety,' 'unprecedented' and ' judicial.'
i) state falsely that our client counsels the government of the United States of America to choose military action and economic sanctions against Iran, over and instead of diplomatic talks;
Mistranslated. The correct translation reads that Khalaji “tried to show why political change from within is impossible in Iran and therefore the U.S., in order to remove 'the increasing threat by Iran against world piece' should not negotiate with Iran. Instead, through economic sanctions (or implicitly even through military invasion if its it was feasible.)”
Khalaji said these words in a conference to an audience at the AFPC, not to the government. I didn't quoted from him, but sumerised in my own words what could he ultimately mean by his speech.
The words in quotation mark ('the increasing threat by Iran against world piece') refers to a widely used theme by the media and the politicians and by doing so I'm trying to mock the sterotypical aspect of those words.
j) state falsely that our client's academic research paper are in reality thinly veiled instruction manuals on how to locate and attack the weaknesses of the legitimate government of Iran;
In May 2006, Mehdi Khalaji says to a Wall Street Journal reporter “Western countries must push the internal conflicts inside the Iranian government.”[19]
In July 2007, in an article published on WINEP's website, Khalaji writes:
“For the West, there are many advantages if Iran's leadership is weakened by internal disputes. Such an Iran would be busier domestically and therefore less able to concentrate on foreign adventures. It would also be more aware of its weaknesses and therefore more likely to compromise. To be sure, a weak Supreme Leader would presumably have less authority to impose difficult compromises on objecting factions. That, however, seems like a price worth paying in order to see a less powerful revolutionary leadership.“[20]
k) state falsely that our client is a proponent of, and openly supports, civil unrest, revolution and a regime change in Iran through the use of the military, and violence if necessary; and
Mistranslated. I never implied Khalaji supports violent change. It is Khalaji's employer, the Washington Institute, who has advocated regime change through violence.
In February 2007, Jeffery White, a defence fellow at the Washington Institute, writes[21]:
“The choices for dealing with the Iranian challenge, both in and outside Iraq, are not clear, and the consequences of making the wrong choices are dire. But by the time the choices are clear, it will be too late for anything but acquiescence to the presence of a nuclear-armed Iran driven by hostility toward the West -- or a war to prevent it. “
But in his interview with Radio Zamaneh he explicitly advocates for a 'fundamental change', defining it as the removal of Ayatollah Khamanei, the Supreeme leader of the Islamic Republic, in a similar fashion to non-violent revolutions in Eastern Europe. He then adds that this fundamental change is “impossible without foreign assistance.”[22]
l) clearly evidence a personal vendetta being waged by Hossein Derakhshan against our client, under the guise of alleged "commentary."
Before Khalaji started working for the Washington Institute, I had written positive posts about him and his writings. [23] [24]
But since he started working for the neo-conservative Washington Institute with its clear agenda to overthrow the Islamic Republic, even through military action if necessary, I have been critical about Khalaji's contribution to such entity. The same way I have been critical of Mohsen Sazgera who was a fellow there before Khalaji. [25]
I have never met Khalaji and never had anything personal against him, either in public or private and what I have written about him is only based on his work.
At the same time, I am a established commentator on Iranian affairs. Aside from my bilingual blog that I have written in the past six years, I am a columnist for The Guardian[26], Washington Post[27] websites. My writings have also appeared on The New York Times[28], International Herald Tribune[29],, BBC News[30], Die Zeit[31], etc. and I have been interviewed by various print or broadcast media on Iranian affairs. [32]
- ^ http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2520
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=257
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/download.php?file=Soref2006.pdf
- ^ http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=4200
- ^ http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3422.htm
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=133
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC10.php?CID=33
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/traitor
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=21
- ^ http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/2926
- ^ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/18834.html
- ^ http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2007/04/058513.php
- ^ http://www.shareh.com/new/persian/magazine/hawzah/61/01.htm
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2005/08/printable/050803_mj-mkhalaji-qom-press.shtml
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=1486
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAhLUjGPJ8Y
- ^ http://www.radiozamaneh.org/special/2007/04/post_188.html
- ^ http://www.opinionjournal.com/wsj/?id=110008382
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2638
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2567
- ^ http://www.radiozamaneh.org/special/2007/04/post_188.html
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/archives/2003/08/030805_007814.shtml
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/linkdooni/2004_03.html
- ^ http://i.hoder.com/archives/2005/03/050322_013794.shtml
- ^ http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hossein_derakhshan/index.html
- ^ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/hossein_derakhshan/
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/28/opinion/28Derakhshan.html
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/30/opinion/edhossein.php
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4947354.stm
- ^ http://www.zeit.de/2005/27/Iran
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hossein_Derakhshan#References
August 14, 2007
DW preferrs RSF to its critic
In last year's DWblog awards, I objected to an award sponsored and also dictated by Reports Sans Frontier on many grounds. Most important of which was the fact that unlike other jury members, RSF has a clear political agenda to demonise countries who happen to be those disliked by the United States, like Iran, China, Cuba and since last year apparently Russia. (I have written before about RSF's agenda before: here, here and here)
Long story short, I sensed that the DW-Online's staff and managers didn't like the challenge I posed against RSF and I decided not to accept their invitation this year, if RSF is still involved -- and I guess I even raised that with some of the DW staff.
Now I just saw on their website that the jury members for 2007 awards are announced and RSF's Julien Pain, who is a great guy but works for a terrible organisation, is on the jury again.
It is unfortunate that Deutche Welle has allowed RSF again to use its jury's and its own credibility for RSF's clear political agenda. But I don't think there is anything I could do now.
Masih Alinejad has replaced with me as the jury member for Iranian blogs, and even though I have never met her, I have followed her work and I think she's a great choice. I wish her success and I hope this year, in my absence, the jury sessions would not be too boring. :)
I also have to confess that I feel I am gradually getting isolated since I stopped looking at Iran and myself from the stereotypical Western point of view. It feels great, especially now, after being kicked out by my hosting company.
In last year's DW blog awards (The Best of the Blogs or The BOBs), I objected to an award sponsored and also dictated by Reports Sans Frontier on many grounds. Most important of which was the fact that unlike other jury members, RSF has a clear political agenda to demonise countries who happen to be those disliked by the United States, like Iran, China, Cuba and since last year apparently Russia. (I have written before about RSF's agenda before: here, here and here)
Long story short, I sensed that the DW-Online's staff and managers didn't like the challenge I posed against RSF and I decided not to accept their invitation this year, if RSF is still involved -- and I guess I even raised that with some of the DW staff.
Now I just saw on their website that the jury members for 2007 awards are announced and RSF's Julien Pain, who is a great guy but works for a terrible organisation, is on the jury again.
It is unfortunate that Deutche Welle has allowed RSF again to use its jury's and its own credibility for RSF's clear political agenda. But I don't think there is anything I could do now.
Masih Alinejad has replaced with me as the jury member for Iranian blogs, and even though I have never met her, I have followed her work and I think she's a great choice. I wish her success and I hope this year, in my absence, the jury sessions would not be too boring. :)
I also have to confess that I feel I am gradually getting isolated since I stopped looking at Iran and myself from the stereotypical Western point of view. It feels great, especially now, after being kicked out by my hosting company.
More silence than sympathy
While almost everyone in the Iranian blogosphere and also the Iran-based or foreign-based Persian media outlets are dead silent on this unprecedented violation of free speech among Iranian blogs, some principled individuals have expressed concern in their English language blogs:
Whatever personal or political differences people have with Hossein, it's the responsibility of those of us who blog in English to expose the repressive and underhanded tactics of Iranians like Khalaji and the right-wing institutions for which they work. The same people and institutions that thrust themselves to the frontlines of debates about "democracy in Iran" and "freedom of expression" are quick to mobilize their financial resources and connections to muzzle the voice of one person who uses his blog to uncover just a few cogs in the wheels of what seems like a veritable anti-Iran industry. [...] Hossein Derakhshan is not a threat to Khalaji or the Washington Institute because of the content of what he said. What he has written about places like the Washington Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy is based on information that is widely and publicly available, often from the websites of these institutions themselves. Hossein's grave sin is that he wrote this material in Persian , and this is the real danger he poses for the Khalajis and their employers.
The blocking of websites by national filtering systems make content unavailable to those in such countries, but the deletion of content makes it unavailable to all. The blog of my friend Hossein was recently shutdown due to legal threats, making it unavailable to all while it was previously only censored in Iran. Threatening ISP’s with “take down” requests is one of the most undocumented methods of censoring Internet content. Some sites, such as ChillingEffects document this to some degree but most cases occur in silence. Since much of it is related to copyright violations or terrorism few are paying close attention. Libel and defamation cases are more notable especially the cases in Malaysia and Singapore.
The following assessment by Host Matters is scary. It creates the unfortunate precedent of allowing large media figures to shut down speech by apparently harassing a web host for a week. Moreover, Hosting Matters is most likely immune from liability even if Hossein committed defamation. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) says that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” This federal law preempts any state laws to the contrary: “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.” [..]
Underlying these legal arguments, however, is the plain fact that Hosting Matters’ actions are disturbing. Shutting down a blog and seeking to control its contents, even though it is legally permissible, is not an action ANY service provider should be committing. Its enough that all bloggers and activists take notice and petition against their action.
August 13, 2007
A threat to all of us
This is an email I just sent to some friends. Feel free to spread the word please and note that this is a threat to all of us who have a blog or have any presence online.
Dear friends,While everyone is on holidays, a new blow to online free speech has taken place and I would like to share it with you and ask for help..
Last Friday, I was kicked out of my hosting company (Florida-based Hosting Matters), as a result of a legal notice sent by Mehdi Khalaji, an Iranian fellow at a neo-conservative think-tank (Washington Institute for the Near East Policy with Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and James Woolsey on its advisory board).
Mhedi Khalaji's lawyer has sent a notice to my hosting company and also my domain registrar, Go Daddy, asking them to a) remove any 'defamatory' material about him, b) make me publish an apology, and c) pay $10,000 for the claimed damages
The lawyers claim are based on a mistranslation of a post I had written a few months ago about Khalaji and his support for a disgusting anti-Iranian campaign (http://www.afpc.org/IFI/iranfreedom.shtml) at another neo-conservative think-tank (American Foreign Policy Council) and his counsel to a think-tank with a clear agenda to overthrow the Iranian government by an economic warfare or a military attack.
The hosting company, clearly intimidated, asked me (documented below) to remove that specific post and also any material related to Mehdi Khalaji, since they didn't have enough resources to figure if they were actually defamatory or not.
I removed the mentioned post, but resisted against such strange request to remove anything I had written, mentioning Mehdi Khalaji.
Then last Friday, I noticed that the hosting company had actually removed, from my web serve and even my blogging software's database, any post where Mehdi Khalaji was named in English.
After threatening me not to disclose what the hosting company did, and after a few email exchanges, they terminated my account.
I have now migrated to a new hosting company, outside the United States, still struggling to get my numerous domain names, databases and online applications back and running.
This is a threat to all of us who write anything online these days. If someone could silence whatever he or she didn't like, even before a court order and based on intimidating hosting and domain registrar companies and based on mistranslated material, we would all going to be in big trouble soon.
It's all quite ironic that the way I am treated in the United States (by being kicked out of my servers) is worse than that in the Islamic Republic of Iran (by filtering my blog and forcing me to sign apology when I was last in Tehran). Ever more ironic is that a blog I was editing to cover internet censorship in Iran has also been shut down.
Please feel free to blog this and spread the word any way you can. I'll keep you post about the new developments by email, and as well on my temporary blog on blogspot (http://hodertempblog.blogspot.com).
Here are the supporting documents:
1) The initial legal notice from Khalaji's lawyer:
http://hoder.com/weblog/images/khalajithreat.pdf2) Email exchange with the hosting company led to termination of my accounts:
http://hodertemp.blogspot.com/2007/08/accounts-and-billing-hosting-matters.html3) My trouble with Islamic Republic of Iran's authorities:
Warm regards,
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2006/03/70522
August 12, 2007
How Hosting Matters kicked me out: email exchanges
Persian bloggers, even my own (former) friends, can be so nasty.
Some are skeptical if what I say about being kicked out of my previous hosting account in Hosting Matters, as a result of Mehdi Khalaji's threat of a taking them and me and my domain registrar to court, is actually true.
So even though I guess it might cause some problems later on, I have published the entire email exchange I had with my hosting company over Mehdi Khalaji's threat. Please take a look and share it with others.
Temporary move to blogspot
The new hosting account I have bought is a bit more sophisticated than the previous one and runs on with different arrangements. Therefore, I haven't managed to properly install my blogging software (Movable Type) there yet.
That's why I decided to continue on blogspot for now, until the problem is fixed. So please bear with me.
August 11, 2007
The land of liberty -- and lawyers
Last night Hosting Matters abruptly terminated both my accounts on their server, because I noticed they had removed ANY English post where Mehdi Khalaji was mentioned. Not only from my web directories, but also from my blogging software database. Then they threatened me not to reveal anything about what they had done or they would sue me!
Fortunately, I had backed up all my data on both servers. But I'm still frustrated and puzzled at why were they so scared?
I'm considering taking legal action against Hosting Matters for its unethical conduct that has and is going to cost me a lot of time and money and energy.
Anyway, I'm now using a new hosting account I have recently bought. But I have to migrate dozens of domain names, software and plugins, blogs and databases to the new server and this takes a lot of time and energy -- and also technical expertise which I don't have when it comes to Virtual Private Servers.
So in the past 24 hours I've just managed to setup my email address and my main domain names and a tiny part of my archive, especially for my Persian blog.
I'm writing these lines using manual HTML coding and I guess I would have to do this until I finish the migration process, most likely in the next few days.
Let's see what Mehdi Khalaji, the Washington Institute's fellow, is going to do next to silence someone who thinks he is helping the enemies of Iran and humanity.
Here is the backgroud of the story, in case you don't understand what is happening here: Part one, part two
August 10, 2007
Hosting Matters, intimidated by Mehdi Khalaji, removes my posts and kicks me out
I can't believe this!
Hosting Matters, my hosting company, has removed two of my posts abot Mehdi Khalaji's attempts to shut down this blog from my movable type database without even letting me know. (Cached versions: here and here)
They have threatened me to remove anything I've written about Mehdi Khalaji, or they suspend my account. After objecting to it and telling them that I would consider suing them for violating my rights, they have now asked me to leave!
I'm beginning to think that this guy is really supported by the people who are on the board of where he works for, i.e. Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and James Woolsey.
Why does Mehdi Khalaji want no one know about whom he work for?
July 17, 2007
Why 'Stop censoring us' is discontinued
I have discontinued a website I made in 2003 to watch Internet censorship in Iran and here is a note, posted on its front page, to expalin why:
Dear Readers,
Internet censorship exists in Iran, as it does in many other parts of the world, especially in the Middle East.
But it has recently become another pretext for the American Empire to further demonise the government of Iran.
Despite all problems and challenges, I believe that Islamic Republic is a legitimate, sovereign and democratic system and I reject any attempts to participate in such nasty demonising campaigns, which ultimately try to justify the Western intervention.
I believe that Internet censorship is an internal problem and the only way to solve it should also come and develop from within. Taking such efforts beyond Iran and into the international scene will benefit the American politicians more than the Iranian internet users.
Therefore, although this website has not been updated for almost a year, I now officially shut it down.
I should thank Sanam Dolatshahi and and PY whose help in the final months was very important and much appreciated.
If I have time and energy, I will relaunch the website in Persian with the same focus on Internet censorship in Iran, but this time in a local scale because of the language.
Best,
- Hossein Derakhshan
July 6, 2007
Jahanshah Javid boycotts Chalghooz, a new parody website
After publishing 13 issues of Gooz Online, a parody of the Rafsanjanist propaganda website, Rooz Online, me and my partner decided to shut it down and republish it with a different name.
So the new name is Chalghooz and we want to satirise and expose the entire anti-Iranian propaganda and regime change campaign, especially those being done by some 'reformists' such as Shirin Ebadi and Akbar Ganji, also Abbas Milani and Reza Pahlavi.
But somehow predictably, everyone has boycotted us: Almost no blog or website has linked to us. However we've managed to have over 140,000 page views since 10 June.
The most surprising website that has boycotted us is actually Jahanshah Javid's Iranian. Despite his explicit claims that he publishes any content people send to him, and despite the tagline of Iranian.com which is "Nothing is sacred," Mr. Javid has refused to republish Gooz or Chalghooz issue on the Iranian.com.
This is from the one hand sad that even for the most progressive websites on Iran, picking on neo-liberals or 'reformists' is actually quite sacred, unlike what they try to show off.
From the other hand it proves that we are hitting right on target in exposing the hypocrisy among the so-called reformists when it comes to free speech.
As, Ebrahim Nabavi, one of these exiled reformists put it recently in a series of angry posts and comments on his blog and elsewhere, no one is allowed "to criticise respectful people like Ganji and Ebadi." So obviously the boycott is just the price we have to pay for questioning the 'reformist' Gods.
May 11, 2007
Arash 'Kamangir' Abadpour
I've never been tempted to write under a pseudonym. Except for a while in the beginning of my arrival in Canada when I wrote a few satires under the name of Mohammad Ali Golpaygenai, I've never written a word with anything other than my real anf full name, Hossein Derakhshan. (One video I made with my pseudonym, in which I mocked the then presidential candiate, Ali Fallahian, using a song by Googoosh, became very popular aruond that time.)
Writing under a pseudonym, unless your life or safety is being threatened, means that you you are a coward who can not take responsibility for anything you write or say. It also means, as a sign of hypocrisy, you always want to leave room for changing colors, by killing one pseudonym and creating another one.
One of the exiled Iranians who has continuously guided his personal attacks, has been a blogger under the pseudonym of Arash Kamangir, with a blog under the same name. Except from his own blog, he has also used other platforms to extend his cowardly attacks. (Look how he exploited an Article 19's blog about freedom of expression in Iran against me, while it had nothing to do with the topic of the discussion there.)
Hiding behind an obvious pseudonym and a pair of sun-glasses, the Winnipeg-based Arash Abadpour (or Kamangir) has been trying to conceal his deeply rooted weakness and hypocrisy. I suggest Mr. Abadpour and his like-minded friends to take this opportunity and come out and start showing some respect for their own ideas and beliefs.
Expecting to be taken seriously in a mature debate is very unrealistic when one doesn't even dare to stand by what he or she says.
P.S:
- I found his real name through an old comment he had put on my Persian blog in 2006, mistakenly, under his real name. Read the comment.
- After a bit of Googling, I noticed that, interestingly enough, his real identity has been mentioned at least on two blogs more than a year ago: History News Network and On The Face.
- Ironically, Mehdi Yahyanejad, who runs a website where Abadpour is a moderator, had revealed his real name in May 2006.
May 8, 2007
Cut the bias (The Guardian)
Read my latest column for the Guardian's Comment is Free on how a press freedom watchdog is distorting the truth in Iran when it comes to freedom of speech on the Internet.
Cut the bias (The Guardian)
By Hossein Derakhshan
Iran doesn't have a policy of imprisoning people for the content of their blogs, as some human rights campaigners would have us believe.
November 11, 2006
Come to the final DW Blog Awards ceremony in Berlin
I'm back to Berlin, one of my favorite cities in Europe. The reason this time, actually, is the Deutsche Welle blog awards, The Bobs, which is getting better every year. I'm on their ten-member jury, representing the Persian blogs.
We finished a very exciting and to be honest intense session today with other jury members and people from the Deutsche Welle Online, deciding about the final winners in the several categories the awards has considered.
I'm not going to give anything away, since there is going to be a public ceremony in which the winners will be officially announced.
So if you are around in Berlin tomorrow (actually today now, Friday!) come to the Museum for Communication Berlin at Leibzig str.16 at 8:00PM to watch the event. It's a free event, i believe.
November 5, 2006
August 24, 2006
Watch me on VOA tv's daily talk show
I was a guest on Ahmad Bahraloo's talk show on VOA TV the other day and for one hour I talked about a new strategy to counter internet censorshgip and the implications of Ahmadinjead's blog.
The entire show is now online and you can watch it with different formats and qualities form the show's website:
» Dial-up - Real Media format
» Broadband - Real Media format
or
» Dial-up - Windows Media format
» Broadband - WindowsMedia format
August 14, 2006
Ahmadinejad's 'blog'
Ahmadinejad is a populist rather than a fundamentalist. Yet, I can't really convince myself that he's really taken up blogging.
The website has only one post now and it's not clear if he's written it specifically for this 'blog.' We should wait and see how it goes and then decide to call it a blog.
But if he continues writing it and if it's become a real blog, then we should be happy that they're not going to shut down the blogging services as long as Ahmaedinejad is a populist.
As 'the blogfather of the Iranian blogs,' I have to confess, I'm quite happy that I the movement I started in November 2001 has become so mainstream that even someone like Ahmadinejad has embraced it. Even though I think he's been a disaster for Iran and I count the minutes until wish he leaves the office he's occupied.
UPDATE:
Here are some more thoughts:
Quality
I think most Iranians would find it quite trendy and cool. But personally I think it has lots of usability issues.
But his style of writing is not 'bloggy' as they say it in Iran. Long posts with no links. But it's interesting that he accpets comments for his post. Although all the approved ones are positive towards him. But its perconal tone is quite remarkable.
It strikes me hie's very much influenced by Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the former vice-president's blog. In terms of visuals, and his personal tone. But Abtahi doesn't allow direct comments under each posts. However, he's almost written everyday since over two years ago.
Implications
It proves Ahmadinejad is a populist rather than a fundamentalist and he's quite keen to reach the young educated urban Iranians around the world. Also that he wants to communicate with outside world.
If he continues writing it and