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Back in early August, I attended a local Hiroshima Remembrance Day program. The topic of the program was “Iran: The Next Hiroshima” and the basic agenda of the program appeared to be rather sound. Among the talking points were the increasing tensions between the US and Iran and the potential consequences should the US use nuclear weapons in a future conflict with Iran. All of these are important matters, for sure. But as the program went on, I noticed a very troubling pattern in the presentations of the selected speakers. At least two of the featured speakers that night openly embraced the ruling clique of Iran as champions of peace, one of them going so far as to read an extensive quote from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The irony of presenting Ahmadinejad and his cronies as champions of tolerance and peace seemed completely lost on most of the audience, who – much to my surprise – responded to this idea with enthusiastic applause. At that point in time, I had thought – and actually hoped – that this display was an isolated misunderstanding but some things that I have read since Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to the US suggest otherwise.
There seems to be a growing misconception that opposing imperialism means that it is somehow necessary to embrace the governments of those people threatened by imperialism, no matter how despotic they might be. Ahmadinejad and the ruling clique are certainly as despotic as they come. But this fact is distorted more and more by well intentioned yet misinformed individuals who are ignoring the repressive nature of Iran’s current regime. Consider the “Joint news release of International Action Center and the Stop War on Iran” that was circulated earlier this week. The press release was entitled “Stop the war drive against Iran: No to the demonization of President Ahmadinejad.” The following is an excerpt from the release:
Before the 1979 revolution, Iran was a virtual U.S. colony ruled by the brutal Shah. The nationalization of Iran's oil industry since 1979 has meant social programs, education and literacy for both women and men, health care and other social benefits. The Iranian people, whether or not they support the Islamic establishment or the current government in Tehran, are determined to protect the gains of their anti-colonial revolution. Like the resisting Iraqi population, they will not return quietly to the days of Pentagon and Wall Street domination.
[...]
We stand with the President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian people to say: Stop the war drive against Iran! (read full statement)
There is no doubt that progressive groups like Ramsey Clark’s International Action Center and Stop War on Iran have the best of intentions at heart. However, their careful attempt to straddle a very narrow fence has reduced their efforts to popular-frontist muddle at best. Indifference to the question of whether or not the Iranian people “support the Islamic establishment or the current government in Tehran” strikes a blow to the collective struggles of millions of oppressed Iranians by reducing their peril to a mere triviality. True progressives and the world’s radical left and workers’ organizations should be encouraging the people of Iran to rise up against their oppressors instead of embracing their oppressors. This is a fundamental point which requires consideration, organization and action.
Police beating women demonstrators in Tehran, June 12, 2006
The Islamic Republic of Iran has a well-documented history of severe repression and persecution of women, homosexuals, labor leaders and political dissidents. But it is not the mainstream media or US propaganda outlets who have led the campaign to spread the truth about Iran’s ruling clique. Those organizations are far too concerned with saber rattling and doomsday prophecies to address the plight of the Iranian people. Iranian opposition groups from within Iran, working in conjunction with similar groups outside of the country have led the effort to educate the world community on the horrors of life inside the repressive theocracy of today’s Iran. The Iran Civil Rights Committee, WPI, and The Third Camp make this information through public demonstrations, publications, Internet sites and other outlets. The information is obtained and compiled through the efforts of volunteers and workers who sometimes go so far as to risk their personal safety to expose the conditions in Iran. To ignore their brave and noble efforts and those of affiliated organizations is a disservice to their efforts and an affront to the struggling Iranian people.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara: His comrades are persecuted in today's Iran
Perhaps one of the most regrettable displays of naïveté came during a recent visit to Iran by a contingent of Marxists. They reportedly expressed their support for Iran’s current regime in a display of relative indifference as to the extent of political repression within the “Islamic Republic.” (They did retract their statements and break with the regime just a short time later.) Marxism is, of course, illegal in Iran and today’s Iranian Marxists study and work in secret as they risk imprisonment and execution as the penalty for political dissent. Marxists have, in fact, been executed by the government of Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Che Guevara was a Marxist-Leninist. There is little room for debate on the matter. That Lenin was clear on the matter of separation of church and state is also undeniable, as he clearly expressed a coherent position on the matter in his work Socialism and Religion:
Complete separation of Church and State is what the socialist proletariat demands of the modern state and the modern church.
Progressive, radical and revolutionary movements worldwide must be clear on their opposition to any and all political systems built on religious dogma, intolerance, racism and political repression. This most definitely includes the ruling clique of the Islamic Republic of Iran with respect to their crimes against working people, women, homosexuals and political opponents. To stand with the people of Iran in opposition to imperialism and war is essential. But to stand with Ahmadinejad and his cronies extends an implicit endorsement of their draconian tactics and their heinous crimes. At the end of the day, the lesser of two evils is still evil.
For some time now, I have wanted to try my hand at amateur astrophotography. I still have my dad's old Empire telescope that is probably as old as I am or close to it, but I had misplaced the eyepieces a while back. I finally found them a few days ago and I was pretty excited about having a chance to set up the telescope in the back yard and look at the moon. I looked at some camera/telescope mounting hardware and adapters on the Internet but they are pretty expensive and given the age of the telescope, I have been pretty hesitant to invest in any attachments. On at least a few web sites, I have read about folks taking some halfway decent pictures by just holding a camera up to the eyepiece and I figured it was worth a try. So after a long day yesterday, I set up the telescope in the back yard and for about an hour, I gave it my best shot. It was a relatively clear night and I think the moon was in the waxing gibbous phase.
I used a 40 mm eyepiece with our Kodak EasyShare C875 camera. The camera is an 8 megapixel camera and I had the best results using the "distant scenery" and "closer than 28 inches" manual settings with the flash turned off. It's a pretty tricky thing to adjust the telescope focus and the camera to get a sharp, focused picture. I also learned that it's not possible to smoke a cigar and fiddle with the camera and telescope all at the same time. It requires a steady hand when using the camera's manual settings because the slightest movement results in a blurry photo. The picture below is the best of approximately 40 attempts between 11 PM and 12 AM last night. I did sharpen the image in iPhoto a bit which adds some good definition to the craters on the right edge. I think it's a good first effort and I am hoping to take some better pictures in the future.
** I changed the orientation of the photo and the lunar phase info with some help from my dad. Thanks Dad!
I have recently received an update from our friend in Iran regarding the mounting censorship and political repression in that country. The "Islamic Republic" is now attempting to block Internet access to the Marxists Internet Archive (http://www.marxists.org) within Iran. When an Internet user attempts to access MIA though Google or by directly typing the main URL, the following message is received:
The requested material is filtered according to Islamic Republic of Iran rules & regulations. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you.If the requested URL is incorrectly blocked, please submit for further considerations.
Now, as I understand it, Iran's effort to "filter" MIA is rather short-sighted and it is relatively easy to circumvent the censorship in its present form. For example, MIA can still be viewed when the site is entered via a page other than the main URL, such as the "Library" index located here: http://www.marxists.org/archive/index.htm. Additionally, Internet users within Iran can access MIA via site mirrors such as the German mirror located at http://marxists.catbull.com.
The yoke of Political Islam continues to weigh heavily on the people of Iran. Political Islam, by and through its very nature, will drive the ruling clique of the Islamic Republic to further censor and suppress dissent with greater force as they cling to power through any and all means. History, however, is on the side of the workers, activists and dissidents who carry on the struggle for equality and freedom.
Please note: Bloggers, activists, organizers and like-minded individuals and groups are encouraged to share the above tips on how to circumvent Iran's efforts at censoring marxists.org. Additional information will follow as it becomes available.
Many thanks to "K." for his continued efforts. Aluta continua!
If
it's the first weekend after Labor Day and the heat index is in the
mid-nineties, then it must be time for the annual Greek Festival.
Despite the heat, we had a good time visiting with friends, eating and
watching the dancers. I am kind of surprised at how much Greek
memorabilia bears the label "Made in China" these days. Did Greece
grant China "Most Favored Nation" trade status or do the Chinese just love Greece?
It
was nice to see that in lieu of tip jars, festival workers were
collecting donations for relief funds to benefit victims of the
wildfires in Greece. Assuming that the cash ultimately gets where it
is needed, this seems like a great idea. As we have some good friends
from Pelopónnisos, we have heard some firsthand tales of how horrible the situation has been in recent weeks. My understanding is that the Red Cross of Greece
is still one of the best places to donate money for relief right now.
The bureaucracy of the Red Cross is often criticized, but the
organization remains one of the best centralized points for the
collection and disbursement of aid for major disasters worldwide. At
any rate, I have already received at least one chain letter for an
allegedly "genuine" ad hoc relief effort that is almost assuredly fake
and I am sure there are more to come. I would rather give to the Red
Cross and know that at least some of the money is getting through as
opposed to having a fly-by-night scam keep my cash for themselves.
On
a completely unrelated note, I have to mention the most interesting
t-shirt that I saw at the festival today. To be clear, the shirt in
question was worn by a female festival attendee and not a festival
worker or anyone affiliated with the church (as far as I could tell). The message on the shirt
read, "Hustle for Jesus." Nice.
Anyway, we have uploaded some photos of the Evzonakia Dancers in a new, off-site photo gallery. (username & password required)
CM Punk is the new ECW champ! Finally...some good action coming out of ECW! The title match was one of the best I have ever seen on the new ECW and even though I knew how it would end, I was still on the edge of my seat. And it was especially cool that the former OVW champ won the title in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now if WWE can just push Stevie Richards, Tommy Dreamer and Balls Mahoney instead of jobbing them to lesser talent week after week, there may be some hope for ECW to last beyond their contract with the Sci-Fi Channel.
Yeah, I know what most of you are thinking as you read this. But I still love wrestling!
I have recently received an update from our friend in Iran regarding the mounting censorship and political repression in that country. The "Islamic Republic" is now attempting to block Internet access to the 
