Ahmadinejad reelection uncertain.

Ahmadinejad reelection uncertain.

Iran's use of the death penalty in juvenile cases has become particularly controversial, largely due to efforts by Mr. Mostafaei. The past two years, Iran led the world with a total of 28 hangings of youth offenders. Iran's constitution stipulates that the age of maturity for boys is 15, and for girls, 9 -- the ages at which Islamic law calls for children to take on religious duties such as prayer and fasting. (Executions aren't carried out until the person reaches 18.)

In some U.S. states, death penalties for crimes committed by juveniles over the age of 15 remained legal until 2005, when the Supreme Court said the punishment should be reserved for individuals who had committed their crimes after reaching the age of 18. That ruling ended a 29-year era in which the U.S. executed 22 people for crimes committed as juveniles.

The day before two of his young clients were to be hanged, lawyer Mohamad Mostafaei went to a Justice Ministry office here to request a stay of execution.

Mr. Mostafaei's errand should have been routine, if solemn: He represents 30 of the 135 criminals under the age of 18 on Iran's death row. Instead, he says, he was detained and grilled for an hour and a half, part of Iran's widening crackdown on human-rights activists.

"Anything can happen to you at any time," said Mr. Mostafaei, 34 years old.

Mr. Mostafaei and others want Iran to ban juvenile executions altogether by changing the age of maturity to 18, where it stood before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

However, their stay of execution isn't much of a guarantee. Earlier this month another of Mr. Mostafaei's clients, a young woman named Delara Darabi, was hanged in violation of a two-month stay she had obtained.

http://mohegh.blogfa.com/

Word of Ms. Darabi's fate came when the executioner let her phone her family. "Oh mother, I see the hangman's noose in front of me," she said, according to Mr. Mostafaei.

Mr. Mostafaei began his human-rights advocacy by volunteering with Rahi, an NGO that doled out free legal advice to women prisoners. He sought clients by reading crime stories in local papers.

Today he runs a private law practice. Along a narrow, tree-lined street in central Tehran, a bronze plaque with the words "The Protectors" marks his office.

"We defend and protect victims whom the law does not protect," he said recently, sitting at his desk there. 

Mr. Mostafaei's reputation grew after he won a case five years ago involving a teenage girl, Nazanin Fatehi, who faced execution for stabbing and killing a man who she said was trying to rape her. Nazanin was 15 years old at the time of the stabbing.

As for Mr. Mostafaei, he is responding to the pressure with unconventional means of advocacy. He recruited Iranian movie stars to campaign for his cause, although in November the judiciary subpoenaed the stars and warned them to stay away from publicly campaigning against juvenile executions.

He also runs a blog that tracks human-rights cases. And this past summer, Mr. Mostafaei made a documentary about juveniles on death row. The film opens with the voice of Behnam Zareh, a former client of his, who was convicted of murder at age 15 after killing another boy in a fight over a bird.

"I want to stay alive. Please, please I want to stay alive," the young man says. The recording is his final phone conversation with Mr. Mostafaei before being hanged last August.

Mr. Ahmadinejad dismisses claims that human rights have deteriorated. "I have not been informed that anybody has spent time in prison for criticizing the president, who is the No. 1 executive of the country, after all, or has been subjected to persecution of any sort. It's really very free," he said last September at a press conference at the United Nations General Assembly.

As recently as five years ago, under President Mohammad Khatami, Iran was relatively progressive in the Islamic world, as embodied in its expanding array of human-rights groups, charities and other so-called nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs. Between 1997 and 2005, as many as 7,000 such domestic groups worked in areas as diverse as women's issues, children's cancer, transvestites' rights and environmental policy.

When Mr. Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, he set out to limit their activity. The Ministry of Interior created a special office to supervise them. The government also set new restrictions on United Nations activities regarding NGOs, requiring them to work only with groups recommended by the government.

In interviews, nearly two-dozen NGOs said they must now get the government's OK for every activity, from naming board members to holding fund-raisers.

"The regime has made it clear that it does not like NGOs and it's very afraid of us," said Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient whose own organization, Iran's Center for the Defense of Human Rights, was shut down in January.

Ahmadinejad has come under inspection from other sectors of Iran also.

A moderate think tank led by Iran's former top nuclear negotiator accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of distorting facts about the country's nuclear program to depict himself as a hero and improve his chances in the upcoming election.

It is rare for an Iranian think tank to criticize the president in such a direct manner, indicating the high stakes ahead of the June 12 election.

"It's deploring that some historical facts have deliberately been distorted in the past four years," the group said in a statement issued Friday.

The 2003 deal with Britain, France and Germany was aimed at easing Western fears that Iran was seeking to build nuclear weapons — a charge that Tehran has denied.

The think tank said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved the deal, which it said was "wise" because it was temporary and saved Iran from U.N. punishment.

n contrast, the group said Ahmadinejad's hard-line policy has prompted the U.N. to impose three rounds of financial sanctions on Iran for failing to suspend uranium enrichment — a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a bomb.

Iran first began enriching uranium under Ahmadinejad's leadership in Feb. 2006 and produced nuclear fuel for the first time in April of that year.

The think tank said Ahmadinejad's decision to dismiss the U.N. sanctions as "worthless" and "torn bits of paper" has only brought greater harm to Iran.

Rowhani has invited Ahmadinejad to debate Iran's nuclear policy, but the president has not yet responded.

Sourced form here ( Fox news ) and here ( WSJ )

UPDATE: 05.30.09

From our source with the Iranian resistance:

"..at this moment ( today ) this regime has lost all popularity and is hated and mistrusted by all people, even in the ill iterated sections such as the far fetched villages...people have released the truth about it: it is a religious tyranny which only is in power because of force and strict suppression. without this u can be sure people will not stand a day under this rule

They have realised that it has been incapable of solving under-problems of the society they are not fooled like the western intellectuals that there might be a some  saviour from inside this regime in a tempered so called elections.LOL

That's why the students give up their lives such as the one u see in the clip to deliver the truth about the elections...none of the candidates make a difference...and they don't believe in them..."

http://warintel.blogspot.com/2009/05/iranian-students-deify-and-denounce.html

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Our Genius, well educated surfers.

Our Genius, well educated surfers.

Washington weak on N. Korea and Iran.

"Washington sources affirm that US President Barack Obama is preparing America and the world to accept the necessity of living with a nuclear-armed North Korea, as the world's ninth nuclear power."( Iran too? G )

"We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us," US defense secretary Robert Gates said in a speech Saturday, May 30, at the annual Asian security conference in Singapore. But he insisted the next step in negating Pyongyang's ambitions would be political, not military and called for stronger sanctions against internationally censured North Korea and Iran.

DEBKAfile notes that the first round of Security Council sanctions were ineffectual; Pyongyang conducted its nuclear test Monday May 25 regardless, and is reportedly preparing the test-fire of a second long-range missile in defiance of international condemnation. Washington weak on N. Korea and Iran.

While the US maintains 250,000 military personnel in the region and will continue as a "resident power," the US defense secretary said its role is changing. He told delegates from 20 Asian and European nations to take more effective action jointly and rely less on America. He urged more US-Chinese cooperation.

North Korea has a million-strong army, with thousands of tanks and artillery pieces close enough to the border to have the South Korean capital of Seoul within range.

In his speech, Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of China's People's Liberation Army, said: "We are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation. Our view is that the Korean peninsula should move towards denuclearization." The Chinese general added: "Our hope is that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measures to address the problem."

Clearly, no military response is contemplated for now against North Korea, although Pyongyang has threatened military action against the South after Seoul's decision to join a US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) under which North Korean ships could be stopped and searched.

As for proliferation, Gates insisted that the "transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies."

Yet he, like other administration officials, was careful to avoid mentioning North Korea's blatant nuclear and missile transfers to Iran going back years.

DEBKAfile's military sources stress that the overlap between the two extends to their nuclear timetables and posture of defiance in the face of international condemnation. North Korea and Iran match one another step for step, learning for one another's experience and mistakes.

DEBKAfile's Washington sources affirm that US President Barack Obama is preparing America and the world to accept the necessity of living with a nuclear-armed North Korea, as the world's ninth nuclear power.

An unnamed US official said: "This is a whole new ballgame and it's a whole lot deeper and darker and scarier." He added: …It's a bit like when you get out a pair of binoculars and you get it just right. It has brought into crystalline focus what North Korea's intentions are – that they do mean to develop this capability."

This perception will be hardest of all for North Korea's neighbors, especially South Korea and Japan, to live with. Their response may well be a nuclear race, mirrored by the Middle East's skeptical reaction to the Obama administration's policy of halting Iran's progress toward a nuclear bomb by dialogue.

Israel's leader, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, defense minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman are taking advantage of the long Shavuoth Festival weekend to withhold comment on the position taking shape in Washington with regard to a North Korea's nuclear attainments and its possible implications for Iran's program.

DEBKAfile's defense sources affirm that Tehran took note of the Obama administration's inaction when North Korea launched its long-range Taepodong-2 missile on April 5 even though the Americans knew an underground nuclear test was on the way. Iran will be even more encouraged by Washington's "political" response to the nuclear test itself to go forward with preparations for its own test.

SOURCE:

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Fighting cyber terrorism

Pentagon Plans New Arm to Wage Cyberspace Wars.

Mr. Obama, officials said, will announce the creation of a White House office — reporting to both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council — that will coordinate a multibillion-dollar effort to restrict access to government computers and protect systems that run the stock exchanges, clear global banking transactions and manage the air traffic control system.

( but not protect the WWW its self? Cyber pearl harbor. G )

White House officials say Mr. Obama has not yet been formally presented with the Pentagon plan. They said he would not discuss it Friday when he announced the creation of a White House office responsible for coordinating private-sector and government defenses against the thousands of cyberattacks mounted against the United States — largely by hackers but sometimes by foreign governments — every day.

But he is expected to sign a classified order in coming weeks that will create the military cybercommand, officials said. It is a recognition that the United States already has a growing number of computer weapons in its arsenal and must prepare strategies for their use — as a deterrent or alongside conventional weapons — in a wide variety of possible future conflicts.

SOURCE:

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PROTECTING AMERICA AGAINST TERRORIST ATTACK A Closer Look at Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces

They are our nation's front line on terrorism: small cells of highly trained, locally based, passionately committed investigators, analysts, linguists, SWAT experts, and other specialists from dozens of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies. When it comes to investigating terrorism, they do it all: chase down leads, gather evidence, make arrests, provide security for special events, conduct training, collect and share intelligence, and respond to threats and incidents at a moment's notice. They are the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, or JTTFs. The task forces are based in 106 cities nationwide, including at least one in each of our 56 field offices. A total of 71 of these JTTFs have been created since 9/11; the first was established in New York City in 1980. Today, the JTTFs include more than 4,400 members nationwide—more than four times the pre-9/11 total—hailing from over 600 state and local agencies and 50 federal agencies (the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. military, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Transportation Security Administration, to name a few). The benefits of JTTFs? They provide one-stop shopping for information regarding terrorist activities. They enable a shared intelligence base across many agencies. They create familiarity among investigators and managers before a crisis. And perhaps most importantly, they pool talents, skills, and knowledge from across the law enforcement and intelligence communities into a single team that responds together. Their contributions? More than we could possibly capture here, but JTTFs have been instrumental in breaking up cells like the "Portland Seven," the "Lackawanna Six," and the Northern Virginia jihad. They’ve foiled attacks on the Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey, on the JFK International Airport in New York, and on various military and civilian targets in Los Angeles. They've traced sources of terrorist funding, responded to anthrax threats, halted the use of fake IDs, and quickly arrested suspicious characters with all kinds of deadly weapons and explosives. Chances are, if you hear about a counterterrorism investigation, JTTFs are playing an active and often decisive role. The task forces coordinate their efforts largely through the interagency National Joint Terrorism Task Force, working out of FBI Headquarters, which makes sure that information and intelligence flows freely among the local JTTFs and beyond. And here's the final—and most important—thing you should know about these JTTFs:They are working 24/7/365 to protect you, your families, and your communities from terrorist attack.

SOURCE:

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Internet Anthropologist Think Tank Efforts:

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Cyber forces, authority, New pardigms.

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Cyber Company on patrol

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Cyber Over Watch Troops

Our Bot surveillance Units

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Inside view of IATT..

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: The Internet Anthropologist Team

http://warintel.blogspot.com/2008/10/our-intel-production-record.

How an Internet Anthropologist fits into the GWOT

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Applied Anthropology and fourghs, where is the anthropology?

Gerald

Tactical Internet Systems analyst

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REPUBLICANS

REPUBLICANS

We are not poltical here, but the REPUBLICANS are in need

of some adult supervision.

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Cyber forces, authority

Securing Our Digital Future

Obama appoints Cyber Czar.

Suggested Paradigms and

Needed Cyber initiatives.

By Gerald; Internet Anthropologist Think Tank.

05.29.09

#1) Awards for cyber security. A cyber DARPA.

Like Government contracts for fighter Jets.

The black hats are eating our lunch.

$100 million award for a secure fire wall, anti-virus,

anti-trojan and Rootkit program. Open competition.

There is a lack of funding needed to get even

one step ahead of bad guys on the Internet.

#2) Change in Laws for customer monitoring credit.

Experian suit against life lock demonstrates the faulty paradigm

allowing ID hacking. Currently the Big three only allow customers 90 day

monitoring of of their accounts, IF THEY HAVE A THREAT PENDING.

The big three credit bureaus do not allow 365 day, email notice of

credit changes and usages. The big three have it in their power

to almost eliminate ID theft, and do virtually nothing to protect customers.

#3) Creation of a Military Cyber Battalion. Offensive force.

There is virtually no risk to attacking American networks.

Create a cyber force with the ability to take attacking PC and

networks OFF LINE, best defense is a good offense. Establixh "rules of engagement"

Cyber Company on patrol

#4) Defense structure for Internet Nodes.

The WWW is at risk of a cyber Pearl Harbor.

#5) International Cyber Police.

A force to pursue cyber crooks anywhere in the world.

AND RECOVER VICTIMS MONEY.

This will involve treaty's.

#6) Change in MS security policy:

Allowing patching

illegal OS. And law allowing them to shut down

illegal OS's.Thru Cyber Police.

MS current policys block security updates for

illegal OS giving BOT farms a place to grow.

Unpatched OS.

#7) ISP check and enforce minimal security on

customers or cut off www access.

Again a favorite home of bots, unprotected

PC's.

#8) Valadation system for for security vendors and programs.

The number of fake Security Programs/sites is huge, 300 to 400,

the public can't tell which are safe.

#9 method to change Social Security Number

once the cyber criminals get it. To protect ID

theft victims from continual theft over the rest of their

lives. Once they have the SS# they have the keys to

the victims credit.

These would be a very good start to securing

the WWW.

Looking to protect American networks is short

sighted. The entire WWW needs protection.

If the WWW comes down the protected American

networks are usless.

Lets see what they do?

Gerald

Tactical Internet Systems analyst

Paki; "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE"

5 million rupees ($62,000):

 for the head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, Maulana Fazlullah.
 
4 million rupees:

 for: TTS spokesman Muslim Khan, 

TTS Naib Ameer Shah Doran, 

and a local commander Namal Ibn-i-Ameen.
 
3 million rupees:

 for each of the 5 TTS commanders:

 Qari Mushtaq (Gali Bagh), 

Mehmood Khan (Kozaband), 

Sirajuddin (Malamjabba), 

Bakht Farzand and 

Mufti Aftab of Matta.
 
2 million rupees

 each for: Commander of Kabal, Akbar Hussain; and 

commander of Khuza, Khel Liaqat.
 
1 million rupees each for:

 Mian Gul Ghafoor (Kuzaband), 

Nisar Ahmed (Matta), 

Lal Din AKA Baray Mian (Toorabanda),

 Anwarullah AKA Anwar (Kaza Bamakhel), 

Bashir Ahmed, Sultan Hussain, 

Rashid Ahmed, 

Shahanshah of Dheri, and 

Maulana Muhammad Ameen.

Taliban with heads they shaved

themselves.

From our sources in side Pakistan.

Where is Palidin when you need him?

Gerald

anthropologist

Pakistan ups Talibanchief reward

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Inside Pakistan's war zone - 28 May 09

Inside Pakistan's war zone - 28 May 09

The Pakistani military has been undertaking a significant offensive on the Taliban in the Swat valley in recent weeks. Al Jazeera was the first member of the international media to enter Mingora, a locus of fighting and a city from which thousands of residents have fled the conflict. The army has taken control but has not permanently secured the region. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reports.

Mingora

Pakistan troops battle for Swat - 23 May 09

From Paki forum:brilTek

Talibans killed a muslim whose trouser was below his ankle, as i read in newspaper.  Until now we are only hearing about "modern" talibans. Now see these pics. These bastards have really shove their beard & shorten their hairs..... 

Pakistani army solders escort a suspected Taliban militant as they are presented to journalists inside an army base in Mingora, the capital of troubled Swat valley....

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hooray for Pakistan 3 cheers.

Gerald

Anthopologist

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