September 10, 2010

So now once again Ahmadinejad and his cronies have shown up in New York for their annual U.N. charm offensive, to sell their wares to anyone who is willing to buy into it; those people are dreamers. In the words of the great Oscar Wilde: “A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

The international press dreamers who are always clamoring to interview the little big dictator, starting with the Iranian Christiane Amanpour, have not disappointed once again and have immediately given Mahmood his usual platform. None of them have even bothered to inquire about their fellow journalists who sit in prison in Iran. And starting with that, on down the line, they have lapped up Mahmood’s slippery offense tactic by not broaching even, the laundry list of issues for which that regime needs to held accountable. And since the world media is not asking the right questions in order to circumvent the spin-meister president from talking circles around them, we here at Planet Iran will report the things that the media willfully ignores.

Starting with the below video of Mahmood’s usual annual dinner party thrown by the Iranian regime (paid for by money that belongs to the Iranian people) for Iranian traitors who live in the U.S. while serving the Iranian regime. It is worth mentioning that this year’s dinner party was kept well under wraps as last year, one of the members of the Iranian delegations was arrested for several hours and taken downtown New York City to the main detention area (affectionately referred to as ‘The Tombs’ by New Yorkers) for punching an Iranian girl who approached him for an interview.

* * Here are the faces of some of the Iranians living in the U.S., who attended and what they said:

The interviewer who works for the Iranian regime’s own TV & Radio says hello to the first man, in a blue shirt and asks the man: “Can you please tell us which state you come from?”

Man in the blue shirt: “I’m from Washington DC”

Interviewer: “How far have you come?”

Man: “It’s about a 4 hour drive.”

Interviewer (trying to be hard-nosed): “Couldn’t you have forgone the 4 hour drive, stayed at home and just not turned up tonight?”

Man: “No Sir, I’m proud to be here tonight, in the presence of Mr. Ahmadinejad, his colleagues and the delegation that has accompanied him. It’s a wonderful evening.”

Then it cuts over to the interviewer talking to the next man, in a red tie. The interviewer asks: “Give us one sentence about your motherland Iran.”

Man in the red tie: “I am an Iranian. I love Iran (in English and then he repeats it in Persian).”

Then the interviewer turns to the man in the blue suit and light blue shirt in the salt and pepper hair and asks: “What do you think the president has achieved that with your presence you show your gratitude?”

The man replies: “He has elevated Iran and Iranians reputation around the world. And he has stood steadfast in the face of force and this is a matter of pride for us.”

Then the interviewer approaches the woman in the black headscarf who is known as Ghazal Omid who has written one book and has acted as a commentator on many international news media (i.e. Fox News, CNN and others). Omid who has claimed to be anti-regime, says: “You have no idea what you possess…you should know it’s worth. If I see Iran, I will kiss it’s earth.”

Then the interviewer turns to a woman in a olive-colored scarf, Soraya Sepehrpour, who is a renowned supporter of the Iranian regime living in the U.S. and member of the Iranian lobby group , who says: “I’m just delighted to see our Mr. President for whom I have a huge amount of affection and respect. He defends Iran in a way such that it empowers me to defend Iran similarly. I am a writer here.”

The next person interviewed is the woman in the Zebra print headscarf who with tears in her eyes says: “May Iran be everlasting and strong.”

Next is Ahmadinejad, seated at his table, away from the rest of the invitees; he is surrounded by a number of the high ranking members of his delegation. To his left, in a brown jacket, is his son’s father-in-law and favorite advisor, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai who is a highly controversial figure inside the Iranian regime. To his right are, Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian Foreign Minister who is a favorite of the Supreme Leader Khamenei and is said to be on the outs with Ahmadinejad. And on the farthest point in a dark suit and shirt is Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran’s nuclear chief to the IAEA and point man for spinning Iran’s nuclear development.

Ahmadinejad says: “You may have seen recently, similarly as it is in the rest of the world, that there has been a serious surge in calls to get to know Iranians. Many have begun to study Iranian history…Iranian power, the people of Iran, Iranian civilization. And it’s been thirty years that Americans have ruled the world.”  Then the camera zooms out and one of the other members of Ahmadinejad’s delegation, sitting to the left of Rahim Mashai, becomes visible and it is Ahmadinejad’s most trusted advisor, . Ahmadinejad continues: “And, well, the results of their ‘rule’ is very clear.  But the question is who are these guys? What is their talent and he answers oh we make atomic bombs…”

* * Back in Tehran, Ahmadinejad is lambasted by the Iranian utlra hardline mafia known as Motalefeh via their newspaper, Resaalat. The title of the article is “Ahmadinejad, Caught Between Sakineh and Christianne” and its focus is, in so many words, that Ahmadinejad agreed to be interviewed by Amanpour who was not wearing a head scarf or hijab. The article goes on to say that the fact that Ahmadinejad’s advisors and associates would have disregarded the Supreme Leaders orders in allowing him to sit and be interviewed by this ‘crass journalist’ is unacceptable. The article adds that it was not up to Ahmadinejad to discuss an ‘insignificant’ case such as that of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani’s verdict as that case does not fall under the executive branch’s jurisdiction and is in the hands of the judiciary, and that ultimately he fell into the same trap he had fallen into before, during a discussion about the nature of chastity and the hijab. Finally the article attacks Ahmadinejad calling him a self-promoter and someone who is looking to maximize his role in order to pander to the American ‘taste’ and that ultimately Ahmadinejad seems to have forgotten his place as a secondary personage in the hierarchy of the Iranian authority.

* * And below is yet another video of Mahmood’s plane arriving in New York with his wife’s black entourage deplanning.

* * Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast goes on the record to now claim that the controversy over Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery was an international media propaganda against the Iranian regime and that it was meant to be some kind of a ruse to build yet another human rights case against Iran.

Mehmanparast claimed that Sakineh was first arrested on murder charges, and after investigations it became clear that she had also committed adultery with other men. He added that the case is under investigation and no final sentence has yet been issued on either of the charges. During his interview with Amanpour as well, Ahmadinejad insisted on Sunday that there had never been a death sentence issued against the woman and that the whole thing was a big lie spread to besmirch the reputation of Iran. But this recent remarks contradicted earlier statements made by judiciary officials saying that Mohammadi-Ashtiani has been sentenced to death for adultery, and the verdict was being reviewed.

‘The West should explain how defending human rights is related to defending criminals; also her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei is only taking advantage of the case to apply for asylum in Europe. The lawyer tried to politicise the case by claiming that also his life was jeopardized for defending the woman but his claims were just to serve his own personal interests,’ Mehmanparast said.

Below, however is a copy of the sentencing statement (in Persian) issued by the judiciary itself:

* * And below are photos of the General Assembly auditorium today, Tuesday, September 21st, when Mahmood delivered his first blustery oratory. Looks like Mahmood’s pretty much on his own but for a few of his friends from countries who are probably on the Iranian regime’s payroll and unfortunately, the U.S. delegation that may have ordered (?) to stay put. The Canadian delegation however did walk out.

* * And below a video from AlJazeera, of Ahmadinejad’s speech  which was plagued with all kinds of technical difficulties.

* * And some double talk from another of Iran’s so-called allies, the Cuban dictator himself. On Tuesday, September 21st, Ahmadinejad met with the Foreign Secretary of Cuba. Ahmadinejad said: “The enemies cannot ruin the deep and friendly relations between Iran and Cuba through false words. The relations between Iran and Cuba are deep and extensive; enemies cannot ruin the relations of the two countries. Iran reveres the revolutionary heart of Fidel Castro; today enemies are after defaming this revolutionary personage through gossip-mongering and false news. We must be careful that the respectable characters like Fidel Castro will not grow defamed. The deep and friendly relations of the two countries have not newly been created that some people through false remarks ruin it.

The foreign minister of Cuba said that the media propaganda against Fidel Castro has begun because he announced his opposition to a military attack on Iran and that the media which is run by the US and its allies have begun propaganda against Fidel Castro.  He claimed that Castro has made no recommendations and proposal regarding the holocaust to the Iranian regime and pointed out that his position is respecting and appreciating the Islamic Republic of Iran and the cases quoted from him on holocaust has nothing to do with Iran’s position on this matter.”

It is important to mention however that the statement issued admonishing Ahmadinejad for his holocaust denial was issued by Castro himself.

* * Below: a video from the Persian-language BBC broadcast, of Ahmadinejad escaping an Iranian journalist who first asks him saying: “Mr. Ahmadinejad, would you also speak with an Iranian journalist?” Ahmadinejad gives a flippant, uncomprehensible response. The reporter then says: “Oh so you only give interviews to foreign reporters then…”