Clipmarks | enbar's clips

Tamim Ansary on the future of the Iranian regime

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:36:44 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Ansary believes that what he calls the "Khomeinist" regime has made such serious tactical mistakes in trying to control dissent that it is probably doomed at this point. Khamenei, in failing even to maintain the appearance of fairness and impartiality, has insulted the intelligence of the people and sacrificed his own legitimacy. Interestingly, Ansary remarks that only intervention from the West -- on behalf of the protesters, that is -- is likely to save the old guard at this point, by restoring their moral authority as the guardians of Iranian nationalism.

Clip Source: therumpus.net

Iran’s Regime: Marching Toward a Cliff

Tamim Ansary

Khatami, Mousavi, and Rafsanjani don’t propose to dismantle the Islamic Republic and replace it with a secular democracy. They’re out to save the Islamic Republic by changing its approach to the world and thus preserve its stature in world affairs. They see what Obama sees: that belligerent bullying ultimately weakens a nation. This doesn’t mean their commitment to Islam (or even Islamism) has weakened, any more than Obama’s willingness to talk with states like Iran means he no longer believes in democracy.

If a plurality of the nation comes to feel that these Khomeinist clerics are good Muslims but bad for Iran, they are finished.

Their only possible hope then will rest with some outside force inserting itself into the fray and giving them a convenient scapegoat, someone like John McCain, who incredibly enough said today that the United States “should lead” the Iranian revolution.

Tags: iran, iran_elections_2009, middle_east, politics

Another note from Iran: the "bullet fee"

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:15:49 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: I can't think of a single clever thing to say about this.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Son's Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why

Upon learning of his son's death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a "bullet fee"—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said.

Mr. Alipour told officials that his entire possessions wouldn't amount to $3,000, arguing they should waive the fee because he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. According to relatives, morgue officials finally agreed, but demanded that the family do no funeral or burial in Tehran. Kaveh Alipour's body was quietly transported to the city of Rasht, where there is family.

The details of his death remain unclear. He had been alone. Neighbors and relatives think that he got trapped in the crossfire. He wasn't politically active and hadn't taken part in the turmoil that has rocked Iran for over a week, they said.

Tags: death, iran, news, police, violence

Interview with an Iranian demonstrator: "don't leave us alone"

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:55:05 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: One Iranian demonstrator, in a phone interview with CNN American Morning, pleads with the world to intervene on behalf of the protestors. He is very direct and forthright and calls on Obama to treat the current Iranian regime as criminal and "insane." This isn't what I would have expected him to say.

Clip Source: amfix.blogs.cnn.com

For about three decades our nation has been humiliated and insulted by this regime. Now Iranians are united again one more time after 1979 Revolution. We are a peaceful nation. We don’t hate anybody. We want to be an active member of the international community. We don’t want to be isolated. Is this much of a demand for a country with more than 2,500 years of civilization? We don’t deny the Holocaust. We do accept Israel’s rights.

Americans, European Union, international community, this government is not definitely — is definitely not elected by the majority of Iranians. So it’s illegal. Do not recognize it.

I’m addressing President Obama directly – how can a government that doesn’t recognize its people’s rights and represses them brutally and mercilessly have nuclear activities? This government is a huge threat to global peace. Will a wise man give a sharp dagger to an insane person? We need your help international community. Don’t leave us alone.

Tags: iran, politics, voting, interview, middle_east

Hamid Dabashi on Iran: this isn't class or sectarian conflict -- it's something new

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:49:13 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Hamid Dabashi is a Columbia University professor. He views the current situation in Iran as something fundamentally non-ideological. He compares it to the U.S. civil rights movement and predicts that a nonviolent resistance will continue for some time. I like the final line: "We need to sit back, hope for the best and let this inspirational movement of a whole new generation of hope teach us courage and humility."

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Commentary: Iran conflict isn't class warfare

I am convinced that we are witness to something quite extraordinary, perhaps even a social revolution that is overriding its economic roots. Although there are many similarities, this is a much different event than the 1977-1979 Islamic Revolution. I am not sure that this movement either sees itself as a revolution or will actually transmute into one.

Given the brutality it faces, it has no choice but opt for a nonviolent civil disobedience route. The age of ideological warfare is over in Iran. If anything, this momentum is the closest event in Iran to the civil rights movement of the 1960s in the United States, and precisely like that movement, its economic dimensions are couched in social demands.

This movement is ahead of our inherited politics, floating ideologies or mismatched theories. We need to sit back, hope for the best and let this inspirational movement of a whole new generation of hope teach us courage and humility.

Tags: iran, middle_east, politics, violence

Medieval draughtsmanship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:05:20 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Many more examples available for viewing in excellent high-resolution reproductions at the museum's blog. This particular image needs to be viewed larger (bit.ly/BZd18) to appreciate the detail and expression of the draughtsmanship.

Clip Source: blog.metmuseum.org

Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages

Jean Pucelle (active ca. 1320–1324)
Saint Louis Feeding the Sick from The Book of Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux
Paris, France; 1324–28
3 1/2 x 2 5/8 in. (8.9 x 6.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.2)

This exquisite and lavishly illustrated book contains not even a hint of gold, and color appears in it only in a limited way. Its figures, rather, are predominately rendered in grisaille and set within monochrome, penwork frames, with color selectively employed to provide accents or as a backdrop against which figures are placed. Its drawing-like effects made much of an artist’s skills, highlighting his ability to create mesmerizing, illusionistic effects.

Tags: art, christianity, history, medieval, middle_ages, religion

eHow: instructions for making a Molotov cocktail

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:43:31 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: This is one of the trending links on Twazzup's Iran page. The Internet never ceases to amaze.

Clip Source: www.ehow.com

How to make a Molotov Cocktail: The real thing

By mrpyrotechnics, eHow Member

A lit Molotov Cocktail

Rate: (2 Ratings)

This is how to make a REAL Molotov Cocktail, but take heed, this is illegal in most regions.

Take the cap from the bottle, cut a hole in it as large as you can while still letting it screw back on to the bottle. Cutting the hole while having it screwed onto the cap is your best
bet.

Take a small rag about 2x2 inches and soak it in the kerosene.

Pour the regular unleaded gas into the beer bottle as far as the neck, and then stop.

Screw the cap back on and ball up the rag that you just soaked in the kerosene and stuff it into the cap, make sure it doesn't fall into the bottle, and make sure the rag has a tight
fit inside the cap.

Light the rag and throw the cocktail like a football, when the bottle busts, the ignited rag should touch the gas, leaving anything with in it's blast radius burning like ****.

Tags: howto, violence, iran, fire, hacks

Tanzanian PM to citizens: witchcraft will not help your crops grow

Fri, 15 May 2009 23:54:09 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: An odd piece of news from Tanzania via the @religionnews Twitter feed. Prime Minister Pinda urges citizens to focus on good agricultural practices rather than witchcraft as a way of increasing crop yields and seeks to promote education as a way of counteracting superstition.

Clip Source: thecitizen.co.tz

Witchcraft in farming futile, asserts Pinda

The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, has called on Rukwa residents to abandon the superstitious belief that one can transfer crops from one farm to another.

He said the important thing was to practice modern agriculture by planting good seeds, weeding the crops and harvesting them in time.

"You should stop believing that someone can steal crops and send them to his or her farm miraculously or every person who dies has been bewitched; there is nothing like it in this century," said Mr Pinda.

He emphasized on the need for education which would allow more people to be free from old-fashioned beliefs. He said these have been in the minds of many people for a long time.

Tags: africa, agriculture, atr, farming, news, religion

A blog about influenza

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:39:39 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Another useful source of swine flu information -- a journalist's blog. Thank you @melmcbride .

Clip Source: crofsblogs.typepad.com

Saturday night in Mexico

Another batch of quick translations of headlines from El Universal: (But the real shocker for me is the photo of the Paseo de la Reforma, looking toward the Angel, with almost no one in sight.)

The health ministry reports 81 presumed dead from influenza; only 20 are confirmed H1N1. A primary teacher, infected with flu, waited over two hours to receive Oseltamivir.

Schools will resume on May 6 (May 5 is a national holiday). Federal police have distributed 2 million masks. The health ministry will isolate influenza patients.

Overseas, WHO has met but made no decisions on swine flu. The EU says it can't contain the flu. "Gripe porcina" confirmed in New York and Kansas. Asia taking precautions.

The site also has several videos, including one of the WHO's new Mexico center to monitor the outbreak.

Tags: blog, health, international, news, swine_flu

A new kind of compressor promises cheaper and more efficient cooling

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:25:54 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A press release on a the invention of a "turbo compressor woven out of high-strength fibers with an integrated motor" (I'm not sure what that means, but, golly, sure sounds neat) which should make possible the small-scale use of water vapor as a refrigerant.

Clip Source: news.msu.edu

MSU professor comes up with "cool" idea

EAST LANSING, Mich. – A Michigan State University researcher and a colleague have won the Boston Innovation Prize for the design of a low-cost, energy-efficient method of cooling and dehumidifying residential and small commercial spaces.

“The technology used for this air conditioner is radically different,” Mϋller said. “We are using the most natural refrigerant, water.”

The air conditioner uses water vapor as the refrigerant. When water vapor is used this way it is referred to as R-718. Water vapor can be more efficient than traditional refrigerants, but engineering the compressor is difficult and expensive, Muller added.

Mϋller invented a way to make an economical compressor that is small and lightweight by designing a novel turbo compressor woven out of high-strength fibers with an integrated motor.

Tags: energy, news, sustainability, technology

Basic information on swine flu from the CDC

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:19:00 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: If you haven't been paying much attention to the news over the last two days (which I haven't), the CDC has put together a swine flu site with basic information about the disease.

Clip Source: www.cdc.gov

Swine Flu

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses has been documented. See General Information about Swine Flu.

From December 2005 through February 2009, a total of 12 human infections with swine influenza were reported from 10 states in the United States. Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in California, Texas, and Mexico have been identified. An investigation into these cases is ongoing. For more information see Human Swine Flu Investigation.

General Information about Swine Flu
Questions and answers and guidance for treatment and infection control

Human Swine Flu Investigation Apr 25, 2009
Information about the investigation of human swine flu

Tags: disturbing, health, news

A green power incentive program for municipalities

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:46:13 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A national green energy corporation, Smart Power, launched a marketing campaign several years ago called "Clean Energy Communities." Municipalities which sign up for the program, demonstrate a commitment to continued development of clean energy options, and succeed in reaching certain benchmark levels of household and business participation in clean energy initiatives, can receive incentives such as a free 1kW solar installation or communitywide energy audit. It's been fairly successful in Connecticutt and has expanded into Pennsylvania and North Carolina. I don't know if this is legitimate, or just another corporate greenwashing ploy, but it sounds good.

Clip Source: www.smartpower.org

Our Work with Clean Energy Funds: Clean Energy Communities Campaign

Our Clean Energy Communities Campaign is one of SmartPower’s signature marketing strategies that best works in partnership with a clean energy fund. Our goal is to assist communities in the purchase and support of clean energy. When municipalities make a commitment to 20% clean energy, and when residents sign up for clean energy choice programs, the township receives an incentive such as a free 1kw solar energy system, energy audit or other items that visibly demonstrate a communities’ commitment to clean energy and/or energy efficiency.

This program began in collaboration with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, where its success in signing up almost half the cities and towns in Connecticut led to its expansion into Pennsylvania, and our partnership with the Pennsylvania Sustainable Development Fund and in North Carolina with yet another collaboration of stakeholder groups.

Tags: business, energy, environment, sustainability

Your self-understanding is probably even worse than you think

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:03:20 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A new psychology experiment uses techniques from popular magic to demonstrate that people misunderstand and misrepresent the reasons behind their own choices. Participants were asked to choose which of two alternatives they preferred, and subsequently to justify their choice. However, experimenters surreptitiously swapped the alternatives immediately after the participant had announced a choice, and most never noticed, in most cases even giving "reasons" for why they had "chosen" the option they were presented with (even though they had, in fact, picked the other option).

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Choice blindness: You don't know what you want

Rather than playing tricks with alternatives presented to participants, we surreptitiously altered the outcomes of their choices, and recorded how they react. For example, in an early study we showed our volunteers pairs of pictures of faces and asked them to choose the most attractive. In some trials, immediately after they made their choice, we asked people to explain the reasons behind their choices.

Unknown to them, we sometimes used a double-card magic trick to covertly exchange one face for the other so they ended up with the face they did not choose. Common sense dictates that all of us would notice such a big change in the outcome of a choice. But the result showed that in 75 per cent of the trials our participants were blind to the mismatch, even offering "reasons" for their "choice".

In everyday decision-making we do see ourselves as connoisseurs of our selves, but like the wine buff or art critic, we often overstate what we know.

Tags: belief, cognitive_science, iterasi, news, psychology, research, weird

Flagellation and crucifixions: Holy Week observances in San Pedro Cutud, Phillipines

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:35:23 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Pretty staggering. This video is about ten minutes.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Mal a Aldo

Center for Kapampangan Studies documentary on Holy Week practices in Pampanga

[Video]

Tags: christianity, religion, rels212, rels327, ritual, roman_catholicism, violence

"The Shortest Day" (excerpt), a Yule poem from Susan Cooper

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:21:48 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: I've always loved the line, "They burned beseeching fires... / To keep the year alive." According to Susan Cooper's own site, the poem was written for the Christmas Revels project, directed by John Langstaff, but it does not give a date.

Clip Source: en.wikiquote.org

So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us — Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

Susan Cooper, in "The Shortest Day"

Tags: religion, paganism, primary_source, poetry, literature, christmas

"Jesus Didn't Tap Out": stepping into the octagon at SOSChurch.tv

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:59:33 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A new kind of Easter observance -- "Jesus as Ultimate Fighter." The point is "relevance" and bringing young men back into the fold. Check out the awesome video at the source (complete with youthful pastor sporting shaved head and soul patch and his hottie wife, Darla). The church website is SOSChurch.tv.

Clip Source: www.cw11tv.com

This Easter Celebration Combines Ultimate Fighting And Prayer

" In the mixed martial arts arena there's an expression, and the expression is don't tap out and he didn't tap out "

You won't see fighters in an octagon, but perseverance becomes the message this Easter Sunday according to pastor Skiles.

" He took every blow and He wound up becoming victorious."

Pastor Skiles and his wife Darla are always looking for ways to make the religious experience relevant. Mrs. Skiles says the connection is clear.

"Christ did endure a beating. And when you watch that and you see those men, ..go at it, it gives you a picture of what Christ might have gone through. "

"We want a relevant message to teach to people. And we want to be able to take this ancient gospel and make it relevant to someone today. "

Tags: christianity, evangelicalism, religion, rels327, sports, violence