Managing natural disasters the Islamic way?

In the news an agreement has been signed with Iran’s seminary center (Howze Elmiyeh) to “reduce” natural disasters!

(click on the image for larger view)

Yes, you read it right. “To reduce natural disasters”, the government is joining hands with several seminary centers in Qom, Mashad, Isfahan, Shiraz, …, to rein in ‘immorality’ among Iranians, which according to them, is the source and cause of all the natural disasters afflicting Iran. Immorality like women not following the Hejab dictates!

While this may seem extremely funny to the general educated fellow at first glance, but underneath, it carries a frightening message that such garbage is printed because there ARE people who read and believe it!

That's the most frightening and at the same time, depressing part of this ... that even in 21st century, we still have a section of our population intellectually challenged enough to believe this religious hocus pocus!!!

Depressing as hell!!

Another Turkmenchai treaty in the making?

It was as if I had taken a trip back in time, to one of the most disgraceful periods of contemporary Iran history. A time that saw the inefficient Qajar dynasty relinquishing vast territories to the surrounding neighbors, especially Russia, with little to show in return. Back in 1828 AD, with the help of the British, the incompetent Persian monarch, Fathali Shah, surrendered what is today known as Armenia, Nakhjevan and Talesh. Thus was the disgrace of the infamous “Turkmenchai” treaty that has been etched in all Iranians’ minds.

In 1921, between the late Reza Shah and Lenin and then in 1940, there were two treaties signed by the two states sharing this vast water resource, Iran and Russia. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union and formation of several states Iran faced a new front with the new states laying claim over the Caspian and thus a further division of each nation’s share. Iran failed to stake its claim of the bilateral treaty that originally allowed each of Tehran and Moscow about 50% of the waters and with that, it saw its share plummet to a mere 20%, as Russia refused to accept division of its share between the 4 nations.

Flash forward to the year 2010 and we stand on the threshold of yet another shameful event in which Iran may stand to lose even more territories due to the incompetence and bad policies of its ruling regime. On 18th November, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represented Iran in the multi-state conference on Caspian region where the other heads of state from Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan were in attendance.

One of the points of discussion was to deal with the territorial divisions between the 5 nations of the Caspian waters and resources. But due to time limitations the topic was postponed to a later date. However, it does not change the fact that under the strong-arm handling of Iran by Moscow and the inability of the Ahmadinejad’s government to stand up for its rights since that may jeopardize the flimsy, occasional supportive remarks from Moscow in the UN security council, there are talks of further reducing Iran’s share from the present 20% to a paltry 11%! An affront to any sensible and fair minded person. And yet, given how the Islamic regime has bent over backwards trying to hang onto the little support it gets from the likes of China and Russia, pundits worry that we may yet concede more territories and rights.

Come the new five state conference, will Ahmadinejad stand up to the council in favor of Iran’s rights? Or will he succumb and buckle and miserably accept the new “legal regime” and relinquish precious waters of our Caspian sea?

While Ahmadinejad and Khamenei are busy doling out Millions and Billions of Iranians' resources to terrorists the likes of Hezbullah and Hamas and Syrians, decent Iranians overwhelmed under crushing poverty, resort to selling their organs to merely make ends meet! Islamic justice at its best.