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22. februar 2005
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The death toll of an earthquake in southern Iran this morning is currently at 500, and many more are injured.
The 6.4-magnitude quake struck just before 0600 (0230 GMT) and was centred near Zarand in Kerman province, 740km (460 miles) from the capital, Tehran.
Some 30,000 people in about 40 villages spread over a wide, mountainous area have been affected.
Casualties are expected to rise as rescue workers reach the province. Heavy rain is hampering rescue work.
It is no more than 14 months since the last deadly Iranian earthquake, in Bam, which left around 30,000 people dead.
The biggest killer is essentially poverty. If these people could afford better and safer housing, few would be killed and injured in quakes of relatively moderate magnitude. I'd hope Iran's vast oil wealth in the future could go to the people, not the Mullahs.
7:47:59 PM 
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Arthur Chrenkoff has blog-interviewed Michael Ledeen. Some excerpted thoughts about Iran:
Is there any way to break out of the "unrest-repression-unrest-repression" cycle in Iran? Will we have to wait for some extraordinary international, or even internal, crisis in Iran to provide that final impetus for the opposition or will the opposition reach critical mass gradually and on its own?
Nobody knows. The opposition probably--almost certainly--needs external support. Most successful revolutionary movements have needed it. But sometimes random events - earthquakes, for example - have catalyzed revolutions, as, for example, Nicaragua.
The regime in Iran is very frightened right now. Just look at the panicky reaction to the explosion near the nuclear site last week. First it was a missile, then it was a fuel tank, somehow related to "friendly fire." What in the world is THAT? Iranians firing on their own aircraft? Well, maybe, the mullahs don't trust their own armed forces (and they are right not to trust them).
Indeed, nobody knows. The reaction to the "explosion story" does, as I blogged back then, indicate a level of fear or even panic in the Iranian leadership.
The suppression of bloggers certainly fit into that pattern.
An orange (or whatever colour it will be) revolution in Iran is certainly long overdue.
Update: The mention of an earthquake above was obviously written shortly before Iran was again hit by another quake. Freaky! On Christmas day, I blogged about tsunamis and then woke up to the massive mayhem of one the next day.
7:45:56 AM
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Demonstrations against Mubarak's regime in Egypt.
Scores of Egyptian demonstrated on Friday in Cairo demanding the introduction of political reforms amid tough security measures. The demonstrators raised banners deploring the policies of the ruling national party, demanding simultaneously a "free government."
The demonstrators also rejected support for renewal of term to the Egyptian president and the principle of what they see as inheritance of the authority for his son Jamal.
Cautiously at first, people take to the streets to demand democracy. Riot police were standing by in large numbers, but this time they did not step in.
The old regimes are shaking. The Arab street has moved in a way nobody would expect just a year ago. Well, except for some odd unilateralist cowboys...
5:04:04 AM
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My email to the Iranian ambassador to Norway:
Your Excellency Mr Hossein Noghrehkar Shirazi, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Kingdom of Norway,
I write to you to express deep concern over the arrests of Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad in Iran. Mr Sigarchi and Mr Saminejad were regularly writing on Internet web-pages, called blogs or weblogs, and it is believed the opinions they expressed there were the cause for their arrests. Mr Sigarchi is currently held at the Lakan Prison in Rashat, while Mr Saminejad has recently been released from custody in Tehran, but still has unspecified charges pending against him.
This is in violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression, and that has been ratified by Iran.
I respectfully urge your government to unconditionally release Mr Sigarchi immediately, to drop the charges against Mr Saminejad and ensure that the two, and other Iranian citizens, enjoy the right to freely express their opinions and concerns in accordance with laws guaranteeing freedom of speech.
As a student of history, I have long admired the accomplishments of the Iranian people. More than twenty-five centuries ago, Iran's King Cyrus the Great instituted a system of mail delivery across his vast empire, no doubt realising that rapid exchange of ideas and information would help his empire and people prosper. It is hardly a coincidence that the same ruler also wrote the first charter of human rights known in history.
Today riders on horseback have been replaced by electronic communication like the Internet. Allowing citizens to exchange ideas and opinions freely is still one of the cornerstones of civilization. I strongly believe that any activity that serves to discourage open communication and exchange of ideas can only bring detriment to a country.
I look forward to hearing that Mr Sigarchi and Mr Saminejad have been released and cleared of charges, confirming that they and others can enjoy freedom of speech in Iran.
Yours respectfully and sincerely,
Mr Jan Haugland
Bergen, Norway
Feel free to use whatever ideas you find suitable for your personal letter to local embassies.
4:12:51 AM
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Iranian bloggers Mojtaba Saminejad and Arash Sigarchi, two of our own, are imprisoned by Iranian authorities. The newly formed Committee to Protect Bloggers have encouraged that February 22 should be Free Mojtaba and Arash day in the blogosphere.
Also, bloggers and others are encouraged to write respectfully to local Iranian embassies to protest the suppression of free speech. You find US contact information on the campaign site. This is the site of Iran's embassy in Norway.
According to BBC News, the committee also encourages bloggers to not post anything on this day except the support for this campaign. I respectfully disagree. The best support of bloggers can be done through continuing blogging these concerns and others [you're an addict. Just admit it! -ed. That, too! But it's already too late. The day is 3 hours old here, and I already blogged on NK].
2:56:55 AM
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Meeting a Chinese envoy, North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il issued a statement that the country is prepared to return to six-nation talks if some conditions are met.
In his first public statement since the withdrawal, the North Korean leader reportedly placed the onus on the US to create "mature conditions" to enable his country to rejoin the negotiations process.
He said North Korea "never opposed the six-party talks but made every possible effort for their success".
"We will go to the negotiating table anytime if there are mature conditions for the six-party talks," he said.
The US, however, must first guess what those conditions are. NK didn't say. I imagine these pre-talk-negotiations:
US: You want security guarantees first?
NK: Nope. *giggle*
US: Promises of food deliveries?
NK: That is not it. *laughing*
US: Non-aggression pact?
NK: No. *hysterical laughter* No talks! You didn't guess correctly!
12:37:48 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.03.2005; 01:30:54.
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