THE EYERANIANS

Happy Nowruz 1392! As we say in Persian: “هر روزتان نوروز ، نوروزتان پیروز” (May every day of yours be a new year, and your New Years a successful one).
Here is a good introductory video explaining what is Nowruz all about.

This is the rough cut of the bull shark video. The videos in this clip were shot in three different cameras, which should explain different resolution qualities you see here.

This was a one tank dive that is literally right out in front of the beach. We gear up in the boat as we slowly cruise over to the spot. After a full briefing as to the day’s current conditions and a reminder of the Do’s and Don’ts, we back roll into 70ft of water and head down to the site drifting with the gentle current. The bottom is flat, sandy, reefless, and gently sloping east towards the “el Cantil” (trench between Playa and Cozumel). We drift along a couple minutes then all of a sudden…We have Bulls everywhere!!! These bull sharks migrate into the area around the 1st of December and migrate away around the 1st of March. Some days you only see 5-6 and other day we see 15-20. This way we saw about 10-12. With 60-80 foot visibility, it’s very easy to get a nice, clear shot of them and they pass by as close as just inches away!

Bull Sharks are known to be one of the most dangerous and aggressive sharks in the water. But they haven’t attacked a scuba diver in this region. The bull sharks are a special species of shark that can actually swim in freshwater as well. The bulls of Playa are drawn here because of the freshwater cenotes that pump out into the sea along the coast. The exits for these cenotes are too small for a shark to pass though but the constant flow of freshwater leaving the cenote exits certainly draws them, as well as an abundant food supply of fish, into the area. Playa del Carmen is also known to have a rather large turtle population which is another food source for the bull sharks.

In the summer of 2011 I got visit Carlsbad National Cavern’s Spider Cave. I didn’t include clips from outside of the cave which might reveal the cave’s exact location to the public per National Park Service’s request. The cave is located several miles away from the Carlsbad National Cavern in New Mexico. We had to drive in a dirt road following the park ranger for about 10 minutes. After parking our cars, we had to hike for about 30 minutes into the canyon where the cave is located at.

The whole tour lasted for about 4 hours. However I have only included selected clips in this video. There were several passageways inside of the cave that I would have liked to film, but had to turn the camera off and focus on my movements in order to avoid destroying cave formations or falling/sliding into a ditch. I installed the camera on my helmet with the help of a headband. The camera had to go to the left of the light, meaning that the lens was titled toward my left rather than the front which is what I would have preferred. Because of this a lot of the footage recorded were of the walls on my left side and turned out to be useless. In the lather part of the tour I tried to hold the camera on my hand and film.

Bahram Moshiri’s talk on Hafez from October 9, 2011.

In Turbulent, Neshat’s 1998 two-screen video installation, two singers (Shoja Azari playing the role of the male, and Iranian Vocalist and composer Sussan Deyhim as the female) create a powerful musical metaphor for the complexity of gender roles and cultural power within the framework of ancient Persian music and poetry.

من خودم به شخصه 100 ها بار مثل گوسفند، سرم را انداخته بودم پایین و رفته بودم کوه، ولی اصلاً نمی دانستم چرا کوهنوردی می کنم.

The other day while I was walking back to my car in front of the Texas Capitol building, I noticed a middle aged white guy in a suit and tie looking at the car. By the time I got there he had left. Then I noticed this sticky note posted on my side mirror saying “This is Texas! Change your license plate or move.” I still have my Massachusetts license plate after recently moving back to Austin. I guess I should now get a Texas license plate as soon as possible. I’m afraid he’ll slash my tires next time.

I am deeply concerned by the unprecedented and possibly illegal campaign of political pressure and intimidation being carried out by a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), because our terrorist laws do not seem to be implemented and because this organization is a threat to the peaceful pro-democracy movement in Iran.

The MEK is a violent extremist cult–as documented by the State Department, FBI, Human Rights Watch, RAND Corporation, and others.  MEK has murdered American and Iranian civilians, called for the execution of U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980, and fought under Saddam Hussein until he was deposed in 2003.  The MEK even celebrated the September 11th attacks, with their leader Masoud Rajavi telling his followers on September 12, 2001, “if (Al Qaeda) could do such a sophisticated military operation we must be able to do so in a much better manner…wait and see the fruits of our revolutionary Islam!”

Yet despite its extremist ideology, its history of violent anti-Americanism, and its terrorist designation, the MEK has been given a free hand to organize conferences in Washington, lobby U.S. officials, and pay former U.S. officials to advocate on behalf of removing the MEK from the FTO list.

The State Department is currently reviewing the FTO status of the MEK and its decision is expected imminently.  The MEK and its affiliates and supporters are working feverishly to exercise maximum political pressure and intimidation to influence this decision.  The politicization of the State Department decision as a result of this potentially illegal MEK campaign would be disastrous.

It is illegal to coordinate, provide material support, or receive funds from Foreign Terrorist Organizations.  Yet top former U.S. officials have acknowledged receiving cash to appear alongside MEK leader Maryam Rajavi and to call for MEK to be taken off the terrorist list.  Some have even called for Rajavi to be recognized as Iran’s president.  Why is this activity allowed to continue?

It is unfathomable that a terrorist organization would be allowed to game our political system to manufacture policies in their favor.  The U.S. Government is supposed to be protecting the American people from terrorism, not turning a blind eye to it.  The U.S. must enforce the laws on the books.

What is Congress doing to protect us from the MEK?  What is the FBI doing to enforce the laws that are supposed to protect us from terrorist organizations?  How is the State Department ensuring the decision on the MEK’s FTO designation is not manipulated by political pressure and intimidation?

If not, will we soon see Al Qaida lobby freely in Washington as well?

The sources of funding MEK activities must be investigated, any activities being coordinated with MEK must be shut down, and officials must stop taking cash from the organization and its affiliates to advocate on behalf of MEK.

The MEK has curried favor in Washington by misrepresenting itself as the “main opposition in Iran” and claiming to speak on behalf of the Iranian people and the Iranian-American community, despite being reviled by Iranians and Iranian Americans.  Iran’s indigenous democratic opposition, the Green Movement, have warned that the Iranian regime seeks to discredit the peaceful opposition by “reviving” the MEK.  Delisting the MEK would severely undermine Iran’s peaceful opposition movement, destroy U.S. credibility among the Iranian people, and unleash a major force for war.

The MEK does not speak for me.  It does not speak for the Iranian-American community, the Iranian people, or Iran’s indigenous democratic opposition.  I call on you to ensure that U.S. laws regarding terrorism are enforced and the MEK’s political pressure and intimidation campaign is halted so that the State Department decision is based on facts.  I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

HH