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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NickSE who wrote (96487)	4/26/2003 9:46:42 PM
From: BigBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The non-participation of the Iranians at the February elections -- in Tehran, only 12% of the voters voted - has been lived by many, in Tehran, as" the end of the grace period of the reformers". Pretty shocking when you consider that the earlier elections that put Khatami in "power" were swarmed by the Iranian people. 12 farking percent? See how the mighty have fallen! Not so shocking when you consider that the Iranians have discovered that the the reformers are just another case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..." There just ain't a future with the Mullah's or the reformers. None, zero zip nada. Get a load of this report - from IRNA - no less: Official: Youth unemployment close to 60 percent irna.com Tehran, April 26, IRNA -- Deputy Head of Iran's Youth Employment Organization Kambiz Zolfaqari said here Saturday that about 60 percent of unemployed consists of youth between 15 to 24 years of age. Speaking to IRNA, he added that youth unemployment is an important concern of the society. He said the organization's task is to strengthen employment-related capabilities of the youth by providing relevant information about the job market and holding technical and vocational seminars. The organ has not been assigned with generating employment opportunities, 'which, is the responsibility of the other government bodies', Zolfaqari said. A session of High Council of Employment (HCE) was held here Tuesday and the State Management and Planning Organization presented a report on the latest developments in the domestic labor market and the need to strive to attain the targeted employment rate of 12.1 percent by the end of the next Iranian year (starts March 21). The plan calls for creating over 900,000 employment opportunities through achieving an eight percent gross domestic product (GDP). The report alluded to the 600,000 new job seekers that have entered the market in the first three years of the Third Five-Year Development Plan (March 2000-March 2005). In addition, an annual average of 538,000 jobs have been generated during the three-year period, it said. adding, "To attain the employment target outlined in the development plan, over 904,000 employment opportunities have to be created on the average annually in the next two years." The participants also said that other provision call for over 100,000 jobs to be created in the small-medium as well as agricultural processing industries. In a comprehensive look at the employment situation in the country, Iran's Statistical Center (ISC) said in a report in March that the unemployment rate among the educated -- those with high-school education or higher -- stood at 41.4 percent in the last Iranian year. "The figure compares with the 23 percent unemployment rate among the lower educated and illiterate groups in the same period," it added.

To: NickSE who wrote (96487)	4/27/2003 10:26:04 AM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Thanks for a good article. Here is the part which I find being the key: Mr. Nabavi declares: "It is obvious that it is the result of our mistake. The fact that people prefer a foreign invasion to living in the Islamic Republic is only the sign of our failure. We have not been able to fulfill the people's democratic aspirations and it is normal that they are disappointed". It is in fact the lack of interference (well not quite but enough) from America more than the Bush threats that has been the biggest factor in change. This non-interference has led the Iranians to blame their own government instead of US. More importantly, it has also led to the members of the regime blaming themselves for their failures. When you have both the people and the government coming to the same conclusion, personal agendas have little chance to resist change. Change in Iran is now inevitable. As to the issue of not wanting the Islamic republic, that was clear after the first few years of the regime. In fact, had Saddam not attacked Iran, we would have arrived at this point at least a decade ago. ST

To: NickSE who wrote (96487)	4/28/2003 8:38:53 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Scary stuff... Report: Anthrax in Suitcase Kills Egyptian Heading to Canada foxnews.com BRASILIA, Brazil — An Egyptian ship crewman has apparently died from exposure to anthrax contained in a suitcase he opened, Reuters news service reported Monday. An autopsy of the man, identified as Ibrahim Saved Soliman Ibrahim, revealed that he died in his hotel room April 11 after experiencing vomiting, multiple organ failure and internal bleeding, which were believed to have been caused by the deadly bacteria, according to Reuters. "He was the victim of anthrax," said Brazilian federal police spokesman Fernando Sergio Castro, adding that officials were 90 percent certain that anthrax was the culprit. Reuters reported that several health workers who discovered the body were evaluated at a hospital after becoming sick, but are now out of danger. Ibrahim, a crewman aboard an Egyptian merchant ship called the Wabi Alaras, was transporting the suitcase to Canada, although authorities do not believe he knew what was in the bag, according to Reuters. "He opened it because he was curious," Castro told Reuters. "We imagine that this is about bioterrorism and Brazil was just used as a point of transfer." Ibrahim had traveled from Cairo to Brazil to join the ship, but he died before it sailed to Canada, Reuters reported. Canada was alerted about the ship through Interpol, and officials quarantined the vessel last week. "There is absolutely no criminal or terrorist threat to Canada," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Dan Tanner said from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Brazilian authorities handed preliminary autopsy reports over to Canada, a Health Canada spokeswoman in Halifax told Reuters, but final results wouldn't be available until Tuesday at the earliest. Castro told Reuters that an unidentified person gave Ibrahim the suitcase last week, and the crewman was to deliver it to someone in Canada. Five Americans died and several others were sickened in serial anthrax mailings in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The case remains unsolved.