Peter R. Kann, opining in the Wall Street Journal writes, "The list of modern journalistic flaws and failings is long, but surely includes the blurring of traditional lines between news and opinion and news and entertainment, predatory pack journalism, an undue emphasis on conflict rather than context, pessimism and cynicism (as differentiated from appropriate skepticism and criticism), social orthodoxy, elitism, flea-like attention spans, and more."
I can't believe that a reporter would admit as much! I'm reading a borrowed-from-a-friend and overdue-for-return copy of C.S. Lewis' book The Abolition of Man. In his essay "Men Without Chests, he exhibits such an amazing ability to think critically about a simple school textbook. I have to wonder how the world of information today might be shaped with men like him still alive. Perhaps they are still out there and I've not heard or read them for all of the noise (this blog being part of that for sure)? Let me know who you read or listen to that reports the news, emphasizes context, exhibits appropriate skepticism and criticism, and in the end can render a sound opinion on all of the above.
I am reminded, as I start out the week with my inbox full of requests and reports, and distracting news-babble, that Jesus left things grand and remote for others to worry about and concerned Himself with what was immediate and personal. I better put the WSJ aside and encourage a friend who had to make the choice to take a paying job now rather than join my team going to Georgia. I think that's what Jesus would do. What similar opportunities in the midst of distractions do you have? Choose what is better!
This summer has been a full, rich, challenging, and sad one. We've had lot's of fun as a family with all of us enjoying Noah as he grows up and experiences the joys the world has to offer. In all of it I hope that we are pointing him towards Jesus as the creator and redeemer of world we enjoy and to the Father as the one to whom we are thankful for the blessings we experience. Whether it is some watermelon and the biggest fireworks display in the nation, or a $2 slip and slide from a neighbor's yard sale, each is a gift from God.
Taylor was incredibly busy after graduation. We thought she was going to try to squeeze in a trip to Africa to serve at an orphanage, but I can't imagine how she would have had the time. She worked a lot and spent as much time with friends until they, one-by-one, packed up to go off to college. In August, we loaded all of her stuff into the car, onto the car, and behind the car and trucked it up to Texas A&M along with some family friends to cram it into an 11' x 14' dormitory room. It was a sad and yet, encouraging time for me. She's such an awesome young woman that I have no regrets about sending her off into the world. I know we took some pictures, but I can't seem to find them. Well the memories are good and she has already been making new ones with her friends there. She is active in a number of clubs and has joined a Christian sorority. I'm glad to hear how God continues to be preeminent in her life.
With all of the activity and fun, the naps have been few and far between, but they haven't been altogether impossible. Well, maybe just this one with my little buddy, but it's enough. I know he'll be growing up fast as well.
At the end of summer, I traveled again to the Pankisi Gorge in the Republic of Georgia. You can read more about that and our upcoming return in October at the Caucasus Hope Partnership website. I'll probably be blogging here a lot less and writing more on that website in the future so please check it out and register for a username to get to all the good stuff on the site.
A couple of weeks ago, we had another training event with six young people heading to Iraq, a young couple going there as well, one family to Egypt, one to Sudan, a single lady to Pakistan, and my team that is going to Georgia. It was a large and diverse group to train. I hope I was able to convey all that is needed in regard to security, technology, and knowledge management. Not the most exciting subjects, but necessary and I think we made them practical. Other topics like accounting are equally necessary, but there's probably no way that I could have made them interesting so I left that to more capable people. Poor Eric, my team mate, could hardly keep his eyes open at times. I'm glad he's not an accountant because it's that aversion to accounting that makes him all the more interesting. I felt like the intensive training course was like this sprinkler blasting information that would hopefully spur each of the trainees on with equal exuberance.
The six young people stayed in our home before, during, and after the training event. It was a refreshing insight into the motives of young people, just graduated or almost, and willing to serve overseas. We talked a lot about the qualities of an internship that we might offer in Georgia and they were enthusiastic about all that we proposed. I hope God continues to offer an opportunity for me to speak into the lives of youth to do ultimate good around the world. Having them around, singing out in the backyard until early morning, chasing Noah around the house, eating, snacking, and pillaging from the refrigerator, playing Rock Band, Facebooking, all made me miss my little girl who was already off to college. Today they will have been in Iraq for just a couple of days; their most vulnerable time. As I dropped them off at the airport, I challenged them to be "situationally aware" with respect to one another and their bags. They were good students, but that bag off to the side told me that only God will ultimately be their security. He is the only, ultimate safety for us all.
I wish I had a video camera to share the sight I had today while driving in to the offices of Millennium. Behind me in a lowered Toyota Tercel was this old man, probably in his 70's, with the windows rolled down and the volume cranked to Kanye West singing about being heartless. Ok, my daughter will probably be shocked to know that I know the sound of Kanye's voice, but I'm sure that's who it was. What's surprising is that this dude knew all the words and was getting into the music with his head bobbing, shoulders wobbling, and arms moving all around. Picture Alfred Hitchcock doing that and you get the idea.
It made me feel strangely old and yet just as alive and contemporary as that old guy is. I'm getting ready to leave for the Republic of Georgia in just a couple of days and my back is hurting again and hauling my pack all over the villages of the Pankisi Gorge just doesn't sound like fun. But hey, I'm going to the Pankisi Gorge! This is a place on the fringe of the modern world. It's a place where, despite it being located in a Christian nation has few if any Christians living there. Will they welcome us? I think so and I have to think that in today's world, Jesus probably would have been walking those same muddy roads himself (though He would have been traveling light with no extra clothes or money). Instead of settling down for a life of the predictable, I get to live life on the edge of the predictable, in the realm of uncertainty, but walking in faith.
If you're interested in following along with me on this journey, you can do so online over at the Caucasus Hope Partnership website. That's the organization we will be working with in Georgia. There's a blog section there as well so I may start writing more in that space in the future. Now, where are my Reeboks that I need to pack...
So yesterday, I wanted to see where that protest where they were, "hacking people with axes" took place. With a little help from Google Earth, I found Meydan-e-Baharestan which I think means Springtime Square. It's right in front of the Iranian Parliament House:
View Larger Map Then I decided to take a quick trip up the road to the neighborhood of Qeytariyeh where we used to live since Google has recently updated all of their imagery of Tehran. The place looks great! Our flat was in those tall buildings right in the middle of the map:
View Larger Map As I took a birds-eye-stroll around familiar streets, I found myself looking at the Georgian Embassy:
View Larger Map It's odd to realize I lived just a five minute walk away from it. Had I known that I was going to be moving to Georgia one day, I would have spent some time there. I wondered what the connections between Iran and Georgia were. Wikipedia was a good place to start and from there, I could see that there were all sorts of connections and that there are significant populations of Georgians living in Iran. I wonder if there are many Iranians living in Georgia? I'm sure to find out, but for now, I can't explore the wonderful world via the Internet, I've got to make sure all of the logistics of next month's trip are all in order. I'm looking forward to going back to Pankisi with the realization that one day soon it will likely be home. Just as Reza was one of my first friends in Bahrain, I'm wondering about my first friend in Pankisi and what the future may hold for both of us. God's blessing in knowing Him is enough.
I decided that I could do little but pray for Iran and so yesterday I didn't even look at the news about Iran. Today, I made the mistake of "just taking a peak" and it breaks my heart. This young woman sounds like any one of our friends in Iran:
Please continue to pray for peace. Pray for the government of Iran. Pray for the people of Iran. My reading in Proverbs today had the following passage that seemed appropriate to my experience from afar:
Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
I wish I were there to hold them back... And to encourage them:
Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked; For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
Truly, God is working through these events and He is good, trustworthy, and knows all. I can rest in that, but I think I'll go without looking at any more news out of Iran.
There are thousands speaking out for Iran and perhaps I could remain silent, but perhaps you will only hear their cries for help from me. Perhaps you would think otherwise that they are all just vandals and rioters. My prayer is that God will hear the cries tonight proclaiming, "God is the greatest!" from so many rooftops and balconies. Watch this and pray.
It's nearly impossible to tear myself away from the news pouring out of Iran. But really, I must because I've got significant logistical planning to do for our upcoming trip back to Pankisi next month. So, I leave you with a report from two days ago which paints the picture well for the average American viewer.
Yesterday's mourning processions and today's speech are eluded to in the video and I encourage you to follow along over the coming days and make your own deductions about what these entrenched positions mean for Iran. One source that is aggregating a lot of information is The Huffington Post.
My next post will be about Georgia - I promise. ...Say, did you catch that Khamenei mentions Georgia in his speech? Okay, enough about Iran! May faith, hope, and love abound to all of you, thanks for reading.
Anyone who is perusing Youtube or the news will have seen the street protest and the aftermath of some violent confrontations. I've spoken briefly with friends in Iran, but phone lines are extremely unreliable right now so I have no better insights than what is available on the Internet. However, looking to the other side of the Persian Gulf, there is a good summary of the principle players and the politics that is going on behind the election and its aftermath.
My concern remains that the protests will continue and the president will need to create a distraction. The fact that he has left Iran seems to give him some excuse that he was not responsible if there is greater violence against the protesters. But if they persist in spite of death or imprisonment, Ahmadinejad will have to come up with another plan and I fear my guess may prove correct about Israel's eventual involvement.
As I was writing this post, I had two conversations which I suppose give me some better insight into Iran, but don't offer any promises. The first was with a Canadian friend who has friends in the government. Apparently there are special forces at work in Iran to destabilize Ahmadinejad. That is not such a surprise, but I suppose it is discouraging to have it confirmed by a reliable friend. The second was with an American friend who had the blessed opportunity to live and study in Iran a few years back. He is a fluent Farsi speaker and part of some more academic Iranian discussion groups and I take it that there is much afoot behind the scenes. One possibility is that the 86 member assembly of Ayatollahs may remove the Grand Ayatollah from power.
Both of these reports seem to make the fate of the common people seem arbitrary or contrived and then I am reminded that God is working through all of this. I can't help asking Him if He might include me in His plans for Iran still even as I continue to prepare to start a new work in the Pankisi Gorge of the Republic of Georgia. I guess these are not divided loyalties if my ultimate goal in life is to see Jesus lifted up in all that I say or do wherever that may be.
My primary concern for the aftermath of this election is that Iran will not know peace not because the protests will continue, but because they must be stopped. Ahmadinejad is not one to face domestic problems head on. He seems to prefer to redirect attention to some other matter. In the face of economic problems, he points to the advances in their nuclear program. In the face of international sanctions over the nuclear program, he holds a conference on the denial of the holocaust. But what could he use to redirect attention away from a fraudulent election for the highest elected position in the country? Juan Cole says, "Unless there has been a sea change in Iran, the theocrats may well get away with this soft coup for the moment." I think that sea change has happened. Those who were alive during the aftermath of the revolution are outnumbered by those who do not remember it and this younger generation is willing to continue protesting even in the face of violent retaliation. And as I said, those protests must be stopped - at least, that is what Ahmadinejad is going to conclude.
My concern is that his approach will be to redirect attention away from the internal threat to Iran that is a loss of democracy and toward an external threat that will galvanize the increadibly patriotic Iranians together in defence of their country. While many young people would possibly welcome an external effort at regime change, they will not accept a military attack on their land and people. So that is what Ahmadinejad will have to elicit. And in the person of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he may have a willing antagonist. I'm already speculating, but to go further, I would guess that all Ahmadinejad will have to do is declare that they have weapons grade nuclear material, but still have no intention to make a bomb. "It was just an academic excercise," but one that will prompt the Isrealis to launch an attack not only on Natanz, but on those "academic" centers where such technology really springs from. Our home in Tehran was just a short distance from one of those centers and I know the peaceful people living around there would not accept the collatoral deaths of their neighbors even more than they will not accept a fraudulent election. Just as they have taken to the streets, they will surely take up arms and forget that their commander in chief is responsible.
I don't like to be wrong, but I am often enough so let's hope that this time is consistent with my past attempts at figuring out Iran. Better yet, let's pray for the peace of Iran. God is the greatest and no amount of scheming by men can overcome His hand of goodness. May it be extended to the people I can't help caring about: Iranians.
P.S. Although the request for a public protest by Mousavi has been rejected and any gathering declared illegal with threats of using live ammunition, thousands have taken to the streets today. The young people in the streets chanted, "Mousavi we support you! We will die but retrieve our votes!" I think this is evidence that this generation is willing.
I honestly want for Iran to have a democratically elected president. I may have personal opinions about who would be best for the position, but they don't include Ahmadinejad or the runner up, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Still, it seems that the former is the recipient of an invalid election. Read on to see why I think this and in my next post what really concerns me about the possible ramifications of this particular Iranian president in crisis. But first, I'd like to share one of hundreds of videos coming out of Iran that was particularly moving for me:
I understand the passions that sparked these protests. I understand the feelings of hopelessness, vulnerability, and desperation that must have welled up as the police came into the crowd to put down the protests. What amazes me is the way in which not everyone gave in to the mob mentality and the police officer was rescued from retaliation for what was clearly not an effort to "protect and to serve". I commend those brave enough to stand up for him; and I would point out that this mob didn't really seem to have violence on their minds at all - maybe they weren't a mob at all...
So I am left to ask the question, "Where is Jesus in the midst of all of this?" How would Jesus respond? Would He refuse to engage in politics even in the face of what seems to be injustice? There certainly was plenty of injustice in Judea when Jesus walked the streets of the capital city. I think he would have been in the midst of that scene in this modern-day capital caring for the police officer. And for that reason, I wish that I was there right now, caring for those who seem to be unworthy, but needing an undeserved love. I wish that I was the man pouring a refreshing stream of water over his head as I gave what I could of the living streams of Jesus to those around me.
And as promised, an excerpt from Juan Cole's blog about why the election was stolen:
1. It is claimed that Ahmadinejad won the city of Tabriz with 57%. His main opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is an Azeri from Azerbaijan province, of which Tabriz is the capital. Mousavi, according to such polls as exist in Iran and widespread anecdotal evidence, did better in cities and is popular in Azerbaijan. Certainly, his rallies there were very well attended. So for an Azeri urban center to go so heavily for Ahmadinejad just makes no sense. In past elections, Azeris voted disproportionately for even minor presidential candidates who hailed from that province.
2. Ahmadinejad is claimed to have taken Tehran by over 50%. Again, he is not popular in the cities, even, as he claims, in the poor neighborhoods, in part because his policies have produced high inflation and high unemployment. That he should have won Tehran is so unlikely as to raise real questions about these numbers. [Ahmadinejad is widely thought only to have won Tehran in 2005 because the pro-reform groups were discouraged and stayed home rather than voting.)
3. It is claimed that cleric Mehdi Karoubi, the other reformist candidate, received 320,000 votes, and that he did poorly in Iran's western provinces, even losing in Luristan. He is a Lur and is popular in the west, including in Kurdistan. Karoubi received 17 percent of the vote in the first round of presidential elections in 2005. While it is possible that his support has substantially declined since then, it is hard to believe that he would get less than one percent of the vote. Moreover, he should have at least done well in the west, which he did not.
4. Mohsen Rezaie, who polled very badly and seems not to have been at all popular, is alleged to have received 670,000 votes, twice as much as Karoubi.
5. Ahmadinejad's numbers were fairly standard across Iran's provinces. In past elections there have been substantial ethnic and provincial variations.
6. The Electoral Commission is supposed to wait three days before certifying the results of the election, at which point they are to inform Khamenei of the results, and he signs off on the process. The three-day delay is intended to allow charges of irregularities to be adjudicated. In this case, Khamenei immediately approved the alleged results.
I am aware of the difficulties of catching history on the run. Some explanation may emerge for Ahmadinejad's upset that does not involve fraud. For instance, it is possible that he has gotten the credit for spreading around a lot of oil money in the form of favors to his constituencies, but somehow managed to escape the blame for the resultant high inflation.
But just as a first reaction, this post-election situation looks to me like a crime scene. And here is how I would reconstruct the crime.
As the real numbers started coming into the Interior Ministry late on Friday, it became clear that Mousavi was winning. Mousavi's spokesman abroad, filmmaker Mohsen Makhbalbaf, alleges that the ministry even contacted Mousavi's camp and said it would begin preparing the population for this victory.
The ministry must have informed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has had a feud with Mousavi for over 30 years, who found this outcome unsupportable. And, apparently, he and other top leaders had been so confident of an Ahmadinejad win that they had made no contingency plans for what to do if he looked as though he would lose.
They therefore sent blanket instructions to the Electoral Commission to falsify the vote counts.
This clumsy cover-up then produced the incredible result of an Ahmadinejad landlside in Tabriz and Isfahan and Tehran.
The reason for which Rezaie and Karoubi had to be assigned such implausibly low totals was to make sure Ahmadinejad got over 51% of the vote and thus avoid a run-off between him and Mousavi next Friday, which would have given the Mousavi camp a chance to attempt to rally the public and forestall further tampering with the election.
This scenario accounts for all known anomalies and is consistent with what we know of the major players.
More in my column, just out, in Salon.com: "Ahmadinejad reelected under cloud of fraud," where I argue that the outcome of the presidential elections does not and should not affect Obama's policies toward that country-- they are the right policies and should be followed through on regardless.
The public demonstrations against the result don't appear to be that big. In the past decade, reformers have always backed down in Iran when challenged by hardliners, in part because no one wants to relive the horrible Great Terror of the 1980s after the revolution, when faction-fighting produced blood in the streets. Mousavi is still from that generation.
My own guess is that you have to get a leadership born after the revolution, who does not remember it and its sanguinary aftermath, before you get people willing to push back hard against the rightwingers.
So, there are protests against an allegedly stolen election. The Basij paramilitary thugs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards will break some heads. Unless there has been a sea change in Iran, the theocrats may well get away with this soft coup for the moment. But the regime's legitimacy will take a critical hit, and its ultimate demise may have been hastened, over the next decade or two.
What I've said is full of speculation and informed guesses. I'd be glad to be proved wrong on several of these points. Maybe I will be.
PS: Here's the data:
So here is what Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said Saturday about the outcome of the Iranian presidential elections:
"Of 39,165,191 votes counted (85 percent), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election with 24,527,516 (62.63 percent)."
He announced that Mir-Hossein Mousavi came in second with 13,216,411 votes (33.75 percent).
Mohsen Rezaei got 678,240 votes (1.73 percent)
Mehdi Karroubi with 333,635 votes (0.85 percent).
He put the void ballots at 409,389 (1.04 percent).
