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Report by an Iranian Blogger

"Mark the faces of your friends!" 

The predicament of the regime opponents in Iran threatens to vanish from view of the international public. Meanwhile, massive use of intimidation, arrests and censorship continues. An Iranian blogger "exiled" in Germany explains the routine oppression occuring in his homeland. All names have been changed. The author's name is known to us, but will not be published out of concern for his family's safety.

Some time has passed since the elections in Iran. I am often tempted to return home, but my mother has always asked me not to: Stay there, it is safer. She is right. Most of my friends have either had to bribe their way to freedom, or they are still in jail, where their families hear nothing of their fate.

Many chats are under surveillance

[Caption: The protests against the regime were bloodily supressed (archive). ]
While I remain in exile here in Germany, I learn that Ashkan - my friend in Sweden - has returned to Iran. I call him on the telephone. As soon as he recognizes my voice, he says: "Dear Poorya, I will soon return your books that are still with me." Then his connection is terminated. I write him an email and we arrange a meeting via chat. I remind him that neither Yahoo messenger nor Skype are secure; we use Google Talk (Jabber).

Intercepted at the airport

Ashkan tells me via chat that he returned to Iran a week after the election. When he arrived in the airport of Teheran, his passport is taken from him. The officials give him an address where he is supposed to get it back. Arriving there, he is thoroughly searched, his possessions and mobile phone are confiscated. In the waiting room are dozens of people in the same situation.

"How many demonstrations have you attended?" 

[Caption: Many opposition supporters communicate via Facebook; this is Moussavi's page. (screenshot). ]
Ashkan is called after several hours. In room 34, two officials are awaiting him. One of them asks: "How many demonstrations have you attended abroad?" Ashkan replies: "None!" The younger of the two officials says: "You are very stupid." They show him photos of a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm. On several of the photos, Ashkan's face is circled in red. "Now, take this pen and mark the faces of your friends, and tell us their names."

 "Did you say goodbye to your mother?"

Ashkan says that he went alone. One of the men pushes his knee into Ashkan's back and says: "Did you say goodbye to your mother and father before you came here?" The other official says: "Listen, boy, much more important people than you have told us everything already. We will stop at nothing to keep order in this country. Don't waste our time and don't put your health in danger!"

"Give us your password!"

Ashkan circles the faces of seven people and writes in their names. Suddenly, one of the officials asks: "Why did you change your name and photo on Facebook?" He places several printouts of the Facebook profile before him. The officials order him to divulge the password of his Facebook account. Then he must leave the room.

"You don't know your best friend?"

After half an hour, he is called back. They show him print-outs of Facebook pages with lists of his Facebook contacts. Ashkan must write down their names and everything required for their identification. Fifteen persons are marked in red; the officials demand more information about them. One of them is Ashkan's best friend in iran. He tries to skip past this face, but one of the officials notices: "You don't expect us to believe you don't know your best friend!"

Targeting body and soul

Ashkan tells me in chat, that he has never been humiliated like this in twenty years of his life. At this point, our chat connection is suddenly terminated. Ashkan has vanished and is not answering emails anymore. Is he to blame for the regime identifying more of its opponents? He cannot be blamed; it is the fault of the system that mercilessly destroys the youth of Iran. On the streets, they aim for the heads of the young - in closed-off rooms, they destroy their bodies and souls.

 Intimidation by all means

[Caption: Two women shield themselves from fumes or teargas. This photo was published by Associated Press, who received it via the internet. It is alleged to be from Saturday, June 20. ]
The severity of intimidation tactics can be seen in the latest publications of the Iranian news agency Fars. Fars supports Ahmadinejad and controls a group closely affiliated with the revolutionary guards. It has made close-up shots of protesters in Teheran and publishes these with the caption: "Pictures of several troublemakers!" Now the website "Gerdab.ir", controlled by the revolutionary guard, takes these pictures, marks all faces and asks visitors to send identifying information for these persons. Other photos are marked as "identified".

When I see these sites and pictures on the web, I think of Ashkan and the terror and intimidation now being instilled in the people of Iran. It try in vain to reach Ashkan on his mobile phone. There is no connection. When I call his home, his sister answers. She asks very cautiously, "You are Mr. ...?" Then she tells me quietly that Ashkan was arrested at the demonstrations.

Übersetzung für tagesschau.de: Marjan Parvand

Translated into English by Arancaytar.

 

Bericht eines iranischen Bloggers

"Markiere die Gesichter deiner Freunde!" 

Die Lage der Regimegegner im Iran droht aus dem Fokus der Weltöffentlichkeit zu verschwinden. Und das, obwohl massive Einschüchterungen, Verhaftungen und Zensur andauern. Ein iranischer Blogger im deutschen "Exil" berichtet über die ganz alltägliche Unterdrückung in seiner Heimat. Alle Namen wurden geändert. Der Name des Verfassers ist der Redaktion bekannt, aber aus Sorge um seine Sicherheit und die Sicherheit seiner Familie wird er nicht veröffentlicht.

Seit der Wahl im Iran ist inzwischen einiges an Zeit verstrichen. Immer wieder war ich versucht, in meine Heimat zurückzukehren, aber immer wieder bat meine Mutter mich am Telefon inständig, es sein zu lassen: Bleib dort, es ist sicherer. Sie hat recht. Die meisten meiner Freunde sind entweder durch Bestechung wieder auf freiem Fuß oder sie sitzen im Gefängnis, ihre Familien haben keine Nachricht von ihnen.

Zahlreiche Chats werden überwacht

[Bildunterschrift: Die Proteste gegen das Regime wurden blutig niedergeschlagen (Archiv). ]
Während ich hier in Deutschland im Exil verharre, erfahre ich, dass Aschkan - ein Freund aus Schweden – nach Iran zurückgekehrt ist. Ich rufe ihn an. Kaum erkennt er meine Stimme am Telefon, sagt er: "Lieber Poorya, deine Bücher, die noch bei mir sind, bringe ich Dir bald zurück." Dann ist die Verbindung weg. Ich schreibe ihm eine E-Mail und wir verabreden uns zum chatten. Vorher erinnere ich ihn daran, dass weder Yahoo-Messenger noch Skype sicher sind, wir verwenden Google-Talk.

Am Flughafen abgefangen

Aschkan erzählt mir im Chat, dass er eine Woche nach der Wahl beschlossen hatte, nach Iran zu reisen. Als er am Flughafen in Teheran ankommt, wird ihm der Pass abgenommen. Die Beamten geben ihm eine Adresse, dort solle er sich wegen des Passes melden. Dort durchsucht man ihn am ganzen Körper, er muss persönliche Dinge und sein Mobiltelefon abgeben. In einen Wartesaal sitzen Dutzende andere, die in einer ähnlichen Situation sind wie er.

"Auf wie vielen Demonstrationen warst du?" 

[Bildunterschrift: Viele Oppositionelle kommunizieren über das Netzwerk Facebook, hier Mussawis Eintrag (Screenshot). ]
Nach mehreren Stunden wird er aufgerufen. In Zimmer Nummer 34 sitzen bereits zwei Beamte. Einer fragt: "Auf wie vielen Demonstrationen im Ausland warst du?" Aschkan sagt: "Auf keiner!" Der jüngere der beiden Beamten sagt: "Du bist sehr dumm!" Sie legen Fotos von einer Demonstration vor der Botschaft in Stockholm auf den Tisch. Auf mehreren ist Aschkans Gesicht rot eingekreist. "Jetzt nimm den Stift und markiere die Gesichter deiner Freunde und sag uns, wie sie heißen."

 "Hast Du von deiner Mutter Abschied genommen?"

Aschkan sagt, er sei alleine hingegangen. Daraufhin stößt einer der Männer sein Knie in seinen Rücken und sagt: "Hast du von deiner Mutter und deinem Vater Abschied genommen, bevor du hierher gekommen bist?" Einer der Beamten sagt: "Hör mal Junge, hier haben schon viel größere Köpfe als du alles erzählt. Um die Ordnung in diesem Land zu bewahren, schrecken wir vor nichts zurück. Also vergeude nicht unsere Zeit und gefährde nicht deine Gesundheit!"

"Gib uns dein Passwort!"

Aschkan umkreist auf einem Foto die Gesichter von sieben Personen und schreibt ihre Namen dazu. Plötzlich fragt einer der Beamten: "Warum hast Du Deinen Namen und Dein Foto auf Facebook verändert?" Er legt ihm einige Ausdrucke von der geschlossenen Facebook-Profilseite hin. Die Beamten fordern ihn auf, das Passwort seines Facebook-Accounts zu nennen. Dann muss er den Raum verlassen.

Dossier: Nach der Iran-Wahl Massenproteste setzen das Regime unter Druck [mehr]

"Du kennst deinen besten Freund nicht?"

Nach einer halben Stunde wird er erneut aufgerufen. Sie legen ihm Ausdrucke von Facebook-Seiten mit Listen der Fotos und Namen seiner Facebook-Freunde vor. Aschkan muss ihre Namen und alles, was zu ihrer Identifizierung notwendig ist, aufschreiben. 15 Personen sind rot markiert, die Beamten fordern mehr Informationen über sie. Einer von ihnen ist Aschkans bester Freund im Iran. Er versucht dieses Gesicht einfach zu überspringen, aber einer der Beamten bekommt es mit: "Du willst mir doch nicht erzählen, dass Du Deinen besten Freund nicht kennst!"

Auf Körper und Geist abgesehen 

Aschkan erzählt mir im Chat, dass er in den 20 Jahren seines Lebens noch nie so gedemütigt worden ist. An dieser Stelle brach unsere Chat-Verbindung plötzlich ab. Aschkan ist seitdem verschwunden und beantwortet meine E-Mails nicht. Ich denke oft an ihn: Ist er Schuld daran, dass jetzt das Regime einige ihrer Gegner identifiziert hat? Ihn trifft keine Schuld, es ist dieses System, das so gnadenlos die Jugend Irans zertrümmert. Auf den Straßen zielen sie auf die Köpfe der Jugend – in abgeschiedenen Zimmern haben sie es auf ihren Körper und ihren Geist abgesehen.

 Einschüchterung mit allen Mitteln

[Bildunterschrift: Zwei Frauen schützen sich vor Rauch oder Tränengas. Dieses Foto wurde von der Agentur AP verbreitet, die es über das Internet erhalten hat. Es soll vom Samstag, 20. Juni sein. ]
Wie weit die Einschüchterung geht, sieht man an den jüngsten Veröffentlichungen der iranischen Nachrichtenagentur Fars. Fars unterstützt Ahmadinedschad und ist unter der Kontrolle einer Gruppierung, die eng mit den Revolutionsgarden verwoben ist. Sie hat Nahaufnahmen von Demonstranten in Teheran gemacht und veröffentlicht diese nun unter dem Titel: "Bilder von einigen der Unruhestifter"! Nun nimmt die Internetseite "Gerdab", die den Revolutionsgarden zuzuordnen ist, genau diese Bilder, markiert die Gesichter und fordert Besucher der Website auf,  Informationen zur Identifizierung dieser Personen zu schicken. Unter anderen Fotos steht "identifiziert".

Wenn ich solche Sites und Bilder im Netz sehe, denke ich an Aschkan und daran, wie zurzeit im Iran den Menschen Angst und Einschüchterung eingeimpft wird. Ich versuche vergeblich, Aschkan auf seinem Mobiltelefon anzurufen. Es scheint keine Verbindung zu geben. Bei ihm zu Hause nimmt seine Schwester ab. Sie fragt sehr vorsichtig: "Sie sind also Herr….?" Dann erzählt sie mir mit leiser Stimme, dass Aschkan bei den Demonstrationen festgenommen worden ist.

Übersetzung für tagesschau.de: Marjan Parvand

public static String make_limerick() {
    String scanning = "terribly slick";
    if (    lines == 5
        && rhyme.equals("live")) {
        do_laugh(); perform_a_new_trick();
    }
}

or

public static String make_limerick() {
    String scanning = "terribly slick";
    if (lines == 5 && rhyme.equals("live")) {
        do_laugh();
        perform_a_new_trick();
    }
}

A Short Summary of the Long Sad History of Agent Strings.

The history of user agent strings is a long and somewhat convoluted saga that may serve as a cautionary tale of laissez-faire development standards (1). In case you missed it here is a brief summary of the state of user agent strings. In the early days of browsers, one of the most popular was Mosaic. Netscape adopted the Mosaic standards which came to be known as Mozilla (Mosaic + Godzilla). The user agent string was originally meant to convey information concerning the browser. And Netscape agent strings have mostly contained the word "Mozilla" meaning Mozilla compliant. This was also because some sites were looking for the word "Mozilla" in the agent string. Strictly speaking the information contained in the Netscape agent string was incorrect, since the browser was not Mozilla, it was Netscape.

Also Netscape wasn't a hundred per cent compliant. As it became the most popular browser in the world, the corporation that owned Netscape began to add features, which they claimed were urgently required. Such was the urgency, in fact, that they had to preempt any deliberations of standards committees. There was no time for consultation with the user or development communities. In this regard their behaviour was similar to that of many large software development corporations in recent times. In most cases, the pressing necessity for change had less to do with the need to upgrade an ailing system and more to do with the time-honoured practice of locking customers in and competitors out of a market by vertical integration.

Large US Software companies took advantage of the fact that their legal system had not caught up with the computer industry. In other fields of entrepeneural activity, large companies that indulged in vertical integration, ran the risk of being in violation of US Anti-Trust legislation. Corporations in the IT sector often employed it with impunity. In the seventies and eighties IBM turned it into an art form. Later still, Microsoft turned it into a science. Netscape Corporation took a leaf from their book.

In any case the new features were added to Netscape. These were purported to be for the enhancement of the HTML standards and the enlightment of the Internet community, though a cynical observer may have come to the conclusion that many of the new features added during the nineties had more to do with consolidating market dominance and fending of challenges from new contenders. As the market began to fragment around market leaders, certain web sites used the information contained in the user agent string to serve up specific pages for specific browsers, a practice which came to be known as browser sniffing. I will not subject you to lengthy lamentation or an acrimonous tirade against this practice. There is plenty available elsewhere on the web. The fact is, they did it, and it became wide-spread. It was a classic case of act in haste, repent at leisure.

Microsoft, one of the new contenders in the browser market, was by this stage an experienced practitioner of vertical integration. As the newcomer, they realised what was required in order for the MSIE browser to get a foothold on the back of the Windows operating system and hence gain access to sites that unwisely employed browser sniffing.

And so the Microsoft browser used an agent string that was similar to the Netscape browser, the clear market leader at the time. In effect MSIE pretended to be Netscape.

Of course the rest is history. Microsoft is now the market leader, and most new browsers that enter the market, and these days there are quite a few of them, use an agent string which is similar to MSIE. Following on with established tradition these new contenders often pretend that they are Microsoft, who are still pretending to be Netscape, who started the whole thing off by pretending to be Mozilla. Are you confused? Don't worry, you are not alone. Just about everyone is confused about this topic.

Even someone who gives some thought to on-going maintenance, and most people who adopt browser sniffing don't give any thought to the subject, can see that the potential maintenance overburden can easily increase by a 100 percent even for a well-planned implementation of this perilous practice. Poorly implemented browser sniffing could add a back-breaking maintenace overburden. Speaking personally, the prospect of cutting unecessary code leaves me quite unexcited. And unless you are a Javascript programmer trying to ensure job security at someone else's site, the strategy has little to recommend it.

Now, I did promise not to launch into a tirade against the practice of browser sniffing. So I will not devote any more space to discussing why, just like other types of substance sniffing, it is dangerous, addictive and a serious health hazard. The current parlous state of the user agent string should be proof enough. And there is plenty of such discussion already on the web.

Also, I find the positive arguments for simple design more persuasive then the negative arguments criticising browser sniffing, so I should mention why it is a good practice to serve content that consists of standard HTML which can be read by any browser. The most compelling reason is, as already mentioned, the amount of time it saves the owner and/or operator of the site. This should lend sufficient weight to the argument to stand on its' own. Still if you are not convinced, then consider that users actually prefer sites that use base level code, and just as important, search engines prefer such sites. If you are not convinced by now, consider that sites that adopt this strategy can devote more effort to content rather than form, which further enhances their appeal. It should not come as a surprise that such sites often rate well. For more about this read KISS Compliant Web Sites. 

http://www.pgts.com.au/pgtsj/pgtsj0208b.html