Oil Policy Iran and Iraq

This was an interesting article that compared the oil policies of both Iran and Iraq. In an effort to appease their populations, both the government of Iraq and Iran implemented a policy that allowed gas to be sold under half a dollar. This was ill advised because both governments ultimately had to import gasoline (odd, for gas-producing nations) and subsidize it to maintain those cheap prices.

Iraq changed their policy to raise the price of gas to above a dollar in 2006. By the time this article was written, in 2007, Iran tried to implement a similar reform, but riots broke out in response.

As a result, the gas prices between Iran and Iraq varied greatly, which led to a black market for Iranian oil. Sellers took Iranian oil and sold them at cheaper prices to Iraqis. Iran’s economic condition was suffering from these transactions because it was also the Iraqi population that benefited from Iran-subsidized oil.

This article clearly explained to me how a black market is encouraged when governments differently approach the issue of, for example, oil policy. From the perspective of the Iranian-oil dealers, it is interesting how simply jumping a border and entering a different “space” can promise so much more profit than doing the same activity in the previous space. This, of course, is not a new idea.

Space, in this sense, is obviously key in determining black market activity. It was the policy differences of these countries that determined the supply and demand for black market oil.

How to Spot a Persian Prostitute

Unintentionally, I found a great article relating back to geography and space for prostitutes in Iran. Where are they?

Qom may have become a prostitution hot spot due to the abundance of shrines. Young female runaways with no shelter come to the city knowing they can take refuge at holy sites by sleeping in rooms intended for pilgrims. They have no way of making a living, so after awhile they get involved with the sex trade. The city's young theological students and transient tourists form the main clientele.

It is interesting to note how the sacred space in Qom is being used in a very unholy way. Yet, it is prime real estate if one thinks about it. People look like they have legitimate reasons to be going to the shrine. It is free to not only have a place to sleep at night but a place that many people travel through so the girls can find clientele very easily. In Tehran, they stand by traffic circles in the suburbs. Where they are advertising their services are notable, they are public spaces around the city in Qom or outside the city in Tehran. It makes sense in Tehran because of the fact that it is the capital and religious/political spheres are more concentrated there.

What makes this noteworthy is the fact that even though Iran tries to crack down on all terrible things and is proud of the pureness of the country, it is the young theological students that are taking out the women. The repression made them ironically go to holy public places to seek out immoral activity. While it doesn’t talk much of who and where the clients are, it does say something that no place can ever get rid of the oldest profession in the world.

I also find it sad that since the rules are so strict and the unemployment rate reported by Iran in 2008 is 12.5% (probably higher) that women cannot find jobs. They need a means of living and have to turn to this as an option. The British Journal of Verneal Diseases said that Chlamydia was at common in Tehran and a city called Bandar Abbas.

The results indicate that in Iran prostitutes are commonly infected with C trachomatis and are probably a major reservoir of chlamydial genital infection.

If someone is picking up hookers in Tehran, it wouldn't be before long until it spread in other places.

The prostitutes there are very modest and the transaction rather efficient. In other places such as the US, women will go after the men, drawing attention to themselves rather visibly. There is very little subtleness in various Western countries compared the Iranian women. Culture still affects interactions of prostitution in both cases.

The Internet, Pornography and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

The above link goes to a story in recent weeks that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in Iran have added another duty to their already hefty work load (aside from the push for nuclear weapons, running Iranian businesses and allegedly supporting militants in places such as Iraq and Syria): fighting organized internet crimes. This includes arresting 26 men and women for their part in producing anything from pornography to mocking Islam, all posted on the internet.

Three of those arrested were Iranians living abroad, allegedly tricked into returning to Iran where they were arrested. Perhaps most interesting, in my opinion, is that the task force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard say that the group was supported by foreign governments, including the all time favorite scapegoats of the US, Canada, and Israel. Sources, however, believe that the web sites shut down were simply hosted by private companies in foreign countries. Related to the belief that foreign countries actually financially backed the websites is that many in the Iranian government fear "the US, instead of going for a regime change policy through military invasion, is trying to undermine the young population by instilling liberal values, seen as decadent in the Islamic Republic." The fear of the internet in general is also because "the internet has revolutionized young people's lifestyle so dramatically that some hardliners, including conservative bloggers, have called for much tougher regulation and policing of the web."

Aside from the questions of regulating things on the internet, which is not unique to Iran but a common concern throughout the entire world, and the interesting belief that the US would use society to instill revolution, the very fact that Iran created a special task force to combat immoral use of the internet is important. Iranian sociologist Saeed Madani was quoted in the article: "Over half of internet users in Iran have admitted searching for porn and about one third of them do it every day." Even the Guards numbers are fairly high: "one of the busted porn sites had 300,000 registered Iranian users and some of the adult video clips were downloaded at least six million times." There is obviously a demand for pornography (perhaps because of the conservative stance toward sexuality-among other things-in Iran). And the Iranian government sees this as a significant threat to its Islamic society, although I do wonder how accurate those statistics are and why the Guard would admit to those numbers. Oh yes, to blame the US and Israel for ruining the morals of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran Claims Nuclear Steps in New Worry

I found this article (a little dated-2006) about Iran's nuclear weapons program. According to the article, Iran received the blueprints for nuclear centrifuges through that black market operations of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man who help develop Pakistan's nuclear program.   

This article brought into like the international ramifications of black market operations. While, obviously, sex trafficking is horrific and must be stopped, it does not pose an immediate risk to international security. 

What's more interesting is that no weapons, at least none mentioned in the article, were exchanged. It was merely blueprints. This information, unlike a nuclear weapon, can be used over and over again. It could form the basis of a dangerously strong military. Also, in my opinion, if this information gets into the wrong hands, it could be more dangerous than an actual nuclear warhead. In addition to the reasons above (multiple uses), the information can be spread easily without much being lost. Hostile nations can gain access to this information without the supplying nation giving up anything. 

I'm curious to find out what security measures are currently in place in order to slow this spread of information. Will it soon become impossible, as new technologies that makes the transfer of information easier continue to develop? Or will our defense technologies develop enough to counter this? Borders are difficult to protect in cyberspace; how will we stop the spread of dangerous information to hostile nations?

Taliban Hiding in a Forest...of Weed

Click here for the original article
In 2006, Canadian coalition forces in Afghanistan stumbled upon a dense forest of 10-foot high marijuana plants, that Taliban fighters were using to hide in. Since marijuana is good at absorbing and dissipating heat, it essentially rendered thermal imaging equipment useless. It's definitely a testament to the ingenuity of guerilla Taliban fighters—they use their own means of economic support as a physical means of protection as well.

It's unclear whether this marijuana was growing wildly or was cultivated, but it seems like based on the density of the forest in the middle of nowhere, it could very well be a farmer's operation. I think that this story may also point to the larger influence of drugs in Afghanistan—not only the drug trade in general, but also the ubiquitousness of it.

According to the article, the Canadians tried to penetrate the forest by setting it on fire. Only a few of the plants caught, since most of them were heavily laden with water. But the smoke from the few that did catch caught an unsuspecting group of coalition soldiers downwind by surprise, with "ill effects."

In Afghanistan, Hot Place to Shop is Bush Bazaar

This article, with it's portrait of a culture clash in Afghanistan's black market, reminded me of some of the things stated in a previous post about bribery with American products. It seems to me that Western products are in very high demand in Afghanistan. This article makes it seem that the the Afghanis are so eager to own Western products that they often buy them even if they have no idea what it is. It was interesting to know that even Americans go to these black markets to buy cheap computer hardware.

Another aspect of this culture clash is between conservative Islam law and the goods for sale at the black market. Many of the pre-made meals do not follow Islam's dietary rules, and therefore cannot be purchased (although some people buy them anyway.) 

When I think about the Afghanistan black market, I do not think of Western products. However, it seems like these products have a great appeal. Is it because these products are something new, different, and foreign? Is it because, in the words of an article previously posted, these 21st century products are in an 18th century society? Will these products lose their appeal once the younger generation grows up and, after being exposed to these products for so long, they lose their novelty?

Here is a link to a quick video of a black market in Bagram. A black market near the US military base in Bagram was mentioned briefly in the article, but I am not sure if this is it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97vDlEJpfm0

Sex, Make-Up, and the Responsibilities of a Shiite Wife

I really wanted to post this week's NY Times article on a women's protest against the new Afghan law that would force the country's Shiite women to have sex with their husband whether they want to or not (i.e. marital rape), to acquire the permission of their husband in order to go to work or school, and--ironically enough in a "devout" Muslim society--to dress up and use make-up if that is what their husband demands. President Karzai was most likely thinking about his chances for re-election when he signed in the law, and clearly there are plenty of Shiite men who are willing to make a fuss about this sort of thing, if the counter-protest in this article is any indication. Naturally the West has been putting considerable pressure on Karzai to re-consider his move.

And yet, what struck me as particularly interesting in the article was this quote by a local cleric: "We Afghans don't want a bunch of NATO commanders and foreign commanders telling us what to do."

Normally I am willing to blame Western greed, incompetence, and all-around meddling for a vast array of problems in the Middle East. But it took me a while to figure out if I really bought the argument that the law is a reaction to heavy-handed Western interference in the region. I can see how the prolonged presence of Western troops could cause offense, raising feelings of nationalism or, in a country as ethnically diverse as Afghanistan, enflaming religious sentiments. But is that really reason enough to demand that women become this politically, economically, and sexually subservient to men? The real explanation is a bit more complex in my view.

I would hypothesize that patriarchal attitudes and the ill treatment of women is usually tied to the amount of "life control" that a man has in a given society. In Afghanistan, where poverty is rampant and there are few opportunities for advancement into "respectable" professions, it is difficult for a man to occupy a position of power and esteem (40% of the population was unemployed in 2008 according to the CIA Factbook). Furthermore, it is hard for him to feel in control of his own life and property when access to clean water is limited, electricity is on the fritz, violence and corruption are everywhere. This recent Washington Times article argues that since the fall of the Taliban, the rule of law has disintegrated in Afghanistan as warlords take control and police have found it more profitable to shake down innocent citizens than enforce the law. Given this climate of insecurity, the average Afghan man may feel that it is only in his family relations that he can fulfill his urge to be "master" and Western culture and its advocacy of female liberation is, in his mind, an attack on this last vestige of his authority. If Western superpowers are guilty in anything here, it is in impoverishing the Afghan nation through invasion, which has led to destruction of property and life, the disruption of economic and political stability, and the rise of a black market economy that surely encourages steep social hierarchies.

I find this explanation for the divide on women's rights more convincing than any religious justifications that Afghan men might give (when did Allah ever concern himself with make-up? what about the fact that the top Shiite cleric in Afghanistan is opposed to the law?) or any "clash of civilizations" that Western politicians might propose (doesn't the West also have a long history of mistreating women?). I do not think there is a fundamentally unbridgeable cultural or moral gap between the two sides--I think it is merely a reaction to poverty, insecurity, and power imbalances. But if someone disagrees with me, or has other thoughts to add, please do...