Category Archives: Transhuman News

Download Representations of the Post Human Monsters Aliens and Others in Popular Culture PDF
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By: Sabin Munch

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By Editorial Board December 8 at 8:43 PM

FOR MONTHS, senior Iranian officials have tacitly acknowledged that the imprisonment of The Washington Posts Tehran correspondent, Jason Rezaian, is unjust. The secretary of Irans Human Rights Council, Mohammed Javad Larijani, called it a fiasco; in early November he expressed the hope that the case would be dropped in less than a month. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in September that he knew Mr.Rezaian to be a fair reporter and had hoped all along that his detention would be short.

That makes it particularly shocking that Mr.Rezaian would have been charged by a court on Saturday in Tehran. The nature of the charges has not been disclosed, nor has any evidence against Mr.Rezaian been publicly presented by Iranian officials. As of Monday he had been imprisoned for 139 days, longer than any Western journalist who has been detained in the country.

As Mr.Rezaians family and the State Department have pointed out, the conditions in which he has been held violate Irans own laws. He has been denied access to a lawyer as well as bail. He has not been allowed any visitors other than his wife, who was arrested with him on July22 and released in early October. His physical and psychological health are suffering; his family says he suffers from high blood pressure, an eye infection and back pain.

Most important, Mr.Rezaian should never have been arrested and imprisoned in the first place, as Post Executive Editor Martin Baron recently put it. A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, Mr. Rezaian returned to Iran as a journalist because he hoped to promote understanding between the two countries. Since 2012 he has reported for The Post not just on political developments in Tehran but also on social issues and cultural developments, including a nascent Iranian appetite for baseball.

As Secretary of State John F. Kerry put it in a statement Sunday, Jason poses no threat to the Iranian government or to Irans national security. Haleh Esfandiari, a Washington-based Iranian American scholar who was imprisoned in 2007, pointed out last week that the very fact Mr.Rezaian was held for so long without charge suggests that Irans Intelligence Ministry has been struggling to concoct a case that would hold up even in Iranian courts.

Mr. Kerry said that he was personally dismayed and disturbed at reports of Mr. Rezaians prosecution as I have repeatedly raised Jasons case ... directly with Iranian officials. Separately, Mr.Kerry said in an appearance at a conference Sunday that an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program could be reached in three or four months. That assertion was jarring in light of Mr.Rezaians case, along with the disclosure than Iran may have illicitly sought equipment for a nuclear reactor. If Iranian officials are unresponsive in the case of Mr.Rezaian, how can they be expected to deliver on commitments they make with respect to the nuclear program?

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Editorial: Iran should free Post correspondent Jason Rezaian now

Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, is shown in Tehran, Iran, on April 11, 2013. He has been detained in Iran for more than four months was formally charged Saturday. (AP Photo Vahid Salemi)

WASHINGTON -- A Washington Post reporter from Marin, detained in Iran for more than four months, was formally charged Saturday after a day-long proceeding in a Tehran courtroom, the newspaper reported.

Jason Rezaian, the newspaper's bureau chief in Tehran since 2012, appeared in court almost five months after he was arrested July 22. The charges were the first against him since the arrest, the Post said.

The newspaper, quoting a source familiar with the case, said the nature of the charges against him were not immediately clear to those not present in the courtroom. The State Department has repeatedly raised the subject of Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran during talks with the government about a deal to curb Iran's nuclear capacity and ease international sanctions.

His detention has been extended to mid-January in recent days because the investigation is continuing, the Post said.

His family has hired an attorney for him, but his lawyer has not been permitted to visit him.

Rezaian, his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two other American photojournalists were initally detained. Salehi was released on bail early in October.

Rezaian, 38, holds both American and Iranian citizenship. Salehi is an Iranian citizen who has applied for U.S. permanent residency and works as a correspondent for a newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates.

Rezaian was born in Marin and grew up in San Rafael. According to a LinkedIn page, Rezaian attended Marin Academy from 1992 to 1994.

Marie Carr, Rezaian's real estate agent, said at the time he was detained, "He is one of the most genuine, good-hearted men I know. It's just unbelievable to hear this report. He knew he was going into a dangerous area, but he really seemed to take to it. The last few years, we thought everything was on a positive note (in Iran)."

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Iran formally charges Washington Post reporter with Bay Area ties

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the Lower House on Nov. 21 and set the general election for Dec. 14. He characterized the snap election as an election to seek peoples fresh mandate for Abenomics his set of policies designed for national economic recovery.

Abenomics has achieved some results in the financial, stock market and monetary fields. But its real effects on the real economy such as workers wages and equipment investment are still unknown. In this sense, Abenomics is headed for a crucial stage involving the question of how much it can carry out the nations pressing structural reforms.

The first and foremost structural problem Japan needs to solve concerns its population structure. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japans population, which stood at 128.05 million in 2010, will fall to 86.74 million in 2060 and 49.59 million in 2100.

Its population is projected to decline in the 21st century by the same margin as its population grew in the 20th century. Only recently, the government has set forth countermeasures including an increase in the number of child care facilities. But the question is how to address such problems as the tendency among people of marriageable age to stay unmarried temporarily or permanently, the growing trend of late marriage and the decline in the average number of births for married couples.

Furthermore, the problem of the aging population in Japan will increase the costs of its social security system unless it is reformed. This in turn will exert strong pressure on its already worsening financial situation and declining productive-age population.

In the second place, there is the need to increase Japans rate of economic growth in other words, its capacity for innovations and market charm. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecasts that the annual average real economic growth for the 2010-2030 period will register 3.3 percent for the world and 2.3 percent for OECD member nations.

But the rate for Japan will be 1.1 percent lower than 2.5 percent for the United States, 1.6 percent for the European Union, 5.4 percent for China and 5.8 percent for India.

During Japans deflationary period after the burst of its asset-inflation economic bubbles, Japanese industries moved many of their production functions to foreign countries, causing the nations industrial competitiveness to decline. As a result, its current system is not capable of increasing exports even if the yens value declines. As for household electrical appliances for which Japan once boasted high competitiveness, half the demand has been filled by imports in recent years.

As for the amount of direct income investments relative to gross domestic product, Japan ranks lower than Taiwan, South Korea and China, to say nothing of advanced countries. This country must strive harder to raise the innovative power of its industries and improve the charm of its markets.

Third, it is necessary for the nation to raise the power of its human resources. Education is the basis for raising human potential and quality and the source for promoting innovations. But whereas Japans elementary and secondary education ranks high in international comparison, the ratings for its undergraduate and postgraduate university education are low.

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Post-Abenomics reforms