Good News!! Iran Releases 15 Captive Britons – April 05, 2007
Here is a portion of the Full Article by Washington Post:
“Naval Crew Said to Be Headed Home, Bringing Tense Standoff to a Close”
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, April 5, 2007; Page A01″
“LONDON, April 5 — An hour into a news conference marked by his trademark tirades against the West, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a stunner Wednesday: Iran would release 15 British marines and sailors it had captured in the Persian Gulf and held for almost two weeks. Early Thursday, the former captives departed Tehran, bringing to a peaceful end what had been a tense international standoff.”
“Calling the release an Easter gift to the British people, Ahmadinejad said the captives would go free immediately after his afternoon news conference. The 15 Britons, wearing civilian clothes and looking ebullient, later appeared with him outside his presidential palace, one of them expressing gratitude……….”
You will need to be a registered reader of Washington Post to read the full article and I hope if you are not registered with Washington Post you will decide to. They are one of the few News Organizations that I actually have some respect for. – Ian Bach
About Ian Bach
Independent Online Terrorist Hunter
I teach people how to hunt down and shut down the Bad guys web sites. I also teach about the various countries and cultures. Like most cases it is a small group of bsd eggs that in this case call themselves Muslims but in actual fact they are more like how KKK call themselves ",True Christisians". But in both cases / groups they preach a perverted and twisted view a religion. In the case of ISIS, all Qaeda, al Nusra, and the rest of the terrorists who claim to be true Muslims most of these groups follow the Wahhabi teachings. They are almost all Sunni and their goal is global domination. Yet they must be very bad at math and history. Since most Muslims prefer a separation of church and state and also mist are against Shari's Law. Esp the twisted and overly exaggerated form of Sharia Law that the Wahhabi and other bad guys use. I have studied terrorism, insurgencies, and the best tried and proven methods that work to fight terrorism. My Blogs have many links and articles that can show you who are the best and most knowledgeable people in the fields or counterinsurgency and counter terrorism. When I find great practitioner's I always listen to them to find out who they learned from and who they respect and admire. Thus I am always learning new stuff from the best and most successful in their fields of knoeledge. I strive to be an open and ethical source of information, I have met many awesome, kind, caring, and loving wonderful people many who I am close friends with now from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and many from S.E. Asia which also has a high percent of their populations that are Muslim.We must always strive to be aware people are not any one particular religion via that's what they chose to be, instead most people are a particular religion because that's what their parents and/or county is.
I was raised Catholic but because I became Interested in magic ,(illusion - smoke n mirrors) and science which lead me to study many religions, and I would call myself an atheist. Yet sometimes when I lose my keys ZI find myself praying "Hail Marys" and a few "Our Fathers" which most always aides me in finding my keys. My belief is that if I just frantically look around for my krys, good luck it takes me for ever. But by saying these prayers it is like s sort of meditation and my mind becomes more calm, which is why it helps my find my keys.
Ian Bach 
Background Note: Iran
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5314.htm
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Islamic Republic of Iran
Geography
Area: 1.6 million sq. km. (636,295 sq. mi., slightly larger than Alaska).
Arable land: 9.78% of the country.
Cities: Capital–Tehran. Other cities–Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Qom.
Terrain: Desert and mountains.
Climate: Semiarid; subtropical along the Caspian coast.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective–Iranian(s).
Population (2006 est.): 69 million.
Population growth rate (2006): 1.1%.
Ethnic groups: Persians 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%.
Religions: Shi’a Muslim 89%; Sunni Muslim 9%; Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha’i 2%.
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic languages (besides Turkish) 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%.
Education: Literacy (total population age 15 and over who can read and write, 2003)–79% (male: 86%, female: 73%).
Health (2006 est.): Infant mortality rate–40.3 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth (2006)–total population: 70.26 yrs.
Government
Type: Islamic republic.
Constitution: Ratified in December 1979, revised 1989.
Branches: Executive–Supreme Leader (head of state), president (head of government), Council of Ministers, Assembly of Experts, Expediency Council, Council of Guardians. Legislative–290-member Majles (National Assembly, or Islamic Consultative Assembly). Judicial–Supreme Court.
Political parties: A number of reform-minded groups achieved considerable success during elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000. However, many reformist candidates, including sitting members of the Majles, were disqualified from participation in the February 2004 elections. As a result, a new conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, won a majority of the seats and took a leading position in the seventh Majles.
Administrative subdivisions: 30 provinces.
Suffrage: Universal suffrage at age 15.
Economy
GDP (purchasing power parity, 2005 est.): $561.6 billion.
GDP (official exchange rate, 2005 est.): $181.2 billion.
GDP real growth rate (2005 est.): 6.1%.
GDP composition by sector (2004): Agriculture 19%, industry 26%, services 55%.
Per capita income (2005 est.): $8,300.
Work force: 23.68 million.
Work force – by occupation (2001 est.): Agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45%.
Unemployment rate (2004 est.): 11.2%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, iron ore, lead manganese, zinc, sulfur.
Agriculture: Principal products–wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar. Note: Iran is not self-sufficient in terms of food.
Industry: Types–petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (particularly steel and copper), armaments.
Trade (2005): Exports–$55.42 billion: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, carpets, fruits, nuts. Major export partners (2005): Japan (16.9%), China (11.2%), Italy 5.9%), South Korea (5.8%), South Africa (5.8%), Turkey (4.6%), Netherlands (4.5%), France (4.4%), Taiwan (4.1%). Imports–$42.5 billion: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major import partners: Germany (13.7%), UAE (8.3%), China (8.2%), Italy (7%), France (6.2%), South Korea (5.3%), Russia (4.8%).
PEOPLE
Iran is a pluralistic society. Persians are the largest predominant ethnic and cultural group in this country, though many are actually of mixed ancestry. The country has important Turkic elements (e.g. Azeris) and Arabs predominate in the southwest. In addition, Iranian citizens include Kurds, Balochi, Bakhtyari, Lurs, and other smaller minorities, such as Armenians, Assyrians,Jews..
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