Former Team Oscar Member Arrested, Freed In Iran
by John T. SimpsonI know I had said my last BH piece would be it. But I came across a tidbit of slightly older news in the June 19th issue of Daily Variety that perhaps finally brings into total focus and stark clarity all I had said in my Big Hollywood op-ed The Stoning Of Team Hollywood, regarding Team Oscar’s ill-advised soiree to Iran this past March. The fascist alligator has finally bitten one of their own.
It is a tale well worth returning to share with you, Dear Readers.
Documentarian James Longley, perhaps best known for his award-winning film Iraq in Fragments, was already filming in Iran in late February when Team Hollywood arrived. According to this March 2nd press release by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website, Mr. Longley became part of the Team Hollywood crew in Tehran and participated in all activities.
When Team Oscar left Iran, however, Mr. Longley remained to complete filming on his current film project involving, ironically, the Iran elections, when an amazing thing happened: the Green Revolution. On June 16th, Mr. Longley became both a witness to history and a victim of it. I will leave you with Mr. Longley’s account of the events that transpired in the ensuing chaos of post-election Tehran, as told by Daily Variety. They are the only words that need to be spoken.
A transcription from the hardcopy June 19th issue of Daily Variety:
U.S filmmaker James Longley was arrested briefly this week while shooting scenes of his current project chronicling the Iran elections. In an email published on a blog, Longley described his experience at the hands of the security forces who beat his translator:
“It made me really question what I am doing in this country. It has become impossible to work as a journalist without the risk of physical violence from the government,” wrote Longley.
One Iranian filmmaker, who insisted on anonymity, said that German co-producers had insisted the director leave the country and complete post-production in Berlin.
“I was still in Tehran 48 hours ago, but my co-producers got worried about me being able to get the film out of the country. so I left,” the helmer said. “You never know what’s going to happen. There is a lot of pressure on Iranian filmmakers now because a lot of them supported Mousavi, and they’re scared Ahmadinejad will crush them if he wins.”
Here is an in-depth post-arrest interview I found with Mr. Longley. Well worth the read. No idea if he was party to the original 300 and the Wrestler punking when Team Oscar got off the tarmac, but if he was, that must suck. That means he got DOUBLE-punked! By punk I mean like Hitler and his Gestapo punks, not Marlon Brando or The Outsiders. Like Hitler punked Chamberlain? Stalin punked Trotsky? Like Ahamdinejad and Khamenei are trying to punk the Iranian people right now? Very different class of punks from American. But it’s still getting punked. Got all that now?
I hope and pray Mr. Longley has a long chat with his former Team Oscar compatriots if and when he returns to AMPAS HQ. The regime was no different in March than it is now.
The difference is, the world is watching now. And seeing the naked ruthless brutality of the regime as it really is. Just as I’ve know it to be for thirty long years now. From the Embassy Hostage Crisis in 1979 to Roxana Saberi today. Looks like the same old Islamist extremist terrorist regime to me. Didn’t the Khamenei-led Death To America rallies in response to Obama’s peace video strike anyone else as hopeless?
I also hope and pray for all the innocent Iranians now at the brink. As Drudge just reported, the Revolutionary Guard is now being brought in, and the harshest measures yet are expected to be applied to anyone protesting the vote in the streets. If it wasn’t serious before, it is now. This could be the tipping point one way or the other. If the people continue to oppose the government in the streets after this warning, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. If it gets better at all.
To understand the depth of the Nazi-like horrorshow being staged by the basiji militias on innocent Iranians, all you need do is watch this video. Funny thing is, you really can’t see anything happening. Worst part is, you really don’t have to. Besides all the screaming that is self-explanatory, the banging and car alarms you hear are of basiji militias on a neighborhood rampage.
Dictatorships will fight to the death to preserve their power, even if it means slaughtering their own people. Yet that is why I opposed Team Oscar’s trip in the first place. They’ve been slaughtering their own people by the bushel ever since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Gays, women, bloggers, students, dissidents, even children. Whatever God or power in the universe you believe in, please pray for the safety of the Iranian people. I’m doubling down with both God and The Force.
Good Luck and Good Night. And peace. I hope.
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43 Comments
You won't hear much 'outrage' (I mean REAL outrage, not the manufactured liberal 'outrage') regarding the current government of Iran. That would mean all the bleats of moral equivilency that the Left has been promoting regarding Iran and those 'freedom fighters' in Iraq, would be worthless. It was this moral equivilency that helped get the 'Won' elected, as the 'freedom fighters' were just trying to fight against the evil George Bush. That's one of the reasons why they remained silent regarding Theo Van Gogh's slaying; to suggest that Muslim extremists even existed was frowned upon. Even as gays were executed and raped women stoned, Hollywood remained silent; preferring to vent their rage (verbally and physically) at Mormons who were on the 'wrong' side of Prop 8. Until the 'Won' actually comes out forcefully against the Iranian regime, few in Hollywood will bother exposing their own hypocrisy.
It's almost like the US left needs a Islamic extremist regime to continue in power in Iran the same way that regime needs an "evil" America to distract and contain it's citizens…the benefit from each other's existance.
May God deliver the oppressed in Iran today and may Mr. Longley's eyes remain permanently open to what they've been closed to before.
I'm just waiting to see how long it takes NickName to tell us how wrong we are.
"It made me really question what I am doing in this country.
Oh, NOW he starts to question. The Iran thugs have been brutalizing women, gays, dissidents out in the public for years – Soraya wasn't the only woman stoned. It was all there for him to see. But he didn't question one bit. Only when his own rear was kicked did he notice the jackboot of terror that stomps all around him. And this man calls himself a 'documentarian'? What was he documenting in the past except for those little tingle up his leg that insisted that thugs would stop being thugs if only you convinced Annette Benning she looks so cute in a burkha?
this stands in such contrast to what the Bush administration's approach to foreign bellicosity was as to be conciously different. Obama and his minions have decided that no matter what, they were going to be different.
So they are. However, if you lead by polls you will always be both reactive and behind the curve… Iran's ruling clique has hated the US through six administrations- it is woefully naive to think that being 'nice' and exchanging pleasantries like hotdogs will do much. It's called a learning curve, and we'll see just how fast- if ever- they learn…
And the "this comment has been deleted by the administrator" goblin again rears its ugly head. Have fun everyone. I'm outta here. I have better things to do than craft a comment only to have it immediately disappear. This is just happening too often the past few days.
Remember Neda. This isn't about politics anymore, not to the people of Iran. It's the most basic struggle of all, the one for God-given freedom, that most simple gift that's rarely understood until it's taken away. The Iranians are, at last, fighting back for theirs. I pray they do not struggle in vain.
Actually, this post is hte first one that the bug is hitting me on Law… But yeah, sorry John.. I had some thoughts to add here… Someone fix the ID system
in an odd way we are relieved; we have been getting the smackdown daily and just thought it was our red blooded war whoops… it seems they have to reign in some of the debate- and it is their site so it must be respected- still, it seems a shame…
Conservatives got all huffy when the Iranian journalist was arrested and Obama supposedly did nothing. In Obama's defense the point was made that if Obama made a big deal out of it, it would become a macho show down and seal her fate. Instead Obama played it cool and guess what? The woman was freed! That's right. Obama made sure the right things happened discretely behind the scenes without fanfare and she was freed.
CONSERVATIVES GET A CLUE!
Considering the track record of Americans being taken hostage in Iran (umm, shades of Carter), the point that Iran wanted to make was done: they took an innocent woman journalist hostage, kept her until she threatened a hunger strike, and released her. The point made by the Iranian government: we dont respect you or your government and can do what we want whenever to your citizens so watch how you treat us. Fast forward to the recent events, Obama's mum-dumb approach, and couple that with the secret letter sent to the religious leader (and its subsequent ridicule by them) and what are you left with?
Funny, aren't these the same guys ronnie raygun sold missiles to in the Iran-Contra Affair?
Bill, it must have filled you with outrage when ronnie raygun negotiated to have the hostages held until AFTER he took office!
What are you left with? Hmmm, well lets see about that. We're left with the Mullah's still in power, but its been significantly de-legitimized. What would have happened if Obama acted in a way that was in keeping with the criticism from the right? Well, not only would the Mullahs still be in power, but the protestors would have been attacked for treason and probably treated more harshly. One thing that wouldn't have happened is any victory by the protesters. That's all huey.
yeah, I was certain that my trolling did me in for the last time cuz I was seeing that constantly. it remains a mystery.
I'm sure you are relieved that I'm back.
Ya, and Carter sold peanuts in Georgia. And FDR sold all kinds of supplies and weapons to Russia to fight Hitler. Then Stalin himsef tried to take over the world, so he wasn't a friend anymore. We fought now-BFF Japan and Germany to the death. See how the world works, Lobotomy Train?
BFF one day, mortal enemy the next, and vice versa. Happens all the time. It's called historical perspective. Try reading a book sometime. Other than Marx, Saul Alinksy and Noam Chomsky, that is.
What victory is that, CD? They're still getting beaten senseless and mowed down in the streets. Even the wounded are being dragged out of hospitals by Iran's Gestapo goons. No victory yet. May even be a bloodbath to follow. What will your great Obamamessiah say if that happens? No more invites to Fourth of July parties?
Why don't you go join Team Oscar on their next misadventure? I'm figuring Sudan, given the history. And yes, I've always been for taking down tyrannies like Saddam's Iraq and Khomeni's Iran. See, I hate governments terrorizing their own people, and prefer the democratic model. What's your excuse?
If you seriously believe that, you, and those who play along with terrorists, are putting the lives of victims at risk. Knock us all you want, but don't feed the thugs. They took her for the propaganda and released her for their reasons, not yours.
I disagree, James. America has always tried to be the world's BFF, as we have been for so many nations. The only ones who feed on hate are ruthless dictatorships like Iran's that need an external enemy, us in Iran's case, that makes us look so bad they look good, no matter what they do. This was a cntral theme of Orwell's 1984.
We're not looking for enemies. They are.
I might add, CD, that Obama played it cool when no one knew whether Roxana would live or die. Some hero. I've been covering this story since the beginning. In fact, the whole government and Invisible Press abandoned Roxana right after SOS Clinton's demand for her release. That includes the White House and Dear Leader. My heroes and yours
Here's my damning proof. 7500 hits already. How much attention does your original writing get? Oh yeah, you only troll from your mother's basement. I guess some would call that a life.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/269510
The mullahs are still in powerGot news for you: 1) the protestors ARE being attacked for treason, How much more harsh than being shot at can ya get? 2) the outcome would have been illegitimate anyway (rigged elections), only now people are actually taking to the streets. Even the European Union BEAT US to the punch in making a statement (however lukewarm it was). What does this say about the current administration and the United States when we come across as less than tepid in our support for human rights, something that wasnt even broached by this administration even in its earliest of statements. SAY SOMETHING to at least SHOW that you care about people being beaten and killed.
We are not talking nowhere near 444 months. Only HOURS after Carter left office and intense negotiations. My point: they were dealing with someone who displayed strength, and were done doing damage to the weak sister who had gotten us into this mess and others during his presidency. Which is where we are heading right now.
Okay JS, what victory – and how many beatings – would the advice of John McCain have provided to the protesters? Or had this happened a year ago with Bush still in charge, what brave fist pumping cowboy rhetoric would he have proclaimed that would improve the protesters current fate?
This is a funny suggestion here – while its purely hypothetical, I say my point is still pretty clear because we all know – its quite obvious that the answer is that McCain nor Bush nor whoever you want to name would be able to acheive anything different here. This isn't America's problem afterall, and this is the first thing any Iranian will remind you.
Hey John,
"My comment must be approved by the site admins before it will appear publicly."
TAKE THAT!
Conisder yourself lucky, CD. You should have been bounced from BH a long time ago. Not based on your lame and uneducated PC political views. You have way too many negative hits. Trolls shouldn't have that much fun. But I am glad you're back. Your rantings stand as living testaments of the kind of left-wing idiocy I often opine against here. But every bar has a serving cutoff, too.
How much more harsh do the protestors need to be treated. Gettin shot at isnt enough? And as for the election de-legitimized, it was rigged, but now people are taking to the streets. Even the EU beat us at making a statement (no matter how tepid). We are America, at least stand up for the rights of these poeple to protest and for their human rights and not feign 'concern'
LTrain,
That's Ronaldus Magnus to you, snot-brain.
Don't let the facts get in the way of your bilious narrative. The fact is that with President Reagan at the helm, the Mullahs suddenly discovered that discretion was the better part of valor and released the hostages.
That's because unlike Carter or Obama, Reagan played a damned good game of International Poker.
Neither the Mullahs or the Soviet Commissars could ever be quite sure if he was kidding when he said stuff like "the bombers will be leaving in five minutes." He called them names like "Evil Empire", and spoke over their heads to the oppressed masses under their grip.
And lo and behold, the ground shifted under their feet and the Iron Curtain came tumbling down. And moral pygmies like yourself have never forgiven him for proving you so wrong.
You suffer from the characteristic leftist inability to make critical distinctions, and a total inability to read human nature.
Last week's demonstrations caught the mullahcracy flat-footed. Instead of allowing themselves to be cowed, the crowds continued to grow in numbers and passion, despite the beatings and the threats. This was the time for Obama to steal a page from the Gipper's book and use the bully pulpit to denounce the regime and give encouragement to the demonstrators. Obama's response? To identify the chief thug Kamheni as "Supreme Leader (peace be to him)", smugly showing off his cosmo knowledge of the proper way to address murderous heads of state. After the clips of Neda's murder at the hands of the regimes gunmen, he went for a photo-op for ice cream.
His tepid condemnations are days late and dollars short. He's already demonstrated to the Mullahs that he's not going to do anything if they increase the crack-downs except make noise. Last week that might have been enough. Not anymore.
It's been hitting me intermittently for the last few days. I even changed names (couldn't register as "Marko" because someone else had registered the name) and it deleted the first comment I added after registering. But the filtering comes and goes.
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Ronnie Raygun? Seriously?
I don't suppose you ever get tired of using twenty-year-old nicknames for people you don't like? I mean, I could understand Slick Willy (for Clinton) and The Chimp (for George W.), but come on, Reagan's been dead for five years.
"You should have been bounced from BH a long time ago."
John, reply if you see fit to indulge me here, but I admit I've been wondering about the thinking here. To some degree, Breit bart tolerates trolls. What is the limit of that and why?
To me its all social discourse. The more heated, then generally, the better. I spend time here for several reasons. Maybe y'all think I just like to aggrevate – maybe there's some truth there. But I look at it like this: "The Socratic Method". If I believe some way- liberal concept a, b or c, then what better way to test my thinking then to challenge that thinking by considering what people here say about a, b, or c. If I can't defend it… then I don't adhere to it.
And how the heck do you claim to know all that?!
Okay so your right and I'm wrong because you are a conservative blogger that is popular on a right-wing news portal and I'm a leftist troll? Well, I'll grant you one thing- your point here is consistent with the same thing I see plenty of every time I post. "We don't like you here! You are stupid! Go back to Daily Kos! ETC"
But its not exactly "damning" let me tell you.
And to the subject matter, again, my point is that Obama played it cool PRECISELY in order to save Roxanna, and she was saved. Cause & effect? Well that's for anyone to say or not say. But you can't say that his actions led to her death. And in fairness- surely there will be some hostage situations where Obama will follow the best advice from the experts and the hostages will nonetheless die. Of course this also did happen to Bush, lets not forget.
Kind of like the way the skipper of the Maersk cargo ship died…oops, sorry, the hostage takers were killed (Now we have the one hostage taker kid who is being portrayed in a 'woe is me' fashion getting taken to court here). Of course, the Carter administration played it cool, too…for 444 months. Lotta good it did them. They sent in people to try and get them out, but thanks to all his cuts in defense and sorry state of training a fiasco ensued. As for Roxanna, you fail to realize that the Iranian govt acted with impunity, playing it cool and pretending that they will eventually come around (sometime this year to the bargaining table)will not work. My point is: provide strong messages, and people will think twice before f-ing with you or your people, provide leadership in alienating a brutal regime and you give hope to those who look to us for it. Reagan did and the wall fell, Bush did and the Taliban are takin a beating and Saddam is dead.
"Bush did and the Taliban are takin a beating" Yeah, that's why the violence level in Afghanistan is at its worse level in years and we still don't have Bin Laden. Good point.
But I'm glad for Bush that we was able to settle that family vendetta with Saddam and only had to sacrifice a few thousand of our men and women in uniform. Its just too bad him and Cheney had to lie to the American people about some mythical WMDs in order to get the job done.
You can say it was a family vendetta, of course consiprational theorists could make the argument, but remember "regime change' was a course that was begun by the Clinton administration with Iraq, and throw in a few UN resolutions while you are at it. On the subject of Clinton, lets not forget how he blew up an empty Taliban tent camp in response to a terrorst attack on our people abroad and blew getting Bin Laden. So…Obama is doing better in this regard how? Here is a man who stays virtually silent on Iranian protestors screaming for democracy, and immediately comments on a coup that ousts a guy who is homeys with Chavez and Fidel. Good grief!
Conspiracy theorists (liberals) can argue that it was a vendetta, but Clinton made Iraqi 'regime change' policy. Lets throw in some UN resolutions, too. Clinton bombed an empty taliban tent camp and missed his chance at having Bin Laden handed over.
Unless I mssed something, I dont see the Taliban taking back Afghanistan, and everytime they try, they get spanked. Still, Obama can do better? He stays silent on Iranians wanting freedom and immediately joins a condemnation chorus with the likes of Chavez and Fidel? What planet are YOU from?
I don't see how it fits with any definition of "conspiracy". Its just a questioning of the motive. The resulting orchestration and events are clear and not in dispute.
Similarly, we can dispute whether a motivation was to make military contractors rich. The fact is that they profited heavily from the war.
Regime change can happen in a lot of ways. We'd like to see regime change in NKorea and Iran. But the Clintons didn't forcibly invade Iraq like Bush did.
I don't see how it fits with any definition of "conspiracy". Its just a questioning of the motive. The resulting orchestration and events are clear and not in dispute.
Similarly, we can dispute whether a motivation was to make military contractors rich. The fact is that they profited heavily from the war – as they always manage to. (God bless America!)
Regime change can happen in a lot of ways. We'd like to see regime change in NKorea and Iran. But the Clintons didn't forcibly invade Iraq like Bush did.
Questioning motives for some kind of surrepetitious or covert scheme is another way of saying conspiracy, so you proved my point.
As for regime change, Clinton commited to it (in words). At least he had more intestinal fortitude than Obama and his eerily similar predecsor Carter. Bush acted, sure he may have had his personal feelings, but who can say that the world is any worse off because of Saddam is gone, and the same is about the evil Taliban no longer being in power? Would you rather we give it all back?
Shut the fuck up, you stupid fucking piece of couch-commentary shit. You haven't the faintest fucking clue.
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