Benjamin Zand

Iran’s National Service

April 26, 2010 By benjaminzand 1 Comment

Benjamin Zand explores the foggy realm of Iran’s National Service and its effect on the people of Iran

There is one question that plagues the minds of Iran’s population of male youths; Artesh or Pasdaran? Since conscription became mandatory in 1925 and the Islamic Revolution prevailed, National Service and its military organisations have been an all too constant chain around the ankles of Iran’s ambitious youths.

At an age where most people’s worries consist of parties and waist-lines, the majority of youths in Iran have more urgent matters at hand. Women are currently exempt from compulsory national service, but very few men have this option.

Their options are very restricted, and should be considered more outcomes than options. In the majority of cases, the government will choose conscripts’ destinations depending on qualifications, previous jobs and family members.The Artesh is Iran’s traditional army, with an info-structure similar to that of many armies around the world. It is said to be considerably more popular amongst the anti-government portion of Iran’s population. The Pasdaran on the other hand, is the ‘Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution’ and has close links with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ’s government. This path can often secure a good life for conscripts, but requires a minimum of 6-months as a member of the non-active military group the Basij, a group the Iranian government claim has over 20 million members and one that is often labelled terrorist by the West. [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Politics, Features Tagged With: 1925, Artesh, Benjamin Zand, Benjamin Zand's Blog, conscription, exemptions, Iran's army, Iran's National Service, Iran's National Service and its effect on the people of Iran, Islamic Revolution, Keyvan Nayyeri, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mandatory conscription, Moussa Kamali, Pasdaran, terrorist, The Basij

St. Andrew’s student dies after 60ft plunge

November 9, 2009 By benjaminzand Leave a Comment

By Benjamin Zand

Alex Wilson, 19, a first-year French and Spanish student at St. Andrew’s University, was heading to a bonfire night beach party with a friend when he fell 60ft into the sea from a cliff close to the St. Andrew’s University in Fife

The student is the 5th person to die in recent years due to falling from the cliff (Courtesy of the BBC)

Police said that the incident took place at 1.35am on Friday morning, and the student’s body washed up onto shore near St Andrew’s sea life centre at 3.00am.

Mr. Wilson, from Alberbury, Shropshire, was accomponied by his friend when he fell, but the police ensure there are no suspiscious circumstances.

A lifeboat and an RAF helicopter where deployed in the search for Mr. Wilson.

Alex was described as a ‘very popular’ and ‘bright’ student by the University’s vice-principal Stephen Magee, who also went on to say, “We send our sincere condolences to Alex’s parents, Chris and Jean, and his brother, Henry, at this enormously difficult time.”

Alex is understood to be the 5th person to die at the site. Following incidents in 2005 and 2006, when a 31 year-old man from South Africa and a 20 year-old from Montana, America also lost their lives at the same spot. These events have raised huge discussion and controversy about the safety measures put in place to prevent events like this happening. Due to this, a wall that hid the edge of the cliff was replaced with high railings, but people still don’t feel this is enough.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) for example said greater steps must be taken to raise awareness of the cliffs among students.

But Cllr Bill Sangster, who was involved in a safety review following the earlier incidents, said whilst speaking to the Telegraph, there was now clear signage in the area warning of the drop.

He added: “I can’t understand what happened. You can now see through the railings and see there is just a short slope before the cliff.”

Police have appealed for any information people may have, and stated they are specifically keen to speak to a young American man who is believed to have spoken to the Mr. Wilson just moments before his death.

Filed Under: Courts and Crime, Life and Society Tagged With: 60ft death, Alberbury, Alex Wilson, Benjamin Zand, ROSPA, Shropshire, St. Andrew's University, Stephen Magee, Student plunges to death

Ashley defies Fans with Stadium Name change

November 9, 2009 By benjaminzand Leave a Comment

By Benjamin Zand

Mike Ashley has once again outraged Newcastle United fans by going through with his controversial plans to change the name of St James’ Park despite repeated protests from fans

The championship side will see its stadium’s former name of ‘St James’ Park’, which it’s held since 1880, changed to sportsdirect.com@St. James’ ParkStadium.

The North-Eastern outfit announced last week it was looking to sell the naming rights to St. James’ Park from next season, a decision which sparked extremely negative responses from the club’s supporters. The club has now decided though to utilize the ground to showcase the sportswear company, ‘Sports Direct’, controlled by current club owner Mike Ashley until the end of the season.

Angry Fans protest about Stadium name change (Courtesy of BBC)

‘We will showcase Sports Direct until the end of the season’ chief executive Derek Llamias told BBC Newcastle.

‘I’m sure we’re going to get a sponsor for next season’

Fans have acted very angrily to the decision and a lot are upset at what they see as a part of their beloved club being lost.

Speaking to one supporter, 18 year-old Richard Thornton, a season-ticket holder from Newcastle who currently resides in Edinburgh, but still manages to attend every Newcastle match, he said, “It (the name change) is pointless, no money is even going to be made, it’s a historical ground and with the loss of the name, comes a bit of history lost in my opinion. It seems like he (Mike Ashley) is doing all he can to upset the Newcastle fans.”

When asked about what he thought of Mike Ashley as chairperson of Newcastle United he went on to say, “He’s not a football man, he’s a business man, he’s lost a lot of money through the club and he’s trying his luck with whatever he can to regain his losses, he just doesn’t understand how big this is to the fans, St. James’ Park is Newcastle United.”

Even former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd criticized the move to re-name the stadium, claiming that “there are just some things that money can’t buy”.

These views seem to echo the majority of NUFC supporters, with many trying to halt the proposed plans through staging a variety of protests, such as the ones before and after Newcastle United’s game on Saturday against Peterborough.

The decision from Ashley came the same day as he took the club off the market due to failing to attract a buyer willing to pay the reduced asking price of £80m, leading many to believe the name change was just a ploy for Mike Ashley to further deepen his own pockets, rather than enhance the fortune and welfare of the club. Fans were further enraged and this notion supported with the announcement that the club’s plans to rename the stadium were for commercial purposes.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has upset fans with his decison to rename St James' Park (Courtesy of SkySports)

Mr Ashley bought the club for £134m two years ago when it was still in the Premiership, and has suffered considerable losses at his time at the club, with its decline into the Championship being a large factor.

Llambias, speaking to BBC sport, when asked if the name “St James’ Park” would always remain amid an angry response from fans, said: “Absolutely. In our reign, absolutely.”

“It’s adding to it, and if it brings in a good chunk of money to the club, that goes straight to the team, then do you know what, it’s a revenue we should look at.”

Adidas, Newcastle’s current shirt sponsors, were strongly linked with buying the rights to the stadium, but have brushed off reports, announcing they had not been offered the naming rights to the stadium and would not wish to take the rights if they were offered.

The controversy about renaming the stadium is only a recent problem in a very long and arduous feud between the Newcastle supporters and Mike Ashley, but Derek Llambias is confident that success on the pitch will heal the pain of the aggrieved fans.

Saying, whilst speaking to the BBC: “Success, really, will heal the wounds, and time, a combination of both. We are patient people and I think the fans will come around eventually.

“I have no idea what length of time that will be – I may be a very old man before it’s done – but I think the fans will see in the future that we do care.”