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Wednesday 1 October 2014

Beneath the Great World's Notice and Lost to History

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 Iranian coal miners eat lunch at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception. The decision to privatize the industry 10 years ago has further squeezed miners, who work often in dangerous conditions -- and make just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 19 August 2014


An Iranian coal miner pushes a metal cart loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. The miners move up to 100 tons of coal a day
: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 18 August 2014


Iranian coal miners pose for a photograph at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception. The decision to privatize the industry 10 years ago has further squeezed miners, who work often in dangerous conditions -- and make just $300 a month: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 18 August 2014


An Iranian coal miner works inside a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. The miners tunnel deep into the mountains, working in dark, narrow passageways where the risk of toxic gases and cave-ins is never far from their minds: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 18 August 2014
 

An Iranian coal miner works inside a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. The miners tunnel deep into the mountains, working in dark, narrow passageways where the risk of toxic gases and cave-ins is never far from their minds: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 19 August 2014
 

An Iranian coal miner stops collecting logs to pose for a photograph at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab, 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, Iran. The workers make just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 7 May 2014


An Iranian coal miner with his face smeared black from coal poses for a photograph at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province The workers who put in long hours in often dangerous conditions and make just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 7 May 2014


Iranian coal miners push metal carts loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran. Iran's ministry of industry, mines and commerce says it has plans for improving the working conditions of miners alongside a drive to boost the production of minerals: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 8 May 2014


An Iranian coal miner pushes an old metal cart to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province. A miner said they move up to 100 tons a day: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 8 May 2014


An Iranian coal miner moves wagons to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 8 May 2014



 An Iranian coal miner takes a break at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception. The decision to privatize the industry 10 years ago has further squeezed miners, who work often in dangerous conditions -- and make just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 8 May 2014



Iranian coal miners push metal carts to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 8 May 2014


An Iranian coal miner smokes a cigarette during a break at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception. The decision to privatize the industry 10 years ago has further squeezed miners, who work often in dangerous conditions -- and make just $300 a month: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 19 August 2014


 
Iranian coal miners rest during a break at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab, 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. The miners put in long hours in often dangerous conditions and make just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 6 May 2014
 

 
Iranian coal miners pose for a photograph before taking a shower after a long day of work at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. The miners put in long hours in often dangerous conditions making just $300 a month, little more than minimum wage: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 7 May 2014
 

 
An Iranian coal miner takes a shower while others prepare to go home after a long day of work at a mine on a mountain in Mazandaran province, near the city of Zirab, 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran. Around 1,200 miners work across 10 mines in the Mazandaran province, in a mountainous, verdant area. More than 12,000 tons of coal is extracted from the mines each month, almost all of which is shipped south for use in Iran’s steel industry: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP. 6 May 2014

4 comments:

Hazen said...

Around here, they used to call this particular type of labor (judging from some of the photos), mining low coal. Dreadful work for a man. It soon wrecks the body.

TC said...

I guess one could say this is what a "resistance economy" -- Iran's make-do way around the crippling sanctions that have affected many of its major industries -- looks like in action.

Makes you wonder whether the hiring office for the chain gang could have been shut.

But not so fast: I've got it straight from sources close to those close to the dust stirred in the underworld by the winged heels of Bibi Netanyahu -- I mean deep inside the bunkers of the command structure -- that those guys seen in the pictures here aren't actually miners, they're highly sophisticated nuclear engineers in drag.

This is made plain as day by what else but... the News of the Day.

I'm not going to say it appears that the Israeli PM's got a one-track mind, but when, fresh from the previous day's bizarro UNGA shenanigans (you'll recall that, bodysurfing before the empty gallery on the current heady cosmo-political Islamophobic rush -- these Isis nuts, what a bonanza, Pamela Geller's ultimate wet dream come true -- our Bib suggested wizardly that Derek Jeter may have a Second Life as a utility infielder and backup ballgirl for the Iranian national team), when the Beebmeister hit the Casa Blanca bright and early this a.m. the deployment of Hasbara was Back to Basic, that is, back up the sanctions bus and run it over Iran... again.

And again. And again.

Strange timing by any rational standards, given that in the Iranian president's speech to UNGA on 25 September Mr. Rouhani did everything but spell it out on the bathroom mirror with lipstick: if there was ever a time for straight up talk with us, now is it.

But of course Bibi doesn't want anything straight up, only slanted. All His way. All the time. As the Existential Threat chapters in Deuteronomy foretold.

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Reuters, today, reporting on the big meeting of the Heads Who Will Never Be Friends:
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"Underscoring Israeli misgivings at a critical juncture in nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, Netanyahu made clear that he remains at odds with Obama about the course of international negotiations with Israel’s regional arch-foe.

"'As you know, Mr. President, Iran seeks a deal that would lift the tough sanctions that you worked so hard to put in place and leave it as a threshold nuclear power,' Netanyahu said. 'I firmly hope under your leadership that would not happen.'

"The crux of the U.S.-Israeli disagreement is that Netanyahu wants Tehran completely stripped of its nuclear capability, while Obama has suggested he is open to Iran continuing to enrich uranium on a limited basis for civilian purposes.
. . .

"Netanyahu has cast Iran's nuclear ambitions as an existential threat to Israel. Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal."

__

Bibi mouthed some gibberish today about "thinking outside the box". Odd when you think of it, as he so loves locking entire societies in boxes and tossing the key into the Dead Sea. But the hardnosed realpolitician in him ought to be smart enough to overcome the standard Zionist persecution-mania rhetoric and see what's obvious from these photos: Iran is about as technologically advanced as Appalachia in the 1920s.

And slipping further behind with every day Bibi the Blusterbag and his bottom-feeding No Love Lobby manage to coax the "international community" (??) into extending the sequestration of Iran via economic and trade embargo.

No coal to make steel. Auto exports off 40% in the past three years.

Same tactic Israel employs against Gaza. Keep these undesirable societies from developing, while "we" work on ways of eliminating them altogether.

Mose23 said...

It's always way beyond a joke when Israel starts talking about Nuclear threats in the Middle East.

It is the worst kind of work.

TC said...

Last year the billionaire casino mogul and AIPAC heavywight Sheldon Adelson was again floating the persistent idea of a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran. Pre-emptive as in pre-empting humanity.

I don't think anything else will really satisfy Bibi; I believe his heart is set on sooner or later bringing home that prize. Though of course realistically all he could have expected this time round was a further extension of the brutal sanctions. That standard sop. It's rumoured he spent two hours railing against Iran with the sad embarrassed (he looked ashen in the photos) O'B.

Who is said to have meanwhile pipped a mild squeak or two of polite rejoinder on behalf of the Palestinians, but of course as in Bibi's world they have no state and therefore don't exist, that would have been talking to a wall.