Summer's wrapping up!?

It seems like summer is wrapping up as it's getting cooler each day and I even feel a little chill in the morning looking for my blanket to warm myself up. It's September from tomorrow and many areas around the Middle East will start waking up. The days of going easy is numbered and I have to gear up for the coming crazy month. I already sense September will become another battlefield that I have to fight through. I better be ready!

PS
All the papers only had small articles about our historical election...

hey, we're importing a lot of oil from your country!

Out in the cold

Clouds were surrounding the city... predicting a rough day coming up!


It was an important day for politics in this country as the deliberations of the President's choice for his cabinet started in the Parliament. But for the international community, the more influential issue is the historical event taking place in my native country. The opposition is calling it a "revolution" and surely with the reports coming in, the expression fits perfectly.
Sadly, I'm left out in the cold this time from this decisive election for the future of my country. I remember I voted for the opposition last time though the government side had won it in a landslide. This time I wasn't even able to vote as I didn't hand in the necessary papers to be registered. Looking at the news that the opposition has won more 300 seats in the lower house completing its "revolution", I should have been dancing around, but it's makes me more sad that I couldn't participate in the coverage of such an exciting event.


it was news for the Iranian media too!
(from Press TV)

(7PM news on IRIB Channel 1)


watching internet sights along with JSTV broadcasting the special coverage from Tokyo...

Anyways, the true battle has not ended today, it's actually going to be a rough ride for the new government, as there are so many inexperienced people on the roster and incompetence will not be an excuse to handle grave issues in the middle of an economic turmoil and major decisions in foreign policy coming up. I'm sure they're not treading in air at this early stage, but they must realize they're walking on a very rough minefield. The laid mines are the same element that has taken them to power... the people... they will be watching very carefully... if the expectations are not fulfilled, the people... with the help of the media... will crush this victory, just like they have done with LDP's last landslide victory only four years ago!

A big difference?

In Japan, the election starts, in which they say a change in the power structure is evident more than a week before the voting. What if the opposition doesn't win? In our country, it's almost impossible to carry out a fraud, but who knows what could happen in the voting behaviors of my fellow countrymen and women. It will be a very crucial 12 days for my country. I'm a little distressed that I can't participate in this historical election, but I'm too far away from home... I'll just have to watch as a spectator!

General election in Farsi...

entikhabat-i omumi...

Something in the ordinary

Using my spare time, I went out to get a haircut. My wife came along to the shopping center where the barber was and we stopped by an ice cream shop to get some treats for my staff. No major steps in our coverage, but there were indications that the authorities were not thinking of kicking us out as we received another three months visa today.

PS
It was a day of election coverage in Japan, as the major step of dissolving the Lower House took place. From now on, most of my colleagues working in Japan will have to take part in the coverage and we would feel the pressure of filling the news from abroad... do I have enough dough to make a nice report!? I don't think so...

Photos...
Our lunch today!

Super Star burgers!

And...

to the ice cream shop!

6 scoops please!

sharing with my staff!

Broadcasting time! But...

It was finally the date for our special reports about the election was going to be on the air. But I have to admit it was a rigid road to get here as what we had planned was coverage showing the incumbent and the challenger, perhaps in the middle of campaigning for the run-off election. As everybody knows, that's not the case, and even worse, there's unrest in the streets!
The President held his victory gathering and the reformists held a huge demonstration in the street that is very familiar to us... just around the corner from our office...
I have no idea where this thing will head... I'm sure it's not going to finish soon...


everything seemed normal in the city... which I found out later on that it was only at this moment that it seemed peaceful...

END OF PEACE!?

It was nothing but turmoil today... We had to see the results come out all night, starting with a clear and big lead for the incumbent...
It didn't change all day and in the end the supporters of the challenger were so angry they went out to protest... actually more than a protest! There were clashes and the street that I always see with shoppers was now a stage of chanting and beating! How easily could a safe city turn into a chaotic mess!?
I see trouble coming up... real trouble!


completely unexpected... double score finish...

ELECTION DAY!

Time to vote for the people, and for me, time to get ready for broadcasting!
Overnight I had one live broadcast around 2:45AM and I had another one in the evening. I asked our coverage team from Tokyo to go out and film the people voting and I had to stay in my office... I just had time to go to a ballot station that was set at a school just about 30 meters from my office and I saw tons of people lining up waiting to cast their votes!

After I finished my broadcast, news came in that the voting time was to be extended... Well, they should vote as long as they want, but after that... it's time to see what their choice was... a hardliner or a moderate!



the two rivals were waiting patiently for the outcome... foo...

One more day...

It was the last day till the voting, and officially the no-campaign day for the candidates. We had to work on our reports and live broadcasts for tomorrow. One of our guests were leaving today and I asked my wife to take her to a nice restaurant so she won't leave feeling sorry she hadn't seen the nice parts of this city! I think after seeing her and my wife's smile, I understood how nice the lunch was and I felt happy there are places that can satisfy ladies.

PS
I couldn't resist sleeping at 1AM... I had to wake up at 4AM to finish my work to send my script before morning time in Japan! I took a short nap around 9 to 10 in the morning... this really helped to get me through the day!


a late night dinner... my favorite dish! ramen! don't know about ladies, but satisfactory for me!

2 more days...

Time is really running out... I'm happy to be able to secure broadcasting time tomorrow morning and we already have a special on Friday morning...
It's the last day of campaigning today and it was now or never for many people to get the last soundbites. Sadly, I couldn't get any for the challenger and now I regret it dearly that I should have went to one of his provincial visits...
There was a large gathering for the incumbent, but we really have enough of his soundbites... he even appeared on TV from 10:45PM to counter the accusations his opponents gave on their TV debate broadcasts... I really wasn't listening to what he said, but I'm sure he just said all the numbers his opponents are using are false... oh, well... we have to go on with what we have!


energy!

PS
I worked until 5AM this morning... you can't imagine how sleepy I am! Two more days, but will my health bear with this crazy load of work!

3 more days...

The countdown is starting and from now on, I'm sure I have to stay inside my office to coordinate rather than cover. It's really not fun to be the one in charged when everybody is out there to cover this historical event. But I have no choice... I can't ask someone else to take my place!

PS
It's now a habit to stay up all night...

3:14AM in my room... should I get some sleep...

Crazy and conservative!

Conservatives should be more calm... Maybe the word conservatives is not the right word for these people... The meeting by the people was just chaotic and I thought I would fall dead crammed between sweaty guys and if I can, I would never want to attend this kind of meeting... Of course it was an experience that you can't easily have, but uh, I hope this would be my last... really...


really chaotic...


and what was left after the chaos...

PS
We had another guest from Tokyo. She will stay for 4 days and see how the enthusiasm is... I'm sure she's seen enough of these crazy but conservative supporters!

Finally getting my hands on...

I was finally able to get the pictures that was necesssary for my exclusive story. I had to wait a long time to be able to convince our friend to give us some time for filming and also I needed my staff who were engaging in other important coverages. I think the pictures were not enough for a really long story, but I hope it would be enough to satisfy Tokyo's requests!

PS
I was really happy to hear my colleagues were given a visa extension! I was so worried that the request could be rejected and they would have to leave after 10 days from their arrival that would be four days before the election day. I really clenched my fist in victory as I really felt relieved... phew...

PPS
Soccer seems to be more important than the election!


but Iran's in trouble!

A week to the decisive vote!

I couldn't resist going to bed as I slept till 3:30AM and woke up to write about our plans about our special report right after the election. After going back to bed just before 6AM, I just couldn't get up from bed till it was after 10AM!
I went to see a small gathering of one of the underdogs in the race, but I think this could be the first and last to cover him. There's not telling in Iran's election who can suddenly emerge, but I'm sure he's not the one... I think...
I went out to dinner with one of my colleagues from Tokyo and my wife. The other colleague from Tokyo is out in the provinces to finish off a story and though I felt sorry, I though it would be a now or never opportunity!


at a mosque in the suburbs of Tehran...

Historical battle on TV

Today everybody was so enthusiastic to see the two top runners in the race fight each other face to face. For us it was a nice topic for a report and we had our team at full force before our television set from 9PM... but suddenly our satellite receiving was greatly disturbed and I almost went crazy as we had to record the pictures and send it to Tokyo for broadcasting. We managed to receive pictures without noise in the other room of our office... Oh please, why do so many crazy things happen this time!?


The TV Debate... (pic from Iranian media)

Entering the crucial month

It's obvious this month would be the most critical for me, more than the month of February where it was just until the Anniversary day that was crucial. This month, it would be very important to follow up whatever happens on the 12th and it would be quite a journey till I would be able to take a rest... a long journey...


going outside for coverage... in the south part of the city...

Working as a team...

I finally settled down to do some work in the office. The supporting team and my staff went out to cover the gatherings and it was my job to polish up our schedule as I was the commander in charge... This post is really tough... I'd rather go outside and cover the events than be strangled up with responsibilities!


a nice Japanese gift from Tokyo! I'm sure my staff will empty it quickly!

Supporting team arrives...

One correspondent and one cameraman arrived from Tokyo in the morning. They are here to help and support me for the election coverage, but they only have 10 days of permission to stay in the country. We have 13 days till the day of voting so obviously we have to ask for a visa extension. I'm hearing all these reports that the extension applications are being rejected and I'm really worried about our crew... If I don't get it, I'm going to be in real trouble!!
After asking my collegue to cover an election gathering, we found out that they might have left one of their baggages in the airport. Our faces became as pale as a dead person, but I just had to decide to make them go and find it!
I really don't believe in miracles, but they were able to find the baggage just before they were about to leave in vain. I hope this is a good sign for our coverage team for the next two weeks. Inshallah!

No pics today...

Mistake... mistake...

It was hard to decide whether to take a rare event by the incumbent, or the PC by the strongest challenger. I decided to go the event, but the incumbent started speaking hours after we reached the venue for the coverage... what a waste of time in such a precious day! We left the office at 8:30, reaching the venue before 9, but only permitted inside the hall for the gathering after 10AM. It was 12:45 when the incumbent finally started his one hour long speech! It was already around 2:30PM when we returned to our office... we used 6 hours just to get some pictures of the incumbent! I need to make the right decisions, but it's so hard with limited information and experience... I just have to be more sharp and hopefully, more lucky!


a long time waiting... and a very long speech...

Short trip outside the city...

We hit the road to a city in the southwest of Tehran. It took us about four hours to get to Arak, and though we had to leave shortly after 6AM, I was happy I could sleep in the car to gain some resting time for my body. The research we did in Arak was not very fruitful, but not completely incompatible for our coverage, and all I could do is decide to take the offer and go... I hope this will work out... I really do... because there's no other option!
It was just before midnight when we reached Tehran... There was a bombing in the instable southeast province of the country, but I asked my colleague in Tokyo to write about it, as it was too late for me to start the process.

Photos of the day...

a rest area we stopped by in the morning...


view of the city of Arak...


chai and...


rest area we stopped by later at night


and the burger I had!

Research and broadcast...

We were still doing research to get the necessary elements for the election reports and I also had to get ready for tomorrow's broadcast. I made a mistake of sleeping till 8 in the morning today and I was nearly in panic to write the scripts for my report and live coverage tomorrow. The day went past so quickly and I only had to hope that the research about the election coverage was going well.

Photos of the day (and yesterday)
FOOD SERIES!

last night's curry...

using the curry, my wife made a nice dish!

along with chicken!

a cake I had in the day time!