Test Tube Zealots: The American Chemical Society Terminates the Membership of Chemists from Iran

[stj911]

http://counterpunch.org/rahni04072007.html

Test Tube Zealots: The American Chemical Society Terminates the
Membership of Chemists from Iran

By DAVID N. RAHNI

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has once again led the way, with
its "zealot" interpretation of "embargo" by the Department of
Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, by terminating the
membership of its long-standing members in Iran, many of whom are post
Ph.D. Alumni of American Universities. Several years ago, the ACS
undertook a similar unprecedented action, under the same law. Then, it
unilaterally stopped accepting scholarly and research manuscripts from
Iranian scientists for its three dozen periodicals in the publication
division. However, later, under embarrassing pressure from the
American scientific community and its membership, the ACS retracted
its decision and agreed to take it up instead with the federal
government. Paradoxically and notwithstanding rhetoric, such ill-
conceived measures are against the current U.S. Administration policy
of promoting people-to-people contact as enunciated by the Assistant
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns at the March 29 hearing of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, in Science Magazine, reported that the ACS
Assistant General Counsel, David Smorodin when "re-reading the embargo
rules, made the recommendation to terminate Iranian membership(Science
Magazine, Vol. 315, 30 March 2007). One can not help but speculate
whether or not such decision is truly serving the interests of member-
based ACS or enforcing the laws to the limit as he has served as a
U.S. Assistant District Attorney before joining the ACS. Nonetheless,
despite the abrupt termination of individual membership of Iranian
chemical scientists with no due process, the ACS has stated that while
they [Iranians] can continue to purchase journals and other "non-
sensitive products at full-rate, the ACS might apply for a special
license from the Treasury Department to reinstate their memberships.
This has in the meantime deprived American chemists to learn about the
scholarly contributions of their Iranian peers.

It should be noted that as in the past, the American Physical Society
(APS), in contrast, stated, "We have NO plan to do anything similar,
and continue to serve our members in Iran." Judy Franz, a director at
the APS further stated that, "We would resist having to obtain a
license to the extent we can."

When interviewed by Science Magazine, the official publication of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), David
Rahni an Iranian-American chemistry professor in New York stated, "I,
like most ACS members and peers in the scientific community, strongly
question the ACS motive on this issue, and expect ACS,s leadership to
refrain from allowing politics to taint the high stature the
Organization has achieved." Rahni further stated that this has
personally concerned him gravely since he has served the ACS with
distinctions in the past thirty years, as typified by his positions as
the chair of the ACS New York, the chair of the Middle Atlantic
Regional Meeting, and the chair of Nichols Medal. 90% of the ACS
projects, publications and activities are run by a huge cadre of
volunteer professionals who, with no expectations, give their time,
energy, money and intellects and talents to the advancement of the
chemical sciences worldwide. It is painfully ironic to many,
especially the ACS American members to witness the politicization of
their disciplines through the ACS as they continue to register their
grave concerns with the ACS lucratively remunerated executive
directors. As a chemistry professor with having given fifty years of
his life to the ACS and the profession so eloquently put it, "Never
mind the Iranians as one may not give a darn about them and their
plights, what, I am bewildered to speculate the ulterior motives of
the ACS paid "professional leadership is to embarrass us as
freethinking science. ACS is US and not its DC staff as they are
required by our mandate to serve our interests and not create problems
for us.

The consensus among the nearly one million Americans of Iranian
ancestry is to reaffirm their yearning commitment to the attainment of
justice, security, stability, equity, transparency and human rights
through "home-grown", indigenous and democratic reforms in Iran, but
not at the expense of isolating the scientific community in their
motherland from their peers worldwide. They further deplore any
possible unilateral military action against Iran, as they firmly
believe this is counter-productive to the organic, slow, but steady
evolution of Iran through educational benchmark, cultural reforms and
communication with the rest of the world. They further consider
military action and/or isolation counter-productive to the credibility
of their American homeland which would inevitably lead, once again, to
the priceless loss of human life and loss of credibility for our
nation in the international scene.

Iran's chemist/chemical engineering professionals/scholars numbers
tens of thousands. They are, by and large, members of the Iranian
Chemical Society. However, many of them hold at least one overseas
membership, mostly in the Royal Societies in the UK. There are
currently 36 Iranian members in the American Chemical Society. The
strong position of chemistry/chemical engineering in Iran is due to
the oil and gas explorations by the petrochemical industry during the
past 100 years, and due to some of Iran,s renowned past and
contemporary chemists, scientists, and philosophers. The contributions
of Americans of Iranian background to the chemistry and sciences,
engineering and medicine, is unparalleled by other recent immigrant
communities. There indeed exists an <http://www.ica-acs.org/
news.htm>Iranian Chemists' Association of the ACS that since its
inception in the 80, has reached out to over a thousand chemists of
Iranian ancestry in the U.S. alone. It is well substantiated that as
long as the diplomatic relations between the two nations remain at a
hostile stalemate, a political cloud hovers over the personal and
professional aspirations of Iranian-Americans. Specifically, senior
and executive level professional opportunities for Iranian-Americans,
particularly in government, higher education and the corporate world,
remain chronically undermined.

Iran, a multiethnic country of 70 million, traces its heritage to a
long and illustrious history, 10,000 years in the making, with 2500
years of a continuous form of government. There are two million
students in her higher education system, 60% of whom, especially in
the sciences, engineering and medicine, are women. Its literacy rate
is 90%, unprecedented in that part of the world. Iran or Persia as it
was formerly known by the outside world until 1935, has indeed
contributed immensely toward the advancement of science, technology
and society for millennia. Rhazes, Avicenna, Algorithm, Omer Khayam,
Farabi, Biruni, Hayyan, and many others are some of the epics that
come to a western scholar,s mind.

Despite the tremendous burden imposed on the Iranian students and
scholars as they struggle to obtain a US visa (mostly denied) for
doctoral studies, some of the brightest graduate students in Ivy
League Universities (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT) are
Iranians. Increasingly, however, they opt to pursue their doctoral
studies in Australia, Canada and Europe. Iranian high school students
have continuously ranked among the top few of the nations in the
International Chemistry and other Science Olympiads, and Robotics and
Computing Competitions.

Isn't it ironic that when the ACS claims to be an international
professional society, 130 years old, with a membership of 160,000, 10%
of whom are from overseas, and an additional 20%, are naturalized
Americans or permanent residents, that it forces the nationals of Iran
out, deprives them from maintaining scientific communications with
peers worldwide, and does not let them contribute toward the
advancement of science worldwide?

Notwithstanding the rhetoric and provocations leading to a possible
disastrous confrontation by governments, a true scientist, or a
credible organization of scientists such as the ACS, which does not
recognize the boundaries of the world, should be capable to transcend
all political barriers for the advancement of science.

David N. Rahni, Ph.D. is a Professor of Chemistry at Pace University,
in Pleasantville, New York and Adjunct Professor of Dermatology, New
York Medical College. He is also an Adj. Prof. Envirnonmental Law at
Pace U. He can be reached at: dn********@pace.edu

[frank.logullo]

Sounds like a good idea to me. ACS is normally a left wing organization but
if true, I applaud them for this.
The only way the Iranian government problem is going to be rationally solved
is from forces within.

[lemnitzer]

"I now direct you to agree to a proposal which includes the following
terms and conditions," Wolfowitz instructed. "You should accept
immediately her offer to be detailed to an outside institution of her
choosing, while retaining bank salary and benefits."

The Wolfowitz memo went on say that Riza should receive a promotion,
draw a salary of 180,000 dollars (£90,000) and get annual pay
increases of 8%.

Before the job change, Riza was believed to be getting paid close to
133,000 dollars (£67,000). After the transfer, she received 193,590
dollars (£97,000), according to the Government Accountability Project,
a watchdog group.

Riza remains on the World Bank's payroll though she left the State
Department job last year and now works for Foundation for the Future,
an international organisation that gets some money from the
department.

On Apr 7, 9:33 am, [e-mail] wrote:

http://counterpunch.org/rahni04072007.html

Test Tube Zealots: The American Chemical Society Terminates the
Membership of Chemists from Iran

By DAVID N. RAHNI

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has once again led the way, with
its "zealot" interpretation of "embargo" by the Department of
Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, by terminating the
membership of its long-standing members in Iran, many of whom are post
Ph.D. Alumni of American Universities. Several years ago, the ACS
undertook a similar unprecedented action, under the same law. Then, it
unilaterally stopped accepting scholarly and research manuscripts from
Iranian scientists for its three dozen periodicals in the publication
division. However, later, under embarrassing pressure from the
American scientific community and its membership, the ACS retracted
its decision and agreed to take it up instead with the federal
government. Paradoxically and notwithstanding rhetoric, such ill-
conceived measures are against the current U.S. Administration policy
of promoting people-to-people contact as enunciated by the Assistant
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns at the March 29 hearing of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, in Science Magazine, reported that the ACS
Assistant General Counsel, David Smorodin when "re-reading the embargo
rules, made the recommendation to terminate Iranian membership(Science
Magazine, Vol. 315, 30 March 2007). One can not help but speculate
whether or not such decision is truly serving the interests of member-
based ACS or enforcing the laws to the limit as he has served as a
U.S. Assistant District Attorney before joining the ACS. Nonetheless,
despite the abrupt termination of individual membership of Iranian
chemical scientists with no due process, the ACS has stated that while
they [Iranians] can continue to purchase journals and other "non-
sensitive products at full-rate, the ACS might apply for a special
license from the Treasury Department to reinstate their memberships.
This has in the meantime deprived American chemists to learn about the
scholarly contributions of their Iranian peers.

It should be noted that as in the past, the American Physical Society
(APS), in contrast, stated, "We have NO plan to do anything similar,
and continue to serve our members in Iran." Judy Franz, a director at
the APS further stated that, "We would resist having to obtain a
license to the extent we can."

When interviewed by Science Magazine, the official publication of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), David
Rahni an Iranian-American chemistry professor in New York stated, "I,
like most ACS members and peers in the scientific community, strongly
question the ACS motive on this issue, and expect ACS,s leadership to
refrain from allowing politics to taint the high stature the
Organization has achieved." Rahni further stated that this has
personally concerned him gravely since he has served the ACS with
distinctions in the past thirty years, as typified by his positions as
the chair of the ACS New York, the chair of the Middle Atlantic
Regional Meeting, and the chair of Nichols Medal. 90% of the ACS
projects, publications and activities are run by a huge cadre of
volunteer professionals who, with no expectations, give their time,
energy, money and intellects and talents to the advancement of the
chemical sciences worldwide. It is painfully ironic to many,
especially the ACS American members to witness the politicization of
their disciplines through the ACS as they continue to register their
grave concerns with the ACS lucratively remunerated executive
directors. As a chemistry professor with having given fifty years of
his life to the ACS and the profession so eloquently put it, "Never
mind the Iranians as one may not give a darn about them and their
plights, what, I am bewildered to speculate the ulterior motives of
the ACS paid "professional leadership is to embarrass us as
freethinking science. ACS is US and not its DC staff as they are
required by our mandate to serve our interests and not create problems
for us.

The consensus among the nearly one million Americans of Iranian
ancestry is to reaffirm their yearning commitment to the attainment of
justice, security, stability, equity, transparency and human rights
through "home-grown", indigenous and democratic reforms in Iran, but
not at the expense of isolating the scientific community in their
motherland from their peers worldwide. They further deplore any
possible unilateral military action against Iran, as they firmly
believe this is counter-productive to the organic, slow, but steady
evolution of Iran through educational benchmark, cultural reforms and
communication with the rest of the world. They further consider
military action and/or isolation counter-productive to the credibility
of their American homeland which would inevitably lead, once again, to
the priceless loss of human life and loss of credibility for our
nation in the international scene.

Iran's chemist/chemical engineering professionals/scholars numbers
tens of thousands. They are, by and large, members of the Iranian
Chemical Society. However, many of them hold at least one overseas
membership, mostly in the Royal Societies in the UK. There are
currently 36 Iranian members in the American Chemical Society. The
strong position of chemistry/chemical engineering in Iran is due to
the oil and gas explorations by the petrochemical industry during the
past 100 years, and due to some of Iran,s renowned past and
contemporary chemists, scientists, and philosophers. The contributions
of Americans of Iranian background to the chemistry and sciences,
engineering and medicine, is unparalleled by other recent immigrant
communities. There indeed exists an <http://www.ica-acs.org/
news.htm>Iranian Chemists' Association of the ACS that since its
inception in the 80, has reached out to over a thousand chemists of
Iranian ancestry in the U.S. alone. It is well substantiated that as
long as the diplomatic relations between the two nations remain at a
hostile stalemate, a political cloud hovers over the personal and
professional aspirations of Iranian-Americans. Specifically, senior
and executive level professional opportunities for Iranian-Americans,
particularly in government, higher education and the corporate world,
remain chronically undermined.

Iran, a multiethnic country of 70 million, traces its heritage to a
long and illustrious history, 10,000 years in the making, with 2500
years of a continuous form of government. There are two million
students in her higher education system, 60% of whom, especially in
the sciences, engineering and medicine, are women. Its literacy rate
is 90%, unprecedented in that part of the world. Iran or Persia as it
was formerly known by the outside world until 1935, has indeed
contributed immensely toward the advancement of science, technology
and society for millennia. Rhazes, Avicenna, Algorithm, Omer Khayam,
Farabi, Biruni, Hayyan, and many others are some of the epics that
come to a western scholar,s mind.

Despite the tremendous burden imposed on the Iranian students and
scholars as they struggle to obtain a US visa (mostly denied) for
doctoral studies, some of the brightest graduate students in Ivy
League Universities (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT) are
Iranians. Increasingly, however, they opt to pursue their doctoral
studies in Australia, Canada and Europe. Iranian high school students
have continuously ranked among the top few of the nations in the
International Chemistry and other Science Olympiads, and Robotics and
Computing Competitions.

Isn't it ironic that when the ACS claims to be an international
professional society, 130 years old, with a membership of 160,000, 10%
of whom are from overseas, and an additional 20%, are naturalized
Americans or permanent residents, that it forces the nationals of Iran
out, deprives them from maintaining scientific communications with
peers worldwide, and does not let them contribute toward the
advancement of science worldwide?

Notwithstanding the rhetoric and provocations leading to a possible
disastrous confrontation by governments, a true scientist, or a
credible organization of scientists such as the ACS, which does not
recognize the boundaries of the world, should be capable to transcend
all political barriers for the advancement of science.

David N. Rahni, Ph.D. is a Professor of Chemistry at Pace University,
in Pleasantville, New York and Adjunct Professor of Dermatology, New
York Medical College. He is also an Adj. Prof. Envirnonmental Law at
Pace U. He can be reached at: [e-mail]

[lemnitzer]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1219-10.htm
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan06/Berkowitz07.htm

The Exotic Adventures of Neil Bush
by Bill Berkowitz

OAKLAND, California - These days, while President George W. Bush is
all about convincing the U.S. public that he has a "Plan for Victory"
in Iraq, his younger brother, Neil, is all about taking advantage of
the family name.
Neil Bush
As the president was trumpeting a 35-page National Security Council
document titled "Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq", Neil has
been touting his company's prospectus. Over the past six months, Neil
Bush has been shepherded around several former Soviet republics by a
man wanted for fraud by Russian authorities, and has showed up in the
Philippines and Taiwan at the side of a self-styled messiah.

If people know anything at all about the star-crossed Neil Bush, it
likely relates to either his role in the failed Silverado Savings and
Loan scandal during the 1980s, which cost taxpayers more than one
billion dollars, or, more recently, the lurid details of his divorce
from his wife of 23 years.

After a brief hiatus from the public spotlight, Neil Bush is back.
Within a three-month period, Bush has shown up in Latvia, Ukraine and
Georgia with Russian fugitive Boris Berezovsky, and has appeared at
the side of the Unification Church's Rev. Sun Myung Moon in Taiwan and
the Philippines.

In September, Bush visited Latvia with Boris Berezovsky, described by
The Washington Post as "a fugitive Russian tycoon who made millions in
the violent scramble for control of Russian government assets after
the fall of communism".

Bush and Berezovsky, who currently lives in London where he has
received political asylum, were toodling around the former Soviet
republics to promote Ignite! Learning, the Texas-based interactive
education software company Bush founded in 1999.

Berezovsky took Bush "on a tour of countries from the former Soviet
Union that have spun out of Moscow's sphere of influence", the St.
Petersburg Times reported. In June, it was Ukraine, then Georgia,
"where Berezovsky's longtime partner and Tbilisi power broker Badri
Patarkatsishvili was on hand to wine and dine the U.S. president's
brother".

The Russian newspaper also pointed out that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
had disavowed any knowledge of Bush's activities, while the State
Department denied any "involvement in, or any role in arranging, the
activities of these two private individuals in Riga".

More recently, Bush showed up in the Philippines and Taiwan at the
side of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the head of the controversial
Unification Church. In the Philippines, Bush attended the inaugural
convocation of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in Manila, the
Manila Bulletin reported.

Bush, along with other "peace leaders", joined with Moon in meeting
with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The president
"praised Moon for his global peace efforts and God-centered, family-
centered economic and social initiatives in various parts of the
world, including projects in a number of Philippine cities", the
Manila paper reported.

Moon's Philippines trip, one stop on a 100-day tour that is taking him
to 100 cities in 67 nations and covering nearly 100,000 miles, was
aimed at building momentum for his idea of developing a faith-based
path to peace by revamping the United Nations.

Veteran investigative reporter John Gorenfeld told IPS that, "Moon
speaks in parables from the Book of Genesis. He says the U.N. is like
Cain, but he wants to build a second entity that is like Abel. Ideally
his 'Abel U.N.' -- a body fusing all religions -- would be embraced by
the U.N. But if not, he wants to set up his own alternative diplomatic
machine to outshine the U.N."

During a May 2003 meeting with President Bush at the White House,
Philippines President Arroyo suggested that the United States might
consider co-sponsoring the proposal, the conservative online news
magazine, NewsMax.com reported. According to that report, the
president "expressed deep interest and asked his national security
adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to study the matter".

Neil Bush is no stranger to showing up at out of the way places
searching for business: One month after the 9/11 attacks, Bush showed
up at an international technology conference in Dubai where he was
hunting for investors for Ignite!.

A few months later, he was in Saudi Arabia, where he delivered the
keynote address on the concluding day of the three-day Jeddah Economic
Forum. Bush told conferees that the best way to change perceptions in
the United States about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was to expand
their political lobbying.

Stained by his involvement in the savings and loan debacle, Neil
Bush's reputation was further soiled by revelations contained in a
deposition that was part of his divorce from his wife Sharon. In those
documents, Bush revealed details about rewarding business deals and a
series of sexual encounters with women in Asia.

Sharon Bush's lawyer, Marshall Davis Brown, questioned Bush about an
August 2002 contract with Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a
firm backed by Jiang Mianheng, the son of former Chinese President
Jiang Zemin, that would pay him two million dollars in stock over five
years: "You have absolutely no educational background in
semiconductors do you?"

"That's correct," Bush responded.

"And you have absolutely over the last 10, 15, 20 years not a lot of
demonstrable business experience that would bring about a company
investing two million dollars in you?" Brown persisted.

In the deposition, Bush also admitted to having had a series of sexual
encounters with Asian woman, while on trips to Thailand and Hong Kong.
According to Bush, the women knocked on his door, entered and engaged
in sex with him. According to a CNN report, Bush "said he did not know
if they were prostitutes because they never asked for money and he did
not pay them".

Last month, Bush took time away from his busy schedule to attend a
White House dinner in honour of Britain's Prince Charles and his wife,
Camilla.

Rev. Moon has been a longtime friend to the Bush family. After
supporting Bush's election in 2000 through his flagship publication,
The Washington Times, the newspaper's foundation sponsored a prayer
luncheon attended by some 1,700 religious, civic, and political
leaders the day before Bush's inauguration.

In 1995, former President George H. W. Bush received 10,000 dollars to
speak at a Moon-sponsored Buenos Aires banquet that launched the
Reverend's Latin American publication, "Tiempos del Mundo" (Times of
the World).

"A lot of my friends in South America don't know about the Washington
Times but it is an independent voice," the former president said. "The
editors of the Washington Times tell me that never once has the man
with the vision interfered with the running of the paper, a paper that
in my view brings sanity to Washington, DC."

Copyright © 2005 IPS - Inter Press Service

On Apr 14, 10:23 am, [e-mail] wrote:

"I now direct you to agree to a proposal which includes the following
terms and conditions," Wolfowitz instructed. "You should accept
immediately her offer to be detailed to an outside institution of her
choosing, while retaining bank salary and benefits."

The Wolfowitz memo went on say that Riza should receive a promotion,
draw a salary of 180,000 dollars (£90,000) and get annual pay
increases of 8%.

Before the job change, Riza was believed to be getting paid close to
133,000 dollars (£67,000). After the transfer, she received 193,590
dollars (£97,000), according to the Government Accountability Project,
a watchdog group.

Riza remains on the World Bank's payroll though she left the State
Department job last year and now works for Foundation for the Future,
an international organisation that gets some money from the
department.

On Apr 7, 9:33 am, [e-mail] wrote:

http://counterpunch.org/rahni04072007.html

Test Tube Zealots: The American Chemical Society Terminates the
Membership of Chemists from Iran

By DAVID N. RAHNI

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has once again led the way, with
its "zealot" interpretation of "embargo" by the Department of
Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, by terminating the
membership of its long-standing members in Iran, many of whom are post
Ph.D. Alumni of American Universities. Several years ago, the ACS
undertook a similar unprecedented action, under the same law. Then, it
unilaterally stopped accepting scholarly and research manuscripts from
Iranian scientists for its three dozen periodicals in the publication
division. However, later, under embarrassing pressure from the
American scientific community and its membership, the ACS retracted
its decision and agreed to take it up instead with the federal
government. Paradoxically and notwithstanding rhetoric, such ill-
conceived measures are against the current U.S. Administration policy
of promoting people-to-people contact as enunciated by the Assistant
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns at the March 29 hearing of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, in Science Magazine, reported that the ACS
Assistant General Counsel, David Smorodin when "re-reading the embargo
rules, made the recommendation to terminate Iranian membership(Science
Magazine, Vol. 315, 30 March 2007). One can not help but speculate
whether or not such decision is truly serving the interests of member-
based ACS or enforcing the laws to the limit as he has served as a
U.S. Assistant District Attorney before joining the ACS. Nonetheless,
despite the abrupt termination of individual membership of Iranian
chemical scientists with no due process, the ACS has stated that while
they [Iranians] can continue to purchase journals and other "non-
sensitive products at full-rate, the ACS might apply for a special
license from the Treasury Department to reinstate their memberships.
This has in the meantime deprived American chemists to learn about the
scholarly contributions of their Iranian peers.

It should be noted that as in the past, the American Physical Society
(APS), in contrast, stated, "We have NO plan to do anything similar,
and continue to serve our members in Iran." Judy Franz, a director at
the APS further stated that, "We would resist having to obtain a
license to the extent we can."

When interviewed by Science Magazine, the official publication of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), David
Rahni an Iranian-American chemistry professor in New York stated, "I,
like most ACS members and peers in the scientific community, strongly
question the ACS motive on this issue, and expect ACS,s leadership to
refrain from allowing politics to taint the high stature the
Organization has achieved." Rahni further stated that this has
personally concerned him gravely since he has served the ACS with
distinctions in the past thirty years, as typified by his positions as
the chair of the ACS New York, the chair of the Middle Atlantic
Regional Meeting, and the chair of Nichols Medal. 90% of the ACS
projects, publications and activities are run by a huge cadre of
volunteer professionals who, with no expectations, give their time,
energy, money and intellects and talents to the advancement of the
chemical sciences worldwide. It is painfully ironic to many,
especially the ACS American members to witness the politicization of
their disciplines through the ACS as they continue to register their
grave concerns with the ACS lucratively remunerated executive
directors. As a chemistry professor with having given fifty years of
his life to the ACS and the profession so eloquently put it, "Never
mind the Iranians as one may not give a darn about them and their
plights, what, I am bewildered to speculate the ulterior motives of
the ACS paid "professional leadership is to embarrass us as
freethinking science. ACS is US and not its DC staff as they are
required by our mandate to serve our interests and not create problems
for us.

The consensus among the nearly one million Americans of Iranian
ancestry is to reaffirm their yearning commitment to the attainment of
justice, security, stability, equity, transparency and human rights
through "home-grown", indigenous and democratic reforms in Iran, but
not at the expense of isolating the scientific community in their
motherland from their peers worldwide. They further deplore any
possible unilateral military action against Iran, as they firmly
believe this is counter-productive to the organic, slow, but steady
evolution of Iran through educational benchmark, cultural reforms and
communication with the rest of the world. They further consider
military action and/or isolation counter-productive to the credibility
of their American homeland which would inevitably lead, once again, to
the priceless loss of human life and loss of credibility for our
nation in the international scene.

Iran's chemist/chemical engineering professionals/scholars numbers
tens of thousands. They are, by and large, members of the Iranian
Chemical Society. However, many of them hold at least one overseas
membership, mostly in the Royal Societies in the UK. There are
currently 36 Iranian members in the American Chemical Society. The
strong position of chemistry/chemical engineering in Iran is due to
the oil and gas explorations by the petrochemical industry during the
past 100 years, and due to some of Iran,s renowned past and
contemporary chemists, scientists, and philosophers. The contributions
of Americans of Iranian background to the chemistry and sciences,
engineering and medicine, is unparalleled by other recent immigrant
communities. There indeed exists an <http://www.ica-acs.org/
news.htm>Iranian Chemists' Association of the ACS that since its
inception in the 80, has reached out to over a thousand chemists of
Iranian ancestry in the U.S. alone. It is well substantiated that as
long as the diplomatic relations between the two nations remain at a
hostile stalemate, a political cloud hovers over the personal and
professional aspirations of Iranian-Americans. Specifically, senior
and executive level professional opportunities for Iranian-Americans,
particularly in government, higher education and the corporate world,
remain chronically undermined.

Iran, a multiethnic country of 70 million, traces its heritage to a
long and illustrious history, 10,000 years in the making, with 2500
years of a continuous form of government. There are two million
students in her higher education system, 60% of whom, especially in
the sciences, engineering and medicine, are women. Its literacy rate
is 90%, unprecedented in that part of the world. Iran or Persia as it
was formerly known by the outside world until 1935, has indeed
contributed immensely toward the advancement of science, technology
and society for millennia. Rhazes, Avicenna, Algorithm, Omer Khayam,
Farabi, Biruni, Hayyan, and many others are some of the epics that
come to a western scholar,s mind.

Despite the tremendous burden imposed on the Iranian students and
scholars as they struggle to obtain a US visa (mostly denied) for
doctoral studies, some of the brightest graduate students in Ivy
League Universities (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT) are
Iranians. Increasingly, however, they opt to pursue their doctoral
studies in Australia, Canada and Europe. Iranian high school students
have continuously ranked among the top few of the nations in the
International Chemistry and other Science Olympiads, and Robotics and
Computing Competitions.

Isn't it ironic that when the ACS claims to be an international
professional society, 130 years old, with a membership of 160,000, 10%
of whom are from overseas, and an additional 20%, are naturalized
Americans or permanent residents, that it forces the nationals of Iran
out, deprives them from maintaining scientific communications with
peers worldwide, and does not let them contribute toward the
advancement of science worldwide?

Notwithstanding the rhetoric and provocations leading to a possible
disastrous confrontation by governments, a true scientist, or a
credible organization of scientists such as the ACS, which does not
recognize the boundaries of the world, should be capable to transcend
all political barriers for the advancement of science.

David N. Rahni, Ph.D. is a Professor of Chemistry at Pace University,
in Pleasantville, New York and Adjunct Professor of Dermatology, New
York Medical College. He is also an Adj. Prof. Envirnonmental Law at
Pace U. He can be reached at: [e-mail]

[Fred Kasner]

le*******@india.com wrote:

"I now direct you to agree to a proposal which includes the following
terms and conditions," Wolfowitz instructed. "You should accept
immediately her offer to be detailed to an outside institution of her
choosing, while retaining bank salary and benefits."

The Wolfowitz memo went on say that Riza should receive a promotion,
draw a salary of 180,000 dollars (£90,000) and get annual pay
increases of 8%.

Before the job change, Riza was believed to be getting paid close to
133,000 dollars (£67,000). After the transfer, she received 193,590
dollars (£97,000), according to the Government Accountability Project,
a watchdog group.

Riza remains on the World Bank's payroll though she left the State
Department job last year and now works for Foundation for the Future,
an international organisation that gets some money from the
department.

On Apr 7, 9:33 am, [e-mail] wrote:

>http://counterpunch.org/rahni04072007.html

Test Tube Zealots: The American Chemical Society Terminates the
Membership of Chemists from Iran

By DAVID N. RAHNI

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has once again led the way, with
its "zealot" interpretation of "embargo" by the Department of
Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, by terminating the
membership of its long-standing members in Iran, many of whom are post
Ph.D. Alumni of American Universities. Several years ago, the ACS
undertook a similar unprecedented action, under the same law. Then, it
unilaterally stopped accepting scholarly and research manuscripts from
Iranian scientists for its three dozen periodicals in the publication
division. However, later, under embarrassing pressure from the
American scientific community and its membership, the ACS retracted
its decision and agreed to take it up instead with the federal
government. Paradoxically and notwithstanding rhetoric, such ill-
conceived measures are against the current U.S. Administration policy
of promoting people-to-people contact as enunciated by the Assistant
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns at the March 29 hearing of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, in Science Magazine, reported that the ACS
Assistant General Counsel, David Smorodin when "re-reading the embargo
rules, made the recommendation to terminate Iranian membership(Science
Magazine, Vol. 315, 30 March 2007). One can not help but speculate
whether or not such decision is truly serving the interests of member-
based ACS or enforcing the laws to the limit as he has served as a
U.S. Assistant District Attorney before joining the ACS. Nonetheless,
despite the abrupt termination of individual membership of Iranian
chemical scientists with no due process, the ACS has stated that while
they [Iranians] can continue to purchase journals and other "non-
sensitive products at full-rate, the ACS might apply for a special
license from the Treasury Department to reinstate their memberships.
This has in the meantime deprived American chemists to learn about the
scholarly contributions of their Iranian peers.

It should be noted that as in the past, the American Physical Society
(APS), in contrast, stated, "We have NO plan to do anything similar,
and continue to serve our members in Iran." Judy Franz, a director at
the APS further stated that, "We would resist having to obtain a
license to the extent we can."

When interviewed by Science Magazine, the official publication of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), David
Rahni an Iranian-American chemistry professor in New York stated, "I,
like most ACS members and peers in the scientific community, strongly
question the ACS motive on this issue, and expect ACS,s leadership to
refrain from allowing politics to taint the high stature the
Organization has achieved." Rahni further stated that this has
personally concerned him gravely since he has served the ACS with
distinctions in the past thirty years, as typified by his positions as
the chair of the ACS New York, the chair of the Middle Atlantic
Regional Meeting, and the chair of Nichols Medal. 90% of the ACS
projects, publications and activities are run by a huge cadre of
volunteer professionals who, with no expectations, give their time,
energy, money and intellects and talents to the advancement of the
chemical sciences worldwide. It is painfully ironic to many,
especially the ACS American members to witness the politicization of
their disciplines through the ACS as they continue to register their
grave concerns with the ACS lucratively remunerated executive
directors. As a chemistry professor with having given fifty years of
his life to the ACS and the profession so eloquently put it, "Never
mind the Iranians as one may not give a darn about them and their
plights, what, I am bewildered to speculate the ulterior motives of
the ACS paid "professional leadership is to embarrass us as
freethinking science. ACS is US and not its DC staff as they are
required by our mandate to serve our interests and not create problems
for us.

The consensus among the nearly one million Americans of Iranian
ancestry is to reaffirm their yearning commitment to the attainment of
justice, security, stability, equity, transparency and human rights
through "home-grown", indigenous and democratic reforms in Iran, but
not at the expense of isolating the scientific community in their
motherland from their peers worldwide. They further deplore any
possible unilateral military action against Iran, as they firmly
believe this is counter-productive to the organic, slow, but steady
evolution of Iran through educational benchmark, cultural reforms and
communication with the rest of the world. They further consider
military action and/or isolation counter-productive to the credibility
of their American homeland which would inevitably lead, once again, to
the priceless loss of human life and loss of credibility for our
nation in the international scene.

Iran's chemist/chemical engineering professionals/scholars numbers
tens of thousands. They are, by and large, members of the Iranian
Chemical Society. However, many of them hold at least one overseas
membership, mostly in the Royal Societies in the UK. There are
currently 36 Iranian members in the American Chemical Society. The
strong position of chemistry/chemical engineering in Iran is due to
the oil and gas explorations by the petrochemical industry during the
past 100 years, and due to some of Iran,s renowned past and
contemporary chemists, scientists, and philosophers. The contributions
of Americans of Iranian background to the chemistry and sciences,
engineering and medicine, is unparalleled by other recent immigrant
communities. There indeed exists an <http://www.ica-acs.org/
news.htm>Iranian Chemists' Association of the ACS that since its
inception in the 80, has reached out to over a thousand chemists of
Iranian ancestry in the U.S. alone. It is well substantiated that as
long as the diplomatic relations between the two nations remain at a
hostile stalemate, a political cloud hovers over the personal and
professional aspirations of Iranian-Americans. Specifically, senior
and executive level professional opportunities for Iranian-Americans,
particularly in government, higher education and the corporate world,
remain chronically undermined.

Iran, a multiethnic country of 70 million, traces its heritage to a
long and illustrious history, 10,000 years in the making, with 2500
years of a continuous form of government. There are two million
students in her higher education system, 60% of whom, especially in
the sciences, engineering and medicine, are women. Its literacy rate
is 90%, unprecedented in that part of the world. Iran or Persia as it
was formerly known by the outside world until 1935, has indeed
contributed immensely toward the advancement of science, technology
and society for millennia. Rhazes, Avicenna, Algorithm, Omer Khayam,
Farabi, Biruni, Hayyan, and many others are some of the epics that
come to a western scholar,s mind.

Despite the tremendous burden imposed on the Iranian students and
scholars as they struggle to obtain a US visa (mostly denied) for
doctoral studies, some of the brightest graduate students in Ivy
League Universities (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT) are
Iranians. Increasingly, however, they opt to pursue their doctoral
studies in Australia, Canada and Europe. Iranian high school students
have continuously ranked among the top few of the nations in the
International Chemistry and other Science Olympiads, and Robotics and
Computing Competitions.

Isn't it ironic that when the ACS claims to be an international
professional society, 130 years old, with a membership of 160,000, 10%
of whom are from overseas, and an additional 20%, are naturalized
Americans or permanent residents, that it forces the nationals of Iran
out, deprives them from maintaining scientific communications with
peers worldwide, and does not let them contribute toward the
advancement of science worldwide?

Notwithstanding the rhetoric and provocations leading to a possible
disastrous confrontation by governments, a true scientist, or a
credible organization of scientists such as the ACS, which does not
recognize the boundaries of the world, should be capable to transcend
all political barriers for the advancement of science.

David N. Rahni, Ph.D. is a Professor of Chemistry at Pace University,
in Pleasantville, New York and Adjunct Professor of Dermatology, New
York Medical College. He is also an Adj. Prof. Envirnonmental Law at
Pace U. He can be reached at: [e-mail]

If you would read C&EN News you would be aware that the response of the
membership is hardly majority in favor of such actions. Had they polled
the membership I doubt that the action would have been approved. The
action of a state is not necessarily the will of even a majority of its
citizens. Consider if you will the present popularity polls in regard to
the President of the United States of America.
FK