Re: [Marxism] Millionaire mullahs

["Yoshie Furuhashi" <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 8/12/06, Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> (The author of this article was murdered in Russia 2 years ago. Some say it
> was a Chechen hit, others say that it was a contract killing ordered by a
> Russian businessmen incensed by his exposures of their wealth and power.)
>
> http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0721/024.html
> On The Cover/Top Stories
> Millionaire Mullahs
> Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03
<snip>
> Ironically, the man most adept at manipulating this hidden power structure
> is one of Iran's best-known characters--Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,
<snip>
> He is also the father of Iran's "privatization" program.
<snip>
> The 1979 revolution transformed the Rafsanjani clan into commercial pashas.
> One brother headed the country's largest copper mine; another took control
> of the state-owned TV network; a brother-in-law became governor of Kerman
> province, while a cousin runs an outfit that dominates Iran's $400 million
> pistachio export business; a nephew and one of Rafsanjani's sons took key
> positions in the Ministry of Oil; another son heads the Tehran Metro
> construction project (an estimated $700 million spent so far). Today,
> operating through various foundations and front companies, the family is
> also believed to control one of Iran's biggest oil engineering companies, a
> plant assembling Daewoo automobiles, and Iran's best private airline
> (though the Rafsanjanis insist they do not own these assets).
>
> None of this sits well with the populace, whose per capita income is $1,800
> a year.

Yes, that's why the Iranian masses rejected Rafsanjani, in favor of 
Ahmadinejad.

--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
<http://mrzine.org>
<http://monthlyreview.org/>

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