April 24, 2003
Petition Update
The petition is doing extremely well. There are currently over 2,000 signatures and everytime I check, the number is growing.... (continued)
Here are a couple of facts about the petition:
- Yes I know there is a spelling error in there. Blame Microsoft's specllchecker for automatically "fixing" my mis-typed word, but replacing it with another similar word that obviously means something different. Confusing enough? I did notice it within hours of it being posted but petitiononline.com people don't like to make changes to petitions already posted. Even donating to their site didn't get me a reply! Oh well.
- I noticed the non-Irani names are becoming more common as time passes by. The petition obviously got it's largest exposure with Iranians at the beginning, but it is now spreading out to the larger global community and it shows.
- Lots of people from the Netherlands I see signing. Thanks to whomever is spreading it in that part of the world.
- A couple of jokers too. I noticed Supreme Leader Khamenei, President Khatami and Iranian ambassador to France as signaturies. Obviously somebody is finding Sina's grave situation amusing. To look at it positively though, if one or two are using the petition as a source of entertainment, a couple of thousands don't. Not bad when you look at the percentages.
- I completely understand when somebody signs with just a first name from inside Iran. But do not get if you just sign "Reza" from "Canada". How credible does that sound? and how much of a danger do you think you'd be in if you left any more information, like an initial or city. C'mon, let's get out of this constant paranoia phase.
- Our petition made it all the way up to being the second most active petition on line (see image below). Considering the thousands of other petitions they host, that's not bad at all. I'm sure Sina and all others struggling for democracy and freedom in Iran appreciate it.
Now let's email a few friends and associates you may have/know with the link and a sugestion to sign it. Can we all do that?
