Author Archive for halfiranian

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I Am Martyr

May 19, 2008 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

I_am_legend2.jpg
Martyr poster of Samer in the Yarmouk camp, who died fighting for Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Will Smith in ‘I am Legend’

“Would you ever blow yourself up?” 24-year-old Ibrahim asked me over the bubbles of his water-pipe.

I had just stepped off the plane back to Damascus, having spent the flight watching Will Smith’s heroic role as suicide bomber in the Hollywood blockbuster ‘I am Legend’. At the end of the film, Smith hurls himself and a grenade at a wave of salivating zombies, enabling the other two humans to escape with the cure that will save humanity. A pretty noble act in my opinion; a view probably shared by the millions of Americans who helped it smash box-office records.
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Give An Iraqi Your Vote!

April 21, 2008 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

Vote

“The people of Britain and America support the Iraq war. That’s why they re-elected Blair and Bush.” (near-daily comment I hear)

“Well not really. It’s just they prioritise their own issues. Like the domestic economy or opposing abortion. You can’t expect citizens of one country to care about those somewhere else. Everyone votes for self-interest. The war in Iraq affects Iraqis; they are the ones who need a vote.” (my tortured response)

So why not? And this is the plan: to give Iraqis a vote in the forthcoming US election.

Ok, so it’ll be a publicity stunt, but it will also be real.

The idea is to connect Iraqis with Americans who either don’t want their vote, or actively wish to give a voice to those in Iraq who will be directly affected by the election outcome.

One of the main issues of the Republican vs. Democrat battle will be whether US troops should stay in Iraq.

Don’t you think it’s time we asked Iraqis?

Realistically, I can only imagine a handful of people would participate, but I’m hoping that maybe some accompanying media coverage will make people think about how national democracies are not the answer to global problems.

If you know of anyone who might give some seed funding to a crazy idea like this, let me know :)

Guardian’s Iran Shocker

June 6, 2007 in Iran. 2 Comments

guardians shocking iran article

I’ve been in Syria for the past six weeks so haven’t been reading the Guardian (or writing on this blog).

However, I just came across a May 22nd copy of the Guardian on Indymedia, which to be frank, was shocking.

The headline of the article reads: Iran’s secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq.

At this point, you might think: interesting story. However, at the end of the first paragraph, Simon Tisdall reveals his sources, writing “US officials say”.

Wow. How terrible is that journalism? The headline is not even in quotation marks. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to understand the skewed interests of ‘US officials’ and the likelihood of media manipulation.

Imagine if the Guardian broke a ‘story’ on its front page about US plans to carpet bomb Damascus, only to find out further down that their source was Iranian officials.

I must say I’m quite disappointed because I generally read the Guardian, although the Independent does have better Middle East coverage.

***
ps went to the Iranian Cultural Institute in Damascus the other day and was invited to a recital of Khomeini’s poetry. Would have been comedy. Happy 100th birthday AK.

Mongrels and Migrants

March 6, 2007 in One World. 5 Comments

fish and chips

Today I had lunch with two colleagues, Samir and Farid.

“He asked what caste we are – I don’t know that!” complained Birmingham-born Samir, as he nudged his battered cod with a fork.

Samir is about to get married. Or at least he hopes so. He’s lined up a girl (a friend of his sister) and he’s trying to persuade her dad that he’s good enough for her. Last weekend, Samir and his parents went round to Aysha’s house to meet her family and get to know each other.

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Iraq and the terror of war

February 3, 2007 in Iraq. 0 Comments

baghdad_market_bombing.jpg

Today’s truck bomb in Baghdad has killed well over a hundred people.

In our media, it becomes just another bomb attack in Iraq – a conflict that bores us these days. Well, to jog your memory, here’s a list of major bomb attacks in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein:

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Israel and Apartheid

January 29, 2007 in Unholy Land. 0 Comments

Hasan in front of demolished house Jenin

Farmer Hasan Turkmen and his son Ahmad sit outside their demolished house just north of Jenin in the West Bank, September 2003. Israeli forces had arrived that very morning giving them ten minutes to clear out the house. There are no militants in the Turkmen family, their crime was to have built the house without a permit over a decade ago.

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Iranian Politics in the New Media Age

January 6, 2007 in Iran. 4 Comments

Iranian Student Protester at Amir Kabir University in Tehran

A student at Amir Kabir University in Tehran holds up a piece of paper during a visit by President Ahmadinejad that says: “Fascist president, the Polytechnic is not your place”

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Iranian Elections and Politics 2006

December 13, 2006 in Iran. 2 Comments

On 15 December, Iranians will go to the polls to elect members of their local councils and the Assembly of Experts. These elections will not lead to visible changes in the Iranian regime; however, they provide important information about the direction of Iranian politics.

Khatami, Karrubi, Rowhani, Rafsanjani, Ghalibaf, Ahmadinejad, Mesbah-Yazdi

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Khatami and Straw on “Britishness”

November 8, 2006 in Iran and One World. 7 Comments
Mohammad Khatami at Chatham House

In the past week, Mohammad Khatami and Jack Straw have both called for British citizens to prioritise their ‘Britishness’. Halfiranian asks why.

Last Wednesday night, I went to hear the ex-president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, give a talk entitled ‘Tolerance, Moderation and the Dialogue of Civilizations’.

I wasn’t that interested in the subject of his talk, I was more excited to see what kind of man Khatami really is. Unlike the demonstrators outside Chatham House, who see him as just another mullah in a theocracy with blood and torture on its hands, I left the discussion with a positive impression of the guy.
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Argument for a World Assembly…

October 31, 2006 in One World. Closed

I’ve got a new post about the need for a ‘world assembly’ … check it out here.

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