Archive for the 'Iran' Category
Today I’m fasting for my mate Shane, who is 29 today.
Together with friends across the world, I’m protesting Shane and Josh’s detention in Iran’s notorious jail for political prisoners, Evin.
Shane was captured in a cross-border raid by Iranian forces while in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq in 2009, along with another of my friends Sarah Shourd (since released) and their mate Josh Fattal. Continue reading ‘Happy birthday Shane’
The fact that Shane Bauer is still in an Iranian prison, nearly two years after being snatched by Iranian forces while in Iraq, is an outrage. It’s also a heavy blow to all of us who think – perhaps naively – that working for justice provides its own support and protection. But most of all, it’s deeply sad for the Middle East itself.
Shane has done more for the people of the region than almost any Arab or Iranian I know.
He’s also a great guy.
Continue reading ‘Robert Fisk: Why on earth is Iran holding Shane Bauer?’
New Website: FreeOurFriends.eu
It is almost a year since Iran detained my friends Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd (and their friend Josh).
It demonstrates just how empty the Iranian government’s claim to defend Palestinian rights really is.
Shane and Sarah – who were living in Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp at the time – have done more for Palestinians and against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that pretty much every Arab and Iranian I know.
Continue reading ‘Why is Iran holding Pro-Palestinian activists?’
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.
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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.
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”
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.
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.
Continue reading ‘Khatami and Straw on “Britishness”’
One of my very good friends in Iran is helping to organise the fantastic 5th Tehran International Animation Festival 2007. In response to the kind invitations that have been sent to universities and organisations worldwide, one US animator sent this:
Karimi,
I am sorry, but I boycott anything that comes from any nation that fosters terrorism, contempt for human life and freedom, and lack of courtesy to your men and women. Why? If you really want to know, read on:
“Fashion”, Mohammed assured me, is what these haircuts are called in Farsi. Fortunately they’re not called “fashionable”, but it’s close enough to be worrying.
