http://halfiranian.com thoughts from a stateless identity Sat, 31 May 2008 05:53:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Some pictures from my past few days with Josh (and his Christian Peacemaker Team buddies) in the South Hebron Hills. All the pictures you see are taken on the Palestinian side of the so-called 'Green Line'. Have a look at this UN map (2 Megs) to see the area (south of ... http://halfiranian.com/2008/05/19/heart-of-darkness/ 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 ... http://halfiranian.com/2008/05/19/i-am-martyr/ "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. ... http://halfiranian.com/2008/04/21/give-an-iraqi-your-vote/ 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 ... http://halfiranian.com/2007/06/06/guardians-iran-shocker/ 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 ... http://halfiranian.com/2007/03/06/mongrels-and-migrants/ 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: Aug. ... http://halfiranian.com/2007/02/03/iraq-and-the-terror-of-war/ 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 ... http://halfiranian.com/2007/01/29/israel-and-apartheid/ 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" Fingerprinting my Taser In November 2006, the Majles (parliament) passed a bill requiring all US visitors to Iran to be fingerprinted on ... http://halfiranian.com/2007/01/06/iranian-politics-in-the-new-media-age/ 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. The Assembly of Experts is important for ... http://halfiranian.com/2006/12/13/iranian-elections-and-politics-2006/ 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 ... http://halfiranian.com/2006/11/08/khatami-and-straw-on-britishness/