Be a Hero: Unted4Iran, July 25

This is my first ever youTube upload created with the help of the amazing united4iran-amsterdam all volunteer team!

Green Brief

Josh Shahryar's newest Green Brief:

Protests / Unrest

1. Mir Hossein Mousavi has endorsed his protesters’ tactic of causing massive black-outs. The Iranian Government has equated the tactic to sabotage, but protesters have used it as a non-violent means to defy the government.



2. Neda Aga-Soltan’s family will be congregating at her grave site on the 40th day after her death on July 30, 2009 (the 40th day after a person’s death is traditionally the most essential day of mourning for Muslims). No prior announcements will be made - however, the family said they will welcome anyone who may want to partake in Neda’s bereavement.





3. There are calls for demonstrations tomorrow to commemorate the deaths of protesters killed on June 20th. It has not been confirmed whether or not it has the backing of any opposition leaders.





4. Italian fashion designer, Guillermo Mariotto, wore a shirt that said “Neda Alive” (in green writing) during Haute Couture. All the models presenting his newest creations also wore green wristbands in solidarity with the Green Movement in Iran. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5KhkCJ2nYc





5. Archbishop Bishop Desmund Tutu – a Nobel Peace Prize winner and South African human rights activist – has announced that he too will be joining the Global Day of Action in support of the Green Movement. Other prominent Iranian and international personalities including Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Betty Williams, Mairead Maguire, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Dariush, and Simin Behbahani. Details on the event can be found here: http://united4iran.org/





6. Noam Chomsky – an eminent American philosopher, linguist, author and lecturer who is 81 years old – has announced that he will partake in the hunger strike in support of the Green Movement in New York. The hunger strike is reportedly being held from July 22-25, and will encompass many important Iranian and international figures.





Opposition

7. The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, Sayed Hassan Khomeini, has reportedly left the country. Reports indicate he left the country after being pressured by the government to attend Ahmadinejad’s Inauguration Ceremony - in order to provide the government with much needed legitimacy.





8. Mousavi had a meeting with families of detainees today, where he made several statements:
* He announced that the Green Movement was a peaceful movement, BUT that it was ready to make sacrifices should the need arise.





o He asked the government to ensure freedom of speech. He claimed that it would foster a calm environment in the country – a much better alternative to the current atmosphere of fear created by the extensive use of security forces.





o He stated “The Iranian Nation had matured and that the use of pre-1979 tactics wouldn’t be enough to silence it,” and “The Nation had been reborn and was going to defend its achievements.” He condemned the on-going arrests in the country and called it a “National issue – one that would not solve the government’s problems.”





o He called it “An insult to the Iranian Nation to suggest that foreigners had orchestrated the post-election protests in Iran.” He also criticized the government for defending the arrests of peaceful protesters and called it unjust and cruel.





o He added that, “NO ONE in the international community was going to believe the lies the government was spreading with forced confessions from detainees.” Mousavi, Karoubi and Khatami have been holding regular meetings with the families of detainees during the past three weeks.





9. Supporters of Mousavi in Eastern Azerbaijan Province held a meeting Sunday night and released a statement in support of Mousavi. Hundreds of prominent members of society including politicians, human rights activists and university professors attended the meeting.





10. Press TV quoted Mousavi as saying that he had “spent nearly $3.5 million US dollars on his campaign,” and that “Mahdi Karroubi had spent roughly the same amount.”





In a rare break from the government, Press TV’s printed:

“According to Mousavi, Iran needs what he called a ‘free media’ to reverse the growing ‘appeal of foreign media’ which he claimed is a side effect of the ‘lack of press freedoms’ and the national broadcaster's ‘mistaken approach.”

The report also accused protesters of turning to violence and claimed that the Guardian Council had authenticated the elections after ‘launching an extensive probe’ of examining the complaints from the defeated candidates.

Government / International

11. Ali Motaherri – a representative of Tehran in the Iranian Parliament – criticized Ayatollah Yazdi’s statements that questioned Rafsanjani’s sermon on Friday. Motaherri said, “A regime’s legitimacy was only guaranteed by people’s support.”





12. Khamenei issued harsh words today to ‘Iran’s Elite.’ He said, “The Elite should watch their words and actions carefully, because they are facing a test.” He added, “Failing the test would mean that not only would they lose their positions within the regime, but also lose their credibility and become pariahs.” Although no names were mentioned, many say his speech was directed at Rafsanjani – for creating insecurity and disorder in the country. Khamenei declared, “The Iranian Nation would hate anyone who participated in such actions.” He called the “creation of violence the biggest sin.”





13. President-Select Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s office has asked people who want to help the country to come forward and offer their services. According to his office, the government was looking for people to help the president’s administration at different levels and that a committee will soon be formed to recruit such people.





Arrested / Released / Killed

14. Partially-confirmed reports from Evin Prison indicate that one protester was tortured for days in order to extort a confession. After all torture tactics failed, a doctor was brought in to examine the detainee who was found to be deaf and mute. He was later released. Other reports from Evin Prison suggest a new torture tactic: hanging detainees’ upside-down for hours, and sometimes the entire day.





15. Mohammad Kamrani’s body was laid to rest today at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery. He was one of the protesters who was detained and tortured severely. He was transferred to Tehran’s Mehr Hospital unconscious and shackled. He never regained consciousness, and later died.




16. It is now confirmed that Hamid and Puran Ebrahimnezhad – who have been in detention since their arrest – were in fact arrested on July 7, 2009. They were reportedly beaten while being hauled away.





17. On a positive note, detained political activist Mehdi Khazali has been released from Evin Prison. In a statement released today, families of political prisoners asked the government, yet again, to “promptly release all prisoners and stop the violent repression of the populace at the hands of security forces.” Their statement also thanked Rafsanjani for taking a bold stand against the continued detention of political prisoners and peaceful protesters.



Media

18. A leading Iranian Cleric – Hojatoleslam Seyed Mehdi Tabatabai - criticized Ahmadinejad’s statements (against his opponents right after the election) in a televised interview on IRIB. He said, “Ahmadinejad should have immediately called for dialogue with his opponents and should NOT have subjected them to ridicule.” He added, “The post-election violence was caused by hostility stemming from the blatant ridicule.” It should be noted that this is one of the very FEW instances where Iranian media has allowed criticism of Ahmadinejad to be broadcasted on IRIB.



Note: The Green Briefs are a daily report that is compiled using sources on twitter, Iranian websites and other media outlets. Verification of most news items cannot be obtained using regular mainstream media standards; however, they have been as authenticated as possible given the current ban on most foreign media outlets in Iran.

July 16th on Facebook: "Open your eyes, Sohrab! Your mother is devastated by your picture."

This has been a week of heartbreak. Families discovered that loved ones had been killed, beaten, and abused, and a plane on its way to Yerevan from Tehran crashed 16 minutes after take-off. For many the crash just seemed to pile heartache upon heartache. Anyone who has ever been depressed and experienced calamity knows that when people say, "It can't get any worse," it can.

It's also been a week of rumors and confined hope as people buzz about a planned compromise, speculate on strange twists and turns, and hear that Rafsanjani just may be giving the sermon at Friday prayers with Mousavi and Karoubi in attendance. I've tried to summarize more than today's postings on Facebook, but frankly I have not made a dent in the backlog.

"How quickly you've grown in these 25 days that your mother has been going door to door looking for you," said the poem, posted on Norooznews. "Open your eyes, Sohrab! Your mother is devastated by your picture."

The biggest story of the week is the heartbreaking one of Sohrab Aarabi, the nineteen year old who disappeared on June 15th, the day of the first mass demonstration after the election results.



Sohrab Aarabi

After a week in which we heard that a young man had died from beatings in custody and that the family was being told to keep quiet or risk not having his body returned, Sohrab Aarabi's mother has decided to speak out about the death of her son. (We do not know, however, if Sohrab's mother was ever told to keep quiet about her son's death.) Friends are sharing videos posted on youTube that show his funeral and her grief. One friend wrote, "That's my mother 27 years ago." We see the mourners chanting, "Allah-o Akbar," with their cell phones raised in the air to record the funeral. His mother shouts about the cowardice of the men who killed her son. Earlier in the video, we see her on one of her daily trips to Evin to search for her son. She brought his photo and asked for help finding him.

There is news of Rafsanjani's return to leading Friday prayers in Iran. This will be his first public appearance since the election results were announced and there is much anticipation of what he will say. Twittering activists are calling for chants of Hashemi, Hashemi throughout the sermon to demonstrate support.

In its summary of events in Iran,
Enduring America has reported that Keyhan editors have been called to court to answer to charges of disseminating lies.



Taraneh: Arrested at the Ghoba Mosque in Tehran

Over at Words, we read of the horrible abuse against those arrested.

On Friday July 19, a large group of mourners gathered at the Ghoba mosque in Tehran to await a speech about the martyrs of the post-election protests by presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. According to one Iranian blog, 28-year-old Taraneh Mousavi was one of a group of people that was arrested by plainclothesed security forces for attending the gathering.

Taraneh, whose first name is Persian for “song”, disappeared into arrest.

Weeks later, according to the blog, her mother received an anonymous call from a government agent saying that her daughter has been hospitalized in Imam Khomeini Hospital in the city of Karaj, just north of Tehran — hospitalized for “rupturing of her womb and anus in… an unfortunate accident”.

When Taraneh’s family went to the hospital to find her, they were told she was not there.

Cross posted at Vote for Iran

"Soft Reform, Non-Violent Change"

I have been interviewing people about their experiences before and after the June 12th elections in Iran. The interviews are long, but I will post some highlights here. This first interview was with a 52-year old teacher who I am calling Shirin. I learned a lot during the interviews. They provide a personal perspective to the events that many of us have been caught up in. So, without further introduction:

Shirin, 52, teacher of 7-12 year olds

The Decision to Vote



Photo from Reuters

Before the campaign really began, I thought that it would be better to boycott than to vote. It was my feeling that we shouldn’t vote. I had a lot of discussions about this with my friends and family and came to the conclusion that it was important to vote and to vote for Mousavi. I want soft reform and changes that are non-violent.

Election Day



Photo by Kamran Jebreili

Everyone at the polling station was so careful about writing clearly. Still, you might not know, but Ahmadinejad’s code was “44” and Mousavi’s order in the list was number 4. The difference between the code and the numbering was not clear. We thought this was done on purpose so that if people wrote in the number 4 instead of Mousavi’s code, which was 77, it could be changed easily to 44. I said to the poll workers, "My son has his Master’s and even he is confused by the difference between the code and the numbering. Why do we have to write the code at all?" The poll worker said, "You’re right, ma’am (khanum). Just write in the name of the candidate you support." Still I put lines on either side of the code so that nothing could be added to it.

At 2:30, the poll workers announced that they were closing the polling station for lunch. The people waiting in line argued with them saying, "You cannot close both doors. If you close both doors then we will think that you are changing our votes." After several minutes of discussion, the poll workers agreed to keep one door open.

I stayed up all night watching the results come in. I could not believe it. Since I do not trust state tv, I watched VOA. It was so strange that they announced the results so quickly. What really surprised me was how few votes Karoubi received. I asked myself, how could Karoubi get so few votes?

When they announced that Ahmadinejad was the winner, I couldn’t stand up. My legs were shaking. I thought, maybe a lot of people made a mistake with the code and that the computer only read the code, not the name. They are supposed to look at both and both need to coordinate. I just didn’t know what to think.

The next day, BBC and VOA were asking the same question: why wasn’t the number of blank or unreadable ballots announced? That put pressure on the government to announce the number of unreadable ballots.

Demonstration, June 15: The Monday after the Elections



Photo from UPI Photos

On Monday, we went out to the demonstration wearing all black. State television reported that the demonstration was cancelled, but we went anyway. Me, my son, my daughter. From Enghelab to Azadi, it was completely packed. I am not just talking about the streets, but there were people on every inch of ground. We were chanting, [Note from me: it rhymes in Persian, sounds way better!] Where are those 63%, Liar?

People were coming from three different directions. The chanting only took place on our way to Azadi. Once we got there, we were completely silent. The Basiji were moving through the crowds. My nephew kicked one to get back at them for beating him the night before.

One woman came up to me and said, "Oh that Karoubi, he is so arrogant. He came in fifth and he dares to show his face in the streets." I said, "Khanum, how could he have come in fifth? There were only four candidates."

I did not go to any of the other demonstrations even though I wanted to. My son said to me, "If you go, I have to come with you. I would be so worried if you went without me." But my son is still studying, and he could lose every chance for a future by going to these demonstrations. Because of that, I had to stay home.

Allah-o Akbar

In our neighborhood, very few people go out at night to say Allah-o Akbar. From 23 apartments in our building, only my son chants. Our neighbor does too. But we live in a neighborhood that is mainly Sepa-Pasdaran. Even though many of them voted for Moussavi – he had three large campaign offices in our neighborhood and a lot of support – they are afraid to chant Allah-o Akbar or to join the demonstration. Many who did, have had their windows broken and their property vandalized. Our neighbors are more nervous than others in Tehran because they are Sepa Pasdaran.

Response to the Recount

I am very disappointed by the decision of the Guardian council to approve the vote. I don't want to go back to work at all, but I have too. I will do everything in my power to make sure that work does not get done.

Dream On: Protests in Iran

This is a video made by commenter, Fearless Dream.

United 4 Iran, July 25

Join us in organizing a global day of action in solidarity with the Iranian people!

Join us on July 25, 2009 for a rally in your city in support of the Iranian people and in condemnation of the human rights abuses being committed by the Iranian government. Learn how you can get involved by emailing united4iran@gmail.com.http://united4iran.com/

Rampaging Riot Police, Solidarity, Music, and More on Facebook

I've been working on voteforiran.com and have been writing occasional posts there. (Less occasional than here...) I think our readers may be interested in the Facebook Reviews. Here is the most recent. And happy fourth! I hope to be celebrating Iran's independence day soon.

Facebook, July 2-3

I Know How the Caged Bird Flies

The past two days have brought one piece of bad news after another: friends, colleagues, and innocents in prison; loved ones despondent; riot police on rampages. During the last two days much information has been shared on Facebook. Khatami and Mousavi's statements; routes for planned demonstrations; tons of stuff in Persian that takes me way too long to read (Shervin will review those pieces). The past two days, however, was not a time for more images of demonstrators being beaten; it was a time of music and poetry. We were treated to an interview with the great Iranian poet Simin Behbahani on NPR and heard new music from Mohsen Namjoo, among others.

One friend writes that this time has helped her bridge the generation gap that separates her from her parents, aunts, and uncles: "I never thought I would see similar days or make such a strong emotional connection to these lyrics..."

Many Iranians Speak Out on Obama

I wrote about my own wish for an "Ich ben ein Berliner" moment in a previous post that has sparked a lot of discussion. Since then, I have spoken to many people who are demonstrating each day and putting their own lives on the line. They asked me what Obama has been saying about them. I told them that he finds you inspiring and has condemned the violence. "Do you think he should say more?" I asked. Every single one of them told me, "No. He is doing the right thing." I asked, "If you could send one message to Obama what would it be?" and they all answered, "He should never ever recognize the government of Ahmadinejad."

I defer to their wishes.

And btw, I want Iranian diplomats to go to 4th of July celebrations at American embassies. Yes. Why not? As one friend in Iran has repeatedly said, the isolation simply serves to fuel their narrow world view. Travel, she always told me, would only help integrate them into the rest of the world.

(BTW: Great interview on Fresh Air with Karim Sadjadpour.)

Friday Sermon Gives Permission for Bloodbath

Those saying that Khamenei's sermon today was a conciliatory one and a call for calm are living in a dream world. The fact that Ayatollah Khamanei called the millions of people who came to the streets in the past few days are "agents of the West" and calling the election fair and historic is shocking and divisive, but expected.

His unwavering support for Ahmadinejad and the unwillingness to investigate the vote has made it impossible for any compromise to be reached.

This speech was absolutely meant to terrify the Iranian people off the streets and back into their homes. He has now stated that any protest is illegal and that any violence will be the responsibility of the opposition.

His calls for using legal system for protesting the election results are meaningless when those laws have already been circumvented to declare AN the winner. Saying that Iran is a great democracy is also meaningless when any protest is illegal and lethal force is used to crackdown on demonstrators.

Obama, Turn on Your Charm!

I want "Ich Bin Ein Berliner". I want "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." I want the rhetoric that Obama is so famous for.

I know we can't say "We are with you," because that would be interpreted as an offer of military support as it was by Iraqis who attempted to rebel against Saddam Hussein in the 90s.

I know that diplomacy is a difficult and delicate game that requires a less than straightforward approach to many situations. I have used this space so often to call for diplomacy with Iran.

Ultimately, I know that rhetoric is just rhetoric. That the words of a president do not actually change history even though they become part of it.

If ever there was a time for Obama to turn on his rhetorical charm, it is now. Today at 4 pm there will be demonstrations in 20 cities in Iran. My friends *want to be on the streets.* They are parents, civil servants, accountants, receptionists, and yes students. In the end, with all of the violence, I am not sure that they will show up.

So Obama, turn on your charm. Use your powers of rhetoric to tell Iranians that, while we won't be sending in the marines, our hearts are with you. I know you can do a better job than I can.

Why We Were (Not) Naive

We woke up to two messages: one from a friend who is 100% against participating in Iran's elections, and one from someone who is an Ahmadinejad supporter. You can imagine the glee they felt telling us "I told you so."

They did not tell us anything.

The fact is, there are vote counters out there who know very well exactly how we and millions of other Iranians voted. They know, and it terrifies them. If we had not participated, we would not have been able to send that message at all.

If you voted please do not kick yourself for being "naive." (BTW, Now readers know why I posted "Thanks for Voting" before the elections.)

Iranians have their MOJO back!

During the last presidential elections in Iran I knew the situation was grim when one of our progressive, entrepreneurial, feminist friends announced that she would be voting for Ahmadinejad.

Today, while chatting with a friend in a 5-kilometer sea of green Mousavi supporters, I know that these elections signal more than modest changes in Iran. This is the Iranian people telling each other and the whole world that they are peaceful people who want the government off their backs and engagement with the rest of us.

If Ahmadinejad is voted out of office, it is time for the Western world to engage with Iran. We need to immediately reach out and help them build their economy (I know, who will help us build ours?) We need to be as quick in recognizing the message Iranians are sending us as the rest of the world was in understanding what the people of America were saying when we elected Obama.

Thanks for voting, Iran

Me at Jamshidieh Park


My Iranian Facebook friends have all turned green. I don’t know if they are recycling or conserving energy, what I do know is that they have put a green overlay on their profile images in response to Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s green campaign for president of Iran.

Do you think we should vote? An old friend texted me this morning.

Are you kidding me? I texted back. In the election four years ago, this same old friend tried to encourage friends, family, and strangers to vote for the Reformist candidate Moein despite calls for a boycott. “Do you think America or some other superpower is going to save us? No. We have to vote. It’s the only thing we can do.” In the end, he influenced a couple of people, but could not even get his own family to the polls.

Today he is on his way to Azadi Square to participate in a human chain of Mousavi supporters that will stretch to Sadaghieh about 1.5 kilometers away.



People may wonder why, an American Jew, am so passionate about Iranian elections. It isn’t just that my beloved husband is Iranian and that I lived there for four years and that I speak Persian. It is that for two years I lived under the current president Ahmadinejad’s rule. I was in Tehran when he organized a conference for holocaust deniers. I was there for the cartoon show about the Holocaust that was filled with anti-Semitic stereotypes. I was there when Iranian television rebroadcast the Egyptian serial Protocols of the Elders of Zion. And, believe it or not, I started to wonder if all of the Iranians who had been so friendly and warm and open to me, were not, actually, at heart disgusted with me. I started to wonder if Ahmadinejad did not, indeed, represent the true nature of the culture better than all of the wonderful people I had met.

This election is so important to me because I see an Iran that wants to engage with the world in a peaceful manner. I see an Iran that reflects the best of what I experienced while there: an open, warm-hearted society filled with people that would rather share tea and kebab with you than confront you. I see people who do not hate me either for being American or for being Jewish. I see people who would shake my hand and hug me and dance with me. I see, again, the culture and the people that made me feel so welcome.

Thank you Iranians. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reaffirming what I learned in Iran: that you are a peaceful and open people and that you know very well how to have fun.

The executioner's campaign

Ahmadinejad says that he has no money for advertising. He has complained about this during the debates with the reformist candidates.

So he uses cranes to hang his banners.

Do the cranes come free with the banners?

Where else have we seen these cranes?

Fight Club Campaigning

A short telephone conversation to a couple of friends in Iran yesterday turned into an afternoon-long debate about the upcoming election. My family and friends all know of my plans to vote. Some disagree with me. My simple question about the latest campaign news produced brand new jokes about the candidates. They tell me that they have heard all these promises before and remind me that it wasn't long ago that the president was Khatami.

Those like me who are planning to vote, only do so because they cannot take it anymore. One even told me that he feels like putting his head out of the window and yelling, "I am mad as hell and I can not take it any more."

To be honest, I never imagined that the presidential election in the Islamic republic of Iran would turn into such a public fight between the different groups running for president. Looking at the last couple of TV debates between the different candidates, one can conclude that the election campaign has turned into a nasty fight between people who have done everything they can to make sure this Islamic system would stay as it is for the last 30 years.I am not naive to think there is not much difference between the different candidates who are running with slogan of change, I know there is a difference. Who ever wins this election cannot pretend that this system is holy anymore. Instead of discussing how they plan to address the fundamental problems that we face, the candidates are busy accusing one another of corruption. Before this election, a normal person making the same accusations in the public sphere would be accused of being anti-revolutionary. Now the candidates are publicly stating what most Iranians have been saying for decades: the whole system is corrupt.

I am deeply afraid that Mr Amadinejad could be elected again, not because people will vote for him, but only because his government and the right wing supporters of his presidency are doing everything -- I mean everything: legally and illegally -- they can to ensure his victory. This situation is so bad that a couple of days ago, a group of employees from Iran’s Interior Ministry (which is in charge of supervising the elections) rightfully warned the nation that a hard-line ayatollah, who supports President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has issued a Fatwa authorizing the changing of votes to favor Guess Who.

This is especially worrying because right after the last presidential election, one of the reformist candidates, Mr. Karoubi, who is currently running as well, protested of vote fraud to the leader of the Islamic republic stating that there had been clear violations of election laws because of interference from the Revolutionary Guard and the Basiji.

Considering all of the amazing public fights and debates in Iran, If people vote Mr Ahmadinejad out of office, it is not just to send him, alone, home, it will be a vote that questions the whole system with Mr Khameneie on top. People want fundamental changes, and they show this by supporting the only possible opton they have during this election.

My old friend for 25 years, who is on vacation in Amsterdam, told me, "Kamran, some of your dear and innocent friends were executed after a 3 minute trial in the so called revolutionary courts during the 80's." He continued, "You are naive to trust these people. It is all just a game for some candidate to get elected. Nothing will change," he told me from his heart. He said, "I will call you in one year again. You will see that nothing will have changed because their version of human rights and freedom is totally different from that of most Iranians. This election is only to make some people billionaires who feel they have been cut out of their share."

In a couple of days, I will take a 45 minute train trip to go to Iranian embassy in The Hague to vote. I am looking forward to my friend's call in one year, but I am not really sure if I will pick up the phone. I am not sure if those so called reformists will keep thier word and all those nice promises they have made in the past couple of weeks if they all elected. For most of my fireds this will be the last chance the reformists ever get. If they don't walk the talk, I will not be shocked if the future battles are about the entire system.

Yes, I Will Vote

In less than ten days, millions of Iranians will go to the polls to participate in what might be the most important election since the revolution thirty years ago. I want to vote because I believe that it is a fundamental right to use every democratic tool we have to try to influence change in our beloved land. This is especially true even when the options are not our dream options. The government of President Ahmadinejad has show and created a situation, nationally and internationally, that can easily get out of control and have disastrous effects for the country and the people we love.

I don’t believe in these people and do not think any of the candidates can solve the enormous challenges we face, but I am still voting. During the past thirty years, our rights as Iranian citizens have been constantly under attack. This has been true despite many promises of protection and invitations to engage in the building of our society.

I am voting with the hope that not only the hardline government will change, but that we will build a more democratic society where women’s rights, a free press, free speech, and human rights are not a dream. Last 4 years proved our right can be in more danger than we could even imagine.

Being part of this initiative was unthinkable for me just four years ago. Four years of right-wing Ahmadinejad has put Iran on a downward path. I believe that Iranian expats should play a more constructive role and not keep waiting for some magical transformation of power.

Let’s make a change. Let’s vote.

Cross Posted at Harry's Place

Eurovision!

I never feel more American then during the Eurovison competition. This entry from the Netherlands embodies everything the competition means to me. I'll let you interpret what I mean by that. Enjoy!

The brain drain

These girls were photographed (by me, Tori) in front of Golestan Palace in Tehran. They are not from the class of 1993.

My friend Maryam's high school class of 1993 is now gathering on Facebook. She showed us pictures of the group of teenaged girls posed in their black hoods and manteaus in the school's hidden playground. "We threw rocks at those windows all the time," she laughed. "Here we are throwing away our books. It was the last day of school and those books were from our religious studies classes."

Her school was a public school not too far from Palestine Square and the "Den of Espionage". In her class of 32 girls, 20 that she knows of now live abroad. 20! That she knows of. I told her that I am pretty sure that I am the only one of my classmates living abroad. (Any Central High School '78 graduates out there that want to challenge my assumption?)

"Of those 20," Maryam continued, "at least four have non-Iranian husbands." I am willing to be that as time passes that number will go way up. Most of my Iranian (women) friends living abroad are married to foreigners. They must think I'm nuts with my Iranian husband.

My Uncle Napoleon

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: My Uncle Napoleon is the best book about Iran that I ever read. It's author, Iraj Pezechkzad, will be at Stanford. So if you are lucky enough to be in the area (I'm not, unfortunately), go hear him speak!

Details at Payvand. http://www.payvand.com/news/09/may/1042.html

Campaigning: Mir-Hossein Mousavi Style

Photograph from a rally for Moussavi in Mashad.
Originally uploaded by mookoo1

Note: this is part of a series that we are starting on the current election campaign in Iran

We learn from Ghalam News, Mousavi's website, that his supporters are suggesting methods for spreading the word about his campaign. One suggests that supporters offer rides to travelers in order to gain an opportunity to promote Mousavi's campaign for the presidency.

The Mousavi campaign has selected green as its color (the red hankies and armbands may draw more attention than the green,, but you can still catch site of a few in the above photo). Supporters are being asked to wear green armbands or wave green flags. Some hardliners (Kayhan) have accused the campaign of trying to foment revolution (remember the Orange Revolution?)

“Our symbols are religious, not velvet,” Abolfazl Fateh, Mr Mousavi’s campaign manager, was quoted as saying by Kalemeh, the internet site.

Mr Shamsolvaezin said reformists were not inciting a revolution by adopting a symbolic colour and hardliners were worried because they do not know their own society well enough and think it is on the verge of an explosion.