Iran update

Well, Ahmadinejad is the confirmed president and we finally have Soviet style courts in Iran. How's the world going to react?

To keep updated about what's going on please visit the indispensible Tehran Bureau:
http://tehranbureau.com/

Life Goes on in Tehran has another (depressing) update:
http://www.lifegoesonintehran.com/

And I put another entry in my Dutch Groene Amsterdammer blog:
http://irancentraal.wordpress.com/

Shirin Ebadi

My interview with Shirin Ebadi appears on this page:

http://www.united4iran-nl.org/07/interview-with-shirin-ebadi/

English titles will be added soon.

Media Roundup

Thanks to every person who came to the 25th of July event in Amsterdam. There was a nice dedicated crowd. Also, luckily, there was quite some media attention. Here's a link to all the articles that were posted on the 25th or the day after:

NOS:
http://player.nos.nl/index.php/media/play/tcmid/tcm:5-546140/
http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2009/7/25/250709_iran_demonstraties.html

RTL:
http://www.rtl.nl/(/actueel/rtlnieuws/binnenland/)/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2009/07_juli/25/binnenland/0725_1500_Demo_tegen_Iraans_regime_Adam.xml

AT5:
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/20413/groot-protest-tegen-iraans-regime

EenVandaag:
http://www.eenvandaag.nl/binnenland/34950/een_portret_van_nobelprijswinnares_shirin_ebadi

Parool:
http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/225/BUITENLAND/article/detail/255455/2009/07/25/Demonstratie-tegen-Iraans-regime-in-Amsterdam.dhtml

Trouw:
http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/wereld/article2824171.ece/Khamenei_roept_op_tot_eenheid_Iran.html

Telegraaf:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/4478678/__Protesten_tegen_geweld_in_Iran__.html?p=3,2

Al Jazeera:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/200972513653407566.html

CNN:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/07/25/newton.pleitgen.iran.protests.cnn

We Can Be Heroes

The 25th of July is the day people around the world get together in support of the struggle in Iran. In Amsterdam it will be on the Museumplein, between 12.30 and 15.30. If you don't live in Amsterdam you can find an event near you on www.united4iran.org Ask all your friends to come, we cannot abandon the people of Iran in their time of need!

Iran update

Here's the most impressive visual reminder of what's happening in Iran. You can click on most of the icons:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/jun/29/iran-election-dead-detained

If you want to keep track of the effort to free renowned documentary filmmaker Maziar Bahari, here's the place to go:

http://freemaziarbahari.org/

My own Dutch blog at the Groene Amsterdammer has been updated as well:

http://irancentraal.wordpress.com

Update long due

Sorry for the lack of updates. I was away for a weekend to participate in a music workshop in Belgium. I had a delightful time with all the tutors and students. Anyway, back to business.

To read up on what's happening in Iran, go to this article that addresses leftist conspiracy thinking: http://www.truthout.org/070109J?n

Another good source on what's happening is the "Greenbrief", a site which periodically collcets news from various Twitter feeds: http://greenbrief.newsvine.com/

Here's a nice clip that spreads awareness about the the blogger who died in prison in Iran:

What's happening in Iran?

Here's a very intelligent article about potential US meddling in Iran:

http://www.truthout.org/070109J?n

I myself have another post up on my Dutch Groene Amsterdammer weblog:

http://irancentraal.wordpress.com

Comic relief

There you have it ladies and gents, here's your vote:

Mousavi arrested?

I don't want to spread rumours, but I've heard from certain people that Mousavi and his wife might have been arrested. Again, please don't take this for a fact, but if it's true, then he asked the people to strike!

Pictures of Sadness and Hope

In Amsterdam we held a candle light vigil last night, in memory of all the fallen brothers and sisters. The video here doesn't do full justice to the beautiful, sad and magical atmosphere of the night. If you don't read Persian, ignore the text and click on the video:

http://zamaaneh.com/movie/2009/06/light_up_the_night_part_2.html

Here's a Time photo essay of the people who are struggling. It's a painful detail that the man who took these pictures is now missing:

http://www.life.com/image/ugc1003082/in-gallery/28782/eyewitness-from-tehrans-streets

Documentary

Here's a great source for documentary makers:

http://www3.nfb.ca/webextension/capturing-reality/

I am sure we will need many to cover everything that's happening in Iran right now. Mousavi has said he is ready for martyrdom. Today is a very very sad day.

James Longley

James Longley speaks from Teheran in this interview:

http://www.takepart.com/blog/2009/06/19/from-iran-qa-with-documentary-filmmaker-james-longley/

Pirates join the fight!!

How can we lose the fight if even pirates are on our side? The famed hacker-nerds of the Pirate Bay have renamed themselves Persian Bay in support of the people of Iran:

remember the old black logo with the skull and bones? look at their logo now:

http://thepiratebay.org/

Now, for some comic distraction. This is great if you speak Persian. Otherwise, here's it's just a rap with a nice flow:

Keyhan shenanigans

Keyhan used to be a wellrespected newspaper in Iran. After the revolution it was seized by the government (though some of the editors coninue an exile version of the paper from London). Now it often posts questionable news.

Here is a picture of the Pro Ahmadinejad rally. Notice how it was photoshopped to make it seem more people actually showed up:

http://kheirkhah.ir/media/Image/Weblog%202/Keyhan-ehtics.jpg

(you have to copy-paste the link, not sure why this workstation doesn't turn it into a link)

Here's some reasons why election might have been fraudulent:

FREEDOM AT LAST!

This is great news!

Baseej buildings under attack

Following Twitter is a tricky business: it's hard to differentiate between fact and rumour. But it seems to be confirmed that today:

A) there is a general strike. Large parts of the Bazars have been closed.
B) there will be another march, though Mousavi will not attend today.
C) A Baseej center in Tabriz has been attacked (yesterday one in Tehran was molotovd).

The Baseej are the people's militia (though everyone knows they have ties to the government) who fought in the Iran Iraq war and now attack people who defy the Islamic laws. After 30 years of abuse it seems they are starting to become a target for the people who at the moment are still too afraid to attack government officials.

Next demonstration in the Netherlands will be Thursday in the Hague.

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Here's a song by Waldemar Bastos, who laments the pain and suffering in Angola (during and after the heinous civil war). It's to remind us we are not alone in suffering:

Revolution News

Tomorrow there is a nationwide strike in Iran. Pass it on!

Also check out developments on:

www.tehranbureau.com
http://www.voteforiran.com/

Read about documentary filmmaker James Longley's detention here:

http://www.zamaaneh.com/enhr/2009/06/james_longley_in_iran.html

Online Petition

And here is the petition to sign:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protest-against-the-june-2009-coup-detat-in-iran/sign.html

Let's get this vote back!

Election Madness

Iran is going nuts. I will post some thoughts soon, but in the mean time here are some essential links:

Articles about what's happening:

http://garysick.tumblr.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

Good resources for English language news:

http://tehranbureau.com/
http://www.voteforiran.com/