Saturday, 29 August 2009
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Tweet from TehranBureau.com forwarded using Yatca
Another account today via a new blog http://bit.ly/zw5eQ retweeted from Tehran Bureu
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Taraneh Mousavi - Another Victim of the Terror in Iran
This is the face of Taraneh Mousavi
Another victim of the Terror in Iran
Today I joined some Iranians and there friends to protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London. They had gathered to protest against the result in the not-so-recent presidential election. From TV news in the UK you get the impression that the protests in Iran have dissipated, maybe the occasional out-burst, but it's still going on, every day and every night.
We had been given space by the Met, on the opposite side of the street. It was soon transformed with green flags, banners, posters, and 'V for Victory' signing hands in the air. A P.A. appeared blasting out songs adopted by the protest movement and chants led by some hidden imam.
It was at this demonstration that I heard about Taraneh, pictured above. I got the full story from google and bloggers Worker-communistpartyofiran and Nordic Dervish on WP.
She was a young woman living in Tehran with her elderly parents, they are in their 60s. She was their only child, born after many prayers and doctor's visits. Her friend, who appears to have got the news out of Iran, describes her as beautiful and kind.
She had been passing a protest at the Ghoba mosque on June 28, 2009. She was on her way to Beauty School. Members of Iranian security, possibly the Basij or Moral Police, grabbed her and threw her in the back of a truck with others who had been detained. They were taken to a detention center. She was held in a room with all the other women who had been detained. The security men began to take the women off, one by one, for interrogation. When it was Taraneh's time she was gone for much longer than the others.
Later, all the prisoners were taken off to other police stations. Taraneh was not transferred. She was left alone with the Basij.
The others were all eventually released and some called Taraeh's parent and told them what had happened.
Her parent's also received and anonymous call , probably from one of her killers. He said that she had been raped and beaten - I won't go into the details but it was very serious - she had threatened to commit suicide and had been taken to a hospital.
The parents rushed to the hospital and inquired about their daughter but her name was not listed. One of the hospital staff took them aside and told them that their daughter had been brought in a few days earlier, and that she had been unconscious.
She was no longer there.
A few days after the parents received another call informing them that their daughter's body had been found, burned on the roadside.
Sadly, lamentably she is only one of many.
Yet the protest goes on. Everyday and every night.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
An Evening with Ctrl+ Alt+ Shift+
Last night I went along to the Southbank Centre to check out United Underground - music, art and activism brought to us by Ctrl+ Alt+ Shift+ http://www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk
I'd missed the afternoon's fun and frolics as I was working at Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, promoting the Early Years Literacy service run by myself and my colleagues for Lambeth Libraries and Children's and Young People's Services, so as I arrived everything was in full swing.
There was some amazing art and grafitti on display, which had been created on the day, and RizMC, actor/writer/performer Riz Ahmed, was in full flow on stage working the crowd up into a bouncy frenzy - fuelled by some banging grimy, crunky techno tunes.
Particularly impressive was a sculpture by Wayne Chisnall - a kind of evil post-apocalyptic Skeksi with oil dripping from it's sinister, wiry clawed fingers (which some revellers tampered with to the seeming delight of the sculpter).
There was an area set aside for the Craftivist Colective, a group of crafty individuals who aim to highlight a whole world of wrongs through innovative cross-stitch, origami and other activities you would not normally associate with social justice, human rights and change.
RizMC performed some of his thought provoking rhymes (or is it raps, or even poetry? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes). You can listen to Riz and watch some of his performances on his myspace site or youtube - check it out ya'll!
Then we were treated to some DubStep disco antics courtesy of a Manchester DJette whose name I forget. This was seriously heavy stuff, the kid of music you listen too when your too messed up to do anything but you try anyway... or on Ketamine (pretty much the same thing really).
Throughout the day a team of Ctrl+ Alt+ activists had been working busily to produce a real-time magazine souvenir of the event, under the guidance of journo Chantelle Fiddy, and as the evening drew to a close they became more and more frantic in their efforts to meet their deadline - which they did, so everyone got to leave with a fanzine packed with info, a piece called Sour Times, performed by RizMc earlier in the evening and a stream of tweets titled "Where's My Twiggas @"
So what was the point of all this? To inspire people to get off there asses and get involved? To get young adults to be less apathetic and cynical about the world than people of my generation who are sadly guilty of both. If this is the case then the future could be brighter, fairer, and more just than it is, governed by the so called compassionate conservatives in charge today.
I surely hope so.
I'd missed the afternoon's fun and frolics as I was working at Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, promoting the Early Years Literacy service run by myself and my colleagues for Lambeth Libraries and Children's and Young People's Services, so as I arrived everything was in full swing.
There was some amazing art and grafitti on display, which had been created on the day, and RizMC, actor/writer/performer Riz Ahmed, was in full flow on stage working the crowd up into a bouncy frenzy - fuelled by some banging grimy, crunky techno tunes.
Particularly impressive was a sculpture by Wayne Chisnall - a kind of evil post-apocalyptic Skeksi with oil dripping from it's sinister, wiry clawed fingers (which some revellers tampered with to the seeming delight of the sculpter).
There was an area set aside for the Craftivist Colective, a group of crafty individuals who aim to highlight a whole world of wrongs through innovative cross-stitch, origami and other activities you would not normally associate with social justice, human rights and change.
RizMC performed some of his thought provoking rhymes (or is it raps, or even poetry? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes). You can listen to Riz and watch some of his performances on his myspace site or youtube - check it out ya'll!
Then we were treated to some DubStep disco antics courtesy of a Manchester DJette whose name I forget. This was seriously heavy stuff, the kid of music you listen too when your too messed up to do anything but you try anyway... or on Ketamine (pretty much the same thing really).
Throughout the day a team of Ctrl+ Alt+ activists had been working busily to produce a real-time magazine souvenir of the event, under the guidance of journo Chantelle Fiddy, and as the evening drew to a close they became more and more frantic in their efforts to meet their deadline - which they did, so everyone got to leave with a fanzine packed with info, a piece called Sour Times, performed by RizMc earlier in the evening and a stream of tweets titled "Where's My Twiggas @"
So what was the point of all this? To inspire people to get off there asses and get involved? To get young adults to be less apathetic and cynical about the world than people of my generation who are sadly guilty of both. If this is the case then the future could be brighter, fairer, and more just than it is, governed by the so called compassionate conservatives in charge today.
I surely hope so.
Friday, 10 April 2009
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MARRIAGE
Dear NOM,
I have just watched your 'Gathering Storm' film and it has left me rather confused.
The first point about how same sex couples have taken the issue beyond just same sex couples makes no sense. Of course they are going to get the issue out in the open for all to see, How else are the expected to achieve the equality they deserve as citizens and human beings. Equality is after all an inalienable right. We are all created equal and we are all created in God's image, right?
Next a woman complains that her choice would be taken away. How? How does the institution of same sex marriage in any way impede upon the freedoms of anyone else? It's not like she'd be forced to wear dungarees and birkenstocks and dabble with cunnilingus.
Then we have the Californian doctor. She's worried about having to choose between her faith and her profession. I'm assuming that as a doctor she is familiar with the Hippocratic oath Never to do deliberate harm to anyone for anyone else's interest. If she were to refuse to treat someone on the grounds that her pastor or Rabbi or society had told her that they were sub-human (which is definitely implied by the denial of equal rights to any individual or group) would that not be wrong?
The man from the NJ Church group who have supposedly been punished for not supporting same-sex marriage - why is he there at all? I am not aware of any Church who has been forced to carry out same-sex marriages. The only reason I can see for any kind of punishment being levied against his organization would be if they were actively discriminating, preaching hatred and promoting violence against other human beings.
Massachusetts Mom appears next. Helplessly watching as public schools teach her son that same-sex marriage is OK. She's obviously got a kind of poor-me-victim attitude and feels powerless to provide any kind of guidance for her own child. Has she never thought of discussing the issue with the boy herself? And what if, let's say for argument's sake, the boy grows up to be Gay (Oh my, there it is, the G word, something I note you are very careful never to mention). Would she rather he lived in guilt and fear, thinking he was alone and suffering from some kind of mental illness or worse, that God did not love him and that he was evil?
Finally we are present with three fearful women making a point the I really don't understand. I think that's probably why the script was split between three actors because if one person were to say "Some who advocate for same-sex marriage have not been content with same-sex couples living as they wish... those advocates want to change the way I live... I will have no choice."
I'd be really grateful if someone could explain to me exactly what this means. No one who advocates same-sex marriage is saying that living together and remaining unmarried is wrong. They are not saying that traditional marriage for the purpose of breeding is wrong. They don't want to outlaw or alter the way a married and woman live or express their love (with the exception perhaps of the Mormons). You are right though. There is no choice. You're either homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual - oh hang on a second, they have a choice but we're not all lucky enough to be bisexual.
So, the storm is coming and unfortunately I don't think Jesus is going to calm this one. But you can.
Stop your campaign of bigotry and hatred, because no matter how you dress it up that's what it is.
Go back to your Gospels and the source of your faith, Jesus Christ. And I don't mean Paul or any one else who came along after and claimed to know Jesus and the meaning of his teachings. Look for yourself, learn for yourself and understand for yourself. You'll find one teaching that over-arches all others - LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
I suggest you think about what this mean.
Thankfully the LOVE of God knows no bounds and His forgiveness is even greater. I hope you can take solace in this if your campaign fails.
And I pray that it does fail, for all our sakes, so that we can all move into a new age of compassion and understanding before it's to late.
I'll end with some very hopeful words from my favorite Christian writer, Julian of Norwich,
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well"
Wishing you a safe and happy Easter.
Andrew.
I have just watched your 'Gathering Storm' film and it has left me rather confused.
The first point about how same sex couples have taken the issue beyond just same sex couples makes no sense. Of course they are going to get the issue out in the open for all to see, How else are the expected to achieve the equality they deserve as citizens and human beings. Equality is after all an inalienable right. We are all created equal and we are all created in God's image, right?
Next a woman complains that her choice would be taken away. How? How does the institution of same sex marriage in any way impede upon the freedoms of anyone else? It's not like she'd be forced to wear dungarees and birkenstocks and dabble with cunnilingus.
Then we have the Californian doctor. She's worried about having to choose between her faith and her profession. I'm assuming that as a doctor she is familiar with the Hippocratic oath Never to do deliberate harm to anyone for anyone else's interest. If she were to refuse to treat someone on the grounds that her pastor or Rabbi or society had told her that they were sub-human (which is definitely implied by the denial of equal rights to any individual or group) would that not be wrong?
The man from the NJ Church group who have supposedly been punished for not supporting same-sex marriage - why is he there at all? I am not aware of any Church who has been forced to carry out same-sex marriages. The only reason I can see for any kind of punishment being levied against his organization would be if they were actively discriminating, preaching hatred and promoting violence against other human beings.
Massachusetts Mom appears next. Helplessly watching as public schools teach her son that same-sex marriage is OK. She's obviously got a kind of poor-me-victim attitude and feels powerless to provide any kind of guidance for her own child. Has she never thought of discussing the issue with the boy herself? And what if, let's say for argument's sake, the boy grows up to be Gay (Oh my, there it is, the G word, something I note you are very careful never to mention). Would she rather he lived in guilt and fear, thinking he was alone and suffering from some kind of mental illness or worse, that God did not love him and that he was evil?
Finally we are present with three fearful women making a point the I really don't understand. I think that's probably why the script was split between three actors because if one person were to say "Some who advocate for same-sex marriage have not been content with same-sex couples living as they wish... those advocates want to change the way I live... I will have no choice."
I'd be really grateful if someone could explain to me exactly what this means. No one who advocates same-sex marriage is saying that living together and remaining unmarried is wrong. They are not saying that traditional marriage for the purpose of breeding is wrong. They don't want to outlaw or alter the way a married and woman live or express their love (with the exception perhaps of the Mormons). You are right though. There is no choice. You're either homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual - oh hang on a second, they have a choice but we're not all lucky enough to be bisexual.
So, the storm is coming and unfortunately I don't think Jesus is going to calm this one. But you can.
Stop your campaign of bigotry and hatred, because no matter how you dress it up that's what it is.
Go back to your Gospels and the source of your faith, Jesus Christ. And I don't mean Paul or any one else who came along after and claimed to know Jesus and the meaning of his teachings. Look for yourself, learn for yourself and understand for yourself. You'll find one teaching that over-arches all others - LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
I suggest you think about what this mean.
Thankfully the LOVE of God knows no bounds and His forgiveness is even greater. I hope you can take solace in this if your campaign fails.
And I pray that it does fail, for all our sakes, so that we can all move into a new age of compassion and understanding before it's to late.
I'll end with some very hopeful words from my favorite Christian writer, Julian of Norwich,
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well"
Wishing you a safe and happy Easter.
Andrew.
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