U2 goes green for Iran in Barcelona

Haunting 'Night Chants' in Tehran

A Poem for Neda

Dr. Rafey Habib has written a great many poems that have been subsequently video recorded. For me, this one is strikingly moving, meaningful, beautiful, and timely.

Thank you Dr. Rafey.

A Poem for Neda (Elections in Iran): By Dr. Rafey Habib

Neda.

Sweet voice,
Of freedom, unborn.

Your state totters.
A colour revolution.

Green, for life,
Of reason, faith;
Red for blood,
The price you paid.

And you have shown
Your colour, you
Whose voices rise
Above your people
Who cast your black sky
Over all voices;
Who hide behind
Batons, water, tear-gas;
Who cringe
Behind your flag.

Tears will find you out.

And you too, show
Your colour, who flirt
With freedoms name;
Who smile unshamed
As tyrants old or new
Play your cards for you.

Tears will blind your smiles.

You who love
Your daughters, sons,
Let the green of earth be
Your colour:
Let your love give birth
To the Islam which your poets dreamed.

Let your voice, which sang
Before, of golden Persia,
In Saadi, Hafez, Rumi,
Now return, to sing
Our future.

Let your sweet voice
Sing from the cold earth
Of sweet democracy
Buried in its birth.
Dreaming to be
Born.

Daughter, sweet voice
Of the new Iran:
Neda.

Filmed by: Chris Barrett
Special thanks: Elizabeth Licorish

About Neda Agha-Soltan:
The death of Neda Agha-Soltan drew international attention when her shooting, during the 2009 Iranian election protests, was captured on video by bystanders and broadcast over the internet.[6] The video quickly became a rallying point for the reformist opposition. Nedā is also the the Persian word for "voice", "calling" or "divine message," and she has been referred to as the "voice of Iran".

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neda_(Iranian_protester)

Poem for Iran

NPR: Iran's National Poet Speaks Out On Recent Events In Her Country & Recites 2 Poems

June 28, Video from Iran

June 28 Iranians rally at Ghoba Mosque (also spelled Qoba) on Shariati Street, Tehran

Dust in Your Eyes (Song for Iran)

Solidarity: Iranian singer records 'Stand By Me' with Bon Jovi

Iran Doctor Talks about Neda's Death

From BBC News

"We heard a gunshot. Neda was standing a metre away from me... I saw blood gushing out of her chest"

I woke up last Saturday morning to the video of this young girl's death. It was extremely painful to watch. Such a shame.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds

Press Conference: President Obama's Opening Remarks

Yesterday in 100 Seconds

'Prison for journalists'

From Think Progress:

The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders reports today that Iran is now the “world’s biggest prison for journalists,” with “a total of 33 journalists and cyber-dissidents in its jails.” At least 20 journalists have been arrested since June 12. The New York Times adds that the Iranian government continues to “block all coverage of protests and the security crackdown” and has ordered the BBC’s reporter to leave the country. “[O]ther news organization said they were ordered by the authorities not to report on events on the streets

Video: Today in Iran

The video is labeled as follows:

Demonstration on 21 June [2009] in Iran, Tehran تظاهرات مردم

Iranian Protesters in D.C. chant Democracy for Iran

The District of Columbia awoke to storms this morning. Huddled under an overhang outside the Iranian Consulate's office, were Americans and Iranian-Americans standing in solidarity with the people of Iran. Notwithstanding the rain, the crowd began its slow march, about two-and-a-half miles to the White House.

As they marched, the rain subsided, giving way to a gorgeous day, almost perfect for a demonstration. The crowd was loud and energetic,venting their anger, frustration, and concern. There was also a sense of hope, in light of an uprising in Iran on a scale not witnessed since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Young and old alike, expressed their inspiration.

More video and messages from Iran

On Twitter, persianq beseeches Americans to remember...

USA - They mourned your dead http://tinyurl.com/mar4wb Now mourn theirs! #iranelection

The link in the above post is to a Time Europe photo essay article showing moving pictures of Iranians lighting candles, mourning the dead after the attacks on America on September 11, 2001.

Video: Chicagoans show solidarity with Iranian protesters

Warning: Extremely graphic from Iran

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Update: They are calling her 'Neda'. Just saying her name makes tears well up in my eyes. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Iran.

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شخصی ها کشته شد شخصی ها کشته شد

Basij shots to death a young woman in Tehran's Saturday June 20th protests

At 19:05 June 20th
Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st.

A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes.
The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St.

The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me.

Please let the world know

Things heating up in Iran

I am very moved by the Iranian people

Watching the video of 'The Silent March', the behavior standing up of so many of the Iranian people is very awe inspiring to me.

There was also a good segment on The Rachel Maddow Show about the march that I will post shortly.

The Day in 100 Seconds

It is Wednesday, the Iranian Military is clamping down, the Internet bloggers documenting the stunning uprising, no sign of backing down, tight restrictions, flooding the streets, on the streets of Tehran, capturing the rallies and protests, against tough odds, jamming cell phone lines, filtering, cut of cell phones, all true, banned from reporting, do not go, cannot cover them, cannot guarantee your safety, riot police, trying to block, trying to prevent images, unverified material, out of control, wow it's wild, media grip tightening, important outlet, social networking, media ban, amateur video, blogs, e-mail, cell phones, twitter, fueling the protests, run out of steam, no, rally in Tehran, quite a turnout, take the election away from people, different kind of energy, it is growing, on line, through the Twitter, questioning the entire system