Speed of Life

Behesht-e Zahra / Tehran today - July 30, 2009 / Zahra Rhanvard (Mousavi's Wife) #iranelection #neda #sohrab The Call - ندا -Neda 40 days after Neda Agha Soltan's murder, thousands of Iranians have gathered at the graves of those killed by Ahmadinejad's government. Today, at least 3,000 mourners pushed past riot squads to lay flowers on Neda's grave. A chant heard at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery today declared, "Neda is not dead. This government is dead." The Los Angeles Times reports that the security forces, after an initial flurry of arrests in and around Behest Zahra, retreated from the growing crowd. Noted Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mahnaz Mohammadi, and Rokhsare Ghaem Maghami were briefly arrested then released. Enduring America reports: Etemade Melli has an account of Mehdi Karroubi’s appearance at the memorial, including the resistance of mourners when security forces accosted him, and of his speech. The English translation, courtesy of Mani: Karro...

Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died The home of Neda Agha Soltan in Tehran, Iran Below is an article from The Guardian giving details on how Ahmadinejad's Government has forced Neda Agha Soltan's family from their home in Tehran. I am posting the article in full because of the heavy censorship in place in Iran. The world must bear witness to the injustice taking place now: Neda Soltan's family forced out of home' by Iranian authorities Parents of young woman shot dead near protests are banned from mourning and funeral is cancelled, neighbours say A correspondent in Tehran guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 June 2009 18.00 BST The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world. Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since...

Neda Sung by Iranian Singer Maral As the protests simmer and rage in Tehran, the arts in Iran are exploding and seeking solidarity with the outside world. The response to my paintings concerning the recent events in Iran has been strong and dialogues have begun to emerge. The website Bar-Ex picked up my interview on my paintings for Iran and I was privileged to hear a broad array of new important music from Behind the Iran curtain. I am reminded of the band "The Plastic People" and the works of playwright Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia and their artistic efforts to break down their Iron Curtain. In Iran today we have the singer Maral who has created a haunting and powerful song for the memory of Neda, who was murdered last month by the Basij on the streets of Tehran. Fittingly, Maral also lends vocals to the band,"The Plastic Wave." In Maral's lyric "Neda screams through her eyes of her pain" as Maral "cries of her own pain through Neda's n...

Below I have posted the full text from the BBC, again to help circumvent the massive censorship and lies coming from the government in Iran: Thursday, 25 June 2009 19:13 UK I ran doctor tells of Neda's death "We heard a gunshot. Neda was standing a metre away from me... I saw blood gushing out of her chest" The doctor who tried to save an Iranian protester as she bled to death on a street in Tehran has told the BBC of her final moments. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, said he ran to Neda Agha-Soltan's aid after seeing she had been shot in the chest. Despite his attempts to stop the bleeding she died in less than a minute, he said. Dr Hejazi says he posted the video of Ms Soltan's death on the internet and images of her have become a rallying point for Iranian opposition supporters around the world. He also told how passers-by then seized an armed Basij militia volunteer who appeared to admit shooting Ms Soltan. Dr Hejazi s...

Update: The Full Story of Neda's Doctor and Paulo Coelho Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, well known for his fable "The Alchemist", writes on his blog about the doctor who cared for Neda as she died in Tehran on Saturday: "My best friend in Iran, a doctor who showed me its beautiful culture when I visited Teheran in 2000, who fought a war in the name of the Islamic Republic (against Iraq), who took care of wounded soldiers in the frontline, who always stood by real human values, is seen here trying to resuscitate Neda - hit in her heart." -Paulo Coelho Neda Agha Soltan Coelho often writes of angels. Neda is being called "an angel of freedom." Below is a passage on angels from Paulo Coelho's site: When angels talk Nobody is courageous all the time. The unknown is a constant challenge, and being afraid is part of the journey. What to do? Talk to yourself. Talk alone. Talk to y...

Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died Below is the story of the writer Paulo Coelho's dear friend who tends to Neda Agha Soltan's last moments. I post this in full from Paulo's site to help refute the lies coming from the hardliners in Iran. Please read for yourself this narrative told through emails between Paulo and the doctor: The Doctor Published by Paulo Coelho on June 24, 2009 Iran 2000, Brazilian Writer Paulo Coelho with Iranian Doctor and Translator Arash Hejazi (Late Sunday I watch Neda’s video. I suspect that I recognize Arash Hejazi, but I prefer not to believe in what I am seeing. I send him and email) Sunday 21 23:011 Dear Arash I need to know where you stand, if things that I am seeing/reading are true. Then I can myself take a position - depending on your advice, of course. love Paulo Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:05:05 -04:00 Subject: your country Dearest Paulo, I am now in Tehran. The video of Neda’s murder was taken by my fr...

Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died Ebadi said that Iran's constitution allows people to protest peacefully without permission [EPA] Iran's Neda killing 'was illegal' from Al Jazeera (Again I have copied the entire article due to the incredible constraints and censorship put on the people of Iran by Ahmadinejad's government) Shirin Ebadi, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace prize winner, has told Al Jazeera that she is prepared to represent the family of a young woman shot dead during a protest in Tehran. The woman, named as Neda Agha Soltan on social-networking websites, has become a symbol for people protesting against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. Ebadi told Al Jazeera on Wednesday: "I am personally prepared to legally represent her family against the people who ordered the shooting and those who fired at her. "This act was against the law. "Neda had ...

Reza Aslan discusses Neda's legacy on NPR Morning Edition. #iranelection @ASLANmedia Neda's legacy on NPR The Call - ندا -Neda

Arash Hejazi's website has been dumped by the authorities in Iran, but I caught a screenshot of it as I wrote a comment to Dr. Hejazi. My words do not capture the true heroism of Dr. Hejazi and the citizens of Iran, but in the spirit of witness I post them here after I reprint Arash Hejazi's moving words: Neda's Death. Eyewitness As you might have read on Paulo Coelho's blog, I was the doctor who tried to save Neda. I am the one who sent the video of her cruel death for the world to see. I am the person in the video who tries to control her bleeding ... in vain. I was the one who looked into her eyes, right before they lost their light forever. A famous Iranian writer called Sadeq Hedayet wrote, "There are sores which slowly erode the mind in solitude like a kind of canker." I have to live with this sore. But I am going to tell the story soon. I wrote a comment: Dear Dr. Hejazi, I am but a painter and can not attempt to feel your pain or anger. But I do want ...

July 31, 2009 Behest Zahra, Tehran 7pm Iran - Neda's mother mourning on her beloved daughter's grave مادر ندا در سوگ دختر بی گناهش The Call - ندا -Neda

Airborne Toxic Event's Song for Neda The Call - ندا -Neda , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick The Call - ندا -Neda 36"x48" oil on linen 2009

The Call - ندا -Neda , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick The Call - ندا -Neda 36"x48" oil on linen 2009

Simin Behbahani, Iran's national poet A Poem For Neda Soltan by Simin Behbahani, Iran's national poet from NPR Simin Behbahani, Iran's national poet, spoke with NPR's Davar Iran Ardalan from Tehran on Friday June 26th. She recites two poems inspired by the protests -- one dedicated to the people of Iran and the other dedicated to Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman mourned around the world because her death during last Saturday's protests was viewed by millions on the Web and TV. A Poem for the People of Iran Much more at: Andrew Sullivan at theAtlantic

The Call - ندا -Neda , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick The Call - ندا -Neda 36"x48" oil on linen 2009

The Call - ندا -Neda , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick The Call - ندا -Neda 36"x48" oil on linen 2009

by Gregg Chadwick In response to  Spring for Music 's Round Two query in  the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge : We live in an aggressively visual age; images dominate the popular culture.  But which art form has the most to say about contemporary culture, and why? Tokyo Streets photo by Gregg Chadwick  The dense visual language of the Tokyo cityscape immediately came to mind when I considered Spring for Music's second query in the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge. The visual cacophony of signs and images that line the streets of the city's shopping districts provide a visual metaphor for the images that threaten to overload us each day as we turn on our computers and televisions. But do images themselves say more than other art forms about contemporary culture? The uncertainty and ambiguity often found in our 21st century lives calls for a rich cultural exploration that images may only hint at.  ...

تجمع مردم معترض به نتایج انتخابات-هفتم تیر ماه 88 رو به روی مسجد قبا واقع در محدوده خیابان شریعتی Video report seems to confirm reports that thousands of protesters gathered today in & around Ghoba mosque. #iranelection #gr88 #neda

Update: U2 Now Scrolls Rumi Poem Azadi in Solidarity With Artists 4 Freedom The Irish rock band U2, during a concert for their new album No Line on the Horizon , bathed the concert hall in Barcelona in a rich green and scrolled what appeared to be Rumi's The Song of the Reed Flute or alternately titled in a translation by Philip Dunn, Manuela Dunn Mascetti and R.A. Nicholson - On Separation and Words . Video of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with Rumi's poem can be seen at: U2 and Rumi Krista Tippett writes that "In the Song of the Reed , Rumi reflects on the human spirit through the metaphor of the ancient reed flute or ney that is popular in Middle Eastern music. This poem opened the Masnavi, Rumi's compendium of rhyming couplets that explored issues of Sufi theology and the spiritual journey." I post the poem in full in solidarity with the struggle in Iran: ( Please buy the book and Coleman Bark's heartfelt translations of Rumi also belong on your boo...