Joan Baez at Santa Monica Pier: An Evening in Green Under a Violet Sky

Joan Baez
Santa Monica Pier July 9, 2009
photo by Gregg Chadwick


We Shall Overcome w/ Verse in Farsi for Iran
Joan Baez
Santa Monica Pier
July 9, 2009

Revolution '09 موج سبز

Revolution '09 موج سبز, originally uploaded by greggchadwick.

Gregg Chadwick
Revolution '09 موج سبز
48"x36" oil on linen 2009
(in progress - the revolution and the painting)

An Iranian citizen writes from Tehran:
(from Andrew Sullivan)

"I remember September 11, 2001. I remember watching TV all day worried and sad. I remember holding candlelight vigils with my friends for the victims. Then George W. Bush went on to declare us as one of the “Axis of Evil.” I remember asking myself, “Why?” Not a single one of the terrorists was Iranian, and I wondered why he didn’t bother to make a distinction between the government and the people. In fact, in all of the Middle East I don’t think there is a more pro-American nation than Iran, but no one made such a distinction. Consequently, the Iranian people were viewed with an aura of suspicion in every airport and embassy around the world for the rest of the Bush administration."

"But all of that unfounded negative stereotyping came to an end when, in the aftermath of the elections, the nation stood up to the manipulative authorities and separated its account from that of the government. We shattered the stereotype with the amateur photos and videos taken with our own mobile phones. We captured the true picture of the Iranian nation and relayed it to the world, a picture of a young and highly educated nation yearning to be free."

--PA

Much more at:
Andrew Sullivan at theAtlantic

Stand by Me for Iran free mp3

From Don Was:

On June 24, Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian went into an LA recording studio with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and American record producers Don Was and John Shanks to record a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran.

This version of the old Ben E. King classic is not for sale - it was not meant to be on the Billboard charts or even manufactured as a CD.....it's intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people...to give voice to the sentiment that all people of the world stand together....the handwritten Farsi sign in the video translates to "we are one".

If you know someone in Iran - or someone who knows someone in Iran - please share this link:

Stand by Me for Iran free mp3
Stand by Me for Iran Video



Much more at:
Andrew Sullivan at theAtlantic

Poems for the People of Iran by Simin Behbahani, Iran's National Poet

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