Speed of Life

U2 Amsterdam July 21, 2009 , originally uploaded by u2log.com . U2 adds images of the protests in Iran to the live presentation of Sunday, Bloody Sunday. Update: U2 Now Scrolls Rumi Poem Azadi in Solidarity With Artists 4 Freedom More shots at: U2 Log

Influential cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivers his sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University The complete video of Rafsanjani's sermon is available on YouTube . All of the clips are posted here: Voice of Democratic Iran: Khandaniha From Nico Pitney at Huffington Post: Rafsanjani's most important line? Via email, Portland State University professor R. Kevin Hill writes: There was subtext and not-so-sub-subtext in several of Rafsanjani's remarks, based on the transcript of a live-blogger (caveats about accuracy, accuracy of translation, etc.) excerpt of which follows. If this is accurate, and I'm reading the oblique sermon style correctly, he's articulating a principle of popular sovereignty and calling on the government to resign. I've highlighted the crucial remark: "The Imam [Khomeini] would always quote the Prophet [Muhammad] who would say to Ali [Muhammad's successor]: leave the people if they do not want you. From ...

Update: Video of Rafsanjani's Speech Linked Here: Rafsanjani Video - July 17, 2009 RT @jimsciuttoABC Cellphone vid of 2day's protests, cn hear chants of 'Allah Akhbar' Video of July 17, 2009 #iranelection #rafsanjani RT @france7776: AP: Rafsanjani got tears in eyes said how prophet Mohammad respected the rights of ppl #iranelection #iran #tehran #gr88 onlymehdi describes the image as "President Mousavi in the Friday Prayers" - July 17, 2009 “Listen to the reeds as they sway apart, hear them speak of lost friends.” -Rumi

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

Text of the Rumi Poem Here: Update: U2 Now Scrolls Rumi Poem Azadi in Solidarity With Artists 4 Freedom U2 Scrolls Rumi Poem During Barcelona Concert "Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time." -Huston Smith

"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time." -Huston Smith

Gregg Chadwick A Persian Vigil (for Marjane Satrapi) 24"x48" oil on linen 2009 Tomorrow is the 4th of July in the United States. As I think in red, white and blue, more than a hint of green enters my thoughts. Today in the New York Times, Marjene Satrapi writes longingly and powerfully about her true home in Iran: It’s likely needless to remind you that this was not the first time Iranians showed how much they love freedom. Look only at the 20th century: They launched the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 (the first in Asia); nationalized the oil industry in 1951 (the first Middle Eastern country to do so); mounted the revolution of 1979; and engineered the student revolt of 1999. Which brings us to now, and that deafening cry for democracy. Almost 20 years ago, when I started studying art in Tehran, the very idea of “politics” was so frightening that we didn’t even dare think about it. To talk about it? Beyond belief! To demonstrate in the streets against the president? Surr...