Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick 29"x69" oil on screen (detail)

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...

Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin. Link Below: Artists 4 Freedom

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

July 9, Tehran #iranelection , originally uploaded by .faramarz . Protests marking the 10th anniversary of the 1999 student killings (by the basij) at Tehran University More photos from July 9, 2009 can be found here: Photos of the 10th anniversary protests in Tehran Reports ppl coming out of their homes, standing in their own streets, shouting Allah Akbar and death to the dictators. #iranelection #gr88 RT @oxfordgirl Basij reported to be in retreat for first time, perhaps not happy being led by Khamenei son?! #iranelection #gr88 From the New York Times: Update | 12:07 p.m. The New York Times has received two e-mail messages from a witness to the protests on Thursday in Tehran, whose name we will withhold for that person’s safety. This first e-mail message was sent just over one hour ago: The phones are completely out. I’m hiding in an international hotel…. riot police wanted to break in but the managers convinced them. The crowd is running in the thousands, starting in Enqelab ...

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 ...

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

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

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 ...