Speed of Life

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

"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 ...

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...

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday in Green for Iran (Live 02 July 2009 @ Camp Nou, Barcelona) July 7, 2009 Video in Milan Can Be Found Here: U2Goes Green Again for Iran in Milan Much thanks to Bono, the Edge. Larry and Adam Also a must read from Der Spiegel Online is an interview with Iranian theologian and philosopher Mohsen Kadivar: Iranian Regime Critic Mohsen Kadivar 'This Iranian Form of Theocracy Has Failed'

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 ...

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...