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.
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 you to know that the world is with you. My best friend, Phil Cousineau, is a writer like you and Paulo Coelho. And what makes the world smaller is that Phil's wife Jo Beaton did the publicity for Paulo's marvelous "The Alchemist" when it was first published in the USA. And my dear friend, Yareli Arizmendi did the first audio book version in the US as well. She was in the brilliant Mexican film "Like Water for Chocolate" where she met her husband Sergio Arau. We are all "warriors of light" to use Paulo's term and we all defy the boundaries of clan or nationality. We feel the pain of you and your country and we are with you. Gregg Chadwick
Kiss the Sky: Green Balloons Over Tehran, June 26, 2009
From the New York Times:
Keeping pressure on Iran's rulers, Obama emphasized the rights of the people there.
''Their bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice,'' Obama said. ''The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. In spite of the government's efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it.''
Iran's violent postelection chaos has captured the world's attention and elicited increasingly sharp condemnations from Obama. Iran's ruling clergy have widened the clampdown on the opposition since a bitterly disputed June 12 presidential election, and scattered protests have replaced the initial mass rallies.
At least 17 people have been killed in a state-led crackdown on protesters.
Obama said Mousavi had captured the spirit and imagination of the Iranian people who want a more free society.
And he dismissed statements by Ahmadinejad, who on Thursday compared Obama to Bush. Obama said he is not meddling in Iran's affairs but rather calling for principles recognized around the world.
''A government that treats its own citizens with that kind of ruthlessness and violence and that cannot deal with peaceful protesters who are trying to have their voices heard in an equally peaceful way have moved outside of universal norms -- international norms -- that are important to uphold,'' Obama said.
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
Iran 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 said he had not slept for three nights following the incident, but he wanted to speak out so that her death was not in vain. He doubted that he would be able to return to Iran after talking openly about Ms Soltan's killing.
Neda Agha-Soltan was shot in the chest "I was there with some friends because we had heard that there were some protests and we decided to go and take a look," he said. "Anti-riot police were coming by motorcycles towards the crowd." Dr Hejazi said he saw Ms Soltan, who he did not know, with an older man who he thought was her father but later on learned was her music teacher. "Suddenly everything turned crazy. The police threw teargas and the motorcycles started rushing towards the crowd. We ran to an intersection and people were just standing. They didn't know what to do. "We heard a gunshot. Neda was standing one metre away from me. I turned back and I saw blood gushing out of Neda's chest. "She was in a shocked situation, just looking at her chest. The she lost her control. "We ran to her and lay her on the ground. I saw the bullet wound just below the neck with blood gushing out. "I have never seen such a thing because the bullet, it seemed to have blasted inside her chest, and later on, blood exiting from her mouth and nose.
Ms Soltan has become a rallying point for protesters around the world "I had the impression that it had hit the lung as well. Her blood was draining out of her body and I was just putting pressure on the wound to try to stop the bleeding, which wasn't successful unfortunately, and she died in less than one minute." Dr Hejazi said he first thought the gunshot had come from a rooftop. But later he saw protesters grab an armed man on a motorcycle. "People shouted 'we got him, we got him'. They disarmed him and took out his identity card which showed he was a Basij member. People were furious and he was shouting, 'I didn't want to kill her'. "People didn't know what do to do with him so they let him go. But they took his identity card. There are people there who know who he is. Some people were also taking photos of him." Dr Hejazi said he knew he was putting himself in jeopardy by talking about what happened. "It was a tough decision to make to come out and talk about it but she died for a cause. She was fighting for basic rights... I don't want her blood to have been shed in vain." He added: "She died on the streets to say something." Dr Hejazi said he did not believe he could now return to Iran. "They are going to denounce what I am saying. They are going to put so many things on me. I have never been in politics. I am jeopardising my situation because of the innocent look in her (Neda's) eyes.
(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 not participated in the rally but, even if she had, hey did not have the right to shoot her." At least 19 people have been killed after protests over the June 12 presidential election spilled over into violence, according to Iranian state media.
'Rights violations'
Ebadi, who has represented political prisoners and victims of human rights violations for more than 20 years, said that the actions of the police and pro-government militias violated the human rights convention.
"People were peacefully rallying in the streets to show their opposition to the outcome of the election but, as we saw, they were shot at and many were killed. Many others were arrested," she said.
"The prisoners who were arrested after the election must be immediately freed. "According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic, peaceful rallying and demonstrations are allowed and do not need permission from any authorities."
Hundreds of people were reported to have been arrested after police used tear gas, water cannon and batons to disperse thousands of protesters gathering in central Tehran.
It was after this that reports about Neda began to emerge through the internet.
A video recorded on a mobile phone showed what appeared to be people attempting to save her life after she was apparently hit by sniper's bullet.
Ebadi said that the results of the election, which the two reformist candidates have complained was rigged, should be annulled.
"The people of Iran do not accept the outcome of the election, therefore ... a new election under the supervision of international institutions, including the United Nations [is needed]," she said.
The Guardian Council, Iran's highest legislative body, has said that there were some irregularities during the vote, but has ruled out a re-run of the election as demanded by the opposition candidates.
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 she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.
"We just know that they [the family] were forced to leave their flat," a neighbour said. The Guardian was unable to contact the family directly to confirm if they had been forced to leave.
The government is also accusing protesters of killing Soltan, describing her as a martyr of the Basij militia. Javan, a pro-government newspaper, has gone so far as to blame the recently expelled BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, of hiring "thugs" to shoot her so he could make a documentary film.
Soltan was shot dead on Saturday evening near the scene of clashes between pro-government militias and demonstrators, turning her into a symbol of the Iranian protest movement. Barack Obama spoke of the "searing image" of Soltan's dying moments at his press conference yesterday.
Amid scenes of grief in the Soltan household with her father and mother screaming, neighbours not only from their building but from others in the area streamed out to protest at her death. But the police moved in quickly to quell any public displays of grief. They arrived as soon as they found out that a friend of Soltan had come to the family flat.
In accordance with Persian tradition, the family had put up a mourning announcement and attached a black banner to the building.
But the police took them down, refusing to allow the family to show any signs of mourning. The next day they were ordered to move out. Since then, neighbours have received suspicious calls warning them not to discuss her death with anyone and not to make any protest.
A tearful middle-aged woman who was an immediate neighbour said her family had not slept for days because of the oppressive presence of the Basij militia, out in force in the area harassing people since Soltan's death.
The area in front of Soltan's house was empty today. There was no sign of black cloths, banners or mourning. Secret police patrolled the street.
"We are trembling," one neighbour said. "We are still afraid. We haven't had a peaceful time in the last days, let alone her family. Nobody was allowed to console her family, they were alone, they were under arrest and their daughter was just killed. I can't imagine how painful it was for them. Her friends came to console her family but the police didn't let them in and forced them to disperse and arrested some of them. Neda's family were not even given a quite moment to grieve."
Another man said many would have turned up to show their sympathy had it not been for the police.
"In Iran, when someone dies, neighbours visit the family and will not let them stay alone for weeks but Neda's family was forced to be alone, otherwise the whole of Iran would gather here," he said. "The government is terrible, they are even accusing pro-Mousavi people of killing Neda and have just written in their websites that Neda is a Basiji (government militia) martyr. That's ridiculous – if that's true why don't they let her family hold any funeral or ceremonies? Since the election, you are not able to trust one word from the government." A shopkeeper said he had often met Soltan, who used to come to his store.
"She was a kind, innocent girl. She treated me well and I appreciated her behaviour. I was surprised when I found out that she was killed by the riot police. I knew she was a student as she mentioned that she was going to university. She always had a nice peaceful smile and now she has been sacrificed for the government's vote-rigging in the presidential election."
Allah - you are the creator of all and all must return to you - Allah Akbar - #Iranelection Sea of Green
thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green - pls remember always our martyrs - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar #Iranelection
we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast - #Iranelection22 minutes ago from web
Everybody is under arrest & cant move - Mousavi - Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guard - #Iranelection -
they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us - #Iranelection
Lalezar Sq is same as Baharestan - unbelevable - ppls murdered everywhere - #Iranelection
they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us - #Iranelection
they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us - #Iranelection
in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar - #Iranelection RT RT RT
reports of street fighting in Vanak Sq, Tajrish sq, Azadi Sq - now - #Iranelection - Sea of Green - Allah Akbar
rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users - must move from here now - #Iranelection
phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net - #Iranelection
all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere #Iranelection
ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys #Iranelection
so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away - #Iranelection - we lose our group
saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead
they were waiting for us - they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals #Iranelection
I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war - #Iranelection
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 friend, and you can recognize me in the video. I was the doctor who tried to save her and failed. She died in my arms. I am writing with tears in my eyes. Please don’t mention my name. I’ll contact you with more details soon. Love Arash
The doctor with Neda
(At this point, I decide to put the video in my blog) (For the rest of the day, I try to contact him. At one point, someone answers his phone as a “CNN journalist”. I start to become worried)
Monday 22 17:46 Dear Arash so far, no news from you. After I published the video in my blog, it seems that it spread worldwide, including posts in NY Times, Guardian, National Review, etc. Therefore, my main concern now is about you. You NEED to answer this email, saying that you are all right and the name of the person where we spend the New Year’s Eve in 2001 together, just to be sure that it is you really who is answering this email. I don’t buy this CNN person answering your mobile. If you don’t do that, I may leak your name to the press, in order to protect you - visibility is the only protection at this point. I know this because I am a former prisoner of conscience. If you do that, unless instructed otherwise by you, I will stop the pressure for the moment. My main concern now is you and your family. love Paulo P.S. - there are several trusted friends in blind copy here.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 1:35 AM
Dearest Paulo I am alright for now. I am not staying at home. I don’t know about CNN. The friend’s name was Frederick. Love Arash
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 1:37 AM
Dearest Paulo, Trying to leave the country tomorrow morning. If I don’t arrive in London at 2 pm., something has happened to me. Till then, wait. My wife and my son are in (edited). Their phone (edited) Her email (edited) Please wait till tomorrow. If something happens to me, please take care of (name of wife) and (name of son), they are there, alone, and have no one else in the world. Much love, it was an honor having you as a friend. Arash
(At this point, a Brazilian journalist, Luis Antonio Ryff, who traveled to Iran to cover my visit, recognizes Arash in the video, and writes me to double-check. I confirm, but I ask him to keep his name secret until today. Ryff agrees – even knowing that this would be a major scoop for him. I would like to thank him here, for his dignity)
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 yourself even if others think you have gone crazy. As we talk, an inner force gives us the security to overcome the obstacles that need to be surmounted. We learn lessons from the defeats that we are bound to suffer. And we prepare ourselves for the many victories that will be part of our life.
And just between you and me, those who have this habit (and I’m one of them) know that they never talk alone: the guardian angel is there, listening and helping us to reflect. What follows are some stories about angels.
And a story from Coelho:
Conversation in heaven
Abd Mubarak was on his way to Mecca when one night he dreamed that he was in heaven and heard two angels having a conversation.
"How many pilgrims came to the holy city this year?" one of them asked.
"Six hundred thousand", answered the other.
"And how many of them had their pilgrimage accepted?"
"None of them. However, in Baghdad there is a shoemaker called Ali Mufiq who did not make the pilgrimage, but did have his pilgrimage accepted, and his graces benefited the 600,000 pilgrims".
When he woke up, Abd Mubarak went to Mufiq’s shoe shop and told him his dream.
"At great cost and much sacrifice, I finally managed to get 350 coins together", the shoemaker said in tears. "But then, when I was ready to go to Mecca I discovered that my neighbors were hungry, so I distributed the money among them and gave up my pilgrimage".
LAPD officers take photos of the Lakers players along Figueroa Street. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Amid the post-parade crowd, I saw Rick Steves tonight in LA - he spoke at length about the political importance of travel and his new PBS program on travel in Iran. Bravo.
From a source in Iran: "Today again we were hundreds of thousands of Sea of Green, chanting 'my brother - my martyr - I will claim your vote for you!'"
Iran / today / Krimkhan St / protest NOW #iranelection
RT from Iran:today's demonstration was a real victory & fortunately there were no basij/Sepah HQ in the way & nothing bad happened
Iran / today / Krimkhan bridge / protest NOW #iranelection
Confirmed - Iranian National Football Team show support for Mousavi - sea of green #Iranelection
Below are some thoughts on how we can help our brothers and sisters in Iran.
The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in the Iranian election protests through Twitter.
1. Do NOT publicise proxy IP's over twitter, and especially not using the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distribute them discretely to bloggers in Iran.
2. Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk of diluting the conversation.
3. Keep you bullshit filter up! Security forces are now setting up twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian protesters. Please don't retweet impetuosly, try to confirm information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate sources are not hard to find and follow.
4. Help cover the bloggers: change your twitter settings so that your location is TEHRAN and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we all become 'Iranians' it becomes much harder to find them.
5. Don't blow their cover! If you discover a genuine source, please don't publicise their name or location on a website. This is REAL. These bloggers are in REAL danger. Spread the word discretely through your own networks but don't signpost them to the security forces. People are dying there, for real, please keep that in mind...
Austin Heap provides detailed instructions on his site on how to set up a proxy to help the Iranian cause.
Details below. Check Austin's site for troubleshooting:
If you’re using Windows, it’s pretty straight forward to setup a proxy and help give access to those in Iran who are being censored. If you’re running Redhat/CentOS, please use the linux instructions.
1) Download Squid for Windows 2) Extract that zip archive, and move the “squid” folder to the root of your drive (probably C:\). 3) After moving the squid folder, open “C:\squid\etc\squid.conf” in your favorite text editor (not Word). 4) Configure the DNS name servers on the line that says “dns_nameservers” to point at your ISPs DNS servers. 5) Now the fun part, locking access down the just the Iranian IP blocks.
Inside the text editor search (Control-W) for the line “http_access deny all” and change it to “http_access allow all”. This will make your proxy open and accessible to the world. If you would like to limit your proxy to Iranian IP blocks, you want to change “http_access deny all” to read “http_access allow TRUSTED” add a line (BEFORE the http_access line to setup an access control list [ACL]). This ACL line that defines TRUSTED should read:
6) Setup “visible_hostname” (normally just the public IP address). 7) Turn off logging by adding these two lines:
access_log none cache_store_log none
7) Setup the Squid cache by issuing the following command: “c:\squid\sbin\squid -D –z” (No quotes). Setup Squid to run as a service by issuing the following command: “c:\squid\sbin\squid –i”
Please don’t run this on a machine that you’re worried about or is used for production sites; and take basic security precautions, ie: moving ftp off the default port, using a firewall package, etc.
Once your server is up and running please DM @austinheap and let me know! I will no longer posting proxies on the public list. If you set one up, please e-mail me@austinheap.com to contribute to the private one or e-mail me if your an Iranian that needs access!
A supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi helps evacuate an injured riot-police officer who had been attacking Mousavi backers during confrontation in Tehran on June 13, 2009. photo by Olivier Laban-Matte
This photo will prove to be an iconic image of the green revolution in Iran. Mousavi's supporters want change and they want peace!
Follow the breaking events at Andrew Sullivan at Atlantic Monthly. This is a sea change in Iranian politics. One of Andrew Sullivan's readers writes:
I just talked to my father in Iran a few minutes ago. He had been in the demonstrations. He was telling me people were chanting: "Ahmadi, Ahmadi 24 millionet koo?" ("Ahmadi, Ahmadi were are your 24 millions?") and "Ahmadi, Ahmadi 63-dar sadet koo?"("Ahmadi Ahmadi, where is your 63%"). He said that the protesters were chanting "Nirooye Entezami Hemayat Hemayat" (asking police for support) And he was also confirming that at the beginning when there were smaller groups, the police was attacking them, but as the crowd built up thay had to stand back. We might be experiencing a true revolution here.
The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 15th NBA Championship and of course I think of Ed Ruscha who has visualized the city of LA during most of the Lakers championship years.
Fabrik Magazine: The art critic Peter Plagens once said that while other Los Angeles based artists had the LA look, you “look at LA.” What is it about LA that you find so compelling to look at?
Ed Ruscha: I tend to borrow things from LA. Some of these ugly buildings I see in LA are really food for thought. Some of the simplest things in the world help me view and understand LA. When the sun is shining here there is this remote tie in with glamour that other cities don’t have. This place doesn’t seem to have anywhere to look up to. It’s totally open ended… But I think it goes back to simple things like orange trees, the sun shining, freeways, and Chicano car stylings. Chicano car styling is one of the most treasured cultural icons of Los Angeles. You can’t transpose that anywhere else.
"On the basis of what we know so far, here is the sequence of events starting on the afternoon of election day, Friday, June 12.
Near closing time of the polls, mobile text messaging was turned off nationwide Security forces poured out into the streets in large numbers
The Ministry of Interior (election headquarters) was surrounded by concrete barriers and armed men
National television began broadcasting pre-recorded messages calling for everyone to unite behind the winner
The Mousavi campaign was informed officially that they had won the election, which perhaps served to temporarily lull them into complacency
But then the Ministry of Interior announced a landslide victory for Ahmadinejad
Unlike previous elections, there was no breakdown of the vote by province, which would have provided a way of judging its credibility
The voting patterns announced by the government were identical in all parts of the country, an impossibility
Less than 24 hours later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene`i publicly announced his congratulations to the winner, apparently confirming that the process was complete and irrevocable, contrary to constitutional requirements
Shortly thereafter, all mobile phones, Facebook, and other social networks were blocked, as well as major foreign news sources."
"All of this had the appearance of a well orchestrated strike intended to take its opponents by surprise – the classic definition of a coup. Curiously, this was not a coup of an outside group against the ruling elite; it was a coup of the ruling elite against its own people."
From an email as reported by Nico Pitney on the Huffington Post:
"My next door neighbor is an Iranian immigrant who came here in 1977. He just received a SAT phone call from his brother in Tehran who reports that the rooftops of nighttime Tehran are filled with people shouting 'Allah O Akbar' in protest of the government and election results. The last time he remembers this happening is in 1979 during the Revolution. Says the sound of tens of thousands on the rooftops is deafening right now."
President Barack Obama tours the Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris with his family June 6, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
I would love to have a conversation with President Obama and his family about the exhibition, ALEXANDER CALDER LES ANNÉES PARISIENNES, 1926-1933, which they are touring in this photo.
Take a video tour of the exhibition at the Pompidou:
1. "Revenge" (featuring The Flaming Lips) 2. "Just War" (featuring Gruff Rhys) 3. "Jaykub" (featuring Jason Lytle) 4. "Little Girl" (featuring Julian Casablancas) 5. "Angel's Harp" (featuring Black Francis) 6. "Pain" (featuring Iggy Pop) 7. "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)" (featuring David Lynch) 8. "Everytime I'm with You" (featuring Jason Lytle) 9. "Insane Lullaby" (featuring James Mercer) 10. "Daddy's Gone" (featuring Mark Linkous and Nina Persson) 11. "The Man Who Played God" (featuring Suzanne Vega) 12. "Grim Augury" (featuring Vic Chesnutt) 13. "Dark Night of the Soul" (featuring David Lynch)
Thanks to NPR!
Danger Mouse at UCLA Hammer Museum Lecture photo by Gregg Chadwick
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Fade Away, full band version, Live in Stockholm, Sweden @ Stockholm Stadion June 7th 2009
"We were always serious about Our Fun" - Bruce Springsteen, interviewed by Expressen TV, Stockholm
Before launching into the first full band version (since 1981) of his song "Fade Away", which originally appeared on "The River" album, Bruce gets down on his knees and begs:
"Is there anybody out there that’s ever felt the love they were having slipping away? I mean it’s not gone yet, but you can tell that it’s going… Have you ever felt a love that you had, slipping away? That’s right. That is an ugly feeling. You don’t know what you can do to fix it - probably nothing - you fucked up already! And so, it’s slipping away… And so it comes down to this: Is there any man out there with too much pride to beg to his woman?! I don’t have that much power; when it comes down to it - I beg! I get on my knees, and I beg to my woman! I say “Baby, don’t you know that I’m sorry?” I say “Baby, don’t you know that I didn’t know what I was doing? You know I never never never never never never never never never never put a love like ours in jeopardy. Because I need you.” And that’s all done in the first two minutes of begging. There’s two hours after that!!!"
FADE AWAY
Well now you say you've found another man who does things to you that I can't And that no matter what I do it's all over now between me and you girl But I can't believe what you say No I can't believe what you say 'cause baby
CHORUS I don't wanna fade away Oh I don't wanna fade away Tell me what can I do what can I say Cause darlin' I don't wanna fade away
Well now you say that you've made up your mind it's been such a long, long time since it's been good with us And that somewhere back along the line you lost your love and I lost your trust Now rooms that once were so bright are filled with the coming night, darlin'
CHORUS
You say it's not easy for you And that you've been so lonely While other girls go out doing what they want to do You say that you miss the nights when we'd go out dancing The days when you and I walked as two Well girl I miss them too Oh I swear that I do Oh girl
Now baby I don't wanna be just another useless memory holding you tight Or just some other ghost out on the street to whom you stop and politely speak when you pass on by vanishing into the night left to vanish into the night No baby
