Editor: Myself

Internet subaltern: Fatemeh Rajabi's case

I'm reading a lot of Derrida and Spivak these days for my dissertation, which would be about voice and silence on the internet, based on my own personal experience in the past few years and the shift in my status in the Iranian diaspora blogosphere from the 'Blogfather' to the 'Public Enemy'. I also have this sketchy idea of defining the subaltern on the Internet.

But I haven't given up the temptation to wrote a separate essay with this very sketchy idea of internet subaltern, based on the case of Fatemeh Rajabi, who is a pious woman, a pro-Ahmadinejad commentator and a persistent blogger with an unusually sharp language. She who also happens to be the wife of Gholam-Hossein Elham, the current government's spokesperson and the minister of Justice.

My mains interest in her derives from the fact the because o f her sharp prose against Rafsanjani and Khatami, her blog has been filtered (her older filtered blog), her website attacked by 'hackers', and her Iranian web hosting provider has also kicked her out. She has also been the subject of terribly sexist and vicious personal attacks by the supporters of Rafsanjani in the from of serious or satirical comments, including the persistent erotic and sexist flow of bad jokes by Ebrahim (Ibrahim) Nabavi. All this, while she has totally been ignored by the loud advocates of free speech or even women's rights.

Ramin Jahanbegloo hides his NED service on CBC's The Hour

Ramin Jahanbegloo claims, in a recent interview on CBC's The Hour, he was never involved in anything political and he was only arrested because he was a Canadian as well as an Iranian citizen and that they told him he was a spy only because he carried a Canadian passport. What an honest and innocent man!

Jahanbegloo on CBC's The Hour

But seriously, if serving at a federally funded program, known as the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program, at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is not political activity, then what is political activity?

If a sovereign country is not supposed to prosecute or at least be suspicious of someone who has served at the heart of its enemy's intelligence apparatus (Allen Weinstein, a founder of the NED' said once that a 'lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,' then what is sovereignty?

If ramin jahenbegloo was never involved in politics, then how one could ever describe his writings for the NED's journal, journal of Democracy:

• Jahanbegloo, Ramin. "Pressure From Bellow." Journal of Democracy 14, no. 1 (January 2003): 126.

• Jahanbegloo, Ramin. "the Role of the Inttelectuals." Journal of Democracy 11, no. 4 (October 2000): 135.

Jahanbegloo's ties with NED is so public now that it's unimaginable how a CBC producer have not possibly run into it. Why everyone is ignoring to mention this, while it was exactly what the iranian authorities publically anounced for Ramin Jahanegloo's arrest, and also Jahanbegloo himslef confirmed it in an interview in Tehran after his release?

Who do you think have the guts to raise this finally in Canada?

P.S: The CBC had used my photo of Jahanbgeloo on the screen in the back, without my knowledge and since the CBC is a commercial channel, it has violated the Creative Commons license, attributed to it. If we can't sue the CBC for their PR-style journalism toward Jahanbegloo, maybe we can sue them for using this picture. Anyone? :)

Haroon Siddiqui and the death of Canadian independent journalism

As I was expecting, even the supposedly "progressive" Toronto Star, and even its well-known "progressive" columnist, Haroon Siddiqui, failed to mention anything about Ramin Jahanbegloo's continuous co-operation with the infamou National Endowment for Democracy which was the main reason he was arrested in Tehran in 2006.

To me this is a sad sign of the death of critical and independent journalism in Canada.

Ramin Jahanbegloo and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

The Iranian darling of the American regime change project (soft or hard) in Iran, Ramin Jahanbegloo, is back in Canada and being praised left ad right by the utterly appreciative and polite Canadian journalists.

I took this photo of him in 2002 when, as a former friend, I had no idea what he was up to those days. Doesn't it just work perfectly now?

But not a single one of them has even mentioned the main reason behind his arrest that was his one year service and continuous close ties with the National Endowment for Democracy, which is described by its own first president, Allen Weinstein, as an organization which is doing what "was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA." (The Washington Post, 22 September 1991)

I haven't lost all my hope in Canadian media yet, but I really wonder which Canadian newspaper or magazine is going to upset Jahanbegloo's publicists at the University of Toronto (where he is on various scholarships now) and talk about the very reason behind Iran's treatment of him.

He is going to give a lecture on Monday, Jan 28, 2008 from 07:30 pm to 09:30 pm in Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. W. I wonder if there is at least some progressive Canadians left in Toronto who would dare and challenge him publicly about his NED connection and why he is trying to hide it.

By the way, is it just me or you are also thinking Canada is now gradually becoming the main hub for the US regime change plans in Iran? You know that Akbar Ganji is already working with the Canadian version of the NED, Rights and Democracy, and living in Toronto now.

Ramin Jahanbegloo's articles for NED's Journal of Democracy

Ramin Jahanbegloo is one of the best known Iranian comprador intellectuals who, predictably, was a fellow at The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 2001-2002. He was arrested last year by the Iranian intelligence ministry and freed on bail a few months later.

Now he is apparently off to Toronto as the Dean's Distinguished Visitor in Human Rights at the University of Toronto. Again quit predictably. (I'll soon write about the recent of pres articles being published about him.)

If you are interested in his and other Iranians contribution to NED's Journal of Democracy, here is a list I've produced:

• Jahanbegloo, Ramin. "PRESSURES FROM BELOW." Journal of Democracy 14, no. 1 (January 2003): 126.

• Jahanbegloo, Ramin. "THE ROLE OF THE INTELLECTUALS." Journal of Democracy 11, no. 4 (October 2000): 135.

• Afshari, Ali, and H. Graham Underwood. "THE STUDENT MOVEMENT'S STRUGGLE." Journal of Democracy 18, no. 4 (October 2007): 80-94.

• Kar, Mehrangiz. "CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS." Journal of Democracy 14, no. 1 (January 2003): 132.

• Esfandiari, Haleh. "OBSERVATIONS ON ELECTION DAY." Journal of Democracy 11, no. 4 (October 2000): 108.

Tough times for the Iranian 'Blogfather'

I was in Canada two weeks ago for a panel discussion in a Canadian organization. So it was a good chance to raise the issue of free speech, both in Iran and in the 'West.'

The following is an article that was published in Ottawa Citizen when I was there. (Direct link to the article)

The Blogfather

Times are hard for Iran's online free-speech pioneer NN

Don Butler
The Ottawa Citizen

Friday, November 02, 2007

These are trying times for the Blogfather of Iran.

Beset by legal troubles, abandoned by former allies and angered by the West's hostile characterization of his native land, Hossein Derakhshan could be forgiven if the topic he is to address in Ottawa today -- the role of the media in democratic development -- isn't top of mind.

The 32-year-old Iranian Canadian, known as the Blogfather for his role in kickstarting Iran's blogging revolution, flew in from Britain for a panel discussion this afternoon sponsored by the International Development Research Centre.

But Mr. Derakhshan has more pressing matters to attend to while in Canada. Mehdi Khalaji, a visiting Iranian scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has just filed a $2-million defamation suit for critical comments about him on Mr. Derakhshan's groundbreaking blog, Editor: Myself. So now the Blogfather needs a lawyer.

"It would cost me so much money to find a lawyer, and so much time," Mr. Derakhshan moaned this week from London, where he has just begun an MA program in media studies. "It's really devastating."

After Mr. Khalaji's lawyers filed notice of libel in August, the Florida-based firm that was hosting Mr. Derakhshan's blog terminated his account, forcing him to migrate to a new Internet provider.

That Mr. Derakhshan's blog was shut down by an American company is more than a little ironic. It is, after all, the same blog that Iran's regime, so reviled in the West, has been blocking since 2004. (It still reaches a limited number of Iranians by e-mail or other roundabout means.)

And because he visited Israel last year in a high-profile effort to foster better understanding between Israelis and Iranians, Mr. Derakhshan can no longer return to his homeland without risking arrest.

But that's how things have been going lately for Mr. Derakhshan, whose former friends have cut him loose for his outspoken opposition to western attempts to portray Iran as a threat to global security.

So worried is he about the demonization of Iran that he has ceased all criticism of his homeland in English. (He still offers critiques, but only in his Persian blog.) "We should keep our internal problems to ourselves for a while until the threat is gone," he argues.

This summer, he shut down a website documenting censorship in Iran because he feared it would add fuel to the anti-Iranian campaign, though he says he may revive it later, in Persian only.

He has criticized NGOs such as Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, saying their campaigns against censorship and human rights violations in Iran are often counter-productive and serve American interests more than those of Iranians.

He has even defended Iran's right to possess nuclear weapons for defensive purposes, and has publicly declared that he will return to defend his native land if the West attacks.

All this has left him isolated from the community of politically active expatriate Iranians who formerly supported him. Some bloggers have removed links to his blog. Others have actively urged readers to boycott him. Interview requests from western-based Iranian media have dried up, as have invitations to ex-pat events and panel discussions.

It's quite a change for someone once widely viewed as a free-speech techno-hero. The darkly handsome Mr. Derakhshan has been sympathetically profiled in such diverse publications as Wired and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. More than 7,700 people have watched his interview on CBC's The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on YouTube.

Mr. Derakhshan arrived in Canada in December 2000 with his Iranian-Canadian wife (the two have since split) keen to experience the West's vaunted economic and political freedoms.

Within nine months, writing from the kitchen table of his Toronto apartment, he had started his blog, using the nom-de-blog Hoder, a contraction of his first and last names.

Mr. Derakhshan, who wrote about the Internet and digital culture for newspapers in Iran, was attracted to blogging by the freedom it offered. "I didn't want to be censored by the publishers and editors in Iran."

At the time, blogging was unknown in Iran. But Mr. Derakhshan soon sent it into overdrive by writing simple instructions that let Iranians blog in their own Persian language.

He also promoted new tools and technologies, linked to other blogs and bugged his journalist friends in Iran "to use this amazing technology to bypass the local editors and the limiting structure of the Iranian press."

When he started out, he hoped there would be 100 Iranian bloggers within a year. Instead, there were thousands. "I was very pessimistic," he acknowledges.

Today, Iran is one of the world's top blogging nations, with an estimated 800,000 blogs, though not all are active.

Though some bloggers have been arrested or harassed, the vast majority are left in peace, Mr. Derakhshan says. Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a blog.

The regime tolerates blogging, Mr. Derakhshan says, because unlike technologies such as satellite TV, it is not primarily associated with secular, anti-government forces.

Most Iranian bloggers are neither secular nor opponents of the regime, he says. "That's why the government embraced it rather than rejecting it. They don't see blogs as a destabilizing medium or technology."

Blogging has helped expand Iranian civil society, he believes, at least among the country's wealthier, more educated urban residents.

"Within this small fraction of the whole population, the effect has been quite significant, because it has opened up a whole new space for public debate. It has significantly affected public intellectuals because it has helped them engage with a different sort of audience in a much more interactive and lively way."

Though Mr. Derakhshan initially blogged only in Persian, he added an English blog about a year later, in part to show the world how swiftly blogging was catching on in Iran.

But even as acclaim for his pioneering work poured in, Mr. Derakhshan's enthusiasm for his new western home was waning.

As a student in Iran, he says, "I never understood or had any kind of interest in Marxist theories. As soon as I arrived in Canada, after maybe six months and maybe three months of working full time in a company, I realized what he was saying."

As his critiques of western society have become more pointed, he has been heartened by supportive messages from some non-political ex-pats that echo his own journey. "They left Iran with the same hopes and dreams that when they came to Canada or the U.S., everything would be perfect there," he says. "You would have such a happy life.

"When they see the nuances and realities of things in the West, they realize it's not like what they were thinking. They start to question many of these presumptions and presuppositions."

Since emigrating to Canada, Mr. Derakhshan has returned to Iran only once, during the 2005 elections that chose Mr. Ahmadinejad as president.

As he was leaving the country, he was detained and interrogated by officials from the ministry of intelligence about things he had written in his blog.

Their concerns included disrespectful comments about Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opinions about Iran's nuclear program that were "out of the government's line," and his irreligious views. His interrogators were also unhappy with him for helping Iranians bypass Internet censorship.

Officials ultimately forced him to sign an apology before allowing him to leave.

His trip to Israel in January 2006 appears to have cemented his status as persona non grata. When he appeared on an Iranian news channel recently, the producers received a call from Tehran "asking why did you invite this guy and please do not do it again," he says.

"This is very frustrating to me. They are so paranoid that they can't distinguish their friends from their enemies.

"The fact that I have been to Israel is just enough for them to rule out any possibility that I could be genuinely defending my people and the legitimacy of my government."

While he's a critic of Mr. Ahmadinejad, that doesn't mean he condones the way he's treated in the West.

"It's really, really unfair and wrong and unethical the way they treat him. At the end of the day, he's elected by my people and he represents Iran, for better or for worse."

Mr. Derakhshan's inability to visit his homeland gnaws at him. "I can never have the experience of talking to ordinary Iranians on the street," he laments.

He thinks the West is missing a golden opportunity to build bridges to the Muslim world by isolating and demonizing the Iranian regime, which he insists is not a threat to others.

If the West removed its existential threat to Iran, he's convinced its political discourse would broaden. Iran, he says, could be "an amazing role model for the whole Muslim world to stop being reactionary toward the West and start some sort of positive interaction."

Iran's Islamic republic is still a very new concept and remains a work in progress, he says. Given the chance, "the major force that could democratize the region is a successful Islamic republic rather than an oppressive, colonizing United States."

A year ago, Mr. Derakhshan was convinced an attack on Iran was likely. Now, he thinks the risk is minimal, mainly because western nations have invested so much time and energy in economic sanctions.

Western politicians also realize a military attack would be "counterproductive by any calculation," he says. "Even the most ideologically driven ones, like Cheney, have realized that they wouldn't gain anything from any kind of military clash with Iran at the moment."

As Iran's Blogfather struggles to gain purchase in a time of trouble, that, at least, is something to hold on to.

- - -

FAST FACTS

The Event: A roundtable discussion on media and democratic government features Iranian-Canadian Hossein Derakhshan, known as the Blogfather for his role in kickstarting Iran's blogging revolution.

The Lawsuit: Mr. Derakhshan needs a lawyer, as he is being sued for $2 million by Iranian scholar Mehdi Khalaji, who accuses Mr. Derakhshan of defaming him.

The Context: Despite acclaim from human rights groups, and being unwelcome in Iran thanks to a 2006 trip he made to Israel, Mr. Derakhshan finds his enthusiasm for the West waning.

- - -

BLOGFATHER BASICS

Bio: Hossein Derakhshan, a.k.a. Hoder. Born in 1975 in Iran to a religious family. Emigrated to Canada with his former wife in 2000. Settled in Toronto, where he started a Persian-language blog, Sardabir:khodam ("Editor: Myself") in 2001. Added an English-language version in 2002. Dual citizen of Canada and Iran. Now pursuing MA in media studies at University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.

Claim to fame: One of the first people to blog in Farsi, the Persian language. Credited with sparking the blogging revolution in Iran by disseminating simple instructions on how to adapt free online tools to handle Persian characters.

Blogging in Iran: Estimates of the number of blogs range upwards of 800,000, though not all are actively maintained. Relatively few are political. Blogs about culture, the arts and technology are popular.

Prominent blogger: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Harassment: Iranian regime has blocked Mr. Derakhshan's blog since 2004. During visit to Iran in 2005, was detained, questioned about the blog's content and forced to sign an apology. Because he visited Israel in January 2006, can no longer enter Iran.

Shifting views: Has ceased external criticism of Iranian regime because of concern over western efforts to demonize Iran. Believes reform debate should continue, but internally. Outspoken opponent of military action against Iran; supports Iranian nuclear weapons for defensive purposes.

Legal troubles: Served with $2-million defamation suit by Mehdi Khalaji, an Iranian fellow at U.S. think-tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, for critical comments posted on his blog.

Appearance in Ottawa: Hossein Derakhshan will take part in a roundtable discussion on the media and democratic development from 1 to 3 p.m. today at IDRC's head office, 150 Kent St. Other panellists are Chilean journalist Alejandra Matus, South African journalist Mathatha Tsedu and Humaira Habib, who runs a women's community radio station in Afghanistan. Registration to the event is closed. For information, call 613-236-6163, ext. 2244.

Tomorrow's presentation

I'm going to speak tomorrow at a small gathering of freinds and foes in Toronto about Internet, blogging, and censorship in Iran. Here is the announcment:

Berlin

I'm in Berlin now for the first time in my life and I know why people think it's an amazing place to be these days. So many nice, friendly and casual cafes, bars, and restaurants, with trendy, cool, and politically aware people in them.

It's big with various neighbourhoods, has a very efficient public transport system and, God, it's cheap!

I should say it is a definite candidate now if I could sort out moving to Europe. I haven't seen Madrid though.

Printed in Toronto, poorly

New York Times printed in Toronto, originally uploaded by hoder.

The New York Times issues distributed in Toronto were printed in Ohio until very recently. But now they are printed in Toronto and apparently with a cheap paper and ink. Just try to read it and take a look at your hands afterwards. You'll have dirty ink on all your hands.

Listening to The Organ in Tehran

I discovered the wonderful music of The Organ through my Vancouver-based friend Mo who runs Government clothing and Dadabase store with his partner on Main st. (He also provides my cool print t-shirts I've been wearing for too long, I guess.)

So the other night, we went to see their show in Toronto at Revival on College street. After the show, my friend Takin, insisted on taking photos with their lead singer, Katie Sketch. So I came to her and told her she had no idea where I was listening to their music. "Tehran," I answered. "It was the soundtrack of my trip during the election is June," while a crazy political change was taking place.

She was tired, but after a little chat in which she said she knew Mo from the Dadabase, Katie agreed to take photos with us. It was nice.

You can also see the photos from their show on my Flickr space.

I'm back

Just arrived in London. Everything is ok.

For media inquiry, you can reach me at: +44 (0)7 74 28 35 929 or email me at hoder@hoder.com

Rogers low-speed

Is it just me getting only 5 Kbps download speed out of my supposedly Rogers High-Speed internet connection after 2,3 AM every night? Is there anyone with the same problem?

By the way, I live around Bay and College.

French consulate in Toronto sucks

What the hell is French consulate in Toronto doing?

They don't let you apply for a visa unless they give you an appointment, which in turn should be booked only through an online form on their website, no emails, no phone, no fax, nothing. And they won't send you a confirmation email either.

Now, I applied last Friday for an appointment and haven't heard anything from them. What kind of service is this?

I am going to miss the UNESCO conference and I don't have even an appointment for giving my visa request to the consulate. This is crazy.

'Suspicious Book'

Honsetly, I don't believe that Canadian police has arrested Mahmoud Namini only because of a book. There is defenitely something bigger. But you know these communist Iranian refugees. They are the best campaginers one can find among Iranians.

But let's wait and see what happens.

Symposium: Women’s Literary & Artistic Creativity in Contemporary Iran

Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies present a symposium on "Women’s Literary & Artistic Creativity in Contemporary Iran" in Toronto.

Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 November 2004
Earth Sciences Center, Room 1050
33 Willcocks Street, Toronto

The University of Toronto
Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
Department of History, and the Department of Historical Studies-UTM

Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies

in Conjunction with
Persian Heritage Foundation
and Iranian Association at the University of Toronto

present a symposium on

Women’s Literary & Artistic Creativity in Contemporary Iran

Concurrent with an Exhibition of Books Published by Iranian Women

Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 November 2004
Earth Sciences Center, Room 1050
33 Willcocks Street, Toronto

Saturday, 6 November

9:00-10:00 a.m.

Reception and Registration

10:00-10:15 a.m.

Opening Remarks

10:15-11:00 a.m.
Iranian Women Writers and the Public Sphere
Professor Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia

11:00 –12:00 noon
Women in Contemporary Iran
Shahla Lahiji

12:00-1:00 p.m.
Women in Contemporary Iran: Problems and Challenges
Ziba Abdolahzadeh Lahiji

1:00-2:15 p.m.

Lunch & Documentary Film
A Day in the Life of Saray

2:15-3:15 p.m.Iranian Women’s Employment Initiatives: Difficulties and Challenges
Firouzeh Saber

3:15-4:15 p.m.
Philosophy as a New Sphere for Iranian Women
Nushin Shahandeh

4:15-5:15 p.m.
Women and Drama in Contemporary Iranian Theater
Chista Yasrebi

5:15-6:15 p.m.

Documentary Film
A Day in the Life of Zinat

6:15-7:30 p.m.
Reception

Sunday, 7 November 2004

10:00-12:00 noon
Roundtable on Narrative Literature in Contemporary Iran
Chair: Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia

Parinoush Sani’i

Author of Muhim Man

Mahnaz Attarha Karimi

Author of Such Dance and Sang va Sanubar

Mehri Yalfani

Author of Khaneh Dur Ast, Afsanah-’i Khak, and Mah

12:00-1:15 p.m.

Lunch & Documentary Film
Dialogue in a Fog

1:15-2:15 p.m.
Contemporary Iranian Women Journalists
Lili Farhadpour

2:15-3:15 p.m.
Iranian Women Beyond Iran
A Public Discussion

5:00

Closing Remarks

Organizing Committee:
Nazli Kamvari, Lili Pourzand, and Mohamad Tavak

Forget TiVO, Rogers Now Offers PVR in Canada Too

For a long time, many Canadians have wondered why TiVO has not operating in Canada. But now Rogers offers PVR (Persoanl Video Recorder) service, integrated with the regular digital box, for either a monthly rent of $19.95 per month, or a one-time purchase of it for $588.

According to the Rogers website, its PVR has these rare features:

• Record two shows at once
• Record one show while watching a different channel
• Pause, rewind, and instant-replay "LIVE TV"
• Record up to 50 hours of programming
• Automatically record "ALL EPISODES" of your favourite shows
• All-in-one Digital Terminal & Digital Recorder
• Get Picture-In-Picture on any TV

HUB magazine has more detail about Rogers PVRs and their advantages over some similar services like from Bell ExpressVU.

There is also a report by a user experience studio, called Teehan+Lax, in which Bell and Roger's PVRs have been compared(PDF) in terms of user experience.

As for the recorder machine itself, which seems to be Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000, PVR Blog reports a wierd bug related to the leap year. It has also pointed to an interesting blog in which, Joe Clark, a technician, keeps track of his own Explorer 8000.

Some features of the Explorer 80000 include:

• 80GB Hard Drive
• Pauses Live TV For Up To One Hour
• Supports Alternative Languages
• Built-In Dolby Digital Technology
• Channel Favourites List
• Supports Closed Captioning
• On-Screen Channel And Program Banner
• On-Screen Pay-Per-View Purchase Summary
• S-Video Output Jack
• One Set Of RCA Type A/V And Output Jacks
• Coaxial Digital Audio (Dolby Digital) Output
• Software Upgrades

After I get my PVR tomorrow morning, the question for me would be whether to rent it or purchase it. I guess I'm going to rent it until an stable model comes out with minimum bugs.

Additional links:
- FutureShop sells three types of PVRs
- Explorer 8000 on Scientific Atlanta's official website

Toronto's best brunch - 2004

Just an irrelavant note:

• Mitzi's (Sorauren)
• Easy (Queen W and Roncesvalles)
• Saving Grace (Bellwoods/Dundas)
• Bonjour Brioche (Queen E. and Degrassi)
• Hello Toast (a little further east of Bonjour Brioche)
• Xacutti (College west of bathurst a little more expense but delicious)

From: Reviews by Mark, Aaron, and Wendy

Audience choices:

1. Irish Embassy Pub & Grill
2. Hot House Cafe
3. Bloor Street Diner
4. Pulp Kitchen
5. The Looking Glass
6. Rouge
7. Loons
8. Cora's Breakfast and Lunch
9. Mildred Pierce Restaurant
10. Murphy's Law

From Toronto.com

Toronto is dead, almost!

Ok, I just have to say this: The whole concept of modern society is based on electricity and when it goes out, big cities would be worse than deserts.

Anyway, this is what I think:

- Happiest man in North Ameica: David Suzuki
- Happiest man in the Middle East: Osamah Bin Ladan (I don't mean any terrorist has done it. But anyways, all anti-american would be happy and I'm not among them, by the way.)
- Most important word: Kyoto agreement
- Most happy people: Envoironmentalist

To be continued...

Ida Meftahi performs Hamd, a spiritual Dervish dance from Persia

The wonderful Ida Meftahi, who happens to be a good friend of mine, is going to perform a spiritual Dervish dance, called Hamd, tonight at 11 PM. and also on Friday, 13 August at the same time. The performance which is choreographed by famous Iranian dancer, Farzaneh Kaboli, is part of the fFida, Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists.

Late Show 1
Wed Aug. 13th 11pm
Fri Aug. 15th 11pm

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
2 Alexander Street
Ticket info: (416) 410-4291

By the way, I've designed all those black banners and posters.

Gathering in support of students, Toronto

There will be a gathering this afternoon in downtown Toronto to support Iranian students and their efforts toward democary. It will start at 5 PM 7 P.M. and here is the address:

JJR Macleod Auditorium
Medical Sciences Building - Univeristy of Toronto
1 Kings College Circle
M5S lA8
Toronto, Ontario
(click to see the map)