A Sea of Green

I have been reposting and retweeting and sharing links on facebook and through Skype these days. I followed all the news and spent hours reading articles and refreshing my twitter page. I feel involved in this historic event that is the so called Green Revolution of Iran. Although I am usually careful about what political statements I make publicly I think in this case facts are facts. These days I am learning once more how wonderful it is to live in a country that actually allows me to speak my mind whenever and however I choose to.

I feel like a part of this movement not only because I know people there or from there, but because all those individuals' opinions, their wishes and aspirations are resonating enormously with mine. Today more than ever, Iranians and people all over the planet seem so close. The feeling of solidarity is immense among those who share the daily news about this movement. It is so impressive what happens when people are allowed to connect at an individual level as the internet and its tools have made possible.

As some of my friends have been doubtful I hereby tell you this: That this election was fraudulent has been out of the question for some days. The only question for me is whether Ahmadinejad cheated by 10, 30 or even 50 percent. Just look at these graphs by fivethirtyeight.com:

This is a graph of the provinces that Karroubí, the second reformist candidate besides Moussaví had won in 2005






In 2009 the same people in the same provinces voted for Ahmadinejad and less than one percent of them for Karroubí.






Today, Khamenei has threatened his people, who have been peacefully marching in silence for days. He told them basically 'to stop protesting or else'. He justified again what all reasonable people already see has been a wrong step. One twitterer commented: "Khamenei, the election was not fair. Look at faces of mullahs at Friday Prayer, they knew this was a mistake."

My urge to share this with you comes from the deep belief that what is happening in Iran right now is of concern to the whole world. So much depends on whether this ends peacefully and who comes out of this strengthened or weakened. Peace in the Middle East and the whole region is hugely determined by how Iran is governed. And as we have seen in the past with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what happens there can change the balance of the world. Everything is connected.

I am impressed by how this crisis is being handled by most people involved and I am praying for non-violence to persist as it has before. May it lead to a peaceful revolution in this beautiful country for the betterment of humanity. I for my part am hopeful.

If you have 5 minutes more to spend on this, please read what some people in Iran have written and how they describe their situation. It is heart-breaking as well as heart-warming: 'The fear is gone'

Be good everybody, stay safe, and don't lose hope :)

Human beings are members of a whole

This video with the text below was posted to facebook by the great Iranian music group Kiosk. I would like to express my support by spreading the information that is getting out of Iran, sharing links and pictures as much as I can.

This whole situation is enraging, frustrating and scary. Here is the majority of the Iranian people and the world should react to their call for a working democracy. It is the only way tyranny can be fought, by peaceful protest and the rest of the world looking after those who are entering in peril.

****************

Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.

- Saadi

This week Iranians turned out in record numbers not seen since the beginning of the Iranian revolution to change their current President Mahmood Ahmadinejad.

Their willingness to exercise their democratic right was both historic and uncommon in the Middle East. Iranians longed for change the same way people in the United States, and indeed worldwide, longed for a new beginning after the Bush years. They were tired of an increasingly delusional President who has thrown their country into economic turmoil and portrayed their country as a conflict seeking entity in the Middle East.

But today the same Iranian regime that has denied a dialogue with the world, denied human rights, denied democracy, denied the Holocaust, is blatantly denying the will of its people by committing massive election fraud to reelect Mahmood Ahmadinejad, and arresting journalists and opposition leaders in broad daylight.

Accepting this deception will be costly not only for the people of Iran but also for the people of the Middle East, with far reaching consequences worldwide.

As you read these words, the people in Iran have taken to the streets in nationwide protests. Despite brutal government suppression tactics the Iranian people are courageously fighting for their rights. As antiriot police batons crush the bones of demonstrators whose only protest is election fraud, Iranians are screaming for the world to hear them: WE DENOUNCE MAHMOOD AHMADINEJAD!

The people of Iran now ask for your support!

We do not expect you to fight our struggle but to help us fight it. We expect people worldwide to put pressure on their governments and politicians not to accept the legitimacy of the Iranian elections and the fraudulent presidency of Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Democratic societies worldwide must not leave the Iranian people alone now that they have risen to the challenge. Instead they need to align their policies with the will of the Iranian people.

Friends, we ask you not to let 70 million people in Iran be taken hostage. Any government that accepts Mahmood Ahmadinejad as the new president of Iran has betrayed the Iranian people, endangered world peace, and has no sympathy for human pain.

Iranian Artists in Exile

Drop all ugliness

I long for a man
A blind man
Who would know Braille.
And read through my body
Cover to cover
Chapter to chapter
To discover my literary wit.

Then I would take his hand
Walk arm in arm
Describing the world for him,
Be his eyes,
His cane
And drop all ugliness
Of the world
In my description.

Sara Mohamadi Ardehali, Iranian poet

Weightlessness

I saw this and smiled :) Feeling a little stiff after training hard in my Aikido class yesterday, I would probably enjoy some weightlessness right now ;-) Have fun!

6 billion others

Watch HOME! And if you don't have the time right now, at least watch this to get some of the spirit and the mood! Everything on earth is interconnected, I really hope everybody starts to see it soon!

6 billion others
by GoodPlanet

HOME

Here is the link to a movie I am watching just now. It takes a while to load, but it is worth it because those images deserve HD-quality. The most amazing shots of our beautiful planet from bird's eye view in smooth camera movement. It is like watching a 3D version of "Earth from Above" and actually the author of the book is also the maker of the movie, Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

He shows the viewer with horrific intensity the beauty and force of nature and soon the highlights and horrors of human ingenuity. I am overwhelmed by the hypnotizing images and left breathless by the clear language. Try it! Watch it here: HOME by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

"It's too late to be a pessimist!"

Little thought on the side: How can you not go at least half-vegetarian after this? Because it tastes so good?