"No, no, you must stay." - 30 years on

The NIAC blog has a link to a video which includes a great exchange between US Ambassador Limbert (at the time a hostage in the US embassy in Tehran) and Ayatollah Khamenei. Here's the money quote:

For non-Farsi speakers, the exchange between Limbert and Khamenei here is incredibly interesting. To paraphrase: Limbert politely welcomed Khamenei, who was being treated as a guest since he was visiting the hostages at their “residence” where they were being held. Limbert remarked about the Iranian cultural quirk known as “taarof,” which characterizes the uniquely Iranian version of hospitality, saying: Iranians are too hospitable to guests in their country, when we insist that we must be going, you all tell us “no, no, you must stay.”

The continuing problem of Guantanamo Bay

The US prison facility at Guatanamo Bay continues to be a thorny problem. Almost two thirds of Americans surveyed recently opposed closing the prison there. That's despite allegations of torture, the facility continuing to provide fuel for jihadi nutcases and suicide bombers and Barak Obama's promise to close the facility.

Those being detained at Guantanamo Bay are not going to be charged with any crime. For many, there's no evidence other than hearsay reports. Others have been tortured and their trials would reveal just to what extent. There's also the small problem that some of those detained and subsequently release have gone on to become involved in terrorism.

People detained for five years, tortured, never charged let alone convicted of a crime, held in solitary confinement, subjected to routine humiliation, unable to see their families, etc. may go home, get a job, keep a low profile. Or they may write a book about what they've been through. Or they may find they actually have a reason to be pissed off with the United States military and a government that allowed (or, if you like, encouraged) it all to happen.

Guantanamo will cease to be a problem for the US when it's closed. If they've not got enough evidence to charge the people there, they should let them go. And expect law suits to follow.

Robert Baer on Iran and America, their joint futures

Robert Baer is a respected former CIA case officer turned author. In this video below he gives a frank account of Iran's grip on America's future. Recorded in November 2008, the video shows Baer describing Shia significance and Iranian influence in the Middle East, why Iran is a powerful and necessary player in the region and how the USA can and must engage with Iran.

It's a lucid and realistic analysis.

Has there been a change of course in US-Iran relations?

Two years ago two former high-ranking American policy experts argued that the US had secretly been preparing for war with Iran. That war hasn't happened yet and the Obama administration has been publicly, and no doubt privately, trying to construct a way for meaningful dialogue with the US. The hawkish Republican officials are gone, but does their planning remain?

Iranian comedian - Yashar Kafi

Yashar Kafi is an Iranian import to the US, speaks Persian as his first language and studied at Oregon University. Yashar Kafi has his own YouTube channel with all his videos. And he's on MySpace. He's a great stand-up comedian who's just starting out and has already become a regular at places like the Comedy Store. His act focuses on stereotypes, perception and the comedy of politics and necessity. He's particularly sharp when it comes to the clash between political ideology and reality, showing how politics can make for great comedy.

Talking about employment and terrorism

More stand-up from Yashar Kafi

Most recent stand-up video

The loneliest cupcake

Yashar Kafi also stars in this very odd short video...

Karim Sadjadpour on Iran, politics the nuclear issue

Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, is always lucid and insightful. In this 2006 video he looks at:

• US-Iranian relations
• the two "ticking bombs" of the nuclear programme in Iran and regime change
• changes in US policy
• internal conflicts in Iran
• why Ahmadinejad provokes Israel and how it benefits from Israel's response
• the prospects for a richer democracy in Iran

Iranian comedian - Sean Tahmasebi

Shahram "Sean" Tahmasebi (or Tamasebi) is a Persian American bi-lingual comedian who seems at ease, and funny, in both Persian and English. He regularly appears in TV in the US and at the nation's top standup comedy locations.

Follow Sean Tahmasebi on Facebook.

NBC's Matt Lauer in Iran

Turns out Rick Steves isn't the only American to report from Iran over the past few years. Matt Lauer of American news network NBC reported from Iran a couple of years ago. Here are his video clips...

Iranian comedian - Matin Sabzehroo

Matin Sabzehroo is an Iranian-American actor, standup comedian and er... rapper? Wikipedia certainly seems to know quite a bit about him. Although there doesn't seem to be much beyond this comedy routine.

Iranian comedienne - Tissa Hami

Take one look at Tissa Hami and you think Iranian!. And you're right. But she's a fiercely funny Iranian American standup comedienne...

Tissa Hami is one of the world’s few female Muslim stand-up comics. Her unique act and fresh perspective on life as an Iranian-American woman leave audiences in shock and awe. From Islamic fundamentalists to white liberals to good old-fashioned racists, no one is safe from Tissa’s sharp wit. (source)

After the 9/11 attacks on America, Hami felt the need to get active in promoting another view of Muslims in America to the one constantly being shown in the media. Since starting as a standup comic she's worked around the US and taken part in the Randomly Selected and Coexists? comedy tours and featured on a PBS documentary.

A Muslim comedienne and wearing a hijab automatically makes me think of Shazia Mirza from the UK. Their comedy is very different though. Tissa Hami fits in closely with the American standups around the Axis of Evil comedy tour, whereas Sharia Mirza's comedy is more awkward and crude. Shazia Mirza no longer wears a hijab, and for Hami it's part of her act (similar to Omid Djalili starting in mock Persian broken English). Hami has come to be seen as something of a novelty, like Matisyahu (the Hassidic reggae star), in a setting where you'd least expect to find a Muslim woman. In this Australian documentary she talks about what motivates her.

With Dean Obiedallah

Tissa Hami on Mid-West Travel

Standup : American Muslim Comedians Come of Age

Find out more about Tissa Hami on her website: http://www.tissahami.com/

Iranian comedian - Dan Ahdoot

Dan Ahdoot is an American Perisan Jew who's worked with Lewis Black, Dave Chappelle and Jay Mohr. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle he talks about growing up Jewish and Persian in the USA. He's never been to Iran and describes himself as a "comedian who happens to be Jewish", rather than a Jewish comedian. His act is pretty wide-ranging, but does include a few token accents and Middle Eastern stereotypes. Did I mention that he's also an actor?

Email lists

Dating indecisive girls

Find out more about Dan Ahdoot on his website: Dan Ahdoot

Iranian comedienne - Mona Mahani

Mona Mahani is a Persian American comedienne, actress and poet from Texas. She deals with growing up Persian, dealing with the generation gap, the old family back in Iran and dealing with a traditional father.

Obama's victory offers hope to Iranians?

The BBC, back when Obama won the US election, said his victory would offer hope to Iranians. Hope that US/Iranian relations could change and hope that Iranians could emboldened to make changes in their own country. This is a painfully ironic situation.

Mohammad Khatami was Iran's Barack Obama, way back before Barack Obama was even in the US Senate. A figure from the fringes of politics, with a solid, diverse base, large student backing and seen as a rank outsider against a well organised political machine. With a rag-tag bunch of friends and family he stormed onto the election trail, straight-talking, personable with a catchy slogan about change. Yes, Khatami looked unlikely to win the presidential election. But he did. And he soon found himself powerless to effect any meaningful change, outmaneuvered by a re-grouped opposition and unable to fulfill many of his campaign promises because his position has no real authority.

Geneive Abdo and Jonathan Lyons' Answering Only to God: Faith and Freedom in Twenty-First Century Iran (review from Payvand here) is an account of Khatami's rise to power, the problems he faced, an how he eventually turned on those who had brought him to power. Full of interviews with many of the Islamic Republic's power-brokers and loyalists turned critics, it could almost describe the predicament Barack Obama finds himself in. Unlike Khatami who was made powerless by the Guardian Council, right-wing clerics and the Supreme Leader, Ali Khameni, Obama is made powerless by Congress and the American political system. Unable to fulfill his campaign promises, saddled by economic problems caused by his predecessors and a global recession, Obama's presidency looks set not to offer hope to Iranians but to reassure them that they're not alone in having problems with their political system and the disappointment caused when reality triumphs over mere hope.

Iranian comedian - Mohammad Ali Salimi

Mohammad Ali Salimi looks like a typical American jock. He is, but only in a "San Dimas high-school football rules!" kind of way. He's also an Iranian American stand-up comedian. He's from Georgia and and has a YouTube channel. He's got some good stories about growing up as the whitest kid in his area, his dad trying to fit in to American life and talks crap about every university in California.

Camel jackass

His stand-up debut

An American in Iran

One of my favourite Iranian blogs recently ran a short piece by an American in Iran. Despite the extra hoops Americans have to jump through to get into the country, it seems many find it a rewarding experience.