This photo from LIFE magazine's Flickr archive shows that in the last fifty years, something have changed very little. Stepping into the Bazaar-e Bozorg/Grand Bazaar in Tehran today would be like stepping into this photograph. Some of the vendors would have changed and the products, but the hustle and bustle and influence of the bazaaris on Iranian life would still be the same.
Negin Farsad is a critically acclaimed director, writer, actor and producer who helped bring MC Frontalot to the world's attention. She's also a stand-up comedienne and . Her successful comedy tour 'Bootleg Islam' was:
... a comedy about a California-raised Iranian-American girl gallivanting around the streets of Tehran, Iran. She travels to this Middle-Eastern hotbed for a cousin’s wedding and discovers how ridiculous oppression can be, how delicious the third world has become and how hard it is to keep a chador on.
Her website www.neginfarsad.com is full of info about all her projects, upcoming events, links so you can follow her on Twitter, etc.
Here's Negin Farsad interviewing lots of people who can't even pronounce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's name without having to think about it for 2 minutes. Whether or not Ahmadinejad should have been invited to speak at a prestigious American university the people who want to protest against it could have at least had a clue who he was, his politics, etc. You can't just answer the call from a political action committee, go out there, get interview and sound like a dolt.
Negin Farsad has her own channel on YouTube (currently only 2 videos on there), which includes this short documentary about a bakery helping immigrant women in New York.
Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, is always lucid and insightful. In this 2006 video he looks at:
Max Amini was one of the "Iranian guys" in the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He's also had a bit part as a taxi driver in Heroes. His physical, facial stand-up comedy routine is a laugh a minute and his comedy sketches for TV are also great. His website www.maxamini.com is up to date with all his upcoming performances, video clips and sketches, stand-up clips and more.
There an interview with Max Amini on Persianesque.com from last year where he talks about his upbringing, comedy and career.
How to describe Canadian Iranian stand-up comedian Reza Peyk? Reza Peyk is badass. He's young, hip, edgy, vulgar and incredibly funny. Born in Tehran in 1982 to a former colonel and housewife, his family emigrated to Canada. He's relatively new to the comedy circuit, but he's working hard to get himself established and is constantly pushing boundaries and breaking taboos with his comedy taking his audience out of their world and into his own. He's recently been on tour with Maz Jobrani and will be out promoting his new DVD a lot in the summer.
He's got his own website and a new DVD out. He's also got lots more videos on his site.
Nobody interested in Iran could be surprised that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provoked outrage with his comments at the UN anti-racism summit. Nor would they be surprised that most Iranians find such outbursts embarrassing and out of touch with their own views. What's surprising is that Ahmadinejad keeps doing it. A typical response from Israel is Binyamin Netanyahu's:
Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said that while Israel would be commemorating 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis, "in Switzerland the guest of honour is a racist and a Holocaust denier who doesn't conceal his intention to wipe Israel off the face of this Earth".
If Trita Parsi is to be believed, both Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad represent the rejectionist, anti-conciliation wings of their own domestic political scenes. Where both countries were once perilously close to reaching an understanding (based on being pariah states in the Middle East and the need for mutual security) they have since moved much farther apart in the past fifteen years.
There are a few reasons why Ahmadinejad continues to provoke Israel:
In this video Trita Parsi gives an insight into the relationship and vying for power between Iran and Israel. Essentially both countries have conflicting interests in the Middle East, both want a close relationship with the US in order to avoid being shut out of power in the Middle East, but at the moment: Iran is on the outside, Israel is on the inside. He also covers the Israeli relationship with the Kurds and how that gives Iran's genuine enemies of Israel power within the Iranian domestic political scene.
In this video Trita Parsi and Barbara Slavin discuss how the Iran-Israel tensions affect the internal political dynamic in Iran (strengthening radicals and weakening moderates), the suppression of civil society in Iran, how the US policy to Iran could be improved and provide an insight into internal politics in Iran.
With the Iranian elections coming up very shorly, it's a good time to look at the role of the Supreme Leader and the politics of the man who currently occupies that role. Ali Khamanei, as Supreme Leader, is the most powerful person in Iran. However, he relies on a complex network of patronage and influence, and is himself constrained by other powerful interests. Little of known of his personal politics outside of Iran and Karim Sadjadpour, in this video, outlines some consistent themes from his speeches and actions.
Khameini, a fairly low-ranking cleric, got the job of Supreme Leader over other more qualified choices. Ayatollah Montazeri was often considered Khomeini's successor, but in the end Khameini was chosen. That much everyone knows. But how did Khameini get there and how has he kept his influence? Sadjadpour gives some insight into that.
Update: Mehdi Khalaji looks at Khameini's history and his role in the 2009 Iranian presidential elections.
Seymour Hersh has an interesting article about America's obsession with Iran. The article covers the possible moves towards peace between Syria and Israel but constantly comes back to Iran. Peace between Syria and Israel is, for both the United States and Israel, a way to either break Syria off from Iran (and reduce the influence of a combined Syrian-Iranian support network for Hizbullah and Hamas) or a way to open a dialogue between Iran and the West. The best quote in the article, for comedy value, must be from the Syrian Vice-President in explaining why minority-governed secular Syria could become allied with religious revolutionary Iran:
Farouk al-Shara, the Vice-President of Syria, was, as Foreign Minister, his nation’s chief negotiator at Shepherdstown. When he was asked whether Syria’s relationship with Iran would change if the Golan Heights issue was resolved, he said, “Do you think a man only goes to bed with a woman he deeply loves?” Shara laughed, and added, “That’s my answer to your question about Iran.”
Maz Jobrani is probably the best-known Iranian American stand-up comedian and actor. He appears on TV in the US regularly and tours the nation's comedy clubs on his own or as part of a large troupe. His stand-up is really diverse from talking about the small, hidden aspects of Persian culture, international affairs and politics, through to staples of American life and stand-up. Maz is regularly credited with working hard to break down stereotypes and encouraging inter-cultural dialogue.
With no sense of shame, American politicians and the political pundits close to them, have sought to exculpate themselves from the torture of prisoners of war, suspected terrorists and "enemy combatants". The evidence is stark (thanks to the tireless work of the ACLU and others):
Despite the fact that Japanese torturers were executed at the end of the Second World War for the very crimes that have been permitted and committed;
Why has Barack Obama said he won't prosecute the people who have violated so many laws? Because he is weak and unwilling? Or because he does not feel any public pressure to prosecute these people? The recent example of Somali pirate hostage-takers being killed ought to offer a counter-balance. With safety and security for detainees, POWs and prisoners and a strong stance against torture the US ought to be able to say to its enemies, those interfering with American citizens abroad, etc. "If you fight us, you will be killed. If you surrender, you will not be harmed."
