Shappi Khorsandi at the Edinburgh Fringe

Last night I saw live (for the first time) the Iranian born stand up comedian Shappi Khorsandi. The performance was sold out. It was a very much a “political” show but also featured her recent experience of marital breakup and divorce. Which I think the audience generally found uncomfortable at times and they much preferred the stories of casual racism and middle class ignorance that Shappi has come across in her life.

Shappi's family had to flee Iran because her father, an respected Iranian poet, was accused by the regime of being “an enemy of Islam”. On one level it is deeply ironic that Iran the cradle and birthplace of civilisation is now run by a despotic government of ignoramuses.

I am reliably informed by Wikipedia that she is a Labour Party supporter.

The show was very, very funny. Some things didn’t quite “work out on the night” but we are all spoilt by flawless TV editing and for over an hour she had the audience eating out of her hand.

Picture is a screenshot of her festival web page since I asked beforehand if I could take photos and was told “no” by a member of the stage crew. Sitting in the front row was probably a bit of a mistake since Shappi asked that the hapless would-be-photographer identify himself - and she of course immediately started to gently embarrass me.

Equally be aware if you are intending to go and see her and you are a single male with a symmetrically face:)

Iran keeps on murdering its children

The Iranian fascits have now decided to move on from gunning down kids on demos to murdering trade unionists in cold blood.  Check out and send protest at Labourstart, the TUC protest here and this report below from Iran Solidarity. 

"‘Today, my work has just begun,’ mother of executed political prisoner, Farzad Kamangar


‘If we stay silent, these executions will continue,’ Mohammad Amin Kamangar, brother of executed political prisoner Farzad Kamangar

In the early hours of Sunday 9 May 2010, the Islamic regime of Iran executed political prisoners Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam-Houli and Mehdi Eslamian. The four young men and one woman were executed for their political opposition to the regime. Farzad Kamangar was a teacher and human rights activist who was arrested in 2006 and charged with ‘enmity against God’ in a ‘trial’ that lasted seven minutes. Mehdi Islamian was arrested on May 4, 2009 and spent six months in solitary confinement; his brother has also been executed. Shirin Alam Hooli was arrested in May 2008 in Tehran and sentenced to death in November 2009. Ali Heydarian and Farhad Vakili were imprisoned since 2006/2007.

The sentences were carried out in secret, without their families or lawyers being informed, and despite the fact that three of the cases were under review. The Islamic regime has refused to hand over the bodies of the dead unless their families guarantee that there will be no protests in Iran and abroad.

Since yesterday, thousands have gathered in protests at the Islamic Republic’s embassies and consulates in various cities across the globe. In London, Paris and Frankfurt angry demonstrators pelted the buildings with eggs, red paint and stones. The families of the five had called for a demonstration outside Tehran University in Iran on Monday 10 May, which was attacked by the regime’s security forces. On May 13 a general strike has been called in Iranian Kurdistan and elsewhere. Many are expected to join this day of protest.

Iran Solidarity is outraged at the executions of the five political prisoners as well as the recent execution of 45 Afghan immigrants in Iran and calls on people everywhere to stand in protest against executions in Iran and everywhere by joining the May 13 general strike and ongoing protests at the regime’s embassies or consulates or by carrying out acts of solidarity against executions wherever they are. Another 27 political prisoners are at imminent risk of execution and need public support.

Farzad Kamangar’s mother recently said: ‘If anyone can do anything, please do. Do not let them execute youngsters en masse. You and the world shall be my defence. Please let the world hear my plea.’

Happy New Year! Bella Ciao!

Hat tip thingy Col. Roi. See link for another more contemporary version.

Iran's Revolution is still devouring its Children

The murder and shooting of unarmed civilian protesters in Iran recently is shocking on a number of levels. The bravery of these protesters who face the regimes fascistic militia's with their bullets and batons is very humbling.

It can make politics in the UK appear to be quite petty.

While the failure of those who pretend to oppose all tyranny and dictatorships to meaningfully protest at the killing is pretty telling. Obviously some of them don't want to put in danger any payments for official Iranian media appearances.

The consensus seems to be that the regime's days are numbered but no one can give an exact date.

I think most ordinary Iranians will be saying sooner than later please.

NB Stroppyblog is one of the Left exceptions and has linked to Youtube on this. Note the comment made by some moron on her post that the protestors are "Imperialism's useful idiots".

Iranian Unions call for support for jailed Sugar Cane Activists

Being a trade union activist in modern day Britain can be pretty tough at times.

But when you compare what is happening to trade unionists in countries such as Iran, where they are routinely jailed and flogged, by a state that also openly murders opponents, then frankly we have to step back a little and think about how we can support and show solidarity with those who face a noose around their neck rather than a final written warning.

It doesn’t help that people who should know better are paid apologists for the Iranian religious dictatorship and their wanton killing of demonstrators and the public executions of children.

Check out Kargaran and do as much as we can for trade unionists in Iran as we do for those in peril in other countries.

Bella ciao, Iran

The Second World War anti-fascist Italian Partisan song Bella ciao which has now become one of the symbols of the modern day Iranian freedom movement. Hat tip thingy to Luke’s Blog

The Revolution Devours its Children

Iran: The "cradle of civilisation" and its ignorant moron of a President. Someone who insults its people not only by his blatant electoral fraud but who deliberately kills his countries children to keep in power.

Hat-tip thingy

A message back to Ahmadinejad

I’m moving rapidly into rant mode. I agree with the post on the ToUChstone blog that it was an absolute disgrace that so-called “President” Ahmadinejad of Iran was invited to give the Channel 4 alternative Christmas message.

So Channel 4 wants someone controversial? So next year we will have someone from the Paedophile Exchange or the BNP to give the message?

Ahmadinejad is a President of a regime that does beat up, wrongly imprison and even torture trade unionists. He also presides over the judicial murder of kids for being gay and the stoning to death of women who have been raped. Iran is the cradle of civilisation for crying out loud, so how on earth has such a moron come to power who can’t even string an argument together in his own language? This holocaust denier dipstick even wants to have nuclear weapons?

Come, friendly bombs and fall on Ahmadinejad and his works. Please...the earth will exhale.

AWL master debaters v CPGB flankers

Mac Uaid describes the comradely and progessive debate on Sunday between the AWL and the CPGB. As advertised on this post! I like the bit about "far left.... freak show".

"Sensible souls made the most of the early autumn sunshine on Sunday. Others went along to an exchange of views between the Alliance For Workers Liberty’s Sean Matgamna and respected anti Zionist Moshé Machover. Here’s a pretty biased account of what happened which goes some way towards explaining why the far left is regarded as a bit of a freak show. A very rigorous interpretation of the comments policy will be enforced for this post.

The “debate”, which lasted the worst part of four hours, was a waste of time. In the course of the evening, Moshé was repeatedly denounced by AWL members for “Stalinism”, “imperialist economism”, “demonising Israel and Zionism”, “being in bed with political antisemitism” , “smirking” and “not knowing the history of the conflict”.. This about a man who was one of the founders of Matzpen; who was expelled from the Israeli Communist Party in 1961 for criticising the party’s slavish submission to the Soviet line and for demanding internal party democracy; who wrote the classic text The Class Nature of Israeli Society. To describe him as a Stalinist ignorant of the history of the conflict is so grossly offensive an insult that it alone discredits anything else his critics said.

Although the title was “Israel, Iran and the left”, and was sparked by Matgamna’s article effectively calling for an Israeli nuclear strike against Iran, in his opening half-hour speech Matgamna did not even mention the word Iran, instead devoting his time to attacking a pastiche anti-Zionist position which he ascribed to the rest of what he calls the “kitsch left”.
Moshé described this as “Verbiage you would expect to hear from Melanie Phillips, not from a socialist”, while from the floor later Ilana Machover commented that an Israeli would be ashamed to offer such an analysis, and that if they brought a speaker from the Israeli embassy we would have heard the same position presented with greater sophistication.

After the opening speeches, AWL members tried to argue that comments should only be accepted from members of the AWL and the CPGB, since this, they claimed, was a debate between the two groups. They then denounced the CPGB for not debating with them, but rather “hiding behind” Moshé, who of course is not a CPGB member. The AWL’s ridiculous demand was rejected; after this, their members proceeded to heckle and shout down all anti-Zionist speakers, including Moshé. Although some CPGB speakers also heckled, they were on the whole, better behaved. They also, for the most part, discussed the issue; much of the AWL’s contribution consisted of attacks on the CPGB for refusing to debate them, for lying about them, and for threatening to “drive them out of the labour movement”.

The discussion achieved little, since AWL speakers persist in denouncing positions which they would like their opponents to hold, not with what they actually say. As usual in discussions with them, every Jewish speaker presented an anti-Zionist position; which did not stop the AWL from attacking anti-Zionism, and even opposition to two states, as “antisemitic” , since it appears that in their view all Jews do, or should, support Israel. Moshé correctly noted that this was the real antisemitic position.

Galloway: “executed in Iran for being gay? That's not true”

Just when you think that George Galloway (GG)cannot sink any lower you get this?

GG: The Independent has a story about Peers calling upon the Home Secretary to halt the deportation of a gay Iranian. In part this is being used as part of the on-going propaganda against Iran. All the papers seem to imply that you get executed in Iran for being gay. That's not true.

MW: His boyfriend was hung though, wasn't he?

GG: Yes, but nor being gay. For uh, committing sex crimes, uh, against young men.

MW: Right...

GG: I mean, I'm against execution for any reason in any place, but it is important to avoid that propaganda.

MW: So you're saying that his guy they want to deport should be deported because there is no risk of his sexuality.. or he shouldn't be deported because there is at risk?

GG: He should not be deported not least because after all this Iranian propaganda he will be accused of being the source, or one of the sources. It would be ridiculous to deport him, and I don't think he will be deported now.

So. a gay asylum seeker is just a tool of anti-Iranian propaganda, and his late partner was a sex-abuser. Nice, Mr Galloway... now will you produce the evidence?

“You know this is about a young man who will end up executed because he is gay . Shouldn't we be on his side and not apologising for the Iranian regime”. Stroppyblog

Iranian trade unionists face the lash

Labourstart reports that “The ITUC and the ITF are organising a global action day on 6 March 2008 to express our solidarity with Iranian workers once again.

We want Mansour Osanloo and Mahmoud Salehi released immediately and unconditionally from prison. Their health conditions are deteriorating.

We also demand that fundamental workers' rights be respected in Iran, in accordance with the ILO core conventions. The imprisonment of Osanloo and Salehi are not isolated cases in Iran. Nine education workers were sentenced to 91 days in prison recently.

The Iranian authorities claim they are "threats to the national security" although in reality, it is genuine trade union activities they want to crush. Oppression of the independent workers' movement in Iran is escalating.

That is why the global unions, together with human rights activists, wish to send a strong message to the Iranian government. 6 March falls two weeks prior to the Iranian New Year and the parliamentary elections.

.......In recent days we reported that eleven workers whose only crime was to participate in a May Day event last year were sentenced to huge monetary fines -- and ten lashes each".

Welcome home! The true story can now be told

“We had a blindfold and plastic cuffs, hands behind our backs, heads against the wall. Basically there were weapons cocking. Someone, I'm not sure who, someone said, I quote, 'lads, lads I think we're going to get executed'. After that comment, someone was sick and as far as I was concerned he had just had his throat cut.” Royal Marine Joe Tindell

Good to see the Royal Navy and Marines home at last, safe and well (in the circumstances). I think that they did a very good job under horrendous conditions. Faced with the prospect of summary execution or 7 years in an Iranian jail (pretty much the same thing) the "tongue in cheek" apologies by the Brits for the “apparent” intrusion into Iranian waters, fooled no-one except their less than bright kidnappers. Irony is apparently lost on Islamic fascists. Who it is clear simply had no idea how this television footage was being interpreted world wide. Nor the support they had created for a pre-emptive attack on their nuclear facilities (which I don't share - at the moment).

The Iranians behaved in the usual appalling brutal manner, pretty much as most right thinking people expected. It is such a same that such a country with such a rich culture and proud history is presently been run by an ignorant and uneducated leadership. The BBC are now reporting that their ambassador Rasoul Movahedian is saying “Iran seeks goodwill over captives”. This raises the question what qualities are needed to become an Iranian Ambassador? Is the lobotomy compulsory (or even necessary due to the obvious inbreeding by the Iranian diplomatic corp?)

While the “Far Left” and “Right” (increasingly two sides of the same coin on such issues) in this country haven’t exactly showed much judgement on how to respond. On the one hand we get the usual suspects such as John McNoHoper MP sticking up for Iran and we get twassocks such as the Daily Mail who attacked the hostages as “puppets” who should have fought to the last bullet.

There are elements in the Far Left who will automatically side with anyone who appears to be “anti-American”. See the tosh spoken also about Mugabe, while the Daily Mail is also so keen to attack Labour that they will stoop to any depths.

The person who seems to have come out of this the best is Tony Blair. “Tone” and I have had our differences over the years. However, he and Beckett seem to have handled this very well. By being firm but measured the Iranians were boxed into a corner and realised that Britain would not apologise to Iran and they had to back down.

I think that we ought to make sure that boarding parties are properly protected in the future and that Iran is aware of what will be the militery response if they try a similar trick in the future. If any Iranian warship comes any near any British craft then the Iranians face an early bath.

Pre-emptive strike against Iranian Nuclear Facilities?

This is the sort of person who is the "leader" of the country currently detaining 15 British Sailors and Royal marines. "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as "a myth" Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world." CNN. It seems that the present Iranian leadership, by carrying out such provocative action, are doing their very best to encourage a pre-emptive strike against their Nuclear facilities. I am not normally a fan of conspiracy theories but you could almost think that these people are in the pay of Israel or America? If they don’t release the Brit sailors/marines soon (or God forbid harm then) then the Neo Cons will enjoy “Christmas Come Early”.

Why are such people in responsible positions so thick? Whatever happened to my wise and gentle Iranian friend “Freddie” (Henry Price Building, Leeds University, 1981)

Photo of Iranian missile (top right)