There are a handful of images in memory that haunt, agitate, perturb like the image above. The photojournalist, Chris Hondros who captured the scene, was killed recently along with Tim Hetherington in Libya.

An affectionate piece: A Photojournalist Remembered

As for the child, Samar?

Photojournalism, Ethics and the Afterlife of a Photograph

On Iran

This month's edition of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, featuring "Frenemies: Iran and America since 1900" by Douglas Little.

Origins is a free, non-commercial publication from the Public History Initiative and eHistory in Ohio State University's History Department.

http://ehistory.osu.edu/origins

Left and Libya

And by left, I don't mean simply anyone who fails to reproduce the exact high decibel quack of the Bachmann wing of the Republican Party.

An interesting exchange some of you might find interesting.

“What the Arab peoples signify to us” by the renowned French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy (in the original French)

A disappointed response: An open letter from Alain Badiou to Jean-Luc Nancy

And finally, Gianni Vattimo's Philosophers at War

Happy Nowruz

From The Brooding Persian to one and all


On this March equinox, the first day of spring and of the Iranian New Year.

Here is to Ruth, Disobedience, Rebelliousness, Perseverance, Patience,
Curiosity and Wonder.

And in the absence of peace on this earth as always,
to another fleeting year, minimal torments, swift wars and rapid deaths.

For the multilingual among you, from a friend, the only bearable prayer in memory:

چه دعایی کنمت بهتر از این

خنده ات از ته دل

گریه ات از سر شوق

روزگارت همه شاد

سفره ات رنگارنگ و

تنی سالم و شاد ..... که بخندی همه عمر

بهاران خجسته باد

War in Libya

A few short pieces on the latest intervention in North Africa as International forces bombard targets in Libya


Roger Cohen on the pros and cons of intervention: Be Ruthless or Stay Out


Interesting Guardian piece, Endgame in Libya: how the world called time on Gaddafi


One issue throughout, insiders admitted, was the role of America. The UK and France, both smarting from criticisms over their initial stumbling response to the Arab spring, were happy to take the lead on pushing for military action. The French were keen to make up for the blunder of offering riot police to the soon-to-be-overthrown Tunisian regime in the early days of the disturbances.
Aides admitted Cameron was "very frustrated" by criticism he had received for taking arms dealers with him to Kuwait and Egypt shortly after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak and the failure to rescue British nationals in the early days of the uprising in Libya. The prime minister was keen to seize control of events.


A very thoughtful, well written piece from Le Monde Diplomatique. Robert Zartsky’s Libya: what would Orwell do?

Orwell was merciless on the complacent certainties of intellectuals. “No-fly zones” and “surgical strikes”? How not to think of Orwell’s remark that “one has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool”?

Mr. Zaretsky, nonetheless, is clear on where he might stand at the end of day:

We do not know what a post-Qaddafi Libya would look like, but it cannot be any grimmer than the current model. Orwell concluded that, at the end of the day, matters were rather simple in Spain. “In essence,” he wrote, “it was a class war; all else was froth on its surface.” It is also a class war in Libya: the few who have everything and are willing to murder and maim in order to maintain their power; the many who are fighting for their dignity. While he would not be surprised, Orwell would be as dismayed by the pusillanimity of the West today as he was seventy-five years ago.

A welcome cautionary voice --of all people-- that of Victor Davis Hanson, Should We intervene in Libya?

As we contemplate action against Libya, the Obama administration has not in any logical or coherent fashion explained why, where, when, and how the United States should support popular unrest... Do we express support for regime change in a Middle Eastern country when protesters pour into the streets, or only when such protesters seem to be on the edge of winning? [...] Is the Saudi autocracy less harsh to its own than the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, or is it Saudi Arabia’s unique oil status that earned its present exemption from American pressure? And as we contemplate moving into Libya, are we opposed to or supportive of the ongoing Saudi incursion into Bahrain to stamp out dissidents there? Are the Saudis acting as good allies who are protecting Western petroleum interests and the contractual integrity of U.S. military installations, or as reactionary forces that are denying the people a voice in their own affairs?

[there were large segments in what I quoted that deal with Iran and Syria. I just highlight the Saudi part given the other intervention by forces in Bahrain at the moment]

And a few timely questions from the Independent’s Robert Fisk:

So here are a few things that could go wrong, a sidelong glance at those bats still nestling in the glistening, dank interior of their box. Suppose Gaddafi clings on in Tripoli and the British and French and Americans shoot down all his aircraft, blow up all his airfields, assault his armour and missile batteries and he simply doesn't fade away.[...] what if we are simply not in time, if Gaddafi's tanks keep on rolling? Do we then send in our mercenaries to help the "rebels". Do we set up temporary shop in Benghazi, with advisers and NGOs and the usual diplomatic flummery?

And what if the "rebels" enter Tripoli and decide Gaddafi and his crazed son Saif al-Islam should meet their just rewards, along with their henchmen? Are we going to close our eyes to revenge killings, public hangings, the kind of treatment Gaddafi's criminals have meted out for many a long year?

Then there's the danger of things "going wrong" on our side, the bombs that hit civilians, the Nato aircraft which might be shot down or crash in Gaddafi territory, the sudden suspicion among the "rebels"/"Libyan people"/democracy protesters that the West, after all, has ulterior purposes in its aid. And there's one boring, universal rule about all this: the second you employ your weapons against another government, however righteously, the thing begins to unspool. After all, the same "rebels" who were expressing their fury at French indifference on Thursday morning were waving French flags in Benghazi on Thursday night. Long live America. Until...

Japan

Some astonishing pictures here.

Japan tsunami: Here's how you can help

From the Union of Concerned Scientists, Update on Japan's Nuclear Power Crisis.

NYT exchange: Japan's Nuclear Crisis: Lessons for the U.S

Japan tsunami: Here how you can help

Organized Chaos

Only in Iran, I suppose, could you have the Speaker of the Parliament giving a speech using such a podium! Mr. Larijani thinks Iranian protests are being orchestrated from abroad and everyone else's is self-organized. Go figure.

More protests planned for March 1st.

Libya

Between work and commute, however limited time that’s left, I have been obsessing, much like the rest of you I suppose, with the events in Libya. So here are a few random thoughts for what they’re worth.

Both Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez have now definitely climbed up my manure list.

As heart wrenching as the scenes coming out of Libya have been, it seems to me that the Libyan insurgency is doing rather well considering the ferocity of the repression unleashed upon them.

Gaddafi seems to be losing more cities everyday.

I am not convinced Military intervention by outside forces can be productive for now. After all, the maze of relations and loyalties that are being contested, reevaluated and renegotiated might be unpredictably affected (I propose here negatively) by any overt military measures.

Besides, given the unprecedented revolutionary upheaval in the region at large, and the long and arduous road ahead, I am not convinced it's productive to have a precedent set whereby some faction or other might entertain the idea that at some point they can goad outside powers into fighting their battles for them.

And frankly given the track record of the Western powers in bombing, murder, mayhem, and torture of late in multiple fronts, I have no desire to see any more direct involvements. Let’s just focus on finishing--with as little further damage as possible--what has been ongoing for close to a decade now.

You want to put your money where your mouth is insist on ending these affairs and impose a one year moratorium on sale of any types of weapons to all Middle Eastern States until the dust from these popular uprisings settle.

Last but not least, the Unhinged Right in the US has been depressing to watch. American foreign policy under President Obama leaves a lot to be desired. But give it a rest already with the cheap shots, one-liners, and selective photo posts.

It is very easy to figure out where the giants of US industry and finance have been and whom they have been employing in their dealings with the ‘Mad Dog of the Middle East.”

And not exclusively business people either from the US. Hence some of the other telling photos on top for the collection.

More unrest

Reports of more protests in various cities. Tehran under lockdown.






United For Iran, "non-partisan global network of Iranian and non-Iranian individuals and human rights activists working to promote fundamental human and civil rights in Iran" offers diverse reads about the country and many resources for those who yearn for greater involvement.

And for those interested in thoughtful, informative commentaries on Arab affairs,Jadaliyya will be a great resource.

And closer to home, cheery mood among the protesters in Wisconsin. They might be returning to work soon with a lesson for the kids-- the "real-life illustration of Americans' right to protest, something others long for."

The Repression

About 1500 arrests confirmed. More protests planned for the 20th in Iran.



Several deaths in Libya. And protests in Benghazi:




And the crackdown in Bahrain:

حماقت حاكم

مفسد فی الارض؛ یعنی کسی که به گسترش فساد در روی زمین بکوشد و به توسعه آن کمک کند. فساد هم یعنی چیزی که موجب انحطاط و نابودی و انحراف جامعه از اصل تبیعی آن باشد.افرادی که ...، در گسترش فساد و فحشا و رواج هرویین و تریاک و بی بندوباری و لامذهبی و آدم کشی و خیانت و چاپلوسی و خلاصه، همه اوصاف رذیله کوشیدند. گرفتاری آن ها از آن زمان بیشتر شد که با دیدن انقلاب ملّت، هیچ توبه نکردند.
آیت الله خلخالی

Two Cheers for Human Dignity

Pride and elation! Self expression, self defense and dignified self assertion. Pure artistry.

For the Tunisian and the Egyptian in all of us!

Defiant eyes

The Reigning Imbecility in Iran has been up to its old despicable tricks again, and is conducting show trails and broadcasting taped forced confessions on TV. Their track record in this is long and tedious; only this time some of officials of this very regime--including Mr. Hajarian, one of the founders and a leading figure of the infamous Intelligence Ministry--are at the receiving end.

The good folks at AntiWar.com just published a timely piece, Iran dissidents: Behind confessions, prison ordeal:

A prisoner forced to confess tries to speak with his eyes — to tell those watching that he's admitting to crimes he never committed because he's been broken by days alone in a cell and interrogators' threats to his family and loved ones.

Now, pay attention to Hajarian, the man in the middle with a beaming smile. The eyes in particular:

شبکه خبری تابناک - رپرتاژ آگهی پخش اعترافات سعید حجاریان @ Yahoo! Video

These morons never learn. As if anyone can ever take these rediculous rituals seriously.

The following apt scene from a magnificent movie by Costa-Carvas:



اری
من با دهان ِ حيرت گفتم:


«ــ اي ياوه

ياوه

ياوه،

خلائق!

مستيد و منگ؟

يا به تظاهر

تزوير مي‌کنيد؟
از شب هنوز مانده دو دانگي.
ور تائب‌ايد و پاک و مسلمان


نماز را

از چاوشان نيامده بانگي!»

...

«ــ اين گول بين که روشني ِ آفتاب را

از ما دليل مي‌طلبد.»



توفان ِ خنده‌ها...


«ــ خورشيد را گذاشته،

مي‌خواهد

با اتکا به ساعت ِ شماطه‌دار ِ خويش
بيچاره خلق را متقاعد کند


که شب

از نيمه نيز برنگذشته‌ست.»



توفان ِ خنده‌ها...

با چشم‌ها