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posts about #iran more →
Frontline: Neda's Killing Continues To Haunt Friends, Family, Country
Someone To Watch Over Me
After Neda: "Now I Have Left Iran, I Can Cry Out To Break The Silence"
Iran Denounces Scholarship For Iranian Students
Neda's Mother: Her Legacy Lives On
Rebels With A Cause
Guns, Reposes
Iranian Women Still Fighting For A True Democracy
"A Second, Less Obtrusive Movement:" Protests Signal New Freedom For Iranian Women
Obama Approval Dropping — But Still Higher Than Reagan's

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sybann
11/18/09

In reply to Frontline: Neda's Killing Continues To Haunt Friends, Family, Country
It occurred to me while watching this - and I no way mean to make light of the tragedy - that we never know how we will make a difference in the world.

May Neda be responsible for the end of this, and perhaps other, dictatorial and dangerous regimes.
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bitingfairy
11/16/09

In reply to After Neda: "Now I Have Left Iran, I Can Cry Out To Break The Silence"
Christ, why can't they leave her grave alone? Let her parents have that at least. #nedasoltan
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Lymed
11/16/09

In reply to After Neda: "Now I Have Left Iran, I Can Cry Out To Break The Silence"
Makan is a hero. May he continue to find the strength to stand up and fight. #nedasoltan
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hello.kitty
11/16/09

In reply to After Neda: "Now I Have Left Iran, I Can Cry Out To Break The Silence"
This week's FRONTLINE (PBS) is about Neda's killing. It beging airing tomorrow night. #nedasoltan
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rd2uk
11/11/09

In reply to Iran Denounces Scholarship For Iranian Students
While i completely disagree with the claim that Nedas death was orchestrated by the opposition, and do not intend to discount her death in any way, I have to agree that naming a scholarship after her does, in fact, undermine Oxford credibility. I think, as an academic institution, Oxford should not be naming internal endowments after political figures (which, unfortunately, the circumstances of Neda's death have made her). It would be a different story if the fund was provided by external donors etc, but as this is an internal institutional scholarship, it should not betray such obvious political leanings. If for no other reason, then because it will make it that much harder for students from Iran to attend/return after attending this very prestigious university.

Of course, this is just my opinion, but I say this as an academic as the other 'big university' in England. I think most academics here agree that our goal is to welcome and educate students from throughout the ethnic/racial/economic/political etc spectrum..and taking a atrong political stance as an institution makes that difficult to do.
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Edited by rd2uk at 11/11/09 9:41 AM rd2uk was starred rd2uk was unstarred

DexterHaven
11/11/09

@rd2uk: I see your point, but I think it's also hard to overlook the ideological history of much of Oxbridge's financing/endowments etc. Look at the Rhodes scholarship for a good example. Or the Said business school. And according to the story the donations were from external donors for this purpose. #iran
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greatsheelephant
11/11/09

@rd2uk: I agree with you and the comments on the Times piece show why. While I very much support the opposition in Iran, the fact that I would feel outraged if a similar scholarship was set up to commemorate something I didn't support but others do makes me think that this type of politicisation is wrong.It might be different if Neda Soltan was a Oxford alumnus but I don't see any connection there. I'm also a little worried whether the recipient of the award will suffer if she returns to Iran. By the way, the article suggests that the fund is provided by external donors.
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rd2uk promoted this comment Edited by greatsheelephant at 11/11/09 10:14 AM greatsheelephant was starred greatsheelephant was unstarred

Alohamaid
11/11/09

@rd2uk: I'm an Oxie and I totally support the creation of the scholarship. Here's why I don't think Neda is a political figure that's problematic: IMO she's not partisan. She has become a symbol of oppression not necessarily any political group, like the infamous tank man. My only critique of the scholarship is that its a bit soon. #iran
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rd2uk
11/11/09

@DexterHaven: agree with you that we at oxbridge have a history of attaching ourselves to ideaologies that we 'like' but in the recent past (past 2 decades, really) theres been a concerted effort to remove the Uni itself from any political stance - which is why I think this is problematic. With reference to the donations being external, you are absolutely that the money comes from external sources, but it is awarded by the university and not by an external body, therefore aligning it to the Uni directly. It just seems like an unnecessary political statement that is just really divisive - which is the Uni (IMO) has no business being. #iran
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DexterHaven
11/11/09

@rd2uk: I suppose my view is that if the university had rejected this endowment that in itself would have constituted a political statement, given that it has been quite willing to take money from eg Said (pretty recently too, in 2001). #iran
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rd2uk
11/11/09

@DexterHaven: thats true, but I gott say, we get hundreds of proposals for small endowments (4000pounds over 2 yrs is a small amount for grad work for an intl student as tuition itself is about 10,000 a yr), that we dont agree to take on as internal grants but direct our students to as external grants. I mean, Im glad the someone gets extra help while in school, but dont like academia getting ties to politics so blatantly, its murky waters. #iran
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Valois
11/11/09

@rd2uk: This may be a small point to make, but this is not University funding. As far as I understand it, it's a scholarship through Queens College, with money put up by 2 anonymous donors (most likely, former students of the College). You also have to be a member of the College to qualify for the award - it's not available to the full spectrum of philosophy students across the Uni. Of course there are political overtones to this (and please don't think that I purposefully understate them) - but as far as Oxford credibility goes...well, from firsthand experience I can say that it is nigh on impossible for an international student to afford a graduate degree at Oxford. You pay your £11,000+ in fees alone - and that doesn't cover how you will make rent, feed yourself, cover research expenses, or get home to see your family. Oxford talks alot about 'access' - but the truth of the matter is that you'd better be rich if you're foreign (and especially if you're over the age of 25). As the Provost mentioned, Oxford is losing out on the best graduate candidates, in part, because the cost of attending is simply too much for most people. This certainly relates to the University's 'credibility', doesn't it? It also relates to being able to take in the students who deserve to be there. #iran
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Glitterbug (likes life shaken, not stirred)
11/11/09

@Valois: Oxbridge may be expensive for foreign students, but there are a lot of countries where it's a damn sight worse. I really wanted to study Palaentology originally, but it isn't offered at most UK unis, and the cost of American ones, especially Ivy Leage, negated that as an option for me.

Also, I don't know about Oxford, but at Cambridge there is a policy that once someone has been offered a place at the university, they should not have to drop out for financial reasons. Especially at the larger colleges, the numbers of grants etc available are staggering. #iran
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Valois
11/11/09

@Glitterbug (likes life shaken, not stirred): I knew I should have gone to Cambridge! :) I don't want to get too off-topic, but I will say that I don't think Oxford will kick you out if you can't pay. But they WILL charge you penal interest. And they WILL let you starve in the meantime - especially now that hardship is centralised. #iran
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
11/05/09

In reply to Neda's Mother: Her Legacy Lives On
You want to know something strange? Or not so strange, depending on your own reaction to her death. Anyway, one night a few weeks after she was killed, I was making dinner in my kitchen. Specifically I was mincing some garlic for a sauce. All of a sudden, I thought, Neda has done this before: stood in a kitchen making dinner, and smiling to herself about something she was thinking of. I stopped what I was doing and thought of the enormity of this realization. It seems like a fairly simple process: you see someone get hurt, you see them die, you know that they are dead. But it suddenly seemed like that moment, the one in my kitchen, was when I really knew what had happened and that it wasn't not real. It was really strange, feeling a kinship with a dead woman I'd never met before. Maybe because this had never happened to me before, maybe because she died so brutally and so publicly, maybe because she was wearing jeans and sneakers, maybe all or none of the above, but she didn't and doesn't feel like a stranger to me. Her name won't be erased from my mind, that's for sure. #nedaaghasoltan
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lavenderstain
11/05/09

In reply to Neda's Mother: Her Legacy Lives On
after the first revolution (the one the Islamists stole away) alot of streets were renamed after the "islamic martyrs" who had supposedly given their life for the revolution.

I believe that soon streets will be named, and monuments will be built in honor of Neda and all those who gave their life for the right to say "Yes" and "No" on their OWN accord. #nedaaghasoltan
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The Count of Monte Fisto
11/05/09

In reply to Neda's Mother: Her Legacy Lives On
The fact that they think they can erase her legacy by erasing the writing on her grave speaks volumes about why the regime is slowly dying. #nedaaghasoltan
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lavenderstain
11/05/09

In reply to Rebels With A Cause
These girls are not rebels. and their "cause" is one payed for WITH MONEY.

my cousin was in the anti-gvt rally yesterday and she was beaten to a pulp, her friend had to hide in a garage for 3 hours, because the Basiji had surrounded the building and were taking ppl away.

she and her friend came home, and JOKED about the incident...trying to make it seem less than it was, saying they were are ok and are going to go out again.

THEY are rebels with a cause, not these paid puppets.
thanks you #iran
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Everything MidnightBikeRide does is a balloon. promoted this comment lavenderstain was starred lavenderstain was unstarred

Everything MidnightBikeRide does is a balloon.
11/05/09

In reply to Rebels With A Cause
Since these are the pro-government ralliers, where exactly does the "rebel" headline come from? #iran
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Witchtit: Your low productivity advisor
11/04/09

In reply to Guns, Reposes
I thought it was a very agressive ad for TGIFriday. #iran
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CurtCole
11/04/09

In reply to Guns, Reposes

The Iranian version of Beetlejuice just doesn't do anything for me. #iran
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Ailatan
11/04/09

In reply to Guns, Reposes
Guns'n'Mosques #iran
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
10/07/09

In reply to Iranian Women Still Fighting For A True Democracy
It's strange for me to tear myself away from myself, because I admittedly don't do it often. But since the "election" in Iran, a part of my mind has been permanently occupied by the situation there. Specifically the young people, and more specifically the women. I used to work with two Iranian women; neither had lived in the US all that long, and both of them-even though they were of different ages-were such lovely women. My little mind was so surprised when I came to know them that they had their own special brand of femininity that they kept hidden, and it didn't seem to show when they were with their husbands/families. Some of the most hilarious and intimate conversations I've ever had were with those two. I guess my point is that when I first started working closely with them, I didn't know what to expect, if they were at all like me, or if they were 100% different. The answer, it turned out, was both. I got to know their children and met their husbands and went to their grandchildren's birthday parties, and even learned some Farsi. I loved them both, dearly. When I think of Iran today and all the unrest and violence and brutality going on, I think of them. It's my fervent hope that these women will be able to see the change they've been bringing about, and that all their suffering will be worth it in the end. It's difficult, because by nature I'm not a very optimistic person, and hopes don't typically provide any solace for me, but in this case I really do have some.
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HarpMadness
09/28/09

In reply to "A Second, Less Obtrusive Movement:" Protests Signal New Freedom For Iranian Women
Well, that makes me feel ... better? Less hopeless? Something. Anyway, I think a lot of times when it seems like there are no immediate results, I feel as though it was all for nothing, but it's true that sometimes the results you'd like to see don't happen right away, but that the seeds are planted.
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