Personal diary of John Barnabas (aka Barney) Leith
From the monthly archives:
Kelardasht © Intercaspian (www.intercaspian.com)
Like thousands of other hopeful young Iranians Ameed Saadat sat Iran’s 2008 national university entrance examination. He passed was accepted to study hotel management at Goldasht College in Kelardasht, Mazandaran, and began his studies.
Sadly, though, Mr Saadat suffers from a severe disability as far as the Iranian authorities are concerned. He is [...]
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Iran: A nation of bloggers from Mr.Aaron on Vimeo.
This impressive video essay is well worth watching. Blogging is not just an idle pursuit for Iranians. Blogs provide essential two-way links with the world outside Iran, governed as it is by people who would make every effort to completely control what information Iranian citizens have access [...]
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Erica, Jacob and I drove over to the University of Hertfordshire’s Science Learning Centre at Bayfordbury yesterday for the University astronomy department’s open evening.
Our daughter (Jacob’s mum) and son-in-law, Doug, are both astrophysics PhD candidates at U Herts. Postgrads, including Doug, were on duty demonstrating various aspects of the department’s work. Doug, who’s involved in [...]
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Stephen Twigg, Director of the Foreign Policy Centre, has published a useful article in Progressonline about the FPC’s latest report A Revolution Without Rights? Women, Kurds and Baha’is Searching for Equality in Iran, launched on Tuesday evening, as reported here.
While the world is focused on the Iranian nuclear programme, people in Iran are calling on [...]
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“The treatment of Baha’is is appalling and unacceptable,” said Baroness Haleh Afshar at the launch last night of the Foreign Policy Centre’s latest pamphlet, A Revolution Without Rights? Women, Kurds and Baha’is Searching for Equality in Iran.” It is – in every way – not only against accepted human rights regulations but the ancient traditions [...]
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Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, has issued a statement welcoming the adoption by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee of a resolution condemning Iran’s appalling human rights abuses (as I reported here):
The adoption of this resolution is a clear signal of the international community’s concern for the human rights of people in Iran. [...]
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There’s an excellent article in today’s Guardian online which starts like this:
You’re 16 and just back from a visit to the second world war Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland. Only you and another sixth-former from your school were picked to go. But there was a condition: you must now present what you saw [...]
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Thank goodness! Iran’s attempt to stop debate on the motion resolution initiated by Canada at the UN General Assembly, condemning Iran’s appalling human rights record failed.
No action? No!
As expected, Iran tabled a “no action” motion, which would have prevented the General Assembly’s Third Committee debating Canada’s resolution. But 81 states voted against this no action [...]
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13th November 2008 – a week ago today – was a long and physically gruelling day. All but 24 hours without sleep, charter flights with 200 Sixth Form students and a group of senior faith representatives to and from the Polish city of Kraków, and a day at the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
But I’m [...]
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The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee is soon to consider a Canadian resolution condemning Iran’s human rights abuses – including the persecution of the Bahá’ís. The resolution is backed by the EU and by many other countries.
But Iran has been working hard to scupper any debate on the resolution, as Canada.com reports:
Iran is pulling out [...]
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