(Pakistan) Sindh: ‘Violence against women on rise as perpetrators go scot-free’
— “Incidents of honour killing in Sindh have risen during the second quarter of the year (April up to date), while it has been observed that such incidents usually occur during the months of June and July in large number as compared to the rest of the year.”
— “This was disclosed by the members of the Aurat Foundation’s (AF) watch group in a consultative meeting held on Tuesday to review the situation of Violence Against Women under its policy and data-monitoring project. The participants pointed out that the fundamental rights of the women in the country were violated in the name of modesty and honour.”
— “The meeting revealed that women faced violence in every third household of the country in the lower, middle and upper class families, but most incidents go unreported at all levels.”
— “Similarly, in poor households, domestic violence is not even considered as violence”
— “AF Regional Coordinator Lala Hassan explained that women face physical, sexual, psychological and emotional violence – ranging from more covert acts (abusive language and coercion in marriage) to the most explicit forms (including physical torture, marital rape, custodial violence, honour killings, burning of women, acid throwing, genital mutilation, incest, gang-rape, public stripping, forced prostitution etc.)”
Iran: No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me – by Lila Ghobady
(Iran) No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me – by Lila Ghobady
— “Lila Ghobady is an exiled Iranian writer-journalist and filmmaker living in Canada since 2002”
Neda Agha-Soltan, Iranian woman killed in Tehran protests, told friend ‘it’s just one bullet’
Neda Agha-Soltan, Iranian woman killed in Tehran protests, told friend ‘it’s just one bullet’
— How Neda Soltani became the face of Iran’s struggle
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/22/neda-soltani-death-iran
— Iranian authorities scramble to negate Neda Soltan ‘martyrdom’
— Iranian woman Neda Salehi Agha Soltan shot in the chest
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6561253.ece
— Iran bans prayers for ‘Angel of Freedom’ Neda Agha Soltan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5603057/Iran-bans-prayers-for-Angel-of-Freedom-Neda-Agha-Soltan.html
— Iranian regime targets family of ‘Angel of Freedom’ Neda Agha Soltan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5614391/Iranian-regime-targets-family-of-Angel-of-Freedom-Neda-Agha-Soltan.html
— Neda Salehi Agha Soltan’s story touches everyone except Iran’s rulers
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6565497.ece
(Iran) Defiant women ‘the new face of Iran’
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/23/iran.women/index.html
Communist China accuses pro-democracy activist Liu Xiabo of inciting a rebellion
China accuses pro-democracy activist Liu Xiabo of inciting a rebellion
— Daily Telegraph: “Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most famous pro-democracy advocates, has been charged with trying to subvert Communist Party rule.”
— “It added that Mr Liu had been ‘spreading rumours and defaming the government’ and that he had ‘confessed to the charge in preliminary police investigation'”
— “After being held for seven months in a secret jail, Mr Liu, 53, was formally arrested for ‘alleged agitation activities aimed at subversion of government and overthrowing of the socialist system’, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.”
— “The crime of inciting a subversion can carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, according to Mr Liu’s lawyer, Mo Shaoping.”
— “Mr Liu has been held in a secret prison somewhere in Beijing since last December. In one of two meetings with his wife since the beginning of the year, he told her he was being held in a small room with no windows.”
— “He was arrested one day before releasing Charter 08, a petition calling for the end of one-party rule in China and the establishment of a multi-party democracy.”
— “Charter 08 was initially signed by 300 lawyers, intellectuals and dissidents. It won widespread praise overseas, and has unsettled the Communist Party at home. As many as 8,000 people have come forward to sign it, despite the risks of publicly supporting such a document.”
— “Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, is under constant surveillance and the police have built a guardhouse outside her Beijing apartment.”
DC: Women Speak Out on “Soraya M.” Film, Oppression of Women by Religious Supremacists, Misogynists
On Saturday, June 20, a public awareness event was held in the busy nightlife center of Washington DC’s Georgetown to inform the public about the upcoming release of the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” and to make them aware of the broader war on women by religious extremists and misogynists. The film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” is scheduled to premiere across the country – mostly on Friday, June 26 – and tells the true story of an Iranian woman who was stoned to death by religious extremists.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) organized this public awareness event in the heart of Washington DC’s Georgetown to help make the public aware of the DC theater showings of the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” to be released in most locations on June 26, as well as other showings around the country. Moreover, R.E.A.L. sought to expand public awareness of the global war on women by supremacists. in the form of stonings, honor killings, mutilations, oppression, and abuse of women.
We had signs and placards on these subjects; they passed out fliers about the upcoming film locations in DC and the larger war on women, passed out brochures about the film, and handed out business cards with our message of love and support for women’s universal human rights – everywhere.
R.E.A.L. estimated that several thousands of people passed by its public awareness event on the Georgetown street corner of Wisconsin and M Streets NW, and that materials were handed out to 600 individuals about the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” and the ongoing struggle for women’s human rights. With the public awareness event beginning at 6 PM ET, numerous visitors also saw the signs and placards (that were frequently held up high in the air) on this subject during the summer daily savings time, including busloads of visitors.
We spoke to the passers-by and crowd of visitors in Georgetown about how important the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” is to see, to get a sense of what has been happening to women in Iran and around the world. We spoke to passers-by on need to defend universal human rights for women around the world, and how vital it is for Americans to recognize that this threat to women’s human rights are not just in foreign nations, but also here in the United States as well. We spoke to the global war on women by religious extremists who use such institutionalized ideologies to oppress, abuse, mutilate, and murder women. In addition to the stoning and murder of women by supremacists in Iran, we spoke to recent so-called “honor killings” in Russia’s Chechnya and how the Chechen president has publicly stated that women deserve to die for so-called “loose morals.” Imm also spoke to the global femicide against women by supremacists using such “honor killings” in America’s New York, Georgia, Texas, Cleveland, Indiana, in Canada, in UK, in Europe, in Pakistan, in Africa, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Jordan, in Lebanon, in Syria, in India, in Gaza, in West Bank, in Israel, and in Asia. Imm stated that this continuing threat to women’s universal human rights is nothing less than a global “war on women” by supremacists.
In the Washington DC area, the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” will be showing at the Washington DC E Street Cinema, Bethesda Row Cinema, and Shirlington 7 theater. More details about such locations are listed below.
http://www.thestoning.com/theaters/ WASHINGTON DC
Washington, DC
E Street Cinema
6/26/09
555 11th St NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-452-7672
Get Directions
— this is the site a block away from FBI HQ, and a few blocks from Metro Center metro stop
MARYLAND
Bethesda, MD
Bethesda Row Cinema
6/26/09
7235 Woodmont Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-652-7273
Get Directions
— this is close to a large parking lot and about 6 blocks from the Bethesda metro stopParking:
In the immediate vicinity of the Bethesda Row Cinema there are three major parking lots. There are two outdoor ones across the street from the theatre and one large parking garage between Woodmont and Arlington on Bethesda Avenue. The small lots have very few 9-hour to 15-hour meters, and they fill up very quickly. These meters are silver, as opposed to the blue, dark gray and copper ones which range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. In the large parking garage between Woodmont and Arlington the first two levels (G-1 and 1) have 2-hour meters, while levels 2 through 5 have 15-hour meters. Parking is free in the lots on Saturday and Sunday, while street parking is free Sunday only. Parking InformationMetro & Trolley:
The theatre is minutes by foot from the Bethesda Metro station (on the Woodmont side), off the Red line. The Bethesda 8 trolley can be boarded at the Metro station; it takes riders on a scenic tour of downtown Bethesda before dropping them off directly across the street from the theatre. The trolley is free of charge.VIRGINIA
Shirlington 7
2772 South Randolph St.
Arlington, VA 22206
Showtimes: 1-888-AMC-4FUN (1-888-262-4386)
Get Directions
June 26 – DC Area Theaters Showing “The Stoning of Soraya M.”
WASHINGTON DC
Washington, DC
E Street Cinema
6/26/09
555 11th St NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-452-7672
Get Directions
— this is the site a block away from FBI HQ, and a few blocks from Metro Center metro stop
MARYLAND
Bethesda, MD
Bethesda Row Cinema
6/26/09
7235 Woodmont Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-652-7273
Get Directions
— this is close to a large parking lot and about 6 blocks from the Bethesda metro stop
Parking:
In the immediate vicinity of the Bethesda Row Cinema there are three major parking lots. There are two outdoor ones across the street from the theatre and one large parking garage between Woodmont and Arlington on Bethesda Avenue. The small lots have very few 9-hour to 15-hour meters, and they fill up very quickly. These meters are silver, as opposed to the blue, dark gray and copper ones which range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. In the large parking garage between Woodmont and Arlington the first two levels (G-1 and 1) have 2-hour meters, while levels 2 through 5 have 15-hour meters. Parking is free in the lots on Saturday and Sunday, while street parking is free Sunday only. Parking Information
Metro & Trolley:
The theatre is minutes by foot from the Bethesda Metro station (on the Woodmont side), off the Red line. The Bethesda 8 trolley can be boarded at the Metro station; it takes riders on a scenic tour of downtown Bethesda before dropping them off directly across the street from the theatre. The trolley is free of charge.
VIRGINIA
Shirlington 7
2772 South Randolph St.
Arlington, VA 22206
Showtimes: 1-888-AMC-4FUN (1-888-262-4386)
Get Directions
North Korea: Swedish Ambassador visits jailed U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea
(North Korea) Swedish Ambassador visits jailed U.S. journalists in North Korea
— “The Swedish ambassador met with two imprisoned American journalists in Pyongyang on Tuesday, a state department spokesman said, their first visit with him since a North Korean court handed down their 12-year sentence.”
— “The spokesman said he could not provide details of the conversation between the Swedish ambassador and Current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.”
Iran Reports – June 23, 2009
(Iran) No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me – by Lila Ghobady
— “Lila Ghobady is an exiled Iranian writer-journalist and filmmaker living in Canada since 2002”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/19-11
(Iran) How Neda Soltani became the face of Iran’s struggle
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/22/neda-soltani-death-iran
— Iranian authorities scramble to negate Neda Soltan ‘martyrdom’
— Iranian woman Neda Salehi Agha Soltan shot in the chest
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6561253.ece
— Neda Agha-Soltan, Iranian woman killed in Tehran protests, told friend ‘it’s just one bullet’
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/23/2009-06-23__neda_aghasoltan.html
— Iran bans prayers for ‘Angel of Freedom’ Neda Agha Soltan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5603057/Iran-bans-prayers-for-Angel-of-Freedom-Neda-Agha-Soltan.html
— Iranian regime targets family of ‘Angel of Freedom’ Neda Agha Soltan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5614391/Iranian-regime-targets-family-of-Angel-of-Freedom-Neda-Agha-Soltan.html
— Neda Salehi Agha Soltan’s story touches everyone except Iran’s rulers
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6565497.ece
(Iran) Defiant women ‘the new face of Iran’
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/23/iran.women/index.html
Iran says it will teach protesters a lesson
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE55L37220090623
Iran: Police break up fresh protests in Tehran
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3453937576
Iran’s top electoral body rules out vote annulment
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election
— Braced for fury after Iran poll ruled valid
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25680803-2703,00.html
Iran leader extends deadline over vote complaints: ISNA
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2009/June/middleeast_June778.xml§ion=middleeast
Iran elections: Ahmadinejad to be sworn in as president by August
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/23/iran-guardian-council-results
(Iran) How Neda Soltani became the face of Iran’s struggle
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/22/neda-soltani-death-iran
(Iran/UK) Iran expels 2 British diplomats, refuses new vote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_iran_election
— Britain expels two Iranian diplomats in tit-for-tat response
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/23/britain-expels-iranian-diplomats
(Iran/UK) Yvonne Ridley takes sides. Guess whose?
http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/06/23/yvonne-ridley-takes-sides-guess-which-one/
— UK’s Ridley: “I’m quite a fan of Mahmoud Admadinejad who is adored by the common man and woman in Iran.”
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/63688
(Iran/UK/US) ‘Outraged’ Brown and Obama condemn Iran as election crisis worsens
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6564441.ece
(Iran/US) Obama: ‘Not Too Late’ for Iranian Government to Peacefully Resolve Unrest
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/23/obama-iran/
(Iran/US) The Washington Times freelance reporter arrested in Iran — believed to Iason Athanasiadis
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/23/twt-freelance-reporter-arrested-iran/?feat=home_headlines
(Iran) At stake in Iran uprising: trust in the Islamic Revolution
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0621/p06s07-wome.html
Iran’s dictator gives up pretence of democracy – by Amir Taheri
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6544249.ece
(Iran) Israeli president applauds Iran street protesters
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_IRAN?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=MIDEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-06-21-08-10-38
(Iran) “Twitter vs CNN: Blood on the streets”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/5614541/Twitter-vs-CNN-Blood-on-the-streets.html
Tennessee: Residents say Ku Klux Klan targeting Greeneville neighborhood
(U.S.) Tennessee: Residents say Ku Klux Klan targeting Greeneville neighborhood
— “Several homeowners say Ku Klux Klan hate mail has been left in their front yards, and about two-dozen KKK flyers were found along Benbow Road and Outer Drive.”
— “The flyers are titled “Wake Up White America & Take A Stand” and ’10 Steps To A Better America.’ The flyers denounce interracial marriage, homosexuality and call for a secure future for the KKK’s ‘White Christian Children.'”
— Ku Klux Klan Sends Message To Predominantly Black Neighborhood
Oregon: Black family targeted with hateful graffiti – KKK, swastika
(U.S.) Oregon: Black family targeted with hateful graffiti
— “A black Clark County family discovered KKK references, swastikas and racial slurs spray painted around their home and in their neighborhood Saturday morning.”