We DO exist!

Photo by Semco Salehi

“Iranian queers do exist,” said Arsham Parsi, executive director of the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees. “We want to raise awareness for (their) rights.”

Arsham Parsi

Through his Toronto-based organization, Parsi has helped bring more than 50 gay, lesbian and transgendered Iranian refugees to Canada since he fled the country himself in 2005.

Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran. Its ultra-conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once proclaimed there were no gay people in the country. It’s an atmosphere that puts even relatives of gay Iranians at risk; Parsi’s family had to move to Turkey after his activism led to threats against them.

Iran bans necklaces for men and warns them about wearing jeans

Every year before summer rolls around Iranian authorities tighten clothing restrictions. Normally the “Moral Police” crackdown on the women forcing them to wear their hijab so that it covers all of their hair, for example.  But since last year, the "Moral Police" have been targeting the men too.

Last summer, the Iranian government issued a men’s hairstyle guide.

This year, they banned necklaces for men.

In addition, Iranian state TV has taken issue with jeans as well. A YouTube video from Iranian state TV features a discussion in which jeans are said to actually come from the word "jinn" - invisible creatures who know the unknowable (AKA "Genie"). The young man in the video says wearing jeans is also supposed to have a hazardous effect on a man's testicles because it raises the temperature. This, according to Iranian state TV, renders men infertile.

I thought they said Levi when I bought them!

Iran government issues style guide for men's hair

An official describes appropriate hairstyles for men at an official hairstyle show in Tehran Photo: REUTERS

In an attempt to rid the country of "decadent Western cuts", Iran's culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval.

The list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. However,quiffs appear to be acceptable, as are fashioning one's hair in the style of Simon Cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe.

Most of the models are clean-shaven although one picture features a man with a goatee beard, previously frowned upon by Iran's conservative clerics. Using hair gel is also within the law, albeit in modest quantities.

The "journal of Iranian hairstyles approved by the ministry of [culture and Islamic] guidance" was previewed at a government-approved hairdressing show in Tehran.

Several barber shops have reportedly been shut down and penalised in recent years for offering Western-style haircuts.

Prayers for Libya

Al Jazeera is currently in Preview on Rogers Cable here in Ottawa.

With all that has been happening in Northern Africa, I have been watching it more and more - finding that it gives a variety of perspectives that put North American news channels to shame.

Heard about this website there and found the post below.

Not only am I struck by the poignancy of the messages, but the technology itself - publishing voice recordings through cellphones where internet is not available.

We (North Americans) may pride ourselves on our technological advancement here in Canada, but the people in the Middle East are forging new ways of communicating which leave us far behind.

I am not a religious person, but I am praying for Libya to make it through this without further pain. ...

Libyan Army !!! 
Start PROTECTING THE PEOPLE from Ghaddafi & the mercenary forces that he has hired ... BEING NEUTRAL IS NO LONGER NEUTRAL !

The Sound of a Free Egypt

Protesters in Tahrir Square celebrate after Mubarek steps down.

For all 18 days, I witnessed on TV the determination, the terror, the frustration, the love, the peacefulness and the joy of the Egyptian Revolution.

This video and song depict the people of Egypt in Tahrir Square as the rest of us watched history unfold. Whether you understand the words or not, the song carries a genuine feeling of strength, joy, peace and the Humanity of the Egyptian people. Beautiful!



Click on the link to read a partial translation of the words.

CN Tower still world's tallest: Guinness

Toronto's CN Tower will retain its place in the Guinness Book of World Records — but not as the world's tallest free-standing structure.

The 553-metre structure will now be known as the world's tallest tower, said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records.

The tower lost the title of the world's tallest free-standing structure in 2007 when the Burj Dubai — a hotel, residential and commercial building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, still under construction — surpassed the Toronto structure in height. When it is completed the Burj is expected to be over 818 metres high.

But classification rules, as defined by an organization deemed the authority on such matters, suggest the CN Tower should be categorized as a communications tower, said Glenday.

"I can confirm that the Toronto icon will retain its record, as a tower is defined by Guinness World Records and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as a building in which less than 50 per cent of the construction is usable floor space," he said in a Friday statement.

The Burj, by this definition, is not a tower.

Prince of Persia, 2010 ... Need I say more?

A new sole for Bush

During the holiday season thoughts often turn to giving away what we no longer need to those who will appreciate their significance. Now is your chance to let Geo. W. Bush know how you feel ... As a sign of your admiration, please feel free (compelled) to send your old shoes to:

George W. Bush Presidential Library
c/o SMU
6425 Boaz Lane
Dallas TX 75205

The diary that fell to earth

Pages from a diary that mysteriously floated down to earth went on display at a museum in Israel on Sunday.

The diary holds the words of Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, who was killed along with six other astronauts when Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering the atmosphere in February 2003.

The book survived temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius as Columbia tore apart while it re-entering earth's atmosphere

The 37 pages found fell 60 kilometres to the ground, landing in Palestine, Tex., named after the biblical region of Palestine.

Couple put on trial in Dubai for drinking juice in public

A 28-year-old Russian female, who visited Dubai on a tourist visa, and a 30-year-old male citizen of Lebanon, a salesman in a local store, were put on trial for drinking juice in a public place in the daytime during Muslim fasting.

The police caught the two people red-handed at a gas station in Dubai, Emirat.ru reports with reference to Gulf News.

In accordance with the Federal Penal Code of the United Arab Emirates, a public intake of food and beverages during daytime hours of the month of Ramadan is forbidden by Article 313. The article stipulates the punishment in the form of either a monetary penalty – up to 2,000 dirhems ($555) – or even a term of up to one month in prison.

The young people told the court that they were not Muslims and were thus unaware of the fact that their actions could be punishable.

When Jeremy comes marching home again, Hurrah!

With less than a week before U.S. Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman and his family are to be deported, the Liberals have reaffirmed their support for his fight to stay in Canada.

The 29-year-old Hinzman, his wife, Nga Nguyen, and their children — six-year-old Liam and six-week-old Meghan — have been ordered to leave Canada by Sept. 23 or face deportation.

Fresh off the campaign trail, Liberal Bob Rae spoke at a Toronto news conference with Hinzman. Rae urged the government to support a motion passed earlier this year by all parties, except the Conservatives, to let conscientious objectors take up permanent residence.

This Leaning Skyscraper has Graceful, Wavy Curves

Architecture in Dubai seems to sprout every possible shape and form known to man while reaching to lofty heights - but this one is probably the strangest of them all:

The Wave Tower, Dubai
A-Cero (Joaquin Torres Architects) firm in Madrid, Spain, has designed and proposed a high-rise tower for the Dubai waterfront. The project has been already mentioned in specialized press, but we think the design is particular and sexy enough to captivate anyone who is slightly interested in architecture.

What a Billion Muslims Really Think

Who Speaks for Islam? is the product of the Gallup World Poll's massive, multiyear research study. As part of this groundbreaking project, Gallup conducted tens of thousands of interviews with residents of more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have significant Muslim populations.

Gallup brings data-driven evidence -- the voices of a billion Muslims, not those of individual "experts" or "extremists" -- to one of the most heated and consequential debates of our time.

Iran's heartbreaking "solution" to homosexuality

An Iranian-born filmmaker learned that in Iran, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. But the government has provided a way out for the nation’s gays and lesbians: a sex-change operation. Fully paid for by the state, the procedure would allow these people to conform to Iran’s theocratic standards of sexuality.

Eshaghian's film reveals a culture so steeped in hatred of gays and lesbians that it deems a sex change preferable to simply accepting differences in sexual orientation.

Conservative countries + scantily clad Olympic athletes

In Beijing, Roqaya al-Gassra of Bahrain won her heat in the second round of the women's 200-meter dash while wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a head covering, in keeping with her practice of Islam. Many female Olympians wear athletic clothing that does not cover their bodies; are their events broadcast in conservative countries?

Test your knowledge of what's where

I was surprised at how little I really knew about Middle Eastern geography when I tried to identify the countries on this map. The only thing that would make it better would be if the page kept track of how many correct answers vs overall attempts - then I would know if I was learning anything.