Scarborough Gets Served

How can Scarborough work as a professional news gatherer and still sound like he believes in Santa when engaging in a conversation about international politics?

Take a break from the pundits and try reading a book for a change. I pray your patience will survive the journey.

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Ongoing Attack in Gaza

BBC:
Current death toll 220
Current injured over 700

the future of news

I've become quite a fan of ANP since I found out about them in July. Cutbacks of the major news outlets in addition to huge budget cuts of public media companies has created a vacuum of media news content. The internet is to be the new center for distribution of investigative journalism/ documentary content. This democratizing shift not only makes media more accessible, but allows for a development of a new interconnected media that allows viewers to have an active role in developing stories. Even though the reach of sites like ANP are nowhere near the reach of the cable news networks, the potential for massive audiences larger than that of CNN is there.

The move to the internet as a means of media distribution also frees companies of the traditional censorship and ratings groping seen in traditional broadcast. Smaller budgets and audiences with longer attention spans spells for better quality.

Viewer support and viral social video networks for small media projects like ANP will ensure the growth and self sufficiency of ANP and others like it. Enjoy your new world of media and don't settle for less.

reason wins today.

Narcy's song, The Real Arab Money actually made a difference.

read more here.

Narcy's reaction

more thoughts later.

Remembering Vahdat

It's been a while since I've talked about Warring Factions. The project is currently sitting in the in-boxes of multiple film festivals. I have been really careful not to over step my festival run. I have multiple tentative screenings for the film which will be released once the film makes it's first big screening.

I wanted to post some raw audio from the film which we filmed inside of Zurkhuneh Vahdat in Tehran. Vahdat means unity and in this case it's referring to the concept of unifying humanity in the spirit of Divine unity.

These two audio tracks were recorded during a demonstration of young varzeshkaran, "athletes", who were coached by Agha Fattahi who was also my teacher. The morshed was a young man whose name escapes me at the moment but I remember that he was one of the most technically talented morsheds that I met in Tehran.

Steps Towards Reconciliation

*photo courtesy of Reuters: Atef Hassan

Today Iran and Iraq exchanged prisoner remains for the first time since 2003. Steps of reconciliation like these are needed in the Muslim world, where conflicts of the past have a major effect on the policies and sentiments of the present. The Iran-Iraq war was one of the bloodiest contemporary wars in the Middle East and it's legacy is constantly downplayed by Western media sources. For there to be any type of healing and dignified sovereignty in the region there must be an open relationship between Iran and Iraq without interference of 3rd parties (i.e. the US).

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[BBC]