Aug 1 & Aug 11: US Hands OFF Iran panels

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HANDS OFF IRAN!

AUGUST 1 & AUGUST 11

• Saturday, August 1 - 4 pm at the Solidarity Center, 55 W. 17th St. 5th Fl.
• Tuesday, August 11 - 7:00 - 9:30 at the Brecht Forum, 451 West St.

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Join Stop War on Iran for a special forum and discussion

Saturday, August 1
4:00 PM
at the
Solidarity Center
55 W. 17th St. 5th Fl. in Manhattan btw. 5th and 6th Avenues
Subway: F or V to 14 Street; 1, 2, 3 to 14 St. and 7th Ave., 4,5,6, R, Q, N to Union Square.

Participants will include:

•     Ardeshir Ommani, co-founder of the American-Iranian Friendship Committee;
•     Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center;
•     John Catalinotto,International Action Center;
•     Phil Wilayto, Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran;
•     Manijeh Saba, an Iranian human rights and women's rights activist;
•     Dustin Langley, a Navy Veteran and organizer with the Stop War on Iran Campaign.

for more information: 212-633-6646

The ongoing crisis in Iran following the recent presidential elections has been a source of much misunderstanding and confusion in antiwar and progressive organizations, particularly in the United States.  In the face of ongoing threats of military action against Iran, especially recent remarks by Vice President Joe Biden that gave a green light for an Israeli attack, the antiwar movement must be clear in its opposition to any attack, or to the propaganda used to justify such an attack.

Here are some points to consider:

Democracy?  If the protests were progressive, why did all the corporate politicians and media outlets in the United States and Europe support them?  The United States government has never been interested in democracy for the people of Iran, and was a key player in the overthrow of the democratically-elected President Mossadegh in 1953.  This coup installed the brutal regime of the Shah, which was funded and armed by the U.S.

Elections?  The U.S.-based media attacked the Iranian elections as fraudulent, even though the results matched those of polls taken before the election. The hypocrisy of the U.S. government is particularly striking, given that the U.S. refused to recognize the elections in Palestine that brought Hamas to power, and has worked to crush that government.

The Role of the Corporate Media.  Why is it that the corporate media provided round-the-clock coverage of the protests in Iran, but was virtually silent about the coup in Honduras?  Did these stations ever give even a fraction of this much coverage to the protests against the war in Iraq, even when hundreds of thousands of people marched?

“Humanitarian” Cover for War Propaganda.  Shortly after Vice President Biden’s statements giving Israel the green light for an attack on Iran, a website campaign called "United 4 Iran" appeared, calling for protests against the Iranian government on July 25.  A close look at United 4 Iran reveals that the organizations behind this campaign are funded by groups set up to advance U.S. foreign policy, like the National Endowment for Democracy and the International Republican Institute. (These same groups have been linked to the coup in Honduras and the attempted coup in Venezuela.)

Download leaflet

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Iran at the Crossroads:
National Unity or Regime Change?
 
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
7:00 – 9:30 P.M.

Place: Brecht Forum
451 West Street (at corner of Bank St. ), NYC 10014

Panel of Speakers:

• Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, Ph.D.: Case against Rigged Elections,
• Dr. Kaveh Afrasiabi, author of numerous books and articles, the latest: Reading in Iran ’s Foreign Policy After September 11, is a former consultant to the United Nations "Dialogue Among Civilizations", has taught political science at Tehran and Boston University , and is a regular contributor to UN Chronicle and Asia Times Online.
• Ardeshir Ommani: Iran ’s Socio-economic Policies:   Domestic and Foreign, Mr. Ommani is a Writer, Economist & Political Analyst, Co-Founder of American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC), and has two Masters - in Political Economy and Mathematics Education.
• Sara Flounders: Sanctions, U.S. Interference & Threat of War, Ms. Flounders initiated the StopWarOnIran Campaign in 2005, and is in the leadership of the International Action Center.
• Simin Royanian, Moderator, Ms. Royanian, an economist, co-founder of Women for Peace and Justice in Iran, is a labor and women’s rights activist.

This panel of speakers, the majority of whom are Iranian born, will present information and views based on research and sober analysis.  Questions and answers follow the presentations.

Sponsored by the American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC), WESPAC – the Westchester People’s Action Coalition, the Stop War on Iran Campaign, and the International Action Center (IAC)

For more info: 914-273-8852 or 917-853-8020  email: ardeshiromm@optonline.net

web: www.iranaifc.com