Difference between CNN International and CNN U.S.
CNN runs a couple different editions of its website. The International, the Arabic, the U.S. Here's the most recent headlines of Int'l and U.S. Guess which one is which.
good morning, i am neysan. i am learning.
Wonderful Junior Youth Camp near Berlin
I spent Thursday to Sunday on a beautiful small cottage in a small village near Berlin. The surroundings were stunning. Still more stunning were the bunch of preyouth (aged 11-15) that came for the summer camp. We spent the mornings discussing society, challenges, and the concept of selfless service, and they amazed me again and again with their brilliance. Afternoons and evenings were spent out on the fields, forests, lawns, in sports, barbecues. Fantastic 4 days. It freed my head and calmed my soul.
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Creative Film: Arise to Ultimate Victory
This is a simple and brilliant film by a good kiwi friend and artist, Ben P at Desyfr.
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What's behind Iran Press Watch
The truth is, we stumbled across the idea of Iran Press Watch last September.
Ahang had sent English translations of a number of Persian-language articles related to the persecution of the Iranian Baha'i community to a group of Baha'i historians. We decided that they'd be useful to the public and started a small blog. Within a month we'd reached 10,000 visitors - we were stunned. It was obvious that there was a serious need for information on the Baha'i persecution.
We continued the work of translating Iranian media and human rights activists' reports on the Baha'i crisis. Moreover we scanned Western media and government statements for mentions of the Iranian situation and thus developed into a clearinghouse for almost everything on the Iranian Baha'i community. We now have close to 50,000 visitors a month. Unexpected at first, but we are serious about our work and have a strong, fresh and diverse team of more than 15 volunteers working on translations, contributions, and the technical side of things.
We're often asked whether we are Baha'is. Yes we are, we have nothing to hide. We run as an independent iniative and do not represent the official voice of the international Baha'i community. This project is the least we could do for our persecuted co-believers.
We run an open show, if you have questions, send me an email at editor [at] iranpresswatch.org or drop a note on twitter @neysn.
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Imprisoned in Evin
The car speeded north toward the Alborz Mountains. After about half an hour, in the pale moonlight, I saw the snake-like walls of Evin zigzagging across the hills. A dull pain filled my stomach and spread into my bones. We entered a narrow, winding street, and the tall, red-brick walls of the prison appeared in our right. Every few yards, from lookout towers, floodlights poured their intense brightness into the night. We neared a large metal gate and came to a stop in front of it. There were bearded, armed guards everywhere. The barbed wire covering the top of the wall cast a tangled shadow on the pavement. The driver stepped out, and the guard sitting in the front passenger seat gave me a thick strip of cloth and told me to blindfold myself. “Make sure it’s on properly, or you’ll get in trouble!” he barked. With my blindfold in place, the car passed through the gates and continued for two or three minutes before again coming to a stop. The doors were opened, and I was instructed to step out. Someone tied my wrists with rope and dragged me along. I stumbled over an obstacle and fell.
“Are you blind?” a voice asked, and laughter followed.
Such is an excerpt from ‘Prisoner of Tehran’ by Marina Nemat. Arrested during the Iranian Revolution, the 16-year old student activist was jailed in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, tortured and sentenced to death. She was kept alive through the intervention of one of her interrogators only moments before her execution. Forced to convert to Islam, forced to marry that same interrogator, and subjugated until he is assassinated, she faces terrifying physical and psychological pain behind the prison walls.
Soon, it felt warmer, and I knew we had entered a building. A narrow strip of light appeared below my blindfold, and I saw that we were walking along a corridor. The air smelled of sweat and vomit. I was instructed to sit on the floor and wait. I could feel other people sitting close to me , but I couldn’t see them. Everyone was silent, but vague, angry voices came from behind closed doors. Every once in a while, I filtered out a word or two: Liar! Tell me! Names! Write it! And, sometimes, I heard people scream in pain. My heart began to beat so fast it pushed against my chest and made it ache, so I put my hands on it and pressed down. After a while, a harsh voice told someone to sit next to me. It was a girl, and she was crying.
Marina Nemat’s book is riveting – absolutely. Her story is a tale of spiritual triumph – love over hate, freedom over oppression. Her beautiful spirit instils hope despite immeasurable suffering.
The book has a special relevance to current affairs as the seven Baha’i arrested in March and May still await their trial in that same prison of Evin.
The Baha’is are being held in Evin’s Section 209, run by various security services, most of which are loyal to the clergy and thus this section is beyond the jurisdiction of Iranian Prison Authorities. The section is known to keep ‘political prisoners’, usually students, journalists, human-rights activists, and of course Baha’is. I'm assuming these days that section is overflowing with young people who were incarcerated during recent protests.
Former prisoners have complained of human rights abuses, such as solitary confinement, harsh interrogation tactics, and even torture. One form of solitary confinement is ‘white torture’ where the lights of a windowless 2 by 3 meter cell are constantly left on, often for months at a time. The lack of human contact may lead to certain mental illnesses such as depression or an existential crisis. Furthermore, prisoners are denied permission to contact their families for many weeks, sometimes even threatened that their families too will be maltreated.
We now stand close to the trial of the seven Baha’is, due to happen on July 11th. At times i feel prayer is the only thing that will save them.
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Effective Non-Profit Webdesign: Call to Action
The single most important feature of a non-profit organization's website is a prominent call to action. Make your visitors act on what they see on their screens. The sequence of an effective call to action is simple:
- State the Problem (Tell a Story)
- Your Solution
- Your Achievements
- ACTION ACTION ACTION
Types of Action
DonationMake the donation process as painless as possible; you should require nothing more of the donor than the donation - no name, no email, no membership. Use Paypal to get donations, its a service people trust more than anything else online.
Media Attention
Undoubtedly it will have a huge impact on your organization. Make information easily accessible for journalists - information about your organization, contact information, other press reports, and a downloadable media kit.
Volunteering
Include clear steps people can take to get involved. Either by joining your organization, by raising awareness, or by joining forces (Mideast Youth Network does this effectively by encouraging people to blog about critical subjects; they also provide hosting for them) 2 Further ConsiderationsEmbrace New Media
Integrate Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube. This is where you'll reach the crowds. "Web Browsing" as we know it has shifted to social networking sites.
News/Blog
Definitely include a news section on your homepage. Show them the life of your organization.Examples of Effective Non-Profit Designs
(Some) Best Practices for Nonprofit Webdesign (Jelecos)
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8 Things We Forgot About Blogging
Blogging causes change, if used effectively. We've been blogging for small years now, and we've forgotten a number of the ground rules:1. Choose a Niche and Focus
Know why you're doing what you do and be willing to filter things that don't fit in with your goals. For example, you choose to cover the use of new media in Saudi Arabia's democratic elections (smiling?), will you publish the beautiful poem by a Saudi poet that just blows your mind? Readers will come and return to your blog because they are interested in the subject - Focus.
Use images and graphs, they add color and life to your blog. Make your text scannable by adding lists, subheadings, bolds. Screen-reading is painful, so make life easier for your visitors 3. Be Personal, Be Passionate
Readers love to hear You in your posts. Use stories from your personal life, describe your emotions, add your opinion. The revolution of blogging lies in the freedom of expression. 4. Write Less
Unless you are George Friedman, no one is going to read that essay you posted. 250 Words/3 paragraphs is absolutely sufficient for a post. If you want to cover a topic that requires more information, break up the story into several parts and post a series over a couple of days. 6. Use Titles Effectively
The title of your post is the only thing that shows up in search engines, on Twitter, on Facebook - It is the single most important part of your post. Keep the title simple, be descriptive of the post, grab attention. The most effective titles are lists and numbers (5 Ideas for Women's Rights in Iran) and how-to's (Chello Kebab 101 for foreigners). Solve problems, do case studies, write critiques 7. Unclutter
I beg you please. Nobody wants to see an empty calendar, your meta data (Login, Admin etc.), and endless blogrolls that stretch further down that the posts. Blogrolls should be categorized and should be no more than 8 websites that you actually recommend. At higher numbers, no link stands a chance of actually being clicked. 8. Interact
Ask questions and invite comments (people actually respond). Be open ended in your posts and leave room for discussion. Then, join the discussion your commenters are having. They will come back.
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