Facepalm. _____ Iran police arrest 6 over 'Happy' video TEHRAN, Iran: Police in Iran have arrested six young people for posting a video online of them dancing to Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy", showing them on state television as a public warning to youth in the Islamic Republic. The song has sparked similar videos all over the world, with people dancing down streets and smiling in choreographed crowds. But in Iran, some see the trend as promoting the spread of western culture, as laws in the Islamic Republic ban women from dancing in public or appearing outside without the hijab. The government also bans some internet websites. In the Tehran video, three young men and three young women dance on a secluded rooftop, a stairwell, a walled-off driveway and a chic apartment, wearing sunglasses and silly clothes while laughing and smiling. The women wear no hijabs. full article <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tg5qdIxVcz8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I support Iran's response to this video. If they let them get away with that type of behavior who knows what thier youth will get into next. Loitering? Or even growing pony tails!
Would it have been okay if it was 6 dudes dancing with each other? Or would they get arrested for being gay? pun intended
Best image I could quickly grab -- she is a beauty. _____ Can you imagine making a silly video with your friends and you're suddenly arrested and the story is made a national news headline by the government?
Didn't want to start a new thread... _____ Iranian court summons Facebook's Zuckerberg An Iranian court has summoned Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg – who it described as "the Zionist director of the company" – to appear before it, the semiofficial news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday. "According to the court's ruling, the Zionist director of the company of Facebook, or his official attorney, must appear in court to defend himself and pay for possible losses," said Ruhollah Momen-Nasab, an Iranian internet official. The summons was issued by an Iranian court in the southern province of Fars. The case underscores the growing struggle between moderate Iranian president Hassan Rohani's drive to increase Internet freedoms and demands by the conservative judiciary for tighter controls. full article
Not all of them IIRC. Some of them are unfortunately still locked up I think. All of them had to make statements under pressure on video. Btw they weren't locked up for doing a happy song. They were locked up because of other silly rules, such as: women have to cover their hair at all times, guys and girls don't party together, etc. Sad to think about that kind of life when growing up. Ironic when you consider the youth in the country are secretly partying harder and more frequently than anyone anywhere.
Do you guys remember a mini pro-democracy revolution in Iran just a few years ago by the youth? Many got killed, including an attractive woman who got shot on the streets. As she lay on the ground staring at the camera, you could see life leaving her body. I wonder if the hardliners will forever rule Iran.
The educated and unemployed young population was the driving force in that mini uprising, but they have no support. Religious zealotry has a strong hold on the hearts and minds of a good swath of the population. As long as hardliners hide under the banner of religion and keep showing footage and playing songs from the Iranian revolution on TV, reminding people about the Shah, it's going to be hard to break their grasp on power. Critical mass might be reached in a generation or two, once the population is too far removed from the previous revolution and the gap between Iran and the West continues to grow.
