Gay Iranian Won't Be Deported to Iran by the UK

This is a follow up to a previous post on George Galloway's homophobic comments on the Kazemi case. Hat tip to Blazing Indiscretions. From the Independent UK 5/21/08:

Gay student who faced execution in Iran granted asylum in Britain

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Wednesday, 21 May 2008

A gay man who faces the death penalty in Iran has won asylum in the UK after protests prompted the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to reconsider his case.

Family and supporters of Mehdi Kazemi, now 20, welcomed the decision yesterday not to send him back to Iran where his boyfriend was arrested by the state police and executed for sodomy.

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey, said: "I am delighted by the Home Office decision that my constituent Mehdi Kazemi can now stay in this country. This is great news for a very decent guy."

Mr Kazemi came to London to study in 2005, but in April 2006 discovered his gay partner had been arrested and named him as his boyfriend before his execution. Fearing he might suffer the same fate if he returned, Mr Kazemi decided to seek asylum in Britain. His claim was refused and he fled to the Netherlands where he also failed to win asylum before returning to Britain last month.

His case won support from MPs and peers who signed petitions supporting his claim for refugee status in this country, prompting a surprise intervention by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who agreed to reconsider the case.

In an open letter to the British Government, Mr Kazemi told the Home Secretary: "I wish to inform the Secretary of State that I did not come to the UK to claim asylum. I came here to study and return to my country. But in the past few months my situation back home has changed. The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me."

Yesterday, the UK Border Agency said it had decided to allow him asylum, granting him leave to remain for five years. A spokesman for the agency said: "We keep cases under review where circumstances have changed and it has been decided that Mr Kazemi should be granted leave to remain."

I just hope that five years is long enough or that his asylum is renewed. It is terrible enough that his boyfriend was murdered by the heterosexist, fundamentalist regime in Iran. It would be even worse if Kazemi was murdered too.

Read Kazemi's Thank You Note to His Supporters

 

A Reminder of Why People Should Support Cindy Sheehan

The code for this was emailed to everyone in the Out of Iraq Bloggers Caucus, which I am a member of through my efforts in the March 19 Blogswarm Against the Iraq War.

"Impeachment is off the table," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "Democrats are not about getting even. Democrats are about helping people get ahead."
...
She used the word "bipartisan" at least eight times in her few minutes before the media, and said that she had promised the president that she would cooperate with him as much as possible.

-- Two days after the 2006 midterms, by Bill Moyers, National Examiner, November 09, 2006

They are inviting people to spread it around. Here is a version of the code I modified slightly to fit better within a Blogger Blog.

<br /><img style="width: 305px; height: 196px;" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/vradul/pelosibushcemetery.jpg"><br><br><blockquote>"Impeachment is off the table," said Pelosi, D-Calif. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Democrats are not about getting even. Democrats are about helping people get ahead." </span><br>...<br>She used the word "bipartisan" at least eight times in her few minutes before the media, and <span style="font-style: italic;">said that she had promised the president that she would cooperate with him as much as possible.</span></blockquote>-- <a href="http://www.examiner.com/a-388565%7EPelosi__Impeachment__off_the_table_.html" target="_blank">Two days after the 2006 midterms</a>, by Bill Moyers, National Examiner, November 09, 2006<br><br />

 

Tell Clinton to Drop Out Already

It's no secret that Hillary Clinton can't win the Democratic nomination, she can only steal it with a superdelegate scam. Obama has won an absolute majority of the legitimate delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Sign the Petition for Clinton to Drop Out of the Presidential Race!

Now that Clinton has made an apparent death threat against Obama, there is absolutely no excuse for supporting her. The horror of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is far too fresh in our minds. I just hope Clinton hasn't brought that horror to the US with the result being the death of Obama.

 

Hillary Clinton Makes What Sounds Like Assassination Threat Against Obama

I thought that there was nothing that an evil racist, heterosexist, corrupt, Republican, war criminal like Hillary Clinton could do that would shock me.

I was wrong. This news is astonishing and perhaps criminal.

Clinton was responding to a question from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial board about calls for her to drop out of the race.

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said, dismissing the idea of dropping out.

Clinton shouldn't just drop out of the race. She should resign in disgrace from the Senate and never show her face in public again.

The Justice Department also should launch a criminal probe into the matter and determine if Ms. Clinton made a terrorist threat.

 

"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran"

Just a reminder that John McCain seems to have lost his filter.

Brave New Films Displays "Keating Five" McCain Making Contradictory Statements

When John McCain refers to "straight talk," the "straight" part refers to heterosexuality, not directness or honesty. "Keating Five" McCain is as dishonest and deceptive as they come.

Brave New Films does a great job of film editing to demonstrate McCain's dishonesty. This YouTube video also shows McCain looking very confused at several points.

New Yorkers Oppose Healthcare Privatization Move

Just when you thought there already were too many obstacles to decent healthcare coverage in America...

From NYC Indymedia 5/10/08:

Coalition Against Privatization Protests GHI/HIP Privatization

On May 9th, a group of determined protesters gathered in front of the office of State Superintendent of the Insurance Eric Dinallo at 25 Beaver Street in Downtown NYC to oppose the proposed conversion of GHI & HIP to a new for-profit company. The march sent a clear message in opposition to the proposal and recommended that Superintendent Dinallo refuse to sign off on it.

...

Protesters highlighted the negative aspects of the unregulated private health insurance system in the United States. Payments for medical care now eat up the highest percentage of household disposable income and premiums have increased by 80% from 2001-2006. The conversion (privatization) of GHI & HIP will fully expose 4 million people in NY State to the worst effects of this system. A number of speakers at the demo spoke not only against the privatization but in favor of an all-inclusive single-payer national health insurance plan.

The demonstration was the first public act of the Coalition Against Privatization and speakers at the event included representatives from the Independent Community of Educators (UFT), rank-and-file members of the Transit Workers Union Local 100, rank-and-file members of D.C. 37, the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign, the Socialist Party USA (NYC) and Socialist Action.

Consumer's Union has some information on conversion of healthcare plans from non-profits to profit making corporations. I remember hearing from Californians how Blue Cross cut back on benefits and shot up rates when they went for profit.

When people are talking about privatization in this context, they are referring to changing a non-profit public interest group to a for profit corporation with private owners.

Here's some info from a call for a demo on Friday May 30th. If you are in NYC and can get off work early that day, you might want to go.

Join the movement to prevent GHI-HIP from converting to a for-profit company & jeopardizing the healthcare of 4 million policy holders, including 500,000 NYC workers (93% of the [public --t.] workforce) & retirees. Help send a "no privatization" message to Gov. David Paterson & GHI.

Bring friends & signs.

4:30 pm - Meet at Office of GHI, 441 9th Avenue (34th & 9th)
5:00 pm March to the Governor`s Office, 633 3rd Avenue (441st & 3rd)
(A/C/E or 1/2/3 to 34th Street)

Video from a demo earlier this month.