Iranian newspaper news

Just saw this:

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Iran has suspended publication of its official state newspaper after it printed a cartoon that sparked violent ethnic protests in the northwestern city of Tabriz, a senior judiciary official said on Tuesday.

Cartoonist Mana Neyestani and the editor-in-chief of the "Iran" newspaper, Mehrdad Qasemfar, were arrested over the drawing that was deemed to insult Iran's Azeri minority, Tehran's chief Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said.

"Some charges were brought against both of them and they were transferred to Evin prison," he told state television. He did not specify the charges....

The cartoon, which appeared in Friday's edition of Iran, showed a boy repeating the Persian word for cockroach in different ways while the uncomprehending bug in front of him says "What?" in Azeri.

Neyestani's relatives told Reuters he had not intended to insult Azeris.

The Azeris of northwestern Iran speak a language related to Turkish. Although Azeris, who form about a quarter of Iran's population, have many prominent figures among the commercial elite, they are the butt of jokes among the majority Persians.

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Which reminded me of Iran's response to the Danish cartoons. What happened?

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The Iranian newspaper Hamshahri is sponsoring a holocaust cartoons contest in response to the uproar over the Danish Muhammad cartoons....

One cartoon submission reflects the opinion of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who drew international outrage last year when he said that the Holocaust was a myth.

The cartoon, by Firouzeh Mozafari, an Iranian, shows nine Jewish men continuously entering a gas chamber that shows a counter reading "5,999,999," implying that Jews have inflated the number of Holocaust victims.

The contest goes on until May 15.

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May 15? Hey, that was last week! I haven't found out who won the contest, but it looks like the evil Jews beat the Muslims to the punch:

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the Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest announced this week a winner in its drive to find a Jewish artist who could produce "the best, sharpest, most offensive Jew-hating cartoon ever published."

Earning the dubious honor was "September 11" — a cartoon that depicts the iconic figure of a Jewish fiddler watching somewhat mysteriously — if not downright conspiratorially — from the Brooklyn Bridge as the Twin Towers burn.

"The idea is very simple," explained Amitai Sandy, a graphic artist and comic book publisher who created the contest with fellow Tel Aviv resident Eyal Zusman. "By joking about ourselves, we wanted to show how ridiculous all these images can be."

The pair envisioned their award as a response to another competition — the call for Holocaust-themed political cartoons, issued by an Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri, in the wake of the controversy triggered by cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had run in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Sandy emphasized the educational power of the more than 150 intentionally provocative — and in some cases downright disgusting — entries submitted. "My hope is that the next time someone in Iran, for example, sees an antisemitic cartoon in their daily paper, they will see it for what it is: absurd," he told the Forward....

Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt, who was involved in the early stages of the contest's organization, lauded the idea as a "stroke of brilliance," drawing an analogy with her own battle with Holocaust denier David Irving. "The worst thing that happened to David Irving," she told the Forward, "was not just the defeat of his ideas, but that he was made to look stupid and ultimately really silly."

The contest winner, 24-year-old Aron Katz of Los Angeles — whose cartoon is a nod to the rumor that Israeli spies were somehow involved in the 9/11 attacks — has decided to donate his $600 prize to Jewish charities working on human rights issues. Taking second place in the competition was "Studio 6," a drawing made by Australian artist Ilan Touri that spoofs the claim championed by some Holocaust revisionists that Auschwitz was actually a film location.

According to Sandy, "My personal favorite was actually 'The Jew Monster,'" a cartoon by New York's Eli Valley depicting a Jew with two penises — "so he could rape both Muslim and Christian girls at the same time."

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But not everyone was thrilled:

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Not all have shared the organizers' belief in the positive impact of the irreverent contest. "We don't think this is the right way," a spokesperson for Jerusalem's Yad Vashem memorial said. The Simon Wiesenthal Center dismissed the competition as "gallows humor."

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And at least one cartoon got rejected:

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Admittedly, even I submitted my own anti-semitic cartoon to the contest, along with a letter stating my support of free speech and expression. Not sure why it was rejected, considering the un-cartoonish quality of most of the accepted submissions. Maybe mine was too offensive?

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Back to Hamshahri. IranCartoon.com has published a list of participants, by country, in their contest:

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The list of Participants in
International Cartoonet Festival
About Danish Cartoons and Holocaust

Afghanistan
Atiq Shahid

Arab Saudi
Sultan El Sebay

Argentina
Javier Ariano
Cristobal Reinoso

Algeria
Ferhaoui Louafi
Choukri BELHADI
Sadon Fathi

Azerbaijan
Seyran Caferli

Bahrain
Rami Omran

Bangladesh
Nabik Sindabad
Sadat Ahmed
Ahmed Kabir
Kishore Ahmed

Belgium
Benjamin Heine
Thierry Hebbelinck

Brazil
Augosto Franke Bier
Carlos Latuff
Casso
Antonio Pereca
Fabiog Da Silva
Eugênio de Faria Neves
Sin Fronio
Einstein Cival
Sidnei marques
J.Bosco
Raimondu Waldez Da C. Durate
Waldez Duarte
Marcio Leite da Silva
Osnildo
Luciano Kayser
Hector Salas
Carlos Roberto Gonçalves
Galvio
Tharley Seabra da Silva
Eloar Guazzelli
Eliene Lopes de Souza

Bulgaria
Stefan Penev
Nikolai Arnaudov

Canada
Marc Pageau

China
Dachuan Xia
Guangiun Li
Lei hao
Zhu Hui Qin
Lei hao
Hou Xiao Qiang
Xue Hong
Huang Weiqin
Chen An Yong
Liang Yu
HOU XIAO QIANG
Invoke SunRonggui

Colombia
Fernando Pica
Raul Fernando Zuleta Sanchez

Croatia
Ivan Kesic
Zeljko Ceric / Raf
Damir Novak

Cuba
Angel Boligan
Ares
Enrique Lacosta
Alex Falco
Luis Felipe Wilson Valera
José Francisco Delgado Vélez (Delga)
Juan Carlos Pedreira

Denmark
Bitsch

Egypt
Cherif Loutfi
Hanan Marzouk
Esmail Effat
Tamer Youssef
Hassan Hanafy
Hany Mohamed Mohamed El-Sagher
Hany Mohamed Samir Abd-Elfatah
kamel berbache
Mohamed Mosbah Shaban
Mohammed Aamer
OSAMA A BELAL
Amr Aasem El Sawy Rezk
Diaa Sabry

Estonia
martt

Ethiopia
Abdul Selam Ahmede

France
Dab
Chard
A. M.
Ain
R. B.
Bernard.B.
KAMARDINE

Germany
Florian Hipp

Greece
Michael Kountouris

Honduras
Allan Mcdonald
Luis Rolando Chavez

Hungary
Josip Kovacevic
Balazs Szabo

India
Abdul Rasheed
Soma Shankar
Suman Kumar
Kaur Chand Badhok
Iam Suman
Om Prakash Sharma
G.Kiran Kumar
Kamal Basha
Malik Sajad
Sairam Akundi
Sri Ramoju
Zehra Ziadi
KARUNAKAR YENIKAPATI
Madhan Mohan
Satish Acharya
Om Prakash Sharma

Indonesia
Musa Muzauwir
Abdurahman.M.Alattas
Rahardi Handining
Leonardus Wahyudi Sunarwan
Ollid Denis
Taufan Galaxy
Fathoni
Jitet Koestana
Tommy Thomdean
Utoyo
Djoko Susilo
Doddy Iswahyudi
Elton Rolland
Ikhsan Dwiono
Afri Diyansyah

Iran
Abas Parhizgar
Abdolhossein Amirizadeh
Ahmad Bahrami
Abolfazl Mohtarami
Akbar Torabpour
Ali Merikhi
Ali Nourian
Ali Romanee
Ali Shabani
Ali Tajadod
Ali Vazirian
Alireza Golmohammadi
Alireza Nosrati
Alireza Zakeri
Amar Javani
Amin Hashemi
Amir Amini
Amir Fathali Nezhadiyan
Amir Vahedi
Arash Ansari
Aref Rajabi
Arezou Aghababaiyan
Ashkan Sepehrkhou
Babak Shekari
Bahram Arjomandnia
Basir Enayati
Behruz Yaghoubi Kiani
Behzad Riazi
Benam Bahrami
Behzad Ghasabi SEtvat
Darush Farzaneh
Davood Deldar
Davood Kazemi
Ebrahim Azad
Ebrahimzadeh Houshang
Esmaiil Babaee
Fahime Azizi
Farid Mortezavi
Farid Yahaghi
Farhad Naji
Fraz Salek
Jaber Asadi
Jalal Pirmarzabad
Javad Takjou
Habib Sadeghi
Hadi Farokhnezhad
Hadi Nasiri
Hadi Tabasi
Hamed Nabahat
Hamidreza Javadi
Hamidreza Mosayebi
Hamideh Dehghani
Hamid Sharifi
Hassan Ali Besanjideh
Hasan Mousazade
Hassan Rouholamini
Hamidreza Hayatroshanaie
Hamidreza Javadi
Hamidreza Mosayebi
Homayoun Abdolrahimi
Hossein Abdollahi Adli
Hossein Anabestani
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Elmi Mousavi
Hussain Al Shakoori
Hossein Fadaiy
Hossein Hajiagha
Hossein Kazem
Hooman kamrani
Hossein Rahimkhani
Hossein Taheri
Hossein Yuzbashi
Iman Sadeghi
Ghasem Lotfee
Khatereh Khodai Anakhatoun
Khosrow TalebPour
Maaede Ebadipoor
Mahmoud Nazari
Majid Adibi
Malaeke Farhang Adib
Massoud Sajad
Mehdi Mohammady
Mehrdad Samadi Zakaria
Mohammad Hosein Banakaran
Mohammad Ashena
Mohammadreza Doustmohammadi
Masomeh Hamzeh Loo Safaei
Mohammad Hossein Niroumand
Mohsen Rafiee
Morteza Asadi
Morteza Azarkheil
Massoud Shojai Tabatabai
Massoud Vahabzadeh
Mahdi Joudi
Majedeh Motalebi
Mahnam Najafi
Mahnaz Mahmoudi
Mahdi Tamizi
Marza Azadi
Maziyar Bizhani
Mahmoud Mokhtari
Mahmoud Nazari
Mehdi Azizi Shad
Mehdi Mohammadi Rouzbahani
Mehrdad Mazrai Farahani
Mohammad Hossein Karami
Mohammad Hossein Niroumand
Mohammad Kazem Hasanvand
Mohammadreza Besharati
Mohammadali Rajabi
Mohsen Nouri Najafi
Mohsen Asadi
Mostafa Estarian
Mostafa Mahin Hosseinnia
Mohammadreza Eftekharypour
Naser Kordi
Neda Tanhai Moghadam
Payman Kouhi
Pedram Hakimzadeh
Pendar Nasser Sharif
Reza Javani
Rahim Baghal Asghari
Rahim Taghipour Sedgh Razmjou
Reza AKarami
Reza Jangi
Reza Radmehr
Reza Javani
Reza Mozafari
Sadegh Bagheri
Saeed Sadeghi
Sajad Hejazi
Sam Keshmiri
seyed hossein Yazdan keshmiri
Seyed Javad Miraghazadeh
Seyed Kazem Ghafari
Seyed Mohammad Esmaili Taba
Seyed Mostafa Hosseini
Seyed Mehdi Esmaili
Seyed Mahmoud Javadi
Seyed Mostafa Hosseini
Seyedeh Shirin Seyed Rezazad
Seyed Vahid Mosatafavi
Shahram Khoram
Shahram Omid
Shahram Rezai
Shahram Shirzadi
Shahrokh Malekzadeh
Shiva Sahamifard
Sina Mohajer
Soheil Setayesh
Vahid DashtyariKhodayar
Vahid Khodayar
Zahra Nayebi
Zainab Amini
Zainab Nikchedehi

Italy
Gatto Alessandro

Japan
I. B.
Tetsuro Susumu

Jordan
Omar Adnan Salem Al Abdallat
Baker Al-Haski
Khaleel
Jihad Awrtani
Naser Al Jafari
Mosa Ajjaw

Kazakhstan
Galym BORANBAYEV

South Korea
Lee-Hyunsik

Lebanon
Fuad Eyash
Asad Amro
Ibrahim Adel Hamdan
Nour Hijazi

Macedonia
Zlatko Krstevski

Mexico
Alberto Jorge Haro Escamilla
Arturo Rosas Pineda

Morroco
Derkaoui-Abdellah
khalil Khay
Brahim Bougharraf
Naji Benaji
AASSID Houcine
Tallil Abdellatif
Brahim BOUGHARRAF
Abdelmalek Lahlali
Abdelghani Jekki

Norway
Jim Hambourg
Firuz Kutal

Oman
Abdel Nasser Moustafa Salama

Palestine
Nedal Hashim
Khaleel Muhhammed
Samer Al Samiri
Abu Jabri
Rami Omran
Omar Rezvan

Pakistan
Kashif Ghalib
Ikram Shah
Raza Zaidi
Murad Ali Shah

Poland
Marcin Bondarowicz
Adrian Franczyk
Joanna Wasiak-Bassa
MACIEJ WIERZBICKI
Miroslaw HAJNOS

Portugal
José António Marques Correia

Romania
Cletiu Radu
Ghinea Andrei-Vlad

Russia
Eryx Miliaris
Igor Savenkov
Vladimir Sharlaj
Yuriy Mukhin
Andrey Lupin
Elena Merkurieva
Rudin V.
Troyn Buss

Serbia
Aleksandar Blatnik
Vlada Avramoivc
Dusan Vukojev
Oglasni Sektor
Slobodan Trifkovic

Singapore
Dawei Yan

Spain
Jose Luis De Valero
Rafael Iglesias
Luis Menta
Dragan Lukic
Muhammad Hassan Royo

Sudan
Ahmad Akra

Sweden
A. Rami
Laurentz Dahl
Jan Bernhoff

Switzerland
Suat Suha

Syria
Waleed al-Rawi
Raed Khalil
khaled al-swid
Farah Khalil Ibrahim
khaleel
Feras Nouf
Nedal Ali Deep
Yassin Alkhalil
Wissam Asaad


Turkey
Ahmet Aykanat
Hayati Kaihan
Yusuf Temiz
Burak Oktay
Sadik Pala
Gökalp Yildiz
Numan KODAL
Emrah Ar‎kan
Fethi Develioglu
Ahmet Vahit Akca
Ibrahim Kalayci
Hilmi Simsek
Ferhat Demirbas
Ismail kar
Murat Makara
Ahmet Oztürklevent
Muhammet Mustafa AYDIN
Sevket Yalaz
Sabri Ergüder
Turker Yildirim
Umit Mufit DINCAY
Osman Suroglu
Serdar toka
Yalsin Eroglu
Yasar Nuket Terzioglu
Yavuz Özhan ÖNÜR
Murat Yilmaz
Omer Cam
Murat Top
Yasar Nuket Terzioglu

UK
David Varen
Bill Smith
Robert Edwards
Tim Bryant

Venezuela
Jose chacin

USA
Mike Flugennock
Aaron Heineman
Robin Moore
John Bryant
David Baldinger
Peter Lifton
Jack
Matt G.
Bernhard Kurt Vennekohl
Foreed M.
Hugh Bradley

Yemen
Mazin Hamud Shuga'a Al-Deen
Mohammed Masoud Ahmed
Adnan Mhakree

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And, in another story, here's what Al Jazeera is reporting on activities outside the Arab world:

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An Iranian film director has again fallen foul of the Islamic republic's censors, this time with a light-hearted critique of a ban on women going to football matches.

Jafar Panahi, 46, said he had not heard from Iranian censorship authorities for his Offside film.

The film depicts a group of girls who disguise themselves as boys in an attempt to watch their national side qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany....

Iranian women have been barred from football matches since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and a recent step by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president, to end the ban was vetoed by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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From the Ontario Empoblog (Latest OVVA news here)