This is from MEY TV.

Migrant rights abuses in the Middle East are getting worse, with very little NGOs specifically dedicated to their cause. This video was created by contributors of the Migrant Rights campaign at Migrant-Rights.org which hopes to ensure human rights and decent working conditions for the millions of domestic and labor workers of the region.

It was November 2006 when I first got to know Esra’a Al’shafei and her work at the Mideast Youth, through our mutual friend Tori Egherman. Since then, my respect for this young Bahraini lady has always been on the rise. She seems to have expanded her days to 48 hours, to be able to do all the great things she does.

Read this interview with her at Global Voices Online to know more about her: Esra’a Al Shafei – Your One-Stop-Cyber-Activist. Also, read the most recent recognition of her work in the WireTap Magazine: Mideast Digtial Détente. You can also listen to my interview with Esra’a posted here on August: An Interview with a “Zionist” “Neo-Con” Muslim Blogger (The audio file can be found down here as well).

The next step? Mideast Youth lunches its TV station at MEY TV, Filming Ahead. Below is their version of an Egyptian Tourism Ad, in which they raise the issue of Bahai’is in Egypt.

 

 Interview with Esra'a [8:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Maryam Hossienkhah is behind the bars for her work with women rights’ groups (see: Activist Woman Arrested). Today. Shahrzad News published her first picture behind the bars, taken during a meeting with her in Evin Prison [Persian].

Iran: the anti-democracy – Akbar Ganji

The Islamic Republic of Iran is master of the double standard. For instance, the regime believes it has the right to establish political groups in other countries, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council and a number of groups in Afghanistan. It openly supports Hamas to the tune of millions of dollars — another example of this general modus operandi. So, by logical extension, the Islamic Republic asserts that opponents of a government have the right to create an armed organization, and foreign governments have the right to supply these opponents with money, weapons and training.

2006 Hate Crime Statistics – Mystical Politics

The FBI has released the report on 2006 Hate Crime Statistics, and it is very interesting to examine those hate crimes based on the religious identity of the victim. Of the 9080 hate crimes, 1597 were motivated by religion, and of those 1027 were anti-Jewish (64% of crimes based on religion of victim; 11% of total hate crimes). 191 were anti-Muslim (11%; 2% of total hate crimes).

Social Networking Sites May Foster Same Old Divisions

In some ways, the results suggest that rather than bringing all walks of life onto a level playing field, the Internet’s social networking sites might just be fostering more of the same barriers found in real life.

Nikahang Kowsar [Persian].