In a story that can only make one shake their head, a pro-Iranian blogger, Hossein Derakhshan,  was detained because he tried to show Iranians “a realistic” side of Israel while he was there for a blogging conference. (via Gawker)

The dual Iranian-Canadian citizen blogs in both English and Farsi and generally tries to help people understand his home country. PR win for Iran and its blogger-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right? Actually no, because Derakhshan visited Israel last year for a blogging conference, and blogged there to “show the Iranians a more realistic image of this country,” so he’s been thrown in jail during a visit home.

It is sad to think that Derakhshan admitted to spying for Israel - I imagine under pretty horrible conditions - especially considering what he said about his Israel project before the arrest.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Everything I Know About Climate Change, I Learned in the Fifth Grade by Martin Musatov

When Torture Is Condoned, Is FISA That Shocking? by Wendy Cohen

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Nicole Hughes:

Baltimore Woman Turns Tragedy Into Art

Why Don’t We Do More to Stop Global Warming?

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Andy Kondrat:

Foods You Should and Shouldn’t Buy Organic

Paper or Plastic? The Environmental Impact

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Jon Popham:

The Energy Independence Bill: A Filibuster Odyssey

“Bruno” Fools Mossad Agent

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Gina Telaroli:

While Iran Tests Missiles, Test These 5 Iranian Films

Mao’s Out, Time to Capitalize On the Olympics

Bruno, the gay Austrian journalist character of comic Sascha Baron Cohen, is the talk of Israel after fooling a former Mossad agent in footage for his new film. The movie will feature one of Cohen’s signature bits - refined on his famous Da Ali G Show, and the worldwide hit movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” - where former Israeli spy now turned political analyst Yossi Alpher (shown in photo inset) was tricked into what he thought was a serious interview with Bruno, who was sold to him as a “German rock star” and the perfect bridge between political issues and youth culture.

Highlights in the interview included the former spy trying to keep a level head for several minutes on end while Bruno failed to grasp the difference between Hamas and Hummus, claiming the Palestinian organization was “too high in carbohydrates”, and Bruno joining hands with Alper for a song, which Bruno thought was about the Middle East conflict, entitled “Jews and Hindus”. Cohen’s new movie “Bruno” is set to be released in May of 2009.

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