Today it was announced that the Australian Government would push ahead with plans to censor the internet in Australia. In an announcement that shocked many internet users around the country “the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, said today he would introduce legislation just before next year’s elections to force ISPs to block a blacklist of “refused classification” (RC) websites for all Australian internet users.” (Source)

Within hours of the announcement the Christian Lobby within Australia has  called for the expansion of the so called Clean Feed “This is now clearly feasible and we need a review in three years that might test this in practice, particularly using third party providers of URLs,” Wallace said. (Source)

Update: 16/12/2009 1:29pm

“This is clearly the first step down a slippery slope that starts with a good, if misguided, intent of blocking child pornography and quickly spreads to blocking information based on morality (R18+ games, legal pornography, pro-euthanasia and anti-abortion sites) and eventually some government comes along and quietly stops anyone with opposing views from voicing them,” Crafti – The Pirate Party

Google Australias Official Responce

Update:

The Federal Government today announced it will introduce amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act, which will by 2011 require all ISPs to block refused classification-rated material hosted on overseas servers. (Source)

Discussion’s regarding the announcement have sprung up all over the internet:

Twitter

ITNews.com.au

SMH.com.au

Whirlpool

http://nocleanfeed.com/

We would like to state emphatically that we are against Child Pornography and such depravity. But this censorship is flawed, open to abuse and does not address the issues that it sets out to achieve.

We call on each of you to defend your votes. Question the govenment on this flawed plan and should you support not having it we call you to stand with your fellow citizens and convey to your elected offials your dislike for this plan.

As more information comes out and discussion and industry reaction appears we will bring you more information. In the meantime we encourage you all to learn about this plan and the arguments for and against it and make an informed decision.

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Related posts:

1. Clinton Promises Womens Rights Focus as Sec of State

Main Post: Here — Earlier Archives: Here

7/20/2009 — 9:25AM — Commentary: Middle East is changed forever

A very interesting article. Read the rest here: CNN

(CNN) — Whatever the end result of the current electoral crisis in Iran, the dramatic rise of national politics has already cast a long and enduring shadow over the geopolitics of the region. No country can go back to business as usual. The climate has changed — for good.

Before the June 2009 presidential election, the realpolitik of the region had placed Iran, Syria, the Palestinian Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iraqi Mahdi Army on one side of the geopolitical divide, and U.S. and its regional allies on another. With an extended foot in Venezuela, Iran had even a claim on the backyard of the United States.

In this precarious condition, the Islamic Republic emerged, not out of its own capacities, but by virtue of serious follies that President George W. Bush had committed in its neighborhood as a regional “superpower.” The presidential election of June 2009 suddenly has made that geopolitics something of an archeological relic.

With the commencement of the civil rights movement in Iran in June 2009, the moral map of the Middle East is being changed right in front of our eyes, with the democratic will of one nation having thrown a monkey wrench into the geopolitics of the region. The moving pictures of Iranians flooding colorfully into the streets have forever altered the visual vocabulary of the global perception of “the Middle East.”

Tehran, I believe, is ground zero of a civil rights movement that will leave no Muslim or Arab country, or even Israel, untouched.

7/20/2009 — 5:47AM – Thirty-six army officers arrested in Iran over protest plan

The Iranian army has arrested 36 officers who planned to attend last week’s Friday prayer sermon by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani in their military uniforms as an act of political defiance, according to Farsi-language websites.The officers intended the gesture to show solidarity with the demonstrations against last month’s presidential election result, which was won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but which has been clouded by allegations of mass fraud.

Source – Guardian – Listen to the Audio

7/20/2009 -Robert Redford speaks out.

Robert Redford

“Political events in Iran over the past month have been dramatic.  Many
have been killed and hundreds of innocent people have been imprisoned.
I strongly defend the human rights of the people of Iran. A hunger
strike in front of the United Nations is one way of drawing world
attention to the plight of political prisoners in  Iran. I support this
effort and my daughter, Amy Redford, will be there as an expression of
solidarity with the Iranian people, and in the hope of achieving the
humanitarian goal of freeing political prisoners in Iran.”

Robert Redford

7/19/2009 — JULY 25th – GLOBAL Day of Action

(July 8, 2009) Press Release Human rights activists are organizing a coordinated Global Day of Action on July 25, 2009 to demand respect for the human rights of the Iranian people and to demonstrate worldwide solidarity with the civil rights movement in Iran. Major human rights organizations have sponsored the event.

Around the world, people will gather in solidarity with the Iranian people following over a month of intensified state repression against citizens peacefully demonstrating for their rights.  Many have been killed in the streets, many hundreds have been beaten and injured, and at least 2,000 are thought to have been detained.

The Global Day of Action is a not affiliated with any partisan political agenda, and is aimed at securing the internationally recognized rights of the Iranian people.

The organizers believe that while political questions facing Iran can only be resolved by the Iranian people themselves, the violent repression of their internationally guaranteed human rights are of concern to people all around the world.

The global day of action is organized around the following core demands:

1. That member states and civil society organizations of the international community give sustained attention to the Iranian people’s human rights as a matter of international concern, and that the UN should immediately initiate an investigation into grave and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including the fate of prisoners and disappeared persons, unlawful killings, and torture and other ill-treatment;
2. An end to state-sponsored violence, accountability for crimes committed and no recourse to the death penalty;
3. The immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, including politicians, journalists, students, and civil society activists; and
4. Freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression (including freedom of the press) as guaranteed by the Iranian constitution and Iran’s obligations under international covenants that it has signed.

Initial sponsors of the Global Day of Action include: Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate; Iranian League for Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI); International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran; Human Rights Watch, Reporters without Borders;

For more information:
Contact Hadi Ghaemi; phone  +1 917 669 5996 , email: united4iran@gmail.com
Visit www.united4iran.org for the latest information and list of participating cities.

7/18/2009 – Interesting BBC coverage of Fridays prayers

7/17/2009 8:43Pm — Defending Karroubi

Speakers announce Rafsanjani is going to speak, to which people respond: “Hashemi, if you remain silent you are a traitor!” Then at 0:40 — Karroubi amongst people who greet him: “dorud bar Karroubi” (Hello) then praise him “Karroubi bagheyrat, beres be dade mellat” (Honorable/Brave Karroubi, come to the help of the people!”

The forces attack, people shout “don’t shoot.” Then they tell Karroubi who is in the front line: “Karroubi remain behind us!” Then they yell “death to the dictator!”

7/17/2009 — Great Picture

7/17/2009 11:53 AM — Cleric Says ‘Crisis’ Has Caused Loss of Public Trust

BEIRUT, Lebanon — As thousands of opposition protesters chanted in the streets of Tehran, the former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Friday assailed the government’s handling of the post-election unrest, saying it had lost the trust of many Iranians and calling for the release of hundreds of protesters and democracy advocates arrested in recent weeks.

Source: NY Times

7/17/2009 11:20  Patience with Iran

One thing is certain: Iran’s leaders have had their confidence badly shaken. They are no longer feared as the Shiite cowboys riding a wave of Shiite radicalism into the Middle East and the Arab world. Instead, the tide has turned. The wave is against them, and it’s bright green. Time is no longer on the side of the mullahs.

Read the full article here: Yahoo

7/17/2009 11:00am – Karroubi attacked at the Friday prayer

“When my father was moving towards Tehran University, many people were behind him and were asking him to defend their rights by chanting slogans but suddenly the anti-riot police in front of him shot bullets in the air so Mr. Karroubi asked the people not go any farther…At this point they (riot police) put my father in a car to take him to the University but when he was getting out of the car, a group of plainclothes attacked and insulted him in such a way that his turban fell off.  They started cursing and using very foul language.”

Source: NIAC

7/17/2009 10:11am – More footage from today. Date unconf

7/17/2009 10:00 am – From Huffington post

Rafsanjani’s most important line? Via email, Portland State University professor R. Kevin Hill writes:

There was subtext and not-so-sub-subtext in several of Rafsanjani’s remarks, based on the transcript of a live-blogger (caveats about accuracy, accuracy of translation, etc.) excerpt of which follows. If this is accurate, and I’m reading the oblique sermon style correctly, he’s articulating a principle of popular sovereignty and calling on the government to resign. I’ve highlighted the crucial remark:

“The Imam [Khomeini] would always quote the Prophet [Muhammad] who would say to Ali [Muhammad's successor]: leave the people if they do not want you.

7/17/2009 09:44 – jimsciuttoABC

jimsciuttoABC: One eyewitness estimates crowd more than a million, filling sts from Tehran U to Vali Asr #iranelection #iran

7/17/2009 09:37AM – Something profound has changed in Iran

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/something-profound-has-changed-iranians-are-losing-their-fear-and-mock-the-official-line-1750114.html

7/17/2009 9:20AM – Out front of the interior ministry

7/17/2009 9:01 AM ET — Demonstrators reportedly swarming state media HQ. from Huffington Post

Iranians calling into EPersianRadio.com say that large crowds have gathered outside the headquarters of the state media outlet IRIB. One caller said the building was surrounded by thousands of people, and that demonstrators were trying to break in.

7/17/2009 09:00am  – Mousavi at fridays prayers

http://onlymehdi.tumblr.com/post/143459420

7/17/2009 –

A caller to EPersianRadio.com says he is a former Revolutionary Guard member. Via a reader, “He said that mentally it’s so hard, that the basiji forces may not be able to hold up. He said he served 10 years ago and he knows what goes in their mind and how much effect it has on them. Otherwise, why are they asking for volunteers now? He said when they were on alert he couldn’t get any sleep and he knows how scared the forces are themselves.”

7/17/2009 — More footage

7/17/2009 — 08:14am – Reports of violence. An account relayed from an Iranian:

“Plastic bullets being used. Getting lots of reports of people hurt. He says every minute its getting bigger and bigger. He says its the biggest protest in weeks. People are starting to come from all the streets, lots of tear gas. He says batons and tear gas, yet lots of people. Fatami seems to be the big street that is happening. He says 1 hour ago, people were headed towards the state-run tv station, but he doesn’t know what happened.”

Here’s a new Reuters report:

Iranian police detained at least 15 people and used tear gas and batons to disperse supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi outside Tehran University on Friday, a witness said.

The incident took place as former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani led Friday prayers inside the university grounds.

Mousavi supporters outside chanted slogans calling for the release of people detained since last month’s disputed presidential election and for the resignation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when police moved to disperse them, the witness said.

7/17/2009 — 07:48 – Mousavi did attend the prayers,

His first official public appearance since the vote, Reuters reports.

7/17/2009 – Video of the streets of Tehran

7/17/2009 — Friday Sermon

NiteOwl translating from phone on IRC

(Prayers for Muslims)
Before I give out the Khotba (speech of Friday), I must say that the people who have gathered in Tehran University and in streets,
They should know that Friday prayers should not be tainted with slogans and chants that do not belong here.
This is a sacred and an Islamic act.
(More jargon)
The enemies of Islam want to question the legitimacy and effectiveness of our regime.
(Still jargon going on)
The second part of my speech is about the revolution for which people did Jihad.
I want to explain to the younger generation where we started and where we are going with the revolution
The third part of my speech will be about the current situation of Iran.
This will be my personal view,
We are with you in your happiness and your grief.
(bad connection)

Nothing really important going on at this point.
He’s just speaking about the early days of the revolution.
He’s talking about how they opened up a school in Qom.
He’s basically just talking about the early revolution, Qom and such.
he’s just talking about the early history of Islam.
Nothing really about the current situation. That is going to come at the end.
He’s only speaking about the early history of Islam. Completely irrelevant stuff.
He’s talking about how Mohammed built the first mosque in Madina.
Now he’s talking about he bought land in Medina to build the second Islamic mosque.
(sounds like he’s trying to go for the emotional appeal)
Talking about Medina and the early days of Islam

What we learn from government from Islam is this: Follow god and then there’s the people.
The Koran has Allah mentioned 3,000 times.
And the word for people has been used 4 to 5 hundred times.
What Mohammed did mostly was he created love and unity between the people.
The first thing Mohammed did was he united all the tribes in Medina.
Then he went to the people of other religions.
When Jews, Christians and people of other religion came to Medina,
He talked to all of them, and he created a unity within the city.
He created a brotherhood between everyone inside the city.
Between Muslims and non-Muslims.
This was a pact between brothers, between different religions.
This created eternal peace inside a small city.
This small city was able to use this peace and topple gigantic empires.
The government that Mohammed brought was unprecedented.
There were governments, but they were autocracies and they acted against the people.
Mohammed brought a government that was for the people, based on god’s law.

When Gabriel came to Mohammed and gave him the first words of the Koran,
(Now reciting those first verses)
This was when the future of Mohammed was cleared for him.
(Explaining the verses)
God created man and gave him understanding and the power to write.
The power that gave us this ability,
He tells us that we have him as the judge.
And when we die, he will remember everything that we have done.
Thus, we shouldn’t be arrogant, we should consider god’s creatures weak.
Because He is the judge.
(more religious jargon, talking about angels)

Let us ask what sort of society the prophet wanted.
Mohammed wanted all humans to have all the rights,
He didn’t want anyone’s rights to be infringed upon.
One of the last things he said before he died,
He said, Oh people, I came to say Good Bye to you.
If I have said something to you and I have not done it, please let me know.
If I have taken something from you, then tell me so I could give it back.
I don’t want anything to be left for the afterlife.
This is the kind of leader we have.
He paved the way for Islamic unity.
(recites a verse from the Koran)
(Verse talks about unity of Muslims)
God has put love between humans.
It was god who created love between Muslims.

That’s how Mohammed created a society that was united as one.
But when he was dying, he realized that this might come to an end.
And that people might break apart and might create enemies with one another.
(explains a couple of incidents that created rifts between earlier Muslims)
Do know that Mohammed is the ideal for everyone,
For all Muslims, for all humans.
His life in Medina is the best example for how a government should operate.
He fought along side his friends and his loved ones at times when he was being attacked from all sides.
Then a day came when his friends captured the Empires of the Sassanids.
But at the end of his life, he realized that there might be rifts between Muslims,
And their unity might be in danger.
In his ten years of prophecy, he created a system upon which we have based our own revolution.
(phone cut off for a little)
(Recites a verse) (reciting more verses)
(Praying for the martyred members of Mohammed’s family)

This week, Imam Jafar Sadigh’s martyrdom’s celebration will be held.
He spent his entire life either in prison or being censored.
(Talking about Imam Jafar Sadigh’s life and how pious a man he was)

I want to talk about the death of the Chinese citizens recently,
(People are chanting Azadi .. Azadi .. )
People, I have asked you all to not chant slogans
I am asking you as your Imam at this prayer,
The government of China has quelled the protests.
We would like to give them a brotherly advice,
There are more than a billion Muslims in the world,
China should pay attention to its relations between itself.
Such cruelty could destroy those relations.
There are fighting in Palestine and Pakistan and other places,
Hopefully they will stop.

The elections that took place,
The preparations were good.
We liked what went before the election,
The four candidates,
They talked in an open environment,
People became hopeful about the elections,
We should have been proud of this election,
Because people went to vote, in large numbers,
We should thank them for voting.
For taking part in the election is such huge numbers,
Alas, if only that environment continued to this day.
What happened after the election was not what we expected it to be.
Let us ask ourselves what we want,
What does the revolution want?

You are listening to someone who has been with the revolution every minute of the revolution
We know what Imam Khomeini wanted,
What his ideas were,
Imam Khomeini always said that you should always listen to the people,
See what the people want,
If the people are with us, then we have everything.
The Islamic Revolution was the way of Mohammed.
People should be brought into the system first,
This is why Imam Khomeini was successful.

It took years of hardship for us to get to where we are.
We remember when people filled the streets,
When they took to protesting with the Imam Khomeini,
Against a government that was getting help from the East and the West,
But people stood firm.
And they succeeded.
After the success of the revolution,
We were with Imam Khomeini,
He always said that without the participation of the people the Islamic government would never be successful.
The role that Imam gave the people was very high.
(Story about Mohammed’s late life about how important people are)
(More religious jargon)

When we were writing the new constitution,
We asked the Imam for advice,
He put a lot of emphasis on the role of the people.
He also knew that people’s vote was the most important thing inside our country.
Everything depended upon the people’s vote.
People should directly elect the president, the parliament, the local council.
It was all about the vote of the people.
This is a theocracy,
A theocratic republic.
(People chanting)
Be patient, be calm.
If the government is not Islamic, then we are heading no where.
If it is not a republic, then it doesn’t amount to anything.

The elections that took place,
We have taken a step.
What I think is the solution to what is going on is that, at the end of the process,
There were people who created false propaganda,
(People chanting REALLY loudly)
A large number of people became suspicious,
We need to clear their suspicions.

Today, we need unity more than ever.
Our country needs to be united against this danger.
My brothers,
My sisters,
My view is this,
We should all think together
So our country could remain united,
Against this danger that is facing us.
Our enemies are trying to destroy our unity,

I have several proposals for this,
I have talked to my friends about this.
I’m going to express them to you as well.

The most important thing that has happened is that the trust that brought the people to vote in such large number is not there anymore.
We need to return this trust.
We all need to follow the law. And I’m talking about the government, the parliament, the Islamic Courts and the security forces.
We need to follow the laws.
All problems can be solved if we only follow the framework of the laws.
We need to create an environment where all sides could come together and discuss their issues.
We need to be able to sit down like brothers and sisters and talk about our differences.
Unfortunately,
The chance that was given to the Guardian Council of five days to get people together and regain their trust was not used.
That is not there anymore.
But we still have time to unite.

We shouldn’t imprison our own people,
We should let these people return to their homes,
We shouldn’t let our enemies laugh at us because we’ve imprisoned our own people.
We should sit together with mourners,
And we should console them,
And bring them back closer to the system.
We should not be impatient now.

Please do not censor media outlets that have legally obtained permits.
Let them do what they want to do legally.
Allow a peaceful and friendly environment to prosper.
We are all together in the Islamic Revolution,
We’ve all spent years in suffering,
We’ve all given martyrs for the cause of the revolution,
This unity needs to fostered.

I’m hopeful that we will be able to achieve this unity in the future,
And I’m hopeful we will get out of this situation,
Based on the wishes of the people,
And consensus among the leaders.

May God Bless You All.
May God Bless You All.
May God keep you all safe,
Keep you with this spirit, around.

(End of speech.)

Source: Why We Protest

7/17/2009 — Fridays prayers updates via Twitter and Huffington Post

05:41 NiteOwl We need to create an environment where all sides could come together and discuss their issues.
05:42 NiteOwl We need to be able to sit down like brothers and sisters and talk about our differences.
05:42 NiteOwl Unfortunately,
05:42 NiteOwl The chance that was given to the Guardian Council of five
05:43 NiteOwl That is not there anymore.
05:43 NiteOwl But we still have time to unite.
05:44 NiteOwl We shouldn’t imprison our own people,
05:44 NiteOwl We should let these people return to their homes,
05:44 NiteOwl We shouldn’t let our enemies laugh at us because we’ve imprisoned our own people.
05:44 NiteOwl We should sit together with mourners,
05:44 NiteOwl And we should console them,
05:44 NiteOwl And bring them back closer to the system.
05:45 NiteOwl We should not be impatient now.
05:45 NiteOwl Please do not censor media outlets that have legally obtained permits.
05:45 NiteOwl Let them do what they want to do legally.
05:45 NiteOwl Allow a peaceful and friendly environment to prosper.
05:46 NiteOwl We are all together in the Islamic Revolution,
05:46 NiteOwl We’ve all spent years in suffering,
05:46 NiteOwl We’ve all given martyrs for the cause of the revolution,
05:46 NiteOwl This unity needs to fostered,
05:46 NiteOwl I’m hopeful that we will be able to achieve this unity in the future,
05:47 NiteOwl And I’m hopeful we will get out of this situation,
05:47 NiteOwl Based on the wishes of the people,
05:47 NiteOwl And consensus among the leaders.
05:47 NiteOwl May God Bless You All.
05:47 NiteOwl May God Bless You All.

NiteOwl When we were writing the new constitution,
05:34 NiteOwl We asked the Imam for advice,
05:34 NiteOwl He put a lot of emphasis on the role of the people.
05:35 NiteOwl He also knew that people’s vote was the most important thing inside our country.
05:35 NiteOwl Everything depended upon the people’s vote.
05:35 NiteOwl People should directly elect the president, the parliament, the local council.
05:35 NiteOwl It was all about the vote of the people.
05:35 NiteOwl This is a theocracy,
05:35 NiteOwl A theocratic republic.
05:35 NiteOwl (People chanting)
05:36 NiteOwl Be patient, be calm.
05:36 NiteOwl If the government is not islamic, then we are heading no where.
05:36 NiteOwl If it is not a republic, then it doesn’t amount to anything.
05:37 NiteOwl The elections that took place,
05:37 NiteOwl We have taken a step.
05:37 NiteOwl What I think is the solution to what is going on is that, at the end of the process,
05:37 NiteOwl There were people who created false propaganda,
05:37 NiteOwl (People chanting REALLY loudly)
05:38 NiteOwl A large number of people became suspicious,
05:38 NiteOwl We need to clear their suspicions.
05:38 NiteOwl Today, we need unity more than ever.
05:38 NiteOwl Our country needs to be united against this danger.
05:39 NiteOwl My brothers,
05:39 NiteOwl My sisters,
05:39 NiteOwl My view is this,
05:39 NiteOwl We should all think together
05:39 NiteOwl So our country could remain united,
5:39 NiteOwl Against this danger that is facing us.
05:39 NiteOwl Our enemies are trying to destroy our unity,
05:40 NiteOwl I have several proposals for this,
05:40 NiteOwl I’m gonna express them to you as well.
05:40 NiteOwl The most important thing that has happened is that the trust that brought the people to vote in such large number is not there anymore.
05:40 NiteOwl We need to return this trust.
he law. And I’m talking about the government, the parliament, the Islamic Courts and the security forces.
05:41 NiteOwl We need to follow the laws.
05:41 NiteOwl All problems can be solved if we only follow the framework of the laws.

NiteOwlWhat happened after the election was not what we expected it to be.
05:27 NiteOwl LEt’s ask ourselves what we want,
05:27 NiteOwl What does the revolution want?
05:27 NiteOwl You are listening to someone who has been with the revolution every minute of the revolution
05:27 NiteOwl We know what Imam Khomeini wanted,
05:28 NiteOwl What his ideas were,
NiteOwl LEt’s ask ourselves what we want,
05:27 NiteOwl What does the revolution want?
05:27 NiteOwl You are listening to someone who has been with the revolution every minute of the revolution
05:27 NiteOwl We know what Imam Khomeini wanted,
05:28 NiteOwl What his ideas were,
05:28 NiteOwl Imam Khomeini always said that you should always listen to the people,
05:28 NiteOwl See what the people want,
05:28 NiteOwl If the people are with us, then we have everything.
05:28 NiteOwl The Islamic Revolution was the way of Mohammed.
05:28 NiteOwl People should be brought into the system first,
05:29 NiteOwl This is why Imam Khomeini was successful.
05:29 NiteOwl It took years of hardship for us to get to where we are.
NiteOwl We remember when people filled the streets,
5:29 NiteOwl When they took to protesting with the Imam Khomeini,
05:29 NiteOwl Against a government that was getting help from the East and the West,
05:30 NiteOwl But people stood firm.
05:30 NiteOwl And they succeeded.
05:30 NiteOwl After the success of the revolution,
05:30 NiteOwl We were with Imam Khomeini,
05:30 NiteOwl He always said that without the participation of the people the Islamic government would never be successful.
NiteOwl The role that Imam gave the people was very high.

– We liked what went before the election, lThe four candidates, wlWe should have been proud of this election, wlWe should have been proud of this election, We should thank them for voting.

– (People are chanting Azadi .. Azadi .. )

– CNN’s Reza Sayah says some demonstrators were chanting this morning, “Hashemi (Rafsanjani), if you stay silent, you have committed a crime.”

– The Prophet was so concerned about harming anyone that he asked for forgiveness before death, if he has in anyone caused harm to his people.

– First shot at Khamenei? Rafsanjani says, the Prophet was always careful not to violate any person’s right.

- Do know that Mohammed is the ideal for everyone,

- Rafsanjani: This is a holy place, lets not let things get out of control. (2 loud basijis in hall)

- Rafsanjani discussing the origins of Islamic rule and how it turned Medina in Saudi Arabia into a major influential story. “I guess his point is Mohammad didn’t use force,” one reader says.

Tehran University

– A reader in contact with Iranians says the speech is not being aired on Iranian TV. CNN is not airing the speech either, despite claiming it would.

– I have three items to discuss. Number one, explaining the fundamentals of Islam and the Islamic Republic. Number two, goals of the revolution. I want to clarify the goals of the revolution to the youth, so they understand where we have come from and where we are going. He says he will express his personal views and hopes that people in charge will listen. The third part will be about current day events and the conditions we are in. I will try to draw out solutions the way I see them. Of course, these will be my personal opinion.

– This is a holy place, let us not allow events to get out of control…

– Basij chanting: the blood in our veins is a gift to our leader (threatening Rafsanjani) & Raf says tnk u! let me start!…

7/16/2009 — Hardliners organizing to disrupt Rafsanjani’s sermon. From NIAC:

Mowj Camp, a pro-Mousavi website created recently, has reported that the hardliners “are extensively preparing to prevent the presence of [Mousavi supporters]” at the Friday prayer.
“After hearing about the decision of Mousavi supporters to attend and the possibility of a green movement to form at the Friday prayers, supporters of [Ahmadinejad] have become extremely worried and are trying to weaken the presence of the greens and overshadow them.”

7/16/2009 – 5:19PM Joe Klein on Friday

There’s lots of speculation about what Rafsanjani might say. One Iranian friend said, “It’s the speech of his life, a chance to redeem his career. He must call for the rejection of the election results.” Unfortunately, that’s never been Rafsanjani’s style and is an unlikely alternative now. But he and his family are also too closely identified with the protest movement for him to just acquiese and kowtow to the Revolutionary Guard Corps-dominated government. Another Iranian friend predicts, “He’ll announce the formation of a political front that will work within the system but oppose the Ahmadinejad government.” That seems more plausible.

Source

7/16/2009 — 5:19PM – A New rooftop Poem

7/16/2009 -5:29AM – Laura Secor: Behind Iran’s Silence

A very interesting read here

7/16/2009 – 2:28AM - Death Toll Apparently Far Exceeds Government Claims

Family members reportedly saw “hundreds” of corpses in makeshift morgue

Three hospitals recorded 34 deaths in a single day alone, compared to government claim of 20 deaths during the past month

The Campaign has ascertained that on 20 June, when the government reported that 11 protesters had been killed, three Tehran hospitals placed a total of 34 corpses of demonstrators in their morgues: Imam Khomeini Hospital had 19 bodies; Rasool Akram Hospital, 8 bodies; and Loghman Hospital, 7 bodies. The information was collected by medical staff with access to the morgue records of these hospitals.

Read the full article here

7/15/2009 – 9:19PM – Mousavi confirms his attendance at Friday Prayers

In a statement Mousavi has confirmed his attendance at fridays prayers. – Source

Google Translation:

Bookmark It

Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 2
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 3
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

7/15/2009 – 8:54PM – Clinton to Iran – Time is running out

Hillary Clinton will give what one administration official familiar with the U.S. Secretary of State’s preparations described as a “muscular” foreign-policy address this afternoon before the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. As The Cable reported last week, Clinton appears to be using the occasion to raise her profile amid Washington chatter that she has not yet seemed to fully dominate her turf as the nation’s top diplomat. It’s a perception Clinton seems set to challenge. [...] [A] key theme of Clinton’s speech appears to be defending the administration’s pursuit of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, despite widespread international outrage over the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators protesting against alleged vote-rigging in the June 14 presidential election. Conservatives in particular have said that Obama was slow to condemn the Iranian government’s conduct, a charge the White House and its defenders deny. Source: Here

7/15/2009 – 2:14AM – Supreme leader Khamenei diminished in Iranians’ eyes

For two decades he was considered to be above the petty political squabbles, a cautious elder contemplating questions of faith and Islam while guiding his nation into the future. But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose title of supreme leader makes him Iran’s ultimate authority, has gotten his hands dirty. His decision in recent weeks to so stridently support the nation’s controversial president after a disputed election has dramatically changed his image among his people, setting in motion an unpredictable series of events that could fundamentally change the Islamic Republic.

Read the full Article: Here

7/14/2009 – Tehran morgues holding hundreds of bodies.

The on-line Farsi-language newspaper, Nooroz, reports that hundreds of unidentified dead bodies are being held in Tehran’s morgues. According to Nooroz, the government has provided little information on the fates and locations of those individuals detained during the recent unrest in Iran. One of the few official organs providing information on the detainees is the office of unidentified dead persons, which has summoned some families to various morgues around the city to determine whether their loved ones are among the dead. Nooroz newspaper reports that those families, who find their sons or daughters among the countless corpses, are threatened and pressured into signing statements attesting that their family members died in car crashes or as a result of other ordinary, run of the mill accidents. Unless the families sign these statements, the cherished bodies of their loved ones are withheld from them.

Source

7/14/2009 – Activists turn the water red in Mahabad.

Activists turn the water red

Source: Here

7/13/2009 – 11:46PM Rafsanjani confirms on his website he will be leading Friday Prayers

خبر فوری /نماز جمعه این هفته تهران به امامت “ایت الله هاشمی ر فسنجانی”اقامه می شود

دانشگاه تهران 26تیرماه میزبان رئیس مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام و رئیس مجلس خبرگان رهبری است و نماز جمعه این هفته تهران به امامت “ایت الله هاشمی رفسنجانی” اقامه خواهد شد

Rough Google Translation:

Imamat “Ayatollah Hashemi Fsnjany ر” Performing is

Tehran University on July 26, host President and head of the Expediency Council and Assembly of Experts in Tehran Friday Prayers this week Imamat “Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani,” Performing will be

7/13/2009 11:34PM – Some Updates on Friday from Enduring America

UPDATE 13 July, 0845 GMT: How serious could this challenge be?Rumours are being spread, possibly by pro-Ahmadinejad sources, that this Friday’s prayers will be Rafsanjani’s last. Rafsanjani’s son has denied this, and Ali Asghari, the repesentative of the Expediency Council in Parliament, has reaffirmed that Rafsanjani remains a prayer leader in Tehran. UPDATE: A reader offers the following clarification and comment, “On the Mousavi Facebook it says, “Until now there is no confirmed report of the presence of Mousavi, Khatami and [Presidential candidate Mehdi] Karroubi in the prayers”. I also wished that you had given more credit to Karroubi in your analysis. I think that Karroubi was very active and organized in supporting the protesters, organizing ways for families of the protesters to get in touch with the arrested and taking personally taking on the regime regarding the state of the arrested people.” We began today’s updates by noting, “For the second day in a row, there were no significant open demonstrations, and statements were limited,” and wondering when the opposition would make its next big move. It’s come. Four hours ago, on his Facebook page, Mir Hossein Mousavi declared, part in English, part in Farsi: “ANOTHER BIG EVENT IS GOING TO COME…. “Venue on 26th Tir (July 17th)” “Rafsanjani to address the people for Friday’s prayers at Tehran University” “Arise, Green Wave!” “The day we were awaiting is finally going to come” “With the presence of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and Mir Hossein Mousavi” So the perfect storm of the opposition from “without”, the public challenge symbolised by the leadership of the Presidential candidate Mousavi, and the opposition from “within”, the private manoeuvring of former President Rafsanjani, may be imminent. Rafsanjani, having refused to lead prayers in recent weeks and limited his pulbic appearances, re-emerges dramatically on Friday, and a vast crowd of demonstrators marches to the University of Tehran to welcome and applaud him. It turns the regime’s public displays — an ayatollah, even the Supreme Leader, setting out the appropriate line to the acclaim of followers — against it. This plan also has the clever beauty of complicating the regime’s response. Does it dare tell Rafsanjani that he cannot speak on Friday? Do security forces dare block marchers who, after all, are only trying to worship as “good” Muslims? This, in short, could be the largest mass gathering since 15 June, complete with the presence of Rafsanjani, Mousavi, and Khatami. Start counting dowy the days…. (hat tip to readers who made this analysis possible)

7/13/2009 7:30PM – Iranian Facebook Police

And you thought your boss was bad with Facebook.

[...]On passing through the immigration control at the airport in Tehran, she was asked by the officers if she has a Facebook account. When she said “no”, the officers pulled up a laptop and searched for her name on Facebook. They found her account and noted down the names of her Facebook friends.[...]

Read the full report from NPR

7/13/9 12:41 – Qom leadership to move to Najaf if Ahmadinijad is sworn in

There are repots that the Qom Leadership will relocate to Najaf if Ahmadinijad is sworn in. In related news, Rafsanjani has recently traveled to Najaf to confer with Sistani.

Sources Green Brief.

This comes at a time when a large number of Iranian clerics in Qom have reportedly threatened to leave Iran for Najaf, Iraq (Najaf is the holiest site in Shi’ism and Qom is a center of Shi’ite learning). They demanded the government to cease with their relentless pressure to side with them.

7/13/9 12:01AM — Friday prayer – Rafsanjani & Mousavi

Just announced on his Facebook Page both will be there this friday. Mousavi called for massive demonstration.

The poster on his page says: “The day has come, Green wave is on the move” After a long absence, pro-Mousavi cleric Rafsanjani to lead prayers

7/12/9 11:40PM Grand Ayatollah Montazeri’s Fatwa: an Unfair Supreme Leader is Illegitimate

[TEHRAN BUREAU] In a very important development, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the most senior cleric living in Iran, and one of the top two* marja’ taghlid(source of emulation) in Shiite Islam, issued a series of Fatwas, calling the Supreme Leader illegitimate and saying that he was working with the government against religion. Montazeri has called on people to take action against this injustice, even if they have to pay a heavy price for it.

Source: Tehran Bureau

7/12/9 9:00PM State-Run TV Takes a Hit

[TEHRAN BUREAU] Iranian news outlets noandish.com and tabnak.com report that Iranian state television has been hurt by falling advertising revenue. Several companies have reportedly either canceled or not renewed their contracts to broadcast their commercials through the IRIB, or the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Some analysts quickly concluded that boycotting products advertised on IRIB’s TV channels, a tactic suggested after the election by Mir Hossein Mousavi’s supporters, is working. Others see it differently.

Source: Tehran Bureau

7/12/9 12:21PM – Iranian-Americans rally at White House

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of protesters, many of them Iranian-Americans, marched from Capitol Hill to the White House on Saturday, most holding Iranian flags and chanting demands for the U.S. to take more action after Iran’s disputed election.

After marching through several blocks of downtown Washington, more than 200 people rallied in front of the White House. They shouted demands for President Barack Obama and leaders of other countries to “reject the sham elections, impose complete sanctions.”

They also shouted “death to Ahmadinejad,” referring to the Iranian president whose disputed June 12 re-election prompted days of street protests in Iran. Some carried pictures of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman who bled to death in a Tehran street. She became a symbol of the postelection protest movement after videos of her death by gunfire were posted online.

Source: MSNBC

7/11/9 1:07AM — Madonna on Iran Election and other world dictators

7/10/9 11:52PM — Inside the protests – Documentary look at the protests

Very interesting documentary look at inside the protests.

7/10/9 11:43PM –Inside the Iranian Crackdown — When the Unrest Flared, the Ayatollah’s Enforcers Took to the Streets of Tehran With Batons and Zeal

Interesting article from the WSJ.

On the first day of the unrest, the 24-year-old volunteer member of Iran’s paramilitary Basij force mounted his motorcycle and chased reformist protesters through the streets, shouting out the names of Shiite saints as he revved his engine.

[...]

“It wasn’t about elections anymore,” says Mr. Moradani, a short, skinny man with pitch-black hair and a beard. “I was defending my country and our revolution and Islam. Everything was at risk.”

[...]

At the height of the street battles, in Sadaat Abad, a middle-class neighborhood in east Tehran, young men and women organized themselves into an unofficial militia to fight the Basij, with a “commander” taking responsibility for each street. Every afternoon, they would meet to prepare for the evening’s expected battle, according to a 25-year-old student who was involved with the group. They collected rocks, tiles and bricks from construction sites and spilled oil on the roads, an attempt to sideline the Basij’s motorcycles. When a Basij rider would go down, the young men would beat him, according to the student. Women stood back, screaming “Death to the Dictator” and stoking bonfires in the street. Older supporters remained indoors, throwing ashtrays, vases and other household items from their balconies and windows onto the Basij motorcycle riders below. [...] For Mr. Moradani, the biggest shock during the election turmoil came in his personal life. He had recently gotten engaged to a young woman from a devout, conservative family. A week into the protests, he says, his fiancée called him with an ultimatum. If he didn’t leave the Basij and stop supporting Mr. Ahmadinejad, he recalls her saying, she wouldn’t marry him. He told her that was impossible. “I suffered a real emotional blow,” he says. “She said to me, ‘Go beat other people’s children then,’ and ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with you,’ and hung up on me.” She returned the ring he gave her, and hasn’t returned his phone calls. “The opposition has even fooled my fiancée,” he says. 7/10/9 9:13PM — Camera Man gets attacked 7/10/9 9:12PM — The Rooftop Project One of the most compelling elements of the continued uprising in Iran has been when each night under the cover of darkness Iranians chant themselves hoarse from the rooftops, balconies, and windows of their homes. This is done to express resolve, hope, frustration, but probably more than anything else – to provide a way for people to be together, in spirit and in their cause. As long as their voices echo through each night, Iran is not yet free. It is the soundtrack of a revolution. This is meant to be the most complete possible collection of recordings of nighttime protest in Iran since the beginning of the uprising. Its goal is to locate and profile at least one video for each night primarily focusing on the nightly chanting of Allah-o-Akbar from the rooftops whenever that footage is available. Some of these videos have not been widely seen until now. I will continue to update this post with new videos as they become available, please encourage people in Iran to try to record these evening chants of Allah-o-Akbar so that the world can continue to see and hear them every day. There are several days for which I was unable to find a video – please help me find them! – you can email me at itsmightier@gmail.com – I can post the videos anonymously under my YouTube account if needed. The permalink for this post will be http://mightierthan.com/rooftop 7/10/9 5:22AM — Iran Azad Underground Newspaper (In Farsi) 7/9/9 11:49PM — The dangers of citizen journalism 7/9/9 9:12 PM – Journalist explains time in Iranian prison. From Al Jazeera:

At least 35 Iranian journalists have been arrested since protests against the result of recent elections began.

Some foreign journalists were also detained. Iason Athanasiadis, a Greek-British reporter, was held for three weeks in Tehran’s Evin prison. He’s now back home in Athens, where Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips asked him to describe what happened after his arrest. 7/9/9 9:10 PM – U2 Do it again! 7/9/9 9:10 PM — Move videos Here 7/9/9 9:09 PM — Some updates from Nico over at Huffington Post “It was nothing less than war. Please pray for us.” ABC’s Lara Setrakian posts a dispatch she received from Tehran. Professor estimates 25,000 demonstrated in Tehran. Prof. Scott Lucas, who’s been blogging Iran here, is interviewed by Fintan Dunne. 7/9/9 5:18PM – REALLY LARGE crowds – Iran: July 9 2009 – 1388 18 تیر – Intersection of Vali Asr and Talaghani This video shows the time when protesters arrived at the intersection of Taleghani and Valiasr ave, heading toward Valiasr Square. The duration of this rally was about 25 minutes and before arriving at Taleghani intersection, riot forces were not interfering but closed behind the crowd to block the accumulation of people. After arriving at the intersection of Taleghani and Valiasr ave, people continued toward Valiasr Square, as shown in this video. At this time, the anti riot forces shot teargas and followed people on motorcycles forcing the crowd to Taleghani ave. I continued toward Chahar-rah Valiasr where people were blocked from going to Enghelab Square. The revolutionary guards on motorbikes hit pedestrians with batons. On my way to the subway station I saw a lot of military cars full of anti riot guard heading west, apparently to help their forces stationed at Enghelab square. Source: Huffington Post 7/9/9 4:16 PM — From the Tehran Times — In complete denial and delusion, Ahmadinijad says his administraiton will undergo major changes. He does however still insist that this was the “freest” election in history of the world. 7/9/9 4:12 PM From Al Jahzera a 30 Minute Program called People and Power. 7/9/9 2:45 PM — Watching Contessa Brewer on MSNBC and still no mention of the protests in Iran. Wonder if Rachel will cover it tonight, otherwise Im convinced MSNBC believes the citizens are not interested. However, if one more MJ video is shown, Im going to lose my lunch. 7/9/9 2:44 PM Guardian article on the anniversary of the Tehran University protests of 1999 continued uprising in Iran. 7/9/9 1:35 PM – Latest video from Iran. From reliable twitter source. 7/9/9 1:21 PM — Here are several pictures that have gone through the course of #IranElection 7/9/9 11:33 AM Video from #iranelection supposedly from today posted on Youtube. 7/9/9 10:53 AM — I just have to giggle when I see Nico Pitney post stuff on Huffington Post. Here is his latest: 10:47 AM ET — MSNBC fail. As far as I can tell, there has been zero mention of the events in Iran thus far on MSNBC. CNN has been doing updates roughly every 30 minutes. Besides Rachel Maddow nobody on MSNBC covers Iran! Maybe we should start a clock to see how long it will be until they start to cover it. So far Zip on Dyligans show. 7/9/9 10:45 AM – The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting this morning that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the Supreme Leader has taken control over the Basiji forces in Iran. We reported this yesterday on DYV, but what is revealed in this article is that Khamenei’s son is the “commander” of the coup. It appears that Iran is developing a guised hereditary monarchy. Further, the Herald reveals why the governing bodies are doing little to overturn this election. But they are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions within the state to make it hard for the supreme leader and the President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to govern. “This game has not finished. The game has only just started,” the source said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position in Iran. 7/9/9 9:28AM — Militia dispersing protesters in Iran TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian pro-government Basij militia members are dispersing crowds in Tehran who are protesting on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of a 1999 student uprising that, at the time, posed the biggest threat to the Islamic regime since its inception in 1979. Source: CNN 7/9/9 01:25AM — I Am Neda 7/8/9 11:05PM — Bearing Witness In Iran Weighs Heavily On Cohen

Roger Cohen, columnist for The New York Times, says he left a chunk of himself back in Tehran. He covered the Iranian presidential election for the paper, and wrote op-eds about the country before he left, from Tehran andafter his return to the U.S.

Cohen talks about how the protests and crackdown he witnessed in Iran changed his opinion about whether or not the U.S. should still reach out to Iran.

Listen to the Full account here

7/8/9 3:35 — ABC News is reporting that the G8 Summit will not call for new sanctions on Iran. 7/8/9 3:27 PM — The Guardian is reporting that The Supreme Leaders son is taking over the Basij. Could we see the beginning of a harder lined totalitarian regime emerging out of the clouds of IranElection? The son of Iran‘s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source. The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country’s senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals. 7/8//9 12:59 PM — Is Ahmadinijad related to Bagdad Bob? Enquiring minds want to know. — From Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought yesterday to put the turmoil over the disputed presidential elections behind him and declared on national television that the contests were clean, fair and marked the start of a new era.His speech came as the country’s top three reformist leaders sought to rekindle their opposition movement, demanding that ruling clerics end the heavy “security atmosphere” imposed after the elections and free those detained in the unrest, according to an opposition Web site.It was Ahmadinejad’s first national speech since the leader declared the election results valid despite outcry from the other candidates and weeks of street protests claiming that the results were fraudulent. “This is a new beginning for Iran . . . we have entered a new era,” the president said, explaining that the 85 percent turnout and overwhelming win had given his government a new legitimacy.

“It was the most clean and free election in the world,” he said, adding that during the re-count “no fault was discovered. The whole nation understood this.” *

7/8/9 12:56 PM EDT: Letter to Sent to Nico Pitney at the Huffington Post. Kudos to all the work Nico has done on #Iranelection. It is from Patrick Disney at National Iranian American Council I wanted to give you and your team a heads-up that we’re hearing from a lot of sources that Thursday will likely see a lot of unrest and potential violence in Iran. It marks the 10th anniversary of the “18th of Tir”, which is a monumental day in Iran. On that day in 1999, students protesting the closing of the reformist newspaper “Salaam” were attacked in their dormitories in Tehran and Tabriz. Six days of protests ensued, which began with several hundred students and blossomed into thousands of people from all walks of life supporting the demonstrations. They were the biggest display of [protest] sentiment in the regime’s then twenty-year history, and they were put down by the regime with a mandate by the threatened leadership to stop the unrest at any cost. 7/8/9 12:50 PM – From Reuters CARACAS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington would call for more sanctions against Iran if the White House policy of engagement with Tehran failed. Clinton said U.S. outreach to Iran may not work given the country’s recent repression of protests after a disputed election. “It may not be possible, in which case we would ask the world to join us in imposing even stricter sanctions on Iran to try to change the behavior of the regime,” Clinton said in an interview with Venezuelan television station Globovision, broadcast late on Tuesday.

9:35 AM EST – The competing poles of Iran’s system have produced a fight-to-the-death ethos.

The streets of Iran have been largely silenced, but a power struggle grinds on behind the scenes, this time over the very nature of the state itself. It is a battle that transcends the immediate conflict over the presidential election, one that began 30 years ago as the Islamic Revolution established a new form of government that sought to blend theocracy and a measure of democracy. From the beginning, both have vied for an upper hand, and today both are tarnished. In postelection Iran, there is growing unease among many of the nation’s political and clerical elite that the very system of governance they rely on for power and privilege has been stripped of its religious and electoral legitimacy, creating a virtual dictatorship enforced by an emboldened security apparatus, analysts said. Source: NY Times

The Rebellion Network

Broadcast: 07/07/2009 – Source Reporter: Eric Campbell Very interesting piece by the ABC in Australia – Watch the video Online In 2009, post-election Iran has seen the unveiling of a bold and angry, highly mobile rebellion that’s challenging Iran’s old guard with new-media – filming protests and government aggression with mobile phones, uploading the sometimes bloody and confronting images to global net transmitters like YouTube, messaging instant observations to Twitter and keeping a concerned outside world up to the minute on the state of a secretive nation. Reporter Eric Campbell examines how this remarkable resistance evolved and what this explosive instalment might mean for Iran, the Islamic world and the West.

7/7/9 11:02 PM EDT HAYSTACK Project – Austin Heap needs YOU

In the past four weeks (three of which I took off of work) a lot has happened. First a tiny proxy list on Twitter, then a more organized effort called Proxyheap, and now Haystack, a completely custom protocol for beating the Iran governments filters. Visit Austins blog to see how you can HELP

7/7/9 11:02 PM EDT Freedom vs. the Firewall The Senate can help fend off authoritarian censorship.

Before the Senate Appropriations Committee is a bill that could provide access to 100 million distinct users every day. Dedicating $50 million in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill to Internet freedom could allow millions who live in autocratic societies access to the Internet. Internet freedom has long been a stated congressional priority — the 2008 appropriations bill included a commitment to provide “anti-censorship tools and services for the advancement of information freedom in closed societies.” Now is the time for Congress to put its money behind its words. For every dollar the United States spends to guarantee access, oppressive regimes must spend thousands to put up walls and barriers. Once enough there are enough holes in a firewall, it crumbles. The technology for this exists. What is needed is more capacity. Source: Washington Post 7/6/9 6:45 PM EDT Iranian Dissenters Embark on Campaign of Covert Civil Disobedience — London Times Online Using Money to Fight the Regime. We should start that here in the US. Forced to stop demonstrating by police brutality, a Tehran nurse called Mojgan has found a new way of expressing her hatred of a regime which, she believes, stole the election from Mir Hossein Mousavi then ruthlessly stifled dissent. In the privacy of her home she takes all the banknotes from her purse and, with the help of her two children, writes on them “Mousavi” or “Death to the Dictator”. Then she goes out and spends them, using the legal currency of the Islamic Republic to undermine a rotten state. 7/6/9 5:27 PM VPOTUS Joe Biden on Iran — This man seriously needs to be toned down. WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attackIran‘s nuclear facilities, even as the top U.S. military officer said any attack on Iran would be destabilizing. Biden’s remarks suggested a tougher U.S. stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Nonetheless, administration officials insisted his televised remarks Sunday reflected the U.S. view that Israel has a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on national security. 7/6/9 5:21 PM Great New Article from Reza Aslan (hope he is on Maddow tonight — also hope that Rachel is back) on the Daily Beast. He reports that opposition leaders are planning a three day strike corresponding with the Islamic Holiday of Itikaf. It will be interesting to see if this can get Michael Jackson off the headlines. )It is really frightening when you are glad to see Sarah Palin on the news!) 7/6/9 4:56 PM From The MERMI Blog –

Kayhan: Mousavi, Khatami Must Be Put on Trial

In two editorials, the Iranian daily Kayhan termed Mousavi, Khatami and their followers a dangerous opposition, and called to put them on trial for treason, cooperation with foreign elements, and responsibility for the death of civilians during the recent protests.

Source: Kayhan, Iran, July 4-5, 2009

7/6/9 4:22 PM Iran Revolutionary Guard Takes Bigger Role In National Security — LA TIMES

Reporting from Beirut — The top leaders of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard publicly acknowledged they had taken over the nation’s security during the post-election unrest and warned late Sunday, in a threat against a reformist wave led by Mir-Hossein Mousavi, that there was no middle ground in the ongoing dispute over the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite military branch, said the guard’s takeover of the nation’s security had led to “a revival of the revolution.”

7/6/9 11:20 AM Mousavi planning new Iranian Party from CNN

(CNN) — Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi plans to form a new political party aimed at reining in the power of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday. Moussavi told supporters the party will be focused on upholding “the remaining principles of the constitution,” according to Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with fellow opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi. He is expected to file papers with Iran’s Interior Ministry to establish the party before hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a new term, the newspaper reported. The announcement comes after weeks of protests over Iran’s disputed presidential election and an attempted clampdown by Iran’s clerical leadership. The parallels to today’s events are uncanny, and while the date has been marked with numerous protests since 1999, this anniversary takes on a special significance. We know that authorities are already trying to lock the cities down ahead of time. Demonstrations are planned all over the U.S. in solidarity with the protesters letting them know the world is watching what the regime is doing.

He’s now back home in Athens, where Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips asked him to describe what happened after his arrest.

Some foreign journalists were also detained. Iason Athanasiadis, a Greek-British reporter, was held for three weeks in Tehran’s Evin prison.

At July 9 demonstrations, protesters mocked the ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba, who many believe hopes to succeed his father.

“Public respect for him has been significantly damaged,” said one analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Opposing him is no longer the same as opposing God.” The venerated Khamenei has even become the target of public jokes and criticism. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “commits crimes, and the leader supports him,” was a popular slogan during the riots of June 20, the day after Khamenei delivered a blistering Friday sermon in which he said that the election a week earlier had been won by Ahmadinejad.

[A] key theme of Clinton’s speech appears to be defending the administration’s pursuit of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, despite widespread international outrage over the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators protesting against alleged vote-rigging in the June 14 presidential election. Conservatives in particular have said that Obama was slow to condemn the Iranian government’s conduct, a charge the White House and its defenders deny.

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Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 3
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 2

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

Interesting events unfolding – Follow here

Rafsanjani doubts Iranians ‘satisfied’ with election aftermath

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — A former Iranian president who backed the top opposition leader in last month’s disputed elections has delivered strong and carefully worded support of the grass-roots protest movement, saying he doubts “any wakened consciousness would be satisfied with the resulting situation.”

Source: CNN

Riot Police destroying private property in alleys

Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election

CAIRO — The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final.

Source: New York Times

Grand Ayatollah Saanei releases another statement supporting demonstrators.

HIS EXCELLENCY GRAND AYATOLLAH SAANEI’S SYMPATHY WITH THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE RECENT DISASTERS
While extending my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the recent tragedies, and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, particularly for our precious and devoted student body in Esfahan, Shiraz, Tehran, and other cities, who have stood up for their rights and have of late protested against the ambiguities surrounding the election results, seeking clarification which is indeed their right, I hereby express my grave sorrow and grief at the detestable incidents as have taken place and also express my aversion to those who had a hand in those disasters and tragedies. I hope that the wishes of the people will be fulfilled and their demands will be met by those responsible in the system, whose foremost duty should be the protection of people’s life and property.

Source: His Website

Ex-Iranian president seeks to free detainees

Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami met with families of some of the people detained and said that if the courts uphold the civil rights of the detainees, the court would order them freed, reported presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi’s party newspaper.

Spouses of detainees told Khatami they wanted their spouses released and that they worried about their physical and mental health, the paper reported.

Source: CNN

“My fellow schoolmate.” – From Huffington Post

The Revolutionary Road blog has posted a really wonderful video of a student demonstration that reportedly took place in the last few days at Kashan University. The students “form chains and sing ‘Yare dabestani’ — ‘My Fellow Schoolmate’ — a classic revolutionary song that every Iranian around knows by heart.”

Watch it all (and read the song lyrics) here.

Tehran Night Chants

BONO and U2 Join the Green Movement

Its always good seeing famous people using their positions for more then just selling records/movies.

British Embassy Staff to Stand Trial

In London, the Foreign Office said it was urgently checking reports that the Iranian authorities planned to put two of its local employees on trial. Nine staff members wereseized after the unrest sparked by Iran’s disputed presidential elections on June 12, and as many as eight of them were subsequently reported to have been released. But the precise number still detained was not clear.

Source: New York Times

Jordan shuts down PRESSTV

“According to BBC Persian, Al-Alam has written to the network news offices in Amman ordering the state offices of the English-language Iranian television network of Press TV to be shut down.”

Source: Here

Opposition movement in Iran not over, experts say

“This movement isn’t going away anytime soon, but it may not manifest itself as we’ve seen as of late,” said Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.

But how it will play out is up for debate, with some experts recalling the Islamic revolution that overtook Iran 30 years ago, while others liken the opposition players to the civil rights champions who rocked the United States.

“This is a movement that has swept across all dividing lines in Iranian society — both rich and poor, the merchants and the intellectuals, the young and old,” said Reza Aslan, author of the book “No God But God,” an analysis of Islam in politics and culture.

Source: CNN

More on the SMS Service in Iran

The conservative Hamshahri newspaper recently supported the cutting off of SMS across Iran, saying the measure had created tranquility.

However, parliamentary deputy Mostafa Kavakabian told the Farda News website that the blocking of SMS services had caused great damage to Iran’s economy. He asked the Iranian parliament to investigate.

On Wednesday, Mr Mousavi published a statement on the internet in which he demanded an end to what he called the government’s illegal interference in phone and SMS networks and the world wide web.

Source: BBC

Newsweek Reporter being held

Iran police fabricated Interpol probe into Neda’s death

The International Police force, or Interpol, has denied a claim by Iran’s police chief that it is seeking a doctor who witnessed the shooting death of 26-year-old “Neda.”
Head of police Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam said, “Arash Hejazi is wanted by Interpol and Iran’s Intelligence Ministry” in the murder of Neda, who’s shooting fueled what were daily opposition rallies in the capital city of Tehran, according to a Wednesday report by Iran’s Press TV, a state-run, English language network.

Speaking by phone to CBSNews.com Thursday morning from her office in Lyon, France, a spokesperson for Interpol flatly denied any involvement whatsoever in an investigation into Sultan’s death.

Merkel likens Iran to repressive East Germany.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday likened events in Iran to the oppression at the hands of the Stasi secret police in communist East Germany, where she grew up. ‘I know from the time of the GDR (East Germany) how important it was that people around the world made sure that the people stuck in (Stasi prisons) Bautzen and Hohenschoenhausen … were not forgotten,’ Merkel told parliament. ‘Iran must know, particularly in the age of modern communications, that we will do everything in our power to ensure that these people (arrested in Iran during the recent turmoil) are not forgotten about,’ she said.”

Source: Huffington Post

State TV: Mousavi to disclose tell-all documents

Mousavi, who has rejected the result of Iran’s presidential election as fraudulent, said on Wednesday that a number of Iranian scholars are set to form a committee to preserve the vote of the people.

The committee aims to “make public documents proving fraud and irregularities in the election,” Mousavi said in his latest statement issued on Wednesday.

Source: PressTV

EU considers withdrawing envoys from Tehran.

The official, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the armed forces chief of staff, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying that because of the European Union’s “interference” in the postelection unrest, the bloc had “totally lost the competence and qualifications needed for holding any kind of talks with Iran.”

He added, “We believe that they don’t have the right to speak of negotiations before apologizing for their obvious mistakes and showing their regret in practice,” Fars said.

Source: New York Times

Khatami calls election outcome a “coup” against democracy.

Former Iranian president and leading reformist Mohammad Khatami says the outcome of Iran’s disputed presidential election is a “coup” against democracy.

Khatami also accused Iran’s government of suppressing the rights of people to protest the election results…

…Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi also criticized the election outcome Wednesday, calling the government led by Mr. Ahmadinejad “illegitimate.”

Source: VOA

Revolutionary Guard commander attacked by public in Karaj

NCRI – A Revolutionary Guard commander who had played an active role in killing people and arresting protesters in recent days in Karaj, west of Tehran, was attacked and beaten by local people on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Dadgou who also heads Karaj City Council was directly involved in the suppression of the popular uprising in Karaj. According to reports from Karaj, he is in critical condition.

Source: Here

Report: Iran’s Ahmadinejad cancels Libya visit

Iran’s Fars news agency says that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not attend the African Union summit in Libya as was expected.

In a brief statement, the semiofficial news agency reported that the president’s visit to Libya — which was supposed to start Wednesday — has been canceled. No reason was given.

Source: Boston.com

Mousavi Calls for General Strike

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی Islamic Strike, help to spread the Voice out to fight the Bullets.اعتکاف سراسری، در این فضای آلوده

رسانه شمائید .. ایمیل و موبایل و مموری کارد و کپی و هر کمک دیگری هم حق شماست

From Facebook

U.S. Imposes new Sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

The United States announced a flurry of new sanctions Tuesday on North Korean and Iranian entities said to be aiding Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

“We have, I think, been fairly explicit with the North Koreans about what — the responsibilities that they entered into that we expect them to live up to. And I think today’s action demonstrates the seriousness of what we intend to do to address it,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

“They’ve stated a lot of bellicose things. They’ve threatened to do certain things. A lot of times what they’ve threatened to do they follow up on doing. But this administration, whether it is, through sanctions and our monitoring of North Korea … cutting off any potentially harmful financing,” Gibbs added.

Source: ABC

Senior cleric releases statement defending Mousavi.

Sara at the ‘Where Is My Vote?’ blog reports:

Tehran Iranian Labor News Agency in Persian on June 30, 2009 carried a report quoting a statement issued the same day by Esfahan’s former Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Jalaleddin Taheri-Esfahani, in support of the defeated presidential candidate, Mirhoseyn Mousavi.
The agency said the senior cleric had condemned “making instrumental use” of the Islamic founder’s remarks. In his statement, he asks: “Is it a case of justice to see that an honorable and modest Seyyed [one who is a descendant of the household of the prophet, Muhammad] who until the last moments of Khomeini’s life, had been a dear and close companion of that grand leader, is now considered to be a rioter and an agent of arrogance who must be punished?”

Found on Huffington Post

Faces of the Dead and Detained – Your help Needed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/jun/29/iran-election-dead-detained

Military officials push Khatami to intervene.

From Nico over at Huffinton Post

An interesting report in state media, sent by a reader, about how the government is trying to get reformist former president Khatami to help alleviate tensions.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Head of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told ISNA that the committee’s governing board held a meeting with former president Mohammad Khatami on Sunday and discussed the latest situation in the country.

According to Boroujerdi, officials attending the meeting expressed grave concern about the political damages brought about on a domestic and international scale in the course of recent protests in Iran.

“The lawmakers asked Mr. Khatami to help resolve the current issues and he vowed support,” the Majlis official said.

More about the Republican Guard

From Huffington Post:

8:39 AM ET — More focus on the Revolutionary Guard. We noted some analysis yesterday pointing to the key role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in the post-election unrest. Crooks & Liars has video of Fareed Zakaria speaking on the topic (posted below). And Bloomberg News looks at the Guard’s consolidation of power under Ahmadinejad:

Eight of the 21 posts in the president’s cabinet are held by former members, according to Ali Alfoneh, an analyst at Washington’s American Enterprise Institute. Among them are Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, whose agency ran the election, and Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar.

Another five places are occupied by past Basij commanders. The state broadcasting arm is headed by Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former guard. At least one-third of Iran’s parliament members are former guards, according to Nader.

Under Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, 65, only three ministers had belonged to the guards or Basij.

A smart Iranian expat I speak to repeatedly presses the important role that the Guard now plays in the economy, a point that Bloomberg’s piece makes as well: “Under Ahmadinejad, the government has favored the guards by offering its companies no-bid contracts, especially in oil and natural-gas extraction, pipeline construction and large-scale infrastructure development.”

Iran vows ‘crushing’ response to US critiques

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed yesterday to make the United States regret its criticism of Iran’s postelection crackdown and said the “mask has been removed’’ from the Obama administration’s efforts to improve relations.

Ahmadinejad all but dared Obama to keep calling for an end to repression of demonstrators who claim the hard-line leader stole reelection through massive fraud.

“You should know that if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong,’’ Ahmadinejad said in a speech to members of Iran’s judiciary, which is directly controlled by the ruling clerics. “The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse.’’Source: Here

More chants from the rooftops – Taken Saturday apparently

No matter how many times I hear this, its something amazingly inspiring. Its the unhindered voice of the people.

Crimes against humanity charges being sought against Iran

Dr Payam Akhavan’s Statement

6/28/9 8:33 PM Iran arrrests 2000 in violent crackdown on dissent — Times Online

6/28/9 8:31 PM Ahmadinijad’s Role Downplayed — The Straights Times

Ariel View of Tehran Chaos – June 20 2009

Basij Shooting down from rooftops

Senior cleric calls for separation of powers.

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli is calling for separation of powers in Iran.

“When one person alone enacts, executes and judges the law, there will be problems.” … Amoli, who led the Friday prayers sermon in Qom, believes that the best way to resolve the current situation is a separation between the executive branch, the judicial branch and the Islamic jurist. Amoli said separation of powers is not a recent phenomenon and it existed before Islam. “Separation of powers does not belong to a particular century. Islamic and non-Islamic governments have it now, too,” he said.

Source: NIAC

Is the Revolutionary Guard really in control?

Found this very intersting artice over at Huffington Post

Two U.S. analysts — former National Security Council staffer Gary Sick and former CIA operative Robert Baer — argued today that the events in Iran over the last two weeks amount to a military coup by the Revolutionary Guard. Here’s Sick writing for the Daily Beast:

Over the 20 years that Ayatollah Khamenei has been the rahbar, or leader, he has allied himself ever more closely with the Revolutionary Guards–to such an extent that it is no longer apparent to me who is leading and who is following. The Revolutionary Guards have been granted extraordinary influence over all functions of the Islamic republic–military, political, economic, and even Islamic. Technically, they take their orders from the leader, but has he ever dared to contradict them? On the contrary, he seems always to court them by granting them ever-greater influence and responsibilities. [...]
Unlike the professional military, which had always abjured a political role in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards were recognized from the start as the protectors of the Islamic republic. They have gone on to acquire an active and pervasive presence at all levels of the political structure, particularly under President Ahmadinejad, who has appointed his fellow guardsmen to positions throughout the bureaucracy.

And here’s Baer on CNN’s “GPS with Fareed Zakaria”: “Fareed, I’m quite sure there’s been a military coup d’etat by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. They’ve taken over. And the fact that the Basij came out so quickly, they could have only done that on orders from the IRGC. The fact that Ahmadinejad is a former IRGC officer, he has the backing of senior officers, I think what we’ve seen is a military coup against the old clerical establishment. What do you do about a military takeover in a country like Iran? You just simply wait it out.” A transcript of the full discussion is here.

Rafsanjani: Iran election fallout ‘a tangled mess’

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — After more than two weeks of silence amid Iran’s violent election fallout, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — a key Iranian cleric — emerged Sunday to call out “suspicious sources” who are creating a rift between the public and the Islamic government.

He called the aftermath of the June 12 presidential election “a tangled mess, perpetrated by suspicious sources whose objectives are to create differences and separations between the people and the system and eroding the trust of the people in the Islamic system,” the Iranian Labor News Agency reported Sunday.

Source: CNN

Are Senior Clerics As Divided As Iran?

June 28, 2009 · Qom is Iran’s holiest city and a central point of the electoral crisis in the country. Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, author of How To Win A Cosmic War, discusses what’s happening in Qom and with the Ayatollahs, and how the country might move forward.

Listen to th Full Interview: NPR

Iranian Standoff with the West Worsens: AP I dont know about the rest of you, but I am starting to feel like we are watching V:  The Real Life Version.  Remember that movie from the 80′s with all those lizards running around arresting scientists (in this case journalists), and “converting” anyone that stood against the regime of Aliens?   Things to ponder, might have to bust out my DVD.  BTW, V:  The 2nd Generation is currently out and for sale by Kenneth Johnson.

Latest Video From Iran:

8:14 PM Little US Intelligence on Iran — NPR

8:10 PM EDT — Mousavi Rejects Partial Iranian Recount — Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi on Saturday rejected authorities’ proposals for a partial recount of votes from this month’s election and repeated his demand the entire ballot be annulled.

EDITORS’ NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Latest From Nico @ Huffington Post:

7:37 PM ET — “PersianKiwi” reportedly arrested. An Iranian reporter tweeted these two messages in the past hour regarding “PersianKiwi,” one of the most reliable and prolific Iranians on Twitter: “persiankiwi is arrested. … I’m so sorry. I recive [sic] the persiankiwi arrest news from a honest source but I hope it’s been incorrect.”

Nothing has been verified yet, I’ll update as soon as I learn more.

Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili Condemns Violence

Member of Iran’s Guardian Council had a meeting with senior theologist Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili. The meeting focused on control of the Guardian Council over presidential elections in Iran that took place on June 12, candidates’ protests against election results and latest developments, ILNA reported.
“Those responsible for organizing the elections have obligations to the people. Unfortunately, events that taken place after the election has caused turmoil in the Islamic Republic. We do not have to pacify the protest by force. The issue must be solved in a different way,” Ardebili said.

He said the demonstrators must be entitled to speak before trying to pacify them. “We need to give protesters the right to speak on television. Answers of the opposite side should also be communicated to people through television. Let the people decide who is right and who is not. The people will not accept the senseless talk,” Ardebili said.

CNN: Inside the Revolutionary Guard

Excelent Compilation of Pictures: Iran Protest Pictures

Some Pictures:

Alikhani’s Speech in Majlis in Support of Mousavi (English Subs)

Former Revolutionary Guard Member: ‘Military Coup’ Underway In Iran

Right after the election, 11 o’clock at night, was a military coup because they went to (presidential candidate Mir Hossein) Mousavi’s headquarters — five persons from the Revolutionary Guard — and told him that, ‘Yes, the leader says that this is true, you have won the election, you are the elected president, but you can’t be the president. (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad should remain in the position.’

“And then they started to invent those fake numbers in Ministry of Interior. And right after that they started to arrest the people, to disconnect the country, to dismiss the reporters, and that is the reason that we call it a military coup.”

Source and interview: NPR

Some video’s from the Presidential address

Former UK Ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton

Former UK Ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton… is speaking for an hour today at the New America Foundation beginning at 12:30 PM ET. You can watch streaming video live at Steve Clemons’ blog, The Washington Note.

Green Balloons released in protest

Iranian Embassy Attacked just outside of Stockholm

STOCKHOLM — Swedish broadcaster SVT says the Iranian Embassy outside Stockholm is being attacked by demonstrators.

The report says about 150 people are trying to storm the embassy building. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt.

Source: Boston Herald

A Twitter Timeline

“iran govt slaughters its own”

Found this interesting post from an anonymous source cannot verify it at all but thought it worth posting here. Warning is pretty disturbing and graphic.

I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos at the trauma section in one of our main
hospitals. Although by decree, all riot-related injuries were supposed to be sent to military hospitals, all other hospitals were filled to the rim. Last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn. They (government) removed the dead bodies on back of trucks, before we were even able to get their names or other information. What can you even say to the people who don’t even respect the dead. No one was allowed to speak to the wounded or get any information from them. This morning the faculty and the students protested by gathering at the lobby of the hospital where they were confronted by plain cloths anti-riot militia, who in turn closed off the hospital and imprisoned the staff.

The extent of injuries are so grave, that despite being one of the most staffed emergency rooms, they’ve asked everyone to stay and help–I’m sure it will even be worst tonight. What can anyone say in face of all these atrocities? What can you say to the family of the 13 year-old boy who died from gunshots and whose dead body then disappeared?

This issue is not about cheating (election) anymore. This is not about stealing votes anymore. The issue is about a vast injustice inflected on the people. They’ve put a baton in the hand of every 13-14 year old to smash the faces of “the bunches who are less than dirt” (government is calling the people who are uprising dried-up torn and weeds). This is what sickens me from dealing with these issues. And from those who shut their eyes and close their ears and claim the riots are in opposition of the government and presidency!! No! The people’s complaint is against the egregious injustices committed against the people.

Source: Why we Protest

BEAT IT YOU FANATICS!!! GET OUT OF MY LAND!

From an Iranian Twitterer

In mourning those killed, thousands gathered Zahra cemetery garden

From the gist of the google translator it appears that thousands of people have gathered at the Zahra cemetery to mourn the death of the people killed over the last few weeks. If anyone can translate better please contat me.

Translated Source

Original Source

G8 to Iran: end violence, reflect will of people

TRIESTE, Italy (AP) — Foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries on Friday said they deplored postelection violence in Iran and urged Tehran authorities to ensure that the outcome of Iran’s disputed election reflects the will of the Iranian people.

A statement by the ministers meeting in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste said the door must remain open to dialogue on Iran’s nuclear program but expressed “deep concern” over the proliferation risk.

The statement was the result of negotiations between countries such as Italy and France that wanted to send a tough message to Iran to halt the crackdown and demand a recount, and Russia, which has said it backs the results that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

The statement, issued on the second day of the three-day meeting, said G-8 ministers deplored the postelection violence.

“We express our solidarity with those who have suffered repression while peacefully demonstrating and urge Iran to respect human rights, including freedom of expression,” it said.

It called on Iran “to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process.”

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of human lives,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said at a news conference, other G-8 officials by his side. “We have stressed the need that violence cease immediately.”

Italy originally invited Iran to attend the three-day gathering as a special guest, arguing that it could play an important role in talks on Afghan stabilization. But Rome retracted the invitation after Iran failed to respond, and amid concerns over the violence in the streets of Tehran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow wanted to express its “most serious concern” over the use of force by Iran and the death of peaceful protesters.

“At the same time, we will not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs. Our position is that all issues that have emerged in the context of the elections will be sorted out in line with democratic procedures,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, whose government expelled two Iranian diplomats earlier this week after Iran did the same to two British envoys, said that the violence was “deplorable” and that Iran’s accusations that the protests were mobilized by Western powers were “without foundation.”

“We deplore violence but we remain committed to engagement as a means to an end,” said Miliband.

Source: Associated Press

Friday Prayers: Iranian cleric says “rioters” should be executed

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of “rioters” in the latest sign of the authorities’ determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election.

Source: Reuters

US Senators Push Bill to Help Iranians Avoid Government Online

Is it just me or should McCain and Liieberman but out and leave this to the President and his team? History has shown how interfearing like this can cause more harm then good.

U.S. lawmakers say they plan legislation that would fund efforts to help Iranians receive and send information despite government restrictions.

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said Thursday that the bill intends to help the Iranian people stay “one step ahead of the Iranian regime.”

Lieberman introduced the bill with Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

McCain said the proposed legislation would authorize funds to ensure Iranians have the software and other tools to evade government censorship and surveillance online.

The legislation would also authorize VOA’s Persian service to make permanent an additional hour of programming that was added to cover the post-election violence.

More funding would also be provided to the U.S. government-sponsored Radio Farda to boost the broadcaster’s short-wave radio and satellite capacity.

Source: VOA

Follow the Money

An interesting look at the money trail leading out of Iran.

Many tranches (portions, amounts) of 10 Million USD$ are being sent out of Iran to locations [in Europe].  These funds are coming out of Islamic Leaders [PERSONAL ACCOUNTS] and not from accounts controlled by the official Government of Iran.

Read the full article here by Ariel Silverstone

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO – Iranian being shot by government forces

What seems to be the first video actually depicting an Iranian being shot on camera by government officials has hit the internet. The shooting occurs while the person filming is quite far away, but the video then shows closer images of his body. The video is dated June 20. One can only imagine what an accurate count of the injured and dead demonstrators would look like at this point.

Source: Huffington Post

10 Minute footage from the events of the 24th – Caution may be distressing

Source: Huffington Post

Fractures in the Revolutionary Guard “Remember me,” he pleaded. “Remember that I helped the BBC.”

He’s done some pretty dreadful things in his life, from attacking women in the streets for not wearing the full Islamic gear to fighting alongside Islamic revolutionaries in countries abroad.

And yet now, in the tumult that has gripped Iran since its elections last week, he’s had a change of heart.

He’s become a backer of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate who alleges fraud in the elections. He’s saved up the money to send his son to a private school abroad, and he loathes President Ahmadinejad.

He’s not the only one.

Source: BBC

Top dissident cleric warns Iran over crackdown

TEHRAN (AFP) — Top Iranian dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri warned on Thursday that continued suppression of opposition protests could threaten the very basis of the Islamic republic.

“If Iranians cannot talk about their legitimate rights at peaceful gatherings and are instead suppressed, frustrations will build up which could possibly uproot the foundations of the government, no matter how powerful,” the cleric said in a statement faxed to AFP.

Source: Here

Rafsanjani Has Votes To Remove Khamenei?

According to unconfirmed reports Rafsanjani is currently lobbying and meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts to gain support for the removal of Khamenei and for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a form of collective leadership. According to Al-Arabiya, high-up sources say that Rafsanjani has already gained enough support within the Assembly for the removal of Khamenei, but has found less of a positive response to the proposal to replace the position of Supreme Leader altogether.

Source: Here

Ahmadinejad gets stood up

More than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win, local press reports say.

All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say.

Source: BBC

Videos of Massacre at Baharestan Square (Warning: Graphic) – Source

People must know about the monsters that are leading Iran. They are arresting people they don’t kill or beat. they must be stopped. Please pass this website onto others. You may also read my story on the massacre at http://trending.zachshouse.org/?p=236

“You should know that if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong,’’ Ahmadinejad said in a speech to members of Iran’s judiciary, which is directly controlled by the ruling clerics. “The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse.’’

Dear friends and colleagues.  I greet you with a heart full of sorrow and rage at the horrors unfolding in the streets of Tehran and other cities in Iran.  Yesterday I saw on YouTube the shocking image of the young woman by the name of Neda who was shot by a Basij sniper in front of her father.  I will never forget the anguish and desperation of the father’s voice as he watched his daughter bleed to death before his eyes.  This is just one snapshot of the savagery that has been unleashed against the millions that have peacefully protested for their democratic rights.  Thousands more have been beaten, stabbed, murdered, tortured, imprisoned, or simply disappeared from the streets, homes, and hospitals.

We can never forget this injustice.  We can never forgive those that treat our brothers and sisters as animals in a slaughter house.  Those who commit these acts are not political leaders.  They are criminals.  They are murderers and torturers.  They have committed crimes both against the Iranian people and against humanity.

In international law, large-scale and systematic murder, torture, imprisonment, disappearances, persecution on political and religious grounds, all the policies being pursued by some of the Iranian leaders today, qualify as crimes against humanity.  Those in the leadership that order or tolerate these acts bear individual criminal responsibility.

I spent ten years of my life prosecuting war criminals for the United Nations, from the former Yugoslavia to Rwanda.  And now I have this message for those leaders that are spilling the blood of our compatriots on our sacred soil: WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE!  YOU WILL NOT BE IN POWER FOREVER.  AND WHEN THE DAY COMES, WE WILL BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!  WE WILL PUT YOU TO SHAME BEFORE THE WHOLE WORLD FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!  YOU WILL HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE!  WHETHER YOU REMAIN IN IRAN OR ESCAPE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, WE WILL FIND YOU AND PROSECUTE YOU UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW!

To all of you assembled in cities across Canada and elsewhere in the world, I would like to make the following proposal to seek justice for our brothers and sisters that have been killed and tortured: WE MUST DEMAND THAT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL REFER THE SITUATION OF IRAN TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AT THE HAGUE.  We must sign petitions, write our friends and colleagues, our Government and members of Parliament, in Canada and other countries, and demand that this be done.  We must send the message to Iran’s leadership that these crimes will not go unpunished.

I bow in humility to those that have sacrificed their lives for the future of the Iranian people and hope that we in the diaspora will make every effort to ensure that their killers are brought to justice.

Payam Akhavan

Bookmark It

Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 3
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 6

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

Green Brief # 8 is out  here

Bazaaris in Tabriz join the people and go on strike – Unconfirmed

Source: Here

Rough Google Translation:

This was Aztbryzmkhabrh Khbrbsyarmhm minutes ago

Announcements Bsyarmhm Bazaar of Tabriz

Anallh Vanaalyh Rajvn

Sharif nation Vtarykh maker Azerbaijan “Ghyvrstarkhan children” street Vmjthdshhyd Grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari Now that John Vmal Vnamvs Lebanese Muslims trample boots Vflstyn been set Vznan Vkvdkan of legitimate Drmqabl Batvmha Vmslslhay a Jew born Nzhadqtl mass are called Ahmadi fatwa today with Grand Ayatollah Montazeri .. Hojjatollah Brmrdm Azerbaijan Vbrasas Check the materials to rise Mlyh Vshryh fans Mypyvndym Vbnabr norm right Tonight صنوف Azerbaijan atmosphere redolent with God Akbrshbanh Vrvz Thursday Chhartyrmah Drzay the national strike Vbstn market “Black Flags Hosseini Brdr shops to Vyzym / Nsrmn Allah Gharib Vfth / Marketers Tabriz /.

Mousavi and Rafsanjani met senior parliamentarians on Wednesday

Is this the a further step in winning support to divide and remove the current government?

Mousavi and Rafsanjani met senior parliamentarians on Wednesday. The semi-official Fars news agency said only that the “election and latest developments” were discussed and it was not clear whether the pair were trying to make peace with the hardline-dominated parliament or trying to win support.

Source: Reuters

Ominous Message from PersianKiwi

they catch ppl with mobile – so many killed today – so many injured – Allah Akbar – they take one of usthey pull away the dead into trucks – like factory – no human can do this – we beg Allah for save us -

Everybody is under arrest & cant move – Mousavi – Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guardwe must go – dont know when we can get internet – they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names – now we must move fast -

thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green – pls remember always our martyrs – Allah Akbar – Allah Akbar – Allah Akbar

Allah – you are the creator of all and all must return to you – Allah Akbar -

PersianKiwi in Trouble

“We are at a critical point” Request from Iranians outside of Iran

e are at a critical point. In my opinion the content of this letter is very crucial and urgent. Please make sure you read it.

First, I apologize for the tone of my words. I write this letter in Tehran, in poor physical conditions and morale, on behalf of the Iranian people to Iranians outside Iran. I believe this matter is very important for the fate of Iran. As Napoleon said, only one step separates victory and defeat. We are exactly at that crucial step now.

Tonight, I was alone on the roof. It was just me and a young girl, a few houses away, who was shouting Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) with all her power. Her voice had something of Neda’s in it, so with all my remaining energy I shouted, screamed, “Don’t be afraid, Don’t be afraid, We are all together!”. But even I got tired after half an hour later, came down to my room, a little scared, a little frustrated. But I could still hear the girl shouting “Iranians with dignity, Support Support!”

Source: Here

The “Butcher of the press” to oversee prosecutions

I think this speaks for iteself…

The Iranian regime has appointed one of its most feared prosecutors to interrogate reformists arrested during demonstrations, prompting fears of a brutal crackdown against dissent.

Relatives of several detained protesters have confirmed that the interrogation of prisoners is now being headed by Saaed Mortazavi, a figure known in Iran as “the butcher of the press”. He gained notoriety for his role in the death of a Canadian-Iranian photographer who was tortured, beaten and raped during her detention in 2003.

Source: TimesOnline

Images from the last few days - Baharestan SQ & other parts of Tehran

Source: Revolutionary Road

First Hand Account Of Violence In Iran: Very Disturbing!

Latest From BBC:

Neda’s Family Forced Out of Home

The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world.

Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.

“We just know that they [the family] were forced to leave their flat,” a neighbour said. The Guardian was unable to contact the family directly to confirm if they had been forced to leave.

Iranian Government using detainees as Propaganda

Unconfirmed – A girl shot in Baharestan Sq

Reports are coming in over twitter of a girl being shot in Baharestan Square. The reports indicate that the security forces prevented anyone from helping her. These reports are unconfirmed as yet, more information as they come in.

Protesters Plan New Rallies

This was posted here

An interesting comment at the bottom indicates that protests are moving from the Universities to town squares.

Nazenin Ansari, the diplomatic editor of the Kahylan newspaper, told Al Jazeera that the fall in numbers gathering to protest was understandable given the “degree of repression on the streets”.

“Without a doubt, although there are not millions gathering on the streets because of the indiscrimante fire and repression, this is going to transform,” she said.

“In provinces, where people were before gathering in universities, in recent days were are seeing people gathering in main squares.”

Iran Arrests foreign Nationals in relation to protests.

Whats with the current dispute with Britain?

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian authorities said Wednesday they have arrested several foreign nationals, some with British passports, in connection with the country’s post-election unrest.

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei told reporters that some with links to the West and Israel had planned a series of bombings in Iran ahead of the June 12 presidential elections, the government-funded Press TV reported Wednesday.

“England is among the countries that fan the flames with their heavy propaganda, which is against all diplomatic norms,” Ezhei was quoted in the semi-official Fars news agency. “And the BBC Farsi has also played a major role. Also, a number of people carrying British passports have played a role in the recent disturbances.”

Earlier Wednesday, Press TV said that police had raided a building in central Tehran that was being used as a “headquarters” to foment post-election unrest.

The television station, citing unnamed sources, said the building was used by campaign staffers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi. And evidence indicated that “foreign elements” were behind the planning, Press TV said.

The Iranian government has long blamed foreign countries, especially Britain, for “meddling” in its affairs but have not offered up proof.

On Tuesday, Britain expelled two Iranian diplomats — a tit-for-tat gesture after Iran asked two British diplomats to leave a day earlier.

Source: CNN

Regime Tortures a 17yo Boy – Source: Salon.com

He is just a 17-year-old boy who was supposed to take the university entrance exam within a month before his fingers were broken and the finger webs were cut with a blade. He was arrested violently in the parking lot of a living complex without even taking part in any of the recent activities, and after more than 24 hours he returned home while his face was fully covered with blood and one could only see his eyes.

Protesters Setup Barricades against Basij

Larijani pressing for Mousavi to be given airtime on IRIB to discuss elections

Ali Larijani, President of the Parliamentary gradual determine when in the presence of Mir-Hossein Mousavi IRIB and expression to his protests, the election result is. One committee member representatives of gradual events after the election Ryastjmhvry Takydkrd: IRIB unilateral operation, the status quo to provoke popular protests and has contributed to this situation and criticized by some authorities, including the President and the Assembly.He emphasized: Larijani believes that censorship and treated unilateral IRIB, to solve problems and does not help restore trust, but must also protesting voice is heard. He was reminded: In this context, the Speaker is trying to Mir Hossein Mousavi protests a television program to discuss the elections and against one individual or the election authorities to doubt Ahmadinejad to answer.

From Google Translation

Source: Here

Mousavi Calls for new gathering – Wednesday

Mousavi on his twitter page has called for new demonstrations. His Twitter page is quoted as saying:

Please come to Baharestan Sq. in Tehran tomorrow at 4pm #IranElection

This draws in parallels from earlier reports that we had been seeing from sources within Iran for a new “Sea of Green” march. The call for a new march will aid to reinforce the opposition to the current establishment. Lara Setrakian from ABC News is also reporting this call for peaceful protest and what may include a speech on her Twitter page.

Latest From a Source In Iran:

1. all foreign embassys surrounded by militia to stop ppl going in – #Iranelection
2. The parks in north of city are closed at night and militia attacking any ppl in park or walking in streets – #Iranelection
3. we have report of large street battles in east & west of Tehran now – #Iranelection a controlling movement from downtown to north of Tehran to stop ppl joining Sea of Green – #Iranelection
4. tomorrow Mousavi annouce start of a new type of protests – peaceful and silent – soon there will be strikes #Iranelection from web
5. the only question now is how will the end happen – peacefully or with civil war – #Iranelection
6. the ppl have lost all faith in this Gov – Iran can never be same as b4 again – #Iranelection
7. all normal life in Iran has stopped – now everybody only talk about Sea of Green and rumours of how Khamenei will go – #Iranelection

6/23 Nico Pitney (Huffington Post) Questions Barack Obama on what conditions Obama would accept the election on Akhmadinijad.

6/23 DYV 1st Youtube Video US President Barack Obama on Iran

Intersting Tweet I found – Those arrested will be forced to confess in front of the cameras?

Name Witheld:

گفته می شودتاج‌زاده، عبدالله رمضان‌زاده، محسن امین‌زاده وابطحی به شرط اعتراف به کودتای مخملی و مدیریت آشوبها در مقابل دوربین آزاد خواهند شد

Google Translation:

According to Shvdtajzadh Abdullah Rmzanzadh, Mohsen Amynzadh Vabthy condition velvet coup to confess in front of the camera and Management Chaos will be released

This from another source:

political prisoners being tortured to deny support for Sea of Green – #Iranelection – prison source

How the militia treat the people of Iran

Big update from a source “In Iran” regarding political moves in the back – Interesting read

At Friday prayers last wk Khamenei named Rafsanjani – it is very unusual to name anyone at Friday prayers – #Iranelection cont… (1)

Rafsanjani is head of Guardians who appointed Khamenei – He has power to remove him too – #Iranelection cont…(2)

During elections ANejad attak reputation of Rafsanjani on behalf of Khamenei – #Iranelection cont…(3)

Rafsanjani is possibly most powerful man in Iran – he has support of army and many of Revolutionary Guard – #Iranelection cont…(4)

Ppl of Iran know that Rafsanjani opposes Khamenei and ANejad – #Iranelection cont…(5) – there is big division btween them for past 10yrs

Until today Rafsanjani has remained silent about elections fraud in Iran – #Iranelection cont…(6) – this silence is v/important

Rafsanjani is waiting 4 Gov to show world extent of their suppression of ppls – #Iranelection cont…(7)

Rafsanjani is also waiting for wave of support to grow both in & out of country – #Iranelection cont….(8)

Rafsanjani is slowly eroding support for Khamenei from behind scene – #Iranelection cont….(9)

Rafsanjani is standing back to see who is who – who support who – to see who is trusted – #Iranelection cont….(10)

Rafsanjani is allowing Revolutionary Guard commanders to choose their side – with ppl or against – #Iranelection cont…(11) trusted or not

When all positions clear – Rafsanjani has the military, financial & clerical power to mobilise – #Iranelection cont…(12)

The process is slow – but certain – when Rafsanjani speaks – he will be heard – #Iranelection end

Another night of chanting: From Irans Green Revolution

Green Brief #6 is out – Here

Footage from Babel – Monday

IRAN: RAFSANJANI POISED TO OUTFLANK SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI

From all accounts there is about to be a massive powerplay in the upper echelons of Iranian power.

A source familiar with the thinking of decision-makers in state agencies that have strong ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said there is a sense among hardliners that a shoe is about to drop. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — Iran’s savviest political operator and an arch-enemy of Ayatollah Khamenei’s — has kept out of the public spotlight since the rigged June 12 presidential election triggered the political crisis. The widespread belief is that Rafsanjani has been in the holy city of Qom, working to assemble a religious and political coalition to topple the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“There is great apprehension among people in the supreme leader’s [camp] about what Rafsanjani may pull,” said a source in Tehran who is familiar with hardliner thinking. “They [the supreme leader and his supporters] are much more concerned about Rafsanjani than the mass movement on the streets.”

Source: Eurasia.org

World Unites for Democracy in Iran – Pass it on to any contacts you have for support.

Revolutionary Guards commander defies Khamenei’s orders to use force on protestors

Source: IB Times

6/22:  9:46 AM

From UPI News

Sweden, June 22 (UPI) — A European Union-wide proposal to coordinate aid for wounded Iranian demonstrators was expected to be discussed Wednesday in Stockholm, ministers said.

Ministers of Italy, France and Finland called for a common EU response for people seeking assistance in the violent aftermath of Iran’s June 12 election in which hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejadwas declared the landslide winner over his nearest rival, moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

In demonstrations in Tehran Saturday, official Iranian media outlets reported at least 13 people died and more than 400 were wounded.

6/22 9:28 AM Latest From Chuck Todd at MSNBC: *** Ramping Up The Rhetoric: As the violence and protests escalated in Iran on Saturday, President Obama stepped up his criticism about what’s happening there. “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching,” he said in a statement. “We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.” But the toughest domestic political rhetoric on Iran is coming from Republicans. This is one of those cases where Democrats and the White House are wondering what the reaction would be if the roles were reversed — i.e., Democrats criticizing a GOP administration’s response on foreign policy. Indeed, Republicans regularly beat up Democrats for supposedly politicizing international issues (do remember that the establishment Democratic Party didn’t start truly criticizing the situation in Iraq until two-plus years after the war began). But who’s politicizing now? Also, it’s worth noting that the criticism from Republicans is NOT universal. In fact, the GOP establishment on this issue is more divided than the coverage is suggesting.

6/22 8:55 AM Latest From CNN:

Iranian Forces Ready To Clear Country of ‘Hooligan’

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) – Iranian protesters who “disturb the peace and stand up to security forces” will be considered a threat to the regime and will be met with a strong response, the country’s Revolutionary Guard warned Monday.

“The guardians of the Islamic revolution and the courageous Basiji together with the security forces following the orders of the supreme leader and following him unquestioningly, are determined to act strongly to return peace and tranquility to society … and to clean the country of these plotters and hooligans,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, according to Iran’s state-run news agency, IRNA.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is directly under the control of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and enforces the government’s Islamic codes and morality. It was initially created to protect the leaders of the revolution, but over the years, it has broadened its scope. With more than 200,000 members, it is tasked with overseeing the country’s crucial interests, including guarding its oil fields and missile arsenals.

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Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 2
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 5

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

Revolutionary Guard Threaten Crackdown

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have threatened to crack down on any new street protests against the results of the country’s presidential election.

In a statement, the guards vowed to react in a “revolutionary” way to suppress unauthorised demonstrations.

Source: BBC

Protest Footage 21st June

Mehdi Karroubi calls public mourning of Neda.

Mehdi Karroubi امروز ساعت 16 در ميدان هفت تير به سوگ ندا می نشينيم.

2 hours ago · Comment · Like

Google Tranlation:

Mehdi Karroubi Today Tir Square in 16 hours to call the bereavement Nshynym.

40 senior clerics want election results annulled.

Nico Pitney at the Huffington Post (Great job guys btw) is tonight reporting that 40 senior clerics want the election results annuled.

The intense infighting among Iran’s clerical establishment appeared to play out in new dramatic fashion on Monday. Via reader Art, the news site Peiknet reported that Ayatollah Rafsanjani has a letter signed by 40 members of the powerful 86-member Assembly of Experts calling for the annulment of the recent presidential election results.

Moreover, the letter (the authenticity of which has, again, not been verified) charges that the arrest of Rafsanjani’s daughter Faezeh on Sunday was a way to exert pressure on him, and that she was followed and identified by the intelligence services during the rally.

More translation via a reader:

It says Khamenai has long had cancer and wanted to have his son as Supreme Leader (the position that Rafsanjani wants), and that the attempt to alter the election results was done in an attempt by Khamenei to eventually allow his son Mojtaba to replace him. It says that at the core the argument is not just about Mousavi but the overall system of government, as it’s becoming a like Monarchy rather than a republic. So far, it says, most of the clerics have not accepted Ahmadinejad presidency, and quotes Ayatollah Javadi Amoly saying of the attack on Tehran University students, ‘no Muslim will destroy another’s property, they must be foreigners.’

Calm Over Nite State Media Reports

The Huffington Post Reporting: Source

Calm overnight, state media reports. “Iranian state radio said on Monday thatno unrest broke out in Tehran overnight and the capital had been calm for the first time since a disputed June 12 presidential election. ‘Tehran last night witnessed the first night of calm and peace since the election,’ state radio said.”

The New York Times reports, “There were reports of scattered confrontations but no confirmation of any new injuries by evening. But as they had on previous nights, many residents of Tehran clambered to their rooftops and could be heard shouting ‘Death to the dictator!’ and ‘God is great,’ their rallying cries since the crisis began.”

State Radio Reports 457 Arrested Saturday

The AFP is reporting that Iranian State Radio said Monday that 457 people had been arrested in clashes on saturday.  The radio is reporting that the arrests were made around the capitols Azadi Square.

Police said 40 officers were wounded and 34 Government buildings have been damaged.

Source: Yahoo

12:14 Nokia & Siemens Aid Iran – Iran’s Web Spying Aided By Western Technology

The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world’s most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale.

Interviews with technology experts in Iran and outside the country say Iranian efforts at monitoring Internet information go well beyond blocking access to Web sites or severing Internet connections.

The level of technology and method of deployment are well and truely advanced in the fields. The report says that the US has the same technology and the way Iran is using it out does the Great Firewall of China

The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.

The article goes on to say:

“We didn’t know they could do this much,” said a network engineer in Tehran. “Now we know they have powerful things that allow them to do very complex tracking on the network.”

Deep packet inspection involves inserting equipment into a flow of online data, from emails and Internet phone calls to images and messages on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Every digitized packet of online data is deconstructed, examined for keywords and reconstructed within milliseconds. In Iran’s case, this is done for the entire country at a single choke point, according to networking engineers familiar with the country’s system.

Read the full article here: Source

12:06 AM EDT From LA TIMES

At least 24 journalists have been arrested in Iran since the start of protests last week against disputed election results, according to news organizations and a media watchdog.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders today released the names of 23 arrested journalists and bloggers, including the head of the Assn. of Iranian Journalists, Ali Mazroui.

Newsweek magazine later posted a statement saying that its correspondent, Maziar Bahari, a Canadian, was detained without charge this morning and has not been heard from since. Newsweek defended his coverage of Iran as “fair and nuanced” and called for his release.

BBC says its correspondent, Jon Leyne, has been ordered to leave within 24 hours. But the British broadcaster says its Tehran bureau will remain open.

Iran’s leadership has repeatedly accused Western journalists and their governments of fomenting the unrest over the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote marred by allegations of fraud.

Since the June 12 poll, authorities have revoked the credentials of foreign journalists and barred reporters from the streets. Many websites have also been blocked.

Much of the news now coming out of Iran is being relayed by so-called citizen journalists who post pictures and videos on Internet sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

NEWSWEEK Reporter Arrested

From VOA News:

International criticism of Iran’s handling of a disputed presidential vote and subsequent protests is mounting, after Iranian media reported the arrest of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani’s eldest daughter.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to a growing chorus of Western leaders demanding respect for civil liberties in Iran.

“Human rights and citizens’ rights are inseparable, and that is why Germany stands behind the people, and peaceful demonstrations in Iran, who want to make use of their freedom of speech and who want to gather peacefully. I, therefore, demand that Iran’s leaders allow peaceful demonstrations, allow free reporting of events, stop the use of violence against demonstrators and free imprisoned people.”

— Read More

Her Name was Neda -

Picked this up from the Huffington Post – Great work to Nico Pitney and the crew at Huffington.

Video of Saturdays Mousavi Speech

To the Fallen – Pt3 – A bit more on Neda – Source: Huffington Post

6:55 PM ET A bit more on Neda. A blogger apparently in touch with Neda’s family members offers some new details (translated by reader Nima): she was born in 1982, apparently her full name was Neda Agha-Soltan, and she was at the protest with one her professors and several other students. She was, they said, shot by a basiji riding by on a motorcycle. Also, she was apparently buried today at a large cemetery in the south of Tehran. ABC News’ Lara Setrakianwrites, “Hearing reports Neda was buried in Behesht Zahra cemetery earlier today, memorial service cancelled on orders from authorities.”

Latest From TehranBureau Information Regarding The Ayatolah’s 3 days of mourning Newsweek Journalist Arrested Yahoo News! From Bloomberg:

June 21 (Bloomberg) At least 10 protesters were killed in Iran and, in a sign of widening divisions within the regime, state media reported that security forces detained five members of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s family. Rafsanjani, one of the most influential politicians in Iran, is a behind-the-scenes supporter of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says that June 12 elections were rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That puts him in conflict with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has approved of the electoral win.

2:57 PM EDT Great Video From BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/06/090621_ag_street_clashes.shtml

Video from Al-Jazeera

More protests and death tolls reported

From Huffington Post

8:50 AM ET More protests today CNN is showing new video from today of what looks to be a very large protest, with the crowd chanting and marching through the streets. June 21, 8:40 AM ET More deaths The AP reports on more deaths and the arrests of Rafsanjani’s daughter: State media reported Sunday at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities have arrested the daughter and four other relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most powerful men. The reports brought the official death toll for a week of unrest to at least 19. State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons. However English-language Press TV, which is broadcast only outside the country, put the toll at 13 and labeled those who died “terrorists.” There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. Amnesty International cautioned that it was “perilously hard” to verify the casualty tolls. “The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation,” Amnesty’s chief Iran researcher, Drewery Dyke, told The Associated Press. “In the 10 years I’ve been following this country, I’ve never felt more at sea than I do now. It’s just cut off.” On Sunday, the streets of Tehran were eerily quiet.

Updated Facebook Post – Mousavi

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی

هشدار احمدي مقدم به موسوي

در نامه فرمانده نيروي انتظامي درباره ادامه تجمعات خياباني مطرح شد هشدار احمدي مقدم به موسوي سردار اسماعيل احمديمقدم فرمانده كل نيروي انتظامي ايران در نامهاي كه…

10 minutes ago · Comment · LikeUnlike · Show Feedback (90)Hide Feedback (90) · Share

Google Translation:

Mir Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Ahmadi Moghaddam warning to Mosavi Letter to police chief continue gathering street warning was raised to Mosavi Sardar Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam Ahmdymqdm total force commander of forces in the names of …

Source: Facebook

A call for strike assistance – Mousavi

More protest video from the 20th

Rift grows among Iranian leaders

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) The public rift among Iranian leaders widened Sunday when the country’s foreign minister disputed allegations of ballot irregularities even as the parliamentary speaker implied that the election authority had sided with one candidate.

Source: CNN

We are no more afraid of bullet, tank and Basidji.

Stunning professional wireservice images from Iran: http://www.daylife.com/search/photos/1/grid?q=iran Ahmadinejad thanks Leader for support

Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has thanked the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for his comments at Tehran’s Friday prayers. “I sincerely extend my gratitude to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei over his historic and epoch-making presence as well as helpful remarks at Tehran’s Friday prayers,” the letter read. Source: Presstv.ir

Reuters: Iran police chief warns Mousavi over unrest: media

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s police chief has warned opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi that officers will “decisively confront” any further unrest over a disputed presidential vote, Iranian newspapers reported on Sunday. Source: Reuters

CNN Story about Neda http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/21/iran.woman.twitter/index.html Updated video: Basij HQ Blown up

Natural gas lines of Basij Head quarter was set on fire after Basijie’s locked themselves inside . at 0:05 you can see the whole building exploded at least 5 from Basijies were killed you can see fire in different parts of city location : Eastern Tehran

To the fallen PT2 – Update on Neda

Terrorfying home invasion video – From Huffington Post

Terrifying home invasion video. CNN just aired this amateur video of a basiji raid tonight on what looks to be an apartment complex. Just listen to the audio pure terror. A reader helps transcribe: “‘They are vandalizing all the cars,’ the voice says, with all the car alarms going off. I think the banging sound is from the baton on the windshield and on banging the cars. The last loud female shriek is, ‘Go GET LOST!’”

The Green Brief Part 4 is up http://iran.whyweprotest.net/news-current-events/1438-green-brief-4-niteowl.html Powerful images of yesterdays events http://www.flickr.com/photos/fhashemi/sets/72157619758530748/show/ http://www.demotix.com/news/saturday-riots-following-iranian-election-results-tehran http://www.demotix.com/iranelection Google updating Satelite imagery for Tehran http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/06/imagery-update-for-tehran.html Reports of Embassies Accepting Injured http://mashable.com/2009/06/20/google-maps-iran/ 8:29PM EDT – To the fallen I just watched a disturbing video of a young woman who’s name is believed to be Neda. As i write this tears roll down my face. She was one of the many victims of today’s violence. These people gave the ultimate sacrifice for a cause they believed in and to make their country a better place for future generations. She was apparently shot through the heart by a sniper while watching the protests. Remember these people, remember what they stood for, what they came to achieve.  Men and women standing together to voice a cause they believe in. They are the ultimate martyrs, young innocent victims of a dictator, dying for a cause greater then us all.

“Her name was ندا (#Neda), which means voice or call in Farsi. She is the voice of the people, a call to freedom “

http://ow.ly/fh4v 8:28PM EDT – Some images From this excellent website: Here 6:50PM EDT — Latest Video 6:40 PM EDT – Chaos continues to erupt in Iran, as protestors continue to question the legitimacy of an election that resulted in Akhkmadinijad being relected by a landslide.   Security forces in Iran fought against the protestors using baton charges, tear gas, and water cannons.  The Local run media is reporting that a suicide bombing occured at the shrine of the late Ayatollah Khomenei where two people were killed and eight wounded.   Meanwhile, many fans of twitter and @persiankiwi, are concerned because he has not tweeted in over 6 hours as the latest reports are of the “security forces” camping outside foreign embassies whom are assisted the wounded.

First Aid For Chemical Burns: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-chemical-burns/fa00024#iranelection

6:32 PM EDT — This video has been posted on facebook by one of the people giving information to those outside Iran — it is an image of his sister being murdered. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1188119140308&ref=nf

From Iran:  Hospital close to the scene in Tehran: 30-40 dead so far at 11pm and 200 injured.

– Tehran Time 9:16 Tehran Time: More video 9:06 Tehran Time: More video 8:51 Tehran Time: More video – Date Unconfirmed 8:20 Tehran Time: Reports from “In IRAN” Unconfirmed – The Army will not follow orders to kill the people – #Iranelection People of Iran – be ready to take people from the streets tonight and give protection – #Iranelection Tehran is burning with the blood of our Martyrs – The streets are full of dead – #Iranelection Tehran is burning with the blood of our Martyrs – The streets are full of dea – #Iranelection Mousavi speaking to supporters in the street NOW – #Iranelection Mousavi – declares results of 10th Presidential Election null and void – #Iranelection RT RT RT Today is the day of rekoning – the day of GHIAMAAT – Allah Akbar – #Iranelection Helicopters pouring acid on people from the sky – #Iranelection 8:12 Pm Tehran Time: More Mousavi reporting. From Huffington Post @LilyMazahery: “Mousavi is at head of Jayhoon ave. giving a speech.” Reliable Iranian on Twitter: “mousavi among people: I am ready for death” Another: “Mousavi – Confirmed – I have prepared for martyrdom” 7:48 – More pictures from Tehran Source: Here 7:30 -Gunshots heard Gunshots continuously heard from Ghasr-ol-dasht street Source: Tehran Bureau 7:22 Tehran Time:  Mousavi supporters set light to Tehran building Source: Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Supporters of Iran’s defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi on Saturday set on fire a building in southern Tehran used by backers of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a witness said. The witness also said police shot into the air to disperse rival supporters in Tehran’s south Karegar street.

More footage from Tehran:

More footage from the streets of Tehran: WARNING GRAPHIC – DISTURBING AND DISTRESSING IMAGES – Unconfirmed for today

“Impossible” to get through police. A BBC correspondent:

I’m in the centre of Tehran close to Enghelab Square where the demonstration was supposed to have been held. But there’s a huge security presence here, thousands of men from every possible service: police, revolutionary guard, military police, the riot police in full riot gear, and the much-feared Basij – religious paramilitaries who see themselves as the shock troops of the Islamic revolution. It’s impossible for any groups of people to get through these to Enghelab Square and hold their demonstration.

6:26 Tehran Time: Possible Video uploaded from Tehran Video from last night: basiji attack peoples homes 6:05pm Tehran Time: Explosion @ shrine Reports suggesting that the government blew up the shrine to discredit protestors. – Unconfirmed 6:04pm Tehran Time: Teargas used – reports

Reuters: “Iranian riot police used tear gas on Saturday to disperse demonstrators protesting in Tehran against a disputed presidential election, a witness said. Smoke was rising over Enghelab (Revolution) Square, where supporters of defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi had gathered in defiance of a ban on protests, the witness added.”

5:46pm Tehran Time: Reports of 2 blasts in Tehran Iranian state TV is reporting 2 blasts in the city of Tehran Updated: Two people hurt in blast at mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran, Iran’s state-run Press TV reports. – CNN 5:29 Tehran Time: Reports of police switching sides, reports of violence – Unconfirmed From a reliable Iranian on Twitter: “special guards confronted with people, attacked them with batton dispersed them into small ally ways” A trusted Iranian reporter writes, “The rally of Silente continues today in Iran. Some witnesses are reporting gunshot in Azadi St.” Unconfirmed:

RT UNCONFIRMED reports mentioning basiji and police members are joining the green revolution #iranelections #gr88 #Tehran #IranElection

5:11 Tehran Time: CNN Breaking News TWEET.

cnnbrk

Thousands of people attempting to enter Tehran protest site have been blocked by heavily armed police, eyewitness says.

Police Clash with Protesters 5:03 local time: ABC’s Jim Sciutto: “Tweets from inside Iran say rally is on and police clashing with protesters.” Pictures from inside Iran: Source Huffington Post 4:55 Tehran Time: Protersters appeal to police Reports are coming in unconfirmed that protesters are appealing to the police and security forces to join with them. BREAKING: PROTESTS ON According to Mousavi’s Facebook page the protests are still on. Source: Facebook

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی  خبر ها و گزارشها حاکی از آمدن سیل عظیم جمعیت از شهرستانهای اطراف به سمت تهران می باشد . دوستان همه دارند به سمت تهران می آیند . شنبه 30 خرداد ساعت 4 میدان انقلاب تهران The CRUCIAL Demonstration on Saturday 16:00 in Tehran and all around the world, please spread this message around 16 minutes ago · Comment · Like

Unconfirmed reports on Twitter that thousands of people are taking to the streets. Also unconfirmed reports of Gov forces carrying guns not battons, also unconfirmed reports of beatings in azadi square but some are saying this is propoganda. – Reports that mobile phones NOT working http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_B0j9uYfZDuk/SjzM1rl5YrI/AAAAAAAAADc/Fz-rq37qRlY/s1600/5153_101309286546507_100000023082480_35164_2282201_n%2B(1).jpg Possible images from the rally: http://tazahorate-ma.blogspot.com/2009/06/teheran-6202009.html More as we get information and sources.

Britain summons Iran’s diplomat over Khamenei’s comments

LONDON, England (CNN) — Britain’s Foreign Office summoned a senior Iranian diplomat over comments made Friday by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a Foreign Office spokesman said. Charge d’Affaires Safar Ali Eslamian Koupei was told by a senior official that “Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments about Britain were unacceptable and not based on fact,” the spokesman said. The Foreign Office had originally summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Britain, Rasoul Movahedian, but he was not in the UK.

Source: CNN

Poem for the Rooftops of Iran – June 19th, 2009

Subtitled version of “INJA KOJAST INJA IRAN AST SARZAMINE MANO TO” (link below) – a woman speaking about the state of her country while filming the rooftop shouting of “Allah-o Akbar” in Iran on Friday June 19th Iran, the whole world is watching. original link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oM6l9PO6Yo

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Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 3
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 5

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

Time for a change – by Iranian-American hip-hop artist WeaponXEmcee

“My message to my Iranian people in the struggle. You are not alone. www.myspace.com/wxmc   “

List of Worldwide rallies, protests, demonstrations, and vigils in support of Iran http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdt5wfz_3kgdw9gfc Christiane Amanpour analyzes speech Iran’s supreme leader rejects vote fraud claims CNN: Iran’s supreme leader rejects vote fraud claims, describing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win as “definitive.”

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran’s supreme leader on Friday rejected opposition claims that last week’s presidential elections were rigged, describing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s win as “definitive” and calling for calm after days of protest.

Source:  CNN

10pm EDT: IRANs Supreme Leader to Speak at the Site of Crackdown

This will be interesting to see what he says and what issues he address. We will be keeping an eye out and looking to analysis of his words to see if the gives some indication of what direction this crisis may take.

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran’s supreme leader will deliver a sermon Friday at Tehran University, just days after a bloody crackdown at the school, according to a statement from the pro-government Basij militia.

Source: CNN

12:23 pm EDT:

Nico at Huffington Post has updated many new pictures on the front page of the post.  You can take a gander of them by cruising on over.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

12:21 pm EDT:

From CNN:

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran’s supreme leader will deliver a sermon Friday at Tehran University, just days after a bloody crackdown at the school, according to a statement from the pro-government Basij militia.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will give his sermon during Friday prayers. It will be closely watched for a sign of how the government plans to resolve the stalemate over the country’s recent presidential elections.

Crowds of demonstrators have been protesting in the streets of Tehran, demanding that officials throw out election results that showed hardline incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi.

http://cnn.site.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Iran’s+supreme+leader+to+speak+at+site+of+crackdown+-+CNN.com&expire=-1&urlID=405150937&fb=Y&url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/18/iran.university/&partnerID=211911

Updated: Iran ‘investigating 646 poll protests’

Iran’s top legislative body says it is investigating 646 complaints from the three defeated presidential candidates over last week’s election.

The powerful Guardian Council said it had invited Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezai to a meeting on Saturday to discuss the complaints.

Source: BBC

Breaking: Defeated candidates invited to meeting to discuss concerns.

BBC just stated on air, that the defeated candidates have been invited to a meeting on Saturday by Irans top legislative body to discuss their grievances. More info as they come. Trying to locate sources online now

.

Many hundreds arrested and missing in Iran.

Is the regime trying to silence the protests by detaining leaders and organisers? What is quite disturbing is the number of reports of people going missing and being detained. If you have any information on the people missing please contact us and we will keep your details anonymouse.  We want to help get yours and their stories out.

For more information please refer to this excellent website: Source

Hillary Clinton in visual support for Iran protests?

Iranian Activist Pulled from Hospital Bed and Arrested.

(CNN) — A former Iranian deputy prime minister who headed a group supporting increased freedom and democracy was pulled from his hospital bed and arrested Wednesday in Tehran, his granddaughter told CNN.

Ibrahim Yazdi, who is about 76 years old, is secretary-general of the Freedom Movement of Iran, said Atefeh Yazdi of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He has suffered from prostate cancer, and his condition must be closely monitored, she said.

Source: CNN

Inside Iran:  The Election Fallout:

As the post-election crisis in Iran continues, authorities have barred all journalists working for foreign media from reporting on activities in the streets. And foreign reporters who went to Iran to cover last week’s elections are beginning to leave, as officials say their visas will not be extended.

Ali Arouzi, an NBC News Producer based in Tehran, discusses how difficult it is to report the story in the middle of a media blackout.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/17/1968447.aspx

Wednesday Begins 5th Day of Civil Unrest!

Iran was braced for a fifth day of unrest today as the government intensified its crackdown on opposition figures with the arrest of dozens of leading critics and issued a further warning against reporting of the protest movement.

Saeed Laylaz, a leading journalist and a critic of government policy often quoted by foreign media, was among the latest to be detained, as protesters prepared for more demonstrations in Tehran.

“Iranian intelligence and security forces are using the public protests to engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals whose situations in detention could be life-threatening,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/17/fresh-iran-protests-planned1

Iran military targets Web

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — As protesters planned to demonstrate for a fifth day against last week’s disputed presidential election, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard corps said Wednesday it will pursue legal action against Web sites that it said were inciting people to riot.

“We will very soon inform the public the details of these destructive Internet networks and we warn the people who want to use cyberspace to incite riot, threaten people and create rumors that legal action will be taken against them and the penalty they will pay is very heavy,” the Guard said in a statement carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Source: CNN

Journalist defies the crackdown on foreign media.

British reporter Robert Fisk witnesses a stunning scene in which Iranian soldiers keep a group of plainclothes paramilitaries away from Mousavi supporters.

From Huffington Post: Source

In fact at one point, Mousavi’s supporters were shouting ‘thank you, thank you’ to the soldiers.
One woman went up to the special forces men, who normally are very brutal with Mr Mousavi’s supporters, and said ‘can you protect us from the Basij?’ He said ‘with God’s help’.

It was quite extraordinary because it looked as if the military authorities in Tehran have either taken a decision not to go on supporting the very brutal militia – which is always associated with the presidency here – or individual soldiers have made up their own mind that they’re tired of being associated with the kind of brutality that left seven dead yesterday – buried, by the way secretly by the police – and indeed the seven or eight students who were killed on the university campus 24 hours earlier.

Quite a lot of policeman are beginning to smile towards the demonstrators of Mr Mousavi, who are insisting there must be a new election because Mr Ahmadinejad wasn’t really elected. Quite an extraordinary scene.

Aslan: Rafsanjani calls “emergency” meeting of Assembly of Experts.

Appearing on CNN last night, Iran expert Reza Aslan reported this:

There are very interesting things that are taking place right now. Some of my sources in Iran have told me that Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who is the head of the Assembly of Experts — the eighty-six member clerical body that decides who will be the next Supreme Leader, and is, by the way, the only group that is empowered to remove the Supreme Leader from power — that they have issued an emergency meeting in Qom.
Now, Anderson, I have to tell you, there’s only one reason for the Assembly of Experts to meet at this point, and that is to actually talk about what to do about Khamenei. So, this is what I’m saying, is that we’re talking about the very legitimacy, the very foundation of the Islamic Republic is up in the air right now. It’s hard to say what this is going to go.

McClatchy:  Iran Top Cleric:  RIGGED

TEHRAN, Iran — Supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main rival in the disputed presidential election, Mir Hossein Mousavi, massed in competing rallies Tuesday as the country’s most senior Islamic cleric threw his weight behind opposition charges that Ahmadinejad’s re-election was rigged.

“No one in their right mind can believe” the official results from Friday’s contest, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said of the landslide victory claimed by Ahmadinejad. Montazeri accused the regime of handling Mousavi’s charges of fraud and the massive protests of his backers “in the worst way possible.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iran/story/70155.html

The Guardian:

Iran‘s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tonight dismissed post-election protests as the work of “tension seekers” and called for calm on national television.

As thousands of rival demonstrators filed through the streets of Tehran, promising further violence in days of unrest that have already killed seven people, the ayatollah called for “tolerance”, adding: “Everybody should be patient.

“The threshold of patience should be very high,” he told a room filled with supporters of all four candidates in Friday’s disputed election. “Tolerance is very difficult, whether for he who has won or the one who is defeated. Increase the capacity for defeat in yourself.”

He blamed Iran’s worst protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution on people seeking to “create destruction”.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/16/iran-elections-rally-tehran

3:12 PM:

(CNN) — Iranian presidential challenger Mir Hossein Moussavi’s hometown of Tabriz is Exhibit A for his supporters as they argue that last week’s election was rigged.

Official results from Friday’s polls show that the city and its surrounding province, dominated by ethnic Azeris like Moussavi, voted to re-elect hard-line incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It’s a result many observers of Iranian politics find incongruous but just one of the things that have raised eyebrows among Western analysts.

There were no exit polls conducted in Friday’s balloting and little polling before the election. Nate Silver, who runs the U.S. election Web site fivethirtyeight.com, said the official results were “ambiguous.”

“The fact that you had some areas where conservatives got only 20 percent of the vote in 2005 and got 70 percent of the vote this time — things like that have people who already had doubts about those numbers scratching their heads,” Silver said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/16/iran.election.questions/

3:07 PM EDT:

New York Times:
TEHRAN — Tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in the streets here on Tuesday for a second day of mass demonstrations protesting the official results of Friday’s presidential election, unsatisfied by a top government panel’s agreement to conduct a partial recount.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html?_r=1&hp

3:04 PM EDT:

Open Letter To the World From Iran!

2:58 PM EDT:

Ann Curry has reposted her article on Iran from Twitter.

We’re in Iran, and as we make our way, we’re expecting what most Americans probably would expect.   A place of rage—-especially toward the West, which is increasingly concerned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions; where freedom of expression is non-existent. But we soon discover there is another side to this Islamic Republic beyond those chants of death to America. There is an Iran unknown to most Americans. Young people singing for joy at a rally for a presidential candidate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31156949/ns/dateline_nbc-international/

2:43 PM EDT:

From Reuters:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Role in Twitter:

The U.S. State Department contacted the social networking service Twitter over the weekend to urge it to delay a planned upgrade that could have cut daytime service to Iranians, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

“We highlighted to them that this was an important form of communication,” said the official of the conversation the department had with Twitter at the time of the disputed Iranian election. He declined further details.

1:20 pm EDT:

From the BBC:

Supporters of Iran’s defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have again staged a mass rally in Tehran, witnesses told the BBC.

It comes despite Mr Mousavi’s urging his backers not to march, in case they risked clashing with supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Ahmadinejad’s supporters earlier held a rally in central Tehran.

Tough new restrictions on the foreign media mean the BBC is unable to confirm the scale of either rally.

The new restrictions have been imposed amid apparent surprise and concern among the authorities at the scale of popular defiance over Friday’s official election results, correspondents say.

1:11 pm EDT It appears that journalists are now getting into trouble with their tweets.  This appeared on twitter just moments ago.

RT “A request from media and journalists: please do not include our usernames in your items. It can be a trouble later. #IranElection

– AC

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran‘s top legislative body on Tuesday ruled out annulling a disputed presidential poll that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution, but said it was prepared for a partial recount.

(Editors’ note: Reuters coverage is now subject to an Iranian ban on foreign media leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.)

In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the protest movement, the 12-man Guardian Council said it was ready to re-tally votes in the poll, in which hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner.

But the powerful Council rejected reformist calls to annul Friday’s election, which set off swift-moving political turmoil, riveting attention on the world’s fifth-biggest oil exporter.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSEVA14340720090616

Great Link To Use For Twitter:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/16/cyberwar-guide-for-i.html

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Related posts:

1. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 3
2. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 6
3. Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 5

Afternoon Remix:

Oh Sparkle Pony is at it again!   Let me state for the record that I did vote for Barack Obama, which hopefully will limit the amount of left wing fruit loop eating, cool-aid drinking Obamabots from spamming my email, but can this man make a solid stance on ANYTHING?  AT ALL?  EVER?  I believe the picture in the dictionary of Bill Clinton next to the word triangulation, should be replaced or at least update to a 2.0 version with a picture of Barack Obama.  Here is the deal — according to Reuters, Obama is having a hard time making a stance regarding the current election scenario in Iran. Instead he sends out Joe Biden to speak on behalf of the administration on Meet the Press, but is afraid that any comments by the US could lead to problems within the Iranian Political Process.   Meanwhile, Reza Aslan for “The Daily Beast”, says that this is the work of a military coup by the Pasdaran.  Ok, President Sparkle Pony, how can you make matters any worse in a coup?  I wonder if I should start an Obama Comment Clock on Defend Your Vote — after all Rachel Maddow is now calling him President Fierce Advocate.   However, after all his campaign prose, do we still know ANYTHING that this man believes in?  I’m having a clear Fo’ Shizzle moment here.

– AC

Geithner: New Structure Will Address Current Overnsight Gaps — WSJ
Obama Tries to Woo Doctors on Health Care — NY TIMES
Slick Dick Snaps Back at Ponetta — FOX
No Win Situation For Obama On Iran — Reuters
Press Secretary Gibbs on Air Force One Vis A Vis Iran — TPM

All IranTV Begins with a Side of Healthcare:

Oh, I am so glad the weekend is over.   If you do not watch cable news (and I am kind of withdrawing from it myself in place of podcasts and internet video news), then you will not know the agony that occurs each and every weekend.   Massive repeats on FOX and CNN make most of the weekend a boring yawn, and MSNBC insists on airing its latest or repeated episodes of “Caught On a 10 Year Old” (also known as Preditor, Lock Block, or any other random criminal show they air) rule the weekend news airwaves.  You do have Headline News as an option but after an hour of that, you are pretty much done with TV news for the weekend except the Sunday Morning talkers.

Then Monday comes and we are introduced to the story for the foreseable future,  ”ALL IRAN TV”.  How exciting huh?  You will get your all Iran TV with a dash of health care, as we move into the summer stories of “nothingness” that has given birth to such meganews stories as Chandra Levy and Scott Peterson.  This years staring role appears to be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the President of Iran — as his grasp for power appears to be “limited” now that the Supreme Ruler/Leader/Religious person is calling for an investigation of the voter count.  Hmm….  Should we send them tapes of Election 2000?

– AC

Pro-reform Marchers Fill Tehran Streets — AP
Obama Urges Doctors To Back His Health Care Plan — AP
GOP Using Buzz Words To Taunt Dems — AP
Palestinians Angered By Netanyahu Peace Terms — Google
Battle of the Banks As Regulators Feud — NY TIMES
Stocks Down As Countries Plan to End Stimulus Spending — Washington Post
15 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009 — US NEWS
With Survivors Like This — Howard Fineman
Five Reasons To Suspect Iran’s Election Results — Simon Robinson

With the somewhat contentious results of the Iran election, the world has witnessed much vocal opposition to the results on the streets of Iran. The result much disputed and caused violence and protests on the streets of Iran and around the world. Scenes of rocks being thrown and people beaten has littered the TV screens of the world as we witness this spectacle.

Now the most recent news is that an investigation into the voting is going to be taken. What will this mean for Iran? Who will end up coming out ontop? Will the true voice of the Iranian people be heard or has it already?

Q & A: Was the Iranian election rigged?

Hatred, chaos and savage beatings in Tehran

Irans hardliners the real losers

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Related posts:

1. Top Stories — June 10, 2009
2. Top Stories — June 18, 2009
3. Top Stories — June 16, 2009

I do not know what is stranger — the fact that Britney is in another relationship?   Donald Trump firing of Miss California? Or the fact that Anti Abortion activitists want to purchase the Abortion Clinic that was owned by Dr. Tiller, who was recently killed by Scott Roeder?   I am completely baffled by the news of the afternoon.   Meanwhile, the Feds are saying the economy is recovering and that the worst of the recession is behind us.

– AC

Afternoon Mashup:

Donald Trump Ousts Pejan as Miss California — AP
Fed Survey Sees Signs Recession Is Easing — AP
Neb Docs Offers 3rd Term Abortions in Place of Tiller — AP
Anti Abortion Leader May Try to Buy Tiller Clinic — NY TIMES
Enthusiastic Supporters Take To the Streets in Building Up To Iranian Elections — Voice of America
Britney’s New Agent Boyfriend Confirms Relationship — Suntimes

Watch for a Republican meltdown over the next few days regarding “Wall Street Pay Curbs”, which appear to be forthcoming from the Obama Administration.  According to the Associated Press’s Jim Kuhnhenn, the Obama Administration plans to cap bonus pay at a third of executives regular salaries.  Many firms are striking back by reiterating to the Obama Administration that this would limit the amount of “talent” they could hire and drive employees to foreign financial firms.   This should be an issue all over the cable news tonight — but then again — except for Rachel Maddow, who really discusses any important issues anymore?  Got a snake on your lap yet Keith?
– AC

Morning Papers:

Fiat Closes Deal To Take Chrysler’s Good Assets — AP
Administration To Issue New Wall Street Pay Curbs — AP
Is An American Gay Idol Really News?  The Sexualization of Adam Lambert -- Rolling Stone
Obama’s Push For Health Care Plan Stirs Controversy — FOX News
US Mortgage Demand Withers as Loan Rates Spike – Reuters
NY Governor Unpopular With Voters — NY TIMES
Democrats Nearing Consensus on Health Plan — NY TIMES
Oil Prices Begin to Climb Again — Wall Street Journal

The Breakfast Club:

On todays menu is Coffee, bagels, waffles, death, destruction, nuclear stand off and all sorts of other assortments and condiments of the world we live in.

Todays morning headlines range from a New Korean War to the mysteries of Air France Flight 447.

In todays news Time discusses how the North Koreans could draw the South and the US into a second Korean War. While in other parts of the world the death toll from a suicide bombing in Pakistan has currently left 17 people dead.

In downtown Iran, one of the nations senior most politicians, has called out Ahmadinejad accusing him of “Lies and distortions”. No really??. While in London allegations of torture not by terrorism suspects but by drug suspects accusing members of the Metropolitian Police.

– SJ

London police officers accused of water torture – CNN

At least 17 dead in Pakistan hotel blast – CNN

Could the US Be Drawn into a New Korean War? – Time

Iran’s Ex President Lashes out – CNN

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Related posts:

1. Top Stories — June 18, 2009
2. Top Stories — June 15, 2009
3. Top Stories — June 9, 2009

Obama, Rudd get down to business

January 28, 2009 – 11:46AM

Pickign up the phone … Barack Obama has called Kevin Rudd.
Photo: AP

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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd discussed the global economic crisis and the need for coordinated action in a phone conversation today with new US President Barack Obama.

It is the first time the two leaders have spoken since Mr Obama’s inauguration last week.

Mr Obama telephoned Mr Rudd early on Wednesday and the two discussed a range of areas, but the issue of whether the US would request that Australia provide more troops in Afghanistan was not raised, a spokeswoman said.

She said the pair discussed the global recession and the need for coordinated action through effective fiscal stimulus during a 25-minute conversation.

The spokeswoman said Mr Obama thanked Australia for its contribution in Afghanistan.

“The two leaders reconfirmed the closeness of the Australia-US alliance and foreshadowed an even more active partnership into the future,” she said.

They also discussed closer cooperation on climate change and agreed both countries should work closely together in preparation for the next United Nations meeting on the post-Kyoto framework in Copenhagen later this year.

The leaders also discussed the importance of nuclear non-proliferation and agreed they would cooperate in efforts to reinforce the international non-proliferation regime, the spokeswoman said.

She said there were no immediate plans for Mr Rudd to visit the new president in Washington DC.

AAP

Source

Within a week of becoming President, Obama is quickly reaching out to the world to forge ties and mend relations. It is good to see how quickly he has been in contact with our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. The US and Australia have always shared close ties, and its good to see Obama recognising the importance of the roll that Australia plays both on the international stage and AU, US relations.

In this ever globalising world we hope that the two leaders build on these ties and take some positive stances and actions against overwhelming events such as climate change and the economic crisis.

We hope Obama pays us a visit soon “Down under”.

SimonJ

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1. Australia to filter the internet. Preserve your rights #nocleanfeed