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A white-haired man emerged from the mosque to tell his wife who was standing in line in front of me, "There are about fifty people ahead of us."
As we entered the mosque, a guard who was standing at the door, looked down at the girls and said, "You have come to vote, too?"
I was essentially witnessing a nation voting for the first time in 2,500 years.
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi (via Andrew Sullivan, whose coverage has been fantastic):
My request would be that in order that things calm down, these elections should be declared null and void and new elections should be organised under the supervision of international institutions.
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri (via):
These last days, we have witnessed the lively efforts of you, brothers and sisters, old and young alike, from every social category, for the 10th presidential elections.
Our youth, hoping to see their rightful will fulfilled, came on the scene and waited patiently. This was the greatest occasion for the government's officials to bond with their people.
However, unfortunately, they used it in the worst way possible. Declaring results that no one in their right mind can believe, and despite all the evidence of crafted results, and contrary to the people's protestations, in front of the eyes of the same nation who carried the weight of a revolution and 8 years of war, in front of the eyes of local and foreign reporters, attacked the children of the people with astonishing violence. And now they are attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and Scientists.
Anonymous Tehranian eyewitness to Tuesday's Demonstration for Mousavi:
Tehran is fast becoming two. In the late afternoon and lasting until around dinner time it is a place of peaceful civic celebration, a disneyland of political action for the whole family to participate. At night, the mood shifts abruptly, and the capital becomes a battleground, a city in which fear stalks on motorbikes mounted in helmeted pairs...
Photographer Newsha Tavakolian:
I went around on a motorbike, trying to look like any other girl who sits on the back of a motorcycle — the camera between me and the driver. Tehran has 18 million people and is a very busy city, so motorbikes are very convenient; also, when you need to get away quickly. When they ask me, I show my accreditations. As an Iranian, I know when to run and when not to.
Mir Hossein Mousavi (via Nico Pitney, whose HuffPo page has been invaluable - as has The Lede's coverage.):
Like you know, in the past few days, there have been clashes - legally and illegally - that have been violent between protesters of the election and their critics. A number of you have been injured and several have been martyred. I would first like to convey my condolences to you. At the same time, I would like you all to go to mosques and to places of worship in order to remember them and to pray for them. We will also commemorate them by our peaceful protests. I would like you to know that I will also be taking part in these protests and commemorations.
From Exile On Moan Street (via):
In response to Ahmadinejad's earlier speech calling the supporters of Mousavi "brushwood and thorns," Iran's most famous classical musician has ordered that Iranian government television/radio never play his music again. Mohammad Reza Shajarian told BBC Persian in an interview:Don't broadcast my voice on Seda va Sima [IRIB Music channel] ever again: my voice is like brushwood and thorns, and it will forever remain brushwood and thorns!
Mohammadreza Habibi, prosecutor-general in the central province of Isfahan:
We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution.
IRIB.ir said that we are all violent thugs - we are showing you everyday that we are peaceful Sea of Green.
Unidentified blogger, 14 June:
Today the orchestrators of the coup d'etat have removed their masks, today the ugly faces of those who have diverted the 30-year revolution have been revealed to the people, today the dark side of the criminal government which is seeking absolute power has been revealed.
Will this be the Berlin Wall coming down or just another Tianenmen Sq.? I wonder to myself
Hossein, a 23-year-old member of the security forces
I would never [fire on protesters]. Maybe someone would, but I would never fire on any of these people myself.
Housewife Zahra Dadashi:
How can I ignore what's happening in the country and what they did last night to the students? I was young when Imam Khomeini came to Iran and ruled the country. I'm now very sure that this government and the supreme leader has nothing to do with Imam Khomeini, I can't close my eyes.
Before this, I was always hearing how cruelly the riot police are treating students and people, but now I have witnessed it with my eyes. Before, I was assuming it to be rumours, but now I'm 100% sure that this government has nothing to do with Islam. They are dictators.
The widespread, sustained, peaceful and courageous demonstrations by Iranians this week has been an astonishing and inspiring sight. In a way this feels like the anti-9/11.
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thank you for reporting this, danps.
I was chasing around the blogosphere last night, and I saw that in Canada, in Switzerland, in France, in Turkey (!) in Norway -- demonstrators are in the streets in support of the voters of Iran who have been disenfranchised.
Dick had free reign here for a decade, and now that we're not even willing to turn out for our own jobs or healthcare!).
To my shame, I didn't find a single mention, or photo, of anybody in the streets in the USA. Not that we're the only such country (the UK comes to mind) but we are supposed to be supporters of democracy and the rule of law (yeah, right. After w the wonderdummy and Clusterfuck
We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18
Hunh? I've seen lots of coverage of demonstrations
Los Angeles, Washington, NY, etc. etc.
And--twittering up the wazoo. Interesting to watch the twitterverse this week, as this grassrooty spontaneously-arising social medium was actually able to poke the US media whore media smack in the eye, watch it go "Ouch!"and get it to change its media whore media mind to change its mind, to boot.
That was fun.
Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.
Saw some on CNN
Thanks Sarah. I had CNN on in the background and saw a protest in I believe NYC. There's definitely more going on in Europe though.
Last night I saw Cliff May explain that neocons were the real idealists now and liberals the hard-headed realists. The host declined to point out that conservatives only get their heads in the clouds to scout for good places to drop bombs.
That's my problem, Dan...
When I see a full-court press by the neo-cons for anything, it makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. Now, the quotes you've found go a long way toward easing my suspicions... But still, the press is completely untrustworthy, it's greatly in the administrations's interest to discredit any Iranian regime (not to mention Israel's), and we have a horrible history of "meddling" in other countries in precisely this way. You can call me cynical, or call me realistic....
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
No, I agree with you
Our foreign policy has historically been prioritized our immediate self-interest over idealism. I think with Iran the kind of realism you're talking about is one that tries to achieve the goal of a more democratic Iran with a healthy dose of STFU
from our leaders & diplomatic corps instead of having clandestine forces try to foment coups.
This is actually a pretty obvious call for me. It seems like all but the wingnut fringe thinks it's not a good idea for the US to be a big issue in what's happening there. All these years later I'm still conflicted about Tiananmen Square though. What was the best response for that? Should we have cut off diplomatic relations? Scaled back? Done the "business as usual" route we ended up with? Engaged in saber rattling? It seems that in the years since the effort to stay engaged with them has brought them more into the global system and started moving them from a largely agrarian society to an increasingly urban one. And more importantly it has produced levels of economic growth that has improved the lives of vast numbers of people. When that's the trend a country is on do you respond belligerently to a crackdown and risk sending those good things south as well? Yet is it right to ignore or minimize it? I still don't know exactly where I stand on all that.
Everything is always good for the neo-cons
1. If Obama intervenes and succeeds, they'll claim that's a result of Iraq.
2. If Obama intervenes and fails, it's because he's not a neo-con.
Nifty!
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
preoccupation, obsession, & self-pysching
This preoccupation, by some, about the conservative agenda in this is quite literally an obsession. Quite frankly, I'm a bit tired of seeing people having to see where the neo-cons stand before they decide where they stand. It's not that it's cynical, it's that we do it with almost no other issue. If we can't look at a situation, and use our critical thinking skills independent of what the neo-con's or government's agenda may or may not be, than I'm afraid we're doomed. All of this second-guessing on what should be a rather straight-forward is nothing more than willingly participating in a sick game of 11-dimensional chess, and I will personally have no part in that.
It very much reminds me of many Obama supporters basing and gauging their opinion of their candidate off of what Hillary Clinton did or didn't say or do. What the neo-cons may or may not while important to know, will not color or rule my own opinion of what is and isn't right, and I really do hope folks are thoughtful enough to respect the intelligence and the sophistication of these protestors and their supporters and advocates. This overthinking and self-pysche-outs are bizarre and disappointing, to say the least. I will neither accept nor remain silent on those that pretend to respect everyone in this small community, here, as being sophisticated enough to offer sound opinion on every other issue, but that when it comes to this issue that many of us are being led or manipulated by some grand conspiracy.
BTW, Sarah, there were protests in the United States all across the country on Friday, I believe. Many of them, in fact, were carried on the nightly network news.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...
I knew Clifford when he was a liberal.
I can't buh-leeeve he turned into a Pod Person talking head. Awful. How can such things happen?
Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.
FSM knows I don't trust our gov't to meddle in Iran
but it really disappointed me that the people were acting like nothing was happening.
We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18
OUR government meddle? FSM forefend!
To add more spice to this stew of reports:
Iran, Who's Diddling Democracy? by Steve Weissman.
Not mutually exclusive
The protests don't need to be the product of a destabilization campaign for a destabilization campaign to be present (those tweets and signs in English...). I'm betting the Iranian people are sophisticated enough to work all that out for themselves. But it's why I'm not posting a lot on it; I really can't tell the players without a scorecard, and there doens't seem to be one on offer. If that makes me overly cynical... Well, that's the world we live in.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Agreed-You might enjoy this, uh, admonition from Mo-ha-med:
If you haven't seen it already.
There's more.
Things one finds on the Intertubes! Blog by Sibel Edmonds--
Urging caution based on how the MCM* has been treating the Iranian elections, among other reasons.
Quite interesting. I hadn't realized she's lived in Iran, speaks Farsi as her second language, and is part Iranian (her father's half Iranian). She was there during the '79 Revolution; her father had been arrested and tortured by the Shah's forces; she went to demonstrations with him. And then, coming here, her freedom of speech was abridged by the Bush administration...and continuing into Obama's?
Iran Again, Begging for a Smell Test
Iran's Elections & Selective Coverage
Iran One Last Time: Twitter Works Both Ways
*MCM--Mainstream Corporate Media
Kermit Roosevelt
And twitter does work both ways . .
But it took a few days before that happened.
Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.
I would like an Iran-centric reason the twitters are in English
Call me paranoid if you will...
Are there linguistic reasons? Character set issues, like Farsi doens't work in their interface? Is English the language of the internet among tech savvy and cellphone-enabled Internet youth? Technical reasons like filters? (For all I know, common words in Farsi trigger spam filters) There is a whole slew of Iranian twitters in Farsi that we aren't seeing? The mullah's secret police don't read English?
Why are the twitters we are seeing in English? That seems a very curious mode of communication.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Farsi
I can't verify that most of the Twittering being done from Iran is in English. What I do know, however, is that in the actual protests, quite a large percentage of signs are written in Farsi with both English and French translations. As a lingua franca, of sourts, it shouldn't be surprising to see a lot of this stuff written in English especially since a good deal of the protests are obviously meant for foreign (i.e. Western) consumption. This is not even to mention that of the Iranian diaspora, the largest and richest communities, by far, are in the United States. I mean, there are anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 Iranians or folks of Iranian descent in metropolitan LA, alone, many of which were eligible to vote in the election and did.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...
Interesting about the Iranian diaspora
Any posts or stories from that quarter?
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Los Angeles Iranian Diaspora
As protests continue in Iran, so do rallies in Los Angeles
Westwood Again Hub of Iranian Protest
L.A.-based TV rallies to Iranian protesters' cause
Iran protesters find support in L.A. media outlets
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...