Daily Show in Iran

Jason Jones, hilarious correspondent on The Daily Show, was actually in Iran around the disputed election. He got some amazing footage and really seems to have taken a lot of this seriously. Go watch it if you get a chance.

Michael Jackson

I'm gonna piss people off, so I'll let you know right off the bat.

I'm sorry, but if you didn't molest young boys, why would you settle with one of the boys' families? I know I wouldn't. It is also obvious to see what happened as a result of his relationship with Macaulay Culkin also.

Do I feel bad that his childhood sucked? Sure. Do I like some of his music? Of course. Do I feel bad that he's dead? No, not really.

Religious Intolerance and Other Nonsense

This article I felt wasn't terrible. When I started scouring the comments, I was very insulted that all these people could be so judgmental of something they hadn't (obviously) really studied. People even went so far as to critique the author for having the name 'Melody' instead of a more 'Islamic' sounding name. Really? Wow.

These people don't really understand the burqa and it's origins either. Ugh. At least there is some intelligent conversation there.

Oh, and BYU students can watch the YouTubes now. Maybe now they can see a little more about what's going on in Iran.

Twitterers Arrested?

It could be. I've found myself pouring through the tweets from my vacation and wondering about a few people. It's scary to think that people who have been feeding the world information could be being tortured, jailed, or even dead. I hope with every bit of my heart that each and every person in Iran is safe tonight. I know that it's a tall order, and probably not one that can be attained easily, but this is what I wish for.

US Support for Iran

I'm back from my vacation with the boyfriend. It was amazing and so is he. I had a ton of fun and really don't want to do anything productive anytime soon. *sigh*

Jon Bon Jovi is showing it, so why isn't anyone else with some power?

Tweets:

Video from Atlanta, GA http://bit.ly/ol9y1 A young supporter in CA http://bit.ly/xzcUp #iranelection

RT Quote from BRAVE IRANIANS: If fighting for our freedom is a crime, than we are proud to be criminals. #iran #neda

RT CNN Much more protesters today as there were last days, which means revolution is ALIVE. Keep supporting #gr88 #iran #Neda

European Union Warns Iran Against Acts of Intimidation http://bit.ly/3uFsf

I can NOT find any confirmation of arrest #mousavi. Please ppl stop spreading rumors, think of what it will do to the greenrevolution #gr88

Mousavi is just like the rest of them, so arrested or not doesn't make much of a diff asfaras I'm concerned.

Journalism Rules Are Bent in News Coverage From Iran - New York Times http://bit.ly/F3CVx

RT [riveting vid]The crowd is as loud as ever. view from inside the mosque today http://bit.ly/Bsghj #iran #gr88 #neda

A blogger claims that trusted sources close to Mousavi have rejected news of his arrest: http://bit.ly/UIybY#IranElection

Neda

Her family was forced out of its home after not being able to bury or be present at the burial of their sweet Neda. This is outrageous. How dare they show such disrespect after trying to pawn Neda's death off on the BBC reporters who (according to Iranian officials) want to make a documentary about Neda.

Please No

There are massacres going on in Iran, much worse than before. Please, somebody, stop this. There are people who are so smart over there - who could find a cure for cancer or AIDS or help bring world peace - and they're getting killed for no good reason.

Tweets:

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us -

Lalezar Sq is same as Baharestan - unbelevable - ppls murdered everywhere

they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us

in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar

rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users - must move from here now

phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net

a cry of help, a woman from Tehran tells CNN: "This is genocide, this is a massacre, this is Hitler." #iran #neda

we 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 - #Iranelection

Videos

I won't ask that anyone watch these videos, but it is important to literally see what is going on in Iran. People are so desensitized that we can listen to the news talk about serial killers while we eat our meat and potatoes. There's no way that can happen here. It really impresses me that YouTube has been such a willing partner in all of this.

Because of my sister's seizure last month, I am still so scared for her. I keep thinking about her - and everyone that I love and care about - in the same situation as these Iranian kids who are just fighting for things we take for granted everyday. I've been crying all morning. When you see what is really going on there, how can you not?

Tweets:

There are reports a young woman is shot in Baharestan. #iranelection #gr88 #neda

saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead

they were waiting for us - they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals #Iranelection

Hezbollah attacked some people trying to gather at Tajrish Sq. #iranelection

Ghalibaf: "the people's ambiguities have to be resolved and this problem cannot be solved by using force [against ppl]" #iranelection

see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war - #Iranelection

Army Helycopters flying over Enghelab Sq. Army Vans moving toward Azadi St with heavy Machine Guns. #iranelection #iran

just in from Baharestan Sq - situation today is terrible - they beat the ppls like animals - #Iranelection RT RT RT

Families of detainees have assembled in front of the revolutionary court, surrounded by police. #iranelection

Googoosh sings 4 iran (mano az yad bordin) #iranelection plz RT so that all iranians can see this

so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away - #Iranelection - we lose our group

ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys #Iranelection

all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere #Iranelection

At least 24 journalists and bloggers have been arrested since unrest #iranelection #iran

To think that people in another country are being arrested for doing exactly what I'm doing right now... This is a travesty.

Clerics Join Protesters

Yep, that's right.

Tweets:

from Iran: heard that shahrake gharb just had its strongest night of allah o akbars! #iranelection #tehran #iran #gr88 #neda

New Roger Cohen OpED @NYTimes: 'End of the Beginning' http://bit.ly/xhLs3 #iranelection #neda

Is Iran Spying on Cellphones? http://bit.ly/1r7ipo better link

Global Demonstrations all over the worldhttp://bit.ly/BN7Tv Tue Jun 23rd #iranelection #iran #neda PLZ RT

Great article by @justimage:http://tinyurl.com/krb3er says it way more elequently than I did, here: http://tinyurl.com/n994tg

After the Friday prayer with Khamenei people were chanting "Death to Baha'is" on the streets #BahaiRights #IranElection

After Rezayi took back his complaint, his site is claiming that Rafsanjani has not gone to Qom to lobby:http://bit.ly/GTsR

PLEASE RT URGENT: Silent Demo,Wed 4:30 PM at Baharestan-old Majles also at Vanak, Tajrish and Sadeghiehhttp://bit.ly/167DuD #iranelection

Your Body and You

Actually, this should be titled "Israeli Activists and Iran" but either way.

It happily amazes me when people actually get it. Here are my favorite highlights from this article:

There is a minority in Israel that is willing to risk life and limb to stand up to the occupation at its core. Multiple times a week, groups of Israelis venture through checkpoints into the West Bank in order to meet with Palestinian counterparts and help them maintain the basic necessities of livelihood and hold on to what little land they still legally own. We are continually attacked by settlers and harassed by Israeli authorities, which try to restrict our efforts and often use excessive force. Despite the constant obstacles and fear of arrest, court dates and injury, we continue to fight the occupation with nonviolence...

Iran and Israel are different countries with different systems of government, histories and values. The current regime in Iran is authoritarian while in Israel we have democratic systems, at least as far as the Jewish residents are concerned. But there are also similarities: both countries’ national characters stress the bond between religion and state and are ideologically driven, such that both societies necessarily have elements of oppression and movements against that oppression....

If you feel solidarity with the struggle in Iran over elections, don’t forget that in Israel we have our own resistance, a homegrown and genuine resistance. In both countries, law-abiding citizens are looking to reform their governments’ policies out of a commitment to make their country a better place to live in.

Where did I find this cool article? Only from my new favorite blog. As someone who is actually living the hell in Palestine that those of us in America can sit comfortably in our pajamas and read about on the internet, she is a valuable resource for anyone looking into the conflicts in that region.

Yay Internet!

I'm way too far behind on a lot to really post about Iran. The fact that I'm going on vacation this weekend doesn't help either.

But here, have some tweets!

iDesk"Iran's Neda: Slain woman an unlikely martyr" -http://tinyurl.com/mnx52z

Iranian republic splintering?http://bit.ly/IRCHG (via Al Jazeera) #iran #neda #gr88

“It appears that they are determined to kill us by slow death” - Inhumane prison conditions for imprisoned Bahai leadershttp://bit.ly/pk3cr

RT@LaraABC) #Iranians tired/demoralised but ironically StateTV=motivator. "Pisses everyone off so much that makes them wanna go out there"

RT frm #Iran: All the medic-staff of 4rahemir hospital were on strike and prtstng at 4bagh in Isfahan after seeing footage of #Neda

The US interfered in Iran last 55 years and look where Iran ended up. We R not children, we must save ourselves. #gr88

Almost a Week

Strange to think it's only been that long.

Why people think nonviolence can work (and it can).

How Iran's problems are helping to heal wounds left over from ignorance and September 11.

What's happening to the students captured by the officials.

Tweets:

Arrested students fromTehran U dorms were beaten in the basement of the State Ministry, even thewounded

Ignore rumors that Khamenei is not attending Friday prayer. He is: http://bit.ly/49uG6Y protestors to attend wearing black.

Another rally on Saturday. Khatami & Mousavi will there.

All of the Chem professors of Sharif U resigned

Today's rally in Iran+Hashemi's children R banned FR leaving Iran

Yahoo messanger and Gtalk are filtered in Iran, Skype is working. confirmed

Only 1 cleric has congratulated Ahmadinejad: Noori-e-Hamedani

Only 11 government heads have congratulated Ahmadinejad

andersoncooperSalute the ‘bravehearts’ of Iran http://bit.ly/jlrgt

Monday crowd is estimated by Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, to be as many as three million-strong, The Guardian

Greening Google: The petition is here. You know what to do. http://tinyurl.com/kt5ebr

History of Iran

My dear friend Abbey has done a write up of the history of Iran since she's been following the situation very closely over there as well. You should go check it out because it's really good, and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend.

Those Meddling Kids!

Yes, you guessed it. According to Iranian officials, the United States has meddled in their affairs by asking Twitter not to shut down and by encouraging news from the area to get to the rest of the world. Nice.

This seems like a pretty trustworthy news source. It updates more than once a day right now, so keep your eye on it.

More Tweets!

Translation, Protest Slogan: Democracy is our right, we despise violence. #iranelection

There is a sub plot here that most Iranian's won't talk about, and that is the child treatment by the clerics.

Insider Videos

You know how I like to share them. This one is particularly good.

Could the Russians be involved?

And more tweets which are useful. However, you need to watch for the fakes and spies.

What Else Would I Talk About?

Another graphic video showing the Iranian people helping out their fellow humans in an effort to keep them out of hospitals, which are no longer safe places. People twittering about how to take care of each other in emergencies.

The Basij was stormed today and there are plenty of videos to show it.

BBC and other foreign agencies reporting on gatherings despite the ban. Man, Ahmadinejad is gonna be pissed.

Time has picked up on the issue finally.

Twitter did the update and everything is fine. Going to bed (wrote that part ten minutes ago). Have to work in the morning and probably won't be around until the evening.

Sign this petition to help the people of Iran.

Oh, and I like this picture.

Enjoy these tweets, if possible (click here for more).

#GR88! quote by an #IranElection p: "I realize now i do not fear death. I fear my daughter will not be free when i die."

CNN website is now blocked in Iran #iranelection

"The schism in Iran is not reducible to social class, ethnicity, region or generation."http://bit.ly/nsHNv #iranelection

I worry that the reason Iran is trying to evict foreign journalists is so that it can get more brutal, w/o witnesses.

Student Killings

Student massacres in Tehran continue as videos and pictures keep making their way out of the blocked country. These stories are heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. How anyone can hear these problems and not want to help change something is beyond me.

Graphic video of shot Iranian "rebel"

Despite this violence, there is a lot of silence over there right now. Very disconcerting.

US Gov't Steps In

Not the way maybe they should, but at least it's something.

"We highlighted to them that this was an important form of communication," said a State Department official of the conversation the department had with Twitter officials.

Any sign of U.S. involvement in the actions of Twitter or any other social networking service could be seized on by Iran as U.S. interference in the electoral process.

Death and Destruction

It's a very graphic video, but people around the world need to understand what is happening in Iran to people who simply use their brains.

Go Green!

BBC has gone green, so I will too.

BBC is also covering the latest rally.

Andrew Sullivan has a poem featured from the great poet Rumi for Iran.

CNN finally is covering more on Iran.

Oh, and the Ayatollah is being a douche still. Did we expect anything less?

summarize of khamenyi's speech: as your God we say the election was good and for your own sake you should accept it.

Why Do I Hate Fox News?

Well, it could be that I am liberal and it is conservative. Or it could be because they're idiots.

CNN Has Something

But it's not pleasant (did we expect it to be?).

Iran has banned foreign journalists from covering the rallies. Along with tearing down the people's abilities to communicate with the outside world, this seems like another ploy to try and keep the regime in power by allowing them a voice to the outside world.

They know their power is fading so they're trying with all their might to keep it.

Recount!

Iranian officials have announced a recount in the election. However, I am not hopeful that the situation will change that much. Andrew Sullivan shares my opinion.

Is It Safe?

There are times where we have to ask ourselves if we're ready for what's about to happen. Are we prepared for the way Iran will look in a day, week, month, even year?

Certainly, some seem to think that Obama winning the US election has had a hand in what's happened in Iran. I would not object to that statement at all.

Communications are down in Iran again, surprise surprise.

Also, if you can stomach seeing reality, you should watch this video. It's easier to understand the pictures sometimes than the words.

I realize that I'm almost exclusively citing Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish. It seems to be the only place where Twitter and more news/analysis come together.

Fight for Your Rights

I'm not entirely sure what all happened when I was at work. Anderson Cooper brought in Christiane Amanpour and talked more about Iran than I thought he would, but far less than I expected.

Gruesome pictures

More Video

A(hmadinejad)hole arrives in Russia

Anonymous and 4Chan do something very helpful

Another news article

Some of the people I have began to follow on Twitter because of this conflict are really worrying me:

dont travel alone, hospitals arnt safe, north is on fire, lebanese moving south, carry tools, phones R tapped, dont trust proxies.

Morning.D-Day+4:No SMS,Internet@low spd, Websites r blcked, Satellite interrupted. 5 death Tehran,many arrested. :( Im sad #iranelection

CNN Fail (Con)

Anderson Cooper is talking about pot tonight instead of Iran. Thanks, cousin.

The only non-failing people on CNN seem to be those with roots in the Middle East, like Fareed Zakaria and Christiane Amanpour.

If only more people were brave enough or cared enough about discussing Iranian problems. At this rate, Zakaria and Amanpour should just open their own news studio.

Tehran University

Five students were killed there last night. The faculty at the University all resigned and is asking for the University President's resignation as well.

Shots were fired into the rally crowd today. There are conflicting reports as of now, but I've heard either rubber bullets or one person dead.

Eek.

CNN Fail

Epic fail, in fact.

Yes, let's mention that there seems to be something violent going on in Iran, but not pay that much attention to the problem. Let's cut to Obama's press conference on health care, where he won't even touch upon this more pressing issue. Let's show Robin in the morning skydiving like an idiot without a care in the world except about her own safety.

Shouldn't we be able to expect more from our press? We have people over there who are more than willing to share their story. Someone tell them about Twitter already.

Uncool Man

Israel PM is a douche.

Iranian students have to hold a rally in secret and still will fear being chased down, beaten, or worse.

If these pictures don't make you want to get involved somehow, then I don't know what will.

You can watch this site for more live tweets if you don't have a Twitter account.

Iran

Twitter is being a big help with the situation. If you don't know what's going on or want to know more, please visit this site. He has done an excellent job of gathering information from all over the place.

My Twitter

List of Iranian Twitterers

Oh, and if you really don't believe that the situation is terrible or that the people in Iran aren't free, you can always trust these pictures.

I stand with the will of the people and on the side of freedom. I cannot sit by while these things continue to happen in the world. I urge anyone else reading this to find ways to get involved as well.

Edumacation

Same-day returns to sports games after a young'un gets a concussion aren't a good thing apparently. Who knew?

This Connecticut School District is getting rid of their math textbooks. But wait, it's a good thing.

George Tiller was recently killed over abortions. This story looks at the sad side of being an anti-abortion protester. Really? I don't feel bad for them one bit.

One of my loans got sold to the government. Is this win?

No S#!t Sherlock

According to Nancy Pelosi, China has failed to make any progression towards the issue of human rights. There can be no such thing as political reform in China unless a revolution is staged or other countries step in to help solve the problem from the bottom up. She has asked the current Chinese President to release prisoners from the Tiananmen Square incident - people who have been jailed for 20+ years. There is no way that the Party will let him get away with that, even if he wanted to do so. I feel like she could've learned a lot from the politics class I took this last semester, in which we examined the gross violation of not only human rights but environmental safety as well in China.

Oh, and Israel is trying to make up BS again. Way to be, chosen people.

Manditory Health Insurance?

Don't worry, there are hardship waivers. But what will President Obama define as hardship?

This may be a bit on the selfish side, but we can take a look at my family and examine all the things that I would define as hardship.

My step-dad, back in December, had a toe amputated. Now, not only is his paycheck cut in half by his ex-wife and the remainder in half by the IRS (he's not the brightest crayon in the box), but now we have to pay off these fees. My sister's seizure has cost a lot of money so far, with the upcoming MRI and EEG sure to add to the total. My mom has too many credit cards as it is and has trouble paying the bills, to the point where she does so every other month too often. Add in that mix a crappy paying job for both of them, without proper benefits, treatment, or reimbursement of mileage, and this is a recipe for disaster.

Now, if my family doesn't quite qualify for governmental assistance in any way and we're barely scrapping by, how fair is it to demand that we get health insurance and not let us have a hardship waiver? Most of the people without insurance, I would gather, do not do so out of hatred of their family, but because of their financial situation.

An Unlikely Ally

Dick Cheney? Former VP with a homosexual daughter Dick Cheney?

"I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone," Cheney said in a speech at the National Press Club. "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish."

Cheney, who has a gay daughter, said marriage has always been a state issue.

"And I think that's the way it ought to be handled today, that is, on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions. But I don't have any problem with that. I think people ought to get a shot at that," he said.

It's not a whole lot, but it's certainly overdue. If I were him, I would've spoken up on the issue a lot sooner. Then again, if I were him, I would publicly support my daughter no matter what her choices were. Good for him.

Happy 200th Post!

Obama is set to give a speech in Egypt on Thursday. It should be an interesting show, since he is thought to be focusing more on the Israel/Palestine crisis than addressing the Muslim world.

The president will be walking a fine line between reassuring Israel that America will remain a guarantor of Israeli security and between sounding a warning that he is getting impatient with the slow movement toward Palestinian statehood.

Also, if this is really the deadliest battle between Palestinian Authority forces and Hamas in two years, that's really not that bad.