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Break the Blackout! (in Iran)
July 1, 2009 11:02 AM
Avaaz.org is an amazing organization that assists movements across the world by leveraging the power of the internet to raise funds. They are running a campaign to help get servers back online in Iran to help in the resistance there. Since watching what was happening in Iran during the past week or so, it was impossible not to have a feeling of helplessness. Many have been asking, "What can I do to help?" Well, now Avaaz.org has given us a particular way to get involved. $10 a piece - that's all it takes! IRAN: BREAK THE BLACKOUT! Last week millions marched peacefully to protest apparent election-rigging. Now a crackdown has killed scores and left hundreds arrested -- while the internet and media blackout and cyber-surveillance threatens to stop all Iranians communicating freely.Donate now to break the blackout!!
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Marg bar Dictator! ("Death to the Dictator!)
June 20, 2009 4:42 PM
The Iranian Revolution circa 2009 continues with these scenes from the ground: The constant refrains in the chants are "Allah-o-akbar!" ("God is great!") and "Marg bar dictator!" ("Death to the dictator!"). With more photos:
And finally, this eye-witness account from NY Times Op-Ed columnist, Roger Cohen: The Iranian police commander, in green uniform, walked up Komak Hospital Alley with arms raised and his small unit at his side. "I swear to God," he shouted at the protesters facing him, "I have children, I have a wife, I don't want to beat people. Please go home." Amazing stuff from Cohen, risking his life so that us in the West might see and hear what's going on over there. Very powerful reporting...
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Permalink to post: http://www.cslproductions.org/democracy/talk/archives/000811.shtml Receive an email whenever this DEMOCRACY blog is updated: Subscribe Here! Tags: Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iranian Revolution, Mousavi, Tehren Add to Del.icio.us
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Did Ahmadinejad win the Iranian election fair and square?
June 15, 2009 10:24 PM
There is obviously something very big and existential going on in Iran right now, and it almost makes the question of whether the election was fraudulent moot. There are now over 3500 videos on YouTube from Iran with many, more posts on Twitter. It's clear that the people there are fired up for change (see the video below). But did Ahmadinejad really steal the election? Two correspondents from The New America Foundation came out with articles today making the claim that the election indeed was NOT fraudulent and that Ahmadinejad won fair and square. Could it be? From Flynt Leverett comes this: Without any evidence, many U.S. politicians and "Iran experts" have dismissed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection Friday, with 62.6 percent of the vote, as fraud. In particular, there was a final debate near the end of the two week campaign which heavily favored Ahmadinejad: Like much of the Western media, most American "Iran experts" overstated Mir Hossein Mousavi’s "surge" over the campaign’s final weeks. More important, they were oblivious -- as in 2005 -- to Ahmadinejad's effectiveness as a populist politician and campaigner. American "Iran experts" missed how Ahmadinejad was perceived by most Iranians as having won the nationally televised debates with his three opponents -- especially his debate with Mousavi. Meanwhile, Patrick Doherty wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post where he details the result of a Western poll taken during 10 days before the election (and that disastrous debate result for Mousavi) which he claims shows that Ahmadinejad should have won by a wide margin: The election results in Iran may reflect the will of the Iranian people. Many experts are claiming that the margin of victory of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the result of fraud or manipulation, but our nationwide public opinion survey of Iranians three weeks before the vote showed Ahmadinejad leading by a more than 2 to 1 margin -- greater than his actual apparent margin of victory in Friday's election. Not being a polling expert, it's difficult to dispute these findings, although the poll did suffer from 42% of the recipients not responding. If nearly half of the people you speak to hang up the phone, is the poll even legitimate? Well, Juan Cole took a swipe at these findings, and although he makes sense, it's important to read the comments section, too, which are almost completely in favor of accepting these election results: But as a mere social historian I would say that the poll actually tends to confirm some of my doubts about the announced electoral tallies. But as one of the readers in the comments section wrote, who was considered a reformer? Ahmadinejad or Mousavi? And another reader asks: Additionally, Moiussavi claimed victory before polls closed. Now this purportedly was because his campaign was notified by their Interior Ministry that they had won. Apparently the Moussavi campaign was OK with this. However, later when the result was announced the other way, all of a sudden the speed of the announcement meant that this "proved" fraud because there was no way the count could be done so fast. So, Moussavi ahead, sure they can count that fast; Ahmedinajad ahead (several hours later), no way they could count that fast. He makes a damn good point! ...and yet we still have thousands of these heart-breaking videos to contend with: So what is really going on over there? Could this be an existential moment for the regime, or will this all just die down in a week or so? Wouldn't it be nice to get the religious zealots out of politics and governing once and for all and give the people the freedom they deserve? One thing for certain is that the technology of the early 21st century (YouTube, Twitter, etc), has changed forever the relationship between the people and their (repressive) government. Georgia10 at DailyKos wrote a very eloquent post on this very topic: The saying popping up over the last several hours has already become cliche: the revolution will not be televised, it will be Twittered. Stripping away the hyperbole of that statement and we are left with the very real and grounded fact that the way citizens across the world organize, react, and participate has forever been altered by the cornucopia of 21st century mediums, each of which presents a new platform for how citizens interact with and even select their government.
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The Iranian Revolution: 2009 (more video)
June 15, 2009 1:26 AM
This video from the BBC is just incredible. And the BBC satellite feed is being jammed by the Iranian government, too... And then there's this from Andrew Sullivan: The news on attack on Tehran University's students seems accurate. The students were reportedly protesting on the streets near their dorm, when some and special forces plain-clothes militia attacked them, injuring and arresting some. And then you have Flickr and Twitter helping us learn more about the situation. We can only hold our breath that something positive finally comes from all of this bloodshed over there...
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The Revolution Will Be Twittered.
June 14, 2009 12:34 AM
Historic times in Iran: Mock not. As the regime shut down other forms of communication, Twitter survived. With some remarkable results. Those rooftop chants that were becoming deafening in Tehran? A few hours ago, this concept of resistance was spread by a twitter message. Here's the Twitter from a Moussavi supporter: Amazing...
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Plain, Honest Men.
June 12, 2009 6:30 PM
As this country stumbles around from issue to issue trying to find common ground upon which legislation can be written to help solve our problems, it's always important to look back to the founding fathers for guidance on how they forged this country from all the various competing factors. Richard Beeman's "Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution" is one of those revealing historical studies that plainly show how difficult it was to forge consensus. And yet they did: We like to think of our nation's founders as men with unwavering fealty to high-minded principles. To some extent they were. But when they gathered in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787 to write the Constitution, they showed that they were also something just as great and often more difficult to be: compromisers. In that regard they reflected not just the classical virtues of honor and integrity but also the Enlightenment's values of balance, order, tolerance, scientific calibration and respect for other people's beliefs. On almost all issues that they faced -- with one very big exception -- this art of compromise served them well. It's an awesome story that every American should read to understand how on earth this country has survived over 200 years with so many different competing interests. It's just fascinating...
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