Greenmail Update

Stand by Iran. Five easy ways to protest at your desk.

Monday Roundup

Via Mehdi. Join the Facebook group for his dad here.

The latest on maneuvers, protests, and Rafsanjani at the inauguration of the new Judiciary head here. (PressTV highlights Rafsanjani's speech and, remarkably, seems to be leaning towards the opposition these days.)

Mehdi Karroubi had called off today's protests at the Eternade Melli newspaper offices. But people came anyway.

Ayatollah Sanei blasts the regime.

Here, Persian Rap from Cyrus Mafia.

Letter from Tehran

"Should the United States reach out to Ahmadinejad? I think they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. He loves to be threatened and will use that to show how pure he is, how outside the reach and influence of foreign powers he really is. But on the other hand, I think the unity of European and North American countries does scare him. A real novel approach however would be to confront Russia and China for their support of the regime; this could be the most powerful force. The U.S. government should use all of its diplomacy in that direction. The regime in Iran will not last and United States needs to come to terms with Russia and China about how much they would like to prolong this regime’s life."

More here.

Green Mail Russia and China with easy to use email forms here.

The Real Election Stamp

Via Mehdi.

New detentions.

Ahmad Khatami is such an evil parrot for the Ahmadinejad-Khamenei regime. Do these hardliners not realize how they look when they get more upset by Karroubi publicizing the well-substantiated charges of rape and other abuse of detainess than they get by the idea that these abuses have happened? Do they care about the Iranian people? Rape and torture of people denied their due process doesn't upset them, but making it known does?

(BTW Ahmad Khatami, evil parrot, must not be confused with Seyyed Mohammed Khatami, who is one of the good guys.)

What is Ali Larijani up to? Is he a patriot (in which case he would support reforms) or just a big political weasel out for his own clan? He's so hard to read. We know he and his are close to the IRG, but that they also have a scholarly background and brains so they aren't just regime parrots and stooges.

"I confess I wanna see iranian people smiling and walking for their rights as God always preffer but not a president who shot against is own people beyond his army forces or mercenaries."

Esfahan reporters show green at press ceremony, get applause.


Top 10 Ways to Overthrow Government of Iran using Google Translate.

Mashaie Blabs and More

Sistani speaks about trials: "These prosecutions are stain on Islamic justice."

Ahmadinejad "aide" Mashaie unleashes regime's secret weapon: Crazy Talk.

Also, Tehran Bureau on the next Minister of Intelligence.

"More than 200 former and current government officials of Iran sent a letter to the government asking it to pay heed to Rafsanjani, Karroubi, Khatami and Mousavi’s suggestions and stances on the country’s future. Signatories included former and current ministers, directors, governors, mayors and academics." [VIA]

In the NYT, a great review of the book GUARDIANS OF THE REVOLUTION: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs By Ray Takeyh.

I missed this conversation, from late June, between Christiane Amanpour and Leslie Stahl.

Swedish police are showing their solidarity with Iranians.

The Epic Protester.

I Confess, it was me and Google Translate

"I worked from inside of your government. where was given this secret chafiyé. But now I've betrayed you all! And I'm working with portugal Governement! Yes, Portugal government, not britain or france. your intelligent agency cant even find the right country. I confess It was me. All the time and only me that stole every profile on facebook. Twitted from all people on twitter at the same time. I even made videos and put them all over the youtube and translated them into many many languages using google's translator. I confess, Me and my chafieye caused all this velvet revulution."

Via him and these folks.

Rafsanjani

The mercurial mouthpiece for the Iran government, PressTV, confirms Rafsanjani will be leading next Friday's prayers.

Listen for the child...

Logic is Illegal

Good update (in English from mostly Persian sources) here on spontaneous protests last night that grew and spread throughout Iran and the regime's attempts to backtrack, spin and cover up atrocities against detainees. It includes this quote from a Mousavi advisor:

"Whoever talks about something logical, they will accuse him of being disloyal to the Supreme Leader. By using these tactics they are avoiding logic. It has been two months since the election: which one of their actions solved the crisis?"

The same report has good coverage of the sermon by conservative Ayatollah Emami-Kashani, who warned the government that the Iranian people "deserve better treatment."

I Confess - tribute to Mohammed Reza Jalaeipour

Some very good soul has now provided English subtitles for this, a tribute to a young man "arrested after the elections and believed to be under torture and pressure to confess to lies."



Facebook group for Mohammed Reza Jalaeipour here.

More from the Watch me Confess project here.

Rafsanjani leading Friday Prayers August 14?/Bad Actors

Rafsanjani here.

The Bad Actors in Iran's Political theater -- The Guardian.

"The paradox of the current administration in Iran, and in particular the character of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is that they want it both ways. They want the theatre but they also want total control, not only of the production, but of the audience reaction. In so doing they have singularly failed to manufacture consent and have been struggling since the election on 12 June to impose their narrative. Indeed, we should not lose sight of the fact that for all the contests on the streets and the divisions within the elites, this is at heart an ideological contest, where the message matters. This is why journalists have been expelled, academics imprisoned and activists put on trial. This is why the hardline establishment insists on normality and business as usual, and why the mere continuation of protests denies them that particular fiction. In fact, control has been especially elusive of late, not least because of the crisis of authority, but because the means of transmission have been so diverse: the internet has proved just as serious a battleground as the streets. But perhaps even more significant that these have been the mistakes perpetrated by the establishment itself in its urgency to get the message right.

"It is far from over," The Economist.

Watch Me Confess: NV

[VIA]

Waiting for English translation on this one:



Finally, Khamenei's warning to Ahmadinejad?

She says she wants her vote back from Khamenei

A Patriot:



Update on the barbaric show trials in Iran.

Watchmeconfess - who is behind the "velvet revolution" to overthrow Iran? Me, of course, and you, and Julia and him....

Today in Tehran

Iran security forces retreat at cemetery.

Vote for Iran's live-blogging of big demonstrations and clashes in Tehran today.

Ahmadinejad meanwhile has fled once again to Mashhad.

Reformists call for fall of the "coup government."

Enduring America's updates.

The Tehran Bureau has put together profiles of some of the 78 people known to have been killed by the regime. There will undoubtedly be more families coming forward with tales of their dead children in coming days. The stories, photos and medical testimony about unspeakable torture and rape are almost unbearable to hear about, yet iranians live with this every day. We cannot do enough for them, especially after all the ways the West and Russia abused Iran the last hundred years. We owe them all our love, support and cooperation.

Regime crumbling?

Tehran Bureau.

Revolutionary Road.

Enduring America.

Green Brief.

Ayatollah Watch.

New York Times

Haystack

Haystack Anti-Filtering for Iran.

Mousavi

Latest statement from Mir Hossein Mousavi here.

Hichkas Ye Mosht Sarbaz

Banned in Iran.

Another Martyr, and another, and another...

Almost every day now news gets out about another person killed by the regime in the protests or in prison. Usually, the families don't know the fate of their loved one until they get a terse call from a ministry to come pick up the body. Then, they are not allowed to put mourning banners on their homes or in any way publicly mourn, and cannot speak to anyone about it.

It isn't enough that the regime is cruel in the grandly evil ways, forcing its people to live in sadness and fear, but they are cruel in such petty ways too. Though there is no love lost between the Sunni Taliban and the hardline Shi'a regime in Iran, they have much in common.

Enough martyrs. The world must think of new ways to peacefully fight the regime and obtain the release of all detained protesters, activists, journalists and other political prisoners. Just as the reformists in Iran grow more creative, so must we -- which is not to say I have an idea how to do this, not right this minute, although I still think a targeted and graduated oil boycott is a good idea.

In one of the smaller, and most powerful protests of July 25th, the little town of Revine Lago Italy held a lantern ceremony to honor the martyrs, and support Iran: