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."

Iran Tightens Online Censorship

Here.

1980

solidarnosc.

The News, Briefly

Despite insanely heavy security forces in the streets, there were big protests August 5th. Numerous videos show crowds chanting in different streets, subways and in other cities, and many of these videos show the day's newspaper to confirm dates shot. The Ahmadinejad-khamenei regime continues to crack down, making even more enemies and fracturing the Principalist and other conservative blocs. While capital flees to other countries, Ahmadinejad faces double-digit inflation and unemployment and other economic problems only compounded by the volatile oil markets and widespread international disgust and hatred. The offices of the Iranian Association of Journalists have been sealed. Rafsanjani is scheduled to deliver the sermon at Friday prayers August 14, but there is no confirmation he will do it yet.

Fighting to get Iran Back and Get Back to Iran.

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.

Says it All

More from this artist here and here. (And a little shout out to the woman who introduced me to this artist -- hope you're well.)

Via OnlyMehdi.

Militia Member Now Fights the Militia

Here.

Ahmadinejad faces economic hurdles.

Several reports mention that opposition MPs boycotted the Ahmadinejad inauguration and members of the Imam Khomeini line walked out as soon as AN began his speech. More coverage of the ceremony and the opposition protests:

OnlyMehdi - new videos

Roozonline - analysis

Revolutionary Road - liveblogging pics, videos and commentary from inside

Tehran Bureau (read also "Why China and Russia love Iran's hardliners" in today's edition)

Green Brief

Watch Me Confess: NV

[VIA]

Waiting for English translation on this one:



Finally, Khamenei's warning to Ahmadinejad?

Global Solidarity 2.0

Tehran Bureau on global solidarity and the "new" media.

45 Nobel Laureates' "Open Letter to the Iranian people."

Green art.

Pakistan hits Twitter

Bina Shah on Pakistan's growing internet presence here.

The Kiss

Read one guy's interpretation.

And watch this:

The Anti-American Lie

Look, I have my gripes with the US government and American business too, God knows. But I hate the knee-jerk attitude that everything wrong with the world is somehow America's fault (and a CIA plot), as if the Soviet Union, China, OPEC and people's own governments have never meddled, done harm, exploited other countries for their own gain. As if America hasn't done a lot of great good too, and given the world enormous gifts. Yes, America did a lot of harm to Iran in the last 60 years (and here is the latest example of evil Americans in the mideast). But they were not alone in this, and the mostly hardline governments of Iran of the last 60 years (excluding a few brief periods of enlightened governance) have outdone even the US, the UK and Russia together when it comes to inflicting harm on the Iranian people. The Iranian government and its allies are bigger thieves, better torturers and much more accomplished killers of Iranians than any foreign government. The Khamenei-Ahmadinejad government is the Great Satan.

As this incisive piece notes, Iran's internal battles pre-date the formation of the CIA, and America, by years.

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....