You say you want a REVOLUTION

[dalThor]

I wonder if the bomb blast is the rumoured Ahmadinejad plot to justify a violent crackdown.

Regardless of who actually did it it seems as though the protesters are going to blame Amadi.

There really aren't many details regarding the bombing, all of them are unconfirmed.

In a Mousavi statement he is 'prepared to become a martyr', and calls for indefinate strikes if arrested.

It would appear that some embassies are taking in wounded, many from the EU and Australia have been mentioned.

The cries of Allah o Akbar tonight are reported to be the loudest yet. This is far from over yet.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, there's no telling what's really going on there.

[Tears of Lys]

So horrible and unnecessary. As you say, if they'd just given it some time, things would have calmed down. Is it my imagination, or do they seem to be picking on women in particular? In the videos I've watched, the attackers seem to pick them out for special attention.

ETA: I made the mistake of clicking on a link that showed a short video of a beautiful young girl, bleeding and dead in the street. I admit, if I were a man there, there'd be nothing to stop me from bringing fire and death down upon those responsible. (well, short of fire and death being brought down upon ME first, of course.)

what ham-fisted, short-sighted, stupid tactics. I hate to see where this might be going.

[Wouter]

Sad youtube video from Iran ("Iran, Tehran: wounded girl dying in front of camera")

[Wouter]

So horrible and unnecessary. As you say, if they'd just given it some time, things would have calmed down. Is it my imagination, or do they seem to be picking on women in particular? In the videos I've watched, the attackers seem to pick them out for special attention.

It's probably not coincidence or imagination. On the one hand, the ones filming it may focus on the victims who would cause the most sympathy/outrage, like the girl in the youtube video, to get maximum effect. On the other hand their suppressors, which are adherents of Ahmadi and strict followers of Islam (and who want everyone else to be strict followers, as well), would already be scandalised and outraged at seeing a woman without a veil and without male supervision, let alone by women having the temerity to demonstrate against the supreme leader! In an interview I read in a newspaper with 2 supporters of Ahmadinejad (in a rural area), 2 young men (quite likely Basji members) said that it Ahmadi was popular all over Iran except in parts of Tehran, and they singled out the un-islamic behaviour of the female protestors there "they should be wearing a veil".

[Tears of Lys]

It doesn't hurt that they're weaker too. Fucking cowardly bastards.

They got my blood up, for sure.

[Moshe Goldberg Rubinshteyn]

Tomorrow or Sunday? I'm interested to see if the revolution happens on Sunday, its my birthday. Other than always being the first day of summer, not much interesting has happened on the 21st. Would be cool to see that on wikipedia for the rest of my life. The day the Mullahs fell.

Nice to see someone has his priorities straight. So, beside a revolution, what else do you hope to get for your birthday? A pony?

[Joanna vander Poele]

Nice to see someone has his priorities straight. So, beside a revolution, what else do you hope to get for your birthday? A pony?

A purebred pony!

[Ckrisz]

Roger Cohen's article in the NYTIMES is excellent. Amazing that the guy is out in the streets like this. True journalism at its finest.

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.â€

A man at my side threw a rock at him. The commander, unflinching, continued to plead. There were chants of “Join us! Join us!†The unit retreated toward Revolution Street, where vast crowds eddied back and forth confronted by baton-wielding Basij militia and black-clad riot police officers on motorbikes.

Dark smoke billowed over this vast city in the late afternoon. Motorbikes were set on fire, sending bursts of bright flame skyward. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, had used his Friday sermon to declare high noon in Tehran, warning of “bloodshed and chaos†if protests over a disputed election persisted.

...

Garbage burned. Crowds bayed. Smoke from tear gas swirled. Hurled bricks sent phalanxes of police, some with automatic rifles, into retreat to the accompaniment of cheers. Early afternoon rumors that the rally for Moussavi had been canceled yielded to the reality of violent confrontation.

I don’t know where this uprising is leading. I do know some police units are wavering. That commander talking about his family was not alone. There were other policemen complaining about the unruly Basijis. Some security forces just stood and watched. “All together, all together, don’t be scared,†the crowd shouted.

...

Just off Revolution Street, I walked into a pall of tear gas. I’d lit a cigarette minutes before — not a habit but a need — and a young man collapsed into me shouting, “Blow smoke in my face.†Smoke dispels the effects of the gas to some degree.

I did what I could and he said, “We are with you†in English and with my colleague we tumbled into a dead end — Tehran is full of them — running from the searing gas and police. I gasped and fell through a door into an apartment building where somebody had lit a small fire in a dish to relieve the stinging.

There were about 20 of us gathered there, eyes running, hearts racing. A 19-year-old student was nursing his left leg, struck by a militiaman with an electric-shock-delivering baton. “No way we are turning back,†said a friend of his as he massaged that wounded leg.

Later, we moved north, tentatively, watching the police lash out from time to time, reaching Victory Square where a pitched battle was in progress. Young men were breaking bricks and stones to a size for hurling. Crowds gathered on overpasses, filming and cheering the protesters. A car burst into flames. Back and forth the crowd surged, confronted by less-than-convincing police units.

I looked up through the smoke and saw a poster of the stern visage of Khomeini above the words, “Islam is the religion of freedom.â€

Later, as night fell over the tumultuous capital, gunfire could be heard in the distance. And from rooftops across the city, the defiant sound of “Allah-u-Akbar†— “God is Great†— went up yet again, as it has every night since the fraudulent election. But on Saturday it seemed stronger. The same cry was heard in 1979, only for one form of absolutism to yield to another. Iran has waited long enough to be free.

[Elrostar]

Roger Cohen's article in the NYTIMES is excellent. Amazing that the guy is out in the streets like this. True journalism at its finest.

That is powerful stuff. Wow.

[IheartTesla]

So what will happen next? Mousavi has already said he is willing to be a martyr - I dont know how much credence to give to his statement, but it seemed real enough. Khamenei erred by choosing sides, and from what I gather he didnt have that much popularity in Qom anyways. But most of the clerics seem not to be choosing sides at all. At the same time, the protests havent lost much steam, but who knows how long they can go on without any tangible results.

Someone has to switch sides or defect or come out openly in support of the protestors for sh*t to go down.

Edit: Spelling of Khamenei

[Shryke]

Very good times article from yesterday:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle6531911.ece

Also, many reports on Twitter that high-level Army people have defected, sort of.

[dalThor]

As information is very difficult to confirm this may be linkless but nonetheless.

CNN's saying 19 confirmed dead, unconfirmed as high as 150. There have been (unconfirmed) reports of people being shot and carried away by the security forces. Also unconfirmed reports of injured protesters being arrested at hospitals.

Many embassies have taken in injured, mostly EU countries and Australia. Canada has thus far denied entry though it looks as if there's an email/call campaign on to get them on board.

News of the (totally unconfirmed and very) weird variety: Some people in Tehran have claimed helicopters were dumping a caustic/acidic liquid on protesters. Twitterer guy who had the bizarre reports from Israel the other day is saying, "Unbelievable activity everywhere entire squadron of planes from Tel Nof flew in and parked" (in Ramat David). (I put this stuff in to satisfy the tin hat crowd.)

From Huffington Post (who really seem to be on the ball with this whole mess overall):

In a statement issued on Saturday the Assembly of Experts expressed its "strong support" for the Supreme Leader's statements on the presidential elections on Friday.

As it turns out:

...The letter of support written by assembly of experts in support of Khamenei's sermon is only signed by the deputy leader of the assembly, who is a former head of the judiciary and a staunch supporter of ahmadinejad, as well as a rival of Rafsanjani for the assembly's leadership election. He is the only one signing the letter and the government sponsored news media are reporting it as a letter from the full assembly.

Another letter:

Yesterday I wrote a note, with the subject line "tomorrow is a great day perhaps tomorrow I'll be killed." I'm here to let you know I'm alive but my sister was killed...

I'm here to tell you my sister died while in her father's hands

I'm here to tell you my sister had big dreams...

I'm here to tell you my sister who died was a decent person... and like me yearned for a day when her hair would be swept by the wind... and like me read "Forough" [Forough Farrokhzad]... and longed to live free and equal... and she longed to hold her head up and announce, "I'm Iranian"... and she longed to one day fall in love to a man with a shaggy hair... and she longed for a daughter to braid her hair and sing lullaby by her crib...

my sister died from not having life... my sister died as injustice has no end... my sister died since she loved life too much... and my sister died since she lovingly cared for people...

my loving sister, I wish you had closed your eyes when your time had come... the very end of your last glance burns my soul....

sister have a short sleep. your last dream be sweet.

In the irony department, a quote provided by Tehran Bureau:

Khamanei Condemns Tyranny

Quoting then (not-yet-Ayatollah) Hojatol-Islam Seyed Ali Khamanei, the current Supreme Leader at a speech in Qom: "The Shah was guilty of this: He said it's my word, not the nation's. Today anyone who repeats this behavior, it not acceptable; he is condemnable."

The best real-time updates are had at Huffington Post here.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Still interesting that the regime is importing militias and "police" from far-off rural regions, it's really fascism and evil orverlordship 101. Just like China, just like the the Soviet Union, probably just like the British Empire used to do in more brutal times, too.

The one (and so far only) political murder committed in New Zealand was under those sort of circumstances. A bunch of gold miners went on strike in 1913 in a small town called Waihi, so the Tory Government of the day grabbed a bunch of farmers and sons, dressed them up it police gear, and let them loose on the strikers.

[CloudFlare]

Unless the Republican saber-rattlers pressuring Obama to leap into the fray get their way.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/...obama_and_iran/

Damn straight, the neocons have it right. We need to support democracy in the region like we did 1990. Thank God we supported the overthrow of the non-democratic Saudis and Kuwaits!

//Vomit

[L’Age d’or]

For now some people are in a dilemma of choosing between their families and their own safety and fighting on. I personally find it a very difficult choice, I feel so helpless living abroad while my brothers and sisters are getting killed inside Iran. I keep in touch with my family everyday though the government has made it hard for international calls to go through. My dad talks about the killings and the raiding of ppl's houses to terrorize them so they would stop coming into the streets. I knew this regime was capable of anything but seeing it is another story, after watching this video I feel empty and hollow.

(Warning:graphic)

[Red Sun]

For now some people are in a dilemma of choosing between their families and their own safety and fighting on. I personally find it a very difficult choice, I feel so helpless living abroad while my brothers and sisters are getting killed inside Iran. I keep in touch with my family everyday though the government has made it hard for international calls to go through. My dad talks about the killings and the raiding of ppl's houses to terrorize them so they would stop coming into the streets. I knew this regime was capable of anything but seeing it is another story, after watching this video I feel empty and hollow.

.

Is this the video about the young girl? If so, you should perhaps put a warning before the link.

I haven't seen it linked, yet, so, here is a translation of Mousavi's latest speech. It will probably be disappointing for people who hope that Iran should immediately become a Western-styled democracy, but I found it a very interesting speech, trying to find a middle ground between the different groups within the opposition and to give their movements legitimacy.

The Huffington Post also linked to an interesting comment of this speech, made by Spencer Ackermann. However, I'm not very familiar with him, so I don't know how knowledgeable he is about the situation.

ETA: In addition, for farsi-speaking boarders, here is a link to the original speech.

ETA 2: After a little more research, I found out that there seems to be a more correct translation, directly in correspondence to the original text. http://elections.7rooz.com/englishnews/Mou..._Iranian_people

[L’Age d’or]

Is this the video about the young girl? If so, you should perhaps put a warning before the link.

I haven't seen it linked, yet, so, here is a translation of Mousavi's latest speech. It will probably be disappointing for people who hope that Iran should immediately become a Western-styled democracy, but I found it a very interesting speech, trying to find a middle ground between the different groups within the opposition and to give their movements legitimacy.

The Huffington Post also linked to an interesting comment of this speech, made by Spencer Ackermann. However, I'm not very familiar with him, so I don't know how knowledgeable he is about the situation.

ETA: In addition, for farsi-speaking boarders, here is a link to the original speech.

Well Mousavi and Karroubi as the leaders of these protests were known Islamic revolutionists so a revolution wasnt really a possibility, putting it simple, Mousavi is part of this regime and was the prime minister for years so you couldnt expect him to try and lead the protests into a revolution.In his speech he is acting as what he is, which is a reformist, so its natural for him to try to find a middle ground among this extremely unstable situation.

[Red Sun]

Well Mousavi and Karroubi as the leaders of these protests were known Islamic revolutionists so a revolution wasnt really a possibility, putting it simple, Mousavi is part of this regime and was the prime minister for years so you couldnt expect him to try and lead the protests into a revolution.In his speech he is acting as what he is, which is a reformist, so its natural for him to try to find a middle ground among this extremely unstable situation.

Oh yes, that's what I thought as well, and that's my impression from the speech. :)

[Ckrisz]

PersianKiwi is tweeting that Rafsanjani himself has been arrested. If true, then it's over. Khamanei has won, unless the IRGC or the Army decisively splits with him, and that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Press TV is already officially confirming that five of Rafsanjani's close relatives, including his daughter, have been arrested.

[dalThor]

PersianKiwi is tweeting that Rafsanjani himself has been arrested. If true, then it's over. Khamanei has won, unless the IRGC or the Army decisively splits with him, and that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Press TV is already officially confirming that five of Rafsanjani's close relatives, including his daughter, have been arrested.

Faeze Hashemi Rafsanjani and family members being held prisoner in military compound - #Iranelection - (tweet from Persiankiwi)

From wiki

Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani (Persian: Ùائزه هاشمی رÙسنجانی , born 1963) is the daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and is now studying in Birmingham City University in United Kingdom.

It's his daughter, not him. Certainly a power play by the Khamenei crowd though.