Al Jazeera puts the continuing protests into context :
Month: July 2009
A “Quagmire Of Personality Politics”
Scott H. Payne takes me to task:
Watching Andrew’s efforts, one is compelled to conclude that in Andrew’s mind the focus of attention ought to be placed upon who Sarah Palin is and how the answers there attained render her unfit for office. This approach is deeply flawed on two counts.
The first count was eloquently delineated by E.D. in his criticism of David Brooks’ commentary around Barack Obama, namely: that we ought to fashion our political discourse around an analysis of ideas, not an appreciation (or lack thereof) of particular personality traits. It is consistently astonishing to me how little one sees a serious discussion of ideas present in any number of political foray. Perhaps I’m just waxing naive, but isn’t it just a given that a thorough debate about the merits of the ideas presented by differing viewpoints renders us better off within the context of democratic machinations? So why does it seems as though one has to dig so deeply and widely to hit upon just such a debate within the analysis of different political actors?
The second count that makes this seeming quagmire of personality politics even more disturbing is that the cult of personality isn’t just a normative function of the much dreaded “mainstream media”, but seems to be an increasingly permanent fixture of the so-called alternative terrain of the new media.
The problem with Palin is that there are no discernible policies to analyze. There is nothing but platitudes and catch-phrases attached to an identity-politics candidacy.
CNN FTW
Nico, who follows Iran coverage more than anyone, remarks:
Hats off to CNN. Its coverage of Iran today is blowing every other media outlet out of the water, including Al Jazeera and BBC Persia.
What Makes Today’s Protests Different
A new and significant feature of this demonstration was that simultaneous rallies also occurred in cities all around the country. Although the crowds were relatively small, this national coordination suggests a national underground organization is emerging.
Live-Tweeting The Revolution: Day 28
Initial tweets here. The latest:
From Iran: Despite being beaten, general feeling is that we WON today!
Its really hard hear friend said goodbye a few hrs ago got shot & cant find him others,am sorry cant update anymore tonight…
Clashes at Narmak and Tehran Pars, 11PM…
Hearing VERY powerful shouts of "Allaho Akbar" here in Qeitarieh. I'm gonna go on the roof and join them. B back
in Amirabad , now hear the voice of shooting and people's Allah Akbar people are all on the roofs
Very proud of brave Iranians: Can't believe there were so many ppl on the streets today.
while peopple were beaten at streets Ahmadenejad said that I am servant of people
Reports: Hezbollah Attacked Polytechnic Dorm!
the group who help me in gthering information and news for twitter were beaten today in Tehran
RT CONFIRMED PROTESTS IN Tehran,Shiraz,Isfahan,Ahwaz,Babol,Kerman,Mashhad, Sari
eyewitness: many who got arrested were not among protesters, but got beaten & taken away by force and violently
Todays' slogans against Mojtaba Khamenei!
Back home from my mothers house, 7tir sq where FULL of riot police, Basij, plain cloths and other suppressors.
Cars in the streets…fires everywhere in Azadi street…Basij breaking car windows
ppl have overcome some basij & taken their batons away. From them you can hear death to khamenei
UNCONFIRMED! RT: Mirdamad Metro was set on fire by people
FR Valiasr intersection, plainclothes and police hit ppl mercilessly with batons.
People attacked Basij in SaadatAbad and Sattarkhan
Basidj used a gas that burned our skins its still red and inflamed
Plain clothes r now pulling ppl out of stores attacking ppl in streets around enghelab squar
Evin Prison There Was Many Executions Earlier Today Number Unknown
Clashes in front of Evin Prison!
Riot Police using Plastic Bullets at Enghelab Sq, Clashes spreading to all streets nearby.
Just heard one friend Got Shot near Azadi Sq. I am so worry about him,… lost contact with them…
Reports: Army Helicopters Shooting at People at Azadi Sq. (not conf)…
Heavy Clashes near Azadi Sq. at least 3 people get shoted by Sec. forces…
Gun Shoots is hearing from Kargar Shomali St..
Police Shooting Teargas at Poeple infront of Tehran University
10sThousands ppl Chanting against Regime at Vanak sq., Vali Asr sq., Ferdosi, Vali Asr Cr, Tehran Uni, Polythecnic Uni..
Clashes At Vali Asr Sq. Spreading to all nearby Streets including Vila St…
One girl harshly arrested as she was dragged on the ground and thrown into a van… many others arrested
Police arresting seemingly at random, throwing tear gas into buses
very heavy Basiji presence. Almost all have handguns.
more than 500 cyclist are going up and down on streets and taking photos of ppl .
PPL got attacked and eye witness reported bloody PPL and teargas.
and she said that they weren't able to get their calls to go through either. So apparently cell phone service has been disrupted. end quote
I have not been able to call anyone. I called a friend's mom at their home (in Tehran)
Apparently HUGE turnout, Basij desperately trying to block enghelab
6:29pm in Tehran right now, Reports of Moussavi showing might pop up as he had stated he would attend earlier
The Architect Of The Latest Meltdown
Matt Steinglass wants to focus on McCain, not Palin:
John McCain is unqualified to be Commander-in-Chief. McCain is a guy of rather mediocre intellect, little curiosity, and very poor and impulsive decision-making skills. He’s vain and headstrong, and he easily turns opposition over matters of policy or politics into personal vendettas. He became a political commodity in 1973 because he embodied the right-wing working-class value of patriotism under duress at a moment when patriotism and the white working class felt under attack for their complicity in a disastrous foreign war. And he was seized upon by a desperate Republican Party in political free-fall; in the thick of Watergate, the Nixon administration launched him as a political celebrity. He then parlayed that notoriety into a political career a few years down the road. He certainly has a substantial amount of charm and an instinct for playing the press, and he’s hardly the dumbest guy in the Senate. But he is not a responsible or serious person. And to a great degree, when he met Sarah Palin, he probably felt he was looking at a younger version of himself. Which is to say that the “rot” in the GOP, the eagerness to substitute celebrity and resentful pseudo-patriotic gibberish for real political discussion, goes back a lot longer than 8 years.
(Photo: Max Whittaker/Getty.)
Outing Iran: Marjane Satrapi
Perhaps the best known work of Iranian pop culture in recent years is "Persepolis," the animated film adaptation of the 2000 graphic novel by Iranian-French artist Marjane Satrapi. Both works were based on her fascinating life story:
Satrapi grew up in Tehran in a family which was involved with the communist and socialist movements in Iran, prior to the Iranian Revolution. She attended the Lycée Français there and witnessed, as a child, the growing suppression of civil liberties and the everyday-life consequences of Iranian politics, including the fall of the Shah, the early regime of Ruhollah Khomeini, and the first years of the Iran-Iraq war.
For anyone hoping to get an easily absorbed lesson in the modern history of Iran, "Persepolis" is a must read. Also, two fans of Satrapi recently created an updated version illustrating the current uprising; don't miss it.The movie really helped me get past Iranians as somehow "other". Hitch's review is here.
More Footage From Iran Today
Dispersing the crowd:
On the run:
Many more clips after the jump:
According to a reader at The Lede, protesters here are shouting "Death to Khamenei's son":
According to NIAC, this clip was "taken from Enghelab Sq, showing the armed forces arresting one person, chasing a women and kicking cars":
Nico received these two clips from his readers:
And this one shows the heavy police presence today:
Another version:
And the first clip we found today:
Raye Man Kojast? meticulously collected many others. Yet more here.
Violence As Disease
Andy Coghlan reports on programs trying to stem killings by changing the societal understanding of violence:
Shootings and killings in deprived areas of Chicago and Baltimore have plummeted by between 41 and 73 per cent thanks to a programme that treats violence as if it is an infectious disease…The most important but controversial element of the programme to tackle the epidemic of violence is sending reformed shooters out into the streets as mediators in disputes and mentors for youths.
"At age 17 I'd been arrested several times and convicted of four gun-related offences," says Jalon Arthur, a key violence interruptor speaking in a teleconference on 30 June. "You must work with the shooters, and credible messengers like me need to understand the minds of the perpetrators and have the measure of street-credibility to overcome mistrust," said Arthur.
"For individuals who engage in gun activity, there's a great deal of paranoia which makes them very difficult to influence, but because violence interruptors have been through the transition themselves, they have the social networks and enough street cred to reach these people," said Arthur.
“Killed In Front Of Us”
Lara receives a riveting email from Iran. And today she tweeted:
witness says he saw 2 killed by gunfire. "we were in the red zone and it was nothing less than war. pray for us."
Tehrani: police first struck people, then told them to leave. if store owners hadn't come to our rescue I don't know what would've happenedreform camp source says #iranelection protesters were carrying Korans, shouting "Allahu Akbar." others marched silently
tear gas & beatings, people chant "don't be afraid, we're in this together" & "ya Hussein, Mir Hussein." Cars honk in support.
The Dish 