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Jul
03
2009
Video: All the Best Bits of Sarah PalinPosted by: Scott Lucas in Political Humour, US PoliticsVideo: Sarah Palin Resigns as Governor of Alaska (3 July) Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED 
Tags: Sarah Palin, US Elections 2008
Jul
03
2009
Video: Sarah Palin Resigns as Governor of Alaska (3 July)Posted by: Scott Lucas in US PoliticsVideo: All the Best Bits of Sarah Palin Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED Farewell, Sister Sarah. It won’t be quite as fun without you:
Jul
03
2009
The Latest from Iran (3 July): The Long Haul?Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Iran Crisis (Day 22): What to Watch For Today Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
1645 GMT: BBC Persian reports that Ayatollah Yusef Sane’i, a fervent critic of the Government, has condemned televised confessions, saying they have no value as the obvious product of torture. Sane’i emphasized that “endurance is the key to success”.
Jul
03
2009
The Iran Crisis (Day 22): What to Watch For TodayPosted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Latest from Iran (3 July): The Long Haul? Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
So every day the relatives and supporters of the detained will gather in front of Evin Prison, and tomorrow mothers of “martyrs” will again try to pay their respects in Laleh Park. Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign will offer guidance for symbolic protest on his Facebook page. There will be periodic statements by the opposition leaders. A clue to the next mass gathering has emerged this morning on a website giving the routes for a march in Tehran next Thursday, 9 July. Nine different rallies will converge on Enqelab (Revolution) Square. And how is the regime feeling about the current state of affairs? An important clue comes today at Friday prayers at Tehran University. Two weeks ago, the Supreme Leader used the occasion to confront the opposition and to block possible political manoeuvres by key politicians like former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Last week Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami issued his warning that protest would be met by the heavy hands of Iranian security forces and the judiciary. If the Ayatollah leading prayers today is low-key and makes no direct references to the opposition movement or the foreign threat, then the regime thinks that not only that the worst has passed but that it is unlikely to recur. If, however, the enemy appears, then there is still uncertainty and concern amongst the Iranian leadership. Tags: Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran, Iran Elections, Mir Hossein Mousavi
Jul
03
2009
Iran: The Statement of “The Mourning Mothers of Iran”Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Latest from Iran (3 July): The Long Haul? Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
We continue to mourn… The silent mourning of mothers on Saturday June 27th 2009 in Laleh Park in Tehran was violently suppressed by security forces. A number of mothers and young women attending this peaceful gathering/sit-in were detained by the security forces. Despite the violent crackdown by the security forces and their attempt to disperses the attendees, more than 500 women and mothers were able to continue with the sit-in and gatherings in the central spot of the park. These mothers were peacefully gathering to commemorate the young men and women who had participated in the non-violent post-election demonstrations and had been martyred.
Jul
03
2009
Audio on Hiding Gaza, Hiding Israel: The Jailing of Cynthia McKinney (and 20 Others)Posted by: Scott Lucas in Journalism & Media, Middle East & IranReceive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED (An audio interview with Huwaida Arraf of the Free Gaza Movement, one of two activists released, and with Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who is still in jail, follows the opening paragraphs of the story.) 
On Tuesday, the news broke on Twitter: a freighter, Spirit of Humanity, carrying three tons of medical supplies, cement, olive trees, and children’s toys for Gaza, had been intercepted and boarded by Israeli naval personnel. Twenty-one passengers, including former US Congressman Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and activists from Britain, Ireland, Bahrain, and Jamaica were detained. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, “They will be released as soon as they are checked.” However, McKinney, Maguire, and 17 others remain in custory because they refuse to sign a deportation order that says they were “trespassing” in Israeli territorial waters. As of Friday morning, here is how many column inches The Washington Post has given to the story: 0 (The Post website has a short account on Tuesday from the Associated Press but that never made it into print.)
Jul
03
2009
A Song for Iran? “Free My Land”Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & Iran, Music & CultureThe Latest from Iran (3 July): The Long Haul? Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED In the last three weeks, numerous musical tributes to the political movement in Iran have emerged. Yesterday Fintan Dunne tipped us off to a song, overlaid with iconic, powerful (and graphic) images, which he thinks “could be THE anthem of Iran’s uprising”. 
Tags: Fintan Dunne, Iran, Iran Elections 2009
Jul
02
2009
LATEST Video: “Keeping the Peace” (30 June-2 July)Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranARCHIVE Video: Rally at Qoba Mosque, Resistance, Violence (24-28 June)ARCHIVE Video: The “Neda” Footage and Protests (20-23 June) Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED 2 July: Rooftop “Allahu Akhbars” in Tehran 
Posted 2 July: The Televised “Confessions”
Jul
02
2009
The Latest from Iran (2 July): The “Gradual” OppositionPosted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Latest from Iran (3 July): The Long Haul? LATEST Video: “Keeping the Peace” (30 June-2 July) Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
2100 GMT: Lara Setrakian of ABC News (US) writes, “Rooftop Allahu Akbars [God is Greats] still on, despite Basij raids. [There was] one case where all residents of a five-floor apartment building were bused to Evin [Prison].” Setrakian adds, “Rally was set for 6 p.m. today in front of Evin Prison to ask for release of detainees. The next two weeks of protests are planned.”
Jul
02
2009
Video and Text: Amnesty International Report on Gaza “War Crimes”Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranFour months ago, Amnesty International released an initial report into weapons used in Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December-January. Now Amnesty has released a fuller report on “war crimes”, accompanied by a video (Part 1 is available; Part 2 is still being subtitled). Most of the criticism is of Israeli tactics and operations, although there is also condemnation of Hamas for firing rockets into southern Israel and placing military equipment in civilian areas. The summary introduction of the full report follows the video: INTRODUCTION At 11.30am on 27 December 2008, without warning, Israeli forces began a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip codenamed Operation “Cast Lead”. Its stated aim was to end rocket attacks into Israel by armed groups affiliated with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. By 18 January 2009, when unilateral ceasefires were announced by both Israel and Hamas, some 1,400 Palestinians had been killed, including some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians, and large areas of Gaza had been razed to the ground, leaving many thousands homeless and the already dire economy in ruins.
Jul
02
2009
The Doctor Killed Neda: Your Press TV Guide to the Latest in IranPosted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Latest from Iran (2 July): The “Gradual” Opposition Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Item 1 (about nine minutes into the broadcast): Mir Hossein Mousavi “will follow up his electoral complaints through the judicial system”. No mention of the opposition campaign’s other initiatives, from “human chain” demonstration to general strike. And definitely no mention of the hundreds detained to prevent such initiatives. Followed by…. Item 2: Iran’s police chief “has called the death of Neda Agha Soltan a premediated act of murder”.
Jul
02
2009
Iran: 14 Latest Facts and Possibilities from “The Green Brief”Posted by: Scott Lucas in Middle East & IranThe Latest from Iran (2 July): The “Gradual” Opposition Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
So it was a useful test case this morning to read the work of Josh Shahryar, who has been blogging for “Anonymous Iran” during the crisis. Shahryar’s “Green Brief” is an excellent starting point to test what happened or may have happened in the last 24 hours. We tested some of his claims in the days after the election, and in light of continuing important (but often hard to determine or decipher) developments, I set the list today against our latest information: |
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1825 GMT: 
It now appears that the challenge in Iran has moved into a new phase. There will still be daily demonstrations, but they will be “indirect” in their opposition to the Government. Instead of posing questions over the election or the legimitacy of President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian system, they will commemorate the dead and highlight the plight of detainees. Direct, mass challenges will need several days, possibly weeks in planning.
2105 GMT: Reports that 
Here, in the half-hour “World News in Full” between 1300 and 1330 GMT, is Press TV English’s All You Need to Know on the current Iranian situation:
I spent a frustrating hour yesterday on The Islam Channel discussing “The Western Media and Iran”. It was frustrating because one of the other panellists, referring to stories of demonstrations, violence, and detentions, kept repeating the mantra, “How do we know?” That question, on its own, is fair enough: indeed, it should be asked every time we post a piece of information. In this case, however, the speaker added the direct charge or implication that the demonstrations were the product of the US Government and that reports of violations of human rights were fabrications or exaggerations of the “Western” media.
