Iran Flashback: When EA Became the Supreme Leader's Facebook Friend

Earlier this week The Guardian of London, noting an article on the opposition site Kalemeh, wrote in astonishment: even though Twitter and Facebook are blocked in Iran, the Supreme Leader had come out on both.

Only thing is: it's an old story. 

We know this because we were one of Ayatollah Khamenei's first Facebook Friends. Here are the EA story and updates, run unedited, from August 2009:

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UPDATE 16 August, 2035 GMT: Supreme Leader wants to click "Get New Nokia N97" ad on his page but worries he will put himself under surveillance.

Ayatollah Khamenei still has 39 friends.

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The Latest from Iran (16 January): An Execution Passes But Stuxnet Breaks Up the Quiet

2125 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Student activist Mohammad Hossein Mozafari has been released from detention.

A court has confirmed the six-year sentence of teachers' union activist Rasoul Badaghi.

Security forces have raided the home of journalist Peyman Aref, who was arrested in June 2009 and sentenced in March 2010 to one year in prison. He was given temporary release for medical reasons in April.

2035 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Radio Zamaneh summarises the statement of families of political prisoners about the dire conditions for women detainees in the quarantine section of Evin Prison.

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Tunisia LiveBlog: Watching Inside and Outside the Country

2205 GMT: Confusion tonight over reports that "foreign mercenaries" were captured by the Army after gun battles today (see 2035 GMT), with claims that they were Swedish tourists in Tunis, on a hunting trip for wild boar, who were beaten by a mob.

2120 GMT: The full State Department text of Hillary Clinton's discussion with the Tunisian Foreign Minister today (see 1800 GMT):

Secretary Clinton called Tunisian Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane today to express support for the people of Tunisia as they and their government go through a period of significant transition. She urged that the Government work to re-establish order in the country in a responsible manner as quickly as possible. She also underscored the importance of addressing popular concerns about the lack of civil liberties and economic opportunities, and the need to move forward with credible democratic elections.

She noted that the United States is encouraged by recent remarks by Prime Minister Ghannouchi and Interim President Mabazza indicating a willingness to work with Tunisians across the political spectrum and within civil society to build a truly representative government. Lastly, the Secretary offered the assistance of the United States in helping Tunisians to meet these challenges, and assured the Foreign Minister that the United States will stand with Tunisia as it moves forward to address them.

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Libya and Egypt Videos: Politics and Protest

Clip of protest and gunfire in Beida

Clip from website Al Manara of protest:

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Israel Snapshot: The Left Targets Foreign Minister Lieberman

Following the Knesset's approval of an enquiry into the activities and funding of left-wing organizations, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday: "These organizations are terror supporters whose only goal is to weaken the IDF [Israel Defense Force], weaken its resolve to defend the citizens of Israel."

On Friday, Haaretz's Yossi Sarid responded with the warning that Israel was becoming a second "corrupt" Russia, thanks to the Liebermans who came from this "non-democratic" country. Sarid added: "Lieberman and his serfs have a dream that is a nightmare - to turn the Jewish and democratic state into a Jewish and Soviet state: corrupt judges, bribed policemen, frightened prosecutors, submissive journalists, human rights activists in handcuffs, and an opposition for decoration only."

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Tunisia and the Real Net Effect: Getting It Right on Protest and Social Media

As with the uprising in Iran in 2009, this month's protests in Tunisia, culminating in the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Bin Ali, have sparked a debate about the role of social media in public resistance. While many seem to have been inspired and given hope by the roles of social media in helping to mobilise action or to spread news of developments, eternal net skeptic Evgeny Morozov continue to dissent.

But he and his allies aren’t just dissenting.

Morozov, in his "First Thoughts on Tunisia and the Role of the Internet", re-invents the course of  events to fit his pre-set narrative minimising the place of social media in activism. While I may not be a net-positive, I’m not as net-negative as Morozov and Co.

To be up-front and accurate, I’m replying to Morozov's entire article, paragraph by paragraph.

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Tunisia Videos: Tidying Up

Claimed footage of arrest of Slim Chiboub, former volleyball star and son-in-law of President Ben Ali:

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WikiLeaks, Iran, & Assassination Special: Why A Kickboxing Champion Became An "Israeli Spy"

This week Iranian authorities, supporting their claim of an Israeli plot --- including the assassination of Iranian scientists --- to undermine the regime, put Majid Jamali Fash on national television. Fash dutifully confessed to worked for Israeli's intelligence service Mossad, receiving training overseas before returning to Iran to carry out nefarious plots.

What Iranian TV, and indeed the Minister of Intelligence detailing the conspiracy, failed to mention is that Fashi already had an established vocation before he supposedly colluded with the enemy.

How did a promising kickboxer, and a supporter of President Ahmadinejad, wind up before the cameras --- and possibly on the gallows --- as an Israeli agent?

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Tunisia LiveBlog: What Emerges Today?

2045 GMT: Speaking on the BBC World Service, a young Tunisian said men between the ages of 18 and 40, armed with baseball bats, are gathering in neighbourhoods to protect their homes.

1830 GMT: Privately-owned Nesma TV is reporting that Imad Trabelsi --- the nephew of Leila Trabelsi, the wife of deposed President Ben Ali --- is dead.

There are no details, but earlier in the day rumours had circulated on Twitter that Trabelsi had died as the family's homes in the Tunis suburbs were being ransacked yesterday.

Trabelsi, the nephew was named in a 2008 US diplomatic cable as a "particularly important economic actor" in the corruption of the Trabelsi family. In 2006, he had caused a scandal by reportedly stealing the yacht of a well-connected French businessman, Bruno Roger, Chairman of Lazard Paris.

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Tunisia Pictures: Is This A New Military and a New Country?

The letters come down at what was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali airport in Tunis:

An Army stop-and-search:

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