With national elections in Iraq on Sunday and Juan Cole writing, “The greatest danger of these [latest] political maneuverings is that they may reignite guerrilla and militia violence in Iraq, and possibly impede the scheduled withdrawal of the US military,” Newsweek’s Twitter team makes everything simple:

In 6 words, tell us your thoughts on the state of democracy in Iraq. Reply @Newsweek, or email your entry to sixwords@newsweek.com

Tags: Iraq, Juan Cole, Newsweek, Twitter

I first encountered Mehdi Saharkhiz as “onlymehdi” on Twitter last June. He has been one of the most important sources of information, especially photos and videos, for EA and many others on the post-election crisis.

From Ashley Kindergan at NorthJersey.com:

From coffee shops in Ridgewood, his home in Wayne and anywhere there is cell service, a 28-year-old Iranian is broadcasting the ongoing uprising in his home country — one of a growing number of people intent on helping share with the world what happens on the streets of Tehran.

Iran: Greening YouTube — An Interview with Mehdi Saharkhiz

Mehdi Saharkhiz — known as “onlymehdi” on his blog, YouTube channel and Twitter feed — has been posting photographs and videos of opposition protests in Iran since the disputed Iranian presidential election last June sent thousands of protesters into the streets and triggered a brutal crackdown by the regime.

“For me, it’s about getting the word out there,” Saharkhiz said.

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Tags: Ashley Kindergan, Austin Heap, Censorship Research Center, Facebook, Gary Sick, Gmail, Haystack, Hillary Clinton, International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Isa Saharkhiz, Islamic Republic News Agency, Kelly Niknejad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mana Mostatabi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mehdi Saharkhiz, Mehdi Shahpar, Nahid Ahkami, NorthJersey.com, Persian Cultural & Humanitarian Association, Tehran Bureau, Twitter, YouTube

It has been eerie to watch the first few days of Operation Moshtarak, the US-Afghanistan-ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) military offensive against the Taliban in Helmand Province. It is not just the observation of the battle from thousands of miles away; it is that this encounter has been scripted.

The offensive was signalled weeks ago in declaration from US military and political headquarters, reporters were suitably embedded, and the ritual proclamations were issued. BBC radio even turned over several minutes of prime-time programming to the speech, in full, of a British commander to his troops on the eve of battle. (Ever since William Shakespeare put words in the mouth of Henry V at Agincourt in 1415 — “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” — this has been required in presentation of English/British wars.) Yet all the scripting could not set down the final-act resolution of this question:

What if you threw a war and no one showed up?

The Afghanistan Occupation: 700 Military Bases (and Counting)

This morning an Afghan official is declaring that 12 Taliban were killed on Sunday. That makes it a score draw with number of dead civilians, as 12 perished in an American rocket strike. In total, about 40 Taliban are reported dead since the start of the offensive. That’s 40 bad guys in what was supposed to be a showdown battle for the Taliban “stronghold” of Marja and in what The Washington Post, voicing the words of a US Lieutenant-Colonel, is calling “last-ditch efforts” by the enemy.

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Tags: Agence France Presse, BBC, Fallujah, Henry V, International Security Assistance Force, Jock Stirrup, Marja, New York Times, Operation Moshtarak, Taliban, Twitter, Washington Post, William Shakespeare

The folks at The Flying Carpet Institute respond to Josh Shahryar’s article, “Venezuela: Twitter Revolution’s Next Stop?”:

Some pundits have recently tried to compare the recent upper middle-class mobilizations against the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to the ones occurring in Iran since last summer’s Presidential election. As proof of the similarities, the author notes the technological aspects of the mobilization, such as activity on Twitter. He furthermore notes that Venezuela is “a population subjugated to ill-planned economics, a strongman unwilling to leave power, and a government ever more keen to restrict its citizens’ rights to freedom of speech”.

Venezuela: Twitter Revolution’s Next Stop?

This is a very superficial analysis of events that can be overturned with a range of empirical evidence. However, I will confine myself to some obvious facts. For instance, the Chavez Government hasn’t resorted to executions of opposition members like the Islamic Republican regime in Iran. The “curbed free press” of Venezuela isn’t actually that curbed. In no other country in the recent years has the ruling class shown its teeth so openly against a popular reformist government, through “Chilean” methods like assassinations, employer lock-outs, and pot-beating upper middle-class housewives. What Western media reports also fail to show are the (even if somewhat modest) attempts of the Chavez Government to support the growth of communal radio programmes that are intended to challenge the corporate media monopoly.
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Tags: Honduras, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Josh Shahryar, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manuel Zelaya, The Flying Carpet Institute, Twitter, Velayat-e-Faqih, Venezuela

EA correspondent Josh Shahryar writes:

First, it was watching retweets of news from Iran in Spanish. Then I slowly started seeing “hashtags” for both Iran and Venezuela in the same tweet. Finally, I saw the Twitter account of a collective. Reading the profile helped me grasp the enormity of what I was witnessing: a student movement like Iran’s is relying on the Internet to inform people of what is happening inside Venezuela.

A few months ago, as I was tweeting about a protest in Iran and live-blogging, I noticed former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Diego Arria, a Venezuelan, tweeting information about the protest in Iran. While it surprised me to see such a revered diplomat taking key interest in Iran’s Green Movement, I soon also began to witness mass support from Venezuelan students for the Iranian cause. But most interesting and heartening to me was that they have been on Twitter and other social media outlets for more than a year fighting for their own rights as well.

For those who oppose the rule of President Hugo Chavez, theirs is a story much similar to Iran’s: a population subjugated to ill-planned economics, a strongman unwilling to leave power, and a government ever more keen to restrict its citizen’s right to freedom of speech. As protests rocked Venezuela two weeks ago, news of the protests made its way out not only on the backs of the traditional mainstream media outlets but also on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Photobucket, and other websites once used for entertainment, killing time, or just plain ol’ finding a date.

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Tags: Business Insider, Diego Arria, El Nuevo Herald, Green Movement, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Josh Shahryar, Nelson Bocaranda, Radio Caracas Television, Twitter, Venezuela, Venezuela Students Movement

2240 GMT: We close tonight by posting a video of the comments of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, defending the regime’s approach in the Presidential election and against subsequent protests, on CNN.

2155 GMT: News from Evin Prison. Another demonstration tonight by families of detainees and their supporters — Peyke Iran reports hundreds present. The website claims 23 detainees have been released to the cheers of the crowd.

2020 GMT: All is Well! All is Well! Today’s award goes to a Brigadier General Hassan Firouzabadi, who offered this assessment of the current situation:

The Islamic Republic of Iran is looking at a bright future under the aegis of the visionary leadership of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the support of a considerable number of devotees inside and outside the country…

“Ceremonies marking the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution will kick off this year at a time when Iran has made great progress in various fields of science and technology. The global powers, along with their supporters inside the country, desperately sought to undermine the principles of the Islamic Revolution.

So, Mr Firouzabadi, we pass over to you the EA All is Well Trophy Video:

NEW Latest Iran Video: Foreign Minister Mottaki on Elections & Protests (31 January)
NEW Iran Analysis: Mousavi and Karroubi Answer the Regime — “Defiance”
NEW Iran From the Outside: Helping Through “Active Neutrality”
Latest Iran Video: Defending the Executions (30 January)
Iran Document: Mousavi-Karroubi Declaration on Rights and 22 Bahman (30 January)
Iran’s Executions: The Reformist Participation Front Questions to Sadegh Larijani
Iran Patriotism Special: Wiping the Green From The Flag
The Latest from Iran (30 January): Threat

2015 GMT: The speaker of the reformist minority group in Parliament, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, resigned to protest restricitons such as the filtering of the party’s website Parleman News and the banning of its reporter from the Parliament and preventing guests of MPs from entering the Parliament. (Those guests include family members of political prisoners. One delegation was turned away today.)

The Deputy Speaker and members of the party intervened and requested Tabesh to remain in his post.

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Tags: ABB AG, Ahmad Tavakoli, Al Jazeera English, Alef News, Ali Arab Mazar, Alireza Beheshti, Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Arash Rahmanipour, Ayande News, Baidu, David Sanger, Eric Schmitt, Evin Prison, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran Review, Iranian Cyber Army, Iranian Labor News Agency, Kalemeh Sabz, Mahmood Delkhasteh, Manouchehr Mottaki, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Mohammad Sadegh Larijani, Mothers of Mourning, Mowj-e-sabz, New York Times, Parleman News, Peyke Iran, Press TV, Radio Zameneh, Rah-e-Sabz, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Twitter, Washington Post

2145 GMT: The Karroubi Story. We’ve worked tonight through the stories, the rumours, and possibilities to post an interim analysis of Mehdi Karroubi’s statement today on “Mr Khamenei” and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “the head of the government of the regime”.

2140 GMT: In Case You Missed It. Persian2English reports: “Abolfazl Eslami, former Counselor of the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo, writes that he has decided to join people’s movement in light of the Islamic Republics’ violence and oppression.”

1955 GMT: And on the Clerical Front. Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani has renewed his criticism of the regime, asking Iran’s leaders to do “nahy az monker” (repent from the bad way).

1945 GMT: Remember the Economic Front? Most of the management of Bank Melli have been replaced.

1935 GMT: We are hoping to have a thorough, on-the-mark analysis, from an EA correspondent with excellent sources, of the Karroubi statement about 2130 GMT. (To be blunt, I got it wrong earlier today, but I think, thanks to a lot of help, we’ll have the best possible reading by the end of tonight.)

NEW Iran Special Analysis: What Karroubi’s Statement on “Mr Khamenei”/”Head of Government” Means
NEW Iran Snap Analysis: The Karroubi and Khatami Manoeuvres
NEW Iran: Listening to Rumours, Whispers, and Shouts
Iran and Israel: The Start of a Beautiful Friendship?
Iran Analysis: Should the Greens Be Waiting for Economic Collapse?
UPDATED Iran: The Plot Against President Ahmadinejad
The Latest from Iran (24 January): Watching Carefully

Meanwhile, another piece of evidence to put into the mix, indicating that Karroubi is not recognising Ahmadinejad as President but merely as a “selected leader”. He told Rah-e-Sabz that he stood by his comments, but the people have problems which must be solved by the government, which is responsible for the situation. He repeated a statement he had made to an English newspaper: “I am convinced that Ahmadinejad will not stay for four years.”
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Tags: Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, Abbas Kazemi, Abolfazl Eslami, Agence France Presse, Ali Larijani, Ali Reza Beheshti, Ashura, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Bank Melli, China, Etemade Melli Party, Fars News, Flying Carpet Institute, Gene Sharp, Guardian Council, Hasan Ahmadian, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hillary Clinton, Hossein Karroubi, Internet, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Kayhan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Mohammad Khatami, Mohammad Yazdi, Noam Chomsky, Norooz, Persian2English, Peyke Iran, Press TV, Rah-e-Sabz, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Rasoul Auto Company, Robert Helvey, Saham News, Shamsoddin Hosseini, Tehran University, Twitter

2210 GMT: Wow, Couldn’t See That Coming.

What we wrote at 0745 GMT: “Some media were looking forward to today’s “5+1″ (US, UK, Russia, China, France, Germany) meeting on Iran’s nuclear programme. Even if that gathering had significance for the internal situation in Iran, it is unlikely to produce any results: China has declined to send a high-level official, blocking any move towards further sanctions on Tehran.”

What Associated Press reported an hour ago: “Top diplomats from six key powers focused on possible new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program at a meeting Saturday, but reached no agreement, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said.”

NEW Iran Video & Translation: Dr Etaat’s Opposition On State Media (14 January — Part 3)
UPDATED Iran Video & Translation: Dr Etaat’s Opposition On State Media (14 January — Parts 1 and 2)
NEW Iran: The 15 Points of “The Secular Green Movement” (14 January)
NEW Iran Analysis: The “Opposition Within” and the Regime
Latest Iran Video & Translation: Dr Etaat’s Opposition On State Media (14 January)
Iran: Anger, Pain, & Fear — The Funeral of Professor Ali-Mohammadi
Latest Iran Video: Green Protest and the Iran-Belgium Football Match (14 January)
Iran: The Regime Censors the 1979 Revolution
Latest Iran Audio: The Last Lecture of Professor Ali-Mohammadi
The Latest from Iran (15 January): Refreshing?

2205 GMT: Writing in Exile. Nazila Fathi, The New York Times correspondent who fled her native country in June, has written an emotive account of post-election events and her departure. The article, however, also offers a powerful insight into how “new media” has re-shaped both opposition and coverage of it:
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Tags: Asadollah Badamchian, Associated Press, Ayande News, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Khalaji, Dr Javad Etaat, Ebrahim Nabavi, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Fars News, Hezbollah (Iran), Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran Khabar, Iranian Cyber Army, Iranian Green Army, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, Mehdi Khalaji, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Ali Jafari, Mowj-e-sabz, Nader Karimi, Nazila Fathi, New York Times, Nuclear Proliferation, Press TV, Rah-e-Sabz, Reza Talaei, Sadegh Mohammad Larijani, Secular Green Movement, The Flying Carpet Institute, Twitter