Iran Update August 08-16, 2009
My first draft (that I've been working on since Friday) got erased so here's draft number two.
I don't know what is going on with Nico Pitney but it seems like his coverage of Iran has stopped.
Also, it seems that the Taraneh Musavi story may be fake? I've heard reports that it was a hoax and then they found proof...to be honest I'm not sure if it is or isn't true. But if it is not then the worst that could be said of it is that she has become a caricature of all the women who have been dragged off the streets and raped and killed in Iran since the election. Just because her story is fake does not mean that it has not happened to someone else.
With the recent problems of twitter this article on how twitter is feeding botnets is very important.
According to Roozonline, conservative estimates put dead at 69 and arrested at 4,000.
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard did an in-depth look at Iran, Neiman Reports: Iran: Can Its Story Be Told? Dozens of articles by Journalists on Iran are in the Summer 2009 edition.
The UN Secretary-General Ban KI-Moon invited Ahmedi to New York on September 22, 2009. If, he is able to make it. Expect major turn outs in protests. Also, Ramadan is coming up and there is plans to turn it Green.
One of the blogs from Iran is gone, kharid-e-sabz. I'm not sure if I used them as a source before, but I know others have. kharid-e-sabz was a blog was on wordpress and it's seemed to have been deleted by it's author.
Enduring America has reports of a new threat to Khamenei. It seems the clerics are trying to take him out of power.
Ahmedi chose one Sadeg Amoli Larijani, a hard right winger (who is the brother Ali Larijanji, the Speaker of Parliament) for the head of the Judiciary and three women for his cabinet.
August 03-07, 2009 post | July 31-August 02, 2009 post | July 29-30, 2009 post | July 27-28 post | July 25-26, 2009 post | July 24, 2009 post | July 20-23, 2009 Week post | July 18-19, 2009 post | July 17, 2009 post | July 16, 2009 post | July 15, 2009 post | July 14, 2009 post | July 13, 2009 post | July 12, 2009 post | July 11, 2009 post | July 10, 2009 post | July 9, 2009 posts | July 8, 2009 post | July 7, 2009 post | July 6, 2009 post | July 5, 2009 post | July 4, 2009 post
Important Links
Useful Resources
News: NIAC Insight | Kodoom
Translations: Google Translate | TehranBroadcast.com <- hasn't been updated since July 12, 2009 | Translate4Iran
Helping Iranians use the web: Haystack Haystack Network wesbite | Haystack Twitter page | Haystack needs help! |Twitter | FB | Tor Project (English & Farsi) | IranHelp.org (Farsi) Demonstrations: Facebook | sharearchy | WhyWeProtest
Activism: Avaaz.org | National Iranian American Council
~
Mousavi's main website | Mousavi's backup/English | Mousavi's FB | mowjcamp <- Mousavi/Opposition website in Farsi
Blogs
Nico's Pitney's live blog on HuffPo
Week of July 27, 2009 | Week of July 20, 2009 | Week of July 13, 2009 | July 10, 2009 | July 9, 2009 | July 8th | July 7th | July 6th | July 5th | July 3rd | July 2nd | July 1st | June 30th | June 29th | June 28th | June 27th | June 26th | June 25th | June 24th | June 22nd | June 21st | June 20th pt 2 | June 20th pt 1 | June 19th | June 18th | June 17th | June 16th | June 15th
NiteOwl's Green Briefs
NiteOwl's Green Briefs are compilations of news reports straight from Iranians.
Nite Owl's live translations of the Sermon |
Who is Who | Green Brief Pronouciation Guide
#55 (August 15, 2009 (Mordad 23, 1388) | #54 (August 14, 2009 - Mordad 23, 1388) | #53 (August 13, 2009 - Mordad 22, 1388) | #52 (August 12, 2009 - Mordad 11, 1388) | #51 (August 11, 2009 - Mordad 20, 1388) | #49-#50 (August 04-05, 2009 - Mordad 13-14 | #48 (August 3-4, 2009 - Mordad 12-13, 1388) | #47 (August 2-3, 2009 - Mordad 11-12, 1388) | #46 (August 1, 2009 - Mordad 10, 1388) | #45 (July 31, 2009) | #44 (July 30, 2009) | #43 (July 29) | #42 (July 28, 2009) | #40-41 (July 26-27) | #39 (July 25) | #38 (July 24) | #37 (July 23) | #38 (July 24) | #39 (July 25)
Green Brief #36 (July 22) | Green Brief #35 (July 21) | Green Brief #34 (July 20) | #33 (July 19) | #30 (July 16) | #29 (July 15) | #28 (July 14) | #27 (July 13) | #26 (July 12) | #25 (July 11) | #24 (July 10) | #23 (July 9) | #22 (July 8) | #21 (July 7) | #20 (July 6) | #18-#19 (July 4-5) | #17 (July 3) | #16 (July 2) | #15 (July 1) | #14 (June 30) | #13 (June29) | #12 (June 28) | #11 (June 27) | #10 (June 26th) | #9 (June 25) | #8 (June 24) | #7 (June 23) | #6 (June 22) | #5 (June 21) | #4 (June 20 | #3 (June 19) | #2 (June 18) | #1 (June 17)
~
Has coverage on Iran
Enduring America <- Typically has a lot of coverage Iran tag | FB | Twitter
Andrew Sullivan's blog <- periodically has coverage from Iran, twitter feeds on major events and showcases Iranian tallent
qlineorientalist - Iran Rises <- Is a Professor in NY and translates information coming out from Iran | Twitter
National Iranian American Council blog: Beltway insights for the NIAC <- enormous amount of information | website | FB | Twitter
Epic Protester <- a person has been protesting outside an embassy everyday in support of Iran, this is a blog detailing his struggles (recently he's gotten into trouble with the law)
Iranfacts
International Post
Juan Cole
Iran Election 2009 <- a new blog with information on Iran especially the Trials ran by Tony Allaway
Views from the Occident <- research blog about Islam and militants? Very informative though. his Iran label posts
Revolution in Iran | Feel Good page <- music vid page
Robin Wright
Keeping the Change | Keeping the Change FB
Peace With Iran
Jim Sciutto ABC twitblog <- ABC reporter twitblog
Lara Setrakian - ABC News reporter's blog <- Currently in Dubai; has a vast network of Iranian informants | Twitter
Mightier Than | Iran: The Rooftop Project <- collecting video of all the Allaho Akbar chants of each night since shortly before the election to present
Iranian Freedom <- hasn't been updated since July 30, 2009
Green Votes
Iran Solidarity | website | Twitter
~
Iranian blogs covering the ongoing issues in Iran
Pedestrian
Revolutionary Road <- has been DDoS'd several times
Iran 360 <- Photojournalism site with video of protests
Raye Man Kojast? Where Is My Vote?: Aftermath of Iran Elections
25 Khordad <- Photo blog of June 15, 2009 aftermath on Tehran University
Tehran Live <- photo blog of Tehran; hasn't been updating since July 18, 2009
Iranian Riots <- coverage on the protests; hasn't been updated since July 06, 2009
Iran Riggedelect <- hasn't been updated since July 22, 2009 | Twitter <- has been updated
Tehran Post: Cautiously Speaking from Inside Iran. <- hasn't been updated since July 18, 2009
Iranians for Human Rights and Democracy <- hasn't been updated since July 19, 2009
revolt eye <- video of Iran protests
Iranian Justice <- Not sure if Iranian; hasn't been updated since August 10, 2009
Life Goes on in Tehran (a monthly photoblog)
Alive in Tehran <- Citizen Media Journalism <- hasn't been updated since July 05, 2009
iran09news <- hasn't been updated since July 04, 2009 | Twitter
Re/Tweeters to watch
@Pray4FreeIran <- retweeter who spreads messages about Iran
@AustinHeap <- The genius behind ProxyHeap and Haystack (says that Node 1 is a go?)
@StopAdmedi <- twitter account for Mousavi supporters
@iranbaan blog <- in Farsi
@nicopitney
@Iran_Translator <- NiteOwl
@bistoon <- IRGC already actively hunt him b/c of student revolt in 1999 so I can rec him
@nextrevolution
@IranAnon <- is the Iranian Anonymous crowd
@votersunion
@iranlaya
@iranhrdc <- Iran Human Rights Documenting Center
@IranNewsNow
@onlymehdi | OnlyMehdi Youtube page <- Lots of vids on Iran
sedazad <- New name for NedaNet sedazad website
SilkScreenNews <- Project from Sedazad to help aggregate news from Iran Silk Screen News website .org version
Lotfan
TWITTER LIVE AGGREGATORS
twittbee
twitpipe
tweetgrid
twazzup: iran election
iran.twazzup
Tools
Share that vid <- Another vid site
Live Leak <- Another vid site
Massive Video Archive of Iran Protest Footage
Iran Tube <- Youtube for Iran Vids <- hasn't been updated since June 19, 2009
Iran negah <- Iran vid wesbite; has vid of what is on Iran news stations including footage of courtroom
Iran Archive <- AnonIran archive (tons of video)
Topix <- News Aggregator set for Iran
Gonzo Times <- torrents of protest videos
Iran Tube <- Vid hosting for Iran vids
Index of 500+ vids of Iranian protests
Anonymous Intelligence Collective <- Iran information collective Iran Mapping Project
Iran protest flickr page
Youtube: peivel17 <- Green Wave channel
Out the Basij
Id the Basij
Protest Advice
Brainstorm Ideas
USA SWAT Expert Advice - It might save their lives
vid on How to use police tactics against a baton | more vids on youtube <- For Iranian's in self-defense
Sea of Green Radio <-an 'anon' Iran blog twitter radionomy anonymous Sea of Green radio
How to download/upload videos to Youtube & others | hacktivists software tools
Downforeveryoneorjustme <- check websites to see if it's down | service uptime <- free remote website uptime monitoring designed to help you detect website downtime
Wiki: DNS Cache Poisoning
Paryvan wiki
VANISH: Self-Destructing Digital Data burned messages for spies the digital way
Steganography Solution
EFF.org Surveillance Self-Defense International <- 6 Ideas For Those Needing Defensive Technology to Protect Free Speech from Authoritarian Regimes and 4 Ways the Rest of Us Can Help
Sites
Iran News <- One Stop Source
for News/YouTube/Blog/Political Cartoon links about Iran's Election and the aftermath (massive library of information)
Iran Election Protests Wikipedia page
Tehran.Stanford.edu <- faces of the dead and detained
The Guardian's list of dead and detained
United 4 Iran | Twitter
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center <- Documenting the Human Rights Violations conducted by the Iranian Government (English and Farsi)
Amnesty International | Amnesty International USA: Iranian Petition
Reporters without Borders Freedom Iran Violations List <- Updated with new reports when they happen
Voice of the Voiceless <- hasn't been updated since July 02, 2009
Vote for Iran <- Not in Iran but is in Farsi and English with News of what is going on in Iran
Iran Human Rights
Human Rights Activists in Iran | The Latest Update on the Detainees of July 9 and a List of 90 Confirmed in Prison
Yek Iran: One Voice. Once Iran <- Protest organization website; hasn't been updated since July 09, 2009 | World Wide Protest List and Dates
Where Is My Vote? <- protest organization website | FB | Twitter | YouTube channel
Sesawe <- is an international consortium working to support uncensored access to the Internet
Iran Tracker <- offers descriptions and analysis of the nature of the Iranian regime and its activities worldwide | Analysis of Unrest in iran
Freedom Glory Project <- Iranian-American musicians, artists, and filmmakers united in keeping the struggle for freedom alive | FB | Twitter
Help Iran Election <- provide green overlay/ribbon on twitter avatars
I Am Iran <- free green wristbands with words, "I Am Iran"
Freedom in Iran <- Freedom wristbands | FB
Iranians of the World
Iran's Vote <- code & gear for support of Iran
Solidarity with Iran
Support Democracy in Iran
This Is My Vote <- Upload avatar's for show of support of Iran
Nate Silver's Iran tag
Austin for Iran <- Site for organizing protests in Austin Texas
Map of Tehran
Petition for the release of American-Iranian Kian Tajbakhsh
Reporters Uncensored | Reporters Uncensored Livestream
News Sites that cover Iran
Tehran Bureau <- News straight from Iran, incredible news source | Ayatollah Watch <- Whose who and where they stand | Twitter
Los Angeles Times | Babylon & Beyond blog <- Top of the line coverage and unlike the NY Times I've heard of no major corrections needed in their reporting
The Guardian
New York times | The Lede blog
Roozonline English <- Iranian; affiliated with Iran Gooya media group
CNN
BBC
Guardian blog on
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Al Arabiya News Channel
Al Jazeera (English)
Middle East Forum
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
Demotix <- The mighty photojournalism site Iran election page pictures of demostrations outside Iranian embassy in London
Voice of America News
Nieman Foundation of Journalism at Harvard
Newspaper Articles
Los Angeles Times
Iranian hard-liner named intelligence agency chief (August 16, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Course of Mousavi's Green Path of Hope is unclear (August 16, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim)
The hawkish case for nuclear disarmament (August 16, 2009 - J. Peter Scoblic)
During the Cold War, one could argue that that dynamic helped the U.S. because Warsaw Pact forces outnumbered NATO's. But today, with the specter of rogue-state nuclear programs, it's more likely that we are the ones who would be deterred. For example, would we have waged Operation Desert Storm (let alone Operation Iraqi Freedom) if Saddam Hussein had been able to strike New York or Washington with a nuclear weapon? Probably not. Our half-trillion-dollar-a-year military can, in essence, be defanged by any dictator with a handful of A-bombs.
That is a remarkable waste of America's incredible conventional superiority. Our fleet of stealth fighters and bombers can establish air dominance in virtually any scenario, allowing us to obliterate an adversary's military infrastructure at will. At sea, our fleet is larger than the next 17 navies combined and includes 11 carrier battle groups that can project power around the globe. (By contrast, few of our potential adversaries field even a single carrier.) All in all, the U.S. accounts for just shy of half the world's defense spending, more than the next 45 nations combined. That's six times more than China, 10 times more than Russia and nearly 100 times more than Iran.
Yet despite potential flash points with nations such as Russia (over Georgia) or China (over Taiwan), it would be lunacy to engage in combat with either because of the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict. Abolishing nuclear weapons would obviously not make conflict with those states a good idea, but it would dramatically increase American freedom of action in a crisis. That should make hawks, with their strong faith in the efficacy of American military power, very happy. Indeed, if anyone opposes disarmament, it should be our rivals.
American conservatives cling to our arsenal as though it gives us great sway over foreign countries. Yet when our conventional power has proved insufficient, nukes have done little to augment our influence abroad.
Friction among Iran authorities heats up (August 15, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim
Cal State Northridge student imprisoned in Iran returns to L.A. (August 15, 2009 - Raja Abdulrahim)
U.S. faults Iraq raid that left Iran dissidents dead (August 14, 2009 - staff)
GE denies O'Reilly's report on terrorism tie (August 13, 2009)
Iran opposition leader decries 'show trials,' prisoner treatment (August 13, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran roiled by prison abuse claims (August 12, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iraq asks Iran to release 3 American hikers (August 10, 2009 - Liz Sly)
ran's president purges Intelligence Ministry (August 10, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
The ins and outs of Kurdistan (August 10, 2009 - Lionel Beehner)
Kurdistan is a region teeming with cultural treasures. It has mud-caked ruins and former palaces of Saddam Hussein. Alexander the Great tamed the Persians on its plains. And the mountains east of Sulaymaniyah rival the Rockies for great hiking.
There are also incongruent oddities: giant Ferris wheels, 18-hole golf courses, glitzy new shopping malls -- even a roller coaster. When Iraqi Kurds talk about their region being the next Dubai, they mean it.
Iraqi Kurds are remarkably welcoming and pro-American. When I told a barber I was from New York, he practically hugged me. And a ratty row of kiosks selling U.S. Army surplus gear is a popular destination for the locals.
Of course there are dangers and inconveniences you wouldn't encounter in Paris or Cancun. The electricity in my hotel in Zakho went out after Turkish warplanes shelled a nearby town. The fancier hotels are wrapped in concertina wire, like a federal penitentiary.
The mountains are also spooky. "See those lights up in the hills?" a Kurdish journalist asked me one night. "The Turkish army." The news wasn't exactly comforting, because the Turks have threatened to invade Iraqi Kurdistan. Along the eastern border, the Iranians have shelled Kurdish villages.
So yes, Iraqi Kurdistan isn't your typical tourist destination. But I, for one, am very glad I paid it a visit. And I'm betting the three Americans didn't intend to leave it so soon.
Trial of protesters seems only to hurt Iran, analysts say (August 09, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran conservatives demand role in Cabinet's vetting (August 08, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran portrays election protesters as pawns of the West (August 08, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Twitter attack is a growth pang (August 07, 2009 - David Sarno and David Colker)
Ahmadinejad inauguration marked by discord (August 06, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim)
Iran's nuclear aspirations threaten the world (August 06, 2009 - Dore Gold)
A darker shadow over Iran (August 04, 2009 - Editorial)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Ahmadinejad aide says president only got '4 million' votes (August 13, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Activist issues preemptive retraction of future confession (August 13, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Well-informed Larijani congratulated Mousavi on election day, report says (August 11, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Russia urged to hedge bet on Ahmadinejad (August 10, 2009)
The Wall Street Journal
Why U.S. Diplomacy Will Fail With Iran (August 12, 2009 - OpEd - EDWARD N. LUTTWAK)
Iran Officials Admit Abuse of Detainees (August 10, 2009 - staff)
There Is a Military Option on Iran (August 06, 2009 - OpEd - Chuck Wald)
Tehran Struggles to Defend Currency (August 06, 2009 - MARGARET COKER and ROSHANAK TAGHAVI)
CNN
Iran releases French woman, officials say (August 16, 2009)
More Iran election protesters go on trial (August 16, 2009)
Lawyer: Iran has no evidence against Baha'i prisoners (August 16, 2009)
Amid turmoil, Iran's supreme leader picks new judiciary chief (August 15, 2009)
CBS
Hamas Chief: Iran Turmoil Won't Affect Support (August 15, 2009 - AP)
BBC
Iran frees French teacher on bail (August 16, 2009)
Iran appoints new judiciary head (August 15, 2009)
Iran Bahais face espionage trial (August 15, 2009)
US embassy hunger strikers defiant (August 15, 2009 - John McManus)
Iran inmates 'tortured to death' (August 14, 2009)
Iranian ex-MPs challenge Khamenei (August 14, 2009)
Will Iran's Basij stay loyal? (August 13, 2009 - Jon Leyne)
Iran jail rape claims 'baseless' (August 12, 2009 )
UK denies Iran revolution plans (August 11, 2009)
The Guardian
Ahmadinejad nominates women to cabinet (August 16, 2009 - Mark Tran)
Mir Hossein Mousavi's wife led the way on women's rights in Iran (August 16, 2009 - Robert Tait and Noushin Hoseiny)
Ahmadinejad to nominate three women for cabinet jobs (August 16, 2009 - AP)
Abuse continues in Iran (August 16, 2009 - Henry Newman)
Iran chooses hardliner to head judiciary (August 16, 2009 - AP)
Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour (August 15, 2009 - Saeed Kamali Dehghan)
A culture of fear (August 15, 2009 - Pankaj Mishra)
Protesters raped in Tehran jail, politician claims (August 14, 2009 - Mark Tran)
Military action is dangerous fantasy. We could live with a nuclear Iran (August 13, 2009 - David Clark)
Hunger striker seriously ill outside US embassy in London (August 13, 2009 - Girish Gupta)
Dear Mr Ban, heed the Iranian people (August 12, 2009 - Akbar Ganji)
Iranian election protests death toll is 69, says opposition (August 11, 2009 - AP)
Hashemi Rafsanjani cancels Friday sermon to avoid new Iranian crackdown (August 10, 2009 - Robert Tait)
Iran admits election demonstrators were tortured (August 10, 2009 - Simon Tisdall)
Wandering across warzones (August 09, 2009 - James Denselow)
As Seth Freedman pointed out recently, even the most famous and controversial of security barriers - dividing Israelis from Palestinians - is the equivalent of having a mosquito net that covers 40% of the bed.
On the US-Mexico frontier, increased patrolling has simply led to would-be Mexican migrants dying in their thousands, making the border much more deadly than the Berlin wall.
While the world's borders are neatly delineated on maps, the reality is that apart from official border crossings there is seldom actual physical demarcation, which means that even in areas of contestation people may not know which country they are actually in.
Changing borders from lines on maps to lived realities is one of the major planks of Britain's Afghan strategy. Gordon Brown stated in July: "We know that the badlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan - that border area - have been used to launch terrible attacks, not just on the United States, but on Britain as well."
Yet to permanently change the functional nature of the Durand line border is a monumental task that would require acceptance of the division of the Pashtun people, combined with the creation of a large and expensively equipped border guard to patrol hundreds of miles of mountainous terrain. While Centcom has reported that Operation Panther's Claw has resulted in a decline in cross-border activity, that is no guarantee of permanent change.
When attempting to secure Iraq's borders post-invasion, the American military learned that even with huge resources deployed to make thousands of miles of border secure, the challenges they faced in making imaginary boundary lines a reality were insurmountable. Along parts of the Syria-Iraq border near the Euphrates river, villages would actually straddle the line of delineation, with kitchens in one country and living rooms in another.
Iran puts British embassy 'spy' on trial (August 09, 2009 - Peter Beaumont and Saeed Kamali Dehghan)
Iran trial hears 'apology' from UK embassy worker (August 08, 2009 - staff)
Forbes
Millionaire Mullash (July 21, 2003 - Paul Klebnikov) <- Author is one of the hundreds of Russian Journalists killed. Article is very prevalent now.
Tehran Bureau
Press Roundup of Selected Headlines
Video of Ahmadinejad's swearing in and protests on August 05, 2009
Iran's Crumbling Judiciary (August 15, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Letter from Tehran (August 15, 2009)
Iran's Next Minister of Intelligence (August 13, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Patriots and Reformists: Behzad Nabavi and Mostafa Tajzadeh (August 11, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Ahmadinejad’s Predicament and Iran’s Political Crisis (August 11, 2009(?) - FARIDEH FARHI)
IRGC: Arrest Mousavi, Khatami, and others (August 10, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
The Turkish Misadventure (August 09, 2009 - ARSIN YURDAKUL)
The Show Goes On (August 09, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI) <- Second part in the stalinesque show trials
Shiraz Nights (August 09, 2009 - GHAZZAL DABIRI)
When I sat down to really think about these changes that seemed so drastic to me, but crawling forward at a snail’s pace for them, I could finally sense the tension and the almost indescribable current coursing through the city. While there was a sense of great hope, there was also an energy of pent up anger and frustration that had been building up and it was palpable. In physics, an object at rest builds up potential energy. When that object is set in motion the object builds up kinetic energy - the energy of movement. If I had to describe the twenty something year olds, pre-election, I would have said that they are a generation “in waiting” and the potential energy that was generated while waiting was unleashed into the energy of movement during the pre and post election rallies and protests. They are waiting for jobs, they are waiting for their lives to take direction, they are waiting for their music to be heard, their art to be noticed (as a colleague of mine states), they are waiting for their years of studying to mean something, they are waiting for the decrepit façade that remains of the old social mores and morals to die out. They are waiting for the freedom to express their sexuality as they renegotiate the terms of their love lives and marriages. They are waiting (and fighting quite bravely) for Shi’i Islam to update its views on women’s rights. They are waiting for immediate and tangible change.
Genius (August 08, 2009 - GOLAB P.) <- on how many of Ahmedi's council have scandals over their fake degrees
Fooling Themselves Alone (August 08, 2009 - JASON REZAIAN)
If I Confess... (August 06, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Why Russia & China Love Iran’s Hardliners (August 05, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Reporting from Dubai (August 05, 2009 - JASON REZAIAN) <- on why Dubai is so important in the coverage of Iran
Global Solidarity 2.0 (August 03, 2009 Neri Zilber)
Mousaivi: Torture has reached the bone (August 02, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Show Trials Get Underway (August 01, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Alien Nation (August 01, 2009 - KAMIN MOHAMMADI)
Martyred and Murdered (July 30, 2009 - SAYA OVAISY)
Reformists call for elimination of 'Coup Government' (July 30, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Ahmadinejad's Cabinet Choices Highlight Possible Rift Among Iran's Ruling Elite (August 14, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Farangis Najibullah)
Iran's Ultraconservatives May See Chance To Revive 'Wilting' Revolution (July 03, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Charles Recknagel
How Could Iran's Hard-Liners Choose The Next Supreme Leader? (May 07, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Charles Recknagel)
Times Online
Iranian opposition plans new wave of resistance amid claims of torture (August 14, 2009 - Martin Fletcher)
Christian Science Monitor
Ahmadinejad blames West for fomenting Iran unrest (August 16, 2009 - Arthur Bright)
Israel, Hezbollah threaten war - again (August 15, 2009 - Nicholas Blanford)
Why Iran's Revolutionary Guards mercilessly crack down (August 06, 2009 - Gareth Smyth)
As a CIA spy, I saw in Iran what the West cannot ignore (August 05, 2009 - OpEd - Reza Kahlili)
Iran's hard-liners face off over cabinet (July 26, 2009 - Iason Athanasiadis)
Huffington Post
Taking the Long View on Iran (August 14, 2009 - Ajay Singh Chaudhary)
The Unconstitutional Un-Islamic Republic of Iran (August 14, 2009 - Melody Moezzi)
Iran Inside Out Shocks and Provokes at the Chelsea Art Museum (August 13, 2009 - Marissa Bronfman)
Iran: Let's Get Back To Business! (August 12, 2009 - Georges Ugeux)
Spiegel Online Internation
'Iran Is My True And Only Home' interview with Reza Pahlavi, son of the dead Shah (August 12, 2009)
Revolution Leaders Struggle for Power in Tehran (August 12, 2009 - Dieter Bednarz and Erich Follath)
Reuters
U.N. says Ban didn't congratulate Iran's Ahmadinejad (August 12, 2009 - Louis Charbonneau)
New York Times
3 Women to Join Iranian Cabinet (August 15, 2009
Moussavi Forms ‘Grass-Roots’ Movement in Iran (August 15, 2009 - Robert F. Worth)
Iran Tries to Suppress Rape Allegations (August 14, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Iran Seeks Ban on Striking Atomic Sites (August 13, 2009 - Robert F. Worth)
Iran Denies Allegations That Protesters Were Raped in PrisonIsrael Is Wary of Calm Days That May End in Turmoil (August 11, 2009 - Ethan Bronner)
Iran: French Embassy Staff Member Freed (August 11, 2009 - Steven Erlanger)
United Nations: Secretary General Congratulates Ahmadinejad on Victory (August 11, 2009 - Reuters)
Iranian Lawmakers Demand Say on Cabinet, Hinting at a Rift Among Hard-Liners (August 10, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Iranian Acknowledges Torture of Some Protesters (August 08, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Al Ahram Weekly Online
Iran is self-destructing (August 13-19 2009 - Hagop Kevorkian) blog from which the quote comes from
Daily Beast
Iran's Chilling Show Trials (August 14, 2009 - Gary Sick)
A Coup in Iran?Iran's Most Wanted (August 03, 2009 - Reza Aslan)
I frakking hate doing the coding for this which is why I typically just copy and paste it from the last post. But things had gotten so muddled up I needed to re-organize things
What do you think?
I don't know what is going on with Nico Pitney but it seems like his coverage of Iran has stopped.
Also, it seems that the Taraneh Musavi story may be fake? I've heard reports that it was a hoax and then they found proof...to be honest I'm not sure if it is or isn't true. But if it is not then the worst that could be said of it is that she has become a caricature of all the women who have been dragged off the streets and raped and killed in Iran since the election. Just because her story is fake does not mean that it has not happened to someone else.
With the recent problems of twitter this article on how twitter is feeding botnets is very important.
According to Roozonline, conservative estimates put dead at 69 and arrested at 4,000.
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard did an in-depth look at Iran, Neiman Reports: Iran: Can Its Story Be Told? Dozens of articles by Journalists on Iran are in the Summer 2009 edition.
The UN Secretary-General Ban KI-Moon invited Ahmedi to New York on September 22, 2009. If, he is able to make it. Expect major turn outs in protests. Also, Ramadan is coming up and there is plans to turn it Green.
One of the blogs from Iran is gone, kharid-e-sabz. I'm not sure if I used them as a source before, but I know others have. kharid-e-sabz was a blog was on wordpress and it's seemed to have been deleted by it's author.
Enduring America has reports of a new threat to Khamenei. It seems the clerics are trying to take him out of power.
Ahmedi chose one Sadeg Amoli Larijani, a hard right winger (who is the brother Ali Larijanji, the Speaker of Parliament) for the head of the Judiciary and three women for his cabinet.
August 03-07, 2009 post | July 31-August 02, 2009 post | July 29-30, 2009 post | July 27-28 post | July 25-26, 2009 post | July 24, 2009 post | July 20-23, 2009 Week post | July 18-19, 2009 post | July 17, 2009 post | July 16, 2009 post | July 15, 2009 post | July 14, 2009 post | July 13, 2009 post | July 12, 2009 post | July 11, 2009 post | July 10, 2009 post | July 9, 2009 posts | July 8, 2009 post | July 7, 2009 post | July 6, 2009 post | July 5, 2009 post | July 4, 2009 post
Important Links
Useful Resources
News: NIAC Insight | Kodoom
Translations: Google Translate | TehranBroadcast.com <- hasn't been updated since July 12, 2009 | Translate4Iran
Helping Iranians use the web: Haystack Haystack Network wesbite | Haystack Twitter page | Haystack needs help! |Twitter | FB | Tor Project (English & Farsi) | IranHelp.org (Farsi) Demonstrations: Facebook | sharearchy | WhyWeProtest
Activism: Avaaz.org | National Iranian American Council
~
Mousavi's main website | Mousavi's backup/English | Mousavi's FB | mowjcamp <- Mousavi/Opposition website in Farsi
Blogs
Nico's Pitney's live blog on HuffPo
Week of July 27, 2009 | Week of July 20, 2009 | Week of July 13, 2009 | July 10, 2009 | July 9, 2009 | July 8th | July 7th | July 6th | July 5th | July 3rd | July 2nd | July 1st | June 30th | June 29th | June 28th | June 27th | June 26th | June 25th | June 24th | June 22nd | June 21st | June 20th pt 2 | June 20th pt 1 | June 19th | June 18th | June 17th | June 16th | June 15th
NiteOwl's Green Briefs
NiteOwl's Green Briefs are compilations of news reports straight from Iranians.
Nite Owl's live translations of the Sermon |
Who is Who | Green Brief Pronouciation Guide
#55 (August 15, 2009 (Mordad 23, 1388) | #54 (August 14, 2009 - Mordad 23, 1388) | #53 (August 13, 2009 - Mordad 22, 1388) | #52 (August 12, 2009 - Mordad 11, 1388) | #51 (August 11, 2009 - Mordad 20, 1388) | #49-#50 (August 04-05, 2009 - Mordad 13-14 | #48 (August 3-4, 2009 - Mordad 12-13, 1388) | #47 (August 2-3, 2009 - Mordad 11-12, 1388) | #46 (August 1, 2009 - Mordad 10, 1388) | #45 (July 31, 2009) | #44 (July 30, 2009) | #43 (July 29) | #42 (July 28, 2009) | #40-41 (July 26-27) | #39 (July 25) | #38 (July 24) | #37 (July 23) | #38 (July 24) | #39 (July 25)
Green Brief #36 (July 22) | Green Brief #35 (July 21) | Green Brief #34 (July 20) | #33 (July 19) | #30 (July 16) | #29 (July 15) | #28 (July 14) | #27 (July 13) | #26 (July 12) | #25 (July 11) | #24 (July 10) | #23 (July 9) | #22 (July 8) | #21 (July 7) | #20 (July 6) | #18-#19 (July 4-5) | #17 (July 3) | #16 (July 2) | #15 (July 1) | #14 (June 30) | #13 (June29) | #12 (June 28) | #11 (June 27) | #10 (June 26th) | #9 (June 25) | #8 (June 24) | #7 (June 23) | #6 (June 22) | #5 (June 21) | #4 (June 20 | #3 (June 19) | #2 (June 18) | #1 (June 17)
~
Has coverage on Iran
Enduring America <- Typically has a lot of coverage Iran tag | FB | Twitter
Andrew Sullivan's blog <- periodically has coverage from Iran, twitter feeds on major events and showcases Iranian tallent
qlineorientalist - Iran Rises <- Is a Professor in NY and translates information coming out from Iran | Twitter
National Iranian American Council blog: Beltway insights for the NIAC <- enormous amount of information | website | FB | Twitter
Epic Protester <- a person has been protesting outside an embassy everyday in support of Iran, this is a blog detailing his struggles (recently he's gotten into trouble with the law)
Iranfacts
International Post
Juan Cole
Iran Election 2009 <- a new blog with information on Iran especially the Trials ran by Tony Allaway
Views from the Occident <- research blog about Islam and militants? Very informative though. his Iran label posts
Revolution in Iran | Feel Good page <- music vid page
Robin Wright
Keeping the Change | Keeping the Change FB
Peace With Iran
Jim Sciutto ABC twitblog <- ABC reporter twitblog
Lara Setrakian - ABC News reporter's blog <- Currently in Dubai; has a vast network of Iranian informants | Twitter
Mightier Than | Iran: The Rooftop Project <- collecting video of all the Allaho Akbar chants of each night since shortly before the election to present
Iranian Freedom <- hasn't been updated since July 30, 2009
Green Votes
Iran Solidarity | website | Twitter
~
Iranian blogs covering the ongoing issues in Iran
Pedestrian
Revolutionary Road <- has been DDoS'd several times
Iran 360 <- Photojournalism site with video of protests
Raye Man Kojast? Where Is My Vote?: Aftermath of Iran Elections
25 Khordad <- Photo blog of June 15, 2009 aftermath on Tehran University
Tehran Live <- photo blog of Tehran; hasn't been updating since July 18, 2009
Iranian Riots <- coverage on the protests; hasn't been updated since July 06, 2009
Iran Riggedelect <- hasn't been updated since July 22, 2009 | Twitter <- has been updated
Tehran Post: Cautiously Speaking from Inside Iran. <- hasn't been updated since July 18, 2009
Iranians for Human Rights and Democracy <- hasn't been updated since July 19, 2009
revolt eye <- video of Iran protests
Iranian Justice <- Not sure if Iranian; hasn't been updated since August 10, 2009
Life Goes on in Tehran (a monthly photoblog)
Alive in Tehran <- Citizen Media Journalism <- hasn't been updated since July 05, 2009
iran09news <- hasn't been updated since July 04, 2009 | Twitter
Re/Tweeters to watch
@Pray4FreeIran <- retweeter who spreads messages about Iran
@AustinHeap <- The genius behind ProxyHeap and Haystack (says that Node 1 is a go?)
@StopAdmedi <- twitter account for Mousavi supporters
@iranbaan blog <- in Farsi
@nicopitney
@Iran_Translator <- NiteOwl
@bistoon <- IRGC already actively hunt him b/c of student revolt in 1999 so I can rec him
@nextrevolution
@IranAnon <- is the Iranian Anonymous crowd
@votersunion
@iranlaya
@iranhrdc <- Iran Human Rights Documenting Center
@IranNewsNow
@onlymehdi | OnlyMehdi Youtube page <- Lots of vids on Iran
sedazad <- New name for NedaNet sedazad website
SilkScreenNews <- Project from Sedazad to help aggregate news from Iran Silk Screen News website .org version
Lotfan
TWITTER LIVE AGGREGATORS
twittbee
twitpipe
tweetgrid
twazzup: iran election
iran.twazzup
Tools
Share that vid <- Another vid site
Live Leak <- Another vid site
Massive Video Archive of Iran Protest Footage
Iran Tube <- Youtube for Iran Vids <- hasn't been updated since June 19, 2009
Iran negah <- Iran vid wesbite; has vid of what is on Iran news stations including footage of courtroom
Iran Archive <- AnonIran archive (tons of video)
Topix <- News Aggregator set for Iran
Gonzo Times <- torrents of protest videos
Iran Tube <- Vid hosting for Iran vids
Index of 500+ vids of Iranian protests
Anonymous Intelligence Collective <- Iran information collective Iran Mapping Project
Iran protest flickr page
Youtube: peivel17 <- Green Wave channel
Out the Basij
Id the Basij
Protest Advice
Brainstorm Ideas
USA SWAT Expert Advice - It might save their lives
vid on How to use police tactics against a baton | more vids on youtube <- For Iranian's in self-defense
Sea of Green Radio <-an 'anon' Iran blog twitter radionomy anonymous Sea of Green radio
How to download/upload videos to Youtube & others | hacktivists software tools
Downforeveryoneorjustme <- check websites to see if it's down | service uptime <- free remote website uptime monitoring designed to help you detect website downtime
Wiki: DNS Cache Poisoning
Paryvan wiki
VANISH: Self-Destructing Digital Data burned messages for spies the digital way
Steganography Solution
EFF.org Surveillance Self-Defense International <- 6 Ideas For Those Needing Defensive Technology to Protect Free Speech from Authoritarian Regimes and 4 Ways the Rest of Us Can Help
Sites
Iran News <- One Stop Source
for News/YouTube/Blog/Political Cartoon links about Iran's Election and the aftermath (massive library of information)
Iran Election Protests Wikipedia page
Tehran.Stanford.edu <- faces of the dead and detained
The Guardian's list of dead and detained
United 4 Iran | Twitter
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center <- Documenting the Human Rights Violations conducted by the Iranian Government (English and Farsi)
Amnesty International | Amnesty International USA: Iranian Petition
Reporters without Borders Freedom Iran Violations List <- Updated with new reports when they happen
Voice of the Voiceless <- hasn't been updated since July 02, 2009
Vote for Iran <- Not in Iran but is in Farsi and English with News of what is going on in Iran
Iran Human Rights
Human Rights Activists in Iran | The Latest Update on the Detainees of July 9 and a List of 90 Confirmed in Prison
Yek Iran: One Voice. Once Iran <- Protest organization website; hasn't been updated since July 09, 2009 | World Wide Protest List and Dates
Where Is My Vote? <- protest organization website | FB | Twitter | YouTube channel
Sesawe <- is an international consortium working to support uncensored access to the Internet
Iran Tracker <- offers descriptions and analysis of the nature of the Iranian regime and its activities worldwide | Analysis of Unrest in iran
Freedom Glory Project <- Iranian-American musicians, artists, and filmmakers united in keeping the struggle for freedom alive | FB | Twitter
Help Iran Election <- provide green overlay/ribbon on twitter avatars
I Am Iran <- free green wristbands with words, "I Am Iran"
Freedom in Iran <- Freedom wristbands | FB
Iranians of the World
Iran's Vote <- code & gear for support of Iran
Solidarity with Iran
Support Democracy in Iran
This Is My Vote <- Upload avatar's for show of support of Iran
Nate Silver's Iran tag
Austin for Iran <- Site for organizing protests in Austin Texas
Map of Tehran
Petition for the release of American-Iranian Kian Tajbakhsh
Reporters Uncensored | Reporters Uncensored Livestream
News Sites that cover Iran
Tehran Bureau <- News straight from Iran, incredible news source | Ayatollah Watch <- Whose who and where they stand | Twitter
Los Angeles Times | Babylon & Beyond blog <- Top of the line coverage and unlike the NY Times I've heard of no major corrections needed in their reporting
The Guardian
New York times | The Lede blog
Roozonline English <- Iranian; affiliated with Iran Gooya media group
CNN
BBC
Guardian blog on
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Al Arabiya News Channel
Al Jazeera (English)
Middle East Forum
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
Demotix <- The mighty photojournalism site Iran election page pictures of demostrations outside Iranian embassy in London
Voice of America News
Nieman Foundation of Journalism at Harvard
Newspaper Articles
Los Angeles Times
Iranian hard-liner named intelligence agency chief (August 16, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Course of Mousavi's Green Path of Hope is unclear (August 16, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim)
The hawkish case for nuclear disarmament (August 16, 2009 - J. Peter Scoblic)
During the Cold War, one could argue that that dynamic helped the U.S. because Warsaw Pact forces outnumbered NATO's. But today, with the specter of rogue-state nuclear programs, it's more likely that we are the ones who would be deterred. For example, would we have waged Operation Desert Storm (let alone Operation Iraqi Freedom) if Saddam Hussein had been able to strike New York or Washington with a nuclear weapon? Probably not. Our half-trillion-dollar-a-year military can, in essence, be defanged by any dictator with a handful of A-bombs.
That is a remarkable waste of America's incredible conventional superiority. Our fleet of stealth fighters and bombers can establish air dominance in virtually any scenario, allowing us to obliterate an adversary's military infrastructure at will. At sea, our fleet is larger than the next 17 navies combined and includes 11 carrier battle groups that can project power around the globe. (By contrast, few of our potential adversaries field even a single carrier.) All in all, the U.S. accounts for just shy of half the world's defense spending, more than the next 45 nations combined. That's six times more than China, 10 times more than Russia and nearly 100 times more than Iran.
Yet despite potential flash points with nations such as Russia (over Georgia) or China (over Taiwan), it would be lunacy to engage in combat with either because of the risk of escalation to a nuclear conflict. Abolishing nuclear weapons would obviously not make conflict with those states a good idea, but it would dramatically increase American freedom of action in a crisis. That should make hawks, with their strong faith in the efficacy of American military power, very happy. Indeed, if anyone opposes disarmament, it should be our rivals.
American conservatives cling to our arsenal as though it gives us great sway over foreign countries. Yet when our conventional power has proved insufficient, nukes have done little to augment our influence abroad.
Friction among Iran authorities heats up (August 15, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim
Cal State Northridge student imprisoned in Iran returns to L.A. (August 15, 2009 - Raja Abdulrahim)
U.S. faults Iraq raid that left Iran dissidents dead (August 14, 2009 - staff)
GE denies O'Reilly's report on terrorism tie (August 13, 2009)
Iran opposition leader decries 'show trials,' prisoner treatment (August 13, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran roiled by prison abuse claims (August 12, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iraq asks Iran to release 3 American hikers (August 10, 2009 - Liz Sly)
ran's president purges Intelligence Ministry (August 10, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
The ins and outs of Kurdistan (August 10, 2009 - Lionel Beehner)
Kurdistan is a region teeming with cultural treasures. It has mud-caked ruins and former palaces of Saddam Hussein. Alexander the Great tamed the Persians on its plains. And the mountains east of Sulaymaniyah rival the Rockies for great hiking.
There are also incongruent oddities: giant Ferris wheels, 18-hole golf courses, glitzy new shopping malls -- even a roller coaster. When Iraqi Kurds talk about their region being the next Dubai, they mean it.
Iraqi Kurds are remarkably welcoming and pro-American. When I told a barber I was from New York, he practically hugged me. And a ratty row of kiosks selling U.S. Army surplus gear is a popular destination for the locals.
Of course there are dangers and inconveniences you wouldn't encounter in Paris or Cancun. The electricity in my hotel in Zakho went out after Turkish warplanes shelled a nearby town. The fancier hotels are wrapped in concertina wire, like a federal penitentiary.
The mountains are also spooky. "See those lights up in the hills?" a Kurdish journalist asked me one night. "The Turkish army." The news wasn't exactly comforting, because the Turks have threatened to invade Iraqi Kurdistan. Along the eastern border, the Iranians have shelled Kurdish villages.
So yes, Iraqi Kurdistan isn't your typical tourist destination. But I, for one, am very glad I paid it a visit. And I'm betting the three Americans didn't intend to leave it so soon.
Trial of protesters seems only to hurt Iran, analysts say (August 09, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran conservatives demand role in Cabinet's vetting (August 08, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Iran portrays election protesters as pawns of the West (August 08, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi)
Twitter attack is a growth pang (August 07, 2009 - David Sarno and David Colker)
Ahmadinejad inauguration marked by discord (August 06, 2009 - Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim)
Iran's nuclear aspirations threaten the world (August 06, 2009 - Dore Gold)
A darker shadow over Iran (August 04, 2009 - Editorial)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Ahmadinejad aide says president only got '4 million' votes (August 13, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Activist issues preemptive retraction of future confession (August 13, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Well-informed Larijani congratulated Mousavi on election day, report says (August 11, 2009)
Babylon & Beyond blog: IRAN: Russia urged to hedge bet on Ahmadinejad (August 10, 2009)
The Wall Street Journal
Why U.S. Diplomacy Will Fail With Iran (August 12, 2009 - OpEd - EDWARD N. LUTTWAK)
Iran Officials Admit Abuse of Detainees (August 10, 2009 - staff)
There Is a Military Option on Iran (August 06, 2009 - OpEd - Chuck Wald)
Tehran Struggles to Defend Currency (August 06, 2009 - MARGARET COKER and ROSHANAK TAGHAVI)
CNN
Iran releases French woman, officials say (August 16, 2009)
More Iran election protesters go on trial (August 16, 2009)
Lawyer: Iran has no evidence against Baha'i prisoners (August 16, 2009)
Amid turmoil, Iran's supreme leader picks new judiciary chief (August 15, 2009)
CBS
Hamas Chief: Iran Turmoil Won't Affect Support (August 15, 2009 - AP)
BBC
Iran frees French teacher on bail (August 16, 2009)
Iran appoints new judiciary head (August 15, 2009)
Iran Bahais face espionage trial (August 15, 2009)
US embassy hunger strikers defiant (August 15, 2009 - John McManus)
Iran inmates 'tortured to death' (August 14, 2009)
Iranian ex-MPs challenge Khamenei (August 14, 2009)
Will Iran's Basij stay loyal? (August 13, 2009 - Jon Leyne)
Iran jail rape claims 'baseless' (August 12, 2009 )
UK denies Iran revolution plans (August 11, 2009)
The Guardian
Ahmadinejad nominates women to cabinet (August 16, 2009 - Mark Tran)
Mir Hossein Mousavi's wife led the way on women's rights in Iran (August 16, 2009 - Robert Tait and Noushin Hoseiny)
Ahmadinejad to nominate three women for cabinet jobs (August 16, 2009 - AP)
Abuse continues in Iran (August 16, 2009 - Henry Newman)
Iran chooses hardliner to head judiciary (August 16, 2009 - AP)
Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour (August 15, 2009 - Saeed Kamali Dehghan)
A culture of fear (August 15, 2009 - Pankaj Mishra)
Protesters raped in Tehran jail, politician claims (August 14, 2009 - Mark Tran)
Military action is dangerous fantasy. We could live with a nuclear Iran (August 13, 2009 - David Clark)
Hunger striker seriously ill outside US embassy in London (August 13, 2009 - Girish Gupta)
Dear Mr Ban, heed the Iranian people (August 12, 2009 - Akbar Ganji)
Iranian election protests death toll is 69, says opposition (August 11, 2009 - AP)
Hashemi Rafsanjani cancels Friday sermon to avoid new Iranian crackdown (August 10, 2009 - Robert Tait)
Iran admits election demonstrators were tortured (August 10, 2009 - Simon Tisdall)
Wandering across warzones (August 09, 2009 - James Denselow)
As Seth Freedman pointed out recently, even the most famous and controversial of security barriers - dividing Israelis from Palestinians - is the equivalent of having a mosquito net that covers 40% of the bed.
On the US-Mexico frontier, increased patrolling has simply led to would-be Mexican migrants dying in their thousands, making the border much more deadly than the Berlin wall.
While the world's borders are neatly delineated on maps, the reality is that apart from official border crossings there is seldom actual physical demarcation, which means that even in areas of contestation people may not know which country they are actually in.
Changing borders from lines on maps to lived realities is one of the major planks of Britain's Afghan strategy. Gordon Brown stated in July: "We know that the badlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan - that border area - have been used to launch terrible attacks, not just on the United States, but on Britain as well."
Yet to permanently change the functional nature of the Durand line border is a monumental task that would require acceptance of the division of the Pashtun people, combined with the creation of a large and expensively equipped border guard to patrol hundreds of miles of mountainous terrain. While Centcom has reported that Operation Panther's Claw has resulted in a decline in cross-border activity, that is no guarantee of permanent change.
When attempting to secure Iraq's borders post-invasion, the American military learned that even with huge resources deployed to make thousands of miles of border secure, the challenges they faced in making imaginary boundary lines a reality were insurmountable. Along parts of the Syria-Iraq border near the Euphrates river, villages would actually straddle the line of delineation, with kitchens in one country and living rooms in another.
Iran puts British embassy 'spy' on trial (August 09, 2009 - Peter Beaumont and Saeed Kamali Dehghan)
Iran trial hears 'apology' from UK embassy worker (August 08, 2009 - staff)
Forbes
Millionaire Mullash (July 21, 2003 - Paul Klebnikov) <- Author is one of the hundreds of Russian Journalists killed. Article is very prevalent now.
Tehran Bureau
Press Roundup of Selected Headlines
Video of Ahmadinejad's swearing in and protests on August 05, 2009
Iran's Crumbling Judiciary (August 15, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Letter from Tehran (August 15, 2009)
Iran's Next Minister of Intelligence (August 13, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Patriots and Reformists: Behzad Nabavi and Mostafa Tajzadeh (August 11, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Ahmadinejad’s Predicament and Iran’s Political Crisis (August 11, 2009(?) - FARIDEH FARHI)
IRGC: Arrest Mousavi, Khatami, and others (August 10, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
The Turkish Misadventure (August 09, 2009 - ARSIN YURDAKUL)
The Show Goes On (August 09, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI) <- Second part in the stalinesque show trials
Shiraz Nights (August 09, 2009 - GHAZZAL DABIRI)
When I sat down to really think about these changes that seemed so drastic to me, but crawling forward at a snail’s pace for them, I could finally sense the tension and the almost indescribable current coursing through the city. While there was a sense of great hope, there was also an energy of pent up anger and frustration that had been building up and it was palpable. In physics, an object at rest builds up potential energy. When that object is set in motion the object builds up kinetic energy - the energy of movement. If I had to describe the twenty something year olds, pre-election, I would have said that they are a generation “in waiting” and the potential energy that was generated while waiting was unleashed into the energy of movement during the pre and post election rallies and protests. They are waiting for jobs, they are waiting for their lives to take direction, they are waiting for their music to be heard, their art to be noticed (as a colleague of mine states), they are waiting for their years of studying to mean something, they are waiting for the decrepit façade that remains of the old social mores and morals to die out. They are waiting for the freedom to express their sexuality as they renegotiate the terms of their love lives and marriages. They are waiting (and fighting quite bravely) for Shi’i Islam to update its views on women’s rights. They are waiting for immediate and tangible change.
Genius (August 08, 2009 - GOLAB P.) <- on how many of Ahmedi's council have scandals over their fake degrees
Fooling Themselves Alone (August 08, 2009 - JASON REZAIAN)
If I Confess... (August 06, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Why Russia & China Love Iran’s Hardliners (August 05, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Reporting from Dubai (August 05, 2009 - JASON REZAIAN) <- on why Dubai is so important in the coverage of Iran
Global Solidarity 2.0 (August 03, 2009 Neri Zilber)
Mousaivi: Torture has reached the bone (August 02, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Show Trials Get Underway (August 01, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Alien Nation (August 01, 2009 - KAMIN MOHAMMADI)
Martyred and Murdered (July 30, 2009 - SAYA OVAISY)
Reformists call for elimination of 'Coup Government' (July 30, 2009 - MUHAMMAD SAHIMI)
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Ahmadinejad's Cabinet Choices Highlight Possible Rift Among Iran's Ruling Elite (August 14, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Farangis Najibullah)
Iran's Ultraconservatives May See Chance To Revive 'Wilting' Revolution (July 03, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Charles Recknagel
How Could Iran's Hard-Liners Choose The Next Supreme Leader? (May 07, 2009 - Mazyar Mokfi, Charles Recknagel)
Times Online
Iranian opposition plans new wave of resistance amid claims of torture (August 14, 2009 - Martin Fletcher)
Christian Science Monitor
Ahmadinejad blames West for fomenting Iran unrest (August 16, 2009 - Arthur Bright)
Israel, Hezbollah threaten war - again (August 15, 2009 - Nicholas Blanford)
Why Iran's Revolutionary Guards mercilessly crack down (August 06, 2009 - Gareth Smyth)
As a CIA spy, I saw in Iran what the West cannot ignore (August 05, 2009 - OpEd - Reza Kahlili)
Iran's hard-liners face off over cabinet (July 26, 2009 - Iason Athanasiadis)
Huffington Post
Taking the Long View on Iran (August 14, 2009 - Ajay Singh Chaudhary)
The Unconstitutional Un-Islamic Republic of Iran (August 14, 2009 - Melody Moezzi)
Iran Inside Out Shocks and Provokes at the Chelsea Art Museum (August 13, 2009 - Marissa Bronfman)
Iran: Let's Get Back To Business! (August 12, 2009 - Georges Ugeux)
Spiegel Online Internation
'Iran Is My True And Only Home' interview with Reza Pahlavi, son of the dead Shah (August 12, 2009)
Revolution Leaders Struggle for Power in Tehran (August 12, 2009 - Dieter Bednarz and Erich Follath)
Reuters
U.N. says Ban didn't congratulate Iran's Ahmadinejad (August 12, 2009 - Louis Charbonneau)
New York Times
3 Women to Join Iranian Cabinet (August 15, 2009
Moussavi Forms ‘Grass-Roots’ Movement in Iran (August 15, 2009 - Robert F. Worth)
Iran Tries to Suppress Rape Allegations (August 14, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Iran Seeks Ban on Striking Atomic Sites (August 13, 2009 - Robert F. Worth)
Iran Denies Allegations That Protesters Were Raped in PrisonIsrael Is Wary of Calm Days That May End in Turmoil (August 11, 2009 - Ethan Bronner)
Iran: French Embassy Staff Member Freed (August 11, 2009 - Steven Erlanger)
United Nations: Secretary General Congratulates Ahmadinejad on Victory (August 11, 2009 - Reuters)
Iranian Lawmakers Demand Say on Cabinet, Hinting at a Rift Among Hard-Liners (August 10, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Iranian Acknowledges Torture of Some Protesters (August 08, 2009 - Robert F. Worth and NAZILA FATHI)
Al Ahram Weekly Online
Iran is self-destructing (August 13-19 2009 - Hagop Kevorkian) blog from which the quote comes from
Daily Beast
Iran's Chilling Show Trials (August 14, 2009 - Gary Sick)
A Coup in Iran?Iran's Most Wanted (August 03, 2009 - Reza Aslan)
I frakking hate doing the coding for this which is why I typically just copy and paste it from the last post. But things had gotten so muddled up I needed to re-organize things
What do you think?