Free Republic

In Chicago in 1968, anti-war protesters chanted "The Whole World Is Watching." They were talking about television cameras that showed police beatings on the evening news. More than 40 years later, with a massive movement aimed at reversing election results and possibly even toppling a regime in Iran, online networking is instantly sharing protesters' actions. And the whole world is watching. "That wasn't true in Chicago," Clay Shirky, a consultant and New York University instructor who focuses on the social impact of the Internet, said of the slogan. "Now, it's true." From the moment Iranians took to the streets of...

Anger after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected led to the biggest street demonstrations in the Islamic Republic's history. "Today the Iranian nation needs calm," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his first address to the nation since the upheaval began. But the Ayatollah offered no concession to opposition supporters who are demanding the elections be cancelled and held again, sternly warning against further protests. He blamed Great Britain and Iran's external enemies for the unrest, vigorously defending the ruling system. "The enemies (of Iran) are targeting the Islamic establishment's legitimacy by questioning the election and its authenticity before and after (the...

TEHRAN - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders fault. He defended Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the rightful winner of the presidential vote and denied any possibility that it had been rigged, as Ahmadinejad's opponents have asserted. "If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible," Khamenei declared in his first address to the nation since the upheaval began. "The result of the election comes from the ballot...

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, giving his Friday prayer sermon at Tehran University. Photograph: Reuters TV/ReutersIran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remained defiant today in the face of vote-rigging allegations as he condemned the protests that have rocked the country since last week's disputed elections.Speaking at Friday prayers, Khamenei claimed that the high turnout at the elections showed how much the Iranian people supported the regime, and warned protesters to keep off the streets.The reformist presidential challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was conspicuous by his absence from Friday prayers at Tehran University, where Khamenei was making his first public appearance...

MOUSAVI APPEALS TO THE WORLD TO PARTICIPATE IN SEA OF GREEN IN IN ALL CAPITAL CITIES THIS SUNDAY Tehran is alive with the sound of people on their balcony shouting Hearing MUCH much stronger than any other day... Waiting for tomorrow! Strange.. this night the power of Down With Dictator and Mousavi is at least tripled! It is Down with Dictator time. U dont need a clock to tell it,a window to a street and an ear will do. confirmed: Mousavi asked his supporters don't go to Friday prayer, next scheduling is Saturday in Enqlab sq @ 4 pm BBC...

Fisk witnesses the courage of one million protesters who ignored threats, guns and bloodshed to demand freedom in Iran see link below

The moderate Iranian leader who says that he was robbed of victory in last week’s presidential election faces a fateful choice today: support the regime or be cast out. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has told Mir Hossein Mousavi to stand beside him as he uses Friday prayers at Tehran University to call for national unity. An army of Basiji — Islamic volunteer militiamen — is also expected to be bussed in to support the Supreme Leader. The demand was made at a meeting this week with representatives of all three candidates who claim that the poll was rigged,...

What's happening on the streets of Tehran is a lesson in what makes history: It isn't guns or secret police, in the end, but the willingness of hundreds of thousands of people to risk their lives to protest injustice. That is what overthrew the shah of Iran in 1979, and it is now shaking the mullahs. This is politics in the raw -- unarmed people defying soldiers with guns -- and it is the stuff of which revolutions are made. Whether it will succeed in Iran is impossible to predict, but already this movement has put an overconfident regime on...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in quiet defiance on the fifth day of post-election chaos yesterday, setting the stage for a showdown today with the increasingly worried hard-liners. Trying to stem the uprising, Iran's "supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called in representatives of all four candidates in the dubious election, in an effort to quell the angry protests that threaten the 30-year-old Islamic regime. Khamenei, who backed extremist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, has not been seen in a week but is expected to plead for calm tomorrow. Officials said he will make a rare appearance leading...

Mousavi says: #Iranelection - I have come due to concerns of current political and social conditions - to defend the rights of the nation MOUSAVI launches direct attack on ANejad for insulting his wife Mousavi is in midst of 1000s of people in Imam Khomeini Sq and is wearing black like his supporters,stood on car and spoke MOUSAVI asks GOOGLE to change logo to GREEN for 1 day - #Iranelection - to give hope to all Iran Everybody is peaceful and quiet - everybody is wearing black - the number of people is unbelievable Today's rally better be bigger than...

CAIRO – Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway — showing how difficult it is to shut off the flow of information in the Internet age. The restrictions imposed by the government made such social-networking sites as Twitter and Flickr more prominent — with even the U.S. State Department calling on Twitter to put off a scheduled shutdown for maintenance. Iranians were posting items online, but it wasn't known how much of that information was being seen by others inside the country. And although...

....The expulsion of foreign journalists is another ominous sign indicating that more bloodshed is planned. The government has made a calculated decision to confront demonstrations with pure force. It believes that the excitement of the people over the election results will be short lived. That the movement can be contained and the majority's will can be subdued using massive force and unimaginable brutality. In preparation for that scenario, it plans to isolate the country from the rest of the world as much as possible. The government has other urgent reasons to crush the opposition swiftly. Two grand ayatollahs, Montazeri and...

17 Jun 2009 05:06 pm Live-Tweeting The Revolution: Day 5 [The following is from a single twitterer in Tehran, starting around 10.30 pm local time.] Student activists told me they know that two students also were killed in Isfahan Sanaati [technical] university.12 minutes ago from web Also Art University and Allameh dorms were attacked.13 minutes ago from web Some died as they were being beaten.14 minutes ago from web I talked to 2 students who were present during the attack [on the university dormitory], it was heart breaking.14 minutes ago from web Also all press permits have been canceled; there...

The Iranian government has made it increasingly difficult for citizens to use the Internet, but tweets — and constant “retweets” — about violence and protests can still be found. The most closely watched Iranian accounts include persiankiwi, who is posting updates about the “Sea of Green” protest march (green is the color used by presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi), and Change_for_Iran, who has tweeted information on the uprising among students. Others, such as Raymond Jahan, who tweets under StopAhmadi, are posting photos of protests in Tehran. Another user, IranRiggedElect, posted links to an image of a resistance flyer and a...

Thousands of Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen deployed for crackdown on opposition DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 17, 2009, 9:17 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran's Special Police Forces on the ready Wednesday afternoon, June 17, armored convoys of Revolutionary Guard forces began rolling into Tehran from three directions to prevent supporters of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi assembling on the fifth day after the disputed presidential election, DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report. Special IRGC forces and police units are being flown in. Hundreds of opposition activities have been arrested, including some economic experts who criticized president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies in recent months, after three reformist...

• Estimated 500,000 in Tir square and surrounding streets • Mousavi calls on supporters to mourn 'martyred' protestersSupporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi protest in the streets of Tehran. Somayeh Soheily/The Guardian Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran in a fifth day of protests as the government intensified its crackdown on opposition figures with the arrest of hundreds of leading critics.Mainly dressed in black and wearing green wristbands and headbands to show their support for the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, crowds gathered in Tir square and streets around it. Most of the protesters were...

"The administration has remained as quiet as possible during the Iranian election season and in the days of street protests since Friday's vote." -- Washington Post , Monday June 15, 2009 "We're going to withhold comment. … I mean we're just waiting to see." -- Vice-President Joe Biden "We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide." -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "Most countries appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach, including the European Union and China, Germany, Italy...

Thousands return to streets of Iran's capital By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and JASON KEYSER, Tue Jun 16 TEHRAN, Iran – Thousands of Iranians swarmed the streets of Tehran on Tuesday in rival demonstrations over the country's disputed presidential election, pushing a deep crisis into its fourth day despite a government attempt to placate the opposition by recounting a limited number of ballots. Iran's supreme ruler drew a firm line against any threats to the regime, warning Iranians to unite behind the country's Islamic system as authorities imposed severe restrictions on independent media. After days of dramatic images of Iranians protesting...

"Iran Elections," "Iranians," "Tehran" and "Mousavi" (also spelled "Moussavi") were the trending topics on Twitter for a whole day on Tuesday, June 16. When four out of ten trending topics are all about the same issue, you know the world is focused. This blog is testimony to how the social media tools of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can help fight back censorship in the 21st Century. According to NY Times article, it was noted that Twitter was aware of the power of its service in this regard. Acknowledging its role on the global stage, the San Francisco-based company said on...

Twenty people were killed at rallies across Iran on Tuesday, as opposition activists demontrated against the disputed results of last week's presidential elections, according to various media reports. Meanwhile, Iran's top legislative body said Tuesday it was ready to recount the votes in the election won by hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran's Guardian Council said a recount of disputed ballot boxes may lead to changes in candidates' tally, according to the television report. Defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi has appealed to the council for the election to be annulled, but has said he was not optimistic about its verdict. Also on...