Update to this post
Okay...things have gone bad.
According to the guardian over 500 opposition supporters have been arrested. And these are just the ones we know. We do not know where they are or the condition of their health.
The offical death count is twenty but my estimate is upwards of 200. Too many people are saying that certain areas have been hit and that they have seen twenty bodies here and there. Especially the hospitals where a few doctors had complained about the inhumanity of trying to treat the victims and having the police and hasij come and take the bodies away without getting the victims' names.
There is a report that 7 students were killed in Tehran University dorm raids in which they were then secretly burried.
Tomorrow (Iran time a few hours from now) there is another march, this time to be led by Mousavi himself, in which people are to wear black and green to show solidarity in mourning those who have been 'marytered.'
There is plans to have another mourning protest on Friday during evening prayers. Belief is that if it is seen by the world that Hasij is beating people during this holy time while they are mourning their dead, then the Muslim world and especially those of the Iranian military and police will stand up against the Hasij and the government.
I have seen twittered messages from Iranians that state that will not give up not even if a million are killed. They will get their stolen votes back for their martyered friends.
I went to Corpus Christi NAS Naval Base today with my mom and I spoke to a 1st Sgt there and his said, "They want freedom, too" and that "we've nothing yet" that Iran is a "boiling pot."
Support is laid on the dissenters side but there is nothing that the government can do to stop this. The WH fears that if they step in, it might turn out like Somalia or Vietnam... Or godforbid worse than Myanmar and China's squalshing of the rebellions combined. There is worry about Iran's stance on nuclear fuel and weapons and it's position on supporting terrorist actions in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Israel. But hope also lies in that this might be the change that is needed to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
The fear is that if we lend support...it will turn against the people. But the reality is that we need to do something. We cannot stand idly by while the Iranian government murders its own people. If we cannot send support in manpower perhaps we find ways to aid in getting communication back to the people, put international pressure on Iran to halt it's terroristic behavior against its people.
There is something that the US Govt can and must do.
People around the world are already lending their support by providing proxy servers, passing along messages, getting the media to keep their eyes on this, and providing information and logistical support to the people.
Most Iranians do not know what is going on. The TV, Radio, Newspapers have all been censored by the government and the government is conducting raids on it's own ministers that it finds being in support of the reformist movement.
Higher ups who were heroes of the 1979 Revolution have been arrested. The ex-Vice President of Iran has been arrested.
There were unconfirmed reports that Mohammad Asgari, who was responsible for the security of the IT network in Iran's interior ministry, was killed yesterday in a suspicious car accident in Tehran. Asgari had reportedly leaked evidence that the elections were rigged to alter the votes from the provinces. Asgari was said to have leaked information that showed Mousavi had won almost 19m votes, and should therefore be president.
CNN has called out on it, rigged or not, it is not the election that matters now but that the people are demaning to be free of oppression and they will not stop until they get it.
~ Important Links
First Aid for Radicals and Activists
Voting to get google to go Green
Pics of Iran - First one is graphic.
The Guardian's Protest Page
Histoy on Basij
Iranian Election Protest Wiki page
Students in Iran: 'I will get martyred friend's vote back, even if I die'
Pic of protest in NY
Independent - Robert Fisk "Fear has gone in a land that has tasted freedom.
Iran promises death to rioters
Witnesses describe violence in Iran as protesters stand firm
scarlet letter that proves Mousavi won poll comes forth is it real?
Anonymous is still active in helping Iranians and now has a list of names of the dead.
Rules on tweeting with Iranians
site dedicated to blocking social networking spammers who think that they can inundate us with their spammy messages.
flickr photo slideshow
fark.com list of events
Arabs largely silent on Iran
Jordanian political analyst Labib Kamhawi said Arabs want "somebody else to fight their battles on their behalf."
"So nobody expressed any position on the Iranian elections because they think that the Americans and the Europeans will do it for them," he said. "This is a very negative approach, especially with regional political issues."
Al Jazeera Middle East page
Enduring America
a ontd_political Iran post
ontd_political History of Iran: key figures, events and elections, 1900-2005 post
point statement distributed among the protesters in Monday
1. Dismissal of Khamenei for not being a fair leader
2. Dismissal of Ahmadinejad for his illegal acts
3. Temporary appointment of Ayatollah Montazeri as the Supreme Leader
4. Recognition of Mousavi as the President
5. Forming the Cabinet by Mousavi to prepare for revising the Constitution
6. unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners
7. Dissolution of all organs of repression, public or secret
Andrew Sullivan
Nico's live blog
The Guardian
The Guardian's Live Blog
The key thing to understand here is not that the Iranians want a revolution, they don't. They want their government to give them what they promised them. It is in essence the Iranian version of the Civil Rights Movement. They want freedom through new elected officals who are more lenient and liberal, not freedom through the overthrow of their government the deaths of those who oppose them. They want a peaceful freedom of what they were guaranteed in their Constitution.
Doesn't that sound familiar?
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