WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC FACEBOOK: Basij shots to death a young woman in Tehran’s Saturday June 20th protests At 19:05 June 20th Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st. A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that […]
QUALITY OF MERCY: Dems Unveil Health Care For All
TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU: Senior House Democrats on Friday presented a sweeping plan to reshape the nation’s health care system that represented the fullest presentation yet of congressional liberals’ vision for improving medical care — including a promise to provide health insurance to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans without adding to the nation’s deepening debt. The full price tag is expected to top $1 trillion. MORE NEW YORK TIMES: Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
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AYATOLLAH: Shut Up, Sit Down!
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Iran’s supreme religious leader threw his weight behind the disputed landslide victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday, calling the vote “God’s blessing,” ruling out any fraud, and ordering an end to massive street protests. In what may prove a pivotal point in the post-election crisis that has shaken Iran for nearly a week, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei took an uncompromising stand at Friday prayers. “If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible,” declared Ayatollah Khomeini, speaking to an overflowing crowd of tens of thousands at Tehran University that was bolstered […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Chip Berlet has studied extremism, conspiracy theories and hate groups for more than 25 years. In a recent report for PublicEye.org, he says that the murders of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and Holocaust Museum guard Stephen T. Johns exemplify the potential for violence that often lurks within extremist groups. Berlet argues that right-wing pundits share some of the moral responsibility for the actions of their followers. He summarizes the analysis in his report in a June 10 Huffington Post article about Johns’ murder: “Apocalyptic aggression is fueled by right-wing pundits who demonize scapegoated groups and individuals in […]
ROCK THE VOTE: The New Math
[DOWNLOAD AS PDF] GUARDIAN: What really happened in Iran during that election count? As thousands protest against the results and demonstrate, we’ve gone to the Iranian Ministry of the Interior to get the official version of events. We’ve then got the Presidential Office’s eligible voters by region data so we can work out what the turnout as in each case. Whether you believe over 99% turnouts anywhere is one thing, but this data is only the beginning. MORE FIVE THIRTY EIGHT: You have probably heard it asserted that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad principal strength is in rural areas, whereas Mir-Hossein Mousavi did […]
PRESS BLACKOUT: Iran Expels Foreign Media
GUARDIAN: Ominously, the government ordered foreign journalists who are not permanently based in Iran to leave the country at once, and banned resident correspondents from reporting from the streets, a move seen as possibly heralding an intensification of the crackdown. The regime appeared to be following a dual strategy of partial concessions on Friday’s vote combined with arrests of opposition figures who could give coherence to the protests, which appeared relatively disorganised. Those detained included Muhammad Ali Abtahi and Saeed Hajarian, both Mousavi supporters and senior advisers to the former reformist president, Muhammad Khatami. MORE BBC: Supporters of Mir Hossein […]
BRENDAN CALLING: Open Letter To Arlen Specter
It’s me, Brendan Skwire. You know, Mr. Sunshine. I’ve called your office quite a few times regarding the need for a public option in health care reform, which I guess is about as good as it’s gonna get considering you and the rest of your colleagues on the Hill are too timid or too indebted to the death-by-spreadsheet health care industry to support real single payer universal health care. Sen. Specter, you of all people should be loudly proclaiming your support for single player health care. After all, wasn’t it the taxpayers who paid for your Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment? I […]
NATIONAL EQUALITY MARCH: Walk The Line
OFFICIAL WEB SITE: On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington DC from all across America to let our elected leaders know that now is the time for full equal rights for LGBT people. We will gather. We will march. And we will leave energized and empowered to do the work that needs to be done in every community across the nation. MORE RELATED: Less than a month after being told by Donald Trump that she can keep her Miss California crown, Carrie Prejean was fired on Wednesday. In a release first obtained by FOXNews.com, K2 Productions, the independent […]
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: 12 Iranians Killed In Mass Demonstrations That Drew More Than One Million
FLICKR: A man lies the back of a truck after being seriously injured by gunfire in an area where militia were firing shots at a rally supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s top opponent on Monday, June 15, 2009. Hundreds of thousands gathered in central Tehran to support Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims there was voting fraud in Friday’s election. The gunfire came from a compound for volunteer militia linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. (AP Photo) MORE UPDATE: Iran’s powerful Guardian Council says it is ready to hold a recount of disputed votes in Friday’s presidential election. GUARDIAN: At least […]
COUNTER REVOLUTION: 100,000 Flood The Streets Of Tehran To Protest Stolen Election, Demand Change
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Reporting from Tehran — Massive rivers of people defied authorities and poured into Tehran’s Freedom Square today chanting “Death to the dictator!” and “We want our vote back!” in an unprecedented display of civil disobedience and a rebuke to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reelected president over the weekend amid allegations of rampant voter fraud. The protesters defied Interior Ministry warnings broadcast on state television and radio that anyone showing up would be beaten or worse. They managed to find out about the event and turned out in droves despite a media clampdown that included the shuttering of numerous opposition […]
IRAN: The Counter Revolution Will Be Digitized
[Photo courtesy of TEHRANLIVE.ORG] BBC: All over the world people are monitoring unfolding events in Iran via the internet, where an apparently decisive election victory by the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being challenged on the streets. Although there are signs the Iranian government is trying to cut some communications with the outside world, citizen journalism appears to be thriving on the web. Here is a selection of popular links, many of which have been written from a particular point of view but – when taken together – provide a wide range of perspectives. MORE GUARDIAN: In days gone by, crushing […]
WAR IS OVER: The Drugs Have Won
NEW YORK TIMES: This year marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s start of the war on drugs, and it now appears that drugs have won.“We’ve spent a trillion dollars prosecuting the war on drugs,” Norm Stamper, a former police chief of Seattle, told me. “What do we have to show for it? Drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency. It’s a dismal failure.” For that reason, he favors legalization of drugs, perhaps by the equivalent of state liquor stores or registered pharmacists. Other experts favor keeping drug production and sales illegal but […]