June 16, 2009 archive

It will be twittered and blogged.

(I am leaving reporting on Iran’s Revolution itself for worthier minds, and less busy minds, but wanted to briefly address this one angle. I woke myself at 5am to do so.)

Iran has grabbed control of radio and TV communication, predictably, as would our own nation should we ever try to regain control of our own Corporatocracy.

The frightening thing is, this is a template, if you will, of how a Nation must be ready to technologically block information. Every despot and intelligence agency in the World is taking notes and making plans, including our own Internet Czar.

Sure they can shut down phone service, but how to block all the satellite uplinks that drive the internet and cell phones? The images and reports go viral instantaneously across the globe; especially with a young and savvy population. Standing in a crowd, it is easy to get off a one line twitter, so that all concerned can follow the tag and have warning. or hear of new protest plans. Texting will only go to your circle, so the hashmark tag allows anyone who uses it to connect with all Iranians of a like mine.

People don’t talk about it in terms of “the hive mind” for nothing.

I’ve been riveted all day to the news coming via Twitter about Iran.

I seem to recall an election in the US in which there was a similar dispute about who had won.  I don’t recall millions going into the streets.  I don’t recall the “defeated” candidate calling on people to bring on non-violent, silent protests and mass gatherings.  I wish that had happened in the US. But, sadly, it didn’t.  And look what the next 8 years brought.  The Iranian people unlike the US seem to understand the significance and the consequences of a stolen election.  And they appear to want to do something about it.

So it appears that Iran has at this moment a time of both intense risk and enormous opportunity.

As I type this, hundreds of thousands of people are in the streets across Iran because they know that their election was stolen, that their votes were not counted, that the election was a sham, that their democracy has failed them.  They are angry, and they want a restoration of their democracy.  And they are going to demand a fair election and a fair counting of the votes.

How do we in the US support the Iranian People’s Protests?

I turn to you for the answers, for the tactics, for the approach.  The Iranian People’s Protests deserve our support.  Let’s put our heads together.

Here are two small examples of what we’re looking for. Twitter users are being urged to change their location to Tehran and their time zone to GMT +3 to give protection, however slight, to those in Iran who are reporting the news who are being followed by the authorities.  A second example:  Twitter was scheduled for maintenance this evening.  That would have shut off the Iranian news tweets.  Twitter re-scheduled its maintenance.

And now I ask again: what can we do to help?

Update: 6/16/09, 8:40 ET: Green icons for twitter are a click away.

 The Jurassic Senate of the GOPosaurs and DINOsaurs is a fucking disgrace. Don’t blame Obama, blame these craven, weak kneed traitors to their nation.

   I only discount Ted Kennedy and Al Franken for obvious reasons, as well as Bernie Sanders, who votes more like I would than any other Senator. If you think your senator should get a pass here give me a good reason why,.

   The rest of the Senate can go fuck itself.

   That’s right. The Senate has sold out to the banks, the insurance companies, the special interests, anybody with a dollar gets their time.

    40 GOPosauars who say “No No!” , 55 DINOsaurs who say “Not Now!”, Arlen Specter trying to remember which side he is on today and whatever the hell Joe Lieberman is skittering across the wall.

   The Conservative status quo sets the tone in Washington and in the MSM. The GOP sets the obstruction agenda, plain and simple, and I hope you are with me when I say I have had enough.

(P.S. – thank you Buhdy for putting this on the FP, when I saw the words

the Senate can go fuck itself.

I had to laugh.)

Cheers