U2 goes green for Iran in Barcelona

Video: AP Interview With President Obama On Foreign Relations And The Economy

President Obama will be traveling to Russia over the weekend with a primary goal of getting talks started on a new START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

AP: Why are you meeting with Putin? Answer: 'Prime Minster Putin still has a lot of sway in Russia...'

Questions are also posed to the President with respect to Iran and North Korea.

AP asks the President to address the concerns of Americans who are concerned that this will be a 'jobless recovery'. One thing the President rightly mentions is that for many Americans, jobs have 'well-paying jobs' have been moving out of the country for quite some time, and he wants to that change looking to new energy jobs as the answer.

Haunting 'Night Chants' in Tehran

A Poem for Neda

Dr. Rafey Habib has written a great many poems that have been subsequently video recorded. For me, this one is strikingly moving, meaningful, beautiful, and timely.

Thank you Dr. Rafey.

A Poem for Neda (Elections in Iran): By Dr. Rafey Habib

Neda.

Sweet voice,
Of freedom, unborn.

Your state totters.
A colour revolution.

Green, for life,
Of reason, faith;
Red for blood,
The price you paid.

And you have shown
Your colour, you
Whose voices rise
Above your people
Who cast your black sky
Over all voices;
Who hide behind
Batons, water, tear-gas;
Who cringe
Behind your flag.

Tears will find you out.

And you too, show
Your colour, who flirt
With freedoms name;
Who smile unshamed
As tyrants old or new
Play your cards for you.

Tears will blind your smiles.

You who love
Your daughters, sons,
Let the green of earth be
Your colour:
Let your love give birth
To the Islam which your poets dreamed.

Let your voice, which sang
Before, of golden Persia,
In Saadi, Hafez, Rumi,
Now return, to sing
Our future.

Let your sweet voice
Sing from the cold earth
Of sweet democracy
Buried in its birth.
Dreaming to be
Born.

Daughter, sweet voice
Of the new Iran:
Neda.

Filmed by: Chris Barrett
Special thanks: Elizabeth Licorish

About Neda Agha-Soltan:
The death of Neda Agha-Soltan drew international attention when her shooting, during the 2009 Iranian election protests, was captured on video by bystanders and broadcast over the internet.[6] The video quickly became a rallying point for the reformist opposition. Nedā is also the the Persian word for "voice", "calling" or "divine message," and she has been referred to as the "voice of Iran".

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neda_(Iranian_protester)

Dust in Your Eyes (Song for Iran)

Solidarity: Iranian singer records 'Stand By Me' with Bon Jovi

Sanford Bumps Iran's Ongoing Crisis Off The 24/7

Thanks Mark Sanford, Republican Governor of South Carolina and I say that sarcastically. The situation in Iran is way more important than more Republican infidelities and hypocrisy.

Compilation of President Obama's Press Conference

'Prison for journalists'

From Think Progress:

The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders reports today that Iran is now the “world’s biggest prison for journalists,” with “a total of 33 journalists and cyber-dissidents in its jails.” At least 20 journalists have been arrested since June 12. The New York Times adds that the Iranian government continues to “block all coverage of protests and the security crackdown” and has ordered the BBC’s reporter to leave the country. “[O]ther news organization said they were ordered by the authorities not to report on events on the streets

Video: Today in Iran

The video is labeled as follows:

Demonstration on 21 June [2009] in Iran, Tehran تظاهرات مردم

Iranian Protesters in D.C. chant Democracy for Iran

The District of Columbia awoke to storms this morning. Huddled under an overhang outside the Iranian Consulate's office, were Americans and Iranian-Americans standing in solidarity with the people of Iran. Notwithstanding the rain, the crowd began its slow march, about two-and-a-half miles to the White House.

As they marched, the rain subsided, giving way to a gorgeous day, almost perfect for a demonstration. The crowd was loud and energetic,venting their anger, frustration, and concern. There was also a sense of hope, in light of an uprising in Iran on a scale not witnessed since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Young and old alike, expressed their inspiration.

More video and messages from Iran

On Twitter, persianq beseeches Americans to remember...

USA - They mourned your dead http://tinyurl.com/mar4wb Now mourn theirs! #iranelection

The link in the above post is to a Time Europe photo essay article showing moving pictures of Iranians lighting candles, mourning the dead after the attacks on America on September 11, 2001.

So the Supreme Leader says to the U.S. Health Insurance Industry....

By way of The Political Carnival's Cartoon of the Day...

Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Click on the cartoon to e-mail it to a friend. Visit an archive of the artists cartoons at cagle.com.

Statement from the President on Iran

From The White House Blog:

The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.

Things heating up in Iran

Yesterday in 100 Seconds

It's Friday!, It is Friday, TGIF, there's a lot happening this morning, isn't there though?, big news, breaking news, this guy, who is it?, unprecedented post-election chaos, can we stop the chaos?, no vote rigging, definitive victory, up to the people to decide, that's what happened, Iranians should not go out in the streets, stay off the streets, stop the protests, stop them right now, or else, don't fight the power, extremist's moves, fire up another extremists move, ignore law, will be held accountable, violence, blood, rioting, President's reaction, voices heard, should be able to do that, important universal principle, he strongly supports that, don't think the U.S. has done squat, President, under fire, he didn't say, this wall is none of our business, tear down that wall, far different than the Soviet Union, far far different, speak softly, carry a big stick, Ahmadinejad, unfairly smeared, honest person, simple life, said Holocaust never happened, disagreed with, not gonna to be used as political foils, Iran v The West, not gonna do that, does not want to meddle, refused to support, these brave Iranians, strong language in support of the Iranian people, President did it on Monday and Tuesday

Bill Maher: New Rules

Video: Real Time with Bill Maher: Opening

I am very moved by the Iranian people

Watching the video of 'The Silent March', the behavior standing up of so many of the Iranian people is very awe inspiring to me.

There was also a good segment on The Rachel Maddow Show about the march that I will post shortly.

The Day in 100 Seconds

It is Wednesday, the Iranian Military is clamping down, the Internet bloggers documenting the stunning uprising, no sign of backing down, tight restrictions, flooding the streets, on the streets of Tehran, capturing the rallies and protests, against tough odds, jamming cell phone lines, filtering, cut of cell phones, all true, banned from reporting, do not go, cannot cover them, cannot guarantee your safety, riot police, trying to block, trying to prevent images, unverified material, out of control, wow it's wild, media grip tightening, important outlet, social networking, media ban, amateur video, blogs, e-mail, cell phones, twitter, fueling the protests, run out of steam, no, rally in Tehran, quite a turnout, take the election away from people, different kind of energy, it is growing, on line, through the Twitter, questioning the entire system