A cartoon on TehranBureau.com depicts Iranian pro-democracy protestors bloodied and beaten by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s thugs. As they scream for “help” in the background, France’s president Sarkozy remarks “I feel someone is calling us!?” US president Obama – his face awash with characteristic dreaminess – responds, “my friends, we should think positive.”
Iran’s Pro-Democracy Protestors Call for Our Help
A few days ago, Ahmadinejad gave a speech decrying the demonstrators as “khas o khashak” (‘dirt and dust’ or ‘trash and dust’). The phrase has rebounded on him, however, becoming a rallying cry against the Islamic dictatorship.
“Dirt and dust is you [Ahmadinejad], it is you who are the enemy of Iran,” runs one chant.
According to the Guardian, the reformist Etemad-e Melli newspaper also carried a picture of protestors holding a banner bearing the words “Epic of Dirt and Dust.” Various blogs have appeared under that title, and I have also seen one video with this name. (The British-based, Tehran-financed Press TV however translated Ahmadinejad’s insult as “dust and pebbles” for its target – gullible, Leftist, Western – audience.)
The authorities have brutally cracked down on the protests. A Google Map appeared in response, pinpointing the locations of embassies supposedly accepting the wounded, although most of these (including the Belgian, Dutch, German, Irish and probably also the British) appear to have been blocked by the police and Basij (a paramilitary force founded by Ayatollah Khomeini).
According to The Daily Mail, at least 17 protestors were killed and 100 injured over the weekend, although this would seem to be very much an underestimation. The mainstream media is lagging behind events, but you can get up-to-the-minute information from Anonymous Iran. The site also has a list of Twitter accounts that are posting information on events the second they occur, and you don’t need to be signed up to get that information. Here are just a few from Twitter account iranbaan:
Ghalamsnews asks for those injured in recent violence to leave their names and contact number. This is a trapIran’s democratic dissidents are also using Tor software (which was originally developed for the US Navy) to remain anonymous on the web, and get information out to the rest of the world. It’s possible to sign up to Tor, no matter where you live in the West, and to run a relay on your computer to help keep the Iranian dissidents anonymous.
Choppers continue to hover over Tehran. It is unclear whether they belong to the Army, Basij or Sepah (Revolutionary Guard)
3 people killed in Mashhad over the last few days
Police reports they arrested 475 people yesterday
A petition addressed to the Prosecutors of the International Court of Justice has also been posted online, calling for an “investigation into crimes committed by Ali Khamenei.”

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