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Agam's Gecko
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
 
WHO'S TWEETERING NOW? **updated**
I

ranian tough-guy Prez Mahmoud has been in a rough mood these days but he's now coming out of his shell to throw down the gauntlet, in a challenge to those who object to shooting lovely and dignified women in the heart on the street.

Take it away President Ahmatwitterjad:



Seriously....

Iran's digital tracking capabilities against online citizens is far more extensive than previously known, far outstripping the snooping capacity of even China's net police, and also aided by western technology companies.

Her passion was travel, and she hoped someday to be a guide for Iranian tour groups to other countries. She had saved up and made trips to Turkey, Dubai and Thailand. She also loved and studied music. Her friend told her not to go out, that it was too dangerous. "Don't worry," she said. "It's just one bullet and it's over." Family and friends remember Neda.

Professor Fouad Ajami on Obama's Persian Tutorial. Please let him be a quick learner. Joe warned us about this, but no one listens to Joe (not the plumber, the other one).

This Friday a new film starring the magnificent Shoreh Aghdashloo ("The House of Sand and Fog") opens in North America. Be there or be square, wider release will follow. Take all your friends. The Stoning of Soraya M.

Hotdogs! Mustard! Diplomatic Action! July Fourth partying with the official agents of Neda's killers will proceed as planned. You guys bring the potato salad, ok? AFP: US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran.

The President needs to add a new word* to his vocabulary, and to pair it with another word he uses too much. The latter word is "I", the former is "condemn". Try it out, man. It's not that hard. Beating and shooting people who hunger for freedom is no clerical error. Nothing could be more deserving of clear condemnation, whether in Tibet, Burma, China, Iran, or formerly in South Africa, Poland, Hungary... the list is long. The leader of the free world position has always carried with it certain responsibilities.

*UPDATE* (00:30): Gecko gets results! (Actually, Trita Parsi made the same request earlier in the day.) "I strongly condemn these unjust actions," Obama said in a news conference at the White House.

Addendum:
"She died full of love," Golshad said.
From the above LAT story on Neda's family and friends. Golshad is not her real name.

The grey haired gentleman with Neda was not her father but her music teacher, Hamid Panahi. Her family was forbidden to eulogize her, but Mr. Panahi defies them saying he has nothing to lose.
"They know me," he said. "They know where I am. They can come and get me whenever they want. My time has gone. We have to think about the young people."

Neda, he said, was smart and loving. She had a mischievous streak, gently teasing her friends and causing them to laugh. She was passionate about life and meant no one any harm.

In the election unrest, friends found in her an unexpected daring, a willingness to take risks for her beliefs.

"She couldn't stand the injustice of it all," Panahi said. "All she wanted was the proper vote of the people to be counted.

"For pursuing her goals, she didn't use rocks or clubs," he said. "She wanted to show with her presence that 'I'm here. I also voted. And my vote wasn't counted.' It was a very peaceful act of protest, without any violence."

As to the person or persons responsible for her death, they will not be forgiven, he said.

"When they kill an innocent child, this is not justice. This is not religion. In no way is this acceptable," he said. "And I'm certain that the one who shot her will not get a pass from God."

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