US Politics Video: Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?

Created by Hugh Adkin, with credit to Eminem:

Bahrain Interview: Talking with Members of the February 14 Coalition (Jones)

We are absolutely certain that eventually the Al-Khalifa regime will inevitably fall, that our revolution will be successful, and that we will gain our legitimate democratic rights. The revolution will result in the wellbeing of the Bahraini people, who have made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of living in freedom and with dignity, without the dictatorial Al-Khalifa regime, and to safeguard the rights of future generations.

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Iran Feature: Chinese Firm Sells Surveillance System to Tehran (Stecklow)

A Chinese telecommunications equipment company has sold Iran's largest telecom firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and internet communications, interviews and contract documents show.

The system was part of a 98.6 million euro ($130.6 million) contract for networking equipment supplied by Shenzhen, China-based ZTE Corp to the Telecommunication Co. of Iran (TCI), according to the documents. Government-controlled TCI has a near monopoly on Iran's landline telephone services and much of Iran's internet traffic is required to flow through its network.

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EA on the Road: An Iran Panel in Dublin

This afternoon I will be part of a panel at the Clinton Institute in Dublin, with Seyyed Kazem Sajjadpour, formerly of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, on "US-Iran Relations: What Happens Next?".

James Miller will be here in a few hours to take you through the day. In the meantime, please have a look at all our features and bring in latest news and analysis through our Comments pages. (Remember, if you are not signed in with Disqus, it may be a while before your contribution will appear.)

Turkey Live Coverage (21 March): New Year Celebrations Turn into Deadly Clashes

1725 GMT: It is reported that Turkish border security units and gendarmerie forces have tightened security measures along the country's border with Syria in order to prevent Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members and Syrian refugees from entering Turkey.

On Tuesday, it was reported that gendarmerie forces were questioning coming refugees on the border to see if they were really escaping from the violence in Syria. Besides, alongside the refugee camp in Hatay, two more camps were said to be formed in two other cities, Sanliurfa and Kilis. 

1645 GMT: At a conference, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that Turkey would not allow any Cold War-like sectarian confrontation in the region. 

1625 GMT: Fifth police officer killed in the ongoing operation in Cudi, Sirnak. 

1610 GMT: One policeman injured in an explosion near the provincial office of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. 

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Celebrating Despite Economic Decline and the Crackdown (Arseh Sevom)

Photo: Picalm.com and BBC PersianLast year was disheartening for many civil society actors in Iran, as the regime shut down organizations, arrested many, and harassed even more. As bloggers are noting, this was a year of stagnation for Iranian activists and civil society groups, such as women and students, due to the excessive suppression and brutality of the Islamic Republic.

Yet, despite the political climate and the deteriorating economic situation, there were still moments of celebration, such as Chahar Shanbeh Suri (sometimes called Fireworks Wednesday), celebrated last week under the heavy presence of security forces in Iran.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assessing the Insurgency

1931 GMT: Another video reportedly shows the shelling in Homs today. This was reportedly taken in the Hamidiya district, in the center of Homs:

1918 GMT: According to the LCCS, the death toll today has risen to 80, including 14 children:

In Homs city, there were 42 martyrs, 11 in Hama, 6 in Daraa, 9 in Idlib including one family from Kasanfra town),7 in Deir Ezzor and one martyr in each of Raqqa,Lattakia, Damascus Suburbs (Moudamieh) and a defected recruit from the Occupied Golan who was martyred in Hama.

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The Latest from Iran (21 March): Manoeuvring the Sanctions

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Celebrating Despite Economic Decline and the Crackdown
Iran Opinion: A Counter-Message to Obama's Nowruz Video
Iran Video: President Obama's Nowruz Message
The Latest from Iran (20 March): Happy Nowruz

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1240 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Dissident blogger and physician Mehdi Khazali, freed on bail last weekend after a 70-day hunger strike, has thanked people for support: "I managed to get my message to the world, to the Islamic Republic's officials, and to the maraje (senior clerics)."

1030 GMT: In an interview with the German magazine Stern, President Ahmadinejad's media advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr has denied both the "failure" of the Ahmadinejad camp in the Parliamentary elections and the claim of a low turnout. He asserted that the President had proven his popularity during last week's "interrogation" in Parliament.

Javanfekr added that the West "should change its attitude" towards the Islamic Republic. He expressed confidence that Washington will not attack Iran, while saying Israel is just a puppet of the US.

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Bahrain Feature: Challenging the Regime's Claims of "Reforms" (Bahrain Watch)

King Hamad bin Isa Al KhalifaWhile al-Saleh and Hamad touted police training, and the establishment of a Code of Conduct for police officers on 30 January 2012, Bahrain Watch has documented numerous ongoing abuses, with the help of activists on the ground in Bahrain. Abuses include brutal arrests and torture, improper targeting of individuals in the head with tear gas canisters, and the mass nighttime tear-gassing of residential areas, even when there are no protests. These abuses have been documented on an ongoing basis in areas all around Bahrain, suggesting that these abuses are not individual actions.

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Syria Music Video: #SYRIA (Offendum)

The artist Omar Offendum offers a tribute to and hope for the Syrian protests --- lyrics, taken from his blog, below the video:

Audio Sample taken from the largest Syrian protest to date, in Hama on 22 July 2011 --- "alsha3b yureed isqaa6 al-nitham (the people want to overthrow the regime)"

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"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." --- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Verse 1

The purpose of these verses is to unify the masses

7oms up to 7assakeh … Banyas to Damascus

City streets to countrysides

Mountaintops to coastal tides

Muslim / Christian / women / men & children

Lets keep hope alive

Stand in solidarity with all your fellow citizens

Peacefully protesting for an end to all the militance 

Torture & imprisonment

Murdering of innocence

Proving that this lying/lion leader's rule is illegitimate

Like father --- like son

Mobster or president?

Censoring their people

Trying to stop the embezzlement 

Heavy-handed iron fists

Dropped on the residents

Déjà vu... 

'82 - '11...

We are all Deir Ezzor … We are all Dar3aa

We are all Jisr il-Shughoor … 7alab & the 2al3a's (castles)

We Are All 7amza ... We Are All 7ama ... 

We Are All Syrian … Hands to the samaa2 (sky) saying:

 

"alsha3b yureed isqaa6 al-nitham"

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