Protester Carries Picture of The Queen1. WHY DID THE IRANIAN REGIME PLAY THIS GAME?
Let's start with two points: 1) the regime almost certainly had an important connection with Tuesday's demonstration and attack on the British Embassy; 2) it supported that display of force not from strength, but from weakness.
More than 1000 police are reportedly moving this morning on the main site of Occupy Los Angeles, making arrests. Live footage from near the scene --- Greg Mitchell of The Nation is live-blogging developments:
Last night I spoke with BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight about Tuesday's events in Tehran. The interview was too brief to get out some points --- I think one development behind the pressure on Britain, the "punching bag" for Tehran's fight-back against Western pressure, is the Iranian regime's uncertainty over the recent explosions at a Revolutionary Guards base and in Isfahan on Monday --- but hopefully it offers a few pointers to what happened and what happens next.
The discussion begins at the 40:13 mark.
;)
A photograph from Fars of smoke rising above the British Embassy and the Iranian flag flying instead of Britain's Union Jack
See also Iran Latest: Students Storm British Embassy
Iran Snap Analysis: Assessing The Isfahan Explosion
The Latest from Iran (28 November): The Bank Fraud Expands
2025 GMT: Tough Talk Alert. In case anyone needed more tough talk on the day the British Embassy was attacked....
The head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, has explained in a television interview tells TV that the US cannot fight back if it is attacked by by the Islamic Republic.
1915 GMT: On the Air. Zanan (Women's) TV has been launched on the Internet.
Claimed video of the Basij student rally and the start of the assault on the British Embassy
UPDATE 2104 GMT: Footage from Iran State outlet Press TV of the attack:
UPDATE 2051 GMT: Some additional information about the afternoon's events....
Claimed video of the Basij student rally and the start of the assault on the British Embassy
UPDATE 2104 GMT: Footage from Iran State outlet Press TV of the attack:
UPDATE 2051 GMT: Some additional information about the afternoon's events....
Iranian media reports that Iran Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan entered the embassy at one point and gave an ultimatum to the occupiers to leave, as the occupiers demanded an end to Iranian relations with Britain. Fars also claims that police resorted to force, beating some protesters.
And in one of the more unusual statements of the day, Tehran Provincial Governor Morteza Tamaddon, who appeared at the Embassy at one point, said that it was functioning normally.
Mona Eltahawy After Her ReleaseLast Thursday I woke to the news that Egyptian security forces had detained and beaten the journalist Mona Eltahawy. She was released hours later, with a broken left arm and broken right wrist. In the interim, a vocal campaign had arisen on Twitter, #FreeMona.
Later, I watched Zeynap Tufekci engaged in debate about activism, social movements, and the Internet with Evgeny Morozov, who repeated his standard line that claims of activism's effect via the Web are usually shallow and misguided.
Invoking both analysis and specific cases --- Morozov's general claims often cover up a lack of knowledge or even interest in the reality of events --- Tufekci effectively, if politely, took Morozov apart while putting out a thoughtful examination of what Web-based activism might achieve.
Among the cases that Tufekci considered was the fresh episode of Mona Eltahawy, and by Friday, she was posting a reflection and examination on her blog Technosociology.
One more thought --- after Eltahawy's release but before I read Tufekci's article, I posted the story from Bahrain, "How Activist Zainab Alkhawaja Defied the Police...And Escaped Arrest". In her Twitter narrative, Alkhawaja paid tribute to the power of social media, "I have to thank loads of people, many of them on Twitter. It seems the news got out fast & thats why the orders of arrest were changed".
But she also added this important caveat, "I also feel sad, that my brothers & sisters, the other protesters, who I would die for, are not protected the way I am".
Tufekci's article....
An Activist Hands Out Leaflets to VotersWhat we saw today — so far at least — is that even amidst public uncertainty about the future, split public opinion on Tahrir and SCAF, and organizational chaos, the Egyptian people are eager to participate in the democratic process that may have real meaning for the first time in their lives. They are sharing in the fruits of the revolution, with pragmatism and hope, and testing whether the change is real. I don't see the high turnout (or what we think is a high turnout as we await official data) as a sign of support for SCAF. It's a sign of support for the democratic process and hope for its improvement.
That is a testimony of the Egyptian people's seriousness. But it does not change the fact that these elections were prepared with staggering, perhaps even malicious, incompetence and on that basis alone should not have been held, and that the transition blueprint in general is a bad one.
Commercial satellite image of the damage at the Malard military base from the blast of 12 November 2011
Within Iran, the explosions do not take place in the isolation --- nukes, nukes, nukes --- often framed by media outside the country. They interact with other instability and uncertainty that is already present, from the fragile economic situation to the political in-fighting that is threatening President Ahmadinejad to --- possibly --- tensions within the military, including the Revolutionary Guards.
Nothing is settled in the Islamic Republic these days. And yesterday's incident --- be it attack, sabotage, or water boiler --- adds another loud ripple to the turbulence.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 7:17 | Josh Shahryar in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran See also The Real Net Effect: Egypt, Dissent, and the #FreeMona Perfect Storm
Egypt Analysis: Assessing the Elections
Monday's Egypt LiveBlog: The 1st Election Day
2105 GMT: Another update from Evan Hill:
Rock throwing and fireworks between two sides at 6th october bridge on abdel moneim riyad st
No sign of CSF or army
There are maybe 200-300 involved on this battle on each side.
2049 GMT: The situation in Tahrir Square is again worsening. Tweeps are reporting that thugs have started to clash with activists inside the square where at least two people have so far been stabbed.
Others report of of thugs bringing guns and some even report of shooting on protesters by these thugs. Ambulances have arrved at Tahrir and at least one injured protester has been transported out.
Egypt, Egypt Elections 2011 Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 6:21 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2039 GMT: But for all the reports of violence, we've received 10 reports of protests. This video shows a cute little girl leading an evening protest in the Qarabis district of Homs:
This crowd chants anti-regime protests in Jiza, Daraa:
2024 GMT: It's after 10 pm in Syria, but reports continue to come in that the crackdown continues. The LCCS reports that is Kiswah, outside of Damascus, police have conducted house-to-house raids, arresting many, in response to a student protest earlier in the day. A large explosion rocked the Daraa alBalad neighborhood of Daraa, followed by heavy gunfire. And in Latminah, Hama, a 47-year-old father of 4 was reportedly tortured to death after being arrested.
