US Feature: How #OccupyWallStreet Became #OccupyEverywhere (Schneider)

It all started with an e-mail. On July 13 Adbusters magazine sent out a call to its 90,000-strong list proclaiming a Twitter hashtag (#OccupyWallStreet) and a date, September 17. It quickly spread among the mostly young, tech-savvy radical set, along with an especially alluring poster the magazine put together of a ballerina atop the Charging Bull statue, the financial district’s totem to testosterone.

The idea became a meme, and the angel of history (or at least of the Internet) was somehow ready. Halfway into a revolutionary year—after the Arab Spring and Europe’s tumultuous summer—cyberactivists in the United States were primed for a piece of the action. The Adbusters editors weren’t the only ones organizing; similar occupations were already in the works, including a very well-laid plan to occupy Freedom Plaza in Washington, starting October 6.

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Bahrain Propaganda 101: The Regime Rewrites A Speech by Britain's Foreign Secretary

British Foreign Secretary William HagueLet's review. British Foreign Secretary Hague's concern over Bahrain was turned into fictional declarations that "the political march...is progressing" and "the kingdom seems resolved to enhance that march". The State news agency accurately notes the Foreign Secretary's reference to the report of a Commission of Inquiry, but it adds the "landmark initiative" of the National Dialogue, which Hague never mentioned in his opening statement.

And Hague's endorsement of a retrial for 20 medical staff, sentenced to between five and 15 years in prison, gets a bit of optimistic gloss: at no point did he assure British MPs "that their trial in a civil court will be transparent and fair".

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Syria Snap Analysis: "This Regime Crackdown Cannot Be Sustained"

Footage from inside a tank, as it destroys the minaret of a mosque in Deir Ez Zor in the northeast

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Assad's strategy of killing away his opposition has not worked, a lesson brought out by the events of yesterday. That opposition is not going anywhere, and i seems that every region of the country is now a hotbed of dissent. The President may not be ready to fall, but all hopes he ever had of putting Arab Spring in the rear-view mirror seem to be fading quickly.

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The Latest from Iran (18 October): The Same Old Mahmoud

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1955 GMT: Movie Watch. Doesn't look like the Supreme Leader will be going to the premiere of Footloose --- he told a crowd in Kermanshah, "Hollywood is in the service of human degradation."

1858 GMT: Currency Watch. Despite the Central Bank's promises to strengthen the value of the Iranian currency, the rial is still 1250 to $1 on the free market, as opposed to an official rate of 1056:1.

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Israel-Palestine: Swap of 1027 Palestinians for Gilad Shalit Under Way (Al Jazeera English)

Israel Special: How Gilad Shalit Saved Prime Minister Netanyahu

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UPDATE 1445 GMT: Al Jazeera English has updated on developments, including details of the 477 Palestinians --- the first of two sets of detainees to be released --- who were freed today:

In Israel, 96 Palestinian prisoners left the Ketziot prison, bound for the Ofer military camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, public radio reported early on Tuesday morning.

Another 334 were transferred to the Kerem Shalom crossing, at the southern-most point of the Israel-Gaza border. The first prisoners were dressed in civilian clothes, with their hands and feet manacled, the radio report said.

A convoy of vehicles left the Israeli Katsiout prison in Naqab, near the Egyptian border, before dawn on Tuesday. Vehicles carrying female prisoners also left HaSharon Prison in central Israel.

At the Beituniya border crossing, a "great sense of excitement" quickly evaporated after a last-minute change of plans meant that prisoners would not be brought in through the checkpoint to meet their families, Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reported.

After the announcement, the assembled crowd threw stones at the Israeli border post, prompting them to retaliate with tear gas and water cannon.

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Israel Special: How Gilad Shalit Saved Prime Minister Netanyahu

In July, we speculated that --- given the Palestinian application for United Nations recognition, deadlocked negotiations, and collapsed diplomatic manoeuvres ---the Obama Administration might acknowledge Hamas behind closed doors, give Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas a guarantee that Ramallah will never need to recognise a “Jewish state”, and promise a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in a year. None of that has happened; however, we also noted htat “a sign can be given to Netanyahu that he can be a peace-making hero ahead of Israeli elections. How? The release of Gilad Shalit, the detained Israel soldier, by Hamas.”

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Iran Feature: "Persistent Punishment" --- Assessing the UN Report on Human Rights (Arseh Sevom)

A Montage of Political Prisoners in IranThe UN Special Rapporteur has released an initial report on the human rights situation in Iran. The report highlights several disturbing trends, which serve to cripple civil society activism. These include:

• Exorbitant bails: Often individuals face bail amounts so high that they or their families are forced to hand over the deeds to their houses. These deeds often remain in the hands of the authorities even after defendants are acquitted or released. This means that families and individuals no longer have control over their financial assets.
• Persistent punishments: The effect of these exorbitant bails and the retention of deeds is a muzzling of civil society actors. In addition, some have faced life-long bans on their activities even after release.
• Lack of due process: Reports show that prosecutors are aware of sentences before a defendant even appears in court for sentencing. There are multiple claims of the denial of due process and fair trials for both prisoners of conscience and criminal defendants.

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Iran for Beginners: So What is This $2.8 Billion Bank Fraud?

Former Bank Melli Head Mahmoud Reza KhavariThe Islamic Republic will pay a price whatever course the government takes. If the Iranian judiciary actually exposes the full details of high-level corruption, the government stands to lose further legitimacy even among loyal cadres. Yet if the state does nothing, strife among political factions could deepen, undermining attempts to implement policy changes that could address the country's many social and economic ills.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Questions in the Silence from Homs

1936 GMT: The Palestinian prisoners return to the West Bank:

One of the accusations floating around is that some of these prisoners are, in fact, murderers, and Israel is likely to pay a high price for this prisoner exchange. Osama Hamdan, a senior member of Hamas, responds to the accusations:

See EA Correspondent Ali Yenidunya's analysis, Israel Special: How Gilad Shalit Saved Prime Minister Netanyahu

1821 GMT: In Daraa, the crisis may be even wider spread than we initially thought. The LCCS posts this:

Daraa: Msaifra: Authorities cut off electricity to the town after a massive night protest and security forces raiding of it

So, with a massive military campaign under way in Daraa proper, and in Harak, and perhaps now one about to be underway in MSaifra, while the military is conducting unprecedented raids near Damascus, and the campaign against Homs continues, one wonders how stretched Assad's military is as the current moment. It appears that he is threatened enough by the strength of this opposition that he has tanks deployed from Lebanon to the border with Turkey.

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Britain and the US: Scott Lucas with the BBC on Lobbying and the Liam Fox Case

Liam FoxBritain is currently in the throes of a scandal over a politician named Liam Fox, who resigned as Minister of Defence last Friday after the discovery of his close friend's unauthorised lobbying.

This morning Dan Damon of BBC World Service's World Update and I discussed the wider issues, both in the US and Britain, of the episode.

The clip starts at the 48:25 mark.