Check out the face of a proud Ahmadinejad supporter.
There had been seven days of rallies and protests since Ayatollah Khamenei's last public appearance. To say everyone was anxiously awaiting Khamenei's speech today would be a huge understatement.
The ayatollah's speech could have taken one of two paths. Either acknowledge the protestors concerns of a rigged election and try and calm them down or, stand behind Ahmadinejad and amp up the tension with some good ole rhetoric. Khamenei chose the latter.
Instead of wavering in his praise for Ahmadinejad, the "Supreme Leader" condemed the protests (and the West) and denied any voter fraud.. It's feared that tomorrow will see the bloody crackdown that many people have been waiting for this whole time. Or maybe they won't.
Either way, tomorrow will be a day that isn't soon forgotten.
A Poem for the Rooftops of Iran
A Poem for the Rooftops of Iran
Big Developments:
-The crowds on Monday were the largest since the '79 Revolution.
-A ban was put out on all protests, but on Wednesday the demonstrations were estimated to be over 500,000 people. In response, 15 protestors were killed by the security forces.
-Mousavi called for Thursday to be a day of mourning to remember the fallen protestors. An estimated 1,000,000 Iranians came out.
-A centrist Iranian newspaper reports 30 Iranian towns with more votes than voters registered. Some as many as 40% more.
-Top religious leader Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri has called on police & soldiers to disobey orders to act against the protestors.
-The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution condemning the Iranian gov't and showing support for the protestors. Vote passed 405-1. Only person who didn't vote yes? Ron Paul. Doesn't seem to make much sense but his reasoning is rock solid.
General Shady Stuff:
-A secret letter between the Iranian Minister of the Interior & the Ayatollah Khamenei, . The letter was written the day after the elections and appears to show the true results of the election, with Mousavi winning and Ahmadinejad coming in third.
-On June 7, an open letter was written by members of Iran's Interior Ministry (which suprervises the elections) and addressed to top Iranian religious & political leaders. The letter detailed a plot that alleged religious leaders were prepared to allow voter fraud to keep Ahmadinejad in office.
-A Canadian journalist, one of the few foreign journalists still in Tehran, was picked up by police. Roughed up. And lived to write about it.
-Iranian gov't has started tracking Twiiter accounts. All Twitters are urged to change your "Location" on your Twitter account to "Tehran" to confuse the Iranian gov't.
And again on Thursday:
Some context:
You've gotta watch these clips.
I've been a big fan of Reza Aslan for a while now. No matter what the current crisis is in the Middle East, Aslan is always there waiting to help us figure it out. He not only manages to make really complex situations easier to digest but has an way of discussing these issues that highlights the positive aspects and leaves you with a seed of hope.
Rachel Maddow had Aslan as her guest on Wednesday night. His predictions for the significance of the day of mourning were so spot-on, Maddow had him back on Thursday's show. You won't hear commentary this insightful anywhere else.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
And again on Thursday:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
More Info:
Both have teams of people working around the clock to make sure the Iranians are being heard.
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