I was off in personal-busy land this weekend. I’ve been following everything on Iran on my mobile, but it was difficult to post.

Neda Soltan

First, the death of the young woman I mentioned in the last post was the death of Neda Soltan (safe photo). I’m sure most of you have heard of her by now, if you haven’t seen the video of her death online or on CNN. If you have a sensitive streak, don’t see the video, but this article simply has information on her with only a link to the video

There is also an interview with her fiance with (warning) one graphic picture

Neda’s death was a ‘game changer’ for many people, as it made the conflict in Iran more personal and relevant: the new generation of Iran facing crackdowns and senseless brutality for the freedoms they believe are important.

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International Guerrilla Cyber-war: Geopolitical Hacktivism

Another game-changer is the role of Anonymous in organizing mechanisms of communication for Iranian protesters in the Iranian uprising.

The significance of the role Anonymous is playing in subverting a sovereign government cannot be understated. Anonymous has declared cyberwar on the Iranian regime.

Members of Anonymous have provided a clearinghouse and an informational website which offers just one repository for internet denizens from around the world to provide the Iranian people access to helpful information clearinghouses, videos, and tools to avoid censorship, such as hosting numbers of redirecting proxy servers. Proxy servers allow Iranian protesters to bypass government internet filters. Other cyber-war activities are likely happening, but I am ignorant of these.

Lest you think this is mere basement-dwelling nerd hyperbole, trust me — it isn’t. The Neda video and many other videos showing attacks against unarmed civilians likely would have never gotten out of Iran and up on the internet if it wasn’t for the proxy servers and other services provided by Anonymous. The proxies work both ways — Anonymous proxies have allowed some news from the world to reach Iranians as well. The ability for Iranians to use Twitter has also been supported by Anonymous proxies. However, there is evidence that the Iranian government is monitoring all packets leaving Iran which exposes users to deep-packet inspection.

Anonymous is attempting to subvert a regime. I believe the governments of the world are going to have to sit up and take notice; loosely organized civilian-level cyber-war is now very much a reality. Hacktivism has now reached the geopolitical level.

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Transcript of the Anonymous video message to the leaders of Iran

Anonymous has released a video message to the Iranian regime

Hello, leaders of Iran.

We are Anonymous.

As the eyes of the entire world hold you under close scrutiny, the eyes of the internet have taken a similar notice of your recent actions.

While the governments of the world condemn you for your suppression of human rights, Anonymous has taken a particular interest in your recent attempts to censor the internet, not only for your own people, but for the citizens of the entire world.

Such suppression of dissent cannot go unpunished.

By cutting off communication of the Iranian citizens to the rest of the world, you have made it clear to us that the most revered of human rights – the right to free speech – is no longer important to you.

By seeking to silence the voice of the people in an election and subsequently seeking to silence criticism of such a gross cover-up, you have perpetuated the anger and rage of your people.

Anonymous has therefore made it our mission to see to it that the voice of the Iranian people can be heard around the world.

Just like another authoritarian religious extremist group, Anonymous will tear down the walls of silence using only the truth – the truth that you are trying so hard to suppress by use of violence, intimidation, and fascist laws.

As your people continue to riot and to speak out against you; as you continue to beat and shoot your own citizens in the street; as you continue to lie to the face of the entire world; know that the internet is watching – and we do not like what we see.

Knowledge is free.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect us.

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Daily Updates from Tatsuma

If you want more updates on Iran outside of the main stream media, you can start by visiting Tatsuma’s update site which has some summarized information.

I had to take a break from posting here for family-related things, and in the past 24 hours, several extremely disturbing videos have emerged from Iran. I won’t link to them. We’ve been following everything by iPhone, which makes it kind of difficult to post here during regular hours.

Summary for June 20 2009

• Tehran protestors were blocked off from the protest sites of Azadi and Englehab Squares by large numbers of heavily armed paramilitary and police.
• From Saturday, there is an accounting of at least 19 deaths, including the death of a teenaged girl, captured in the disturbing and emotionally charged “Neda video”.
• Against protesters, authorities are using water cannons, tear gas,possibly dropping tear gas and water from helicopters (likely CS), and clubs on protestors, equally vicious on old, young, female and male.
• The regime-friendly Basij militia are using concrete-filled PVC pipes as weapons. We also know that they are marking the doorways of protestor’s homes.
• Some areas of Tehran were without electricity on Saturday.
• Mousavi today asked protesters to remain peaceful and called for a new election.
• Mousavi has stated he is ready to become a martyr and asked Iranians to go on strike in the event of his arrest.
• Protesters are asked NOT to bring their wounded to the hospitals, as Basij are waiting to take them away.
• Several foreign embassies are recruiting doctors, and sending out the word that they are accepting injured protesters. There are unconfirmed reports that Basij are blocking entries into these embassies.
• Young protesters captured by the state are “confessing” to being recruited by UK, US, and Israeli governments in an attempt to bolster the nationalism in Iran. At least one commentator has said that this is unlikely to be believed by the Iranian protesters.
• Main Stream Media (MSM) has been behind the curve, with the BBC, Fox News and various papers in England being the most up-to-date MSM outlets. CNN is not reporting much outside the ruling party line (as far as we can tell)
• In fact, Ministry of Culture on Saturday banned international media from reporting on the demonstrations unless they receive permission from Iranian authorities.
• Iranian government will be recounting a subset of the (paper) ballots soon. Some say this is not adequate as the original accusations of election tampering included faked ballots.
• Tehran wasn’t the only protest site, as protests supposedly occurred in cities all over Iran and have been met with crackdowns and brutality.
• Protesters are fighting back when it’s impossible to peacefully protest, which is difficult as most of them are unarmed except for things like rocks, pipes, and any home-made weapon they can devise. Mousavi has asked them to not take out revenge on the Basij.
• Some police on the ground are asking the protesters to remain calm and peaceful.

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News and Media

• BBC Correspondents from Iran

• The Independent’s Robert Fisk from Iran

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Update 7:45 AM EDT

News including from reliable Iranian Twitter sources

The protestors are now on their way to Enghelab square.

Apparently the square is full of Iranian special forces and plainclothes police.

Mousavi is announcing the march/protest is still on. He is insisting he will attend the rally.

Main stream news outlets are woefully behind at this moment.

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A moving video of the calls from the rooftops in Tehran, with narrative subtitles

News Articles for January 20th

• Mousavi rally in doubt after Iran leader warning

• Tehran’s Freedom Square Will Be the Palpitating Heart of the World

Saturday June 20th at 4pm Tehran time (7:30AM EST), there has been calls from opposition leaders around Iran for those disagreeing with the election to protest peacefully in the streets, despite the Supreme Leader’s assertions during Friday prayers that such protests are anti-Islamic and against the Revolution.

I would like to to provide you two different pieces of information in this particular post, to give a hint of what may happen tomorrow.

First, a personal story I quote from NiacBlog:

3:09 pm: One of our readers requested that we translate the following blog post: Tomorrow is a big day, maybe I’ll get killed tomorrow!

I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed.

I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs.

I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow!

There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again.

All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye.

All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that.

My mind is very chaotic.

I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism.

This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children”

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Compare the narrative above to some of this transcript from Lindsey Hilsum (ITN) interviewed on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer

I understand that the Basij militia are out on the streets tonight and that is rather threatening.

I’m told that they have rifles, clubs, and bicycle chains

Now, an organization of reformist clerics has called for people to come out on the streets tomorrow in protest.

Mr. Mousavi has indicated that he is not calling for protests tomorrow or the next day, but we don’t know if that cancels the other rally.

And another main opposition reformist, Mr. Karobi, he is still challenging the authority. he has put out a letter saying that the guardian council/supreme leader should accept the Iranian nation’s will by canceling the vote and guaranteeing the establishments survival.

Now, I’ve been trying to speak to people although the telephones are very difficult here.

And I say that people really scared. One man whom I know, who is in Mr. Karobi’s camp said to me, “Look, I can’t talk to you right, I can’t talk to you in this situation”.

Another young man i know who has been active out on the street says, “everyone is very afraid”.

[…]

People are afraid that if they turn out on the streets that the Basij militia will attack, that they will physically attack them.

What has been happening in previous days is the big mass of demonstrations have been allowed to go ahead, so you have had huge numbers of people on the streets and the police have stood by.

Now, when those [unintelligible] start to break up towards dust there have been attacks by police and sometimes clashes as well and attacks by the Basij militia.

And what I think people will fear is that the demonstrations themselves will not be tolerated and that this could lead to a high degree of voilence.

What we don’t know is whether this will deter people from coming out tomorrow. When I spoke with people yesterday they said nothing would deter them (they would all come out), but that was before the Supreme leader spoke.

Now people know that if they come out into the street they are not just challenging the election results, they are challenging the supreme leader, they are challenging the Islamic republic itself. Now that is seen as very serious.

[Where is the momentum now?]

I don’t know, because every day I wake up and it’s changed. At the moment the supreme leader has made these very serious warnings, some would say threats, so the momentum is with him and with the state and with the government/with the forces of law.

But, tomorrow this could change, and if the people, especially the young people decide to come out to the streets again and Mr. Karobi, this reformist leader, comes out with them — Mr Mousavi gives them a go-ahead, as it were, then the momentum will go back again.

And so we are looking at people that are looking into the abyss, here because the supreme leader has suggested that anyone that protests now is, really, an enemy of the state — that is what he is suggesting.

But the people that who have been challenging the election results have not yet indicted that they are willing to stand down, that they will let this go.

Everything stands in the balance tonight.

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Blogs of note

• Nico Putney at HuffPo

I am going to be updating this blog post several times over the next 24 hours. The Mainstream Media (MSM) is starting to catch up to what’s going on the ground, so I’ll try to keep the news and media list to a dull roar (go to Google News for that) and try to keep updating in alternative news sources.

Update 16:00 EST

• Shooresh has an update on Iranian students in a blog

Update 15:00 EST

• Nate Silver at 538 has commentary on the Ayatollah’s speech…good read

• A good read here by an Iranian student on the political climate in Iran

Update 13:00 EST

Supreme Leader Khameni’s speech earlier this morning video here and transcript here was condemning of the reform protesters. Been reports of the IRG and the Basiji stepping up arrests.
Despite the increased danger of violence against protesters (as any protest will now be illegal), apparently opposition leader Mousavi’s facebook page is asking for supporters to rally tomorrow in Tehran. Protestors are twittering that they plan to silently protest as before, peacefully, in a very Gandhi-like way.

Speculation abounds that Rasfanjani is about to be arrested, claimed to be confirmed by Iranian insiders via Twitter. If this is true — and we don’t know if it is true — this is a nose-thumbing to the Assembly of Experts

To see how the Assembly of Experts figures into the Iranian power structure, BBC has a graphic of Iranian Government structure

In the USA, there have been calls for Obama to take an opinion against the violence in Iran. In the past, it has been noted that the USA siding with protesters can be damaging to the people in the protest, as it allows for excuses of accusations of working with the West. My opinion is that the sovereign concerns of Iran are best left to the Iranians; we can only support the struggle for freedom in spirit, but not officially. Apparently, the House of Republicans have voted in the resolution.

I hate to bring more US politics into this, but McCain has introduced a similar resolution into the Senate . It amazes me that McCain was calling to Bomb bomb Iran in April last year, but now he FEELS for those poor Iranian people? Give me a break

Iranian Interests Section march and manifesto in Washington DC June 20 (scroll down)

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News and Media

• (Update) Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish blog

• (Update) Op-ed Alternative view of the Revolution

• Ayatollah demands end to protests

• WSJ: Opinion: First-hand reports from people in Iran

• Times online: Cyber warriors join fight against censors in Iran

• Independent UK: Fisk updates the world from Iraq

• Times Online: Khameni tells Mousavi to toe the line over election or be cast out

• AP: Iran protester: People want a new election

• Word has it that at 2am UK time, Al Jazeera will be airing audio interviews with some of the Iranian twitterers.

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Timelines and aggregators

• Tatsuma’s Iran Timeline Update and for fun, Tatsuma’s entire timeline document as a wordle image

• Great timeline from information.is-the-coolest.com with references into news stories to back up the events

• Wikipedia timeline

• The Green Brief at the Persian Bay

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Mousavi’s video

This video features a speech by the candidate Mousavi in Iran.

Partial translation:

“I have come due to concerns of current political and social conditions – to defend the rights of the nation. I have come to improve Iran’s International relations. I have come to tell the world and return to Iran our pride, our dignity, our future. I have come to bring to Iran a FUTURE of FREEDOM, of HOPE. I have come to represent the poor the helpless the hungry. I have come to be ACCOUNTABLE to you my people and to this world.

“Iran must participate in FAIR elections, it is a matter of national importance. I have come to you because of the corruption in Iran. 25% inflation means IGNORANCE – THIEVING – CORRUPTION – where is the wealth of my nation? What have you done with $300 BILLION in last 4 years – where is the wealth of the nation? The next Government of Iran will be chosen by the people. Why do all our young want to leave this country?”

“I know of no creation who places HIMSELF ahead of 20 million of the nation. We are Muslims – what is happening in Iran’s Government is a sin! This Government is not what Imam Khomeini wanted for Iran – I will change all this – This is the SEA of GREEN!!”

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News and Media

• Washington Post, Iran: Protests Continue, Guardian Council to Discuss Concerns

• Christian Science Monitor. Name and Shame website targeting those perpetrating violence

• Pictures (rated G) from yesterday up at Daily Kos

• There is a desperate cry for help in an Email from inside Iran, at the NPR website

• Iran clerics are scheduling a pro-Mousavi rally

• Latest detailed updates from the highly recommended NYTimes Lede Blog: Iran’s Disputed Election

• Iran NGO reports 32 dead so far

• Grand Ayatollah negates election results — posted today, but known about this about 2 days ago.

• Link to the missing persons forum courtesy of TPB & Anonymous

• Link to the casualty list maintained in the same forums

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Gathered Information, 18th of June, from Tatsuma at fark.com

*Take with a grain of salt — some of this is hearsay but from reliable sources

• The protests show no signs of slowing down, and the fact that the government has been less violent so far and concentrating on discrediting the protesters instead shows that they are losing grip and painfully aware of all the attention given to what is happening right now, CNN notwithstanding. It’s also a worrying step, because the moment they start feeling they are losing grip even more is the moment where they might begin to unleash brutal waves of violence again, much worse than what we’ve seen so far.

• There is a (so far) quiet march going on, where all the protesters are dressed in black and mourning those who have died so far. The crowds are estimated to be as big as they have been for the last few days, so that puts them between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 in Tehran alone.

• The State TV has been turned into a full-blown anti-Revolution machine, constantly hammering on how evil the “thugs” who are smashing around private property are. Problem is that those thugs are in fact Basij dressed in green, but IRIB is reporting it as pro-Moussavi supporters. They have also been showing documentaries about the evils of the internet and how the US, UK and Israel are behind the protests. State Radio is not much better, with talking heads calling for the death of those evil thugs destabilizing the country at the behest of external forces. They have also issued false reports that Moussavi was “condeming the rioters”.

• The Government has closed Iran to all foreign communication and coverage, according to many reports. It would also seem that the Iranian government has opened an account in the name of Ayatollah Khameini on Twitter. There are reports that senior aides to all reformist candidates have been arrested, but it has yet to be collaborated and this is not the first time we hear such reports.

• According to Reuters, Iranian prosecutors have warned of the death penalty for the rioters who are involved in violence. Islamic cleric have warned that not going to Friday’s prayer service makes you worthy of the death penalty. It is unclear yet what isn’t worthy of death penalty at this point if you protest against the regime.

• All the violence reported over Iran is now exclusively done by the Basij, Ansar and, if the rumours are true, Hizbullah and Hams. The police have completely stopped participating in the repression of the population, and both the Army and IRG are standing still and not doing anything. This is good news, but the Basij are sadly not reducing the level of violence they are unleashing on the population, beating up everyone they can get their hands on. It continued all throughout the night and during the day, but due to the mass of people involved it seems that they are restraining themselves when it comes to the mass rallies, preferring to pick isolated targets.

• Universities have cancelled all exams all over the country, and a long list of rebel students was given to all universities and they have to report the students, who are to be arrested on sight.

• There have been a few confirmed cases of people threatened inside the United States for providing proxies for the revolution. Their details were available on the internet so they were passed around pro-Government forces. If you are helping this revolution, be careful to do so as anonymously as you can. It doesn’t mean you are risking your life, but it could potentially result in harrassment or vandalism.

• More information on the entire situation can be accessed at the Tatsuma update page

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’

Twitter

Heresay information from inside Iran (formatted from Twitter):

• University exams were canceled because Basij raids began, and some professors and students pre-emptively cancelled knowing having the students in one place would be a death trap.

• There is a long list of rebel students (protesters) given to all universities, and security is to arrest them on sight.

• The government is now running a mass media propaganda about a US & Israel joint force working in some Internet sites against Iran. <Note from Deanne: Apparently, the random internet brigade is being called a joint US & Israel force. The claim of US or Israel gov’t involvement is baloney as far as I know…most of the pro-Iranian work being done on the Internet is 4chan, twitterers, and nethackers. Apparently there are Iranian government threats being made to non-Iranian people (outside of Iran) who are providing proxies to the protesters; caution is advised.>

• The IRG (equiv of the CIA/KGB) have been clamping down on the internet and making false Twitter accounts to spread disinformation.

• The Iranian Parliament said they openly support the “standing” government.

• Mousavi is NOT in jail, he will join the rally today with Khatami. Rafsanjani daughter also to attend.

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“What I have witnessed.” A powerful note from a female medical student in Iran, translated from Farsi by a trusty reader.

Hello,

It’s painful to watch what’s happening.

I don’t want anything to do with what has been said this far, as I neither have the strength nor the resilience to face all these unfathomable events.

I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos last night at the trauma section in one of our main hospitals. Although by decree, all riot-related injuries were supposed to be sent to military hospitals, all other hospitals were filled to the rim. Last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn. They (government) removed the dead bodies on back of trucks, before we were even able to get their names or other information. What can you even say to the people who don’t even respect the dead. No one was allowed to speak to the wounded or get any information from them. This morning the faculty and the students protested by gathering at the lobby of the hospital where they were confronted by plain cloths anti-riot militia, who in turn closed off the hospital and imprisoned the staff. The extent of injuries are so grave, that despite being one of the most staffed emergency rooms, they’ve asked everyone to stay and help—I’m sure it will even be worst tonight.

What can anyone say in face of all these atrocities? What can you say to the family of the 13 year old boy who died from gunshots and whose dead body then disappeared?

This issue is not about cheating(election) anymore. This is not about stealing votes anymore. The issue is about a vast injustice inflected on the people. They’ve put a baton in the hand of every 13-14 year old to smash the faces of “the bunches who are less than dirt” (government is calling the people who are uprising dried-up torn and weeds)

This is what sickens me from dealing with these issues. And from those who shut their eyes and close their ears and claim the riots are in opposition of the government and presidency!! No! The people’s complaint is against the egregious injustices committed against the people.

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Torrent videos after the jump:

Following the Iranian resistance to the recent election hijinx , several people have been distilling data from Twitter, news sites (the ones who bother trying to cover the uprising) and personal accounts/stories. There are rumors flying everywhere, so I want to do my part in putting out a synopsis of what I know from following the uprising over the past few days.

For an overview of the players in this political upheaval, and for an overview of what’s been going on, please see this Google update by Tatsuma originally posted through threads at fark.com, here

Atrocities are happening against unarmed civilians. So far, over ten people have been confirmed killed, some of them were helpless students in dorms. At Tehran University, the following students have been reported murdered by militia:

Fatemeh Barati
Kasra Sharafi
Mobina Ehterami
Kambiz Shoaee
Mohsen Imani

Videos of graphic violence, including murder of peaceful protesters have surfaced, and often are being posted on sites such as Liveleak

The death toll is probably higher. Tehran Bureau is reporting 32 deaths.

Here is a link I was given to a discussion of the death toll but I don’t read Farsi so cannot comment.

According to Twitter submissions from people in Iran, 50 professors resigned from Tehran University yesterday, and were asking for the bodies of the students that were killed. Apparently, the students were hastily buried by police forces, not returned to their families. There is a sit-in at Tehran University since yesterday. Eighty students were freed yesterday in front of the Tehran University dorms; it has been reported also that Basij have been surrounding TU dorms for the past two days, keeping hundreds of students trapped inside. There are other reports of students being killed at other Universities and schools.

Pictures of today’s protests (June 17 2009) can be found at a twitpic site

Some reports of wide-spread atrocities are emerging from inside Iran, Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic is providing a tracking of injuries and verified tweets from inside Iran (beware, a few bloody or disturbing pictures)

Twitter updates are emerging from citizen reporters in Iran. Members of Anonymous/4chan (of anti-Scientology fame) have created an offshoot of the Pirate Bay site (click on The Persian Bay) to help Iranians get their news out of the country by helping to set up proxies for the people to avoid government censorship.

Internet social networking and news sites have been shut down and censored from within Iran. TV satellite dishes have been apparently taken out from private homes in Tehran and radio is also censored. The country’s input from the world (and it’s ability to communicate) is shut down for all intents and purposes, but some information is getting out (see Tatsuma’s update above).

The mainstream media is not covering any of this in detail, except for BBC Persia, which is showing some clips of today’s protests, and the green armbands of the Iranian Soccer Team, who wore them in solidarity with the peaceful protesters back home.

Things have changed for me, radically. I left Harvard School of Public Health back in September, with a heavy heart and too many things probably left unfinished, at least for now.

I took a leap, nearly sight-unseen, into what was, for me, an exotic metaworld of informatics. It’s not really ‘medical informatics’. It’s medical bioinformatics. Medbioinformatics?

Giving it a name is actually important, in a way. If you care to read about why, jump down below.

Looking for an unrelated topic, I stumbled across a transcript of a talk, ‘You and Your Research’
at Bell Labs given by Richard Hamming in 1986. I think it’s worth reading if you’re a scientist, mathematician or computer programmer.

“In summary, I claim that some of the reasons why so many people who have greatness within their grasp don’t succeed are: they don’t work on important problems, they don’t become emotionally involved, they don’t try and change what is difficult to some other situation which is easily done but is still important, and they keep giving themselves alibis why they don’t. They keep saying that it is a matter of luck. I’ve told you how easy it is; furthermore I’ve told you how to reform. Therefore, go forth and become great scientists!”

For me, the most compelling part of his talk is a question we should all be asking ourselves: what are the most important questions/problems in our respective fields? If we’re not working on them — why not?

Technology is accelerating bioinformatics needs, again, while the current need isn’t diminishing.

This post was meant to be just a brief snapshot aimed at students wondering where bioinformatics is going in 2008 and beyond. What’s the future of bioinformatics? What kind of focus should you develop in the near future? What kinds of skills will you need?

More after the jump, below.