Free Iran Recap - Freedom Via Internet

Since the election in Iran on the 12th of June, information about the protests and brutal government crackdowns has flowed in via the internet, particularly social media sites, and specifically Twitter. Twitter was the first place to provide information about the protests as the media largely missed the story in the beginning. Now the flow of information out of Iran has slowed due to massive arrests and violent government oppression. Along with the slowing of information, the main stream media's attention has been diverted. Yet this remains a topic that deserves continued public attention. People are fighting for their freedom under unimaginable conditions.

Here is a recap of some of the videos, stories, and information that has come out of Iran along with the role technology has played...

Total Oppression Versus Open Communication in Iran

In an early show of force students were beaten in their dorm rooms, and their rooms were trashed, computers and the like destroyed. Angered by the brutal beat downs, many professors at Tehran University protested by resigning. Hospital workers who treated the students, also disgusted by the government’s brutality, went on strike the following day to protest the students’ treatment.

Foreign media was banned, journalists have been jailed. Due to the crackdown, citizen journalism virtually the only way the story is getting to the rest of the world.

Iranian government claims that death of Neda was staged by the opposition. They prevent any form of public mourning for both Neda and the many others killed in the protests.

Soccer Team Members who wore green armbands during a game are permanently banned from the sport.

British representatives expelled from the country.

Special courts established for trying arrested protesters.

Mass show of force and violent suppression of peaceful protests continue.

Videos: The first video shows the death of Neda a young Iranian woman who has come to symbolize the Free Iran movement. She was shot while simply watching the protests, and reportedly died by her father's side. Be warned that the first two videos are very graphic and disturbing. The third video, while somewhat less graphic, but is also quite disturbing.

*VERY GRAPHIC* Young Lady Dies on Streets of Iran

*Very Graphic* Video of Iran Protests and Man Badly Beaten

Shooting of Iranian Students Caught on Camera

Massive Show of Force on Streets of Iran

Video of voter fraud in Iranian Election

June 20 Iran Protesters Face Off with Police

Crowds During June 20th Protests

Riot Police Attack Protesters in Iran

Video Showing Scope of Iranian Protests

This Week's Articles:

This week a violent beat down of protesters was under reported as the flow of information slows. CNN and the AP both had reports on this brutality...

AP Reports Iran Security Forces Again Beat Down the Opposition Protesters

Distraught woman describes the brutality to CNN, Reports of Brutal Crackdown In Iran

Article's Prior to the June 20th Protests

Concern About Khamenei’s Statements

Arrests and Protests Continue in Iran

American’s Practical Support of A Free Iran

Articles About the Role of the Internet in post-Election Iran

Twitter Changing the Playing Field In Iran and For Totalitarianism

One of my first thoughts on seeing Twitter being used by Iranians following their elections was, ‘Imagine if they had Twitter during Tienanmen Square.’ Totalitarian regimes historically thrive, in large measure, by controlling the media and modes of communication. Would be protesters become isolated. Government propaganda simply spins any protest or event into something that reflects well on the regime in power.

Following Iran Elections on Twitter – A Lesson in Freedom and Technology

Google Farsi - English Traslator: Google launches Farsi - English translator Thursday night/Friday morning. A hugely helpful tool that aids communication, and understanding of news directly from Iran.

Cable and Network News relying on Twitter: Saturday the 20th, with a government imposed blackout of foreign media CNN and others have to rely on citizen journalists along with Twitter and other social media sites to gather news. Protests are scheduled even though Ayatola Khamenei has made statements that suggest a possibly violent crackdown on protesters. Reports of tear gas used and armed police barricades used to disperse crowds.

Students Shot on Camera: A tweet linked to this video of Iranian students being shot

A graphic YouTube video of a woman's death (Neda) becomes a symbol of the movement. Trending topic on Twitter is #Neda as references to the video, and her life show how moved people were by her tragic death.

Mousavi Facebook post: Through a post on Facebook it has been reported that Mir-Hossein Mousavi has stated that he is "ready for martyrdom."

Embassies Take Wounded Iranians: Word spreads quickly on June 20th that many European embassies are taking care of wounded Iranians. These embassies along with their address/directions were also diseminated through Twitter. The safety of the hospitals is in question, and the Canadian embassy is pressured (via use of Twitter) to open its embassy too, yet embassy remained closed on Saturday.

Iran Elections and the Internet

An interesting subplot to the Iranian elections is that the internet is providing people more information than major news networks...Dear CNN, Please Check Twitter for News About Iran

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Since writing about the Twitter Effect in Iran, and the role of the Internet as a whole, I have also been interviewed on radio and TV. For more info on appearances, please visit the Broad Side of the Barn.

Twitter, Iran, and Cracking the Totalitarian Model

One of my first thoughts on seeing Twitter being used by Iranians following their elections was, 'Imagine if they had Twitter during Tienanmen Square.' Totalitarian regimes historically thrive, in large measure, by controlling the media and modes of communication. Would be protesters become isolated. Government propaganda simply spins any protest or event into something that reflects well on the regime in power.

Yet now there is Twitter, other social networks, and the internet at large. It's wise for Tweeters and others to understand that the deck is still stacked against those protesting the election. The Iranian government still controls the media, and in a textbook totalitarian move they have banned foreign press. While members of the Twitter community have set up proxy servers for people in Iran to use, the government has shut down known internet connections, which means that in all likelihood a large majority of Iranians are only hearing the official government version of events.

Yet protests continue and news spreads in large part due to Twitter and the internet. This is not something past totalitarian regimes have had to deal with. There are enough Iranians using Twitter (or other forms of communication) to organize that protests continue. The government has not been able to implement complete control. Hopefully those watching, participating, and following #iranelection on Twitter recognize that there is a definite possibility that this ends very badly as totalitarian regimes are also brutal. The reality is that what results from this is wholly a guess, but it changes the playing field and gives voice to those who previously had none. Person to person communication tools change the dynamic shifting, at least some of the power to the people, and puts a crack in structure of totalitarianism.

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Twitter Changing the Playing Field In Iran and For Totalitarianism

Free Us Now Radio Featured Guest, Author Katherine Morrison

Featured Radio Presentation

Monday Night May 4th soROARity
Katherine J. Morrison
"Author of An Independent Call"

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Free Us Now guest, Katherine Morrison wrote a book about the 2008 presidential election. The book entitled An Independent Call, chronicles the journey of an Independent New Hampshirite from wary observer of town hall meetings to eventual McCain supporter and volunteer. It is an amusing look at the events of a campaign. From meeting candidates from both sides of the aisle, to becoming a blogger for McCain, to being chewed out on campaign phone calls, to receiving press credentials for the Republican National Convention, this account relates the experience of being a participant at the lowest level politics from an outsider's perspective. A mix of good humor and political opinion from the middle.

Rockingham NH County Commissioner, Maureen Barrows, recommends An Independent Call stating that it is- "A must read for anyone interested in the day to day life of a volunteer in a political campaign-attention to detail is brilliant."

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No radio needed The Free Us Now Radio show is online - If your computer is down no problem call on the phone and hear the entire show right on the phone- Please come! Monday 10 PM eastern/ Bring your questions.
Call-in 347 539-5420.

Event: Free Us Now Radio Show
Host: BettyJean Kling
Start Time: Monday, at 10:00pm
End Time: Monday, at 11:30pm
Where: http://www.Blogtalkradio.com/NO-WE-WONT
Call-in:  347 539-5420

Simple Twitter Tips/Tools for Beginners

These tips are written by someone who was at first reluctant to use twitter. From my view if you were someone intersted in tweets about my need to go to the post office, then I probably didn't want you following me anyway. Yet what I was missing was how useful a tool and resource twitter can be. First following people with like interests creates a stream of tweets that often contains useful info. Twitter also provides a quick and easy way to get your own info out people with like interests. If you have 'followers' and are 'following' others simply asking a question or mentionaing a task can result in someone responding to that tweet with helpful information. Hash tags, words preceded by the # sign, provide an easy way to follow particular topics, and are used by some for a more advanced twitter applications.

So the first step is to build a following with people of like interests. This is easiest if you're interested in tech topics as you are certainly not alone, yet it can be done can be done for most any topic. Monitter allows you to type in three keyword and follow tweets in real time. Tweets of interest can lead you to a person's profile page where you can choose to follow that person if so interested. Probably the simplest way to find others with similar interests is to use Twitter search as it is better at finding people by topics than the 'find people' page. Also, there are plenty of lists online of people using twitter. These lists can be found easily via standard search engine. Some lists focus on a topic, others tell you who is likely to 'follow you back.' These lists are numerous and helpful in creaing a relevant following. A quick look at twitter vocabulary will also help newbies get up to speed. Finally, be useful, be relevant, be polite, and you may end up liking twitter more than you ever thought possible.

Also check out 10 Ways to be useful on Twitter

Neilson Ratings Raise Questions About the Future of Twitter But Misses Key Points

Internet News article Is Twitter a Fad? Nielsen Says It Just Might Be discusses whether Neilson stats that show a low retention rate indicate a bleak future for Twitter.

Twitter certainly has all the trapping of an Internet fad. Exorbitant media coverage. Celebrity endorsement. Ballooning traffic numbers. And, according to a new analysis from Nielsen Online, a weak retention rate.

By Nielsen's reckoning, more than 60 percent of Twitter users in a given month don't return to the site the following month.

Given the outsize hype surrounding the microblogging service, it's easy to imagine uninitiated Internet users setting up a Twitter account to see what all the fuss is about, sending off a tweet or two, and then, their curiosity satisfied, moving on to other, less diversionary online activities.

It isn't stated if reported drop in retention rate takes into consideration that many people use Twitter without visiting the site. Applications like Tweet Deck and others are used by many to post their tweets. Second, the article focuses on the celebrity element of Twitter. The logic that the following of celebrities via Twitter may drop off is strong. How many people will really retain interest in whether their favorite celebrity is about to eat a ham sandwich? Yet this misses what is compelling about Twitter. Twitter in is rather simplistic and open. This allows people to create twitter application, or use twitter applications for numerous purposes. Twitter can be used for both organization and as an alert system. It can be fun with freinds or used for personal promotion. There likely will be those whose participation drops off as they tire of either celebrity posts or tweeting about their daily chores, yet for people who are plugged in (and some no so plugged in) it is not only a handy tool, but watching what develops from Twitter in the future will be interesting to see.

Search Strategy and Self Promotion

This post is a combination of helpful search strategy combine with a bit of blatant self promotion. I've been promoting my book by increasing my sites/links visibility. One of the main ways of raising ones position in the search engines is by increasing links to ones blogs/sites. Similarly if there is news online that one believes important providing links to that news page is the best way for that article to receive traffic, both from direct sources, and through search engines.

One of the things that has become clear, is that last election McCain got crushed in terms of linking and search. Conservatives are now doing well in Twitter, but if there isn't more linking and more use of apps that help increase links, next election cycle conservatives will again be at a disadvantage. Search is critical to anyone who wants to win people over on a topic, and anyone who wants to win over undecideds.

The following is a list of my pages on several of these (for a lack of a better word) 'link enhancing' sites. This is sort of a mix of infomation and personal promotion. I'm definitely looking to network more and have the articles on the listed pages promoted/voted on, but I also think it would be very helpful for bloggers, or any active web user, to sign up for these sites.

I'd suggest people add a page to their blogs like this one - On the Web that lets others find their pages. Almost all have a 'share' element and it is good for people to connect with each other within these online communities. Some are probably a given, but some may be to new to many..

kmorrison - Twitter

kmorrison - Digg

Kmorrison - Reddit

kmorrison - MySpace

kmorrison55 - delicious

kmorrison - Friend Feed

kmorrison - Mister Wong

kmorrison - Mixx

kmorrison - BlinkList

kmorrison - BlogCatalog

kmorrison - Yahoo Buzz Up

kmorrison - Faves

kmorrison55 - Stumble Upon

kmorrison33 - Propeller

Bipartisanship Grade

The AP article 'Obama Bipartisanship Push Has Mixed Success' does a decent job at summarizing the attempts at bipartisanship in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. This was a hallmark of the Obama campaign a deserves scutiny as it was a large part of what supporters claimed made, then candidate Obama, such an agent of change.

So as an unrepentant McCain supporter, in my view there are three categories to focus on - foreign policy, economic policy, and practicle politics.

In foreign policy, right off the bat he wins big points for keeping Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense. Robert Gates has proven that he is a pro, and while he doesn't appear to be someone who seeks accolades, he is someone who deserves them. Also a positive, his policy on Iraq and Afghanistan seem quite reasonable. Overall he's appointed competent and not wildly political representatives to foreign policy positions, and one has to respect that. On the negative side, meeting with Hugo Chavez along with that goofy book exchange was not impressive. The rhetoric in Europe about America being arrogant could be problematic and appeared rather partisan. Yet he did win the election, and neither event is a real departure from what he campaigned on.

A hot topic right now is how to handle the 'enhanced interogation/torture' issue. While the Obama administration has fumbled this issue a bit, in the end they score big points in taking a forward looking stance. This is said as someone who believes that the U.S. should not torture, and should hold the Geneva Convention's definition of torture as the standard. The problems with investigations, along with the threat of prosecutions, are numerous. A huge one is that this has the potential to damage the CIA and its operatives. This is a vital institution, and its members do an important and often thankless job. Degrading their capabilities and membership in what is likely to be a highly partisan, endless series of hearings is not good for the CIA or the country. If the Obama adminstration chose to go after the Bush administration on this issue they would have betrayed their campaign manta of 'change.' It appears they are standing up to the left, and therefor their grade for for foreign policy bipartisanship is A-.

Economic Policy: Unfortunately, there has been virtually no attempt to be bipartisan on economic issues. Granted the Obama adminstration was likely handicapped by the leadership of their own party like Nancy Pelosi, who said about the stimulus bill, "We won the election, we wrote the bill." Comments from Harry Reid that he doesn't work for President Obama likely have made attempts at bipartisanship more difficult. Yet one particularly disappointing moment from President Obama was when he gave a highly partisan speech to Democrats about the stimulus bill. If President Obama had made more of an effort to be bipartisan on fiscal matters the Tea Party protests would likely have not been nearly as successful as they were. There is a growing concern from regular Americans that there is simply too much government spending, and too much government involvement in business an economic matters. The Obama adminstrations best defense to this is that President Bush started many of these policies. That's true but the buck stops at Obama now, and his spending is eclipsing the previous administration (who didn't do much to champion fiscal conservatism) by a long shot. The Obama administrations economic bipartisanship grade, D.

Finally, how well is the Obama administration doing in general at being bipartisan? One positive, they didn't hang Senator Lieberman out to dry for supporting Senator McCain as some feared might happen. A negative, as mentioned in the AP article, in a very partisan move they stirred the pot by announcing that Rush Limbaugh was the head of the Republican party. They appeared to enjoy the turmoil it created amonst prominent Republicans and kept the Limbaugh banter going for quite some time. They may have scored political points off of this, but they also revealed themselves players of what was often reviled in the campaign as 'old school politics.' President Obama has kept bipartisanship on the table as a goal, but the actions don't quite fit the rhetoric and he hasn't shown leadership in this area. Yet again noting that he is likely receiving pressure from members of his own party to be more partisan there is still hope for a more bipartisan tact in the White House and in Washington. His grade for general bipartisanship C.

There is room for improvement, but he should be given credit for not being either wrecklessly partisan, particularly on foreign policy, or succuming to the desires of some in his party to become angry and backward looking. There is quite some concern about how far left economic policies will go, and that Republicans have been excluded from the process. Yet all hope is not lost. President Obama is very popular, and if he choses, he still has the opportunity to be a bipartisan president. The ball is in his court.