HuffPo: Huge Spike In Iran Violence - Tanks Called In...

[BlooInBloo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html




And reports on the smaller-scale:

http://niacblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/election-unrest-day-two/
"7:23 update: A Powerful Message from a friend of NIAC in Mashad, Iran

are still safe, but to tell you the truth, all of us are feeling sick of what we have to see on streets these days. This afternoon, saw five policemen attack a middle age lady. They beat her brutally, with no mercy. She tried to escape with her young daughter but they got her. I stopped and tried to help her, but three men in civilian clothes attacked my car, and I had to drive away because was with me. Tonight, people shouted “Allah o Akabar” from their roof tops, but hundreds of police forces on bikes swept the streets and marked houses from which they could hear voices. Tomorrow, I will go to a lawyer to ask for a visa. This country will not be a safe place anymore and I don’t want to repeat my parents’ mistake on 1979 by staying and watching. Take care and keep me informed.”"

EDIT: Iranian student beatings video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H9svdc4ic4

P.S.
Sorry if this is boring people, but (a) I don't think these posts are the same as the brazillion of, say, Susan Boyle posts, (b) I think we're watching a revolution take place before our eyes (never having seen one before, I can't be certain), and (c) information on this is incredibly scarce.

[annabanana]

1. Thanks for posting this.... ANY information at all that manages to

get out of Iran right now is important. It sounds as if there is a massive crackdown going on.

[BlooInBloo]

2. That's how I feel about it.

[EFerrari]

3. Do you have a pix of tanks?

[BlooInBloo]

4. Nope - I'm in Seattle....

All I have are the reports from various people. Any or all of which could potentially be false (since I'm in Seattle, and have absolutely no way to verify the reports with my own eyes.)

The tank report from the HuffPo link apparently comes from:
"From @iranelection09: "URGENT JUST IN, there are TANKS in front of the interior ministry of tehran in valiasr st. & fatemi cross CAREFUL""

[Marksbrother]

5. Think maybe there's a hidden hand in all of that?

If so, who might it possibly be? The pre-election poll findings are consistent with the actual voting results. There won't be
a regime change this time, but something's going on and there's at least one hidden hand in the cookie jar. Maybe two. Or,
conceivably just one, acting as a proxy.

[OKNancy]

6. Don't apologize

"P.S.
Sorry if this is boring people, but (a) I don't think these posts are the same as the brazillion of, say, Susan Boyle posts, (b) I think we're watching a revolution take place before our eyes (never having seen one before, I can't be certain), and (c) information on this is incredibly scarce."

This is the kind of thing that DU is for. If someone said they were bored with it, then they must be pretty shallow.

[BlooInBloo]

7. :)

[Posteritatis]

8. Yep. To hell with anyone annoyed that this is coming up a lot here (nt)

[EFerrari]

12. I would hope DU is more than for unconfirmed atrocity stories.

More substance and less art is what we should be aiming for here, when we know all of the different factions that want to manipulate public opinion.

[BeFree]

9. Thanks

Sometimes this stuff has to happen. There are some brave people in Iran fighting for their freedom. May they win it.

[tan guera]

10. Correct me if I'm wrong

Wasn't the US actively supporting Moussavi? I can't remember where I read that. If that's true, how then did he lose?

[janx]

11. Drudge and tabloid stuff?

?

[Dramarama]

14. hm

[backscatter712]

13. Freshest (though noisiest and frequently inaccurate source) is Twitter.

Tweets are still getting out of Tehran and elsewhere in Iran, despite Bushmedinajad's attempts to squelch the media, shut down ISPs and cell phones, etc. Students are using satellite Internet, old dial-up connections, etc. and they're using proxies to get around Iran's firewalls, and we're getting tweets right now.

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23iranelection

[BlooInBloo]

15. Yep, that's the primary tag to use. In situations of information scarcity...

You go with the best available, noting that it is noisy, and keep looking for cleaner sources. Kudos to Sully and others for realizing this.

Here's video of an exploded-to-hell dorm room, by the way: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html