Ongoing:

LONDON Iran protest: Iranian Embassy, 16 Princes Gate, 18:00-21:00 DAILY

DEN HAAG, Netherlands Protests DAILY for Iran, 13.00, Iranian Embassy (Scheveningen)

SAN JOSE Iran hunger strike: 7/2, 4p – 7/4, 12p, City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara St http://tinyurl.com/n699vw

Friday:

CHARLOTTE (NC) Iran vigil: Fri 7/3, 8-10p, Marshall Park (S. McDowell St & E. 3rd St
http://tinyurl.com/mlnjgp

VANCOUVER Iran forum: Fri 7/3, 5-8p, UBC Point Gray Campus – oodward Room #2, 2198 Health Science Mall http://yekiran.com/protests

BERLIN: Solidaritätsveranstaltung für Iran: 3. Juli, 19:00, Festsaal Kreuzberg, Skalitzer Str. 130
BERLIN Iran rally: Fri July 3, 19:00, Festsaal Kreuzberg, Skalitzer Str. 130

COLOGNE / KOLN Iran demo: 3 juli, 17:00-20:00, DOM Central Station. Am Römerbogen http://tinyurl.com/n33uq9

Saturday:

TEL-AVIV Iran demo: Sat July 4, protest 8pm-12am, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel http://tinyurl.com/megz4k

BRUXELLES Iran demo: Sat July 4, 16:00, Rond-Pont Schuman http://tinyurl.com/ms3rwe

STOCKHOLM Iran demo: Fredag 4 juli, 16:30-18:30, Medborgarplatsen http://tinyurl.com/lxr8kz

DRESDEN, Germany – Demo für Iran am Samstag, 4. Juli, 13Uhr, Schlesischer Platz, Bahnhof Neustadt

ESSEN, Deutschland Iran demo: 4/7, 11:00-14:00, Porschekanzel an der Marktkirche  http://tinyurl.com/mu282u

Sunday:

BOSTON Iran protest: Sun July 5, 11a-1p, Copley Square (on steps of Public library) http://tinyurl.com/loky93

ATLANTA Iran rally: 7/5, Lenox Sq Mall 4-7p http://tinyurl.com/mck2w6; CNN Center 4-8p http://tinyurl.com/nzd9al

WIEN / VIENNA Iran demo: Sonntag, 5. juli, 18:00-21:00, am Heldenplatz http://tinyurl.com/nb69rz

Hi all, here are some protests and vigils for Thursday, July 2…und herzlich willkommen auf alle Deutschen, die Lesung dieser Seite!

United States:

WASHINGTON, DC Iran protest: Thurs 7/2, 7p, Dupont Circle, vigil, no signs http://tinyurl.com/lnt3v3

LAS VEGAS Iran protest: Thrs 7/2, :30-10:30p, Las Vegas Blvd and Sahara http://tinyurl.com/l9tpce

SAN JOSE Iran hunger strike: 7/2, 4p – 7/4, 12p, City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara St http://tinyurl.com/n699vw

DAVIS (CA) Iran protest vigil: Thurs 7/2, 8-10pm, Central Park (4th & C Streets) http://tinyurl.com/lg454s

SAN DIEGO Iran rally: 7/2, 7-9p, Federal Building, 880 Front St & Broadway, no flags http://tinyurl.com/m5×7yb

World:

VANCOUVER Iran vigil: Thurs 7/2, 9:30pm, Vancouver Art Gallery, W Georgia wear black http://tinyurl.com/mqh5fp

CALGARY Iran vigil: Thr 7/2, 9-10:30p, Tomkins Park, 17 Avenue @ 8 St SW bring candles http://tinyurl.com/n47cjd

LONDON Iran protest: Thurs 7/2, 11a-1p, British Parliament, Westminster http://tinyurl.com/kw9oj6

BERLIN Iran protest: Thurs 7/2, 14:00-22:00, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Schumannstr. 8
BERLIN Protest am Donnerstag, 2. Juli, 14.00-22.00 – Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Schumannstr. 8

HANNOVER Deutschland Iran demo am Donnerstag, 2. Juli, Am Kröpcke, 17:00

LEIPZIG, Germany Mahnwache für Iran am Donnerstag, 2. Juli, 18 Uhr, Augustusplatz – Kerzen mitbringen!
LEIPZIG, Germany Iran protest: Thursday, July 2, 6pm, Augustusplatz, bring candles

Who knows if this is over or only beginning.

As long as there are protests, I will make this list.

Things are slow right now, but there are still some events:

LONDON: Protest at Iranian Embassy everyday, weekdays 6-9p weekends 4-7p #london

KANSAS CITY (MO) rally: Mon June 29, 7:30-8:30pm, JC Nichols Fountain (by PF Chang’s, Country Club Plaza)

VIRGINIA TECH Iran rally: Mon 6/29, 8-9p, Burrus Hall, Blacksburg, VA http://tinyurl.com/nf4jpw

BERLIN, 29.Juni, 18.30h, Stille Kundgebung für Iran, Berliner Dom/Museumsinsel http://tinyurl.com/mhvth2

BERLIN Iran demo: Mon 6/29, 18:30, Berliner Dom @ Museumsinsel http://tinyurl.com/mhvth2

It’s that time again…here’s another list of actions to copy and paste!

United States:

WASHINGTON DC Rally: Sun 6/28, 11am-5pm, Iran Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Ave.

PITTSBURGH vigil: Sun June 28, 3PM, Schenley Drive in Oakland, near Hillman Library http://bit.ly/hNkiX

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL rally: 6/28, 5-7:30p, Yankee Clipper Hotel, 1140 Seabreeze http://tinyurl.com/noa3l5

ATLANTA rally: Sun 6/28, @ CNN Center, 4-7pm, bring green balloon! http://tinyurl.com/p78w95

HOUSTON Iran rally: 6/28, 8-8:50pm, Water Wall (Galleria), 2800 Post Oak Blvd. http://tinyurl.com/n7c5fo

BATON ROUGE (LA) protest: Sun 6/28, 2-4pm, Louisiana State Capitol, 900 N 3rd St http://tinyurl.com/letqfd

L.A. Iran protest: Sun 6/28, 2pm, Federal Building (Westwood), 11000 Wilshire Blvd http://tinyurl.com/kjlugc

Worldwide:

OTTAWA protest: Sunday, June 28th, 11am by Iranian Embassy, 245 Metcalfe St http://bit.ly/IH8DL

ISTANBUL Iran rally: 6/28, 6-8p, Konsulgari Iran, Sultanahmet; Taksim Meydani http://bit.ly/Smx0b

PARIS Iran rally: Sunday 28th, 2-5pm, Place Bastille http://bit.ly/hAazm

PARIS: Marche de Solidarité avec l’Iran, dimanche 28 juin 14:00 (Place Bastille) http://bit.ly/hAazm

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Iran demo: Sunday night June 28th, 17:00 @ Rådhuspladsen
København, Danmark Iran demo: søndag aften den 28 juni, 17:00 @ Rådhuspladsen

LISBON / LISBOA Iran vigil: Sun 6/28, 20:30-24:00, Praça Luis de Camões http://tinyurl.com/kvmq5e

LISBON / LISBOA Irão Velas Vigil: Dom. 28/6, 20:30-24:00, Praça Luis de Camões http://tinyurl.com/kvmq5e

STOCKHOLM Iran demo: Sunday, June 28, 15:00-18:00, Sergels Torg http://tinyurl.com/l4qp37

SYDNEY Iran protest: Sun, June 28, 4pm, Sydney Town Hall steps http://tinyurl.com/kwnv48

Please Tweet, msg, email…show up, keep calm, and pray for truth.

They can’t protest, so we will.

United States:

WASHINGTON DC Iran rally: Sat 6/27, 11am-5pm, Iran Interest Section, 2209 Wisconsin Ave.

KEY WEST, Florida rally: “In Memory of Neda”, 27 June 10A-12P, Bayview Park at Truman & Jose Marti Dr.

NYC Iran protest: Sat 6/27 12-3pm, @ The United Nations HQ,  47th & 1st Ave

TALLAHASSEE, FL Iran protest: Sat June 27, 5-6pm, In front of Old State Capitol, Monroe & Apalachee

ATLANTA Iran rally: Sat 6/27, 6pm, Roswell Rd & Johnsons Ferry Rd, Sandy Springs http://tinyurl.com/p78w95

SALT LAKE CITY Iran rally: Sat, 6/27, 11a-2p, Salt Lake County Building, 2100 South State St

SANTA BARBARA Iran protest: Sat. June 27, noon-2p, State St.

DENVER Iran rally: Sat June 27, 2pm, Capitol (200 E. Colfax)

ST. LOUIS (MO) Iran rally: Sat 6/27, 5-8 pm, Old Court House, 11 N. Fourth St & Market http://bit.ly/11lPcK

HOUSTON Iran rally: Sat. 6/27, 7-11p 2313 South Voss Rd., by Al Hadi Center http://tinyurl.com/pjn9ph

MINNEAPOLIS Iran protest: Sat 6/27 9p-12a, Peavey Plaza, Downtown, Nicollet Mall & 11th St. S

LOS ANGELES Iran candlelight vigil: Saturday June 27, 7-10pm, UCLA Bruin Plaza

Canada:

TORONTO Iran cycle rally: Sat 6/27 2-4p, Centrepoint Mall, Corner Yonge/Steeles http://tinyurl.com/r3pgrk

TORONTO Iran protest & human chain: June 27, 4-6p, Yonge St & Sheppard

TORONTO Iran vigil: Sat 6/27, 9-11p, Ryerson University Quad, 55 Gould St. http://tinyurl.com/pvzuex

VANCOUVER Iran protest: Sat 6/27, 6-8p, Vancouver Art Gallery, W Georgia St, btw Howe & Hornby, wear blk

World:

FRANKFURT Iran demo: Samstag, 27 Juni, 13:00, auf dem zentralen Römerberg in der Altstadt

HAMBURG Iran demo: Samstag 6/27, 14:00, Iranische Generalkonsulat, Bebelallee 18 http://tinyurl.com/oq7ah2

COLOGNE / KOLN Iran demo: Samstag 6/27, 14:00-16:00 Rudolfplatz

LONDON Iran demo: Sat 6/27, 14:00-19:00, outside Kensington High St station, to Iran Embassy

BASEL Iran demo: Sat 6/27, 16:00-18:00, Barfüsserplatz http://tinyurl.com/p5hwlz

TEL-AVIV Iran demo: Sat 6/27, 20:00-22:00, Rabin Sq.

NICE, France Iran demo: Samedi 6/27, 19:00, Place Masséna

Today is the one-week anniversary of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan.

Consider her family, removed from their home and forbidden to publicly mourn her. Consider her fiance, and the future she could have enjoyed. Consider the future we still have, and the freedom running through it. Waste nothing.

You know the drill: Cut ‘n’ Paste away…

United States:

NYC Iran protest: Fri, June 26, 5-10p, Union Square; Columbus Circle (Merchant’s gate, W 59th) 6pm

BALTIMORE protest: 6/26, 8-9:30p, S. of Mt. Vernon Sq, 600 N. Charles St., http://tinyurl.com/mgrwqb

ATLANTA rally: FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 6:30 pm, Lenox Mall: Peachtree St.

TAMPA, FL – Candlelight vigil: Friday June 27, 7:30-9pm, Bayshore Blvd

CHARLOTTE, NC Candlelight vigil Friday June 25, 8-10pm, Marshall Park, S. McDowell St. & E. 3rd St.

DALLAS protest: Friday, June 26, 8-9pm, Federal Building, 1100 Commerce, http://tinyurl.com/lfy3dh

TEXAS A&M protest: Friday, June 26, 8:30-9p, College Station, TX

COLUMBUS (OH) protest: Friday, June 26, noon-3pm, In front of Ohio Statehouse, 60 E State St

DAYTON (OH) protest: Friday, June 26, 5p, Couthouse Sq. (corner of 3rd/ Main), wear green/black, signs

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Peavey Plaza, Nicollet & 11th, 9pm daily thru June 27th

INDIANAPOLIS rally Friday June 26, 5-7pm, Monument Circle on Market St.

ROCHESTER (MN) protest: Friday, June 26 6-8pm, Mayo Civic Center (circular drive area facing library)

MADISON (WI) protest: Fri, 6/26, 8-9:30p, Library Mall by Memorial Library/Union http://tinyurl.com/ncj9cr

BLOOMINGTON (IN) protest: Friday, June 26, 9-10pm, Sample Gates
http://tinyurl.com/lyeg4e

EUGENE (OR) protest: Friday, June 26, 4-6pm, UO (13th & University) to City Hall (Pearl St.)

SPOKANE (WA) protest: Friday, June 26, 6:30p,  Saranac Bldg., 25 W. Main

SEATTLE, WA vigil: Friday June 26, 8pm, 7201 E. green Lake Dr. N (north of the lake)

LAS VEGAS protest: Friday, June 26, 7pm, ULV, (S. Maryland Pkwy) Behind FDH Building (grassy area)

IRVINE (CA) protest: Friday, June 26, 5p, Corner of Jamboree and Barranca, wear black/green, signs/candles

SAN JOSE, CA vigil: Friday June 26, 7:30pm, Stevens Creek and Winchester (Santana Row)

SAN FRANCISCO protest: Friday June 26th at 2pm at the Golden Gate Bridge

SANTA MONICA, CA silent vigil: Friday June 26, 7-9:30pm, Southside of Santa Monica pier

SACRAMENTO DAILY, 6-8pm, Intersection of Sunrise Blvd and Greenback lane

SACRAMENTO Candlelight Vigil: Friday June 26, 8-10pm, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J street

LA protest NIGHTLY: Friday, June 26 and continuing, 7p, Wilshire Federal Building

Canada:

TORONTO protest: Friday, June 26, 6pm, Mel Lastman Sq. (N. York subway station), http://bit.ly/jlBuR

OTTAWA protest, Friday June 26, Noon-2pm, Iranian Embassy, 245 Metcalfe St. http://bit.ly/Euyeg

CALGARY protest, Friday June 26th at 7pm, City Hall, http://bit.ly/kMVBg

LONDON, (ON) protest: Fri, June 26, noon-3p, London City Hall, 300 Dufferin Avenue

Worldwide:

BERN, Switzerland Iran Demo: Friday, June 26, 18:00, Iranian Embassy, Thunstrasse, http://bit.ly/2812gh

MAINZ, Deutschland: Freitag, 26. Juni, 18:00, Gutenbergplatz, Friedliche, schweigende Demo

HELSINKI, Finland protest: Friday, June 26, 15:00, in front of Parliament (eduskunta)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden protest: Friday, June 26, 15:00, Iranska Ambassaden, Elfsviksvägen 76, Lidingö

SUNDSVALL, Sweden protest: Friday 26 June 2009, 17:00, Torget

BOCHUM, Deutschland: Freitag 26. Juni, 17.00-19.00, Iran Demo, Dr.-Ruhr-Platz

ROME / ROMA Candlelight vigil: Friday June 26, 7-11pm, Piazza Barberini, http://bit.ly/10Sdei

MILAN / MILANO Protest: Friday June 26, 6-8pm, Piazza Diaz, http://bit.ly/NyOae

LONDON protest: Friday June 26, 12:30-1:30pm, Iranian Embassy, 16 Princes Gate http://bit.ly/1LC6yy

…It hits harder.

I know it shouldn’t be so. I know it’s tribal-think, and completely opposite the democratic principles these people are fighting for. But I’m willing to admit that it’s easier to root for folks you can relate to, at least a little bit.

Long ago, stories of faraway wars were fantastic, mythic, or simply unheard-of. Reports took the form of tales about foreign hordes with fantastic leaders; and later, rogue armies with savage, gifted captains.

In the West, this mentality shifted in the 300 years spanning the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Peasant revolts, the printing press, and struggles for religious and national self-identity combined to produce a trend of mass action, running parallel to traditional war. Leaders still rose to the top, but the strength of the actions lay in their sheer size and voluntary nature.

Photography changed the game again.  In its infancy, its cumbersome equipment and setup meant few spontaneous action shots–let alone photos of unplanned demonstrations. Photography evolved hand-in-hand with mass-produced news media; and before a century had passed, the average person was able to see, for the first time, large groups of human beings gathered in unauthorized protest.

Film and television took these motionless images of massed human figures and animated them. No longer a static sea of blurry faces, crowds now moved and shifted like schools of fish, their physical and psychological evolution visible to the cameras pointed at them. The world heard, for the first time, their distinctive roar.

I’ve watched politics for twenty years. Even in that brief span, I’ve seen changes in the portrayals of foreign conflicts. Each new medium caused mass movements to alter their self-concept and tactics. The printing press mobilized them. The camera humanized them. Television validated their power.

But even in my childhood, in the early 80’s, they were still a shapeless mass, hollering incoherently at desperately-objective foreign news cameras. They were still Somebody Else.

I’ve watched that change.

Put the cameras, the camcorders, the microphones in the hands of people without press credentials. Give them an electronic uplink to transmit what they record to the rest of the world, and you have something absolutely new in the media: a crowd of individuals.

It has taken millennia, but we are in the process of animating ourselves to ourselves. Our human record has gone from excitingly mythic to excitingly real. These plastic and metal gadgets, so easily pointless, contain also the potential to transform our species’ self-image. This network of wires–so shaky, so flexible, so lighting-sharp–might often hold up a mirror to the worst in us, but it also shows us the best.

A heavy tide…not of bodies or faces or hands, but of people. That’s far more beautiful and dangerous.

As always, spread the word:

NYC protest: Wed 6/24, 7-10p, Union Square, 14th Street, wear Black/Green, bring candles, flowers, ribbon

LA protest: 6/24, 6-10p, Ventura & Sepulveda Blvd, wear black/green, bring candles, green (not Iran) flags

SAN DIEGO protest: Wed 6/24, 7-9p, Federal Building, 880 Front S & Broadway, bring candle

WILLOW GLEN (CA) protest: 6/24, 6-10p, In front of Willow Glen Elementary, Lincoln & Minnesota, downtown

TWIN CITIES protest: Wed, 6/24,11:30 – 1:30, Hennepin Co. Gov’t Center Plaza btw 3rd & 4th Aves, no flags

MONTCLAIR (NJ) protest: 6/24, 8-10:15p, Church St. Stage, S. Fullerton, wear green, brng candles/posters

BURNABY (BC) protest: Wed, 6/24, noon- 2p, Freedome Square, SFU (Burnaby campus), 8888 University Drive

BATON ROUGE protest: Wed, June 24, 8-9p, LSU, Speech Alley- In front of student union building

INDIANAPOLIS protest: 6/24, 8:30-10p, White River St. Pk., Celebration Plaza, 801 W Wash. St, no flags

GAINESVILLE protest: Wed 6/24, 5p, NW 34th St & NW 8th Ave

MIAMI vigil: June 24, 2009, 10p, Torch of Friendship

ATLANTA protest: June 24, 8pm, Piedmont Park, 14th Street Entrance, bring candle

MINNEAPOLIS, MN vigil: 9pm daily thru June 27th, Peavey Plaza, Nicollet & 11th

VANCOUVER vigil: June 24, 9:30pm, Vancouver Vancouver Art Gallery (W. Georgia side)

…it’s freaking hot.

1. The heatwave and humidity has brought the heat index to over 110 degrees for the better part of a week. It’s been between 85-90 degrees at night.

2. My car has no A/C. I haven’t been going anywhere.

3. My iPod Touch’s speaker blew, so I sent it to Apple for a free replacement.

4. I’m finishing a paper on peacebuilding in Bosnia for my Conflict in the Balkans class with Dr. Metcalf. She’s leading a study abroad group to Dubrovnik, Croatia right now (envy!), so she gave us an extra week to turn this paper in. Just when I thought my opinion of her gouldn’t go higher.

5. I’m struggling to get my loan paperwork in for my own study abroad trip this fall/spring. Direct Loans is taking their sweet time getting me the loan packet, FSU’s taking their sweet time figuring out when they’re even going to fool with fall loans, and I’ve got seven weeks before I need to get on a plane–if a miracle occurs, and this works out.

6. I love Tallahassee in some ways, it’s a beautiful place (see above pic), but sometimes I feel like it’s an oasis of questionable quality in the middle of an angry desert. It’s very difficult to meet people here who are doing anything with their lives at all, or who care about anything besides scoring a mediocre job in middle management somewhere. It feels hard to be myself–I’m not fit and hot like the South Florida cuties who come up for school here, all of whom are 10-12 years younger than me; but I don’t fit in with the older people either, who have settled into extremely run-of-the-mill lives, and look on my passion and enthusiasm as a sign of my immaturity and need to “settle down”. It’s making me hate the South, my ostensible home.

7. My family situation is coming to a real head. I’ve got my own, agonizingly painful, mini-civil-war going on. The concept “push back” is really helping me–I have to push back pretty hard, even to create a safe space free of abuse and sabotage. I need to get out of this town. Not just because it doesn’t suit me anymore, but also because proximity to my parents is just not safe for me at the moment.

8. I guess I’m just feeling smushed right now. Like a lot of my energy goes towards just not letting my spark get blown out…let alone towards building that spark and putting it to good use. I want to be doing that right now. I’m at the age where that’s what I ought to be doing–putting my ambitions and dreams into play. Instead, I’m constantly wrapped up in defending that spark from people who seem hell-bent on extinguishing it.

9. But I still live in a free country. I can go to sleep at night, safe in the knowledge that I won’t get dragged out of bed and beaten. There is darkness in my life. I have serious opponents right now. But I also have a fair chance to defeat them, and get on with the life I was meant to live all along. My life might be more difficult than most people I personally know…but in the grand picture, it’s damn easy.

photo uploaded to Flickr by the catalyst…

The new haiku:

NYC lecture/QA: Tues, 6/23, 6:30-9:30p, NYU Cantor Film Center, 36 E. 8th Street

WASHINGTON D.C. protest: Tues, 6/23, 6-9pm, Iran Interest Section, 2209 Wisconsin Ave NW

PITTSBURGH vigil: Tues, June 23, 8-9:30pm, Market Square, bring flashlight/candle

CAMBRIDGE (MA) lecture/discussn: 6/23 6-8p, Amnesty Int’l, MIT student center 3rd fl lounge, 84 Mass. Ave.

TAMPA protest: Tuesday, June 23, 6-9pm, Home Depot/Target, 1712 N Dale Mabry Hwy

DALLAS protest: Tues, June 23, 1-3pm, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street

LANSING (MI) protest: Tues 6/23, 6-8p, On the lawn in front of the Capitol building, 100 N Capitol Ave

PORTLAND (OR) protest: 6/23, 6-9p, Pioneer Courthouse Square Park, 701 SW 6th Avenue by SW Broadway

SACRAMENTO protest: Tues, 6/23, 11a-1pm, Fremont Park, 16th St & Q St in Midtown, wear green/bring signs

TORONTO march: Tues 6/23, 8-10p, Gole Sorkh (6184 Yonge Street) to Mel Lastman Square (and back)

CALGARY Alberta protest: Tues June 23, noon, Stephen Avenue by Bay, 8 Ave at 1 St SW, wear grn/blck

DUBLIN protest: June 23, 12-2 pm, Irish Parliament-Leinster House, Merrion St

PARIS protest: Tues, June 23, Eiffel Tower, 13:00

FRANKFURT Germany vigil: Tues June 23, 6pm, @ Römer, bring candle
FRANKFURT Deutschland Mahnwache: Dienstag Juni 23, 18:00, am Römer, die eine Kerze

Tuesday marks the third day after the death Neda Agha-Soltan (wiki) .  The third day after a death (along with the seventh and fortieth) are important in the Shi’ite cycle of mourning. I am proud to light a candle for this woman, and I hope you will do the same.

“OK, let me see if I’ve got this right. Since Barack Obama has taken the presidential oath of office we have witnessed:

a) Hezbollah lose a shoo-in election in Lebanon

b) Pakistan begin serious efforts to control the Taliban and al Qaeda elements inside its borders,

c) Netanyahu of Israel mumble support about a two state solution and rethink settlements and,

d) A major awakening of the Iranian citizenry against the heavy-handedness of the mullahs.

What hasn’t changed? The simple-minded thuggery of the Right when it comes to foreign policy (and Grover Norquist, someone should gently remind him that it’s 2009, not 1989). They have long preferred a modified Teddy Roosevelt approach. Speak loudly and wail away with the biggest stick you can find. I don’t know if all this is the results of one speech in Cairo by the President but if it is I hope he gives a second, and soon,” – Carl Owen, Politico  (via Andrew Sullivan)

Monday protests & actions so far:

AUSTIN, TX candlelight vigil: Mon June 22, 9-10 pm, pedestrian bridge Riverside Dr. &  Lamar. Bring candle. #iranelection #gr88 #tehran #iran

COLUMBUS Ohio protest: Mon June 22, 5-7 PM, Ohio Statehouse in Downtown #iranelection #gr88 #tehran #iran

AUCKLAND New Zealand protest: Monday June 22, starting 4-5:30pm, Auckland Town Hall

WELLINGTON New Zealand protest: Mon june 22nd, 4-5pm, Iranian Embassy, 151 Te Anua Road

Scorpions – “Wind of Change”

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
And did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
I’m blowing with the wind of change

Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

There’s no need to romanticize what’s already beautiful. And finding beauty in the midst of pain and chaos is the last, most profound protest of all.

It’s happened before. It always happens. From the time when Romans were sowing Carthage’s fields with salt, to the guillotining of French mothers in front of their children, right up to the invention of napalm. The Inquisition, the extermination of the Native Americans, the mass rapes in Bosnia.

This Is What We Do To One Another.

And now, it has stopped being alright.

It’s been a slow progression. The Greeks and Romans constructed ideas of representative government, but equality was still a pretty iffy proposition. Then we had the Renaissance, with its reframing of aesthetics–political, artistic and moral–to a human-sized scale.

The Enlightenment brought the concepts of egalitarianism and national self-determination; but the intellectual playing field where those ideas gained traction was still limited to a small percent of the human population.

Then came photography.

And for a century, our relationship to that medium has been polarized: journalist-gods giving precious emulsion-covered scenes to the awestruck public, cynical marketers using barrages of images to lull us into stupor.

What happens when the barrage of images itself becomes precious?

What happens when victims of conflict stop being ignored–when they cease to be dry writeups in dusty books, or percentages in newspaper articles, or unintelligible mobs to be pitied–or hated–from the safety of our living rooms?

What happens when they become–ironically through technology–people?

These are men.

I watched the Berlin Wall come down. I watched Tiananmen Square, following the slow, inexorable roll of the tanks. Tears magnify the phosphor dots on an old t.v.–blue, green, red. And between the twentieth anniversaries of tears of happiness and tears of upset, those colors resonate again.

Blue for the color our country chose last fall, in a bloodless and fair election that we were damned lucky to have.

Green for the amazing people of Iran, linking a symbol of their religion to the thrust of growth and change.

And red, for their blood.

Andrew Sullivan, one of the online heroes keeping track of this mess for us:

“I wrote a couple weeks back that something is happening in Iran. But it is not the only place where something is happening. The rejection of al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan; the ground-up election of Obama in America; and now the rising up of Iranians for freedom and civility with their neighbors: these are the green shoots of recovery from 9/11 and its wake. Empowered by new information technology, chastened by the apocalyptic conflicts of the last few years, determined to shift course away from civilizational warfare, the people of many countries are grasping for a new order and a new peace. It will not be easy; and it will not be short. But it is the only path worth taking.

“And these Iranians are now leading the rest of us.”

Spread And Share. I will add/correct as I find info…

MIAMI BEACH protest: Sun, June 21, 6-7pm, Lincoln Road Mall & Washington Ave.

WASHINGTON, D.C. protest: Sun, June 21, 3-4pm, Dupont Circle

AUSTIN protest: Sun 6/21; 11 AM, in front of UT Tower-South Mall; 2-4pm Capitol

INDIANAPOLIS protest: Sun June 21, 4pm Monument Circle,  Wear black & green, bring signs & cameras

HOUSTON protest: Sun, June 21, 8-9pm, Water Wall (Galleria Area) 2800 Post Oak

TORONTO Protest: 21 June 8-11pm Mel Lastman Square St. 5100 Yonge St. 2 blocks N. of Sheppard Ave : 24p Queens Park

DAYTON, Ohio protest: Courthouse Square on Third Street, 2pm, Sunday, June 21st

IRVINE, CA protest: Sun, June 21, 5-10pm, Tustin District, Corners of Jamboree and Barranca #iranelection #tehran #gr88 #iran

WARSAW protest: Sunday June 21, noon @ Iranian Embassy, Królowej Aldony 22  #iranelection #gr88 #tehran #iran

ISTANBUL protest:     Sun 6/21, 7-9p (19:00) Konsulgari iran dar turkiye, Iran Consulate, Sultanahmet #iranelection #tehran #gr88 #iran

BERLIN, Sunday June 21st, Stuttgarter Platz – Gedächtniskirche 2:00 PM- 6:00 PM 14:00 – 18:00 #iranelection #tehran #gr88 #iran
MORGEN 14 Uhr Stuttgarter Platz Berlin, DemonstrantInnen für einen demokratischen Iran! #iranelection #tehran #gr88 #iran

MONTREAL rally (poss.): Sun, June 21, 11a-3p, PLACE DORCHESTER, RENE-LESVESQUE #iranelection #tehran #gr88 #iran