Obama Is Not Stalin

The only thing our 44th President and Iosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili have in common is that they’ve both had their faces on posters.

That’s certainly no reason to believe he wants to send your grampa to the crematorium.

Hey, Hipster Bitches!

Bodycon is back, right?

Well, it’s only fair–if you want to wear this:

You ought to pay your dues, and respect this:

Lycra sausage casings and high-rise jeans have a long and storied heritage that must be paid tribute. Back before you were born, nobody gave a fuck about irony—they were too busy having fun. You’ve heard of fun, right? It was really neat. People got drunk, turned the music up, sang along, and had sex with each other…all without a trace of self-mockery. Bet you wish you could.

Hope’s not lost. Innocent fun could be the latest silly retro trend. You don’t care if people laugh at your dippy plastic sunglasses or uneven beard, do you? So why should you care what they think of your new studied optimism?

Remember, kids: Spandex isn’t a toy, it’s a tool.

Iran Protests This Week…

STRASBOURG Iran demo: Mardi 4/8, 18:00, Place Kléber http://whereismyvote67.blog…

ATLANTA Iran protest: Tues. August 4, 6-9pm, Lenox Mall, Lenox & Peachtree http://tinyurl.com/ndvxhp

MONTREAL Iran demo: 8/5/09, 4:30-7pm, Phillips Sq, Sainte Catherine O. & Union http://tinyurl.com/kqjujr

IRVINE (CA) Iran press conference: Fri. August 7, 5:45-9pm, City Hall, http://tinyurl.com/m6rd54

TORONTO Iran flash mob: Sat. Aug 8, 11:45am-12:00pm Dundas Sq. Yonge & Dundas http://tinyurl.com/ms3geq

Developments in Iran

Despite police threats, protesters and mourners gathered Thursday in Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in Tehran, the resting place of Neda Agha-Soltan, to commemorate her and others killed in the post-election violence:

Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Mir Hussein Moussavi, at the cemetery:

This is an excellent YouTube channel by peive17, containing many videos of the latest protests in Iran.

Today, the AP reports that 100 Iranian protesters have been put on trial:

“More than 100 opposition political activists and protesters stood trial in Tehran Saturday on charges of rioting and conspiring to topple the ruling system.”

Stalin put on show trials, too.

Iran Silent Wave protests

Take a moment of silence at 6:30 pm tonight, to honor the memories of Neda Agha-Soltan and the other Iranians killed on June 20.

NEW YORK CITY silent vigil: Thurs 7/30, 7:30-9:30, Union Square Park (Park Ave. & 14th St.)

SAN FRANCISCO protest vigil: Thurs 7/30, 8-9pm, UN Plaza Market St between 7th/8th

LOS ANGELES protest vigil: Thurs. 7/30, 6-9pm, Federal Building at Wilshire Blvd. & Veteran

The Dirty Prism

MSNBC’s coverage of Sarah Palin’s swan song was on the televisions at the gym today, both in audio and closed-captioning. As I did my time on the stationary bikes, I was face-to-face with one of the monitors. I finally realized her non-ghostwritten speech patterns remind me exactly of crappy closed-captioning.

Have you ever been sitting at a bar or an airport, trying to get a news story from the scrolling white words at the top of a television screen? As each word dribbles out, sometimes one at a time but often in chunks, you struggle to anticipate where sentences end and begin. Words backspace and retype themselves over and over, resolving into nonsensical syllables. And at the end, you’re forced to admit that the info wasn’t really worth the effort.

Sarah Palin’s her own one-woman crummy news feed. One does not so much listen to her, as try to piece together from her speech what concepts her handlers were originally trying to deliver to the audience.

So much effort has been made to position and present this woman as the gem of the GOP, receiving a pure stream of patriotism and refracting it to a wide array of true-blue Real Americans™.

In reality she reflects only inward brokenness, and whatever message she was originally encouraged to deliver is always fractured into polarizing chaos. That she still has a small core of fanatical supporters speaks to our nation’s need for better mental healthcare.

Twitter Iran Protest List, July 25: North America

United States and Canada in this post; Europe and Worldwide below, please scroll down…  :)

United States:

ATLANTA Iran Protest: Sat. July 25, 4-8pm, Lenox Square, at Lenox and Peachtree

BOSTON Iran protest: 7/25, 4-6pm, Copley Square by Library, Dartmouth St. http://tinyurl.com/mwztze

CHARLOTTE (NC) Iran rally: 7/25, 5-8p, William R. Davie Pk 4635 Pineville-Matthews Rd http://tinyurl.com/nmghk3

NEW YORK CITY Iran protest: 7/25, 12:30-5:30pm, Times Sq. & U.N HQ (47st/1 ave) http://tinyurl.com/lq3883

RALEIGH (NC) Iran protest: Sat. July 25 4:30pm, ABC 11 Bldg 319 Fayetteville St. http://tinyurl.com/ncqwv9

SYRACUSE (NY) Iran protest: 7/25 1-2p, Farmers’ Market, Park St. & Market Plza http://tinyurl.com/kmtpbq

WASHINGTON D.C. Iran protest: 7/25; 4p @ UN HQ (18 & K), 5p march, 6p Nat’l Mall http://www.whereismyvotedc.org

MIAMI BEACH (FL) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 7-9pm, 1650 Washington Ave

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS (FL) Iran protest: 7/25, 10am-noon, Cranes Roost http://tinyurl.com/kt4gdj

AUSTIN (TX) Iran protest: 7/25, 8-10pm, City Hall, march to Auditorium Shores http://austinforiran.org/main/

DALLAS Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 4-7pm, Dealey Plaza

BOULDER (CO) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 11a-1p, Boulder Court House, 1325 Pearl St.

CHICAGO Iran protest: 7/25 12-2p, Federal Plaza, 50 W Adams; Roxana Saberi speaking! http://tinyurl.com/ndxk3a

CINCINNATI Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 4-6pm, Fountain Square, 520 Vine Street

COLUMBUS (OH) Iran protest: 7/25, 12-2pm, W. Poplar Ave & W. Russell St. (W side of High St)

DETROIT Iran protest: 7-8pm, Corktown Music Festival @ Roosevelt Pk, 2200 Michigan Ave http://tinyurl.com/leonpq

HELENA (Montana) Iran protest: Sat July 25, 10am-noon @ Women’s Park

KANSAS CITY (MO) Iran protest: 7/25, 6-9pm, Plaza @ JC Nichols Fountain, 4695 Main St. http://tinyurl.com/n6xf9g

ST. LOUIS (MO) Iran protest: 7/25, 5-8pm, Old Court House, 11 North 4th St & Market

LINCOLN (Nebraska) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 4:30-6:30pm, 27th & O

MADISON (Wisconsin) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 10am-noon, Capitol Square Facing State Street

MINNEAPOLIS (MN) Iran protest: 7/25, 11a-2p, march begins @ 500 block of 1st Ave near light rail lot; wear green

LAS VEGAS Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 7-10pm, UNLV (University of Nevada – Las Vegas)

PHOENIX (AZ) Iran protest: 7/25, 7:00-10:00 a.m. Arizona State Capitol, 1700 W. Washington, House & Senate Lawn

PORTLAND (OR) Iran protest: 7/25 rally 1p, human chain @ 3-5p, Pioneer Sq http://www.portlandstandswithiran.org/

SALT LAKE CITY Iran protest: 7/25, 11:00-1:00 p.m. 2100 South State Street in front of City Government Meeting

SEATTLE (WA) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 1-3pm, Freeway Park, Seneca Street @ 6th Avenue

TUCSON (AZ) Iran protest: 7/25 6-8pm, Speedway and Euclid (SW Corner) http://tinyurl.com/n7j34d

FRESNO (CA) Iran event: 7/25, 7p, Unitarian Church, Alluvial & Chestnut (IN FARSI) http://tinyurl.com/nx79o6

IRVINE (CA) Iran protest: 7/25, 6-10pm, Jamboree & Barranca http://tinyurl.com/l8wx8w

LOS ANGELES Iran protest: 7/25, 6-9pm, Bruin Plaza, UCLA 308 Westwood Plaza http://tinyurl.com/nx6dj8

SAN FRANCISCO Iran protest: 7/25, 12-4p, City Hall; speakers and performers http://tinyurl.com/mexfe4

Canada:

CALGARY (AB) Iran protest: Sat. 7/25, 12pm, City Hall http://tinyurl.com/m9573n

HALIFAX (Canada) Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 5pm main entrance to public gardens http://tinyurl.com/lhqepu

MONTREAL Iran protest: Sat. July 25, 1:30-4:30 p.m. St. Catherine intersection Atwater by AMC http://tinyurl.com/mhq57o

TORONTO Iran protest: 7/25, 11a-2p, Queen’s Park @ ON Parliament, W Wellesley St. http://tinyurl.com/ln82gv

VANCOUVER Iran protest: 7/25, 12-3p, Vancouver Art Gallery, W Georgia st, Howe/Hornby http://tinyurl.com/mg4bok