I'll be getting to the comments from the other posts in just a bit. Ehehehe, I don't think I've posted this much since I went to Taiwan last year, and I appreciate the comments and debates going on. Just so you know, I haven't left Arashi behind; there's some stuff in the works but since I've been following what's going on in Iran I haven't quiiiite finished it up yet.

Anyhow, an interesting set of three perspectives in the Room For Debate section of the NYT.

Teaser: We asked three Iranian-American scholars, including two who are writing from Iran, to give their thoughts on what the uprising has revealed about the schisms in Iranian society."

The Arabs' Forlorn Envy of Iranians. It's kind of a provocative title, but the analysis of different views of what's going on in Iran from the perspectives of various Arab nations is quite interesting.

Related to that, The Arab world reacts (or doesn't). In the NYT Room For Debate section.

Mixed Media also takes a look at the varied response in the newspapers in Arab states.

Also, you can always count on the Daily Show for something funny and insightful. Has embedded video. Jon Stewart: "I just want to garden!" Also they manage to interview (in classic Daily Show fashion) three major figures before they got arrested.

Next set of articles are ones I've been bookmarking the past few days, concerning the women's movement in Iran, and women's position.

First up, this one's during the campaign, Zahra Rahnavard's work in her husband Mousavi's campaign. In the LA Times. An interesting comparison with our Secretary of State.

Right after the election, in huffingtonpost: Iranian Women: We Feel Cheated, Frustrated, And Betrayed.

This one's neat: The Lesley Stahl Interview: Christiane Amanpour, at the Height of the Iranian Election Crisis. Eight (short) pages of fascinating interview, including analysis of the Green movement, on the role of women in Iran's history, and her role as a journalist.

And finally, Democracy, made in Iran, from the Guardian on Iran's complicated history with the U.S.

ETA From Narcosphere, Brainstorming Iran: An X-Ray of Immediate History. A more, hmmm. I'm not sure of the proper label that applies, since left-wing doesn't really fit. But an activist view of things? Very interesting breakdown.

ETA 2 Family, friends mourn 'Neda,' Iranian woman who died on video. She's a symbol of the movement now, but this article is about her as a person, before the martyr.

ETA 3 An Exclusive Interview with a Pro-Ahmadinejad Cleric in Qom, Iran. Another viewpoint, though you can kind of tell the interviewer's biases. Read between the lines, as with any of the articles I'm linking.

Even in a Tainted Election, Voting Still Matters. By Azadeh Moaveni. A bit of history, the run up to the election.

This election is making me think a lot about the way we run our elections here. I've always voted absentee. And now I'm wondering, I need to do some research - are my ballots actually counted? Should I change to voting in person in my precinct? I'll be getting back to you about that, if I find anything.

From the New Yorker, a letter from an Iranian resident. About the last few days, a bit of history, and how people are changing.

From The New York Times, an article by Roger Cohen, on the ground in Iran.

Quote of the day:
"I received this from an anonymous Iranian student: “I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to be 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!”

And she concludes: “I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so that they know we were not just emotional 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 Mogols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children.” "

On youtube here. Not gonna lie, I cried. You can hear the pain and worry and hope and sorrow in her voice.

A thought: You can dam and divert a river. But you can't even hope to dam an ocean, and that's what this is becoming. This is the major historical moment of our times.

Question to the flist: Is having all these little posts as I come across things in the aggregate blogs all right? Or would you prefer me to just have a big honking Iran 2009 post at the top of my journal to add things to?

Check it out. The feeling you get from seeing so many people, young and old, all different backgrounds and walks of life, so many women, little old ladies, gathering in the streets...this is so big. Some of it may be nsfw, but I haven't gotten that far in the slideshow yet.

Linked from The Daily Dish, which has had updates almost hourly, every day with news articles, tweets from the ground, videos and analysis.

I've been following this for the last three days. Full of worry, and fear for the people there, and hope. Please, if you do nothing else, read and inform yourself. Spread their stories, because now is not the time to look away and say, These are not my people and not my struggles. However, if you're not in the right mental place for it at this time, that's fine, but if you are, please read and share.