Van Santos

With the video of Neda becoming a major focus of the Iranian protests it seemed as if a lot of people – myself included – forgot to ask the question “What about the others in the video?”

No, they did not suffer in the same as Neda. The world did not watch the life drain from their eyes, but they were all impacted one way or another. That sad, what about the others in the video? How has life changed for them?

I’ve been unable to find specific information regarding her music teacher but I did find this bit about Dr. Arash Hejazi, the man who came to her aid.

Hejazi, 38, said he fled from Iran when the video footage sped around the world on websites because he feared his own life might be in danger as he could be seen with Soltan.

Before trying to leave, he said he emailed a friend in Britain to say he hoped to join his family in the university city of Oxford where he was studying: “If something happens to me, please take care of (my wife and son).”

A man who went to Iran on business had to leave the country for fear of his life. Will he ever be able to travel back without feeling as if he is a target? Who knows? Will the memories of the event ever leave him? No.

Bottom line: while Dr. Hejazi didn’t lose his life, some small part of him died that day as well – he gets to live with that event haunting him emotionally or physically for the rest of his life.

A rather busy day today but as I was quickly looking over the headlines, I see this:

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria’s state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture.

The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria.

Is it me or is there something wrong here?

With the situation in Iran changing in a matter of seconds it’s hard for the press to confirm stories coming to the surface.  Keeping that in mind the Guardian couldn’t verify that this is truly the case, but if it is… we are talking about truly adding insult to injury.

Iranian officials have kicked Neda Agha Soltan’s family out of their home in Tehran.  Yes, I kid you not. Officials kicked them out after the pictures of Neda showed the world what was really going on in the country and Neda became the symbol of the potential revolution.

How worried were the police about drawing attention to the situation – so much so they forbid the family to display any signs of mourning.  No funeral.  No black banner.  No ceremony of any type.

Amid scenes of grief in the Soltan household with her father and mother screaming, neighbours not only from their building but from others in the area streamed out to protest at her death. But the police moved in quickly to quell any public displays of grief. They arrived as soon as they found out that a friend of Soltan had come to the family flat.

In accordance with Persian tradition, the family had put up a mourning announcement and attached a black banner to the building.

But the police took them down, refusing to allow the family to show any signs of mourning. The next day they were ordered to move out. Since then, neighbours have received suspicious calls warning them not to discuss her death with anyone and not to make any protest.

All I know is this… This is the proverbial powder keg. The stories I hear coming out of Iran are more and more aggressive, more disturbing. From the lethal force utilized on protesters to the treatment of the families of the dead, this is all really starting to build to a breaking point. Either something major happens in the direction of the protesters very soon or the government crushes their will and the events are never spoken about again in public.  I just fear the government will crush – no erase – the protesters from the pages of history.

After a quiet day of protests yesterday, it appears the situation has heated up once again in Iran - Specifically in Baharestan Square. Check out the live blogging notes, pictures and video:

>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists

>Political prisoners and jurnalists were taken to critical condition in 209 Evin, washington times’s jurnalist was arrest!

>The military plain clothes have entered the crowd with high speed on bikes, they are beating people with cable and batons, almost everyone in the crowd is injured, there is blood everywhere!

>In Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping people like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher

>All shops and Passages are closed at Baharestan SQ, Gunshot being heard from Jomhori St

If any of this is true, the situation on the ground is unimaginable. It would also explain why Iran has been pushing the media out of the country – so the government could do whatever it wishes without the world watching. Also check out Tehran Bureau for updates.

UPDATE #1: Here is a transcript of an eyewitness account of Baharestan Square. Remember, the situation is fluid - most is unconfirmed - but it’s apparent something of note is going on.

UPDATE #2: Apparently the Iranian prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, Saeed Motazavi, is now in charge of the crack down on protesters. He was also the man who oversaw the arrest and trial of Roxana Saberi, the American-Iranian journalist sentenced to eight years for spying.

UPDATE #3: Andrew Sullivan has a few quotes about the situation in the Square, also points out that far right candidate Mohsen Rezaie is no longer contesting the vote due to “political, social and security”.

Thomas Claburn, over at InformationWeek, pointed out that Google just endorsed Heath Data Rights, a collection of principles focused on data portability, privacy and consumer protection. As the Google Health tool has been available for some time, it is good to see Google make such an endorsement, but Claburn hits squarely on the problem of Electronic Medical Records:

Having just completed my annual physical on Monday, I took the opportunity to inquire about whether my medical records were available in electronic form. My physician’s assistant smiled and shook her head. The doctor, she said, doesn’t believe in electronic records. And it would be expensive to convert from paper, she added.

Small providers have a hard time seeing the value in switching to EMRs. There is no government mandate (law) that I am aware of that dictates providers must have EMRs available to patients, and there is no perceived cost savings in having this option, meaning the small provider has no impetus to make the switch. While it appears large hospitals are making the move, the independent service provider isn’t jumping on the wagon.

Claburn goes on to say:

Frankly, given frequency of data breaches over the past few years, paper seems like the safest place for medical information at the moment.

And that is, I feel, exactly why the consumer isn’t moving in the direction either.

Data security is a huge issue. The thought of medical records being vulnerable to attack from a hacker or having a medical issue follow you for the rest of your life, permanently attached to your file, are large concerns for a number of people. Fact of the matter, people want to control their information and EMRs do not offer that flexibility.

So, a lack of consumer demand drives the lack of support on the independent service provider. While Google appears to be advocating for anyone with EMRs, it will be a long and lonely road until Electronic Medical Records are adopted nationally with any amount of consistency.

I now understand why The Orb had to call off their North American tour.

I’m sad to hear that long time Orb collaborator, DJ and producer, Andy Hughes, has passed away at the age of 44. No major details have been released, but it looks as if he had a short lived sickness that focused on his liver. A donation fund was established at King’s College Hospital.

A copy of his obit can be found at Synthtopia.

My thoughts are with Andy’s family and friends.

Let’s change the mood just a bit, put a little laugh into your day.  The first comes (well, came) from Microsoft search.  Make sure you click the pix for the larger verion:

And Burger King could NOT be outdone by the Quizno’s commercials where the oven is telling Scott, the cook, to “put it in me“.  What do you think of this one WC?

Finally, an old one that made me smile…

With the world now watching, the news is full of information on the events of Iran. Here are a number of new bits to fill you in:

The Mood In Tehran

Mohammad Sagha, a Chicago blogger, is in Tehran visiting his family for the summer, he has some interesting reports about what is going on that the Western press is not showing. Here is a great comment that, I think, shows something about the mentality of Iranians within the country:

This morning’s Tehran Times, an english publication inside Iran, had this following headline: “Candidates and followers are different from rioters: Larijani.” Larijani is the current speaker of Iran’s parliament, or Majles. This isn’t the first time a high official has made such a statement, but I think it is extremely important to reiterate; it shows that people look at opposition inside Iran as legitimate as long as they aren’t violent and there are powerful elements inside Iran which are serious about compromise and recognizing dissent.

In the end, if the government starts the violence, how should the opposition react? Kind of a catch 22.

Nico Pitney, of the Huffington Post, has a GREAT live blogging archive of events.

The BBC asks… where did all the votes come from?

Another good article by the BBC that breaks down the three potential areas where the “extra” votes could have come from, assuming they are legit votes.

1) Voter turn out

Result - reported turnout figures are problematic.

2) So where did the new votes come from?

Result - in order to get to the total declared of 765,000 votes from the provinces 44% of former reformist voters would have had to have voted for President Ahmadinejad. Unlikely according to the report.

3) Do rural voters support Ahmadinejad?

Result - his increase in support for Ahmadinejad amongst rural and ethnic minority voters is out of step with previous trends, extremely large in scale, and central to the question of how the credibility of Ahmadinejad’s victory has been perceived within Iran.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, said….

“Germany stands on the side of those people in Iran who want to exercise their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. I strongly urge the Iranian leaders

• to allow peaceful demonstrations;
  
• not to use force against demonstrators;
  
• to release political prisoners;
  
• to allow free reporting by the media; and
  
• to recount the votes cast in the presidential election.

What is true for the rest of the world is also true for the Iran: general human and civil rights must be fully respected!”

Seems to be a lot more than what President Obama is willing to say.

China wants Ahmadinejad election recognized

China is throwing thoughts about the Iranian election into the mix:

Last Thursday, an editorial in the state-owned English-language China Daily called on the international community “to leave Irans internal problems to the Iranian people and accept their verdict.

“Attempts to push the so-called color revolution toward chaos will prove very dangerous,” the editorial continued. Opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi “refuses to accept defeat. Win and loss are two sides of an election coin. Some candidates are less inclined to accept defeat.”

China Daily pointed to a pre-election poll that showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ahead by a 2 to 1 margin.

You think Tiananmen Square may be haunting some members of the Chinese government? Maybe it’s the fact that if a revolution could break out in Iran, it could also happen in China. Oh, and the “pre-election poll” the China Daily pointed to is very, very suspect. According to the BB,C 1,731 people contacted and well over half either refused to participate (42.2%) or did not indicate a preferred candidate (15.6%).

UPDATE #1: The IBTimes is reporting Revolutionary Guards commander defies Khamenei’s orders to use force on protestors

General Ali Fazli, who was recently appointed as a commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the province of Tehran, is reported to have been arrested after he refused to carry out orders from the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to use force on people protesting the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

If recent events are any indication of what may happen to Ali Fazli, you know it won’t be good.

UPDATE #2 0n 6/24/09: Iranian footballers who wore green armbands to support protesters forced to retire

Four footballers who wore green armbands in solidarity with Iranian protesters have been forced to retire from the national team.

Their gesture in a recent World Cup match in Seoul attracted worldwide attention last week.

But the authorities have now taken revenge revenge by imposing life bans on Ali Karimi, 31, Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32, Hosein Ka’abi, 24 and Vahid Hashemian, 32. According to the paper, they have been ‘retired’ from the sport.

I’m not so sure what to make of this. Ford, Nissan and Tesla Motors are rumored to be in line for government loans in order to develop “green” technology.

Dozens of auto companies, suppliers and battery makers have sought a total of $38 billion from the loan program. Ford has asked to receive $5 billion in loans by 2011, but it was unclear how much money the automaker would receive. Nissan has applied for an undisclosed amount of assistance, while Tesla has sought $450 million.

..

The loans were designed to help the auto manufacturers meet new fuel-efficiency standards of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over current standards.

While they are not “bail out” loans I still feel a bit odd about this, especially since Ford had been pushing the whole “we don’t need loans” concept since last fall. It’s the “little engine that could” feeling. I want them to make it and even though this loan isn’t a bail out, per se, the fact they went to the bar for a drink is a wee bit disappointing to me.

I know it is hard to admit but just about any government in the world is spying on its citizens. Sure, we have a false sense of security that we are “protected” and such a thing would never happen but it has become very clear that it seems to be a common thing these days.

Technology is helping drive the events in Iran right now. People are using Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites in order to send messages, inform others about events, and help organize protests, all the while mobile phones show the rest of the world video of what is happening on the streets of Tehran as people send video in near real time to YouTube.

Just as the protesters are using technology, so is the Iranian government.

But Nokia Siemens says the product is only being used, in Iran, for the monitoring of local telephone calls on fixed and mobile lines.

Rather than just block traffic, it is understood that the monitoring system can also interrogate data to see what information is being passed back and forth.

A spokesman described the system as “a standard architecture that the world’s governments use for lawful intercept”.

Oh, yea, to pop your security bubble:

“Western governments, including the UK, don’t allow you to build networks without having this functionality.”

So much for freedom of speech.