New York turned GREEN in September, to prostest the presence of Ahmadinejad at the UN. These are links sent to me, or found on the web. If you see something posted in error, please let me know. If you wish to add something, send me the link in the comment section below, or on twitter @smirkitty
Images:
Washington TV - images from Brooklyn Bridge & March of the Green Scroll
TabulaRasa11 Photobucket album
MrZand - Brooklyn Bridge & March of Green Scroll
MrZand - Green in NY, Sept 25, 2009
MrZand - Green March, Sept 25, 2009
MrZand - NY Goes Green, Sept 25, 2009
MrZand - More Green NY Images, 9/25/09
Anonymous Iran - many posts with images from the week
Videos:
Woman Punched by AN Guards in NY during UN Protests?
CNN Brooklyn Bridge & March of Green Scroll
CNN - Sept 23, 2009
Rudy Giuliani - Stand for Freedom Rally Sept 24
UN Protests Sept 23
UN Protests Sep 23
March "No to Dictatorship, Yes to Democracy in Iran" Sept 24
Sept 23 Protests in front of UN
Sept 23 Protest
NY Green Sept 23
Green Protest Sept 23
Blogs:
NYC For Iran blog - "How Can You Sleep at Night"
NYC For Iran blog - multiple images and videos
NYC For Iran blog - “Iran Alive” Film Protest at the United Nations, 9/22
NYC For Iran blog - No to Ahmadinejad, Yes to Human Rights: Rally at the UN, 9/23
TabulaRasa11 Photobucket album
Articles
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty - Sharing Iran's UN Spotlight: Protests On Wheels
Christian Science Monitor - Iranian diaspora protests Ahmadinejad at the UN
NY Times - Green-clad group protests Ahmadinejad near UN
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Free Speech Isn't Free
I may have already mentioned this, but I grew up in The South. For readers not from the US, that means the states in the southeastern portion of the country, and yes, we do capitalize it as if it were a proper noun. We’re a little tetched like that. I didn’t grow up in a small town, though I guess in comparison to places like New York or Los Angeles, we’re all small towns. But it was the South, and historically divided along race lines (sometimes in blatantly brutal ways; do a google search on “strange fruit”, click the Wikipedia link, you’ll get some learnin’ you probably never wanted).
Now you should know that things were a bit better when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s*. We lived in neighborhoods that mostly straddled the class divide between “chronically poor” and “liberally educated but under-employed”. Our friends were white, black, Chinese, Laotian, Cuban**, Iranian, Venezuelan, even a few Rednecks and GoodOleBoys were tossed in. Among the people that mattered to me growing up, how you treated neighbors, pets and kids mattered more than race or socio-economic status. I mean, I knew that prejudice and hatred was out there, but it always kind of seemed removed and remote. “Race relations” would be trotted out at least once a year on the news (more frequently if someone did something stupid), and I always felt that we had a pretty good handle on racism in my little corner of the South. It was there, but it was understood that it was something that mean, stupid people did, like robbing little old ladies of their savings, not something that most people did. (It should be noted that this was my perception as a young white person; mileage may vary).
I must have been in college already the year we drove to Pulaski to stand up to the KKK. That sounds a lot more dramatic than it actually was. Poor little Pulaski***, Tennessee gets swamped with neo-nazis once a year because it is the “birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK files for parade permits and goosesteps around the tiny little (charming) square, spewing hate and vitriol and ugliness. The town actually gave up trying to fight the parade permits. Freedom of speech is guaranteed, no matter how repugnant the speech. If Pulaski denied the parade permit, they’d get sued for civil rights violations, now how ironic is that?? So, instead Pulaski would shut down once a year, just close up shop and allow the neo-nazis to stomp around shouting. Pulaski citizens actually asked that there be no counter-demonstration this year, they were really just tired of the publicity. In fact, that was why we went. We knew there wouldn’t be many people, but we also knew that every time hatred like that raises its ugly head, someone needs to be there to say, “this is not right”.
So, off to Pulaski we went, flashing peace signs out the window, with our posters, bright with righteous idealism. My sister’s sign was the coolest, I think she was only 12 years old, but her sign simply said “evolve”. I think my mom’s sign said, “go away evil nazi coneheads, nobody loves you”. I can’t even remember who else was with us, it was so long ago. I do remember driving down the main 2-lane road into town, seeing an older, heavyset black man sitting on a porch swing, watching every car as it drove down. The look on his face was both cautious and resolute. My sister threw up a peace sign from the window and he laughed and waved. To me it looked like the laugh of an older person appreciating that not all young people are selfish and materialistic. But what we see is so colored by our perception of the world, and who can say why he really laughed that day. But I digress (as I so often do).
My point was something different. We hadn’t really expected many other people to be there as part of the counter-demonstration, and indeed there were probably only a total of 20-25 of us. Of course, there were really only about 30-40 neo-nazis goose-stepping around. So they did their thing (mainly goose-stepping and yelling) and we did our thing (mainly waving our signs and blowing raspberries). My sister was interviewed by the local news, a 12 year old blond, blue-eyed girl standing on the same street as some pretty scary hate-mongers, carrying a sign that said “evolve”. Yeah, that made the news.
Nothing else happened that day. They packed up and went home (NONE of the cars we saw were even from in-state!), and we packed up and went home, and Pulaski went back to being an ordinary small town where some people hated each other for stupid reasons and some people didn’t.
So where is this all leading? For me, it was a really important lesson being reinforced.
Freedom of speech is a sacred right, and we have a profound duty to protect it. But it comes with a heavy responsibility. You have a right to say what you believe, and I have a responsibility to rebut it if I think it is so wrong as to be damaging to humanity. For us, that day, the responsibility really didn’t seem that heavy. It was a day-trip with people we loved, speaking out about something we truly and deeply believe. But as you grow older, life seems heavier, and the duty seems never-ending. It is so much easier to say “you cannot talk here”, than it is to muster up the energy, once again, to enter into a reasoned debate that may have some miniscule chance of helping someone see things in a more productive way.
Those of you who followed a link from #IranElection to get here (are you still reading??), this entire blog entry was sparked by discussions currently being held on twitter under that hashtag (and I use the word “discussions” in the loosest possible meaning of the word). People are yelling at each other about who should be involved with restructuring the county and who should be up against the wall when the revolution comes. They are yelling about the role Mousavi had in the last revolution that led to the current power structure, about Reza Pahlavi and imperialists, about MKO and PMOI, about people who want to reform the Islamic rule of Iran and people who want to democratize/secularize Iran (green versus blue, I have recently been told). They are arguing about what flags should and should not be allowed at demonstrations. And in between yelling about what they believe, they are yelling about who should not be allowed to come to the party and have their say.
Now don’t get me wrong, the hashtag (discussion thread for non-Tweeters) has more good stuff going on than bad stuff. Information is getting both in and out of Iran based on communications made there. It’s just that sometimes the bickering gets so loud that an old person like me just wants to shut down and watch Next Food Network Star instead.
So, here comes my lecture. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean that YOU get to have your say. It means that EVERYONE gets to have their say. If you disagree with what someone is saying, you need to decide if your disagreement rises to the level that you feel something needs to be said to counter it. If it rises to that level, it’s all on you to speak up. Free Speech isn’t Free. It comes with responsibility. But please, use your grown-up words. Battles have never been won by calling someone else names.
Yeah, I know, long blog, thanks for sticking with me. You can use the comment section below to exercise your right to Free Speech and let me know what you think.
_____________________________________________
* Knowing that my sister, brother and many childhood friends may read this, makes me wonder what their views on this might be. I have a tendency to either romanticize or demonize my childhood, depending on the time of day.
**At least they said they were Cuban. All the adult males in that house were named Umberto, and there were about 5 of them, so we were never really sure what was up. Didn’t really matter though, they were good neighbors.
*** Named in honor of Kazimierz PuĊaski, a Polish-born American Revolutionary War hero, who wrote to George Washington to say, "I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." He is considered to be the father of the American Cavalry.
____________________
Now you should know that things were a bit better when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s*. We lived in neighborhoods that mostly straddled the class divide between “chronically poor” and “liberally educated but under-employed”. Our friends were white, black, Chinese, Laotian, Cuban**, Iranian, Venezuelan, even a few Rednecks and GoodOleBoys were tossed in. Among the people that mattered to me growing up, how you treated neighbors, pets and kids mattered more than race or socio-economic status. I mean, I knew that prejudice and hatred was out there, but it always kind of seemed removed and remote. “Race relations” would be trotted out at least once a year on the news (more frequently if someone did something stupid), and I always felt that we had a pretty good handle on racism in my little corner of the South. It was there, but it was understood that it was something that mean, stupid people did, like robbing little old ladies of their savings, not something that most people did. (It should be noted that this was my perception as a young white person; mileage may vary).
I must have been in college already the year we drove to Pulaski to stand up to the KKK. That sounds a lot more dramatic than it actually was. Poor little Pulaski***, Tennessee gets swamped with neo-nazis once a year because it is the “birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK files for parade permits and goosesteps around the tiny little (charming) square, spewing hate and vitriol and ugliness. The town actually gave up trying to fight the parade permits. Freedom of speech is guaranteed, no matter how repugnant the speech. If Pulaski denied the parade permit, they’d get sued for civil rights violations, now how ironic is that?? So, instead Pulaski would shut down once a year, just close up shop and allow the neo-nazis to stomp around shouting. Pulaski citizens actually asked that there be no counter-demonstration this year, they were really just tired of the publicity. In fact, that was why we went. We knew there wouldn’t be many people, but we also knew that every time hatred like that raises its ugly head, someone needs to be there to say, “this is not right”.
So, off to Pulaski we went, flashing peace signs out the window, with our posters, bright with righteous idealism. My sister’s sign was the coolest, I think she was only 12 years old, but her sign simply said “evolve”. I think my mom’s sign said, “go away evil nazi coneheads, nobody loves you”. I can’t even remember who else was with us, it was so long ago. I do remember driving down the main 2-lane road into town, seeing an older, heavyset black man sitting on a porch swing, watching every car as it drove down. The look on his face was both cautious and resolute. My sister threw up a peace sign from the window and he laughed and waved. To me it looked like the laugh of an older person appreciating that not all young people are selfish and materialistic. But what we see is so colored by our perception of the world, and who can say why he really laughed that day. But I digress (as I so often do).
My point was something different. We hadn’t really expected many other people to be there as part of the counter-demonstration, and indeed there were probably only a total of 20-25 of us. Of course, there were really only about 30-40 neo-nazis goose-stepping around. So they did their thing (mainly goose-stepping and yelling) and we did our thing (mainly waving our signs and blowing raspberries). My sister was interviewed by the local news, a 12 year old blond, blue-eyed girl standing on the same street as some pretty scary hate-mongers, carrying a sign that said “evolve”. Yeah, that made the news.
Nothing else happened that day. They packed up and went home (NONE of the cars we saw were even from in-state!), and we packed up and went home, and Pulaski went back to being an ordinary small town where some people hated each other for stupid reasons and some people didn’t.
So where is this all leading? For me, it was a really important lesson being reinforced.
Freedom of speech is a sacred right, and we have a profound duty to protect it. But it comes with a heavy responsibility. You have a right to say what you believe, and I have a responsibility to rebut it if I think it is so wrong as to be damaging to humanity. For us, that day, the responsibility really didn’t seem that heavy. It was a day-trip with people we loved, speaking out about something we truly and deeply believe. But as you grow older, life seems heavier, and the duty seems never-ending. It is so much easier to say “you cannot talk here”, than it is to muster up the energy, once again, to enter into a reasoned debate that may have some miniscule chance of helping someone see things in a more productive way.
Those of you who followed a link from #IranElection to get here (are you still reading??), this entire blog entry was sparked by discussions currently being held on twitter under that hashtag (and I use the word “discussions” in the loosest possible meaning of the word). People are yelling at each other about who should be involved with restructuring the county and who should be up against the wall when the revolution comes. They are yelling about the role Mousavi had in the last revolution that led to the current power structure, about Reza Pahlavi and imperialists, about MKO and PMOI, about people who want to reform the Islamic rule of Iran and people who want to democratize/secularize Iran (green versus blue, I have recently been told). They are arguing about what flags should and should not be allowed at demonstrations. And in between yelling about what they believe, they are yelling about who should not be allowed to come to the party and have their say.
Now don’t get me wrong, the hashtag (discussion thread for non-Tweeters) has more good stuff going on than bad stuff. Information is getting both in and out of Iran based on communications made there. It’s just that sometimes the bickering gets so loud that an old person like me just wants to shut down and watch Next Food Network Star instead.
So, here comes my lecture. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean that YOU get to have your say. It means that EVERYONE gets to have their say. If you disagree with what someone is saying, you need to decide if your disagreement rises to the level that you feel something needs to be said to counter it. If it rises to that level, it’s all on you to speak up. Free Speech isn’t Free. It comes with responsibility. But please, use your grown-up words. Battles have never been won by calling someone else names.
Yeah, I know, long blog, thanks for sticking with me. You can use the comment section below to exercise your right to Free Speech and let me know what you think.
_____________________________________________
* Knowing that my sister, brother and many childhood friends may read this, makes me wonder what their views on this might be. I have a tendency to either romanticize or demonize my childhood, depending on the time of day.
**At least they said they were Cuban. All the adult males in that house were named Umberto, and there were about 5 of them, so we were never really sure what was up. Didn’t really matter though, they were good neighbors.
*** Named in honor of Kazimierz PuĊaski, a Polish-born American Revolutionary War hero, who wrote to George Washington to say, "I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." He is considered to be the father of the American Cavalry.
____________________
Saturday, July 25, 2009
We are Iran
So many striking images today, as people in over 100 countries around the world stood up for the people of Iran.
But this one was the most striking, to me.
We are all Neda.
To see more, visit HERE.
Flickr: United4Iran Global Photo Pool
All Round The World... (more added as I discover links). If I have spelled a city name incorrectly, please let me know @smirkitty on twitter. You may also tweet me with links you'd like to see added. Over 100 cities around the world, I hope we got pictures from all of them!
Japan (city not noted)
Revine Lago, Italy
Halifax
Taxicabs in Vancouver
Bif Naked and Nazanin Afshin-Jam sing "Someday" - Vancouver
Toronto
More Toronto
London
Amsterdam
Sweden
Stockholm
Melbourne
New York City
More New York City
Even More New York City
@onlymehdi speaks at the UN NYC Rally about his father, imprisioned in Iran
Cologne
Human Chain in Cologne
Rome
Tehran
Tehran night protests
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Madison, Wisconsin
Montana
Caracas, Venezuela
Los Angeles
Los Angeles - UCLA
More LA-UCLA
Even More LA - UCLA
More Even More LA-UCLA - song
The Green Scroll in Paris
Atlanta
Columbus, Ohio
Barcelona
San Francisco
@AustinHeap and @Cfarivar in SanFran talking about Haystack Network
More San Francisco
Even More San Francisco
More Even More San Francisco
Even more even more San Francisco!
Chicago
Beirut
Hamburg
Heidelberg
Duesseldorf
Munich
Berlin
Washington DC
More Washington DC
Even More Washington DC (in the pouring rain, no less!)
More Even More Washington DC
News Coverage:
CNN
BBC
San Francicso Chronicle
Tehran Bureau
Local ABC Affiliate in SF
Green Brief (Anonymous Iran)
CBS News
Al Arabiya News
And I'm not really sure what happened here, perhaps someone could share more inforamtion? Apparently a camera man from Iran's gov't controlled PressTV was filming people at London's July 25th event.
And, just for Oxfordgirl, a parrot singing Ay Iran
But this one was the most striking, to me.
We are all Neda.
To see more, visit HERE.
Flickr: United4Iran Global Photo Pool
All Round The World... (more added as I discover links). If I have spelled a city name incorrectly, please let me know @smirkitty on twitter. You may also tweet me with links you'd like to see added. Over 100 cities around the world, I hope we got pictures from all of them!
Japan (city not noted)
Revine Lago, Italy
Halifax
Taxicabs in Vancouver
Bif Naked and Nazanin Afshin-Jam sing "Someday" - Vancouver
Toronto
More Toronto
London
Amsterdam
Sweden
Stockholm
Melbourne
New York City
More New York City
Even More New York City
@onlymehdi speaks at the UN NYC Rally about his father, imprisioned in Iran
Cologne
Human Chain in Cologne
Rome
Tehran
Tehran night protests
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Madison, Wisconsin
Montana
Caracas, Venezuela
Los Angeles
Los Angeles - UCLA
More LA-UCLA
Even More LA - UCLA
More Even More LA-UCLA - song
The Green Scroll in Paris
Atlanta
Columbus, Ohio
Barcelona
San Francisco
@AustinHeap and @Cfarivar in SanFran talking about Haystack Network
More San Francisco
Even More San Francisco
More Even More San Francisco
Even more even more San Francisco!
Chicago
Beirut
Hamburg
Heidelberg
Duesseldorf
Munich
Berlin
Washington DC
More Washington DC
Even More Washington DC (in the pouring rain, no less!)
More Even More Washington DC
News Coverage:
CNN
BBC
San Francicso Chronicle
Tehran Bureau
Local ABC Affiliate in SF
Green Brief (Anonymous Iran)
CBS News
Al Arabiya News
And I'm not really sure what happened here, perhaps someone could share more inforamtion? Apparently a camera man from Iran's gov't controlled PressTV was filming people at London's July 25th event.
And, just for Oxfordgirl, a parrot singing Ay Iran
Friday, July 24, 2009
CALL TO ACTION re: VOICE Act!
UPDATE!
While the VOICE Act has passed in the Senate, it has not yet passed the House. Please contact your Reprenstative to ask for their support!!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
While the VOICE Act has passed in the Senate, it has not yet passed the House. Please contact your Reprenstative to ask for their support!!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
VOICE Act Passes in Senate
From Nico Putney of the Huffington Post on Iran Uprising Blogging: Friday Update
And from National Iranian American Council:
From Sen. Joe Lieberman's site:
This is HUGE! Hopefully Haystack Network will be able to access some of these funds!
UPDATE!
While the VOICE Act has passed in the Senate, it has not yet passed the House. Please contact your Reprenstative to ask for their support!!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Share this with everyone you know :)
1:04 PM ET -- Senate passes Iran VOICE Act. Just emailed out by Sen. Joe Lieberman's office.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate voted unanimously last night to adopt bipartisan legislation that will help strengthen the ability of the Iranian people get access to news and information and overcome the electronic censorship and monitoring efforts of the Iranian regime.
The Victims of Iranian Censorship (VOICE) Act was introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Robert Casey (D-PA) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Among the key features of the VOICE Act:
* Authorizes $30 million to the Broadcasting Board of Governors to expand Farsi language broadcasting into Iran by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and the Voice of America's Persian News Network. The funds may be used to develop additional transmission capability to counter Iranian government efforts to jam radio, satellite, and Internet-based transmissions; establish additional proxy server capability and anti-censorship software to counter efforts to block access to websites in Iran; develop technologies to counter efforts to block SMS text message exchange over cellular phone networks; and hire, on a permanent or short-term basis, additional staff for Radio Farda and the Persian News Network.
* Authorizes $20 million for a new "Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and
Media Fund," which will support the development of technologies, including websites, that will aid the ability of the Iranian people to gain access to and share information; counter efforts to block, censor, or monitor the Internet in Iran; and engage in Internet-based education programs and other exchanges with Americans online.
* Requires a report by the President on non-Iranian companies, including corporations with U.S. subsidiaries, that have aided the Iranian government's Internet censorship efforts, including by providing deep packet inspection technology.
* Authorizes $5 million for the Secretary of State to document, collect, and dissemination information about human rights in Iran, including abuses of human rights that have taken place since the June 12 Iranian election.
And from National Iranian American Council:
The Act also declares that the US Congress “respects the sovereignty, proud history, and rich culture of the Iranian people,” and establishes the policy of the United States “to support the Iranian people as they seek, receive, and impart information and promote ideas in writing, in print, or through any media without interference.”
From Sen. Joe Lieberman's site:
"The world has been astonished and inspired by the courage of millions of Iranians pressing their regime for nothing more than their inalienable rights," said Senator John McCain. "The Iranian government has taken numerous steps to stop these citizens from communicating with each other and with the outside world. As this cruel regime works to close off Iranian society, the VOICE Act, by providing assistance for broadcasting and new internet and communications technologies, will help to open it up."
This is HUGE! Hopefully Haystack Network will be able to access some of these funds!
UPDATE!
While the VOICE Act has passed in the Senate, it has not yet passed the House. Please contact your Reprenstative to ask for their support!!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Share this with everyone you know :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Haystack stuck due to Patriot Act
Austin Heap, Haystack Network (Good Luck Finding That Needle), has run into a problem. Apparently Paypal has frozen his Haystack donation account due to some violation of the Patriot Act. Below is a letter written to Senator Kennedy. One was also written to Senator Kerry.
You can visit this site to find your sentator. Please write today to ask for their help.
___________________________
Dear Senator Kennedy,
I hope this missive finds you feeling well, as I know your health has been poor lately.
I do not know if you have seen any of the reports coming out of Iran regarding the recent election results. The people of Iran feel that the results were fraudulent, and have been staging peaceful protests in that regard. The Iranian government has responded by blocking almost all internet access to the "outside" world. The government has also reacted by jailing anyone seen as a dissident, without access to attorneys or any other legal recourse, indeed without allowing them to contact families.
There are far worse stories coming out of Iran via citizen journalists, but the purpose of my writing is something else. A computer programmer named Austin Heap has written a program called Haystack (Good Luck Finding That Needle) designed to allow the people of Iran to bypass government imposed filters and to get information in and out of Iran.
Mr. Heap has set up a Paypay account to allow people to make donations to support this project (purchases of servers, internet bandwidth, etc). I am not aware of the specifics of the Patriot Act that have supposedly been violated, but Paypal has frozen this account due to the Patriot Act.
I am hoping there is some intervention that your office might make to allow these funds to be unfrozen. The program, Haystack Network, is ready to be released, but without the funds to purchase the needed items, it is stalled.
I know how strongly you and your entire family value Human and Civil Rights. It is my hope that you might help in this regard. While tyrants are able to hide their deeds from the world, their power grows stronger. But once the light of day hits them, their power diminishes, and then Freedom has a chance.
Please help, if you are at all able.
Best wishes for your health.
_____________________
Haystack is a new program to provide unfiltered internet access to the people of Iran. A software package for Windows, Mac and Unix systems, called Haystack, specifically targets the Iranian government’s web filtering mechanisms.
Similar to Freegate, the program directed against China’s “great firewall,” once installed Haystack will provide completely uncensored access to the internet in Iran while simultaneously protecting the user’s identity. No more Facebook blocks, no more government warning pages when you try to load Twitter, just unfiltered Internet.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Important for Westerns to Understand "Death to...."
Some people in the West may be upset by the chants of “Marg bar fill-in-the-blank” during the recent protests in Iran against what is widely believed to be a fraudulent election. It certainly sounds violent for a very large crowd (1000+) to chant “death to” anything. What follows is an excellent explanation of the chants of the people of Iran, and I think it is very important for Westerners to understand the significance of what has happened during the “call and response” portion of Friday Prayers (which is like Sunday church service to Christians).
*BOLD emphasis added by ~Smirk
Please read:
A comment posted by a reader at The Atlantic – Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan, July 19, 2009
I wanted to make a few comments on the slogan of "death to Russia" from the Friday prayers:
1. "Death to ..." is not a correct translation for "Marg bar ..." although it is a literal translation, the real meaning is closer to "down with ..."; it is an expression of extreme dissatisfaction rather than the wishing of death. Remember "death to potatoes" from the campaign (as a sign of dissatisfaction with Ahmadinejad's distribution of potatoes among likely voters)? My guess is that it originated with "Marg bar shah", which at the time probably was literally meant; it was a particularly powerful and defiant slogan at the time and that memory has perpetuated this line of sloganeering.
2. It is worthwhile to understand the importance of meter and rhyming in the Persian language. Put anything in metered poetry and its chances of affecting the Iranian soul triples. So not every slogan would work, and in this uprising people have been amazingly creative in coming up with poetic slogans that fit the occasion and are powerful and witty. "Marg bar ..." is a simple formula which can be put to music depending on the number of syllables in what follows it. I can't think of a simple way to replace it with another word which conveys the same meaning and provides such a resourceful musicality.
3. Although you have already reported on it, I want to emphasize the significance of the incident Friday, in which people changed the official slogans to their own benefit. In Friday prayers, there is a person who is mockingly called "the minister of slogans" and shouts all the official slogans of "death to America, Israel, etc" and the people who attend the Friday prayers (usually staunch supporters of the regime) follow him and repeat the same slogans. Yesterday, a sizable portion of the crowd chanted "death to Russia" in response to "death to America", or "death to Israel", or "death to England" . More significantly, when he yelled "the blood in our veins is a gift to our leader" the crowd spontaneously and apparently without much coordination responded "the blood in our veins is a gift to our nation."* Every Iranian I have talked to or corresponded with since yesterday has been deeply touched by this act of defiance. You have to realize that we Iranians are numb to the official slogans; they have been repeated so often that they have lost all meaning and content to us. To take these most secure weapons of the regime and to turn them against the regime in such a potent way is a sweet victory. It is hard not to love these people for their creativity and braveness.
*BOLD emphasis added by ~Smirk
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