Hahaha, I will be working on it all week whilst not at work. I'd like to get as much feedback as possible though too, so scoot yon buttocks over to the relevant thread.
unfortunately, my twitter account is suspended. i cannot get news into or out of Iran. all my followers and people i follow are gone. i need your help. i must ask that you please cut, paste and RT the following messages. i am very sorry to ask anyone reading to do this. i do not even know if it will work, i have absolutely no idea how many people actually visit here. i thank you in advance. RT @sp4rrowh4wk the SprLdr is being offered a choice. he may continue w/the IRG coup ldrs, or he may accept Raf's offer #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk the ppl of Iran may not accept this half measure, this idea that Khamenei was duped&betrayed #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk Ahmadi&several current&4mer IRG officers appear to stand arrayed against Khamenei. a showdown mayB brewing #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk i have heard it said the most important thing 4 clerics is the saving of face. this cannot be overemphasized #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk unions (such as they r) & business assoc. have joined the fight & sided w/Raf #IranElection
i need your help. my twitter account is suspended. i cannot get news into or out of Iran. please cut, paste and RT the following messages. RT @sp4rrowh4wk Khamenei is under pressure fm both Raf & the IRG coup ldrs 2 pick a side. #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk by tomorrow Khamenei will have demonstrated which side he seems 2b on. it may appear that he has sided w/Raf #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk this is an attempt to save the system, to prevent further decay. #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk Raf has spoken 4 protestors, tried 2 hlp ppl, he may b given more authority #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk the coup ldrs hav nothing 2 lose. it is unlikely they will sit still 4 what is about 2 happen #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk Raf has offered Khamenei chance 2 seem betrayed. the betrayers will then b apprehended. a purge. #IranElection
may God bless and keep you. please, i have a few more. please tell others where they may find these posts, so we may continue. i shall never forget. RT @sp4rrowh4wk it is vital we remain focused on all that has happened, but that we keep our sights fixed on justice&freedom #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk we must not become sidetracked on retribution&revenge, and the recently freed. remember the dead still speak #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk our martyrs speak 2 us of equality, democracy & justice. of religion separate fm government #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk we must not focus on revenge. evryday i spk w/those who hav lost children, husbands & wives. the broken. #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk evryday i speak with those who have recently returned fm hell. but i do not speak of revenge. #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk evryday i speak w/the parents who hav outlived their children. but i do not speak of revenge. #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk we must strive for freedom and justice in this world #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk evryday i speak w/ppl, but evry night i pray 2 God that He w/hold punishment of the monsters running Iran... #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk ...until i arrive. then i will talk of revenge #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk we must hav justice & we must hav accountability 4 those who would govern us #IranElection RT @sp4rrowh4wk above all we must remember the gov only works w/ our consent. #IranElection thank you so very, very much. may God bless all of you.
suspended account or questionable certificates. certificate questions arose when I tried to load twubs.com/iranelection. so something is going on in the twittersphere. regime attacks?
I'm slowly sending out, not via twubs. All of them were PMed to both of Bistoon's FB accounts, and I put a public FB note up, with his accounts tagged. I also tossed them to my scratch-pad blog (it's not a blog, its a file share really, mostly Mousavi statements in Persian atm). Feel free to tweet it for other retweeters. Green-Eyed Monster: sp4rrowh4wk Tweets Wednesday Tinyurl: http://preview.tinyurl.com/lszw6c
We'll get you back on twitter, sp4rrowh4wk! I had to make an account over here just to let you know you're not forgotten & we'll put in a good word for you. Likely enemies reported lies about you, we'll set it straight! I put a thing that says I can be emailed by other members so shoot me an email if you wanna! More space that way anyway!
I just went on to my twitter account to retweet sp4rrowh4wk's tweets, and blow me down, but my account has been suspended!!!!!!! And what's more when I try to report it, if goes round in circles and I can't. mmmmm something is going on alright!
tweeter is acting funny, I had a message that said the system was over loaded with tweets to try again Give it a try in a bit and see what happens
I got the whole set out 1x. Watched on a tweetgrid in another tab and saw them picked up in #Iranelection search. Saw revmag send a couple, saw another tweeter also sending some. Will send the set again when I wake up (assuming my Twitter is not suspended). That set just doubled the number of lifetime tweets I've made.
Wow. This is very worrying about people's accounts being suspended. Does anyone know why that is happening? I will tweet your messages out, sparrow. It will have to be later because I have someone coming over to fix my darn computer. All the best to you.
Looking over previous cases wherein there seemed to be mass suspension, there seems to be a trend of people promoting certain links. Perhaps a RT with a malicious video or summat.
Coyote, Hechicera, JohnDoe, Landers, FreedomAgent, Bugs Bunny, Unregistered and especially RevMagdelen- i cannot say enough times how much i appreciate what you are doing and have done. my account suspension question was answered the very minute i sent the request. by delbius. i do not know if she(? picture on site) is working or sitting on it. seemed to have been waiting. twitter has received the attention of the US state department in the past. let us hope they continue to work on the side of the angels. do not log off your twitter accounts. it seems no one can log in if you are already. even when my system sleeps (i think) i remain logged on. do you see how important is tor? without it i would surely have been tracked down. it is said the hawk makes his home for safety among the cliffs and high places. i would add among the onions. i promised people i would check in regularly. good morning, or afternoon, or evening to you. thank you again for all your assistance. i will create another account if i am able, to do all that RTing myself. probably something bird-ish with an affinity 4 vegetables. they are good 4 you, and have been good to me.
The First Nations of the Americas have quite a bit to say about hawks. I may not have chosen the best website, but I do agree with most of what it has to say about hawks. I'm not going to post it all here because it is too long. But I am sure you will agree that it's a good fit. If you are looking for a good bird totem, sphawk, then may I recommend the goose or the raven. Both have stood me in good stead. In the next few days a totem may appear to you. Be aware. The bird will choose you. No use in trying to choose the bird. Anyway here we go on hawks: there's a lot of gobbledeegook on the web about totems and spirit guides, so be careful what you read.
Tweeting away sp4rroh4wk: I am tweeting Hechicera's link to your list of tweets in #iranelection, #iran and #gr88. Anywhere else you'd like them sent? Let me know. I'll try and RT every 10 minutes or so (gotta act like I'm actually working )
Sp4rrowh4wk - what we do is NOTHING, but I hope somehow it makes a difference toward azadi for you brave wonderful people. We're all Iranian now! (except we're not being tortured for it . . . ) When I reported my own account being suspended to Twitter I included yours, and asked them to get yours sorted out as a matter of urgency. Probably won't make any difference, but I hope they can fix whatever has gone wrong . . . soon!!!
Why not tide yourself over with a temporary tweep name? I've just had some experience with people that had suspended tweep: soraya27, not _soraya27_ (she was threatened, panicked and did it to herself). Anyway: currently everybody with recently recovered accounts seems to have trouble with 'vanishing followers'. I'd suggest you just make a temporary account, something like sp4rrowh4wk_, then dm with a good friend to authenticate yourself, and then let this friend broadcast your new name. It might take some time to get that old account to work
Sent the set out again this AM (for me, early evening Tehran). Saw another pick up some and RT them. I want to add two things. I thought about the comment that I will never meet those helped, and gain nothing by helping. The first is true, the second is not. I have learned much from the Iranian protesters, much about human nature, and what is possible. For this, I thank them all. Second, on Tor. I keep hearing from those still talking to the outside, not just you, over and over, that they are on Tor. This feedback is valuable. I am a Tor exit node, and the total number of nodes in Tor volunteer network has been dropping as this has fallen off the attention span here in the west. Most of the tweets I've made in the past are for more Tor nodes as I saw it dropping, but still saw connections exiting my node. It can be unrewarding, emotionally, running a Tor node. You don't get feedback from people you help. You never know who you helped. You never know if you helped. My node may have never helped you. Big files slowing my net connection may have been a protester video, or it may have been a European teen grabbing a porn torrent! I don't know. But, due to the feedback from you and others, I do now know the answer to "If it helps?" ... the answer is yes this helps.
i am overcome with emotion and do not know how to express clearly or even adequately, how much and how deeply i and others appreciate your assistance. thank you, Bugs Bunny. i am honored you would research this for me, and that you would find these things appropriate. i know i picked the smallest hawk for several reasons, but i can only remember one: the hawk is an important symbol of historical Iran. thank you for including all of the additional symbolism. thank you, Twister. you have done more than enough. thank you so much, JohnDoe. you are all helping, and what we do for each other does make a difference. thank you, Nichol, for your advice and persistence on Twitter. i am still learning much, and was not aware of all my options. Hechicera, thank you for all the RTs. you are right, we do gain from helping. i mis-spoke. i assume most people are not aware of all the ways we are or may be connected. very often this gain is overlooked or undervalued. this may in fact be another benefit of all the unrest, that we learn to see each other in a different light. that we learn to see ourselves as contributers, benefactors and beneficiaries to each other. i also i did not want to generate a discussion of the spiritual or metaphysical aspects and implications of gaining by helping. it is my genuine and sincere wish that things which might be construed as spiritual or religious not be a part of a political discussion (which all my tweets are). i am, however, very glad you feel you have benefited. we are all growing through this experience. Unregistered ErinGrove, thank you for the video. unfortunately, i cannot watch. i appreciate you having posted it none the less.
today will prove to be an important day. there are many rumors of paratroopers/special troops arriving in tehran and elsewhere through out Iran. Montazeri continues to remind the faithful not to be taken in, not to forget. it is astonishingly significant for this ayatollah to continue these pronouncements in the middle of what amounts to the system's attempt to save itself. he is indeed a source of emulation. Rafsanjani has very close ties to Qom and Mahsad, but also with the military, with whom he has been working all these weeks. the military has been on maneuvers and training since before 28 june. the IRGC think they have better equipment (they mostly do) and they may have many additional troops in the form of hamas and hizbollah entering Iran from Lebanon and Syria (i have heard anywhere from 50k to 300k). these 'troops' are the same type of persons who have been assaulting us on the streets and in our homes. they are almost, but not quite, completely without value against trained soldiers. trained soldiers, with high morale are also extremely effective against better equipped opponents who are poisoned with pride, do not trust their leadership, or are otherwise not sufficiently prepared for engagement. Khamenei has apparently signed the order authorizing these troops. this means he has accepted Rafsanjani's offer. there remains, however, plenty of time for a double cross. the majlis have been investigating known prisons and 'secret cells' beneath the MOI- when not prevented by the IRGC coup leadership. it remains to be seen whether the new tehran intelligence bureau will stand or be dissolved. and what happens to the trials of protesters beginning later this week. i will say nothing about the least qualified person in all Iran to run anything called 'intelligence'. it also remains to be seen what the people of Iran will have to say about Khamenei's role in all of this. there are some within the community who believe this is a protest of students. nothing could be further from the truth. bazaari, oil workers, textile manufacturers, the religious leadership (and not so leadership) the military, members of all leglative and judicial bodies have all become increasingly more vocal since the third week of june. experienced analysts who believe students are the beginning and end of Iran's unrest, or are led to believe this, should think about seeking new guides to the subtleties of farsi and the blatant obviousness of video/written evidence. not to mention reports from qualified outlets. many nations have failed, utterly, in their policies concerning Iran and the region. we must ask ourselves why. on whom do they depend for information when there are few or none on the ground? through what lens or filter are they processing the raw information when it does arrive? and when it does, are they even able to recognize it? questions for the experienced: why would Ahmadi, who believes he has the support of Khamenei and the IRG coup leaders, try to make a gesture to placate the populace? a populace he has called dust, and whose rage and brutal suppression he referred to as 'excitement after a football match'. a populace for whom he has zero regard or respect. what sense is it to make such a gesture to a man if you have recently caused his daughter to be raped to death? or his son to be also raped, or beaten to death in front of other inmates of conscience? Mashaei may be many things, but a gesture to those Ahmadi thinks are less than nothing, he is not. Khamenei's son, Mojtaba has played a significant part, and not just in the recent tribulation. as the supreme leader's chief of staff, he has controlled all access to and from Khamenei. Mojtaba has been the de facto supreme leader for several years. Mojtaba and Mesbah-Yazdi represent the most clear threat to Iran, her resources, her struggle for freedom and stability within the middle east. if anyone has found additional information on Mashaei and/or the hojjatieh, please post here. thank you.
Sorry, but I need a laugh right now. I am not trying to make light of anything, just trying to make a good moment out of a shitty one. I have no idea what he is really saying, and it would probably ruin the joke. The comments above made me think of this video:
As always, your analyses, insights and questions are finely honed and true-hearted. So, did the actual coup occur when SL Khamenie first became incapacitated and Mojtaba and Mesbah-Yazdi first took over? About when do you estimate that occurred? Did the pre-election apparent freedoms only result from SL Khamenie being incapacitated so that there was a temporary vacuum of power? Despite the recent fumblings and disarray at the top, I still don't see AN being deposed without civil war, on the assumption that he still apparently owns the intelligence apparatus and basiji. And thinking that Mojtaba and Yazdi, as the SL's replacement now, still own the IRGC. Or, does AN also own the IRGC or some parts of it?
Exactly ! The whole development showed, that it is not only the election beeing questioned by the brave Irani but it is the system overall. What I see is that, gladly, there are plenty of well educated young ppl inside Iran which don't let fool with them. My family over there is very scared - still - The good thing is, in my oppinion at least, that the regime will loose one or the other way. If they keep up Ahmadi protests will keep on going. If they remove him protestesters will be enforced in their prior stand. In both cases they will never forget who has been responsible for all of this behind the screens. At least the regime ist at a point where the suppressed had been for years: a no way out situation; even if this is not clearly visible right now. At this point many, many tnx to the holders of this forum and specially to NiteOwl from my whole Iranian Family. At this point the bad deeds are pinned to all the autocrates for ever because it is documented here and elswhere, accessable for everybody. A great deed for democracy and freedom of expression. All my tears,heart and prayers to all injured,dead and suffering Irani. Ghodahafez Tyranny, Salaam Freedom
hi JohnDoe, i am sorry to hear your account is still suspended. it is very odd only my posts are showing... that would be impossibly boring, especially today so far. someone is trying to punish you perhaps. it took about 24 hrs to get my suspension lifted. were you able to file a request? i read recently people were going in circles- this happened to me as well briefly. perhaps you could log in as someone else and file a request. there are several people i am unable to DM, although we appear to be following each other. twitter is not yet out of the woods. i recommend not logging off your account. i recall something similar in june, when hi profile tweeple logged off in frustration, many of their accounts seemed to become compromised briefly. please let me know if i may help in some way. thank you for prayers and candles. world wide support is amazing and helps to empower us. i cannot thank you enough.
thank you, Shhh, for your kind comments and questions. i would first like to apologize. re-reading my long post i realize how much i allowed my frustration and disappointment to get the better of me. when i was searching for other sources of news and information i came across a respected site which seems otherwise extremely well informed, but so mistaken about events in Iran. recent newsletters refer to current events as entirely student oriented, and Ahmadi as if he were making some overture or concession to moderates and/or reformers. perhaps i am too close to that about which i write and so have lost an appropriate perspective. in any event, i did not wish to cause offense. your 1st question re the start of he coup: it may be argued the coup began almost 30 years ago, when Khomeini attempted to distance himself from many of the most extreme political elements. these elements, in turn succeeded in silencing the most qualified replacements for the position of SL. when no suitable replacement could be found, and Khamenei was installed (who needed the support of the IRG to prop him in place) i believe that to be the real beginning of the coup. Khamenei encouraged support of the IRG by granting them larger budgets, increasing amounts of power within the government, greater flexibility in owning/operating businesses and lucrative, no bid contracts for construction projects. the IRG also runs a rather large black market import business- items not officially allowed in Iran. i believe they are mostly flown in, but are surely also delivered by boat. as IRG power increased, the SL's power decreased. in some important ways, Iran's government is secular; Khamenei is the unintentional founder of Iran's secular regime. although it is painful to watch and bear, all the violence and abuse of law and rights demonstrate the complete disregard of the islamic principals on which this country was founded. Iran is secular, albeit brutal and autocratic and paying lip service to a religious doctrine. it may seem difficult for many to understand, but 30 years is not considered a long time in Iran. Rafsanjani has been preparing for this day (or one just like it, if you will) for approximately 20 years. as soon as Khamenei was installed. Rafsanjani installed him. Mojtaba was a basiji, but he was also the SL's son. if anyone was marked for greatness it was he. the IRG still needed the SL to justify or legitimize their actions. Mojtaba rose quickly through the ranks. i believe he has been chief of staff for his father for approximately 4 years, but it is widely believed Khamenei harbors dynastic ambitions. he may have been using this time to train his son, mentor him. how long does a father mentor his son? the exact time of Mojtaba's ascension likely cannot be exactly pin-pointed. i am not sure what you mean by Khamenei becoming incapacitated. his arm was injured in a failed assassination attempt years ago. his health is failing as all old people experience. he and his position have been steadily losing power and legitimacy in proportion to the IRG gaining the same. his position, the position and role of the Supreme Leader, is nothing but a facade because of this. maybe he has been shielding his son, allowing him to wield power while advising him. i cannot speak to his motivations. when would you say he has acted 'incapacitated'? he is a puppet, like Ahmadi, but like the president, the supreme leader still has some power. he has exercised that power but become more of a puppet over time, until the election when cards began to be shown, and questions asked. Mojtaba is a member of a powerful clique, a circle within the IRG, which includes Mesbah. they have the weapons and political strength, they thought, to affect the final stage of this coup. but others, primarily Rafsanjani, have seen this coming for a long time. from a certain perspective, it seems quite obvious where the IRG would one day be. all avenues of approach or escape, all the plans of the coup leaders have been anticipated. i have written all this to answer your first short question. what then, is the subtext? your answer, like a persian carpet or an Iranian coup is intricate and detailed. things cannot be rushed. there is a strong belief in Iran that well thought out, carefully laid plans, and carefully proposed actions, will produce long lasting results. as Coyote posted on another thread, 'if cracks develop, they will be seen', then they can be acted upon. but first, there is the planning and consideration. the slow way is the sure way in this culture. i do sincerely apologize for this mammoth post. i beg everyone's indulgence, for i am not quite finished. please explain what is meant by pre-election freedoms? Ahmadi and his ministers have reduced what little 'civil liberties' we had steadily over the years. he had to increase wages, and pay with potatoes or cash to get the few votes he did receive. if we had freedoms before, what are we dying for now? please explain what is meant by vacuum of power? there has been no power vacuum here. please excuse me, but if it appears that way, it may be due to the lack of understanding of where the power actually resides. as an example of this misunderstanding, i can actually answer one of your questions briefly! Ahmadi does not own any of the IRGC. he has some nominal power as president, but you saw this past weekend what happened when he tried to exercise it. Ahmadi is totally owned by the clique within the IRG. i believe the expression is 'bought and paid for'. he was a puppet, and now he will likely be the patsy. as for war, events of today may answer that question. all sides will hopefully seek to avoid bloodshed. i hope i have helped shed some light and not clouded anything.
Hmm, I wonder what can be done then if the IRG has so much power. It seems that even if Khamenei and Ahmadinejad were to go that things will not change much. If that's the case, it doesn't seem like there is much use in attempts to reform as long as IRG exists as it does.
Ir makes me wonder if the IRG plans to get rid of the clerics as a show that they are with people too, and want new government, when it would really be what they wanted all along. It also makes me wonder if the clerics just can see the writing on the wall, and are spreading these stories to cover their own asses, because they know the military will not stand with them forever. If you ask me, they both need to go.
"i do sincerely apologize for this mammoth post. i beg everyone's indulgence, for i am not quite finished." Your posts are wonderful, Sp4rrowh4wk! Don't shorten them, please. I have worried all day from the tweet eariler about troops arriving. You made me feel much less uneasy. Anyway, it's great to have some insight- straight up or opinion included (which I really like better). Having said that (about worry) I am 100% confident that freedom is coming. It's only a matter of time. This is such a roller coaster ride- heartbreak, exhilaration, huge, HUGE hope. I'm politically skeptical, I guess- so I've always taken all of the rhetoric with a dose of salt, knowing there is a real truth underneath- the real people. What an incredible country!! There's so much beauty to go with the pain. The more I learn, the more sense it makes that such a thing would happen in Iran. It's hard not to be impatient and often, angry. Anyway, please stay safe! God Bless you & keep you close. All of you. You really are a beacon to the world, I think. Thank you for your posts!
The IRG is a beast that needs to be put down, but it would need to be internally. We need to give it cancer. If that happens, they lose one of their key tenants: manpower.
What exactly do you mean, "internally"? As long as they have the power that they have nothing will change. And I don't see them giving up that power anytime soon.
Meaning that if an outside power (imaginary air force) were to physically wipe them out, the retaliation would be horrendous. The Taleban would boo-hoo-butthurt all over the place, more radical Islamists would, well, go radical, etc. A reaction to a massive injury inflicted, and the result could severely hurt Iran. (I hope I'm making sense.) However, if they fall apart at the seams from within (with or without our help), it's more like a natural collapse and it's hard as balls to pin on anyone. If the IRG destroys itself, there's less repercussion in the Middle East. It takes longer and I wish to God it didn't, but the alternatives could potentially be more devastating if we just wiped them off the map.
