MEDIA ALERT: Rachel Maddow Show on Basiji Hunting

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I will be appearing on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show tonight about 9:15 pm EST discussing with Rachel some of the things that protesters in Iran are doing to put the feared and violent basij security forces on edge and how some groups are organizing a capacity of domestic insurgency inside Iran.

LIVE STREAM TODAY: How Will Russia’s Economy Emerge From The Crisis?

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Last week’s summit of the so-called BRIC countries in Yekaterinburg, Russia was meant to celebrate the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China as emerging economies and major players on the world stage. It is a bit ironic then, that this meeting was held in Russia, given the current state of that country’s economy.

Some Iran Updates

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~ Mir Hossein Mousavi calls on his followers to not allow the government to steal the election and calls for more action. Juan Cole has posted a translation of Mousavi’s letter. ~ Grand Ayatollah Montazeri has condemned the attacks on civilians and called for three days of mourning for them. ~ Arrests continue.

Iran Information Warfare on Twitter

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EyeRanProtestr is an example of a Twitter identity that is clearly being used by a pro-Khamenei/Ahmadinejad deployer of misinformation. It’s a remarkable line-up of statements, including the so-far false claim that Mousavi was arrested and that hooligan students are doing all the killing.

A Scientific Approach to Tweets and Re-Tweets

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(cartoon credit: Jonathan Guyer of The Washington Note) A short while ago, a space-obsessed friend sent me a CNN clip about what it would be like to fall into a black hole, in case I wanted to break up my Iran coverage with something else.