Iranian Election, protests, and good news sources.

From GPS on CNN with Fareed Zakaria



Iran Updates (VIDEO): Live-Blogging The Uprising on Huffington Post

Below is just part of the live blog on the Iranian election.

5:44 PM ET -- "This is not fraud." A fascinating interview with a female Iranian journalist who works for a moderate newspaper, conducted by Radio Free Europe:

Journalist: Please don't use the word "fraud" because it is mitigation of what has happened in Iran. Fraud is what was happening in the past 30 years. This is not fraud. They haven't [counted ] people's votes. Using the word fraud is like calling a deep cut a small scratch. There was no fraud; it was a coup.


RFE/RL: Please explain why you call it a coup. Based on what?

Journalist: Based on the military atmosphere that is now ruling [in the country], based on the threats against senior officials in the country. What are the elements of a coup in the world? Just now as we're speaking, [Mahmud Ahmadinejad] said I'll clean the Iranian establishment of all these corrupted elements. [If this isn't] a coup, then what is it?

Coup means that right now they're beating people in the streets. A coup means they didn't even count people's votes. They announced the results without opening the ballot boxes. It was sent as a circular to the state television, which announced it. Is it so difficult for the world to understand this?

5:33 PM ET -- That video. I continue to get email about a stunning piece of video showing two things -- 1) a group of riot police on motorcycles charging into a massive crowd of people, and 2) a touching act of compassion, as several demonstrators help a bruised, exhausted police officer to safety. I posted it early this morning but thought I should put it up again since so many have written in about it.

5:27 PM ET -- "Deafening." Last night, at nearly 4 in the morning Iran time, I posted this email from a reader:

"My next door neighbor is an Iranian immigrant who came here in 1977. He just received a SAT phone call from his brother in Tehran who reports that the rooftops of nighttime Tehran are filled with people shouting 'Allah O Akbar' in protest of the government and election results. The last time he remembers this happening is in 1979 during the Revolution. Says the sound of tens of thousands on the rooftops is deafening right now."

Check it out including the videos of the events.

Then there are the political opportunists here in America trying to say that President Obama's Cairo Speech and policies are somehow responsible for the current situation in Iran.

Well let's take a look at that speech.



All you can say about that speech, if you are being honest, is that it was brilliant on many levels. It was honest and even handed. Simply put, it was the right speech at the right time in the right place. As for his policies, he has managed to accomplish the undoing of so much of the damage the Bush policies did to hurt us as a country worldwide. No more of the Bush years and the alienation of entire regions of the world through irresponsible rhetoric, a torture program, and preemptive wars.

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My thoughts go out to those in the dangerous parts of the world, our service men and women serving in war zones, the courageous protesters and reformers in harms way fighting for what is right, journalists in several countries risking their lives to bring us the stories as they happen, to name just a few. So many heroes and I thank them all.

My Unlikely Favorite.

I have a new favorite Sunday show. I say that this is unlikely because I tend to thoroughly enjoy the right vs. left banter. I also very much enjoy the liberal biased views of the MSNBC political nightly shows.

But a very nice break from all of this is GPS with Fareed Zakaria. Each week he tackles the current issues but he does it unlike any other Sunday show. He goes deeper and examines issues more thoughtfully. He lets his guests actually answer questions and has meaningful follow up questions.

He does not shy from tough issues. One of these is the Isreali-Palistinian issue. One show a few weeks back had representatives of both points of view. I came away from that show a bit depressed because there seemed to be no common ground on either side. Both sides were dug in and unwilling to see the other side.

GPS goes beyond right vs. left and America centric coverage. He covers stories that have more of a world view and interviews with foreign leaders, but I dare say some of the best interviews and analysis about the American financial crisis has been on Fareed's show.

I recommend if you have time to watch GPS is on Sundays on CNN at 1:00 P.M. EST. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/

CNN's description of the show "Fareed Zakaria GPS is an hour-long program that takes a comprehensive look at foreign affairs and the policies shaping our world. Every week we bring you an in-depth interview with a world leader, as well as a panel of international analysts who examine the major global developments of the week. As always, Fareed's emphasis is on new ideas and innovative approaches to solving the world's toughest problems."