John Simpson, BBC News Foreign Affairs editor, Tehran: Difficult moment for Iran – and world

The aftermath of the election has shown one important difference from the past: it is harder than ever for the authorities in a relatively sophisticated country like Iran to clamp down on dissent.

Reports here say that the bureau of the respected Al-Arabiya 24-hour news station has been closed.

Action has been taken against other foreign journalists. BBC Online has been blocked from time to time, and so have mobile phone services.

Yet people right across the country have been kept fully informed of what is going on – there are so many ways people can get the news nowadays.

Realising this, even Iran’s own state broadcaster (IRIB) has been showing pictures of the worst of Saturday’s rioting in Tehran, a decision that may well have been taken at a very high level.

The Islamic republic has reached a difficult moment in its history.

Everything now depends on whether Mr Ahmadinejad can quieten things down without creating more anger on the streets.

If the people in Washington know enough to keep their mouths shut over this situation, the Iranians may be able to work this out. One thing is for sure – if the US government gets involved in any way, Ahmadinejad wins.

The ABC reports on more double-talk from the Middle East: Netanyahu sets conditions for Palestinian state

“If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarisation, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarised Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state,” Mr Netanyahu said.

But he has failed to make any concessions on the US President’s demands to freeze all expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Yes, once again, before talks can take place the Palestinians must give up everything, and bow to the wishes of the newest theocracy in the Middle East. The new Israeli government wants the Palestinians to agree to apartheid for themselves and all of the non-Jewish citizens of Israel, while they promise nothing but a possible, future series of talks that may lead to something… or not.

More Israeli agitprop for the consumption of their US supporters, who will now claim that Israel has made a serious move towards peace. When Israel starts stating what it will do for peace, it might be worth listening, but real peace would be end of the Likud and they know it.

[“He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.” – Groucho Marx]

This evening I will be upgrading to the latest version of WordPerfect WordPress, so everything could go away.

I have back-ups, but the only way you can be sure they are good is to use them.

Hopefully you won’t even notice, but I thought I’d mention it.

In the event of failure I will have updates on the progress at the Why Now annex.

Update: I’m not having a day that lends itself to concentration.

Update 2: Apparently it worked after mucking about with one file that I hack to use different features in comments than the guys who wrote the code.

The Local Puppy Trainer noticed that the Senate is trying to put oil rigs off our coast: Nelson, Miller denounce oil-drilling amendment

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is leading the fight against the amendment, which he claims would allow drilling within 10 miles of the coast and inside the area known as the Destin Dome.

It also would make the Air Force a “third priority” party in discussion of where oil platforms could be built in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, said Nelson spokeswoman Susie Perez-Quinn.

“The bottom line is they (military officials) would be notified after the fact,” Perez-Quinn said. “They’d find out after the (drilling) management areas had been opened up and the Department of the Interior had given their approval.”

The military long has opposed drilling anywhere east of an imaginary boundary known as the military mission line, which runs from approximately Hurlburt Field south into the gulf.

This time, because the Dems are in charge, local Congresscritter Jefferson B. Miller (R-Chumuckla), has decided it’s a bad idea. Of course, when the Repugs were in charge in 2006, he voted to lift the ban.

Adopted as the flag of the United States of America by the Flag Resolution of 1777 enacted on 14 June, 1777.

The flag was first flown from Fort Stanwix, on the site of the present city of Rome, New York, on August 3, 1777. It was first under fire three days later in the Battle of Oriskany, August 6, 1777.

An official flag has a rise to run ratio of 1 to 1.9 [the flag should be 1.9 times as long as it is high] with the canton [the dark blue part] that rises over the top seven stripes with a run of 40% of the flag’s run.

The only time you will see a “correct” US Flag is if you see the official colors of a military unit. Most flags are 3’X5′ or 4’X6′ instead of 3’X5.7′ or 4’X7.6′.

Frances Bellamy, the Baptist minister and socialist who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance was from Rome, New York.