I agree with TIME magazine. Here are some of their photos from 2000-2009 - 9/11 terror attack, Asian tsunami, Iraq & Afghanistan wars, Guantanamo, corruption & financial meltdown, hurricane Katrina ..
With the arrest of activist Majid Tavakoli, a strange phenomenon has swept the internet – photos of men dressed in hijab.
During the student's day demonstrations last week an Iranian student named
Majid Tavakoli was arrested by the authorities after giving a rousing pro-democracy speech. The next day, government newspapers published photographs of him dressed in a full hijab – with chador and headscarves, as typically worn by more devout adherents to the Islamic dress code that is mandatory for women Iran. There is a dispute about the authenticity of the image; whether it was photoshopped or whether he was forced to wear women's clothes by his captors.
Either way the pictures were meant to humiliate Tavakoli, and by extension the green movement. The publication of such pictures has a specific meaning in the vernacular of Iranian politics, drawn from historic precedence. In July 1981, the then disgraced president, Banisadr, was alleged to have escaped from the country dressed as a woman. Whether true or not, he was certainly photographed on his arrival in Paris minus his signature moustache.
In street slang the image of a man dressed as woman is a slanderous of his sexuality and essential manhood. In political terms, evoking Banisadr represents a sort of political red card. The conservative and pro-government press has in recent weeks threatened the leaders of the green movement several times with the same fate as the deposed first president of the state. Banisadr, once a trusted lieutenant of Ayatollah Khomeini, swept to power in the first elections with a massive popular mandate. He seriously overestimated his support base by engaging in a power struggle with the Ayatollah and went from being at the heart of the system to pariah status. The message to messrs Mousavi, Khatami and Karroubi (the steadfast and so-far united leaders of the green movement) is clear; do not confuse popularity with power – it is the system that has bestowed power upon you and in defying it you are close to being beyond the pale.
So, the gentlemen in charge of the propaganda war against the opposition know their history well. But they are no good at sociology.
Within hours of Tavakoli's photograph being published in the newspapers, hundreds of young Iranian men posted photographs of themselves dressed in headscarves, bed sheets and other forms of improvised hijab.
Saw this on Facebook and these guys are from Seattle - I know I've photographed the tall psychedelic guy a few times! Looks like South Park, lower Queen Anne & Fremont hoods. Anyone know anything about this?
In researching remotely piloted aircraft for a new book, I visited the stretch of Southern Nevada desert that has become to UAVs what Silicon Valley is to the device on which you're reading this column. In 2007, Creech Air Force Base was made the home of the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing, the first Air Force wing dedicated to unmanned aircraft systems. Its daily missions in Afghanistan and Iraq could provide the military version of a SportsCenter highlight reel.
With an aim of promoting UAVs domestically as well as "enlightening" our enemies, the Defense Department recently began placing the Predator and Reaper mission clips on YouTube. Ranging from relatively detached wide shots of bombings taken by onboard cameras to startlingly graphic close-ups, the so-called "drone porn" has been a smash hit, as it were, tallying over 10 million views.
Perhaps best explaining its popularity are the thousands of YouTube commenters. Some marvel at the new technology and discuss the resulting paradigm shift in warfare. Some raise questions, including whether it's principled, dignified or otherwise in America's best interest to post drone prone in the first place. Most comments are along the lines of, "Hell yeah HOOOAH BABY!"
Exhibit Reveals Stalin's Subconscious
Here is an example, and it is captioned "Satlin" instead of "Stalin," since newspapers no longer employ human proofreaders and computers can be stupid.
Free Speech Case -- Court Hearing on Honking Horn for Peace
Host:
Robert Palmer
Network:
Global
Date:
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Time:
1:30pm - 4:30pm
Location:
14955 West Galaxie Avenue, Apple Valley, Minnesota 55124
Description
On June 30, 2009 I honked my truck horn for peace while waiting for the light to change for a left hand turn at the intersection of Burnsville Parkway and Nicollet Avenue in Burnsville, Minnesota. Police were monitoring our peace vigil and they videotaped me while I was in the turn lane honking. Last year in response to other people getting ticketed for honking as they passed our vigil, the ACLU went to Court for one ticketed person and obtained a consent decree with the city of Burnsville. The consent decree stated that people would not be ticketed for honking at our vigil unless there was a safety issue. I was confident that by honking my horn and exercising my free speech I was not likely to be challenged by police. However, because in late June a car had struck a pedestrian several blocks away and an hour earlier than our vigil, the police Chief was now claiming that we were causing a safety hazard. I received a ticket in the mail. The ACLU agreed to represent me and ACLU attorney Howard Bass is handling my case. I invite persons who believe in free speech to come to show their support for our Constitutional right to express ourselves with free speech and horns.
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