With the sobering (though altogether unsurprising) news in this morning that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, is backing Iran's election results (as is Chavez, apparently) while protests swell, I feel compelled to counteract this bad news with something a bit more cheery. It is Friday, after all!
Before I do that, though, I'd like to bring a few more interesting Iran-related links to your attention:
- Twitter's watchdog site, Twitspam, has compiled a list of possibly fake (i.e. connected to the Iranian security apparatus) Iran election Tweeters
- Interesting Chinese commentary on the situation in Iran, from Shanghaiist
- Ethan Zuckerman on Iran, citizen media, and media attention (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
In keeping with the theme of lists, White African has a running list of practical - and at times amusing - travel tips for Africa. If I have the time, I will begin a similar list for China. Until then, do please leave your tips in the comments section of this post!
And finally, I'm quite excited to see Senegalese-born singer and song writer Youssou N'Dour's new documentary film, "I Bring What I Love," this weekend. In the film N'Dour speaks about his life, his faith, his music, and his vision for human rights and tolerance:
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Update: I happened upon a great piece by the FT's Anna Fifield on the mood among the under-30s in Iran. Definitely worth the read!