What we’ve feared and anticipated, the government stance against Iranian protesters has escalated from water cannons and tear gas to real bullets and hot liquids. We are hearing from Iranians who are sneaking out stories, that the helicopters flying over protesters have begun dropping a liquid which they have not identified as either boiling water or acid. There are certainly deaths the numbers of which we do not yet know, and may never due to the media ban. We know a young, beautiful woman and man were shot -there is footage of this on YouTube that will certainly make you cry as it did us. This video (police open fire on protesters in Tehran) was posted 27 minutes ago and is all the proof we need…
In the midst of these Iranian protests, some good news comes from the region as we learn that NY Times reporter, David Rohde, has escaped from Taliban captivity by scaling a wall and fleeing the compound where he was being held in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. Rohde was captured over seven months ago along with Tahir Ludin, a local journalist, and their driver, Asadullah Mangal, in the manner most journalists are taken in Pakistan when he believed he was going to a pre-arranged interview with a Taliban leader. Both Rohde and Ludin escaped today which is a happy ending to these cases which more often than not end in a graphic videotape of a beheading. Rohde was writing a book on American involvement in Afghanistan and his attempt to bring an international ear to the Taliban ended up in his own abduction. This is usually the reason for these abductions, remembering the tragic ending of WSJ reporter, Daniel Pearl, which brought much light to this commonplace occurance in the Pakistan/Afghanistan regions ruled by the brutal Taliban. After Rohde’s abduction, The Times kept very quiet about the kidnapping going as far as removing references to his work and personal life from the Internet in hopes that this would help aide his safe return.
(an arial view of the tribal region where Rohde was being held captive)
The Army of M.E. supports and has much love for you! Your brave stance on behalf of freedom and reform is heroic. You are making history and we are all watching. May God be watching over you and keep you safe. We see your effective efforts pushing back those with shields, tear gas and water cannons. We will publish the footage you are risking your lives to show us…
The of Army of M.E. feels compelled to depart from our usual lifestyle-related topics in order to acknowledge global events that we feel would be socially irresponsible of us to ignore. Our thoughts on this rainy Saturday in NYC are directed to another region halfway across the globe…please standby while we bring you this breaking news from abroad…
Although there are not many redeeming qualities that Miami offers us NYers besides the occassional weekend of sun and beach, The Raleigh Hotel is certainly the exception to the rule. A sort of NY-style oasis away from the fake boobed, intellectually-deprived -this I can say with certainty having lived there for two years. Today at The Standard NY The Raleigh Hotel’s boutique will be transported to the third floor Highline Room for a sample sale. Don’t say Miami never did anything for you…
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