25-06-2009, 09:25 PM
Paul Rigby Wrote:http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14082
CIA Discovered Planning “Soft Revolution” in Early 2009
Global Research, June 24, 2009
Mehr News Agency - 2009-06-19
http://www.workers.org/2009/editorials/n...ltan_0702/
EDITORIAL: Who killed Neda Agha-Soltan?
Published Jun 24, 2009 4:53 PM
Quote:Consider this scenario: A CIA-trained sharpshooter takes position on a rooftop in Tehran. His contact on the street below, waiting with a camera, calls. “She just got out of the car. A perfect target.” He takes aim. Shoots. He disappears.________________________________________
On the street, the contact takes the video of the young woman, her face visible and unscarred, helped by people on the street around her, bleeding to death.
Within an hour, the video arrives to an Iranian contact in the Netherlands, to the BBC, to the Voice of America. It becomes part of a much bigger story.
Is that what happened to Neda Agha-Soltan? We admit it. We don’t know.
But you don’t know either. And the story outlined above is—if anything—more reasonable and more believable than the story spread and repeated ad infinitum by the powerful Western media propaganda machine.
The young woman, whoever she sympathized with, was in no confrontation with the authorities. Nor with paramilitary forces. She was away from the main demonstration. Why, when there were no significant gunfights and no big fighting in the area, would any state official, police or army, shoot an unarmed woman who wasn’t even at the protest and who had no political history?
How was it that the photographer had contact with the media most closely connected with the intelligence forces of the two major former colonial powers in Iran—Britain and the U.S.?
Coincidences happen. But here a lot happened at once. Was someone behind it?
What we can be sure of is that the corporate media based in the imperialist countries are powerful weapons that in times of crisis sow confusion among the masses and mobilize public opinion in support of the rulers and to demonize the oppressed and exploited.
In these times of the Internet, we have to remember that disinformation spreads with the same lightning speed as information.
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://wipoun.blogspot.com/
Dr. Amy L. Beam (Educator, IT professional, writer and editor)
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2009
HOW THE WRONG NEDA PHOTO BECAME IRAN'S FACE OF FREEDOM
Quote:On the evening of June 21, 2009, I, Dr. Amy L. Beam, was watching the unfolding events of Iran simultaneously at my computer and on Al Jazeera and CNN TV. I am in Europe. The TV newscasters kept repeating that this had become a Twitter Revolution in Iran. I've never before used Twitter to search for news, but this prompted me to. I logged onto twitter.com and searched for "Iran demonstrations". I saw the top search term was #iranelections so I searched for this and kept updating my search every minute. Twitters were pouring.
This is how I saw the Twitter posting that had a link to the youtube video of Neda being shot in Iran. It had just been uploaded. About 120 people had viewed it within several minutes. I was curious to know the dead woman's name so I emailed the person who uploaded the video. He thought the name was Neda Soltani. He explained that this video had been sent to him, outside of Iran, by the doctor who had been at Neda's side as she bled to death. The doctor's friend shot the video with his cell phone. The doctor also sent an explanatory note.
So I went immediately to Facebook and searched for Neda Soltani. A number of Neda profiles came up along with photos. Some had last names similar to Soltani. I decided I would try to eliminate the Neda's who were still alive, so I wrote to Neda Soltani, the beautiful Iranian woman wearing a patterned headscarf whose photo has become famous:
Quote:"Dear Neda,
I am trying to identify the Neda Soltani shot to death in Tehran June 20. I can only do this by process of elimination. Please reply if you get this. Thank you.
Amy"
She replied about an hour later:
Quote:"My Dearest Amy,
First, I should like to thank you for your compassion, and care.
It feels so good to know people around the world care for us!
I am not the one you are looking for, but I want you to know I am grateful.
Pray for the safety of my people.
Best,
Neda Soltani"
She and I then became "friends" on Facebook so we could post messages to one another. I also became friends with Hamed R. who is the man who uploaded the video file of the Neda who was shot to death.
The LIVING Neda Soltani (woman in the patterned headscarf) decided to do some research herself. She found a website written in Farsi about the Neda who was killed and she translated it from Farsi to English. She then posted this on my Facebook wall. And HERE'S WHERE THE MISTAKE WITH THE PHOTO HAPPENED:
For those of you familiar with Facebook, you know that whenever someone posts a message on your wall, the thumbnail profile photo and the name of the person doing the posting appears above his or her comment. So, of course, the name and photo of the living Neda Soltani appeared above the English and Farsi information about Neda Agha-Soltan, the woman who was killed.
Hamed R. and others who were viewed this posting on my Facebook wall by the living Neda Soltani made the unintentional mistake of thinking the photo of the person who posted the Farsi-English translation was the photo of the woman who was killed. So the photo of Neda wearing the patterned headscarf was copied and reposted EVERYWHERE within minutes and hours.
By the time I woke up June 22, the wrong photo of the living Neda Soltani was being displayed on TV, blogs, youtube videos, placards and banners around the world. Neda Soltani emailed me via Facebook begging for help to correct the mistake. I have spent hours posting corrections and asking people to remove her photo. Most people do; some people seem hell-bent on ignoring the truth and they insist on spreading this photo as the symbol of the Neda who was killed.
Some people changed their own Facebook profile photo to that of the woman in the headscarf and changed their name to Neda Soltani. One young man explained he did it three days after Neda's death to honor her memory. I am sure people meant no disrespect; they only wanted to honor her. When informed of the mistaken photo they removed it. However, as fast as one false "Neda Soltani" Facebook page is removed or corrected, another one appears.
The real, living Neda Soltani has removed her photo from her Facebook. However, now when you search for Neda Soltani on Facebook a whole list of profiles comes up. Thus, the REAL Neda Soltani, who is very much alive and very distressed, can no longer use her Facebook which was pretty much her main form of communication. If all these people who changed their Facebook names to Neda Soltani only knew what a problem they have caused for her, I feel sure they would remove the name. I know they only mean to honor the Neda who was killed.
Now the dilemma arises of knowing who is the real living Neda Soltani and do I really speak for her. I have screen shots of my Facebook private message postings between us but wish to keep them private. I communicate with her by private email now.
On June 23, Neda Soltani again emailed me the following. I have thought hard as to whether to share her private email, but in order to make people understand the gravity of this mistaken identity with her photo and her request to the world to correct the mistake, here is her email to me. I have removed some of the content to protect her privacy:
Quote:Dear Amy,
I'm having a hard time accessing facebook.
and to tell you the truth, I'm very scared!!!!
All around the world they are talking about my photo, which has turned into The symbol of liberty, rebellion, etc.
i'm in danger!
i don't know what to do!
thanks for ur caring compassion
i wish i could see u, and embrace u...
take care
neda