Monday, June 22, 2009

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued threats that any further protests would mean “revolutionary confrontation,” early on Monday. And sure enough, as the day progressed, that’s exactly what they did. As demonstrators ignored the government’s warnings and appeals, riot police attacked them with live bullets and tear gas. The bullets were allegedly fired into the air initially, but a video of a young woman being shot and dying circulated the Internet not too long after that, instigating further international support and uproar.

• While that was all going on, President Obama reiterated his stance of not interfering in the unfolding events. “The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States. We shouldn’t be playing into that. There should be no directions from the fact that the Iranian people are seeking to let their voices be heard.”

• Over in another less than friendly neck of the woods, North Korea issued a little reminder that should the U.S. destroyer trailing a North Korean cargo ship - which several world leaders worry contains illicit weapons - attempt to detain or board it, North Korea would retaliate with nuclear weapons.

• And speaking of nuclear weapons, a top leader of Al Qaeda said that could it get its hands on Pakistani’s stash, it would gladly use it against the U.S. Not that everybody didn’t already know that.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

• The Obama Administration announced early Tuesday that it would shut down a spy satellite program at the Department of Homeland Security intended to provide federal, state and local officials with extensive access to spy-satellite imagery, though no sound feed. The Bush administration had begun implementing the technology as a means to aid emergency response time for domestic-security needs, including identifying where ports or border areas are vulnerable to terrorism. However, some lawmakers brought it to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s attention, along with their opinion that it violated 4^th amendment rights.

• In what was supposed to be the last say, Iran’s top electoral body said Tuesday that it had found “no major fraud.” End of discussion. Russia, who is no stranger to controlled media, weighed in on the international scene by declaring that it was fine with the results.

• President Obama signed a bill cracking down on smoking, but while he had already announced a press conference later on in the day in which he would address the Iranian situation, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs maintained that he was not going to change his stance on the issue. “Obviously if a tremendous escalation happens, if tanks happen, we would respond to that immediately,” Gibbs said.