TRIALS IN IRAN - AT 9:48 A.M. ET:  Let us not forget that mass trials, Stalinist style, are underway in Iran.  Even a British Embassy employee is in the dock, as Sky News notes:

The inclusion of a British Embassy official in a mass trial in Iran is "unacceptable", the Foreign Office has said.

Hossein Rassam is accused of inciting unrest after the disputed presidential elections.

He appeared in court alongside French citizen Clotilde Reiss and dozens of other defendants.

The Foreign Office described the decision as "completely unacceptable."

A spokeswoman for the FCO said it "directly contradicts assurances we had been given repeatedly by senior Iranian officials."

She added: "We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights."

COMMENT:  You'll notice the great zeal of our own govenment in denouncing this disgrace.  But our own government has a frightening contempt for democracy, so don't expect much.

August 8, 2009