MORE FROM IRAN - AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Iran has been out of the headlines, probably to the great relief of the we-talk-to-everybody administration.  But the ugliness continues, as reported by The New York Times:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Some prisoners say they watched fellow detainees being beaten to death by guards in overcrowded, stinking holding pens. Others say they had their fingernails ripped off or were forced to lick filthy toilet bowls.

The accounts of prison abuse in Iran’s postelection crackdown — relayed by relatives and on opposition Web sites — have set off growing outrage among Iranians, including some prominent conservatives. More bruised corpses have been returned to families in recent days, and some hospital officials have told human rights workers that they have seen evidence that well over 100 protesters have died since the vote.

Our friend Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi and her Iran Press News have been keeping us up to date on the continuing horror that is Iran under the mullahs.  They've even banned mourning ceremonies:

TEHRAN — Iran has denied the opposition a permit for a ceremony to mourn people slain in protests over last month's presidential election, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

"No permit has been issued for gathering and marching for any individuals or different political groups," Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the ministry's political director, told the Fars news agency.

He said the ministry had received "a note signed by two presidential candidates, who were not favoured by the majority of voters, to hold a memorial service for those killed in post-election events."

COMMENT:  What a farce.  We wonder if President Obama will take any note of this.  But Iran isn't an ally, so why criticize?

July 29, 2009