PROTESTS IN IRAN - AT 7:56 A.M. ET:  Opposition continues vocal in Iran, although you'd never know it from the silence of the Obama administration.  Today is a major protest day, marking 40 days since the murder, in the streets, of several dissidents.  The New York Times reports:

Opposition supporters in Iran have gathered in Tehran to mark the 40th day after the death of several protesters on June 20, including Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman whose last moments were captured on video that day and seen around the world on the Web.

The Times is now carrying this update:

7:42 a.m. A witness in Iran has told Reuters that Iranian police have arrested mourners who gathered at a Tehran cemetery to honor victims of the unrest that followed the disputed presidential election on June 12. According to the witness: “Hundreds have gathered around Neda Agha-Soltan’s grave to mourn her death and other victims’ death … police arrested some of them … dozens of riot police also arrived and are trying to disperse the crowd.”

Reuters also reports that the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi is among the mourners at the cemetery.

COMMENT:  The Obamans have not exactly been steadfast in their support for Iranian freedom fighters.  They've given Iran a vague, shaky deadline of September to reply to America's "outstretched hand."  The president faces a major showdown with Iran in the fall, and appears to lack the spine for it. 

He'll probably blame BUSH (!!).

July 30, 2009