3 minutes ago from the web

15 June 2009

# فردا در کل ایران اعتصاب عمومی – میر حسین موسوی 3 minutes ago from web

# pedestrians avoid military baraks off Pasdaran St – something is going to happen from there – #Iranelection 3 minutes ago from web

# large number of plain clothes with bikes hiding in military barraks off Pasdaran – dont know what they are planning – #Iranelection 4 minutes ago from web

# Moussavi – calling national strike tomorrow – all Iran – #Iranelection 6 minutes ago from web

# Gohardasht in Karaj – confirmed – people in street batles with militia – #Iranelection 10 minutes ago from web

# we passed thru shemiran, Pasdaran St is full of cars and people and security is tight – #Iranelection 12 minutes ago from web

# normally at this time tehran is quiet – last 2 days is crazy – #Iranelection 15 minutes ago from web

# Everywhere the city is under pressure – cars tooting, people running motorbikes in large groups, fires and people chanting #Iranelection 16 minutes ago from web

# unconfirmed – Dr’s reporting ‘several’ dead from Azadi sq today. seeking names; #Iranelection 27 minutes ago from web

# confirmed – homeowners in Rasht are giving refuge to people running from Baseej attacks. #Iranelection 31 minutes ago from web

# 3 of our group missing from afternoon – we have no news from them; #Iranelection 32 minutes ago from web

# khamenei website is back online – waas hacked before – #Iranelection 35 minutes ago from web

# were attacked in streets by mob on motorbikes with batons – firing guns into air – streetfires all over town – roads closed; #Iranelection 37 minutes ago from web

# we are online – new location – 3 phonelines – ; #Iranelection 39 minutes ago from web

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I’d been pretty much immune to Twitter until the last couple of days when I started to follow events in Iran via the channel  #Iranelection – basically an aggregate of all tweets tagged #Iranelection. From there it’s easy to separate the very numerous re-tweets, long-distance comments and repetitions from the rather more on-the-ground and eyewitness information. The block of quote above is from one particular person. I think I lost most of this afternoon to following the story there, esp once the news of the killings at Azadi Square… following links  to youTube and Flickr, reading longer articles from newspapers (this piece by Robert Fisk in yesterday’s Independent) but always coming back to the urgent constant and real time stream of narrative fragments on Twitter. Too wrapped up in it to say anything really at this point but the feelings – of connection and impotence combined – are strong.