I've only been half heartedly following the protests, but today I watched the Neda Soltani video, and yeah... I don't think I'll ever be the same. I may have to avoid the news about Iran altogether for a few days now. I pray that some good comes of her tragic end. Just such a waste...

I've seen the Neda vid described and I have no need to see it myself. The idea is clear...

I know this may seem like blasphemy... but I did see the Neda video, and there's a small part of me that wonders if it's staged.

Clearly, I hope that it is, because who wants to see someone die?

But I also wonder why I should even feel guilty about questioning someone other than the right-wing.

Argh.

I started to watch the video when it was posted on a viral video website.

It's one thing to see a movie or tv show where someone is shown dying and quite another to know what you're viewing is real.

I watched about 5 seconds and shut it down. I don't need to see that.

Can you imagine this happening to us? Can you imagine feeling so strongly about being oppressed that at some point your fear of dying is overcome by your will to not live that way any longer. Just consider for a moment that you were in their shoes. What would you do? Hide? Go to your roof top? Would you be willing to protest and posisbly die in the process?

Some things are worth dying for...but it's definitely case by case. I count myself among those who would stand up and say something, though it's hard to know what you'll do in such extreme situations.

But as the "Neda" video as the ultimate propaganda... First I heard that it was someone shooting from a roof, then shooters on motorcyles... this morning John McCain refers to "government sharpshooters". Then McCain talks about twitters, and quotes a tweet the "originated from Tehran" to make a point... didn't we all change our Twitter location to Tehran to confuse the Iranian government? Now, our tweets are being used as propaganda too?

And now that McCain called out Obama, it looks like Obama is now stepping up his rhetoric. I'm smelling war. I'm unhappy.

The ultimate irony is that Neda wasn't really even protesting. Every report I've read states that she had just stopped with her music teacher and was standing on the sidelines watching, from a "safe" distance. If they're willing to take out bystanders, I can't imagine being in the vanguard of the demonstrations.

Just curious, but what about the video gave you that vibe? It looked pretty legit to me. I'm not going to rewatch it again to be sure though. If it does turn out to be fake, then it's one hell of a success.

Staged or not I'm not going to watch it. I don't need those images in my head.

MP, I have no doubt we're going to get involved, somehow. We just can't resist being World Police.

Sure we can. See Darfur. See Burma. See Georgia. See Kyrgystan. The United States really has no history of getting involved simply because of internal civil unrest.

I just can't see open military intervention by the U.S. short of a legitimate nuclear threat. If it somehow escalated into something without being a nuclear issue it would probably be through U.N. peacekeeping forces and for reasons of PR despite any level of support I imagine they'd try to keep American and European countries out of those forces.

I watched it. I'm not sure how it could be staged.

It's pretty disturbing. I wonder, if she wasn't so beautiful, would this have gotten so much exposure in the press? I know, that's cynical but I was just curious.