How many "Nedas"...

...died during "Shock and Awe"?
Or recently via drone bombers over Afghanistan?

A cute girl dies tragically in Iran and all of the sudden the media goes apeshit?

WTF gives here?
:shrug:

government is worse.

The Iranian situation is a compelling story...as are most civil uprisings. Neda's murder put a name and face to an internal insurection that few in this country understand and draws attention to the human side of this struggle. Just as Nino Aquinos assasination was the catalyst for a popular uprising in the Philipines and the man standing in front of the tank in Beijing still rings as modern symbols of the power of people over authoritarian regimes.

There is no equivelent between a popular uprising vs. an invasion and civil war that resulted from foreign intervention and manipulation. The only thing in common is the suffering of millions of people caught in the crosshairs of the politics and the bullets.

The corporate media can't nuance this story as they're too molded in existing storylines...thank goodness for the internet and the diversity and variety of information available. This is where the real story continues to play out...the corporate media is miles behind the rest of us.

Neda Agha-Soltani has given the world a name and a face to associate with the Iranian crisis.

Yes, it's because she was attractive. Children and attractive women tend to be the ones we choose as symbols of martyrdom because of various cultural biases and reactions, although there have been a number of men and non-physically-attractive people chosen as the face of martyrdom, too.

Martin Luther King
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Malcolm X
The Kent State four
Leonard Klinghoffer
Daniel Pearl
Victor Yushchenko

Ricky Ray Rector wasn't even an innocent martyr -- he was a cold-blooded killer who shot himself in the head to avoid arrest, and was turned into a martyr to demonize Bill Clinton.

The media, by the way, did not start the "apeshit" reaction. It was the Iranians themselves, rallying around Neda, outraged at their leaders, all of whom have claimed to be representatives of God on Earth. Contrary to common belief, the world does NOT revolve around the USA, its mass media ... or the concerns of its political thinkers.

--d!

Puts things in perspective.