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Mo News: Iran Protests Intensify; Regime Blocks Internet
Mosheh Oinounou
September 23, 2022
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Hey everyone and happy first fall weekend-
Before we get started this morning, a reminder to check out the Mo News podcast for your daily AM fix on the news. I just published my full interview with Ken Burns about his new documentary on the US and the Holocaust.
OK, let's get to today's edition:
Protests in Iran continue to grow over the death of a 22 year old woman who the "morality police" said was wearing her hijab improperly. It's sparking new calls for change to Iran's repressive regime;Plus: the history of the hijab, and how Iran's strict dress code for women continues to grow harsher;
New report shows cancer deaths are steadily falling;
Democrats are attempting to shake allegations their 'soft on crime';
What Americans are Googling ahead of midterm elections;
Halloween spending is BOOming;
Stunning 4D ultrasound images of fetuses in the womb reveal what foods they like and don't like (hint: no one likes kale);
How a box of 200 mosquitoes are helping vaccinate people against Malaria.
And, as always, what we're watching, reading, and eating this weekend!
🔥 IRAN DEMONSTRATIONS INTENSIFY
Violent protests are raging across Iran after a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini died in police custody for improperly wearing her hijab. The unrest is one of the most daring displays of defiance toward Iran’s authoritarian government and its human rights violations in years.
Getty Images
The Backstory: Amini was arrested last week, when police accused her of wearing her head scarf incorrectly. Iran has a special police unit called the 'morality police' that strictly enforces Sharia-based Islamic dress codes. Amini allegedly had some hair visible under her headscarf when she was arrested by morality police.
Images emerged of Amini after her arrest, showing her bruised and on life support.Witnesses say she was brutally beaten while she was inside a police van that took her to a detention facility.Iranian authorities say she died after suffering a heart attack and falling into a coma. They’ve denied multiple reports of officers beating her.But Amini’s family is accusing the authorities of lying about her death, saying she had no pre-existing heart conditions and was healthy at the time of her arrest. Her father says doctors refused to even let him see his own daughter after her death. "They're lying. They're telling lies. Everything is a lie... no matter how much I begged, they wouldn't let me see my daughter," Amjad Amini told BBC Persia.In a rare interview, one morality police officer spoke anonymously to the BBC about his experience working in the force. "They told us the reason we are working for the morality police units is to protect women," he said. "Because if they do not dress properly, then men could get provoked and harm them."
Her death is igniting fire and fury through the streets of Iran--led by women. Deadly clashes with police have erupted in dozens of cities.
Getty Images
Iran’s government has unleashed a massive deployment of security forces, including riot police, who were using tear gas and weapons to disperse protesters. Video after video posted online captures riot police beating civilians with batons and firing shots in their direction.
Authorities have even cut off internet access and shut down social media in areas where clashes are being reported.
Unprecedented Resistance: Protesters were reportedly heard shouting "Death to the dictator" in reference to Iran's Supreme Leader. Video from across Iran captured women risking their own arrest by removing and burning their hijabs in public and cutting off their hair in a symbolic show of strength.
Getty Images
Reports vary on the death toll. Iran's state-run media said yesterday that at least 17 people have been killed in the mass protests over Mahsa Amini. One Iranian reporter believes at least 40 people have died.
Many of the protesters have been killed by “metal pellets” fired at them by Iran's authorities. Others were brutally shot by security forces.
In northern Iran, citizens infuriated with Ayatollah Khamenei's rule lit his billboard up in flames.
More Videos:A mob of protesters join forces to take down a man firing shots at them.One elderly woman in Iran took off her headscarf and joined the young protesters - one of few who knew how life was in Iran before the Islamic revolution 1979…
History of the hijab: Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the mullahs now leading the country began to enforce laws requiring women to dress modestly to avoid "tempting men." ~ BBCAt the time, miniskirts, uncovered hair, and lipstick were not uncommon on the streets of Iran. Here are some historic photos reveal what life was like for women before 1979.But within months of the Islamic Republic’s establishment, laws protecting women's rights began to erode. In March of 1979, the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ruled hijabs would be mandatory for all women. By 1981, all women and girls were legally required to wear modest Islamic clothing: loose, long cloaks that cover the body from head to toe. Any woman who did not follow the law could be punished with whippings, beatings, and imprisonment.It’s only gotten worse with time. Iran’s current leader, President Ebrahim Raisi, signed an order last month implementing surveillance cameras to monitor and fine “disobedient” women.He also ordered a mandatory prison sentence for any Iranian who questioned, or posted content online, against the hijab rules. The new laws sparked a surge in women posting photos and videos of themselves without headscarves on social media… and has only intensified in the days since Amini's death.
Mahsa Amini's death has awakened a generation. Her name is now a symbol of Iran’s treatment of women and the regime’s repressive policing.
Back in NYC: Iranian President Raisi withdrew from a long-planned interview with CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, after she declined a last-minute demand to wear a head scarf. See her IG post below for details.
🗞 THE SPEED READ
A bipartisan group of senators is introducing 'The Respect for Child Survivors Act' to improve the way the FBI interacts with underage victims and witnesses in sex abuse and trafficking cases. The FBI knew about the allegations in 2015 but failed to act, allowing him to continue to prey on gymnasts and other minors for more than a year. The legislation would require the FBI to use multidisciplinary teams with trauma expertise when investigating child sexual abuse and trafficking cases, including in situations where the victim being interviewed is no longer a child.
Americans' Google searches and story interactions around crime and immigration are eclipsing abortion and the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. With elections seven weeks away, some topics more likely to favor Democrats have been losing ground to those that may favor Republicans. Meanwhile, searches related to immigration and the border vaulted into the top 10 last week, as border state Governors grabbed national attention by busing and flying asylum seekers to Democrat-run states. Crime has continued to hover around the top 10 as an issue many voters have been paying close attention to. Search interest in inflation and generally about the economy has been rising again.
More people are surviving cancer than ever before in the United States, according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research. In the past three years, the number of cancer survivors in the US - defined as living people who have had a cancer diagnosis - increased by more than a million. There are 18 million survivors in the US as of January, with that number expected to increase to 26 million by 2040, the association said. The report notes that there were only 3 million US cancer survivors in 1971. For all cancers combined, the five-year overall survival rate has increased from 49% in the mid-1970s to nearly 70% from 2011 to 2017, the most recent years for which data is available.
The US House on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation to increase funding for local police departments, after Democrats overcame bitter divisions (from their progressive flank) over a package aimed at fighting Republican efforts to portray them as soft on crime. A bipartisan majority voted, 360 to 64, in favor of the centerpiece of the four-bill package, called the Invest to Protect Act, which would give $60,000,000 a year for five years to local police departments. The funds could be used for purchasing body cameras and conducting de-escalation training, as well as other activities.
TikTok to ban campaign fundraising, require "mandatory verification" for U.S. political accounts (CBS News)
Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, TikTok announced it is banning of campaign fundraising on its platform. The China-based video sharing app will also start testing "mandatory verification" for governments, politicians and political party accounts in an attempt to "keep harmful misinformation off the platform." The announcement comes one month after researchers found TikTok accounts have been used to spread misinformation ahead of elections in Europe, Asia and South America.
Halloween spending to reach record $10.6B (Fox Business)
The nation's largest retail trade group projected that Halloween spending will reach a new record this year as participation in the holiday spikes despite the tumultuous economy. Total spending, which includes costumes, decorations and parties, is expected to notch a record $10.6 billion, outpacing last year's record figure of $10.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey. The group projected that participation in Halloween activities will reach pre-pandemic levels.
Walmart and Target plan to begin offering deals and price matching offers earlier this year to keep up with Americans pressed by soaring inflation and looking for ways to ease the potential sting of holiday shopping. For two years now, shoppers have started preparing for the holidays early, but last year it was because the global supply chain backlog. This year, experts believe it is a rapid rise in prices that will drive Americans to shop early to avoid prices that they believe could rise even further and to spread out the spending as they pay more for gasoline, food, and just about everything else.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured its first images of Neptune, the mysterious ice giant that orbits in the far reaches of the outer solar system. The observatory's views include rare looks at Neptune's rings, providing some of the sharpest images of these ghostly features seen in more than 30 years, according to NASA.
Fetuses in the womb smiled after their mothers ate carrots but frowned after they ate kale, a new study of 100 women shows. Ultrasound pictures show fetuses creating a "laughter-face" in the womb when exposed to the flavor of carrots consumed by their mother, and creating a "cry-face" when exposed to kale. The study offers a rare look at how fetuses respond to flavors in real time.
A 4D image of a fetus shows a laughter face after being exposed to the carrot flavor | Image via CNN
A 4D image of the same fetus shows a sad face after being exposed to the kale flavor | Image via CNN
🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN' WEEKEND
What We're Watching: The fall foliage map to track when the season's peak leaf colors will be in full swing 🍂🍁 It's fall, ya'll.
What We're Reading: Afraid of needles? You can now get your dose of the Malaria vaccine through hundreds of mosquitos. 🦟
What We're Eating: Brisket, challah, and honey cake to celebrate the Jewish New Year! Shanah tovah! ✡️
What We're Not Eating: NyQuil Chicken... 🤢
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