:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 6.22.2009 ::

:: Protest & Mourning in Iran ::

Iranian riot police tear gas 'Neda' mourners, vow to 'decisively' crush demonstrations
BY Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Warning that any more demonstrations would be "decisively" crushed, Iranian authorities broke up all attempts Monday to publicly mourn protest icon Neda Soltan.

Protesters who tried to gather for a vigil for the woman slain Saturday by a single bullet to the heart were chased away with tear gas, batons and low-flying helicopters, witnesses reported.

The helicopters were effective at spreading fear: during Saturday's demonstrations, witnesses claimed choppers dropped burning liquid on the crowds. It was initially reported to be boiling water. Later reports said it was a chemical agent.

There were unconfirmed reports on the popular Persian website Balatarin that the commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran was arrested for refusing to obey orders from Iran's Supreme Leader to use force against protesters.

General Ali Fazli, a one-eyed veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, was said to have been fired and taken into custody.

Neda's fiance, Kaspin Makan, told BBC Persia that she was hastily buried Sunday and the government had barred her family from holding any public funeral.

"The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story," he told the BBC. "They were afraid that lots of people could turn up."

He said Neda wasn't a supporter of either side in the disputed June 12 election between President Mamoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Hossein Mousavi but simply "wanted freedom for all."

Nevertheless, Neda has become a symbol and rallying cry for those rebelling against Ahmadinejad's suspiciously large landslide. She is being compared to Tiananamen Square's Tank Man, the unarmed protester who stood in front of a tank, and hailed as "Iran's Joan of Arc."

Mousavi's Facebook page calls the 26-year-old philosophy student, who was initially identified as a teenager, a "martyr and hero."

Her quick and gruesome death was captured on amateur video as a distraught man her fiance says was her music teacher repeats "don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Neda dear, don't be afraid." The graphic and heartrending video has been watched more than 250,000 times on YouTube.

Her picture, open-eyed in death, is on Web sites all over the world.

It is not clear from the video who shot her.

Read more here.

A L S O

Iran fury as YouTube screens last moments of woman shot dead at democracy rally
Daily Mail UK
[THE FIRST YOUTUBE MARTYR?]

Neda Agha Soltani Killed In Cold Blood
Huffington Post

Neda Video: Neda Agha-Soltani Becomes Symbol of Protest in Iran
The Now Public Iran Elections page

posted by me

:: 10:00:00 PM [+] ::
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:: The future of film? ::

Kodak Retires Kodachrome Color Film After 74-Year Run
By Bloomberg News

Eastman Kodak Co., the photography pioneer whose Kodachrome film inspired Paul Simon's 1973 hit of the same name, said it will retire the 74-year-old product this year after sales dwindled and most labs stopped processing it.

Revenue from Kodachrome represents "a fraction of one percent" of Kodak's total sales of still-picture films, the company said today in a statement. Kodachrome became the world's first commercially successful color film in 1935, Kodak said.

The Rochester, New York-based company has seen its profitable film business "evaporate" as digital cameras gained dominance, Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez said earlier this year. The company lost $4.53 billion in market value in 2008 as it struggled to show investors it had a place in the new technology.

"The majority of today's photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology -- both film and digital," said Mary Jane Hellyar, Kodak's outgoing president of the film, photofinishing and entertainment group. Kodak derives 70 percent of its revenue from commercial and consumer digital businesses, the company said in the statement.

Photofinishing labs that process Kodachrome film have dwindled to one worldwide, Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, Kodak said. The lab will offer processing for the film through 2010, and Kodak estimates Kodachrome film supplies will last until "early fall" of this year, according to the statement.

"I love to take a photograph," Paul Simon sang in "Kodachrome," which reached second place in 1973 on Billboard's Hot 100 list. "So mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

A L S O

from Dwayne's Photo
Kodachrome — The End of an Era

On June 22, 2009, Kodak announced the final manufacturing run of Kodachrome 64, the last remaining Kodachrome film. Dwayne’s Photo plans to continue processing Kodachrome films through the end of December 2010. As long as supplies last, Dwayne's will continue to offer Kodachrome film for sale.

This is a sad occasion for us, as we’re sure it is for many of you. While we understand the business realities driving Kodak’s decision, we are still sorry to see the film go. Kodachrome was truly an icon of the 20th century and has certainly been a very important part of Dwayne’s business for many years. Once it’s gone, nothing will ever capture “those nice bright colors” in quite the same way. We want to say thank you to all the customers who have been loyal to Kodachrome and to us over the years.

Click here to read the Kodak announcement ›

posted by me

:: 9:23:00 PM [+] ::
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:: "Jury seated in music downloading trial in Minn." ::

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury has been selected and opening statements are expected later Monday in Minneapolis in a replay for the nation's only music file-sharing defendant so far to go to trial.

Thirty-two-year-old Jammie (JAY'-mee) Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd lost her first trial in 2007 when a jury in Duluth awarded the recording companies $222,000.

But U.S. District Judge Michael Davis later concluded he made a mistake in his jury instructions and ordered the retrial.

This time, Davis will tell jurors the recording companies need to prove that someone actually downloaded the music that Thomas-Rasset allegedly made available over the Internet. Last time, he told the jury the plaintiffs didn't have to prove anyone downloaded the copyright-protected songs.

The companies suing are subsidiaries of four major recording companies.

A L S O

All eyes on Minnesota as RIAA trial starts over
BetaNews

RIAA Case, Capitol Vs. Thomas #2, Starts Monday
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posted by me

:: 2:07:00 PM [+] ::
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