GEOEYE

...

آری جان خیر ببینی‌ و  خدا شما را حفظ کند که اینجور دل خلق را با مطلبت شاد کردی.

Ari, you are a beautiful balance of intelligence and heart

Thank you for sharing your resources with us.  Love you man!

4th of July at Esplande Boston Pops concert

gathers a large crowd (sometimes over 100,000) at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River banks. People start reserving thier place near the live concert early in the morning. They play games and have picnics on the lawns. By late afternoon, it becomes frustratingly difficult to get near the concert, but there are loudspeakers along the river where the music extends to few miles. After the end of fire works, the crowd who came earlier disperse from the Hatch, and many who didn't manage to get close they keep going that way, and the music continues from the tapes after the orchestra has gone home.

The Ahmadinejad speech that I saw in Maydan Azadi was EXACTLY like the Boston Esplanade concert. People with their family, kids and slogans were chatting, charged and energetic, going from the bus stations with the crowd. (you can't take any car beyond a limit naturally and buses are the main means you CAN go). After the live speech was over, the height of adrenalin was gone and and the earlier crowd started to disperse, many kids started to play football, families rested along the lawns for picnic or watching their kids play, many who couldn't get close enough to Meydan to hear the live speech approached to hear the repeat on the tape while the original early crowd was moving out.

Really, it would be easier to accept your delusions about new "green revolution of 22 Bahman", and the fact that you were completely wrong in your assumptions. That's better than hanging to any straw, no matter how pathetic, and calling it a "pulitzer Prize" winning proof ;-)

Yeah right, that Geoeye knew exactly what time what part of the crowd were listening to a live Ahmadinejad, (afterall Ari claims that the heaven and earth and the star alignment collaborated in a maginificent  stroke of luck to give the green revolutionaries a boost!) it knew when they were moving in or out of the Meydan, and it detected the political orientation of the crowds in the street around Meydan as anti-Ahmadinejad, let alone that they were all carrying pro-government slogans and picture ;-)

Better yet, before making ridiculous announcements like this, attend a large live concert, a large demonstration, or evena a large movie theatre to get an idea about the corwd movement dynamics.

Desperation

Pathetic desperation. That image shows and proves nothing of significance, unless you're so warped in your perception that everything you see proves your point.

Dear Ari

Thanks.  

Glad so many like the article

Will post google's email as soon as I find the right one.

Ari, we need email addresses to send thank you notes

Please post a few contact email addresses (Geo Eye and Google) so that we send thank you notes to the decision makers in this effort.

Besides you and the green professor!

Absolutely Brilliant, Ari!

Incidentally, this is also "god's" perspective as well. :)

Kudos to the intelligence of the green activists! Kudos to Geo Eye and Google for being so cool! And Kudos to you for writing this article and letting us know how these things work.

I was disappointed on Feb 11 to see that the government had been successful in clamping down the green movement, but this makes up for it. The greens are everywhere and they are not going anywhere. Let those who want to continue to stick their heads in the sand do so. 

Or as a 22 Bahman billboard slogan said "31 Spring Revolution Dear." :)[English translation under " see-yo yekomin bahaare enghelaab gerami baad.]You see, google doesn't just help the greens in Iran.

The sweet truth

Thanks Ari and, of course, GeoEye. The one thing that's doing the most to counter the Islamic Republic monopoly on information is technology: Digital cameras and phones, the internet and satellite photography.

Why would the security forces, unlike previous years, keep three quarters of Azadi Sq. empty during the president's speech? Surely it wasn't to prevent damage to the grass. They probably used common sense and figured there was no way they could guarantee a Green-free zone without limiting the area to a chosen few.

The lengths this regime went to put on a show pointed exactly at how weak and insecure it has become. Far gone are the days of spontaneous, basij-free, demonstrations to commemorate the revolution. Now they need barricades around Azadi Sq., hundreds of loudspeakers to drown the opposition, every bus available to bring in hardcore supporters from out of town. Not to mention cutting phone texting and the internet as well as arresting scores of activists.

Happy 31st anniversary. Takbeer!

Mr. Ari Sherlock, how do you know

the exact time of those pictures with low concentration of the crowd?

Secondly, do you imagine that people who want to attend a demonstration must go there on their private planes or wings, or else you imagine them "brought like gaave by force in buses?"

When I attended one of those demonstration for Iran's nuclear right  in the very same place in Ahmadinejad's first term speech, there was no taxi who could go close to the area because of HUGE crowd closing all paths. You could only take the buses to a certain area, and after that you had TO WALK, DOH! If you found a better way of allowing MILLIONS attend a demonstration, publish your ideas please!

Of course, when I went home, everyone was talking about how that crowd we see in TV is photo-shop and how the meydan was all empty and how people are forced there....I had to close their mouth by showing them the very pictures I had taken myself from the event 2 hour prior!

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant article!!!

Ari, Fantastic job!  You are a brilliant man.  Great research, great interview, great exposure of the regime's lies.

Also, kudos to the Iranian professor who thought of this and made the phone call, and kudos to Mr. Brender who humbly said, "We were just the photographers."  Indeed a photo worthy of Pulitzer Prize for Photography.  And, we need to come up with a prize for Ari for writing this excellent article.

Thank you Ari

for posting and I am glad he (they) know how appreciative we all are. And thank you Mother Nature for cooperating too :)

Excellent and Exclusive work!

This whole thing has been the most amazing project! First, the act on GeoEye and Google's parts has completely blown me away. What a gift to give the Iranians! Second, that you actually found Mr. Brender and talked to him is a really thoughtful and positive thing. I'm so glad he knows how thankful many Iranians are for this. Last, that you wrote this very interesting article and posted it at our home, Iranian.com. I hope everyone realizes that this is an "Exclusive for Iranian.com" piece which is blazing a trail with the sheer number of people who are coming here from other sites to read it. Good intentions, good deeds, and good work all the way through! Thank you Ari, thank you!

Ari, thanks for posting this!

I was hoping someone would, not only that but you contacted Bender!  Great job!

  well as certain

 Ari jan: Fantastic reporting. thank you very much for sharing.

 Sargord-e khol vaz'e:

You are a joke. Sargord.. When was the last time people watched concerts from the side streets while the concert hall was empty.. You're delusional fool.

Why do you think the throughfare is satured ?? Because the regime build a f ortress and allowed only the Khodis in the square. The streets and side street leading to the square were cordoned off so people could not get to the Main square if they were not Khodi.

Thank you Ari janL This was fantastic reporting.

Technology in the Service of Truth

Thank you, Ari, for this informative article.

We shall overcome,

Azadeh

Sargord there you go again :-)...

Read this article if you can read Farsi (really can you?), Engineered Pro Regime Rally:

//iranian.com/main/blog/kazem-alamdari/22

By the way, most who showed up were there to have a picnic and free Saandis. Dude who wouldn't go for free Saandis, free food and free bus ride to city, in a country in which there are 25% unemployment, 20% inflation and 20% of its population living under poverty line!

Great collboration

 Thank you for the very informative article.

                         Visit: www.iransecular.org

I inspected that image.

I inspected that image. While the square itself is not saturated at the time of exposure, the thoroughfares are saturated for considerable distances, as well as certain segments of the square. Anyone familiar with "state fairs" or heavily populated events such as concerts will recognize such patterns of distribution.

Yes, there were elements inside the square that appear empty. But ask yourself: while attending an event, would you prefer to be behind the stage with no line of sight to what's taking place, or in front? Would you prefer to be near the event booths, or in an area where there are none?

It appears that certain areas behind the stage, inside the square, served to facilitate overflow.

In the news service photos of the event, you do see a few "green" balloons. There aren't many, but there are a few. 

facinating

Thank you.