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HOW TO: Track Iran Election with Twitter and Social Media

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HOW TO: Track Iran Election with Twitter and Social Media

June 14th, 2009 | by Ben Parr34 Comments

tweetmeme_url = 'http://mashable.com/2009/06/14/new-media-iran/'; tweetmeme_source = 'mashable';

On June 12th, Iran held its presidential elections between incumbent Ahmadinejad and rival Mousavi. The result, a landslide for Ahmadinejad, has led to violent riots across Iran, charges of voting fraud, and protests worldwide. How can you best keep up with what’s happening in real-time, and what web tools can help us make sense of the information available?

This guide breaks down the best new media sources for real-time information, photos, and videos of the Iran situation, as well as ways to organize and share it with others.

If you have suggestions for additional online news sources and tools related to the Iranian election, please do leave a comment.

1. Track Iran-related hashtags and keywords on Twitter

Twitter is, far and away, the best social media tool for second-by-second information on what’s happening in Iran. People on-the-ground and across the globe are chatting about every breaking update, every news item, and every story they find. However, all this chatter can be overwhelming – here are some tips to help organize the noise:

Know your hashtags: The top hashtags and keywords being used by people talking about the Iran situation are #IranElection, Ahmadinejad, Mousavi, and Tehran. Track these keywords first.

Twitter Search: You can go to the source and search Twitter for keywords.

Monitter: One of our favorite tools, Monitter goes a step beyond Twitter search and allows you to watch the Twitter conversation around keywords in real-time. Create multiple columns or even embed them with a widget. This makes it much easier to consume all the information at once.

Please note that while Twitter is the fastest source of breaking news, it’s also sometimes a source of misinformation, and has a poor signal-to-noise ratio.

2. YouTube is your ally

Everybody’s favorite social video site YouTube () has been a central distribution medium for the Iran riots. Iranians have been posting videos nonstop of what’s happening on the ground. This really is the best way to see what’s happening without any filters.

Now, how to find the videos? We’ve picked out key YouTube accounts and search terms to track for the latest videos out of Iran:

- Iran Riots

- Associated Press YouTube Channel

- Iran Protests (sorted by newest videos)

- Irandoost09’s channel

- Iran Election 2009 (sorted by newest videos)

3. Blogs moving faster than the news

While most news sources are now picking up on the Iran situation, the blogosphere has been far quicker with news and multimedia from Iran. Thus, your best bet for organizing all of this blog chatter is via Google Blog Search. Compliment this with Google News and you’ll have a fuller picture of the situation on the ground. Google ()’s algorithms have already pushed Iran election stories to the top of the pile, but you can dig deeper with specific searches for the Iran Riots, Ahmadinejad and Mousavi.

Extra Note: One blog stands out for its Iran coverage: Revolutionary Road has been bringing constant updates on the Iran Riots from the front lines. We rely on citizens like these to get us news from the ground.

4. Flickr images really tell the story

Image Credit: TheStyx via Flickr

The social media photo site Flickr () is brimming with some eye-popping and gut-wrenching imagery from the ground. Beatings, protests, military photos from the election…it’s all there, in full color.

Once again, search terms like Iran Elections and Iran Riots 2009 will help you pinpoint the most relevant images.

5. Final notes

Social media comes fast, and because of that, the information can be overwhelming. Use filters and tools to help you understand what’s happening in real-time. If you’re looking for background on the situation, get yourself up-to-speed using Wikipedia () (Iranian presidential elections 2009 and 2009 Iranian election protests are being constantly updated).

Finally, if you want to help bring awareness to the situation, then share! Share the videos you find via Twitter (), blog about the situation, email your friends: everybody can play a part in this new media ecosystem.

Tags: iran, new media, social media

User reviews: Flickr, Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube

Tags: iran, socialmedia, middleeast, twitter, flickr, google, wikipedia, youtube Monday June 15, 2009 - 12:50pm (EDT) Permanent Link

PCRM Recipe of the Week: Millennium Tofu Spread

June 9, 2009

Millennium Tofu Spread

This recipe comes from the celebrated Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco, California, where they have been serving healthy, plant-based gourmet meals for the past 15 years.

Directions

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

12 ounces firm silken tofu, undrained
1 yellow onion, cut lengthwise into thin crescents
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup dry white wine, nonalcoholic white wine, sherry, or vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup water or vegetable stock
1/2 cup light miso

Steam or boil tofu in water for 10 minutes. Cool.

In a large sauté pan or skillet, cook onion, garlic, salt, and wine or stock over medium heat until onion just starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, black pepper, nutmeg, and stock or water. Cover and cook until liquid evaporates and onion and garlic are very soft and light brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Crumble tofu into a medium bowl. Add miso and onion mixture and blend well. In a food processor, process this mixture, in batches if necessary, until smooth. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition Information

Per 1/4-cup serving:

Calories: 81
Fat: 3.4 g
Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
Calories from Fat: 38.1%
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Protein: 6.3 g
Carbohydrates: 6.6 g
Sugar: 2.8 g
Fiber: 1.2 g

Sodium: 744 mg
Calcium: 93 mg
Iron: 1.3 mg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Beta-Carotene: 16 mcg
Vitamin E: 0 mg

Source: the Millennium Restaurant, San Francisco, California.

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Tags: pcrm, vegan, vegetarian, health, recipe, diet, cancer, oncology, prevention, carcinoma, carcinogenic, nutrition Tuesday June 9, 2009 - 08:28pm (EDT) Permanent Link

If you're not diagnosed YET with depression, perhaps you won't be...

Study indicates decline in rate of Americans newly diagnosed with depression.

The AP (6/2, Johnson) reports that, according to a study published June 1 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, "a persistent decline in the rate of Americans, especially children, newly diagnosed with depression followed the first...warning" from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "on risks connected with antidepressant" medications. The agency "first warned" in 2003 "about the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in young people taking the" medications. "That action may have helped reverse a five-year trend of rising rates of diagnosis for depression," researchers from the University of Colorado-Denver found after analyzing "eight years of data from nearly 100 managed care plans and more than 55 million patients."

The investigators concluded that the decline in the diagnosis and treatment of depression may have also spilled over into the older adult population, a finding which caused them to ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its policies, Reuters (6/2, Steenhuysen) adds.

The Los Angeles Times (6/2, Healy) explains that the "new wariness" to prescribe antidepressants appears to be "particularly pronounced among primary-care physicians -- the doctors to whom most patients with mental health problems tend to turn first," the study authors wrote. Moreover, "the reluctance to diagnose and treat depression affected populations not even covered by the warnings that the FDA issued on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in October 2003. During the three subsequent years, primary-care physicians diagnosed depression in adults 29 percent less often than would have been expected and 37 percent less often in young adults," with the "drop in depression diagnoses" being "sharpest for children -- 44 percent." Meanwhile, the overall "use of psychotherapy as an alternative to medications appeared lower than would have been expected if doctors were routinely proposing talk therapy as a substitute for antidepressants."

Delving into the study's methodology, WebMD (6/1, Hendrick) pointed out that the researchers "analyzed a national integrated managed care claims database covering July 1999 through June 2007, finding that new episodes of depression were found in 91,748 young people ages five to 18, 70,311 adults ages 19 to 24, and 630,748 people ages 25 to 89." While the study showed that "the rate of diagnosed depression increased in people ages five to 18, 19 to 24, and 25 to 89" between the years 1999 and 2004, "the national rate of pediatric diagnoses 'fell significantly'" after 2004, "and declines have persisted in all age groups."

According to HealthDay (6/1, Pallarito), "What remains unclear is whether the" FDA's "well-intentioned warnings will have the perverse consequence of boosting suicidal behavior by impeding depression diagnoses and treatment." This "might indeed be the case," based on "the results of a 2008 study" in which "Ohio researchers found that youth suicide rates increased in 2004 and 2005, after 15 years of decline."

Tags: depression, seniors, elderly, anxiety, intervention Wednesday June 3, 2009 - 07:06pm (EDT) Permanent Link

Massachusetts Bill Takes Aim at Factory Farming Abuse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Massachusetts Bill Takes Aim at Factory Farming Abuse

BOSTON (June 2, 2009) — At a hearing tomorrow, Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary and MSPCA representatives will urge the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture to pass an important bill aimed at preventing cruelty to farm animals.

The hearing will be held in the State House tomorrow, June 3, at 1:00pm in Room A-2.

The bill, HB 815—authored by Rep. Pam Richardson (6^th Middlesex)—simply requires certain farm animals to have enough room to stand up, lie down, turn around and extend their limbs. It would prevent three of the most notorious factory farm abuses: veal crates for calves, battery cages for egg-laying hens, and gestation crates for breeding pigs. These cruel and inhumane cages are so tiny, the animals barely have enough room to move.

Rep. Richardson stated, “This common-sense bill prevents animal cruelty, as well as protects our state from massive factory farms that pollute our environment and push family farmers out of business.”

“The Humane Society of the United States commends Rep. Richardson for introducing this bill to prevent cruel and inhumane confinement of farm animals,” stated Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS’ factory farming campaign. “It’s simply wrong to confine animals in tiny cages barely larger than their bodies.”

“Farm animals should not be confined in tiny cages where they’re virtually immobilized for their whole lives,” said Delcianna Winders, director of legal campaigns for Farm Sanctuary. “We urge the committee to pass this modest reform.”

Last month, Maine became the sixth U.S. state to ban tiny crates for animals on factory farms. And in a landslide November vote, Californians approved the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, making it a criminal offense (with a phase-out) to confine pigs in gestation crates, calves in veal crates and egg-laying hens in battery cages.

Facts
· The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act was approved by a landslide 63.5 percent of California voters. More than 8.2 million Californians voted to enact Prop 2, making it the state’s most popular citizen initiative ever—in the country’s top ag state, no less. Other states have passed similar reforms, including Maine, Colorado, Florida, Arizona and Oregon.

· Across the country, restaurants, producers, and retailers—including Safeway, Burger King, Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, Wolfgang Puck and Smithfield Foods—are increasingly moving away from supporting cages and crates on factory farms.

-30-

CONTACTS:
Erin Williams (301) 721-6446, ewilliams@humanesociety.org
Meredith Turner (646) 369-6212, mturner@farmsanctuary.org

Follow The HSUS on Twitter.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization—backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty—on the web at www.humanesociety.org.

Follow The HSUS on Twitter.

Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org

The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
www.humanesociety.org
Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty

Tags: animalrights, hsus, agribusiness, animalwelfare, cruelty, food, nutrition, famine, vegan, vegetarian, animalagriculture, agriculture Tuesday June 2, 2009 - 11:53am (EDT) Permanent Link

Meateating animal abuser complains about vegan transformation by Heather Mills

EUR26M HEATHER BOUGHT MY (former) FISH CAFE BUT BATTERED ME on the PRICE

Sunday Mirror , Mar 15, 2009 by GRANT HODGSON

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HARD-nosed Heather Mills decided to buy a seaside fish cafe... and dished up a shock for the seller.

Heather, awarded a pounds 26million pay-out in her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney, had agreed to pay owner Nick Short pounds 275,000 for the lease. But after the crash in property prices she was able to force him down to pounds 150,000.

The deal was signed on Friday - making Heather proprietor of the seafront Big Fish Cafe in Hove, East Sussex, where fish and all other animal products will now be OFF the menu as she turns it vegan.

And the sale is bad news for the cafe's staff. They have been laid off and told they won't be offered their jobs back when it reopens after Heather, who lives nearby, has renovated it.

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Former owner Nick said last night: "I have been well and truly worked over by Heather."

He said Heather, 41, had regularly eaten there with her and Sir Paul's daughter Bea.

"I must have seen her in there about 20 times with Bea," he said.

"She even came in with Sir Paul before the divorce.

"I sold traditional fry-ups, but veggie food was on the menu, too. They'd have veggie breakfasts and soya milk tea.

"Heather said she'd like to buy the place if it came on the market. Last July, I decided to sell, so I got in touch.

"I went to see her at her home and we made a verbal agreement for pounds 275,000. That was later agreed in writing.

"The arrangement changed in November.

"I got a letter from her lawyer saying the price had dropped to pounds 150,000. It blamed the credit crunch and the 'current economic climate'. Her lawyer said there were other issues such as the cost of the ground rent going up and the need to renovate the windows.

"I was shocked, absolutely gutted."

And he claimed: "I'd put off other buyers who were offering the full price thinking I had a deal with Heather.

"There was nowhere else I could go."

Nick said Heather and her advisers had no plans to take on the cafe's two full-time and four part-time staff so he had to lay them off when the deal was concluded.

Nick said: "I'm gutted my staff have lost their jobs.

"They were like an extended family. They ranged in age from 18 to 50. They all needed the money and the work."

Mother-of-three Mandy Stephenson, 47, who worked at the Big Fish at weekends washing up and clearing tables, said: "I wanted to come back. I loved working there.

"I was really upset when Nick said we weren't being offered our old jobs."

Nick, 49, who bought the cafe in 2003 for pounds 85,000, said: "I was there when Heather came in with an interior designer and a guy who was filming her with a video camera.

"She was walking around pointing at various things telling her staff what needed to be done.

"I didn't hang around. I handed the keys over and after five minutes I left."

Builders have already begun renovating the property, which overlooks Hove Lagoon and a children's paddling pool.

One sign there yesterday read: "We'll be back open bigger and better in the summer."

It is believed to be the first of a chain of vegan cafes Heather is planning to open worldwide.

Nick, from nearby Shoreham, said: "At the end of the day she's got pounds 26million in the bank.

"She's not short of cash - pounds 110,000 is not a lot to her, but it is to me."

He added: "She told me she thinks the veggie cafe idea can work. I have my doubts though.

I'm not sure how successful a vegan restaurant there is going to be."

Mandy said: "I think the place needs meat on the menu to be honest. It's next to a children's park and the kids like their burgers."

Heather's spokesman said: "Heather is very excited to have taken over the cafe.

"She has been a local resident for nearly 10 years and is looking forward to giving the cafe a much-needed renovation.

"Heather has wanted to buy the cafe for many years to create a fun place serving greattasting healthy plant-based foods for kids, their families and the locals."

'She worked me over well & truly'

Tags: beatles, vegan, vegetarian, restaurant Friday May 22, 2009 - 02:51pm (EDT) Permanent Link

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