1. A dispatch posted on Nico Pitney's blog (not possible to verify, nor very difficult to believe):

I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos last night at the trauma section in one of our main hospitals. Although by decree, all riot-related injuries were supposed to be sent to military hospitals, all other hospitals were filled to the rim. Last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn.

They (government) removed the dead bodies on back of trucks, before we were even able to get their names or other information. What can you even say to the people who don't even respect the dead. No one was allowed to speak to the wounded or get any information from them. This morning the faculty and the students protested by gathering at the lobby of the hospital where they were confronted by plain cloths anti-riot militia, who in turn closed off the hospital and imprisoned the staff. The extent of injuries are so grave, that despite being one of the most staffed emergency rooms, they've asked everyone to stay and help—I'm sure it will even be worst tonight.

What can anyone say in face of all these atrocities? What can you say to the family of the 13 year old boy who died from gunshots and whose dead body then disappeared?

2. One of the Grand Ayatollahs (there are only around 30 living today) has officially questioned the election results and endorsed peaceful protest:

This was the greatest occasion for the government’s officials to bond with their people.

But unfortunately, they used it in the worst way possible. Declaring results that no one in their right mind can believe, and despite all the evidence of crafted results, and to counter people protestations, in front of the eyes of the same nation who carried the weight of a revolution and 8 years of war, in front of the eyes of local and foreign reporters, attacked the children of the people with astonishing violence. And now they are attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and Scientifics.

This comes a few days after another Grand Ayatollah condemned election-rigging as a mortal sin and tried to issue a fatwa prohibiting his followers from working for an Ahmedinejad government. As the NYT wrote yesterday, Khameni doesn't have great respect from all the Ayatollah and that "even his strong links to the powerful Revolutionary Guards—long his insurance policy—may not be decisive as the confrontation in Iran unfolds."

The demonstrations are shredding Khameni's mandate from below. If the Ayatollah's keep peeling off, it'll shred his mandate from around the middle. If only Allah would throw a lightning bolt his way, it'd shred his mandate from above and that would be that.

3. And Janet Afary, over at the NYT, says it's all about the ladies:

The presence of Zahrad Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hussein Moussavi, was a significant factor in the election. Mr. Moussavi, who is not a very charismatic speaker and had left politics nearly 20 years ago, saw his prospects for victory increase when his wife joined him in the campaign. The well-publicized picture of them holding hands was not merely symbolic.

During the campaign, both spoke out for greater women’s rights, which is an issue that resonates with Iranian voters. Her presence also encouraged other candidates to campaign with their wives, the first time this has happened since the 1979 revolution.

Ms. Rahnavard was a leftist long before she became an Islamist, and in that sense she and her husband are different from the more conservative rightist Islamists.

Photos from Flickr.