Iranian women have once more become the standard by which degrees of freedom can be measured. Their resistance will not only shape Iran's future, but have far-reaching effects on Muslim countries and the way Islam is defined.

Over a year after we celebrated the life -- and mourned the death -- of a 23-year-old Iranian protestor named Neda, another very different image caught the world's attention: that of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two.

I am not easily shocked. But two stories that recently came across my desk were so disgraceful, and in some ways dangerous, that I feel compelled to write about them. Both featured players in the Middle East crassly abusing the living and the dead.

A new film presents solid evidence that officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are deeply disturbed by the actions of the state against protestors following the 2009 presidential election.

Who is running the show? Is Mousavi really guiding the movement on the streets, or is the street guiding Mousavi?

On June 12, 2009, Iran's now infamous elections were held. The idea that the Green Movement would be successful in a few short months is ridiculous -- revolutions are not won in a day.

A picture's worth a thousand words, but what those words are depends a whole lot on American media, at least, on pre-existing official attitudes.

This article originally appeared on Dissected News, where James will be live-blogging the events surrounding the anniversary of the June 12th election...

(CNN) -- The night before she was killed on the streets of Tehran, the woman the world would come to know simply as Neda had a dream. "There was a war...

Imagine you've spent millions of dollars to articulate and orchestrate a message and then a 20-year-old protester shoots a 1-minute video, uploads it onto YouTube and destroys your whole story. What would you do?