I’d be remiss if I didn’t link to the powerful images of the violence in Tehran posted by BBC News, following the disputed reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As Betsy Burtner wisely pointed out via Twitter, ”this is why we still need news organizations.”

Flickr user Shahram Sharif has also posted (and licensed under Creative Commons) some amazing pictures, including the one on the left, featuring Iranian citizens lining up for the polls.

Which raises the question for me: how can news organizations and Creative Commons work hand-in-hand?  Wouldn’t Creative Commons naturally help foster the kind of citizen journalism that Web 2.0 was supposed to introduce?  And yet, I had to do far too much digging to find these pictures (and as an information professional, I consider myself pretty patient).

Which raises another point: it’s high time we started discussing Web 2.0 in the past tense.

Anyway, here are some related headlines, for those with inquiring minds:

NPR (USA): “The Nation: Iran’s election tension.” (12 June 2009)

The Guardian (UK): “Riots erupt in Tehran over ’stolen’ election.” (13 June 2009)

The London Times (UK): “Scuffles in Tehran as Ahmadinejad and Mousavi both claim victory” (13 June 2009)

Photo: “iran elections” by Shahram Sharif