ATTACKING ON THE RETREAT:

Iran Opposition Finds New Ways to Protest (FARNAZ FASSIHI, 7/08/09, WSJ)

Opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, joined by former President Mohamad Khatami, met to plot strategy and issued their first-ever joint statement, calling for an end to the government's arrests and what they called "savage, shocking attacks" on their advisers and supporters.

Meanwhile, hundreds of opposition supporters quietly flocked to mosques or retreated to their homes to begin an unusual form of three-day strike boycotting workplaces, banks and the baazar.

In a novel attempt to outflank government restrictions, opposition supporters alerted one another to take advantage of an Islamic tradition rarely practiced in Iran called Etekaf. It calls for a retreat from worldly activities during these three days in the month of Rajab in the Islamic calendar.