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Suicide kaboom in Chechnya kills two, wounds six
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
US envoy, Karzai lock horns over Afghan poll
[Iran Press TV Latest] A meeting between incumbent Hamid Karzai and US special envoy for Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has ended with harsh exchanges over controversial presidential elections.

A number of senior sources said Holbrooke complained about ballot stuffing and the use of fraud by Karzai's campaign team in the August 20 presidential and provincial council elections. The Washington envoy also emphasized a second-round run-off could "make the election process more credible" which have been marred by claims of vote rigging and Taliban intimidation.
Assuming there's a need for a second round, of course ...
The president reacted very angrily and the meeting ended shortly afterwards, according to a BBC report.
Our dear special envoy, Mr. Holbrooke, has a special talent for making friends and influencing people.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy in the capital Kabul refused to discuss the details of the meeting. She denied Holbrooke had stormed out or there had been any shouting by the president.
Very special talent. Oh, almost forgot: perish the thought that anyone shouted.
The latest election results show that Hamid Karzai has widened his lead in the Afghan presidential race. The president has 42 percent of the ballots counted so far, compared with 33 percent for his main rival Abdullah Abdullah. Karzai is reported to have garnered 422,137 votes with his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah, holding 330,751 ballots.

A candidate must garner more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round to avoid a run-off in October.

Results are being released daily; however, it can take several weeks before the official results are announced.

Abdullah has also claimed that he has evidence that the vote was widely rigged in favor of the incumbent president. Karzai's campaign team denies the allegations and says the president has received reports of widespread fraud committed by Abdullah supporters.

Meanwhile, both Karzai and Abdullah have claimed victory in the crucial polls. The election is the second presidential vote held since US-led troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001.

Fractions have emerged between Washington and Karzai administration since some past months. Karzai says the US-led forces are responsible for deteriorating situation in the war-ravaged south Asian country. The president has frequently slammed the NATO forces over civilian causalities and their disregard for local culture.

Senior US officials, on the other hand, have accused the Karzai-led government of corruption and bad governance.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Washington envoy also emphasized a second-round run-off could "make the election process more credible" which have been marred by claims of vote rigging and Taliban intimidation.

They can make a tenth-round run-off and still have "A number of senior sources said Holbrooke complained blah, blah, blah...
Posted by: Willy || 08/29/2009 14:29 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Lockerbie over, time for business: Qadaffy's son
[Al Arabiya Latest] There is no reason to be angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son said Friday, calling for improved business and trade ties with the oil-rich country while an opinion poll released in Britain showed Britons suspect the release of the Lockerbie bomber was connected to their country's oil interests in Libya.

In remarks likely to fuel anger in the United States, Seif al-Islam told Scottish newspaper The Herald that many Lockerbie victims' families backed the release.

" Lockerbie is history. The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh and London. Libya is a promising, rich market and so let's talk about the future "
Seif al-Islam Gaddafi
And he accused some politicians of trying to manipulate the issue "to their own advantage."

He also insisted that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds this month, was an innocent man.
For a given value of innocence that has nothing to do with actual culpability, anyway.
"Lockerbie is history. The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh and London. Libya is a promising, rich market and so let's talk about the future," he said. "There is no reason for people to be angry. Why be so angry? This is an innocent man who is dying," he added.

Megrahi, who supposedly is dying of prostate cancer, was the only person convicted of the 1988 plane bombing over the Scottish town of Lockerbie which killed 270 people. Most of the victims were American.
This article starring:
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  HOW DARE YOU PROVE WE'RE CRIMINALS, QUIET DOWN OVER THERE AND PAY US FOR TRADE WITH YOUR COUNTRY(Or else)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 0:15 Comments || Top||

#2  "Lockerbie is history. The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh and London."

It goes without saying he has a degree in Philosophy, Policy and Social Value from the London School of Economics.
Posted by: regular joe || 08/29/2009 9:35 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Child Bride Turned Back Over to 80-Year-Old Husband
A Saudi Arabian father forced his 10-year-old daughter to return to her 80-year-old husband Sunday, after she was found hiding at the home of her aunt for 10 days, Arab News reported.
The Child Brides for Clunkers program kicks into high gear.
The young girl's husband, who denies he is 80 despite family claims,
"I'm 79Å“ dammit!"
accused the aunt of violating the terms of his marriage, allowed by Sharia Law. "My marriage is not against Sharia. It included the elements of acceptance and response by the father of the bride," he told a local newspaper.
Mo strikes again!
A member of the National Society for Human Rights said there are no regulations in place to stop the marriage of young girls, which is seen as harmful to their wellbeing.
Care to guess what percentage of the hadiths is devoted to Mo and Aisha?
"Such marriages are considered a gross violation of charters on the rights of children, which the Kingdom has signed and which set the age of adulthood at 18," Maatouq Al-Abdullah told Arab News.
But sharia is the law in Saudi. So SOL.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 09:02 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Geert Wilders take:
Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has seized on a news report from Saudi Arabia for peppery written questions to the cabinet. In these, he compares the Islamic prophet Mohammed to a pig.

Wilders has requested clarification from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on a marriage in Saudi Arabia between an 80 year old man and a 10 year old child. The child had run away from her elderly husband, but was brought back to him by her father, the English-language website Arab News reports based on a Saudi newspaper.

Wilders asks the minister if he shares the view that "this man is behaving like a pig, just like the barbarous Prophet Mohammed, who married the six year old girl Aisha." The PVV leader wants Verhagen to summon the Saudi Arabian ambassador to express his repugnance.
Posted by: tipper || 08/29/2009 10:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Where are ALL the women's rights groups? Where are ALL the children's advocacy groups? Their silence is absolutely deafening.
Posted by: WolfDog || 08/29/2009 10:36 Comments || Top||

#3  If it wasn't reported in the New York Times or by NPR it didn't happen, WolfDog, and so they needn't exercise themselves about it. And given that it was reported by FoxNews, to them it's like Opposite World, a reason to celebrate those quaint traditions that work so well for the Saudis, and isn't her wedding outfit so utterly photogenic! when National Geographic runs a feature, never mentioning the child bride's actual age.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2009 12:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Normal respone is outrage, but I have to wonder just what an eighty year old man can do, I'm betting he's lost the ability to perform years ago, and this gets him a free maid, cook and helper in his old infirmity.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 13:31 Comments || Top||

#5  I won't take that bet, Redneck Jim, when one hears that the little blue pill is prescribed freely in nursing homes, and the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases continues to rise. Not to mention there are lots of acts that don't involve the missionary position.

/the result of a very progressive public school education.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2009 13:48 Comments || Top||

#6  We need to stand up for this little girl. It'a clear that none of the feminists, progressives, or liberals see a reason for protest. Culture, religion be damned. This kind of abuse has to stop.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon || 08/29/2009 19:34 Comments || Top||

#7  What do you suggest, Richard?
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2009 22:23 Comments || Top||


Yemen rebuffs rebels' claim of Saudi air raids
Yemen rebuffed claims by rebels that the airforce from neighbouring Saudi Arabia has been aiding the army in its offensive against rebels in the north of the country.

"These fabricated claims are baseless. We have become familiar with such lies from those elements, as they overtly try to embroil our Saudi brothers in the confrontations," an unnamed official spokesman said in a statement carried by Saba state news agency early on Friday.

The Zaidi rebels - also known as Huthis - had claimed that Saudi warplanes bombed districts in the rugged mountainous Saada province, near the Saudi border.

"Saudi military aircraft executed several sorties on Thursday morning over the area of Malaheez and bombed the area before returning to Saudi Arabia," said a rebels' statement on Thursday. "We consider this action a flagrant intervention in Yemeni affairs... It is a continuation of the Saudi interference in the conflict, which has now got to the point of attacking Yemen (territory) directly," it added.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Houthis: S. Arabia aiding Yemeni army
[Iran Press TV Latest] Yemen's Houthi fighters have accused Saudi Arabia of helping the Yemeni army in its deadly offensive against them in the north-western province of Saada. Zaidi Shia fighters, known as Houthis, issued a statement on Friday saying that at least two Saudi warplanes have bombed their positions in the al-Malahid district.

The fighters' statement has been dismissed by the Yemeni army as a baseless allegation.

Fighting between Yemeni troops backed by fighter aircraft and Shia fighters has killed dozens, mostly fighters, since the government launched a wide offensive against Shia tribes earlier in the month.

The Shia fighters have been engaged in on and off fighting with Yemen's army since 2004.

Press TV correspondent in Yemen, Akram Al-Hindi, says the military's campaign against Houthi fighters is expected to intensify in the coming days -- despite the growing civilian death toll.

"We have heard that there was a short truce between the government and the Houthi fighters but shortly after that the fighting erupted again," Al-Hindi said. "The treaty which was signed based on Qatar agreement and Doha agreement has been declared dead from the Yemeni government side."

According to the correspondent, the Houthi fighters claim that the government is intensifying its military offences and this calls for the end of the truce between the two sides. "This shows that the violence will continue," Al-Hindi concluded.

The Houthis say they are defending themselves against religious oppression. The government says it is fighting an armed insurgency seeking to reinstate imamate rule, which ended in a 1962 coup.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 119,000 people from the northwest Yemeni town of Saada are currently displaced.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Medvedev seeks Muslim clerics to fight radicals
[Al Arabiya Latest] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday urged Russia's top Muslim clerics to join forces to stop radical Islamist groups wooing young people in the turbulent North Caucasus.

He proposed a Muslim television channel and controls on access to Islamic education abroad as ways of tackling Islamist insurgency in the region.

"Unfortunately, criminal gangs still manage to recruit young people for their activities," Medvedev told clerics and regional leaders at his summer residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"It would be right to work out a program of working with the young in the North Caucasus," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

#1  Has Dimitry considered introducing muslim clerics to the beauty of Lake Baikal? Specifically the bottom of it.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 9:00 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
CIA Switcheroo!
Via InstaPundit
One of the "Cheney documents" released this week isn't the one he asked for.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 09:32 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Obama Wan Kenobi: "These aren't the documents you're looking for. Move along."
Posted by: whitecollar redneck || 08/29/2009 16:19 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Advani claim about Kandahar hijacking deal refuted
[Dawn] A senior member of the Vajpayee government has taken exception to an assertion by former home minister Lal Kishan Advani that he was not part of the decision to release three terrorists and to send then foreign minister Jaswant Singh to Kandahar for securing release of 166 hostages who were on board an Indian airliner commandeered to Afghanistan, in Dec 1999, while it was on a flight from Kathmandu (Nepal) to New Delhi.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraq Shoe Thrower to Be Released
An Iraqi journalist jailed after hurling his shoes at former President George W. Bush will be released next month after his sentence was reduced for good behavior, his lawyer said Saturday.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi's act during Bush's last visit to Iraq as president turned the 30-year-old reporter into a folk hero across the Arab world amid anger over the 2003 invasion.

He has been in custody since the Dec. 14 outburst, which occurred as Bush was holding a joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

He was initially sentenced to three years after pleading not guilty to assaulting a foreign leader, then the court reduced it to one year because the journalist had no prior criminal history.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 09:47 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He's a hero. International speaking tour starts soon.
(sarc - I hope.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/29/2009 10:26 Comments || Top||

#2  I hope you're right, a speaking tour will allow a clear shot by the hubdreds of other fellow madmen, I wish them all good aim.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 13:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Having learnt that Iraq is neither Belgium nor New York, Mr. al-Zeidi will no doubt choose less dramatic ways to express his opinions in the future... or move to a place where such behaviour is tolerated.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2009 14:00 Comments || Top||

#4  I don't suppose they have irony under Islam nor that Mr al-Zeidi, being a journalist, would understand the word. (hint: *not* a synonym for metallic). However, he can thank his lucky stars that GWB kicked Saddam's dictator ass, otherwise Mr. a-Z's early release for his childish crime of political expression would have been from the waste recovery bin of an industrial shredder.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/29/2009 16:07 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel: UN witholding details of Iran's nuclear program
Posted by: linker || 08/29/2009 18:21 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Jordan king to let Mash'al attend father's funeral
Ma'an -- King Abdullah of Jordan will allow the head of Hamas' politburo, Khaled Mash'al, to enter the kingdom for his father's funeral, Jordanian sources said on Friday.
Jordan's secret service no doubt plans to photograph, identify, and follow all those who show up for the funeral.
The Hamas leader's father, 91-year-old Abed Ar-Raheem Mash'al, died on Friday in Jordan and was expected to be buried there.

The sources insisted the move was purely humanitarian and did not represent any political shift toward Hamas, and that Mash'al had been banned from the kingdom for over ten years.

Jordan and Hamas have had poor relations since five of the Islamic movement's members, including Khaled Mash'al, were expelled to Qatar in 1999. In 2006, Jordan charged others with smuggling weapons from Syria.

Meanwhile, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Mash'al to extend his condolences, while other Hamas officials expressed sympathy for the exiled leader.

The Popular Resistance Movement and its secretary-general, Zakareiyah Dughmush, extended condolences to Mash'al, as well.

Abed Ar-Raheem Mash'al was born in the West Bank town of Silwad, near Ramallah. He was active in the resistance against the British Mandate and took part in the 1936 rebellion.

The senior Mash'al moved to Kuwait in the 1960s and was joined by his family in 1967 following the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

At the outbreak of the Gulf War, he moved to Jordan, where he lived until his death on Friday.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Egypt: Israeli freeze must include east Jerusalem
Egypt's foreign minister says east Jerusalem must be included in a freeze of Israeli settlement activity before Middle East peace talks can restart. Ahmed Aboul-Gheit told reporters in Stockholm on Friday that Jerusalem is Arab "and it will continue to be so." He said the Arab world expects the area to be included in a moratorium on Israeli settlements.
Thank you, President Obama.
The Obama administration has hinted it may be backing down on its insistence that Israel halt all settlement activity as a condition for restarting peace talks with the Palestinians.
Do let us know when you've got beyond hinting and may be. Thank you.
U.S. officials have denied Israeli media reports that Washington has agreed to leave East Jerusalem out of the agreement and settle for a nine- to 12-month freeze in the West Bank.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  I just visited Israel earlier this year so I have some idea of the city. Does the term "East Jerusalem" include the old city? Please post a link if there is one.
Posted by: Seeker || 08/29/2009 11:34 Comments || Top||

#2  There's a link in the title.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/29/2009 13:40 Comments || Top||

#3  East Jerusalem is the old city, Seeker. Click on the title to go straight to the original article. The Jerusalem Post has the same report. link
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/29/2009 14:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Thanks, I guess they will be fighting forever or until Israel makes supporting the PA prohibitively expensive to all the Arabs. I cannot imagine them giving up old Jerusalem.
Posted by: Seeker || 08/29/2009 23:00 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Bali bomb mastermind to walk free
HAMBALI, the terrorist mastermind believed to be behind the Bali bombings, is set to escape justice for his role in the 2002 attacks that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Senior US officials have told The Weekend Australian that military prosecutors lack the evidence to charge the Indonesian terror suspect Hambali over the bombings of the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar on October 12, 2002.

The paper says the news will come as a blow to relatives of those who perished in the deadliest terrorist attacks ever perpetrated against Australians. It follows the execution in Indonesia last year of the three bombers, Imam Samudra and brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas.

While authorities are confident they can tie Hambali to other terrorist attacks across the archipelago - ensuring he is almost certain to remain in custody - US officials say it is unlikely the 45-year-old will be charged over his role in the Bali bombings.

Despite the lack of evidence, there is a near universal consensus among experts, intelligence analysts and government officials that Hambali was involved in the twin blasts in the Kuta tourist strip.

Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was arrested in 2003 in Thailand as part of a US-led operation. As al-Qaeda's chief of operations in South-East Asia, he is implicated in a string of attacks across Indonesia.
Posted by: tipper || 08/29/2009 01:47 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FAIL! Another great moment in using the law enforcement model against genocidal war.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 7:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Where's the Bangla liver failure when you really need it?
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/29/2009 10:28 Comments || Top||

#3  I recall when released prisoners were given a new suit on release, why don;t we restart this old tradition, and include a hidden mike and tracker, or maybe a small C-4 charge behind the jacket collar sufficient to break his neck if needed?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 13:38 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IAEA confirms Irans improved nuclear cooperation
[Iran Press TV Latest] In its latest report on Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that the country is improving its cooperation with the agency while it continues to enrich uranium in spite of UN Security Council resolutions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in the report released on Friday that "following repeated requests" by the IAEA, the agency was provided with access to the heavy water reactor at Arak, in central Iran.

After carrying out a design information verification (DIV), the agency "verified that the construction of the facility was ongoing," the IAEA said in the report, a copy of which was obtained by Press TV.

The IAEA report quoted Iranian operators of the reactor as saying that "the reactor vessel was still being manufactured, and that it would be installed in 2011."

The access to the reactor had been denied for a year.

Western countries say the Arak site could have been transformed into a weapons-grade plutonium-producing factory after its roof was installed, foiling monitoring with satellite imagery.

Iran says the site would be used for producing isotopes for medicine and agriculture. The country also denies seeking any nuclear weaponry, calling for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction around the world.

The report, meanwhile, added that the agency has been able to continue "to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran."

"Iran has cooperated with the agency in improving safeguards measures at FEP [Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz]," the report said.

Meanwhile, it warned that, "Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities or its work on heavy water related projects as required by the Security Council."

Tehran is under three rounds of sanctions resolutions for its enrichment work.

"Contrary to the requests of the [IAEA] Board of Governors and the [UN] Security Council, Iran has neither implemented the Additional Protocol nor cooperated with the agency in connection with the remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified to exclude the possibility of military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program".

The Additional Protocol requires member states to provide an expanded declaration of their nuclear activities and grants the agency broader rights of access to sites in the country.

Iran says a broader access would expose sensitive information related to its conventional military and missile related activities, insisting that any government would be reluctant to accept such a protocol because of national security concerns.

The report added that as of July 31, Iran has stockpiled at least 1430kg of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6).

The agency also confirmed in 29 unannounced inspections, it had found that the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz as well as the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), a test facility located at the same site, had been "operating as declared."

Iran has only managed to enrich uranium-235 to a level "less than 5 percent."

Uranium, the fuel for a nuclear power plant, can serve in military purposes if enriched to high levels. Nuclear arms production requires an enrichment level of above 90 percent.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Britain thought Iran's time was up
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Britain's foreign secretary had predicted the demise of the Iranian state in the aftermath of the June presidential election.

"One of the foreign ministers of friendly countries told us that when I asked the Old Colonialism's (United Kingdom) foreign secretary why they interfered in Iran's affairs, he answered that 'this time the time was up for the Islamic Republic system, and this time we have worked out everything'," Ahmadinejad said Friday.

"The whole world knows that in Iran, elections are fundamental maters, and, contrary to common democracies of the world, they are not a sham or previously arranged, but, with the presence and supervision of the people," he added. "It is a necessity for the continuation of the revolutionary and Islamic values."

"This election shattered the enemies' plots and revealed their plans, and well illustrated the firmness of the system," said Ahmadinejad, who is embarking on his second four-year term, Fars News Agency reported.

He went on to say that the hope of the enemy "was to direct and steer to victory, [their plans] to finish off Iran, in the same way that they could in other places, through color revolutions, with money, various media and expertise."

"But, during the election, our nation slapped their faces in such a way, that, after more than two months since the election, they are still dizzy, and have lost their way home," Ahmadinejad exclaimed.

Iran has blamed foreign elements for the unrest that followed the presidential election in June.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  It came pretty close, we should have interfered , but we only half heartedley engaged in the usual diplomatic rhetoric

The time will come again , you cannot keep the lid on a pressure cooker forever .
Posted by: Poodle4443 || 08/29/2009 3:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Obama doesn't want regime change. He thinks he can negotiate with Imadinnerjacket. Besides in Obama's world the only "bad guys" in the middle east are Israel.
Posted by: DMFD || 08/29/2009 7:03 Comments || Top||

#3  you cannot keep the lid on a pressure cooker forever

Sure you can, IF you put out the fire under it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 13:28 Comments || Top||


Ahmadinejad says detainee abuse was enemy plot
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says foreign forces orchestrated the post-election turmoil in the country and are thus responsible for its controversial aftermath, including alleged mistreatment of detainees in Iranian jails.

In a pre-sermon speech to Friday prayers worshippers in Tehran University, President Ahmadinejad said he is in possession of evidence that exonerates "revolutionary, military, security and intelligence forces" from any allegations of detainee abuse.

The June 12 election was followed by massive street protests after the official results declared that the incumbent, President Ahmadinejad, was chosen by a massive margin to serve for another four years.

The demonstrations, which provoked firm actions by the authorities, turned deadly when at least 30 people lost their lives and resulted in the arrest of thousands of protesters, opposition figures and journalists, as well as foreign suspects.

Most of the detainees have since been released; while nearly 300 have so far stood mass trials.

The issue of a nightly raid on Tehran University dormitories on June 14 was among controversial incidents in Iran's post-vote frenzy which drew fierce criticism from various political quarters.

"The attack on (Tehran) University dorm and certain mistreatments in detention centers were foul deeds," President Ahmadinejad said. However, these acts "were parts of the enemy's plot and were carried out by 'coup' elements."

His remarks come as Parliament is conducting investigations into the allegation of sexual abuse in Iranian jails after opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi, a former two-time Majlis speaker, plucked up the courage to broach the taboo subject.

President Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, asked the Judiciary to "without mercy" judge the elements who, he said, "in the disguise of a friend, carried out inhumane acts" and stirred up the unrest.

He also threw his weight behind calls for the prosecution of opposition leaders who are accused of devising plans that led to the recent deadly tumult.

"Severe punishment must await the leaders of the movement and its main elements," Ahmadinejad said. "Lest they have immunity and lowly agents be punished cruelly."
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Parliament urged to approve Ahmadinejad Cabinet
[Iran Press TV Latest] As the Iranian president awaits parliamentary approval for his new Cabinet, a newly-appointed interim Friday prayers leader for Tehran urges the lawmakers to clear all the nominees.

"The Majlis (the Iranian Parliament) should swiftly prepare the ground for the new government to be established," said Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, who for the first time led the prayers at Tehran University on Friday.

His remarks come as the president is lobbying members of the Majlis to approve the Cabinet-designates amid debates over the credentials of some of his nominees as well as the three women Ahmadinejad has suggested to take ministerial posts.

Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi, for his part, said before making decisions on a candidate, lawmakers should assess whether the nominees have "good credentials, reputation, and expertise" and if they hold anti-hegemonic views and abide by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

He also called upon Ahmadinejad's soon-to-be-established government to resolve the country's "problems" in its first step.

"Now that the administration has Islamic legitimacy after the Leader's approval and is lawful due to the vote of the people, it must take up the establishment's duties and resolve the country's problems," Seddiqi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Iran opposition leaders should be punished for unrest
[Bangla Daily Star] Iran's hardline President Mamoud Ahmadinejad called for the first time yesterday for the punishment of opposition leaders over the unrest unleashed by his disputed re-election.

"Serious confrontation should take place with the leaders and main instigators of the incidents. Those who provoked, organised and implemented the enemy's line should be confronted firmly," Ahmadinejad said in a speech at Tehran Friday prayers carried live on state radio.

It is the first time Ahmadinejad has made such a call against his political opponents, who have charged his re-election was fraudulent.

"Those from lower ranks and the ones who were deceived should be treated with Islamic compassion," Ahmadinejad added, drawing chants of "riot leaders should be executed" from the worshippers.

Iran faced its worst crisis since the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979 when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in week-long protests against the June 12 poll results during which about 30 people -- and by opposition accounts 69 -- were killed.

About 4,000 people were initially arrested and scores of senior reformists, journalists and opposition supporters have been put on trial on accusations of seeking a "soft" overthrow of the regime with foreign backing.

Opposition leaders including presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have condemned the "show trials", refused to recognise Ahmadinejad's presidency and vowed to continue protests.

The Islamic republic has faced further embarrassment by allegations that detained protesters have been raped and tortured.

Iran shut down Kahrizak prison south of Tehran after at least two detainees died of injuries reportedly sustained in custody.

Iran jailed several prison guards and vowed to prosecute them but the hardline president on Friday pointed an accusing finger at Iran's foreign enemies and the "overthrowing movement" over attacks on university dormitories and prisoner abuse.

"What happened in the dorms and detention centres was part of the enemy's scenario carried out by the dependants of the overthrowing movement," he charged. "Revolutionary forces are innocent of such shameful acts.

"Our Basijis were beaten up in the street as they were protecting people's rights," he said of Iran's hardline Islamist militia, which played a key role in stifling street protests.
Posted by: Fred || 08/29/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  "Our Basijis were beaten up in the street as they were protecting people's rights," he said

Video says you're a damn liar.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/29/2009 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey! Taqqiya is supposed to be for the infidels.
Posted by: ed || 08/29/2009 7:41 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2009-08-29
  Suicide kaboom in Chechnya kills two, wounds six
Fri 2009-08-28
  'Surrendering' Qaeda boy tries to boom Prince Nayef, Jr.
Thu 2009-08-27
  Baghdad demands Damascus hands over boom masterminds
Wed 2009-08-26
  'Prince of Jihad' arrested in Indonesia
Tue 2009-08-25
  NKor proposes summit with SKor
Mon 2009-08-24
  Holder to Appoint Special Prosecutor to Probe Terror Suspect Interrogations
Sun 2009-08-23
  Hakimullah Mehsud appointed Baitullah's successor
Sat 2009-08-22
  Karzai, Abdullah declare victory in Afghan vote
Fri 2009-08-21
  Lockerbie bomber home in Libya amid US anger
Thu 2009-08-20
  Maulvi Faqir claims TTP leadership, Muslim Khan replaces Omer
Wed 2009-08-19
  Khatami, Karroubi join Mousavi's Green movement
Tue 2009-08-18
  Maulvi Omar nabbed
Mon 2009-08-17
  Maulvi Nazir one with the ages
Sun 2009-08-16
  Iran chooses hardliner to head judiciary. Wotta surprise.
Sat 2009-08-15
  Eight killed, 80 injured in Hamas, radicals clashes


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