THE European Union said it was "concerned'' today about the disputed presidential elections in Iran and violence following the announcement of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.
In a statement the EU said: "The Presidency is concerned about alleged irregularities during the election process and post-electional violence that broke out immediately after the release of the official election results on 13 June 2009,'' said a statement.
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IRAN'S defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters to avoid violence after they launched mass protests in Tehran today against his loss in the election.
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#2
So is that a picture of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad car going up in flames or a pig roast "celebrating" his re-election ? Non-PC minds want to know.
#4
Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "As part of my concession of the election, a few of the boys and I have started a pig roast in your honor, please accept this snout as a token of our esteem, and please present this tail to your lovely wife."
#5
IRAN'S defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters to avoid violence after they launched mass protests in Tehran today against his loss in the election
Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist's defeat at the polls by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supporters of Mousavi, the main challenger to Ahmadinejad, responded to the election with the most serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and charged that the result was the work of a dictatorship.
Mousavi's arrest was reported by an unofficial source, according to whom the presidential hopeful was arrested en route to the home of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Nevertheless, there were a number of contradictory reports from Iran on Saturday, in large part due to the heavy restrictions imposed on the media in the Islamic Republic, in particular on foreign reporters.
It was also reported Saturday that former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani resigned from all of his official positions in protest against the results of the election, which Mousavi denounced as rigged.
By nightfall, cell phone service appeared to have been cut in the capital Tehran. And Ahmadinejad, in a nationally televised victory speech, accused the foreign media of coverage that harms the Iranian people. There was more rioting at night and fires continued to burn on the streets of Tehran.
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#4
How long must we wait until Mir Hossein Mousavi is charged as US CIA spy?
Or has an 'accident'?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/13/2009 18:06 Comments ||
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#5
It looks like Mousavi was really surprised by the results or he wouldn't have reacted so strongly.
Dinner Jacket controls the election results. Had he been any smarter he would have rigged them 52% or so.
Looks like the current results defy credibility.
This is NOT a bad outcome since the regime will need to show its corrupt despotic face in earnest.
Let's see what will come out of that. Iran has an educated urban youth who were just robbed of their hopes of a little more freedom.
That could backfire big time
Posted by: European Conservative ||
06/13/2009 19:16 Comments ||
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#6
"US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she hoped the outcome reflects the "genuine will and desire" of Iranian voters"
If Obama is Zero, she is Double Zero
I start getting worried about America
Posted by: European Conservative ||
06/13/2009 19:18 Comments ||
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#7
Hillary is an Obama mouthpiece, which, if you consider the Monica episode, is kinda ironic
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2009 19:31 Comments ||
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#8
EC, remember that any statement by any member of any administration concerning Iran will be loudly denounced as:
1) Imperialistic
2) 'Arrogant'
3) Great Satanism/Jewish Mischief
Given her paucity of real options, the SecState probably did as well as could be expected.
#9
Pre-election reporting "Iranians around the world also voted. In Dubai, home to an estimated 200,000 Iranians, the streets around the polling station at the Iranian consulate were jammed with voters overwhelmingly favoring Mousavi. He is our Obama, said Maliki Zadehamid, a 39-year-old exporter" - more at link -
#12
More like - Jumanji - movie tagline - "Roll the dice and unleash the excitement!" - America took a "roll of the dice" and got Barry "who sane" (?) O - BAM - A - and now as the story goes - When two kids play an old magic board-game they found, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game. One can only guess how this game will end.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won 69 percent of the vote after over five million votes were counted in the presidential election on Friday, Iran's electoral chief said.
He made his comments at a news conference after ballots closed.
In the meantime, moderate former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi claimed victory in the hotly contested vote, while state news agency IRNA said incumbent Ahmadinejad had won.
The conflicting claims came even as crowds of voters were still queuing to cast their ballots long after balloting was officially over at 10:00 p.m. (1730 GMT).
Even as the tail-enders were still voting, Mousavi called a news conference in Tehran to claim victory. "In line with the information we have received, I am the winner of this election by a substantial margin," Mousavi said. He said many people had not been able to cast their ballots even after voting was extended by four hours.
Only minutes earlier, close Mousavi aide Ali Akbar Mohatshemi-Pour told AFP his candidate had won 65 percent of the vote.
IRNA, however, announced that Ahmadinejad had won the election. "Doctor Ahmadinejad, by getting a majority of the votes, has become the definite winner of the 10th presidential election," it said.
The interior ministry said preliminary results were expected around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday (2330 GMT Friday).
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
Did you see the election? 200% of eligible votes were cast.
Iran?
Chicago.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2009 0:06 Comments ||
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#2
As a goodwill gesture Obama lent ACORN to Ahmadinejad.
#6
"It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra;"
Barack Hussein Obama in Cairo
Algebra was invented in India, as was Obama's namesake, the Zero.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2009 9:12 Comments ||
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#7
...Be careful what we wish for: FoxNews pointed out this morning that Mousavi is even more of a fanatic than Dinnerjacket, at least when it comes to foreign policy. He's a moderate only when it comes to the more intrusive aspects of the Mullocracy's domestic policies.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/13/2009 10:16 Comments ||
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#8
On your mark, get set, RIOT. Supporters of the main election challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires Saturday as authorities declared the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. Opponents responded with the most serious unrest in the capital in a decade and charges that the result was the work of a "dictatorship."
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the disputes from Friday's election. In a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment."
Ima guess Khamenei foresaw the results. A vision or sumthin'.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2009 10:32 Comments ||
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#9
we should be encouraging the masses to riot with declarations the election was stolen
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2009 10:51 Comments ||
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#10
69% is divine assessment?
Hmm
Posted by: European Conservative ||
06/13/2009 12:11 Comments ||
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#11
Actually it's not that smart to rig elections to make them appear as a "landslide victory".
Hugo was smarter in that respect
Posted by: European Conservative ||
06/13/2009 12:14 Comments ||
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#12
Iran is a theocracy ruled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Full stop!
[Al Arabiya Latest] As Iranians headed to the polls Friday to cast their ballots in Iran's most hotly contested presidential election in years the two leading reformist candidates held a secret meeting and one of them warned of possible fraud after his observers were turned away.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iran's leading moderate candidate, warned in an interview with Al Arabiya of possible vote rigging after some of his representatives were denied access to monitor poll stations.
Shortly after he expressed his concerns, the two candidates held a hasty meeting in secret and refused to discuss any specifics.
Allegations of vote rigging
Mousavi said that revolutionary guards had attempted to prevent his represetnatives from monitoring the polls while also preventing people from voting intervened, and called on authorities to resolve the issue quickly. "Presently they have prevented some of our representatives from being present at polling stations and they do not let us monitor (the vote)," Mousavi said. "We expect that officials would solve this problem as soon as possible."
"I promised people I would protect their votes and now I urge all authorities to be accountable and protect the people's votes," Mousavi told Al Arabiya. Mousavi said that the possibility of changing people's vote was "troubling [the] minds" of reformists and Iranians.
But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent, ruled out any possiblility of fraud while the Interior Ministry said candidates' representatives were allowed to monitor the vote at each of the 45,000 polling stations.
Outside one of Iran's busiest polling stations Seyyed Muhammed Abtahi, Khatamei's former secretary who now heads Karoubi's campaign, predicted the reformists would be victorious in the first round but said that if elections were to enter a second round candidates who had been in competition with each other would have to figure out how to cooperate. "I think as we see we can reach results in the first round," Seyyed Muhammed Abtahi told Al Arabiya. But he refused to reveal the purpose of the secret meeting.
A runoff will be held on June 19 if no single candidate emerges with 50 percent plus one vote on Friday.
Voter turnout
"The turnout is massive and unusual for Iranian elections. Those who were silent before are now coming out in huge numbers to vote," Abtahi said.
If voter turnout exceeds 55 percent in Friday's elections the results are likely to be in favor of reformist candidates Mousavi or Mehdi Karoubi, experts on Iranian affairs said Friday as voting got underway. "The higher the voter turnout the higher the chances of Iran's reformists to winning," said Hassan Fahs, chief of the Al Arabiya's Tehran bureau.
Stores, restaurants and public buildings were closed Friday, the start of the Iranian weekend, as Iranians headed to their local mosques and schools that served as polling stations. "I am voting for the person whose platform is closest to my ideas," one young woman who only her first name, Ellahyiah, told Al Arabiya but refused to reveal the name of the candidate she voted for.
Mohsen Rezai, conservative candidate and former chairman of the Revolutionary Guards, told Al Arabiya in an interview Friday that he would work to improve relations with Arab states and "build a lasting peace with [Arab] neighbors that includes political and economic cooperation" in the event of winning elections. He added that any differences in views between Iran and Arab states "cannot interfere in conflicts that would undermine our (Arab and Iranian) security and interests," stressing his resolve to create union between Iran and the Gulf like that of the European Union.
Rezai said his government would create a consortium on uranium enrichment for nuclear energy which would include Gulf states and European countries, stressing that such a consortium "is the main difference between me and Ahmadinejad." Rezai added that Saudi Arabia has provided good suggestions to Iran to resolve outstanding issues between them but that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has neglected these suggestions.
Rezai's candidacy is seen as likely to split the conservative votes as he is likely to be the choice of voters who neither want the moderates nor the incumbent Ahmadinejad
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] After witnessing an unprecedented turnout in the country's hotly-contested presidential election, Iran closes polling stations but voters already queuing up are allowed to cast their ballots.
Polls were originally due to close at 6 p.m. local time (1330 GMT) but polling stations were ordered by the Interior Ministry to remain open until 10 p.m. as voters continued to stream to polling stations.
Initial results are not expected for at least 12 hours.
The incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks a second term in office while facing a strong challenge from former prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi. Two-time parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi (1989-1992 and 2000-2004) and Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei also battled for office.
If none of the four candidates in the race wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff on June 19.
Long queues formed at voting centers early in the morning and some people said they waited for more than two hours to cast ballots.
Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said the turnout is expected to be above 70 percent.
According to source, the number of cast ballot papers amounted to 24 million countrywide by 6 p.m. local time (0330 GMT).
The tight election was preceded by controversial televised debates and massive campaign rallies.
The live debates sparked enthusiasm among the people, particularly the women and younger voters, while many undecided eligible voters who stayed away from the polls in 2005 reportedly participated in the Friday poll.
The hopeful's campaigns were largely dominated by economic issues as the Iranian voters seek better improvements on the issue.
The crucial vote has also generated interest around the world with policymakers closely waiting for its outcome.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said his administration was "excited" about the "robust debate" taking place in Iran and he hoped it would help the two countries to engage "in new ways."
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi said he was the "definite winner" in Iran's presidential election on Friday against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I am the definite winner of this presidential election," he told a news conference in Tehran. He noted that many voters had not been able to cast their ballots even after voting was extended by four hours.
But supporters of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also claimed to be leading the hotly contested race.
Millions of Iranians streamed to polling stations, causing voting to be extended by four hours to 10 p.m. to allow more people to cast ballots, the Interior Ministry said. Those still queuing when the polling stations closed were allowed to stay to vote.
Sadegh Kharazi, a senior backer of Mousavi, said surveys made by reformers showed that the former premier was getting about 58-60 percent of the votes.
But an Ahmadinejad representative, Ali Asghar Zarei, said the incumbent was ahead with about the same level of support, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.
A victory for Mousavi might help ease tensions with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and improve chances of engagement with US President Barack Obama, who has talked about a new start in ties with Tehran.
In Washington, Obama said his administration was excited about the debate taking place in Iran and he hoped it would help the two countries to enagage "in new ways."
Long queues had formed at voting centers and officials said they expected a turnout of about 70 percent or more, approaching the record of nearly 80 percent when reformist Mohammad Khatami swept the 1997 presidential election.
Some people said they had waited for over two hours to cast ballots, both in northern, affluent areas of Tehran where Mousavi draws support and in southern, poorer neighborhoods seen as Ahmadinejad strongholds.
High turnout could indicate voting by many pro-reformers who stayed away when Ahmadinejad won four years ago on a pledge to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Political analysts have said they expect a close race.
The vote has generated interest around the world with policymakers looking for signs of a change of approach by Tehran, whose ties with the West worsened under Ahmadinejad.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Lebanon's Hezbollah has condemned the international community's silence over Israel's attempts to Judaize Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Tel Aviv continues to erect new homes in the occupied Palestinian territories -- especially in the East Jerusalem -- right before the watchful eyes of international bodies, the movement said in a statement released on Friday.
It added that Israel is using Jewish settlers to implement its policy of changing the demographic feature of Jerusalem, seeking to turn the third-holiest Islamic city into a "Jew only" region.
Hezbollah also urged all Muslim nations, the Islamic Conference Organization and other concerned regional and international groups to do their utmost to pressure Israel into ending the Judaization of Jerusalem.
Israel has already ordered a large number of Palestinians to evacuate the city, in an attempt to uproot the Arab residents and replace them with Jewish settlers.
According to Palestinian sources Israel has in recent months begun constructing thousands of new Israeli homes in Palestinian territories in breach of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
East Jerusalem (al-Quds) is widely viewed as the capital of Palestinians' future state.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Middle East] UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon, whose mandate includes ensuring that Hizbullah not be permitted to rearm or expand it's presence south of the Litani River following the Second Lebanon War, has been engaged in an altogether different mission - facilitating the arrest of those suspected of spying for Israel, Channel 10 reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the UNIFIL activity was uncovered two days ago, during a video conference conducted between the Spanish defense minister and various Spanish military commanders stationed throughout the world, in which the commanders briefed the minister on their military operations. In a video aired by Channel 10, the Spanish UNIFIL commander was seen reporting that his troops had been engaged in "looking for Israeli spies."
"I would like to note the continuation of operations that were conducted this week, searching for an Israeli spy ring." he began. "A number of arrests were made."
"This shows that in the Shi'ite areas there is a continuous feeling of mistrust," the commander said, "because they think that everybody near their area is looking for information that could hurt them."
Following publication of the briefing, the Spanish defense minister told Spanish media that the whole situation was just a "misunderstanding."
Israel has yet to react to the UNIFIL commander's statement.
In the past few months, there have been repeated reports that dozens of alleged Israeli spies were arrested in Lebanon. It is not clear exactly how many people have been detained by Lebanese authorities and Hizbullah operatives.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
If Israel confirms this, it means that UNIFIL has become a combatant enemy to Israel, and Israel is free to use whatever force it feels necessary to unconventionally neutralize UNIFIL.
#2
Spain has always positioned as a religious "decider." Another wave of Spaniard vs. Jew pogrom in a different guise? Geez, thats so 14th century of them.
#3
"In December 2008, a genetic study of the current population of the Iberian Peninsula, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, estimated that about 10% have North-African as ancestors and 20% have Sephardi Jews as ancestors."
Study follows:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition
[Al Arabiya Latest] United States envoy George Mitchell said Friday his country would not sacrifice Lebanon as it seeks to reach comprehensive peace in the region in his latest visit to the countr, which came y as security officials defused a small bomb sent to Beirut's General Security headquarters.
"Lebanon will play a key role in the long term effort to build lasting, comprehensive peace and stability in the Middle East," Mitchell said after meeting separately with President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
Meanwhile a bomb containing 200 grams (seven ounces) of explosives was defused after failing to explode because of a technical glitch, security sources said.
Bombs are rarely sent to government buildings although several explosive devices are defused or explode every week in Lebanon.
Mideast tour
Mitchell was holding separate meetings with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Saad Hariri, leader of the March 14 coalition that retained its majority in a closely-fought parliamentary election on Sunday.
"Clearly, there can be no lasting solution reached at Lebanon's expense and we look forward to continuing to work with Lebanon to build this solution."
Mitchell said his latest tour of the region, which includes stops in Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan, as well as previous visits were clear proof that U.S. President Barack Obama's administration was committed to "actively and aggressively" seek peace in the region.
On a visit to Beirut ahead of the vote, Vice President Joe Biden had hinted that Washington may cut off military aid if a coalition led by Hezbollah won.
Mitchell arrived in Lebanon after visits to Jordan and Egypt where he discussed with leaders there ways to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians based on a two-state solution.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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[Haaretz Defense] Lebanese security forces released on Thursday two Israeli Arab sisters, both in their sixties, who had been arrested in Beirut's airport. The pair, Josephine Mussa, 67, and Georgette Nasser, 69, were reportedly en route to the United States, where Josephine lives, at the time of their arrest. They returned to Nasser's home in Jerusalem.
According to the Web site, the Lebanese security officials discovered the women's Israeli passports during a search of their baggage. A preliminary investigation revealed that the pair had arrived in Lebanon a few days before Sunday's national election, the report said, in which one of the sisters actually voted in a Maronite neighborhood in Beirut.
Georgette Mussa reportedly lives in Israel; her passport, however, listed her as originally having had Jordanian citizenship. The report further stated that she had a Lebanese passport, in addition to the Israeli one.
The pair were later handed over to the same security unit that reportedly uncovered an Israeli spy ring in Lebanon over recent months, the Web site said.
Lebanese law prohibits the country's citizens from visiting Israel and from holding any form of contact with Israelis. The reported incident is not the first of its kind; in September 2007, Israeli citizen Daniel Sharon was arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of involvement in a murder, after entering the country on a German passport. He was freed about three weeks later after the German Foreign Ministry took up his case.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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