Greetings. As president of United States -- or, if you prefer, the Great Satan -- I have have been following with keen interest the vigorous post-election debate and vibrant political dialogue which has been taking place in your great and noble Islamic Republic of Iran over recent days. It has been both educational and fascinating, and as a sports fan I have thrilled to the pageantry, the suspense, and the fast-paced, hard-hitting action. I have to say It's been as exciting as a double overtime game seven NBA final between the Lakers and Celtics! Like millions of others around the world, I can't wait for the exciting conclusion of your distracting nail-biter so I can finally focus on my big health care project at the office. (Now that's what I call a real crisis!) But no matter who prevails in your hard-fought contest, you can rest assured that I will be out there in the stands watching, and ready to congratulate the team who brings home Tehran's coveted Golden Centrifuge Cup.
Now, I know that our two nations have had our differences in the past, and so it would be totally understandable if some of you were possibly upset my previous statements expressing "troubled concern" and "measured consternation" over your current situation. Please, do not interpret those statements as somehow taking one side or the other. I was not trying to be provocative or inflammatory, and far be it from me to interfere or play favorites. As we say over here in the Great Satan, "I don't have a dog in this fight," and so I was merely "calling 'em like I see 'em." Frankly, if America is going to regain respect as a geopolitical superpower, we need to make the tough call to sit quietly on the sidelines. That's why I have instructed my diplomatic team remain strictly neutral and to "let 'em play." With time and patience, I hope you will come to think of us as a bigger, flatter version of Switzerland. With less yodeling.
To clarify, my only real concern is over sportsmanship. In democracies like ours elections can sometimes be difficult and messy. "Politics ain't beanbag," as we also say over here. As I learned on the basketball courts and ward precincts of Chicago, the birthplace of modern Democracy, a hard fought game sometimes involves a little trash talk, an occasional sharp elbow, or a mysteriously malfunctioning scoreboard. But this doesn't mean we always have to resort to flagrant fouls, or angrily shooting our opponent in the parking lot, just because he showboated after a layup. Let's all remember the lesson of Ron Artest -- charging into the stands and savagely beating a heckler might feel good at first, but in the end it just might mean losing that big shoe contract with Nike.
And so I encourage both sides in this exciting contest to "keep it cool," and "play within yourself." Whether you are a "shirt" or a "skin," let's all respect the game. Are you a member of the Revolutionary Guards who just laid out a student demonstrator with a vicious, bone-jarring hit? Instead of taunting him, offer your hand to help him back to his feet. This will be a polite sign of mutual competitive respect before your next vicious, bone-jarring hit. Are you the student demonstrator? After collecting your teeth, congratulate the Guard on his his awesome hit. This will let the Guard know that you are a good sport, and committed to continue your dialogue without preconditions. At the end of the day, we need to leave our differences on the court and start focusing on the dangerous enemy who threatens all of us: Dick Cheney.
Let's also remember a good sport is gracious in victory and defeat. If you find yourself way ahead, don't run up the body count just to impress the UN poll voters. Act like you've been there before! If you're on the losing side, don't try to prolong the inevitable with ticky-tack fouls and time-outs and Hail-Allah trick protest formations. You gave it your best shot, but the fat lady is beginning to sing. So let's cue up Queen on the stadium PA, pass out the commemorative t-shirts, and get ready to douse the winning mullahs with Gatorade. After the victory parades, I'd love to host the winners at the White House for some sort of ceremonial diplomatic photo-op.
In the final tally, the only thing that matters in the diplomatic arena is sportsmanship. As we say here, "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." I am certain that the best team will prevail, because as we also say, "winners never cheat and cheaters never win." And in the words of Raiders legend Al Davis, "just win, baby." The most important thing is that you get this distracting sudden death shootout over with, because it's really screwing with my legislative agenda. Not to mention my sleep schedule.
Until then, I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the eventual winners, and best wishes in your upcoming playoff series with the Tel Aviv Fightin' Zionists. I've already programmed it on my TiVo!
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Posted by: Frank G ||
06/18/2009 19:24 ||
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The floor was covered with black ash and steam was coming out of it. Students were forced to lie on the ground and roll across it. If they hit someone elses feet, they'd get hit with baton. The guards kept asking, "are you going to make revolution?"
Later, they were continuously told to look down and then up. After a few minutes of staring at the ground, they would receive a kick to the face. "why aren't you looking at the ground?" they'd then say.
One student was injured in the eye earlier. He said his eyes were hurting badly, said losing eyesight. He then received a kick to his face. Another student with a broken leg, and in the corner, they didn't treat well.
Almost no water offered. Students were lined up in 5s one behind another, and a little water was poured over them quickly. One of the head officers asked jokingly if their thirsts were quenched. The officers responded saying yes. The head officer then asked "then why is one in corner dying?" Soldiers took a hose and shot boiling water at all of them.
Another ugly and dirty torture was sexual torture. They are so embarrassed that they don't want to say what happened. Once transferred to police station, the sexual torture continued.
The students were taken later to security police. They were taken to a press conference with Chancellor Dr Rahbar and a member of Majlis. The students were given shirts to cover up their blood, and the government media showed up to report. The Chancellor said the students of Tehran University were fine, but that they would still look into the allegations that the Basij had treated students poorly.
How is it possible in a country claiming to be islamic that such crimes to humanity could happen? Who is responsible for these actions? Why is the interior ministry that is supposed to protect the people a place of torture?
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Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/18/2009 12:56 ||
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At least they weren't waterboarded.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/18/2009 15:39 Comments ||
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Students were forced to lie on the ground and roll across it. . . The guards kept asking, "are you going to make revolution?"
Its there, clear as day..pad puns and double entendres are an obvious violations of human rights!
The Iranians are accusing Obama of meddling even though Obama says he doesn't want to meddle. It seems this offers a great opportunity for Obama to meddle! How about giving a serious speech or statement in which he says something like:
The government of Iran has accused the United States of America of interfering in their domestic affairs. I wish to forthrightly deny this accusation. America has not intervened on the part of the heroic forces of reform and democracy as they daily risk their lives in their noble struggle. The United States of America is sincere in its desire to open a new era of franknes and cooperation between our two great nations. Therefore we will work with the unelected government currently in power which is brutalizing its own people as the whole world can see. And we will gladly work with the heroic people of Iran as they struggle against daunting odds for a better life for themselves and their children should they succeed in their peaceful Jihad for justice.
I'm only partly joking. It seems to me that Obama is a master of passive aggressive rhetoric. We certainly saw that skill on ample display during the primaries and general election. Why not use it on the international stage as well. Only problem is that Obama would probably leave off the last sentence. Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Mike ||
06/18/2009 11:37 ||
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The mullahs have to be nervous that Obama may yet come out strongly for the opposition in Iran. He is very good at doing 180 degree turns on important issues. I'm impressed that we have both conservations and SF loonies coming together in support of the Iranian people. It's a rare kum-bi-you moment(I really have no idea how to spell it). Wouldn't it frost a bunch of people if Sarah Palin and the dopey SF mayor would hold a rally together for the Iranian people.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
06/18/2009 14:22 Comments ||
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A suggestion, more in character, if I may.
The government of Iran has accused the United States of America of interfering in their domestic affairs. I wish to forthrightly apologize for this interence. deny this accusation
National Review's Rich Lowry has a different take on the Obama-Carter parallel than Will Collier did yesterday.
Say this for him: Barack Obama is not making Jimmy Carter's mistakes in Iran. Carter arguably didn't do enough to support an Iranian government faced with a popular revolt; Obama isn't doing enough to support a popular revolt against an Iranian government. Carter's foreign policy was achingly idealistic; Obama's foreign policy is cold-bloodedly "realist." Ultimately, though, both presidents share a deep naïveté, even if it has slightly different iterations. For all the talk of Obama's realism, he is pursuing a policy driven by a fantasy about international affairs that all disputes can be resolved through negotiations and governments can be talked out of their interests. He is giving the Iranian demonstrators the cold shoulder partly because he believes he can deal with Khamenei and persuade him to give up Iran's nuclear-weapons program. The chances of this happening are quite remote. Fundamentally, then, Obama isn't turning his back on the protestors out of hard-headedness but on account of a gauzy illusion, although one with a realpolitik veneer.
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Posted by: Mike ||
06/18/2009 10:48 ||
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Why were these tweets in English? Why were all of these profiles OBSESSED with Iran?
Uh, because English is our planetary language? Because there is an 'event' of international interest currently playing out in Iran? Bah, let's go back to the faked moon landing or Obama being the anti-Christ.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/18/2009 11:15 Comments ||
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That moon landing was not faked by gum...saw the flag myself in the intro to Independence Day. Then again, Jeff Goldblum was in charge of a media organization in that film...
#6
I always do what Twitter tells me to do, and I'm sure the Iranians are rioting because they all got Twitter accounts and are doing what they are told. Therefore I am sure it is a Zionist plot. I'm surprised they didn't think of this before. /sarc
#7
I was astonished to click on a link to youtube on one of the tweets and see cell phone footage of chaos in Shiraz, which had burning stuff and lots of masked people walking around shouting "death to the dictator" and "we will kill those who killed our brothers". Yah, it was on youtube that I saw footage of the actual shooting of the 7 peeps at the basij post. Quite amazing and different that the reports in the media. After being shot at from the building for quite some time the crowd, which was not running away, erupts into cheers when someone throws a fire bomb at the building. Can't get more real than that. So I'm basically saying that this guy is an idiot and I wouldn't take his stock advice either.
#8
I am somewhat peaved to have Hitler in my random nic. I did not cjoose this. I rarely post here but was previously known as HupailingEbbuns which was a better nic.
#9
But, the hitler bit fits right in this thread!... Thus... showing that RB as spontaneously evolved into a fully formed IA!
The Singularity can't be far.
As for that guy, well, I love a good PCT, but find th emost compelling ones are those with a spiritual side - IE easier to accept the notion of a "NWO" if it's driven by mega-trends and ideologies, themselves pushed by spiritual forces (Principalities and such, rather by human puppeters. Would you REALLY rate kissinger as a viable, credible Power-behind-the-curtains???
Anyway, this conspiracy theory is very, very bad, because it's all about three guys in kippa twitting to harm those Misunderstood Mullahs, complete with the usual bit about israeli nukes. I guess the demos must be holograms.
Not that this would change things much, IIRC, the pasdarans have been called in, where the Chain-Swinging Bikers From Hell proved insufficient, "Elite Forces" shooting AK's into a crowd will do very fine.
Excellent op-ed piece in the NYT that explains how Short Round and Khamenei started laying the groundwork for their own revolution after the previous election four years ago.
By DANIELLE PLETKA and ALI ALFONEH
JUST after Iran's rigged elections last week, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets, it looked as if a new revolution was in the offing. Five days later, the uprising is little more than a symbolic protest, crushed by the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Meanwhile, the real revolution has gone unnoticed: the guard has effected a silent coup d'état.
The seeds of this coup were planted four years ago with the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And while he has since disappointed his public, failing to deliver on promised economic and political reforms, his allies now control the country. In the most dramatic turnabout since the 1979 revolution, Iran has evolved from theocratic state to military dictatorship.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Disenchantment with clerical rule has been growing for years. To the rural poor, they epitomize the corruption that has meant unbuilt schools, unpaved roads and unfulfilled promises of development.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. The typical blindered Westerner's view. Rural Iranians don't care about development as long as they can live their lives the way their grandparents did. They don't care if their sons can get jobs in computer companies and buy them bigscreen TVs.
#3
Um no, grom, the rural Iranians do care and have made it clear they care. Yes, they like their simple country ways, but they also like paved roads, village medical clinics, and clean water.
As do most people.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 9:11 Comments ||
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"Five days later, the uprising is little more than a symbolic protest, crushed by the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps"
One doesnt have to get all creepy Sullivanish to find the above statement, well, premature at best. Michael Ledeen finds it "silly" (I would love to see Sully quote Ledeen against Pletka - I guess its enough Sully is acknowledging Totten as a "good neocon" he probably doesnt have the stomach to note that he and Ledeen agree)
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 12:26 Comments ||
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Where is the state department in this?
They've been crying about an Iranian revolution for years, how much involvement have they had thus far? Is propping up twitter all the revolutionary feeling they can muster now?
and...did Hillary break her elbow in some losing arm wrestling match to decide Iran's future with the empty suit?
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's most powerful military force is warning online media of a crackdown over their coverage of the country's election crisis. The Revolutionary Guards, an elite body answering to the supreme leader, says Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.
It is the Guards' first public statement since the crisis erupted following the presidential election last Friday.
Iranian reformist Web sites as well as blogs and Western Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over the declaration of election victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The government barred foreign media Tuesday from leaving their offices to report on the street protests.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Rat Boy's Brownshirts.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/18/2009 1:02 Comments ||
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Now if we could only get them to warn ABC, CBS, MSNBC, and the other left wing shills over here...
Posted by: Francis ||
06/18/2009 12:16 Comments ||
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in fairness to the leftwing shills, New York Times, BBC, and even, god save us, the Guardian have been doing yeomans work in getting news out of Iran. To give credit to right wing shills, Wall Street Journal I am told is doing a great job as well. In the blogosphere the good work has been across ideological lines, including lefty Huffington Post, neocon Michael Totten, and hysterical Andrew Sullivan.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 12:22 Comments ||
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yes lh, some sites and media are following it
Not so much however for NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN. I remember a CNN guy saying that they whitewashed the coverage of Saddam's depredations in order to keep access (hey what's a few tens of thousands of torture victims anyway when you could get one or two newsbreaker interviews with a deputy to the dictator).
Posted by: Lord garth ||
06/18/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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Afaict the problem with cable news isnt ideological, its that theyd rather cover celebrity "news". CNN has been doing better, but only after they were shamed into it.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 15:30 Comments ||
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Credit where due, indeed, liberal hawk. (I;m glad you're back!) The Wall Street Journal has a female reporter, with what sounds to be an Iranian name, on the ground in Tehran. She did a telephone interview with NPR today in the early afternoon.
Some useful nuggets here, but watch out for NYT bias.
With Iran's political establishment at war with itself, a central question lurking behind the post-election tumult is which side the country's highly influential clerics will back. So far the mullahs -- a potentially critical swing vote -- have remained largely silent, with the notable exception of a few prominent grand ayatollahs, including one who attacked the vote count as "a gross injustice" on Wednesday.
The clerics and their thousands of pupils, concentrated in the holy city of Qum, are a generally conservative lot,
No, they're not 'conservative'. They're Khomeinist, which makes them radical islamicists and totalitarian. That's not conservative, though the NYT reporter would like to think that.
... who have been known to jump into the political fray en masse only when a clear winner starts to emerge. And few religious leaders have yet to join the tens of thousands of Iranians expressing their fury by marching through the streets of Tehran and other cities.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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NY Times ceased being a news source years ago. It is hard to record history without them but I manage quite well. I prefer to not even traffic their site.
#3
Im not sure what you mean when you say Qom isnt 'conservative'. Do you mean they are activists violating the Shiite traditions of quietism? Or that they arent supporters of what we in the US call conservative? If the former, I agree, and perhaps a better word would be reactionary. Khomeinism is paradoxical - its a revolutionary movement, and a mass mobilization movement (and thus modern) but its a reaction against the disruption of traditional conservative society by secularist modernization under the Shah - in that sense it is VERY much like Western fascism. And, I would add, without going all nutjob on you, it is, IF you discount for totalarianism, terror support (Huge IF, I know), etc at least distanly related to certain fundamentalist movements in the US. Like fascism, Khomeinism uses modernist mobilization techniques and war against foreign enemies to assuage the anxieties of a conservative population threatened by change.
As for Moussavi not being liberal - again, are you making the banal (and generally useless) quible between "classical liberalism" and "progressive liberalism" - its not uncommon in the blogosphere for "classical liberals" to get jealous about a word whose meaning had evolved by the time of Lloyd George (let alone FDR) Or that the Teherhan protestors arent really liberal in either sense since the majority are likely to accept SOME from of legal islamism that violates our view of seperation of religion and state? Or are you asserting that Moussavi is really closer to Rafsanjani "pragmatic khomeinism" than to the Teherean strett? The latter is an interesting and complex issue - I think its clear that even during the campaign Moussavis public position was different from that when he last held office, and his position may have evolved further due to his movement. Politicians are sometimes captives to their supporters, and their enemies. I think especially of the biographies of both Gorby and Yeltisn in this regard.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 11:40 Comments ||
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Im not sure what you mean when you say Qom isnt 'conservative'. Do you mean they are activists violating the Shiite traditions of quietism? Or that they arent supporters of what we in the US call conservative? If the former, I agree, and perhaps a better word would be reactionary. Khomeinism is paradoxical - its a revolutionary movement, and a mass mobilization movement (and thus modern) but its a reaction against the disruption of traditional conservative society by secularist modernization under the Shah - in that sense it is VERY much like Western fascism. And, I would add, without going all nutjob on you, it is, IF you discount for totalarianism, terror support (Huge IF, I know), etc at least distanly related to certain fundamentalist movements in the US. Like fascism, Khomeinism uses modernist mobilization techniques and war against foreign enemies to assuage the anxieties of a conservative population threatened by change.
You are relying on two big straw-men in this supposition: that western conservatives are the way they are because they're a bunch of frightened country mice hiding from societal change, and that the only difference between conservatism and fascism is in degree or the volume of the megaphone.
Both of these arguments have been very useful for the left over the last half-century, especially in getting people to _stop thinking_ and vote for the left, but that doesn't mean the rest of us believe in them.
#5
"that western conservatives are the way they are because they're a bunch of frightened country mice hiding from societal change"
I said no such thing. I did not generalize about conservatives, of whom there are many varieties. I did state that there are right wing movements in this country whose social roots are analogous to those in other countries where people feel threatened by change. We can argue about exactly which movements those are and what their relations are to mainstream conservatives, or whether their specific explicit grievances are justified but I think its undeniable that they exist.
"and that the only difference between conservatism and fascism is in degree or the volume of the megaphone." I did not say that either. Again, I was not speaking about conservatives in general. I WAS attempting to distance MYSELF from folks like Andrew Sullivan who sometimes elide the profound moral distintion between say, someone in the US whose fear of gay rights leads them to support a referendum on marriage, and someone in Saudi Arabia whose fear leads him to support hanging gays.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 12:18 Comments ||
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I did state that there are right wing movements in this country whose social roots are analogous to those in other countries where people feel threatened by change. We can argue about exactly which movements those are and what their relations are to mainstream conservatives, or whether their specific explicit grievances are justified but I think its undeniable that they exist.
Please be more specific if you could LH. I generally find your positions to be well thought out, but I think that if you're going to make this assertion you should name names.
Not trying to bait you. I'm curious what you think.
#7
"whose fear of gay rights leads them to support a referendum on marriage, and someone in Saudi Arabia whose fear leads him to support hanging gays."
actually supporting a state referendum is constitutional & w/in the law. Many libs love state referendums, especially if it endorses a cause they believe in. It's when they lose at the referendum ballot box (cali gay marriage three times) that those conservatives (and blacks and hispanics) who supported the referendum are all now homophobes or whatever.
#8
Now nothing shakes up a pitch man like getting what he thinks is a good throw hit right back at'em and into center field.
In many ways continued negotiations, what seems to be the preferred method of relations with Iran, will now be even more difficult as either dinner jacket will be shown as a totalitarian, a new leader with a tenative grasp of power, or civil uprising with no official figurehead to deal with other than the clerics.
If that is what the administration meant by dealing with Iran anyways it isn't articulated very well. In any case real decisions with real consequences are imminant, and where salesmen and managers are seperated.
#9
OK. I'll take your word for it that you were trying to distance yourself from those similar arguments people like Sullivan were making.
As for the whole 'social movement' thing... I think it underestimates the degree to which radical islam borrows from other radical movements of the 20th century, whether the communsits or the real fascists of Italy or Spain.
I may write something on this later on in the week in opinion, but I'm gonna get ready to turn in now.
Every dictator is determined to make his own mistakes by Ramin Ahmadi
Monday June 15 was a turning point in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was the first time that demonstrations against the government reached nearly 3 million in Tehran. Five other cities, Tabriz, Urumeyeh, Shiraz, Rasht and Isfahan, joined the action with several hundred thousand people taking to the streets.
By all accounts Monday was also the bloodiest day of the new democracy movement. Plainclothes men belonging to Iran's notorious paramilitary force, the Basij, opened fire on the protesters, killing more than a dozen and injuring many more. In a Tehran University dormitory, five students were shot to death and many more were injured. Another city, Shiraz, witnessed multiple bloodbaths.
Tabriz, Shiraz and Tehran are now officially under martial law. The death toll is still not clear but the outcome of this violence is. On Wednesday people came out wearing black, mourning in solidarity with families who lost their loved ones. Evening hours are spent on the rooftops, voicing protest with slogans like "God is great," "Ahmadinejad is Pinochet but Iran will not become Chile," "Bye Bye Ahmadinejad," and "He can see the halo but can't see millions of people."
I have watched with horror the new footage of violence committed against the youth almost every hour. In at least one film clip, Arabic-speaking men treat a young protester like a piece of meat getting ready to be cut in the local butcher shop. The activists report seeing many of these Arabic-speaking men among the anti-riot police force in the streets of Tehran. This poses a special problem for students committed to nonviolent protest. The cornerstone of nonviolence strategy is to talk to your oppressor, to remind him of your humanity and to show him his family members in the crowd. How do you do all that when your oppressor has been imported from abroad, selected from oppressed, poor Palestinian or Lebanese communities?
The Iranian regime is also rounding up foreign reporters. A few European correspondents were forced to pack their bags and leave. Others have been confined to their hotel rooms. They were told that the Iranian government can no longer insure their safety. CNN's Christiane Amanpour went on the record as having bought the government story and told CNN's Larry King that the Iranian government probably didn't want to have reporters' blood on its hands. But the truth is likely elsewhere.
The expulsion of foreign journalists is another ominous sign indicating that more bloodshed is planned. The government has made a calculated decision to confront demonstrations with pure force. It believes that the excitement of the people over the election results will be short lived. That the movement can be contained and the majority's will can be subdued using massive force and unimaginable brutality. In preparation for that scenario, it plans to isolate the country from the rest of the world as much as possible.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
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Christiane Amanpour ... told CNN's Larry King that the Iranian government probably didn't want to have reporters' blood on its hands.
A liberal - a person who lies as much to themselves as they do to others.
Clicking the title will take you to an English language blog run by an Iranian ex-pat with good sources. If you have other such sources -- run by Iranians, in English, on the side of the protesters, use the 'Link' function in the comments box and post in comments here. It would be much appreciated!
Of course they do. They're thugs, and we are their worst nightmare ...
ISTANBUL, TURKEY -- Five days into the vast and sometimes violent street demonstrations over Friday's contested presidential election, Iran blamed the United States for "intolerable" interference in its domestic affairs.
President Barack Obama had specifically said he was avoiding being seen as meddling, saying it was "not productive, given the history of US-Iranian relations."
And you can see how well that worked. It's far better to take a stand because you're going to be blamed anyways ...
State television has portrayed the violence at rallies supporting defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi as the act of "hooligans." But as more video footage and news of peaceful daytime rallies and violent nighttime clashes break out through the restrictions placed upon the foreign media in Iran (most of it reaching the world anonymously through YouTube and Twitter), the contours of the power struggle have been coming clearer.
The protests are turning into an outlet for the myriad frustrations of Iranians, beyond rejecting the election result. State news services reported that the Revolutionary Guards had acted against "deviant news sites" backed by the US, Britain, and Canada that were encouraging unrest.
Grainy footage showed protesters carrying a wounded comrade as they raced from a clash. Another scene show a young man with a bleeding arm, and others rushing to bandage him.
The magnitude of the protests have prompted Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei -- who will reportedly give the sermon himself at this week's Friday prayers -- to call for calm.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Iranians have taken to the streets in the wake of the country's disputed elections, but behind the public face of the election protests lies a deeper power struggle.
In the corridors of power, analysts see a battle between Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the reformist former president.
Khamenei had publicly endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad, the incumbent president, whose resounding election victory over Mir Hossein Mousavi, his main rival, prompted a wave of protests and allegations of voter fraud. Rafsanjani, on the other hand, has been a vocal critic of the president.
One of Iran's richest men, Rafsanjani, like Mousavi, is also one of the old guard of the 1979 Iranian revolution. "It [the election dispute] represents the conflict between two schools of thought in Iran," Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor in Middle East politics at the University of Jordan, told Al Jazeera.
"The first one, which is represented by the supreme leader, says Iran should stay a revolutionary state, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wants the state to move on - to become a modern state, a pragmatic state. This is actually the root of the conflict we are seeing in the streets of Tehran.
"I think the support which Mousavi has been seeing from Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is because Mousavi agrees with Rafsanjani on that principle."
Pre-election dispute
Iran's shadowy political machinations spilled out of the corridors of power and into view in a television debate ahead of the elections.
Ahmadinejad said that Mir Hossein Mousavi, his opponent, was backed by politicians who he said were corrupt, and named Rafsanjani.
Infuriated, Rafsanjani wrote a public letter to Khamenei, accusing the Supreme Leader of remaining silent in the face of such accusations. "If the system cannot or does not want to confront such ugly and sin-infected phenomena as insults, lies and false allegations made in that debate, how can we consider ourselves followers of the sacred Islamic system," he charged in his letter. It was a rare and unusual public rebuke of Khamenei.
Power struggle
The supreme leader's decision-making powers are said to be absolute, but Iran's Assembly of Experts also wield considerable political clout. Rafsanjani is chairman of the 86-member body, which appoints the supreme leader and monitors his performance.
It seems unlikely that Rafsanjani would move to oust Khamenei, but the assembly could - in theory, at least - remove the supreme leader from office, if his actions are deemed un-Islamic or if he is unable to carry out his sworn duties.
With the street protests putting pressure on Iran's political leaders, it was rumoured that Rafsanjani and Hassan Rohani, Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator, were in the city of Qom, seeking a meeting of the assembly. Khamenei's surprise decision to ask the 12-member Guardian Council to investigate the alleged election improprieties has suggested to many he is feeling the pressure.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran said Wednesday it is investigating reports of violence at a Tehran University dormitory in the wake of rallies sparked by last week's disputed election. The aftermath of anti-riot police actions at Tehran University shows smashed computer terminals.
Tehran University students told a CNN iReporter that government forces staged a massive crackdown early Monday at the university's dorm. Some students were detained in the raid. Students jumped out of windows to escape the Iranian police forces who threw tear gas and beat students, according to the iReporter, a former Tehran University student who now lives outside Iran. He did not want to be identified for security reasons.
CNN has been unable to confirm the account because of restrictions on international media in Tehran.
Parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday called for an "unbiased report" by the team of lawmakers appointed to look into the "unfortunate incidents" at the university dorm, according to Iran's government-funded Press TV. "There has been news of unfortunate incidents taking place in parts of the city such as the Tehran University dormitory, and it appears that hidden hands are at work to feed foreign media outlets with propaganda," Larijani said.
The investigating lawmakers have spoken to Tehran University students and other officials and are demanding the release of the detained students, Press TV reported. The lawmakers are also calling for the arrest and punishment of those who perpetrated the violence and for students to be compensated for their loss, according to Press TV.
The CNN iReporter said one Tehran University student e-mailed him as the assault on the dormitory happened between 1 and 5 a.m. Monday. "So around 4 a.m., he sends this very frightening e-mail. He says, 'Right now Ansaar [pro-government] forces are outside of buildings and threatening students to, 'Get out of the rooms like good boys.' Thank God the night is going to be over soon. Please pray for us!'" the iReporter told CNN.
A couple hours later, the student wrote, "Some students jumped out of windows to save themselves and got injured, but the shameless forces even beat and arrested those too. ... Some of the arrested students are released after more beating and interrogation, others are missing."
The iReporter said he believes Iranian students have "a very important role" in Iranian politics, but noted that the current protests in Iran are more than just a student movement.
"At least the perspective that those forces have is that the students are at the leadership of this movement," he said. "This might or might not be true especially right now because all the people are involved in this protest and it's not only students. They have a very important role here."
There have been reports of crackdowns on other Iranian universities. Amateur video posted on YouTube showed several injured people identified as Isfahan University students.
Amnesty International said it appeared students were also targeted at Tabriz University in northwestern Iran when security forces entered dormitories there and detained 10 students. Amnesty also reported similar crackdowns on university students in the cities of Shiraz, Mashhad and Zahedan.
The human rights agency called on Iranian authorities to "end attacks on students."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11139 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
If it's ok for the New Black Panthers to control who gets to go the the polls in Philadelphia, and ok for ACORN to cast votes for dead and brain-dead people then what's the problem with the Basiij and Republican Guard influencing the Iranian elections?
Six members of the Iranian football team have worn green armbands during a World Cup qualifying match against South Korea in Seoul. The players wore the colour adopted by the opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in an apparent show of support.
Most of the players had removed the bands in the second half.
According to some tweets I saw, they were pretty well threatened with death and the deaths of their families if they didn't remove them.
The team's captain, Mehdi Mahdavikia, was the only one of the players to keep his armband on after half time. It was suggested the other players had been ordered by the coach to remove their bands.
Fans from Iran staged a protest outside the stadium to show their support for the demonstrations at home. One of their banners read "Go to hell dictator", and they chanted, "Compatriots, we will be with you to the end with the same heart".
During the match they held up green paper signs reading "Where is my vote?" and waved Iranian national flags emblazoned with the plea, "Free Iran".
A top Republican US lawmaker called Wednesday for Congress to pass tough new sanctions targeting Iran and condemned Tehran's crackdown on post-election protests as "a horrible human tragedy."
"We are witnessing, in Iran, a horrible human tragedy. You've got a government there that has been seen crushing its people in the streets of Tehran," Republican Representative Eric Cantor told AFP.
"How do you expect to trust, to engage with, a regime like that? How could we ever tolerate a regime like that having nuclear weapons?" said Cantor, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives.
Cantor said the US Congress should quickly pass legislation aimed at choking off Iran's gasoline imports and foreign investments in its energy sector to break its defiance of global demands to freeze its suspect nuclear program.
"We can send a message very quickly to our allies and the rest of the world that we mean to live by our commitments that we do not want Iran to become a nuclear power," said the lawmaker, whose home state is Virginia.
US efforts to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons must hold firm whether or not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ultimately prevails in his disputed electoral bout with rival Mir Hossein Mousavi, said Cantor.
"It's very clear that democracy in Iran is somewhat of a mystery and that clearly the clerics in that country are the ones that control the levers of power. And our policy vis-a-vis Iran needs to reflect that reality," he said.
Cantor also said the Obama administration had not sufficiently criticized the official crackdown on protests by Mousavi supporters.
"Their silence on the issue of human rights violations is very troubling to me. America has a moral responsibility to stand up for human rights around the world and to condemn the abuses that are occurring in Tehran today," he said.
Obama has said he is "deeply troubled" by the violence in Iran, but that Washington cannot be seen as "meddling" in the Islamic Republic's affairs, and said that he will continue his policy of reaching out to Tehran.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11144 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"Their [the Obama administration] silence on the issue of human rights violations is very troubling to me."
This sniping of the O-Teams tepid response to Iranian election seems eerily reminiscent of the ankle biters that couldnt resist criticizing Bush at every turn. In fact, there is a cogent argument to be made that a measured reaction is the best course in the early stages of such events. Lets face it - an Iranian Peaceful Protest is an anomaly and more likely an oxymoron. So it would seem that if there are any more of those fire-bomb your way into a military facility thingies it might be best if the motivations were viewed as strictly domestic.
#2
This sniping of the O-Teams tepid response to Iranian election seems eerily reminiscent of the ankle biters that couldnt resist criticizing Bush at every turn
Would that be the same Bush who freed 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan from thugocracies? The one who said in his inaugural address
"All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."?
SteveS, I think you would agree that The President should be more circumspect when it comes to statements about rapidly evolving events as opposed to an inaugural address but point taken. I was thinking more along these lines. When it came apparent that Raul Castro was about to ascend to Grand Poobah of Cuba, Bush broadcasted an address urging the people of the island to rise up to demand their liberty.'' Good for him! Not surprising, instantly there was some critical of the President's speech. They called it a stale approach and said it would threaten to make the United States irrelevant on the island.'' And guess what they all had an agenda.
It seems to me most of the criticism of Obama on this one is less about righteous indignation and more about political carping.
(Crumbled cookie)
#4
At this point we dont know obamas motives (I will discount the "barry hates freedom" folk)
Is he A. staying quiet cause he genuinely thinks speaking out more strongly would hurt the protestors?
or B. Staying quiet cause he expect dinnerjacket to win, and he is afraid that speaking out would interfere with talking to dinner jacket
or C. He hasnt yet figured out how to say what he wants to say
If B, thats really bad. For one, its at some level highly cynical. Sacrificing Iranians for O's diplomacy. Maybe thats the only realistic course, but its still so at odds with O's optimism about the world, his "We can change" etc, its way too embarassing to admit. Its also probably wrong. For one thing, there is a real chance Dinnerjacket is on the way out. And even if he isnt, does it matter. On the one hand theres no guarantee diplomacy with dinner jacket is going anywhere anyway. On the other hand we have managed arms deal with folks we've criticized on human rights (reagan and the USSR)
if the motive is A, is a different story. Without a MUCH clearer picture of the situation in Iran, I cant say whether it is right or not. Ive seen reasonable arguments both ways. I suspect that O could go much further without doing harm, but his position, if incorrect, does not strike me as unreasonable.
I also think the motive is in part C. O isnt an off the cuff guy. Look at how he fumbled on the russian invasion of Georgia. He likes to take several weeks, examine all the angles, and then do a tour de force speech that purports to understand every side, and reconcile them all in his wisdom.
BUt the situation in Iran MAY be moving too fast for that.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 12:35 Comments ||
Top||
#5
atour de force speech that purports to understand every side, and reconcile them all in his wisdom.
#6
i hope the many levels I mean are visible in that
I find his intelligence quite real, and his rhetoric sometimes really quite good - unfortunately he is all to well aware of that, and I think often it shows.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 16:38 Comments ||
Top||
#8
I'd like to throw a couple more takes on the deal.
() He may have been taken by surprise.
() He must continue to push the domestic policies while the window is still open; anything else would be a distraction.
() Supporting protests against the government would be counter to the attempts to demonize the spend-then-tax protests in the US.
His track record shows his great confidence in the uncontested layups and hesitent in dynamic situations while he figures how to make a situation work for him. In a word predictable.
What might be more telling is dinner jacket's Russian trip a la Frankin to Senate in order to validate claim and control, legitimacy. Meanwhile, the centrifuges continue to churn so a bit of controlled civil discourse would work in favor of the bomb wanters, help in identifying dissent leaders, and work as a sort of pressure release. A risky game sure, like those people at parties who use a lighter to put gas in their closed hand then light it to make a fireball - its a great party trick unless it blows up in their face.
#9
Pat Buchannan agrees w/letter (A) as per his discussion on hannity today. I'm not sure what O's doing, he might end up moving closer to W's original position or he'll deal w/dinnerjacket and take more flak for tacitly supporting a fraudulently elected leader. Either way can't be good for him. Not that mousavi was going to be any better. I doubt O will do anything covert to help the protestors but I could be wrong.
#10
Buchanan's an isolationist and IMHO a closet antisemite. When he speaks so lovingly of Arab dictatorships at times, I can't take his sudden care for the Iranian People seriously. I heard him on Hannity, and it still pisses me off PMSNBC puts him on as the "house conservative". F*ck Pat Buchanan. Also IMHO O is voting "present" because he doesn't want to answer that 3AM call.
Iowahawk has his version of Obama's speech to teh Iranians - I'll post it in Opinion page
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/18/2009 19:24 Comments ||
Top||
#11
liberalhawk, you left out the strong possibility that Obama doesn't know WHAT he thinks (not just how to say it). He has a strong ideology, but not much in the way of inconvenient principles, from the looks of it.
Thousands of Iranians swarmed the streets of Tehran on Tuesday in rival demonstrations over the country's disputed presidential election, pushing a deep crisis into its fourth day despite a government attempt to placate the opposition by recounting a limited number of ballots.
Iran's supreme ruler drew a firm line against any threats to the regime, warning Iranians to unite behind the country's Islamic system as authorities imposed severe restrictions on independent media.
After days of dramatic images of Iranians protesting the declaration of victory for hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the government said employees of foreign media could only cover events authorized and announced by the government.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made an extraordinary appeal in response to tensions over the disputed election, which has presented one of the gravest threats to Iran's complex blend of democracy and religious authority since the system emerged from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said at a meeting with representatives of the four presidential candidates. "Nobody should take any action that would create tension, and all have to explicitly say they are against tension and riots."
A day after a massive opposition rally that ended in deadly clashes with pro-government militiamen, Iran's main electoral authority said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities took place.
Reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has called the election an "astonishing charade," demanding it be canceled and held again.
His representative, reformist cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, reiterated that demand Tuesday after a meeting of the Guardian Council, calling along with representatives of two other candidates for an independent investigation of voting irregularities. The Guardian Council is an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to the supreme leader and seen as supportive of Ahmadinejad.
Mousavi said Monday he believes the council is not neutral and has already indicated support for Ahmadinejad.
"If the whole people become aware, avoid violent measures and continue their civil confrontation with that, they will win. No power can stand up to people's will," Mohtashamipour said. "I do not think that the Guardian Council will have the courage to stand against people."
A spokesman for the Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, did not rule out the possibility of canceling the results, saying that is within the council's powers, although nullifying an election would be an unprecedented step.
In the afternoon, the government organized a large rally in Tehran, as if to demonstrate it also can bring people into the streets. Thousands waved Iranian flags and pictures of the supreme leader, thrusting their fists into the air and cheering as speakers denounced "rioters" and urged Iranians to accept the results showing Ahmadinejad was re-elected in a landslide Friday.
"This nation will protect and defend its revolution in any way," Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a prominent lawmaker and Ahmadinejad supporter, told the pro-government crowd in Vali Asr Square.
He called on Mousavi's supporters to accept the results and press their complaints through legal means.
"After all, in all elections there will be losers and winners, naturally," he said. "This should not cause a rift between the people."
The appeal for unity failed to calm passions, and a large column of Mousavi supporters -- some of them with green headbands and their faces masked against tear gas or to hide their identities -- marched peacefully along a central avenue in north Tehran, according to amateur video.
A witness told The Associated Press that the pro-Mousavi rally stretched more than a mile (1.5 kilometers) along Vali Asr avenue, from Vanak Square to the headquarters of Iranian state television.
Security forces did not interfere, the witness said, and the protest lasted from about 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Other witnesses told the AP that about 100 people continued the protest in front of state TV past 9:45 p.m. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisal.
Mousavi appeared to be trying to harness the days of street rage into a more carefully directed campaign of civil disobedience. In a message on his Web site, he said he would not attend Tuesday's demonstration and urged his supporters not to resort to violence.
The Web site said Mousavi and his supporters planned another large demonstration along the path of Monday's massive protest, for Wednesday afternoon. It said they have asked the Interior Ministry for permission but didn't say whether they got a response or if they would go ahead if rejected.
Ahmadinejad, who has dismissed the unrest as little more than "passions after a soccer match," attended a summit meeting in Russia that was delayed a day by the unrest in Tehran. That allowed him to project an image as Iran's rightful president, welcomed by other world leaders.
In Washington, President Barack Obama expressed "deep concerns" about the legitimacy of the election and post-voting crackdowns but declined to term Ahmadinejad's re-election a fraud.
"I do believe that something has happened in Iran," with Iranians more willing to question the government's "antagonistic postures" toward the world, Obama said. "There are people who want to see greater openness, greater debate, greater democracy."
After images were shown around the world of Monday's mass protests and violence, authorities said foreign media, including Iranian employees, could only work from their offices, conduct telephone interviews and monitor official sources such as state television.
The rules prevent media outlets, including The Associated Press, from sending independent photos or video of street protests or rallies.
Also Tuesday, foreign reporters in Iran to cover last week's elections began leaving the country. Iranian officials said they will not extend their visas.
At least 10 Iranian journalists have been arrested since the election, "and we are very worried about them, we don't know where they have been detained," Jean-Francois Julliard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders told AP Television News in Paris. He added that some people who took pictures with cell phones also were arrested.
A Web site run by former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi said the reformist had been arrested.
Saeed Hajjarian, a prominent reformer, also has been detained, Hajjarian's wife, Vajiheh Masousi, told the AP. Hajjarian is a close aide of former President Mohammad Khatami.
Iranian state radio said seven people were killed in Monday's protests -- the first confirmation of deaths from the demonstrations that started Saturday after the election results were announced. It said people were killed during an "unauthorized gathering" at a mass rally after protesters "tried to attack a military location."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
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[11140 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
An Iranian provincial prosecutor has warned that the "few elements" behind post-election unrest could face the death penalty under Islamic law, an Iranian news agency reported Wednesday.
Mohammadreza Habibi, prosecutor-general in the central province of Isfahan, said these elements were controlled from outside Iran and urged them to stop "criminal activities," Fars News Agency said.
"We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution," Habibi said.
"So before they are stricken with the law's anger they should return to the nation's embrace and avoid criminal measures and activities," he said.
It was not clear if his warning applied to just Isfahan or the country as a whole.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ||
06/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Government security forces detained key elements for the riots that occured during the past few days in the Iranian capital, said Minister of Intelligence and Security Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on Wednesday.
Ejehei told reporters after a cabinet meeting that "we indentified a number of key elements that caused the riots in Tehran and arrested them."
He also told the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that personnel of his ministry and other security services used resources available
Facebook, Twitter, CNN footage, the RB DS&TP, etc...
to identify violators of the law and security, namely those who were involved in vandalism and violence.
He indicated at the intention to refer the arrestees to the judiciary for punishment.
Continued on Page 47
LH, I laughed my ass of just at the name of the link.
"iranian-authorities-must-respect-and-nurture-debate"?! On what planet? 'Cuz it sure ain't this one.
Amnesty are clueless twits.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/18/2009 13:26 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Obviously an NGO cant force anyone to do anything.
Posts 1 and 2 seemed to imply Amnesty was silent.
They are not. It would be well for folks to do some easy research.
It is VERY odd to both condemn an organization for being silent, and then to laugh at them for speaking.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Way to take a noncommittal stand for freedom and against evil that we have seen so often and come to expect from the left. The only evil is taking a stand for liberty. "The Iranian authorities must learn to respect and nurture debate, not seek to close it down." as the mullahs order their dogs to beat and shoot demonstrators. Almost as forceful Chairman Obama's as "It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be."
Guess what? The Iranian mullahs have already who the leaders will be. It's them. To paraphrase one of Obama's political idols, "Debate comes from the barrel of a gun." You listen or else.
Posted by: ed ||
06/18/2009 15:17 Comments ||
Top||
#9
The Iranian mullahs have already decided
Posted by: ed ||
06/18/2009 15:18 Comments ||
Top||
#10
O(shit) cannot ever be wrong, it'll spoil his imitation GOD stance, he's waiting to see who wins, THEN he'll declare "He was behind them all he time"
SOP
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/18/2009 16:14 Comments ||
Top||
#11
"Obama's political idols"
What the f*** are you talking about? Are you claiming Obama is a Maoist? When y'all talk like this, it just makes it hard to take you seriously, y'all are as bad as Andrew Sullivan.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 16:26 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Remember who taught Barak Obama throughout his most impressionable teen years? Frank Marshall Davis, a self admitted hardline Maoist and possible baby daddy. You can bet your soon to be worthless bank account Obama was regaled in the tales of the Great Mao.
I do believe Obama is a communist at heart, whether he gravitates to Maoism or the "small c" communism of Ayers is not important. He can't openly admit it like "Uncle" Frank, but his policies show his hand. But his lifelong association, work, friendship and mentorship with hardline communists of the likes Davis, Alinsky, Wright and Ayers when no public attention was focused on him tells more of the real Obama than any Trinity United Jedi mind trick. Does that seem normal to you?
Barak Obama was steeped in communism growing up, chose to work, play and worship with communists (Marxist being the nice term) all his life and you want me believe he is some warm and fuzzy John Kennedy? Bullshit.
Posted by: ed ||
06/18/2009 16:54 Comments ||
Top||
#13
I had teachers in my teen years who were socialists, who were orthodox Jews, who were Castro admirers, who were Roman Catholics, and a guy who subbed for my English teacher who was I think, an IRA supporter.
Somehow I never became any of those things.
You are doing guilt by association, and it isnt pretty. Liberalism, including Classical Liberalism, judges people by their own words and actions.
Oh, and BTW, Marxism vs Communism is a very meaningful distinction. Marx may have written the Communist manifesto, but by 1880 Marxists were called socialists, and the word Communist was revived for followers of Leninism.
Which is not to say Obama is a Marxist. He obviously is not.
warm and fuzzy John Kennedy? If you go by guilt by association, you get non warm and fuzzy types pretty fast for JFK. Also for Gerald Ford, who at one time was associated with America Firsters. And Ronald Reagan, who was probably close to as many genuine lefties as Obama.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
06/18/2009 18:00 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Well, let's see...nationalizing the banks, nationalizing GM, nationalizing health care...if it quacks like a duck I'm guessing it's a duck.
#15
Welcome back, LH. I think this is what Fred said when he posted in today's thread about civil, well reasoned discourse that "If we exclude all argument from the other side we're just chanting, not discussing."
#16
Are you still close friends with them, 25 years into adulthood? Are they the god parents of your children? Did you kick off your political campaign in their house? Did they kick off your fund raising by having each member of the family, including children, contribute the maximum legal amount?
Did you seek out work with them to learn communist organizing techniques and then apply them throughout your subsequent career? Did you voluntarily go to their place each week for 23 years for indoctrination and racist diatribes?
judges people by their own words and actions.
Like nationalizing the largest industrial company in the nation? Like effectively taking control of the nation's largest banks. Like paying Brown Shirts to organize on your behalf, even through illegal means. Like accepting untraceable foreign money to fund a run run for office to implement the most massive transfer of wealth in history?
If it looks, acts and smells like a skunk, it's a skunk.
Oh look, "Socialist" Obama Sr that Jr claims to admire so much: Obama,Sr. stakes out the following positions in his attacks on the white paper produced by Mboyas Ministry of Economic Planning and Development:
1. Obama advocated the communal ownership of land and the forced confiscation of privately controlled land, as part of a forced development plan, an important element of his attack on the governments advocacy of private ownership, land titles, and property registration. (p. 29)
2. Obama advocated the nationalization of European and Asian owned enterprises, including hotels, with the control of these operations handed over to the indigenous black population. (pp. 32 -33)
3. Obama advocated dramatically increasing taxation on the rich even up to the 100% level, arguing that, there is no limit to taxation if the benefits derived from public services by society measure up to the cost in taxation which they have to pay (p. 30) and that, Theoretically, there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is taxed. (p. 31)
4. Obama contrasts the ill-defined and weak-tea notion of African Socialism negatively with the well-defined ideology of scientific socialism, i.e. communism. Obama views African Socialism pioneers like Nkrumah, Nyerere, and Toure as having diverted only a little from the capitalist system. (p. 26)
5. Obama advocates an active rather than a passive program to achieve a classless society through the removal of economic disparities between black Africans and Asian and Europeans. (p. 28) While we welcome the idea of a prevention [of class problems], we should try to cure what has slipped in .. we .. need to eliminate power structures that have been built through excessive accumulation so that not only a few individuals shall control a vast magnitude of resources as is the case now .. so long as we maintain free enterprise one cannot deny that some will accumulate more than others .. (pp. 29-30)
6. Obama advocates price controls on hotels and the tourist industry, so that the middle class and not only the rich can afford to come to Kenya as tourists. (p. 33)
7. Obama advocates government owned and operated model farms as a means of teaching modern farming techniques to farmers. (p. 33)
8. Obama strongly supports the governments assertion of a non-aligned status in the contest between Western nations and communist nations aligned with the Soviet Union and China. (p. 26)
Posted by: ed ||
06/18/2009 18:22 Comments ||
Top||
#17
The left have so corrupted the language that words have have lost almost all meaning. A quick history of the leftist dialectic.
Communist -> Marxist -> Socialist -> Progressive = Commies without a Secret Police force. Spit.
Posted by: ed ||
06/18/2009 18:27 Comments ||
Top||
#18
#16 - that's a schooling, LOL
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/18/2009 18:37 Comments ||
Top||
#19
And who will be in charge of my daughter's (and future kids) 3 month mandatory volunteer service, and where will she have to go to serve?
And the plans to nationalize health care and agriculture?
It is good to see you again LH, don't think I'm piling on, but it took me years to unlearn the BS I was taught in public school (all the history and literature classes a kid could elective, but business and economics were scarce, logic and critical thinking unavailable except one government class - a person was cool until a person said a 4 letter word like Bush or Dole in a good way) and this was not podunk HS, but one of the crayon jewels of the state. Many of my classmates still have their heads up their arse; not saying I'm always right but can participate in a learning session rather than them toeing a coffee house line.
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
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran said Wednesday it is investigating reports of violence at a Tehran University dormitory in the wake of rallies sparked by last week's disputed election. The aftermath of anti-riot police actions at Tehran University shows smashed computer terminals.
Six members of the Iranian football team have worn green armbands during a World Cup qualifying match against South Korea in Seoul. The players wore the colour adopted by the opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in an apparent show of support.
Thousands of Iranians swarmed the streets of Tehran on Tuesday in rival demonstrations over the country's disputed presidential election, pushing a deep crisis into its fourth day despite a government attempt to placate the opposition by recounting a limited number of ballots.
Government security forces detained key elements for the riots that occured during the past few days in the Iranian capital, said Minister of Intelligence and Security Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on Wednesday.
