Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will take the oath of office before parliament in early August following his hotly-disputed re-election, the ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday. The hardline Ahmadinejad will be sworn in as the 10th president of the Islamic republic between August 2 and 6 after being confirmed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and will then unveil his new cabinet, it said.
Lebanon on Monday freed a Palestinian who had served 15 years of a life sentence for the murder of a Jordanian diplomat after he was granted a presidential pardon amid appeals for clemency from human rights watchdogs. I have it on good authority that they're gonna let the diplomat off from being dead, too.
Yussef Shaaban had been convicted of the 1994 murder in the heart of Beirut of embassy first secretary Naeb Omran al-Maatiyeh. Two Jordanians were also found guilty of the crime and executed in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Dozens of Palestinians gave Shaaban a hero's welcome at his home in the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in south Beirut. Well-wishers carried the former prisoner on their shoulders and waved Lebanese and Palestinian flags, an AFP correspondent reported. They just love their murderers. Continued on Page 47
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07/14/2009 00:00 ||
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TEHRAN: Iran will hang 14 members of a Sunni rebel group in public today, including a brother of its leader Abdolmalek Rigi, a semi-official news agency reported yesterday. Predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran says Jundollah (God's Soldiers) is part of the Sunni Islamist Al-Qaeda network and backed by the United States, Tehran's arch foe. Fars News Agency quoted a local judiciary statement as inviting families of the group's victims and other people to come and watch the executions at 6:30 am (0200 GMT) in a park in the southeastern city of Zahedan. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported on May 29 that Jundollah had claimed a mosque bombing the previous day in Zahedan which killed 25 people.
Fars did not mention the bombing but said those sentenced to hang were convicted of mohareb, or one who is waging war against God, and of killing innocent people. It named one of the men sentenced to death as Abdolhamid Rigi, brother of Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi. Fars reported on June 6 that two members of Jundollah, including a man it also named as Abdolhamid Rigi, were hanged in Zahedan. A week earlier, three people convicted of involvement in the mosque bombing were hanged in public. Media reported that clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of a Sunni cleric in the city and six people died in an arson attack.
Jundollah says it fights for the rights of minority Sunnis in officially Shi'ite Muslim Iran. Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where most people are minority Sunni Muslims and ethnic Baluchis. Close to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the region has seen frequent clashes between security forces and heavily armed drug smugglers, as well intermittent attacks by Sunni Baluchi rebels.
Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking are all punishable by death in the Islamic state. The official IRNA news agency said yesterday three drug traffickers were put to death in central Markazi province. The European Union earlier this month denounced Iran for a spate of executions, including the hanging of 20 drug traffickers on July 4 in a jail in a city west of Tehran. A few days earlier 12 other people were executed in two other cities, including six for murder in a Tehran jail. Iran usually carries out executions in its prisons.
The human rights group Amnesty International has listed Iran as the world's second most prolific executioner in 2008 after China, and says Iran executed at least 346 people last year. Executions have increased since authorities began a campaign against "immoral behaviour" in 2007. Iran says it implements Islamic law and rejects accusations it is violating human rights. - Reuters
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Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
Although both the Arabs and the Iranians occupy the same geographical region, and the majority of them are members of the same religion, and they share a thousand years of history, the Iranian experience is different from the Arab one. Before looking at modern-day Iran, and examining what is taking place in Tehran, we should try to understand the special circumstances that affect Iran. Unlike the Arabs who are comprised of various nations and who number more than two hundred million people and are spread over two continents, the Iranians live in a single country, and speak a language that they share with only a few minorities beyond their borders.
Uncivilized Beduin barbarians, all of 'em! No right-minded Persian should imitate anything they do, especially that democracy thingy they've taken up with such enthusiasm in Iraq.
" Unlike the Arabs who are comprised of various nations and who number more than two hundred million people and are spread over two continents, the Iranians live in a single country, and speak a language that they share with only a few minorities beyond their borders "
It is therefore not difficult to understand why for two thousand years Iran has looked westwards to the Arab world and beyond as a way of escaping its single state cage. Expansion was an ambition of the Shah who built up his military arsenal to the point that Iran was recognized as the region's policeman, and had a large say in the issues of the Arab region. These ambitions were revived following the Islamic Revolution but under a different guise, the goal this time was external expansion in order to give Iran a large say in its [own] regional affairs.
The single confrontation between the Arabs and the Iranians took place following the Islamic Revolution when Saddam Hussein believed there was an opportunity for him to extend his own influence. In his ignorance, Saddam Hussein believed that the new rulers in Iran were an easy target, but his greed resulted in Iraq suffering eight years of war. This was [until then] the largest war seen in the region with regards to death-toll and the scale of destruction.
This war, and prior to it, the Iranian revolution, confirmed that the Iranian individual -- perhaps more so than the Arab individual -- is a dangerous prospect when he joins with other individuals and becomes a group. This is what we are seeing today in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian major cities.
The recent events only confirm these differences [between the Iranians and the Arabs], and illustrates the importance of the Iranian public. We must not forgot that the Iranian public was the main catalyst for change against the Shah in the late seventies, and before this in the fifties during the popular uprising led by [former Iranian Prime Minister] Mohamed Mosaddeq against the Shah. This uprising would have been successful were it not for outside interference.
On the other hand, the Arab public -- despite all their talk -- has never initiated any [political] change whatsoever. Even the revolutions that the Arab public is credited to have played a part in, such as the Arab Revolt in the early twentieth century, and the Egyptian Revolution in the mid-twentieth century, had in reality nothing whatsoever to do with the Arabic public.
The role that the Iranian public is playing today is similar to that which it played [during the uprisings] in 1977 and which eventually led to a complete change [in the political system]. The current uprising in Iran may fail and not achieve anything, but whatever the end result, this uprising has distinguished itself as a historic and popular movement, something distinct from the emotional anger seen during the 1977 Egyptian Bread Riots. What is taking place in Tehran is the result of continuous effort since the student protests of ten years ago, and this activism has survived despite the regime's efforts to stamp it out.
Therefore this movement has not stopped despite the regime's violence against the unarmed demonstrators, and its policy of murder and arrest. Despite the security attempts to prevent this and the media blackout, demonstrations have been ongoing. The regime being forced to cut off all mobile phone communication only serves to illustrate the magnitude of these protests. The success of the demonstrators in protesting by religious means, and utilizing mosques for this purpose, also serves to demonstrate that this crisis is a crisis within the governing regime, and is not as a result of Western incitement.
I believe that this crisis that the Iranian regime is facing today is as a result of it facing a different public, a public that is determined and tireless, one that will not back down no matter how it is prevented, suppressed or intimidated. It is a situation that we in the Arab world who rarely attempt to confront and implement change at a grass-roots level find difficult to understand. All the Arab changes have come from the top down, via military coups, from inside palaces, or from abroad.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
(a) Very different in the sense of being a lot more likely to build Nukes.
(b) Not so different that they can be trusted with Nukes.
An Iranian artist has been sentenced to five years in prison for having put the Koran to music. According to 'Fardanews', the Iranian authorities considered the move "offensive to Islamic morality". Mohsen Namju is accused of having ridiculed the Koran, "reciting it in a western and anti-Islamic style". All around the Prophet's house,
The monkey chased the Joooooo.
The monkey stopped to pop off a round,
Pop goes the Koran.
One of the major experts on recitation of the the Koran in Iran, Abbas Salimi, reported the musician to the Islamic court in Tehran. The court found the artist guilty for having breached "Islamic morality". All around the Prophet's house.
The warthog chased the Joooooo.
The Joooooo pulled out his elephant gun.
Pop goes the Koran.
After the sentence, Abbas Salimi was reportedly "very satisfied" and underlined the importance of "defending the sacredness of god's book". No-one should be able to ridicule it," he said. Half a pound of rocket fuel,
Half a pound of Semtex.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop goes the Koran.
Under Islamic law, music is allowed if it does not result in provoking the faithful. Combining the recitation of the Koran and popular songs, like the Iranian artist, is not tolerated under Islamic Sharia law.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
music is allowed if it does not result in provoking the faithful
Two thoughts.
(a) The faithful are easily provoked.
(b) How come they let Michael Jackson convert to Islam?
#3
F&T: sounds like the musician was satirizing or parodying sacral music. Doing it as a rap, probably, knowing the crap tastes of this modern, degenerate generation. In poor taste, but not a big deal unless you're living under a theocratic tyranny.
Oops.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/14/2009 16:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Sung to the tune of Gangsta's Paradise.
Posted by: ed ||
07/14/2009 18:06 Comments ||
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A defeated candidate in Iran's disputed election has said the Islamic system may face "collapse" unless it embraces change, in unusually blunt language from a prominent establishment figure. Conservative Mohsen Rezaie, a former Revolutionary Guards commander who finished third in the June 12 vote won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for national unity in a statement posted on his website on Sunday evening. "Continuation of the current situation would lead us to collapse from inside," he wrote. "We need cooperation and brotherhood. We need to respect people and their rights." The presidential election sparked days of street protests by supporters of moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says the vote was rigged in Ahmadinejad's favour, and exposed deepening divisions within the Islamic Republic's leadership. In his statement, Rezaie criticised the way the election was handled as well as "mismanagement in dealing with public demands and protests".
Continued on Page 47
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A group of Iranian clerics in the holy city of Qom reportedly want to leave their country and relocate to the Iraqi city of Najaf, to protest against recent action by the government of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. News of their intentions was revealed on Monday on the opposition website 'Peiknet'. "This symbolic gesture evokes the historic political battles of the Shia clerics against the Persian monarchies," the site said.
In fact, when they wanted to protest their dissent against the government, several grand ayatollahs used to leave Iran, seeking refuge in the holy city of Najaf. If the ayatollahs of Qom left the Iranian city for Iraq on this occasion, it would clearly demonstrate they no longer back the government of Ahmadinejad.
"The repressive measures, coordinated by the same Supreme Leader, in the last few weeks have caused the death of citizens, and left him inadequate to continue the role of 'spiritual guide' of the country."
On Saturday, the Grand Ayatollah, Hossein Ali Montazeri, former deputy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, strongly criticised the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying he no longer had the legitimacy to continue in his position. "The repressive measures, coordinated by the same Supreme Leader, in the last few weeks have caused the death of citizens, and left him inadequate to continue the role of 'spiritual guide' of the country," he said.
On Saturday the Iranian government said it was preparing a new package of proposals to put to the West. Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said it would concern "political, security and international issues". He was speaking in Tehran hours after G8 leaders said they were appalled at Iran's disputed presidential election.
US President Barack Obama said global leaders were also "deeply troubled" by Iran's nuclear programme. "How troubled are you, B.O.?"
"Deeply. Deeply." Continued on Page 47
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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
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
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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.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will take the oath of office before parliament in early August following his hotly-disputed re-election, the ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday. The hardline Ahmadinejad will be sworn in as the 10th president of the Islamic republic between August 2 and 6 after being confirmed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and will then unveil his new cabinet, it said.
An Iranian artist has been sentenced to five years in prison for having put the Koran to music. According to 'Fardanews', the Iranian authorities considered the move "offensive to Islamic morality". Mohsen Namju is accused of having ridiculed the Koran, "reciting it in a western and anti-Islamic style".
A defeated candidate in Iran's disputed election has said the Islamic system may face "collapse" unless it embraces change, in unusually blunt language from a prominent establishment figure. Conservative Mohsen Rezaie, a former Revolutionary Guards commander who finished third in the June 12 vote won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for national unity in a statement posted on his website on Sunday evening. "Continuation of the current situation would lead us to collapse from inside," he wrote. "We need cooperation and brotherhood. We need to respect people and their rights." The presidential election sparked days of street protests by supporters of moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says the vote was rigged in Ahmadinejad's favour, and exposed deepening divisions within the Islamic Republic's leadership. In his statement, Rezaie criticised the way the election was handled as well as "mismanagement in dealing with public demands and protests".
