Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/05/2009 12:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
You knew this purge was coming.
Also, wouldn't the photo on this article look better if DinnerJacket was wearing fuzzy bunny ears along with a nice pink furry outfit? I've seen that before somewhere and it would look look really really stylish on him.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/05/2009 14:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
hope he gets rid of the competent ones?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/05/2009 19:15 Comments ||
Top||
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iranian president on Wednesday as riot police broke up an opposition protest after an election that triggered the worst turmoil in the Islamic republic's history.
The 52-year-old hardliner took the oath of office for another four-year term at a ceremony in parliament, but outside police used pepper gas against demonstrators who claim his landslide election victory in June was fraudulent, witnesses said. Hundreds of policemen, including riot police and members of the Basij volunteer Islamic militia, were on the streets outside parliament for the ceremony, where Ahmadinejad vowed that his election marked the beginning of major change for Iran and the world.
Wednesday's ceremony was attended by about 240 of Iran's 290 MPs as well as clerics, but notable by his absence was powerful cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has criticised the regime over the election crisis.
Ahmadinejad's presidency was formally endorsed on Monday by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who described him as "courageous, astute and hardworking." Opposition leaders including Ahmadinejad's defeated rival Mir Hossein Mousavi and former president Mohammad Khatami were pointedly absent on Monday, as was Rafsanjani who suffered an upset defeat to Ahmadinejad in 2005.
Iran's judiciary chief on Tuesday urged the country's bitterly divided political groups to unite. "I hope all officials understand the situation and maintain unity," said Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi. "I hope they do what is best for the revolution, the regime, and Islam and disappoint the enemies."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ryuge ||
08/05/2009 02:57 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11138 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
To quote Roozonline:
The absence of senior state officials was so conspicuous that it forced the state-run IRNA news agency to use photographs from the presidentÂ’s first swearing-in ceremony four years ago in lieu of photographs taken at yesterday
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/05/2009 12:38 Comments ||
Top||
[Al Arabiya Latest] In a move that looked to turn Lebanese politics on its head, the Druze leader of the country's Progressive Socialist Party said Sunday his alliance with March 14, Lebanon's anti-Syrian Party, was driven by political circumstances and hinted at the possibility of splitting off.
Politician Walid Jumblatt, once a March 14 hawk, said his membership in the alliance could not continue, thereby signaling a serious shift in Lebanon's political landscape and radical change in the alliance that started with the Cedar Revolution in 2005.
He surprisingly called for rapprochement with Syria, a radical change from his anti-Syrian stance which held the Syrian government responsible for the assassination of Hariri and the series of assassinations that followed.
Jumblatt's new political stance towards Syria comes amid the changing regional status of the country, once isolated by the West but now on better terms with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Abbas Hisham, member of the March 8 Alliance, welcomed Jumblatt's statements and told a Lebanese T.V. channel that they signal forming a government within the coming week.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under:
[Iran Press TV Latest] As the ruling system mounts pressure on Iran's opposition, a lawmaker rules out any prospect of prosecuting Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mohammad Khatami -- two of the public symbols of the opposition.
With Iran grappling with a grave turbulence following a controversial presidential election in June, a formal endorsement by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Monday set in motion Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second inauguration as president.
Meanwhile, remarks made by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei during the approval ceremony suggested that President Ahmadinejad had plans to quell the elites who "failed" the election test.
"Those who talk of the nation's distrust do so either out of spite or out of negligence," said Ayatollah Khamenei in an allusion to protests against the vote result, adding that the angry crowd would continue their opposition during Ahmadinejad's second term in office.
The suggestion was made as the Iranian president had reportedly warned earlier that after taking office he would put down any uprising against his government.
Ever since the poll, a vast outpouring of discontent with massive and deadly street protests against the official outcome of the election has caused a growing divide among the ruling elite.
Among the opposing voices are influential figure Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and Mousavi, whose credentials are well-known since the 1979 revolution, as well as Khatami, a two-time former president, and Mehdi Karroubi, a former Parliament speaker.
The opposition figures, as well as the family members of the founder of the Islamic Revolution, shunned Ahmadinejad's approval ceremony on Monday.
The defiant opposition, meanwhile, has attracted storms of criticism and an increasing number of attacks by Principlist politicians and a raft of high-ranking officials.
Senior cleric and official Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami has assailed efforts to question the 'legitimacy' of the government that is "legitimized" by the Leader and law.
On Saturday, Tehran Representative in Majlis Hamid Rasayi said the mass trial against opposition figures, protesters and journalists -- which had opened earlier in the week -- had paved the way for action against the "real riot leaders".
In separate remarks on Tuesday, Javad Karimi-Qoddousi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Commission, said that Mohammad Khatami, who has expressed his disbelief and opposition at the election result as well as the trial, should be banned from leaving the country until further notice.
Commenting on recent reports, Qoddousi claimed that it was likely that Khatami would take asylum in a foreign country to avoid 'prosecution.'
However, a member of the minority bloc in Parliament, Ali-Akbar Oliya, was quoted by the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) as saying that such reports are of pure propagandist nature.
Oliya went on to say that the prospects of any trial against influential figures and opposition leaders were "rumors" floated by "hardliners".
"Instead of spreading such rumors, we need to work to restore law and security to the nation," the parliamentarian added.
On Tuesday, Iranian Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi called for "solidarity" and "unity" among officials ahead of President Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony.
Ahmadinejad is to take the oath of presidency before Iran's Parliament on Wednesday at 4:30am GMT.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Gulf News] A key Lebanese politician who bolted out of the Western-backed parliament majority Tuesday sought to allay concerns by some that he could join the rival Hezbollah bloc - a move that could lead to new political turmoil in the country.
Druze leader Walid Junblatt said he would not ally himself with Hezbollah's camp but remain independent.
But Junblatt's political realignment almost certainly will delay prime minister-designate Sa'ad Hariri's efforts to form a national unity cabinet, which has been in the works for more than a month.
In a stunning move, Junblatt, who leads Lebanon's minority Druze community, declared on Sunday he was leaving the coalition he had joined "out of necessity" four years ago.
Junblatt said his alliance with the Hariri bloc must end, but didn't say whether his 11 lawmaker-group would no longer vote with the coalition in parliament and thus effectively deny it a necessary majority in the 128-seat house.
"I want to be independent... I did not apply to join March 8," Junblatt told the daily An-Nahar newspaper in yesterday's edition, referring to the Hezbollah led-alliance.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under:
[Gulf News] Prominent defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi yesterday promised to keep up pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose re-election sparked off Iran's worst unrest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Ahmadinejad will be sworn in by parliament today when the authorities will want to avoid any repeat of the street unrest after the disputed June 12 poll in which at least 20 people were killed.
Karroubi, the most liberal of the presidential candidates who lost to Ahmadinejad, was quoted by the Spanish El Pais daily yesterday as saying that he and Mousavi would never capitulate. "Neither Mousavi nor I have withdrawn. We will continue to protest and we will never collaborate with this government. We will not harm it, but we will criticise what it does," Karroubi said in an interview. He added: "Quite honestly, if the authorities had acted in a different way, we would never have had these problems, because the majority of those protesting only did so for that reason."
Mousavi's credentials as a loyal servant of Iran's revolution may help explain why he has escaped arrest for leading protests against the election.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
" I tell those few selfish and meddling governments that you were cruel during this election towards our people and you used your financial and political abilities inappropriately "
Iranian re-elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's supreme leader formally endorsed the second term presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday after a disputed election that leading reformists say was rigged to ensure the incumbent's victory. "The official ceremony was held and Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) approved Mr. Ahmadinejad's presidency," the Arabic language al-Alam state television said after the Iranian auithorities banned the live airing of the ceremony.
Khamenei has endorsed the June 12 election result and demanded an end to protests during which at least 20 people were killed. He said that Ahmadinejad's election victory reflected the people's support for a fight against arrogance and for justice, after formally confirming his second term in office.
On his part, Ahmadinejad accused foreign governments of trying to cause trouble during the June election which returned him to power, the Fars news agency reported. "I tell those few selfish and meddling governments that you were cruel during this election towards our people and you used your financial and political abilities inappropriately," Fars quoted Ahmadinejad as saying after the ceremony. "You do not want a new model of divine democracy rising in the world. You wanted to divert global opinion from the collapse of capitalism, so you insulted the Iranian people."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
WASHINGTON -- White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is "the elected leader" of the Islamic republic. Gibbs was asked Tuesday if the White House recognized Ahmadinejad as the country's legitimate president. "He's the elected leader," Gibbs responded.
Iranian opposition to Ahmadinejad's re-election claimed he stole the vote, and there have been massive street demonstrations that have shaken the religious leadership of the country. Ahmadinejad reports to the religious establishment. Dozens of demonstrators were killed or wounded in the uprising.
President Barack Obama has been cautious in responding to the turmoil because he's trying to open a dialogue with Iran about its nuclear program.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11140 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
the dumbf*ck walked it back today. Gibbs: "making incompetent spokesholes look good since 2009"™
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/05/2009 19:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
And Saddam Hussein was the "elected" leader of Iraq (with 100% of the vote!).
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/05/2009 21:09 Comments ||
Top||
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.
[Gulf News] Prominent defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi yesterday promised to keep up pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose re-election sparked off Iran's worst unrest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
