First, I am not much in favor of violent revolutions. I was too young to have played any role in what happened in Iran in 1978-79, except that my family did leave the country during the turmoil of that period. Second, there is a huge difference between the two situations. In 1978-79, rightly or wrongly, the people were largely united behind the movement to oust the Shah from power. We don't have that today at all. No one can deny that Ahmadinejad has a huge enough following with millions of supporters, the kind that are more than willing to take to the streets as well. At best, even if you give the benefit of the doubt to the other side (reformists et al), they have something like an equal following among the population compared to Ahmadinejad. However, the regime has the security aparatus behind it as well, which means a confrontation between the two groups is merely a recipe for disaster for the group which neither has more numbers nor any troops, throwing the country into chaos and ending with a result that will leave Iran less free not more. That is my view. Iran's road to positive change, which is not always synonymous with the changes advocated by reformists or opposition groups, is a long one and I don't see short cuts on that road. Nor do I see Ahmadinejad even a real hindrance to it but often the reverse. That is, of course, merely my view and others are entitled to their's.
The crowds are getting bigger and bigger: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=1078790293295&ref=nf
Another video - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0MkATcn04M"]YouTube - Iran election. Riot in tehran streets after election day - 13/06/09[/ame]
Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi try to rescue a riot policeman (C) after he was beaten by demonstrators during a protest in Valiasr Street in Tehran on June 13, 2009.
Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi burn a police motorcylce during a protest in Valiasr Street in Tehran on June 13, 2009. P.s I just got a notice from Mousavi`s campaign page that Facebook has been filtered again in Iran.
This is a coup! Rafsanjani, Khatami and Karoubi have been put under virtual house arrest. Mousavi and Rahnavard are at the Interior Ministry.
Wow! Thats insane! Rafsanjani under house arrest? Sad how Rafsanjani helped Khamanei get the 'Rahbar' position. Khamenei may have created a monster, one he cant control... since the sepah is supporting AN, he is simply untouchable, even by Khamenei. I think things in Iran are changing, transitioning to a military government.
Link? Not that I don't believe you, it's just that I'd like more info. So much for democracy in Iran. Not free, not fair, and not open.
Democracy? As long as there's a Guardian Council, there cannot possibly be democracy. This whole election thingy is just a means to pacify the public...didn't work this time apparently...
I agree. What passes for democracy in Iran is a joke to begin with, but what's happened the past few days is ridiculous even by their standards. I was hoping for some signs of moderation and reform, even though it was always unlikely. Too bad it looks like it'll be another generation at least before anything changes there. People will blow off some steam and things will be back to where they were a couple of weeks ago.
Despite the non-interference approach by Obama and his admin towards the Iranian elections, there was indeed a covert operation to create a "velvet revolution". The kind of failures that countries like Ukraine, Lebanon, and other have experienced, regardless how much resources Soro's organization and others have poured into this kinda chaos. I am delighted that Iranian populace was smart to pick the right candidate, and not fall for the media hype around the green stuff. At this juncture, security is the number one issue, and Mossavi and his supporters fully understand that. As far as the anarchists hiding behind the green, they should not be tolerated, period.
That's a gross representation of the event and Mossadegh. Soro and his gang are in pain, and that's always a blessing for Iran and the world community.
Stop the bloody nonsense. Now, your wicked creed is an expert in Iranian elections too. Mahmood has a lot of popularity, and that has always been well known. The media scam, especially in the West, didn't produce the result and they are all screaming foul.
the whole situation is sad..... people in Iran and abroad should know that Iran has a whole institution to make sure people like Moussavi do not get elected if anyone wants change......wait 10+ years also I think that riots are bringing out a lot of emotions because of the economy rather than the election itself. When economy is bad......people will take any excuse to fight the government.......its very sad AN got elected when during his last reign Iran witnessed 20% inflation, peoples savings are slowly being wiped away so these riots make sense as to why they're happening
This could become a grave situation for Iran in the very near future. On one hand the domestic situation could spin into a full blown crisis. There certainly seems to be quite a few very upset people in the country and it appears that a rigged election is not going to go down quietly. On the other hand, internationally with AN and his mouth back in charge, and if indeed as you said a military gov. takes hold, I fear the likelihood of armed conflict goes up to at least a 60% chance. This of course is not good for anyone, particularly for Iran.
Whatever. The events of the past day have shown what a absurd joke the Iranian government is. They can't even rig an election to make it appear plausible. Now they're shutting down phone service, web sites, newspapers, offices of the opposition parties, and barring people from the interior ministry buildings. A blind man can see the whole thing is a sham. What a wonderful country - you must be so proud. I'm going to sit back and enjoy watching all of the tinfoil-hat-wearing Iranian fanboys like yourself spaz out about this election.
ROTFLMAO That's a good one! I'm just sorry the Iranian people don't seem like they're really having their voices heard, which is too bad.
Obviously I know very little about internal Iranian politics. However. Never in human history has sky-high turnout coincided with a landslide for the INCUMBENT. That defies human nature. This outcome is obvious bullshit. It's so obvious, insultingly so, that BY FAR the most logical explanation is that the fraud was so naked in order to provoke protests in order to justify repression. The other possibility is that Ahmedinejad is blindingly stupid. I mean, if you're gonna rig an election, there's a right way to do it! There's a right way to do everything! And this is flatout the wrong way to rig an election.
I want to ask the brave young men and women in Iran who have taken to the streets over the past 30 hours to continue their efforts. The whole world is watching your struggle for freedom. There is no way this administration will survive if the pressure from within persists and external pressure begins to breathe down its neck. The American government wants to stand by the people of Iran and ask the rest of the world to demand more freedoms from Ahmadinejad. The more that people see how hungry the Iranian people are for change, for equality, and their voices to be heard, the more possible reform becomes. I salute you and your heroic efforts to stand up to tyranny and dictatorship! I wish you all peace and the will, courage, and determination to continue the fight.
http://niacblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/election-liveblogging-saturday/ Granted it's via facebook, but it was quoted on Huff-Po, so it can't be complete BS.
Bigsoccer Linked by NYT http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/20...r-irans-election-results/?partner=rss&emc=rss "Here is an unlikely but good source of photographs and video of protests in Iran earlier on Saturday: a discussion board on the Web site Big Soccer.com. Thanks to the reader who pointed it out." Your audience is wider that our board now. Keep it clean, lads!
The US needs to tread very carefully here, because if we give too much support to Mousavi and his supporters then it will only further justify the repression by AN and allow them to further say that this is all caused by the West. And given the history of the US in Iran (53) it will only hurt the people of Iran. I echo your statement that the people of Iran need to continue to have their voice heard and I wish them all well.
Iranian Election Results Other commentaries: http://www.juancole.com/2009/06/stealing-iranian-election.html http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/statistical-evidence-does-not-prove.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099115.stm