Iranian Election Thread

[Soxy]

Not if they could entice Israel in to striking first.

That's a fair point. I feel like a regime change could be really good for Israel, though. It would almost be smart for them to wait it out.

 

A former student of mine went back into the IDF (her second round with them), and she said they were expecting something to start with Iran. (Granted this was before the election stuff.)

[Soxbadger]

Israel is not going to strike Iran now, or in the immediate future.

 

Iran is teetering and the last thing an enemy would want to do is give them something to rally around. Israel does not want land from Iran, so its not like taking advantage of them in a weakened state.

 

Also its most likely prudent to see how the dust settles and see what type of rhetoric is coming out of Iran.

[HuskyCaucasian]

[BigSqwert]

How To (Badly) Rig An Election

[HuskyCaucasian]

This is why I am glad McCain isnt running the country right now:

The point is, neoconservatives like McCain and Wehner just can't seem to quit their dangerous habit of making broad, extreme statements based on ideology rather than detailed knowledge of the situation in Iran and elsewhere. This was always the main problem with McCain's candidacy--he would have been a trigger-happy President, just as Wehner's old boss, George W. Bush, was. We are well out of that.

[StrangeSox]

I wouldn't consider McCain a neoconservative at all.

[lostfan]

I wouldn't consider McCain a neoconservative at all.

Yeah he's really not. He was actually faking the funk during the election. That's just lazy writing is all.

[mr_genius]

On this issue I prefer Obama's approach

[knightni]

Frankly, until we see the army actually turn on the government there's no reason for us to do anything. As long as Khamenei holds the trump card...killing an awful lot of people...in his pocket, then anything we do other than staying on the sidelines is counterproductive.

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20090622...an-protests.htm

[Soxy]

And the Iranian government is now saying that the CIA or terrorists were the ones that killed Neda.

[lostfan]

And the Iranian government is now saying that the CIA or terrorists were the ones that killed Neda.

Yeah, nobody's buying it though.

[HuskyCaucasian]

And the Iranian government is now saying that the CIA or terrorists were the ones that killed Neda.

LMAO!

[Soxy]

So, while soxtalk was (sigh) down, one of my favorite blogs posted an artists rendering of Neda. Perhaps more interesting, though, is the comment section below that, eventually, filled with comments from Iranians. You can see the art and the discussion here.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

And the Iranian government is now saying that the CIA or terrorists were the ones that killed Neda.

LINKY

 

Wolf Blitzer: Are you seriously accusing the CIA of killing Nada?

 

Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri: (through translator): We say that the bullet that was found in her head was not a bullet that you could find in Iran. These are the bullets that the CIA and terrorist groups use. Of course they warned that there would be a bloodshed in these demonstrations and then they could attribute that to the Islamic republic. This is part of a common act of CIA in various countries.

 

Blitzer: Do you really believe that, Mr. Ambassador? You're a distinguished diplomat representing Iran. This is a very serious accusation that you're making, that the CIA was responsible for killing this beautiful, young woman.

 

Ghadiri (through translator): I'm not saying that the CIA had done this. There are different groups. Could be intelligence services, could be CIA, could be the terrorists. However, these are the people who do these things.

[lostfan]

...didn't the Iranians used to buy US weapons? I guess that bullet was clearly marked "United States Central Intelligence Agency."

[ChiSox_Sonix]

...didn't the Iranians used to buy US weapons? I guess that bullet was clearly marked "United States Central Intelligence Agency."

 

hahaha

 

Yeah at least the Iranian people arent brainwashed and dumb enough to believe every word their government tells them.

[HuskyCaucasian]

"Hactivists" take up cause as streets quiet. A report from the AP:

 

A sharp clampdown by Iranian authorities may have quelled street protests, but the fight goes on in cyberspace.

 

Groups of "hacktivists" -- Web hackers demanding Internet freedom -- say they are targeting Web pages of Iran's leadership in response to the regime's muzzling of blogs, news outlets and other sites.

 

It's unclear how much the wired warriors have disrupted official Iranian sites. Attempts by The Associated Press to access sites for state news organizations, including the Islamic Republic News Agency and Fars, were unsuccessful -- with a message saying the links were "broken."

 

Other Iranian Web sites, including the official site for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were able to be viewed.

 

Calling anonymous... Anonymous, please report for duty.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Athomeboy_2000

[Flash Tizzle]

So............how's that whole revolution business coming along?

 

If this entire ordeal was a bet to be placed at Vegas, a lot of people would have lost money. Look at Honduras, if politicians or people within the military wanted Ahmadinejad gone he'd be out of there. He obviously has a huge amount of support, and all those fist shaking Iranians Tweeting and posting "REVOLUTION!" on message boards from both Iran and the basements of their parents homes didn't change a damn thing.

 

Alright, now the entire world knows the Iranian people aren't in support of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian government rigged the election. So? Is this what we're using to convince ourselves the death of Neda and the other 20+ protesters somehow served a larger purpose? Sounds like a terrible cause to die for.

 

Watch, everything will go back to normal and we'll slowly be reading the "Why didn't the revolution succeed" articles. And please, don't give me lame excuses about how it succeeded because of points in the preceeding paragraph, or how (insert consequence) will occur several years down the line. Four more years of our buddy at the helm. Better get used to it.

Edited June 30, 2009 by Flash Tizzle

[Rex Kickass]

So............how's that whole revolution business coming along?

 

If this entire ordeal was a bet to be placed at Vegas, a lot of people would have lost money. Look at Honduras, if politicians or people within the military wanted Ahmadinejad gone he'd be out of there. He obviously has a huge amount of support, and all those fist shaking Iranians Tweeting and posting "REVOLUTION!" on message boards from both Iran and the basements of their parents homes didn't change a damn thing.

 

Alright, now the entire world knows the Iranian people aren't in support of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian government rigged the election. So? Is this what we're using to convince ourselves the death of Neda and the other 20+ protesters somehow served a larger purpose? Sounds like a terrible cause to die for.

 

Watch, everything will go back to normal and we'll slowly be reading the "Why didn't the revolution succeed" articles. And please, don't give me lame excuses about how it succeeded because of points in the preceeding paragraph, or how (insert consequence) will occur several years down the line. Four more years of our buddy at the helm. Better get used to it.

 

The revolution to overthrow the Shah took two years. This fight has been waged for 18 days. History doesn't always move as quick as CNN would like us to believe.

[Flash Tizzle]

The revolution to overthrow the Shah took two years. This fight has been waged for 18 days. History doesn't always move as quick as CNN would like us to believe.

Well, that's the truth, but even then, two years is a significant amount of time in this age of 24 hour news reports. It'll be forgotten quickly.

 

Although, if say everything goes according to what happened over 30 years ago, we'd have to hope that the opposition group has nearly the same impact on the Iranian government that Ayatollah Khomeini had. So, not only would Khomeini have to be removed or relieved of his power to appoint a president, but he'd have to bring Ahmadinejad with him. Right?

 

Another point is the old form of Monarchy government for Iran allowed someone to remain in power indefinitely. The interesting question here is if Ahmadinejad is still alive and in power four years from now, would they try the same tactics to assure he's reelected? I guess you can say there's atleast one beneift to these protests. And I believe until more comes out of it, these are nothing more than election protests. Revolution seems to be more of something you brand after it is all said and done.

Edited June 30, 2009 by Flash Tizzle

[knightni]

Iranian Government: "Show's over, World. Everyone go back to what you were doing before this!"

[Balta1701]

Iranian Government: "Show's over, World. Everyone go back to what you were doing before this!"

Iranian Government: "Thanks Michael Jackson! I was able to kidnap 9 British Embassy workers and no one noticed!"

[bmags]

To how much importance do the Iranian people place in how many Americans are watching them die for their cause? Just because coverage will shift does not mean a movement will not occur. The reform party WAS in power just 8 years ago, if Ahmadinejad forces the next election thru corruption, I don't think he can get away with it.

 

To be clear, Honduras is a much different issue. It isn't a grassroots change, it's the military turning on the gov't, as has happened so many times in Latin America, and throughout the world. They don't have much support.

 

But I think now the protesting Iranians are getting marginalized as just being the upper class spoiled college kids. It wasn't just college kids protesting, it was the total youth of Tehran. It's obvious that the country side backs the current administration. But the Iranian people in Tehran and other big cities are quite moderate by middle eastern standards, as we have known for quite a while. And I do believe their cause will win out within ten years. That may not quick enough for some, but for revolutions like this, it's entirely reasonable.

[HuskyCaucasian]

12:23pm - Suspicious ballot photos posted by Iran state media?

 

A reader writes, "I believe this is well worth reporting: many interesting photos are being put on the web as I write, a good number of them published by IRNA itself (see here). These are images from the recent Guardians Council TV broadcast session where they 'recounted' some ballot boxes and found out that indeed Ahmadinejad's votes were higher than previously counted. These pictures show two things very clearly: 1) that a whole lot of the ballots that are being recounted are fresh, crisp, unfolded sheets - which makes no sense, given that people typically had to fold these sheets before they can slip them into the ballot boxes, and 2) that the handwriting on so many of the sheets which are votes for 'Ahmadinejad' are the same handwriting (and very clearly so)."

 

Edited June 30, 2009 by Athomeboy_2000

[knightni]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090705/wl_nm/us_iran

 

Nice.

 

Infighting.