Iran Election June 09

[Merlin]

This is one way the Internet is getting nearly real-time information out of Iran.

Twitter Is a Player In Iran's Drama

17 June [WashingtonPost] The State Department asked social-networking site Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance earlier this week to avoid disrupting communications among tech-savvy Iranian citizens as they took to the streets to protest Friday's reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The move illustrates the growing influence of online social-networking services as a communications media. Foreign news coverage of the unfolding drama, meanwhile, was limited by Iranian government restrictions barring journalists from "unauthorized" demonstrations.

"One of the areas where people are able to get out the word is through Twitter," a senior State Department official said in a conversation with reporters, on condition of anonymity. "They announced they were going to shut down their system for maintenance and we asked them not to."

A White House official said "this wasn't a directive from Secretary of State, but rather was a low-level contact from someone who often talks to Twitter staff." The official said Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tweeted, according to news reports. "Twitter is simply a medium that all Iranians can use to communicate," the official said. ....

[tinymarae]

More pictures from today's protests. Big picture from Boston.com is an amazing feature

Like Zraver said, not many women in Pro A'jad protests.

I know this is offtopic, but I really have to say this - Iranian women are really pretty.

[Dreadnought]

If twitter had gone down, it might have inflamed things more because the street would have blamed the regime. Or the regime would have blamed the Americans for causing the outage so the regime would be blamed. Keeping the network up simply keeps America out of the situation.

*Its sad to think the people of Iran would actaully believe the shit that pours forth from this moonbats mouth. Completely sad to think we would have anything to do with their elections. We hope that they would have elected someone better or prove it was fraud but we all know how far this will go. Looks like we get to deal with this jerk off and his lies for the next few years. I hope the Iranian people take him out.

[omon]

[
I know this is offtopic, but I really have to say this - Iranian women are really pretty.

i agree, they sure are.

[Dreadnought]

i agree, they sure are.

From the ones I have encoutered I would be inclined to agree as well.

[La_Piovra]

I know this is offtopic, but I really have to say this - Iranian women are really pretty.

She's an angel!

[zraver]

She's an angel!

She is fugly compared to some. Most Americans will find Iranian women pretty. Culturally they have similar tastes as ours as regards beauty and they stem from the same Indo-Ayran branch of the human family that created the Western Europeans with the finely chiseled faces we make supermodels.

Photoshop for the loss

[tinymarae]

She is fugly compared to some.

You take that back else I will be protesting in Tehran demanding the Ayatollah issue a fatwa against you.

[La_Piovra]

She is fugly compared to some.

Well we aren't looking for miss universe here. That was just a random photo of a girl in a protest. If you can find a girl that pretty in a protest, imagine how many beautiful others one will find if you actually start looking for them. But yes, Iranian girls are generally very pretty. I have a friend from Iran (a girl) who is a statement to that :)

[Steezy]

Persian women are hot no doubt, but it's also widely known that Iranian women have a high rate of plastic surgery amongst them, compared to the world in general. I remember reading that somewhere. So that also might have something to do with it, perhaps

[omon]

what???? iranian women have higer rate of pl. surgerys than americans??? not a chance.

[Dreadnought]

I've been surfing alot on the elections this morning and it seems Irans government is now in fear. They know they got caught rigging the elections with more votes casted in certain areas then in some of the main populations. Voting places were closed early while people were still lining up to vote and they have defied the government by calling for more protests. Reporters forced to stay indoOrs so they cant report on the protests or leave the country. This is not government this is dictatorship and if you want it to change then sometimes you must fight!

To the people in IRAN......

GOOD FOR YOU LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD AND YOUR VOTES CAST. THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS YOU CAUGHT THEM CHEATING AND THEY ARE TRYING TO SILENCE YOU BY TELLING YOU TO RESPECT THE ISLAMIC STATE.

HOW CAN YOU RESPECT A GOVERNMENT THAT IS NOT RESPECTING YOU OR YOUR WISHES AND HIDES THIS FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD BY SHUTTING DOWN COMMUNICATIONS AND MAKING FOREIGN REPORTERS LEAVE THE COUNTRY OR STAY INDOORS.

KEEP PROTESTING AND FORCE A NEW ELECTION FROM THE THEOCRACY!

YOU HAVENT LOST YET!:)

WOHOOO THE WAB REACHING OUT!

[Dreadnought]

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's opposition Wednesday pledged to continue protests over disputed presidential elections as authorities tightened controls on media, threatening Web sites reporting on the country's worst crisis for decades.

Al-Alam footage shows Ahmadinejad supporters rallying Tuesday in central Tehran.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi, who claims last week's re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged, called on his supporters to join him on the streets of Tehran Thursday in the latest in a series of demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard -- which enforces strict Islamic codes -- said it will prosecute Web sites it accuses of inciting riots, adding to a ban on foreign media reporting on the protests and a block on Internet site such as Facebook or Twitter.

Even as the Guard made its announcement, thousands of Iranians planned to head to Haft-e-Tir Square in central Tehran on Wednesday evening despite a stepped-up government crackdown that has seen people arrested across the country.

The scale of the protests, the worst seen in the country since a 1979 revolution overthrew its monarchy, Tuesday prompted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has already endorsed Ahmadinejad's win, to appeal for calm, urging citizens to support the Islamic state.

His appeal came a day after at least seven people were killed during a pro-Moussavi demonstration in Tehran.

Moussavi, who has dismissed a move by Iran's Guardian Council election authority to hold a partial recount, Wednesday called on Iranians to "put on display all signs of mourning" to show sympathy for families of those killed.

Despite reported arrests across Iran, many protests pledged to continue defying government bans on their demonstration.

"We are fighting with our lives and the world is just watching," said Ali, a Tehran University student who did not want his full name used for safety reasons. "They see how the government is trying to silence us, how they are beating us -- but they don't come to our help. It's OK. We will succeed, even if we have to fight alone."

In Iran's southwestern city of Shiraz, 28-year-old hospital nurse Najmeh has also taken to the streets in mass demonstrations every day since Saturday, but says she is now too afraid to participate.

"The police are everywhere you look," she said. "They hurt and arrested so many people last night that one wants to go out."

U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his "deep concerns" about the elections Tuesday but said: "My hope is that the Iranian people will take the right steps in order for them to be able to express their voices, express their aspirations."

European Union has also expressed concern about the use of force against protesters, but the countries have not dismissed the results outright.

On Tuesday night, riot police hauled demonstrators off to jail in Shiraz -- in some cases waiting outside hospital rooms while they were treated for injuries first -- according to hospital staff.

Pro-Ahmadinejad supporters, armed with bats and batons, rode through city streets in Tehran in a show of force. Watch government coverage of a pro-Ahmadinejad rally »

The government restricted access to news Web sites, such as CNN. It blocked social networking sites to prevent citizens from posting pictures of the protests.

And Tehran told reporters working for international news outlets, including CNN, they could not shoot footage of the protests. The government said it could not guarantee their safety.

"I do believe them because the militia, they don't care who you are. If they see a camera, you will be a target," said a CNN producer who is not being identified for safety reasons.

He was referring to the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force that takes its orders from the Revolutionary Guard, and is suspected of being behind most of the violent acts.

The decision to ban international reporters from filming rallies was an apparent reaction to video showing violence at recent demonstrations in support of Moussavi.

The government has criticized some of that coverage and the images, describing them as biased.

Still, residents found ingenious ways to get their message to the outside world using proxy servers.

Their amateur videos and photographs began appearing on video-sharing sites, such as YouTube and CNN's iReport. iReport.com: On the ground in Iran

In most cases, the content was impossible to verify. Some were posted anonymously or through third parties. Others provided little information on where they were taken.

A video from Monday shot in Tehran showed a man firing repeatedly from a building rooftop, sending protesters scrambling for cover. Another showed demonstrators rushing through the crowd carrying an unconscious man, his shirt soaked red.

A still photograph showed five policemen stomping on a man while a woman in a black chador -- a full-length loose robe that women in Iran wear like a cloak -- screamed for them to stop.

"I have never seen anything like what we saw yesterday," said a man who sent in footage to iReport of a rally in Azadi, or Freedom, Square in central Tehran on Monday. "(The chants) were so loud, the building we were in was trembling."

Counter-demonstrations by Ahmadinejad backers have also drawn thousands, reflecting a deep fissure in the country. The protests have claimed at least seven lives.


Eighty-five percent of the country's 46 million eligible voters went to the polls on June 12 -- an unprecedented voter turnout.

The government declared Ahmadinejad the winner -- with 62.63 percent of the vote. Moussavi received 33.75 percent, surprising many experts who expected him to win.

*AND JUST THINK THESE VOTES AND A WINNER WAS ANNOUNCED WITHIN HOURS. OBVIOUSLY A RIGGED ELECTION BY THE THOCRACY AFRAID TO LOOSE THEIR GRIP ON THE PEOPLE!

[Big K]

what???? iranian women have higer rate of pl. surgerys than americans??? not a chance.

you just cant imagine how free minded they can be under their chador.

one of my closest friend is in the women underclothing business and hes telling me amazing stories

just any of us cant imagine :))

[Dreadnought]

(CNN) -- With a recount announced for the Iranian election, and opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi demanding a fresh election, the political situation in Iran remains on a knife's edge.

We're witnessing the mobilizing power of anti-incumbent forces, particularly youth, who are fed up, and the role of technology in getting voters to the ballot boxes and out on the street.

The Iranian drama has upstaged the recent Lebanese elections in which the U.S.-backed, Sunni-led March 14 coalition won a resounding victory over the increasingly politically active Hezbollah.

Both events, however, point to setbacks for what many have perceived as a Shiite axis of Iran and Hezbollah to undermine American interests throughout the Mideast. For this reason, Arab publics are fixated on the events in Tehran as much as Americans are.

Turkey appears to be the only country that has so far accepted the Iranian election results. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has clearly signaled that it considers the first-round results fraudulent, but has also praised the "vigorous debate" going on within Iran. This has so far proven to be an uncontroversial line.

In situations such as this, where events on the ground drive reality more than anything the United States can do, American policy-makers can only think in terms of possible scenarios and sensible reactions.

If the recount validates incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory, the most likely scenario, the United States will have to accept it but take comfort in the fact that even after the election is sorted out, the country's credibility will be weakened significantly. The clerics now face a semi-permanent crisis of legitimacy, both due to their over-interference in the election and the equally important issue of their uncertain succession.

Another scenario is that both the protests -- and the crackdowns -- intensify, leading to greater calls for some outside intervention. But any American involvement would be unwise, and would further legitimize Ahmadinejad's anti-American stance.

Recall that when the United States announced in 2007 that it would provide about $40 million for supporting democracy in Iran, the crackdown against dissidents and students only intensified. The same would happen again.

In all cases, the United States has to see how Ahmadinejad approaches the task of reconciling with the sizeable segments of the population that do not support him and are bruised by what they may forever consider a stolen election.

There is yet one more election that plays into the U.S. policy picture for the region, namely in Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister and just gave a major speech outlining conditional support for a "demilitarized" Palestinian state.

Could the United States use this as leverage with Arab regimes to deepen reconciliation with Israel and also further isolate Iran's opposition to a two-state solution? Maybe. For many, this would be an ideal outcome, but it depends very much on Netanyahu's sincerity.

Another issue that will return to the forefront after the election is Iran's nuclear program. While many Iranian voters have criticized the opaque way Ahmadinejad has handled the nuclear negotiations over the past several years, claiming it as one example of how he has tarnished Iran's international image, this does not necessarily mean that new leadership in Iran would no longer be interested in nuclear weapons. Here too, the United States will have to wait for signals from Iran.

The United States can be proactive on some levels, however. First, it can attempt to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations toward a two-state solution and actively lobby Arab governments to support a push toward settlement while Hezbollah is weakened and Iran is distracted.

Next, it can support a long-overdue regional security conference, likely convened by a Gulf Arab nation like Qatar, which enjoys solid diplomatic relations all around. The conference would include Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other participants to improve transparency over regional military maneuvering.

Such a grouping could also serve to stimulate more cross-border investment in the energy sector and job creation focused on the under-employed "youth bulge." The United States, EU, Russia and China should all quietly support such an event and attend as observers, while quietly urging the deepening of ties among these many historical antagonists.

Between the elections in Lebanon, Israel and Iran, and President Obama's speech in Egypt, it has clearly been an active spring and summer in the Mideast. Let's hope that the outcomes from all of these seminal events create the conditions for a new and more peaceful stage in the region.

AMEN TO THAT!