IRAN: SHIT'S GETTIN' REAL
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they said that about the yugoslav wars. that would've been more of a shambles than it already was without outside intervention. this is a more similar situation in terms of a precarious situation of ethnic conflict.
this is iran. do you not think a political conflict could escalate into conflict between regular Shi'as and Twelvers (representative of the two opposing candidates), between Shi'as and the minority Sunnis, between Muslims and the already persecuted Bahá'Ã, between the 22 main ethnic groups as well as countless others.. oh we're back to the Yugoslav wars. This may just be the event that lights the blue touch-paper for all this ethnic tension to explode
Well, what sort of outside intervention should be taken? It's not like anyone outside of the situation could disintegrate the Ayatollah's legacy or anything. Only they can do that.
yeah err.. the demographics don't really shape that way. The majority Persians almost unerringly correlate with the majority Shi'as. you did say theoretically and it is exactly that, the correlation is such that ethnic divides run parallel to religious divides.
as for outside intervention I've already mentioned the UN Security Council and this does appear to be exactly their jurisdiction.
as for outside intervention I've already mentioned the UN Security Council and this does appear to be exactly their jurisdiction.
author=Fallen-Griever link=topic=4003.msg80965#msg80965 date=1245171415The two are indistinguishable in that part of the world.
More religous tension than ethnic tension. Race and religous viewpoint are completely different things. Theoretically, religion has little to do with ethnicity.
yeah basically why did i say it in such an obtuse manner, that is a much better way of saying it.
also something I didn't address: dismantling the ayatollah isn't really the issue here, firstly because to my knowledge khamenei's actually proved himself to be a relatively balanced guiding hand (for a fundamentalist Islamic supreme ruler, and pretty much in the exact opposite fashion to his predecessor) and secondly because whatever your view on supreme power the supreme leader and the president's roles are indeed separate and should be handled seperately.
also something I didn't address: dismantling the ayatollah isn't really the issue here, firstly because to my knowledge khamenei's actually proved himself to be a relatively balanced guiding hand (for a fundamentalist Islamic supreme ruler, and pretty much in the exact opposite fashion to his predecessor) and secondly because whatever your view on supreme power the supreme leader and the president's roles are indeed separate and should be handled seperately.
While Ahmadinejad's win has been looked upon with suspicion by western nations and Iran's upper-middle class, the president's massive victory may not be the result of electoral fraud, said Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Milad Dokhanchi.
"The result of that election does not sound that surprising to me," he told CTV News Channel from Tehran Tuesday afternoon.
In fact, Ahmadinejad enjoys massive popularity in much of the country, Dokhanchi said, adding that demonstrations are only reportedly occurring in major Iranian centres like Tehran and the southwestern city of Shiraz.
In smaller towns and cities, meanwhile, the election result has had little effect, and Iranians are going on with their everyday lives, said Dokhanchi.
...so maybe it isn't a rigged election after all?
Except we are supposed to believe the reform candidate was blew out of the water even in his hometown, where he is immensely popular, and even in the larger cities where the majority of the his support base was. In fact, we are supposed to believe Ahmadinejad had the same percentage of the votes everywhere, across the country, rural or urban. And that the government hand counted over 40 million paper ballots in under two hours. Or that the government declared Ahmadinejad the winner almost immediately after the polls closed, despite their usual requirement of waiting three days to certify the winner so that they have time to research irregularities. Oh, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was already warning against protesting the results before the voting even actually occured.
I am not saying it was impossible for Ahmadinejad to have won, but I really think it was unlikely he won in the fashion in which he was declared. We also have to remember that the reform candidates won 70-85% of the vote in Iran in 1997 and 2001 and that Ahmadinejad just barely squeeked by after a runoff in 2005.
This would be easier to tell if Iran actually allowed independent election observers.
I am not saying it was impossible for Ahmadinejad to have won, but I really think it was unlikely he won in the fashion in which he was declared. We also have to remember that the reform candidates won 70-85% of the vote in Iran in 1997 and 2001 and that Ahmadinejad just barely squeeked by after a runoff in 2005.
This would be easier to tell if Iran actually allowed independent election observers.
Iran accuses U.S. of 'intolerable' meddling
Iran is accusing the United States of "intolerable" meddling, saying Washington is helping to incite the current feud between supporters of pro-reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi and re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
lol.
Hahaha. Reminds me of the villains on scooby doo.
"And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
"And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
More news, bros.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=246 - Current time in Tehran
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=246 - Current time in Tehran
18th of June - The protests show no signs of slowing down, and the fact that the government has been less violent so far and concentrating on discrediting the protesters instead shows that they are losing grip and painfully aware of all the attention given to what is happening right now, CNN notwithstanding. It's also a worrying step, because the moment they start feeling they are losing grip even more is the moment where they might begin to unleash brutal waves of violence again, much worse than what we've seen so far.
- There is a (so far) quiet march going on, where all the protesters are dressed in black and mourning those who have died so far. The crowds are estimated to be as big as they have been for the last few days, so that puts them between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 in Tehran alone.
- The State TV has been turned into a full-blown anti-Revolution machine, constantly hammering on how evil the "thugs" who are smashing around private property are. Problem is that those thugs are in fact Basij dressed in green, but IRIB is reporting it as pro-Moussavi supporters. They have also been showing documentaries about the evils of the internet and how the US, UK and Israel are behind the protests. State Radio is not much better, with talking heads calling for the death of those evil thugs destabilizing the country at the behest of external forces. They have also issued false reports that Moussavi was "condeming the rioters".
- The Government has closed Iran to all foreign communication and coverage, according to many reports. It would also seem that the Iranian government has opened an account in the name of Ayatollah Khameini on Twitter. There are reports that senior aides to all reformist candidates have been arrested, but it has yet to be collaborated and this is not the first time we hear such reports.
- According to Reuters, Iranian prosecutors have warned of the death penalty for the rioters who are involved in violence. Islamic cleric have warned that not going to Friday's prayer service makes you worthy of the death penalty. It is unclear yet what isn't worthy of death penalty at this point if you protest against the regime.
- All the violence reported over Iran is now exclusively done by the Basij, Ansar and, if the rumours are true, Hizbullah and Hams. The police have completely stopped participating in the repression of the population, and both the Army and IRG are standing still and not doing anything. This is good news, but the Basij are sadly not reducing the level of violence they are unleashing on the population, beating up everyone they can get their hands on. It continued all throughout the night and during the day, but due to the mass of people involved it seems that they are restraining themselves when it comes to the mass rallies, preferring to pick isolated targets.
- Universities have cancelled all exams all over the country, and a long list of rebel students was given to all universities and they have to report the students, who are to be arrested on sight.
- There have been a few confirmed cases of people threatened inside the United States for providing proxies for the revolution. Their details were available on the internet so they were passed around pro-Government forces. If you are helping this revolution, be careful to do so as anonymously as you can. It doesn't mean you are risking your life, but it could potentially result in harrassment or vandalism.
- Universities have cancelled all exams all over the country, and a long list of rebel students was given to all universities and they have to report the students, who are to be arrested on sight.I never thought these Iranian elections goings-on were anything new and overly outrageous (because it's...Iran, after all) but god damn this is ridiculous if it's true.
Death penalty for not praying even on Friday is a bit overboard too and I wonder where your source got that from..?




















