Rezaei. Mousavi's Qom campaign facility torched. » A rapper will change the Iranian elections! CUMINet. By Rasmus Christian Elling.
I’m sorry, but this deserves its own post. As I’ve mentioned earlier, there were rumors of presidential candidate and 72-year old revolutionary cleric Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karubi’s meeting with a group of pop artists recently – among them the underground rapper Sâsi Mânkan (Sasy the Model). It is now more or less confirmed. Since Khatami’s withdrawal, this is the most shocking event of the 2009 presidential elections in Iran! No doubt, young Iranians can see through this election campaign stunt. “Even if I didn’t vote for the Sheikh [i.e. If it becomes clear which one of Karubi’s advisors proposed this meeting, I propose he should become Karubi’s first advisor in the new government. Yeah, Karubi, you’re so cool, yeah!” It is also certain that Karubi will be criticized for this over the coming days and weeks. Webby Awards - The Ten Most Influential Internet Moments of the. Iran MPs demand action on Mousavi.
One-third of Iran's members of parliament have demanded that legal action be taken against opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Mr Mousavi has said the June election that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power was fraudulent. MP Hamid Rasaie, an Ahmadinejad ally, said Mr Mousavi's claims had damaged the "reputation of the Islamic system". Separately, an Iranian court jailed two reform figures for their involvement in the post-election unrest. State news agency Irna said Iranian-American academic, Kian Tajbakhsh, was sentenced to 12 years in jail, while Iranian journalist Masoud Bastani was given six years. 'National crime' One hundred MPs from Iran's 290-member parliament made their complaint against Mr Mousavi in a letter to the chief prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohsen Ejeie, Irna reported. Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots. In June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's meteoric rise from mayor of Tehran to president of one of the most influential countries in the Middle East took everyone by surprise.
One of the main reasons for the astonishment was that so little was known about him. One recently published claim about his background comes from an article in the Daily Telegraph. Entitled "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past", it claims that his family converted to Islam after his birth. The claim is based on a number of arguments, a key one being that his previous surname was Sabourjian which "derives from weaver of the sabour, the name for the Jewish tallit shawl in Persia".
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past. Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, said: "This aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad's background explains a lot about him.
"Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith. "By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections. He feels vulnerable in a radical Shia society. " A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that "jian" ending to the name specifically showed the family had been practising Jews. "He has changed his name for religious reasons, or at least his parents had," said the Iranian-born Jew living in London. Ben Smith: Political News and Analysis. From our report on today's Pulitzer Prize announcement: Edward Snowden didn’t win a Pulitzer on Monday, but he might as well have.
In a move certain to be interpreted as a vindication of the former government contractor’s efforts, the Pulitzer Prize Board on Monday awarded The Guardian US and The Washington Post its coveted Public Service award for reporting on the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance practices. Iranian expatriates 'set voting record' Gary's choices - Iran's elections - the human rights d. Aide: Ahmadinejad's win a 'no' to enemies. Iran's police disperse Mousavi's protesting supporter_ TEHRAN, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's police dispersed hundreds of supporters of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi Saturday as they were protesting against the results that saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gain a landslide victory, a Xinhua reporter said.
Council: Iran election turnout at 82% As Iran votes, all quiet on the western front. Official Washington is laying low and saying little as tectonic plates appear to be shifting in the run-up to Iran's presidential elections, to be held Friday.
Despite dramatic images this week of the largest campaign demonstrations taking place in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including a human chain of as many as a million supporters for former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading opposition candidate, the Obama administration has remained largely silent. The last thing officials want to do is say anything to jinx a process underway in Iran whose outcome is entirely outside of their control -- and yet may ease one of their most pressing challenges. A Mousavi win would not mean smooth sailing for Washington's efforts to engage Iran, analysts caution. It could deepen fissures in the Iranian leadership or even prompt a hard-line backlash or crackdown that could further paralyze U.S. efforts to engage Iran, they say.
Could there be a Mousavi Effect? I'm riveted by the unfolding Iranian election campaign.
Back in April, I organized a panel discussion on the election with a number of very keen observers of Iranian politics, and came away even more confused than before (not their fault!)... And I've been following the ups and downs of the debates and the energized public discourse as closely as I can. I don't know what's going to happen any more than anyone else does. But suppose that Mir Hossein Mousavi wins -- what might that do to regional politics? Most people have quite naturally focused upon the spark it could give to U.S. US Has ‘No Preference’ Whether Ahmadinejad Wins or Loses - Defen. 29.
Pres Better they stay out it manage their own country and allow others to manage theirs Joan, Jacksonville (15/12/10) Reply to comment Delete Report comment 0 28. Rafsanjani meets Leader ahead of polls. Informed Comment: Ahmadinejad Defends Himself on Iranian Televis. The USG Open Source Center summarizes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s television appearance in which he defended his performance in the debates and reaffirmed the truth of the economic statistics he cited (which implied widespread prosperity and low unemployment, which nobody in Iran believed).
FYI — Iranian President Rejects Opponents’ AccusationsVision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1Wednesday, June 10, 2009 Document Type: OSC Summary Tehran Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 in Persian at 1820 GMT on 10 June began to broadcast a recorded election message by Iranian President Ahmadinezhad. Television allocated Ahmadinezhad time to record a message, in order to respond to remarks made against him by other election candidates in their live TV debates, in Ahmadinezhad’s absence. The other candidates were also allocated airtime, but all three opponents decided not to submit messages. Television allocated Ahmadinezhad a maximum length film of 20 minutes. Iran's Guards vow to crush any 'velvet revolution'. Ahmadinejad says he was threatened with arrest in NY. Ahmadinejad says election rivals use Hitler tactics. By Dominic Evans and Fredrik Dahl TEHRAN, June 10 Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:04am IST.
» Iranian Presidential Elections 2009 CUMINet. By Rasmus Christian Elling. With so many interesting developments in Iran right now, I will try and update this post every time I come across news, headlines and blog entries I find interesting. The elections on Friday for the Presidency of the Islamic Republic has finally heated up and the net is buzzing with interesting stuff. Last update: Sat, June 13.
IRIB rejects Ahmadinejad airtime report. Foreign Policy: The List: Iran's Presidential Wannabes. Rick Gershon/Getty ImagesMahmoud Ahmadinejad Credentials: Incumbent president of Iran Power base: The president draws his support from conservative clerics, as well as the disaffected middle and working classes in rural Iran and the margins of major cities. During his presidency he traveled to almost every part of the country, always working to convince poor voters that he is one of them.
His personal style of campaigning is rare in the Islamic Republic, and his rallies consistently draw massive crowds. He also enjoys some support from conservative students. Domestic politics: On the economy, he believes in state control, focusing on direct assistance to small-scale cooperative businesses that are, in theory, supposed to earn quick returns and reduce unemployment. What a difference a year makes - The National Newspaper. DAMAVAND, IRAN // Only a year ago, the residents of Damavand and Karaj voted for pro-Ahmadinejad representatives in parliamentary elections, but just days before the presidential vote on Friday, many are leaning away from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and backing his key rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Damavand city, the centre of the largely agricultural Damavand constituency, lies 50 kilometres to the north-east of Tehran along a major road linking the capital to the Caspian area in the north. The constituency is an amalgam of several small roadside cities, towns and villages with a total population of about 100,000. Mostafa Hasani, 20, from Damavand, wearing a tricolour Iranian flag ribbon around his wrist and an Ahmadinejad poster on his shoulder bag, said that although he personally found Mr Ahmadinejad the man for the job, others in the city, especially the youth, had turned to Mr Mousavi. "It's a shame. He has done so much for the country.