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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to his second term before the end of August after Iran's Guardian Council today ruled out the possibility of nullifying a disputed election, saying it could find no evidence of any "major" irregularities, according to the state-owned English-language Press TV satellite news channel.
link: Time frame set for Ahmadinejad's inaugural - Los Angeles Times
OBAMA: Since we’re on Iran, I know Nico Pitney is here from the Huffington Post.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Nico, I know that you and all across the Internet, we’ve been seeing a lot of reports coming directly out of Iran. I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet. Do you have a question?
QUESTION: Yes, I did, but I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian. We solicited questions on tonight from people who are still courageous enough to be communicating online. And one of them wanted to ask you this: Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad? And if you do accept it without any significant changes in the conditions there, isn’t that a betrayal of — of what the demonstrators there are working to achieve?
OBAMA: Well, look, we didn’t have international observers on the ground. We can’t say definitively what exactly happened at polling places throughout the country.
What we know is that a sizable percentage of the Iranian people themselves, spanning Iranian society, consider this election illegitimate. It’s not an isolated instance, a little grumbling here or there. There are significant questions about the legitimacy of the election.
And so, ultimately, the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people, not in the eyes of the United States.
And that’s why I’ve been very clear, ultimately, this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their leadership is going to be and the structure of their government.
What we can do is to say, unequivocally, that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with the peaceful dissent, that — that spans cultures, spans borders.
And what we’ve been seeing over the Internet and what we’ve been seeing in news reports violates those norms and violates those principles.
I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that — that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it.
Andrew Miller, a journalist at The Economist who witnessed the colour revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan has come up with a useful “checklist” of some of the factors that can help a revolution to succeed .
● “Critical mass”: small demonstrations of 5,000 people can be ignored or suppressed. But half a million people in the streets is another matter.
● Weak or divided security services.
● Some independent media.
● Money.
● Serious corruption, which Mr Miller argues is “generally the main mass motivator”.
● Opposition leaders who have served a stint in government.
● A history of rebellion from which lessons can be learnt.
● Strong support in the capital city.
● A rigged election that provides a spark for the revolt.
● A divided ruling elite.
● A sense of revolutionary momentum from events overseas; Europe in 1989 and 1848 show that revolution can be catching.
● External help.
● The use of violence by the authorities, which can either make or break a revolution.Every element on these two lists is now present to some degree in Iran – with the possible exceptions of division within the security forces and significant external assistance
link: FT.com / Columnists / Gideon Rachman - Check-list for an Iranian revolution
Keith Goetzman writes:
While many archaeologists dig for clues to antiquity, a California state archaeologist has collected and catalogued the remains of a much more recent but equally curious civilization: a 1960s hippie commune. E. Breck Parkman is in charge of a collection from the wreckage of the Olompali commune in northern California that includes “melted sneakers, scorched fabric, broken plates, a tube of 40-year-old face cream [and] red Monopoly hotels,” Archaeology magazine reports in its July-August issue. Which doesn’t sound as exciting as, say, purple velvet bell bottoms, lava lamps, and skull bongs, but hey, they’re still sorting through it all. . . .
Despite the hedonistic nature of their subject, Parkman and his helpers have done their archaeologists’ work diligently and soberly, packing up the remnants of the whole long, strange trip into office boxes. Among the keepers: about 30 pieces of butchered cow and pig bones that might be from the mansion’s final communal feast.
"Just because Mousavi is called a moderate or a reformist doesn't mean he's a nice guy. After all he was approved by the Islamic leadership," says Ephraim Inbar, director of the Begin Sadat Center at Bar Ilan University. "If we have Ahmadinejad, we know where we stand. If we have Mousavi we have a serpent with a nice image."
On Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres waded into the debate, encouraging Iranian protestors and "courageous" women who he said were trying to "reclaim" their culture. He added that it's more important to have regime change in Iran than an end to the country's controversial nuclear program.
"You never know what will disappear in Iran first – their enriched uranium or their poor government," said Mr. Peres. "I hope their poor government will disappear first."
link: Why Iran's Ahmadinejad is preferred in Israel - ABC News
“Instead of the Guardian Council, the Interior Ministry responded to Mousavi’s letter about the election violations.”
“The Interior Ministry’s response to Mousavi: You should have refrained from participating in the elections by announcing the elections annulled to begin with.”
link: niacINsight
Iran has accused United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon of "meddling", after he called on Iran to respect the "will of its people" over a contested election.
Mr Ban had said he was "dismayed" over the threat and use of violence against civilians during street protests.
Iranian foreign minister Hassan Ghashghavi criticised the UN chief for listening to "domineering" powers with a record of colonisation.
link: BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran accuses UN chief of meddling
It is regrettable that the highest authority in Iran chooses to ignore the peaceful demands of the people
The Gov has chosen to respond with oppression and violence
The actions of this Gov insults all free peoples of the world
Para 27 of Constitution allows unarmed public gatherings without permit if they do not insult Islam
the right of the nation to challenge this unfair & corrupt election is the right of all Muslims
In Iran the minority are ruling the majority with violence and oppression
I invite the nation to participate on Thurs in remembrance of those killed by this Gov
I demand release of all political prisoners immediately
I demand gov provide medical treatment for those injured
I demand that the bodies of the martyrs be released to the families for burial immediately
I demand an immediate end to censorship by gov
link: Latest Updates on Iran’s Disputed Election - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com
