The situation in Iran right now.

Cracc · Post by **Cracc** » June 15, 2009, 5:35 am

After spending all morning looking at some amazing videos and footage from inside Iran i've got to ask....

Is there a 2nd revolution coming now?

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » June 15, 2009, 9:44 am

Do you have anything to support your question? We are working blind here not knowing what you read and saw.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » June 15, 2009, 2:12 pm

he's referring to the protests over the weekend and general reaction to the election results in Iran. There are allegations of massive voter fraud and some of the protests against Ahmadinejad's re-election have been violent. Even some of the clerical hierarchy have commented on it.

Will there be another revolution? Who knows?

The gov't/ruling council of clerics essentially control the army, so that could be a pretty massive deterrent, but it depends on how incensed the population is. Things could heat up if the army decides not to get involved too but I don't know how likely that is. I guess it depends on how much support/leverage the mullahs/imams/ayahtollah's have. I would love to see Iran get rid of the theocratic side (I hate religious wing nuts of all stripes) but that will ultimately be up to them.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » June 15, 2009, 2:22 pm

I doubt we're on the verge of revolution. We're definitely seeing some serious unrest, though. It'll be really interesting to see where it goes from here.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 15, 2009, 2:51 pm

US has to promise the new western friendly gov't put in place that we'll buy lots of oil and things should fall into place. It would be interesting to see if there's any Iranian hotties left under those veils.

Forthe · Post by **Forthe** » June 15, 2009, 10:48 pm

Winnow wrote:US has to promise the new western friendly gov't put in place that we'll buy lots of oil and things should fall into place. It would be interesting to see if there's any Iranian hotties left under those veils.

First, let me say that these are some brave motherfuckers. Second, I've noticed a high percentage of hotties in the pics I've seen. Third, this pic is awesome (from politico's current homepage).

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » June 16, 2009, 2:41 am

Ahmadinejad was behind in most polls and has had a terrible approval rating, and we're supposed to believe he managed a 2-1 victory? I think the USA could make some great positive strides by simply calling for international investigations of the elections. There are tons of disenfranchised Iranians taking to the streets and if they perceive the US to be on their side, it could be a great for future relations in Iran.

Forthe · Post by **Forthe** » June 16, 2009, 6:35 am

Keverian FireCry wrote:Ahmadinejad was behind in most polls and has had a terrible approval rating, and we're supposed to believe he managed a 2-1 victory? I think the USA could make some great positive strides by simply calling for international investigations of the elections. There are tons of disenfranchised Iranians taking to the streets and if they perceive the US to be on their side, it could be a great for future relations in Iran.

So wrong. Imagine what the GOP would do if Chavez or Castro got involved in your elections. That would be mild compared to how Iran's conservatives would use any US actions against the reformists. Obama was pretty careful yesterday but it was still risky.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » June 16, 2009, 8:02 am

The best thing we can possibly do in the case of Iran right now is to sit down, shut up and see what happens.

Iran would be a much more moderate country today if it weren't for including them in the "axis of ebil" rhetoric. If we leave them alone there's a good chance it will be in the next few years.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » June 16, 2009, 9:48 am

Aabidano wrote:The best thing we can possibly do in the case of Iran right now is to sit down, shut up and see what happens.

Iran would be a much more moderate country today if it weren't for including them in the "axis of ebil" rhetoric. If we leave them alone there's a good chance it will be in the next few years.

Well considering the reason they were grouped with the "Axis of Evil" was because they are sponsours of Hamas and Hezbollah, I don't necessarily buy that. I don't think using that stupid axiom was constructive in the first place but Iran isn't/wasn't moderate. They are a fundamentalist theocracy. The Imams/Ayatollah have the final say on laws. As for Obama, I don't know how else he could have reacted unless he wanted to provoke things more, which would have put a damper on building any bridges with the other Arab states, as well as possibly being viewed as more of the "same old imperialistic meddling" that some say defines US foreign policy. There is really nothing the west can do except make statements condemning the violence and supporting the democratic processes, which is pretty much what Obama did.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » June 16, 2009, 10:55 am

Wulfran wrote:Well considering the reason they were grouped with the "Axis of Evil" was because they are sponsours of Hamas and Hezbollah, I don't necessarily buy that. I don't think using that stupid axiom was constructive in the first place but Iran isn't/wasn't moderate.

The US in effect, propelled Ahmadinejad & Co to prominence with that rhetoric and enabled the islamist-ultra-conservatives to regain firm control. Iran had loosened up a lot internally prior to that. We have no means of leverage over them, it's a large, diverse country.

I don't disagree with the point he (Bush) made, but it was about as effective and useful as standing at your fence and screaming instructions at your neighbor on how to raise their kids, who've just crapped in a third neighbors' yard.

Was the govt moderate prior?, on paper not at all, you are correct that they are a theocracy. In reality their polices, as enforced had softened markedly. Was the population pushing them strongly towards a 21st century, moderate form of Govt? Absolutely. I think they are again at this point, the US just needs keep its fingers out of it, publicly at the least.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » June 16, 2009, 11:17 am

I'm with Forthe and, largely, Aabidano.

Giving the hardliners in Iran the chance to spin this as a U.S. plot would be about the worst thing we could do.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 16, 2009, 6:53 pm

Best thing the current government in Iran could do would be to paint up two fighters in Israeli colors and napalm one of the big rallies taking place.

I'm sure Dick Cheney would love that as well.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » June 16, 2009, 7:51 pm

Sueven wrote:I'm with Forthe and, largely, Aabidano.

Giving the hardliners in Iran the chance to spin this as a U.S. plot would be about the worst thing we could do.

How long before that happens anyway?

I'll be shocked if the "investigation" into the vote go against Ahmadinejad, and I'll bet that it won't take long before the hardliners in Iran say the violence and protests were a result of "western interference" and clamp down on shit like web access (because the people are being corrupted by western ideals and the Great Satan through it). They're already clamping down on reporters again and some conspiracists on the web are talking about the CIA's ability to cause insurrections. It may not fly outside Iran and some ultra conservative islamist circles, but I'd almost bet within 2 weeks, this will all be the US/the West's fault.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » June 17, 2009, 12:23 am

Winnow wrote:It would be interesting to see if there's any Iranian hotties left under those veils.

Looks promising.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 17, 2009, 4:02 am

These two from Iran. They got the evil red eyes, probably programed to kill if trigger word used, but otherwise normal!

Look at all the pron that came out of the former Soviet States after the Iron Curtain came down. There's a lot riding on this possible new revolution.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 17, 2009, 9:03 am

I didn't think it was possible for the winnow's posts to get any more inane...
I remember at one time some of it's posts were topical, made sense and were actually worth reading.

Now they are just background noise.

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 17, 2009, 11:10 am

Hey guys, if you're looking for some continuously updating coverage, I would check out the following link. It's being maintained by a guy named Nico Pitney, who is an editor at the Huffington Post. I know for some of our conservative readers the HuffPo is not an acceptable link, but Pitney has positioned himself as a go-to guy for updating news. He is being twittered to and is receiving links, pictures, and video from all sorts of viewers/readers in Iran. He is not editorializing; he is just posting information.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/1 ... 15189.html

I'd check it out. Quite honestly, it's far better than any coverage I've found on the mainstream media pages, due to the fact that the mainstream media has been virtually shut out of the Iranian process.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 17, 2009, 11:18 am

Thanks for the link, Kal.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » June 17, 2009, 12:22 pm

Andrew Sullivan is also posting a lot of info in his usual smarmy fashion.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 17, 2009, 2:46 pm

miir wrote:I didn't think it was possible for the winnow's posts to get any more inane...

Inane. Good word but it doesn't work well when spoken. Try using it verbally when screaming at someone. It doesn't flow right off the tongue in the heat of a verbal beat down.

I'm pulling for the Iranian people for positive changes to take place. I've stated several times on this board about my thoughts and interaction with Iranian students, post Shaw era. There's a lot of good people there (or were, since they've since scattered to other countries).

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » June 17, 2009, 2:50 pm

Both great links! Thanks!

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » June 17, 2009, 3:07 pm

In response to Ahmadinejad calling Mousavi supporters "brushwood and thorns" at the victory rally Monday, Iran's most famous classical musician has ordered that Iranian government television/radio never play his music again. Mohammad Reza Shajarian told BBC Persian in an interview:

"Don't broadcast my voice on Seda va Sima [IRIB Music channel] ever again: my voice is like brushwood and thorns, and it will forever remain brushwood and thorns!"

That's great.

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 17, 2009, 6:12 pm

Didn't Xyun come to this country as a direct result of the 1979 rebellion? I'd be curious to see what his reaction to all this is.

Forthe · Post by **Forthe** » June 17, 2009, 7:33 pm

miir wrote:I didn't think it was possible for the winnow's posts to get any more inane...
I remember at one time some of it's posts were topical, made sense and were actually worth reading.

Now they are just background noise.

Discussions of hotties and pron are never inane.

Cracc · Post by **Cracc** » June 17, 2009, 9:01 pm

Several old veeshanites are Iranians, Xyun, Furor and Soes for instance.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » June 17, 2009, 9:17 pm

I don't think we'll be hearing Furor's opinion on that anytime soon.

Xatrei · Post by **Xatrei** » June 17, 2009, 9:19 pm

Heh - hadn't seen the name Soes in ages. He and some crazy swede bastard were a couple of my favorite LoV peeps (once the Swede paid me my money, that is hehe).

Markulas · Post by **Markulas** » June 18, 2009, 2:48 am

the iranian government broke the first rule of cheating: if you're going to do it, don't make it obvious. every kid knows that if you have the answer key you can't get all the answers correct. When opinion polls show that you're struggling before the election, you can't win 2-1.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 18, 2009, 5:56 am

Markulas wrote:the iranian government broke the first rule of cheating: if you're going to do it, don't make it obvious. every kid knows that if you have the answer key you can't get all the answers correct. When opinion polls show that you're struggling before the election, you can't win 2-1.

Hmmm? Didn't North Korea's Kim Jong-il get 100% of the vote in an election awhile back?

Cracc · Post by **Cracc** » June 18, 2009, 7:36 am

Xatrei wrote:Heh - hadn't seen the name Soes in ages. He and some crazy swede bastard were a couple of my favorite LoV peeps (once the Swede paid me my money, that is hehe).

I remember those days!

went a little something like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJ0SkbPxAk

Edit: Cant embed youtube clips anymore?

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » June 18, 2009, 9:14 am

Markulas wrote:When opinion polls show that you're struggling before the election, you can't win 2-1.

But we don't know anything about the opinion poll, so...

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » June 19, 2009, 3:18 am

Sirton · Post by **Sirton** » June 22, 2009, 6:32 am

Soes hmmm really liked him anyone know how hes doing? OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of LoV still together...Soes was one of the best.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 23, 2009, 11:23 pm

Reports claim the Iranian government charged the family of a dead Iranian man $3,000 as a 'bullet fee' before the family could take the body back.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31392993/ns ... nd_gadgets

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » June 24, 2009, 3:29 am

Iranian woman shot in the street video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhUmBDSbnL8

At first they are saying press down on the wound to stop the bleeding. Then a man is saying don't die. Don't die. Stay. Then he screams the word stay...

Article of the story -

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-storie ... -21466814/

The translation in the article is slightly inaccurate. He's not saying don't be afraid, he's saying don't die.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » June 24, 2009, 2:18 pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8115643.stm
It's so nice to have a figurehead who can talk about important yet abstract concepts like freedom and dignity without tripping over his own dead brain cells.

miir · Post by **miir** » June 24, 2009, 2:35 pm

Bonus points for pronouncing Iran correctly.

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 24, 2009, 2:41 pm

I saw that video earlier, Xyun. What a terrible shame--it sounded like she was just walking around for a bit, and wasn't directly related to the protests. I can't imagine what many families are going through, particularly families of the students who have gone missing.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » June 24, 2009, 3:20 pm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ju ... forced-out
Not only are they not allowed to bury their daughter, but then they get forced out of their home.