We all pretended we didn't expect it, but on some level I think we all really did, or at least should have. Iran has a history of elections gone bad, or largely ignored by their populace. But I sincerely had hoped this might be different. There seemed to be a real push to make the elections fair and perhaps they were fair. But, as we stand right now, watching Iran descend into chaos, it hardly seems that way. Continue after the jump to follow the story from the beginning.
It was on March 10th that Former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi announced that he would run for President of Iran in the June 12th election. The Moderate had been PM of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His efforts in this election were focused on domestic issues. During the past few years Iran has suffered from serious economic troubles leaving many in dire poverty.
A few days later, Ahmadinejad announced that he would accept Moussavi's challenge. Interestingly, Moussavi was not barred from running as many reformists have previously been.
As campaigning kicked off, it became clear that Moussavi held a great deal of support. Inside and outside of Iran everyone agreed: the only chance for Ahmadinejad to win was if turn out was very low, as it has been in recent elections.
June 12th - the day of the election. Early counts showed that poll turn out was high - very high. High to the tune of 85% of eligible voters. People were excited all over the world as they went to polls to vote. Everyone saw this as good news for Moussavi. His supporters were out en masse at the polls.
And then something odd happened. Two hours after the polls closed the Interior Ministry announced that Ahmadinejad had one with some 65%. Two hours after polls closing? It typically takes Iran days to get results and that is when many less people voted. This seems unlikely. As John Green states, it is almost like they weren't counting the votes at all.
And then, there is the demographics of where Ahmadinejad did so well. For starters, he took Tabriz. Where Moussavi is from. That would be like McCain having won Illinois. Then there was the 2005 election where Ahmadinejad was more popular than he is now but was still unable to receive at least 50% of the votes in order to avoid a run-off election. Less liked but more votes? Interesting.
And then the protests began in Iran. The people hit the streets demanding the election be invalidated. They accused Ahmadinejad of stealing the election. And the police arrived beating protesters and arresting hundreds. Tehran then shut down all cell phone service and barred any international media.
What exactly is it they are hiding?
Could they be hiding the fact that just before announcing Ahmadinjad's win someone from the Interior Ministry called Moussavi and confirmed he, in fact, had won?
And now we hear that Moussavi has been placed under house arrest after hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Tehran in the largest demonstration since the 1979 Revolution, in support of him.
It seems to me that Iran certainly does have something to hide.
I have been following some Iranian youths on Twitter including one lady who aptly stated "If Iran sleeps tonight, it will sleep forever."
Here is a constantly updating list of active Iranians on Twitter.
I think it is safe to assume that it just might be a bad idea to go to war with the entire internet. We don't like people screwing with us and, well, we tend to be a bit vindictive. Swedish law firm Danowsky & Partners are finding this out the hard way.
In case you haven't been following it, here is a quick recap. Danowsky & Partners represented the music industry in the landmark Pirate Bay case (link to case details here). The four people charged with copyright violations lost the case but are currently appealing. Why? Because the first judge was found to have connections with the Swedish Copyright Association. Hardly unbiased. So,a new judge, with no bias, was assigned to review the bias claims against the first judge. But, oops. Turns out she has some biases too.
But none of that matters because now, the internet has decided to fight back.
And fight back against those who prosecuted the Pirate Bay Four.
The campaign is called the Distribution Denial of Dollars (DDo$). And here is how it works.
You make a payment to Danowsky & Partners via Swedish payment system internet-avgift in the amount of 1SEK ($0.13). You then request a refund. Danowsky & Partners is required, under Swedish law to refund your 'payment.' But here is the kicker. They are charged a service fee of about $0.26. So, for every $0.13 they receive, they lose $0.26. And they are not refunded that service fee when they refund your money. In addition, they must have people to handle the influx of payments, refunds and paperwork involved.
Ain't life a bitch?
Some people should just stick to their day job. David Feherty, best known as CBS Golf Analyst, decided he was not one of those people. He wrote a column for D Magazine that is, to be frank, freaking people the fuck out. His comments on Nancy Pelosi are violent and come clear out of left field.
Media Matter's President Ed Burns calls Feherty's comments "disgusting." He goes on to say
Suggesting that our troops would attack the leaders of the very democracy they've sworn to sacrifice their lives for is an insult to their integrity, honor, and professionalism. CBS Sports should demand its golf analyst apologize to our soldiers.
This is what Feherty actually said
From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death.
To be fair, this was in the context of an article that Huffington Post writer Jason Linkins summed up as "I, David Feherty, have an intense loathing of everyone who lives in this community and very soon, President Bush shall know of my pain and despair." Interesting.
To read some of the other articles that are part of this collection you can go here and here.
And now, some exceprts from his book And Idiot For All Seasons. And, of course, courtesy of Huff Post, some excerpts from the book:
...I mean, what a nightmare of a time that was to be president of the United States! His two terms must have felt like the rest of the world had inserted the Washington Monument into him and it was his job to heave it out....
...I hate my neighbors because of their very proximity, or at least I hate the ones that want to talk to me who aren't doctors or gun dealers or who don't have their own airplanes....
...If I have to visit someone, he had better either be in jail or the hospital, and to be honest I'd prefer jail. I do golf commentary on CBS and sometimes star in television commercials wherein I jump on a trampoline while wearing a skirt....
...No, when I make it home, I slam the door behind me and peek out the letterbox to see if I've been spotted by any of the bastards who live nearby....
...Even with their Secret Service entourage, the Bushes are going to be besieged by herds of North Dallas McMansion-dwellers, more brown-nosed and full of BS than any longhorn. Nouveaux riche and face-lifted old-monied fossils alike will descend upon them like ants to the honeypot every time they set foot outside their door....
I believe in the death penalty, especially for pro-lifers, child molesters, those opposed to gay marriage, and for stupid dancing in the end zone. I believe in the abolition of estate taxes and the Pickens Plan. I'd lower the legal drinking age and raise the driving age to 18 nationwide, make Kinky Friedman governor of Texas, and make all schools, public and private, start earlier with one hour of physical exercise.
Wow. Just, wow.
Read More......
According to the Huffington Post, President Obama is set to fire Army Nation Guard Office, Arabic linguist and Iraqi veteran from the military. Why? Because Officer Choi came out, on national television, as being gay.
Current law is "don't ask, don't tell." If someone in the military acknowledges being gay, they are to be fired without question or deviation. Officer Choi received notice stating this just the other day. Because of this law, Obama doesn't have a choice, right?
Maybe it is not so cut and dry.
There is a new study, conducted by military law experts, that is set to say that Obama does have a choice. He has the authority to suspend gay discharges. Federal law 10 U.S.C. §12305 allows President Obama to retain any member of the military that he believes to be essential to national security, according to the study.
There is also a loophole in the "don't ask, don't tell" law. The law requires the military to fire anyone that they discover to be homosexual. President Obama could issue and Executive Order banning investigations into servicemember's sexuality. The military can then not 'discover' anything.
Or, President Obama could push to rid us of this outdated law altogether.
Aaron Belkin, of the Huffington Post, spent some time with Officer Choi. Of Office Choi, Belkin says:
he is not someone we want to fire from the military. He loves the armed forces. He served bravely under tough combat conditions in Iraq. His Arabic is excellent, and he used his language skills to defuse many tough situations and to save lives, both Iraqi and American. All of his unit mates know he is gay, and they have been very supportive of him. But he doesn't want to live a lie
While many gay right's activists praise President Obama for not pushing to repeal the law, believing he should focus his precious political capital on other important gay right's issues, this is not the issue. President Obama could, and should, sign the Executive Order banning these investigations and saving our military from the loss of these qualified, talented, dedicated and patriotic men and women.
Americans Michael Savage (real name: Michael Alan Wiener) and Reverend Fred Phelps have been added to the list of banned people in the UK. The list includes white supremacists and radical Islamists. The list contains 22 people but only 16 names were released citing "public interest" as the reason for not releasing the other six.
Both Savage and Phelps were added to the list, according to the British Home Office for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."
Savage denies this claim stating that he has never condoned violence of any sort and that Home Secretary Jaqui Smith has
painted a target on my back, linking me with people who are in prison for killing people. How could they put Michael Savage in the same league as mass murderers when I have never avowed violence?
While Savage responded by calling Smith a "witch" and questioning her integrity, Phelps took it a step further.
He did not issue any statements but his website linked to the British story and referred to Smith as a "neo-Nazi dyke" and a "filthy God-hater."
That must be some of that Christian love that the Westboro Baptist Church is so infamous for.
Read More......
Maine has become the fifth state to legalize gay marriage. Today, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed into law a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state. In doing so, Maine joins Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut and Vermont as the only states with legalized gay marriage (California legalized it before voters overturned the decision). Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa were ordered by courts to allow gay marriage after reviews of their state Constitutions showed that the ban was Unconstitutional and Vermont passed a bill legalizing gay marriage over the objections of the Governor.
Below, find a full transcript of the press release.
Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.
"I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," Governor Baldacci said. "I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste."
"I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue," Governor Baldacci said. "This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question."
"In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions," Governor Baldacci said. "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
"Article I in the Maine Constitution states that 'no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person's civil rights or be discriminated against.'"
"This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," Governor Baldacci said.
"It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine's civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."
"Even as I sign this important legislation into law, I recognize that this may not be the final word," Governor Baldacci said. "Just as the Maine Constitution demands that all people are treated equally under the law, it also guarantees that the ultimate political power in the State belongs to the people."
"While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do," Governor Baldacci said.
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