Iran Opposition Leaders Urge Rally On Anniversary Of Shah's Overthrow

CNN:

A major Iranian opposition leader slammed his country's regime Wednesday and what he termed its tyrannical behavior after the disputed presidential elections in June.

Read the whole story: CNN

Comments

[Spirited Away]

04:50 PM on 02/06/2010

It appears that the opposition information-IRI disinformation war is taking place here. And why wouldn’t it happen here? I can’t understand the IRI apologists. I will agree with them that the present IRI system has greatly benefited an elite class, but the oppression by the privileged against individuals who want more freedom has been for real, and not just imaginary. The struggle of the opposition will not end, and this struggle has much world historical precedent. For those who are IRI apologists, why are you apologizing for the IRI regime? And will you continue apologizing when it falls. It is no longer a question of if it will fall, but when it fall?

[Khirad]

07:29 PM on 02/06/2010

I go back and read shah apologists, or monarchists who are historical revisionists. They aren't much different, really.

[rougebaisers]

01:28 AM on 02/05/2010

Your country is yours for the taking. It will not be pretty, but you will succeed in time. Ahminijob is history, along with his murdering eyeatoldyah buddies.

[Richard Pearce]

01:19 AM on 02/05/2010

Isn't it fun to try and talk to a true believer. They think preaching the same ideas louder and louder makes them more convincing. Any facts that don't match their beliefs are dismissed as 'fabrications' or 'erronious information'. Like a creationist, Parsi will reject all scientific evidence, and promote his beliefs as a better explanation. Unfortunately, the center of creationism beliefs these days is the US, and they seem to like invading countries.

[wereeverywhere]

02:31 AM on 02/05/2010

"Like a creationist..."

Beware when you use the phrase "like a ..." because a lie or slander or both will follow. At least when you write about Iran. That you would dare to bring up creationism, the haven for religious loons, when in fact it's your buddies in IRI who are the religious fanatics, testifies to your cynicism. And poor judgment.

[Khirad]

07:14 PM on 02/06/2010

Are you talking about hardliners?

[parsi]

07:30 PM on 02/04/2010

Breaking news: Iranian turtle-astronauts defect to the west
by Jeesh Daram
03-Feb-2010

According to the latest reports, once outside of the Iranian air space, the two turtle-astronauts sent radio messages to the free world announcing their resignation from their duties with the IRI and asked US goernment to grant them political asylum. Mousavi took advantage of the situation and called the turtles "brave members of the Green Party" -perhaps because of shade of green on their shell.

There are no news about the whereabouts of the worms yet, but BBC reported, that in a press conference from inside the capsule, the "rat" has denounced the decision by the turtles and called them "agents of zionists and monarchists." There are rumors that a fight broke out between the animals in the midst of the weightlessness just after the defection of the turtles.

Meanwhile Ahmadinejaad told the reporters that Iran will free the three American hikers in exchange for the extradition of the turtles back to Iran.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8495181.stm

http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/jeesh-daram/breaking-news-iranian-turtle-astronauts-defect-west#comment-263405

[Khirad]

07:36 PM on 02/06/2010

Brilliant! LMAO!

[parsi]

06:53 PM on 02/04/2010

We Refuse To Die: Iran's New Revolution

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/setareh-sabety/we-refuse-to-die-irans-ne_b_448242.html

[parsi]

06:34 PM on 02/04/2010

Iran.ir: an ominous sign
Guardian / Saeed Kamali Dehghan
04-Feb-2010
Since the disputed election last June, Ahmadinejad's government has sought different ways to further crack down on the internet in Iran. Now, access to almost all reformist websites is blocked, including those of the reformist candidates, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi.

Last week Iran launched a national webmail service via iran.ir, intended to replace free foreign webmail services with a domestic one that is easier to control. All government employees are being urged to use it instead of foreign webmail providers. According to the Iranian official figures, 95% of Iranians currently use Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Hotmail accounts.

Human rights activists in Iran fear that the national webmail service is part of a bigger plan to localise the internet within Iran's borders although many believe it is too late for Iran to do so effectively.

Recently, officials have blocked access to Google Translate, which has ... >>>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/04/iran-protests-email-google-china

[parsi]

02:58 PM on 02/04/2010

Ashura show trials
Accused of "waging war against God" by taking part in protests

Reuters: A 20-year old university student arrested for participating in anti-government street protests in Iran in December rejected charges of spreading moral corruption as the trial of 16 opposition supporters resumed on Wednesday. All of the accused were arrested after clashes between protesters and security forces on Ashura Day, the Shi'ite ritual mourning ceremony, on December 27. Eight people died in what was the most violent unrest since last year's disputed presidential election brought President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back to power. Five of the defendants, including the university student, were charged on Saturday with the capital offence of "moharebeh" (waging war against God). The remainder were accused of public order and national security offences, a court website said >>>

http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/feb/ashura-show-trials

[parsi]

02:39 PM on 02/04/2010

But a close look at the Iranian situation reveals that in this specific historical moment the interest of the international community and the democratic interests of Iranians are in confluence. To be sure, the focus of the international community is on the Iranian nuclear program, while the main preoccupation of the Iranian people is securing basic political and human rights and integrating the country into the international community.

However, peace in the region and democracy in Iran now seem to be inseparable, because the same forces that threaten the peace are the same powers in Iran who threaten democracy and run the repressive machinery against the Iranian people.

The threat to regional peace and Iranian democracy are the same: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is not only the main body in charge of the Iranian nuclear program, but also is the most effective means for political suppression...

His religious authority is contested by the clerical establishment. The only power base he has is within the military and security community of the country. Khamenei has lost much of his political and religious legitimacy, and without the military and especially the IRGC, he would have no real power....read the rest below:

http://www.irannewsdigest.com/2010/02/04/america-and-the-iranian-political-reform-movement-first-do-no-harm/

[parsi]

02:35 PM on 02/04/2010

It's not fair that RP's blathers get published immediately but when he if vigorously debunked, the posts get discarded...

[parsi]

01:42 PM on 02/04/2010

RP: I'm tired of debunking you. You're not doing your pay masters a favor. You're the worst propagandist money can buy. Why are you in Canada?? Why not go live in Iran?

[Richard Pearce]

02:14 PM on 02/04/2010

I'm sure in your mind, the spin and hype you post 'debunks' my posts that link back to research done by neutral institutions (unless, of course, you believe that the University of Maryland is a pro-Ayatollah group, and that John McCain and the 9/11 commissioners have been duped by the Iranian governments propaganda arm that runs Terror Free Tomorrow). And if you ever begin to doubt that, why, feel free to reassure yourself by putting it in writing again.

(See, I'm even nice enough to address you as if you were someone writing what they believe, and not some PR frontman)

[parsi]

02:24 PM on 02/04/2010

Shilling that research around won't do you any good. It just show how out of touch you are and your basij handlers are not doing a good job of guiding you. If you had any decency or common sense you would have know that people in Iran are scared and cannot talk freely.

When I talk to my family in Iran over the phone, I don't discuss politics or events that might trigger any suspicion and lead to my family arrest and harm;

Calling me a zionies or this or that won't make me on and won't change facts.


Anyone other than a fool or la iar knows that ordinary Iranians are too scared to say things critical of the regime over the telephone in conversations with their OWN RELATIVES. You think they would say anything against the murderous goons of Khamenei and the IRGC to a pollster on a telephone, when there's a chance that killers in uniform (aka Pasdaran) or Ministry of Intelligence agents might be listening! Keep peddling your garbage elsewhere. Other than a minority of parasites and thugs who benefit from this dictatorship, Iranians aren't buying your propaganda wares.

When I talk to my family in Iran over the phone, I don't discuss politics or events that might trigger any suspicion and lead to my family arrest and harm;

Calling me a zionies or this or that won't make me on and won't change facts.

[parsi]

02:27 PM on 02/04/2010

Self-rightous sanctimony, hubris, dogmatic, all characteristic of diseaded relgious brain.

[parsi]

01:31 PM on 02/04/2010

The majlis is powerless. and their legislations are routinely vetoed by the office of Supreme Leader

Are you aware that you're deliberately spreading erroneous information?? Do you have no shame??


The Iranian Constitution is a roadmap in which all roads lead to the Supreme Leader. It is a closed loope.


Elections for the Assembly of Experts are a rare occurrence — they are held every eight years and with minor pomp. As with other "elected bodies", all candidates must be approved by the "Guardian Council", with the additional requirement that they must also prove their mastery of Islamic law and jurisprudence. Very few fit the bill, even though the theological standards have been lowered a few times.

Who appoints the Guardian council? The Supreme Leader...lol

Iran supreme leader The Iranian Constitution is a roadmap in which all roads lead to the Supreme Leader. He exercises control over all branches of the government and every division of the armed forces. He is appointed to the position for life, and his power is tied to age-old traditions of leadership in Shiite Islam. And yet, a single constitutional body can theoretically exercise ultimate power over the position of the Leader. That body is the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member council trusted with the responsibility to elect, and even dismiss, the Supreme Leader. Elections for the Assembly of Experts are a rare occurrence — they are held every...

Read the rest below:

from: http://tehranbureau.com/leading/

[Richard Pearce]

02:42 PM on 02/04/2010

In reality, the Iranian government system is a nest of interlocking checks and balances, with differing terms in office, different election dates, and different powers all preventing anybody from using the power of their position to dominate the others, or to manipulate the others too far from where the center of the political spectrum is in Iran. It may be more complex than the American system to accomplish the same goal (the rules of the Senate are such that a small group can block the legislation necessary to implement policies) or the Canadian one (again the Senate, but this time the slow turnover rate there), but it works.

Now, some folks emphasize the power that one position has (and not surprisingly, they choose the one with the most inflammatory title) and downplay or ignore the checks on that power, but that is not the reality. One could just as easily make the case that the POTUS has all the power in the US, but as we've seen time and time again, the reality is something far different.

As to why the Iranians would choose such a complex system, again, all you have to do is look at their recent past. A few years of living under a system where one man manipulates elected government members to the detriment of the country, and people begin to draw up in their minds ways of preventing that from recurring, and implement it at the first opportunity.

[parsi]

02:56 PM on 02/04/2010

LOL, you live in a dangreous, twisted world, dear.

[parsi]

02:59 PM on 02/04/2010

How often do you travel to Iran? Is there MOIS branch in Canada?

[Richard Pearce]

01:09 PM on 02/04/2010

Well, I'm sure the Birthers are going to call for rallies in the US on July 4th too.

But there is one problem that the 'Iranian opposition' can't seem to overcome. Outside of a small, dedicated following (which has a lot of support outside Iran) they don't have any support inside Iran.

And while it may be possible to overthrow a democratic election with such a small group where people are apathetic about their government, Iranians don't have to look far back in history (in fact, many can just ask their parents) to see where letting such a group succeed leads (either a dictatorship, or a weak government open to manipulation by a strongman), and so are not apathetic, nor are they prone to responding to someone with a very good spin machine. That is one reason why they didn't automatically blame their President for the economic problems caused by the global meltdown, and why they can simultaneously have strong positive views of Americans as people, and strong negative views of the American government those people elect.

[parsi]

01:20 PM on 02/04/2010

NO one is buying your fabricated version of the Islamic Republic. You are entitled to your opinion but not facts.

Since there is oil in Iran, there has been always a strong correlation between the structure of dictatorial power and oil. Not only government expenses, industry and services are heavily dependent on oil revenue, but also, on a larger scale, all repressive forces and institutions of dictatorial regimes rely on it.

Oil production in Iran is not at all in the service of the country’s development, but mainly serves the interest of the corrupt ruling elite and, most importantly, the survival of their oppressive Islamist regime.

In the case of the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran), oil is the greatest source of income for the state mafia and it enables the regime set up their repressive...

The regime also spends a part of this Iranian national resource to help the two Islamist terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, to prevent peaceful solutions in the region.


Although Iran is rich in oil resources and is the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, Iran’s capacity to turn the resource into the gasoline and diesel fuel is limited and thus up to 40 percent of Iran's gasoline is imported. Thanks to the IRI incompetence, the regime cannot expand refinery capacity to satisfy its domestic fuel requirements and thus heavily relies on imports.

http://iranian.com/main/blog/jahanshah-rashidian/stop-indian-gasoline-mullahs-repressive-machinery-2

[wereeverywhere]

03:54 PM on 02/04/2010

"And while it may be possible to overthrow a democratic election with such a small group..."

What democratic election? We're talking about the undemocratic IRI process. As to your second lie, how and why could such a tiny group have such tremendous staying power and effect? Your solidarity with reaction has you incredulous, but that doesn't mean your absurdities are believable to those who see IRI for what it is.

[parsi]

12:03 PM on 02/04/2010

Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone!
Written and performed by Blurred Vision, directed by Babak Payami

Fantastic video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIP38eq-ywc&feature=player_embedded

http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/feb/hey-ayatollah-leave-those-kids-alone-0

[parsi]

11:58 AM on 02/04/2010

Sadegh Ziba Kalam
"Revolution was for freedom, not Islam"
http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/feb/sadegh-ziba-kalam

[Durango]

11:54 AM on 02/04/2010

If I were the hardliners in Iran I would be very worried about now.

The opposition has positioned themselves as the legitimate heirs of the 1979 Revolution. Not the corrupt clerics who have used the Revolution to make themselves wealthy and powerful. At the expense of the common folks of Iran.

I think this is a compelling message that could very well be successful.

After all, what they are demanding is simply fair and honest elections.

And a Revolution that benefits all Iranians, not just a handful of influential theocrats.

[Richard Pearce]

01:16 PM on 02/04/2010

Your theory has two flaws in it, the first being the growth in both the middle class and a consumer economy under the 'rule' of those who you say have enriched themselves at the expense of the 'common folk'. The second being that the people who set economic policy aren't the clerics, but rather the President and the Majilis, all of whom happen to be elected by the 'common folks' of Iran.

[parsi]

01:25 PM on 02/04/2010

The majority of Iranians want you to disapear, but are too scared to admit it. For every one person who's brave enough to pour into the streets, there are a 1000 who are simply petrified of your goons and murderous bikers.

Ponder on that for a while.

[parsi]

01:32 PM on 02/04/2010

The majlis is powerless. and their legislations are routinely vetoed by the office of Supreme Leader

Are you aware that you're deliberately spreading erroneous information?? Do you have no shame??


The Iranian Constitution is a roadmap in which all roads lead to the Supreme Leader. It is a closed loope.


Elections for the Assembly of Experts are a rare occurrence — they are held every eight years and with minor pomp. As with other "elected bodies", all candidates must be approved by the "Guardian Council", with the additional requirement that they must also prove their mastery of Islamic law and jurisprudence. Very few fit the bill, even though the theological standards have been lowered a few times.

Who appoints the Guardian council? The Supreme Leader...lol

Iran supreme leader The Iranian Constitution is a roadmap in which all roads lead to the Supreme Leader. He exercises control over all branches of the government and every division of the armed forces. He is appointed to the position for life, and his power is tied to age-old traditions of leadership in Shiite Islam. And yet, a single constitutional body can theoretically exercise ultimate power over the position of the Leader. That body is the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member council trusted with the responsibility to elect, and even dismiss, the Supreme Leader. Elections for the Assembly of Experts are a rare occurrence — they are held every...

Read the rest below: