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Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Mr. Ahmadinejad's blatant meddling in this month's IFF election constitutes the second time in as many months that a Middle Eastern government has openly flaunted FIFA rules to benefit politically from the beautiful game.
Last Friday, Iran held its first elections since the controversial 2009 presidential contest, which led to the near-elimination of pro-reform political forces in the Islamic Republic. For this reason, the parliamentary vote should be viewed as an unrepresentative sham -- nothing more than a selection process amongst the ruling conservative elite.
While the bomb would not be a real threat neither to Israel who has many more nor to the U.S. who can blow all of us to bits in a jiffy, it is more of a threat to us Iranians and for the struggle for democracy in Iran.
Democracy and women's rights go hand in hand. And no group understands that equation better than Muslim women. That is why they are always amongst the first to go out on the streets to fight for their future.
The protests in Tunisia were like the Iranian movement in many ways, but, unlike Iran, its leadership was not part of an old guard who aimed to reform the system.
The firing of Manouchehr Mottaki is a sure-fire sign that Ahmadinejad is getting nervous about the loyalty of his own government. This power struggle is heating up, and it has massive implications.
Instead of targeting Iranian government officials connected to the nuclear program or who are complicit in human rights abuses, the new sanctions are punishing young Iranians who have been the greatest allies of democracy, human rights, and accountability in Iran.
The incompatibility between the Iranian reformist leaders' demands for a re-run of the election and the rank-and-file's revolutionary demand to replace this regime have resulted in a schizophrenic identity for the Green movement.
One year after his feverishly contested reelection as the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to be standing on firmer political ground than ...
On June 12, 2009, Iran's now infamous elections were held. The idea that the Green Movement would be successful in a few short months is ridiculous -- revolutions are not won in a day.
As the world prepares to mark the first anniversary of Iran's stolen election, the beatings, arrests, and executions, the U.S. should be pushing the Human Rights Council to end its silence on Iran.
The expression of Iran's Green movement through Islamic discourses, despite the existence of nationalist and leftist discourses as well, can be understood as the popular renaissance of a new, democratic interpretation of Islam.
As the Iranian Green Movement plans for renewed protests marking the anniversary of the election and as the regime continues to censor media and block internet access, Obama should reevaluate his position on sanctions.
This article originally appeared on Dissected News, where James will be live-blogging the events surrounding the anniversary of the June 12th election...
"At the risk of sounding rude, anyone who tells you that Iran wants a nuclear weapon in order to use it is a moron," Aslan said. "Iran wants a nuclear weapon for the same reason everyone wants a nuclear weapon, as a deterrence."
Nearly one year after the flawed presidential election that kicked off the biggest and most sustained anti-government demonstrations since the Islamic Republic's founding, the human rights situation remains devastating.
