dagblog - Comments for "Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier"

Stuff like: "From an emailer

Fenestrate — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:59:21 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

Stuff like:

"From an emailer Salim: "This is beginning to mirror what I witnessed in the first revolution. When people start taking over military centers. There is report that a basiji center in Northern Tehran around Tajrish has been captured by the protesters. This would potentially mean weapons in hands of protesters. I'll let you know if I heard more."

Like I said. Way more serious but not sure if it's reliable info.

I'm not sure how reliable the

Fenestrate — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:53:08 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

I'm not sure how reliable the info is (makes things seem way more serious than I've seen elsewhere) but there's a live blog going on Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

Mousavi has formally appealed

acanuck — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:03:32 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

Mousavi has formally appealed the election result to the Council of Guardians, while asking supporters to keep their protests peaceful and legal. He's also asked permission to hold a march and rally (good luck with that).
At least that news suggests he is not, as reported, under house arrest.

Thanks for this. I was away

Orlando — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:17:51 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

Thanks for this. I was away from the computer all day yesterday and I kept checking the cable networks for some word of what was happening. Simply pathetic coverage.

On the Tabriz thing, I just

artappraiser — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:47:47 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

On the Tabriz thing, I just ran across this short audio slideshow that Jon Lee Anderson did to go along with his April New Yorker article on Ahmadinejad. He went along on an Ahmadinejad visit to Tabriz seemed pretty impressed with the both Ahmadinejad's modus operandi and the reception he got:

The Prodigal Son
The New Yorker, April 13, 2009

This week in the magazine, Jon Lee Anderson writes about the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Here, Anderson narrates an audio slide show about Ahmadinejad’s visit to Tabriz, in northwest Iran. Photographs by Thomas Dworzak.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2009/04/13/090413_audioslideshow_ahmadinejad

51% doesn't sound so out of line to me after seeing that.

Whatever the case, I think it is good for people to bring skepticism to this, because even if the election was fixed, I do get the sense that most western reporters, experts, and commentators, even the best ones, get all their understanding from urbanites and elites, even their supposed understanding of the more rural population is filtered that way. And it can be dangerous to make judgments on other things on that basis.

Heck, you can find examples in this country, we have to have people like Thomas Frank write books like "What's The Matter with Kansas?" to explain a place like Kansas to us. I dare say many people who frequent this website have a hard time with places like Texas or Alabama to this day.... :-)

It's sad... they were

synchronicity — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:14:19 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

It's sad... they were completely stupid in the way that they apparently cheated... making the results completely unrealistic. Did they want chaos and a reason to put a bunch of organizers in jail?

And we have no ground to stand on based on the GW election and all he and his adminstration did...

What an awful mess.

exasperated sigh of agreement

Corpiscator — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:07:02 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

exasperated sigh of agreement here!.......

Why MSNBC didn't choose to

tpmgary — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:48:29 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

Why MSNBC didn't choose to run a weekend long special "Iran election 2009 coverage" and follow the events on the ground as they unfolded is beyond me.

The whole reason for being a 24 hour news network is now lost on me. It was an opportunity for at least one news source here in the U.S. to demonstrate the importance of international journalism.

The White House has to deal

acanuck — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:31:07 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

The White House has to deal with whoever emerges on top, and that looks almost certain to be Ahmadinejad. So they're right to be cautious.
You're absolutely right on CNN's default he-said/she-said approach. Interview people whose positions and agendas are obvious, get a few sound-bites, and forget about trying to factually inform your viewers.
Oh, and toss in a few of their emails as a sop. Pathetic.

Cole, Sullivan, and the Lede

somibear — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:52:27 +0000

In reply to Rafsanjani out? Iran gets murkier

Cole, Sullivan, and the Lede are all over this, and the MSM are completely dropping the ball. The CNN coverage has been particularly telling-- "one side says this, another side says this!" It's a combination of cowardice (in case somehow the election turns out to be legitimate) and laziness; meanwhile, watch frightening Christian Barbi-doll on Larry King!

I can understand the White House laying low, but the MSM coverage is simply terrible. This is huge, massively important news, and anyone with a brain seems to have gone to the Hamptons for the weekend.

The young people of Iran who are fighting the corrupt theocracy deserve our support.