The Political Fish

Planet Iran and the Azarmehr blog today reported more sad news coming out of the increasingly hostile and tyrannical Iranian regime. Arash Rahmanipour was a 19 year old student arrested during the uprising in Iran following the fraudulent elections this summer. He was later lumped into a group of pro-democracy demonstrators who stood in front of the Iranian kangaroo courts and were convicted.

Thursday, Rahmanipour was hanged by the despotic regime for his role in the Ashoura protests just a few months ago. Mind you, he was in jail at the time so the prosecutor concluded that he must have played a role in the massive Ashura protests from his cell.

Rahmanipour and the other man Mohammed Reza Ali Zamani said back in August that they were officially convicted of trying to “topple the Islamic establishment” and for belonging to armed opposition groups that were the enemies of Allah.

Arash Rahmanipours father told the Al-Jazeera news network that he was not informed of his sons hanging until after it had taken place.

He also stated he would not accept condolence, only congratulations for his son being martyred for the cause of freedom. Beautiful strength.

CNN also reported on the hangings and the inconsistency of the Iranian regime. It seems like an arbitrary process of executing its political prisoners is the rule of the day for the despots in Tehran.

UPDATE:

During the Friday prayers, Iranian hardline cleric Ayatollah Ahmadd Jannati declared that more of the opposition protesters should be executed, to show the strength of the Islamic regime.

Speaking in a Friday prayer sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said the wave of street demonstrations sparked by the disputed June presidential election would not have lasted until now if protesters had been executed early on.

“Whatever we suffered was because of our weakness. How many did the judiciary execute on July 9?” he said, referring to one of the particularly large protest days.

“We showed weakness, so then we had Ashoura,” he said, referring to a major protest on Dec. 27. “If you show weakness now, the future will be worse … There is no room for Islamic mercy.”

Iran’s judiciary is stepping up death sentences as the leadership intensifies its campaign to eliminate the challenge from the pro-reform opposition movement. Authorities announced Thursday that nine people accused of involvement in protests have been sentenced to death — including five who allegedly had a role in the Dec. 27 protests, which saw a particularly violent clampdown.

Iran’s top prosecutor said a new group of protesters and others would soon be brought to trial.

The two men executed Thursday were arrested before the June 12 election on charges of belonging to an armed group aiming to topple the government. But authorities lumped them in with opposition activists arrested during the postelection crackdown.

In his sermon, aired live on state radio, Jannati thanked Iran’s judiciary chief, Sadeq Larijani, for Thursday’s executions and urged more, saying: “Stand up courageously for the sake of God, the same way you executed these two persons very quickly.”

This summer the world has watched in horror as the Iranian people took to the streets to protest the fraudulently obtained election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government unleashed hell upon its own citizens for doing this, as the Fish had documented for weeks during the start of the summer. Part of the hell unleashed was the Basij, a plainclothes para-military group, who some even suspected of being Hezbollah. These plainclothes men came through town beating the Iranians for their descent.

In America, we have not gotten to that widespread point as of yet. But, we do have the American version of the Basij now among us. Goon squads from the SEIU and other union organizations have now been invited to these townhall meetings to stack the deck in favor of the Democrat Representatives, who have faced shouting (yet peaceful) opposition to the Presidents healthcare takeover. Witness this attack on Kenneth Gladney, who attended the townhall meeting held by Missouri 3rd district rep Russ Carnahan. Watch as the goon squad from the SEIU (complete with identifiable t-shirts) beat Mr. Gladney for his dissenting opinion….Is this Tehran or St. Louis?

And now, the woefully inept response from Rep. Carnahan as he is pushed to answer to the fact that the goon squad that he brought there beat a man…mind you, this is painful to watch, how was this man ever even elected??

And one last video, this is the response by once again peaceful Americans, including Mr. Gladney’s lawyer, outside of the SEIU local office.

St. Louis Tea Party Protest @ SEIU Office – August 8, 2009 from Brian Simpson on Vimeo.

As Mr. Gladney was being beaten, he screamed some very important words. DONT TREAD ON ME! The Gadsden flag has never been more important in American history than it is today, in my opinion. The United States government is waging a smear campaign, complete with inflammatory and defamatory language aimed at its own citizens. Obama is attempting to divide us…

On Thursday, the White House was prepping Representatives for the inevitable dissent that will happen at their upcoming townhalls. (Hello, Maybe Americans really dont want HR 3200). From Politico.com…

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

 

The hourlong session was the last opportunity for Democratic leaders and the White House to prepare senators for what will be a crucial month in shaping public opinion on health care. With no final legislation to promote, senators have expressed concern about dealing with questions and criticisms about the almost $1 trillion overhaul. The spate of confrontational town hall meetings have raised the stakes.

 

“They are just helping us understand the fringe that is trying to mess up our meetings,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Punch back twice as hard eh? It seems the SEIU (like any good union worker) took this in the literal sense. Just ask Mr. Gladney when he is finally able to speak.

Dissent is Democracy. Do not forget that!

As our friends at RedState.com remind us, if you attend these events…take a camera. Document what you see.

Finally, the Obama administration has stood up and spoken out against the tyrannical Iranian regimes pursuit of nuclear weapons. Sadly, it was not the President of the United States. It was not even the loose-lipped Vice President of the United States. It was none other than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She spoke up on Meet the Press this morning…

She let the radical Iranian regime, who I might add is cracking from within thanks to the relentless pressure of the freedom fighting citizens of that nation, know in no uncertain terms that their pursuit of the bomb is futile.

“What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions, that if you’re pursuing nuclear weapons for the purpose of intimidating, of projecting your power, we’re not going to let that happen,” Clinton said.

“First, we’re going to do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But your pursuit is futile, because we will never let Iran — nuclear-armed, not nuclear-armed — it is something that we view with great concern, and that’s why we’re doing everything we can to prevent that from ever happening. … We believe, as a matter of policy, it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons.”

Its a sad day in American politics when the President, who is so concerned about his image worldwide, cannot make a stand on such a novice issue such as this. Ahmadinejad has shown himself unhinged in his previous term, as well as recently in the election that he stole, and simply cannot be allowed to pursue these type of devastating weapons. The intent certainly would be for intimidation, and even possibly for the destruction of Israel which he has continually railed on. Some may say its simply rhetoric, but at what point do you actually begin to take him seriously. As the nuclear-tipped balistic missile is in the air?

A hat tip to Hillary Clinton for sounding….well…Presidential in her statement to the media this morning. More on that in a bit….

Watch this video from this evening in Tehran, you will see at the beginning that the author of the video shows the day’s newspaper to verify the date. Its eery yet a powerful show that the Iranian people are not finished in their quest for freedom. The nightly cries from the rooftop out to god “Allahu Akbhar” are straight from the playbook of the 1979 Revolution. Let us not forget the Iranian people…they are a strong group that will continue this fight until they get the freedom they deserve.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sharply criticised President Obama for his recent statements regarding the crisis in Iran, where Obama stated that he was “appalled and outraged” at the events playing out in Tehran.

“Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things … our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously (former U.S. President George W.) Bush used to say,” the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

“Do you want to speak with this tone? If that is your stance then what is left to talk about … I hope you avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs and express your regret in a way that the Iranian nation is informed of it,” he said.

Ahmadinejad delivered what most administration officials would feel as the ultimate insult when he stated that Obama was acting like President Bush. He also stated that their was not much of a chance of the two nations talking unless the president apologized. Classic Ahmadi propaganda.

Right, wrong, or indifferent I think we can all agree that President Obama has acted nothing like how President Bush would have. Now is not the time for that debate, so save your breath. The bottom line to this post is that no matter what Obama does or doesn’t do, he WILL be used as propaganda and a “political football” to use his term. Its what the Iranian regime and their team of spin-doctors do.

Today in Iran we might have seen some of the worst violence yet. The regime is reportedly arresting people in unbelievable numbers, parading them in front of camera’s with coerced confessions. The beatings at random have increased. The murders are occurring, and quickly being covered up. It seems the country has descended into hell. The Basij has been given carte blanche to run wild and regain control. The government has slowed or completely blocked internet access. When does the world rally together and strongly support the Iranian people? I am growing weary of the restraint shown by world leaders…but what are we to do other than feel helpless as we see and hear horrific news from Iran almost daily?

This is a difficult video to see. Its graphic, so be warned. Maybe this was what PersianKiwi was referring to in her posts.

Lastly, this is a clip from CNN today from a female Iranian woman calling into to Ivan Watson from CNN, telling of the horror at Baharastan Square. Its chilling and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Continue to pray for the people of Iran. This madness must stop. The brutality is growing out of control daily.

The Iranian regime has been waging a cyber war against its people as well as the physical beatings and murder that we have all seen. The necessity for proxy servers in Iran is exponential, as the regime is trying to silence and adapt to a new type of revolution. The people are reaching out over social networking sites like twitter and facebook, and the regime is a step behind in trying to shut them down.

Its being reported that Pro-regime hackers brought their cyber war to the United States. The Oregon University computer system was hacked overnight, and the administrators brought it down on Wednesday morning. From the AP:

The message that was posted on the Web site, made available to The Associated Press by the university system, addressed Obama and said it was being posted from Iran. The text, in red on a black background, calls on Obama to focus on the economic crisis instead of commenting on the Iranian election.

The message also makes derogatory comments about Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has contended the June 12 vote was rigged

Apparently the university uses an outdated third party software that was not protected. Apparently the hackers were looking for vulnerable systems. It appears they found one. Administrators were able to track the hackers back to inside of the nation of Iran. This regime is really getting desperate. More to come from Iran…

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Today, I want to start by addressing three issues, and then I’ll take your questions. 
    
First, I’d like to say a few words about the situation in Iran.  The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.  I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.

I’ve made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering with Iran’s affairs.  But we must also bear witness to the courage and the dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society.  And we deplore the violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.

The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future.  Some in Iran — some in the Iranian government, in particular, are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others in the West of instigating protests over the election.  These accusations are patently false.  They’re an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders.  This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran.  This is not about the United States or the West; this is about the people of Iran, and the future that they — and only they — will choose.

The Iranian people can speak for themselves.  That’s precisely what’s happened in the last few days.  In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests [sic] of justice.  Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we’ve watched what the Iranian people are doing.

This is what we’ve witnessed.  We’ve seen the timeless dignity of tens of thousands of Iranians marching in silence.  We’ve seen people of all ages risk everything to insist that their votes are counted and that their voices are heard.  Above all, we’ve seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats, and we’ve experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets.  While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful, we also know this:  Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away.  The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech.  If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights and heed the will of its own people.  It must govern through consent and not coercion.  That’s what Iran’s own people are calling for, and the Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government

The Iranian tyrannical government today reached a new low. In their desperate attempt to discredit the protests that continue now into the 10th day, Iran again lashed out at Western countries and in doing so, began treating some of those arrested as propaganda tools. Rueters reports that Iran state TV began airing some of those detained in propaganda pieces reminicent of war-time propaganda. One young man was paraded in front of the camera and let the world know “I think we were provoked by networks like the BBC and the VOA (Voice of America) to take such immoral actions,”. No indication or proof as of yet, but  he was likely forced to  utter these comments under duress of some sort. Another young Iranian woman also paraded in front of the camera stated,“I was influenced by VOA Persian and the BBC because they were saying that security forces were behind most of the clashes. This was after she admitted on camera to carrying a grenade in her purse. The woman continued on (effectively condemning herself in court proceedings) I saw that it was us protesting … who were making riots. We set on fire public property, we threw stones … we attacked people’s cars and we broke windows of people’s houses.

Shocking to me that the Iranian government would treat their own people as war-time propaganda tools.  Given their conduct in the past 10 days, I suppose this should not shock the conscience.

Iranian State TV also was seeking today to discredit the entire story of Neda, the young woman whose death has shocked the world, as we witnessed her being shot through the heart, and dying on a video that has circulated around the globe via twitter, youtube and other social networking. State Tv quoting (go figure) and unnamed source, who stated that she was shot by a bullet that did not come from Iranian security forces. The government obviously understands the symbol that Neda Soltani  has become and is on a damage-control mission to limit her impact. I believe they are too late, as Neda has already become the face of the Green Revolution.

“The presence of police and Basij forces in parts of the city has raised people’s feeling of security,” IRIB said.

Another of Iranian state TV’s ridiculous claims that was pushed forward today. This sort of flies in the face of the hundreds of videos that have been uploaded to the web showing the Basij and other security forces and para-military militia tormenting the citizens of Iran. Insanity for anyone to believe that these government loyalist thugs give anybody a sense of security.

Let me take a moment to tick off a few of the things the new President of the United States has dealt with and is dealing with in just over 6 months in office.

• Iranian Revolution – what to say, what not to say. Biggest challenge to let it play out.
• Oh by the way, if Ahmadinejad stays in office – the Iranian nuclear threat
• Iraq war – drawing it down and peacefully handing it off to the Iraqi government. (Bush did all the leg work on this one)
• Afghanistan – a struggling democracy vital to American interests.
• Pakistan – Taliban moving from Afghanistan into the Swat Valley attempting to overthrow the Pakistani democracy. Oh by the way, if they are successful, a nuclear Taliban.
• Darfur – what to do here, since basically nothing has been done thus far. Oh by the way, people are still dying there daily.
• North Korea – this insane little man is doing alot of saber rattling. Oh by the way, that saber may have a nuclear warhead on it sooner than later.
• Closing Guantanamo – he brought this one on himself with his ill advised opening day signing.
• Israel – They are still our friends right? See the Iranian crisis for more info on this one. We still need to look out for our buddies. And Ahmadi wants them outta here….

Now lets head to the home front for some more problems. I think you know where I am going with all of this…

• A depressed economy – handed off from his predecessor, and has failed miserably at stemming the recession.
• Now the proud owner of a American car iconic company – brought this one on himself.
• Right-wing extremists (such as myself according to DHS) – this one im just kidding. Start paying attention BO.
• Teaparties – oh right, he didn’t know they were going on.
• Socialized medicine – whats another trillion or two in the grand scheme of things right *sarcasm
• 11 trillion dollar debt – ’nuff said
• almost a 4 trillion dollar budget (loaded with ridiculous pet projects) this one is his own fault.
• Proud owner of banks, credit default swaps, and other assorted financial “stuff” that I wont pretend to know about.
• Joe Biden
• Hillary Clinton
• Janet Nap
• Tim Geithner
• Getting to work on picking a better Cabinet

My point in all of this is simple. Who would even want this job?? I suppose making an end run at absolute power is worth it in the end. One problem, and you can add this to the list of problems. The Constitution and the American people WILL NOT allow absolute power to run our country. We will not become Iran as it is today.

Iranian government thugs Monday, randomly breaking things for what seems like no apparent reasoning. Ugh, just a little glimpse of what our Iranian friends are dealing with. This comes from persiankiwi via twitter.

The Guardian Council of Iran today announced that there were in fact irregularities, and in essence telling the world that they don’t matter. The state-run media even admitted that there were some districts where there was over 100% voter turn out. These are Hugo Chavez-type numbers!! Astounding that Ahmadinejad was able to collect 105% of the votes in some places.

While Tehran was largely silent today, there were still small skirmishes and clashes with police. Demonstrations have been much smaller recently, as it appears the green revolution is trying to regr0up after the weekend violence. The IRG has stated in no uncertain terms that it will punish those who try and march in the city. Government even blocked the families request for a public funeral for Neda Soltani, the girl who we witnessed in horror bleeding to death this past weekend. She has now become the face of the Revolution.

The turning point was in fact this past weekend. One wonders of the strength of the Iranian people, as they stare down the possibility of death at the hands of their own government. To this point they have shown us amazing courage.

Mir Hossein Mousavi has stayed at the forefront of the firestorm, speaking through his spokesmen based in London, and through the social networking of facebook and twitter. On some levels, it appears that they revolution has run past its leader and has taken a life of its own. Mohsen Mahkmalbaf, Mousavi’s spokesperson, had an article in the UK Guardian answering the critics of Mousavi, read it here.

The last paragraph struck me, so I will close with it.

Previously, he was revolutionary, because everyone inside the system was a revolutionary. But now he’s a reformer. Now he knows Gandhi – before he knew only Che Guevara. If we gain power through aggression we would have to keep it through aggression. That is why we’re having a green revolution, defined by peace and democracy

Pretty funny spoof on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…good way to break the monotony of disturbing news coming out of Iran. Be warned there is a little bit of language in the video, so we will give this a PG-13 rating. Found this on the Daily Dish

This video from yesterday was shot in an unknown location in Tehran. Watch it all the way till the end, you might find yourself hollering along with the Iranian folks!

Nobel peace prize laureate and current Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke out today in favor and in support of the Iranian protesters on the street.

“Let the young people raise their voice for freedom, let the Iranian women … voice their thirst for equality,” Peres told a gathering of world Jewish leaders.

Also today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke strongly in support of the Iranian protesters. See the interview below on Meet the Press today.

This brings out an interesting situation, as the two countries of Israel and Iran have long been considered arch enemies. I personally am interested in the response of the Iranian people. It is well documented just what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks of the nation of Israel, but I have not located information at this time to document the feelings of Mr. Mousavi. Clearly, the current regime will not appreciate the words of the two Israeli leaders, and no doubt will use that to propaganize the current situation. But it goes to show us that no matter the differences, the freedom of the individual trumps all.