Morning Report: June 19, 2005

Latest Iran news. The IRI regime's recent "elections" drew calls for a boycott from Iranian freedom activists. Despite some MSM claims of "higher than expected voter turnout", eyewitness accounts from Iranians - and photographs of the polling places - tell a different story. There were also reports of violence against demonstraters in Los Angeles, Ottawa, and other cities. Commenter Rasker provides video of one confrontation in Houston. Opposition candidate Mustafa Moin has challenged the legitimacy of the polls, claiming that "a powerful will entered the arena bent on the victory of a particular candidate and the elimination of the other candidates" and declaring that "a warning bell has sounded" for Iran's rulers. Numerous anti-regime groups have designated the days following the election as the beginning of an organized campaign to depose the regime; however, no new information on this is currently available. (Free Iran, Rasker)

Belmont Club on Iraq developments. Wretchard examines the increased intensity of combat in Iraq, exemplified by operations Spear and Dagger. 'In the near term, the operational tempo (billed as "violence", "instability" or "mayhem" in the media) will almost certainly increase for the following reasons. First, Iraqi forces are now coming online and they are not the "fresh meat" the Daily Kos claims. Though they may have shortcomings, Iraqi troops are far from totally ineffective and actually represent a net increase in coalition combat power against the enemy. Second, the cumulative results of two years of intelligence infrastructure building coming into fruition in the larger size of caches being found and in the number of "tips" which precede many of the recent captures and rescues. Third, the insurgent strategy of attempting to ignite a civil war as described in the last post, will generate its own backblast.' See also Friday's post on Mosul. (Belmont Club)

Command Post on energy issues. 'This week, debate in the Senate began in earnest on the federal energy bill - and the debate in the US, around the world, and on the internet shows no signs of abating. In a widely cited poll, Yale University researchers found that an overwhelming majority of Americans are worried about dependence on foreign oil (92%) and want government to develop new energy technologies to address it (93%). Apparently, they haven’t been reading their Kunstler, or else they’d know that there are no solutions other than the long-overdue destruction of our sinfully consumptive civilization - or maybe they’ve been reading their Engineer-Poet instead, and know better than to buy into sci-fi catastrophilia. ...' Winds of Change takes a look at real-world options on bio, electricity, fossils, nuclear, solar, wind, and energy policy. (Winds of Change)

Amy Ray rocks!

As many readers know by now, I am a fanatic for the Indigo Girls. The Indigo Girls, for those who don't know, are the lesbian folk/rock duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. (Emily and Amy are not a couple, by the way, and have never been romantically involved with one another.) The two women contribute equally to the songwriting. Emily, the folk half, usually writes upbeat, relationship-based songs; she is also responsible for "The Girl with the Weight of the World in Her Hands", a beautiful song about Christ which chokes me up every time I hear it (and I'm Jewish).

Amy, the rock and roll side, wrote the classic, eerie "Chickenman". the haunting "Cedar Tree" (a tearjerker, but listen close for a few bars from "Ode to Joy" in the guitar solo), the epic "Touch Me Fall", and a very twisted take on the folk staple "This Train". (The last two tracks can be found on "Swamp Ophelia", which is probably my single favorite rock album of all time.)

But I'm writing this post to call your attention to a recent series of Amy Ray interviews - and with Amy as the interviewer, not the interviewee. Somehow, in between touring both with the Indigo Girls AND solo, Amy has found the time and energy to interview a number of women connected with the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, particularly focusing on the festival's controversial policy that limits attendance to "women-born-women only", i.e. excluding transsexual and transgender women.

The relationship between women - particularly lesbians - and transgender/transsexual people has been complex and sometimes difficult. Straight readers may not always appreciate the history and politics behind the clunky "LGBT" acronym that's fashionable nowadays. Even if you are not lesbian, gay, or differently gendered, the debate between trans people and the MWMF offers some valuable insights into the workings of identity politics - and into the issues faced by lesbian, straight, and trans women today. Amy Ray has made an enormous contribution with these interviews.

I've posted earlier about gender and sexuality in the women's movement. I've also written about the relationship of women and power to liberalism and contemporary politics. I'll post later with more comments on the Amy Ray interviews after I've had a chance to read them as carefully as they deserve.

I will also be linking these interviews on my sidebar. Thank you, Amy Ray, for playing an important role in this ongoing conversation.

Latest Iranian News; IRI Violence in North America

Regime-sponsored violence against Iranians seems to have spread to North America as eyewitnesses reported attacks on nonviolent activists in Los Angeles and Ottawa.

Excerpts from various current threads at Free Iran News Forum:

EXPATS IN L.A. URGE BOYCOTT
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=857083

LOS ANGELES Jun 17, 2005 — Iranian exiles are campaigning against Friday's presidential elections in their homeland, urging would-be voters in the Islamic republic and abroad to boycott what they call a sham poll.

In Los Angeles, one of 36 U.S. cities where voting was scheduled to take place, a half dozen television and radio stations that for years have criticized the regime are beaming their message into Iran by satellite and Internet. ...

*********************************
IRAN: FAMILIES OF POLITICAL PRISONERS CONTINUE PROTESTS
http://www.regimechangeiran.com/

Adnkronos International:Iranian police have manhandled the wife and brother of jailed journalist and dissident, Akbar Ganji, during the ninth straight day of protest by family members of political prisoners in front of the notorious Evin prison in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Despite having the written permission to meet with her husband, Ganji's wife, Massoumeh Shafii was not allowed to enter the prison on Thursday. ...

***********************************************
IRANIAN STUDENTS DESCRIBE POLLS
Iran's election feed back - Iranian student reporting
Various | June 18th, 05 | Self
http://www.regimechangeiran.com/

Posted on 06/17/2005 4:42:00 PM PDT by Khashayar


Reza from Tehran: This is 10 am in northern part of Tehran. There is no body in the site and I hope officials would announce the number of voters truly.

Hasan from Qom: IRIB (TV & RADIO) is just showing certain places where people go to vote. Most polls are empty here in our city.

Amir from Kashmar (east of Iran): No body is around, especially in the morning.

Sam from Tehran: I did vote to save my country from likes of Rafsanjani. I voted for Mr. Moin

Mehdi from Shiraz: I have counted 10-12 people in this poll in our area. Most of them were forced to vote.

Majid from Tehran: I voted for Imam Zaman to come and save us from the regime.

Fardin from Switzerland: Regime thugs attacked those of us who were protesting against the regime in front of one of the polling stations. ...


************************
SUSPECTED DISSIDENTS ARRESTED IN UK
Four linked to Iran terror plot arrested in UK
Jun 17, 2005
The Guardian
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_7645.shtml

Four terrorist suspects arrested by armed police in dawn swoops in north London yesterday are believed to be linked to a dissident group plotting against the Iranian government, according to police and anti-terrorist officials.

The men, aged 31, 37, 58 and 63, were being questioned last night at the high security police station at Paddington Green....

**********************
OPEN LETTER FROM DR. RAMIN ETEBAR

Dear Mr. President

What I am about to report is a sad day in the American history that requires your immediate action to protect the
the US constitution specifically the First Amendment.

A group of Iranian Americans composed of TV journalists and political activist who had gathered in front of the
Commerce Plaza Hotel (Los Angeles suburb) to protest and report the conduction of the sham Iranian presidential elections
were assaulted by the hotel security on the command of IRI thugs in US.
According to Ms. Dokhi Abdi; a political activist and Iranian satellite TV reporter and commentator in Los Angeles, upon the
arrival of the group to the Commerce Plaza Hotel where the elections for the Iranian presidential election was being conducted, the group of 12 activists and journalists were intercepted by the hotel security and a valid Iranian passport was demanded from them in order to allow entry to the hotel. Soon after several Iranians who were in charge of the event in the hotel were called to the scene; upon their determination that this group of 12 were Iranian dissidents as well as Iranian Americans who are against the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) the hotel security attacked the dissidents and journalists.
According to Ms. Abdi, the hotel security attacked Nasrin Mohammadi whose two of her brothers are political prisoners in Iran to confiscate her video camera as a result of this she fell from a platform. Ms. Firozeh Ghafarpour (another TV journalists and political activist) started to protest this; she was then viciously attacked with pepper spray. At this point Ms. Dokhi Abdi told the security that she was a reporter and that she was there to report the event, upon stating this she was attacked and she was sprayed in the mouth. Several other individuals were beaten and hand cuffed. As I write this the victims are being treated in a local hospital emergency room.

Mr. President, I, as an Iranian American, as a republican, as one of your constituents, as one of your campaign volunteers, as a political and human rights activist I severely protest this incident. How is this possible to require a valid Iranian passport to gain entry into an American hotel in US soil? How is this possible to allow violation of our First amendment Bill of Rights to freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble? This is an act of terror! What is the American law enforcement agencies are going to do about this? What is the US Department of State is going to do about the Iranian interest section (Under the Embassy of Pakistan) who is organizing these acts of terror?

Mr. President, actions speak louder than words! What are you going to do about this?

Sincerely yours,

Ramin Etebar, M.D.
Las Vegas, Nevada

***************
IRANIANS PROTEST "ELECTIONS" IN CANADA
Iran News Jun 17th, 2005 - 18:31:52
Page One > Iran News
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_7642.shtml

Iranians protest election day in Canada
Jun 17, 2005
Sayeh Hassan and Ruzbeh Hosseini - Persian Journal

Today, a large number of Iranians gathered in front of the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa, Canada to support the boycott of the 9th presidential elections in Iran. ...

The highlight of the event was a hostage taking by Embassy personnel of a well known film maker named Masoud Raouf. After obtaining the required permission from Embassy personnel and the RCMP, he went into the Embassy to take footage of the election for a documentary. Once inside, the Islamic Regime's agents started to harass him. When Mr. Masoud pleaded to have the RCMP intervene, the IRI agents refused and three of them attacked Mr. Raouf and beat him violently about the nose, genitalia, and other parts of his body. To bring attention to his situation Mr. Raouf smashed and broke an Embassy window. This caused the protesting Iranians to storm the Embassy grounds and make thunderous demands for the release of Mr. Raouf who had then become a hostage. Slogans such as "Free Masoud, Free Masoud" could be heard blocks away and it took forty-five minutes for police to calm the crowd and move them away from the Embassy door. The protesters resolved to continue their protest until Mr. Raouf was released. After another hour he was finally released and gave a small speech regarding what had taken place inside.

A disturbing common theme is the willingness of the regime's thugs to use violence against fellow Iranians on foreign soil. Keep watching this space for updates.

Fouladvand Reported Arrested; Clashes in Iranian Diaspora

Latest reports on Iran from Free Iran:

Friday, June 17, 2005
Dr. Froud Fouladvand Under Arrest?
regimechangeiran.com

Iman Foroutan, SOS IRAN.com, told me that it has been reported that Dr. Froud Fouladvand, the Iranian broadcaster operating out of the UK has been arrested. He has been advocating an armed struggle with the Iranian government. His group has been responsible for numerous demonstrations in Europe asking the leaders of the EU to drop its support for the Islamic Republic of Iran. I have yet to find a news source that can confirm this report.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5:15 PM
Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Iranian Polling Station in LA Shut Down

I just heard from Iman Foroutan, of SOSIRAN.com, that the Iranian polling station in Los Angeles, CA was shut down. Prior to its closure, Aryo Pirouznia, of SMCCDI, and an unnamed women were pepper sprayed by security personnel guarding the polling station. The woman required medical attention and was taken to a local hospital.

I have heard of other agressive measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran's personnel in other cities today. A more complete briefing on today's efforts will be posted later.

Update: An SOSIRAN.com associate sent me the following report:

A group of Iranian Americans composed of TV journalists and political activist who had gathered in front of the Commerce Plaza Hotel (Los Angeles suburb) to protest and report the conduction of the sham Iranian presidential elections were assaulted by the hotel security on the command of IRI thugs in US.

According to Ms. Dokhi Abdi; a political activist and Iranian satellite TV reporter and commentator in Los Angeles, upon the arrival of the group to the Commerce Plaza Hotel where the elections for the Iranian presidential election was being conducted, the group of 12 activists and journalists were intercepted by the hotel security and a valid Iranian passport was demanded from them in order to allow entry to the hotel.

Soon after several Iranians who were in charge of the event in the hotel were called to the scene; upon their determination that this group of 12 were Iranian dissidents as well as Iranian Americans who are against the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) the hotel security attacked the dissidents and journalists. ...

Posted by Rasker; go to the message thread at the link for full details and follow-ups.

Iranians vote ... with their feet!

Iranians are boycotting the regime's "elections", despite official pressure to vote for one of the six regime-approved candidates. This thread at the Free Iran message forum has the details:

The Iranian people have clearly rejected the Islamist regime by overwhelmingly boycotting the Mullah's Election SHOW. The BOYCOTT AGAINST THE MULLAHS HAS A GREAT MESSAGE to the Islamist Regime that they MUST GIVE UP POWER PEACEFULY NOW Or ELSE ....

West of Tehran
Most of the dozen polling stations in western Tehran were either empty or had a handful of voters from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m.
In particular, the station in Poung Square at the corner of Homeyl Street was completely deserted.
Sattarkhan and Sardar-Jangal roads were empty though 10 people were spotted standing in a queue to vote in Sediqiyeh street.


Tehran

Voting Centre 71
Saddouqi High School in Akbari Street – Six people were spotted, among them three women. (11:30 a.m. local time)

Voting Centres 68 and 69
Imam Hossein Asgary Mosque in Salehi Street – 12 people were seen lined up to vote, among them five women.

Voting Centre 66
Tarasht Prayer Hall – 15 people were seen lined up to vote. Roughly half were women, and youths constituted a handful of them. (11:30 a.m.)
...

And all the eyewitness reports are pretty much the same, throughout Tehran and the rest of Iran as well. In Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, regime officials are offering bribes of $25 and a free lunch to get people to "vote"!

So it's come to this ... the mullahs of the IRI are reduced to begging people to turn out to vote. Pathetic.

Readers are reminded that all major Iranian opposition groups have designated this weekend as the official beginning of their struggle to take back Iran. Dreams Into Lightning observes (and has noted in the past) that the mid-June timeframe is consistent with all statements coming from Washington regarding Iran in recent months.

Remember the Scott Ritter leak? Here's the April 29 Washington Times:

- Scott Ritter, the controversial ex-Marine turned UNSCOM weapons inspector in Iraq, who correctly predicted there were no WMD in Saddam's arsenal, says the plan to bomb Iran's widely-scattered nuclear installations has been approved by President Bush. Ritter predicts the massive air attack against Iran's nuclear infrastructure will take place next June.

And from the peaceniks there's this:

NEWS: Scott Ritter says US attack on Iran planned for June
Written by Mark Jensen
Saturday, 19 February 2005

... The principal theme of Scott Ritter's talk was Americans’ duty to protect the U.S. Constitution by taking action to bring an end to the illegal war in Iraq. But in passing, the former UNSCOM weapons inspector stunned his listeners with two pronouncements. Ritter said plans for a June attack on Iran have been submitted to President George W. Bush, and that the president has approved them. He also asserted that knowledgeable sources say U.S. officials "cooked" the results of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.

On Iran, Ritter said that President George W. Bush has received and signed off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran planned for June 2005. Its purported goal is the destruction of Iran’s alleged program to develop nuclear weapons, but Ritter said neoconservatives in the administration also expected that the attack would set in motion a chain of events leading to regime change in the oil-rich nation of 70 million -- a possibility Ritter regards with the greatest skepticism.

Now recall the increasingly tough rhetoric from Bush and Rice about Iran over the past couple of weeks, especially the past few days. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Administration has been quietly coordinating with Iranian opposition groups for a period of (at least) several months. In any event, the ultimatum published by Iran of Tomorrow Movement - SOS Iran is pretty clear.

This is why I feel pretty comfortable in saying that the balloon goes up this weekend. Stay tuned.

Twins to Lead Poland?

Via Arthur Chrenkoff:

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you - Poland might become the first country in history to be led by identical twins.

Even better, Lech (yes, there's that name again) and Jaroslaw Kaczynski [and there's THAT name again - aa] are both conservatives, anti-corruption anti-government waste crusaders, and staunch supporters of the US alliance (as well as Poland's involvement in Iraq).

The Kaczynski brothers, who already rarely appear together in public to avoid creating confusion, have the potential to sow utter chaos among the ranks of foreign correspondents and commentators - not to mention photojournalists.

Lech and Jaroslaw are running for the posts of president and prime minister, respectively. Will they serve as one another's body doubles? The mind boggles. Go read the article at the link.

Schindler Family Releases Statement

The family of Terri Schindler Schiavo has released a statement in response to the medical examiner's report:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., and SEMINOLE, Fl., June 16 /Christian Wire Service/ -- On June 15, 2005, the Pinellas County IME has released his report regarding Terri. We would like to thank the IME for his time and effort in making this report. We are not challenging the findings in his report, but we would like to make a few comments publicly. We do not intend to take questions afterwards.

First, the IME's report confirms Terri's physical condition and disability. We all knew Terri was seriously brain-injured before the IME report. This is nothing new. The IME's report also confirms that TERRI WAS NOT TERMINAL. THAT TERRI HAD NO LIVING WILL, THAT TERRI HAD A STRONG HEART, and THAT TERRI WAS BRUTALLY DEHYDRATED TO DEATH.

Second, our family would encourage the media to remember that this case was allegedly about "Terri's choice." There is absolutely no evidence that Terri wanted to die of dehydration, or that she believed that that the level of one's disability gives anyone the moral and legal right to end another's life.

Third, the IME said clearly that dehydration, not her brain injury, was the cause of her death. Terri was dehydrated to death before our eyes The moral shame of what happened is not erased because of Terri's level of disability. No one would say that "blind people" or "brain-injured" people should be put to death. That would be an irresponsible and heartless position to take. Tragically, that is what happened to Terri. As a society, it seems that we have lost our compassion for the disabled.

We asked our attorney, Mr. Gibbs, to meet with the IME prior to the press conference, to attend the IME's press conference, and to speak to the media for our family afterward. In our opinion, some of the significant items from the IME's report are as follows:

-- Terri had a strong heart according to the IME. In addition to her strong heart, Terri also demonstrated a very strong will to live.

-- Terri was not terminal. The IME said with proper care Terri would have lived at least another 10 years even in her disabled condition. Terri's case was NOT an end-of-life case. Terri's case was about ending a disabled person's life.

-- Terri was brain-injured. This does NOT mean that she was brain-dead. Many seem to not understand this absolutely critical distinction.

-- The IME essentially ruled out bulimia and heart attack as causes for Terri's condition. In one sense the IME's report created as many questions as it may have answered. The major question for our family that now remains is what happened? A troubling 70-minute gap appears in the timeline on the day Terri collapsed in 1990: ...

Read the whole thing at the link.

Reminder: Iran Regime Change Petition

Just for old times' sake, I'm gonna plug this petition one last time. The point is that America's security, and Israel's security, are not in competition with the Iranian people's right to freedom; on the contrary, the evil of the islamist entity is our common enemy. Our President correctly apprehends the danger posed to America and its allies by a nuclear-armed IRI; we must affirm that the solution to this danger lies in the abolition of the current regime in Iran, and its replacement with a secular liberal democracy.

If you haven't already, please sign:
True Security Begins with Regime Change in Iran

Thank you.

Trial of Klan Thug Gets Under Way

The New York Times reports on the trial of Edgar Ray Killen, charged in the murder of three pro-democracy activists in Mississippi in 1964.

When they had a phone, it rang constantly. People on the other end would tell Rita Schwerner that her husband was a dead man. Their license-plate number was circulated to law enforcement officers.

That was the welcome given a young couple who arrived in Mississippi from New York in 1964 to join the civil rights movement, the former Ms. Schwerner, now Rita Bender, told a jury on Thursday. She was the first witness in the state murder trial of a onetime member of the Ku Klux Klan accused of orchestrating the killing of her husband, Michael Schwerner, and two other civil rights workers, James Earl Chaney and Andrew Goodman, more than 40 years ago.

...Mr. Schwerner and Mr. Chaney, who was from Meridian, built shelves to house the donated books that were not available in the public library for blacks. There was a Ping-Pong table. But the workers were also trying to help blacks register to vote, making contacts and looking for places to hold training classes. Mr. Schwerner and Mr. Chaney had visited the Mount Zion United Methodist Church, a black church in Neshoba County near Philadelphia. ...

Read the whole thing at the link.

Fighting fascism is never easy, whether in Afghanistan or Mississippi or Iraq or Iran. But somehow, no matter how many lynchings or how many suicide bombings, the human instinct for freedom remains. Those of us who have had the luxury of growing up in free societies would do well to take a moment to remember the sacrifices made by people like Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner - and those being made by our warriors and their allies today.

Objective Journalism

Article in the "News - Top Stories" section of the Reuters website:

U.S. double standard to hamper Rice Mideast drive
Thu Jun 16, 2005 06:00 PM ET
By Saul Hudson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration's different standards for its friends and foes could hurt the credibility of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's push for democracy in the Middle East on a trip that starts on Saturday.

President Bush pledged this year to make democracy and human rights a central plank in relations worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East where Washington has traditionally tolerated allies' repression and abuses.

Critics and supporters of the campaign say it has so far delivered little, because Washington has tempered its criticism of nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia for fear of losing support on policies ranging from the war on terrorism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to oil supply.

To much of the Arab world, the Bush administration appears hypocritical as it hammers longtime foe Iran over its flawed presidential election set for Friday but refuses to call Egyptian election reform the sham most political analysts say it is.

"U.S. contradictions on democracy aren't new, but rarely has an administration been so self-righteous in its rhetoric -- and that only exposes for the world its double standards," said Stephen Zunes, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco.

Analysts also say the U.S. diplomatic campaign is hamstrung because: Washington has lost credibility due to U.S. abuse of detainees; it is reluctant to back real reform that could bring anti-American forces to power; and it has exaggerated the role of elections in establishing democracy to the neglect of other key elements such as the rule of law. ...

From the Reuters News FAQ:

Do Reuters journalists voice their own opinions?

Question
Do Reuters journalists voice their own opinions?

Answer
No, never. News stories are sourced very clearly and precisely to enable readers and viewers to form their own judgment. Our correspondents do not use unconfirmed reports as the basis of a story, nor do they offer subjective opinion.

Hat tip (Reuters "article"):
Little Green Footballs

Condoleezza Rice on Iran

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denounced Iran's so-called "elections" orchestrated by the regime in this AP news item:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran was choking off political freedom just as other Middle East countries were exploring greater openness.

Thousands of would-be candidates, and all women, were arbitrarily barred from running, Rice said at a news conference.

"I can't see how one considers that, quote, a legitimate election," Rice said.

Read the full article at the link.

President Bush in Persian

From Radio Farda, a Farsi-language translation of President Bush's statement to the Iranian people can be found here:
President Bush to the people of Iran

English-speaking readers, please pass this on to your Persian-speaking friends.