The GrassCity Gazette

[aaronman]

Hahah

[Deutschbag]

Iran Votes


A married couple casts their ballot in Iran.


The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei casts his ballot.

Reformist challenger, Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh shows off his purple finger.


Iranians gather at a polling station.

Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

[aaronman]

Wow Ahmadinejad is tiny

Beautiful pictures, thanks.

[Deutschbag]

BreakingNewsBULLETIN -- PRELIMINARY OFFICIAL RESULTS FROM IRAN'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SHOW MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD WON 69.04%.4 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

[aaronman]

OH well, the neocons must be happy about his victory!

[Deutschbag]

Originally Posted by aaronman

OH well, the neocons must be happy about his victory!

perhaps, seems to me like Mousavi was the lesser of two evils. Doesn't matter anymore though.


BreakingNewsURGENT -- Preliminary official results, after 5.5 million votes counted, show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad far ahead with 69.04% of the vote.9 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

BreakingNewsFormer Iranian PM Mousavi won 28.42% of the vote, in the first preliminary results. Rezaei won 1.62%, Karroubi won 0.9%.

BreakingNewsIRAN VOTES -- The initial official results, representing 19% of all votes, were announced by Election Commission Chief Kamran Daneshjoo.

[aaronman]

Originally Posted by Deutschbag

perhaps, seems to me like Mousavi was the lesser of two evils

That would be the problem.

American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin lays out the NeoCon belief:

The Obama administration tends to conflate advocacy with analysis. They see in the Islamic Republic what they want to see, not what the Iranian leadership's intentions really are. As such, should someone more soft-spoken and less defiant -- someone like former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi -- win, it would be easier for Obama to believe that Iran really was figuratively unclenching a fist when, in fact, it had it had its other hand hidden under its cloak, grasping a dagger. What Ahmadinjead did was to expose the ideology of the power holders in Iran for what it actually is. Holocaust denial, for example, is nothing new to the Islamic Republic. Both Rafsanjani and Khatami also encourage it. Ahmadinejad's bluntness, however, forced even the Europeans to react.

You see, Iran is hell bent on a path to take over the world, and Mousavi would just distract the rest of the world while they continue to plan their grand siege. Only the NeoCons have this information though, and don't ask where they got it from...

[Deutschbag]

I thought this was an interesting take.
RealClearWorld - The Compass Blog

June 12, 2009 The Bed the Neocons Must Lie In


Monitoring various corners of the political blogosphere today has been informative and amusing. The fact that some columnists and pundits have been so taken aback by Iran's public displays of democracy is in fact more telling of the false choice often offered on Iran.


Some believe - and have reminded us ad nauseum as of late - that "something is happening" in Iran. What that is, no one seems to be certain of. The shock and surprise is understandable, as much of the rhetoric we've heard from the Right regarding Iran seems very, very inconsistent with the scenes we've witnessed this week.



Those who have argued that Iran is a completely top-down, totalitarian state are now scrambling to qualify the quasi-anarchic scenes of joy and protest in the streets of Iran this week. Indeed, those who once over-simplified the complex and congested power structure in Iran are now rushing to dismiss the power and legitimacy of the Iranian president.


Max Boot, for example, is correct to throw cold water on Mir-Hossein Mousavi's "reformist" bona fides. His dilemma, however, is that he resides in a camp that diminished Iran's complex power structure, opting instead to make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the face of Iranian intentions, and the 'Mullahs' the quick and easy bumper sticker bad guys. Meanwhile, the only legitimate 'Mullah' running in this race is Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi; arguably the most reform-minded of the bunch, and an unlikely victor in today's contest.



Mousavi is not Iran's Barack Obama, nor is he their John Kerry. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't Sarah Palin, or Harry Truman, or Martin Van Buren. Karroubi isn't Ralph Nader, and the Supreme Leader isn't Dick Cheney. This isn't Prague Spring or Tiananmen Square.


What this is is a surprisingly fun and hopeful election in a surprisingly democratic and dynamic country - A surprise, that is, if you mistakenly believed the Iran hawks over the past four years. many of those hawks remain frustratingly correct to this day, but they unfortunately did a disservice to their own argument by choosing to exaggerate rather than educate.



We should celebrate what's happening in Iran today, no matter who ultimately gets the job of president. What we shouldn't do is continue making false and sweeping assumptions about the surprising/unsurprising Islamic Republic of Iran.



UPDATE: Now the problem, of course, is that the Left is likewise going to do an about-face on the efficacy of the Iranian presidency. Suddenly, somehow, Iran will change course on nuclear weapons, and relations with the west will automatically improve. That may well be the case, but it's worth reminding these newly-minted optimists that we've witnessed this before: the election of Mohammad Khatami was well received in the west, and it was widely believed that "something was happening in Iran" back then, too. We of course now know that the nuclear weapons program carried on unhindered during Khatami's tenure as President, and that Iranian support for asymmetric terrorist organizations in the region didn't skip a beat.


The truth of the matter is that Mousavi has ruled out any discussion of the Iranian nuclear energy program, much as Ahmadinejad has. The current president simply makes the same point in a far more bellicose fashion, which gets to the heart of the big difference between these two gentlemen.
Mousavi would be a substantive upgrade - I have already said as much. But we mustn't succumb to hyperbole just yet.

[Dickie4:20]

Deadbeats pay cash


Increasingly Chinese manufacturers are finding themselves holding the bag or rather stacks of shipping containers sitting on the dock in US ports. Big Box stores are often backing out on deals for goods already shipped and the Chinese aren’t happy. The American business model is starting to look far less attractive in China when you can be upwardly mobile one day and living under a bridge the next. Americans are no longer viewed as Masters of the Universe to model one's life after.

Chinese companies are starting to require bank letters of credit or even cash up front before they will start work on an order. And when they say cash, they mean real cash, not US Dollars.

And speaking of people with too many dollars: the Republicans are really working the street to gin up the fear of inflation. You would think that with the Government and the Federal Reserve printing all these trillions of dollars that inflation would be heating up. But consumer prices are sputtering along at about the same level despite a big spike in gas prices. The reality is declining wages, bankruptcies, a steady stream of layoffs and a lack of confidence among anybody who still has a dollar to spend. This makes the threat of deflation loom ever larger.

The general consensus among economic pundits is that Obama missed an opportunity by letting the large and completely insolvent banks return their TARP loans. It appears these banks have wiggled out from under Government control and Obama could have used the crisis to crack down on these pirates. The sliver lining to runaway deflation is that it would put an end to the insane credit economy the Republicans have built over the past 30 years.

But runaway deflation would make the banking upheaval last year seem like nothing worse than a shortage of free toasters at the teller window. Obama has probably decided not to waste his time trying to fix anything from this crisis and is planning for the next one. At least I hope he has a plan, canned goods only go so far.

[aaronman]

Originally Posted by Dickie4:20

The sliver lining to runaway deflation is that it would put an end to the insane credit economy the Republicans have built over the past 30 years.

You should be careful when reading that idiot.

[Dickie4:20]

Originally Posted by aaronman

You should be careful when reading that idiot.

Anyone who doesnt put all their faith in the stock market and big corporations is considered an idiot to you. Whatever man, thats your opinion.

The Autopsy was conclusive


The Sunday news shows were all nattering on about Obama’s attempts at health care reform. The Republicans were right there with their same tired talking points: do you want some bureaucrat deciding your health care?

If you have ever dealt with an insurance company (unless you have one of the Cadillac plans (we probably need a new name for that)) you quickly realize that is exactly who is running your health care. And it’s not a government bureaucrat but a functionary in India whose only goal is to keep you from getting any health care what so ever and they are really good at it.

If you do manage to get past them and get taken care of; they won’t pay for it. Even if they do "authorize" treatment, the For Profit insurance company will use every underhanded trick possible to make you pay the bill and not them. Sixty-two percent of US bankruptcies are from people with overwhelming medical bills and 75% of those had health insurance. It is also a given that you will lose coverage and not be able to get any even if you can afford the $1400 a month premium and $10,000 deductible.

Fifty million Americans have no insurance and probably another 150 million only think they are covered but will find themselves in bankruptcy if they ever need it. There is also a pretty good chance that the insurance company will have killed you in the processes and your family will be left bankrupt after you’re gone.

The right-wingers will defend this all as "free market" or "freedom of choice". It’s freedom to die a painful and unnecessary death leaving your family destitute to repeat the cycle and having lost the family wealth their situation will be all the worse. There should be a check box on the coroners’ report: the cause of death was the insurance company.

[aaronman]

Originally Posted by Dickie4:20

Anyone who doesnt put all their faith in the stock market and big corporations is considered an idiot to you. Whatever man, thats your opinion.

I'm just saying you should be careful when reading a partisan blogger that obviously hates all Republicans and will even lie to enforce their opinion. I can tell he influences your apparent hatred for anything right-wing. He is not correct in his "reporting", Republicans and Democrats have both created a horrible socialistic credit industry backed by the state.


And you put all your faith in big corporations by supporting big government... the only thing allowing them to reach that size. Don't forget, I want the power of regulation in the hands of consumers while you want it in the hands of the nation's elite. Who is more easily manipulated for private interest?

[Deutschbag]

BreakingNewsPress TV reporter says the shooting in Tehran happened in Azadi Square, killing at least 1 person and causing panic.

BreakingNewsURGENT -- A photographer with AP says at least 1 person dead after pro-government militia open fire at opposition protesters in Tehran.

BreakingNewsAP photographer: At least 1 dead, several others seriously injured after gunmen open fire from compound linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard

[Deutschbag]

Big post


A supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi shouts slogans during riots in Tehran on June 13, 2009. Hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner by a landslide in Iran's hotly-disputed presidential vote, triggering riots by opposition supporters and furious complaints of cheating from his defeated rivals. (OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images)


2
Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi march through Valiasr Street during riots in Tehran on June 13, 2009. (OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images) #


3
Protestors set fires in a main street in Tehran, Iran in the early hours of Monday, June 15, 2009. Iran's supreme leader ordered Monday an investigation into allegations of election fraud, marking a stunning turnaround by the country's most powerful figure and offering hope to opposition forces who have waged street clashes to protest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (AP Photo) #


4
Young men run past a burning bus during a riot in Tehran on June 13, 2009. (OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images) #


5
An riot-police officer strikes a man with a baton near Tehran University on June 14, 2009. Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi said on Sunday he has asked the powerful Guardians Council to cancel the result of the presidential poll, while urging his supporters to continue peaceful protests. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) #


6
A man is detained by Iranian riot-police in front of Tehran University during riots in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


7
Iranian students, supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, try to keep clear of tear gas being lobbed back and forth at the main entrance of Tehran University during riots on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


8
Students, supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi demonstrate at the main entrance of Tehran University during riots on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


9
Iranian supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi gather on the streets protesting the results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. (AP photo) #


10
Members of the Iranian hardline volunteer Basij militia begin to enter Tehran University where supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi were protesting against the latest election's results at Tehran's University on June 14, 2009. (AFP/Getty Images) #


11
Supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and members of the Basij militia hurl stones towards supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi who are inside Tehran University on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


12
Backers of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi are beaten by government security men during riots in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


13
Riot policemen deploy in Tehran's Enghelab square to disperse protesters demonstrating against the election results in Tehran on June 14, 2009. (AFP/Getty Images) #


14
Hard-line supporters armed with batons try to break into a house where protesters found shelter in central Tehran June 14, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer) #


15
A motorcycle burns in a street of Tehran, Iran on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP photo/Vahid Salemi) #


16
An injured backer of Mir Hossein Mousavi covers his bloodied face during riots in Tehran on June 13, 2009. (OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images) #


17
A supporter of defeated presidential candidate Mousavi is beaten by government security men as fellow supporters come to his aid during riots in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo) #


18
A man with a cane gestures towards a woman on the ground during protests in central Tehran June 14, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer) #

[Dickie4:20]

Originally Posted by aaronman

I'm just saying you should be careful when reading a partisan blogger that obviously hates all Republicans and will even lie to enforce their opinion. I can tell he influences your apparent hatred for anything right-wing. He is not correct in his "reporting", Republicans and Democrats have both created a horrible socialistic credit industry backed by the state.


And you put all your faith in big corporations by supporting big government... the only thing allowing them to reach that size. Don't forget, I want the power of regulation in the hands of consumers while you want it in the hands of the nation's elite. Who is more easily manipulated for private interest?

Yes democrats have fucked up, i know that, just because i posted it doesnt mean everything little thing the guy says i agree with, although i do agree with him almost 98% of the time.

And how do I encourage big corporations? Ive said it before, let them fail. We should of never gave a dime. Corporations are not citizens, they are pieces of paper. we know federal prosecutors occasionally indict corporations for criminal behavior. Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that allegedly helped Enron, was issued a criminal indictment against them The result was that a lot of Andersen's senior partners got new jobs as the firm disappeared, but many of the lower-level employees who were completely innocent lost their jobs and bore most of the burden. Thats capitalsim for ya'.

But im not gonna get into this debate here...


This is real video of whats actually going on in Afghanistan-

YouTube - Robert Greenwald on The Ed Show. June...