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Guardian Council Downplays Fraud
A change in opinion from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his inner circle? The Guardian Council, which implements the supreme leader’s decrees, has admitted that the number of votes tallied after the June 12 presidential election in 50 Iranian cities surpasses the number of eligible voters, indicating widespread fraud. (And Press TV, Iran’s semi-official news agency, is actually reporting the admission.) Still, the council is downplaying the revelation, saying it “it has yet to be determined whether the possible change in the tally is decisive in the election results.” The reexamination of votes was carried out in response to a request by Mohsen Rezaie, a conservative candidate defeated in the controversial election. A spokesman for the council is pointing to the fact that fraud was found in just 50 cities, instead of 170, as originally thought, as a sign that the elections may not have been all that corrupt.
Plantagenet
Ballot stuffing in Iran? That proves the Iranians ARE taking hints from the US on how to run their elections!
Progressive2
All they need now is a Jeb Bush and Ahmasomething can be declare the winner.
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n--Y--charles116Spasticula
Yes, but it's tremendous that just one week of citizen reisistance forced them to admit it. They never admit fault or deviousness.
squiggy
Thats a big and important point, they gave in pretty easily but only for 50 cities, what negotiators they are, have to laugh at their ingenuity which is not exactly what I would call religious! LOL
squiggy
They are trying to keep us feeding off of tidbits. We already knew the vote was rigged and we all know the Ayatollahs are posturing because they don't know what they are going to do. How about some real news!
Progressive2
Agreed this is wasting time.
whipmawhopma
Perhaps you and squiggy should go to Tehran and tell the Guardian Council to speed things up. Perhaps they don't know that us Americans are into instant gratification. Let me know if you decide to go. I might join you, on the trip itself, not to visit the Guardian Council. I think I would like to visit the duty free gift shop at Imam Khomeini International Airport, just to see what one of those places looks like without booze.
Progressive2
whipmawhopma go screw yourself why don't YOU GTFO to Iran and see it live yourselves otherwise STFU on my criticism of what everyone already knew since the ELECTIONS.
whipmawhopma
Progressive2 - Not very progressive. Learn to kid around. We're not going to know anything until it happens, someone finds out, and decides to tell us.
Progressive2
"We're not going to know anything until it happens, someone finds out, and decides to tell us."
Well duh... and the sun is hot.
Progressive2
And I apologize for my use of words in my first reply.
whipmawhopma
Progressive2 - Not at night it isn't. Which is what the lack of news feels like. Especially now that the foreign journalists are unable to send anything out, especially the photographs of the pro-democracy forces protesting against the election results and engaging government forces.
I must admit I am rather anxious about what is going in Iran and would like very much to know it's going to turn out alright. After scanning the web based news sources about it every day for a week now, or maybe every couple of hours to be candid, I feel like I have a vested interest in it and I am now cut off.
That and I really admire the courage of the pro-democracy forces. This event has further deepened my feelings of co-humanity with Iranians in general. I don't think I am alone in this and I hope it puts to rest the insane talk about bombing Iran that comes from certain quarters.
I had been interested in Iran for a long time, ever since reading Ryszard Kapuscinski's 'Shah of Shahs', and the Desert One Debacle, and then the company I worked for at the time of the American Embassy takeover had people in Iran that were rescued by our amazing and demented owner (his proxies actually), the famous or infamous Ross Perot.
I had recently read Hooman Majd's 'The Ayatollah Begs to Differ', which I strongly recommend, and saw Rick Steve's television special on Iran, and it really swept aside the neocon nonsense I had picked up about this particular member of the so-called Axis of Evil.
I would like to go to Iran, though right now might not be a good time.
whipmawhopma
Progressive2 - "And I apologize for my use of words in my first reply."
It's OK. Sometimes I can't stop myself from babbling and have been that way since I moved to Texas in 1970. It made for an interesting relationship with my father and was chief among his reasons as to why I was joining the Navy as soon as I got out of high school.
Ritarita
Whip-
Don't apologize
I loved your first post.
We need more funny.
Johnnyappleseed
It's a diversionary tactic, a stall until they get a plan in place so they can deal with the uprising.
A page from the Demmies, never let a good crisis go to waste.
rapierwits
Really johhny,
Even if the Dems said it, they were taking a cue from your boy W. and the radical legislation and expansion of government affter 9/11
Ritarita
That is a Rahm Emmanuel quote
And the reaction to 9/11 was
His reference.
So those who use it don't understand
They're mocking the Bush administration.
Too complicated for them.
PhilMcRoin
it might actually be a diversionary tactic.. like the one the religious right and the neo-cons pulled in florida... it's not about this election.. it's about the next election... in 4 years they will have electronic ballots that cannot be audited properly, manufactured and controlled by... guess who.
squiggy
Never waste a good crisis, I really like that saying!
dana64
THIS is not funny...............this is STEALING VOTES............so the Guardians Council should definitely PUNISH them and just reward Moussavi the election.
Remember that in ISLAM the hand is cut off for stealing..........so CUTTING them OFF from GOVERNING is the least we could do.
I wish THESE so-called wise men should take this second chance at CORRECTING ALL BAD BEHAVIORS that have crept in that regime...............
INSHAALLAH.........................................AMEN
dana64
SORRY but 5o cities cheated...............come on GAURDIANS ..........THIS is STEALING and they should know what the Stealing PUNISHMENT is in ISLAM
CUT THE CHEATERS OFF FROM GOVERNING in IRAN.
Plantagenet
Supreme Ayatollah Khameni is the guy who fixed the vote to keep his minion Ahmadinejad in power. Khameni and the Revolutionary Council are highly unlikely to cut off their own hands, even if Islamic law says they must.
whipmawhopma
Maybe, maybe not. Depends on whether or not they can pin the tale on the donkey. And I do mean tale, not tail.
MaliciousDisorder
It sounds like ACORN is at work in Iran
Ritarita
Is that the answer
No matter what the question is?
whipmawhopma
Come on, Ritarita. It is somewhat funny. Though ACORN is more into fraudulent registrations, judging by the news. I don't think they actually count votes. So I propose sending Katherine Harris over there as well.
Between her and ACORN I am sure that they can sort things out, and learn the Iranian's secret technology that allows them to count 40 million handwritten paper ballots in a matter of hours and declare a winner.
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n--Y--jdavxcconnie47
That's the party line and he's sticking to it.
Ritarita
Jdavxc-
You mockin' me boy?
Plantagenet
I don't think even ACORN could stuff enough ballots to account for the crazy vote totals......the TPTB in Iran claimed to have hand-counted millions of vote only hours after the polls closed, suggesting the vote totals were "fixed" before the balloting even began.
mattbenzor
"NO" malicoius it sounds like what happened in 2000 the election was stolen from the american people by secret society agenda and Bush's tie's to the skull and bone's Bush was asked about his tie's to the bone's men.And he said it was to secret he could'nt talk about it "what's to secret" that he belongs to a cult and if his evangelic friends found out he was involved in a cult they would have never voted for him.
Johnnyappleseed
Wonder if they have hanging chads????
democracyforall
Iranians don't know or care about skull and bone's clubs in Iran. They are fighting for freedoms and change. It's obvious that there's fraud in their voting process. Two voting areas had more than 100% registered vote counts.
Plantagenet
I've got bad news for the "Skull and Bones"conspiracy nuts. Obama has just had his justice department file suit to try to block the lawsuit brought by Native Americans against Yale University over Geronimo's skull that is supposedly secretly held by Skull and Bones. That means OBAMA IS SIDING WITH BUSH AGAIN, THIS TIME TO PROTECT THE SECRECY OF SKULL AND BONES....And Obama wasn't even a member...imagine that!
whipmawhopma
He might be a secret member.
squiggy
Who gets to keep the skull?
whipmawhopma
squiggy - If it's still got any brains in it I whink it should be put in charge of planning the GOP's big comeback.
Ritarita
Obama's not a member
But he is a consensus builder.
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n--Y--charles116Johnnyappleseed
I am still waiting for the duck to fly down when they say the magic word.
Ritarita
JohnnyA-
What does that mean?
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n--Y--charles116squiggy
I heard lots of dead Dems vote in Chicago. Anyone else hear of that?
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n--Y--charles116Johnnyappleseed
Sure, it's a given in Chicago, also vote early, and vote often.
The Dailys started that, and Daily run Alvin Gores campaign, in fact rumor has it he was the inventor of the hanging chad.
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n--Y--charles116whipmawhopma
The BBC has a sort of interesting article "Suspicions behind Iran poll doubts" ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8110877.stm
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n--Y--jdavxcRitarita
Seems like the bigger problem
For the Supreme Council is the confusion.
They're supposed to be infallible.
Like the Pope.
If you're 'infallible' and then change your mind
Everybody gets to see the little guy
Behind the curtain.
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n--Y--charles116whipmawhopma
According to Wikipedia, CNN and Rolling Stone the answer to your question is 'no'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/30/jackson.life/index.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/Mythjacko
exploora
So the question is, ok my question is, will those 50 cities get to vote again? Or is that too simple of a solution?
Ritarita
It was too simple of a solution
In the 2000 Presidential election.
We weren't even permitted a recount.
Our Mullahs handled that one poorly.
Thank you.
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