Protesters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, have broken into the UK embassy compound during an anti-British demonstration, reports say.
Militant students are said to have removed the British flag, burnt it and replaced it with Iran’s flag. State TV showed youths smashing embassy windows.
The move comes after Iran resolved to reduce ties following the UK’s decision to impose further sanctions on it.
Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.
Tag Archives | BritainIranian Students Take British Embassy
Vacationing in Tuscany While London Burns
Well, that’s come to an end.
For good reason, as the New York Times outlines the spectacle.
“Descent into hell,” said a front page headline in The Sun tabloid which, like other newspapers, published a dramatic photograph of a woman leaping to safety in the arms of police from a blazing building.
“Mob Rule,” said the page one headline in The Independent, showing a masked rioter in a hooded track-suit against a wall of flame.
On Tuesday, the violence seemed to be having a ripple effect beyond its immediate focal points: news reports spoke of a dramatic upsurge in household burglaries; sports authorities said at least two major soccer matches in London — including an international fixture between England and the Netherlands — had been postponed because the police could not spare officers to guarantee crowd safety. The postponements offered dramatic testimony to the pressures on Mr. Cameron and his colleagues to confront the dark shadow that the rioting has cast on plans for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
[...] For a society already under severe economic strain, the rioting raised new questions about the political sustainability of the Cameron government’s spending cuts, particularly the deep cutbacks in social programs. These have hit the country’s poor especially hard, including large numbers of the minority youths who have been at the forefront of the unrest.
The New Yorker has the genesis of what caused it.
Austerity in Tottenham isn’t going down well at all.
Parliament Testimony Begins by Murdoch’s Being Denied Request to Make Statement
**UPDATED**
11:55 A.M. EST – HEARINGS SUSPENDED FOR 10 MINUTES… as someone seems to have lunged at Rupert Murdoch, though it’s not clear what happened. The Guardian reports Murdoch’s wife Wendy seemed to slap him away before man in checked shirt could reach her husband. Johnny Marbles tweeted his “attack.” Pictures of failed pie attack.
5.01pm: Jane Martinson reports from the hearing: “He was sitting four rows back, calmly walked up with a plate of shaving foam – smacked it in Rupert’s face – Wendi intervened.”
4.57pm: The suspect looks like he has a substance like white paint on his face.
My colleague Jackie Ashley tells Twitter: “Wendi [Murdoch's wife] can throw quite a punch.”
4.56pm: The BBC says the young man has been handcuffed. Sky showed the footage again – it seemed to be an attack from Rupert Murdoch’s left.
4.55pm: A young man in a checked shirt has been detained by police.
4.54pm: Someone has just tried to attack Rupert Murdoch. His wife Wendi seemed to slap the person.
More updates (original column) below…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This is the most humble day of my life.” – Rupert Murdoch
The hearings begin with Rupert Murdoch & his son James Murdoch asking to make opening statement, but were denied. Guardian has statement of Rupert Murdoch:
Mr. Chairman. Select Committee Members:
With your permission, I would like to read a short statement.
My son and I have come here with great respect for all of you, for Parliament and for the people of Britain whom you represent.
This is the most humble day of my career.
After all that has happened, I know we need to be here today.
Before going further, James and I would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened – especially with regard to listening to the voicemail of victims of crime.
My company has 52,000 employees. I have led it for 57 years and I have made my share of mistakes. I have lived in many countries, employed thousands of honest and hardworking journalists, owned nearly 200 newspapers and followed countless stories about people and families around the world.
At no time do I remember being as sickened as when I heard what the Dowler family had to endure – nor do I recall being as angry as when I was told that the News of the World could have compounded their distress. I want to thank the Dowlers for graciously giving me the opportunity to apologise in person.
I would like all the victims of phone hacking to know how completely and deeply sorry I am. Apologising cannot take back what has happened. Still, I want them to know the depth of my regret for the horrible invasions into their lives.
I fully understand their ire. And I intend to work tirelessly to merit their forgiveness.
I understand our responsibility to cooperate with today’s session as well as with future inquiries. We will respond to your questions to the best of our ability and follow up if we are not capable of answering anything today. Please remember that some facts and information are still being uncovered.
We now know that things went badly wrong at the News of the World. For a newspaper that held others to account, it failed when it came to itself. The behaviour that occurred went against everything that I stand for. It not only betrayed our readers and me, but also the many thousands of magnificent professionals in our other divisions around the world.
So, let me be clear in saying: invading people’s privacy by listening to their voicemail is wrong. Paying police officers for information is wrong. They are inconsistent with our codes of conduct and neither has any place, in any part of the company I run.
But saying sorry is not enough. Things must be put right. No excuses. This is why News International is cooperating fully with the police whose job it is to see that justice is done. It is our duty not to prejudice the outcome of the legal process. I am sure the committee will understand this.
I wish we had managed to see and fully solve these problems earlier. When two men were sent to prison in 2007, I thought this matter had been settled. The police ended their investigations and I was told that News International conducted an internal review. I am confident that when James later rejoined News Corporation he thought the case was closed too. These are subjects you will no doubt wish to explore today.
This country has given me, our companies and our employees many opportunities. I am grateful for them. I hope our contribution to Britain will one day also be recognised.
Above all, I hope that, through the process that is beginning with your questions today, we will come to understand the wrongs of the past, prevent them from happening again and, in the years ahead, restore the nation’s trust in our company and in all British journalism.
I am committed to doing everything in my power to make this happen.
Thank you. We are happy to answer your questions.
Submitted statement instead. Clearing room of noisy reporters or people, hard to tell which, came next. Testimony is being heard by the Committee for Culture, Media and Sport.
James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, apologizes again.
Then he was interrupted by his father, Rupert Murdoch, who touched his arm and offered the quote shown at the top of this post.
The questions and testimony continues… The Lede is liveblogging the testimony…
HIGHLIGHTS…
Rupert Murdoch states he didn’t know he was being lied to. Murdoch obviously shaken, says “NOTW is less than 1% of our company.. I employ 56,000 people around the world… and I’m spread watching and appointing people that I trust…”
James Murdoch tries twice to interrupt Tom Watson’s questioning of his father, saying he can offer details, but Mr. Watson says he’ll come to him after he finishes, because it’s Rupert Murdoch who’s in charge of corporate governance.
“Nope.” That’s Mr. Murdoch’s one-word response about payments to Taylor. James says his father became aware after the “settlement” of “civil claim.”
At what point did you find out that “criminality was endemic” at NOTW? Mr. Murdoch objects to word “endemic,” saying it is prejudicial. Then says he was “shocked, appalled and ashamed…”
“You’re not really saying ‘amnesia,’ you’re saying lie,” Rupert Murdoch offers.
James Murdoch interrupts again to rescue his father from the line of questioning. Watson refuses again. Continues… James interrupts, trying again to answer what his father obviously cannot or will not.
Why did you risk the jobs of 200 people… ? RupertM states these people are being employed by other segments of his empire.
Watson: Did you close the paper down because of criminality? “We were ashamed… We had broken our trust with our readers…”
Keith Olbermann points out what is very obvious, which is that Rupert Murdoch has a script of patterned apologies he is using.
“What happened at News of the World was wrong,” James Murdoch continues. “We have admitted liability…”
Do you accept you are responsible for this whole fiasco? “No,” is Rupert Murdoch’s one word answer. Mr. Murdoch continued, saying he relied on people he employed and trusted.
I found this observation from BBC’s Nick Robinson poignant, while revealing how small Rupert Murdoch appears today.
It is hard to equate the man sitting a few feet away from me with the global media mogul feared by political leaders throughout my adult lifetime.
James Murdoch: No “no immediate plans” to start new Sunday paper.
Are you familiar with the term “willful blindness”? James Murdoch asks for an explanation. Then Mr. Sanders invokes Enron. “I’m not aware of that particular phrase,” says James. RMurdoch adds that he’s familiar with the phrase and denies it applies.
“To say that we are hands off is wrong,” RMurdoch states. “News of the World, perhaps, I lost site of…” Murdoch continues, saying he works 10-12 hours a day and once again saying NOTW was “so small.”
James Murdoch also admits settlement was for illegal phone hacking by News of the World employees.
Later in the testimony James Murdoch delivered Rumsfeldesque known knowns & unknown unknowables on alleged criminality. Classic Murdoch moment of obfuscation and incomprehensible elite media idiocy.
AFTER FAILED PIE ATTACK… allegedly made by Jonnie Marbles, a comedian…
Tide turns for a time… MP now apologizing to Murdochs, including wife Wendy, one using word “guts” to describe her willingness to be present during questioning. Rupert Murdoch now jacketless.
Have you considered resigning? Murdoch, “No.” Why not? People I hired let me down, they should pay. I’m the best person to clean this up.
“Mr. Murdoch, your wife has a very good left hook.”
Rupert Murdoch allowed to read closing statement. “… In all that’s happened, we needed to be here today. … “ “Sickened” by what the Dowler Fowler had to endure and grateful he was able to apologize in person. Will “work tirelessly to earn their forgiveness.” Murdoch says while trying to hold others to account, they failed on themselves. Paying off police and listening to people’s voicemail is “wrong,” “no excuses,” saying your sorry “isn’t enough.” When people went to prison in 2007, Murdoch thought it was over, as did his son. “I hope our contributions to Britain will one day be recognized.”
Committee thanks the Murdochs, apologizes for the comedic pie event.
Rebekah Brooks testifies next.
Murdoch Global Sleaze Machine Continues to Unravel
… Whether or not the Mirror’s claims are verified, the allegations may raise the volume on questions about the editorial judgment and ethics employed by Murdoch titles in the U.S. “The News of the World has lots of reporters at any given time on the ground in the U.S.,” Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff tells CBS News. “Many of its stories, particularly many of its celebrity stories, are dateline here. So, I think that’s the next step.” [...] – Murdoch’s hacking woes grow; 9/11 victims eyed?
This story boggles the mind. Following it since it broke has been a stunning trip through the worst media scandals in modern times, with no parallel. The villain in this tale is a notorious conservative whose propaganda outreach includes the most popular cable TV channel in the U.S., Fox News Channel. Even after the worst was uncovered, with images of grubby people deleting phone messages from missing 13-year-old Milly Dowler’s phone, Ruppert Murdoch shows no remorse. It’s all about his enemies trying to get even with him.
What Murdoch seems most desperate about is saving his monopoly hunger from running aground. His bid to buy BSkyB is stalling since this scandal exploded, with Labour leader Ed Miliband vowing to challenge Mr. Murdoch until the bitter end.
Bloomberg’s Lizzy O’Leary mis-reported News Corp. was to bow out of the Sky bid earlier today.
Then Forbes reported that after News Corp. withdrew its pledge to spin off Sky News as a condition for acquiring BSkyB, Britain’s Competition Commission could go “for a full-scale inquiry,” which is exactly what has happened.
While the latest from the The Independent on the political targets brings in Gordon Brown:
… Brown joins a long list of Labour politicians who are known to have been targeted by private investigators working for News International, including the former prime minister Tony Blair and his media adviser Alastair Campbell, the former deputy prime minister John Prescott and his political adviser Joan Hammell, Peter Mandelson as trade secretary, Jack Straw and David Blunkett as home secretaries, Tessa Jowell as media secretary and her special adviser Bill Bush, and Chris Bryant as minister for Europe.
[...] The sheer scale of the data assault on Brown is unusual, with evidence of attempts to obtain his legal, financial, tax, medical and police records as well as to listen to his voicemail. All of these incidents are linked to media organisations. In many cases, there is evidence of a link to News International.
Scotland Yard recently wrote separately to Brown and to his wife to tell them that their details had been found in evidence collected by Operation Weeting, the special inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World. It is believed that this refers to handwritten notes kept by Mulcaire, which were seized by police in August 2006 and never previously investigated. Brown last year asked Scotland Yard if there was evidence that he had been targeted by the private investigator and was told there was none.
Journalists who have worked at News International say they believe that Brown’s personal bank account was accessed on several occasions when he was chancellor of the exchequer. An internal inquiry by Abbey National’s fraud department found that during January 2000, somebody acting on behalf of the Sunday Times contacted their Bradford call centre six times, posing as Brown, and succeeded in extracting details from his account.
Scotland Yard involved in Murdoch’s messy and possible malfeasance, with all sorts of politicians being targeted is especially interesting when you consider what might happen if this had happened in the U.S. It puts the 2000 election finale in perspective, a time when Roger Ailes allowed the relative of George W. Bush to control the election results that fateful election. From Rolling Stone on Ailes, just to drive home the entire picture, now that we see what’s hitting the fan in Britain:
But it was the election of George W. Bush in 2000 that revealed the true power of Fox News as a political machine. According to a study of voting patterns by the University of California, Fox News shifted roughly 200,000 ballots to Bush in areas where voters had access to the network. But Ailes, ever the political operative, didn’t leave the outcome to anything as dicey as the popular vote. The man he tapped to head the network’s “decision desk” on election night – the consultant responsible for calling states for either Gore or Bush – was none other than John Prescott Ellis, Bush’s first cousin. As a columnist at The Boston Globe, Ellis had recused himself from covering the campaign. “There is no way for you to know if I am telling you the truth about George W. Bush’s presidential campaign,” he told his readers, “because in his case, my loyalty goes to him and not to you.”
In any newsroom worthy of the name, such a conflict of interest would have immediately disqualified Ellis. But for Ailes, loyalty to Bush was an asset. “We at Fox News,” he would later tell a House hearing, “do not discriminate against people because of their family connections.” On Election Day, Ellis was in constant contact with Bush himself. After midnight, when a wave of late numbers showed Bush with a narrow lead, Ellis jumped on the data to declare Bush the winner – even though Florida was still rated too close to call by the vote-tracking consortium used by all the networks. Hume announced Fox’s call for Bush at 2:16 a.m. – a move that spurred every other network to follow suit, and led to bush wins headlines in the morning papers.
[...] Dwell on this for a moment: A “news” network controlled by a GOP operative who had spent decades shaping just such political narratives – including those that helped elect the candidate’s father – declared George W. Bush the victor based on the analysis of a man who had proclaimed himself loyal to Bush over the facts. “Of everything that happened on election night, this was the most important in impact,” Rep. Henry Waxman said at the time. “It immeasurably helped George Bush maintain the idea in people’s minds that he was the man who won the election.”
After Bush took office, Ailes stayed in frequent touch with the new Republican president. “The senior-level editorial people believe that Roger was on the phone every day with Bush,” a source close to Fox News tells Rolling Stone. “He gave Bush the same kind of pointers he used to give George H.W. Bush – delivery, effectiveness, political coaching.” In the aftermath of 9/11, Ailes sent a back-channel memo to the president through Karl Rove, advising Bush to ramp up the War on Terror. As reported by Bob Woodward, Ailes advised Bush that “the American public would tolerate waiting and would be patient, but only as long as they were convinced that Bush was using the harshest measures possible.”
Fox News did its part to make sure that viewers lined up behind those harsh measures. The network plastered an American flag in the corner of the screen, dolled up one female anchor in a camouflaged silk blouse, and featured Geraldo Rivera threatening to hunt down Osama bin Laden with a pistol. The militarism even seemed to infect the culture of Fox News. “Roger Ailes is the general,” declared Bill O’Reilly. “And the general sets the tone of the army. Our army is very George Patton-esque. We charge. We roll.”
As an aside, Roger Ailes is the man who tried to save Sarah Palin from herself when she was choosing whether to wade into the Loughner tragedy, but even with Mr. Ailes’s formidable power and standing as the Republican political general, Sarah thought she knew best. Few people survive this type of arrogance in a party that considers FNC its megaphone and election death star.
Topping the already cruel cravenness is covering for Rebekah Brooks, as so many others lose their jobs.
Michael Wolff, who has written a biography on Murdoch, was a guest on Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” all last week and though I find him an arrogant boor, he has made some interesting points amidst his mumbling pontification. With so many of those unemployed being journalistic types, this story has the possibilities of a never ending soap opera, with grudges sure to continue to pop up in salaciousness still to come.
Vendetta, anyone?
But could what happen over there hit Murdoch over here?
Why Margaret Thatcher Reportedly Won’t See Sarah
Gossip comes from across the pond.
It would appear that the reasons go deeper than Thatcher’s frail health. Her allies believe that Palin is a frivolous figure who is unworthy of an audience with the Iron Lady. This is what one ally tells me:
Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.
Whomever decided to drop these (and other) rhetorical turds into the Guardian‘s capable hands has done a disservice to Margaret Thatcher.
Mrs. Thatcher has always been one of the great dames of world politics. She was the first female prime minister of Europe and the only one to be elected thrice, also having the distinction as the longest serving British prime minister since 1827.
Ideology aside, I can’t conjure up the moment when she’d approve of any “ally” being so classless on her behalf. Her health, but also her focus on the upcoming unveiling of a Ronald Reagan statue on July 4th, are serious reasons to continue to keep a lower profile, especially since anything having to do with Mrs. Palin tilts in the circus arena column.
There’s simply no reason to be cruel to someone who considers Thatcher her political heroine.
I could be wrong about this, but I find the quotes directed at Sarah Palin malicious and something that would never be exchanged anywhere near the woman who once was the Prime Minister of England, known also as an “Iron Lady.”
Kate and Prince William’s Fairytale Day
**UPDATED**
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PRESS SECRETARY TO THE QUEEN – The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince William of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Prince William thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge and Miss Catherine Middleton on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. – Titles announced for Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Marriages can signify a moment, a real chance for renewal. If ever there was that opportunity for the British monarchy, today was it.
How stunningly spectacular she looked, now her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, after the Queen bestowed titles on HRH the Duke of Cambridge, aka Prince William, and his duchess, today.
This is not the story of Diana. There’s no resemblance to it at all, thank the gods.
When Catherine Elizabeth Middleton marries William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor, a prince of the royal blood, in Westminster Abbey on April 29, she will be scoring a number of firsts. Kate will be the first royal bride to have a university education, the first to live with her husband before marriage, the first to have a mother who used to be a flight attendant. Most impressively of all, Catherine will one day be the first queen of the realm to have fallen over at a roller disco in a pair of yellow hot pants.
NEWSWEEK: Citizen Kate – Here comes the smart, sexy, grocery-buying, blessedly normal commoner who could save William—and the royal family.
Seasoned partners, Kate and William have the best chance possible at making it. For England, it is seen as important that they do. After divorce, after scandal, after tragedy, and embarrassment, the Royals need a win.
Few in America care or can relate to the pomp and expense of today, even if the Royals are actually paying for the wedding ceremony, something once unheard of, though the taxpayers will foot the bill for the security, the Middletons chipping in, too. But surely the celebrity is something Americans can relate to, after all, our own equivalent, The American Presidency, has become the same thing. All pomp and pageant and political pandering, little substance for the people in the end.
It’s a Disney fantasyland day for anyone who believes in love and relationships, in ceremony and celebrations.
As I always say, it’s not the wedding that’s hard it’s the days after. But at least this time Kate and Prince William already know what that’s about, because they have tried it out. Breaking with Royal tradition may actually save the monarchy, which still seems to be important for British identity, history and country.
Well, That Worked Out Well
The original intent of the no-fly zone was to prevent carnage in Benghazi. It did. Now fears are growing that a humanitarian crisis is coming across Libya.
Who could have predicted that? After all, war never causes these types of secondary issues– Oh, strike that. Pres. Obama and his administration say this isn’t a war. I keep forgetting that point. If Obama says it isn’t a war it isn’t a war, right?
Then what is it? According to the White House, it’s a “kinetic military action.”
Q But it’s not going to war, then?
MR. RHODES: Well, again, I think what we are doing is enforcing a resolution that has a very clear set of goals, which is protecting the Libyan people, averting a humanitarian crisis, and setting up a no-fly zone. Obviously that involves kinetic military action, particularly on the front end. But again, the nature of our commitment is that we are not getting into an open-ended war, a land invasion in Libya. What we are doing is offering a unique set of capabilities over a period of days that can shape the environment for a no-fly zone.
What could possibly go wrong with this mumbo jumbo?
What a giant political disaster Pres. Obama has created. And not calling what’s being done in Libya a war? Who are these guys and how did they get to such a level of leadership? It’s absolutely juvenile.
It’s hard to find a precedent for a president ordering U.S. military forces into action, then heading off for a five-day tour of Latin America, but that’s just what President Barack Obama did when he approved the deployment of air and naval assets to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. His homecoming gift is a barrage of questions about the military action Obama aides refuse to label a “war.” – Unanswered questions about Libya
It takes “word salads” to a whole new level.
The New York Times is running an op-ed today about “Among Allies, Discord Over Libya.” That’s putting it mildly.
Jamie Rubin put it well on MSNBC this morning. There’s an old saying about NATO, which has an alternative acronym: Needs America To Operate. The reason America usually leads, which is why the Right and others are caterwauling about the operation, is that without our lead things fall apart.
Pres. Obama missed that lesson and is now in the middle of an international diplomatic firing squad, while his people are arguing about whether this is a war or not.
I can picture V.P. Joe Biden right now muttering expletives under his breath.
This post has been updated.
Trivial Pursuits in Times of Peril
“For my Dad, America was the land of opportunity, where the circumstances of birth are no barrier to achieving one’s dreams,” Romney said in a high-profile New Hampshire speech earlier this month. He added: “The spirit of enterprise, innovation, pioneering and derring-do propelled our standard of living and economy past every other nation on earth. I refuse to believe that America is just another place on the map with a flag.” – GOP 2012 theme: American ‘decline’
What’s playing out in Japan right now is overwhelming to comprehend. Looking at Libya, same thing, as Germany blocks an Anglo-French no-fly zone plan, while the Saudis sent troops into Bahrain, and today a report that Sect. Clinton was snubbed in Egypt. We’ve got our own domestic challenges too, so there are few places to turn for comfort.
During Rush Limbaugh’s first hour today he went on a bender about Pres. Obama’s NCAA bracket picks, which was a top item on Mike Allen’s Playbook this morning (where I get my early a.m. news), which NRO quickly picked up with a “Wow.” When I wrote about it today on Twitter, as I often do when I listen to the first hour of Rush, Politico’s Jonathan Martin responded that it was also on the top of Drudge, which stands to reason since Limbaugh often channels what’s on his front page. In the center column was PRESIDENT CHECKS OUT: FOCUS ON B-BALL BRACKETS… with a link to a weird little piece on Obama not being present enough as the world roils.
I’ll let you be the judge of whether Pres. Obama is doing his job, which is the crux of the Right’s argument today, joined by other anti-Obama sites, evidently believing that a moment spent on NCAA March Madness picks will mean the end of American greatness.
But I also won’t make light of the image issue being presented, because one of the reasons Ronald Reagan was elected is because at the end of Pres. Carter’s first term he seemed not on top of what was happening in the world, while considered responsible for America slipping. That’s the main theme of the GOP for 2012. Now all the Right needs is a Reagan.
However, the notion that Pres. Obama needs to be either looking grim and concerned or be hidden away for fear of seeming frivolous amidst Japan’s catastrophic nuclear challenge is not only ridiculous, but inconsistent with life itself.
Taking 30 minutes to enjoy the simple pleasures of life while Japan roils is not craven. It’s called living. Like him or not, approve of his politics or not, Pres. Obama is on the job 24/7, non-stop. To suggest that by taking a few moments out to honor the pleasures of sports is presidential sacrilege is misunderstanding the importance of trivial pursuits at times of great stress. So what if Pres. Obama plays golf on Saturday? George W. Bush did it all the time, which Rush and the Right never cared about.
Life is a pressure cooker. High stress jobs and situations make it even worse. Being president is beyond what any of us can imagine, especially today, and let’s hope one of Barack Obama’s plans is to live well beyond his presidency, not kill himself in the job.
Taking some time to enjoy life doesn’t mean a president or a person isn’t taking care of business. No one can immerse him- or herself in work constantly without eventually blowing a physical fuse.
It’s not a sin to enjoy life even when others are suffering. In fact, it’s more important to appreciate the gifts of life when you’re spared tragedy and take the time to breathe in the bounty when fate passes you by.
As for the Republican 2012 message of “American ‘decline,’” if they had a candidate there is no doubt Pres. Obama is vulnerable for this type of marketing. People like the President, but his standoffish, non-engagement leadership style amidst world events exploding, with Americans used to our presidents inserting himself and our country across the globe, is not going down well with everyone.
A normal moment of trivial pursuit comes off as out of touch. Cue the Jimmy Carter theme music, which is exactly what Republicans are turning to with their 2012 “American ‘decline’” theme, which in times when people feel overwhelmed and powerless could resonate.
If only Republicans had a candidate who could sell the message, but they don’t, at least not yet.
Austerity Pushing Europe into Another Recesssion. Got it America?
Texan4Hillary offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
Austerity is a loser. We all lose with it. The politicians lose with it. As the Right in America eye austerity and our conservative Dem President aims to make cuts in t he budget let us look to Europe. And hope America’s government wakes up.
Economist David Blanchflower of Dartmouth makes the clear case Europe’s austerity kick is dooming it to another recession. Can the pendulum in America swing back from the Right to stop the worst of austerity here? That is my only hope right now.
Blanchflower notes austerity idol Margaret Thatcher did not grow the economy via cuts but a stimulus package. Not that Mrs. Thatcher did not wreck Britain in so many ways through privatizing the state and declaring war on unions.
…Claims are often made that there are examples where fiscal austerity has worked. But it turns out that this is generally due to the monetary stimulus that accompanied it, as in the U.K. under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. The most frequently cited example is Canada, but it was able to cut interest rates while at the same time benefiting from the Clinton boom of the 1990s.
Recession appears to once again return to key nations in Europe. The mere prospect of austerity in Britain is flatlining the economy and causing panic.
Fiscal austerity has already been started in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal, and this seems to be pushing all of them back into recession. Over the last four quarters, growth in Greece was negative and falling, and bond investors are once more demanding sky-high returns to compensate their risk. The excuse in these countries was that they have little choice because they are stuck in the European monetary union and don’t have the ability to depreciate their exchange rate.
The U.K. may be a purer case of the harm austerity at the wrong time can inflict. Britain now looks as if it is headed back into recession on fear about the damage that will be done by massive spending cuts and tax increases, which haven’t even gone into effect yet. Government ministers with their talk of austerity have already smashed confidence.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has said the economy was “bankrupt” and had “run out of money,” which of course is simply untrue. Prime Minister David Cameron and other ministers made similar unsupported claims, which seem to have had a deleterious effect on animal spirits.
Confidence Game
Despite the government’s claims that its intent was to raise confidence, consumer and business confidence tumbled right after the new government took office.
Businesses and consumers know what is coming and have cut back accordingly. Retail spending has flat-lined. The balance of trade is deteriorating. Unemployment is rising, and house prices have started to fall again.
It is maddening to watch this going on and worse for the leaders of this nation to be going so gung ho for this idea of austerity. It does not work on any level. Obama, watch out. And to the GOP now running so many states, watch out also. Look to history. Look to the present in Europe for what austerity does. It is not pretty and brings upheaval. Egypt tried austerity measures at the behest of the IMF. Egypt’s Mubarak sowed his final destruction with the cuts he made to the suffering masses of his country. Beware.
Austerity is In Among Ruling Class
TM NOTE: Texan4Hillary offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
“Plundering the weak and shooting them in their heads when they resist — that’s the definition of courage to America’s degenerate ruling class.”- – Reaganomics Critic Mark Ames
In the American era of austerity, where those who want to slash social programs are hailed by the media as heroes, it’s important we keep reminding ourselves that austerity is a loser at the ballot box for its proponents and often leads to much worse.
Last night we saw Obama move to freeze the budget for 5 years, like Hoover, which will have a devastating impact for those in need. NIH, HUD, education would be bludgeoned with this freeze. See this report for a preview of those painful cuts we must suffer.
As Obama moves to freeze the budget, his deficit commission lives on in a bill co-authored by Senator Mark Warner (D-Va) and Senator Chambliss (R-Ga). It would raise the Social Security retirement age to 69, get rid of key tax breaks for the middle class, make major changes to Medicare and best of all: it has 2 dozen sponsors thus far in the Senate. Read more on it here.
Perhaps the radical Right, Rep. Ryan, Obama, Warner and the rest of the ruling class should do a little reading. Author Mark Ames continues his work on Right wing economics and its destructive path. In his latest piece he finds some disturbing examples of austerity and its political impact:
(Austerity) measures almost always end in the worst worst-case-scenario imaginable: economic disaster, violence and repression.
Let’s start with the most catastrophic of all austerity programs in history—the one austerity program none of the Austerity Snake Oil peddlers want you to know about. It was the disastrous austerity program tested out in Germany way back in 1930, under Chancellor Heinrich Bruning, himself an austere centrist.
The Depression was just spreading around the globe, and Bruning, backed by Germany’s industry titans, believed Germany would only recover with a strong currency, which he tethered to the gold standard, and a balanced budget through brutal cuts in wages, pensions and unemployment benefits, and hikes in taxes and fees. Bruning learned austerity as a doctoral student at the London School of Economics — which nurtured and promoted “free-market” whores like Friedrich von Hayek and the “Austrian School” that is still being piped out to us through major outlets like the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal …
Bruning applied the von Hayek medicine to Germany, and the resulting backlash was so intense he suspended parliamentary democracy and ruled by emergency decree, setting a fine example for the next guy who took power. After just two years of “austerity” measures, Germany’s economy had completely collapsed: unemployment doubled from 15 percent in 1930 to 30 percent in 1932, protests spread, and Bruning was finally forced out. Just two years of austerity, and Germany was willing to be ruled by anyone or anything except for the kinds of democratic politicians that administered “austerity” pain.
Ames also looks at Venezuala, Lithuania and Russia:
Venezuela’s austerity programs created greater poverty, richer oligarchs, worse corruption, and the inevitable backlash in the form of Hugo Chavez, who staged a coup in 1992 that almost succeeded…and later won the presidency through the ballot box. Perez had to flee to Miami with his family to avoid being put on trial for the massacre; he died just last month in shame.
Austerity programs in the ex-communist Soviet countries led to similar disastrous results: As I wrote about in the Nation, Larry Summers oversaw Lithuania’s austerity program in the early 1990s, sparking overnight the world’s highest suicide rate, economic misery and a backlash that made Lithuania the first country in the former communist bloc to vote the communists back into power — anything to stop the pain.
In Russia, austerity measures dictated by the same Hayek groupies in the IMF led to a complete financial market meltdown, an over 50 percent collapse in the GDP, the untimely deaths of millions, and of course the requisite President Yeltsin ruling by decree, bombing his own parliament, then finally snuffing democracy by handing the Kremlin over to his crony, Vladimir Putin.
So we have Summers advising austerity in the 1990s in former Soviet bloc nations , and causing the return of the Communists to power in Lithuania.
Britain is today on a austerity binge of maddening proportions. College campus riots have ensued over tuition hikes, Prince Charles got pinned in his car by protesters, and P.M. Cameron is creating such a situation that it’s inevitable social and political problems are going to explode beyond his control. See Britain in 1930, Ames again:
In England, austerity measures led to one of the biggest mutinies in Britain’s military history since the time of the French Revolution; the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931, when up to half the Royal Navy rose up against austerity cuts, took over ships and sent fears of a Bolshevik revolution throughout the country. The mutiny and strikes worked somewhat: Britain was finally forced to abandon the gold standard, and wage cuts were softened.
Austerity is not a winner. Electorally its a proven disaster. In Texas in 2003 the GOP slashed public education and CHIP funding massively. The backlash was fierce with the Democrats taking 22 seats in the statehouse. They came 2 seats shy of controlling the state legislature, then the 2010 wipeout happened. But I predict in Texas and any other state doing this sort of thing the backlash is going to be monstrous. You cannot wholesale cut vital programs to the bone and expect to return to office when done.
Beware austerity Democrats and Republicans. Read history and the polls. Raise taxes if need be, but keep services running or pay the consequences.
Hung Brits or Did Conservatives Bring It In?
Depends on whom you read, but it’s quite likely no one gaining a parliamentary majority.
Nate Silver’s analysis comes down for a conservative win. …with a reminder link to why no one should trust exit polls.
The Conservatives would have 307 MPs, up 97 on 2005, Labour would have 255, down 94, and the Lib Dems 59, down 3. Nationalists and others would have 29.
That means Labour and the Lib Dems together could not have a majority.
There are reports of long queues of people still waiting to vote in some parts of the country after the most closely fought election in decades.
TNR has some great links to guide you.
Bottom line, like the U.S., everyone is disgusted with politicians.
Sarah Channels Reagan Badly
Drill, baby, drill, we have a problem.
Don’t naively trust – verify is the first Twitter stab at channeling Reagan. It’s a swing and a miss for Sarah Palin for several reasons. Jason Linkins was given the heads up from an emailer over at Huffington Post, so we’re reminded that Todd Palin was reportedly employed by BP for 18 years.
However, that’s not the obvious miss in Palin’s Twitter missive. She ostracizes “foreign oil co’s” obviously not knowing some of the basic issues swirling around the Gulf oil disaster, including the cementing issues that involved Haliburton.
But then Sarah Palin warns fishermen and others whose livelihood would be affected by the spill to be careful not to “sign away remedy rights.” Odd to see Palin pushing in this direction. The conclusion isn’t very Reagan like, but what are you going to do when those mean “foreign oil co’s,” even though supermajors come in all colors, including red, white and blue, impact your livelihood?
Sue, baby, sue.
The Clinton – Falkland Kerfuffle
Right-wing writer and Fox News contributor Nile Gardiner is going for the hyperbole gold on this one.
The Secretary of State, a highly skilled political operator, knows exactly what she is doing here. She is giving her full support for the official stance of Buenos Aires, despite the fact that Great Britain has made it clear that the sovereignty of the Falklands is non-negotiable. She makes no reference at all to the fact that Argentina recently threatened a blockade of the Falklands, or that its close ally Venezuela has been threatening war against Britain.
Hillary Clinton’s dire performance in Buenos Aires was not only an appalling display of appeasement towards a corrupt and authoritarian anti-American regime, which barely has the support of 20 percent of the Argentinian people. It was also an astonishing betrayal of the United Kingdom by her closest ally, and yet another slap in the face for Britain from the Obama administration.
Clinton has demonstrated, not the first time, strikingly poor judgment as Secretary of State. …
All righty then.
SECRETARY CLINTON: And we agree. We would like to see Argentina and the United Kingdom sit down and resolve the issues between them across the table in a peaceful, productive way.
QUESTION: (In Spanish) Interpreter: The journalist was just asking how the U.S. intends to negotiate to get the United Kingdom to sit at the table and address the Malvinas issue.
SECRETARY CLINTON: As to the first point, we want very much to encourage both countries to sit down. Now, we cannot make either one do so, but we think it is the right way to proceed. So we will be saying this publicly, as I have been, and we will continue to encourage exactly the kind of discussion across the table that needs to take place.
The “Malvinas issue” is the Falkland islands, specifically, the plans of the Brits to excavate and drill for oil in these islands. But using the term “Malvinas” is upsetting to Brits, though it’s how Argentinians refer to them, as they try to nudge involvement of the U.S., which is never going to happen and everyone knows it. Argentina also boasting they have the support of “33 foreign ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean,” according to reports, that side with Argentina over the British over the issue.
As for Chavez’s two cents? Here’s a sampling, to which Mr. Gardiner referred.
In recent days and during yesterday’s summit, most of the regional leaders backed Argentina’s claims. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez addressed Britain’s Queen Elizabeth directly on his weekly television programme, telling her to return the Malvinas to Argentina. He repeated his claims late Sunday when he arrived in Mexico for the summit.
“We support unconditionally the Argentine government and the Argentine people in their complaints,” Chávez told reporters at the airport.
“That sea and that land belongs to Argentina and to Latin America.”
He even pledged to send his armed forces to Argentina’s defence if Britain attacks, telling his allies they can “have the security of knowing they aren’t alone” against what he called British threats.
Expect the usual suspects to weigh in on this one.
The Falkland Islands and the current situation between Britain and Argentina is none of our business.
The right and other critics of Clinton are saying, by her weighing in that the Brits and Argentina should simply “sit at the table and address the Malvinas issue,” that Sect. Clinton has waded in where we don’t belong, her critics going so far as to say she’s taken sides. Perhaps because while in Argentina she said “Malivinas issue” instead of Falkland Islands.
Nuts! This is much ado about nothing. But that never stopped anyone before.
The nature of diplomacy is to make no waves, which in our current hyper-partisan media environment is impossible. Just take a look at the comments attached to Mr. Gardiner’s piece.
… Part of the reason that Clinton has gone to Latin America is to see President Lula of Brazil. The US is trying to get the UN security council to adopt new sanctions against Iran and Brazil, which is on the 15-member council, is reluctant to back sanctions. The British government rejected Clinton’s offer to mediate, and the US will accept that, more concerned about conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia than the islands of the South Atlantic. – Why Clinton won’t take Argentina’s side
Modern Day Ludlum Thriller in Dubai
–important update below–
The killers had lain in wait for al-Mabhouh, whom Hamas admits was involved in the killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989, since the previous night. Flying in from Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Zurich, the team of ten men and one woman arrived within three hours of each other. The alleged mastermind of the operation, a Frenchman using the name Peter Elvinger, was the last to arrive at 2.30am on January 19. The team dispersed for the night to hotels near the airport and to the Al Bustan Rotana. – Assassins had Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in sight as soon as he got to Dubai
A tale of stolen identities, intrigue, long awaited revenge, and deep covert planning. The legendary Mossad at the center of an international thriller conjuring up the world that Jason Borne inhabits. Having read everything Ludlum ever wrote, then re-read them, I’ve been following this since the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was reported. Al-Mabhouh was the founder of Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedeen al Qassam Brigades. The details that have been uncovered so far and so quickly are truly stunning. Identities of real people used to create false entry with fake passports, with a base to communicate that is linked to Austria. Targeting a senior Hamas leader who arrived in Dubai alone, presenting the perfect opportunity for his enemies.
The assassins, suspected to be Mossad agents, found a moment when the top Hamas leader was traveling alone, without bodyguards, to allegedly arrange a shipment of weapons, according to the UK Times.
As an international manhunt began for the 11 suspects yesterday, one particular anomaly in the case remained. Folliard is the only woman named so far, but footage of the final surveillance shows a second woman arriving at the hotel accompanied by a man in a Panama hat and a beard. It is not known whether this woman is one of two Palestinians arrested in Dubai last week in connection with the murder.
Britain’s foreign secretary David Miliband, via the BBC, is “outraged” and pledged to “get to the bottom” of how British identities were utilized via fake passports to carry off the assassination. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor and Sir Peter Ricketts, the head of the UK’s diplomatic service have met, but Miliband wasn’t talking about what was said. But the notion that the Israeli Ambassador would know squat about a Mossad operation is laughable.
If Mossad did orchestrate the assassination in Dubai, which is the assessment so far.
“Our investigations reveal that Mossad is involved in the murder of al Mabhouh. It is 99 per cent, if not 100 per cent that Mossad is standing behind the murder,” said Gen Tamim.
We’re about to see how well Israel can cover, deflect, but also bridge across this wily international plot, as outrage and stunned allies realize that Israel is a nation that will do whatever it deems necessary to avenge and make clear that they may be a small nation, but they will not allow violence towards them to go unpunished.
Let’s hope someone is already busy writing the screenplay.
We need to stay well away from this one.
All eyes on Israel.
TM UPDATE: Steve Clemons adds more to this tale, including a mug shot graphic of the assassins (used below), but also the issue of Hamas – Israeli prisoner swaps, but more importantly what I’ve also been mulling, that the assassination “may create such international frustration with Israel for disrupting efforts at regional stabilization and negotiations that there may be a real push to now end the international isolation of Hamas,” to quote Clemons. That my friend Steve begins his post with a shout out to yours truly is much appreciated.
Britain Reportedly Denied Abdulmatallab Entry
bumped
What happened between the reports to the U.S. embassy in Nigeria from Abdulmatallab’s own father, Umaru Mutallab, a Nigerian banker, and the decision to put the young Nigerian on a watch list, but not on the no-fly list? The WSJ is reporting that State shared the information with U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism bureaus. Where it went after that and who made the decisions following are worth investigating. Why did Britain reportedly understand the dangers but we didn’t?
Jake Tapper is reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on “This Week” that after the failed terrorism attempt things worked “like clockwork,” but “she wasn’t so sure about how well the government performed before the incident.” Gibbs was his usual glib self, talking about make sure there was “no clog in the bureaucratic plumbing.”
The Washington Post writes today that one anonymous Administration source said there was “insufficient derogatory information available” about Abdulmatallab to include him in anything beyond a database for terrorism related individuals. I’d like to know what is sufficient if someone’s own father, a significant individual in Nigeria, thinks his son might be a danger to the U.S.
At first glance, with facts still rolling in, this looks dangerously like sloppy gate keeping, the same we saw under Bush-Cheney.
I’d sure like to see the surveillance tapes to see what type of behavior Abdulmatallab was exhibiting before he got on the plane. It’s impolitic to say, but I also wonder when countries, including our own, are going to quit making everyone go through histrionics like being basically tied to your airline seat one hour before landing, which is absurd, and instead do some simple profiling of behavior, perhaps taking Israel’s El Al’s lead, as was talked about after 9/11.
During the interrogation, ticket holders are also psychologically evaluated. Their entire makeup is judged by tone of voice, mood and body language. The information is sent by computer to international law enforcement agencies, such as Interpol or Scotland Yard, for instant evaluation.
A discussion about profiling in the U.S. invariably begins and ends with race, completely ignoring behavior. Instead, airlines and countries across the globe shrug off psychological tells that could reveal something is very wrong. When used with the other traditional methods of discovering bombs, etc., we’d have another layer of security in place.
But this long after 9/11, the U.S. in particular, including obviously the airlines, just don’t take safety seriously.
More from the Washington Post article today:
Administration officials acknowledged Saturday that Abdulmutallab’s name was added in November to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, which contains about 550,000 individuals and is maintained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center. TIDE is a catch-all list into which all terrorist-related information is sent.
Some, but not all, information from TIDE is transferred to the FBI-maintained Terrorist Screening Data Base (TSDB), from which consular, border and airline watch lists are drawn. The Transportation Security Administration has a “no-fly” list of about 4,000 people who are prohibited from boarding any domestic or U.S.-bound aircraft. A separate list of about 14,000 “selectees” require additional scrutiny but are not banned from flying.
Abdulmutallab’s name never made it past the TIDE database. “A TIDE record on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was created in November 2009,” one administration official said, but “there was insufficient information available on the subject at that time to include him in the TSDB or its ‘no fly’ or ‘selectee’ lists.”
There is another report about how the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had radicalized the young Nigerian, giving more ammunition for the case that U.S. involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused serious blow back: His father said he became radicalized after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and on the Pentagon, and by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the real tell in this story so far is that unlike the U.S., who only had Abdulmatallab in the terrorist database but didn’t go any further, the UK Times is reporting that Britain had already taken action against the young Nigerian:
The son of a prominent Nigerian banker, who allegedly attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight over America, was barred from returning to Britain earlier this year.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, graduated from a university in London last year but his visa request was refused in May when he attempted to apply for a new course at a bogus college.
… [...] He attempted to return to Britain for a six-month course in May this year but was refused by officials from the UK Border Agency.
“He was refused entry on grounds that he was applying to study at an educational establishment that we didn’t consider to be genuine,” a Whitehall official said.
Neither the Washington Post, nor the WSJ, among others, has any reporting about Britain denying Abdulmutallab’s entry in May 2009.
Now, it’s all eyes on Lagos airport, with rising concern over security out of Africa.
Right Wing Frenzy on UK Climate Scandal Begins
updated
The latest is a UK report saying the scientist at the center of “climategate” has been told to quit. That likely won’t make a dent on the right, if Rush Limbaugh’s show yesterday is any indication. With Obama’s decision today to attend Copenhagen surely to ignite a wider furor (update to original post).
Driving home from covering the White House press conference with Obama and Singh, I turned on Rush. It was not the first of his show, but he was on a roll claiming that the climate scandal out of Britain, which I didn’t hear him mention, was as big as when scientists found that the earth was round. Rush then made an unprecedented apology for focusing so much on one subject, for being a “one-noter,” if you will. Oh yeah, the right’s in the feeding phase. Then on he ranted about what is absolutely a scandal at Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in eastern England. CRU is a critical group in their community, vaunted in its research and respect. That’s kaput, giving wingnuts like Sen. David “diapers” Vitter’s legislative aide, Bryan Zumwalt, a chance to toll the bell and claim this is the “greatest scientific fraud in history,” which you can bet will be used to beat climate change to death prior to Copenhagen.
The story from CBS News is excerpted below:
[...] The leaked documents (see our previous coverage) come from the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in eastern England. In global warming circles, the CRU wields outsize influence: it claims the world’s largest temperature data set, and its work and mathematical models were incorporated into the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 report. That report, in turn, is what the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged it “relies on most heavily” when concluding that carbon dioxide emissions endanger public health and should be regulated.
Last week’s leaked e-mails range from innocuous to embarrassing and, critics believe, scandalous. They show that some of the field’s most prominent scientists were so wedded to theories of man-made global warming that they ridiculed dissenters who asked for copies of their data (“have to respond to more crap criticisms from the idiots”), cheered the deaths of skeptical journalists, and plotted how to keep researchers who reached different conclusions from publishing in peer-reviewed journals. …
Using this current drama, the right has begun to target all research on climate change, using CRU as the backdrop and foundation. The buzzards are circling. And by buzzard I mean James Inhofe, vice president of the Black Helicopter Crowd (John Bolton is president). He’s going to begin a “climategate” investigation. Mr. Inhofe is the same guy who railed against the Law of the Sea Treaty, officially known as United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, which provided loads of fun for people like me a couple of years ago.
Now, I’m no climate change expert, but getting back to Sen. David Vitter, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Vitter’s ties to Louisiana’s oil and gas industry might be driving his office’s delusions. Though the misreading and manipulation by Zumalt, Vitter’s aide, is about as creative as the disgraced UK scientists involved in this scandal.
Because I think we can all agree that what has been leaked out of England was bad, very bad. But no one should allow the wingnuts to paint a broad brush across the entire scientific community because of it. However, that’s what the right does best, so they’re going to have a field day with this one. Copenhagen provides the perfect tee up.
In fact, if you want to have some fun, via the Wonk Room, search “Hadley, hacked, global warming, email, fraud” to see what you get. It’s a wingnutapalooza.
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Silence Over Saudi Abuse A Western Priority
A woman is threatened with death, but the UK won’t openly acknowledge the claims for asylum, because after all we wouldn’t want to openly criticize the House of Saud.
What kind of rubbish is this? The human rights abuse kind.
A Saudi Arabian princess who had an illegitimate child with a British man has secretly been granted asylum in this country after she claimed she would face the death penalty if she were forced to return home. The young woman, who has been granted anonymity by the courts, won her claim for refugee status after telling a judge that her adulterous affair made her liable to death by stoning.
Her case is one of a small number of claims for asylum brought by citizens of Saudi Arabia which are not openly acknowledged by either government. British diplomats believe that to do so would in effect be to highlight the persecution of women in Saudi Arabia, which would be viewed as open criticism of the House of Saud and lead to embarrassing publicity for both governments.
This has particular significance for me, because every time I point to these types of things, American friends of the Saudis respond by saying King Abdullah is doing more for women than any other Saudi in his position has done.
It’s important to point out that perhaps, even as we maintain our important relationship with the Saudis, who are critical to any movement between Israel and the Palestinians, we should not hide our criticism of real issues where women are concerned. The barbarism of the Saudis shouldn’t be excused, nor should the West shy away from telling it like it is for fear the House of Saud won’t like it.
The other side of the coin is who is always waiting in the wings if King Abdullah acts too moderate, appearing to act against Islam. That’s his problem, not ours. …and before you say it could become our problem if the House of Saud fell, I don’t believe for one moment we’d let that happen.
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For Neda, Iran
In the name of God
We all come from Him and will go back to Him
The great and dignified Iranian nation:
With much sorrow I was informed that, during peaceful rallies to defend their lawful rights, the great Iranian people have been attacked [by the security forces], beaten, and bloodied, and killed. While expressing my condolences for this painful event and the losses, and feeling the pain of the nation, I declare Wednesday [June 24], Thursday and Friday days of national mourning. I express my strongest support for the Muslim nation [of Iran] in their defense of their rights in the framework of the Constitution that recognizes republicanism [direct and free elections, and respect for the votes] as one of the pillars of the [political] establishment, and declare that any action that would harm the republicanism of the system is not permitted [is against religion]. Every one of our religious brothers and sisters must help the nation in defending its lawful rights. Based on this principle, any resistance in this direction [against people who are defending their right], particularly use of violence, beating, and killing of [the people of] the nation is acting against the Islamic principle that the nation must decide its own fate and path and, therefore, I declare it to be religiously haraam [the worst sin].
Hossein Ali Montazeri – Tehran Bureau
Watching the video you can’t help but lose your own breath watching her die.
via The Lede: A screengrab from a video uploaded to YouTube of a woman, referred to as Neda, dying after an apparent gunshot wound to her chest.
Shiite mourning is not simply a time to react with sadness. Particularly in times of conflict, it is also an opportunity for renewal. The commemorations for “Neda” and the others killed this weekend are still to come. And the 40th day events are usually the largest and most important.
“Neda” is already being hailed as a martyr, a second important concept in Shiism. With the reported deaths of 19 people Saturday, martyrdom also provides a potent force that could further deepen public anger at Iran’s regime.
With the passing of Neda, Ahmadinejad’s power diminishes to a whimper, but the one truly impacted is Supreme Leader Khamenei. Because Neda not only symbolizes the fight; she represents the real impact Iranian women have had in the elections, but also the post election rising up that continues, regardless of the ruthless brutality being unleashed, especially at night.
Neda. Her name now said as a prayer unto itself, an anthem for Iran.
Via Twitter, Ann Curry is trying to reach out to her family, her friends.
How I felt yesterday after seeing it.
A statement from Mir-Hussein Mousavi.
Journalists are now being hunted in Iran, including one of Newsweek’s:
Maziar Bahari has not been heard from since Sunday morning, Newsweek said. A journalist and filmmaker, Bahari has been living in Iran and covering the country for the past decade, according to the statement.
… .. A good aggregate for Iranian news.
As the Iranian parliament makes a mockery of the fight with their statement today:
Iran’s Parliament warned US and some European countries on Sunday not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs otherwise Iran will respond them in other fields. The Islamic Iran has borne heavy pressures imposed by foreign states against the nation’s will in order to keep its political independence, said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.
Stances adopted by US President, Britain’s Prime Minister, Germany’s Chancellor and France’s President over Iran’s presidential elections and its developments showed other aspects of their adventurism when it comes to Iranians, he said. It is embarrassing that the US which has resorted to every cruelty on Iran’s nation over half a century including backing the toppled Shah’s regime inhumane brutalities against people and imposing Iraq war on Iran, is now worried about Iran’s territorial integrity and human rights, Larijani added and directed the US, “you showed the deceitful meaning of change too soon.”
“We Iranians know the way to resolve our differences very well, there is no need to your opportunistic and imperialistic gestures,” he asserted. Larijani then emphasized Iran’s Parliament warns the US President, Britain’s Prime Minister, Germany’s Chancellor and France’s President to avoid meddling with Iran’s domestic affairs and doing things that makes Iran respond in other fields. He also called for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament to revise relations with these countries.
David Miliband responds:
“I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries.” – David Miliband, British Foreign Minister
Mousavi now being branded a “criminal.”
Iranian government media Sunday launched a campaign against Mir Hussein Mousavi and his supporters, calling the leader of the protests over Iran’s disputed election a “criminal” and comparing demonstrators to members of a hated terrorist group.
Faces of the Basiji, via Demotex.
Update | 9:32 a.m. The BBC reports that Iranian authorities have asked its Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, to leave the country within 24 hours. The BBC said its Tehran office would remain open despite the departure of Mr. Leyne, the broadcaster’s permanent correspondent there.
The BBC adds: “Iran has singled out Britain and the BBC in its widespread condemnation of what it calls meddling by foreign powers in its affairs. In the days following the 12 June election, BBC Persian TV was disrupted by “deliberate interference” from inside Iran, the corporation said. In response, the BBC increased the number of satellites that carry its BBC Persian television service for Farsi-speakers in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.”
What happens next?
This post has been updated.
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