ELECTIONS

You know, it's funny, I've had discussions about this with

Mammad, and he feels the same way, and he and David are so different, so different, that if those two concur so strongly on this issue...

that should give a sober man pause.

Is Mosavi any different that ahmaghinejad?

Lets assume IRI has changed its attitude overnight and now respects its citizens choices.  Here is an article about Mosavi, the so called non-extreme candidate who was the prime minister when IRI murdered thousands upon thousands of political prisoners.

 //news.gooya.com/society/archives/086262.php

Every candidate for IRI presidential theatrical show is a member of the criminal mafia with a past that involves killing of Iranians. 

Do Nat Vote

whom ever encouraging people to vote!? is the [enemy] noing what is going on in Iran Down whit Islam and its regime-Iranian well Nat Be insulted No Moor.

Rok Goo

I see no contradiction between wanting a secular democracy in Iran and not wanting 4 more years of Ahmadinejad as president. 

Are you proposing that in June you are bringing secular democracy in Iran? If so, show an effective plan and I am 100% with you and if not then what you say is totally irrelvant.

All I see again is another sensational comment, this time combined with unbacked accusations.  I knew when logic fails some will get to this point in this thread and knowing that I wrote the article but then I have heard them all from ALL sides. One day I am an agent of zionists and another agent of Islamists...go figure!

Let me summarize it all in one blunt (Rok) phrase. For all practical reasons:

NOT VOTING IS A VOTE FOR AHMADINEJAD. 

Voting or not voting would not make a damn bit of difference

Whether you vote or not vote would not make a damn bit of difference. Besides, 35 to 40 percent of people, habitually always vote, no matter what, the same percentahge always voted during the Shah's era as well.

On second note, the regime has enough people and "movie extras" to put in front of foreign journalists to show its so called "popularity" and "legitimacy", so don't worry about that.

At the end of the day, Khameneii, Council of Guardians and those turbaned dinosaurs sitting in Qum running the country will choose among the few filtered losers, whoever who can, to some extent, alleviate the regime's sorry state of economy (Good luck to him!) and polish its badly tarnished image outside Iran in the short run.

You are all wasting your time.

David jan you've been

David jan you've been co-opted by the American left or the American Realists in other words, oil mafia.

However, I don't disagree with your point because it doesn't make any difference anyway. In the grand scheme of things, nothing will be gained and nothing will be lost, thus, voting is harmless.

You snooze you lose,

IRI would be more than happy to see only those who support it to vote in the coming "voting event". Those who boycott will be invisible and irrelevant to say the least.

I believe people should participate but show their displeasure, disapproval and opposition to the regime by writing in people who they wish would have been on the ballots or somehow deface their ballots as a sign of protest.

Why vote in Iran you say?

1. To facilitate change, even if it's a small change.
2. To show your presence in the political arena to the opposition.
3. To learn about the issues by getting involved in the political process.
4. To feel the good feeling of being counted.
5. To educate others about the issues.

Votes in IRI = MEANINGLESS for general public

Again I read many comments that encourage casting votes in IRI system ... Particularly for "non-extreme" candidate.

and again the pro IRI commentators fail to provide details about their arguments ... They don't provide details because they can't, as simple as that.

1) IRI is a dictatorial system with one unelected ruler on top ... a long life ruler who is above all rules of land even above their own rules.  IRI president is a mere custodian who is hired by the ruler.

2) IRI president is hand picked by those who rule Iran based on certain conditions, for example economical conditions.  IT IS NOT THE PEOPLE who choose IRI president.

So, the voters need to resovlve above two main issues for themselves before even contemplating to see if their candidate promise to deliver what they need.

A couple of good case studies are 1) Mr. Fariba (Khatami) election 12 years ago when general discontent was high ... he was unknown at best and showed up a few months before election ad suppsedly elected with MASSIVE turnout of votes and what did he deliver: Newspaper closures, freedom restriction, more imprisonment, he even called the protesting students, yes those who were thrwon off the building, Obash and Arazel ... good for nothing.  In one speech he called whoever THINK of reducing powers of the Ruler Traitors. 

2) Once the oil priced increased and criminal moslem clerics could bully their way with mighty dollar, they hired a person with mad dog personality.  His job was to bark at everyone and everything.  I guess the main purpose of mollas was to tell Iranians you are better off with non-barking dog than a barking one!

3) Oil prices are way down, and world is in great depression.  IRI needs help of international community.  They can't afford isolation at this time, therefore, IRI need to hire a so called non-extreme member of their blood thirsty community ... votes or no votes.

Votes in IRI  = Meanigless for meaningless for general public

Votes in IRI = Support for IRI dictatorial system ... nothing more.

Odd Views

Several months ago, the author, who also pretends to be a Human Rright campaigner, proposed a drat for a free, democratic, and secular Iran--an Iran with no IRI.

Today, the same author encourages people to side with the regime by voting for one of its candidates!--an Iran with IRI.

As i read through his lines and read his weak argumentations, I disappointedly wonder if this "campaigner", is not a wolf in sheep's clothing, or if is politically mature enough to distinguish his contradictory attitudes?

Amazing, how such odd attitudes of can be explained?

Pragmatism vs. poetic

I wish your presumably brass tacks realism in advocating participation in the rigged Islamist republic election show all the best.

No hard feelings, we just see things differently and no amount of back and forth poetic or otherwise reasoning would change it.  As a parting word lets assume the kinder, cuddlier one “wins” their “election”. Don’t you think the mass execution of prisoners during his tenure as “Prime Minister” is a bad sign of things to come?

Human Rights

Sorry I am not using a poetic pebble analogy and dealing with hard facts but that is what we really need. We had enough poetry and slogans. 

Killing ‘em softly

Does it really matter how practical ones’ principled stance is? Or if it has a chance of succeeding in the short term”? Of all people those like you who have been very active in the human rights actions should know the answer hands down. 

 Participating in a rigged election which the Islamist regime openly and repeatedly proclaims as its legitimizer not only does not make sense, it prolongs its torturous lifespan. It is as though one argues for participating as a defense attorney in a kangaroo court knowing fully well the verdict, lets say stoning the victim, has already been decided on. 

 On the other hand there are those who subscribe to the faulty notion that by participating in such show trial and lending legitimacy to it would allow the victim to be stoned to death by pebbles and not chunks of cinderblocks. Those whose logic are such and feel good and justified in taking such stance are exactly the audience the Islamist republic lobby is vying for. 

Fred and Phd

  Once again as much as one wishes to see boycott or even revolt, that does not seem likely in the next TWO MONTHS.

I also understand your and others reasons and opposition to voting, but what you all lack is offering an alternative that makes a difference even a small one. And I shall remind you that should have and could have mean nothing.

Yes mass boycott is great, but is that practical in next TWO months? What did the NOTION do for us last times.

In the next TWO MONTHS, Iranians have only TWO CHOICES : BAD and WORSE and NOT the third and the BEST option.

That IS the reality in the streets, cities and villages of Iran (not on our wishful computer keyboards)

As for me, I am tired of all self gratifying empty slogans by all sides.

To be played

The Islamist republic is blessed twice over. One, the world’s addiction to oil provides it unearned funds to finance mayhem and pay for its mercenaries and lobbies. Two, having a segment of its opposition be incredibly shortsighted, wishy-washy, totally clueless to the unchanging nature of the Islamist regime and ever ready to be played.   

To Boycott or Not!

Though boycotting could be considered as a peaceful way to resist, I don't think it'd be as effective for Iran's primary election. To communicate is to create community, and creating a "unified" community is the foundation to work toward change. "Yes, we can", said Obama! Yes, we can and yes we MUST vote in masses against the extremism. By voting in masses we are playing an active role and being proactive rather than reactive, similarly as the Amerians took on the challenge to kick MOST of the the wacko - extremists out of D.C. It's a tough battle, especially when dealing with a dictatorial - theocracy, but "Yes, we can." 

Will Iran be a supper power?

Our Struggle

Iran’s upcoming presidential election pits Mr. Mosavi with an implacable resume against the current Ph.D. president. All indications point to a soft win by the challenger and a shift in Iran’s foreign affair and relation with its western “friends/adversaries”. As a token of gratitude to the public for their votes, the new government will also grant them special freedom of wearing less and coloring their hair more. Sounds familiar? This was the Khatami’s “Grand Bargain” letter proposal sent to Bush and the company. In it, Khatami and his gang promised to forgo the Nuclear R/D, Cease Iran’s Missile and space development, forgo the support for Lebanon and let loose the Syria and Philistine to face the onslaught of the Israel. As the return, the US will let the Khatami’s gang alone. Suffice to say this was a surrender notice and not a “Grand Bargain”. Lucky for Iran and its citizens, a dummy was in charge of the white house. The Bushies grumble that “the real man goes to Tehran”, a reference to Tehran is next after Baghdad, and no negotiation. What the US relayed to Iran to do is “Just die”.

Let us examine what would have happened if US would have said “YES” to the Khatami. From 2003 to 2005, Iran halted its nuclear activities. As a result of such agreement going into a permanent status, some 3000 Iranian nuclear scientists currently in Isfahan would face a bleak employment situation. Most would pack their bags and leave for Australia, Canada, and some lucky few surrender to the US. Off course, the missile and space sector would even face a bleaker situation than the nuclear. Other sectors of the science and manufacturing such as auto and biotechnology would take back seats to the Imports. It is suffice to say Iran would have faced a second wave of brain drain, likes of which we have not seen yet.

The rewards, off course, would have been for the Khatami’s company to win the next election and reward themselves with the poses taken while professing “dialog of civilizations”. There wouldn’t be any benefits for the common street people, as they were already fed up by Khatami and his gang’s incompetence and double talk.

The west’s response of “real man goes to Tehran” prompted the Tehran to change gear. Election of the current government headed by a Ph.D. in Engineering accelerated R/D in all fields of science closely related to the survival of Iran and deflecting the invasion threat by US and allies. The approach, handeling and results have a lot to do with the Ph.D. in Engineering and personal understanding of the cause and effects. Something that other non-science fields, i.e. Philosophy, lacks.

Suffice to say that the new administration achieved the security goal by increasing many fold the cost of “going to Tehran” for the “real man”. As the results, the invasion plans were revisited, modified, recalculated and finally put on hold. New approaches are deemed needed to “go to Tehran”.

In addition to increasing the cost to the “real man” for his journey to “Tehran”, the new administration started to use the cause and effect to show the west that it is not any better than its own claim about the east. Most notably, the campaign of the influx of the western Yaghobies into ME is used to both show the west its hollow claims to civilization and democracy, and also expose, aggravate and rattle the root cause for the US’s ME policies for the last 50 or so years.

Iranians know well that the claim and excuse for Democracy as justification for west presence, pressure, and intimidation is a sham. After the 1953 CIA coup in Iran, the country fell in one of the darkest period in as far as political freedom is concerned. Most of our today’s paranoia and anxiety can be traced to that traumatic and unfriendly act.

A year or so after the Ph.D. made it clear that the Yaghobi can not hide behind a veil of propaganda about “Holocaust”, “Victimized”, and “The chosen ones”, the Yaghobi decided to have a mini Israel-Iran war in Lebanon and to show that the Ph.D. is a weak tweak. To their surprise, a severe defeat followed that rattled their invincibility and “chosen one” claims. Suffice to say that in all phases they were stopped. Their naval vessel was destroyed by a shore to ship missile (it was originally claimed to be either a stray drone or a suicide attack). Their communication was so jammed and encryption so broken that the Lebanonies would announce the Yaghobies’ movements and casualties directly from the Yaghobies’ communications. The madness that followed resulted in an indiscriminate destruction of the roads/bridges/ and infrastructure of Lebanon for no apparent reason or military gains, but to destroy just to destroy.

After the mini war, it became apparent that to stop Iran, they need to discredit the Ph.D. by any means possible. Yaghobi’s media went into blitz. A Ph.D. in engineering, earned from one of the same colleges that have trained scientist and engineers responsible for these rockets sent to the space, reinvented the nuclear science, becomes a mad man and a lunatic Yaghobi hater. There is not one day that we wake up and not find an article by the butchers of the Jerusalem about how and what the world needs to do or else they’ll destroy him (the Ph.D.) and Iran.

It is now the opportune time. The elections are upon us. A massive world-wide campaign is underway, likes of the 1953, to roll back Iran. With a much fanfare in western media a former prime minister with, I should say, an implacable working history is challenging the Ph.D. The challenger is not under question, but rather his motive is. After all he is the one that declined to run in the last election for claiming to be “semi-retired”.

A scant cursory survey of the internet news sheds more light on the motive. Resurrect the “Grand bargain/Grand surrender”. Under a veil of “more personal freedom”, “less radical image”, and “better accountabilities” we will be pushed back to the days of Rafsanjani/Khatami with the exception that this time the west wont leave us untouched.

Should they accomplish what many are saying have a better than 55% chance of winning, most of the Space/command, control, and R/D will vanish in a few years. The nuclear activities at best will revert back to a scenario of 1970’s (i.e. we become a client and at the mercy of the Germans/French which by-the-way still owe us the reactors and the fuel that Shah paid for). And forget about our auto industry moving from 16 to top 10. A flood of imports will render it to the days of Pykan.

In short it is up to all of us to maintain and enhance the rise of Iran to its natural glory. It is up to us not to fall in for empty superficial promises again and again.

Iranvaliazad:

I agree with your comment in general: "Not voting is a great protest in itself " 

 But has this happened in the past 30 years? There has always been enough people voting for one reason or another.

Therefore may be it is your comment that is more of a "dream" and a wishful thinking and an unlikely one at this point.

Therefore the next best thing is to vote in masses against the extremists to at least send some message. I am not sure if enough people will do that but if opposition and moderates actually make an effort, they will send a very strong messsage against extremism.

We know that the concept of "not voting" has not accomplished anything and only has played in to the hands of the extremists. That is a proven historical fact that I hope we both agree on.

Another point that we both can agree is that, most probably after elections in June Islamic Regime will be in power no matter what. 

Prior experiences of not voting by some has not accomplished anything positive and actually has usually backfired. 

NOT VOTING IS A VOTE FOR "I DO NOT WANT IRI SYSTEM"

Here is pictures of "the most moderate" candidate kissing the "most criminal" faces and getting his orders:

//www.didanihaa.com/archives/2009/04/081976.php

Lets assume that presidentional Selections IS NOT meaningless, Still, Mr. ET's  and Mr. Yasseri's comments do not explain HOW is it possible for their most moderate candidate to do anything in oppose to their boss' wishes or in other words if Leader says Jump, their candidates MUST say, "how high?" not a word less or more. 

The main point that is missing from those who plan to vote in support if IRI (it is a known fact that IRI system is dictatorial at best) is they do not say what are the points and/or changes that their candidate is planning to bring about in IRI system.  I am not sure how they plan to vote not knowing what their candidate is delivering. Therefore, it is obvious that it is NUMBER of votes or participant that is important and not the ageda as agenda is determied by others than IRI president.

Perhaps, those who tend to vote in support of IRI should explain what do they expect their candidate to do ... surely, the candidate are not saying much except for "shol kon, seft kon" for NAJA ... even with that, they don't have adequate powers to do (i.e. ALL POWERS REST WITH AN UNELECTED MOLLA).

And a commentator said, "This time we must do the opposite and vote for the and vote in masses , then even Khamenei can not deny the will of the people in what they really want."  To this I have to say, It is time to wake up and take a look at Iran ... for 30 years khomeiin & khameni and rest of blood thirsty moslem clerics and their friends have DENIED every right to the citizens, and suddenly they are going to RESPECT people's wishes!  You are a good dreamer.

  //tahrimeentekhabat88.blogfa.com/

Not voting is a great protest in itself ... it takes the propaganda tool away from criminal moslem clerics .. they can not claim millions and millions of citizens believe in their "democratic" system, therefore, they participated in its process.  NOT VOTING IS A VOTE FOR "I DO NOT WANT IRI SYSTEM". 

Mr. ET

I have never understood people who proudly announce that they have never, not once, voted during the IRI rule.  To vote is to be counted.  To not to vote is not to be counted, pure and simple.

If only people knew how much IRI rulers would love for everyone to refrain from voting, they would not play these childish games with a nation's destiny.  I am tired of hearing people saying that it makes no difference who is elected in Iran.  That is at best a very negligent and irresponsible statement.  It does matter who people vote for.  If it didn't, we wouldn't see the mullahs and their midgets squirming everytime trying to push their candidates and to tamper with election results.  With all his failures and shortcomings, it did make a difference to the people of Iran when Khatami was in office. 

The Guardian Council is a testament to the cruel and totalitarian regime that IRI is, I know.  But even so and with their unfair vetting processes which eliminates the most liberal of the candidates, each time a few more moderate candidates do find their way onto the ballots, enabling people to cast their votes of protest.

Let's not be mistaken here, since we all know this is not a free election because of the processes implemented by the Guardian Council.  However, for the past 30 years people of Iran have voted "in protest" to hand-picked candidates of the rulers, voting for their opponents.  This election is no different.  Mr. Khamenei wants Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected.  Everyone should vote for his opposition.  End of that story.

To abstain from voting and conceding this election to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to agree to four more years of international pressure and threats on the poor people of Iran, of "morality police" beating up our youth, of Saeed Mortazavi and his ilk arresting, trying, imprisoning, torturing and occasionally killing our best and our brightest of journalists, writers, bloggers, and thinkers, and to Iranian nation's remaining in harm's way through threats of military attacks incited by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's irresponsible management of Iran and Iran's foreign policy. 

In my opinion boycotting these elections will be an extremely irresponsible act.