truth vs. lies [green revolution (Iran)]

 .. Q: What else is new? ...

   .. A: Not a lot - for a looong time, now

-=*=-

[NOTE: THIS IS A COMMENT TO green revolution (Iran); BLOGGER HAS IMPOSED A 4095 CHAR LIMIT]

-=*=-

There's a subsequent Cole (sorry; long 'snip'):

Sunday, June 14, 2009
Class v. Culture Wars in Iranian Elections: Rejecting Charges of a North Tehran Fallacy
  «Khatami received 70 percent of the vote in 1997. He then got 78% of the vote in 2001, despite a crowded field. In 2000, his reform movement captured 65% of the seats in parliament. He is a nice man, but you couldn't exactly categorize him as a union man or a special hit with farmers.

The evidence is that in the past little over a decade, Iran's voters had become especially interested in expanding personal liberties, in expanding women's rights, and in a wider field of legitimate expression for culture (not just high culture but even just things like Iranian rock music). The extreme puritanism of the hardliners grated on people.

The problem for the reformers of the late 1990s and early 2000s was that they did not actually control much, despite holding elected office. Important government policy and regulation was in the hands of the unelected, clerical side of the government. The hard line clerics just shut down reformist newspapers, struck down reformist legislation, and blocked social and economic reform. The Bush administration was determined to hang Khatami out to dry, ensuring that the reformers could never bring home any tangible success in foreign policy or foreign investment. Thus, in the 2004 parliamentary elections, literally thousands of reformers were simply struck off the ballot and not allowed to run. This application of a hard line litmus test in deciding who could run for office produced a hard line parliament, naturally enough.» 
[juancole.com/]

A commenter cites a Fisk:

Iran erupts as voters back 'the Democrator'
A smash in the face, a kick in the balls – that's how police deal with protesters after Iran's poll kept the hardliners in power
Sunday, 14 June 2009
  «An interval here for lunch with a true and faithful friend of the Islamic Republic, a man I have known for many years who has risked his life and been imprisoned for Iran and who has never lied to me. We dined in an all-Iranian-food restaurant, along with his wife. He has often criticised the regime. A man unafraid. But I must repeat what he said. "The election figures are correct, Robert. Whatever you saw in Tehran, in the cities and in thousands of towns outside, they voted overwhelmingly for Ahmadinejad. Tabriz voted 80 per cent for Ahmadinejad. It was he who opened university courses there for the Azeri people to learn and win degrees in Azeri. In Mashad, the second city of Iran, there was a huge majority for Ahmadinejad after the imam of the great mosque attacked Rafsanjani of the Expediency Council who had started to ally himself with Mousavi. They knew what that meant: they had to vote for Ahmadinejad."» 
[independent/fisk]

(Note: This is a quote of a quote of a quote. Some 'perspective' could be applied.)

-=*=-

Then, we take a 'breather.'

When it comes to 'democracy' we the sheople - in Aus; US, UK, Israel even - let alone Iran - simply do not have a 'prayer.'

(And "NO!" - I'm bloody-well *NOT* a 'believer!' Cooling down...)

-=*=-

An 'oldie' for sure, but still applicable; I recall it was in the time of Gorton (we lived in his street and were invited to the 'moving-out' party (vetted by ASIO - one supposes; recall the Petty caricature.)) Ooops! Ah, yeah: "The Mushroom Club." See? - Told you: 'still applicable.'

One hardly needs a Sherlock to detect it; and not even a TV to broadcast it. The AusBC 'hoodwinked' me back around '67, and all we had then was (steam powered) radio. I'm talking about the utterly vicious lie that the AusBC propagated, the one about "David vs. Goliath" going down in the ME. We (those with eyes to see) now know the truth about murdering, stealing IL, and the all the poor, hapless Palestinians, killed outright or 'merely' driven off their land. (Q: Did you know, that Deir Yassin is only about 1400m from IL's new, you-beaut *holocaust* museum? Yeah.))

Where was I? Oh, yeah (again); democracy. Briefly, of what one might term the absolute minimum constellation, namely a switched-on and educated public, a wide range of honest candidates, and free, full and fair information-flows - we've got, effectively - *none*.

It ill behoves the US - or any of innumerable other dysfunctional democracies - to comment on any other country (Iran, say) - before they properly fix their own systems.

-=*end*=-

PS Did you note in passing in the Cole citation, how the US regime as good as crippled a genuine reforming faction in Iran? «The Bush administration was determined to hang Khatami out to dry.» Charming, eh? Shows the damage such erring ideologues can do. Notice also, how a popular govt. had so little effect on the actual policies being implemented. Sound familiar?

Q: If you wanted Aus to stop siding with the (rabid dog) US, or the (illegitimate tail) Israel, or bring our boys home from Afghanistan, who would you vote for?

QED, I'd say.

(QED? But - s/he's not on the list??! - (Exactly - slow learner.))