tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post1905209317028288593..comments2024-03-09T04:25:13.906-05:00Comments on Irtiqa: Going green in IranSalman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-64963868561343939512009-06-20T22:56:13.984-04:002009-06-20T22:56:13.984-04:00Akbar,
As you may have noticed, I did not jump th...Akbar,<br /><br />As you may have noticed, I did not jump the gun when the election results were announced. There were a number of objections that were out there from the beginning. For example, the result (with votes) was announced within 3 hours of the closing of the polls - even though there mostly paper ballots. However, this was not sufficient. However, a number of people have now done statistical analysis - both from <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/iran-does-have-some-fishy-numbers.html" rel="nofollow">electoral trends</a> - as well as looking at evidence for <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/20/AR2009062000004.html" rel="nofollow">non-randomness in data</a>. Both of those suggest there is something fishy there. When I combine this with the persistence of the protests (despite serious crackdown and threats), the division in the Guardian Council about the results with ayatollah, Hossein Ali Montazeri, saying about the election results, “no wise person in their right mind can believe”, the internal debates within Iran between conservatives and moderates over the past 10 years, then, for me, it is easier to make sense that the elections were rigged rather than the other way around. No, this is not an exact science (no repeatable experiments), but I have tried to form my opinion (and yes, in the end it is an opinion) on several lines of reasoning (as stated above).<br /><br />In fact, the Iranian street protests were also reminding me a bit of Musharraf's crackdown during the lawyer's movement and the persistence of protests with the help of texting and blogs. I also posted about that on the blog - and I find a similar sentiment in the Iranian protests.<br /><br />P.S. The only thing I watch on the picture tube (I still have an old-fashioned TV) is the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report. And usually they are quite accurate! :)Salman Hameedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-65863645628241856192009-06-20T20:31:59.402-04:002009-06-20T20:31:59.402-04:00"While there is still confusion about the mod..."While there is still confusion about the mode of rigging, it is quite clear now that the elections were indeed fixed - and fixed in a clumsy manner."<br /><br />Quite clear on what grounds? Just because some people are creating mess on the street and over-rated by some media group? Being a sciencist, sorry, scientist, don't you need some verifiable evidence to be "quite clear" on what you believe (or want to believe). Salman I would advise you to be a little critical in your outlook rather than getting your thought process being washed away by whatever you watch on your plasma screen.Akbar Hussainnoreply@blogger.com