Iranian Elections rigged?

Here’s the article at Hot Air

As I’ve said below, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Iran has a vested interest in keeping Ahmadenijad in power. The reasons are

1. They gain some prestige in the Arab/Muslim world by being the defenders of Islam. Never mind that the Koran says that Muslims should be peaceful people.
2. The mullahs don’t want to give up on the fight that they have been waging with more moderate elements of Islam.  This fight brings them attention and credibility.
3. Since the Shah was deposed, it’s become quite clear that the moderates in Iranian society are pushed to the margins, put in prison or run out of the country altogether.  When that happens, civil society cannot continue in the way we usually recognize it.
4. No amount of back-tracking or climbing down is going to put the Iranians in a better light if they give up their nuclear program.  They know the world distrusts them and except for Russia, China and a few other countries, they won’t get much help initially if sanctions aren’t lifted.

Given all of this, I suppose Obama has a bad hand.  It’s a hand that has been in the making for over 30 years. I know people will say military action is needed, but the practicalities of doing something on that front are quite thorny. Sanctions might be the only option, but Obama didn’t do himself any favors with the Cairo speech.  Why?  The moderates in Iran who could effect change from inside have been largely silenced and neutralized. So, the clock keeps ticking…

Ahmadenijad Relected!?!

Well, they don’t exactly have free and fair elections in Iran, so this was a sham exercise from the get-go.

I wonder now that he has been relected… What about these questions

1. He’s going to continue pushing for nuclear material to put into a platform that can be launched. That is a given. Will the mullahs become a voice of reason and rein him and the rhetoric in?
2. Netanyahu over in Israel isn’t going to sit idly by and watch this happen. So, how long before Israel has no choice but to act?
3. Obama already signaled in his Cairo speech that the US policy isn’t going to be favorable towards Israel. That sends precisely the wrong set of messages to the Arab and Muslim world.  So, will Iran act with impunity because they no that NO ONE is going to challenge their ascension to the nuclear club.

Those readers out there old enough to remember the last dialliances we had with Iran in the late 1970s can remember it did not end well. I ask the question: Why should we believe the Iranians want anything good to happen to ANY country that is aligned with Western interests?

Here’s Allahpundit’s excellent analysis

Katia’s look back and ahead – June 12

Since there is a whole universe of information out there on current events, one could wonder what things went on this week and what might happen next week.

So, here’s my take on the important things of the past week that mainstream media outlets might not tell you about

Things that happened this week which you should know…

1. The American Medical Association came out against one key provision in Obama’s healthcare bill, which is the creation of a government run medical plan (public option) that would have the power to drive private insurers out of business.  Why? The government is going to cap the profits of the private insurers and undercut their prices with the public plan.  This essentially drives the private insurers out of business. The impact of this decision by the AMA is unknown, but it certainly indicates that all the support the President counted on from the medical interests may not be so easy to come by. Click here to read Hot Air’s analysis
2. The US government released some terrorists from Gitmo to Bermuda and it appears as though Palau might be another destination.  Guess if we can’t expect the Europeans to take them and we’re committed to closing Gitmo AND they can’t come here, we’re stuck with this option of dumping them into third countries that no one cares about.  Uhhh… Wait a minute.  Is that a terrorist from Gitmo that appeared in a New York courtroom??
3. I’ll leave the reader to find the articles over at Hot Air about Sarah Palin and her dustup with David Letterman, but the latest on this certainly indicates to me that the guy doesn’t have a clue. Click here for the non-apology by Letterman.  He basically used his Top 10 list on Monday to make a joke about Palin’s daughter being knocked up by A-Rod, a player for the New York Yankees.  What he didn’t realize is Sarah Palin had her 14 year old daughter with her at the game.  Bristol Palin, the 19 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, who has a son, was probably the intended object of the joke, but she wasn’t even in New York!  Geez Dave… Get your facts straight, and might I suggest that the daughters and sons of politicians be off limits to your just below third grade level humor…
4. The government printed more money this week.  There’s a good explanation of the Laffer “inflation” curve, showing the spike in money supply.  What that means to you and I is more inflation in the future.  If the government issues debt and no one buys it, we buy it, meaning the Federal Reserve buys the Treasury notes that are issued by the US Treasury. It’s just like the left hand paying the right hand 10 bucks and saying you now have 10 new dollars to spend.  Read this to get the details, but watching the upcoming T-bill auctions to find out who is (or is not) buying our debt is a good idea.

What to look for next week

1. Watch what happens to the healthcare bill and whether the AMA’s decision starts to imperil its support
2. See if the cap and trade bill remains dead
3. The guy who is now running GM admits he knows nothing about cars.  If the company comes out of bankruptcy, wonder if anyone will be buying GM stock.  Uhhh… wait. The government and unions own most of the stock anyway, so why bother…
4. If yet another explanation comes out for the Air France jet disaster.  First it was lightning, then electrical problems, then pitot-static sensor issues, and now they tell us terrorism may be potentially in the mix. C’mon guys… Next time, get the story straight!  The families deserve better than this!