Defying a warning by Iran's Revolutionary Guards against opposition demonstrations, around 1,000 protesters gathered at a Tehran square Monday, according to witnesses. There are severe media restrictions inside Iran. Reuters -Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards on Monday threatened to crack down on street protests after opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi called on supporters to stage more demonstrations over the disputed June 12 election. "In the current sensitive situation ... the Guards will firmly confront in a revolutionary way rioters and those who violate the law," said a statement on the Guards' website.
Reuters -Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards on Monday threatened to crack down on street protests after opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi called on supporters to stage more demonstrations over the disputed June 12 election. "In the current sensitive situation ... the Guards will firmly confront in a revolutionary way rioters and those who violate the law," said a statement on the Guards' website.
TEHRAN -- Locked in a bitter contest with Iranians who say the presidential elections were rigged, the authorities have acknowledged that the number of votes cast in 50 cities exceeded the actual number of voters, state television reported Monday following assertions by the country's supreme leader that the ballot was fair.But the authorities insisted that discrepancies, which could affect three million votes, did not violate Iranian law and the country's influential Guardian Council said it was not clear whether they would decisively change the election result.The news emerged on the English-language Press TV as a bitter rift among Iran's ruling clerics deepened over the disputed election. The outcome of the vote, awarding a lopsided victory to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has convulsed Tehran in the worst violence in 30 years, with the government trying to link the defiant loser to terrorists and detaining relatives of his powerful backer, a founder of the Islamic republic.The loser, Mir Hussein Moussavi, the moderate reform candidate who contends that the June 12 election was stolen from him, fired back at his accusers on Sunday night in a posting on his Web site, calling on his own supporters to demonstrate peacefully despite stern warnings from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that no protests of the vote would be allowed. "Protesting to lies and fraud is your right," Mr. Moussavi said in a challenge to Ayatollah Khamenei's authority.
But the authorities insisted that discrepancies, which could affect three million votes, did not violate Iranian law and the country's influential Guardian Council said it was not clear whether they would decisively change the election result.
The news emerged on the English-language Press TV as a bitter rift among Iran's ruling clerics deepened over the disputed election. The outcome of the vote, awarding a lopsided victory to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has convulsed Tehran in the worst violence in 30 years, with the government trying to link the defiant loser to terrorists and detaining relatives of his powerful backer, a founder of the Islamic republic.
The loser, Mir Hussein Moussavi, the moderate reform candidate who contends that the June 12 election was stolen from him, fired back at his accusers on Sunday night in a posting on his Web site, calling on his own supporters to demonstrate peacefully despite stern warnings from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that no protests of the vote would be allowed. "Protesting to lies and fraud is your right," Mr. Moussavi said in a challenge to Ayatollah Khamenei's authority.
Western powers are seeking to undermine Iran by spreading "anarchy and vandalism", the foreign ministry says.A spokesman said foreign media were "mouthpieces" of enemy governments seeking Iran's disintegration. He spoke as Tehran remained tense but quiet amid heavy security aimed at preventing new protests against the result of Iran's presidential election. Iran's Guardian Council says it found irregularities in 50 constituencies, but denied that affected the result.
Western powers are seeking to undermine Iran by spreading "anarchy and vandalism", the foreign ministry says.
A spokesman said foreign media were "mouthpieces" of enemy governments seeking Iran's disintegration.
He spoke as Tehran remained tense but quiet amid heavy security aimed at preventing new protests against the result of Iran's presidential election.
Iran's Guardian Council says it found irregularities in 50 constituencies, but denied that affected the result.
[-c contacted me yesterday. She is a "perennial lurker" here and "an Iranian ex-pat living in the US". I asked her what she might want to add and the she wrote back the following . The text is unaltered but for a personal closing paragraph directed to me which I decided to omit - b.]by -c I'm not really sure that anyone can add anything of value at this point. We have to wait to and see. Having said that, I will share my thoughts on what is happening now and what bothers me about what I see and hear. Apologies if my thoughts are disjointed; I've tried to lay them out as best I could. Believe it or not, I've also tried to keep it brief -- there are many aspects to what is happening, and I only touch upon one or two that resonated with me. I don't want to address the issue of election fraud because, frankly, I don't have a favorite in this race (I had serious problems with both candidates) and I can buy plausible scenarios for both having won. I also don't presume to speak for anyone else with my remarks. The relationship that the people of Iran have with the government is, like most things in this world, more nuanced than people on both sides would like to admit, and if one person says that they know that the majority of people feel a certain way, that person is lying. In any case, it seems as though we might be seeing the end of the protests, so some of what I write is moot. (But I will write it anyway! ;-) )The problem, in my view, is that there are three groups, all of whom are convinced that they are absolutely right and hold a majority: those who support Mousavi and think the election has been stolen from them, those who support Ahmadinejad and think that foreign elements are trying to steal the election from them, and those who hate the Islamic Republic and want it gone.
[-c contacted me yesterday. She is a "perennial lurker" here and "an Iranian ex-pat living in the US". I asked her what she might want to add and the she wrote back the following . The text is unaltered but for a personal closing paragraph directed to me which I decided to omit - b.]
by -c
I'm not really sure that anyone can add anything of value at this point. We have to wait to and see. Having said that, I will share my thoughts on what is happening now and what bothers me about what I see and hear. Apologies if my thoughts are disjointed; I've tried to lay them out as best I could. Believe it or not, I've also tried to keep it brief -- there are many aspects to what is happening, and I only touch upon one or two that resonated with me.
I don't want to address the issue of election fraud because, frankly, I don't have a favorite in this race (I had serious problems with both candidates) and I can buy plausible scenarios for both having won. I also don't presume to speak for anyone else with my remarks. The relationship that the people of Iran have with the government is, like most things in this world, more nuanced than people on both sides would like to admit, and if one person says that they know that the majority of people feel a certain way, that person is lying. In any case, it seems as though we might be seeing the end of the protests, so some of what I write is moot. (But I will write it anyway! ;-) )
The problem, in my view, is that there are three groups, all of whom are convinced that they are absolutely right and hold a majority: those who support Mousavi and think the election has been stolen from them, those who support Ahmadinejad and think that foreign elements are trying to steal the election from them, and those who hate the Islamic Republic and want it gone.
... the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts. The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed. The "monitoring center," installed within the government's telecom monopoly, was part of a larger contract with Iran that included mobile-phone networking technology, Mr. Roome said. "If you sell networks, you also, intrinsically, sell the capability to intercept any communication that runs over them," said Mr. Roome. <...> Countries with repressive governments aren't the only ones interested in such technology. Britain has a list of blocked sites, and the German government is considering similar measures. In the U.S., the National Security Agency has such capability, which was employed as part of the Bush administration's "Terrorist Surveillance Program." A White House official wouldn't comment on if or how this is being used under the Obama administration. The Australian government is experimenting with Web-site filtering to protect its youth from online pornography, an undertaking that has triggered criticism that it amounts to government-backed censorship.
... the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts.
The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.
The "monitoring center," installed within the government's telecom monopoly, was part of a larger contract with Iran that included mobile-phone networking technology, Mr. Roome said.
"If you sell networks, you also, intrinsically, sell the capability to intercept any communication that runs over them," said Mr. Roome.
<...>
Countries with repressive governments aren't the only ones interested in such technology. Britain has a list of blocked sites, and the German government is considering similar measures. In the U.S., the National Security Agency has such capability, which was employed as part of the Bush administration's "Terrorist Surveillance Program." A White House official wouldn't comment on if or how this is being used under the Obama administration.
The Australian government is experimenting with Web-site filtering to protect its youth from online pornography, an undertaking that has triggered criticism that it amounts to government-backed censorship.
One in four men in South Africa admit to rape, according to a new study by the country's Medical Research Council.Of the 1738 men who were surveyed, 28 percent said they had raped a woman or girl, and three percent said they had raped a man or boy. Almost half of those who carried out rape admitted that they had done so more than once.Professor Rachel Jewkes who conducted the survey says: "We have dominant ideas about masculinity in South Africa which are based on the idea that men should be in control of women and that men are in the superior position hierarchically towards women, and that provides a framework that legitimates men doing whatever they can to women, including forcefully taking sex from women where they're able to actually carry it out." Risk of HIV The study was carried out in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. It found that three out of four rapists were teenagers when they first attacked. One in 20 men admitted that they had raped a woman or girl in the last year. And worryingly, Professor Jewkes said that the study found that men who are physically violent towards women are twice as likely to be HIV positive. "I think what that points to is this clustering of male violent and anti-social behaviour which are all rooted from an underlying idea of masculinity. It legitimates the men having multiple partners, engaging in transactional sex, engaging in other forms of risky behaviour which are the reasons you see such a high prevalence of HIV in that group."
Of the 1738 men who were surveyed, 28 percent said they had raped a woman or girl, and three percent said they had raped a man or boy. Almost half of those who carried out rape admitted that they had done so more than once.Professor Rachel Jewkes who conducted the survey says: "We have dominant ideas about masculinity in South Africa which are based on the idea that men should be in control of women and that men are in the superior position hierarchically towards women, and that provides a framework that legitimates men doing whatever they can to women, including forcefully taking sex from women where they're able to actually carry it out." Risk of HIV The study was carried out in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. It found that three out of four rapists were teenagers when they first attacked. One in 20 men admitted that they had raped a woman or girl in the last year. And worryingly, Professor Jewkes said that the study found that men who are physically violent towards women are twice as likely to be HIV positive. "I think what that points to is this clustering of male violent and anti-social behaviour which are all rooted from an underlying idea of masculinity. It legitimates the men having multiple partners, engaging in transactional sex, engaging in other forms of risky behaviour which are the reasons you see such a high prevalence of HIV in that group."
Officials from the Foreign Ministry in Berlin believe that the Germans kidnapped in Yemen were abducted because of their missionary activities. Local Muslims had threatened one of the group and told him to stop proselytizing -- a warning the German ignored. The German Christians kidnapped recently in Yemen were probably the victims of an act of revenge, SPIEGEL has learned. According to information obtained from the German Foreign Ministry's crisis task force responsible for the case, a dispute took place in Saada a few months ago related to missionary activities by one of the Germans. A church in Wolfsburg, Germany, pays tribute to the nurses Rita S. and Anita G., who are believed to have been shot by their kidnappers. The task force has evidence that angry Muslims threatened the German engineer Johannes H. and demanded that he cease his attempts at proselytizing. Johannes H., who is from the eastern German state of Saxony, described the incident in a personal newsletter he sent to a number of friends in Germany. According to the letter, Johannes H. met a Muslim in a teahouse in the town of Saada and discussed spiritual topics with him. "I also encouraged him to read the Bible," Johannes H. wrote.
Officials from the Foreign Ministry in Berlin believe that the Germans kidnapped in Yemen were abducted because of their missionary activities. Local Muslims had threatened one of the group and told him to stop proselytizing -- a warning the German ignored.
The German Christians kidnapped recently in Yemen were probably the victims of an act of revenge, SPIEGEL has learned. According to information obtained from the German Foreign Ministry's crisis task force responsible for the case, a dispute took place in Saada a few months ago related to missionary activities by one of the Germans.
A church in Wolfsburg, Germany, pays tribute to the nurses Rita S. and Anita G., who are believed to have been shot by their kidnappers. The task force has evidence that angry Muslims threatened the German engineer Johannes H. and demanded that he cease his attempts at proselytizing.
Johannes H., who is from the eastern German state of Saxony, described the incident in a personal newsletter he sent to a number of friends in Germany. According to the letter, Johannes H. met a Muslim in a teahouse in the town of Saada and discussed spiritual topics with him. "I also encouraged him to read the Bible," Johannes H. wrote.
Germany's rail operator Deutsche Bahn wants to help rebuild Iraq's rail network. CEO Rüdiger Grube aims to draw up an initial agreement with the Iraqi Transport Minister later this week. Iraqi train passengers leave a station in Baghdad. Deutsche Bahn, which runs Germany's railway network, has set its sights on rebuilding the Iraqi railways. Deutsche Bahn's Chief Executive Rüdiger Grube is meeting with Iraqi Transport Minister Amir Abdul-Jabar later this week to seal an initial agreement. The company is particulary interested in working to rebuild the country's freight train network and is hoping to operate it later with Iraqi partners. There are still no details of the value of the investment planned nor the scale of the project. Until now, talks between Deutsche Bahn and Iraq have remained highly secretive. The company's former boss Hartmut Mehdorn first sent reprepresentative to Iraq a year ago to evaluate the business opportunites in the country.
Germany's rail operator Deutsche Bahn wants to help rebuild Iraq's rail network. CEO Rüdiger Grube aims to draw up an initial agreement with the Iraqi Transport Minister later this week.
Iraqi train passengers leave a station in Baghdad. Deutsche Bahn, which runs Germany's railway network, has set its sights on rebuilding the Iraqi railways. Deutsche Bahn's Chief Executive Rüdiger Grube is meeting with Iraqi Transport Minister Amir Abdul-Jabar later this week to seal an initial agreement. The company is particulary interested in working to rebuild the country's freight train network and is hoping to operate it later with Iraqi partners.
There are still no details of the value of the investment planned nor the scale of the project.
Until now, talks between Deutsche Bahn and Iraq have remained highly secretive. The company's former boss Hartmut Mehdorn first sent reprepresentative to Iraq a year ago to evaluate the business opportunites in the country.
A video of a blood-drenched young woman, purportedly killed in the Tehran protests, has become an Internet symbol of the demonstrations and heightened pressure on Iran in its battle with foreign media. International media have taken pictures from the film which has inspired an avalanche of blog and twitter comment, mainly against Iran's hardline government. After a call spread by Internet to rally at Haft-e Tir square in Tehran to pay tribute to Neda, police on Monday broke up a gathering of about 1,000 people there. <...> The people who originally posted the video on Youtube and Facebook said Neda was shot by a pro-government militia member.That information, like the fate and the identity of the young woman in the video, cannot be independently verified however. ...
A video of a blood-drenched young woman, purportedly killed in the Tehran protests, has become an Internet symbol of the demonstrations and heightened pressure on Iran in its battle with foreign media.
International media have taken pictures from the film which has inspired an avalanche of blog and twitter comment, mainly against Iran's hardline government.
After a call spread by Internet to rally at Haft-e Tir square in Tehran to pay tribute to Neda, police on Monday broke up a gathering of about 1,000 people there. <...>
The people who originally posted the video on Youtube and Facebook said Neda was shot by a pro-government militia member.
That information, like the fate and the identity of the young woman in the video, cannot be independently verified however. ...
In a speech that underscored the pressures he has had to bear during his life serving as both a spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama has said there is no need for his successor to perform the two roles. In a video clip shown to hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people gathered in the mountain town of Dharamsala, the 73-year-old said it was essential that the Tibetan community in exile embraced democracy if it were to keep step with the wider world. "The Dalai Lamas held temporal and spiritual leadership over the last 400 to 500 years. It may have been quite useful. But that period is over," said the Nobel prize winner. "Today, it is clear to the whole world that democracy is the best system despite its minor negativities. That is why it is important that Tibetans also move with the larger world community."
In a video clip shown to hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people gathered in the mountain town of Dharamsala, the 73-year-old said it was essential that the Tibetan community in exile embraced democracy if it were to keep step with the wider world.
"The Dalai Lamas held temporal and spiritual leadership over the last 400 to 500 years. It may have been quite useful. But that period is over," said the Nobel prize winner. "Today, it is clear to the whole world that democracy is the best system despite its minor negativities. That is why it is important that Tibetans also move with the larger world community."
Red Line Collision Kills at Least Six | Washington Post One Train Rear-Ends Another at Fort Totten, Hurting at Least 70
Two Red Line Metrorail trains collided this evening between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations, killing at least six people and injuring 70 in what authorities called the transit system's deadliest crash ever. The trains struck with such force that part of one vaulted on top of the other.
I have friends and relatives who live near that Metro stop, but fortunately they all seem to be fine.
Pretty amazing pictures out of it. It had to have been a vicious collision to send one of the cars up top that way.
Per BBC News just now on tv, there may still be people trapped inside. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Per BBC News just now on tv, there may still be people trapped inside.
I was hearing that a few hours ago, around sundown, but wasn't sure whether it was still the case. I'm still hearing helicopters going overhead quite a bit, could be medics or police.
I can't for the life of me figure out how it would've happened. There are supposed to be automatic relays to stop trains from getting to close to each other. And the it looks like the second train was moving really fast:
But even if the signal system failed to stop the train, the operator should have intervened and applied emergency brakes, safety experts familiar with Metro's operations say. The position of the second train after the crash -- the fact that its first car came to rest atop the other train -- indicates that the second train was traveling at high speed. In the section of track where the accident occurred, the maximum speed is supposed to be 58 mph. Metro officials would not say how fast the trains were going because of the ongoing NTSB investigation.
I watched part of the NTSB briefing, and the board member said she didn't know whether it was going to be possible to tell how fast the train was going, because she wasn't sure what kind of equipment was on the trains in question, or whether it survived the crash. I'm reading that the Red Line is the oldest of the system's lines, and the trains may have more outdated equipment than the newer ones on, say, the Green Line.
The Moorgate tube crash was a railway disaster on the London Underground, which occurred at 8:46am on 28 February 1975. A southbound train on the Northern Line (Highbury Branch) crashed into the tunnel end beyond the platform at Moorgate station. Forty-three people were killed at the scene, either from the impact or from suffocation, and several more subsequently died from severe injuries; the greatest loss of life in peacetime on the London Underground, and the second greatest loss of life on the entire London Transport system (the first being the 7 July 2005 London bombings). The cause of the incident was never conclusively determined.[1]
The Moorgate tube crash was a railway disaster on the London Underground, which occurred at 8:46am on 28 February 1975.
A southbound train on the Northern Line (Highbury Branch) crashed into the tunnel end beyond the platform at Moorgate station. Forty-three people were killed at the scene, either from the impact or from suffocation, and several more subsequently died from severe injuries; the greatest loss of life in peacetime on the London Underground, and the second greatest loss of life on the entire London Transport system (the first being the 7 July 2005 London bombings). The cause of the incident was never conclusively determined.[1]
