June 16 at 11:41AM
I-ra-ndecision 2009: The Daily Show Chooses to Treat News from Iran as Though It Were Actual News
Earlier this morning, Andrew Sullivan shared this comment from a reader…
"Over the weekend, attempting to get the latest news on the Iran elections aftermath, I tuned into 'The Situation Room' on CNN. Wolf Blitzer began the program with the latest on the David Letterman/Sarah Palin uproar.
"Meanwhile, last night the Daily Show led off with the story of the Iran elections. They've even had a correspondent actually in Iran the last couple weeks."
To be fair, I suspect that CNN was told that they were supposed to treat this like it was something that actually mattered…
The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.
More actual coverage of news after the jump…
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You get the idea that the Iranians are way more upset about this than the Americans were with Bush v Gore. And they vote with tupperware boxes and finger prints. Was there a pattern? Did the green neighborhoods have longer lines because they suspiciously had less tupperware boxes? Was Pat Buchanan's name on the ballot too close to Mousavi's and was that confusing to the elderly? Was there less voter turnout because there was a rumor that if they have old parking tickets and tried to vote in the green neighborhoods they would get arrested? Did Mousavi get swift boated by round the clock tv commercials? Or was he just too boring of a candidate that Iranians felt like they couldn't have a beer with? Sounds like they need a small group of men and a few women dressed in black robes to settle this once and for all.
i guess achmadimajob hasn't started ACORN over there yet…
The opposition = iranian george bush
Am I the only one who noticed that the decision that the election was maybe a fraud came AFTER Ahmadinejad's victory was assured? Funny how long it took to put the election in doubt. And Jon Stewart ate up this official line, too.
There either were or were not international observers for the election. If there weren't, that should have been on the front page of every newspaper in Europe and America BEFORE the results were in. If there were observers,on the other hand, then they were a little late in reporting their findings!
From another perspective:
http://www.understandingiran.com/2009/06/polls-prior-to-election-by-non-profit.html
@BillDee.. The problem was the speed at which A.'s victory was assured. Normally, results aren't announced for 3 days. In this case, it was announced the same night, (apparently) before some polling places closed. They hadn't stopped counting the votes. Of course the public and opposition candidates spoke up after the announcement, they couldn't react fast enough.
Also, they don't have independent election monitors there, its a system involving monitors appointed by the candidates (rumors that the opposition's candidates were denied access to the polls abound). Other unconfirmed reports from journalists that people working at the polls (the one story I recall is quoting a man who had ID verifying him as a vote counter) did not even get to do their job, which was to count votes.
I don't really understand the comments so far… Opposition = Iranian George Bush, etc. etc, do you all want him back in for another term?
"Am I the only one who noticed that the decision that the election was maybe a fraud came AFTER Ahmadinejad's victory was assured?"
Actually, I read a number of articles before the election saying he was predicted to lose horribly if the results weren't fixed. There was TONS of speculation on this before the polls even opened.
People are dying in the middle of streets everyday. Ahmadinejad's regime is killing students right inside their dorms and classrooms. Just giving a link to one of the scenes where a young student in Isfahan University is dying in front of his classmates:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-272939
Comedy is great, we love you John. Just don't walk away from this lightly and make a few pokes at Ahmadinejad on pronouncing his name. This is now way beyond debating who is winner or not and if they counted fairly or cheated. They are slaughtering people in the worst possible way. Let people know while laughing at the election matters and Ahmadinejad, young people are vanishing.
I think MM's link (in case you missed it:http://www.understandingiran.com/2009/06/polls-prior-to-election-by-non-profit.html) really explains the situation. In many other elections the word of fraud was out way before the results, even before the polls closed. This one took a little more time.
How strange that the candidate from a minority ethnic group lost in a Middle Eastern country! It happened in Iraq, it even happens in Israel with the Separdic Jews. And in Iran, according to the above survey, Mousavi didn't even have the support of the Azeris.
What difference does it make; You Americans chose Bush the popularly referred to as mentally retarded, did it democratically. he messed you, Democracy of theocracy or dictatorship, no difference!!