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Last night, Iran’s official news agency declared Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the landslide winner of Iran’s presidential elections, reportedly carrying nearly two-thirds of the votes. This morning, amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud, Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi issued a brief statement that I have translated to English here:

In the Name of God

To the honorable nation of Iran, thank you for your enthusiastic turnout and widespread support. Despite numerous instances of cheating and sabotage and widespread shortcomings, incoming reports indicate that a decisive majority of the people’s votes were cast for this servant of theirs. I ask the repsonsible authorities to take utmost care in counting the ballots, and I announce that otherwise, I will employ all legal means to vindicate the lawful rights of the people. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the honorable Iranian nation to be prepared for a victory celebration on the eve of the birth of her eminence Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her).

Mir Hossein Mousavi
Morning of 13 June 2009

The birthday of Fatima Zahra is to be observed on Sunday, 14 June, so the celebration is planned for tonight. A confrontation seems inevitable.

Attention Americans: Al Jazeera Is Not a Mouthpiece for Terrorists

The independent Doha, Qatar-based television news network, Al Jazeera, has been so castigated by Bush Administration officials that given a word association test, many Americans would probably say “Al Qaeda” upon hearing “Al Jazeera.” And yet Al Jazeera is hardly a mouthpiece for terrorists. Rather, it is a secular, serious, and highly professional news organization that offers some of the most informative televised reporting from the Middle East. In 2006, the network launched Al Jazeera English, a 24-hour international news program in English. Unfortunately, due no doubt to the smears it has endured, few U.S. cable television companies carry Al Jazeera English.

The Internet to the Rescue

Ayman Mohyeldin reporting live from Gaza for Al Jazeera English

Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, writing for the Huffington Post in an article titled, “Al Jazeera English Beats Israel’s Ban on Reporters in Gaza with Exclusive Coverage,” explains how to receive Al Jazeera English live via the Internet in high quality, freely and legally. To start watching now, download and install the free program Livestation, which is available in Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux versions. Registration is required, but is free. Alternatively, you can watch selected reports on Al Jazeera’s YouTube channel.

Although the summer solstice actually occurred on 21 June 2008 at 01:59 hours Central European Daylight time, the 20th was the longest day of the year, and I decided to bike out to the dunes along the North Sea coast to greet the sunrise and bid the sun farewell on that day:

The Hague’s Stadhuis, or city hall, regularly hosts free art exhibitions. Passing through the cathedral-ceilinged atrium today, I encountered what appeared to be a colossal representation of the lifeless head of U.S. President George W. Bush. Sure enough, it’s a vinyl-covered nylon fabric sculpture by contemporary American artist Paul McCarthy titled “Bush” (2007):

As American drivers come to grips with $4.00-a-gallon gasoline and presidential hopeful John McCain suggests a temporary “tax holiday,” it’s worth noting that in some places, it’s been a long time since gas was so cheap as that. The photo you see here shows fuel prices at my neighborhood gas station in The Hague, The Netherlands on Saturday, 10 May 2008. Prices are in euros per liter. Converted to dollars per gallon at prevailing exchange rates, the prices are:

1. $9.14 for regular unleaded
2. $9.81 for premium
3. $7.96 for diesel

My last trip to the gas station (in a Chrysler Voyager) cost about $150. The U.S. can (and inevitably will have to) adjust to higher fuel prices, just as Europe has long since done.

A clever parody of the bizarre fusion between evangelical Christianity and nationalism in America:

For the first time in a long time, there is a candidate for president of the United States whom I can enthusiastically support: Barack Obama. I’m deeply impressed by his intelligence and candor, and in particular his early public opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq and the fact that he does not accept campaign contributions from corporate interests or lobbyists.

Hello, my name is George Maschke, and welcome to my home page! I am in the process of developing this site around the open source package, WordPress. If you wish to contact me, you can reach me by e-mail to maschke [at] zonnet.nl.