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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Opposition boycott Iran polls


Iran opened legislative elections on Friday, with the country s 48 million voters being called out in what is seen as a test of how much support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has among ruling conservatives. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei cast his ballot moments after polling began, state television showed. "The more people come and vote, the more beneficial it is for the future, prestige, security and immunity of the country," he said. He framed the poll as part of Iran s showdown with the West, saying: "The arrogant powers, who have been defeated and have been delivered a blow to the mouth, are repeating the issue of sanctions and human rights." The elections, to fill the 290 seats in parliament, are being boycotted by Iran s main opposition and reformist groups, the leaders of which have been under house arrest for a year. It is the first nationwide poll since the disputed 2009 re-election of Ahmadinejad, which sparked widespread protests by opposition groups crying fraud and a bloody regime crackdown. The elections are essentially a struggle between conservatives who back Ahmadinejad and a hardline current that despises him. Each claims stronger fealty than the other to Khamenei. No protests were expected. Iran s police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, said security forces were "fully prepared" to counter any problems. There were no international observers present to watch over the vote. The Guardian Council, which vetted the 3,400 candidates allowed to run and will validate the results, called the idea of observers "an insult to the people" of Iran. The council s spokesman, Abbas Ali Kadkhodai, predicted on Thursday that "the turnout will be more glorious than in the previous elections." The last legislative elections, in 2008, had voter turnout of 55 percent, according to the official figure put out by the interior ministry. The US-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the elections would be "grossly unfair" because of the opposition boycott and the limited list of approved candidates that skewed overwhelmingly to conservative regime supports. "Iranian authorities have stacked the deck by disqualifying candidates and arbitrarily jailing key members of the reform movement," the group s Middle East director, Joe Stork, was quoted as saying. The vote was being held amid high international tensions over Iran s controversial nuclear programme, which much of the West fears masks a drive to develop the ability to make atomic weapons. The United States and Europe have imposed punishing sanctions on Iran s economy, driving its currency down and making it increasingly difficult for it to sell its oil. Israel has threatened military action against Iranian nuclear facilities. Tehran, which denies it seeks an atomic arsenal, has responded to the pressure and Israeli threat with menaces of its own. It has said it could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, helping to send global oil prices sharply higher. It has also warned of a "devastating" military response if Israel attacks. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last week it "continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran s nuclear programme." IAEA inspectors visited Tehran February 20-21 to try to clear up suspicions, but their requests to see the key military site of Parchin, thought to host blast experiments to design a nuclear warhead, were rebuffed.

Liverpool vs Arsenal


Arsenal will attempt to build on the euphoria generated by their demolition of Tottenham when they travel to Liverpool on Saturday in what is a pivotal Premier League match for both clubs. The Gunners gave their rapidly disintegrating season the kiss of life last weekend when they fought back from 2-0 down to thrash third-placed Tottenham 5-2 to regain their place in the top four, at the expense of Chelsea. It remains to be seen though whether Sunday’s dazzling win at the Emirates marks a significant momentum shift for Arsenal or whether it is the latest in a long line of false dawns for Arsene Wenger’s men. A victory at Anfield in Saturday’s early kick-off would see Arsenal move to within four points of Spurs, who face a daunting home clash against second-placed Manchester United on Sunday. However Arsenal’s revival could be halted dead in its tracks by a Liverpool side brimming with optimism following their League Cup final win over Cardiff. Liverpool desperately need all three points against Arsenal to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish and a place in next year’s Champions League. Defeat to Arsenal would see Kenny Dalglish’s men left needing to overhaul a 10-point deficit to realise the club’s dream of a return to Europe’s top table. Liverpool winger Stewart Downing believes the club’s push for Europe will be boosted by last Sunday’s League Cup win over Cardiff, a victory which marked the end of a six-year trophy drought at Anfield. Meanwhile the race for top spot sees leaders Manchester City presented with another opportunity to pile the pressure on rivals United. City face Bolton at Eastlands on Saturday knowing that victory will give them a five-point lead over United ahead of their game with Spurs 24 hours later. So far reigning champions United have remained stubbornly on the coat-tails of City, most notably last weekend when they overcame a late equaliser to snatch a 2-1 win at Norwich which kept them within two points of the top. According to striker Wayne Rooney, the win over Norwich reflected United’s iron nerve forged over the course of countless league and cup triumphs. “When I was a young lad and first at the club we might have been losing a game 1-0 or 2-1 and I’ve have been saying ‘just put the ball in the box’ and panicking a bit about losing the game,” Rooney said. “Now I’m older and more experienced you know to just keep playing your game because there’s always a chance you’ll get an opportunity to score. I think that comes from playing so many games and the experience you pick up along the way.” Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas finds himself walking a tightrope yet again as his team travel to West Bromwich Albion for a game his side dare not lose. The Portuguese manager admitted he could be sacked by owner Roman Abramovich and compared his current position to the situation faced by Carlo Ancelotti, who was unceremoniously dumped at the end of the season. “We are now in the exact same moment as last year,” Villas-Boas said. “It is an exact copy. “The pattern of behaviour of the owner has led to a (manager’s) downfall in similar situations or even ‘better’ situations. “What will be the reaction? It will be one of the two, a continuation of the project and full support or just the cultural pattern that has happened before. We don’t know.” But Villas-Boas’s comments are reported to have angered senior Chelsea officials, with some newspapers claiming the 34-year-old could be fired if they fail to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals. 

Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)

Saturday
Liverpool v Arsenal (1245), Blackburn v Aston Villa, Manchester City v Bolton, QPR v Everton, Stoke v Norwich, West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea, Wigan v Swansea.

Sunday
Newcastle v Sunderland (1200), Fulham v Wolves (1405), Tottenham v Manchester United (1610).

Muslim spying in USA


New York City s Police Department is facing mounting criticism of its secret surveillance of Muslims across the Northeast, with civil liberties groups demanding an investigation and New Jersey s governor accusing the NYPD of arrogantly acting as if "their jurisdiction is the world." The intelligence-gathering was detailed recently in a series of stories by The Associated Press, which reported that police monitored mosques and Muslims around the metropolitan area and kept tabs on Muslim student groups at universities in upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The department also sent an undercover agent on a whitewater rafting trip with college students. The tactics have stirred debate over whether the NYPD is trampling on the civil rights of Muslims and illegally engaging in religious and ethnic profiling. "They should be spending their time looking at the more specific behaviors that ought to draw their attention and make them investigate a person or a group. But simply gathering to pray or going on a whitewater rafting trip really shouldn t be a source of suspicion," Mary Catherine Roper, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said Thursday. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has argued that the NYPD s actions are legal and necessary in a city under constant threat of another terrorist attack like the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and that police have the right to travel beyond the city limits to do their job. His office had no comment on the latest criticism, and the NYPD didn t respond to a request for comment. On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused the department of ignoring a key lesson of Sept. 11 by not sharing information with New Jersey law enforcement agencies when it conducted surveillance in Newark, New Jersey. Christie was U.S. attorney for New Jersey in 2007 when the intelligence-gathering occurred, and he said he doesn t recall being briefed. "9/11 was not prevented because law enforcement agencies weren t talking to each other, they were being selfish, they were being provincial, they were being paranoid, they were being arrogant," Christie said. "I do not want to return to those days." Christie said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly wouldn t want to have to explain himself if something went wrong because of a lack of coordination. During a radio program Wednesday night, Christie went even further, with some of his harshest criticism yet. He said he didn t know whether the surveillance program was "born out of arrogance, or out of paranoia, or out of both." He mocked Kelly as "all-knowing, all-seeing." And he said the NYPD had a "masters of the universe" mentality. "They think that their jurisdiction is the world," he said. "Their jurisdiction is New York City." The NYPD has said that it informed Newark officials about the intelligence operation and that Newark police were briefed before and after. New York officials said the NYPD officers were not making arrests or conducting searches in New Jersey, and were thus acting within their authority. Christie did not take issue with the intelligence-gathering itself, instead faulting the NYPD for what he portrayed as a high-handed attitude and a lack of cooperation. "I understand we need people doing covert surveillance to protect the people of our state and our region," the governor said. "No problems with that. My concern is, why can t you communicate with the people here in New Jersey, with law enforcement here in New Jersey? Are we somehow not trustworthy?" Similarly, on Thursday, Christie would not weigh in on whether he thought Muslims  civil rights were violated, saying his attorney general is looking into that. Christie s comments drew praise from Muslim leader Aref Assaf, head of the American Arab Forum, based in New Jersey. "I m so gratified. I m honored to be a resident of the state of New Jersey under his leadership," Assaf said. "He doesn t mince words. He was unambiguous about the incursion of the NYPD into our state without proper protocols." Newark Mayor Cory Booker did not address the spying during his state of the city address Thursday night, but talked about the situation with reporters afterward. Booker said Muslims in Newark had expressed deep concerns about the spying to him. He said that revelations about the spying had caused "egregious harm to Muslins in Newark." "People are saying they are afraid to pray in Mosques," Booker said. "They are afraid to eat in restaurants. A chill has been put on my community; the pain and the anguish is real. "We are in a very difficult position in our city with the climate that has been created." Booker said the city is developing new procedures in which he would be notified if a similar operation was being undertaken. The ACLU of Pennsylvania, along with 20 other organizations, including Muslim student groups at the University of Pennsylvania, called on state authorities Thursday to investigate the surveillance. A spokesman for Pennsylvania s attorney general did not immediately return a message. The ACLU of Connecticut and nine other groups made a similar request in that state. Earlier this week, the U.S. Justice Department said it is considering whether to open an investigation into the NYPD s surveillance efforts.