I want you to pay attention to this: Iran Might Be Falling Apart

[elfs]

Protestors rescue riot officer

For some reason, this is just not getting the press it deserves. The vote in Iran was completely rigged. We are getting reports that there wasn't even fraudulent voting, the mullahs just ordered the ministry of the interior to throw out the vote, fake up numbers, and announce Ahmadinejad the victor. Many network services are down, to keep news from getting in and out, but there are too many channels. The photographer Merat has an amazing collection of images from Tehran, including the one to left where protestors rescued a riot cop to protect him from the angrier parts of the mob after he was kicked to the ground.

I know some of my readers don't care for political stuff, but this is important. For thirty years Iran has been a schizophrenic mess and a threat to its region. Now it's coming apart at the seams, and we would be remiss if we did not give this the attention in deserves.

Andrew Sullivan has been posting furiously all day, including this gem from Nate Silvers, who discovers that the election results graph is odd, but not statistically so, and is not proof the election was rigged. John Cole's analysis that Ahmadinejad's support in districts known to be hostile to his policies shows him winning with overt consistency has better context, I think, and deserves more weight. Ethnic Azeris and Lurs, who normally vote for their own candidates, seem to have voted for Ahmadinejad in exactly the same statistical numbers as other regions, and I agree, that seems wrong.