Just as well the Devil has the best tunes

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a fit of woefully predictable stupidity,has decreed that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.

In a comment which ranks up there for ridiculous fanaticism with the Taliban, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."

Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he said.

Khamenei's views are interpreted as administrative orders for the whole country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last month Khamenei issued a controversial fatwa in which he likened his leadership to that of the Prophet Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders. (Don’t be modest!)

Houshang Asadi, a former cellmate of Khamenei before the Islamic Revolution said: "He hated the music from the beginning."

"There were times I sang a song by Banan (a popular vocalist) for him and he told me to avoid music and instead pray to God", said Asadi, who shared a cell with Khamenei for four months in Moshtarak prison in Tehran in 1976 and stayed friend with him for several years after the revolution. "The only music he liked was revolutionary and religious anthems," said Asadi.

The man has already shown he has no heart but now he proves he has no soul. Bloody idiot!

Prepare to be punched....

According to AFP Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that Iran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

"The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned," Khamenei said to a gathering of air force personnel.

I wonder what sort of punch that this will be? I doubt many will be quaking in their boots at the words of that craven little pizzle like Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad in the doghouse...

According to the Washington Post “President” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in trouble with key supporters for not bowing immediately to pressure to drop his choice for vice president

Ahmadinejad had chosen Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie as his first vice president, a job with even less power than his own but who does head cabinet meetings in Ahmadinejad’s absence. Mashai, who has been on record as saying “No nation in the world is our enemy, Iran is a friend of the nation in the United States and in Israel, and this is an honor. We view the American nation as one with the greatest nations of the world”. was not a popular choice for this role (heaven forfend that a senior position is not filled by a gimlet eyed anti-semite). It took Ahmadinejad a week to bow to pressure and dismiss him.

The head of the armed forces and an influential member of parliament questioned why it had taken Ahmadinejad so long to heed the supreme leader's instruction. "The Iranian nation didn't expect the ink on the leader's letter to dry out while it was not yet implemented," said Maj. Gen. Seyed Hassan, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the semiofficial Mehr

"The expectation from Ahmadinejad was that he would implement the leader's order immediately after receiving his letter on the 18th of July. Mashaie's appointment should have been revoked and annulled, as the leader said," said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, who generally supports Ahmadinejad's policies.

Ahmadinejad, whose daughter is married to Mashaie’s son (this probably explains a lot) didn not respond to a Khamaenei edict to sack Mashaie until after it had been read on state television Friday.

Even so it seems that Ahmadinejad is still being at least a little defiant (like the lap dog that takes a shit on its owner’s lap?). According to CNN he has appointed Mashaie as his adviser and head of his bureau (presumably his chef de cabinet), a move that is likely to cause further anger among his supporters.

Hmm... Perhaps Ahmadinejad is up for six of the best off Khamenei and being forced to write “I must not employ a philosemite” a hundred times.

Khamenei orders election inquiry

It would seem that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reversed his earlier decree that the Iranian Presidential election result was fair(ly rigged) and has ordered an investigation into the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad.

Khamenei, who has the final say on such matters, had described the result as fair and urged the country to unite behind Mr Ahmadinejad. Today it emerged, however, that he had met the defeated opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi last night and ordered the powerful Guardians Council to examine his allegations of vote-rigging.

Ahmadinejad is Khamenei’s placeman so it is extremely unlikely that the result will be overturned. I somehow doubt that the Guardian Council will find any “irregularities”... After all the powers that be in Iran are hardly going to air their own dirty laundry.