When is a vote worth more than one? Update

News this week that Iran's most powerful oversight council has announced on Monday that the number of votes recorded in 50 cities exceeded the number of eligible voters there by three million has further tarnished the 2009 presidential election. This controversy has set off a sustained challenge to Iran’s leadership for the first time in 30 years. The current Government has claimed the voting discrepancy has not affected the overall result however it would be hard for Iranian voters to have any confidence that the electoral system has been fair and truly reflected voter intent. Crackdowns by police and militia are unlikely to change perceptions either within or outside of Iran concerning the invalid nature of the presidential poll. It remains to be seen how far either side of the debate will venture however Iran's security structure is formidable and has already demonstrated the willingness to use lethal force against its own citizens.

Iran - A desire for change

The recent Iranian presidential elections have drawn attention to an increasing desire from much of the population for a change in direction from that country's top leadership. The election held on June 13, 2009, saw Mir Hussein Moussavi defeated by incumbent President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (pictured at left) in a disputed result. Mr. Moussavi was allegedly defeated by 63 percent to 34 percent of the popular vote. The New York Times reported this week that Mr. Moussavi, thousands of demonstrators who represent a cross section of Iranian society and part of the clerical establishment have called the official results a fraud. Mr. Moussavi, is a former prime minister with a reputation for honesty and competence and is very much an insider in Iranian ruling circles.

His personal history includes being a leading figure in the Revolution which overthrew the former Shah of Iran and he was close to Ayatollah Khomeini. His credentials therefore are beyond question in Iran which makes his stand all the more poignant. Notably during the final weeks of the electioneering, Mr. Moussavi's campaign had gained enormous energy with huge rallies in the streets of Tehran both day and night which have now been followed by enormous rallies and public support (pictured right) following the election defeat.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in comparison has become an unpopular figure and is often perceived as the face of radicalism and repression in a country where people would much prefer not to been seen as a pariah in international circles. Iran has a very youthful population and modern technology has opened up communication opportunities which the Iranian Government has had difficulty in shutting down or censoring.

An added complication has been that the supreme leader in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been uncompromising over the nation’s disputed Presidential elections and has publicly supported the result. In a hard-line statement and sermons, he has declared the elections to be valid. Further he has warned of violence if demonstrators continue, as they have pledged, to flood the streets in defiance of the government.

Film Festivals - reflections on our wider society

The Sydney Film Festival for 2009 concluded on Sunday 14 June, after a relatively modest run this year - shortened by a week to reduce costs. There are now dozens of film festivals across the World with the most famous being Cannes and Sundance but several others such as Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Tribeca and Moscow are also well known and patronised. Film Festivals, particularly for alternate, art-house cinema often are reflections on societal trends, attitudes and current historical events. In many respects due to their non-block buster nature and limited expectations on commercial returns, this genre of film making can address topics which audiences may find difficult to accept - family dysfunctionalism, political issues, relationships, illnesses and even death are familiar themes. By using the medium of moving image, film conveys messages and provides stories with dimensional structure which other forms of communication do so with less success. The Sydney Film Festival in 2009 was no different with a selection of art-house films across the spectrum of features, documentaries, animation and docu-dramas. This year, films of interest included the black comedy '500 Days of Summer', 'Bronson', 'In the Loop', 'Louise-Michel' and five hours of Steven Soderbergh's view of the life of revolutionary, Che Guevara - screened in two parts.

Automation and corporate responsibility

For over the past thirty years, the automation of a number of customer/consumer service functions has been a consistent and unrelenting trend. Services as varied as telephony, travel services (ticketing and check-in as illustrated), reservations, banking, and parking for motor vehicles have seen live human beings replaced by computerised equipment for automated service delivery. The basis for much of this automation has been to improve efficiency, timing, reduce costs and allow customers the flexibility to make their own arrangements at their own convenience. Indeed the corporate cost line has been seen as the primary beneficiary of this trend.

The media have often commented on these evolutionary trends but perhaps the fundamental change is not related to cost but rather corporate responsibility. By placing the emphasis on customers and the general public to make manage their own services, the responsibility and accountability of corporations to ensure that services are delivered efficiently has been reduced if not almost abrogated. A parrallel argument is that automation, while reducing cost of services to corporations has not necessarily translated into reducing overall costs to consumers. While some online services may have reduced the prices of some products, there are many others where the changes have been few and in fact a base price decrease has been more than matched by other related costs such as transport increasing.

In broad terms, this trend is one which had brought an unhealthy dislocation in human to human contact for a contestable concept of benefits.

A Wind that blows so strong

In our solar system, the Sun continuously emits a stream of charged particles which is the so termed 'solar wind' against which the Earth's magnetosphere acts as barrier. However the solar wind also acts as a defence against a range of cosmic rays which come into the solar system and which potentially could be harmful to both spacecraft and astronauts alike. Currently the sun has been going through what is perceived as an active phase, generally thought to measure between 95 years and a 116 years in duration. According to current measurement, this phase has already been progressing for the past 80 years meaning that a lower level of activity or general lull could occur around 2020. Whether the Sun does lull in activity or not, it does not impact on climate change or carbon emissions which remain a terrestrial concern.

The World's Environmental Tipping Point

In December this year one of the most critical international conferences to be held in the last two centuries will take place. The sessions (COP 15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will bring together the Parties of the Convention and Observer States (Governments), the United Nations System and observer organizations duly admitted by the Conference of the Parties (as the convention refers to the signatories). The conference, amongst many challenges will need to find agreement between Governments on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon level reductions, renewable energy and a range of related issues. There is little doubt or disagreement regarding the science, the need for action nor the urgency for such action. The question is one of which countries are prepared to start taking the necessary steps first and lead the way if necessary.

This in no way removes or alters the basic core issue which remains the need for all nations to contribute action not just the developed nations or the developing nations. This poses some highly uncomfortable challenges in defining economic activity and growth; re-engineering power production away from coal-fired generators and into cleaner energy generation being one such critical event.

Up in the Air - North Korea

One again, the regime of Kim Jong Il has tested the international community's tolerance with long range missile launch tests. As the Bloomberg news summarised " North Korea tested its second nuclear device on May 25, defying international condemnation that built up after a ballistic-missile launch in April. Two days ago, Kim Jong Il’s regime threatened an armed strike against South Korea for agreeing to participate in a U.S.-led program to stop and search ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction".

North Korea is the world's most isolated, totalitarian state and operates at the edge of brinkmanship to attempt to gain some yet not well understood advantage. The World strongly relies on neighbouring states such as the People's Republic of China to try and intercede with the North Korean leadership yet often China finds that it has no greater influence than anyone else in dealing with the paranoid regime.

North Korea under its current leadership is unlikely to adopt any change in direction and each step forward in developing improved relations is often superceded by two steps back. Impoverished, dependent on aid from other countries, paranoid and with unaffordable military spending North Korea sits in stark contrast to its more prosperous neighbour in the South. The only real chance for improvement sits with the departure of its current leader Kim Jong-Il and a transition leadership which is willing to accept that no-one in the international community is interested in invading their country. Far more is the opposite as the region craves stability and peaceful co-existence.