Despite Barack Obama insisting that the United States shouldn’t be involved as the Iranian regime was killing its own citizens in the streets, the White House hasn’t hesitated to come out strongly against the military coup in Honduras this past weekend. The president is jumping right into the fray:

In an unusual concurrence of views, the Obama administration and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said they still recognized Mr. Zelaya as Honduras’ president. The State Department called the events an “attempted coup” and urged Mr. Zelaya’s “return and restoration of democratic order.”

U.S. officials said they were engaged in multinational efforts to resolve the crisis, through the Organization of American States and European allies. At the same time, Washington wants a resolution “free from external influence and interference,” a senior official told reporters during a conference call organized by the State Department.

The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named, said the U.S. Embassy in Honduras was “consistently and almost constantly engaged in the last several weeks working with partners” and that U.S. officials were “in contact with all Honduran institutions, including the military.” However, the military stopped taking the embassy’s calls since the coup attempt, the official said.

Suddenly the Obama Administration isn’t too concerned with the appearance that the United States is interfering with the internal matters of Honduras. The Wall Street Journal notes that President Obama is actually eager to interfere with the overthrow of the leftist leader:

The Obama administration and members of the Organization of American States had worked for weeks to try to avert any moves to overthrow President Zelaya, said senior U.S. officials. Washington’s ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, sought to facilitate a dialogue between the president’s office, the Honduran parliament and the military.

The efforts accelerated over the weekend, as Washington grew increasingly alarmed. “The players decided, in the end, not to listen to our message,” said one U.S. official involved in the diplomacy. On Sunday, the U.S. embassy here tried repeatedly to contact the Honduran military directly, but was rebuffed. Washington called the removal of President Zelaya a coup and said it wouldn’t recognize any other leader.

The U.S. stand was unpopular with Honduran deputies. One congressman, Toribio Aguilera, got prolonged applause from his colleagues when he urged the U.S. ambassador to reconsider. Mr. Aguilera said the U.S. didn’t understand the danger that Mr. Zelaya and his friendships with Mr. Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro posed.

What was Zelaya doing at the time the military detained him and threw him out of the country? Blatantly violating his nation’s constitution. This wasn’t some crazy plan hatched by the military for no reason. The Honduran Supreme Court had ruled the referendum illegal, but Zelaya decided to go through with it anyway. The military then refused to distribute the ballots for the illegal referendum, so Zelaya replaced the head of the armed forces. Zelaya was then replaced with the civilian leader next in line constitutionally.

Democracies shouldn’t permit coups whenever the leader is unpopular. But Zelaya wasn’t just an unpopular leader — he was ignoring the constitution and Supreme Court, and sought to carry out an illegal referendum. He then ditched the head of the military when he refused to be complicit in the illegality. So, the military threw out Zelaya and handed power over to the next civilian in line.

Frankly, the coup was justified. You can’t tolerate a leader ignoring the constitution and his nation’s checks-and-balances. Zelaya was acting as a dictator and was duly removed, as it turned out, by force. President Obama shouldn’t be intervening on behalf of Zelaya.

It’s a sad truth, but Obama is suddenly okey dokey with interference because Zelaya is a leftist who was removed for ignoring the constitution.

Via Hot Air. Fausta has more, too.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was arrested by soldiers shortly before a vote was set to begin on a constitutional referendum that the Honduran Supreme Court had ruled illegal and his own party’s members had opposed.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -More than a dozen soldiers arrested President Manuel Zelaya and disarmed his security guards after surrounding his residence before dawn Sunday, his private secretary said. Protesters called it a coup and flocked to the presidential palace as local news media reported that Zelaya was sent into exile…

Zelaya was taken into military custody at his house outside the capital, Tegucigalpa, and whisked away to an air force base on the outskirts of the city, his private secretary, Carlos Enrique Reina told The Associated Press.

Tanks rolled through the streets and Army trucks carrying hundreds of soldiers equipped with metal riot shields surrounded the presidential palace in the capital’s center. About 100 Zelaya supporters, many wearing “Yes,” T-shirts for the referendum, blocked the main street outside the gates to the palace, throwing rocks and insults at soldiers and shouting “Traitors! Traitors!”

It was not immediately clear who was running the government. Soldiers appeared to be in control, but the constitution mandates that the head of Congress is next in line to the presidency, followed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Neither military nor presidential officials have said who’s in charge.

Despite the many opportunities for hostility thus far, it appears that the arrest and detention have been bloodless. His private guards were reportedly disarmed without violence.

Also, there are now conflicting reports regarding the location that Zelaya has been flown to, one saying Venzuela and other saying Costa Rica. I’ll see if I can get confirmation on that.

Update: Well, that took an interesting turn. Venezuelan television reports that Zelaya has been flown to Costa Rica and is now seeking asylum.

Meanwhile, our own mouth-breather president is once again “deeply concerned”. Just like he was “deeply concerned” about Iranians being murdered in the streets. Oh, and he’s calling for a democratic resolution to the dispute. Considering Zelaya has already been arrested, flown to Costa Rica, and is now seeking asylum, it might just be too late for that.

“I am deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and expulsion of President Mel Zelaya,” Obama said in a written statement.

“As the Organization of American States did on Friday, I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference,” Obama said.

Translation: Don’t make me take a stance on this outside of “deep concern” and some ambiguous rhetoric about democracy. I’m voting present.

Personally, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I picked up Monday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal and found a headline reading:

Iran’s Web Spying Aided by Western Technology

European Gear Used in Vast Effort to Monitor Communications.

According to the Journal report, a joint venture between Nokia and Siemens sold the internet and communications monitoring equipment to the Islamic Republic in the second half of 2008. The sale of the equipment by Nokia Siemens Network was originally reported by an Austrian tech website and was picked up by the Washington Times in April.

A spokesman for the venture, Ben Roome, reportedly confirmed that, “the ‘monitoring center’, installed within the government’s telecom monopoly, was part of a larger contract with Iran that includes mobile-phone networking technology”. Roome claimed that the ability to monitor networks is intrinsically sold alongside the network itself.

But now Wired reports that Roome is denying the report:

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about this,” wrote spokesman Ben Roome in an e-mail to Threat Level. “But we do not provide any web or internet monitoring or filtering. We do provide the capability for millions of Iranians to communicate via mobile networks, and as part of this provide voice call lawful intercept capability. Mobile networks are not allowed to be built in Iran (and most other countries) without this feature. It is part of telecoms network architecture.”

For its part, The Wall Street Journal stands by its story. And saying that you only provide the capability by nature of the sale isn’t really an excuse for selling communication-intercepting technology to an oppressive, theocratic regime. “Lawful” typically means requiring a warrant or some sort of checking mechanism. In Iran, communications are intercepted to halt the spreading of dissent and organization of protests.

Telecommunication companies in the United States and other countries are required to provide this so-called “lawful intercept” capability so that domestic law enforcement agencies can eavesdrop on calls to investigate criminal activity. “Lawful,” of course, means different things in different countries. In the U.S. such interception generally requires a court order.

And many people are apparently seeing it the same way:

Consumers are calling for a boycott of telecom equipment makers Nokia and Siemens after the Wall Street Journal reported that the companies’ joint networking firm sold sophisticated internet surveillance equipment to Iran — a story that the company says is false.

Despite the denial, boycotters have written Nokia saying they’ve destroyed their Nokia phones, and are telling friends and family to avoid Nokia products until the company “can make the right ethical choices.”…

Another commenter named “Freeman Lowell” says that even if Nokia Siemens didn’t provide internet monitoring gear to Iran, it’s not acceptable to sell surveillance-friendly telephone switching equipment to a country with Iran’s dismal human rights record.

“What happens when your ‘Lawful Intercept’ capability is sold to regimes which are likely to use it a way which would be considered unlawful under European and UN Human Rights conventions — say to suppress freedom of speech?” he writes.  “Your statement seems to be suggesting that the benefits to the Iranian people outweigh the potential costs, but tell that to the people that may have been arrested or have ‘disappeared’ – perhaps permanently — because of what you have done.”

Indeed.

A few things are sad about this.

First of all, a ten year marriage has come to an end. The eight young children will grow up not only in front of cameras but without married parents. The children and their mother will continue to live in their $1 million+ plus mansion, but their father will reportedly move as far away as New York. He’ll apparently come to their house when it’s his time to visit with them.

The second sad aspect is that our society has gotten to the point where millions of Americans are absolutely infatuated with the lives of the Gosselin family. Being interested in how the children are raised is one thing. But how absorbed many are by the relationship between Jon and Kate Gosselin can become quite pathetic. We become more absorbed by the lives of others (Brittney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, etc.) than what’s truly important in our lives.

Reminds us of what’s important in life: The loved ones that surround us.

With the situation in Iran only appearing to get worse, the British government has decided to evacuate the families of embassy employees Tehran. London is also warning British citizens against traveling to the Islamic Republic.

The Foreign Office said today it was evacuating the families of embassy staff in Iran and advised against all non-essential travel to the country after the violent crackdown on street protests following the disputed presidential election.

The decision comes after the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday described Britain as the “most treacherous” of Iran’s enemies and blamed foreign interference for the unrest in the country.

In response, Iran’s ambassador to London was summoned to the Foreign Office and told that Khamenei’s remarks were unacceptable. Gordon Brown later condemned the “repression” and “brutality” used against the protesters.

The Foreign Office said today: “The ongoing violence has … had a significant impact on the families of our staff, who have been unable to carry on their lives as normal. As a result, we are withdrawing dependants of embassy staff until the situation improves.

“We do not believe that it is necessary to reduce the number of staff at this time; however, we are monitoring the situation with the utmost vigilance. The security of our staff is of paramount importance.”

As Ed Morrissey points out, this isn’t just a move out of concern for safety — it’s a diplomatic move and another slap to the face of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei. Britain has been a frontrunner in criticism of the Iranian regime. The embassy staff remains in Tehran for strategic purposes, but non-essential residents are taken out of the country for symbolic and safety purposes.

I’m shamelessly stealing from Hot Air here, mostly because I had heard nothing about it until Allahpundit’s post. Normally a report from Debka would be considered about as trustworthy as a Keith Olbermann investigation into George Bush. However, other, more trustworthy sources both inside and outside of Iran are hearing the same thing.

First, Michael Ledeen:

It seems that tomorrow, Thursday, will be the first big showdown.  The regime is massing two Revolutionary Guards divisions for an assault on the dissidents–something like twenty thousand soldiers from outside Tehran–and the Mousavi people don’t want to give them time to organize and prepare their attacks.  No doubt there are all kinds of secret meetings going on, as the various military, militia, religious and political leaders try to read the chicken entrails and guess their destiny.

Then there’s  Tehran Bureau, a reliable source of information out of Iran since the election:

Clarification for plans for tomorrow: “Apparently, the plan is to create chaos and bloody confrontation between Basij and Karroubi and Mousavi demonstrators, in order to justify hard crack down and have Khamenei announce the end of “soft” confrontation in the Friday prayers.”…

From source: “I have now received e-mails from totally trustworthy sources within Iran that many Sepaah commanders [Sepaph is IRGC] have been arrested, because they are opposed to what is going on and in particular to the plan for tomorrow.

“This had been talked about for the past few days, but my source confirmed it.”

And now a Twitterer in Iran, an individual who has also been reliable since the election, is hearing about a similar plan.

So, is tomorrow Iran’s Tiananmen Square? There’s no confirmation, but signs seem to point to something big happening.

Update: Well, something is definitely about to happen. Khamenei is issuing an ultimatum to Mousavi:

The moderate Iranian leader who says that he was robbed of victory in last week’s presidential election faces a fateful choice today: support the regime or be cast out.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has told Mir Hossein Mousavi to stand beside him as he uses Friday prayers at Tehran University to call for national unity. An army of Basiji — Islamic volunteer militiamen — is also expected to be bussed in to support the Supreme Leader.

The demand was made at a meeting this week with representatives of all three candidates who claim that the poll was rigged, and it puts Mr Mousavi on the spot…

It was unclear last night what he would do or even whether the protests would die away if he backed down.

Hmm.

There’s a new crack in the incumbent Iranian regime and it’s a big one. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the most senior Islamic cleric in the country, has called the election a sham that no one should believe. The announcement should provide new morale for supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man many believe really won the election.

“No one in their right mind can believe” the official results from Friday’s contest, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said of the landslide victory claimed by Ahmadinejad. Montazeri accused the regime of handling Mousavi’s charges of fraud and the massive protests of his backers “in the worst way possible.”

“A government not respecting people’s vote has no religious or political legitimacy,” he declared in comments on his official Web site. “I ask the police and army personals (personnel) not to ’sell their religion,’ and beware that receiving orders will not excuse them before God.”

That last bit is crucial. Montazeri is saying that “I was just following orders” isn’t an excuse that will be accepted by Allah. As a top religious scholar in the Islamic Republic, his proclamations carry weight. And that’s important because, according to reports, as many as three additional students were killed by pro-Ahmadinejad elements during today’s protests. The blockade on foreign media has prevented independent confirmation, but the death toll had already exceeded a dozen.

More on Montazeri:

Montazeri’s pointed public comments provided fresh evidence that a serious rift has opened at the top of Iran’s powerful religious hierarchy after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei endorsed the official election results and the harsh crackdown against the opposition.

A leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution who’s often feuded with Khamenei and once vied with him for the supreme leader’s position, Montazeri accused the government of attacking “the children of the people with astonishing violence” and “attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and scientifics.”

“He is questioning the legitimacy of the election and also questioning the legitimacy of (Khamenei’s) leadership, and this is the heart of the political battle in Iran,” said Mehdi Noorbaksh, an associate professor of international affairs at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania. “This is very significant. This is huge support for Mousavi and the demonstrators on the reformists’ side.”

Indeed. Hopefully the Grand Ayatollah will lobby members of the Iranian regime to reject the results and allow the Iranian people to have a say in their government. Either that or reject the current Iranian regime altogether. Either way works.

Keep in mind that many of these videos are uploaded to YouTube hastily and in other languages (not all Persian), so full descriptions aren’t always available. I’m posting quite a few videos in a row, so be forewarned that several feature violence and blood. It’s the cold, harsh reality of the situation in Iran and needs to be seen by the world. Without further ado:

As with the previous brutal video, this warrants a strong content warning. The video description says they’re “Islamic police”, and this handy posting on uniform identification seems to back that up. Incidents like this are occurring throughout the streets of Tehran and other cities in the Islamic Republic. Brutal.

Be forewarned: The situation in Iran has gotten bloody, violent, and oftentimes inappropriate for young children and the queasy. This should serve as your official content warning for most videos and pictures coming out of the country.

The video below is no exception to the above rule. In fact, it deserves an additional warning. You’re about to witness attempts to revive a bloody and (sadly) dead Iranian protester in the middle of the street. Nothing is blurred out, edited, or censored in any way, shape, or form. It is quite literally a close-up look at attempts to revive a bloody individual.

The video comes via the Huffington Post, which points out why posting such videos and images remains important. They’re not pleasant and you’d rather post something light or non-graphic. But the world must see the brutal reality of what’s happened and what continues to happen in the Islamic Republic of Iran. So, for the last time before the video, here’s your content warning.