Day 8: The Violence Continues
Apparently preferring to keep their citizens downtrodden as much as possible rather than accept they have a real problem on their hands with the election results, we enter day 8 of the protests in Iran and the tyrannical tactics the government are using to crack down on them.
It is quite something to behold how far a government will go in order to make their citizens fear retaliation enough to just shut up and go home. The violence was reportedly worse today, with apparently some sort of acid mixture being rained down on the citizens of Tehran. At least 19 people are dead, and maybe more, according to CNN. One woman, Neda, is getting all the press (or Tweets), but there are so many others as well, and not just today.
I’m undecided what to think of all this, whether it’s a turning point, or whether both sides are still in a stalemate. Though, without any further news, it still seems like a stalemate at this point. The Guardian Council is recounting a laughable number of votes, Khamenei still thinks everything went peachy, and the protesters are not likely to give up. The crackdown is getting tougher, but not enough yet to scare everyone away, and with the will of the people, it hopefully won’t ever until all this is cleared up. If it can be cleared up.
I still await some action from the Assembly of Experts, headed by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. He was reported to meet with members of the Assembly several days ago, supposedly to see if there were votes to kick out Khamenei from the Supreme Leader position, but haven’t heard much since, except a rumor about them having sided with the government (supposedly this one is untrue). Right now, this seems to be the best bet of action, unless the protesters suddenly decide to become full out revolutionaries.
Otherwise, it will end up being a stalemate until one side is worn down. Unfortunately, with most of the weapons, I fear that the government will eventually prevail. If they do, it will most likely not be very good for Iranians. So, the opposition clergy needs to act, lest the government decide that enough is enough once and for all.
It’s 3 a.m. in Tehran, and what is Obama doing? Answer: Having a Harvard debate with Supreme ruler while people are dying on the streets. This is really sad. I thought Obama would have had a little more emotion in his words. Even though his strategy may be correct, he still holds enormous emotional power as leader of the free world. His “speech” in Cairo has been drowned out by his emotional silence today. Where would we be 20 years ago if he would have been President during the collapse of Eastern European communism? Definitely not a “Berliner” there. Sad. This is a “minus” for him here. The protestors shouldn’t look Westward for support tonight.
No, they shouldn’t look to the West for help tonight. They shouldn’t look anywhere. There isn’t anything that can be done that is more effective than what they are doing now, and if they look to others to “save” them they will wind up like Iraq, whose “democracy” will collapse after Americans leave (if we ever do). This way the revolution belongs to them! I,for one, am glad we have a president who doesn’t think God made him “Texas Ranger to the World”
It’s 3 a.m. in Tehran, and what is Obama doing?
Hitting the SNOOZE button.