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POPSHow The Mousavi-Karroubi Request to Hold a Rally ... ... in support of Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings reveals hypocritical and totalitarian nature of regime They are forcing the regime to basically put their money where their mouth is. (1) Khamenei, members of parliament, IRGC and Basij leaders have all expressed support for the protests in Tunisia and Egypt — trying to lay claim to them as Islamic in nature. (2) The regime, by publicly supporting democratic uprisings in other countries, uprisings that at their core are in the name of freedom, justice and equality, is implicitly making the claim that the Islamic Republic believes in these same values. Mousavi and Karroubi have deftly cornered the regime. On the one-hand, if the regime grants the requested permission to hold the protests, it will open up a space for Iranians to vent their opposition to the regime — as they did so in the millions in the 2009 uprisings against the fraudulent presidential election.
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POPSHuge Rally and Protests Mark Iran Revolution
Security forces also briefly detained the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and her husband, who are both senior pro-reform politicians, according to the couple's son, Ali. The granddaughter, Zahra Eshraghi, and her husband Mohammad Reza Khatami, who is the brother of a former pro-reform president, were held for less than an hour before being released, his son told the AP. Tehran residents also reported Internet speeds dropping dramatically and e-mail services such as Gmail being blocked in a common government tactic to foil opposition attempts to organize. Heavy numbers of riot police, members of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij militiamen deployed at key squares and major avenues in the capital to prevent the opposition protests from marring the annual mass rallies for the revolution's anniversary... more.... Iran--Hundreds of thousands of government supporters http://bit.ly/bNkhC3 http://news.yahoo.com
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POPSIranian Basij Thugs Taking A Beating 1.06.2010 Iran's revolution entered a new phase with Ashura - the protestors, as I noted here, have become far more militant. The protesters are willing to stand and attack the IRGC and basij thugs attempting to brutally repress them. And here is a bit more anecdotal evidence - a video showing a crowd attacking a group of basij on their motorcycles. What A Difference Two Weeks Has Made Wednesday, January 6, 2010
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POPSThe Blind Leading the Stupid-U.S. must demand accountability for due process and torture in Iran But The Washington Post thinks the U.S. should vigorously object to Iran's "obvious lack of due process" as a central part of these negotiations. What would be the purpose of doing that? Creating a jovial mood for the negotiations at the outset by provoking a massive group laughing fit? But due process denials aren't the only Iranian "human rights" violations The Post wants the Obama administration to raise in these negotiations. No, there's more Iranian evil for us to protest: The cases of torture and rape of prisoners courageously documented by opposition presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi should be as worthy of discussion as the non-nuclear subjects that Iran wants to bring up.