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Huge Protest Planned in Iran
Despite scarily effective crackdowns by Iranian officials, thousands of protesters are expected to march silently on Thursday to show their continued discontent over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a violent confrontation between students and security forces. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for an end to public protests, and the streets of Tehran have been eerily silent over the past week after earlier protests were met with violence. Demonstrators have been advised to carry nothing heavier than a rose and to dress modestly. Tehran's police chief announced that his forces will confront protesters, and some officials warned that the Revolutionary Guards would be deployed, as well. But the demonstrations will go on. "A virtual campaign is in full force, and nobody is able to keep it in check," read one protest announcement.
mcmchugh99
They have great staying power and determination in Iran, and eventually they are going to erode this fascist police state. I wish them luck.
There is no reason to rush into any negotiations with No Count Ahmadinejad and his Supreme Fuehrer, since their legitimacy is nil. They are ruling over their own people at gunpoint, using Gestapo methods, so there's no hurry to engage with them. Just let it play out, and in due course they will be gone.
rapierwits
Their last revolution took more than a year. I agree with playing read and react.
Help the Iranians communicate with the outside world:
www.torproject.org
squiggy
Time is on their side, they just need to keep prying at that crack in the Supreme Ayatollah's egg of power.
rapierwits
interesting metaphor. does that mean he's a chick?
squiggy
Don't be an infidel now rapier, for heavens sake! You know those guys don't do the trans-gender thing. (chuckles)
Veronicaxy
these people have guts to protest
keepakeeper43
Yes!
Bravo to the rebels!
I pray they get rid of the fundamental fascist mullahs. (Divine Right is a perverted and murderous belief system.)
Goodbye to anti-semitic hater pissant Ahmadinejad, too!
Martyz42
The United States needs to learn from the people in Iran what to do when they want something their government is not giving them....
This country should have millions & millions of people marching on Washington DC demanding a "REAL" health plan for "EVERYONE" not just for elected officials...
EVERYONE in this nation should have the ability to have the same health plan that is given to our money grabbing politicians in Washington DC....
We should have a million person march in the States of any Senator that even mentions not voting for a REAL public plan that is exactly like the one their Senator has...
ConstitutionalRights
While I agree with you about folks "contacting" their elected officials either directly or by protest, I couldn't disagree with you more on the health plan. In real terms, every major problem we are dealing with today has been impacted by our government. Folks with vested interest (Republican, Democrat or other) who have control of Trillions of dollars of our money, without accountability, making decisions about the type of health care we get is more of the same bad management all over again.
The laws and regulations put in place on drug companies, Doctors, and health care providers, and the limitations on availability of insurance have created a artificial health care inflation that won't be collared by providing universal health care, it will in fact just make it worse.
If you want to fix anything, and in your example health care, we need to allow simple solutions to work. One example: change the laws to allow group insurance to be offered to like minded small businesses. In this example, interstate organizations like the National Restaurant Association would provide their members group plans so the independent pizza parlor in LA could get coverage with the ma and pa bakery in Ohio. That would open up affordable insurance to literally millions who are not covered now because they don't qualify or can't afford the programs.
Government is not designed to be "daddy". It can't "create" jobs, (which are positions which help a business make a profit) but it can create expenses, which any job in government is.
As for Iran, there are Iranians who like the status quo, and those who do not. Those in power now and those who support them are not friendly to us, and those who protest are not necessarily our friends, but make no mistake about it, their courage is coming from what they see in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and the other countries in the Middle East that have fully or partially embraced more open, somewhat democratic practices.
SC0TTBL4M
Hmm..
So hundreds of thousands of people are fighting for their own voice... and we have to bring American politics into the forum? whaaaat?
ConstitutionalRights
American independence and way of life is the driving force worldwide. Like it or not, that is what drives it. It was Levis and the Beatles in Russia and Poland, it was KFC and McDonalds in China. Politics is fighting for a voice, just without guns. It is a never ending battle between ideas, and as much as we all may hate "politics" it is the forum that exchanges ideas to provide solutions without violence. It is the sword of the peaceful demonstrator.
SC0TTBL4M
CR--
I'm not talking about hating politics.
I'm talking about how Martyr brought up healthcare and how you wrote four paragraphs talking about healthcare before mentioning Iran.
MaliciousDisorder
Oh ! I get it, Your saying We "The United States of today" has to learn either: how to use brutal force, daily executions and stoning to get what we the people want instead of using our present system of morals, values and laws. OR: cower in your homes after the force comes along killing your friends during your march while you hope and pray 5 times a day the United States will come with there military. They've been praying for that for the last 20 years.
Thank you.
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