posted
You guys watching the street protests over the (probably rigged) election? It's pretty damn amazing- I wish we in the United States had done as much during the 2000 clusterfuck.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
Yeah, but it won't be long before the beatdown comes, if it has happened already. And in the end, isn't really the head ayatollah who calls all the shots?
Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged
posted
Yes, but there's talk that the Council of Experts (at least that was the name I read) has the power to remove even the Supreme Leader, and they were having an emergency meeting a day or two ago for reasons undisclosed.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
It's the Guardian Council that calls the shots- a seperate group of "experts" advises the Supreme Honcho and the Council.
I guess.
It's pretty wacky, really- it looks like the election process is a parallel and not very influential system that elects a vetted leader, who in turn, mainly sets economic policies and social services...and is the visible head of state, while the Supreme Leader does not give interviews or answer to the people.
People are pissed- and rightly so- but i dont see how this can lead to real systematic changes...not unless the government does something really stupid and attempts to put down the protests through violence. Then the shit be on.
A salon writer points out that it's difficult to imagine everything going back to pre-election calm without some resolution/concession to the opposition and the suprisingly vocal protestors.
The Iran government is already (and not suprisingly) saying that the United States is responsible for the unrest. Obama is doing the right thing by keeping the US response minimal and respecting anotyher country's right to fuck up an election.
[ June 18, 2009, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Jason Abbadon ]
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
Frequent protests outside my building up and down the street by Iranian-Canadians in Toronto. Peaceful and orderly. Seems like they have a lot of support, and not just from fellow Iranians. Other Canadians seem to be amongst the crowd and beeping their cars in support.
It's a far cry from the Tamil protests last month where those guys got zero sympathy from any Canadian due to the way the protests were carried out.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
What did the Tamils do? Tell me India's PM was not visiting.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
I remember watching (on TV) the student protests in Tianamen Square 20 years ago. Me and my friends were thrilled to see the stirrings of Chinese democracy. It ended badly, though. I hope that the Iranian government aren't as ruthless as the Chinese were.
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged
Da_bang80
A few sectors short of an Empire
Member # 528
posted
Well, the Chinese are communists last time I checked and Iran is a theocracy again last time I checked. In China when they execute someone they bill the family the cost of the bullet, in Iran they don't allow women to ride motorcycles. No biker chicks is pretty ruthless to me...
-------------------- Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I cannot accept. And the wisdom to hide the bodies of all the people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
posted
Well, to be fair, Chinese bullets are exceptionally well made. Guarenteed or your money back.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
I hear, though, that the Chinese are switching over to lethal injection. They also claim to be cracking down on the illegal sale of organs from executed criminals. Coincidence????
By the way, Iran is one of the few countries where selling off a kidney is legal!
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
I'm just glad that they consider Britain to me more evil than the yanks. For a while there it looked as though we'd been relegated to "evil by association" or "aiding and abetting evil".
posted
Hey now, you guys were the original Evil Empire.
Iran remembers the good old days. Y'know, it's been too long since our respective countries extinguished some hapless country's ethnic/cultural identity... You sure you guys dont want northern Iraq? Lotsa Kurds: almost no press.
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
