Michael Ledeen quotes a reader’s email;
Just to let you know that there are huge protests brewing in tehran and kermanshah right now (8:30 am EST 17/3/07) and i m hearing that around 5000 police and security forces are on stand by in downtown Tehran to counter the teachers and and workers.
A rookie mistake. Any entry-level Reuters reporter could have told them that the only protests worth covering are those organized by the World Workers Party.
Re: the CTV article – Why are there no numbers on the North American protests? They say, “Thousands marched…” but that could be anywhere from two thousand to 999,999. I suppose what they really mean is, “We were embarrassed how few people there were and don’t want to tell you.” Then they refer to the Vietnam march of 50,000 hoping we’ll substitute one for the other.
But to be fair, at least they got some opinions from those who support the war.
I think we all tend to paint Iranian’s with the same brush to some degree but unjustly so for the most part I think. A business friend of mine is Iranian and a US citizen now living in Canada. He is back and forth to Iran all the time and he says it’s all about the money, just follow the money. He told me over a year ago that the Iranian people had had just about enough of the Mullah’s and their BS. There are problems internally and they are growing, hopefully the US will take the right course this time, help the dissidents and stay the hell out.
Putin is upset with the Mullahs and Ahmadinejad now too.
Iran with a nuclear bomb or a potential for its creation is impermissible for us*, the anonymous official was quoted by Itar-Tass as having said, adding: *We will not play with them in anti-American games. . . . The Iranians are abusing our constructive attitude and have done nothing to help us convince our colleagues of Tehran’s consistency*.
*It is a serious public warning to Iran’s leadership*, Andrei Kortunov, president of the New Eurasia Foundation, a Moscow think-tank, said, adding: *This is a serious sign that Iran may eventually find itself in international isolation.*
[iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2007/
march-2007/boushehr-delayed_15307.shtml]
tinyurl.com/34tqfb
= TG
“Behind Ahmadinejad’s defiance, a struggle is under way that could determine the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, its relationship with Washington and the potential for another war in the Middle East. Inside Iran’s political establishment, Ahmadinejad has provoked a counterreaction from those who believe his posturing has damaged Iran’s economy and its hopes for a rapprochement with the West.”
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1599710,00.html
“Iran’s economy has been characterized by rising inflation and massive state spending subsidized through repeated appropriations from its Oil Stabilization Fund. Withdrawals from the fund topped $20 billion in the current Iranian year that ends March 21. Ordinary Iranians are bracing themselves for a fresh round of belt tightening with the government set to impose gasoline rationing coupled with sharp rises in pump prices. The rationing system will limit Iranians to 22 gallons of gasoline a month, less than two tanks for a typical family car. The basic price of gas will rise by 25 percent, but Iranians who need to use more than the permitted amount will be hit by rises of more than 200 percent, the London Sunday Telegraph reported.”
washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070315-111357-5226r
Meanwhile, in Iraq;
” ..MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now than it was under Saddam Hussein, according to a British opinion poll published today.
The survey of more than 5,000 Iraqis found the majority optimistic despite their suffering in sectarian violence since the American-led invasion four years ago this week.
One in four Iraqis has had a family member murdered, says the poll by Opinion Research Business. In Baghdad, the capital, one in four has had a relative kidnapped and one in three said members of their family had fled abroad. But when asked whether they preferred life under Saddam, the dictator who was executed last December, or under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, most replied that things were better for them today.
Only 27% think there is a civil war in Iraq, compared with 61% who do not, according to the survey carried out last month.”, The Times Online.
//www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1530762.ece
Either the Iraqi people are lying or the Canadian Media is.
I’m puzzled, B. H. Aware. Is there some sense in which your comment on Iraq is related to the topic of Iran, that I have missed, and you could explain to me?
When protestors protest against the Iranian “govmit”, our beloved media doesn’t cover it.
A few protest against our Canadian govmit, wall to wall coverage.
Iraqi poll shows people are much happier now than under Saddam. No coverage.
Terrorists kill Iraqis, ooooohh, the horror of the coalition troubles.
Simple, there is an underLYING media story in all news items.
A ha! Got it. Thanks for connecting your comment up for me, B. H. Aware. Unfortunately, I missed your intention in your original comment. But now that I do understand, I agree about your point on the limitations of the traditional media per their marriage to ideologies, rather than to the practice of journalism, from which we can (or could, if it was practiced) each reach our own conclusions on the matter of the journal. Alas, it would appear that history shows that it is always the task of the honest citizen to fight a rear-guard action in the name of beneficence against the agendas of those who would wield power in the name of aggrandizement. Fortunately, apparently, a number of Iranians and Iraqis also seem to appreciate the problem we all face.
Q: Which nation is now the most feared in the Middle East?
Israel? United States? Canada?
A: Persia, aka Iran. …-
Is Iran’s honeymoon in Iraq over?
IRAQ THE MODEL ^ | March 16, 2007 | Mohammed
Iran’s “project” in Iraq has recently been facing one setback after another. There are an increasing number of signs that the “project’s” prospects for success, for realizing Iran’s ambitions in Iraq, do no point upward anymore. It simply isn’t having much success lately in undermining Iraq’s emerging democracy through politics and force. …-
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1802736/posts