{"id":6278,"date":"2017-12-31T11:18:04","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T10:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6278"},"modified":"2017-12-31T12:28:11","modified_gmt":"2017-12-31T11:28:11","slug":"more-on-the-protests-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/6278\/","title":{"rendered":"More on the Protests in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The protests in Iran are still going strong, and the government is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-42525889\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">threatening<\/a> to crack down heavily if they continue. Only their Arab counterparts tried that in their own various uprisings and it turned the protests into full-on revolutions. There are videos on Twitter showing huge crowds embracing policemen while hurling rocks at Revolutionary Guards, suggesting any such crackdown won&#8217;t be so easy. And it seems young men are at least <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pqpolitics\/status\/947381431143088133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">having a go<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, the Iranian Mullahs have plenty of folk in the western world on their side. Consider the BBC article I linked to:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Three days of demonstrations erupted over falling living standards.<\/p>\n<p>But a Revolutionary Guards commander said the protests had degenerated into people chanting political slogans and burning public property.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Funny how the BBC pours scorn on every word Trump utters, but quotes Revolutionary Guards commanders uncritically.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Brigadier-General Esmail Kowsari told the ISNA news agency: &#8220;If people came into the streets over high prices, they should not have chanted those slogans and burned public property and cars.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s interior minister has also warned the public that protesters will be held accountable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Presumably the BBC are on board with this. It is only later we&#8217;re told:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>BBC Persian correspondent Kasra Naji said a common factor in all locations has been protesters&#8217; demand for an end to clerical rule in Iran.<\/p>\n<p>There is also anger at Iran&#8217;s interventions abroad. In Mashhad, some chanted &#8220;not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran&#8221;, a reference to what protesters say is the administration&#8217;s focus on foreign rather than domestic issues.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>CNN went one further, saying little about the actual protests but giving front-page coverage of pro-government demonstrations:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Just incredible.. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jtlbqA0UYr\">pic.twitter.com\/jtlbqA0UYr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/redsteeze\/status\/947112096298340352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 30, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Some people, including this cretin from the Huffington Post, have gone full retard:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-cards=\"hidden\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranianProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranianProtests<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Resistance?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Resistance<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/womensmarch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WomensMarch<\/a> are all the same. Across the world, people are fighting autocracies and oppressive regimes. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> is NO DIFFERENT than the oppressive Ayatollahs in Iran. Here&#8217;s my case, for HuffPost: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sYVi12BWdU\">https:\/\/t.co\/sYVi12BWdU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Mohajer (@AlexMohajer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexMohajer\/status\/947229750350700544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 30, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The normally sensible Cathy Young hasn&#8217;t covered herself in glory, either:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If the Iranian regime falls, the credit will belong to (1) the brave people of Iran and (2) the grown-ups in the Trump administration, not to the bigoted 70-year-old toddler who let a grown-up post the right things on his Twitter account. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PlGFcZB7Bo\">https:\/\/t.co\/PlGFcZB7Bo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CathyYoung63\/status\/947273020997095424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I don&#8217;t watch CNN, Joshua.<br \/>\nI read Trump&#8217;s tweets, as well as his interviews and comments.<br \/>\nYou&#8217;re damn right the US Presidency sets a tone.<br \/>\nShall I list all the things Trump has tweeted and said that have lent it a tone utterly bereft of dignity?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CathyYoung63\/status\/947274042385616897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Presumably Saint Obama siding with the Mullahs is preferable to Trump backing the protesters because The Messiah did so with &#8220;dignity&#8221;. What&#8217;s ironic is Cathy Young is originally from the Soviet Union so one would have thought she&#8217;d be a little more aware of the importance of the US president&#8217;s words on such matters, regardless of the perceived moral character of the speaker. But then, I have noticed that a lot of Russians flee to the US and start complaining about the way things are run when they get there. Max Boot is another example.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of people have also noticed the silence and hypocrisy from America&#8217;s so-called feminists:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Iranian women are literally risking their lives, fighting against an oppressive Islamic theocracy, and not a single tweet of support from the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/womensmarch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@womensmarch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You aren&#8217;t for women at all. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranianProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranianProtests<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottPresler\/status\/947275858598821888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Is it just me or is Sarsour the woman who claims wearing a hijab is an act of feminism while actual feminists in Iran are dying for refusing to do so? ???????? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K6SCIWByCX\">https:\/\/t.co\/K6SCIWByCX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jonathan Witt (@Jonathan_Witt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jonathan_Witt\/status\/947339248302215168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-cards=\"hidden\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;If the people who donned pink pussy hats to resist Donald Trump are one of the year\u2019s big stories, surely people who are shot dead in the streets in Iran for resisting an actual murderous theocracy might also be deserving of a shout-out for their bravery&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SUuWaIA3Je\">https:\/\/t.co\/SUuWaIA3Je<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SethAMandel\/status\/947294230388658176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Others have noted the deafening silence from the EU on the protests. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, it&#8217;s a weekend in holiday season: bureaucrats aren&#8217;t going to check their emails just because there&#8217;s a revolution brewing in Iran. And Juncker will be drunk anyway. Secondly, as we saw in Catalonia, the EU elites don&#8217;t much like anti-government protests which is why they&#8217;re so keen on getting an EU army established. Finally, certain large EU member states have been sucking up royally to the Mullahs since sanctions on Iran were eased, positioning themselves as reliable European partners in contrast to the Great Satan, hoping to cash in when the country finally opens up. They will oppose any regime change in Iran for the same reason they objected to the toppling of Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps I&#8217;m forgetting something which could also explain the EU&#8217;s silence? Yes, I am: cowardice. This tweet sums it up nicely, I think:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Right: Sweden&#8217;s self-proclaimed feminist government while visiting Iran, in forced headscarves.<\/p>\n<p>Left: An true feminist Iranian woman, taking off her headscarf in public &amp; getting arrested for it.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests2017?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests2017<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mrdUKpC0KO\">pic.twitter.com\/mrdUKpC0KO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Iranian Atheist (@Atheist_Iran) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Atheist_Iran\/status\/947296682772922368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The protests in Iran are still going strong, and the government is threatening to crack down heavily if they continue. Only their Arab counterparts tried that in their own various uprisings and it turned the protests into full-on revolutions. There &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/6278\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28,18,60,20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6278"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6278"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6282,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6278\/revisions\/6282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}