We might be watching the SECOND IRANIAN REVOLUTION folks

[nadinbrzezinski]

and what is incredible is that the REGIME, which rose to power through revolution, felt paranoid that it may face an internal revolt.

Well, if they had just let the moderates win the election I am willing to be they'd not be seeing hundreds of thousands of people in the streets.

That said, it also tells me something very sad about the "greatest democracy on earth..." where were you in 2004? Here in San Diego me and perhaps 100 other people actually showed up to the streets. This is what we needed to do.

Then again, most folks in this country don't have any stakes. They don't vote. So that should be my answer.

[tavalon]

1. I was so enraged by Kerry's decision

that I sat out politics for a few months until I stopped thinking about who I wanted to kill. Not a good mindset.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. It wasn't about Kerry in 2004, but about US

water under the bridge, next election stolen I intend to stay home. Why bother? Serious.

And trust me, there will be

[opihimoimoi]

3. When it comes to this stuph, we Americans have been programed to be WIMPs

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. And to blame others for their lack of inaction

I know

Me, I concluded after 2004 if native born Muricans don't give a shit, why should I?

Sad but true.

[movonne]

24. With the exception of our own home grown terrorists...

[Auggie]

7. That's why single-payer isn't on the table

[Octafish]

5. Hope it's peaceful and hope they dump both the Mullahs and CIA-backed Musavi.

Let the people decide - democracy.
What a concept.

[opihimoimoi]

34. Those poor peeps deserve some Peace...they need to advance their

agenda toward filtering out Bad Government...dats whot we are doing with Biden Obama

[ThomWV]

6. and we might be watching a CIA orchestrated play that is pure fiction

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. We might and we might be watching the second revolution

given the average age is very young, and it is a population that wants certain things they really don't have right now.

Somehow I don't think people really want Alheminadad, but they want reform.

Of course it could be a combo of all... but popular revolt is not the Modus Operatindi of the CIA... they are far more into right wing, military controlled, revolts

Popular revolts SCARE THEM!

[ThomWV]

11. the only thing I am certain of is that all the news we receive about it is inaccurate

I do not believe one single word in the news.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Twitter is not controlled by the CIA or the MSM, or for that matter

the videos posted.

[ThomWV]

14. Twitter is meaningless - I do not accept it as a source of fact

I will not accept argument on this one. Anyone can say anything and you have no way of knowing if what is said is true or even if who said it is who they say they are or where the message came from or anything else to make it even remotely reliable. One may as well resort to the Zodiac for their news.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. TWITTER can be useful

and during the swine flu veratect ran quite the aggregator.

Suffice it to say that twitter and other social networks will prove to be the organizing force of the 21st century... as long as the web is on.

You did not even address the videos posted. They are all instant reports from the field. Individually theya re worthless... in a group they provide intelligence from the field.

Now you may discount them, but you can bet your sweet potatoes that a CIA agent or two are going through them as they happen. It is called Signals Intelligence... In a group you can bet they provide intel, and valuable intel.

[dem629]

17. REALLY useful, especially when someone reported Lebanese forces in the streets of Tehran.

:rofl: http://twitter.com/hamednz/status/2179859822

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. And as I said you can bet that there is an agent or two doing that

you may laugh, all you want... but all good, bad and ugly goes into the analysis.

[dem629]

19. I hope the guy "tweets" to let us know when he's having coffee!

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Well I just told you how things work in the real world

and the kind of real world most people have no clue about.

But every time a new means of organizing rises... it is quickly used by security and intel officers as well

[TornadoTN]

29. Don't bother explaining it

I'm one of those that has been skeptical of Twitter for a long time because I didn't see its utility. But after the Swine Flu and now this, there is something to be said for it as a means for organizing people and getting information out.

I've been weeding through it all day via several aggregators and grids. Sure, there's a lot of misinformation out right now and there's probably a few people using it to spread false information for various means. But there is no disputing that there are many people on the ground right now inside of Iran that are using it as a lifeline to get their story out since the government is cracking down on all forms of communication and news gathering. I think its a very valuable tool in this circumstance, as long as you can look at it with a steady eye and put together all of the information before drawing a conclusion.

[alfredo]

28. They were speaking Arabic, not Farsi.

[dem629]

16. Is your bunker air-conditioned?

[Zynx]

31. Regardless, anything that would overthrow that regime would be a positive.

Even if it was an imperialistic venture, there are worse things and the present regime is one of them.

[Odin2005]

33. BS. But I would be disappointed if our spooks were not helping, being on the good side this time.

Helping them would be redemption for the BS we pulled in 1953.

[dem629]

8. I hope they get the help they need, in the form of cash and arms, when the time comes.

Because it is going to come to that.

[Skidmore]

10. This is how the first one began.

Wouldn't surprise me.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I know this is how the first one started

and the revolutionary guards, the commanders, not the troops, know that

[Skidmore]

20. I was there observing firsthand.

The day I learned I was pregnant with my son, I was at my doctor's office 4 blocks from the US embassy when it was taken. The actual demonstrations began before that by several weeks. These people will not back down. They stood against the Shah and his backers and later against Saddam Hussein. The first revolution was successful because the troops went with the people. I daresay there are troops now who would do the same.

[ashling]

22. Actually, it would be the third, but

whose counting . . . unless you don't count those in which the CIA was involved.
:)

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Ah yes 1956... ok how about this

the second one in my lifetime

:-)

[ashling]

27. That works,

but it was 1953 . . . I was almost 1 yr. old.

[slipslidingaway]

25. Agree, the Constitutional Revolution should count :) .....

just posted these in another thread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution

http://www.iranchamber.com/history/constitutional_revolution/constitutional_revolution.php

[salin]

26. I have the day off from work... I can't tear myself away from the 'puter

My thoughts and prayers are with those demonstrating in Iran!

[muskrat]

30. Do you happen to know if the supposed winner is very religious?

I was reading that he is supported because of his moderate beliefs, but he appealed to the clerics after his 'loss,' so I am not sure what his stances are...

[robertpaulsen]

32. After reading The Shock Doctrine, I have to wonder who the real beneficiary is.

Yes, I'm awaiting the Friedmanites descent on Iran in the wake of the current chaos. I do not foresee a happy ending to this. I have no love for Ahmedinejad, but Mousavi is no better, and if the reports of his connections with Ghorbanifar are true, http://revolutionaryflowerpot.blogspot.com/2009/06/mir-hossein-mousavis-irancontra.html then Iran is just a heartbeat away from corporatist "shock therapy".