Going Waco in Iran, Losing the Mandate of Heaven

Robert Scheer
Hamilton & Puzzanghera

“Until Friday we had 80 percent dictatorship and 20 percent democracy, and since Friday we have 100 percent dictatorship.” - Samira


Thirty years ago the iranian Reveloution happened, overthrowing the Shah and establishing what has been called an Islamic Republic. The clergy ended up on top, making laws and treating its citizens like children. Now, those children of the Revolution have grown up and are standing up and walking in protest, telling the government they no longer want to be treated this way. Talking back to the mullahs and officials the same way they now talk back to their parents, disillusioned by 30 years of dictatorial rule.

 After being told sternly by Big Daddy Khamenei not to protest further, a few thousand took to the streets this morning, fully prepared to be martyred. Troops were waiting, thankfully, not using guns... from al Jazeera: "Iranian police have reportedly used tear gas, water cannon and batons against thousands of people gathering to protest against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president.

Protesters tried to reach Revolution Square in the centre of the capital Tehran for a planned protest on Saturday, despite warnings from police that they would be arrested. Police had blocked access to the square and Ahmadreza Radan, the deputy national police commander, had said they would "strongly confront any illegal gatherings and those without permission".

Shouts of Death to the Dictator! have been heard...

This has grown beyond any fake election, and none of the opposition candidates were brave enough to step outside and show their support. Just like the youth marches in the 60's and 70's that evolved into culture wars over the next 40 years, many we are still fighting, the spirit awakened by these Iranian citizens will end up changing the face of the Iranian government in years to come and may well spread across the rest of the Middle East.

Whatever role technology and the Internet has played, it has proven that we live together on a small planet and our actions can no longer be hidden from the rest of the world. And just like groups of young people everywhere, they know what they don't want, the status quo must change, but they are not quite sure what they want it to change into...

Myanmar hasn't had an election in 19 years, since the military dictator imprisoned the legitimate winner and claimed the election was annulled. Aung San Suu Kyi is spending her 64th birthday in prison, the BBC reports: "Aung San Suu Kyi has spent much of the past two decades under house arrest, the last six years in such severe isolation that she has had almost no opportunity to communicate with the outside world.

Her party, which resoundingly won the last election 19 years ago, has been weakened and divided by almost constant military harassment. Meanwhile the army, her nemesis, has more than doubled in size, has extended its control into all areas of life and now consumes around 40% of the national budget." This trumped up trial, which has been suspended for as long as they can get away with, is planned to keep Aung in jail past the next election, and branding her a criminal so that she couldn't take part in the election if she happened to be released before then.

All is not going well for the dictator, General Than Shwe, who is 72 and in ill health. All he wants to do is set up his successor and secure his retirement, no surprises like being arrested or assassinated... A couple of years ago he was responsible for the shooting and killing of Buddhist monks who were protesting the treatment of Aung. Then, a devastating cyclone hit last year, and finally, as reported by the NY Times: "The Danok pagoda, on the outskirts of Myanmar’s main city, Yangon, was newly blessed May 7 in the presence of Daw Kyaing Kyaing, the wife of the country’s supreme leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, along with an A-list of junta society. The rite received major coverage in government-controlled media.

In a solemn ceremony, the worshipers fixed a diamond orb to the top of the pagoda along with a pennant-shaped vane and sprinkled scented water onto the tiers of a holy, golden umbrella, according to the government mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar.

Like the rest of the heavily censored press, the newspaper was silent when it all came crashing down.

But word of mouth — and foreign radio broadcasts — spreads fast in Myanmar.

“People were laughing at her,” said a longtime astrologer, reached by telephone in Myanmar, speaking of Mrs. Kyaing Kyaing.

“O.K., she thinks she is so great, but even the gods don’t like her — people believe like that.” So. world opinion has caught up to his bad karma, and even the spirits are jeering him, which may indicate why the government is uncertain on how to continue the mock trial. Maybe they will send her to Paulau...

late night jokes:

"But my son, God bless him. In school, he made me a very special Father's Day gift. It's a huge in-box for all my hate mail." --David Letterman

"And by the way, if you haven't bought dad a gift for Father's Day, you can't go wrong with the new book by Rush Limbaugh. You know the one I'm talking about? 'Too Fat to Fish.'" --David Letterman

"They're having a lot of trouble over there in Iran. They had the presidential election. And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- it was controversial, they were tied, and now he's claiming that he won by a landslide. So his opposition, they're out on the streets. And you know, when you're out in Iran, you're not supposed to be -- public displays, no, you can't do that. And it's like hundreds of thousands of people in the streets now protesting this election. And the government is going crazy. And they're saying, 'No, no, no, no. It's not a -- no, that, that's not a protest. Those are folks just lining up to get their new iPhones.'" --David Letterman

"But this guy, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I mean, he claims victory and he is very unpopular. And the danger politically of this, he could ruin the political career of his brother, Jeb Ahmadinejad." --David Letterman

"Here's fascinating news. Dick Cheney, do you remember Dick Cheney? Dick 'Boom Boom' Cheney. His approval rating is up to 26%, up to 26%. Yeah, crazy, isn't it? He's been upgraded from hated to unpopular." --David Letterman

"I'm not surprised that Dick Cheney's approval rating has really soared, really skyrocketed, up to 26%. Because you know, he gave people what they wanted. He left office." --David Letterman

"The animal rights group PETA is criticizing President Obama after seeing footage of Obama killing a fly. Meanwhile, today, a fly buzzing around Joe Biden took its own life." --Conan O'Brien

"Not such a great day for Hillary Clinton. She fell down, broke her elbow. You know, Fox News is going to be all over this story. This proves the Democrats are weak. Reagan fell over 10 times, didn't even break his hair." --Craig Ferguson

"Now the official report said that Hillary fell while she was walking to her car in the parking lot of the State Department. But Hillary likes to exaggerate, so she's telling everybody it was sniper fire." --Craig Ferguson

"The Secret Service performed beautifully but they had to use the Jaws of Life to cut Hillary out of her pantsuit." --Craig Ferguson

"In his speech yesterday, former President George W. Bush attacked President Obama's policies on anti-terrorism, healthcare, and the economy. Then Bush spent the next 20 minutes trying to kill a fly." --Jimmy Fallon

"Big election news from Iran. A British newspaper reported that Mir Hossein Mousavi actually won the election and Ahmadinejad came in third. And coming in second, Al Gore. The guy can't win anything." --Jimmy Fallon

"Here's some good news. President Obama just appointed Tom Brokaw to his Commission on White House Fellowships, mostly because he loves to hear Brokaw try to pronounce fellowship." --Jimmy Fallon