If it's Not The Axis Of Evil, It's Pretty Close

We all may argue with the best way to deal with Iran, but was George Bush really far from the truth when he called it's regime- Evil? If we can't fight all the world's battles, can't we at least have the courage to call a bad government, bad.

In 2003 a Canadian photographer died in custody after photographing a protest in Tehran.

“Everything I saw indicated it was organised torture and not an injury that caused her death,” Dr Azam said. Deep scratches behind her neck “looked like the result of nails digging into the flesh”.

Her right shoulder was bruised, she had two broken fingers, a broken nose, three missing fingernails, a skull fracture, crushed left toe and a burst ear membrane, he said. Male doctors in Iran are not permitted to conduct vaginal examinations, but a nurse found severe abdominal and genital bruising and concluded that it was the result of savage rape. Ms Kazemi had bruises from her abdominal area down to her thighs."

Saaed Mortazavi,known in Iran as "the butcher of the press, responsible for brutal arrests of journalists, bloggers and activists in Iran is has been put in charge of prisoner interrogations.



Well, it's getting better--- No free hot dogs.

Hat tips to Atlas Shrugs for trying to keep a clear focus on the horror going on in Iran.



Many, many videos online. Of course confirming facts and stories is difficult since most communications have been cut and all press are banned from walking the streets.

Was There A Coup In Iran?

Who can tell from a distance just what is going on in a country as large,isolated and opaque as Iran; a society in which a crust of stability seems to cover a rumbling boil of hopes and discontentment.

Thirty years ago resentment at the Shah's repressive regime brought to power a theocratic Shia Islamic state which preached fear and hatred of America and the "unclean" western world. A government increasingly unpopular with both educated urban youth who resented the repression and stupidity of religious rule and many of the rural poor who saw the government as corrupt and ineffective.

A Times editorial makes a strong case that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has turned a state dominated by a religious elite with an illusion of democracy,into a military dictatorship in which clerics play a more symbolic role.

"In Mr. Ahmadinejad, the public saw a man who repudiated the profligacy of the clerical class, a man who was ascetic, humble and devout. And he capitalized on that image to consolidate power and to promote his brothers in arms. Fourteen of the 21 cabinet ministers he has appointed are former members of the guards or its associated paramilitary, the Basij. Several, including Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, are veterans of notorious units thought to have supported terrorist operations in the 1980s.

This creeping militarization has not been restricted to the central government: provincial governors, press commissars, film directors, intelligence officers and business leaders are increasingly former members of the guard. The elite force controls much of the economy either directly — the Basij has rights to oil extraction — or through proxy companies like Khatam al Anbiya, which dominates construction throughout Iran."

Ahmadinejad's intimidating confidence and threats support the view that the council of clerics who control Iranian elections are no longer really in charge as does the "in your face openness" of the vote rigging. "The unusually speedy certification of the election and Ayatollah Khamenei’s quick blessing — “a divine miracle” — only served to underscore an obvious sham."

The vast crowds of people demonsrating against the election may have walked into a trap as the regime uses the opportunity to arrest and silence it's organisers often using twitter and Facebook to track them down. But it's not over yet. The number of demontrators and their courage reveal a fury that will be hard to stop forever. Unfortunately the stage is set for explosive violence.