Posted on 08/24/2005 11:52:52 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
The demonstration was to begin at 5 p.m. I wanted to refresh a bit, so I took a shower at the hotel and began to dress when, at about 4:30 p.m., my companions Reese Erlich, Norman Solomon and Babak knocked on my door. They'd gotten an update. What had been anticipated as likely violence the evening before was now considered certain. This is a guilty admission, but when you have come to a place that is unfamiliar, with the intention of gaining a familiarity, absolutely nothing is more seductive than to see its darkest sides. I am an optimist. I can always look up. But to see down is to be down. We headed down to the demonstration.
As we approached Tehran University, traffic slowed to a stop. It was hot in the car. And sweaty. I could see people on overlooking apartment balconies, pointing in the direction of the demonstration and then retreating inside. The closer we got, the louder the volume of the couple of thousand people before us. The singing of the demonstrators, the honking of horns, the heckling of the crowd were rising. I was taping through the windshield as we approached. A traffic light came into my viewfinder and turned to red. At this point, rather than stay car-bound, I suggested we walk into the demonstration on foot.
People were being pushed, tempers were rising, but for the moment, we could see that the demonstrators had not yet been dispersed. There were uniformed police, yelling in threatening tones, and I was taping as I walked. I zoomed through the crowd catching several close images of some of the 100 female demonstrators. Women were prepared to take a baton across the head or more as the cost of speaking out.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
DAY IV PING!
The last time Sean Penn was anywhere, weeks later we bombed the tar out of Iraq. This is a good sign!!
But what about the all-important update on that day's bowel and bladder activity?
So you believe we can solve every problem in the world by dropping an MOAB?
Here is some more "news" from MEMRI
The Middle East Media Research Institute
8/19/2005 Clip No. 818
Iranian Leader Khamenei in a Tehran Friday Sermon: US Responsible for Terrorism; Palestinian Issue Should Be Solved by Referendum among 'Original' Palestinians; Iranians May Build Nuclear Plant in the Foreseeable Future
The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon at Tehran University by Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei, which aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV, on August 19, 2005.
Khamenei: The killing of innocent people is a great crime, regardless of who the perpetrator may be. The American machine-gun slaughtering Iraqis is criminal, just like those who plant bombs and blow up populated centers are criminals. The killing of people - babies, women, and men... Obviously, the first to be accused, as far as we're concerned, is America.
Crowd: Death to America. Death to America. Death to America. Death to America. Death to America.
Khamenei: The first to be accused in these incidents is America. How come? Because the American terrorism... I mean, Iraqi terrorism is taking place right before America's eyes. Thousands of American troops, intelligence and security personnel, and political forces are deployed throughout Iraq. If they only wanted to resolve the lack of security in Iraq, they could do so. Some believe - and there are indications for this - that these acts of terrorism are the handiwork of the American and Zionist espionage services. This should not be ruled out. There are indications for this. Why? Because they don't want (the Iraqi) government to succeed. The lack of security is their pretext to continue the occupation.
[...]
The Americans accuse Iran and Syria of letting terrorists and explosives enter Iraq from their borders. They constantly repeat these foolish and meaningless statements. Security is in their hands. Security is right before their eyes. Who in the entire world does not know that the terrorist groups, in whose name terrorist acts are carried out in Iraq, were partly created by America, and some others are influenced by America?
[...]
They are responsible. They are to blame. The terrorists operate before their own eyes. We have information. This is not mere speculation. This is actual information. On parts of the Iraqi borders, the terrorists move from place to place before the eyes of the Americans, and possibly with their assistance. This happens. And then they falsely accuse Iran and Syria.
[...]
The Palestinian issue has one solution, which we proposed a few years ago. There must be a referendum among the original Palestinians - whether in Palestine, the refugee camps, or in other countries, and whether Muslims, Jews, or Christians. It doesn't matter, as long as they are Palestinians. A referendum must be held among them to establish the government that they want - whether it is a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or mixed government. This government will be acceptable if it is established by Palestinian votes. This will resolve the Palestinian issue.
[...]
The Europeans should not talk as if we owe them anything. This isn't the 19th century! The Iranian people is no longer the people that was ruled by an English or American-appointed regime, and which had no choice but to accept what they said. Absolutely not. Today, the Islamic Republic regime relies on 70 million people. Today, the Iranian people, government, and senior officials sense the stability of a mountain within themselves. We fear no one. We always have the power and the ability to defend our rights. We will not relinquish these rights. The people's rights are non-negotiable.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Khamenei is the leader. Death to those who reject the rule of the jurisprudent. Death to America. Death to England. Death to the hypocrites (Mojahedin-e Khalq) and Saddam. Death to Israel.
[...]
Khamenei: Allah willing, in the foreseeable future, this people, and our young generation, will build a nuclear power plant by themselves.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Khamenei is the leader. Death to those who reject the rule of the jurisprudent. Death to America. Death to England.
Moabs on military targets make more sense than a ground invasion any day.
As I said in the previously deleted post. The Iranians need to take care of the problem before we do.
You are mixing the innocent people of IRAN with their stupid government.
The regime of Iran today has its own people as hostage!
Moreover, Iranian people are doing whatever they can to tell us that they are tired of this mad regime.
I wonder what you will say if an Iranian nuke goes off in, say
Israel, or the Vatican. They have the missiles and the range now.
How long do we wait?
Until a suitcase nuke in a major city or a missile is launched from a freighter 1500 to 1600 miles offshore at the continental US?
Hopefully he'll still be there this time.
Cite an example.
If you honestly want to know what I think, Sean Penn is irrelevant, pure and simple. He's just a tool for the left to show everyone that "Oh, we [the left] do care!". 50 million people could be slaughtered in this world under a Democratic president, and Sean Penn would be sitting on his thumbs.
I never did see the moral outrage from the left when their guy Bill Clinton was bombing Baghdad for four days and nights, to distract you and me and everyone else from the Monica Lewinsky fiasco.
Bush makes it clear he's had enough of the UN fudging around, and he's going to free 25 million people living under the oppressive thumb of Saddam Hussein, and Sean Penn decides he's going on a field trip of Iraq.
Whatever.
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