Benjen Stark Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Stupid fucking republican motherfuckers. This will not help.Here, at least stupidity is international:The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, headed by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, releases this statement:http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/jun/25/iran-crisis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormund Ukrainesbane Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 At least your British guy is just talking. Our geniuses have already got it into legislation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tears of Lys Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Yas. They must "Do Something" or be thought weak or ineffectual. They don't realize we already think they're ineffectual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormund Ukrainesbane Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Tormund - I've been meaning to ask you, what's it like to be a libertarian these days? I mean, on the one hand, the traditional GOP stances are more in line with a libertarian than the Democrats are. But the GOP of today is fighting to be the party of stupid in way that becomes more and more hilarious on an almost daily basis. If I were a libertarian I wouldn't know what to do.Ron Paul is the only member of the GOP even approaching libertarian values these days (although Peter Schiff and Ron's son Rand "not named after Ayn Rand" Paul are considering senate bids). One would hate him for propping up the republican bullshit but he's such a nice old dude it's tough to.Really the Republican's and Democrats each hold watered down versions of libertarian values, it doesn't really weigh one way or the other. The Democrats lean more toward civil liberties like drug usage and abortion (while still managing to be terrible on both), the republicans toward civil liberties like self defense and fiscal independance (while still managing to be terrible on both). Both parties are abhorrent on foreign policy, as well as government spending and police powers.I am not involved in the Libertarian Party, nor do I vote, so I don't think I'm representative of the party at large. I think more along the lines of the folks at www.lewrockwell.com Allowing that, it's pretty much general disgust with the system. Digust with foreign policy has been around since Woodrow Wilson. Civil liberties and the police state are getting worse. People's opinions seem to be drifting more towards our line of thinking as the drug war continues to take it's toll, but even if/when drugs are legalized the horrible police powers will still be around. It's pretty depressing but we forbear. It is exciting to see people in open revolt in Iran, wish we could get some of that here. I don't consider our system to be horribly more corrupt than theirs to tell you the truth, but most folks here would disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 It is exciting to see people in open revolt in Iran, wish we could get some of that here.I don't think this qualifies as open revolt; it's more of a power struggle amongst the elites. Our elites are a lot more willing to coexist and know not to push things too far -- if Bush had "won" 57% of the vote in Massachusetts against Kerry or Obama had "won" 57% in Texas against McCain, I bet you'd see a lot of protests in the US, but they don't even try to pull that kind of thing off because they've realized it is much easier to take turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzanth Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I wonder if this is going exactly they way that the conservatives wanted? The protests seem to be petering out and the various armed forces have so far supported the regime. To a certain degree they now have complete precedent for ignoring elections and the constitution. I also find it interesting that Khamenei's son is rumored to have been named as his successor. Is this the end of the Islamic Republic and the start of some form of blatant monarchy? A different sort of revolution than we would like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxtile Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 This is an interview with the doctor who tried to save the young Iranian woman Neda.Guy still seems like he's trying to get over the shock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyanna Stark Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Yas. They must "Do Something" or be thought weak or ineffectual. They don't realize we already think they're ineffectual.Exactly.At least the UK politicians would do anything to divert attention away from the expenses scandal, so they'd grab and hold onto whatever is given right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzanth Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 It's well past noon in Iran. Wasn't Khamenei supposed to talk today? Why is there nothing anywhere about this? Surely the information blackout isnt that effective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Last week's Friday prayers were broadcst live on national TV, making them easy to pick up and report on. This week they have reverted to the normal practice of only broadcasting them on local FM stations, making them difficult to get hold of. They usually get rebroadcast in the evening.Edit: The prayers were led by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hardline supporter of Ahmadinejhad, rather than Khamane'i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Anyone still wondering why Britain was singled out for criticism last week?Here's your answer.The UK has demanded the immediate release of Iranian staff at its Tehran embassy who were arrested on Saturday.Iranian media earlier reported that eight local staff at the mission had been detained for their "considerable role" in post-election riots.UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband called the arrests "harassment" and dismissed the allegations as baseless. A strong protest had been made directly to the Iranian authorities, but there had been no response.There you have the cunning plan. Pin the blame for the protests (or a fair chunk of it) on some poor saps working out of a Western embassy. Can't pick on the US, so Britain will do. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Oh, don't worry. They've accused us of meddling too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Oh, don't worry. They've accused us of meddling too.Yes, I had noticed. But I'm not worried about our countries being accused of stuff, I'm worried about the fate of those people accused as individuals and being held by the Iranian authorities. edit to be more polite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarysTheSpider Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Damn Iranians, always one step ahead of us. Wonder if we'll soon see the embassy staff confessing their sins on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Heinous. I hope they just expel the poor fuckers from the country. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Heinous. I hope they just expel the poor fuckers from the country. :(They're not likely to expel Iranian citizens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EHK for Darwin Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Yes, I had noticed. But I'm not worried about our countries being accused of stuff, I'm worried about the fate of those people accused as individuals and being held by the Iranian authorities. edit to be more polite.And I'm worried about the continued violation of the sanctity of the Embassy by the Iranian state. The Embassy is the means by which most global diplomacy takes place. Its existence is premised on the unconditional guarantee that your diplomats will not be harmed or held by our state. Iran's continued disregard for this sacred institution that all but makes large scale international diplomacy possible is disgusting and intolerable. Civilized states do not behave in this manner. There is one proper method to deal with diplomats you disapprove of and that is expulsion. Anything else is a grievous violation of international law and spitting in the face of the entire global community. Entire Muslim nations were leveled for similar offenses in the past. (where's the Mongol hordes when you need them?) Each subsequent violation of the embassy creates a more permissive attitude towards such unacceptable actions elsewhere. It undermines the very foundation of the embassy, without which global diplomacy would be severely crippled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Without wishing to excuse the actions of the Iranian government, who have enough crimes to answer for, they have not "violated the sanctity" of the embassy, nor have they taken any action against diplomats, let alone expelled any of them. Not on this occasion, anyway. These are Iranian citizens, who have no diplomatic status or immunity whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EHK for Darwin Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Without wishing to excuse the actions of the Iranian government, who have enough crimes to answer for, they have not "violated the sanctity" of the embassy, nor have they taken any action against diplomats, let alone expelled any of them. Not on this occasion, anyway. These are Iranian citizens, who have no diplomatic status or immunity whatsoever.Fair enough. Missed that part of the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 They're not likely to expel Iranian citizens.Shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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