This is an amazing video.
On the one hand, the blending of electronica dance rhythms and traditional instruments, along with all the pageantry you see in this video, tell us that a gigantic cultural explosion has been building up behind the firewalls of Islamist statehood.
It happened because of the internet. It happened because students explored a virtual world and became aware of the truth about their regime. When the regime reinstituted cultural oppressions, the people awoke to form a movement so democratic it's practically anarchist.
I've opened a liveblog on my website because the news coming out of Iran shows the people are winning. The state has brought power to bear and Iranians have thrown themselves at the state without hesitation. They have overpowered Basiji, who are now the ones concealing their faces. They have beaten riot squads into submission. They have rescued two men from death by strangulation and sent security forces running away...on camera.
And they have done it all without a real leadership, while having evolved into...this. This beautiful, suddenly-tolerant...culture.
I'm making a prediction: if the regime falls, invest in Persian carpets. I have one I can sell you...
Infidel753, who has subject matter expertise in this area, made a few interesting points in the comment thread under his post, Obama speaks out. Quoting Infidel753:
ReplyDelete(30 December, 2009 08:57):
I think the regime blundered badly by murdering Mousavi's nephew (a man claiming descent from the prophet Muhammad) on Ashura, a holiday which commemorates the killing of Muhammad's grandson Hussain in the 7th century by the Umayyad dynasty, a monarchy which Shiites consider the epitome of evil. They've created an obvious parallel between themselves and the Umayyads.”
and …
(30 December, 2009 18:07):
Ashura is practically the emotional center of Shiite Islam. In the middle ages there were even "passion plays" in Iran which re-enacted the martyrdom of Hussein, like the ones in medieval Europe re-enacting the execution of Jesus.
The killing of Mousavi's nephew was clearly an assassination. From what I've heard, he was run over by an SUV, from which several men emerged who shot him multiple times as he lay injured in the street. The authorities then removed the body, refused to tell his family where it was, and ordered them not to hold a funeral.
Infidel753 adds that while Americans may not be aware of the symbolism of this assassination, Iranians are certainly aware. Thus, the wager is not on "if" but "when" the regime falls.
I should add the most bizarre way you can tell something extraordinary is going in with Iran is that when you watch CNN, they show more and better video of Iran than they would if their own cameras had been in Iran.
ReplyDeleteFor all the powers of the state, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei can't stop this anymore.
Gee, I wonder if we're better off since we didn't elect Bomb-bomb McCain.
ReplyDeleteI did a piece a while back about our entry into the "Age of Aquarius" and how amazingly accurate the predictions of just a year ago were.
ReplyDeleteWhile doing the research for that post, I read about what we could expect over the next several years as we moved into the midst of this rare atrological event. Time and again each article described a period of great strife and struggle before coming out into peace and harmony.
If only it were true; I don't really put much store in the reading of the stars, but ~ time will tell I suppose.
In the meantime, we continue to expose what the MSM ignores and that is a good thing.
Rocky, I am an Aquarian. Sometimes I even live in one.
ReplyDelete