JMS Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 You have to admit, These Iranian protesters are slick. I think this is another great idea from these guys. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-06/iran-goes-on-strike/?cid=hp:mainpromo4 Iran goes on Strike. Reza Aslan reports that opposition leaders in Iran are planning a three-day strike to be carried out under the cover of a religious holiday. Now if only Iranians can get the rest of us to care. A massive sandstorm swept into Tehran Monday morning, blanketing the streets in a dark and dreamy haze. The tops of buildings where, last night, the protest calls of “God is great!” rang out for the 21st consecutive day, are barely visible. Most of Tehran’s bustling downtown appears abandoned. The air quality is so bad that people say it is difficult to breathe. An eerie calm has descended upon the city. Perfect weather for a strike. Monday is the start of an unusual three-day Islamic holiday called Itikaf. Sometimes translated as “seclusion” or “retreat,” Itikaaf is a time when particularly pious Muslims cloister themselves inside homes or mosques for a period of intense prayer and deep spiritual reflection. It is a practice that the Iranian regime has long encouraged the country’s citizens, particularly the youth, to take part in, usually without much success. “Let them beat us in the mosques if they dare,” said one. “Let them beat us while we are fasting and praying.” But this year, supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are planning to take up the government’s appeal for religious observance. Mousavi’s web site has called on Iranians to use the state-sanctioned holiday to launch a three-day, nation-wide strike and boycott of businesses and banks in hopes of re-sparking the popular demonstrations that brought the country to a halt two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Good luck to them. It is a great idea to use their tools against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 How much of a strike is it if it occurs during a holiday where they wouldn't be working anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 How much of a strike is it if it occurs during a holiday where they wouldn't be working anyway? Actually I think it's a religous holiday which is not widely supported. So it's not like the 4th of July, rather it's like May 16th, National Bike to Work Day. A holidy which not many folks partake in. Most Iranians work during this period, and the protesters plan to mass as mosques and have a sit ins. Their daring the beseige's to come into the mosques to beat them.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Surprise http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran7-2009jul07,0,1530538.story The top leaders of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard publicly acknowledged they had taken over the nation's security during the post-election unrest and warned late Sunday, in a threat against a reformist wave led by Mir-Hossein Mousavi, that there was no middle ground in the ongoing dispute over the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite military branch, said the guard's takeover of the nation's security had led to "a revival of the revolution." "These events put us in a new stage of the revolution and political struggles, and all of us must fully comprehend its dimensions," he said at a Sunday press conference, according to reports that surfaced today. "Because the Revolutionary Guard was assigned the task of controlling the situation, [it] took the initiative to quell a spiraling unrest. This event pushed us into a new phase of the revolution and political struggles and we have to understand all its dimensions." ... "Today, no one is impartial," Gen. Yadollah Javani said at the Sunday news conference, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. "There are two currents -- those who defend and support the revolution and the establishment, and those who are trying to topple it." The uniformed Revolutionary Guard leaders, joined by the turbaned cleric Ali Saedi, Khamenei's representative, said they would play a more active role in defending the Islamic Republic's core values, though they insisted this should not be interpreted as meddling in politics. "The Revolutionary Guard is tasked with defending the revolution and it has to play a determining role in protecting and eternalizing the revolution," said Jafari, in comments posted to government websites. "Such an attitude does by no means mean interference with politics." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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