Theocracy or Democracy in Iran?

HUMANSIMPLETON SEZ:

'What is it that Obama and his posse should do exactly?

Same as it is doing to the N Korean leadership.

Nothing, but at the first sign of aggression, bomb them to the stone ages.'
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As for me, I'm pleased that human simpletons are confined to posting on the internet.

Unfortunate it is that McCain, et al are still holding forth on bombing Iran and other bothersome countries e.g. North Korea into the Stone Age - when in fact, these cultures still reside in the Stone Age, in every way that matters.

China will control North Korea because they've been bitten by that supreme hemorrhagic virus of all modern cultures, Capitalism. Say goodbye to Karl Marx...

Since North Korea is an excellent potential market for China's products, they will be brought into the fold in a decade or so.....but not without some creative manipulation to weaken US global interests beforehand.

Same deal with Iran - they're not bombing anyone into oblivion, because they're not a nuclear threat in any remote sense. Now Pakistan is another matter......

Curious we don't hear more about it.

"Given the election-related turmoil in the Islamic Republic of Iran, can democracy ever take hold in a theocracy?"

No. The "election" was sanctioned by the Supreme Leader and his posse. The results are subject to their whims. Heck, the candidates need to be approved by them before they run.

So unless there is a bloody revolution in which the theocrats are killed, there will be no democracy in Iran.

"How should the Obama administration respond to the disputed election and to Iran's ruling clerics?"

They should not pay heed to anything regarding the elections. They are meaningless. The focus should be on the Supreme Leader and the council.

What is it that Obama and his posse should do exactly?

Same as it is doing to the N Korean leadership.

Nothing, but at the first sign of aggression, bomb them to the stone ages.

My heart goes out to the people of Iran.

It is a basic human need to have freedom, without it all else is stifled.

It is corruption and greed in their own faith that they are fighting and it must be hard to do. This problem seems to be dominant in Islam, and it shouldn’t be.

If free countries of the world do not speak out in their support, then those who don’t have lost the meaning of the freedom their forefathers won for them.

Iran is in the middle of a very important struggle that all free nations have gone through and the whole world should pay attention.

We should all be prepared to react, as other nations did for us, in support of the people of Iran when the time is right or risk loosing our own freedom.

Mark
Always seek the truth.

The energy which is fueling the demonstrations for freedom have been building for some time. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYVdBj7LkMM for video of the light body of Imam Mahde, expected by Muslims, described on CNN last year by Christianne Amanpour in the series "the Hidden Imam".

I find it fascinating and heartening that the women of Iran are the fiercest protestors for freedom. They're tired of being treated like second-class citizens. They are intelligent and educated, and just want to be able to have the freedoms of their Western sisters.

The people of Iran are not protesting Islam. Certainly not when they're calling out "Allahu akhbar" from the rooftops every night. They're protesting against the theocratic rule of the Mullahs. Religious fundamentalism and secular power are a bad mix.

AVG?
Moses took The Hill. And then handed it back to God.:)

(but I suppose it should be more like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwHFIZTAym4&feature=related , if at all)

Funny things, those apocalyptic clerics. If only their "God" did actually appear to them like they seem to imagine he/she/it is - holding a nuke, and said "why do you summon me?".

Very good comments by CCNL; particularly the one of June 19 that calls for Israel to pull back to its 1948 borders as originally established by the UN. I doubt if you realize what you are asking for though CC, as the original UN approved borders of 1948 were of an Israeli state that was much smaller than the state established by the Green Line of the 1949 armistice following the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. The original 1948 “state” would occupy about 20% of the pre-1967 war bounded “state”.

Even this would not solve the existential problems faced by this racist so-called “State of Israel”. The UN, dominated by the victorious allied powers following WW II, had no right to create this racist so-called state out of whole cloth on Palestinian land.

The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any military occupation by a foreign power. This expressly forbids an occupying power from mistreating occupied civilians, stealing their natural resources (like water, Israelis use 80%), and expropriating their land.

Deepak Chopra no matter what the topic, for some reason ticks off Farnaz and a few others. Why is that???

What also should be shouted by the Iranian protestors:

"New York Times
ARTS & IDEAS/CULTURAL DESK | March 9, 2002
New Torah For Modern Minds
By MICHAEL MASSING (NYT)
origin: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482

New Torah For Modern Minds

Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.

Such startling propositions -- the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 years -- have gained wide acceptance among non-Orthodox rabbis. But there has been no attempt to disseminate these ideas or to discuss them with the laity -- until now.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents the 1.5 million Conservative Jews in the United States, has just issued a new Torah and commentary, the first for Conservatives in more than 60 years. Called ''Etz Hayim'' (''Tree of Life'' in Hebrew), it offers an interpretation that incorporates the latest findings from archaeology, philology, anthropology and the study of ancient cultures. To the editors who worked on the book, it represents one of the boldest efforts ever to introduce into the religious mainstream a view of the Bible as a human rather than divine document.

''When I grew up in Brooklyn, congregants were not sophisticated about anything,'' said Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of ''When Bad Things Happen to Good People'' and a co-editor of the new book. ''Today, they are very sophisticated and well read about psychology, literature and history, but they are locked in a childish version of the Bible.''

Does it really matter who is control in Iran as long as Islam controls the minds of the majority?? Said winners will always demand death to all infidels and subjugation of women!!!! And Pagans, Christians, Jews and Baha'ists will continue to be persecuted!!!

Israel- a significant flash point in Iran and elsewhere in the ME

- Its formation was approved by the UN in 1948. It should honor the original UN agreement and live within the described borders. Considering the hate generated by passages in the koran, erecting dividing walls between Muslims and Jews is highly recommended. UN forces should control these walls.

And Jerusalem should be made into an international city under the control and protection of the UN.

For information on Mir Hussein Moussavi see,

http://www.answers.com/topic/mir-hossein-mousavi?method=26&initiator=CANS

More importantly, Americans should be asking, "Will it be theocracy or democracy in the US?"

The US should respond as it has - think before reacting. It's their problem, let them deal with it. We are best served by doing nothing. No spin, no inciting, no nothing. Let it play itself out.