Freedom

OK, a little test for the scholars among us-which of the following is the truth? 

-A baby still in the womb is not a baby but a tissue mass, but the second it is born it becomes a baby.

-Islamic terrorists only want to kill Americans because we imprison them when they try to kill us.

-When it’s too hot, it’s due to global warming.  When it’s too cold, it’s due to global warming.

-The way to get out of a recession is for the government to take money from the private sector, siphon off enough to support the bureaucracy and then give the rest to companies that are unionized.

-The way to put people back to work is to take money from people that have jobs, and extend the jobless benefits of the unemployed.

-Another great idea to promote employment is to require small banks to make loans to small companies that don’t want loans. 

-Public school teachers work harder than any other profession and are grossly underpaid for what they do.

-Government at any level can never do with less funding than they had the year before, they always need more.

-Creating more bureaucracies and government agencies, and increasing regulations and taxes on the private sector, will lead to prosperity for all.

-If you run out of money, just print more!!  No problem!

-Evolution is a proven fact and the fossil record…..ummm…just take my word for it. 

-Good science is based on consensus or majority opinion.

-Liberal politicians never act like conservatives just to get elected.

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Introduction: Since the fraudulent June 12th Presidential elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), an increasingly emboldened opposition, the green movement, has arisen to demand the overthrow of the IRI. The green movement refuses to desist from launching massive street protests in Tehran, Qum, Isfahan and other major Iranian cities. All this is occurring despite violence wreaked upon thousands of valiant regime opponents by the ruling Mullahs and President Ahmadinejad. As of this writing more than 15 have been killed in clashes with Iranian security services including the nephew of reformist Presidential candidate Mir Mouhammed Mousavi, former IRI Prime Minister. Moreover several dissident leaders have been jailed. Something major is brewing in Iran – possibly revolution.
 
As the year was closing, first a crescendo of massive protests occurred at Students Day events. Then tens of thousands used the occasion of the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri to demonstrate their determination to end the rule of the Supreme Ruling Council head, Ayatollah Khamanei, and his puppet President Ahmadinejad. The final bloody weekend of 2009 witnessed the faltering IRI regime undertaking unprecedented security measures to pre-empt public mourning and observances of the Shia Ashura holy day. Police, revolutionary guard and the Basiji para-military forces blanketed Tehran in a vain attempt to stifle public gatherings. They failed. Massive throngs of people from all classes in Tehran and other major cities defied bans in spite of warnings that violators would be dealt with mercilessly.  As a Der Spiegel article reported these protesters were shouting: "We will fight, we will die, we will reconquer our country." There were graphic video images sent via the internet of protesters engaged in street battles with Basiji forces. 
 
Now there are reports that elements of the Iranian Military may have sided with the opposition in support of a secular republic. Jane Jamison in the American Thinker noted in a report, “Iranian Military moves in support the people’s revolution”:

It is difficult to verify, but factions in the Iranian military may be breaking rank to join the people’s cause. A group calling itself the National Iranian Armed Resistance Forces (NIRU) posted a news release on an Iranian protest website at the end of the day’s violence.
 
We, a number of Officers, Soldiers and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, hereby declare our readiness for rise to the armed defense of our nation against the forces of the criminal, illegitimate transgressing and occupying current Government of Iran, and hereby inform our brothers and sisters serving with the armed security forces of Iran, invite them to join us, request their support and ask them to provide cover for us in this moral & national act. A special request for support & cooperation goes to our brothers of the Military Police.

The NIRU says it intends to secure Iranian radio and television stations, the Parliament, and the courts, will hold local elections and referendums within 3 months and new presidential elections within 9 months and will dissolve the murderous “Basij” plainclothes police and establish a new national police force.

Protection and firepower from even a few factions of the military could signal a critical momentum change for the Iranian people, who by law cannot own weapons.

All this occurred despite the visible tyranny imposed by Basij para-military, Revolutionary Guards, and regime secret police arresting, beating and torturing opposition student and opposition political leaders. All this amidst vain attempts to prevent the news of this emerging Iranian revolution reaching the world by cell phone and the internet.
 
Some observers have even suggested that the apocalyptic version of Shia Islam espoused by the ruling Mullahs, might ultimately be consigned to the dustbin of history if such a revolution occurred.

Amir Taheri, expatriate Iranian journalist, in a Wall Street Journal column, …

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Zelaya’s Removal: Necessary and Proper

Guest post by Robert Romano

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met privately with former president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Afterward, she announced that the crisis in that nation would now be mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, saying,

“We hope at the end of this mediation there will be a return of democratic constitutional order that is agreed to by all concerned.”

It’s time to take off the gloves: Mrs. Clinton is lying. “[D]emocratic constitutional order” has in fact already been returned to Honduras, no thanks to her boss, Barack Obama. And then only because Manuel Zelaya was impeached and removed from office by the Honduran Congress, and his attempt at rewriting the nation’s Constitution halted by the Supreme Court.

Zelaya’s removal was in fact the only legal outcome that could occur under law. And it was also necessary in order to maintain the constitutional administration of government in Honduras. What happened?

As ALG News has previously reported, Zelaya was attempting to convene a constitutional convention that would have enabled him to rewrite portions of the Constitution that defined term limits for the office of President.

Zelaya was repeatedly warned—by his own constitutional experts, the Public Prosecutor General, the Attorney General, the presiding judge of the Administrative Law Court, the Office of the State Attorney, the Administrative Law Tribunal, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the National Congress, and the National Commissioner for Human Rights—that his proposed referendum was unconstitutional, but he knowingly proceeded anyway with his unlawful plans.

In Honduras, the President is only allotted one term of office. And, it is unconstitutional for any public servant to even propose extending that term. While that may appear harsh, in Honduras the people have little use for would-be kings, or populist demagogues.

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