30 Comments

1. PA Cat:

Waiting to hear from the Secretary of State, the wise Latina, the First Lady with the $540 sneakers, and all the rest of the “oppressed” sisterhood . . .

Jun 23, 2009 - 2:42 am 2. Derek:

How is this taken by Iranian men?

Maybe someone familiar with Iranian culture can tell us.

Derek

Jun 23, 2009 - 2:57 am 3. blogstrop:

Basij may as well be farsi for bastard.

Jun 23, 2009 - 3:11 am 4. no mo uro:

This sort of civilian goon squad tactic isn’t limited to countries like Iran. It has happened in the past. It will happen again.

Look at union thuggery in the West. People so addicted to the ‘monkey trap’ of the previous thread so terrified of losing their perfect income stream security and status that they will beat and kill to maintain their status quo.

Look at the carbecues in France during work strikes

Look at states like Massachusetts where union Kennedy supporters beat women Republican women with campaign signs when he ran against Mitt Romney. Or Minnesota, where Republicans’ tires are slashed by welfare recipients at election time.

Should the politics of Obama and his acolytes become entrenched here (and yes, I know the jury is still out on whether or not that can or will happen) are we looking at ACORN (or whatever they end up calling themselves) being like the Basij in 10-15 years?

Jun 23, 2009 - 3:12 am 5. ledger:

The Basij:

“We like to target women.”

“They are easier to beat and kill then men. Men put up a fight.”

Jun 23, 2009 - 3:21 am 6. Salt Lick:

…are we looking at ACORN (or whatever they end up calling themselves) being like the Basij in 10-15 years?

No doubt Eric Holder’s “Justice” Department hopes so. But that sh*t won’t fly very long here in the US of A.

Jun 23, 2009 - 3:34 am 7. Barry Meislin:

And then there are the absolutely pathetic among us…

Can anyone imagine Neville Chamberlain saying,
“I was essentially correct, but just a little off on the timing”??

Um, no, Mr. Cohen (and Mr. Sullivan—and everyone else who continues to extol the blind, misleading apologists for the Mullahcracy): the Basij is the face of the Iranian regime, current, past, and, if they have any “say” (or truncheon, shoot, or stab) in the matter, future; a regime, which you went out of your way to paint as pliable, potentially willing to negotiate, open to reason, persuasion and good sense.

Absolutely pathetic.

Jun 23, 2009 - 3:39 am 8. Mark:

no mo uro writes: “Or Minnesota, where Republicans’ tires are slashed by welfare recipients at election time.”

I think the Cheeseheads from Milwaukee did that.

Jun 23, 2009 - 4:36 am 9. black betty:

The Basij are basically angry, horny malcontents or True Believers looking for someone to punish. They’ve always done this, skulking and stalking about, looking for a wisp of hair sticking out from a headscarf or the slightest hint of lipstick. They will stop men and women on the street, or even boys and girls: how are you related to one another? Is this your relative? And they are punished if the answer does not satisfy. There have been cases where the offenders have been hauled off to the local station to be forcibly married. One of the tactics employed by young people is to suddenly ignore their date or companion when the Basij come by. “So if you don’t know this person, you don’t care if we hit them?” and they will start beating one of them. It’s expected among the dating scene that you will affect an indifferent look and regroup with your sweetie later. The relations between young men and young women are very damaged and strained in the Islamic Republic. There’s just no easy way to socialize or meet new people in a normal, easy setting.

It’s no surprise they are targeting women. Although I am sure that a lot of these Basij volunteers have abnormal relations with women, or have a real and pathological hatred of women, there are those who realize that the young women are one of the driving forces of this protest. In the early days, when it was still a protest over the vote, it was the women and girls you saw doing most of the fighting against the Basij twerps. Women hate the Basij and all their tattle-tale heckling, rough treatment, and general creepy, malicious attitudes. Now that the protest has gotten way out of hand, the Basij are targeting females to send a message and frighten the others. They’ve got to get a lid on this thing. I think it will backfire at this point.

Jun 23, 2009 - 5:01 am 10. mac:

Pay close attention, boys and girls. This is why you NEVER let the government even START to think about taking away your guns. You think the Basij would be pulling that kind of crap on a crowd where every man and woman had either a pistol or a rifle?

Like they said about the Nazis, if every time the Basij invaded someone’s home they encountered a homeowner with a loaded .40 S&W pistol ready to kill, they’d soon lose the habit.

I wonder how many it will take ACORN to get that message.

Jun 23, 2009 - 5:25 am 11. what is occupation:

what i am hearing form the left is that we are all wrong..

peace and understanding of islam is the issue…

the problem is we (americans with a spine) are like gasoline to a fire..

we just cause the issues… if only we could just understand how wonderful islam is….

Jun 23, 2009 - 5:48 am 12. Cannoneer No. 4:

Basij Basics.

Basij-e Mostaz’afin means Mobilization of the Oppressed in Farsi. They started out as cannon fodder for Iraqis to expend ammo upon. Ahmadinejad used to train 12-year olds for human wave attacks. Since those days the Basij had become a Persian version of the Mutaween, but in the last couple of years they have become more closely integrated with the Pasdaran.

Jun 23, 2009 - 6:31 am 13. always right:

How considerate for the Amenesty Intl.
…called on the Iranian government to instruct the militia to moderate their brutality.

Moderate brutality? Hahaha…

Don’t forget
“Volunteering basijis are men and women, too
All they need is a hug or two”

/what use is AI?

Jun 23, 2009 - 7:32 am 14. ElMondo:

“It is inconceivable that Basij should have acted without the instructions of their masters…”

Actually, no, it’s not. It’s a dodge called “plausible deniability”. Those “masters” damn well know who comprises the basij, and what they’re capable of. They wouldn’t have to explicitly instruct them in violence, they just have to let them go, then they can shrug and say “well, what did you expect? Protestors attract those kind of people”, all the while playing both sides of that street. It’s the same thing as letting a wild dog loose on a stranger; everyone knows what the dog is capable of, but the person cutting the leash can fool himself into thinking that his defense that “I can’t control the dog” is legitimate.

Jun 23, 2009 - 7:45 am 15. Lifeofthemind:

The long and the short of it is that these Basiji guys really do not like women. The alliance that the Left has built among women, homosexuals and moslems is one of the most unnatural beasts on earth.

What conservatives need is a face that does not present itself as sanctimonious, because the media have preprogrammed the people to read that as hypocritical. Most people now see life as a television show and everyone now expects a scandal to be revealed before the last commercial break. What works better is a happy honest presentation that straight forwardly says “Yes we like women.” That is why conservative actors and musicians are feared by the Left far more than politicians. The Rock Star is inside the Left’s OODA loop.

Jun 23, 2009 - 8:19 am 16. B. Casey:

I’ve heard from a friend who has friends in Tehran now. He told me that the basij are speaking arabic. Which means they are foreign to the region. He suggested they were either Hizballah or Hamas mercenaries.
whether his inference is true or not if the regime is bringing in foreign mercenaries to quell their own people, that is very troubling.

Jun 23, 2009 - 9:01 am 17. Barry 0351:

Yup and where the hell is Sean Penn and Jane Fonda or cindy shehan Now that their pet dictator has gone lethal why aren’t they at least voicing their support?
In America women can Command Space Shuttles under Islam women can only think with a man’s permission.

Jun 23, 2009 - 9:11 am 18. blert:

The IRGC has long been noted for training and indoctrinating Hamas and Hez players on their own soil.

Hence, these arabic speaking goons are the perfect solution for the mullahs.

It must be remarked as to how the Iranian Army is a complete no show…

Ditto for the bulk of the Islamic Republican Guard Corps…

The reason must be obvious: the key officers in all of these formations have kin marching the streets.

We saw the same situation in China. Then the powers that be had to wait days to get non-local formations to crack down on the demonstrators.

National strikes would seem the best way to cripple the mullahs.

Beyond that a tax rebellion would really hurt.

A concerted move against funds held by the regime while offering a retirement villa for the top players might give us a Marcos ending.
Southern France springs to mind.

The crazy thing is that Mousavi is as evil as Dinnerjacket.

The NSA has fingered him as being the lead character behind the Beirut Marine barracks bombing. What a guy!

—

I just don’t see the mullahs putting the pieces back together.

Sometimes Lexington and Concord happen…

History takes a fork in the road…

And events flow as they will…

There is no going back.

Just on the economics, the mullahs are done for. Oil exports trend ever downward. Food imports trend ever higher. Hard drug addiction is sky high, as is unemployment.

Moving major military formations around sucks up a lot of gasoline which must be imported.

Maybe when they’re broke they’ll quit.

Jun 23, 2009 - 10:23 am 19. NahnCee:

The thought occurs to wonder what the nice innocent lady in the Islam-dictated burka might be carrying underneath her garment. Be a lot easier to hide a bazooka under one of those slave-capes than if you’re dressed in jeans and sneakers. In point of fact, is that even a nice lady underneath that thing?

Jun 23, 2009 - 10:27 am 20. Insufficiently Sensitive:

It was the 12-year-old Basijis who were detailed to run through the Iraqi minefields ahead of the regular Army, so that their shredded corpses would buy a few more yards for the big guys.

Now, of course, the new Basijis feel that their dues were fully paid up 21 years ago.

Jun 23, 2009 - 10:31 am 21. Roderick Reilly:

“”"”"”"are we looking at ACORN (or whatever they end up calling themselves) being like the Basij in 10-15 years?”"”"”

It’s more likely that Americorps and other federally-funded “volunteer” organizations will recruit aggressively among street gangs, under the guise of “reforming” them. With gangs of federally-funded young men (and women) inured to violence at the beck-and-call of “community organizers,” we will have bully boys, but 2-to-3 degrees of separation removed from party and activist leadership.

With the current economic and fiscal policies creating more and bigger opportunities for the expansion of organized crime, expect greater mob influence in unions, and expect organized crime coffers to swell further with things like an expansion of the cigarette-smuggling trade, and any other “underground economy” answers to over-regulation. Criminal mercenaries doing the bidding of activists at the behest of a certain political party’s operatives may become a part of our near future.

Jun 23, 2009 - 11:26 am 22. Richard Aubrey:

I believe certain Chicago gangs (Blackstone P. Rangers come to mind) spent some time on the feds’ payroll.
Don’t know how that worked out.

Jun 23, 2009 - 12:06 pm 23. Cyber Johnny:

10. mac – Quite right. Expect to see Obama’s Chicago-style position on guns revealed soon. The Dems in the House and Senate are raring to go as soon as he gives them the word. I’m thinking the gun confiscation program won’t be a big success down here in Texas though. Expect any future Basij-like activities to be pretty much limited to blue northern states.

Jun 23, 2009 - 12:30 pm 24. Cannoneer No. 4:

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set,” he said. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.”

Is it paranoid and racist to compare The New Black Panther Party “poll watchers” with the Basij?

Those ACORN “Census takers” are going to need Personal Security Details in some less progressive neighborhoods. Reckon the Fruit of Islam and NBPP have it covered?

Jun 23, 2009 - 12:35 pm 25. whiskey:

Black Betty — Polygamy GUARANTEES (and it’s integral to Islam) a good portion of men priced out of the relationship market. It just does. So yeah, no wonder the Basij are hostile to women. See “the Lives of Others” or “Stoning of Soraya M” to see both sides of that coin in a Big Man system.

Women UNDER the rule of a Castro, a Chavez, a Nutjob, whoever the forgotten dictator of East Germany was, suffer. They are mere property to be seized and used. This is why women are often in the forefront of wanting the Big Men gone after a generation or two.

However … Women in the West don’t suffer that. It’s why Wise Latina Women, and First Ladies with $700 sneakers, and Secretary of State, don’t object to the murder of old ladies and young music student women. Why? Because the Big Men gives them chills and thrills. Women are hard-wired to desire and admire the Big Man. Give women enough of his unalloyed nature and they will find him odious. But let only the “good” things peek through — the dominance, control, authority, and Western, coddled women facing no threat, will love the guys.

It’s why educated Swedish women prefer dominant, controlling Muslim Men to their feminized counterparts. [According to Sandra Tsing Loh in the Atlantic.] It’s why women in the West support the Castros and NutJobs, and women who live under them despise them (as they are treated as no better than sex slaves).

Nothing will change in the West until women get exactly what they crave — rule of a dominating, female-oriented, Big Man who is the absolute and unchallenged King. And they get a full bellyfull of him.

Jun 23, 2009 - 1:01 pm 26. NahnCee:

“Criminal mercenaries doing the bidding of activists at the behest of a certain political party’s operatives may become a part of our near future.”

Gee, surely you don’t mean slashing tires of Republicans, or stealing campaign signs of Republicans, or threatening voters at polling stations, or registering dead people, or raising money from overseas donors for American campaigns — all of which were done in the last election at the behest of a certain political party? So you know we can look forward to it all again in the future since it was so successful last time.

Maybe next time they try it, though, we’ll be better prepared and can perforate a few of them as they go about their hired-hand duties.

Jun 23, 2009 - 2:27 pm 27. Roderick Reilly:

“”"”"”Gee, surely you don’t mean slashing tires of Republicans, or stealing campaign signs of Republicans, or threatening voters at polling stations, or registering dead people, or raising money from overseas donors for American campaigns — all of which were done in the last election at the behest of a certain political party? So you know we can look forward to it all again in the future since it was so successful last time.”"”"”"

No, NahnCee, I don’t mean any of that. I mean an escalation well beyond that. These past indiscretions are small potatoes compared to what may be in store for us from an administration that has tested America’s tolerance for lawlesness with the GM/Chrysler takeovers, IG firings, etc., and has found us to be sheeple. We have collectively encouraged him to keep on steamrolling by our meekness.

Jun 23, 2009 - 4:22 pm 28. w:

You want to get the Basij? I know it’s been mentioned here before…but as a reminder

“Malone: You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That’s* the *Chicago* way! And that’s how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I’m offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?
Ness: I have sworn to capture this man with all legal powers at my disposal and I will do so.
Malone: Well, the Lord hates a coward.

And the mullah’s and basij will fear real men…and women! I only hope the real ones…the true freedom fighters are using the internet for more than twitter and facebook posts…or heaven help them because nothing else on earth will. If you’re going to shoot at the king, you better kill the king…

Jun 23, 2009 - 7:20 pm 29. JJredfan:

Reports from some quarters indicate that the Iranian Government has designed the country’s internet/cell phone nexus to pass through a virtual bottleneck that allows them to clinch off a lot of traffic if they’re unhappy with the content.

Of course, all it takes is a single transmission of a prohibited image or video, and it’s out of their control.

The death of Neda Agha-Soltan, captured on several cell-phones, was clearly a terrorist act by the regime meant to intimidate the protesters. Other videos of the same event show Neda and her music teacher simply standing about near a lamp post on the sidewalk, watching the other people in the crowd. The crowd seen in the video is not particularly doing anything; no shouting, no chanting, no rock throwing, no fires visible, no violence of any sort visible within the view of the panning camera.

The shot was as clean as a sniper shot could be, center mass of the upper body. Not from the side, not a ricochet, not an odd angle – a clean front-on aimed shot.

When you think of it, the regime could have suppressed the transmission of cell phone messages and internet traffic. (Of course, I can’t say that as an absolute certainty, but they seem to have the typical authoritarian government’s controls in place…)

But the regime of the Mullahs WANTED the images of protesters being crushed and killed to be seen. They calculated it was in their interest for the protesters to see what sort of treatment they can expect.

It’s backfiring.

When you see that your own government counts you as expendable, you have very few choices left. You might be able to sneak across a border and get out. (Yeah, sneak into Iraq? Sneak into Afghanistan? Turkmenistan, anyone?)

You can knuckle under.

Or you can fight.

I may not know a lot about Iran, but I know it ain’t China, and it ain’t Russia.

Jun 23, 2009 - 8:44 pm 30. Bob Smith:

Criminal mercenaries doing the bidding of activists at the behest of a certain political party’s operatives may become a part of our near future.

It’s already so in Europe. The “antifas” are supposedly independent anarchists, but in reality are plausibly deniable shock troops for the socialists. They keep the right wing in line (i.e. underground and politically irrelevant) through threats, vandalism, and beatings.

I doubt the Basij are merely beating up women. Rape has long been an acceptable means of punishing uppity Islamic women.

Jun 23, 2009 - 9:42 pm

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