The Iranian push for democracy and freedom has made China, Myanmar (Burma) and Cuba so fearful that they have clamped down on all reporting of events in Iran. I wonder if this includes blockades of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and VOA transmissions, or is it limited to domestic media?

What do these governments have in common? All are authoritarian. Two are communist (China, Cuba). Two are military (Cuba, Myanmar).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31410402/

U.K. assails Iran over embassy staff detentions

Detentions signal further hardening of country's stance toward the West

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31592586/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Keep putting the screws to the citizenry and you will make sure they go the opposite way.  It makes their whole generation irrelevent to young Iranians, on both religious and secular fronts.  IOW, they are pushing them towards the West.

Iranian police clash with up to 3,000 protesters

Standoff with the West escalates after Iran holds British Embassy workers

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31596381/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

"Several thousand protesters — some chanting "Where is my vote?" — clashed with riot police in Tehran on Sunday as Iran detained local employees of the British Embassy, escalating the regime's standoff with the West and earning it a stinging rebuke from the European Union.

"Witnesses said riot police used tear gas and clubs to break up a crowd of up to 3,000 protesters who had gathered near north Tehran's Ghoba Mosque in the country's first major post-election unrest in four days."

I respect the true Iranian spirit. May their efforts be rewarded sooner rather than later.  If only Ahmadinejad would wake up like Billy Mays did.

I'm hoping this is the beginning of the end

Iran recount seen as bid to placate opposition

Government dismisses idea of downgrading ties with U.K. despite tensions

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31606263/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

 I don't think the Iranian gov't gets it.  By not having a real re-count, by brutally quashing the peaceful demonstrations, by blacking out all the internet and cell communications, they are actually showcasing how undemocratic and autocratic they really are.  Yet they continue to think going through half-hearted motions like a patently non-transparent recount is going to somehow validate their government in the eyes of the world and their own populace.  They are incredibly stupid.

 

"Iranian media said a partial recount involving a random 10 percent of ballots cast got under way Monday. It was unclear what purpose the recount would serve, since Khamenei and the Guardian Council — Iran's top electoral oversight body — already have pronounced the results free of major fraud and insist that Ahmadinejad won by a landslide. And Mousavi insists the government nullify the results and hold a new vote.

"State TV said Mousavi representatives met with a Guardian Council election review panel, but it ended in a stalemate and officials decided to proceed with the recount."

Iran cleric urges executing some protesters

Meanwhile, opposition leader shies away from street protests

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31564910/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

"....detainees face a fearsome, cleric-controlled judiciary. Courts often convene behind closed doors, rights groups complain that defendants sometimes have little access to lawyers, and the world learns of their fate only if a verdict happens to be announced on state TV.

"Any chances of a trial that meets standards of due process would be very slim," said Aaron Rhodes, spokesman for the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

"What the regime is really saying is that any Iranian citizen who has dared express views which aren't consistent with the views of a small hard-line clique is at risk of the most severe punishment the system can deal out," he said. "They are really at the mercy of the system at this point."

What hope do these people have for a democracy in their lifetimes?  No one will intervene for them.  Maybe the best thing that can happen is for Israel to take up arms against them before they perfect nuclear weapons.  So many innocent lives will be lost, so many plain citizens who obviously long for freedom and peace with their neighbors will die.  Yet it seems to be their best chance to sweep away the entrenched hardline militia.

It reminds me of Patrick's Henry's statement, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country,"  because all those innocent people will suffer and die thanks to Komenei, Ahmadinejad and the basiji, but their passive sacrifice may pave the way for the freedom of their countrymen's future.