[Marxism] Tweeting to the Times

[Shawn Redden <wsredden@xxxxxxxxx>]

I just finished grading 75 term papers and can't help dissecting this 
as I would a serious piece of writing by 9th graders, not a letter to 
the NY Times.  The author should make a B-line for his school's 
writing center.

Meanwhile, the UN guns down civilians in Haiti at a funeral 
procession.  Perhaps the NY Times should go after that repugnant 
criminal serving as UN Envoy to Haiti rather than printing swill like 
this.

Hands off Iran!
Shawn

>NY Times, June 19, 2009
>By SHANE M.
>
>This article was written by a student in Iran who, for reasons of 
>safety, did not want to be identified by his full name.

One wonders whether the author Tweeted this to the Times.  Perhaps 
they'll bring Judith Miller back to work with him/her.  Instead of 
'Shane M.', I'll do the comradely thing and refer to the writer as 
'Kermit Roosevelt'.

Here we go:

>For instance, some American analysts assert that the demonstrations are
>taking place only in the sections of Tehran - in the north, around the
>university and Azadi Square - where the educated and well-off reside...

Why doesn't 'Kermit Roosevelt' rebut the claim?  Are the protests 
taking place en masse away from North Tehran?

>People... are bound... But their descriptions... are taking place...
>
>This false geography imagines...

Hmmm.  'Kermit Roosevelt' never says who does live in North Tehran. 
That's odd.


>Mr. Moussavi was, let's not
>forget, a favored son of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and a member of
>Iran's original cohort of revolutionaries, and he remains a firm
>believer in the revolution and the framework of the Islamic Republic.

And today Rafsanjani's daughter runs his campaign, takes Obama's 
money, and works via Facebook and Tweeter, CNN and PBS.


>The much vaunted rural vote represents not a decisive bloc for Mr.
>Ahmadinejad but a minimum, one that was easily swamped by the increased
>turnout of city dwellers, who normally sit elections out...

How does 'Kermit Roosevelt' know this?  Polls?


>Let's also forget the polls... that have been making the rounds this 
>past week, with numbers that showed Mr. Ahmadinejad well ahead in 
>the election... Maybe last month Mr. Ahmadinejad was indeed on his 
>way to victory. But then came the debates.
>
>Starting on June 1, the country was treated to... six back-to-back 
>live and unscripted debates among the four presidential candidates. 
>Iranians everywhere were riveted,

Hmmm.  'Kermit Roosevelt' doesn't bother telling us anything about 
the outcome of those debates, does he.

>By the Wednesday before the election, Mr. Moussavi was backed.. 
>while Mr. Ahmadinejad was favored...

Polls.

>The truth is, it wasn't supposed to happen this way.

What is 'it', and what was supposed to happen?


>The open-air parties... were an accident.

Methinks 'Kermit Roosevelt' shortchanges himself.


>No one knew that it would come to this.

What is 'it'?  What is 'this'?


>A friend left for France for a few days last week and when he 
>returned the entire capital had turned green.

Explain the relevance.  So what?


>It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

How was 'it' supposed to happen?  On what are you basing 'this'?


>Until last week, Mr. Moussavi was... as one of his campaign
>advisers put it to me...

Was Rafsanjani's daughter putting 'it' to you?

I do have one question for Kermit:  how much does Ahmadinejad 
personally enjoy taking babies off incubators?

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