AS SOME BLOGGERS BECOME THE FISHMONGERS OF PARIS

When egos rule. The French Revolution officially began it's demise when the female fish sellers took over the mobs and demanded death to the entire aristocracy, and later on to anyone who dared to differ.
Today the inflated egos of many in the "blogosphere" are demanding that elections be held in Iran, that all bloggers and readers rally to demand them and are even selecting people to supervise them. After getting Jordan and Rather, "power" [to destroy in many cases] has gone to their heads much like the "Terror" of the French Revolution in the hands of the fishmongers of Paris. The bloggers and egotists are not the guillotines of France but as you see this ego driven fantasy unfold you will get the idea. Simon is as good a place as any to view egos in action. I am surprised at Michael Ledeen's support for such a frivolous enterprise. Changing Iran so they will have an honest election while their Mafia controls every business, every police force, a secret police force and most employment won't happen because we write. We will have to fight. For a reality check on Iran, the chain of dangerous thugs who run it, and the number of people who will defend the government I have republished my piece on Iran from July.

IRAN, IF YOU READ THE BLOGS, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG

Posted 7:05 PM by Howard
Iran is The Godfather, Part IV

Here's the deal. Think Soviet Union in the last days dissolving to Yeltsen. Think crony capitalism, think criminals in charge of every business and the police, a force of Hells Angels type motorcycle thugs called the Hezbollah Militia working for them, the Revolutionary Guards who also work for them, and a secret police. The real power is a handful of clerics and their associates who call the shots behind the curtain and have gotten very rich in the process. Think mullahs getting rich running businesses given to them by Rafsanjani, who run things through murder and intimidation.

After the 1979 revolution the mullahs seized virtually everything of value--banks, hotels, car and chemical companies, makers of drugs and consumer goods. What distinguishes Iran is that many of these assets were given to Islamic charitable foundations, controlled by the clerics. According to businessmen and former foundation executives, the charities now serve as slush funds for the mullahs and their supporters.

What exists there now is a dictatorship run by a shadow government that the U.S. State Department suspects finances terrorist groups abroad through a shadow foreign policy. Its economy is dominated by shadow business empires and its power is protected by a shadow army of enforcers.

Ostensibly, the country has been run by Rafsanjani for the past 24 years. He's an opportunist and very smart. He has "privatized" the economy by divvying up the spoils to loyalists, and like a Mafia Godfather, he takes pieces of everything. He has gotten very rich in the process.

It is the youth that is taking to the streets. Here is the raw data, an estimate from U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Labor.

Population IRAN 67 million; USA 283 million

Percent under 25: IRAN 65% USA 35%

GDP per capita: IRAN $1,800 USA $37,000

Inflation: IRAN 25% USA 2%

Unemployment: IRAN: 18% USA 6%

Now Iran is pretty rich, only nobody but family is getting the money. The country's largest copper mine; the state-owned TV network; a governor of Kerman province; an outfit that dominates Iran's $400 million pistachio export business; key positions in the Ministry of Oil; the Tehran Metro construction project (an estimated $700 million spent so far) are all Rafsinjani family members. Today, operating through various foundations (more later) and front companies, the family is also believed to control one of Iran's biggest oil engineering companies, a plant assembling Daewoo automobiles, and Iran's best private airline. Remember, all these better paid workers who are privileged to work in these companies will be loyal to the government, the ones in the tiny private sector getting paid crap are ripe.

So guess why people are pissed? They earn $1,800 per year and the Rafsanjani family and their mullah buddies are multi millionaires and billionaires with wealth in real property all over the world. Anybody who reports this in the press is killed.

The balance of the economy is controlled by the Islamic foundations, which now sack the country and pocket the money too. They are just organized crime. If you get successful you are supposed to donate 20% of what you make to charity. The mullahs stop by and extort the money. Failure to "donate" will result in somebody saying you're a bad Muslim and you are tossed in jail. Don't think these "foundations" or "charities" are small time. One, The Mostazafan Foundation, employs up to 400,000 workers (pro Mullah or you ain't hired) and has assets that in all probability exceed $10 billion. Among its holdings: the former Hyatt and Hilton hotels in Tehran; the highly successful Zam-Zam soft drink company (once Pepsi); an international shipping line; companies producing oil products and cement; swaths of farmland and urban real estate.

Keep in mind that all these "employees" of all these criminal enterprises will be loyal to the government. Think the Baath loyalists in Iraq. These "foundations" hire the thugs too.

So what you have is a mullahocracy of thugs with billions in business deals, and more billions in cash. They stand ready to spend what is necessary to stay in power. When push comes to shove they have always murdered to stay around.

The blog community would have you believe that a bunch of directionless kids marching in the streets without guns can throw these guys out. Like the people in power care about what anybody thinks. The EU thugs? Africa which they bribe? China? They only fear the United States and until we really rattle the cage nothing will change.

Running stupid ads or doing websites is a fucking joke. More feel good crap. The USA is going to have to figure a way to topple these billionaires and I think and hope we are working on it. Keep in mind we cut off a lot of terrorist money and funding. We can do some real financial damage to these guys.