Egypt bounces Mubarak, and Iran's boss hails 'a new Middle East'

Akhmedthenutjob praises the freedom-loving Egyptian people. Huh. I guess if you present yourself as a fictional character often enough, it gets easier and easier to pretend you're the leader of a country that encourages freedom and liberty of the common people.
 
Meanwhile, the opposition to the sniveling little mullah-puppet, in Iran, is seemingly afraid to protest in parallel to Egypt's peaceable overthrow of a dictator, seeing what happened in Iran's streets in 2009. What with all the cruelty, guns and clubs, and things, when they had their own popular revolt that year. Reportedly, the Republican Guard -- the Imperial Stormtroopers of Iran -- have already warned that a protect would be "crushed".
 
Is that "crushed" as in why a boy secretly passes a cheap Valentine's card to a smiling girl in the third grade, or "crushed" as in the credibility of anything pleasant or democracy-supporting said by Iran's leadership, for instance, at a rally in support of Egypt's new chance for a fresh start at democracy?
 

(The Telegraph - UK)

Despite suppressing its own opposition movement, Mr Ahmadinejad drew parallels between the protests in Egypt and the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

"In spite of all the (West's) complicated and satanic designs ... a new Middle East is emerging without the Zionist regime and US interference, a place where the arrogant powers will have no place," he told a rally in Tehran's Azadi Square. ... [Irony doesn't seem to register with him.]

...Iranian opposition groups have called for marches on Tuesday, but Hossein Hamedani, a senior commander of the feared Revolutionary Guard said any attempt to rally would be crushed. Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi remains under house arrest for trying to organise a protest on Monday.

The BBC said [the] signal for its Persian service was jammed [as of] Thursday in an attempt to block its Egypt coverage.

In Jordan, 1,000 demonstrators called for Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, appointed just last week by King Abdullah II, to step down and anti-corruption marches continued across Iraq.

In the Gaza Strip, a Friday protest inspired by the Egypt demonstrations – and organised on Facebook – against Hamas rule in the Palestinian territory attracted virtually no supporters.

Authorities in Algeria have ringed the capital Algiers ahead of a planned pro-democracy march today. Public transport has reportedly been cancelled and large amounts of tear gas have been imported by police.

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I'm still pulling for the Gaza Strip to boot Hamas. But I am also recalling what happened in Lebanon: Hezbollah taking over that country. Fingers crossed.

- jR