Let the Usurpers Writhe

Roger Cohen, who has covered the Iran story with a sharp eye and pen, has a very interesting take in the NYT today:

I think Mahmoudi’s right. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad may begin to unclench their fist, as isolation and sullen defiance grow, in a bid to deliver what they would not allow the reformists to initiate: détente with America.

Obama must leave them dangling for the foreseeable future. He should refrain indefinitely from talk of engagement.

Meanwhile, the protester motto circulating at the moment is "Happiness and Hope," despite the dire stories coming out of Evin prison, reminding of a quote I saw this week from a protester about life during the crackdown after the positive mood of the demonstrations,"It's hard to go back into the cage once you've experienced joyful flight."

A very reliable source sends along a link to this video of students protesting at Kashan University the last few days. They can't go out to protest because of the security forces, so they stay in and innovate:



And a Portuguese revolutionary has been tweeting juicy bank details on regime leaders' Swiss and German bank accounts, including account numbers (Russian hackers are unclogging their siphon hoses as I write). No confirmation on whether the info is legitimate yet.