Water Wars - The Boston Globe

Water Wars
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The Boston Globe / Editorial
September 11, 2011

[Tehran Gets All Wet]

Fortunately, social networking sites are causing leaders in Middle Eastern countries some sleepless nights. And if ever an authoritarian regime wanted to look ridiculous, it should follow Iran, whose humorless fundamentalist leaders carried out reprisals against Iranian young people who this summer started a Facebook page for “Water Wars in Tehran.’’

That page attracted 24,500 members with 22 local chapters in cities across the country. Calling on young men and young women to get out their squirt guns and gather for “water wars’’ at nearby swim parks, the social networking sites clearly riled up the powers that be.

Instead of recognizing an innocent, wholesome activity in a country in which 65 percent of its 75 million people are under 30, the Iranian government chose to show its iron fist. It shut down the water parks, shut off the water, arrested and interrogated the leaders, paraded some young people on television, and forced others to confess to wrongdoing.

Now, the government is getting what it asked for. What started out as a movement to cool off on hot days is taking on the air of protest. “Police will deal forcefully with park violators who are threatening the security and peace of our society,’’ declared Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia. At the same time, a toy store owner in Tehran reported that sales of squirt guns are on the rise, and other water wars are planned around the country.
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© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

"...Feud on Social Security" - New York Times

"...Feud on Social Security"
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Article by Michael D. Shear







[A Reader's Comment: Francine of Massachusetts, 09/12/2011]
I had the most disturbing conversation with my mother. She is retired, a rabid Republican and devoted FOX viewer. An otherwise intelligent woman, she is totally irrational on politics. She is concerned that the US is turning 'socialist' and is worried that someone will take away her Social Security. When I point out that it is the party she supports that wants to end Social Security, she tells me Obama is a socialist. When I point out that if he were a socialist the last thing he would do is end Social Security, she tells me he's against workers and if he had his way, everyone would lose their jobs - like the Post Office workers. When I point out that it's the Republican politicians who are against unions and want to privatize government agencies, she says I don't know the truth and should watch FOX because they are the only ones who are showing the truth. She said she doesn't want anyone taking away her Medicare and I ask her how she would pay for her health care with the Republican vouchers. Her response? It wasn't a problem until Obama changed everything. What he changed, she can't say. All she knows is he's a socialist and wants to turn the US into Canada where people die waiting for doctor appointments. When I point out that we all wait for appointments but we all get service in real emergencies, she says if Obama had his way no one would get health care.

And so it goes. She hated Roosevelt and yet she believes that Social Security is great, that the US won WWII because the US is great and none of it had anything to do with Roosevelt. She hated LBJ but loves Medicare. Basically, she hates all Democratic politicians except for their legacies. And she loves all Republican politicians and refuses to believe that they are trying to undermine the very programs she values.

There's no talking to her. She isn't interested in facts. She only listens to FOX. She votes and she isn't alone. It's sad.