Eccentric Flower:200912/Ashura

Briefly: Ashura is a national day of mourning, observed by Shia Muslims (Sunni Muslims also observe the day but mostly, it seems, for reasons of convenience). The reason behind the observance is the martyrdom of Mohammed's grandson, Hussein ibn Ali. More on Ashura here.

I am trying to come up with an analogue for the assassination of Moussavi's nephew on Ashura in a Shiite nation that will make sense to American audiences.

OK, imagine that the more racist factors had fully taken control of the Republican party, and decided that the thing to do to further demonstrate the purity of their cause was to assassinate a member of Obama's family. On Martin Luther King Day. And then hiding the body.

Don't you think that might backfire a wee bit?

I realize most of you don't care a whit about any of this, but I am just so openmouthed at the extreme tone-deafness of this decision that words fail me. I hope the parallel example above was shocking enough that you see just how much of a miscalculation this was.

This is not the beginning of the end for the ruling thugocracy in Iran. That happened earlier this year, after the election was stolen. With apologies to Churchill, this is the end of the beginning of the end. Their days are numbered now.