Iranian protesters are chased by riot police and the Basijamid a tear-gas cloud on July 17, 2009. Polaris
On Tehran's Streets, The Basij's Fearsome Reign -- Time Magazine
You don't know whom to trust nowadays in Tehran. Members of the feared Basij paramilitary roam the streets at night, often blending in with people lounging in parks or window-shopping at the capital's many squares. Locals are reluctant to discuss anything remotely political in public, let alone divulge their opinions. And looming over everything else is the constant paranoia of surveillance: on the Web, over the notoriously unreliable mobile networks, on the hectic, crowded streets, even at work.
Read more ....
Update: Iran activists work to elude crackdown on Internet -- Yahoo News/AP
My Comment: The Iranian Government does not want to lose the war on the street, and they do not want to lose the war in the media and in world public opinion.
Will they succeed .... probably (in the short term) .... but their legitimacy and credibility will now always be questioned.
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