Iran

Irony could be defined, I think, by those caught by surprise by history.

The protesters in Iran -- where almost 70% of the population is under the age of 35 (meaning they don't remember the relationship between the U.S. and the Shah from personal experience) -- are at least in the game toward overthrowing the current, hierarchical, theocratic regime:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-27/could-the-mullahs-fall-this-time/full

 

(Frankly, I'll feel more confident when Michael Ledeen predicts it.)

The irony comes from the fact that Iran's theocracy hates us today because we opted to support -- or, at least, not oppose -- the Shah when Khomeini returned from exile in the late-'70s. Today, any future Iranian government might choose to hate us because we did nothing to promote the Islamists' fall outside of empty rhetoric and belated condemnation.

Coincidences are useless; I'm suspicious...

Call me a conspiracist, if you will, but I find it disturbing that yet another Nigerian (Muslim? Will they tell us?) passenger -- deemed harmless this time -- on the exact, same flight that the Christmas-Day bomber targeted from Amsterdam to Detroit, was arrested upon arrival for being 'unruly':

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/report_flight_crew_requests_emergency_j9ZlOCtnHrNePzruDQfxoI

It sure sounds a lot like testing responses, to me. I'd assume al-Qaida is about to step up suicide missions directly against the U.S., if I were the Obama Administration (and I wanted to remain relevant!).

And, please -- let's not pull more Grandmas from the security line for pat-downs, okay? Again, it ain't coincidence that all these actual and would-be bombers are Muslims from, you know, Muslim countries!

We all chuckle at and tut-tut cliches, too. But cliches become such because they have been so often true! Stop treating 'profiling' like a distasteful cliche -- it works!

Update: Uh-huh!

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/80201152.html

What would be the point of videotaping the 'performance' if the guy was going to kill the videotaper, too, anyway? As noted above, seems like an effort to gauge response via a trial run.

This ain't over yet:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2785733.ece

Is Janet Napolitano the new "Brownie"?