Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, January 01, 2026

Iran ground to a near standstill Wednesday as businesses, universities and government offices closed under a government-ordered shutdown amid protests caused by a growing political and economic crisis.

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... In the videos, protesters are seen chanting anti-regime slogans and confronting security forces in crowded streets.

Footage includes scenes of screaming and apparent gunfire, with demonstrators throwing objects and shouting, "Death to the Dictator" and "Proud Arakis, support, support." ...



#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-01 01:34 AM | Reply

@#1

That may have a resonance here in the US.

Too soon to tell, though.


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-01 01:35 AM | Reply

Now this is why it's stupid to bomb Iran. You don't want to give the general population an excuse to unite behind an unpopular regime.

For the same reason, it would be stupid for Iran to attack us.

#3 | Posted by Zed at 2026-01-01 09:01 AM | Reply

The Ghost of Mossadegh

#4 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-01-01 12:59 PM | Reply

Does "Proud Arakis" have anything to do with DUNE? Here it is not spelled the same as Herbert's books.

#5 | Posted by mattm at 2026-01-01 01:44 PM | Reply

Coupla three things about Iran:

~After the Iranian Revolution, out of patriotism for their country, many military officers stayed and fought against Iraq which invaded their country at the behest of the Reagan junta, similar to French officers of the Ancien Regime who fought against British and Prussian invaders seeking to overthrow Napoleon.

~After being with Iraqi chemical weapons in their decade-long war, the Iranian theocracy refused to allow the military to counterattack Iraq with their own chemical attacks, issuing a fatwa against the use of WMDs as they "would despoil nature."

~Israel's Mossad, using local assassins from the MeK or PJAK, murdered Iranian nuclear scientists, at least five known of publicly.

~Iran has been careful to avoid causing American casualties over the past several years to not fall into Benjamin Netanyahu's trap; Iran's proxies or allies have counterattacked against US forces in Iraq or against oil tankers in the Horn of Africa.

~Israel cynically and callously caused the death of dozens of spies and the arrest of scores of them in Iran who were easily netted by the MOIS when the IDF began its illegal bombing campaign against Tehran. I cannot think of another spy agency that got so many of its sources killed or arrested in one year.

~Under Barack Obama, the US and the UN were negotiating with Iran and monitoring their nuclear facilities which, amongst other things, was producing radioactive isotopes for their thousands of cancer patients.

~Iran signed the NNPT and allowed IAEA inspectors into their facilities; Israel never signed the NNPT and never allowed IAEA inspectors into their facilities. Under the START program, US and Russian inspectors would visit each others nuclear sites. One of my generals led the On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) which later became DTRA.

~Israeli PM Golda Meir: "You don't make peace with your friends." Israel's rightwing needs a perennial enemy to distract from the landgrab and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, which Tehran (and most of the world) disapprove of. So Tel Aviv and Tehran will never achieve what Golda Meir mused 55 years ago.

There are too many citations to count.

Sources:

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

truthout.org

thebulletin.org

farsnews.ir

www.aljazeera.com

www.dtra.mil

#6 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-01-01 02:10 PM | Reply

I hope all of these Iranian martyrs who died for the Mossad thought it was worth it. There are others: www.aol.com

#7 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-01-01 02:13 PM | Reply

How would we react here if say, China or Russia decided to back popular uprisings or protests against Trump?

Does Trump ever think things through at all?

By what authority do we pick sides in Iran?

Meddling in Foreign Politics is what caused Ukraine to become a War Zone that's killed 100,000s of people.

Too Stupid.

Iran will develop in it's own way.

The Sanctions are illegal Strangulation of people that pose no threat to the US.

It's about building up Israeli dominance of the Region, A Proxy War like Ukraine.

Trump doesn't care about AMERICAN civil rights.

Its Laughable to think he cares about Iran.

#8 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-01-02 10:35 AM | Reply

---- OFF YOU RUSSIAN STOOGE

#9 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-01-02 03:04 PM | Reply

I've been watching this since it started about Monday and it's all over youtube. Iranian exiles in the states are ecstatic. Video is everywhere - women dancing in the street without burkas, people holding up the banned flag of the Old Republic while burning Iranian flags, statues are coming down and now the people are attacking IRGC police stations and freeing the prisoners.

About wednesday I realized it wasn't a protest - it was a revolution.

The exiled Prince of Iran is telling people to take over the capital and is now giving orders to the army, I'll find you some vids.

It looks like this is the real thing, and Iran will finally be free of it's religous dictatorship. No more funding terror groups, and peace in the middle-east will dawn.

Best nes ever. Waited 43 years for this.

#10 | Posted by HeliumRat at 2026-01-03 11:14 PM | Reply

#10

Has Trump taken credit yet?

He will.

#11 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-03 11:24 PM | Reply

Here's a great video by an exile with street videos. He's calling it "the Revolution" now. This guy was iffy on it being a real revolution 3 days ago but now he's certain.

www.youtube.com

#12 | Posted by HeliumRat at 2026-01-03 11:27 PM | Reply

Israel won't benefit without Iran being hostile to them. It is a bad look for IDF to conquer the rest of Eretz Yisrael without having Iran as a scapegoat.

#13 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-03 11:41 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

#13 | Posted by snoofy

Your bent. Why does everything have to be about the Jews? Here: www.youtube.com

#14 | Posted by HeliumRat at 2026-01-03 11:54 PM | Reply

I didn't say anything about Jews.
I'm talking about Israel.

#15 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-03 11:58 PM | Reply


I didn't say anything about Jews.
I'm talking about Israel.
#15 | POSTED BY SNOOFY

Just equivocation, a distinction without a difference.

#16 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-01-04 12:05 AM | Reply | Funny: 1

Israel won't benefit without Iran being hostile to them. It is a bad look for IDF to conquer the rest of Eretz Yisrael without having Iran as a scapegoat.

#13 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-03 11:41 PM | Reply | Flag: Every Nefarious Regime Needs a Bete Noir

ICYMI:

Candace Owens blames the Zionists for ousting Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro:

"Venezuela has been liberated' like Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were liberated.' The CIA has staged another hostile takeover of a country at the behest of a globalist psychopaths. That's it. That's what is happening, always, everywhere," she continued.

"Zionists cheer every regime change. There has never been a single regime change that Zionists have not applauded because it means they get to steal land, oil and other resources. Hope this helps."

This Yahoo! article intimates that Candace Owens is antisemitic and that she is "Jew scapegoating," but her tweet is anti-Zionist, not antisemitic.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Mexico President Claudia are Ashkenazi Jews and have been critical of Israel's pogrom against the Palestinians; these two respected leaders are from being antisemites.

The accusation of "antisemitism" by the Israeli Likud junta against their critics is falling flat.

Link: www.yahoo.com

#17 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-01-04 12:08 AM | Reply

oneironut doesnt know what equivocation means.

#18 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2026-01-04 12:11 AM | Reply

#17 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Everybody knows Candice Owens is a nutcase now. She's lost millions of followers.

Anyway, I heard an Iranian commenting on Youtube how much he respected Americas' 1st and 2nd Amendments. He said: "If we had that, this would have ended years ago."

:)

#19 | Posted by HeliumRat at 2026-01-04 12:48 AM | Reply

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