"The Basij is an Iranian pro-government paramilitary force. Yesterday they shot a young protestor, and now, their HQ has been set ablaze." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

this is a terrible mistake - MikeAmundsen

Whoa. - Michael R. Bernstein

I think the protests have effectively hit the point of no return. - Steven Perez from IM

MikeAmundsen, why do you think so? Note that this isn't the *police* headquarters. - Michael R. Bernstein

I'm not sure, but I thought that "militias" were somehow analogous to "police" in the Middle East. Time to go digging, I guess. - Steven Perez from IM

Just posted the Wikipedia info. If I'm reading this right, then this is way worse than burning down a police station. The protestors went after the freaking secret police HQ in that city. Now it's gonna get real. - Steven Perez

BBC has a really good write up on the different participants http://news.bbc.co.uk/2... the militia and police are not the same - Kim Landwehr

Tha Basij aren't exactly the secret police, they're more like the 'Brown Shirts' rather than the Gestapo. I have a feeling they are about to be thrown under the bus in a replay of 'The Night of the Long Knives': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Michael R. Bernstein

As Mark Twain said, history doesn't repeat itself, but it sure rhymes a lot. - Michael R. Bernstein