This is a special edition of the Underthrow podcast. Too many things are happening in the world for this episode not to get out to you. —MB
Many of our readers have wondered what “underthrow” means. It’s like overthrow, only more gradual, peaceful, and processual. But sometimes bad people in power get what’s coming to them. And it ain’t pretty.
مرگ بر دیکتاتورها —The Iranian People
Right now, we are seeing significant world events characterized by overthrow. That is, repressive regimes are being ousted in Iran and Venezuela, only through two different means: endogenous and exogenous. The former is a popular uprising that heats up enough to blow the lid off. The latter is the result of outside help.
None of this is a strict binary, of course.
Iran is probably crawling with spooks from Mossad and the CIA. Consider that, after ten days, Iran still has Internet access, which should be impossible, given that the IRGC usually has kill switches. Yet, the Iranian People are a hair’s breadth from ousting the mullahs and restoring a constitutional monarchy in Iran. Bizarrely, the most significant event in that country since 1979 has been featured on page seven of most Western mainstream outlets, if at all.
And we have to wonder why.
The case of Venezuela is more clear-cut. The Trump Administration sent an intervening force to collect Maduro and left the country to a puppet who, though still a socialist, is apparently willing to play ball. While we might celebrate Maduro’s ouster—I turned backflips—we still have to ask about the constitutionality of such a move, followed immediately by, “Okay, what’s next?” (Surely not nation building, for God's sake.)
Of course, the mainstream press is all over this one.
Join James Harrigan and me for a roundup of these events, plus our takes on the prospects for peace, freedom, and abundance in these transitional countries.
Big props to TousiTV and Goldie Ghamari for the amazing indie coverage of Iran.
