Riots in Iran

If the last paragraph I excerpted pans out into more than "scattered reports," then the theocracy will be on its last legs. Fraternization of the forces of order with the people they're supposed to be putting in order has been the death-knell of regimes from that of Louis XV to Czar Nicholas II to East Germany (1989).

clipped from www.nytimes.com Death Toll Rises to 10 as Clashes in Iran Intensify BEIRUT, Lebanon — Iranian police opened fire into crowds of protesters on Sunday, killing at least 10 people and setting off a day of chaotic street battles that seemed poised to deepen the country’s civil unrest, as demonstrators flooded the streets in cities across Iran and fiercely fought back against security forces, witnesses and opposition Web sites said. There were scattered reports of police officers surrendering, or refusing to fight. Several videos posted to the Internet show officers holding up their helmets and walking away from the melee, as protesters pat them on the back in appreciation. In one photograph, several police officers can be seen holding their arms up, and one of them wears a bright green headband, the signature color of the opposition movement.