Not sure why western media even pays attention to the Iranian election. One doesn't need to be an expert in Iranian politics to understand the King of England is more powerful than the Iranian president.
Eli Lake is right: Masoud Pezeshkian, the newly elected “reformist“ president of Iran, is NOT a good guy. Allow me to elaborate. The Iranian people are an anomaly in the Middle East. The vast majority of their population is not Arab nor do they speak Arabic. They share a common religion with their neighbors because of the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Prior to the 1979 Revolution, $1 USD equaled 70 Iranian Rials. Today the conversion rate is $1 USD to around 42,000 RIs. Iran was considered to be a cultured, educated and wealthy (from an oil reserve perspective) nation. And to top it off, Iranian people are absolutely lovely. So what happened? Islamism.
Islamism advocates for the restoration of a pan-Islamic Caliphate which aims to religiously and politically unite the Muslim world. We are talking full on Sharia lockdown, condemning (and much worse) anything LGBTQ+ and preaching global jihad (not the spiritual kind). In other words, their current vision for the future is firmly rooted in a violent and medieval philosophy that should have drifted away like a very bad smell a long, long time ago. Why is it still so popular? Because it’s such a delicious recipe for authoritarian regimes controlled by thugs. (That’s EVERY Arab nation in the world today.) Thugocracy is not limited to the Arabs but the mechanics of the system are universal: a charming ruler with absolute power, no free press, suppression (by all means necessary) of any dissent and a sophisticated misinformation campaign to control the hapless citizens. “We’re not the problem,” say the clever tyrants, “It’s the ____,” fill in the blank. I’ll give you a hint: the first letter very often begins with a “J”.
What’s really going on? Currently, there’s an unbridgeable socioeconomic gap between the ironically “Western flavored” elites and the commoners in all Arab countries. It’s reminiscent of the disconnect that historically existed between the poor, working fellaheen and their wealthy, Arab landowner rulers—a pernicious caste like system that still exists. Iranian Islamists culturally appropriated not only the neighboring al-Islamiyyun conspiracy theories but the Thugocracy scaffold necessary to support them. Masoud Pezeshkian is merely another cog in the awful Iranian Islamist machinery with the power to change nothing.
This is a decent piece from Eli Lake. It's true that the new president has no power. But, he is an indicator that the ayatollahs need to pay attention to. Iran is looking at harj-o-marj, a Persian phrase meaning everything turns over. A new revolution is what Iran is facing. We shall see.
The USA's Biden administration playing footsie and supporting the Iranian govern in their attempt to get Iran away from Russia is opposing the democratic will of the Iranian people. A plausible outcome of this is that Iran might, again, have a revolution, but ally with Russia.
Which is exactly the point. Iran deals with Russia the way Mexico deals with the USA. They are on Russia's border. Iran obeys Russia, and allows Russia to let Israel make forays over as far as Syria in airspace controlled by Russia. And, Russia provides engineers and physicists for their nuclear reactor and bomb projects. And... mostly that alliance of Iran with Russia has been to the benefit of the USA, and Israel. The problem is the declared intent to overthrow Russia's government by Biden supporting Ukraine.
A revolution in Iran could, in theory, make Iran available to the USA's orbit. However, whether the secular Iranians could go along with that is definitely not determined. For Iran, staying with the Russians would be their best bet.
I'd like to keep hope alive, even if it's delusional. The situation in Iran is dire. The people are suffering beyond belief. The women and men who gave their lives for a moment of freedom, are my modern day heroes. Their courage and bravery to dissent absolute tyranny is awe inspiring. They are revolutionaries, and for their sake, I hope this new man can bring about some peace to the good people of Iran. I pray for the day when they can be free.
How many times in the last 40+ years have we read in The Western Media about someone was/is a Reformist? Since 1979 there has never been a Reformist in government. Before someone even runs for an office they have to get approval from Council of Guardians. They have one job, and one job only. To ensue Nothing happens in Iran that violates their interpretation of Shia Islam.
they have an election for president, but it's kinda fake because the president has no power, but it's a theocracy so what else could we expect?
only 50% turnout for the election, but again it's a theocracy so why bother turning out when you can stay home and watch Judge Judy?
they are working desperately on a nuclear weapon and they have vowed to eliminate Israel, but under Obama's leadership the world enters into an agreement to slow their progress down rather than stop it altogether, and in exchange the world agrees to give Iran lots of money and CDs of Judge Judy's past shows
they are within six months of having the capacity to create nuclear weapons, they're working feverishly in this effort, and this has been the case for the past 20 years, making it absolutely critical that we revive the 10-year old deal to slow them down
Hard-lined Islamic countries just don't make any sense to me whatsoever. Yes, I'm an atheist, so I'm not a fan of any religion in particular. But, with Islam, don't ya just wake up everyday - look around and think - really? Just what in the hell is this getting us? Maybe 50-100 years ago ... but now ... when you can easily see the flourishing of other Western nations (relatively speaking), does the 'religion' aspect of Islam not just get a little tiring?
To an Islamist, the success of the West is an affront to the divine order prescribed in the Koran. According to the Koran, Islam should rule worldwide. And to that Islamist, the Koran is the direct word of Allah. For devout Muslims, it is a cause to rally around, to work to undermine the West and eventually replace it with an Islamic state.
You're making the classic 'we all want the same things' mistake that is common among Westerners who have been brought up with concepts like 'universal human rights'. Islamists are playing a very long game and are far more ruthless than the leftists they have co-opted. Those two factions brought about the Iranian revolution 45 years ago. Within 5 years the leftists had all been executed, exiled, or imprisoned by the Khomeini regime.
You're kind of missing the nuance behind what I said though. I completely understand the 'we all want the same things' mistake, but there underlines my point. Islamists *aren't* getting what they want, not by a long shot, and they're much further away from "replacing the West" in any significant capacity than they've ever been in the history of their religion. Yes - they still believe they're following the "divine order prescribed in the Koran (the direct word of Allah)". Yet, with all that cosmic 'power' behind their faith, they're still largely the backwoods of the world. Even the most adamant religious zealot (one would think) would look around after a while and start to question if this whole "Islam" thing is really what it's cracked up to be. Although, I think this same thing about my Christian friends, too.
Aw. I guess you weren't hung by your feet upside down and beaten for not doing well enough in your religious education at a madrassas. You didn't see relatives get together and kill a sibling or cousin for expressing wrong ideas. (Islam specifies that an apostate must be killed asap for their own good - it's compassion Islam style.)
Can’t give an exact time and date but I do recall the ayatollahs stating, that’ to destroy Israel, would be worth sacrificing half the population of Iran’. Martyrs they would be. Remember Big Satan-Little Satan must be destroyed. Since I am speculating maybe that is why Barry “O” had Iran on a path to a nuke. Israel /Zionist Jew hater that he is. During the Iran - Iraq war the Iranians used children to clear minefields. These people are serious about their martyrdom.
I’ll believe the guy’s a reformer when the thousands in Iranian jails who are tortured for their faith are exonerated and made whole for the living hell their families have endured for decades.
This is always the case in Iran and should not be a surprise. A new president is elected in Iran, promises reform and change but cannot commit in the long run because the reality is the Ayatollah of Iran as the last say when it comes to anything being changed or reformed in Iran. Nothing will change until the Ayatollah changes (meaning he is replaced by someone after he dies who is more "progressive".) or until the Ayatollah is overthrown.
Tablet has written extensively on this subject. Check out anything by Lee Smith or Tony Badran.
In a nutshell, Obama wanted out of the Middle East and felt a "realignment" that balanced Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel would achieve this. He ignored Iran's stated aim of destroying the U.S. and Israel, insisting that they simply needed to be brought into the economic and diplomatic fold. Despite supposed cultural sensitivity, Obama and his lackeys (including Biden) never took their religious motivations seriously.
Not sure why western media even pays attention to the Iranian election. One doesn't need to be an expert in Iranian politics to understand the King of England is more powerful than the Iranian president.
Eli Lake is right: Masoud Pezeshkian, the newly elected “reformist“ president of Iran, is NOT a good guy. Allow me to elaborate. The Iranian people are an anomaly in the Middle East. The vast majority of their population is not Arab nor do they speak Arabic. They share a common religion with their neighbors because of the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Prior to the 1979 Revolution, $1 USD equaled 70 Iranian Rials. Today the conversion rate is $1 USD to around 42,000 RIs. Iran was considered to be a cultured, educated and wealthy (from an oil reserve perspective) nation. And to top it off, Iranian people are absolutely lovely. So what happened? Islamism.
Islamism advocates for the restoration of a pan-Islamic Caliphate which aims to religiously and politically unite the Muslim world. We are talking full on Sharia lockdown, condemning (and much worse) anything LGBTQ+ and preaching global jihad (not the spiritual kind). In other words, their current vision for the future is firmly rooted in a violent and medieval philosophy that should have drifted away like a very bad smell a long, long time ago. Why is it still so popular? Because it’s such a delicious recipe for authoritarian regimes controlled by thugs. (That’s EVERY Arab nation in the world today.) Thugocracy is not limited to the Arabs but the mechanics of the system are universal: a charming ruler with absolute power, no free press, suppression (by all means necessary) of any dissent and a sophisticated misinformation campaign to control the hapless citizens. “We’re not the problem,” say the clever tyrants, “It’s the ____,” fill in the blank. I’ll give you a hint: the first letter very often begins with a “J”.
What’s really going on? Currently, there’s an unbridgeable socioeconomic gap between the ironically “Western flavored” elites and the commoners in all Arab countries. It’s reminiscent of the disconnect that historically existed between the poor, working fellaheen and their wealthy, Arab landowner rulers—a pernicious caste like system that still exists. Iranian Islamists culturally appropriated not only the neighboring al-Islamiyyun conspiracy theories but the Thugocracy scaffold necessary to support them. Masoud Pezeshkian is merely another cog in the awful Iranian Islamist machinery with the power to change nothing.
This is a decent piece from Eli Lake. It's true that the new president has no power. But, he is an indicator that the ayatollahs need to pay attention to. Iran is looking at harj-o-marj, a Persian phrase meaning everything turns over. A new revolution is what Iran is facing. We shall see.
The USA's Biden administration playing footsie and supporting the Iranian govern in their attempt to get Iran away from Russia is opposing the democratic will of the Iranian people. A plausible outcome of this is that Iran might, again, have a revolution, but ally with Russia.
Or pretend to pay attention which is more likely. Iran is already allied with the gas station that serves nuclear weapons on the side.
Which is exactly the point. Iran deals with Russia the way Mexico deals with the USA. They are on Russia's border. Iran obeys Russia, and allows Russia to let Israel make forays over as far as Syria in airspace controlled by Russia. And, Russia provides engineers and physicists for their nuclear reactor and bomb projects. And... mostly that alliance of Iran with Russia has been to the benefit of the USA, and Israel. The problem is the declared intent to overthrow Russia's government by Biden supporting Ukraine.
A revolution in Iran could, in theory, make Iran available to the USA's orbit. However, whether the secular Iranians could go along with that is definitely not determined. For Iran, staying with the Russians would be their best bet.
I get that, but what I don’t understand is their willingness to keep banging their heads on the wall after their strategy failed miserably
I'd like to keep hope alive, even if it's delusional. The situation in Iran is dire. The people are suffering beyond belief. The women and men who gave their lives for a moment of freedom, are my modern day heroes. Their courage and bravery to dissent absolute tyranny is awe inspiring. They are revolutionaries, and for their sake, I hope this new man can bring about some peace to the good people of Iran. I pray for the day when they can be free.
How many times in the last 40+ years have we read in The Western Media about someone was/is a Reformist? Since 1979 there has never been a Reformist in government. Before someone even runs for an office they have to get approval from Council of Guardians. They have one job, and one job only. To ensue Nothing happens in Iran that violates their interpretation of Shia Islam.
nothing about Iran adds up
they have an election for president, but it's kinda fake because the president has no power, but it's a theocracy so what else could we expect?
only 50% turnout for the election, but again it's a theocracy so why bother turning out when you can stay home and watch Judge Judy?
they are working desperately on a nuclear weapon and they have vowed to eliminate Israel, but under Obama's leadership the world enters into an agreement to slow their progress down rather than stop it altogether, and in exchange the world agrees to give Iran lots of money and CDs of Judge Judy's past shows
they are within six months of having the capacity to create nuclear weapons, they're working feverishly in this effort, and this has been the case for the past 20 years, making it absolutely critical that we revive the 10-year old deal to slow them down
nothing adds up
it's almost as if there's stuff we don't know
Hard-lined Islamic countries just don't make any sense to me whatsoever. Yes, I'm an atheist, so I'm not a fan of any religion in particular. But, with Islam, don't ya just wake up everyday - look around and think - really? Just what in the hell is this getting us? Maybe 50-100 years ago ... but now ... when you can easily see the flourishing of other Western nations (relatively speaking), does the 'religion' aspect of Islam not just get a little tiring?
To an Islamist, the success of the West is an affront to the divine order prescribed in the Koran. According to the Koran, Islam should rule worldwide. And to that Islamist, the Koran is the direct word of Allah. For devout Muslims, it is a cause to rally around, to work to undermine the West and eventually replace it with an Islamic state.
You're making the classic 'we all want the same things' mistake that is common among Westerners who have been brought up with concepts like 'universal human rights'. Islamists are playing a very long game and are far more ruthless than the leftists they have co-opted. Those two factions brought about the Iranian revolution 45 years ago. Within 5 years the leftists had all been executed, exiled, or imprisoned by the Khomeini regime.
You're kind of missing the nuance behind what I said though. I completely understand the 'we all want the same things' mistake, but there underlines my point. Islamists *aren't* getting what they want, not by a long shot, and they're much further away from "replacing the West" in any significant capacity than they've ever been in the history of their religion. Yes - they still believe they're following the "divine order prescribed in the Koran (the direct word of Allah)". Yet, with all that cosmic 'power' behind their faith, they're still largely the backwoods of the world. Even the most adamant religious zealot (one would think) would look around after a while and start to question if this whole "Islam" thing is really what it's cracked up to be. Although, I think this same thing about my Christian friends, too.
Aw. I guess you weren't hung by your feet upside down and beaten for not doing well enough in your religious education at a madrassas. You didn't see relatives get together and kill a sibling or cousin for expressing wrong ideas. (Islam specifies that an apostate must be killed asap for their own good - it's compassion Islam style.)
But his words will give Tony more hope for resurrecting the 2015 disastrous nuke treaty with Iran. Making billions more available to Iran.
Yes. Tony the Bozo Blinken.
Can’t give an exact time and date but I do recall the ayatollahs stating, that’ to destroy Israel, would be worth sacrificing half the population of Iran’. Martyrs they would be. Remember Big Satan-Little Satan must be destroyed. Since I am speculating maybe that is why Barry “O” had Iran on a path to a nuke. Israel /Zionist Jew hater that he is. During the Iran - Iraq war the Iranians used children to clear minefields. These people are serious about their martyrdom.
I’ll believe the guy’s a reformer when the thousands in Iranian jails who are tortured for their faith are exonerated and made whole for the living hell their families have endured for decades.
This is always the case in Iran and should not be a surprise. A new president is elected in Iran, promises reform and change but cannot commit in the long run because the reality is the Ayatollah of Iran as the last say when it comes to anything being changed or reformed in Iran. Nothing will change until the Ayatollah changes (meaning he is replaced by someone after he dies who is more "progressive".) or until the Ayatollah is overthrown.
These days it’s easy: read what corporate media tells you and believe the opposite
Pretty much. This morning my local rag told me today was July 9 2024. I triple checked calendars and called 3 friends, and they confirmed it was.
We need a story from the Free Press why Obama and Biden’s people continue to believe appeasing Iran is the best course of action.
Tablet has written extensively on this subject. Check out anything by Lee Smith or Tony Badran.
In a nutshell, Obama wanted out of the Middle East and felt a "realignment" that balanced Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel would achieve this. He ignored Iran's stated aim of destroying the U.S. and Israel, insisting that they simply needed to be brought into the economic and diplomatic fold. Despite supposed cultural sensitivity, Obama and his lackeys (including Biden) never took their religious motivations seriously.
Yeah, he's a reformer like Bashar Assad
https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/clinton-no-longer-a-believer-that-assad-is-a-reformer-says-he-cant-sustain-the-armed-opposition-in-syria
“But it’s a harbinger of tense times between a White House in bunker mode and a press corps in ferret mode.”
First they will have to disengage their lips from Biden’s dick. Democrats are extremely slimy