Game Changer

President Trump delivered his message this morning and it was precise and clear. Either you have already seen it or you can watch the video. This is my understanding of his message and some events surrounding it. It is a confirmation of my previous couple of posts. It only expands the narrative.

The U.S. & Iran Conflict

The U.S.-Iran Conflict was escalated today, by Iran sending some missiles into a few U.S. and allied bases in Iraq. It seems that President Trump is going to address the nation tonight. From his policy direction so far I am assuming that he will clarify his position further tonight. I will hold all my comments until I hear him.

Are Tensions Rising between the U.S. and Iran?

I am already seeing ridiculous signs of "hands off Iran!" and "No war with Iran" are going up all over the place by the leftists or like minded people. Maybe you could think of it this way:

1953 Coup and Democracy in Iran

The month of August is the anniversary of the 1953 coup in Iran, the overthrow of the government of Mohammad Mossadegh, then premier of the country. This coup has been widely labeled as the “1953 CIA coup”. CIA stands for the Central Intelligence Agency of the U.S. Alternatively the 1953 coup has been called the “1953 CIA led coup”, a milder version. Mohammad Reza Shah which reinstated his rule through this coup and his supporters have called this event as the “Shah and People Uprising”.

Kurds and John McCain

I could not believe that I would come to agree with John McCain and I agree with his position on Kurds as outlined in his op-ed in the NY Times.

Women in Iran

Masih Alinejad often talks about her experiences growing up in Iran. On what it is being a woman in Iran. Her experiences is becoming more typical if it is not already typical. She talks about simple truths and that is powerful. Iranian regime is mortally afraid of these simple truths.

Dignity of Women

In my post in October 14, 2013 I wrote, "What if every Western country would assign a female ambassador to Iran who would introduce her credentials to the Iranian government, in Tehran, in her own traditional attire, dressed professionally as a female without any head cover or hijab, as a practical working woman." 

It seems that the french public is way ahead of the Western politicians. This is what the politicians in the West should push as part of lifting the economic restrictions on Iran. To read the whole story click on this link.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/02/air-france-stewardesses-mutiny-over-order-to-wear-headscarves/

Iranian Election

In a couple of weeks Islamic Republic in Iran will hold an "election" for the selection of the members of the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. What these political bodies are is not really relevant as I will explain in a moment. So far the majority of the candidates for these two assemblies have been disqualified through a non transparent process. Qualified candidates are chosen by the status quo for the purpose of maintaining the rule of the existing clique of clergies and their tight circles of beneficiaries. Open discussion of issues and criticism of the system is suppressed by detention, long term imprisonment and death. Meanwhile the Islamic regime spends plenty of resources to convince the population that they should participate and cast their ballots, portraying the people's participation as "patriotic", "anti-enemy" and "anti-imperialist". Should one participate in this election? Is there any principles one could adopt or follow?

Election 2016

The coming election is the most participatory and as such it is the most democratic election in my memory and I dare to say in anybody's memory who is alive today. Am I divulging my age? It is also probably the noisiest U.S. election in the modern times. Both aspects of this election have their pluses and minuses.

Iranian Panic

With the heightening fear of terrorist attack by the Islamists, leaders of the Western societies see the need to respond and they are responding. The first line of response generally begins with the security measures. Apparently one of the proposed security measures would put certain travel restrictions on the Iranian born citizens of the U.S. and Europe. What these restrictions exactly are, whether it will come to take effect I do not know and the severity of it is of little importance to me. Why? First of all with the existence of the serious threats that the Islamists are posing, as a responsible citizen I cannot begin from my convenience. At this point I need to mention as disclosure for those who are unfamiliar with me that I was born in Iran. Naturally any security restrictions targeting that group will affect me also. My second point is longer and you have to read the rest of this post to find out.

Muslim Like No Other Muslim

I have been referring to myself as Muslim. That might sound sort of weird to some who know me. I have been a leftist in the past, Marxist-Leninist-Trotskyist variety. I am a strong proponent of the fight against the Islamic states and Islamist trends. So what gives, why am I calling myself a Muslim?

NYTimes Story

"ISIS Women and Enforcers in Syria Recount Collaboration, Anguish and Escape" is the story of three Syrian women. It is an interesting read.

Are Islamists the Same as Fascists?

I had a conversation with a friend. He said that he agrees with the principles that I am espousing in my two previous posts, but somehow he felt that he could not agree with me. He felt that my ideas are over the top. Comparing Fascists with Islamists is not quite right and does not fit. He had noticed that I do not say Islamists are equal to Fascists, but somehow he felt that it comes across that way. There is little wiggle room, the reader gets the impression that I am implying they are the same.

Nuclear Negotiations & the Islamic Republic

The pivot of yesterday's announcement at the conclusion of this round of negotiations in Geneva is that the negotiations will continue into the summer with the expectations of a final agreement in June or July. I am not certain of the deadline but at this stage it matters little.  Was this an important milestone in President Obama's project? I believe so.