Musings of an Ex-Socialist

My first video for the Youtube channel is out. It is in Farsi, a discussion about the coming U.S. election and Iran. My friend Hadi Mahmoudi, is my partner in this discussion. When I was naming this channel, I opted for "Musings of an Ex-Socialist/Communist" but YouTube would not let me. I am assuming it has to do with the name Communist. I do not know why but when I dropped the word Communist from the title it passed the digital censor. Therefore the name of the channel ended to be "Musings of an Ex-Socialist". Click on the previous link to watch the discussion in my mother tongue, Farsi.

How this channel will develop, I am not sure. If you would like to participate in the discussions please let me know. The video posts will be some in Farsi and some in English.

Nayer Joon

This news clipping from 1968 Turlock Journal (click on the previous link) gives you a brief taste of our life when my mother, Nayereh Azam Mahjoubi, arrived in the U.S. back in 1968.

Is There an Iran Strategy?

In my last few posts, I tried to decipher and guess the existence of a strategy from President Trump's actions and statements. It seems that my guess was not invalid. The commentary by Richard Goldberg, in New York Times, outlines that policy and its working strategy. What is interesting are the reader comments to the Goldberg's statement in the opinion pages of NYT. Most of these comments particularly the ones favored by NYT want to deny the existence of such a strategy. These comments seem to be coming mostly from the democratic corner. They strike me as democrats are in denial of the facts and this could be to their detriment in the coming presidential election. Recently I have noticed an increasing number of republicans, who had withdrawn their support from Trump since the 2016 election, coming back into his corner. Republicans are consolidating while the discord among the democrats is increasing. Can the democrats meet this challenge? With the rise in the popularity of Bernie Sanders democrats seem to be oblivious to this challenge, particularly the need for adoption of a clear foreign policy agenda.

The link to Goldberg's opinion "Trump Has an Iran Strategy. This Is It."

Invading Mexico!

Listen to this video discussion (link in the bottom of this post). Ed Calderon is a guest at Joe Rogan YouTube channel. Ed knows quite a bit about the border problems and the dynamics between the U.S. and Mexico. It is an extremely interesting discussion. I recommend you to watch it. The video is a movie length but it is better and more engaging than any movie that you can watch on Netflix.

In there you will get a glimpse of where Trump got the notion of sending troops to Mexico. In my last post I pointed to the new direction that his foreign policy is taking which is a big change both for the U.S. and the world. This is a positive for his administration but this does not change the fact that we have "kid" president, who cannot contain himself. I yet think he needs to be changed at the next election if the democrats can get their political act together and meet his challenge. I am not hopeful. It seems that democrats are on track to present to us a crazy left version of Trump. I will talk about this issue hopefully next.

Link to the video

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:

Muslims are Liars!

A few months ago my wife, reserved an AirBnB for my travel to Brooklyn, New York. My son had planned to stay with me for this visit. We arrived at our destination relatively late at night. The host, Sahr, was a very pleasant dark skinned woman who showed us the place.

Alliances and Its Consequences (I)

Do you make a distinction between these two banners?

[The left banner is the Communist banner and the right banner is the Nazis banner. Originally I had the picture of the two banners here and I had to take it down. The reason for me taking these two pictures down is, when one searched my son's name these two banners would appear as if they were associated with his name and it was concerning to him. So for now imagine that you see these two banners being here. I will put the pictures back on once his concern has been alleviated or the Google indexing mechanism has overcome this issue. After imagining the two banners continue with reading the article. Assume you are seeing two banners a Communist banner and a Nazis banner.]

Perceptions of "Capitalism"

In this YouTube video Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, talks about how our perceptions are formed by the stories we have been immersed in. Although not a new idea, but his way of relating it to our attitudes toward capitalism is interesting. His conclusions which point to a middle of the road perception while healthier than the extremes, leftist and rightist, is incomplete. But the main point is his exposition of these three stories. It caught my attention to the way it relates to my previous post.

Link to Haidt's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOu_8yoqZoQ

Ephemeral Capitalism

Ephemeral means, lasting for a very short time. Am I coming to my past leftist sense thinking that “capitalism” is short lived. Therefore, it is Ephemeral!

Once There Was a Shah

I was seven when my father entered my life permanently. Before that he was an elusive figure who would appear for a day or few hours and then he was not there, with disappearances and durations that I could not keep count of and measure.

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”.

American Myth

Semi woken a thought had me in its grip and uncontrollably began to utter these words: “Now I understand what it means. It is very simple. From now on I am an American. It does not matter that I am not a citizen. It would not matter even if I get denied citizenship. It would not matter if I am thrown out of this country or where I end up living in this world. I am an American! From this moment on I am an American!” Maureen’s voice woke my other senses, “OK! OK! Now go back to sleep!”

"Black Lives Matter", What is it?

"Black Lives Matter" (BLM) is a frivolous movement. This slogan is a leftist dream come true. It works as if it is designed to hide the actual racism in the U.S. instead of revealing it. BLM clouds the forward movement of the society to overcome racial distinctions as a political and social issue. BLM is the brainchild of the leftists in the U.S. and it camouflages their indirect complicity in the existing racism lurking in our law enforcement units. Obviously, I have a different view of this movement than what BLM propaganda portray itself to be. How do my assertions stack up against the reality?

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.

Can a Conservative Court Reject Anti-Abortion Laws

These days supporters of abortion rights have a nagging concern that the next Supreme Court appointment by Mr. Trump would create an opportunity for the majority "conservative" members to reverse the 1973 Roe vs. Wade (RvW) ruling. This reversal presumably could lay the groundwork for states to completely ban abortion or restrict it so severely that it would not be accessible anymore.

Cuban "Socialism"

The other day a good friend approached me and said, "I agree with all that you have said in your last post [Fidel Castro's Legacy], but you should not have called him an idiot, Fidel Castro was not an idiot."

Fidel Castro's Legacy

Most of my friends on FaceBook (FB) are socialists, who profess Marxist-Leninist concepts of communism. That is where I come from, we shared the same beliefs. We fought for a "classless" society, a society of plenty for all and we were for the suppression of any form of "exploitation". We shared these concepts and most of them yet believe in these ideas. This entire spectrum of my FB friends also come from small socialist groups from which they have been expelled or resigned from. They all attest to the authoritarian nature of their party leadership which expelled them. These comrades from the relative comfort of their retired life or near retirement in the U.S., freely mock and criticize their past leaders.

Trump, Clinton & Sanders

The silhouettes of the three candidates could point one to certain political possibilities. Are these names, Trump, Clinton and Sanders the outlines of a three party system? A right wing party searching for strong man politics, a center party trying to reconcile multitudes of interests by developing policies that has an eye to the future, and a left wing party raising socialist slogans for bringing down the rich. Are we witnessing a process of split in the well entrenched Democratic and Republican parties?

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/

Justice Scalia

Over the weekend Maureen, my wife, and I went to a gathering of some acquaintances. As we entered the house a jubilant outcry greeted us. "Scalia is dead, hurray!" Taken aback I paused for a moment and said "The man is dead! The man is dead! And he had a different view of the constitution!" I must have sounded like a party pooper because the commotion calmed down a bit. Maybe more than a bit!

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.

People of Shahrud

Many of you probably have read my post about my sister. If you have not, read the Faranak post first. It will help you to follow this one. I have been working on my memoirs for some time and the post about my sister is part of it. I wrote that piece after her death. It was not a eulogy. It was a slice of our lives tucked away in my mind and when it poured out I also saw in it a reflection of the situation of women in Iran at that time.

Open Carry

I took our dog, Olive, out for a walk and began to jog around the park near our home. As I turned on the street adjacent to the park in the distance about 300 feet away I noticed three young men in dark clothes walking on the same side of street toward me. Their formation and manner of walk looked strange, then I noticed that it looks that they are carrying some guns. There were no other people in their vicinity which made it a bit suspicious to me. Case of San Bernardino came to my mind. There is a school at the end of the park in the direction I was jogging and next to it is a Jewish temple. But, they were walking away from both and today is Sunday, no school. They were not in a hurry, lumbering from side to side walking. Getting a few yards closer, yes they were carrying assault rifles on their shoulders with big magazines in them. They did not look Islamist to me. No resemblance whatsoever.

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.

Donald Trump's Strategy

I found this link shared by my nephew on FaceBook. It is a very clear headed assessment of what Donald Trump strategy is. Read it. The most important part of it is the first part. When he dives into Fascism and his tolerance of the limitations of civic rights then it is just playing game theory with politics, not that interesting to me.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/134791529391/risk-management-trump-persuasion-series

Parallels (I)

The problems and the dangers of the Islamists, Muslims who promote the most egregious form of social behavior – killing of the infidel, killing of the one who has "left" Islam, killing of the blasphemer, forced covering of women, sanctity of women's rape in marriage, blaming and punishing women who are raped outside of the marriage, "honor" killing of women, silencing of anyone who criticizes "Islam" and, and … – too many for one to enumerate. Overwhelming majority of the Muslims of the world believe in one or more of these tenets of their "Islam". In my book, belief or practice of any of those tenets is adequate to put the person beyond the bounds of the civil world. Islam is what the Muslims are and that is the Islam today. We know we have a serious problem and many in the media are on a campaign of diluting or hiding this plain truth. They try to distort this problem by fabrication, showmanship, or drawing false parallels. Telling us constantly, look at the other parallel problem, that one is more important.

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.

Syrian Refugees and the Banners (II)

These days the faces of ever growing refugees from Afghanistan to Syria are all over the media marching across fields and roads. Mostly young and energetic, they are the ones who can endure the long trip, some with small children in tow are seen demanding the right of passage to the more affluent parts of Europe. Many want to travel to Germany. When this wave of refugees began flooding the borders of Europe they were met with few activists carrying signs of "Welcome" along with armchair moralists encouraging them. There is nothing wrong with welcoming someone or being a moralist armchair or otherwise, but mostly they fall in the category of impulsive reaction and does not provide an overall view of the problem at hand.

Syrian Refugees and the Banners (I)

Many look at the Syrian crisis through the picture of the little boy who was laying face down on the beach, dead. They pay attention to the turmoil in Afghanistan when a bomb kills few or many in a wedding ceremony there. The sectarian killings in Iraq, Syria and Libya catch their attention when a gruesome beheading is put on the Web. These events prompt them to action – mostly a FaceBook post. "Open up the border and let the refugees in! How can you stand by and let a little boy die!" "Haven't the Western countries made enough mess in Afghanistan and Iraq. Get out of there!" Or "Where is the civilized world to stop these savageries!" Sometimes it is hard to decipher the rightist and the leftist positions from each other. These protestations are off the cuff outpouring of emotions, not much different than someone's FaceBook picture of his food. Both are off the cuff emotions, the latter demands repetition and the former is begging to go away. I do not have anything against impromptu emotions. I have my own moments but they tell us little to nothing about the reality of the events.

Faranak

“Dokhtareh!, Dokhtareh!” -- “It's a girl! It's a girl!” The jubilant commotion of four boys filled the corridor that connected the upstairs rooms. One end of the corridor was not enclosed, it was open to the yard below. This cry of victory was carried by the warm late summer air through the corridor to the neighboring homes and to the street. It is hard to know how far it audibly travelled. But it must have cruised farther than one imagines today for Shahrood was a quiet sleepy town. There were hardly any cars in this city. One passing through could have easily imagined that there were none.

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.

Masih Alinejad -- A Voice Much Louder Than Mine

I have had a few posts promoting how the Western influential women could help the Iranian women movement in their plight for equal rights, particularly the right to determine their appearance. Their right to not wear head cover, hijab, on a daily basis is being trampled on by the religious oligarchy called Islamic Republic in Iran.  Ms. Alinejad, an Iranian journalist, recently made a call on Julie Bishop not to wear hijab when visiting Iran.  It is such a pleasure to see she is taking up this call. Alinejad's voice has more weight and reach than my little known blog. Maybe this idea will get some traction at last

I have been promoting this idea of Ms. Alinejad on a broader basis.  Please see these two previous posts http://www.siamakz.com/2013/12/bomb-iran-or.html and an earlier one http://www.siamakz.com/2013/10/ms-ambassador.html

We need to turn this call into a broad political campaign or even lobby the centers of power in the Western democracies.

Syriza, Podemos and Occupy Wall Street

Podemos, a leftist coalition, seems to be on its way to repeat Syriza's victory, this time in Spain. A couple of days ago I found an opportunity to listen to one of the leaders of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias. He could be the possible winner in the next Spanish election.

Some voices of reason within the Muslim community

It is undeniable that there are voices of reason within the Muslim community where their criticism begins with the criticism of their own community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzP8e9b_OT8

Am I Charlie?

Shortly after the news of the savage massacre of the Charlie Hebdo's staff, in Paris, splashed across the network, I said "I am Charlie!" In no uncertain terms I repeated this, in French, "Je suis Charlie" and in Farsi, "من چارلی هستم". But, am I Charlie?

Je Suis Charlie

I am Charlie
من چارلی هستم

Aristocratic Democracy

Have you ever noticed how people express themselves about democracy and how they differ on it? This difference is more distinct among the Iranian émigrés to the point that I see it in a category by itself. Approach of the Iranian émigrés to the subject of “democracy” is different than the people who have been raised here, in the U.S. Probably many other ethnic immigrants share this characteristic difference.

Innocence, Justice and the One Sided War

These days pictures of demolished buildings, dead and severely hurt children, men and women mourning have filled the Internet channels.  Videos of the anguished calling for revenge, justice, or revenge and justice, on behalf of these "innocent" children, women and the elderly pop up everywhere.  Those who post these gut wrenching images are in a race with each other to post more and appeal to their friends and their circles to repost and find more to share. In posting these images zealous among them are the radical Islamists and the leftists in the U.S. and Europe.

Imperialism the Boogeyman -- Book

With the Bolshevik's victory the revision of Marx's ideas took on an accelerated pace, to the degree that the prophet himself could not have dreamt about. The prophet's bust and image adorned many public squares and halls. At the same time Marx's disciples kept splitting, competing to raise his banner higher, all oblivious that they are holding the prophet upside down.

Wildfire of Marxism -- Book

Marx died in Britain in obscurity. That was 1883, for his funeral only a handful of people were present, one among them was a British. No detachments of the British "proletariat" were present to salute their discoverer. In this most important capitalist country of that time, 19th century, there was no report of a single representative of British "proletariat" trying in any way to attend. "Proletariat" was absent from the funeral of a person who later became the idol of the "scientific socialism", his bust occupying many public squares and his image adorning great many walls private and public.

Shifting Sands of Marxism -- Book

Where do these tenets of Marx's views stand among the Marxists and the broader left today? It is barely a lip service to the prophet. In maintaining Marx's "materialist" view his disciples are hardly any different from the Christians and Moslems who have tried to decipher the principles of mathematics and physics from the pages of Bible and Qur'an, and with every new scientific advancement they belabor to justify their holy books.

Exchange and Trade -- Book

How can we measure Marx's notions of trade and exchange and how has it evolved since? Examination of this question is important for understanding how Marx's perception of exploitation evolved through his disciples. Marx saw trade beginning with the exchange of things where through capitalist corruption it gets extended to other spheres of human relationships, exchange of non-material.

Revolution -- Book

Marx saw reform and compromise as futile and in many respects illusory. In his view progress was ultimately possible only through revolution. Society needed a social upheaval, a revolution, to promote certain perceived interests, workers interest, and eliminate other interests, the capitalists. In his view this process was natural and inevitable where the learned like himself had only to participate and be its shaman, the wise one. As time passed he became more frustrated with his own prognosis while piling on theoretical constructs.

The State -- Book

Marxists view of the state is an extension of their rigid view of other social relationships and economic categories. It is crude and ahistorical. Their perception of state is an organization that came to existence with the development of trade and creation of class society. These Marxian class societies have a standing armed organization. Whereby this organization's central task is to protect the interests of the privileged classes against the disenfranchised ones. The role of the downtrodden is to suffer and wait for an opportunity to overthrow the propertied classes.

Exploitation -- Book

Marx's notion of class begins with the assumption that there was a stage not too long ago when there were no classes, i.e. there were no privileges and no exploitation. He contends that in the primitive tribes everyone was equal because everyone more or less did the same thing, everyone consumed the same and at the end of the day there was nothing left. There was no accumulation of things and therefore no basis for privilege and therefore no "classes".

Class Struggle -- Book

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." That is Marx's vision of the history and is one of the fundamental principles that every Marxist adheres to. This declaration of Marx in Communist Manifesto probably is as important to the Marxist theorists as his economic theories. I have dealt with the foundation of Marx's economic theory earlier but the question is how valid is Marx's famous notion about "class struggle" and history. This is a statement that shouts out through the entire Marx's writings. One cannot conceive of Marxism without his perception of the history and the "class struggle".

Alienation -- Book

There are multiple and broad concepts attached to the word alienation but Marx took up this word and gave it a particular socioeconomic meaning. His concept of alienation which one can read in his early writings and mostly is associated with the young Marx is basically the separation of the worker from the means of production.

The Family -- Book

One of the corollaries of Marx & Engels's thesis is that with socialism not only the state will wither away, but the nuclear family will be done with also. Their understanding was that the existence of monogamous relationships, nuclear family, was based only on the needs of the "class" society to transfer wealth to their off spring and the family really does not have any useful function among the working people other than a mechanism for the reproduction of new workers to be exploited. The height of the influence of this idea was reflected in the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s in the West with varied consequences. Complications of the issue of the nuclear family is an ongoing discussion of our modern world, that whether a healthy and functioning nuclear family is indispensable for a socially responsible upbringing and what are the negative and positive influences of this cultural landslide.

Marxist Eden Lost -- Book

In the next few posts I am returning to some other sections of my book. The first few sections apart from the introductions dealt with the core principles that Marx enunciated, his economic principles. In these next sections I am dealing with Marx's social manifestations of his principles. As before titles of these posts are ending with "... -- Book" and for the purpose of the continuity I encourage you to read the earlier posts with similar title patterns.

Confession

I voted for Kshama Sawant for Seattle City Council to replace Richard Conlin.  Sawant is a confessed socialist with red hot slogans. People who are familiar with me and my blog, they know that I am writing against the communist and socialist ideas. During the past presidential election I criticized the people who were gearing up to vote socialist instead of voting for president Obama. See my blog "Honk for Jesus or Vote Socialist".

Blueprint

An architect's drawing of a bridge on a sheet of paper connecting two impassable land masses is an initial concept.

Bomb Iran or ...

Instead, flood the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) with professional women from the West. Aeronautic technology has an alternative use other than producing bombers.

Marx's Sage -- Book

Marx created and used quite a few smart phrases in his debates with his opponents.

Materialist Version of a Myth -- Book

The central thread of the three great religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all originating in the Middle East goes like this:

Marxian Wealth -- Book

Marx’s ultimate defense of his doctrine is his modeling of capitalist economic system. His work on this modeling that led to the three volumes of "The Capital" has been held up as the ultimate verdict against capitalism. It was thought that his critique of capitalism has laid bare the ruthless exploitation of the workers, which according to Marx is the sole source for the creation of capital, its formation, accumulation and growth.

Marxian Constructs -- Book

Marx said that “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” In this respect Marx saw himself in contradistinction to other philosophers, and his works as the end of philosophy. He saw himself as the last philosopher with a revolutionary message, of an impending and inevitable transformation, that was putting an end to philosophy and exploitation. His prophetic finality sets Marx's tone of blazing polemics. His tone by itself makes reading of Marx's works very difficult.

Shortcomings -- Book

A couple of years ago I mentioned that I would post some short articles giving a framework for the book that I am working on. I had a series of posts titled "Perspective ..." and a series of other posts, some related and some unrelated to this book. I am shifting gears a bit. I will have a series of posts that are directly related to this book and will end each post title with " -- Book". This way readers of my blog can follow this particular trend easier. Sorry I did not find an easier way of doing it. I wish the Google Blogger was more user-friendly in this regard.

Ms. Ambassador

The election of Mr. Rohani as the president of Iran and the change of tone by his administration have raised hopes that a possible military confrontation between the West and Iran would not be on the horizon and the two sides could come to a quick resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Sirens of Success

"In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous and beautiful creatures, portrayed as femme fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island."

There are successes and victories which in the end are nothing but setbacks and defeats. Those successes and victories have their own euphoria and are enticing but only set one up for a bigger setback and defeat. This is the case with the anti-war activists who are against the intervention by the United States and other Western countries in Syria.

Fascism and Islamic Movements – II

A friend, Rick Rice, commented on my first post on Fascism and Islamic Movements and this prompted me to say a few more words on this subject. Rick, thanks for taking the time.

In that post I pointed out to a common characteristic between Fascism and Islamic movements. This commonality is not equality and I tried to point that out also. My perception is not to try to create a model and I think such an attempt is futile and counterproductive. The differences are important and consequential in how we confront the Islamic movements.

Is It a Coup?

The ouster of Morsi in Egypt which began with massive demonstrations in Tahrir square, followed by the military arresting him along with some leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, has created a labeling crisis for the left and the left over Marxists.

Islamic Movements and Fascism

Some use the word fascism as descriptive of the Islamic Republic or Muslim movements. The use of this term could impart a particular political meaning that is easily interpreted as a declaration of war on these movements and institutions or adoption of a series of policies that would directly lead to a war, particularly with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Election, Class and Boycott

In the Western countries elections are a routine part of life. Decisions from small to large, filling potholes to creating a monumental social program such as health care and even wars are the result of some form of electoral process, local elections, broader province or state elections and finally the national elections. Open debates are part of this process and ideas can be expressed without fear of arrest and imprisonment. The police, military and courts cannot prevent you from expressing your opinion or fielding your candidates. Open debates, expression of opinions continue between elections and one's ability to organize around ideas are protected.

Sanctions

Since my last post I had a couple of discussions, one with a good friend of my own generation, and the other with a young woman who was born in Iran and raised in Canada. They had two fundamental criticisms of what I have been posting. One is that my posts are painting a dark picture and lack appreciation of what is happening in Iran. The other was that sanctions of Iran by the West are not helpful and are hurting the same people who came out in the street celebrating their electoral victory, and in a twisted way tried to show their opposition to the government.

Moderate Cannibalism

The reports indicate that Rohani, a supposedly "moderate" candidate has won the post of the president of the Islamic Republic, a secondary, maybe even a tertiary, executive position in Iran. The primary position is occupied by Khamenei, for life, as the supreme leader. Rohani seems to have won by millions of votes. He was supported by Khatami, a previous "moderate" president and also by Rafsanjani another supposedly "moderate" leader of the Islamic Republic, head of one of the councils of the ruling religious oligarchy.

Western Intervention

The election of the Islamic Republic President in Iran has been carefully staged to reaffirm the rule of religious oligarchy. Only a few days ago the NY Times reported on the hard-line stance that each approved candidate had taken on the nuclear dispute between the regime and the Western alliance.

Secret Weapon

Imagine a society of cannibals, at peace among themselves, surrounding a newly caught victim. All rubbing their stomachs, anxiously waiting for the end of the ceremony, when the sacrifice and eating begins. Could we interpret the rubbing of the stomachs equivalent to the vote of majority for the practice of their venerated custom. Could we call this a form of "democracy"? Different than ours but nevertheless it has the majority rule in there, albeit by rubbing of the stomachs. Were British anti democratic when they tried to stop these practices among South Pacific societies? Was that the sign of their "imperialistic" cultural transgression?

Honk for Jesus or Vote Socialist

Have you ever passed by a church that says "honk for Jesus" on their bill board? If one is a hardcore believer in Jesus he might get tempted to honk his horn, but at the same time he probably refrains from it because he notices that the sign belongs to a competing church and that is not really his Jesus. He would save his honk for his own Jesus when he attends his church. I have good friends who are strong believers in Jesus and some of them are casting their vote for Romney because they mistakenly believe that Romney will at least implement their anti abortion, anti gay and other so called socially conservative agendas. Implementation of those conservative social agendas is pretty hard and gets harder by every new generation. It is very hard to turn back the clock of history.

Gossip

My son, Bahman, on his FaceBook has an entry that says, "'gossip is just jostling for social position' – my dad. put that on a magnet". His quote was a phrase I had used to comfort a close friend about some gossip she had heard a couple of weeks earlier. I told her that gossip is part of our social DNA and we cannot do away with it. That is what people do when they meet each other. A lot of the conversation is gossip, talking about other people who are not present and I summed it up with the quoted phrase.

Trauma

I was part of the Iranian Trotskyists and read the works which are related to my past looking for some  illumination.  Kamran Nayeri's attempt which I referred to it at the end of my last post did not shed any light.  It is wrapped inside of his criticism of Barry Sheppard's book that I have referred to in the previous post.   So if you want to find it you have to dig deep down in part 2 of his article.  There you will find Nayeri's version of the history of the Trotskyism in Iran.

Nayeri's endeavor at best seems to be mainly addressed to the good sense of those ex members of the SWP (Socialist Workers Party) who still mourn their expulsion.  What one learns is that from Nayeri's point of view there were several factions among the Iranian Trotskyists.  The good one he was a part of and the bad one was really a cult ruled by Babak Zahraie.  The other factions were sort of tolerable.  The whole diatribe seems to be about his complain that why Sheppard has praised Babak Zahraie in a sentence of his two volume work.  One thing I learned which was illuminating is that expulsions in political parties can be truly traumatic and enduring on some people.  I hope that Nayeri's article was at least therapeutic for him.

Partido

I have been busy working on my ongoing project started as a series of posts titled Perspective.  At the same time,  I have been involved with a group of folks who were interested in writing and within that group I picked up writing pieces of my memoirs.  My group has not met for a while and my incentive to continue with my memoirs has lost some of its juice.  Recent posts in Partido prompted me to write a few more notes related to both.

Partido is the name of a FaceBook group I believe was initiated by a comrade of my Trotskyist past, Les Evans.  At least I remember receiving an e-mail from him inviting me to the group.  Since then I have also been following the posts and the discussions in this group.

Interesting view of Japanese "decline"!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/opinion/sunday/the-true-story-of-japans-economic-success.html?_r=1

Perspective … 6

Underdeveloped Experience … II

The undeveloped peoples have had to digest two major trends coming at them from the advanced societies. One was the capitalist penetration of their societies and the second the ideological resistance to it, “socialism” and later as “communism”.

Perspective … 5

Underdeveloped Experience … I

The primary characteristic of the underdevelopment up to now has been resistance to change. This resistance increases when the gulf between the underdevelopment and development widens. The process of change is more difficult for the simple reason that crossing this gulf requires time and evolution.

Perspective … 4

Communist Experience … III

Certainly Bolsheviks did not invent violence. Violence has been part of human history since time immemorial. It has been part of our progress through millions of years of evolution.

Perspective … 3

Communist Experience … II

In the previous post I mentioned that, Lenin in his attempt “to construct the socialist order” collided with Marx’s vision from day one.  Lenin’s speech to the congress of soviets was concurrent with military operations of the Bolsheviks to take control of vital nerve centers of the state.

Perspective … 2

Communist Experience … I

“We shall now proceed to construct the socialist order.” This was the opening of Lenin’s speech to the congress of soviets in October 1917 (November in Gregorian calendar) [History of the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky, Haymarket Books p 854].  Lenin was out of his hiding putting his final touches to the Bolsheviks seizure of power.  Lenin and his party did not participate in the Kerensky’s government which included the rest of the political spectrum of the February 1917 revolution. 

Perspective … 1

I have not blogged for some time.  My mind has been busy in how I should prepare and present the ideas that I have developed during the last several years.  My first impulse was to hide in a corner and compose those ideas into a book.  I began to take a stab at it.  It did not take long to come to my senses.  In today’s world the solitary path of book writing as a form of dissemination of ideas is unnecessarily long and arduous.  I think I need to try to articulate my ideas through the Internet.  To begin with I will use my blog with a series of short articles.  I will post more often than before and I appreciate your feedbacks.

Meet Osama Geronimo

Geronimo was the code name of the operation carried out in the early hours of Monday morning May 2^nd to hunt down Osama Bin Laden in his hideout in Pakistan.  After the completion of the mission the Seal Team 6, military unit carrying the mission, relayed a message to Washington, “Geronimo was killed.” Some Native American leaders protested the use of this code name.

Castros’ Buckling

It took Lenin a little over three years to realize that his ideology would not produce economic development.  He augmented his Marxist ideology with the New Economic Policy (NEP).  The NEP was a re-introduction of free market economy into the rigid state run economy of the Soviet Union.  These first three years after the October seizure of power by the Bolsheviks are known as the period of War Economy.  Following this period, the NEP as a policy was adopted early in 1921.

Libya, Iran: Leftist's Dilemma

The imposition of the no-fly zone over Libya by NATO forces and the bombing of Ghaddhafi’s military hardware have rejuvenated the opposition in Libya.  These operations are broadly supported by the other Arab states and their population.  The opposition is taking back territories, cities and towns which were savagely attacked and ran over by Ghaddhafi forces.  By all indications Ghaddhafi's days are numbered.

Measure of Democracy: Libyan War

The bombings of Ghadhafi’s positions by NATO forces have had broad support among the Arab populations and legalized by the vote in the UN Security Council.  There are reservations on the part of countries such as Russia and China but the consensus is that Ghadafi’s assault on the uprising in Libya must be stopped.

Libya: Unraveling of the “Anti-Imperialist” Front?

Initially I thought that Ghadhafi could resist the impact of Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings.  It had a relatively smaller population and greater oil revenue, theoretically that could help him buy off his subjects.  He was also trying to leave the “anti-imperialist” front of Castro’s Cuba, Ortega’s Nicaragua, Chavez’s Venezuela, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe and Ahmadinejad’s Iran.  Ghadhafi made amends with the US and other Western democracies, over the Lockerbie bombing and curtailed his ambitions to go nuclear.  The Libya’s economy was having a healthy growth and there were lots of foreign investment pouring in particularly from Europe.

Measure of Democracy: Egypt and Iran (II)

More than two decades of anti-imperialist ideological development rejecting a “Westoxicated” monarchy (see my post “Westoxication”) as the pivotal source of the Iranian problems, internally prepared the alignment of the Iranian intellectuals with the most backward ideological elements of the clergy.

Measure of Democracy: Egypt and Iran (I)

Is Egypt’s revolt leading to an Islamic government fulfilling multiple prophesies that I mentioned in the previous post?  One cannot dismiss this possibility out of hand but I believe the evidence does not support that outcome.

Measure of Democracy: Arab Uprising

For the last few days and weeks I have been watching the developments in Tunisia and Egypt with much apprehension and doubt reliving the past.  I have been through the youth radicalization of the 60s and 70s in the U.S., campaigned and participated in the overthrow of the Shah more than three decades ago – becoming emotionally overwhelmed and at times feeling drowned in the mass protests of 1978 and 79 in Iran.  With those experiences I could identify with the hopes and fears of the young Tunisians and Egyptians who were pouring into the streets.  I could see myself in them and their boundless energy, in their eyes full of hopes for a new future and full of fear about what might lie ahead.   They are pushing forward relentlessly changing the Middle East.

Uproar over WikiLeaks (II)

The United States government is furious over the publication of its classified documents by WikiLeaks and in my previous post I wrote about the role of secrecy in the new world order.  We have entered into a world of communication and openness where individuals are more active participants and this by itself will limit the governmental secrecy. 

Uproar over WikiLeaks (I)

WikiLeaks’ release of hundreds of thousands of pages of United States’ classified documents to the media has created a news sensation and paralyzing dilemmas for the governments around the globe.  All kinds of proposals are floating about in the news and talk shows on ways of dealing with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, its founder.  They range from assassination of Mr. Assange to creation of new laws with severe penalties to deal with WikiLeaks and any future attempt at leaking classified information.

Interview with Mousavi!

Charlie Rose is a smooth interviewer. He can put his guest at ease and make him feel comfortable, all good characteristics of a skilled talk show host. But his questions this past Monday night, interviewing Mr. Larijani, barely moved to the core issues of freedom of thought, expression and press in Iran.

Master of Spin?

In relation to my last post, “Interviewing for Democracy”, a good friend sent me a link to a BBC article titled “Ahmadinejad, Master of Spin”. This article indicates that my displeasure with the major interviews of the Iranian officials is shared on a broader scale.

Interviewing for Democracy

This last Sunday I watched Fareed Zakaria’s GPS. Part of his program was devoted to an interview with Mohammad Javad Larijani. Mr. Larijani was visiting the UN as the head of Iran’s Human Rights Commission. Mr. Larijani along with his two brothers, Ali Larijani who is the speaker of the parliament and Sadegh Larijani, head of the Judiciary, are part of the influential power brokers of the Islamic Republic. It was disappointing to see Mr. Larijani dodging the questions and arguing his way out.

Stroke of Insight

This talk by Jill Bolte Taylor is truly an insight from inside.  Watch it and enjoy!
 

Catch Up and Join!

Some years ago I took my parents to an Iranian party to visit some of their old friends who were in town. I did not know the host or the other participants. When the party broke out singing one of the national anthems of Iran, I knew that I was in a super “Persian” gathering.

1953 Coup

The anniversary of the 1953 Coup in Iran is approaching (August 19^th) and the drumbeat of the “evils of Imperialist domination” will get louder.  For the Iranians it is a national ritual to call the 1953 coup – that returned the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to power – an American or CIA Coup.  For decades this has been part of an image that associated the United States government and the west in general with the dictatorships around the world; as if these associations were second nature for the western “imperialists”.  Close to six decades have passed, the dictatorships in Latin America and South East Asia have turned to democracies with the encouragement of the West, but the dark image of that event continues to persist in the Iranian psyche.