SANCTIONS

Vildesome,

Thank you and it was a pleasure talking to you!

Thank you Midwesty. I

Thank you Midwesty. I really enjoyed our little chat.

If Israel and US want to

If Israel and US want to help this process they need to get out of way.

The visceral tendencies of both countries is to impede this process for many reasons and many levels. We need to be smart and don't fall into their trap.

How do we avoid confrontation when that is what the hardliners and the Israeli and neocons want?? War is money don't forget. Bush policies actually resulted in exactly what Bush cronies wanted in Iraq.

The reform movement is our

The reform movement is our best bet. we need to keep it alive through
civil disobdience and not losing our momentum...that's what we need to
focus on more than anything else.  

Others will do whatever they have to do.

100% agree. Let's not lose focus.

Vildesome,

Having enemies is not necessarily a bad thing, having confrontation is what we should avoid. Iran's democracy is the foremost priority for all Iranians. If Israel and US want to help this process they need to get out of way. Involving Israel in this already complicated equation will further convolude it. Let's remember that they also don't have a very bright human rights track record.

The reform movement is our

The reform movement is our best bet. we need to keep it alive through civil disobdience and not losing our momentum...that's what we need to focus on more than anything else.  

Others will do whatever they have to do.

Midwesty: We don't live in

Midwesty: We don't live in a vacuum.

Free Iran depends on how we counter the threats facing us  cleverly. We can't have a free Iran, if we don't defeat those who are against free Iran (Israel, neocons, Russia, etc.). We need to learn how to play the game instead of shying away from it.

Opportunistic charlatan Obama & his misplaced tactics

This poster child of ignorance & conman in one scene legitimize the ommatie regime calling Ahmadi "The elected candidate" and writes secret letters to Khamenei but then in another scene turns around and tries via petro sanction to punish the poor taxi cab & truck drivers to fix his image of inaction in the face of tyranny.

The opportunist hypocrite & his gang of the clueless admin are all but missing when folks are murdered in streets of Iran, there is no talk of sanctions on the whole leadership ,their families,attache,s,associates roaming around from tokyo to london  money laundring & etc but he will do what an opportunist will do to punish the average folks instead.

As I predicted last year;

""..& on the question of Iran...candidate Obama thru his opportunistic character and clueless appologist stance will embolden the ommatie regime to commit yet even more acts of oppression at home and terrors outside to the point that will ultimately force a tragic outcome via outside force on the innocent iranians just to save face for this image wary man"

& guess who helped this man get elected,--->> NIAC & associates(for their own reasons;))

//www.iranianidentity.blogspot.com/

//www.youtube.com/user/samsamsia

Vildesome,

I don't want to go there. This is about Iran and its democracy not about Israel.

To answer your question, as

To answer your question, as long as US is following Bush's policies they will get the same results. They can go and invent all types of plans to deal with IRI but I assure you 500,000 kids later they'll get the same results.

Why are the US or Israel against  IRI going nuclear in the first place? Do you think IRGC armed with nuclear weapons should not present any concern to these two countries?

What nuclear Iran has

What nuclear Iran has anything to do with a free Iran?

It shouldn't but it does. How do we convince Israel that nuclear Iran under Ahamdinejad and IRGC is not going to pose a threat to Israel?  

How are we going to convince Israel that Ahmadi et al are not going to interfer in their internal affairs via proxies such as Hizballah?

Have you ever wondered why the neoconservative op-ed columnists see ahmadinejad as the clear winnder of the election?

Vildesome,

The assumtions that you laid out are the continuation of Bush's policies. Basically they wanted us to take care of their business. What nuclear Iran has anything to do with a free Iran? Israel is concerned about nuclear Iran and we, the Iranians are concerned about a free Iran. How these two very different things can be conjoined?

To answer your question, as long as US is following Bush's policies they will get the same results. They can go and invent all types of plans to deal with IRI but I assure you 500,000 kids later they'll get the same results. This is the real reality. Rememebr what Einstein said about the definition of insanity?

"doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Midwesty: Let's deal with

Midwesty: Let's deal with reality.

The sanctions are going to go forward whether we like or not. I think the tough oil sanctions were finally decided on by the Obama admin precisely because they think the reform movement is dead and buried. The Us has to deal with the IRGC and Ahmadinejad becaue they know the hardliners are really not interested in normalization of relationship or stopping the enrichment.

We either have to convicne the Whitehouse to live "peacefully" with a nuclear armed IRGC and they don't represent any threat whatsoever to the region and beyond or convince them that the reform movement is not dead?

How do we do that?

Vildesome,

I use strong words but I am not angry. My apologies for being perceived that
way. I am member of NIAC but not in any shape or form a key figure not even
close. I have been away from Iran for long enough that I know the rule of game has changed. But I know the basic principals are still the same.

There will be more pressure on Iranian dissidents as the hardliners in Iran
have taken the member of their opposition hostage. This sums to a significant
number of people but still minority in the vast Iranian society.

We should continue resisting the hardliners from inside and outside of Iran but
as hard as we oppose the hardliners we should try to distinguish ourselves from the AIPAC, Neocons and other hostile entities with special agenda.

A significant number of hardliners and their supporters in Iran are ignorant. We cannot fight ignorance with bullets. We need to open up Iranian society and for that we need to remove the pressure. Let’s Iran gets into WTO, let her to have its borders open to the visitors. The exchange of information will remove the roots of ignorance. Let's spread knowledge not wars.

NIAC is wrong

I have not figured out where NIAC is coming or going for that matter.  I suppose it is like PAAIA whereby at least one of its board members is an apologist of the Ismalic Republic. The world has only two alternatives to combat this terrorist regime.  Either to impose hefty sanctions or start a campaign of surgical attacks on the regime's achillles heals.  The world will not sit back idly while these thugs gain access to the bomb.  Be wise and choose the one alternative that might lessen the chance of a war....

Why not instead of taking

Why not instead of taking our frustration and anger against each other write a letter to the Whitehouse and CPANELl to convince them their action will not benefit the US or Iran?

 Did the Whitehouse order Cpanel to do this? why don't we find out? Has the whitehouse made a backdoor deal with the hardliners?

Why is every debate on this

Why is every debate on this site turns into shouting match and vitriolic?  Why can't we use the power of logic and reasoning to resolve disagreements and conflicts??

Midwesty: that is only in

Midwesty: that is only in your own belligerent mind. And if you're this angry and combative, you will never going to be able to persuade your opposition to change his/her mind.

Midwesty: Did I ever say

Midwesty: Did I ever say that the solution should come from without??

What is the solution from within given the circumstances within Iran?

What do you forsee occurring in Iran for the next few month, year?

What is your solution to prevent sanctions against Iran?? Do you have any suggestions?? Has NIAC been able to convince Washington not to go forward with their plan?

That's a pathetic paradox...

to think that one's independence and freedom needs to be supported by someone else.

The alternative,

does not come from the without. The solution is from the within. Why do we suffer from short memory? Wasn't it just 6 months ago that Bush wanted to attack Iran? Wasn't it about 6 years ago that Iraq was invaded with the help of sanctions?

Didn't we see how N Korea's behavior changed as the west started respecting not  confronting it.

Do you think 30 years of hostility will go away over night? Have we thought what would be the cost of another failed policy towards Iran, an even stronger hardline idealogy

Do you know what the problem is? That we think other countries are the labratories for our political expereince.

American Company drops 150+ reformist Websites in Iran

Yes, it did happen here. A US company was able to do what the Iranian Hardliners haven't been able to accomplish in the entire disputed election season and the subsequent massacre.

I'm a bit sketchy on the details, but according to this translated letter from Iran, the company CPANEL has revoked its licenses to Iranian ISPs and

One such incident of three days ago consisted of revoking the license of one server that was hosting over 500 Iranians sites and weblogs including at least 150 which are directly owned by reformists in Iran, and all are currently unable to get any work done. These sites include Nowrooz, Kalameh (as of this writing), Kalameh Sabz, Moje sevom, etc... they generally include weblogs fof well known reformist figures.

//www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/9/764209/-American-Company-drops-150+-reformist-Websites-in-Iran

FK: You think if the

FK:

You think if the Green movement in Iran is decimated and reformers are entirely eliminated  then it would be easier to reach democracy?

NIAC = IRI's non official lobby in America

Dear NIAC, the non official lobby group of the Fascist IRI regime,

What makes you think you have any credibility left? For all these years, we hear you saying absolutely NOTHING about the conditions Iranian people live under this regime. We saw you bluntly and openly legitimize a clearly illegitimate regime. We heard you saying nothing about how to progress the cause of democracy, which is Iranian people’s first and foremost problem, in Iran. All we heard from you is anti Americanism, justifying and apologizing for IRIs crimes and coming up with ways to legitimize the illegitimate and illegal regime of IRI.

NIAC, you do not speak on behalf of the Iranian American community. All you speak on behalf are bunch of misguided, conspiracy theorist, anti American leftist loonies who care more about seeing Israel and America in trouble than seeing their own country progress and live in prosperity.

At least have the decency to come out and admit you were wrong in supporting the IRI regime. That’s the least you can do.

No one is asking for sanctions that hurt the Iranian people, but damn sure anyone who cares about Iran, and obviously you and a few remaining supporters of you are not part of, strongly urge the International community on sanctions that will target the Fascist regime of IRI. That’s the least that International community can do to help the forgotten and oppressed Iranian people.

ای که پنجاه رفت و درخوابی

The wishy-washy fashion conscious of this world would do themselves a load of good to read up what Karrubi, the lifelong Islamist cutthroats republic insider has wrote about the raping of Iranians by the IRI.

The fifty plus don’t have much time left to have their lifelong hatred of others at the price of Iranians being raped and murdered in check and finally take stock of reality.

What is NIAC doing to Keep

What is NIAC doing to Keep the reformers alive? What will happen when Mousavi, Rafsanjani, Kahroubi, Khatami are all assassinated or executed in the next few years?

 The situation has changed

 The situation has changed drastically in Iran since the June 12 election.

The reformer movement is or will be practically deader than a door nail if the hardliners are not mirculously stopped.

Ahmadinejad Military Junta will be in charge whether we like or not.

What are the alternatives?

Allow the IRGC and their Hojatieh supporters to set the ME on fire for the Mahdi to reappear?

Thank you NIAC!

Thank you for being on the side of reason and supportive of Iranians in US and Iran.

" So much for standing with the Iranian people.

What better way to show our support than by casting the common man into financial ruin? Think about who suffers the most in the US when gas prices rise due to shocks--it's the poor. Why would it be any different in Iran? Certainly the elite won't suffer the brunt of these sanctions--the Revolutionary Guards have been getting rich off smuggling sanctioned goods into the country for years. "

Well said!

Unfortunately, many of the Iranians who live in the west and speak of "airtight" sanctions are completely out of touch with the reality of life and the economic situation in Iran. Also unfortunate is their support of the AIPAC lobby that's pushing for military attack on Iran. They're not many but they're loud.

Thank you 

IRANdokht

vildemose,

"So even if the oil flow continues, sanctions may have the impact
that the U.S. and its allies want".... and what that impact is?

The true answer is that the sponsors of the bill know that sanctions do not affect the IRI government directly. They know that IRI will have enough gas to put in their cars and run their day-to-day operations but the real intention is to frustrate Iranians and make them to revolt, a cheap regime change in cost of Iranians' blood. That makes me sick to stomach. However why it makes me sick is not that their plan is as watery as their brain but the following scenario:

Iran has about 4000 miles border with countries that she has been sharing
various cultures, religions and languages with. In many cases people freely
pass the borders on daily basis to exchange commodities. This has been going on for centuries. Even if US get miraculously lucky and have the consent of all governments in neighboring Iran to go with US sanctions, it will push things into underground resulting in not shortage in gas but only higher prices.

However this is not the end of story. The Iranian economy is very dynamic; it
will adjust itself to the new prices and will offset the IMPACT. It takes some
time during which only the ordinary people, whom the westerners are claiming to defend, will hurt. Ambulances will be grounded, drugs and food circulation will be affected and people will die from malnutrition and lack of medicine. Same thing happened during Clinton on Iraqis.

Clinton's sanctions on Iraq killed more than 500,000 kids because of the sanctions, where Saddam managed to accumulate even more wealth by bribing UN officials to curve the UN mandates.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Sunday, August 09, 2009 Escobar on Iran, China and the Silk Road Pepe Escobar on Iran-Chinese relations and the New Silk Road. this is part 3 of a series at The Real News Network //www.juancole.com/2009/08/escobar-on-iran-ch...