FYM -- All Quiet on the Iranian Front

[MadelynIris]

Don't you guys know any pissed off Iranians?

 

[financeguy]

I don't. Do you?

 

[AliEnvy]

CTV Toronto - Protest held in T.O. to condemn election in Iran - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television

The political tension in Iran brought nearly 1,000 people to the streets of Toronto on Sunday as Iranian-Canadians gathered to protest a rumoured rigged election in their homeland.

 

[Jive Turkey]

So should we now expect all nationalities to hold protests in Toronto streets over situations in their home countries?

 

[AliEnvy]

I think many already do, they just don't often get much media attention.

 

[HyperU2]

Here's a few.

YouTube - Police beating people in their home yard 14 June 2009 Tehran Iran

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Andrew Sullivan's blog is a great place to follow, with links to the utterly amazing (and some insanely brave, sad etc) Twitter accounts.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

As an aside, I think almost definitely a media-turning point as well.

 

[BVS]

 

[Tiger Edge]

I was searching FYM for a thread about this yesterday and was really surprised to see there was none. The lack of coverage on this topic on television is disturbing. I have to see if my newspaper has any articles on it.

 

[melon]

I was searching FYM for a thread about this yesterday and was really unnerved to see there was none. The lack of coverage on this topic is disturbing.

Admittedly, Iran is one of those countries I have a tremendous interest in, particularly due to the combination of a people with rich history and culture, coupled with a despicable government.

I've been reading about it and the election semi-regularly. I just, admittedly, find that I'm at a loss for words more these days than not (and introversion doesn't really lend itself to internet discussions).

 

[HyperU2]

The lack of coverage on this topic on television is disturbing.

I find it as expected.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I was searching FYM for a thread about this yesterday and was really unnerved to see there was none. The lack of coverage on this topic is disturbing.

That lack of coverage everywhere yesterday was unnerving.

 

[melon]

Andrew Sullivan's blog is a great place to follow, with links to the utterly amazing (and some insanely brave, sad etc) Twitter accounts.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

As an aside, I think almost definitely a media-turning point as well.

Absolutely fascinating coverage.

 

[Jive Turkey]

cnn.com is full of coverage now

 

[HyperU2]

Wow, nothing new? They're dying now.

 

[corianderstem]

So you don't have anything else to say about it other than commenting about how no one's commenting here?

If you want to talk about a topic, don't be all tsk-tsk that someone hasn't already started a topic or that more people aren't commenting.

This website isn't the end-all, be-all of web discussion or some indicator of how much people care about it.

Start the topic yourself and continue it.

{/mini rant}

 

[melon]

Wow, nothing new? They're dying now.

Personally, I've been glued to Andrew Sullivan's blog all day. There's a depth of coverage there that you'll never get from the mainstream media, even if they decide to talk about it.

Something Andrew wrote I related to:

This blog has long been interested in Iran, especially in its younger generation so open to the West. Part of it is that I've long believed that Iran was much more likely to become a democracy than its neighboring Arab states - and that this might be the key to unwinding the clash of civilizations that was hurtling us toward apocalyptic scenarios. Part of it is that being immersed in online media, I'm perhaps more aware of the vibrant debate, evolving culture and amazing passion of Iran's Millennials. So this day is a moment of great hope and joy for those of us who have been waiting for it and knowing that one day, it would come. But many Americans have, sadly, been left unaware of this phenomenon - and a glance at the cable news of the weekend helps explain why.

Interestingly enough, I've believed that too.

He's also done a good job of pointing out the neocon reaction to all of this, and most of it has been quite shocking even for them.

 

[BVS]

So you don't have anything else to say about it other than commenting about how no one's commenting here?

If you want to talk about a topic, don't be all tsk-tsk that someone hasn't already started a topic or that more people aren't commenting.

I agree, the "tsk-tsk"/baiting type of attitude about people dying speaks volumes!

 

[anitram]

He's also done a good job of pointing out the neocon reaction to all of this, and most of it has been quite shocking even for them.

We shoulda bombed Iran when they all wanted to, that would have been much better than the people of Iran taking matters into their own hands like this.

 

[melon]

We shoulda bombed Iran when they all wanted to, that would have been much better than the people of Iran taking matters into their own hands like this.

Actually, I find it's even worse. The neocons have been arguing, basically, in favour of Ahmadinejad's legitimacy as president and, simultaneously, undercutting the arguments of the reformers basically because it makes their case for invading Iran easier. In short, they really want to go to war again, and having a bunch of despotic theocrats running the country makes Iran easier for the Western public to hate, thus making it easier to go to war.

 

[financeguy]

Iran on a bad day is better than the corrupt Middle Eastern kleptocracies that the West finances. The OP asks why there has been little interest in the fallout from the Iranian elections, I would ask why have there been no threads on Dubai's slave labour practices?

Melon, surely Andrew Sullivan is the very epitome of the mainstream media. He writes for the Murdoch press. How much more mainstream can you get?

 

[melon]

Iran on a bad day is better than the corrupt Middle Eastern kleptocracies that the West finances. The OP asks why there has been little interest in the fallout from the Iranian elections, I would ask why have there been no threads on Dubai's slave labour practices?

Apples and oranges. Are there any popular revolts occurring presently in any of these kleptocracies? Certainly, there are a lot of long-simmering issues in the world, but why must that imply implicit support? The sheer fact is that it often takes "explosive" developments to put an old issue back to the forefront. I guess we can call that a flaw of human nature.

Melon, surely Andrew Sullivan is the very epitome of the mainstream media. He writes for the Murdoch press. How much more mainstream can you get?

We can certainly make an argument as to what constitutes "mainstream media," I guess, but, for all intents and purposes, what he's criticizing, specifically, is how the American media outlets--particularly cable television news--have handled it.

From what I've read, Sullivan speaks his own mind, not that of his corporate benefactors. Sullivan is a gay conservative, who has, as of late, become rather pointedly anti-Republican and even became an Obama supporter. Likewise, presuming he writes for the "Murdoch press," the overlords must not oversee him too tightly, as he roundly criticized FOX News' coverage (or lack thereof) of Iran.

But even at that, looking at the ownership of "The Atlantic," whom he works for and who hosts his blog, they appear to be independently owned--not owned by Murdoch.

 

[HyperU2]

So you don't have anything else to say about it other than commenting about how no one's commenting here?

If you want to talk about a topic, don't be all tsk-tsk that someone hasn't already started a topic or that more people aren't commenting.

This website isn't the end-all, be-all of web discussion or some indicator of how much people care about it.

Start the topic yourself and continue it.

{/mini rant}

Sorry. I was in a hurry.




Wait, never mind. I thought you were a moderator for a second.

 

[corianderstem]

No, just a drive-by mini-rant.

It's an unsettling story, and I'm definitely following it.

 

[financeguy]

Apples and oranges. Are there any popular revolts occurring presently in any of these kleptocracies? Certainly, there are a lot of long-simmering issues in the world, but why must that imply implicit support? The sheer fact is that it often takes "explosive" developments to put an old issue back to the forefront. I guess we can call that a flaw of human nature.

Well, that's true, but in the case of the mid East kleptocracies, the West is arguably implicitly supporting them by doing business with them but that does not apply to Iran. Over the years that I have been here, Iran has got an awful lot of coverage, and to be honest, most of the articles posted - not including this thread - have been from the neo-'conservative' vantage point. In fact when I say that Iran has gotten a lot of coverage, I really should say the country itself has got virtually none, it's mainly been discussions about whether military intervention is or isn't justified or what the Mad Mullahs have being up to lately.

From what I've read, Sullivan speaks his own mind, not that of his corporate benefactors. Sullivan is a gay conservative, who has, as of late, become rather pointedly anti-Republican and even became an Obama supporter. Likewise, presuming he writes for the "Murdoch press," the overlords must not oversee him too tightly, as he roundly criticized FOX News' coverage (or lack thereof) of Iran.

But even at that, looking at the ownership of "The Atlantic," whom he works for and who hosts his blog, they appear to be independently owned--not owned by Murdoch.

Sullivan is a reformed neocon to an extent, but now returning, in my view, to moderate liberalism, not true conservatism. True believing conservatives wouldn't advocate support for Obama, they would go for a third party candidate if they disliked the two main party candidates. Still, a liberal is better than a neocon in my book.

 

[Bluer White]

No, just a drive-by mini-rant.

The best kind of rant !

 

[financeguy]

Iran’s Election: None of America’s Business by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Very brave woman.

YouTube - Police Riot Beating Women and Man in Streets of Tehran

 

[melon]

Sullivan is a reformed neocon to an extent, but now returning, in my view, to moderate liberalism, not true conservatism. True believing conservatives wouldn't advocate support for Obama, they would go for a third party candidate if they disliked the two main party candidates. Still, a liberal is better than a neocon in my book.

If Justin Raimondo is what one would call a "true conservative," then I guess we're all raving neocon lefties then.

Thankfully, most people "left" of Raimondo and Attila the Hun are more nuanced than that--at least the ones of non-demagogic motives.

 

[financeguy]

If Justin Raimondo is what one would call a "true conservative," then I guess we're all raving neocon lefties then.

Thankfully, most people "left" of Raimondo and Attila the Hun are more nuanced than that--at least the ones of non-demagogic motives.

Well, Justin Raimondo and Attila the Hun have really nothing in common, seeing as Justin Raimondo's over-riding political principle is being anti-war.