Iran

[Kimmio Laughterlove]

Deja vu?

(Didn’t read this book on the subject, I just read a couple of essays about this.)

IBM and the Holocaust

IBM & the Holocaust tells of IBM's strategic alliance with Nazi Germany--beginning in 1933 in the 1st weeks that Hitler came to power & c...

www.goodreads.com

 

[Graeme Decarie]

In the first world war, Britain invaded Iran to take it's oil almost free. In fact, it obliged Iran to provide oil free of charge for the whole British navy. Just after WW2, the Iranians rose to take control over their own country. And they established a democracy.

Britain called on the U.S. for help with this. (and the U.S. was happy to help because it could steal the whole show.) The government was overthrown, and a dictator, the Shah was imposed. Democracy of course was forbidden. For some years, the shah and his court lived high while the people starved.

Then the Iranians rose, kicked out the shah and established a democracy again. EVen since, the U.S. has been Iran's implacable enemy.

 

[Graeme Decarie]

What I have seen now on TV is a very powerful force of three, larget aicraft carriers off Iran, along with six or so support ships. There are also huge American bombers in the area. The U.S. has very few troops in the area - perhaps a thousand or so. But the Americans have pretty much gone all the way to relying on the bombers - perhaps because the U.S. army has done done all that well with its troops. Bombers yield fewier casualties and are easy to protect with fighters.
Of course, that also means massive killing of innocent people - children, etc. - on the ground. But who gives a damn?

 

[Ritafee]

But the Americans have pretty much gone all the way to relying on the bombers

Sanctions are WAR ... weapons of mass destruction.

Deliberate actions of collective punishment against civilian populations.

Resulting in chronic shortages, economic dislocation and chaotic hyperinflation.

Those who impose sanctions aim to induce artificial famines, disease, poverty, and despair among the most vulnerable.

In every country, the poorest and the weakest – infants, children, the chronically ill and the elderly - suffer worst impact of sanctions.

Imposing sanctions is (Anglo) North America's favorite way to commit crimes against humanity.

 

[Kimmio Laughterlove]

Sanctions are WAR ... weapons of mass destruction.

Deliberate actions of collective punishment against civilian populations.

Resulting in chronic shortages, economic dislocation and chaotic hyperinflation.

Those who impose sanctions aim to induce artificial famines, disease, poverty, and despair among the most vulnerable.

In every country, the poorest and the weakest – infants, children, the chronically ill and the elderly - suffer worst impact of sanctions.

Imposing sanctions is (Anglo) North America's favorite way to commit crimes against humanity.

I agree. Sanctions harm innocent people, while the leaders and oligarchs have means to insulate themselves and their own families from its worst effects. I also think Kokesh’s extreme libertarian ideas, if ever he were to be elected and follow through, would be just as bad for the US itself, to “abolish the government on day one, then step down”. What an a**hole, if he would actually attempt that. It would be the same as imposing sanctions - which cripple governments’ ability to implement public support - on millions of innocent people who rely on public support...we saw how prolonged government shutdowns hurt people.... which is off the topic of Iran. It just came to mind. It’s not something he has the power to unilaterally do though, and he shouldn’t think he could be given that much power. Something’s wrong with that.

 

[Ritafee]

I also think Kokesh’s extreme libertarian ideas, if ever he were to be elected and follow through, would be just as bad for the US itself. It would be the same as imposing sanctions on millions of innocent people who rely on public support... which is off the topic of Iran. It just came to mind though.

As a result of his experiences as a Marine in the Iraq War ... Kokesh is militant in his hatred of war and militarism. His views on the matter are so strong they put other adamant anti-war 'libertarians', such as Lew Rockwell, to shame ...

Adam Kokesh got his start in anti-government activism as an Iraq Veteran Against the War. He admirably broke Army military rules by protesting the war in his U.S. Marine uniform, and was soon discharged as punishment ...

No need to worry about him being elected!

 

[Kimmio Laughterlove]

Speaking of impulsive. I replied too soon, to the above. Saving my comment for a bit because I didn’t give you time. I don’t think he has much of a chance at election. But never say never...because they elected the worst president ever, so far.

 

[Luce NDs]

In the US, Corporations are people...but like Zombies - the undead. Or iron footed giants that crush peasants under their feet.

This is greatest idealism for you ... also requires a lot of the Golden Bull as a roue' ...

 

[Luce NDs]

Wars are a necessary evil to control a thoughtless mass of people that are directed to be that way in laws that say be silent, blind and do not hear what perhaps you shouldn't have ignored ... in short have sense to stay away from the knowledge tree ... thoughts will bother your abstract zone as that donkey with Po' ... the host cannot be bothered by it and moves on ... like bear streaking through the marketplace.

Toons are devised for the eruption of unspeakables in the tax avoiding corps that may appear as walking racks of bones ... heaps supporting the whole pile of myth ... in jocular sense it isn't that strange ... if in a funny mood you look about at what we've constructed! It is a Po' Gue at reality ... the altruism of which is elsewhere ... an alternate state! Beyond me as is the following:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cra-corporate-taxes-1.5179489

​

​

Corpse a' real? Dead to the social stigma of civil entities!

 

[Kimmio Laughterlove]

(I hate the clickbait titles they use to compete on YouTube...nevertheless, this segment is worth watching. 7 min.)

 

[Graeme Decarie]

It looks as though Trump wants to back off from Iran - and very sensible that would be. Bolton and Pompeo are the determined ones - and they're still in office.

 

[Mendalla]

It looks as though Trump wants to back off from Iran - and very sensible that would be. Bolton and Pompeo are the determined ones - and they're still in office.

Yeah, I saw that, too. Classic Trump. Approve something, then rescind at the last minute. I am sure he will put out that it's a "business tactic" or something.

 

[Mendalla]

And in case people wonder what Graeme and I are on about:

Trump gives go-ahead for military strikes on Iran but then pulls back

Planned retaliation was in response to Iran shooting down a U.S. unmanned surveillance drone

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Waterfall]

I will say this, going to war or responding militarily over a drone attack is just stupid. So Kudos to Trump for that!
On this decision, I'm with him....take care of things at home right now.

 

[Ritafee]

" Remember, politicians seldom tell the truth about why they do what they do. " - Graeme Decarie

 

[Ritafee]

Whether in Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea or one of the 20 countries under the boot of 'Government' sanctions ... 'Government' administrations using their economic weight to try to exact regime change or major policy changes in countries around the globe.

Sanctions against Iran are particularly brutal. While they have utterly failed to advance regime change goals, they have provoked growing tensions with trading partners across the world and inflicted terrible pain on the ordinary people of Iran. Although food and medicines are technically exempt from sanctions, sanctions against Iranian banks like Parsian Bank, Iran’s largest non-state-owned bank, make it nearly impossible to process payments for imported goods, and that includes food and medicine. The resulting shortage of medicines is sure to cause thousands of preventable deaths in Iran, and the victims will be ordinary working people, not Ayatollahs or government ministers.

Corporate media have been complicit in the pretense that sanctions are a non-violent tool to inflict pressure on targeted governments in order to force some kind of democratic regime change. Reports rarely mention their deadly impact on ordinary people, instead blaming the resulting economic crises solely on the governments being targeted.

'Officials' say that sanctions will benefit the people of Venezuela and Iran by pushing them to rise up and overthrow their governments. Since the use of military force, coups and covert operations to overthrow foreign governments have proven catastrophic in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, the idea of using the dominant position of the U.S. and the dollar in international financial markets as a form of “soft power” to achieve “regime change” may strike 'policymakers' as an easier form of coercion to sell to a war-weary public and uneasy allies.

But shifting from the “shock and awe” of aerial bombardment and military occupation to the silent killers of preventable diseases, malnutrition and extreme poverty is far from a humanitarian option, and no more legitimate than the use of military force under international humanitarian law.

“If economic sanctions are rarely effective, why do states keep using them?”

• “Decision makers who impose sanctions systematically overestimate the prospects of coercive success of sanctions.”
• “Leaders contemplating ultimate resort to force often expect that imposing sanctions first will enhance the credibility of subsequent military threats.”
• “Imposing sanctions usually yields leaders greater domestic political benefits than does refusing calls for sanctions or resorting to force.”

While the world condemns the recent attacks on the oil tankers and tries to identify the culprit, global condemnation should also focus on the countries responsible for the deadly, illegal and ineffective economic warfare at the heart of this crisis.

Paraphrasing from: U.S. Sanctions: Economic Sabotage That Is Deadly, Illegal And Ineffective

The Global Affairs Canada sanctions website contains the most up-to-date information on the various sanctions regimes.

 

[Ritafee]

The only 'politicians' who I take seriously are the ones that resign in opposition ...

Ann Wright is intimately aware of how politicians use fear and distort reality to drum up support for war and its devastating consequences. She spent her career in the U.S. Army — rising to the rank of colonel — and served as a diplomat in the State Department, before resigning in opposition to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since then, she has been a courageous and steady voice at the forefront of the antiwar movement.

How To Avert The Impending War On Iran

Since coming to power, the Trump administration has had Iran in its crosshairs. The United States unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran. With the other signatories doing little to cushion the blow, Iran now says it will breach...

popularresistance.org

 

[Ritafee]

I would go MS if I was the Pentagon.

Microsoft and the Pentagon Are Quietly Hijacking U.S. Elections

www.truthdig.com

 

[Pontifex Geronimo 13]

In the first world war, Britain invaded Iran to take it's oil almost free. In fact, it obliged Iran to provide oil free of charge for the whole British navy. Just after WW2, the Iranians rose to take control over their own country. And they established a democracy.

Britain called on the U.S. for help with this. (and the U.S. was happy to help because it could steal the whole show.) The government was overthrown, and a dictator, the Shah was imposed. Democracy of course was forbidden. For some years, the shah and his court lived high while the people starved.

Then the Iranians rose, kicked out the shah and established a democracy again. EVen since, the U.S. has been Iran's implacable enemy.

Pretty funny revisionist history. All the people enjoying their lives in this video would be beaten or murdered under today’s regime.

 

[Graeme Decarie]

Actually, they were beaten or murdered under the shah.

Pontiflext - grow up.