Senate Iran — now discussing the nuclear deal and Congress

Author Salman Rushdie attacked at speaking event in New York state

 

In a weird turn of events it appears Iran is giving Ukraine shells. But also may be giving Russia drones. Truly both sidings it.

 

Haven't been in senate threads for a while. Has anyone followed the news about Mahsa Amini, the woman who was killed by the Iranian police for dress code violation a few days ago ?

Then there have been protests everywhere in Iran, often suppressed by force, with more deaths.

 

Yeah, it's been pretty nuts.

 

I have indeed been watching, and listening to the silences.

 

Do you mean the silences of media or of the JCC ?

 

(Also, why the hell are we both awake?)

 

You, I don't know. I've just started my workday

I was thinking of the media and of politicians.

 

I believe you might have a point.
It is clear that today, for the western left, but also the liberals, going after Islamic fundamentalism is less appealing than it used to be. This tendency is driven also by positive forces promoting multiculturalism and tolerance. That said, we should not arrive to a point in which people feel somehow uncomfortable in expressing solidarity toward the protests against a similar brutality, because of political dogmatism and team mentality.

 

Pride is already a powerful liberator, but there's another problem in today's fractured society: nuanced thought invariably invites caricature, and admitting to having made a mistake is political and/or mediatic suicide.

And I'll call the forces promoting multiculturalism and tolerance negative, because all too often, the result of their actions, politics and messaging is reinforcing intolerance and communautarism, ie. the opposite of the message preached...

 

I think this is a misreading of the situation. The reason that we haven’t seen much coverage is because there are two other stories which have taken up so much ‘space;’ the Queens death and the developments in Ukraine.

I don’t think the Western left has much of a problem with showing solidarity with protestors in Iran, and aren’t particularly fond of the leaders in Iran.

 

Well, I obviously can't speak for all the west, but in France, yes, they are having a problem, and no, it isn't because of the developments in Ukraine. Right now, our left is agitated with one of its MPs having allegedly slapped his soon-to-be divorced wife.

 

It is good that so many people in Iran are standing up for their human rights, especially women.

Just praying they will be ok and not taken away by the authorities.
Sounds like the government is blocking what little social media the people had left and slowing internet access to prevent the truth from being reported. Very scary stuff.

 

Do you have any articles you could cite of the French left defending the regime?

Also I think it’s fair to be annoyed by an MP possibly having assaulted his wife.

 

That's the thing, though, the initial response was annoyance that it was talked about...

I did mention I'm listening to silence; the lack of articles relaying a number of political reactions was kind-of implied.

Here, the usual political narrative on the newer left is the presentation of the veil as a tool for the liberation of women - which is in direct opposition with the older, securalist left which regards it as either an unwanted religious symbol, or a symbol of the oppression of women, or both.

Both are embarrassed presently, for different reasons. The former, because it is itself mired in an incident where it proved very slow to defend an assaulted woman and was forced to reverse course; the latter, because they know anything they say is going to be reprised immediately by our powerful far-right, and in turn get them under fire from the far-left - a concern which extends to the traditional right. But that powerful far-right is busy with a process of normalization these days, and won't talk first.

The translation media-wise, for an example, is seen with Libération, which is closer to LFI (newer-left) these days, putting very little emphasis on what's ongoing in Iran, while L'Humanité, the traditional platform of our Communists, has it on the frontpage and includes a very cruel caricature today. Le Monde, closest to American liberals, doesn't put much emphasis but opened its columns to a sociologist who reprises the positions of the secularist left, which is unusual these days.

On the other side of the spectrum, the right-wing Le Figaro has put the most emphasis on the topic, but offers very little political commentary. Instead, it opened its pages to Jeannette Bougrab, a rather lonely voice these days. But a journal like La Croix, the traditional religion-oriented journal, adopts the same line as Libération, and puts little emphasis.

(I don't follow far left or far right medias, for rather obvious reasons...)

 

My point was however that a lack of articles does not necessarily imply lack of concern, especially when there is a particularly busy news schedule closer to home (whether or not these are of similar moral urgency).

Our news in Australia has essentially been about the Queen and Ukraine for a week and a bit. That’s not to say it’s ‘right’ but this is from all political persuasions, so it can’t be said this is the left ‘sweeping it under the rug.’

Also I think there is a difference between the veil being painted as a tool of women’s liberation (which I disagree with, although they can wear it if they like) and the supporting of the Islamic Republic oppressing women who don’t want to wear it. I obviously can’t speak to the radicalism of the new French left, but I find it difficult that the mainstream French left would be trying to play diplomatic cover for the Islamic Republic.

 

There's a lack of political declarations that is quite remarkable for French politicians - and yes, considering the other reason to not speak is not wanting to express approval, which would be both uncharacteristic and ill-received in the present local context, points to embarassment being the explanation, although reasons vary, and it extends beyond the various lefts.

Le Pen's silence, however, isn't embarassment. It's calculated.

 

There was a 6 minute piece on this story on the PBS News Hour in the USA. ABC News Australia has a 5 minute piece available on YouTube.

There have been protests all over the world including in NYC. I think momentum for change is growing in Iran, largely because of them taking such a strong stance themselves and demanding change. I saw footage of a large mob charging the morality police in Iran on YT.

The world is noticing and I would like to believe the Iranian people will be successful in obtaining their basic human rights.

 

I am surprised by the amount of attention this is getting from media outlets.
For a while, they’ve been too busy covering every single angle of the Ukraine war and repeatedly reminding you that the Queen of Why-Do-We-Still-Care died.

 

FOX news is even reporting on it too.

Based on the latest report from NBC news from one hour ago, things are escalating in Iran with reports of at least 17 casualties now, with no cessation of protests.

Instagram is now blocked as are many of the apps the citizens use to earn a living online. Some reports say the internet is being completely blocked to ordinary Iranian citizens altogether.

This does not look good for the people living there, especially those protesting and those just trying to live their lives.

 

Iran Blocks Internet During Protests Making It Difficult to Write This Article If We're Being Completely Honest

 

Yes from what I can tell one of the last major social media networks not blocked is Reddit.

 

The moment when you realize that in 1990's, when the internet was becoming mainstream and more accessible, people said that the internet will help spread freedom of speech in the entire world and that trying to block or control the internet will be like "trying to stick a chewing gum on the wall with a nail" as Bill Clinton said.

Well, now many people and regimes in the entire world have found out how to stick a chewing gum on the wall with a nail. This is no different when in Egypt, back in 2012, the Egyptian army blocked and put the internet under surveillance after the Arab Spring in 2011.

Now we can look back at the 1990's and beginning of 2000's today, and say: "Boy, have we been wrong!"

 

Yet, the US media (including PBS, NBC, ABC) continue to give regular reports on what is going on in Iran and hopefully it will remain in the news so that the world can know what is going on there in spite of how their leadership seeks to quell the protests and deny internet access and much worse.

Some say this could be the start of another Iranian revolution perhaps.

There are also many reports on how a famous journalist was denied her well planned in advance interview with whats his name because she refused to wear a head scarf.

Hopefully the world will not forget what is going on over in Iran anytime soon.

 

Nothing says that, if a revolution happens, it will change for the best: I mean in the 1970's the Shah has been toppled for being an U.S. imperial puppet, but then replaced by an even worse regime that went as far as suppressing women's rights for example in the name of religion. We've seen that with the Arab spring in 2011, when people protested against the Assad regime in Syria for example: after that we've seen the birth of the Islamic State in Syria and Irak. Now people in Syria much prefer to live under Assad's tyrannical regime than the Islamic State which only promised to bring their country back to the Stone Age. And I will even add it's the same thing in Egypt: they have removed Mubarak after more than 30 years in 2011, they had their first democratic election, and it has brought to power the Muslim Brotherhood. After that, people saw things getting worse with religious fanatics, so they much prefer to live in some sort of military regime under Sissi that will ensure some sort of stability, even if nothing has changed from the Mubarak era.