tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post581466382803433515..comments2023-10-19T13:49:15.915+03:30Comments on View from Iran: Happy Passover, Easter, and the Prophet of Islam's BirthdayAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09092236941440210165noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-37680290710768347672007-04-17T22:17:00.000+03:302007-04-17T22:17:00.000+03:30Anon, If you Idiotic British hadn't been in and ou...Anon, If you Idiotic British hadn't been in and out off pissing contests with the rest of europe for the past 1,000 years, maybe we would have acted sooner. Maybe if you and the French hadn't completely screwed up the post-war situation with Germany, we wouldn't have been so annoyed that WWII started!!<BR/><BR/>Very few Brits would agree that it was US cowardice, because you know that our founders were sick of incessent European squabbling!!!Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-3588210875761671992007-04-17T08:21:00.000+03:302007-04-17T08:21:00.000+03:30Shut it Mr Smarterthan! You talk about French cowa...Shut it Mr Smarterthan! You talk about French cowardice in WW2, but don't you know we English think you Americans were cowards for leaving our country TO ROT, to be BOMBED and PUSHED TO THE BRINK in WW2 before you came into the war, which you didn't do out of concern for the Jews, but because your stupid harbour was bombed. And now Americans love painting it like they were the big heroes! What a joke! Revisionism at its very worst. Taken a leaf out of Japan's history book, havent you? <BR/><BR/>btw that comment is not directed at Americans in general, only those who choose to try and portray that they "rescued" Europe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-27174703066107081312007-04-11T22:30:00.000+03:302007-04-11T22:30:00.000+03:30Only the wilfully ignorant could think the French ...Only the wilfully ignorant could think the French are more than useless. You would have to ignore their cowardice in WWII, thier utter lack of gratitude and the manner of their withdrawl from NATO and subsequent game of playing us against the USSR for profit and prestige, their insistance on making French the world language, their arrogance in general, their backstabbing wrt Iraq, Iran, and a whole bunch of other situations.<BR/><BR/>The French are such a nation of cowards that only a liberal could respect them, because cowardice and a profound sense of inadequacy define them both.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-89234324639295869462007-04-11T17:16:00.000+03:302007-04-11T17:16:00.000+03:30The rest of the world would have gladly let abu gh...The rest of the world would have gladly let abu gharib go, but the socialists in the US media won't let it go, they want to keep world opinion against us, in the hope that it weakens us. Everyone in the middle east knows the difference between abu gharib and real torture, it is only idiot left-wing americans who pretend they don't.<BR/><BR/>Here is a story about Iran, told to me by a Iranian Christian in the US. His younger brother, as a teenager, got into a anti-mullah protest. He was among those arrested. He was locked in solitary, and beaten blind. When he was 21, the took him out and hung him.<BR/><BR/>Now tell us some more about how Iran is at peace, and how we should leave it alone?Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-91548686667174133112007-04-11T03:36:00.000+03:302007-04-11T03:36:00.000+03:30Anonymous -I know and more or less agree with you....Anonymous -<BR/><BR/>I know and more or less agree with you. Smartypants and his types aren't going to be changed by my typo-filled comments on one blog. I often comment also thinking of others who may be reading -- specifically others who might not travel to the US and meet the friendly, relatively well-informed and more compassionate Americans. Having recently lived abroad, albeit for a comparatively short period of time (well, short compared to ET), I am well aware of the fact that many people think that *most* Americans are like Smartypants - small-minded, unaware of "the rest of the world" and very unaware of the implications of US foreign policy. You and I know that many Americans do not have their proverbial heads in the sand. I do believe that the often random, small encounters we have with people (yes, even in a blog) are what open our eyes to the ways others live in the world and make us more compassionate. So, if any of my comments or the responses of others who speak up to counter Smartypants are able to provide a "more rounded picture" of what Americans are like, then that is a good thing.<BR/><BR/>But, that said...I agree, perhaps we should avoid debating Smartypants because that will keep him coming back here.<BR/><BR/>And with that...I have to run and catch my bus. (You see people?!? Not all SoCal residents are gas-guzzleing maniacs! ;-) )<BR/><BR/>-CA Reader (San Diego, to be exact)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-87709647286672865832007-04-11T03:22:00.000+03:302007-04-11T03:22:00.000+03:30Sigh...CA Reader, why are you engaging in a comple...Sigh...CA Reader, why are you engaging in a completely useless dialog with smarterthanyou? Do you really think that you're going to be able to change his mind? This is obviously a person who made his mind up long ago and is sticking to what he believes in regardless of facts. Until he comes up with something interesting or new - meaning we haven't heard the same thing over and over again from others like him - please ignore him. He's drunk the Kool-Aid and there's no going back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-69118195456774087372007-04-10T22:42:00.000+03:302007-04-10T22:42:00.000+03:30Smartypants...Examples? Examples? Why, exactly, ar...Smartypants...<BR/>Examples? Examples? Why, exactly, are the French worse than useless? There's this incredible thing about politics and international affairs - at the end of the day, states are going to pursue a policy that benefits them or that suits their ideological viewpoint (this can be problematic for others, of course). I guess I just don't understand why the UN-bashing French haters get so worked up! So what the French gave nuclear technology to the Iranians. We sold weapons and technology to Iraq which, as I’m sure you know, was used against many *many* Iranians. I mean, really, who haven't we given weapons & technology to? It's incredibly bold and ridiculous for America to point fingers at our European allies or anyone else, for that matter. Don't you understand that we are seen **with good reason** as imperialist, war-supporting, hypocritical thugs? And please, I'm not some way-left radical, so spare me your venomous vitriol. <BR/>-CA ReaderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-12062026493479119072007-04-10T21:28:00.000+03:302007-04-10T21:28:00.000+03:30Ca reader, is original better than truth? The UN i...Ca reader, is original better than truth? The UN is counter-productive to it's stated goals, the French are worse than useless, it is when they act like friends that they stab you in the back the hardest.It turns out that Iran has been getting nuke know-how from the French this whole time.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-77810304882694950072007-04-10T18:46:00.000+03:302007-04-10T18:46:00.000+03:30From two anonymous posters:they are received as we...From two anonymous posters:<BR/><BR/><I>they are received as well as blacks in the US<BR/><BR/>I would have to disagree with the poster who stated that Afghans in Iran are "recevied as well as blacks" are in the US. To illustrate what I mean, an upper class, educated non-refugee Afghan (many exist) would be considered as an absolute equal by Iranians. The same cannot be said of blacks in the US.</I><BR/><BR/>Have you read a US paper lately? A black man is running for president, and has a very good chance of winning. Wow I guess ignorance is bliss, you can just spout off baseless accusations like that and feel proud of yourself? It is no longer the 1960’s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-32145488803421624642007-04-10T13:34:00.000+03:302007-04-10T13:34:00.000+03:30et made some very valid points. Rather than revert...et made some very valid points. Rather than revert to the chastising of abuses or crimes in other's countries, we need to focus on our own little corner.<BR/><BR/>Collective conscious is the key thought. If my neighborhood or city is ridden with drugs or murders, why would I focus on a country a million miles away? <BR/><BR/>I, in my value as a contributing member to the planet am responsible for what happens in my little circle, beginnning in my home with my own children. Then, and only then, would I venture to others. <BR/><BR/>In the middle east this would be called ''tribal mentality'' yet applies quite well in modern times. I love and care for my children, in turn they love and care for me, on down through the generations. We then as a collective unit, care for others in our family, our neighbors, our city, our state, our country. <BR/><BR/>We are now to a point where we must care for an entire planet lest we disinegrate with our own weapons of mass destruction. Our children's lives depend on this. Let's pray our leaders make some wise decisions this coming year!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-32549773501106590132007-04-10T04:50:00.000+03:302007-04-10T04:50:00.000+03:30Er, that should have been both of you.Er, that should have been both of you.Optihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02463577939588281675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-28624131158172096012007-04-10T04:49:00.000+03:302007-04-10T04:49:00.000+03:30If anyone is still following this thread, I'd like...If anyone is still following this thread, I'd like to weigh in. I have found the posts and comments here informative and am grateful to both of for your perspective. I am in America, trying to make sense of the mess we all find ourselves in lately. The humor and analysis (smarterthanyou, notwithsading)has given me hope in a dark time, that human beings are more likely to find common ground than seek factions and fractures. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I find it reassuring.Optihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02463577939588281675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-84896073553393460432007-04-10T03:05:00.000+03:302007-04-10T03:05:00.000+03:30Apologies...I haven't had my afternoon coffee!Chri...Apologies...I haven't had my afternoon coffee!<BR/><BR/>Chris Hedges book is "War Is a Force That Gives US Meaning" and is a very good read.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I think I was trying to say to smartypants "calling American's crazies or wimps" whatever... very cliche.<BR/><BR/>-CA reader about to go get some coffee....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-30620858882499437072007-04-10T03:00:00.000+03:302007-04-10T03:00:00.000+03:30"There is no way, on god's green earth, that 15 US..."There is no way, on god's green earth, that 15 US servicemen would have behaved with such craven cowardice. In the end, their spineless officers made excuses for them..." I would bet that MrSmarterThanYou has never been in a war. <BR/><BR/>For everyone -- I highly recommend Chris Hedges book "War Is a Force that Gives Ws Meaning" (I've been meaning to reread this myself...)<BR/><BR/>You know, I was about to post this and decided to re-read some of smarterthanyou's comments.... you really are a cliche, aren't you? Hating the UN, France and UK...calling liberal Americans. Come on! Come up with something original! Sheesh!<BR/><BR/>-CA ReaderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-90124284112251419342007-04-10T00:26:00.000+03:302007-04-10T00:26:00.000+03:30If you compare the British sailors to those musli...If you compare the British sailors to those muslims CAUGHT on the battlefields, then you are pathetic.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-48333522976682393472007-04-10T00:25:00.000+03:302007-04-10T00:25:00.000+03:30FOr them to escape unscathed is not the point. The...FOr them to escape unscathed is not the point. They shamed their country, they provided propoganda that hurt their national interest.<BR/><BR/>If the #1 goal of a military effort is to not lose people no matter what, then there is no point in a military. You may as well be the UN or the French.<BR/><BR/>Yes, we in the US expect more from ourselves than from others. BUT, when we fall short it still must be kept in scale. If you excuse torture from muslisms but not simple abuse from americans, is your double standard just because you think muslims are scum anyway, who can expect them to act better? This is the bigotry of low expectations. But most of you leftists carp on the US out of simple envy, so I don't know why I bothered.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-65213715297289425232007-04-09T22:57:00.000+03:302007-04-09T22:57:00.000+03:30Also, the thing is, we can't let Abu Ghraib or Gua...Also, the thing is, we can't let Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo go, b/c the rest of the world will never let it go. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo are not what the rest of the world expected of us. You can talk about how the bad apples from AG are in prison and all of that, but it still won't erase that it was done by Americans and looks very hypocritical to the rest of the world. This is like Ted Haggard speaking out against gay rights and turning out to be gay himself. All credibility is lost and in a situation like Iraq, where we really need the rest of the world's support, we don't have it due in part to totally unnecessary crap like AG and Guantanamo. I guess that unlike some of you, Esther and I have very high standards for how Americans should behave. The whole "these things happen during war" excuse is pretty lame.<BR/><BR/>BTW, as far as I could tell except for a little scare, the 15 British sailors, escaped pretty much unscathed (I fear we won't be able to say as much for the prisoners in Guantanamo, not all of whom are guilty). Not that this is an excuse for the Iranian government's behavior - which I didn't agree with - but let's have some real perspective here instead of the usual partisan, rhetorical BS which is kind of boring actually.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-22869265189834472007-04-09T22:38:00.000+03:302007-04-09T22:38:00.000+03:30It really sucks that mrsmarterthanyou has managed ...It really sucks that mrsmarterthanyou has managed to find this blog. Instead of adding to the usually intelligent discourse from both sides, he is determined to bring it down to his pretty ignorant level. Hopefully everyone will just ignore him and he'll skulk off to whatever rock he climbed out from under. Keep your fingers crossed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-10112911459100750912007-04-09T21:19:00.000+03:302007-04-09T21:19:00.000+03:30PSYou pray that Iran continues to live in peace? S...PS<BR/>You pray that Iran continues to live in peace? Stonings,public lashings hangings (slow hanging, not neck braking), children used as mine detectors, helping terrorists around the world, imprisoning dissenters, this is peace?<BR/><BR/>You really are mentally ill. For you Iranians out there, idiot leftists like this one are your worst enemy and mine. They are the weakening of the west, they are decadence.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-50571432245935115522007-04-09T21:16:00.000+03:302007-04-09T21:16:00.000+03:30Holy cow, she still is alive!!! So Britain has two...Holy cow, she still is alive!!! So Britain has two testicles among them!!!!<BR/><BR/>American in the desert, wow, you need to get out of the sun.<BR/>Torture is torture. BUT if you are stupid, and think that being naked in front of a woman or being buried in the sand while rocks are thrown at your head is the same thing, "torture is torture", well, you have passed stupidity into mental illness. You must go through life with apple sauce on your chin and an urge to lick windows.<BR/><BR/>The fact is that if you want to see humans acting with animal-like barbarity to each other, in a systematic way, you need look no further than in any nation with over 50% muslims. That says alot about who is what. If westerners are such pansies that the thought of being walked on a leash terrifies them on par with being hung from a crane in a public square (for the crime of being raped), then you are past logic.<BR/><BR/>Regarding Cuba,<BR/>Why not complain about the Cuban human rights abuses, rather than get hysterical over Club Gitmo? And you put quotes around "expired" because the lease has not expired. Are you an advocate of us returning that land to the Cubans? Before or after they return property stolen from us (factories, refineries etc)?Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-30134334417888927252007-04-09T20:33:00.000+03:302007-04-09T20:33:00.000+03:30please inform us mr-smarter-than-me, when did marg...please inform us mr-smarter-than-me, when did margaret thatcher die?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-28454737130628822862007-04-09T19:29:00.000+03:302007-04-09T19:29:00.000+03:30Let me leave you with this wonderful video done by...Let me leave you with this wonderful video done by Lucas Gray on Iran.<BR/><BR/>Peacetrain: http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html<BR/><BR/>Enjoy, and let's pray Iran continues to live in peace.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-32086949666145366302007-04-09T19:12:00.000+03:302007-04-09T19:12:00.000+03:30As an American who has lived overseas half of my l...As an American who has lived overseas half of my life in the Middle East, I can assure you being indignant at all evil is the correct thing to do.<BR/><BR/>Sadly, I also could not muster up much sympathy for these people based on what I ''know'' is going on, facts that will never surface in CNN or Faux News. <BR/><BR/>Knowing the torture that goes on in Guantanamo, without charges, on Cuban land with an 'expired' lease by the Americans should cause world outrage. Does it? <BR/><BR/>Personally I am tired of the people of this end of the world being portrayed as uncivlized brutes, while ignoring the human rights violations of it's own. Torture is torture. <BR/><BR/>Abu Gharaib should also have caused world outrage. A woman involved made it even more sickening in my motherly nurturing eyes. Did the world show outrage?<BR/><BR/>Iraq has been destroyed. Where is the outrage? <BR/><BR/>Complaining the Hugo Boss shirt he was given to depart Iran was fake? The gifts were cheap? Obviously the costs of the departing gifties overode the torture if one can even discuss this silly point:<BR/> <BR/>http://www.modoracle.com/?page=http://www.modoracle.com/news/detail.h2f?id=12994<BR/><BR/>Good article and for those of us with a conscious, we shall overcome. Oh, and the Onion was great as usual. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-63395297622639830322007-04-09T18:47:00.000+03:302007-04-09T18:47:00.000+03:30Regarding Abu Gharib, that was the direct result o...Regarding Abu Gharib, that was the direct result of putting women in inappropriate positions (guards at a male prison), the effect of that on the culture, and the over-eagerness to get women into such positions that they overlook standards. You just cannot have women, who are usually held less accountable than men, in positions where they are acting "tough" and the men feel the need to respond by not being the "wussies" in the situation. Every picture of abuse was taken by a woman or had a woman in it. <BR/><BR/>As far as the "shame" of having women prison guards taking them to the showers etc., men in the US prison population have the same legitimate complaint. <BR/><BR/>Calling it torture though, that is just typical liberal hysteria (and political opportunism) and islamic political oportunism. No one knows or does torture like a muslim prison guard, and only a limosine liberal could actually believe that it was torture. Compare what the terrorists do, or what muslim governments do to people to what happened. There was a problem there, nodoubt, but some people need a reality check.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467559.post-37883455469942160282007-04-09T18:02:00.000+03:302007-04-09T18:02:00.000+03:30There is no way, on god's green earth, that 15 US ...There is no way, on god's green earth, that 15 US servicemen would have behaved with such craven cowardice. In the end, their spineless officers made excuses for them, and they went away clutching gift bags like teenage girls clutching "American Idol" consolation gifts. If those cowardly, disgraceful limeys don't kill themselves out of shame, they have none.<BR/><BR/>I think the biggest balls in Britain are 6 feet under, between the deceased Maggie Thatcher's legs. Only 7% of their population thought they should have geared up for war when the hostages were bing held.<BR/><BR/>And their Admiral said those sissies behaved with "dignity and courage". The woman rolled in 24 hours, several men not long after. Maybe the limeys need to read Admiral Denton's book.<BR/><BR/>The French need to move over, the British are joining them in the cowards club.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.com