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Thoughts on the turmoil in Iran and tips on cheap eats
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:15 AM PDT
With the kick-off of summer comes barbecues, beaches and vacation's for the public and private sector. There's a lot of news to cover as we begin the long days, so let's address it with a combo column.
Iran in turmoil
We are witnessing a defining moment in Iran right now. Years from now history will tell of the technology-led revolution by the people of a country who just wanted their vote counted fairly.
Iranians who voice their concerns should be heard, not killed.
Iran's election was undoubtedly questionable and the people who were wronged are questioning. They continue to rise up despite warnings of violence and punishment. This isn't America's fight. This isn't Canada or the United Kingdom's fight either; this is the fight of the people for the people of Iran.
Despite the Iranian government's best efforts to prohibit social networking and reporting of what's really happening, the fear that once dominated cities across the country has turned into fuel for their protesting fire.
Just remember, President Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khomeini: The world is watching.
Testing Obama's muscle
So far, President Barack Obama hasn't been too challenged when it comes to responding to an issue using defense. There was that little blurb with the pirates a few months ago in which force was used to get American sailors back, but in terms of a major test, it has, fortunately, not happened yet.
But it looks like there might be a contender on the rise in the form of North Korea. According to a Japanese news report, the dictator of the North, Kim Jong-Il, has had his military position a long-range missile that might be launched toward Hawaii sometime in early July, maybe even the fourth, as a "test."
North Korea continues to be defiant and its dictator refuses to talk anything out, which definitely puts a wrench in Obama's normal strategy of talking things to death. Mixed with this new threat is the recent sentencing of two American journalists in North Korea who now play the part of being a wild card in this unpredictable taunting game.
Only time will tell what Obama will do when North Korea pushes him and America to the brink. It's coming.
The Capital Elector is back
CapitalElector.com, one of my favorite online news and opinion Web sites, is reloaded and back in publication as editor Jason Daniel and contributors comment on the California political landscape.
"The purpose of the Capital Elector is to provide common sense, online opinion in one of the most wackiest political environments in the nation," said Daniel in an e-mail statement about his watchdog site.
While Daniel admits that the Elector is skeptical of all political agendas, "right is, well — right!"
Featured in the Elector's "Power Blog" area are views from former Lodi mayor John Beckman and former City Council candidate and political activist Jane Lea.
What started out as a local watchdog site has since become a statewide monitoring hub of news, opinions and more.
Daniel hopes to bring in more bloggers from around the state and post more high-powered interviews.
With its sharp and edgy voice, CapitalElector.com is quickly becoming the online must-read for any political news junkie.
Summer on a dime
As a young guy financing himself through college in the second most expensive place to live in the country, I have found a few ways to still enjoy life without breaking the bank in the process:
For the first time in about five years I went and got a library card from the city library the other day. In my neck of the woods there are seven city libraries, and all of them are well-maintained and barely frequented, leaving plenty of room to stretch out with great political non-fiction or the newspapers from around the world.
Plus, it's air conditioned. Our tax dollars at work have never felt so good.
Hey, I'm still a starving college kid, sometimes you do what you have to.
Have a great summer.
Wade Heath is a college student and writer of the WadeWire Blog at: wadewire.blogspot.com. He can be reached at: reachwade@lycos.com.
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wtf wrote on Jun 30, 2009 1:45 PM:
AAFES opens first Taco Bell unit on U.S. base in Iraq
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_32_39/ai_n14892101/ "
catscradle wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:47 PM:
Scrutiny wrote on Jun 27, 2009 5:23 PM:
wtf wrote on Jun 27, 2009 12:33 PM:
Mr. President, I urge you to think very carefully about what you do next regarding Iran.
We the People - and the world - are watching. "
wtf wrote on Jun 27, 2009 12:32 PM:
They also understand now that this demonization was based on a pack of lies, sold to us by a government which was eager to use any excuse (or confession extracted under torture, as in the case Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi who conveniently committed suicide in May of this year) to go to war. As reported here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009...
(cont) "
wtf wrote on Jun 27, 2009 12:32 PM:
President Obama, the attempted destabilization of the current regime has not worked. So now what? Continued demonization of Iran for doing what it has, as a signatory to the NPT, a perfect right to do, develop nuclear energy in the building of a power plant?
And how can we demonize Iran for doing this, when we know perfectly well that Israel does have nuclear weapons, and refuses to sign the NPT?!?!?
(cont) "
wtf wrote on Jun 27, 2009 12:31 PM:
If the US was doing nothing to influence or interfere with the election, why was Twitter not pulled down for maintenance when it was supposed to be, so that allegedly "true information" could get out of Iran about the protests?
Why, all of a sudden, did we find Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran (an American-installed puppet, hated by his people), all of a sudden get "face time" on literally every news feed you could see, crying crocodile tears in front of the camera about the current situation in Iran?
(cont) "
wtf wrote on Jun 27, 2009 12:31 PM:
Memo to President Obama: you need to think carefully about the obligations you owe to your own people; that is, to We the People of the United States of America.
You do remember us, don't you? We're the people for whom your campaign platform promised "change".
You have been given your marching orders about Iran from Bibi Netanyahu when he visited you last, and those orders were "...take care of Iran's nuclear program.....or else".
The last thing We the People need is another of these immoral and fiscally insane wars to neutralize Israel's perceived existential threats in the region. And Mr. President, you appreciate fully that these include all of Israel's neighbors.
(cont) "
MEP wrote on Jun 27, 2009 11:19 AM:
jrs wrote on Jun 26, 2009 7:12 PM:
gray cloud wrote on Jun 25, 2009 11:32 AM:
wtf wrote on Jun 25, 2009 10:42 AM:
Flag of Pahlavi dynasty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahlavi_Dynasty
Flags waved at protest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdH_wbEOdF0&feature=player_embedded
Here's the current Iranian flag from the CIA website
http://www.faqs.org/docs/factbook/flags/ir-flag.html
This last is just a good article on the insanity presently happening in the world at this time!
http://smokingmirrors.blogspot.com/ "
wtf wrote on Jun 25, 2009 10:35 AM:
The young woman was in no confrontation with the authorities or with paramilitary forces. She was away from the main demonstration. Why, when there were no significant gunfights and no big fighting in the area, would any state official, police or army, shoot an unarmed woman who wasn’t even at the protest and who had no political history?
How was it that the photographer had contact with the media most closely connected with the intelligence forces of the two major former colonial powers in Iran—Britain and the U.S.? Especially when the video arrived to an Iranian contact in the Netherlands, to the BBC, to the Voice of America all within an hour of the event? "
wtf wrote on Jun 25, 2009 10:32 AM:
The "Neda" photo being shown everywhere is not the same "Neda" as the one who was gunned down.
http://wipoun.blogspot.com/
Then there is a very good article, though I don't entirely agree with some of its points, posing the thought that the "Neda" video was possibly a hoax.
http://www.nolanchart.com/article6565.html "
jramagic wrote on Jun 25, 2009 7:24 AM:
wtf wrote on Jun 25, 2009 6:53 AM:
It sure is...especially when there is wall to wall coverage on the U.S. MSM on the death of Neda in Iran; yet this same MSM was either surprisingly silent or disparaging when the AMERICAN Rachel Corrie was murdered by Israelis in Palestine. "
Janice M. Bonser wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:32 PM:
wtf wrote on Jun 24, 2009 10:34 AM:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/protestphotos.html?q=protestphotos.html "
wtf wrote on Jun 24, 2009 9:53 AM:
I like it!
That's the ticket!
Let's bring Iran good ole American democracy and protest zones; let's make the world a better place and fence those protesters in. LOL! "
Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Jun 24, 2009 9:23 AM:
Oh, and Wade, Khomenei died 20 years ago. Khamenei is the supreme leader of Iran now. "
napa valley chef wrote on Jun 24, 2009 8:45 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.