by Ramin Mazaheri I feel sorry for Americans – they have such lousy leaders they feel compelled to defend. I don’t mean Trump or Obama or Clinton or even JFK – I mean George Washington. It’s really gotta be a blow to the national pride when Americans have to admit, if only to themselves: “Trump makes a fair point: the father of our country, George Washington, was a slave-owning bastard,
by Ramin Mazaheri It seems as if America’s media spends far more time speculating about Donald’s Trump’s psychological issues than discussing anything which could actually help the average household be able to afford a new car, which a new study reveals the average family can no longer do. (FYI: I bought my used car entirely with 1- and 2-euro coins I saved up over 6 years, so that should tell
by Ramin Mazaheri (Note: This leaked email has not yet been verified by WikiLeaks:) Date: 2017-07-31 Source: Langley CIA HQ Classification: SECRET/NOFORN/MLBNLCSWS S E C R E T SECTION 08 OF 1,843 WASHINGTON – AC0871108 SUBJECT: CIA Sub-Deputy says anti-Russia campaign detracting from war effort against Iran CLASSIFICATION APPROVED BY: CLASSIFIED REASON: 1.4 (a), (g) Since October 2016 CIA operatives have successfully stepped up operations both around and within Iran.
by Ramin Mazaheri It’s the second-largest drop in postwar French history in the first 3 months of a presidency – only Chirac plunged further. Macron’s approval rating currently stands at 54%, and while that would be (shockingly) good in 2021, it’s terrible for a new president, said this here journalist who insists on context for statistics. Francois Hollande’s approval rating after 100 days was the lowest in postwar history, at
by Ramin Mazaheri Of course the biggest coup of them all is the American Deep State (now available for the first time ever!) against Trump. After that the biggest coup was the one against Mohamed Morsi, because Egypt is more than double the size of Ukraine. Seems like Morsi’s problem was that his “Islamist coup” was approved by referendum and thus not a coup at all. What Erdogan learned from
by Ramin Mazaheri Russia’s economic output in 1921 – following World War One and then four years of (International) Civil War – was slashed by a mind-boggling 80% as compared to 1913. The Russian Civil War was truly international because there were 14 foreign armies operating on Russian soil after 1917: The Germans occupied 25% of Russia’s former territory, the British took oil fields around Baku and furnished 1 million
by Ramin Mazaheri Qatar crisis from the Iranian view: Waiting for a feudal revolution, still… This simplest way to understand the Iranian view of the current Qatar crisis is to grasp this totally-ignored reality: No matter what happens, there are many Iranian politicians, mullahs, social leaders and average citizens who will not stop calling to abolish the Qatari monarchy. Who makes similar calls in the West? Nobody. This issue –
by Ramin Mazaheri I was flying from New York to Silicon Valley on the “Job Creators’ Red Eye”, and I had a chance to catch up on some foreign cultural news from our nation’s paper of record, The New York Times. There was a very interesting item about the extremely backward practices of Asians regarding romance. This partly-ironic, mostly-pitying article focused on China. Immediately, my blood ran cold. It had
by Ramin Mazaheri That headline is not even a bold statement because Macron has promised austerity and…when has austerity ever worked? It is really that simple. There has been nearly four decades of trickle-down economics and anti-socialist policies, but there has been no promised increase in the standard of living. It has only dropped since the gains of the 1970s, the era of maximum worker power in the West. I
Leaked email suggests Russophobia campaign prelude to US invasion of Ukraine (Note: This leaked email has not yet been verified by WikiLeaks:) Date: 2017-06-14 Source: Pentagon Classification: SECRET/NOFORN/BLTPBJ S E C R E T SECTION 03 OF 1,242 WASHINGTON – 314159265 SUBJECT: Major General protests decision to continue the Russophobia campaign CLASSIFICATION APPROVED BY: CLASSIFIED REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) I strongly urge those reading this email to finally acknowledge that
by Ramin Mazaheri Emmanuel Macron very quickly made it official: He will introduce a bill which will transform extraordinary state of emergency powers into regular police practice. According to Le Monde, which saw a leaked copy of the bill: “…almost all the measures of the state of emergency will be found in common law.” What this means is that the post-Charlie Hebdo war hysteria has not only never stopped, but
by Ramin Mazaheri So ISIL claims to have made their first attack in Iran. The response in Iran appears to be: So what? Despite an attack occurring near Tehran’s international airport there was no disruption in air travel. Citizens were asked to stay off the metro, but nothing went on lockdown. There was no martial law. Not even a state of emergency has been declared. No civil liberties have been
by Ramin Mazaheri Unfortunately, I’ve covered plenty of Roma camp demolitions since 2010, and they never actually stop, but a pro-Roma group sent me an email that attracted my attention. Just outside of Paris a few dozen Roma families were terrified because at any unspecified moment cops were going to swoop in, bulldoze the camp, confiscate or destroy their meager possessions and render them homeless while providing no housing alternative.
by Ramin Mazaheri There I was again, flying first class on my shareholders’ dime from New York to San Francisco, when I was deeply saddened to read about the death of Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter. For a moment I thought: “Surely I can find some anti-Putin articles to read rather than this one?” Those always make me so happy! But then I remembered that Zbig was
by Ramin Mazaheri Iran just completed their presidential election, but this article will not discuss the candidates, the result or the political consequences. I work for Iran’s Press TV, which essentially makes me a civil servant, and I think it is correct for me to not reveal who I voted for in order to preserve my independence within the government. I’m quite happy to work for “the people” instead of
by Ramin Mazaheri The Hollande era has ended, and the Macron era has begun –one must look to Brussels to find many who are happy about it. This is not a column about Hollande’s reign, and reign is the right word for a man who leaves the country in an 18-month state of emergency, i.e. a police state dictatorship. But it would be too long to list all of Hollande’s
by Ramin Mazaheri Communist ideas have won concessions from industry, but they have been unable to stop high finance from exploiting workers. That is the big battle today. Only revolutionary and heavily socialist countries like Iran, Cuba and China – as well as dictatorships like South Korea in the past – have been able to stop domination by international finance. France, however, has fearfully rushed into the arms of the
by Ramin Mazaheri I don’t understand: I thought the French were passionately in love with liberty of the press? That’s what they said when they just HAD to publish pictures of the Prophet Muhammad in Charlie Hebdo. And some of these pictures were absolutely pornographic, let’s not forget – they were not respectful, tolerant or even neutral. Heck, one showed Prophet Muhammad actually filming a porn movie. But I thought
by Ramin Mazaheri Unlike most Western countries, French politicians do not really do personal attacks. That sounds surprising, but they don’t even criticize each other’s programs with virulence. It’s “inelegant” or “bad form.” But perhaps this is why the French can debate politics over a four-hour Sunday meal? Ultimately, this is poseur nonsense that has nothing do with the brutally harsh and immediate reality of political platforms and decisions. That’s
France’s Melenchon to serve as Le Pen’s Minister of Finance That is what’s known in the news business as an “untrue headline”. If you are greatly upset at my ruse, just send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope and I’ll send you a refund for whatever you paid to read this. However, I do have a serious point: Why aren’t real leftists like Melenchon cutting deals to join the Le Pen
