Iran August 26, 2016

[Martin Hash]

Iran Nuclear 1.JPG

Americans have only been able to visit Iran for a short time, since the Iranian Nuclear Deal with the West, and the rhetoric of the American presidential campaign may signal a relapse into bad relations so I wanted to visit Iran while we could. Iran requires a visa but there's no Iranian embassy in America so we had to first go to Turkey to obtain one, but Turkey was putting down a coup so it was a nightmare to get in and out of, and because relations between Turkey and Iran are strained, we needed to use a border crossing from Azerbaijan, but Armenia is between the two countries, and they are in conflict with Azerbaijan so we had to get to Azerbaijan via Georgia via Armenia, and once in Azerbaijan we only had a 72-hour travel visa so we drove all day & slept in the bush at night to get out on time.

All of these gyrations made us apprehensive about the Iranian border crossing but, fortunately, we were first at the door at Iranian Customs. Unfortunately, the Iranian border guards immediately went to lunch and locked the gate for 90 minutes, and by the time they unlocked it, there was a crush of local people with large packages gathered who had no concept of standing-in-line. It was a sea of sour sweat, malodorous breath & subtle shoving matches, and we ended up being last, which took over 10 hours to get through. Also, as Americans, we were taken upstairs for interrogation but nobody spoke English, but we were served tea, during which we were required to give two copies of a full set of fingerprints using a 1960s era ink pad & roller. A woman in a burka fingerprinted my wife, Gwynne, and a man fingerprinted me. In a similar vein, there were two sets of male bathrooms but there was nowhere for Gwynne to wash the ink off her hands. She was also require to wear a burka everywhere in the heat and humidity. Combine that with squatties, somebody dropping water on my head from a Second story window, and needless to say, our first impression of Iran left something to be desired.

Burka.JPG

[C-Mag]

US State Department Hints At Iran Overthrow: Are We Witnessing The Early Stages Of Regime Change?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12- ... ges-regime

The US State Department has issued a formal condemnation of the Iranian government following two days of economic protests centering in a handful of cities, calling the regime "a rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos" while announcing support for protesters. It fits a familiar script which seems to roll out when anyone protests for any reason in a country considered an enemy of the United States (whether over economic grievances or full on calling for government overthrow).

And place your bets.

[C-Mag]

[Fife]

US State Department Hints At Iran Overthrow: Are We Witnessing The Early Stages Of Regime Change?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12- ... ges-regime

The US State Department has issued a formal condemnation of the Iranian government following two days of economic protests centering in a handful of cities, calling the regime "a rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos" while announcing support for protesters. It fits a familiar script which seems to roll out when anyone protests for any reason in a country considered an enemy of the United States (whether over economic grievances or full on calling for government overthrow).

And place your bets.

[Martin Hash]

Don't forget:
Failed Embargo
Americans in Iran
Aspiring Iranian Rap Star
Martyrs on the Highway
and
Islam is Not Going to Change

[C-Mag]

Marty did you see or hear of any hint of this while you were there ?

[Fife]

[DrYouth]

Marty is persistent with his tourism.

How was Iran in the end Marty?

Crossing the border sounded unpleasant.... anything worth seeing.

Ancient Persian sites?

[C-Mag]

It sounds like these protests have spread all across the country. The Theocrats will probably put this down. But I wouldn't bet on the current government making it another generation in power. Just too much dissatisfaction with the general public. The needs to do nothing and should do nothing. Moral support for Democracy is enough.

[DrYouth]

It sounds like these protests have spread all across the country. The Theocrats will probably put this down. But I wouldn't bet on the current government making it another generation in power. Just too much dissatisfaction with the general public. The needs to do nothing and should do nothing. Moral support for Democracy is enough.

Not a lot of precedent for success with these leaderless movements tho.