I am really very pleased at the agreement reached with Iran. Coming as it does against a background of widespread and Western exacerbated Sunni/Shia conflict, it is one of very few hopeful recent international developments.
Liberalisation of Iranian society continues to go forward at an achingly slow pace. The human rights situation, role of the military and theological power structure remain, frankly, appalling. But insofar as there is movement, it is for improvement. Normalisation of its international situation will certainly help.
Taking the long view, Iran is the classical case of a great culture perverted to destruction by western power interference and the reaction to it. But I believe the enormous potential of the Iranian people will now start to reassert itself.
The danger of course is the Zionist militarists in Congress and the US media who will do all in their power to scupper any peaceful move. But for once, Bush’s extension of executive power might do some actual good. There is a parallel danger in Iran. The Iraq War was totally unjustified and illegal, but Saddam Hussein might nonetheless have evaded it had he boxed a bit more cleverly and allowed some foolish inspectors to wander around his palaces prodding at the teaspoons. Yes the inspections regimes will be galling, even humiliating. But patience will have its rewards. There is real danger though that the hardliners on the Iranian side will be able to muster sufficient local points of power to hamper inspections, thus giving the US and Israeli hardliners an opportunity.
Glenn.
No, not yet.
When I bought my first house I did not take a mortgage from a Building Society, I got it from my local council. Each time I paid £200.00 which was every six months that meant I had less interest to pay in six months time and, the council deducted tax relief at the basic rate. Which meant I was paying next to nothing above the £200.00.
As I got to know the others in the street, I discovered that after ten years paying a Building Society, they had not paid off any of the capital borrowed. F that.
Unrest on the streets of Athens has now begun: The Guardian: Greek crisis: Protests in Athens turn violent as Tsipras urges MPs to back him – live updates. Seems to be largely the work of anarchists, at any rate so far.
There is violence in Athens this evening but as our transatlantic Sage says, iit is not a popular uprising by the msses.
The violence has so far taken the form of Molotov cocktails being thrown at the forces of law and order and the burning of a couple of cars, and is concentrated on Syntagmatos Sq and Zappeion.
It is the work of the usual 200-300 anarchists and casseurs who are always present on these occasions – as they were at demonstration against previous govts.
Ordinary folk – in whose name the yobbos are essaying violence – are keeping ell away as they do not have the money to buy the anti-tear gas gas-masks with which the yobbos and casseurs are equipped.
I’m pleased that Iran won’t be attacked, invaded and destroyed right now. I’m pleased some kind of agreemnet has been reached as it provides a precedent for more. I agree with Craig in his comments on the Iranian people and Iran.
I do not trust ‘inspectors’. They were used – some were active agents in – against Iraq. It’s not a case of inspecting teaspoons, it’s a case of who drives the agenda and what really is the (so-called) inspectors’ real (as opposed to stated) remit.
Will the USA allow now inspectors from Iarn to visit al the nuclear, biological and chemical sites, allow them to inspect the ‘teaspoons’ and the ‘dinner service’? Saddam Hussein was an murderous bastard and an idiot, but after he fell from favour in 1990, truly nothing he or his (admittedly obnoxious) regime could have done would have avoided the attack and destruction of Iraq.
Breaking news from Athens: The vote is likely to be at midnight, Athens time. The riot police’s reaction to the percussive explosions – quite violent but no shrapnel – was to flood Syntagma Square with tear gas. We do not know what or who was responsible for the explosions. We do know that the police reaction was to create more fear and potential panic.
People, however, retreated swiftly but no in a stampede. Demonstrators and tourists alike have evacuated the square.
This memorandum is set to be passed with the acrid smell of teargas and smoke enveloping the central square of Athens. Just like the previous two violent austerity packages under Pasok and New Democracy.
The “revolution of flowers” in January and February with the election of a government of the left is over. The struggle is not.
It has entered a new phase. Harder and more bitter.
But it continues.
I have no news at the moment of whether there were any injuries.
Clearly, we all hope not. Some – mainly tourists – somewhat overcome with teargas. But the surrounding streets were clear. And it was possible to evacuate in an orderly way.
Those violent protesters (mothers, fathers, young people, pensioners):
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33533006
Ba’al Zevul.
I have just caught your reply to me earlier, sorry.
The postie arrived with a complaint form from the Ombudsman that needed my attention and after that I needed to lay down. These things seem to stress me out in my old age.
I don’t know what the answer is to stop the banks gambling with our livelihood. If it was not for the fact the banks would pull everyone else down with them if we did not bail them out.
The government panicked by saying first they would guarantee £50 thousand in each account, now they say £85 thousand.
I met a friend in town one day when £50 thousand was the limit and asked “what are you doing here without your husband?”. ” I am going to put £50 thousand in all the banks from my own bank, Gordon Brown said he would guarantee it”.
She did not take me up on my offer!.
I suspect this story was leaked from the NSA to Glenn Greenwald’s The Intercept as a way of warning the Israelis how much more the U.S. could leak if they felt provoked: ISRAELI SPECIAL FORCES ASSASSINATED SENIOR SYRIAN OFFICIAL.
“Unrest on the streets of Athens has now begun: The Guardian: Greek crisis: Protests in Athens turn violent as Tsipras urges MPs to back him – live updates. Seems to be largely the work of anarchists, at any rate so far.”
Meanwhile Alex Salmond said that the British government should have shown more solidarity with Greece and not advised British holidaymakers to take lots of cash with them.
http://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-courier-advertiser-perth-and-perthshire-edition/20150715/281681138558251/TextView
I just heard on the radio a report that AIPAC (the pro-Israeli lobbying group in the U.S.) has come out against the agreement with Iran, and is urging Congress to vote against it.
LIVE: Greek Parliamentary debate on the ‘Agreekment’ with real time English interpretation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9IWbal5lo
Alexis Tsipras is speaking as I post this
The salient features of the JCPOA are as follows:
The UNSC sanctions against the Islamic Republic, including all economic and financial bans, will be lifted at once under a mutually agreed framework and through a new UN resolution.
None of the Iranian nuclear facilities will be dismantled or decommissioned.
Furthermore, nuclear research and development activities on all types of centrifuges, including advanced IR-6 and IR-8 machines, will continue.
The nuclear-related economic and financial restrictions imposed by the United States and the European Union (EU) targeting the Iranian banking, financial, oil, gas, petrochemical, trade, insurance and transport sectors will at once be annulled with the beginning of the implementation of the agreement.
The arms embargo imposed against the Islamic Republic will be annulled and replaced with certain restrictions, which themselves will be entirely removed after a period of five years.
Additionally, tens of billions of dollars in Iranian revenue frozen in foreign banks will be unblocked.
Both the US secretary of state John Kerry (a Crypto Jew), and Iranian foreign minister Dr. Javad Zarif have claimed a ‘victory’ for their respective nations.
Steve Lendman, American Jewish writer and a radio talk-show host claimed on July 14 that Tehran will keep its ends of the agreement but the US has a long history of misinterpreting its agreement to serve its imperial designs. Barack Obama has already started the process of misinterpretation in his speech at the White House while announcing the signing of the agreement. Watch below.
Personally, I like to keep my fingers crossed as Israel through its powerful Jewish lobby groups will surely get the agreement rejected in the US Congress. Once it happens, Barack Obama would have two choices; either use his veto over Congress or fall on his African Christian knees in front of Netanyahu and veto it at the UNSC.
http://rehmat1.com/2015/07/15/netanyahu-fails-to-stop-us-iran-nuclear-agreement/
“Mr Goss appears rather happy at the prospect, doesn’t he.”
I have good reason to be unhappy about this or any spread of violence whether it is Ukraine against its own people or Israel against Palestine – a country it has been invading and stealing land from for more than half a century.
I just heard on the radio a report that AIPAC (the pro-Israeli lobbying group in the U.S.) has come out against the agreement with Iran, and is urging Congress to vote against it.
You had to hear it on the radio? You didn’t know without being told? AIPAC see (Bibi), AIPAC do (Bibi). Automatic. Wake up.
AIPAC in fact waited a day before deciding what stand to take. I suspect there was an internal debate within the organization about whether it was wise to take a stand that was bound to be in a losing cause, and would thus expose the declining power of the organization.
Technicolour
Nothing t say about te anarchists and casseurs throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to the occasional car?
Technicolour
From your link:
“As debate continued, protesters threw petrol bombs at police during an anti-austerity protest close to parliament, and police responded with tear gas.”
I hope you could understand the sequence of events. If not, let me explain.
!/. The usual 200-300 anarchists ad casseurs throw petol bombs at the police and set fire to a few cars;
2/. The police respond with tear gas.
Background to the above: the SYRIZA govt revoked laws passed by the previous govt forbidding the wearing of masks and gas masks at demonstrations. The SYRIZA govt has also forbidden the forces of law and order the use of water-cannon and rubber bullets. Morever, the police have been instructed to deal with the petrol bomb throwers and car burners with as little force as possible. Finally, the SYRIZA govt has rescinded a law passed by the previous govt.allowing the police to intervene to clear university campuses at the request of the rector and governing council.
All in the name of freedom and democracy, of course.
“Nothing t say about te anarchists and casseurs throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to the occasional car?”
Amateurs.
Until they attain banking and IMF levels of slaughter and destruction, why pay them any heed.
Nothing to say about gangster bankers and finance ministers, with vested interests and cronies in those banks, making odious private loans under the duress of squeezing the life out of local banking liquidity, with the sole purpose of transferring that private debt to the public sovereign debt and then stealing everything in the country, pauperiseing the population into permanent debt slavery as cheap indentured labour, and collecting rent on the ill gotten gains.
Quelle surprise.
No wonder you don’t like haircuts. You wouldn’t be able to tug that forelock.
Seumas Milne thinks the shabby way Greece has been treated ultimately spells the end of the EU and the whole European project: The crucifixion of Greece is killing the European project.
Jürgen Habermas has a similar view of the future of the European project, and he also thinks Germany’s bullying of Greece has destroyed decades of trying to rehabilitate Germany’s reputation: Merkel ‘gambling away’ Germany’s reputation over Greece, says Habermas.
Speaking of Germany’s past, the fury of Europe’s politicians over Tsipras’s calling for a referendum reminded me of Hitler’s fury when Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg in 1938 called for a referendum in Austria reaffirming Austria’s independence from Germany. That earlier fury led to the Anschluss. (That time, German pressure led to the referendum being called off.)
AIPAC in fact waited a day before deciding what stand to take. I suspect there was an internal debate within the organization about whether it was wise to take a stand that was bound to be in a losing cause, and would thus expose the declining power of the organization.
A whole day. Wow. The organisation must be declining if it takes a whole day to announce its decision on a foregone conclusion. AIPAC is Israel’s lobbying organisation (I’m sorry I have to tell an American this). The AIPAC line is unconditionally that of the Israeli government. Actually no decision was involved on its part, only on rabid Netanyahu’s. Maybe it took that long to communicate it and work out the fetails of the authorised narrative, but once the text had arrived (“Defnd poor litl Israel 2 the death, boiz, same line as uv bin punting 4 yrs”) there would have been no dissent even if dissent had been permitted.
As to declining power, wait until the GOP’s racist hate campaign gets it the next POTUS. Jeb, perhaps.
The people are still there. The deniable funding network is still there. The venal representatives’ already substantial numbers will be swelled by the new, AIPAC-funded, compliant entry. Reports of AIPAC’s decline are greatly exaggerated.
“(That time, German pressure led to the referendum being called off.)”
____________________
To which the obvious answer is “and this time it didn’t so what’s your point?”.
Of course the whole post is nonsense because there was no pressure to have the referendum called off – unlike what happened with the proposed Papandreou referendum.
The point is that both times there was the same kind of blind fury provoked by the very (outrageous) idea of holding a referendum.
At least Hitler didn’t pretend to believe in democracy.
I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed or are perhaps just out of touch (forgivable qs your expertise is in classical ad not modern Greece: there was surprise but no “blind fury” at Tsipras holding a referendum.
That is why I opined that your own first post was just nonsense.
Yes. The deal with Iran is a glimmer of hope. I will leave it at that and enjoy this feeling.
Now that Iran has agreed to the terms of this nuclear agreement; does it mean that Iran’s accession to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation is cleared of any preconditions?
Collective Security Treaty Organisation
If then, you touch one-you touch all applies…against China, Russia, India, Pakistan and a bunch of others.
Then any hare brained scheme to strike at Iran gets a whole lot more complicated…
…geopolitics is surely interesting!