Here are the readings for this week:
Misquoting Ahmadinejad:
Iran Sanctions
False Iran Debate:
Vogue In Iran (1969)
Remember to send us your essay topics if you haven't!
See you Wednesday.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Week 12 Readings!
Hello Everyone!
Here are the readings for this week:
Misquoting Ahmadinejad:
Iran Sanctions
False Iran Debate:
Here are the readings for this week:
Misquoting Ahmadinejad:
Iran Sanctions
False Iran Debate:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Teymoor Nabili really goes to town in that interview. I like that he is very confronting and agressive, because it shows how political all of this is. Also, it helps back the idea that no matter what Iran does or says, there is will be leaders in Israel who completely ignore the reports for their own political interests. And hopefully, the April 13th meeting showed progress to cool down the tension between all the parties.
ReplyDeleteI really think the Hooman Majd interview was important in understanding the situation between Iran and Israel. I like the way he explains that the media is the one who is really preparing for a war, and that it is Iran's right at a national level to work on enriching uranium. He brings up a lot of good points, such as the fact that these sanctions are not working. Instead, the international pressure is creating an incentive for Iran to build a nuclear weapon.
ReplyDeleteALSO, I loved the Vogue (and GQ) pictures from 1969! It makes me sad that Iran can't be the way it was in the 60s, because I feel like it had a lot of potential and beauty to offer to the world, and much of that was photographed here. Anyway, I enjoyed looking through this article!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think Al Jazeera is a good interviewer. He attempts to clarify what Meridor means and the West (US public) needs to see/hear this as we've been exposed to never ending Israeli claims which has turned into pure propaganda about Iran's "nuclear program". Despite constant interruptions by the interviewer,the Minister was able to get the message across that Israel doesn't have a problem with Iran or its people but I am not sold, especially if Israel has threatened to bomb Iran if they don't terminate their nuclear program
ReplyDeleteI think the Q&A article with Hooman Majd brought up a very interesting point; the sanctions imposed on Iran are “turning into a form of collective punishment” for the Iranian people. I think the idea of the sanctions it to hit the government hard, but so far it has only served to harm the Iranian people the most. I also think it’s interesting that he brings up the media, I think a lot of times we often forget how much technology nowadays has changed how the world interacts with each other and how news is perceived. The media has so much power to shape opinions which can be a very dangerous thing; on top of that I think that a lot of people forget to keep a certain amount of skepticism when reading news articles, and because of this I think people’s opinions are so easily influenced. Looking through the Vogue pictures it was surprising to see how modern Iran looked. I think a lot of people have this preconceived notion that Iran is so far behind the times, but that isn’t and wasn’t the case as the pictures clearly show.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Q&A with Hooman. I found what he said -- "(I agree with) Netanyahu when he says sanctions aren’t going to work. He’s right. Now his conclusion that sanctions aren’t going to work so we need to therefore bomb them, that I don’t buy."--to be the perfect definition of the irrational and rash foreign policy relationship Israel and the US have developed with Iran. The worst part of it is that both nations view the irrationality as justified.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the new york times article. Never thought about it until this article, but Cohen is right in saying that the generation that was stepped on by Saddam, Iraq, and the West during the Iraqi-Iran war, is the generation that is in charge now. It's just interesting to think about the type of lense that generation is looking through when dealing with the irrationality of the west. Another thing I enjoyed about the article was Cohen calling out Israel on their bluffs. It was briefly put, but to the point-- neither Israel has the capacity to bomb and start war with Iran without the US backing, and neither is Iran stupid enough develop a nuclear bomb to "blow israel off the map (lol)". I agree with cohen also in that I feel that Iran could be pursuing a nuclear bomb to establish a form of pride for it's country again amidst all of this west domination. And to also break out of this nuclear-arms hypocrisy that has been blanketing the world because of the west.
I watched the video link and I actually agree with the Intelligence Guy from Israel a bit. While "we won't to wipe them off the map" is different from "they should not exist" such a comment still must be taken seriously. From the USA to Iran, no country has the right to say another country shouldn't exist and deneying this comments have any importance is crazy. Also I agree with him when he talks about how it is different when religion is brought in. Competing with someone in a region economically and politically is one thing, but the moment you start saying "our god is better than your god" type stuff it gets crazy... Because emotions are on an all time high and rational decisions go out the door when talking about religion of any kind from Christianity to Islam.
ReplyDeleteI think the Al Jazeera article is interesting because I always hear from various people in the Jewish community here at Berkeley and in the media that they believe Ahmadinejad stated that "Israel should be wiped off the map" and that "the Holocaust didn't happen" when many scholars and translators (including this article) shed light on the fact that those translations are incorrect. I am not legitimizing what he said, merely saying that those translations do not depict what he was conveying and that those phrases are constantly used in order to legitimize hostility towards Iran.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with Hooman Majd when he says that sanctions are actually hurting the people of Iran and not going to help get where the West wants them to be. Also, I found it interesting that he says in comparison to the Iraq war, this time the media instead of the government is the one suggesting a full on war.
I still feel strongly against the fact that the international community will not "allow" Iran to have nuclear power or weapons when Israel has enough nuclear capability to destroy Iran in a matter of minutes. Who really is the threat here?
I really liked the first video because it is a good example of how sensationalism can threaten to blow up the awkward threesome of Iran, Israel and America. Okay, it's not the politest thing to say a country "should not survive" but a country "will not survive" has been said over and over by people worldwide. It's alright if you believe someone's belief system is so corrupt/impractical it'll not stand the test of time. Communists and capitalists have been saying it about each other forever. But to accuse another country of saying your country should be wiped out, then to use this false accusation to justify military/diplomatic action is inexcusable and just plain wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis video just summarizes how some people are trying to sensationalize the whole d**ned thing rather than representing the truth.
DeleteIf you're going to use a person's quote in a political argument it's important that you don't use it out of context so I like how they address how the Israelis misquoted Ahmadinejad. I'm glad because many Israeli are using this quote to defend their position against Iran as well as their future actions against Iran, which would be totally irrational if based on miscommunication.
ReplyDelete