I think one of the lessons of the Arab Spring is that western countries have very limited ability to influence the events and it is probably better to lay low in most cases. That seems particularly true about Iran. Obama should have been a lot smarter about Libya and Syria. Egypt, too.
Strictly speaking any "spring" in Iran can't be described as Arab. Iranians are not Arabs, ethnically speaking. Jus' sayin'.
But the actual demise of the authoritarian regime that's been in power since 1979 will come more from acts like the one taken by Kimia Alizadeh, Iran's only female Olympic medalist. Late last week, the bronze medalist in Taekwondo in the 2016 Summer Games announced via Instagram that she has fled her home country due to the systematic oppression of women. Via CNN:
"Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences," the 21-year-old wrote in an Instagram post explaining why she was defecting. "I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years."â¦
"They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me," she wrote, adding that credit for her success always went to those in charge.
"I wasn't important to them. None of us mattered to them, we were tools," Alizadeh added, explaining that while the regime celebrated her medals, it criticized the sport she had chosen: "The virtue of a woman is not to stretch her legs!"
I think one of the lessons of the Arab Spring is that western countries have very limited ability to influence the events and it is probably better to lay low in most cases. That seems particularly true about Iran. Obama should have been a lot smarter about Libya and Syria. Egypt, too.
But the actual demise of the authoritarian regime that's been in power since 1979 will come more from acts like the one taken by Kimia Alizadeh, Iran's only female Olympic medalist. Late last week, the bronze medalist in Taekwondo in the 2016 Summer Games announced via Instagram that she has fled her home country due to the systematic oppression of women. Via CNN:
"Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences," the 21-year-old wrote in an Instagram post explaining why she was defecting. "I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years."…
"They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me," she wrote, adding that credit for her success always went to those in charge.
"I wasn't important to them. None of us mattered to them, we were tools," Alizadeh added, explaining that while the regime celebrated her medals, it criticized the sport she had chosen: "The virtue of a woman is not to stretch her legs!"
Ok regardless of your political persuasion or opinion of that General dude, it doesn't take a 2 year old to do the cost-benefit analysis and know this was a ridiculous move. I got no love for those Mullah assholes, but I do have sympathy for the Persians who suffer under their oppression. There is no way to put lipstick on this pig.
And here he was, seemingly about to testify in the impeachment hearings. Now he's living his dream again, so will he stand down on that Ukraine business? Tune in tomorrow...
I got no love for those Mullah assholes, but I do have sympathy for the Persians who suffer under their oppression. There is no way to put lipstick on this pig.
