347>If your answer is %26quot;Yes%26quot; read this:
I believe that if you spend 10 minutes reading this essay, you will be better informed than if you listen to a lifetime%26#039;s worth of Major Media news. This article has two parts:
1. Cultural and general info
2. Political info.
Note: I%26#039;ve explained everything.Any answers before reading the whole thing will prove to be wrong.Specially the political part.I%26#039;ve provided evidence for whatever I say.It%26#039;s just the way it is.
****
Part 1: Cultural and general info
Hi. I%26#039;m a 19 year old Iranian who has spent his life in Iran.I study English.When I chat with people from other countries, I am shocked to see how totally wrong their ideas are about Iran. I wrote this article in an attempt to help correct those ideas.
The first thing the West accuses our government of is that we don%26#039;t allow personal freedoms. Actually, Iranians disobey laws they don%26#039;t like as much as anyone.There are only a few restrictions.It%26#039;s cool over here. People here do whatever they wish to! Many strict rules in other countries don%26#039;t even exist in Iran. Also, you should understand that what may seem so normal to you, may be a nightmare for us and vise versa.Some of Iran%26#039;s laws are based on OUR culture. You look at our country from %26quot;your own point of view%26quot;! In Iran most houses have a sattelite dish. Sattelite television has a serious influence on our people, and Iranians wear very fashionable clothing. Maybe it is a kind of imitation, but we still have our own unique Iranian style. A visitor might wonder if this is a country or a fantasy pageant of beauty queens! Make-up and fashionable clothing are everywhere.I ignore a few fuddy-duddies though!
In my view, everything is great, if you ignore unemployment, drugs, inflation and air pollution. Also, you can%26#039;t compare Iran today with the Iran you remember. The Shah and the Iatollah Khomini are both some 30 years in the past! 70% of Iran%26#039;s population is a new generation (Under age 30) without the biases of the past and we%26#039;ve transformed everything.
Ever heard Iranian girls are terrific?I%26#039;ve collected some photos showing Iranian girls! Look! Poeple are like this!
http://www.salijoon.ir/bazigar/hedye%20t...
http://www.30nema.com/images/gallery/30n...
http://i10.tinypic.com/4clk3us.jpg
http://tinypic.com/2d0nfao.jpg Is that enough?!
Some people think women don%26#039;t have any rights in Iran. But in my view, women are overrunning the place. They%26#039;re very respectful, and they%26#039;ve been the winners in so many cases: Most of them get into the best universities because they%26#039;re very smart. And they get the best jobs because of their high university degrees. They%26#039;ve got Islamic rights, and that has in some cases made it difficult for men to marry them, because husbands are supposed to buy them expensive things and treat them very well, otherwise women have the right to ask a great amount of money (called Mehr) according to the law, which most husbands cannot afford, so men will be imprisoned.The only thing that women are not allowed to do in Iran is getting into public football stadiums and that%26#039;s because such places are full of cheeky guys. They do anything from taking part in rallies to singing pop songs.Anything! I%26#039;ve put a sample here.
Another funny thing: Your footage about stoning the women who have committed adultery. Have you ever asked yourselves how many years ago that footage related to? But in one case the thing that had happened was incest not adultery. Most of those footages relate to the early days just after Iran%26#039;s revolution! Otherwise you%26#039;d get new footages at least once a month!What exactly makes you think women are treated differently?The way they are treated in Saudi Arabia? Try to think of the racism in your country too.I found a BOOK of the U.S problems and it got me dizzy! Iran has its own problems too. Each country has its own problems.
Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are --------- SEPERATE COUNTRIES! --------- Even within Iran, 60% of us are Persian and 30% are Turkish! Iran is a normal country like any other in the world. The Media are very good at creating really scary stuff: %26quot;IRAN BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS!!!%26quot; %26quot;IRAN UNDERCOVER!!!%26quot; Some of that garbage would be enough to scare ME away! But in truth, Iranians are far more open-minded than you have been led to believe.
There are lots of Iranians today who are geniuses and scientists, and are all under age 25. For instance a 17 year old boy has invented 72 amazing inventions. Every year a special scientific compeition is held here and students assemble to show off hundreds of inventions. Iranian students and sportsmen win gold and silver medals in different competitions in the world all the time, in robotics, biology, maths, physics, sports, anything! Why don%26#039;t the Media talk about them? Please don%26#039;t summarize our nation and culture with the single word %26quot;nuclear%26quot;. Although we%26#039;re proud of this achievement because we believe that having nuclear energy means that a country is developed.
A few months ago Iran uncovered the most effective anti-H.I.V medicine. I searched for news of that on the internet, but there was no single sign of it.Now, I found it among the English news: %26quot;The medicine is produced from herbs using nano technology%26quot; The link to read about it is: http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1032....
The Media are unjust. They never talk about facts!
Some interesting facts:
Iran is a pioneer in medicine and genetics, and Iranian surgeons have found lots of new methods for treating spinal defects, and many diseases (mainly the treatment for different types of cancer) and the best brain and heart surgeons are Iranian.The pioneer in heart transplants and artificiall hearts, %26quot;artificial vessels%26quot; using nano-technology (Reported yesterday) and so on and so! (I%26#039;ve put two websites below) The head of the Mars Mission in NASA is Iranian. One of the best designers of sports cars working in Germany is Iranian. Some of the best 3D animators are Iranian. Iran is one of the best countries in counter-engineering. Holds the second place in building dams and in loads of other things! It%26#039;s one of the top countries in bio-technology and nano-technology. The 4th highest tower in the world (Milad tower) is in Tehran (visit it at this link from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milad... ). 51 of the top 100 universities in the Mid-East are in Iran, and they%26#039;re among the top universities of the world as well. The champion weight-lifter, a woman the nobel peace prize are Iranian. The 6th top movie director in the world is Iranian.(Abbas Kiarostami) http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/...
These are just small samples.If the media told you about Iran%26#039;s achievemens everyday and didn%26#039;t hide them, your news would be full of Iranian news!Iranian girls are famous for being terrific. We have Persian rugs and Persian literature, many Persian poets, artists and scientists that are world famous. Iranian culture is now westernized and only a little of the ancient culture has survived. According to statistics Tehran is the cheapest capital city in the world (one Dollar =about 950 Tomans) There are many other things. How many pages would you need to describe a country? Iran has nearly all the industries and technologies found in %26#039;developed%26#039; countries. Oh, and we have four seasons! We get a lot of snow and there are skating rinks! lol The list is endless.
I%26#039;m gonna introduce Iran%26#039;s international news website to you (Press TV) which was established recently. It%26#039;s fully in English. In the %26quot;Sic / Tech%26quot; section you%26#039;ll always see Iran%26#039;s discoveries. The address is: http://www.presstv.ir/news.aspx Press TV news: Iranian scientists have registered more than 4800 inventions during the last Iranian calendar year of 1385 (April 21 2006-April 20, 2007). 4800 inventions in just one year!
The list of highly-respected Iranian scientists and engineers in the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Iran...
The list of notable Iranian figures and pioneers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporar...
An extract: Iranian medical community is a significant part of medical community in US and Europe
Enough evidence?
Some people think Iran is a desert! Well, it is, if you consider California a desert. We share the same latitude. Iran is a modern country with breathtakingly beautiful nature and lots of historic places to visit. Please take a look at the following links to see if Iran looks like what you think or not! This is a photo of Tehran (Awesome, Isn%26#039;t it?): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran
If you like you can visit these too, hundreds of pretty photos from the cities, nature and historic places:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hills...
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_ir...
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_ir...
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_ir...
http://www.bigsoccer.com:80/forum/showth...
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthrea...
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthrea...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran
Some people think music is forbidden in Iran. %26quot;Music of Iran and Iranian musicians have received countless awards in the course of history. Every year from 1977 to 2007.Evidence? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Ir...
I send Iranian music to my American and Canadian chat friends and they all say they%26#039;re some of the best songs they%26#039;ve ever heard.
Here%26#039;s a sample of the latest hits from two official Iranian music websites.You can just right click on the links below and choose %26quot;Save Target As%26quot; to download them. Iranian music is just modern pop which is based on electronic stuff.Experience how awsome music can be produced by electronic Trance drums instead of DJ music!
1.(The window: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Pe...
2.(Keep me in your memory: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Pe...
3.(I just want you: 2003) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Iran...
4.(You know this: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Iran...
5.(Hold my hand: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic...
6.(The wetness of your eyes: 2006) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Iran...
7.(The rain: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Iran...
8.(Farangis %26quot;A female name%26quot; 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Iran...
9.(The distance: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusi...
10.(Sunrise: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusi...
11.(Stop world:2006) http://www.sarzaminmusic.com/Sarzaminmus...
12.(You can%26#039;t: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic...
And so on and on!
It%26#039;s now 2007 and most people still think we are uneducated people living in deserts and riding camels!
Part 2: Political info.
Let%26#039;s clarify some political issues as well: Some of the Americans think that president Ahmadinejad hates the U.S and Israel and wants to nuke them!! The Media are good at putting lying comments out there. I really don%26#039;t get the point why our politicians defame themselves by talking about things that have got nothing to do with us. The thing is that they occasionally make some statements that the media would make them controversial topics to interest its viewers! For example they pick up some specific phrases of a long speech (without refering to the main points and reasons for that speech) and put so many bad comments on that.
First of all, Iranians don%26#039;t hate anyone.We hate neither Jews nor Americans. How would our guys dream of America, want to be like them as much as possible, and hate them at the same time?! The truth us that Iranians are the only people in the Mid-East that are pro-American! Being agaisnt the U.S policies is a different story! We live basically the same lives.Don%26#039;t look at the way women dress in public places! You%26#039;ve got to see them in other places!I%26#039;ve got to say that for Iran, Israel is not equal with Jews! Israel is a gov%26#039;t. Jews are faithful people! 20,000 Jews and lots of Christians live here equally with Iranians and two of Iran%26#039;s parliment members are Jews. Who says we want to force others to convert to Islam? Have you ever found a Moslem knocking at your door asking you to do so?
Christians and Jews are both God-believers and respectful to us.
I wonder who Iran is really a threat to. Is it logical to say someone%26#039;s guilty because we THINK / PREDICT that he%26#039;s going to do something wrong? And they repeat the same %26quot;nuclear weapons%26quot; tosh over and over and brainwash people! Correction! It%26#039;s %26quot;nuclear energy%26quot;. Besides, how many %26quot;nuclear weapons%26quot; do they have themselves? Hundreds of thousands? Has Iran ever attacked any countries? No. Has it developed any nukes? No! That%26#039;s what nuclear agency says. Only Iran%26#039;s opponents are pulling Iran%26#039;s leg and what they say is just based on political conflicts. What we%26#039;re doing is legal. Iran is a peaceful country. Why? It%26#039;s the regional super-power and if she wanted, she could easily invade the countries in our neibourhood just like what Saddam did to our country, but as you see Iran has peaceful relations with all of them.
Some people say he said: Israel should be wiped off the map! the thing is that he exactly said: %26quot;The Imam %26quot;Khomeyni%26quot; said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.%26quot;They%26#039;ve only told you this phrase not the whole thing and it%26#039;s mistranslated intentionally. Besides, they%26#039;ve been saying such things for a long time.It%26#039;s their habit.Here%26#039;s an article.%26quot;Wiped off the map....The roumor of the century.Read how the media and the U.S newspapers have twisted it into a controvertioal topic. http://www.antiwar.com/orig/norouzi.php?... Now you see that you were wrong.Iran has always defended itself, but it%26#039;s not an offensive country.
Some say he%26#039;s said: %26quot;The Holocaust is a myth!%26quot; Again, this is a single phrase taken from a long speech and there are totally logical reasons for saying so. If 6,000,000 Jews were killed, that%26#039;s terrible, but 300,000 Shiite Moslems killed by Saddam aren%26#039;t important at all? Over 650,000 Iraqi people are killed and that%26#039;s not important?! When Fox News simply says that America and Israel are capable of destroying and killing Iran%26#039;s population of 69,000,000 within two weeks, it%26#039;s OK and no one says they%26#039;re threatening other countries to nuke them (I saw this with my own eyes on the Fox News website) Millions of people killed in Afghanistan, Hiroshima %26amp; Nagasaki and the Vietnam war are not considered human beings at all! Now I think you%26#039;d get the point why he%26#039;s IRONICALLY said it%26#039;s a myth. Moreover, don%26#039;t you believe in freedom of speech/mind? Well, if you%26#039;d like to blame someone for that, hope in a time-machine and sue Hitler! lol
Some countries are using Iran as a scapegoat to put the blame (for their own faults) on.
This part is just for Americans:
Those of you who say why Iran says %26quot;Death to America%26quot;:
1. %26#039;America%26#039; to us means the U.S govt, not the people. How do you expect Iranians to mean %26quot;American people%26quot; when our media admires Americans for marching and holding up %26quot;no war%26quot; placards?! Also, I see a lot of %26quot;Let%26#039;s nuke Iran%26quot;s on YA.Isn%26#039;t that a kind of %26quot;Death to Iran%26quot;?
2. The new generation don%26#039;t say such things and if some of them occasionally march in the streets that%26#039;s because some of the stupid guys enjoy making noise and they mainly go out there to meet their girlfriends/boyfriends! Strange. Isn%26#039;t it?
3. Such mottos are not just said in Iran and as you know whatever you hear is a response to the U.S govt%26#039;s terrible actions which has made life for many people hell (You wouldn%26#039;t deny that attacking countries is a mistake. Would you?)
4. U.S. companies assistance in developing Iraq%26#039;s chemical weapons facilities during the Iran-Iraq war which killed over a million Iranians
5. USS Vincennes shooting down Iran Air Flight 655 with many civilian fatalities
6.U.S. Support for anti-Iranian terrorist organisations (i.e. the MKO);
7. Economic damage caused by U.S. sanctions and political pressure; U.S. UAV overflights over Iran violating Iranian airspace since 2003.
When you call Ahmadinejad a nutcase for what he%26#039;s said, what do you call Bush for his war crimes?
To those who are upset with American hostages taken for 444 days:
1. Firstly, It%26#039;s related to so many years ago and it%26#039;s almost a part of history, and don%26#039;t forget that when there%26#039;s a revolution, there%26#039;d be chaos and people may do things that they should not, moreover they%26#039;re all alive and healthy. Aren%26#039;t they?
2.The U.S has arrested Iranian diplomats in Iraq and had tortured the one who was freed. Now you decide who has the right to be upset with whom. How do you believe in their lies about politics when they hide both the most and the least important things from you considering the fact that politics is the world of lies in its nature?!!!
If you like to insist on your theory of attacking Israel, I%26#039;ll tell you our logical theory: %26quot;The moment that Iran attacks Israel, Iran will be wiped off the face of the earth by the U.S and its allies and Iran is far more logical than doing such a stupid thing%26quot; So, forget about it.I%26#039;m quite sure you know that all the events and lies in the world are a part of a pre-planned scenario by major world-powers (Iran as an important country has always been a part of their plans)And the first step is to brainwash people.They excactly know what will happen even 50 years later! I think Iraq is such a good example.Attacking it with the excuse of removing Saddam while they%26#039;d put Saddam there themselves and had supported him for years! They said they had W.M.Ds and you believed them.Now they say Iran (a member of N.P.T) has nukes / is developing nukes and you believe them wilhe the nuclear agency hasn%26#039;t found any sign of illegal activities.Time to wake up!
Isn%26#039;t it better for both countries to forget past conflicts and to have peaceful relations? Our two gov%26#039;ts are like 10 year old children playing a stupid, harsh, rhetorical game. They don%26#039;t care about hurting people%26#039;s feelings. They just try to make our two peoples enemies to achieve their own goals. We, as the people of these countries, MUST NOT allow these conflics into our hearts. Now, what do you think? I can%26#039;t wait to see both nations in peace. It%26#039;d be marvelous!
Did you find my article informative? : )
Thanks for your time
Reply:The folks you%26#039;re trying to reach are notorious for ignoring the truth even if jumps up and bites them on their @sses !
I enjoyed the look into your world.
Hope all goes well.
Try narrowing the focus of your info to overcome the lower IQ%26#039;s of the Bushrovian%26#039;s in America !
Reply:Thanks for the info.
Reply:ok your welcome
Reply:I find it long! If you don%26#039;t shut up your going to miss your flight miss you please don%26#039;t write
Reply:Very good information, if there is any Iran student exchange programs for University students that you might know of, it would be completely great if you could post them!!
Reply:The majority of people in Iran are decent people--as are the majority of people in every country (including the US, europe--and Israel).
The problem is our leaders have gotten--and keep--power by playing on and excaberating hatred and fear.
With respect to Iran, the problem the rest of the world has (excluding the hate-mongers) is that the Iranian leadership--specifically the president--is a madman. That makes him a danger to everyone--including the Iranian people. And the concern is centered on the possibility that he may get nuclear weapons. You can make the arguement--and its not without merit-that it is hypocritical for the countries that have them to try to deny the sovereign right of other nations.
But this goes beyond the usual politics and %26quot;rights of nations.%26quot; It%26#039;s bad enough that ANYONE ha s nuclear weapons--but as long as they%26#039;re around, limiting the numbers is the best we can do. And keeping them out of the hands of madmen is absolutely vital.
What I fear is that many people in the Muslim world do not realize that we are NOT simply talking about a%26quot;bigger bomb.%26quot; Think of this: Teheran- is a great city. ONE nuclear bomb--and it is gone--in less time than it took you to read this sentance.
Or any other city in the world.
And therein lies the problem. Most people are not haters. But as long as Iran has a leadership that is insane enough to actually use such weapons, we--decent people worldwide--find ourselves forced to support even the likes of Bush in sanctioning and pressuring Iran. Because it%26#039;s a simple matter of self-protection--not against the Iranian people, but against their leaders.
Reply:Whilst I found your article interesting, I do find that it smacks a little of propaganda. True - many people are ignorant of Iran - as they are many other countries, and true our media and government in the West seem to want to paint Iran in a black light; but there are some points I%26#039;d like to make.
1) %26quot;There are only a few restrictions%26quot; - this is a relative point. I think (from my western perspective) that forcibly cutting the hair of men whose hair is viewed as %26#039;too long%26#039; is not the actions of a rational state. Nor is the beating of women who have one strand of hair outside their headscarf. Nor is the idea of having a %26#039;moral police%26#039; - the basij.
2) %26quot;if you ignore unemployment, drugs, inflation and air pollution%26quot; - those are some pretty big points! Unemployment is rife, and inflation is high. Neither of these things are good OR minor points. Not to mention the fact Tehran has some of the worst quality air in the world.
3) %26quot;Some people think women don%26#039;t have any rights in Iran. But in my view, women are overrunning the place%26quot; - an interesting word %26#039;overrunning%26#039;. Perhaps it%26#039;s a mistranslation, but using a word which implies a catastrophic loss of control is not exactly indicative of a tolerant society is it?
4) %26quot;The only thing that women are not allowed to do in Iran is getting into public football stadiums%26quot; - so why not give women the CHOICE? Is it any of the state%26#039;s business?
5) %26quot;Although we%26#039;re proud of this achievement because we believe that having nuclear energy means that a country is developed%26quot; - Australia has no nuclear energy. Nor does Italy, Portugal, Norway, Ireland, Denmark or several other western and powerful nations. They do not see the need for it. It%26#039;s a little suspicious that Iran, a country so full of oil, seeks nuclear energy is it not?
6) More of a pinicity point; %26quot;6th top movie director in the world is Iranian%26quot; From whose/what perspective? Academy awards won? How many films he%26#039;s made?
7) %26quot;The truth us that Iranians are the only people in the Mid-East that are pro-American%26quot; This is just simply untrue. The Israelis are FAR more pro-US than any other middle eastern state, and the Saudis and Quwaitis are not far behind. Not being Iranian I wouldn%26#039;t be able to comment on how many of your people are pro-US, but I don%26#039;t think it would be a high number.
8) %26quot;Correction! It%26#039;s %26quot;nuclear energy%26quot;%26quot; - for now it is. And what a convenient front.
9) %26quot;%26#039;America%26#039; to us means the U.S govt, not the people%26quot; - again, you generalise. I%26#039;m sure there are many Iranians who hate the US people, just as there are many US people who hate Iranians. Both nations have ignorant fools who cannot see the people are seperate from the government.
10) [paraphrased] the new generation don%26#039;t march in the streets. Yes they do. I have seen footage of a massive anti-american rally for one. I saw photographs and a report of a crowd stoning the British embassy. Once again you whitewash the facts to present your case in a good light.
In short Iran is a country with problems. The picture is not as black as many would have us believe, and I think that many Iranian people are good and do not agree with the course their government takes. Yet I think you support/are not critical enough of your state. I simply don%26#039;t believe Iran%26#039;s nuclear energy talk - if that was so why not let someone else build and monitor the reactors for you? Why so consistently fail to reach a bargain? Is nuclear energy so important to risk a war?
Your people may be good - your people probably genuinely do want peace, but your government is not good. It is run by madmen who claim to be appointed by God - yes you have elections (hardly free when half the candidates are disqualified I may add), yet the president you appoint only has power if the mullahs say so; not the actions of a rational state. Your government is promoting hatred of artists and intellectuals because they believe the US is trying, through them, to bring about a %26quot;soft revolution%26quot;. Now, I don%26#039;t believe war is the answer, but your government and the culture they impose on you certainly is not good, not great - and the Iranian people succeed DESPITE, not because of it.
Reply:Yes, it is informative and a lot of what you shared is to my knowledge for the first time. I am christian born in America I want world peace and pray for it all the time. I share some of what your dream is in that I hope to see people live in peace on the whole planet, rather than be part of why it is destroyed. I feel this is a responsibility of the entire world to make peace happen, one person at a time if need be. Everyday doing one thing to stop the death of innocent people. I believe God will heal the land of the people who pray for peace. Peace be with you and your country.
Reply:why not, and yes your article is very informative, I skipped over it real fast.
Reply:You sound like a propagandist for the current Iranian regime, which is only supported by 50% of the people. There is a growing opposition to Ahmadinejad, the economy has collapsed, the currency is worthless and your despot gets a war going between Hezbollah and Isreal whenever he is threatened by an uprising.
I know about Iran, and I know Iranian Americans who want democracy in their native land. Some of us here are smart enough to see your true agenda.
Reply:A response to Mordent%26#039;s points:
1) But many countries have restrictions on various things that other countries might see as nonsensical. I have to agree with you that beating or opressing women is wrong but I%26#039;m not sure it%26#039;s something worth going to war over, rather something that the Iranian people will hopefully move rapidly towards improving. Certainly as more wealth comes into the region this is likely to change, once the majority of women aren%26#039;t as dependent on their husbands and are above the poverty line it%26#039;s not likely to be an enforcable policy.
2) Most countries in the world have these problems to a greater or lesser extent. The US has a far worse drug problem, causes proportionately more air pollution than anywhere else on the planet and has a huge foreign debt for example.
3) I agree with you on that one but also see point 1.
4) Again I agree with you on that one too but also see point 1 again.
5) This isn%26#039;t quite accurate - Australia is building another nuclear reactor, had one for a long time and was secretly enriching uranium for years during the cold war in order to build a bomb (this was only recently divulged as files on it were unsealed). Also many, many countries around the world are pushing towards switching more power generation to nuclear. This in itself isn%26#039;t odd, even for an oil rich country since many are concerned about the effect of burning so many fossil fuels on the environment - you can hardly criticise the quality of a country%26#039;s air and then be mad when they want to improve things in this regard surely? I think they%26#039;d be better off if they built a geothermal power station at any rate (better land usage vs energy generated, more sustainable, less criticism from foreign powers, etc) but we also got to remember that nuclear power is seen as a status symbol by many smaller countries (including Australia for example).
6) I agree with your assessment on this, pinicity as it is.
7) I agree about Israel being strongly pro-American, not so sure about the Saudi%26#039;s. Also the United Arab Emiritz, Turkey and quite a few others are if not pro-American then not anti-American either.
8) Other countries are allowed to legitimately use nuclear energy, why not Iran? Further other countries are allowed to produce nuclear weapons despite not being permanent members of the UN security council, again why not Iran? Nuclear weapon development has proved generally a waste of resources and a very ineffective threat. Further Iran%26#039;s missile technology isn%26#039;t all that good, I very much doubt they%26#039;d be capable of threating the US with any sort of nuclear weapon any time in the even close to near future even if they put much of the country%26#039;s resources into developing it.
9) Totally agree with you on this one.
10) Being able to march in the street is surely a symbol of the much vaunted freedom, surely if they%26#039;d locked up people protesting that would be worse? I think the media has certainly strived to portray Iran negatively so the truth is somewhere in between the ultra positive and the ultra negative perhaps?
The US is a country with problems too, what country is without them? Most citizens of most countries don%26#039;t tend to be critical enough of their own nation and government, that%26#039;s as true in the US or Australia as in Iran. I agree with international monitoring but only if it%26#039;s for ALL nations, no exceptions. Having another nation run a nuclear reactor in your country is not a workable suggestion and would require an almost unquestioning level of trust.
As for government%26#039;s run by madmen who believe they are appointed by God, dodgey elections, enormous power and influence of religion on the state and limited candidates... perhaps people who live in glass whitehouses shouldn%26#039;t throw stones? Does the US not censor artists, often based on political purposes? Doesn%26#039;t the US legislate on personal morality sometimes too (drugs for example), rightly or wrongly?
In short I think many of your criticisms are expecting things of Iran that the US itself doesn%26#039;t deliver although I do agree with some of the points you made and applaud the fact that you%26#039;re not promoting war but rather just voicing your opinion. I think probably we all need to be a bit more circumspect and try to fix our own flaws before calling others on theirs though, Australia and the US aren%26#039;t perfect so they probably shouldn%26#039;t expect that standard of others. I think more open dialogue and exchange of ideas between Iran and the US would be a good start. Let%26#039;s not forget that aggression between the two is simply playing into the hands of extremists on both sides.
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