by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog One would think that if economic austerity had ended, it would be trumpeted loudly? After all, it has been going on for so long, is so hugely despised, is such an economic failure, and has been the source of so many protests, arrests, tear-gassings, water cannoning, police violence and – certainly – deaths due to the lack of adequate health care, suicides due
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Last week French President Emmanuel Macron admitted for the first time ever that France used torture systematically during the Algerian War for Independence. This has earned Macron and France international plaudits for “bringing the country closer to grappling with its colonial past”, “righting a historical wrong” and other such total nonsense. I covered the story for PressTV, and alongside both Algerian and French-Algerian
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog It’s time to admit that America is ultimately run by mullahs. No, there isn’t a pro-Iran lobby which is funding a Deep State cabal or anything. The idea of a “pro-Iran lobby” being permitted to democratically exist in the US is, of course, a total impossibility as long as Iran maintains its anti-capitalist and anti-Zionist stances. And no, I am not referring to
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Unfortunately, the final part in this 11-part series on modern Iran arrives at a time of major economic instability, perhaps the worst since the end of the Iran-Iraq War. For the sake of argument, let’s be honest about what concrete steps Iran would have to take in order to finally get the sanctions called off. We should totally ignore US Secretary of State
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog I’d say it’s a pretty low bar to be the greatest political movie off all-time…. Perhaps movies are just too sensationalistic by nature to give politics the seriousness it deserves? Maybe politics are simply too complex to condense into 90 minutes, less the time needed for a compelling love story? What are the greatest political movies of all time? Firstly, let’s exclude the
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker Blog “We are the nation of martyrdom, we are the nation of Imam Hossain, you better ask.” – Iranian Major General and Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, July 27, 2018 That injunction for education was in response to US President Donald Trump’s threatening “all-caps tweet” to Iran. The exchange provides a rather timely news peg for this article, and it also confirms its necessity;
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog “Trotsky was and, in as much as he lives in his writings, remains the foremost strategist of world socialist revolution. Hence the indissoluble association of his name with the theory and strategy of Permanent Revolution—an association familiar even to those like Mazaheri….” That is a quote from the World Socialist Web Site’s 3-part series designed to rebut my work popularising the concept of
By Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog There I was, back on the NYC-SF red eye, and man do I hate flying. While you’re waiting to board there is absolutely nothing to do in the first-class lounge, besides sample the honeycomb hive tray and cigar bar. I feel like I’m about to go out of my mind before the Porsche finally arrives to chauffeur me to my gate! The we
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog In this 11-part series, which began as a response to the World Socialist Web Site’s 3-part series against my views of Iran and also Iranian Islamic Socialism in general, I have included a 4-part sub-series on the Basij: I think that the total ignorance of the Basij demands it amid the crumbling JCPOA pact on Iran’s nuclear energy program and the increased worries
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog In the World Socialist Web Site’s 3-part response to my critique of their Iran coverage and their accusation that “Islamic socialism is a sham” (not just Iranian Islamic Socialism), one thing surprised me: Why was there not one mention of the Basij? After all, it is 10+ million person (low estimate) organisation mainly drawn from the working class – surely the WSWS would
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog The main problem with the recent English movie The Death of Stalin (2017) is that it’s a comedy… but it’s just not funny. And that’s really too bad, because its director, Armando Iannucci, was one of the driving forces behind the most hilarious satire of TV news ever, The Day Today (1994). Those six 30-minute send-ups of journalism have never been topped. The
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Allow me to give a summary of my conversations with well-meaning Westerners since at least 9/11. Everyone: “Ramin, I’m so worried about Iran! I expect US troops to land in Tehran every time I turn on the news!” Me: “The Basij.” Everyone: “Ramin, the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq – Iran is obviously next!” Me: “Yawn…the Basij.” Everyone: “Dubya Bush…no, wait – Barry
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog As every journalist and critic knows, the laziest (and fastest) way to describe something is to present it in terms of something else. This is the “new that”, or this is similar to “that combined with this”. This article, which is part of an 11-part series on Iran written in response to the World Socialist Web Site’s “A reply to a proponent of
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Just as everyone falsely assumes that Iran’s economic history followed the standard colonial model (it didn’t), that their political cleavages are the same as the West’s (they aren’t) and that Iran trails the West in modern political thought & democratic structure (they don’t), it is little wonder that Westerners assume that “privatisation” simply must be the same as in the West (it isn’t).
by Ramin Mazaheri for the The Saker blog “Ramin Mazaheri, a foreign correspondent for Iran’s Press TV, posted a blog accusing the World Socialist Web Site of betraying its ‘socialist principles’ and aiding imperialism, because we welcomed the working-class opposition to Iran’s capitalist government…” From nearly the beginning of the WSWS’s 3-part rebuttal to my criticism of them is the refusal, or inability, to understand that Iran’s government cannot accurately qualify as “capitalist”. I
by Ramn Mazaheri for The Saker Blog In February the WSWS published a three-part series in response to my criticism of their inflammatory coverage of the protests last winter in Iran, and also to try and rebut the entire concept of “Iranian Islamic Socialism”. I have waited a few months to read it and respond, but I present this 11-part series in order to: explain the undeniably socialist nature of
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog (NOTE: This review contains spoilers for the TV show “The Americans”) The US television show “The Americans” has been considered the best TV show for the past few years, and it aired its finale on May 30, and to rave reviews. What has gone unappreciated, and of course rarely commented-upon among the fake-leftist cultural gurus of the US, is that “The Americans”was the
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog When you have a world war, there is no question: We are all living in a postwar world. However, not all subsequent generations have been shaped the same. In debunking the standard view of the Cultural Revolution in this series – and also showing that, when it came to politics and non-musical revolutions, John Lennon was the status-quo company man and Mao was
Iran Deal: Europe Has Truly Broken Up With US Foreign Policy – Journalist On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was leaving the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and promised to re-instate the toughest economic sanctions against Iran in response to Tehran’s alleged continued work on its military nuclear program. Ramin Mazaheri, PressTV’s chief correspondent in Paris, comments on the news. Sputnik: Despite numerous pleas
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog 2018 China: the envy of the world – just check the scoreboard. The Chinese communists kicked out the the Japanese, then the Europeans, held off the American neo-imperialists at Korea and then Vietnam, provided spectacular economic growth during all that time, ended rampant drug abuse, forbid ethnic quarrelling, and is the economic envy of the world in 2018. Maybe you don’t want to
