by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog I am on vacation and trying to stay away from politics to recharge my batteries, but a sane voice on Iranian politics in English is almost impossible to find, so…. Despite the Western media’s slobbering at the minor protests in Iran, there is no need to fear that Iranian democracy is about to “fall”. Allow me to get right to the heart of
[Note by the Saker: I am posting this article with great reservations since I believe that, will all due respect, my friend Ramin fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the Bolshevik ideology and the reality of the motives behind the Bolshevik policies following their seizure of power in 1917. I also believe that Ramin has a completely wrong understanding of the Christian view of power and I therefore, with Ramin’s authorization,
by Ramin Mazaheri That headline leaves out the biggest bombshell: Per court testimony leaked in September, France’s Foreign Ministry knew all about Lafarge’s collaboration with terrorists in Syria and repeatedly encouraged them to do so. Many are assuming that future court inquiries will discover that the France’s Foreign Ministry and national spy services provided more than just moral support. Since the story broke in June 2016 the story just gets
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog Some are talking of “fear and euphoria” in the crypto-currency world, but what’s to fear? Last month Bitcoin’s multi-year existential crisis was surprisingly resolved with only a couple days of panicking. In short, those who wanted to implement technological changes to make Bitcoin more of an everyday currency and less of a stable store of value – lost. The losers threw a tantrum,
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog How much of the current Russophobia campaign is to detract from the outrageous far-right regime Barry Obama installed in Ukraine? Certainly, if this wave of anti-Semitism – excuse me, Russophobia – was not clouding everything involving that region of the world, Ukraine’s chaos would necessarily receive more attention. So even though protecting the US Democratic Party’s domestic standing is probably the primary goal,
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Iran has recently been the epicentre of the deadliest quake of 2017. Over 530 Iranians died, along with 7 people over the border in Iraq. In medieval times Iran was the “crossroads of caravans”, just as in the near future it will be the crossroads of China’s “One Belt, One Road” socialist economic stimulus program. Iran is also, unfortunately, the crossroads of 3
by Ramin Mazaheri I must admit that I have only ever read just one article on transgender bathrooms – it seemed like such a minor issue that I didn’t see the need to follow it. There are only so many hours in the day, and I prefer to report on anti-imperialist and pro-socialist issues. It certainly seems like a fair assumption that many other journalists and activists in the West
by Ramin Mazaheri If you don’t already understand that headline, you are missing the primary goal of neoliberal capitalism over the past nearly 40 years. Stop assuming the 1% wants growth economies…please. Just stop. The 1%’s interest is only in supporting the “keep all I got” model. Accept this as a rule and you are halfway to enlightenment, and you will pierce the technocratic lie that “economics is too hard
by Ramin Mazaheri The ultimate problem with Catalonia is that they aren’t trying to secede from the European Union. Now that would be something which the non-Spanish left could really rally around, during this ongoing age of Brussels-imposed poverty. For so long this seemed like a fake crisis – a distraction – but the new reality is: a huge crisis could explode now, due to a massively authoritarian/capitalist response from
by Ramin Mazaheri In many ways this fear is justified: communism is a dirty word in the English culture. I recall getting my copy of “International Socialist Review” mailed to me in the United States – it arrived with a brown paper wrapper, the same as pornography. (Please note: American mailing practices for pornography have been gleaned solely from second-hand information, of course, so I may be mistaken on this
by Ramin Mazaheri The historical trend of the euro and its previous incarnations has followed this historical pattern, when we take a leftist view: The Eurozone is dominated by France and Germany; France wants an end to austerity and to promote growth policies bloc-wide; Germany wants more austerity to maintain its dominant financial position; Germany, Washington’s Frankenstein Monster – whose violence stems not from parental and societal rejection but unfeeling
by Ramin Mazaheri In 2013 my bosses in Tehran sent me to Seoul, and I felt quite courageous: just like today, Seoul was about to be ground zero for thermonuclear war. And then – as we all know from the movie – the radioactive blast would awaken a very grumpy Godzilla. I was sent because my bosses weren’t too pleased with my young colleague, who seemed to be more concerned
by Ramin Mazaheri To best gauge the stability of the Eurozone today, an appropriate way to start is to reassess how the Eurozone responded to their last crisis. In 2012 the European Sovereign Debt Crisis peaked, and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi resorted to the same tactics as Mike Ditka, the legendary American football coach for the Chicago Bears. But both promised to do: “Whatever it takes”. Ditka made
by Ramin Mazaheri So there I was again, flying from San Francisco to New York on the “job creators’ redeye” when I came across another great New York Times article. Long-time readers know that I prefer to only read about Russian meddling, but articles about Chinese meddling take a respectable second place. The article reviews a history book describing the victory of communism in China in 1949, entitled “A Force
by Ramin Mazaheri Part of the problem of criticizing the “pan-European project” is that you have multiple bodies which overlap. And you also have some nations which are part of one, but not another. Or which pay into one body, but abstain from another. A clear analysis is needed of the most important part of the pan-European project: the Eurozone. The Eurozone is the most important because it controls the
by Ramin Mazaheri I can easily prove the leftist utility of bitcoins by relating one question I commonly hear: “Ramin, can you please take this medicine to my family the next time you visit Iran?” The US produces more than half of all new medicines, but there is an embargo on Iran (and Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, etc.): With bitcoins, Iranians can circumvent these criminal, terroristic restrictions and get medicines which
by Ramin Mazaheri The bottom line is: For the EU to work – for it to be of benefit to the average person – it has to follow France’s historical plan. That has always been the case, and it has also never been the case: the flaw in the plan remains selfish West Germany (now just Germany). This seems like common knowledge in the Eurozone, and certainly in smaller Eurozone
by Ramin Mazaheri There are seemingly rather few commentators who understand the “real economy” (encompassed by national growth rates and employment rates), the “fake economy” (the 1%-dominated FIRE sector: finance, insurance and real estate) and crypto currency. I have seen top commentators make the most fundamental errors regarding crypto since it began a spectacular boom in April. And then there is a fourth axe: socialism. Even fewer Western commentators understand
by Ramin Mazaheri How hard is it to be the coolest guy in a room full of economists? Isn’t that an award which would embarrass any truly cool guy? Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has a new book out, and it’s been criticized as being self-aggrandizing and self-serving. I haven’t read it – this book review is about his 2016 book, “And The Weak Suffer What They Must?”. His
by Ramin Mazaheri It’s been amusing to hear American journalists mispronounce Antifa: “An-TEEF-a, is it?” Well, in many ways they are lucky because the “Anti-Fascists” are as chummy with the media as they are with fascists and the police. I know that because since 2010 I’ve been reporting from France’s protest trenches with Antifa on one side, riot police on the other, and us media in the middle. I’m not
