Day: June 23, 2009

Understanding Iran–Part 1

From Professor’s Classroom:

Most Americans think that the history of Iran and the US began in 1979….a popular misconception.

To help educate my reader on the country of Iran we need to step into the “way back” machine and travel to the year of 1951.

In that year,  one Mohammad Mossadeq was elected prime minister of Iran…the key word in that sentence is “elected”.  This year is at the height of the Cold War where commies were everywhere.  Mossadeq was elected by the Iranian people to lead the country…he was a moderate and was to lead a popular form of Iranian nationalism.  This form of nationalism was festering a hatred for the US  Soon after his election Mossadeq lead the vote in the Iranian parliament to nationalize the oil industry.  And then the Anglo-Iranian Oil Comapny was shut down.  Not a good move and prompted the CIA to come up with a plan to replace Mossadeq.

In 1953, the Shah, who at this time was nothing more than a simple figure head removed Mossadeq from power with the help of his American “friends”.  Thus the Shah came to power simply because he was pro-western and an anti-nationalist and was the choice of the CIA as their man in Tehran.

Once the Shah became the favorite son he began to consolidate his power and influence until he became the despot that was overthrown in 1979.  The Shah retained power because of his willingness to take orders from the CIA and oil interests and his willingness to shed Iranian blood to keep opposition down.  The US reaped a bunch of a willing ally in the region to help fight the advance of communism.

In the 1960’s, the Shah was depending exclusively on the US to keep him in power.

In 1979, after 26 years of oppression from the Shah, the Iranian people had had enough.  They started having those darn pesky nationalistic thoughts once again and the US was the best  known enemy of the people.  Why?  The US was allowing their man in Tehran to rule with an iron hand and every time there was bloodshed it was the fault of the US, at least that is rhetoric of the time.

Enter a little known mullah exiled in France.  And the rest is history, as they say….whoever “they” are.

It Is All About Unemployment

The recent “optimistic” report on the employment scene was good news and then it was bad news…I know…I know…what the hell does that mean?

The number of Americans receiving claims for unemployment benefits dropped for the first time since January, adding to evidence the job market is starting to thaw.

And in the same report this was given:

Initial claims rose by 3,000 to 608,000 in the week ended June 13, in line with forecasts.

The average number of claims over the last four weeks fell to the lowest level in four months, an indication that the U.S. economy is stabilizing after the worst recession in half a century. Even so, companies are likely to be slow to hire new employees, sending unemployment rates higher, analysts said.

Okay…make up my mind for me….is it good or bad?

As usual no one wants to mention the poor bastards who have NO claims left…that have come off the rolls or just stopped looking.  This is the same type of reporting that goes on weekly……any good news is in the big type and the not so good is later in the report in small type.

Here is a truer judgement of the employment picture:

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases in May, the government reported Friday. One state registered a rate decrease, and one state had no rate change.Several states and regions posted their highest unemployment rate since the report debuted in 1976.

Over the year, jobless rates were higher in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Please stop believing all the crap they throw……things are NOT getting that much better….only for the guys and gals on Wall Street…they got their bailout while the rest of us can starve….makes NO difference to Washington….they have jobs.

As Always, It Is Money Well Spent

And that is sarcasm, Irene!

Remember the days of yore?  The days of the Bush admin’s massive fear tactic?  Remember the tactic of a “dirty” bomb entering our ports?

The WaPo has an excellent report on just how badly money is spent….thgis is not the only place but it will do for now.

The Department of Homeland Security spent three years pushing for a costly nuclear detection system that does not work as billed, while neglecting to upgrade existing equipment that could have helped improve security, according to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office review and an interview with one of the authors.

The report is the sharpest critique to date of one of the Bush administration’s marquee national security programs, and it marks the culmination of several years of struggle by the GAO to determine whether the detectors worked as well as government officials claimed when first promoting the $1.2 billion project in 2006.

Contracts to spend up to $1.2 billion on 1,400 devices were first announced in July 2006. Then-Secretary Michael Chertoff said that they were a “vital priority” of the administration and that they were ready to be deployed.

The next month, GAO auditors alleged that the machines could not perform as well as the department claimed and questioned the department’s cost estimates of $377,000 per machine.

As always it costs too much and works not well enough….remember the Osprey?…how about the Bradley?  When will we ever learn?