The Washington Free Beacon is reporting that Iran appears to be trying to back out of the nuke deal already by denying that the White House version of the framework is what they agreed to. However, as of this writing no other media source is saying any such thing.
I was struck by this passage in the New York Times:
The streets of Tehran, a city of 12 million, crowded on any regular evening, were largely empty late Thursday night, save for some gatherings at a central square where people honked their car horns in approval.
But that may have been partly because many Iranians were glued to state television, watching President Obama in Washington talking about the details of a framework nuclear accord with Iran. It appeared to be the first time in Iran’s revolutionary history that the official news media broadcast the speech of an American president live and in full.
“This is unbelievable,†said Mohammad Javad Mehreghan, a financial expert. “Soon we will have direct flights between Tehran and New York.â€
According to reports in the MSM, Iranians were happy with President Obama’s speech and the deal as he described it is being welcomed. This causes me to suspect the Free Beacon scoop was pulled out of Matthew Continetti’s ass.
Anyway, the quote — it struck me that it would be a really good thing for Americans and Iranians to get to know each other as people, because when people know that those Others really are just people too it’s harder to get them whipped up into a war frenzy. We should have direct flights between Tehran and New York. We should have access to each other’s teevee shows. We should bump into each other at Disney World or shopping in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. This is my idea of a better world.
Rick Steves did some segments of his travel show on Iran a couple years back, for just the reasons you state in your last sentences. He’s a pretty good guy.
“This is unbelievable,†said Mohammad Javad Mehreghan, a financial expert. “Soon we will have direct flights between Tehran and New York.â€
And I thought a thaw with Cuba was huge!
It takes a lot for any American president to have the imagination to span old, wide gaps between “us and them.” I must say I’m glad that Obama has turned out to have (at least at times) that much imagination.
JDM – I saw those episodes. I thought they were courageous and moving. In particular, Steves’s conversations with average folks out strolling, asking them their thoughts on friendship with Americans.
“it would be a really good thing for Americans and Iranians to get to know each other as people”
What…………why that would shatter the corporate media narrative of mooslim savages out to destroy Israel?
I’ve been on the “wrong side” of this issue since my senior year in High School 1979, I remember either thanksgiving or Christmas that year I was pummeled by my entire family for suggesting that the Iranians had the right to choose the Ayatollah over the US puppet “the Shaw”. I was almost disowned. I remember wondering why are we allowed to choose our leaders but Iranians can’t, silly dope smoking punk!
In the last month or two, President Obama has proven to be worth The Nobel Peace Prize he received in 2009.
Of course, our Reich-Wingers are having epic conniption fits.
One less nation for our Military Industrial Complex and the politicians in their thrall to profit from.
Don’t worry conservatives, if Governor Wanker of WI becomes POTUS, on “Day 1” he promises he’ll repeal any treaty.
Our GOP wants a nuclear armed Iran. By negating any treaty, it will then force Iran to build nukes – so we can bomb them later.
Yet another reason to support whoever the Democratic Presidential candidate is!
Rick Steves’ Iran broadcast was especially memorable. Great Op-Ed piece by Rick Steves from a few months ago. It starts with:
“I miss the days when people would say “Bon voyage” to travelers heading off. Today, Americans instead say “Travel safely.”..
I do, too Rick. And it starts with calling out the fear mongers and refusing to buy into their weakness.
There are plenty of Iranian expats in California, I work with a couple of them. They are burdened with a really crappy government, but there is no personal-level animosity against Americans, at least with the middle-class-and-up Iranians who speak English and have relatives abroad.
It takes a lot for any American president to have the imagination to span old, wide gaps between “us and them.â€
It’s telling that Obama was able to bridge historical enmity with Cuba and Iran while Republicans in Congress remain implacably hostile.
When I was a kid, I’d heard that we’d let a former dictator of Iran get cancer treatment in the US, and that kind of set me against Iran. “Okay, yeah, bad guy, but *CANCER TREATMENTS*. Even if it was a bad idea, it was the right decision.”
It wasn’t until much later I learned that the Shah was “our bastard,” installed by the CIA. How much better could the world be if the US had worked more on trying to manipulate governments from the *outside*?
I consider this all good news. I don’t know how a person could not.
I got some good news today also. The preliminary biopsy report shows no cancer. Apparently. I had a blood vessel behind my eye do a blow out .
Happy, happy joy joy for Iran, the people of America, and the whole damned world.
Including this here guy. Happy Easter all !
Yay, erinyes!
erinyes… That’s good news.. Now your not going to be like a piece broccoli. 🙂 I’m glad for you. I guess the prayers of the righteous really do work, huh?
Karma, Swami ! Now I have to get back to work. Damn the luck !
“I had a blood vessel behind my eye do a blow out”
Sounds promising better than in front of the eye. Blow out is always better than blow in? Best of love Erinyes!
Life is good, Erinyes, and after a good scare, it seems renewed. Your recovery is great news and a wonderful Easter gift.
erinyes,
YAY!!!
That is GREAT news.
And my heart cath turned up only some very minor blockage.
I’ll go and get my hematology reports on Monday.
I didn’t want to go yesterday. I was still happy over the cath results.
Wish me luck!!!!!!!!
erinyes: congrats on the good news! I’m sure you prefer back to work to the alternative. Gulag: Also good news on your heart cath. Important to take care of that minor blockage before it gets out of hand like mine did. Best of luck to you both!!
Great, Gulag ! Looks like a good Easter.
I don’t know how that Free Beacon got on my facebook feed, but they were there for a while, irritating me like a bad rash for several weeks. I finally got rid of them. They spread some toxic crap.
Thanks Maha and Uncledad. The doctor sees me again on Monday. He’ll explain everything then.
If you guys ever have serious eye problems, including cancers, The Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is the place to go (Miami) They saved me so much grief it’s unreal.
After all, Continetti is Bill Kristol’s son-in-law and he does work for the Free Beacon. I guess it would have been too much to expect anything better. The question for me is whether the next generation (if there is one) will also suffer from the “always wrong” syndrome.