Remembering

Carter vs Obama

Carter is doing his best work now.

building houses for po foke.

Thats the year I was born

Thats the year TMI melted down

Anyone got one good reason, besides Russia, that we shouldn't screw Iran to the wall- just for starters?

^ Obama ^

#26

Obama reaches out to Iran in new video message

Barack Obama uses Nowruz festival to tell Iran the US wants to end decades of tension.

President Barack Obama has sent a video message to Iran's people and leaders that the US wants to engage with their country and end decades of strained relations, but not unless their officials stop making threats.

The message, which carried Farsi subtitles was released late last night. It urged the two countries to resolve their long-standing differences and was timed for the festival of Nowruz, which means "new day". It marks the arrival of spring and is a major holiday in Iran.

"So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran's leaders," the US president said in the video. "We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community."

Obama has signaled a willingness to speak directly with Iran about its nuclear programme and hostility towards Israel, a key US ally. At his inauguration last month, the president said his administration would reach out to rival states, declaring "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist".

guardian.co.uk

I was living in Greensboro, NC when this happened. I was a senior in high school. Just the day before the hostage crisis, there was what has become to be known as the Greensboro Massacre. For the next year and 1/2, both topics filled the news day in and day out. The massacre was front page news in NC for the next 25 years ...

If you haven't heard of it, just google search for it and there's a ton of footage. PBS recently did a documentary on it.

In a nutshell, there was a movement of people that lived in the housing projects called Morningside Homes. They had organized themselves into the Communist Workers Party and they planned to stage a "Death to the Klan" march through the streets of the city.

Tension between the Klan and the communists had been building and during the rally, the Klan came rolling through in a caravan. The communists had provoked the Klan, and the Klan members all got out of their cars & trucks with 2x4's and firearms. They busted a bunch of heads, shots were exchanged and a bunch of people were killed.

So, my senior year of high school had just started, and both this topics were constant news ...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Greensboro+Massacre&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g4g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= 

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=greensboro+massacre&aq=f

5

..and then Reagan armed Saddam.

26

"Anyone got one good reason, besides Russia, that we shouldn’t screw Iran to the wall- just for starters?"

Well yeah. Iran is unique because there is such a wide disparity between the populace and the gov't. A huge chunk of the populace is pro-western and modern, and with a decent gov't, Iran would likely be one of our strongest allies in the region. Sanctions and military options could easily alienate the populace, and would likely have little or no effect on the gov't, except turn public opinion toward them and away from us.

Tough nut to crack, but promising if handled with sustained good leadership over here.

That was the real genius of Nixon--opening relations with Mao. Nixon realized that people with jobs, houses, and cars are less motivated to blow us up. A nation with a vibrant middle class is imminently more stable and peaceful than one with a wide disparity between social classes, and no jobs or options for its people. China never had a revolution to overthrow the Communists; they just started industries. In time, they may wind up with some sort of democracy, although it will likely look more like Europe than the US.

Iran does have an educated middle class, and they hate their government. It's an opportunity, but will take time and brains on our part.

My youngest was born in 79