Ok now,
From (nor) Cal

From Cal said
“”"”You seem to sincerely believe that more people in Iran are evil, hateful people…..you believe most of the population consists of cruel and “barbaric” ……

You seem to believe that there are not evil hateful people in the world. I know plenty right here in L.A. and if they had a Mullah (or the $$$Mullah$$$) to back them up they would cause unwarranted pain to kind people. Some people (like my eldest brother) are born bad. Some learn to be that way. We are all powerless of these realities; it’s what makes us humans so interesting.
The saying “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” I believe means so much more. Even though we study and observe the occurrences of our times if we really learned from histories mistakes we would have no history to learn from. It wouldn’t have been created. In our lives God gives us chances daily to confront evil, to stand up for what the Holy Spirit whispers in our ears what is right, to help the unfortunate and repressed. If we’re supposed to learn from our mistakes then we can be blamed for not being perfect.
A great example is that of Prime Minister Chamberlain when signing the Munich agreement which was an across the table negotiation with hitler that would take Czechoslovakia and hitlers thirst for expansion would be satisfied. We all know how that turned out. This example has been compared to why we should not make the same mistake with the hitler of our time ahmadinejad. Learning from our mistakes is not the way of the history of this world individually yes, not collectively. When things get really bad and we do move in you’ll blame us for not doing anything sooner.
From Cal said
“”"”It is sad that you think of it as “taking Iran down”…..I have friends, many of them, who came from Iran to America as adults who are not sexist and have always treated me, a woman, with complete respect of my intelligence, body, etc., and who are some of the most welcoming, kind people I know….
Saying something is “sad” is a manipulative, passive aggressive way of saying something offended you. Taking not the country down but the government in Iran would be a blessing to those people. Ever talk to your Iranian friends why they are here in our sand box instead of theirs? Know any Lebanese who remember the revolution? Ever talk to a south American border jumper why they risk death and worse to come and work the jobs I/we won’t? Frankly, From Cal, all the Iranian friends you have you did not meet in Iran, you met them here and here they want to be. You must not have asked them why they did come. The U.S. does not border Iran, getting your family here is not easy. The people whom immigrate here worked really hard to get here to better the lives of their families, if their countries were so great they wouldn’t have come to ours to become Americans. We are not wanting to “take out” a people or race but a radical idea that there can be only one religion. Ever heard the radical verse popularized in radical Islam “he who abandons Islam, kill him”? It’s kinda like if Jews brought back animal sacrifice or sitting outside town for a week while “unclean”. You wouldn’t want radical Judaism or Christianity moving in next door? In Tehran a woman is treated with more respect than the rural areas. They are very proud people and as you probably know have a thirst for education not indoctrination. Wouldn’t you want them to enjoy the freedom they once knew or experience a fraction of what we have? If it takes $$$ to make $$$ then you have to spill blood to spare blood. Ever hear ahmadinejads speech at Colombia (college not country)? You really should look it up!
From Cal said
“”"”There are terrible things that happen in Iran, yes, but aren’t you aware that terrible things happen here, as well? Up until fifty years ago (though it still happens quite often; many people seem unaware of this), hate crimes were incredibly rampant and socially acceptable. Did the international community intervene? No”"”".
After living in south east San Diego, Harlem, San Pedro, Richmond and Oakland I know our worst neighborhoods are Beverly Hills compared to their ok ones. I’m sure From Cal you’ll want to debate this retort. Fifty years ago during civil rights a lot of hate crimes were committed by whites and white officers against blacks. Some precincts covered up the crimes yet Washington had never said it was ok to lynch anyone because their color. We don’t execute our opponents From Cal! You can act like we want to invade Iran because of civil liberty issues. In your heart you know it’s because they are the worlds largest financer of terror. You probably call terrorists “freedom fighters” and the U.S. is to blame for provoking 911 too huh?
From Cal said
“”"”So please, stop trying desperately to encourage America, who has often had a blatant disregard for human (as well as environmental and animal) life, to pretend we have the right to go off into other countries that we don’t understand and “correct” everything that goes on there”"”".
If you started watching the news before the last presidential election you might remember the headlines in the summer of 2001. That’s the few months before the attacks which I was present for in NYC. The major reoccurring issues were not terrorism or war but #1 shark attacks #2 womens rights in Afghanistan. In those stories reporters condemned America for not helping the women there. That’s when we were familiarized with the infamous burka, hijab, stonings, female circumcision and virginity tests. since the wars (police actions) began the main stream media rarely mentions anything positive especially improvements in womens rights. If you think we have a “blatant disregard” for humans, animals and the environment then your bad mouthing America. Go ask the So Koreans or the French or the British, Russian, Polish, Czech, North African, and many others we have NOT disregarded over the years. We are the only country of our size with any animal rights and India doesn’t count. Same goes with our strict environmental policy. I used to live one minute from Mexico. With thousands of murders in la frontera alone this year you think they give a crap about animal rights or environmental issues? I really think its funny how you think we would start a war over civil rights and not Terrorists like hezbollah or the also Iranian funded hamas.
From Cal said;
“”"”We’re damned if we do, yes, but so are they”"”".
The problem in the middle east is men. Hypothetically speaking if I or most the men I know, no, all the men I know, could carry an AK47, grow opium at $$$millions$$$ per harvest, have four wives, 24 kids, and no taxes I/we wouldn’t want to give it all up either. It takes men to fight men. And all we respect is strength and courage. The world changes; a hundred years ago Madhoff would be lynched by a very angry mob of Hollywood and retired investors. Times changed and just like with civil rights our countries attitude witch such things mostly has changed. (I sure would like to see an angry mob going after Madhoff) Times are changing in the middle east. With all the money we spend on oil they can’t keep their people in the dark ages any longer. God blesses all his sheep and to truly love your enemy is to be willing to die helping free them. You’re not damned if you do. You might not be liked, you’re surely not damned. If you hesitate to help, if you refuse to put yourself in harms way to help those in need, if you lack courage to believe in something greater than your own self comfort just shut up and let us do it for you and stop spitting at us from behind. We are not damned because we do; you will be damned because you did nothing.
If you expect the world to learn from its mistakes it’s not possible. We are imperfect. Stop saying we don’t understand them, the only thing we don’t understand is your opposition and blaming our great country for a cause we’ve only began to get involved in.

O ya, From Ny is an idiot!!!!!!!

Everyone hates America because we are so incredibly ignorant already: we group together huge, huge numbers of people without fully realizing that they, too, are a “melting pot” as we are and each have unique opinions. We attack without real thought as to why. It’s sad, and it’s sad that people respect these sorts of viewpoints rather than trying to communicate with those from other countries that we are not in complete understanding with.

He needs to be answered loud and clear.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/24/ahmadinejad/

I can’t figure out if Cole is a moron or just plain antisemitic.

Dangerous, unthinkable, inevitable. Doing nothing is extraordinarily dangerous. Doing something is extraordinarily dangerous. There is no safe choice.

Many Iranian civilians are as barbaric as their leaders. Many are not. I keep thinking of the large group of Iranian tourists I met in Beijing in 1989. I spoke to them in English, and when I said I was from New York, they said, “We are old friends.” I must have looked very surprised. They said, “The mullahs are not your friends and are not our friends. WE are old friends.”

I am very happy that I am not the President of the United States, despite the fact that the President gets excellent medical care.