I never thought I would say this.

[Harrison]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/ ... inejad.us/

"This is the campaign period, anyone can say anything. So we disregard that. What matters is that once someone is in office, we have to watch and see if that person will bring about some changes in policy or continue the same old path. I think that's more important than who is actually voted into office."

I agree with Ahmadinejad(I just triple checked if I spelled that right lol)

Wow. I don't know if this guy is just smarter than I perceived in the past, or if he really is just this intelligent. That entire interview, from quotes I've seen of it so far, doesn't portray him in a negative way at all.

Granted, even by his own words, you can say anything. It's what you do that is what matters. So I take that into account with what he says but, I'm not finding fault with what he's saying so far. I feel dirty.

[ClakarEQ]

I heard a few hypocritical things from him when the NPR guy interviewed, he also danced around some questions. He made statements like Iran is more free than the US, Iran society is not supressed and are free to do and act how they like, etc.

I suppose though, without personally going, do you "really" know if that is true or not LOL

[Harrison]

I mean, fuck. This is the guy who said the holocaust never happened. (essentially)

I've never been to Iran, obviously. But I've heard such varying things that I don't know what to take from it. As far as that statement, I could care less which is more "free", but more about the apparent 180 he's taken outwardly.

[brinstar]

the conspiracy theorist in me says that Camp Bush tells his puppets in the corporate media to spin ahmadinejad as an evil evil man, so the public buys into a future iran war (should it become "necessary"), and that he's really not quite as bad as they all love making him sound.

sure, it's a stretch, but i will tell you this: i feel that for the amount of demonization taking place, Chavez deserves far less of it than Ahmadinejad.

[Harrison]

See, that's where it burns.

I don't know what to take of it.

[Eziekial]

I know people who are from Iran and Venezuela. Both counties are in the toilet. Venezuela will collapse within the next 3-4 years and be left in ruin. The majority of Iranians have been living in constant fear for so long, they are numb to it. Women are second-class citizens in many part of the country. Even at the Universities (which are VERY modern and liberal even to our standards) there are female students that walk around veiled and covered head to toe. Many supermarkets in both countries have bare shelves. Those with lots of money leave for any medical care and send their children abroad to study. Any claims by either Chaves or Ahmadadinejad that things are peachy back home are 100% bullshit unless they are talking about themselves and their cronies.

[Tikker]

I know people who are from Iran and Venezuela..

same here, except their outlook isn't so bleak as what you've described

that being said, one of the engineers I work with is from Palestine

his parent's back yard is in israel or palestine depending on week

i mean, literally, sometimes the barbed wire fence runs thru the yard, sometimes thru the alley behind the house and sometimes it runs right smack up against the back door, depending on who's side is winning that week

what a fucked up way to live

[Eziekial]

If you come from a wealthy family then things aren't as bad. But that's a very small percentage of the country. Also, why are they in Canada and not Iran if things are ok?

[Tossica]

If you come from a wealthy family then things aren't as bad. But that's a very small percentage of the country.

How is that any different than the US? Ask anyone in the ghetto what they think of life in America and I'm sure you'll get a different answer than if you asked the board of directors at a Fortune 500.

[Harrison]

Except people in the ghetto aren't our normal population...

[Tossica]

Except people in the ghetto aren't our normal population...

More and more of our population are sliding in to poverty.

[Arlos]

Fortune 500 CEOs aren't exactly our normal population either.

The Bush economic policies have resulted in the top 1% getting vastly richer, while everyone else gets the shaft, pretty much. Lots more are sliding into poverty, and the middle class is dwindling rapidly.

-Arlos

[Drem]

Fortune 500 CEOs aren't exactly our normal population either.

nobody said they were... they were brought up as counterpoint to the wealthy Iranians....

according to the ESA, the median household income for the country is $50,000 a year. that's barely livable imo. i think there are more ghetto-dwelling poor people than you realise, josh. i'd imagine the number is certainly higher than the amount of wealthy, hard-working citizens. even in Eugene, the level of meth-addicted white trash is staggering. and we're supposed to be the hippy, green, culturally-accepting, loving city of the state heh

[Tikker]

If you come from a wealthy family then things aren't as bad. But that's a very small percentage of the country. Also, why are they in Canada and not Iran if things are ok?

have you never met someone that was not living in the place of their birth?

sometimes people want to see the world

sometimes they're chasing a job

sometimes people come here for specific education programs, etc etc

we have australians who live here too, australia must be a shitty falling apart country too!

hell, going down the corporate roster here I see Germans, Japanese, British, and American folks who have emmigrated here

[Eziekial]

No body chases a job into Canada

On a more serious note, someone look up the median income of Iran or Venezuela and tell me how $50K is barely enough to live comfortably in this country.

[Evermore]

No body chases a job into Canada

On a more serious note, someone look up the median income of Iran or Venezuela and tell me how $50K is barely enough to live comfortably in this country.

Zeek if you have kids 50K isnt even close to cutting it.

[Harrison]

lol 50k barely livable...that's a good one. Seriously.

You're doing something wrong if you are barely surviving on 50k a year.

[leah]

i would do a happy dance if i was making 50k a year, fyi hehe

after taxes, i make just under 30k, which is actually pretty good compared to a lot of friends of mine and pretty good for my part of the country, too. hell, i have a mortgage, i can't complain of being too bad off. in fact, if i had my credit cards paid off, i would probably be fairly comfortable.

[Martrae]

No body chases a job into Canada

On a more serious note, someone look up the median income of Iran or Venezuela and tell me how $50K is barely enough to live comfortably in this country.

Zeek if you have kids 50K isnt even close to cutting it.

Kahar's made under 50k for the last several years (since 2000 actually), and yes, things are tight but we still live fairly well.

[Drem]

lol 50k barely livable...that's a good one. Seriously.

You're doing something wrong if you are barely surviving on 50k a year.

fuck guys, it's called the household median. as in, families. i would seriously hope one single person could manage w/ a $50k salary, too

think outside your box plz

[leah]

hah, true. durr.

also: upon further reflection, i don't pay all the bills by myself, so i guess you'd have to factor in josh's income, too.