It seems you don’t think the son of the esteemed Shah is worth support. Such an inspiring leader, living in style for decades in the West, on the wealth stolen from the Iranian people by his father.
Unfortunately, Americans are to well programmed to hero-worship, celebrity worship, worry about their Sunday football, and other minutia to pay attention to such matters.
Well put, as always, and as always, prompting me to question how they keep getting away with it. 1953 was the beginning, and after all these years the lies still work on so many people.
Gore Vidal called it the United States of Amnesia, but that’s really too generous. It’s the United States of Who Gives a Fuck, so long as the fries are hot and the Coke is cold.
That we’re still having this conversation after Iraq is baffling. It’s as if nothing is ever learned. The same propaganda, the same lies, the same hollow pretexts keep working - flawlessly. You can almost imagine those in power marveling at how absurdly easy it is to recycle the same transparent bullshit and get away with it every time. And yes, I blame the public too. People are living with the government and leadership they voted for - and earned. My despair is reserved for those of us who rejected all of this and are still being hauled toward the abyss by everyone else’s willful ignorance.
Nuts, Ginnie. The same story, the same playbook, the same lines.
This is my examination of the circus and theatre of cruelty and lies that was and is the liberal rules-based order. Both Iraq in the past and Israel in the present prove the great lie that lives at its heart
For us: all rules can always be broken and none ever apply.
For you: no rules can ever be broken and all always apply.
Along as donations by the billionaires are allowed to buy the candidate that will does told. Of course, they have to have some money to get a toeing the door, then look money hungry enough to be easily bought.
In Australia we keep trying to stop the donations by the overly wealthy, which is really peanuts they hand out - it's what that donation buys for them, and once bought they're stuck until they get kicked out. Donations should be banned,completely. Campaigns should be fought on ethics and honesty ofthe campaigner, not on the amount s/he'd gets in bribes.
More important than ever! The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
This is my analysis of the past and present, Eric. I compare the rules-based order to a circus. We have moved from covert horror hidden by nice words and grand abstracts, to overt horror and the worst freak show on Earth.
We understand, we are not idiots, that US won't help us, will make things worse. We want regime collapse by hands of Iranians only. But you are a binary thinker. Either regime collapse via US or we are stuck with a genocidal theocracy that kills women. Say it out loud: We Iranians must stay as we are, and there is no hope. A message that you never told Gazans, knowing that US would pulverize it if they try to change they regime. It would be refreshing, for once for the likes of you to acknowledge the tyrannical theocracy that Iranians are forced to endure, a brutal regime that systematically oppresses more than half of its population based on sex. But that reality is inconvenient to you, because the same regime also funds Hezbollah and Hamas. Two truths can coexist: opposing imperial violence does not require turning a blind eye to domestic tyranny, and condemning oppression abroad does not excuse oppression at home. Why not reporting on the lives taken in Iran? Those innocent civilians that do not exist anymore? Or those imprisioned? They do also have names and surnames and faces, like Gazans.
If we continue in the way we're going, it won't really matter, we'll all be blown up. Trump is a megalomaniac who has to win, and that means power, money, fame, and he has surrounded himself with sycophants who feed his mania. None of them has an ounce of virtue, some are actually evil - see Stephen Miller. How have we come to this? It is a long and slippery road to Fascism, but we're well on the way.
Yes, I too wonder if they will manage to blow up the world - even in my lifetime. Although, it is a curious thing - this thing we call life. We're here, and then we're gone. What was it all about? When you think about it, each of us get "blown up" in the end. I guess that's where spirituality is suppose to come in. But if you're a "serious" academic/intellectual these days - you're not suppose to contemplate anything outside of this strange reality we're in. And consciousness is just a product of the brain. Spirituality is just there to have hope when there really is no "spiritual" hope - just atoms and brain neurons. And that's all she wrote.
Sorry Jamenta, that's called nihilism and is poor science in any case. Consciousness does not just rattle around in the brain, it is a sophisticated unseen process which gives us the ability to think and give form to those thoughts in the spoken word and physically on paper...or whatever these tapping things are called! It has not emerged from some chemical soup. That kind of thinking causes the casual slaughter of innocents by those who think there is no consequence for their actions. And it also has no intrinsic value other than to leave you dissatisfied and searching for meaning, a life long task for those who seek the good in our existence.
I can only hope that the hegemon gets its ass handed to it, and the sooner the better, and if you think that won't effect me in any way, you're wrong. I live in the midwestern USSA, but the sooner this war mongering POS government is forced to stop murdering innocents, the better off the world will be.
thank you Caitlin. I keep trying to point friends and associates towards the truth which is so difficult to do., Overcoming the mainstream narrative of imperialism disguised as benevolent democracy seeking is a tough sell. thank you.
The thing about these megalomaniacal parasitic warmongers is that they have no idea who they are dealing with, nor do they even want to try. They care nothing about historical records or how the people who know their history are tied to it and emboldened by it. They also don't realize how their own degenerate history is available for all to see. They think that people are stupid, all over the world, when in fact, the world's people know more about Western hegemony than the Western hegemons know about the people they want to rule over.
You can't just go up against a people who know who they are and know who the West is. They've seen the West in action all over West Asia, so to assume that they would want a Western style government to rule over them is patently ludicrous.
The hypocrisy of wanting to dismantle another countries leadership, while in the same breath calling others insurrectionists when they want to do the same is on blast in the eyes of the world. Trump claiming that someone else should be in power by his dictates and his unwillingness to accept democratically elected leaders in other countries shows his claims of the USA's elections being manipulated melt like a snowball in hell. His claims are baseless and unhinged to say the least as he strives to have his cake and eat it to.
These megalomaniacal parasites want to control the world while being utterly inept in controlling their own sphere of influence. They want to cry from the rafters "democracy," "rule of law," and "western values," when the entire world sees these claims as baseless and hypocritical.
If Trump thinks he can go in, take out Iran without a hitch and keep it moving, he really has no idea what moves and glues the Iranian people. These folks will die for their religion in order to safe guard it for eternity. The depth of their dedication is to their "God" in a way that Trump and his ilk could never comprehend. An attack on Iran will unleash a sleeping giant world-wide.
Trump's hubris keeps him ignorant, his ignorance will get a lot of US service personal and staff in the region, killed.
Scott Bessent’s most recent stomach churning for me was during an interview with Fox News at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 20-21, 2026, Secretary Bessent was discussing the impact of U.S. sanctions (14 years) on Iran. He stated:
“It’s worked because in December, their economy collapsed... This is economic statecraft. No shots fired. Things are moving in a very positive way here.” He noted how these sanctions and manipulations contributed to the current unrest. He included a comment on the Treasury manipulation of Iranian currency. Moving in a positive way? Doubt if families of those killed in crackdowns would agree.
There is credible evidence as well that non Iranian intelligence cells may be arming the unrest. Operation Ajax all over again?
"Anyone who supports war with Iran is my enemy. Anyone who would want to inflict such horrors upon the human species is an enemy of humanity".
The propaganda about Iran is coming thick and fast. The same clumsy rhetoric and formula is recycled over and over again. And a puppet Shah waiting in the wings.The only difference is the addition of AI generated images.
Is it amnesia or non-caring or lack of any critical thinking that make people forget what happened in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria and other numerous regime changes? Have they already forgotten the President of Venezuela and its first Lady rotting in a jail in the USA? Short attention spans or as Caitlin says they are all idiots.
Thank you Caitlin. So well said. Hopefully the u.s gov. reads your work. OH what was I thinking, I am not sure anyone in all three branches of gov. can read.
If you were China, what would you be thinking? The US is coming for us eventually. And if you were Russia you would know that you are on their list. Part of the blame lies with countries like Australia who have always been willing supporters of US atrocities.
Yes, we have seen this before; Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam even. It is the MO of the US. But most people don't care. However they will if one of these numerous conflicts widens and sucks in some country who is prepared to used chemical or biological weapons or nukes.
Quite possibly. I think when you have nukes and a lot of power, you're not worried about something direct. But indirect, definitely.
So much lunacy and horror.
I talk a lot about it here, Tony. How we have moved from covert horror hidden by big words and grand abstracts, to overt horror and the worst freak show on Earth.
It seems you don’t think the son of the esteemed Shah is worth support. Such an inspiring leader, living in style for decades in the West, on the wealth stolen from the Iranian people by his father.
Looks like the boar didn’t waddle far from the sty.
Chk out this letter:
https://open.substack.com/pub/khatoun/p/open-letter-to-us-residents-from?
Unfortunately, Americans are to well programmed to hero-worship, celebrity worship, worry about their Sunday football, and other minutia to pay attention to such matters.
Well, reality is getting closer to hitting them in the face. And when it does, none of their “heroes” will be coming to save them.
Well put, as always, and as always, prompting me to question how they keep getting away with it. 1953 was the beginning, and after all these years the lies still work on so many people.
Gore Vidal called it the United States of Amnesia, but that’s really too generous. It’s the United States of Who Gives a Fuck, so long as the fries are hot and the Coke is cold.
That we’re still having this conversation after Iraq is baffling. It’s as if nothing is ever learned. The same propaganda, the same lies, the same hollow pretexts keep working - flawlessly. You can almost imagine those in power marveling at how absurdly easy it is to recycle the same transparent bullshit and get away with it every time. And yes, I blame the public too. People are living with the government and leadership they voted for - and earned. My despair is reserved for those of us who rejected all of this and are still being hauled toward the abyss by everyone else’s willful ignorance.
Nuts, Ginnie. The same story, the same playbook, the same lines.
This is my examination of the circus and theatre of cruelty and lies that was and is the liberal rules-based order. Both Iraq in the past and Israel in the present prove the great lie that lives at its heart
For us: all rules can always be broken and none ever apply.
For you: no rules can ever be broken and all always apply.
https://open.substack.com/pub/truthandbalance22/p/the-greatest-show-on-earth-the-liberal?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=57jhp0
Along as donations by the billionaires are allowed to buy the candidate that will does told. Of course, they have to have some money to get a toeing the door, then look money hungry enough to be easily bought.
In Australia we keep trying to stop the donations by the overly wealthy, which is really peanuts they hand out - it's what that donation buys for them, and once bought they're stuck until they get kicked out. Donations should be banned,completely. Campaigns should be fought on ethics and honesty ofthe campaigner, not on the amount s/he'd gets in bribes.
More important than ever! The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
Find out what they’re doing here:
https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org
The least we can do is donate to help them:
Support the Hind Rajab Foundation
https://donate.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg
Thank you for the reminder. I get email from the organization and have contributed, will continue to do so.
Well said, Caitlin! Many of us stand with you in calling out the murderous insanity that is this vile US/Israeli alliance.
This is my analysis of the past and present, Eric. I compare the rules-based order to a circus. We have moved from covert horror hidden by nice words and grand abstracts, to overt horror and the worst freak show on Earth.
https://open.substack.com/pub/truthandbalance22/p/the-greatest-show-on-earth-the-liberal?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=57jhp0
We understand, we are not idiots, that US won't help us, will make things worse. We want regime collapse by hands of Iranians only. But you are a binary thinker. Either regime collapse via US or we are stuck with a genocidal theocracy that kills women. Say it out loud: We Iranians must stay as we are, and there is no hope. A message that you never told Gazans, knowing that US would pulverize it if they try to change they regime. It would be refreshing, for once for the likes of you to acknowledge the tyrannical theocracy that Iranians are forced to endure, a brutal regime that systematically oppresses more than half of its population based on sex. But that reality is inconvenient to you, because the same regime also funds Hezbollah and Hamas. Two truths can coexist: opposing imperial violence does not require turning a blind eye to domestic tyranny, and condemning oppression abroad does not excuse oppression at home. Why not reporting on the lives taken in Iran? Those innocent civilians that do not exist anymore? Or those imprisioned? They do also have names and surnames and faces, like Gazans.
You do realise it was terrorists controlled by Israel and the CIA that perpetrated the unrest and violence leading to loss of life?
It is not the United State's business to tell country's how to behave. Put the US in order before you go telling everyone else what to do.
Unfortunately, like chickenpox - it can spread to others and leave nasty scars.
The thing is, I don't think the US government really cares any more what The People think. They're just going to do it anyway.
That is the way it seems. But you would think that they would have concern for their own kids and grandkids.
Oh, their kids and grand kids never find themselves on the front line.
If we continue in the way we're going, it won't really matter, we'll all be blown up. Trump is a megalomaniac who has to win, and that means power, money, fame, and he has surrounded himself with sycophants who feed his mania. None of them has an ounce of virtue, some are actually evil - see Stephen Miller. How have we come to this? It is a long and slippery road to Fascism, but we're well on the way.
Yes, I too wonder if they will manage to blow up the world - even in my lifetime. Although, it is a curious thing - this thing we call life. We're here, and then we're gone. What was it all about? When you think about it, each of us get "blown up" in the end. I guess that's where spirituality is suppose to come in. But if you're a "serious" academic/intellectual these days - you're not suppose to contemplate anything outside of this strange reality we're in. And consciousness is just a product of the brain. Spirituality is just there to have hope when there really is no "spiritual" hope - just atoms and brain neurons. And that's all she wrote.
Sorry Jamenta, that's called nihilism and is poor science in any case. Consciousness does not just rattle around in the brain, it is a sophisticated unseen process which gives us the ability to think and give form to those thoughts in the spoken word and physically on paper...or whatever these tapping things are called! It has not emerged from some chemical soup. That kind of thinking causes the casual slaughter of innocents by those who think there is no consequence for their actions. And it also has no intrinsic value other than to leave you dissatisfied and searching for meaning, a life long task for those who seek the good in our existence.
Probably because they know their time is running out.
I can only hope that the hegemon gets its ass handed to it, and the sooner the better, and if you think that won't effect me in any way, you're wrong. I live in the midwestern USSA, but the sooner this war mongering POS government is forced to stop murdering innocents, the better off the world will be.
Thank You Caitlin
Yep, and we're surrounded by idiots.
thank you Caitlin. I keep trying to point friends and associates towards the truth which is so difficult to do., Overcoming the mainstream narrative of imperialism disguised as benevolent democracy seeking is a tough sell. thank you.
The thing about these megalomaniacal parasitic warmongers is that they have no idea who they are dealing with, nor do they even want to try. They care nothing about historical records or how the people who know their history are tied to it and emboldened by it. They also don't realize how their own degenerate history is available for all to see. They think that people are stupid, all over the world, when in fact, the world's people know more about Western hegemony than the Western hegemons know about the people they want to rule over.
You can't just go up against a people who know who they are and know who the West is. They've seen the West in action all over West Asia, so to assume that they would want a Western style government to rule over them is patently ludicrous.
The hypocrisy of wanting to dismantle another countries leadership, while in the same breath calling others insurrectionists when they want to do the same is on blast in the eyes of the world. Trump claiming that someone else should be in power by his dictates and his unwillingness to accept democratically elected leaders in other countries shows his claims of the USA's elections being manipulated melt like a snowball in hell. His claims are baseless and unhinged to say the least as he strives to have his cake and eat it to.
These megalomaniacal parasites want to control the world while being utterly inept in controlling their own sphere of influence. They want to cry from the rafters "democracy," "rule of law," and "western values," when the entire world sees these claims as baseless and hypocritical.
If Trump thinks he can go in, take out Iran without a hitch and keep it moving, he really has no idea what moves and glues the Iranian people. These folks will die for their religion in order to safe guard it for eternity. The depth of their dedication is to their "God" in a way that Trump and his ilk could never comprehend. An attack on Iran will unleash a sleeping giant world-wide.
Trump's hubris keeps him ignorant, his ignorance will get a lot of US service personal and staff in the region, killed.
Scott Bessent’s most recent stomach churning for me was during an interview with Fox News at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 20-21, 2026, Secretary Bessent was discussing the impact of U.S. sanctions (14 years) on Iran. He stated:
“It’s worked because in December, their economy collapsed... This is economic statecraft. No shots fired. Things are moving in a very positive way here.” He noted how these sanctions and manipulations contributed to the current unrest. He included a comment on the Treasury manipulation of Iranian currency. Moving in a positive way? Doubt if families of those killed in crackdowns would agree.
There is credible evidence as well that non Iranian intelligence cells may be arming the unrest. Operation Ajax all over again?
Israel openly admitted they had boots on the ground arming dissidents and including themselves in the violence.
Yes. I have researched further on that and possibly CIA
Guaranteed!
Yeah. I loved my time in Iran many years ago. Young Iranians just want to be Persian again and part of the world. Bombs won’t help.
Well said Caitlin!
"Anyone who supports war with Iran is my enemy. Anyone who would want to inflict such horrors upon the human species is an enemy of humanity".
The propaganda about Iran is coming thick and fast. The same clumsy rhetoric and formula is recycled over and over again. And a puppet Shah waiting in the wings.The only difference is the addition of AI generated images.
Is it amnesia or non-caring or lack of any critical thinking that make people forget what happened in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria and other numerous regime changes? Have they already forgotten the President of Venezuela and its first Lady rotting in a jail in the USA? Short attention spans or as Caitlin says they are all idiots.
Well put, Indu.
My take on the circus.
https://open.substack.com/pub/truthandbalance22/p/the-greatest-show-on-earth-the-liberal?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=57jhp0
Thank you Caitlin. So well said. Hopefully the u.s gov. reads your work. OH what was I thinking, I am not sure anyone in all three branches of gov. can read.
They might manage to read the words but... would they understand the meaning?
If you were China, what would you be thinking? The US is coming for us eventually. And if you were Russia you would know that you are on their list. Part of the blame lies with countries like Australia who have always been willing supporters of US atrocities.
Yes, we have seen this before; Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam even. It is the MO of the US. But most people don't care. However they will if one of these numerous conflicts widens and sucks in some country who is prepared to used chemical or biological weapons or nukes.
Quite possibly. I think when you have nukes and a lot of power, you're not worried about something direct. But indirect, definitely.
So much lunacy and horror.
I talk a lot about it here, Tony. How we have moved from covert horror hidden by big words and grand abstracts, to overt horror and the worst freak show on Earth.
https://open.substack.com/pub/truthandbalance22/p/the-greatest-show-on-earth-the-liberal?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=57jhp0
Spot on, as always; Caitlin!