This is perhaps 'a propos' of something other than this podcast but it is very 'a propos' of the pile of shit in Ottawa that Canadians are going to have to shovel out of there somehow: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dJEyz8YgShk?feature=share
Is it safe to say, in decent company, that Glenn Greenwald is morally compromised? Maybe I missed a turn in identity politics, but last I checked it wasn't so cool for a white man of wealth to pay a black prostitute for fetish servitude and masochism. Especially with his kids at home. Did I miss something?
Most of the "neutral" Middle-East insiders I have listened to are cautiously overjoyed and optimistic about the prospects for a better future in the region given the latest "bellicose actions".
Funny to me how checking in here has become like turning on the CBC for international news. So very vague, and predictably biased.
Trump gave them 60 days he struck on the 61 day! It wasn’t to save face ! He does what he says , this is exactly what he did! Blame ! Biden & Obama for feeding Iran !
Thanks for trying so hard, Trish, to bring out the most likely facts as possible. In your lead-up comments you mentioned how, when the Americans and their allies went into Iraq, they actually didn't find any actual WMD. You implied that means there NEVER were any. I think you are incorrect. A few years after Iraq, I read a book by Saddam's Vice-Chief of the Iraqi air force. I forget the fellow's name but he was a Christian -- one of the few in Saddam's high command. He wrote that there were WMD, that he had seen them and that shortly before the war broke out, the WMD had been sent to Syria. It might be useful to remember that both Iraq and Syria were governed by Bathist parties. Anyway, I enjoy your show and try to watch it regularly. Best Regards.
For me, this story is greatly complicated by something Jeff Childers found: Trump tipped off the Iranians and reassured them this was it. Why they would believe that is wild, after all the lies. But it does suggest that something more complicated than regime change is afoot. I’m without a clue…
Thanks for your insights and updates….Settle the Middle East down…. The only thing that will settle the middle east down would be to destroy Israel as we know it, not through strictly bombs but through waiting for it to collapse. That is happening but it’s been propped up as a tool of empire for 77 years plus. The dirty fingers of the neocons and their bankers need to be amputated.
Poor little Israel has no friends- only foster parents and pitying acquiescent neighbours who want to keep their western-dependent economies alive. China and Russia are making that increasingly unnecessary as the global order shifts away from those who ran it for the last 250 years . But now this angry self-important child has escaped the sandbox, bribed and blackmailed its doting gangster parents and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
What distinguishes the Neocon mentality, of whose cult Trump is now (always was?) firmly an acolyte.
The thing is, whatever their conflicting backpedaling tweets and video game oriented strategizing might reveal, their underlying agenda has always been the same: maintain Anglo-American hegemony by whatever means necessary. It’s a failed concept from the start of course and now they realize they’re losing their magic touch of manipulation (with help from western countries and prostituted media) and people are finally waking up because the agenda is so utterly naked now: use poor pathetic parasitic cretinous, mutant golem fake frankenstein’s monster of a country (Israel for the uninitiated) as an excuse (and sacrificial battering ram) and as the only tool left in their rusty toolbox. What we are witnessing is the last ditch attempt to wrestle back world domination from the rest (most) of the world. All Neocons are Zionists, as has been revealed by many good researchers. And the two of them together are disconnected from actual reality as they constantly try to control it and consolidate their desperate grasp on the reigns - their reigns; our chains. The power they wield is their high and money is their drug. Wetico is the hardest disease to kick. Fortunately, the Neo-con/Zio-con matrix are the necessary glitch in the program that, once hacked by the gods of time, will hasten their own demise and the rebirth of humanity , the blooming of the desert
I love your fantastic journalism. I think you may have got the Shah’s story wrong as UK and USA support of Khomeini force the Shah of Iran out . The shah of Iran wrote his last book about what happened. Yes, his sister was very corrupt , but that’s true in any influential leaders, there is always bad apples! 80% of Iranian want change and take the Shah’s son who actually wants to follow Iranian democratic regime written in the constitution.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled from 1941 to 1979, aimed to transform Iran into a modern, industrialized nation through his White Revolution, a series of reforms launched in 1963. These reforms included land redistribution, women’s suffrage, education expansion, and industrialization, which significantly improved living standards for many Iranians. By the 1970s, Iran boasted a growing middle class, improved infrastructure, and a robust economy driven by oil revenues. Literacy rates rose from 26% in 1960 to over 50% by 1979, and women gained unprecedented rights, including the ability to vote and hold public office.
The Shah’s foreign policy balanced relations with the West and the Soviet Union, securing Iran’s sovereignty during the Cold War. His regime invested heavily in healthcare, reducing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy. For many, including the user who lived through this era, the Shah’s Iran offered opportunities and freedoms unattainable under the current theocratic government.
While this is all true , it’s too bad tha Shah felt it necessary to do this with such a repressive iron fist. Iran just traded a right had iron fist for a left. Elites rulers of all persuasions don’t trust the people to work it out without that control. Power to the people; not the leaders.
For the Wild West and regime changes as we all Know it’s not about Democracy and people’s right! It’s all about the economic and geopolitical interests! Iran with rich natural resources and more than 80% of population under 40 and highest per capita educated citizens is very attractive for the West ! Don’t look at legacy media displaying People chanting Death to America ! That’s all propaganda team paid by Mullah’s and majority of the people are on life support and want regime change holistically.
Great blog, Trish. Daniel Davis Deep Dive is a good source of information about the US war on Iran, especially his interviews with Ted Postol, professor emeritus at MIT. In a recent interview Postol highlighted a recent Chinese paper on how use of heterogeneous concrete to protect nuclear enrichment facilities can deflect incoming missiles so that they do not penetrate nearly as far as claimed. Postol noted that contrary to the common belief that Communist China is completely dependent on Western know-how, it now is generating its own, to which we should be paying more attention than we do.
Thanks for reminding me. We should not overlook the totalitarian tendencies of our own govt. China is a good example of what we should NOT allow to happen here. Have a good day.
Nuclear energy is a terribly complex topic. Many people say they're "pro-nuke," but have not actually delved into its (many) complexities. The man who wrote this item about uranium enrichment (Dr. Gordon Edwards; he's now in his 80s) has been studying all matters nuclear all his adult life, & is recognized as a nuclear expert around the world. He wrote this item recently: 'Some comments on Iran and Uranium Enrichment – June 20 2025.' Online here: https://www.ccnr.org/GE_Iran_and_Uranium_Enrichment_2025.pdf You can find a ton more information about all aspects of nuclear energy (& war, & nuclear waste, & depleted uranium, etc. etc. etc.) on the site of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. https://wp.ccnr.org/
The main "complexity" is not at all complicated. The only country to have used nuclear 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' on civilian populations, twice, is the United States of America. LOL... non?
Also this: Want the Middle East to 'settle down'? Then find a time machine and go back to 1948 and abort the creation of a certain religious ethno-state that desired to be no longer just a religion but also a nationality as well, displacing 750 thousand people of other tribes.
Then set your Way-Back-Machine to 1953 (the year I was born) to undo the covertly orchestrated coup d'état and overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh (by the U.K. and U.S.) in Iran for daring to nationalize their own oil industry.
Don't have a time machine? Then forget the middle east settling down any time soon.
This 2020 survey of religious sentiment in Iran suggests that rule by the Mullahs has not been good for Shia Islam. (Iranian census data is not to be trusted.) https://gamaan.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GAMAAN-Iran-Religion-Survey-2020-English.pdf
This is perhaps 'a propos' of something other than this podcast but it is very 'a propos' of the pile of shit in Ottawa that Canadians are going to have to shovel out of there somehow: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dJEyz8YgShk?feature=share
Is it safe to say, in decent company, that Glenn Greenwald is morally compromised? Maybe I missed a turn in identity politics, but last I checked it wasn't so cool for a white man of wealth to pay a black prostitute for fetish servitude and masochism. Especially with his kids at home. Did I miss something?
Most of the "neutral" Middle-East insiders I have listened to are cautiously overjoyed and optimistic about the prospects for a better future in the region given the latest "bellicose actions".
Funny to me how checking in here has become like turning on the CBC for international news. So very vague, and predictably biased.
This smells like porcine excrement.
Trump gave them 60 days he struck on the 61 day! It wasn’t to save face ! He does what he says , this is exactly what he did! Blame ! Biden & Obama for feeding Iran !
Yeah, it was crazy that no media outlet picked up Hersh’s report. It’s like he’s some random “blogger” without any Pulitzer’s to his name.
Thanks for trying so hard, Trish, to bring out the most likely facts as possible. In your lead-up comments you mentioned how, when the Americans and their allies went into Iraq, they actually didn't find any actual WMD. You implied that means there NEVER were any. I think you are incorrect. A few years after Iraq, I read a book by Saddam's Vice-Chief of the Iraqi air force. I forget the fellow's name but he was a Christian -- one of the few in Saddam's high command. He wrote that there were WMD, that he had seen them and that shortly before the war broke out, the WMD had been sent to Syria. It might be useful to remember that both Iraq and Syria were governed by Bathist parties. Anyway, I enjoy your show and try to watch it regularly. Best Regards.
For me, this story is greatly complicated by something Jeff Childers found: Trump tipped off the Iranians and reassured them this was it. Why they would believe that is wild, after all the lies. But it does suggest that something more complicated than regime change is afoot. I’m without a clue…
Thanks for your insights and updates….Settle the Middle East down…. The only thing that will settle the middle east down would be to destroy Israel as we know it, not through strictly bombs but through waiting for it to collapse. That is happening but it’s been propped up as a tool of empire for 77 years plus. The dirty fingers of the neocons and their bankers need to be amputated.
Poor little Israel has no friends- only foster parents and pitying acquiescent neighbours who want to keep their western-dependent economies alive. China and Russia are making that increasingly unnecessary as the global order shifts away from those who ran it for the last 250 years . But now this angry self-important child has escaped the sandbox, bribed and blackmailed its doting gangster parents and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
What distinguishes the Neocon mentality, of whose cult Trump is now (always was?) firmly an acolyte.
The thing is, whatever their conflicting backpedaling tweets and video game oriented strategizing might reveal, their underlying agenda has always been the same: maintain Anglo-American hegemony by whatever means necessary. It’s a failed concept from the start of course and now they realize they’re losing their magic touch of manipulation (with help from western countries and prostituted media) and people are finally waking up because the agenda is so utterly naked now: use poor pathetic parasitic cretinous, mutant golem fake frankenstein’s monster of a country (Israel for the uninitiated) as an excuse (and sacrificial battering ram) and as the only tool left in their rusty toolbox. What we are witnessing is the last ditch attempt to wrestle back world domination from the rest (most) of the world. All Neocons are Zionists, as has been revealed by many good researchers. And the two of them together are disconnected from actual reality as they constantly try to control it and consolidate their desperate grasp on the reigns - their reigns; our chains. The power they wield is their high and money is their drug. Wetico is the hardest disease to kick. Fortunately, the Neo-con/Zio-con matrix are the necessary glitch in the program that, once hacked by the gods of time, will hasten their own demise and the rebirth of humanity , the blooming of the desert
End of rant
Just saw the news that Iran has launched a missile attack on a US base in Qatar.
Hey Trish, betcha a coffee that US special forces were already on the ground in Iran before this happened. I drink dark roast, black.
I love your fantastic journalism. I think you may have got the Shah’s story wrong as UK and USA support of Khomeini force the Shah of Iran out . The shah of Iran wrote his last book about what happened. Yes, his sister was very corrupt , but that’s true in any influential leaders, there is always bad apples! 80% of Iranian want change and take the Shah’s son who actually wants to follow Iranian democratic regime written in the constitution.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled from 1941 to 1979, aimed to transform Iran into a modern, industrialized nation through his White Revolution, a series of reforms launched in 1963. These reforms included land redistribution, women’s suffrage, education expansion, and industrialization, which significantly improved living standards for many Iranians. By the 1970s, Iran boasted a growing middle class, improved infrastructure, and a robust economy driven by oil revenues. Literacy rates rose from 26% in 1960 to over 50% by 1979, and women gained unprecedented rights, including the ability to vote and hold public office.
The Shah’s foreign policy balanced relations with the West and the Soviet Union, securing Iran’s sovereignty during the Cold War. His regime invested heavily in healthcare, reducing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy. For many, including the user who lived through this era, the Shah’s Iran offered opportunities and freedoms unattainable under the current theocratic government.
While this is all true , it’s too bad tha Shah felt it necessary to do this with such a repressive iron fist. Iran just traded a right had iron fist for a left. Elites rulers of all persuasions don’t trust the people to work it out without that control. Power to the people; not the leaders.
For the Wild West and regime changes as we all Know it’s not about Democracy and people’s right! It’s all about the economic and geopolitical interests! Iran with rich natural resources and more than 80% of population under 40 and highest per capita educated citizens is very attractive for the West ! Don’t look at legacy media displaying People chanting Death to America ! That’s all propaganda team paid by Mullah’s and majority of the people are on life support and want regime change holistically.
Great blog, Trish. Daniel Davis Deep Dive is a good source of information about the US war on Iran, especially his interviews with Ted Postol, professor emeritus at MIT. In a recent interview Postol highlighted a recent Chinese paper on how use of heterogeneous concrete to protect nuclear enrichment facilities can deflect incoming missiles so that they do not penetrate nearly as far as claimed. Postol noted that contrary to the common belief that Communist China is completely dependent on Western know-how, it now is generating its own, to which we should be paying more attention than we do.
China is the greatest totalitarian threat we face!
Seriously?
Where does your own government rate? Top 5? Top 10?
Thanks for reminding me. We should not overlook the totalitarian tendencies of our own govt. China is a good example of what we should NOT allow to happen here. Have a good day.
How do I block Bari Weiss?
Nuclear energy is a terribly complex topic. Many people say they're "pro-nuke," but have not actually delved into its (many) complexities. The man who wrote this item about uranium enrichment (Dr. Gordon Edwards; he's now in his 80s) has been studying all matters nuclear all his adult life, & is recognized as a nuclear expert around the world. He wrote this item recently: 'Some comments on Iran and Uranium Enrichment – June 20 2025.' Online here: https://www.ccnr.org/GE_Iran_and_Uranium_Enrichment_2025.pdf You can find a ton more information about all aspects of nuclear energy (& war, & nuclear waste, & depleted uranium, etc. etc. etc.) on the site of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. https://wp.ccnr.org/
The main "complexity" is not at all complicated. The only country to have used nuclear 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' on civilian populations, twice, is the United States of America. LOL... non?
Hi Trish,
Great pod/update, thanks.
Also this: Want the Middle East to 'settle down'? Then find a time machine and go back to 1948 and abort the creation of a certain religious ethno-state that desired to be no longer just a religion but also a nationality as well, displacing 750 thousand people of other tribes.
Then set your Way-Back-Machine to 1953 (the year I was born) to undo the covertly orchestrated coup d'état and overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh (by the U.K. and U.S.) in Iran for daring to nationalize their own oil industry.
Don't have a time machine? Then forget the middle east settling down any time soon.