Here’s an interesting tidbit about American-Iranian relations that’s gone missing from most msm coverage: business is just fine, thank you. The Guardian’s live blog about Iran today quotes an AP snippet that Iranian imports of American goods have nearly doubled under President Obama. In the first four months of this year, Iran spent $96 million on American imports, compared with $51 million during the same time last year.
I’m not sure why I find that so interesting, but it’s a reminder that politics and governance are different things.
The two came to a head in Tehran this week and despite the strident narrative on #iranelection at Twitter and the sometimes-horrific images and videos smuggled out via the Internet, it’s probably still too early to know whether we’re witnessing just an outpouring of rage and frustration or the seeds of a true revolution. Iran’s ham-fisted dictators are doing what they can to suppress information; a BBC correspondent permanently based in Tehran has just been given 24 hours to leave the country and Al Arabiya’s Tehran bureau has been ordered closed indefinitely for “unfair reporting” of last week’s election.
And in the sea of political cartoons about Iran this week, one stood out for its cleverness and wit.
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Sage Stossel
Atlantic Monthly Online Jun 20, 2009 |
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Very, very clever indeed. This is one worth passing on ~ thanks for including it.
Now, I’m off to look for what brought me here in the first place – all things lemon!
shoreacres´s last blog ..Voices from Iran
I’m glad you liked it too! (And I love lemon, some recipes here.)
Good to see you, shore!