Thanks for an excellent article.
I cannot comment on Iran, but IMO, foreign journalists of the Western MSM fall into the trap of reporting what they want to dogmatically ascertain as per the Woke Progressive views their media groups hold.
They prefer not to abide by either local sentiments of ordinary people, or align themselves with billionaire meddlers like George Soros or Bill Gates with similar globalist Leftist agendas.
That is sad. For India at least I can say, that even during colonial rule, Valentin Chirol of the Times, London; and later, Shiv Naipaul, Malcom Muggeridge or even diplomatic memoirs from John Galbraith were far more authentic and exhibited an understanding of the actual contexts.
Why ever should it be eye roll inducing a sentence?! Lots of interesting things happened at the time!
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6 days ago
It’s good to be prodded to remember that Iran is a complex country with a deep and rich history and a diverse culture today. Contrary to contemporary caricature, it’s not a particularly Islamic country even though it’s been governed as such for nearly half a century. It has nurtured engineering education for twice as long as that which is not to be underestimated just because Western sanctions have obstructed exporting the products of that to our markets.
In the seventies and eighties I knew lots of people there, from the Caspian to the Gulf. Most sadly, fell victim to either the Shah’s Savak or the Revolutionary Guards. Only a concert pianist, an economist, a mechanical engineer and a Sufi survived. I remember when the latter was first taken from his little cottage in a Garden of Eden setting near Hamadan to Tehran. When he saw the skyscraper skyline he said: All this must come down! Just like that.
So it’s important to remember that it hasn’t.
Josef Švejk
7 days ago
Iran is an insane place. I would fully support any foreign journalist avoiding it for their own safety. It has similarities to Russia and the Highlands of New Guinea where an innocent word or look can lead to captivity in places similar to hell on earth, or death. Avoid the place until the savages and headmen are taken out.
Sean Lothmore
6 days ago
I travelled across Iran in the 1990s. It was good, bad, and ugly in all sorts of different ways, but one thing it wasn’t was like its portrayal in the pre-internet British media. I liked the Iranian people, they were good-humoured and sarcastic. If not for the regime I would love to revisit.
Anyway, compared with Pakistan, Iran felt like Switzerland.
Niels Georg Bach Christensen
6 days ago
Good news. Thought she was going to be used as a hostage and an exchange prisoner.
UK
US
Thanks for an excellent article.
I cannot comment on Iran, but IMO, foreign journalists of the Western MSM fall into the trap of reporting what they want to dogmatically ascertain as per the Woke Progressive views their media groups hold.
They prefer not to abide by either local sentiments of ordinary people, or align themselves with billionaire meddlers like George Soros or Bill Gates with similar globalist Leftist agendas.
That is sad. For India at least I can say, that even during colonial rule, Valentin Chirol of the Times, London; and later, Shiv Naipaul, Malcom Muggeridge or even diplomatic memoirs from John Galbraith were far more authentic and exhibited an understanding of the actual contexts.
“Even during colonial rule”
(eyeroll)
Why ever should it be eye roll inducing a sentence?! Lots of interesting things happened at the time!
It’s good to be prodded to remember that Iran is a complex country with a deep and rich history and a diverse culture today. Contrary to contemporary caricature, it’s not a particularly Islamic country even though it’s been governed as such for nearly half a century. It has nurtured engineering education for twice as long as that which is not to be underestimated just because Western sanctions have obstructed exporting the products of that to our markets.
In the seventies and eighties I knew lots of people there, from the Caspian to the Gulf. Most sadly, fell victim to either the Shah’s Savak or the Revolutionary Guards. Only a concert pianist, an economist, a mechanical engineer and a Sufi survived. I remember when the latter was first taken from his little cottage in a Garden of Eden setting near Hamadan to Tehran. When he saw the skyscraper skyline he said: All this must come down! Just like that.
So it’s important to remember that it hasn’t.
Iran is an insane place. I would fully support any foreign journalist avoiding it for their own safety. It has similarities to Russia and the Highlands of New Guinea where an innocent word or look can lead to captivity in places similar to hell on earth, or death. Avoid the place until the savages and headmen are taken out.
I travelled across Iran in the 1990s. It was good, bad, and ugly in all sorts of different ways, but one thing it wasn’t was like its portrayal in the pre-internet British media. I liked the Iranian people, they were good-humoured and sarcastic. If not for the regime I would love to revisit.
Anyway, compared with Pakistan, Iran felt like Switzerland.
Good news. Thought she was going to be used as a hostage and an exchange prisoner.