Sunday, January 18, 2026

Trump 'Monitoring the Situation in Iran'

"The truth is only President Trump knows what he's going to do and a very, very small team of advisers are read into his thinking on that."
"He continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Iran."
"All options remain on the table." 
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt 
 
"President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations."
"He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter."
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
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At least 52 prisoners were executed in Iran based on prior non-political convictions during a period of nationwide protests and an ongoing internet shutdown.  Iran International
 
Last June Leavitt had read a message to reporters saying it had come "directly from the president". Trump himself would decide, he maintained, whether to strike Iran "within the next two weeks"; this at a time when Israel was carrying out strikes on Iran, and the president was weighing whether he would order the U.S. military to become involved. Before two days elapsed B-2 bombers were ordered to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. 
 
"It might be that they're delaying things and using the time for getting that posture correct", ventured Jeremy Shapiro, research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the theory that the American president might have been concerned over the current U.S. force posture in the Middle East spurring him to hesitate. No U.S. aircraft carriers, an asset during a military operation in the region were available having been deployed to an operation focused on Venezuela.
 
The perceived shifting tone of U.S. President Donald Trump leaning away from his threats to attack Iran following his continued warning issuing warnings against Tehran for its brutal crackdown on Iranians mounting a countrywide protest against the oppressive Islamist Republic's theocratic regime saw a drop in oil prices as markets reacted to the uncertainty of this mercurial president's changeable sentiments.
 
The intervention of top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar warning that an American military intervention would have the effect of destabilizing the global economy as well as shaking an already volatile region moving it close to a total regional war appears to have had an effect on the president's decision-making. This is a Muslim Brotherhood reaction to the potential removal of the Islamist theocracy ruling Iran.  
 
Anti-government protesters demonstrate on January 8, in Tehran.
Anti-government protesters demonstrate on January 8, in Tehran.   Getty Images
 
While Oman and Qatar are in full support of Iran, as Muslim Brotherhood-linked states, the Muslim Brotherhood has been officially proscribed in Egypt, where it was formed almost a century ago, as a fundamentalist Islamist group dedicated to strict Sharia and jihad by any means, and in Saudi Arabia as well it is outlawed, though it seems that the severe orthodoxy of totalitarian Islamism dictates the decision making in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood whose agenda the Islamic Republic of Iran represents a living example.
 
Qatar in particular, with its massive oil wealth, has bought respectability and recognition as a 'moderate' Muslim state in the United States. Its persuasive power lies in its massive financial investments there, in its universities where it has been able to influence academia to respect its agenda of portrayals of Islam as benign, not the Western values-destructive totalitarian threat it carries. President Trump admires the trappings of wealth and power and is not immune to appreciating those whose generosity benefits him personally.
 
Iranians took to the streets despite the danger they face from their despotic, oppressive government that has, over almost a half-century persecuted them through force of threats and state punishment from imprisonment, torture and a relentless death penalty. Despite Iran's authorities warning the population that taking part in mass protests against the government would be construed as grounds for capital punishment, Iranians kept turning out in their hundreds of thousands in cities across the nation, facing police violence.
 
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Iran International
 
Estimates of the rising death count have reached well over 30,000 people. The wounded have overwhelmed hospitals and now reports emerge that the Basij are entering hospitals to take away and execute those wounded in the protests. As for families frantic to recover the bodies of their loved ones for burial, without the thousands of dollars demanded by the regime to release them, those families that cannot afford the price to redeem the corpses are left disconsolate in their grief. 
 
After having issued vehement threats to the Iranian regime for the rising death count, and promising Iranians that the U.S. military is prepared to rescue them,  Trump's assurances that "help is on its way", while urging Iranians to take over their country's institutions, abruptly declared information had been given him from "very important sources on the other side" that Iran  had put a halt to killing protesters and executions were no longer proceeding. No need, therefore, to intervene.
 
At the same time that Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia persuaded Trump to stand down from his word to the Iranian people, they urged Iranian officials to end the visible repression of protesters, warning that continued Iranian responses or an action against the U.S. would significantly impact Iran. Through social media Trump repeated the speaking lines of those persuading him not to strike Iran: "This is good news, hopefully, it will continue!", he posted over the commutation of a death sentence for a young Iranian shopkeeper-protester.
 
Iran's response was to once more completely shut down the Internet connections across the nation.  And nor can cellphones be operational. No news in or out of the theocracy, other than what the regime may permit. No guarantees that the hunting down and slaughter of Iranians, disconsolate over their abandonment by the world at large and fearing now to emerge from their homes, is ongoing. This is what is meant by a pact with the devil some might compare to the 'art of the deal'. 
"[Thousands have been killed], some in an inhuman, savage manner."
"Those linked to Israel and the US caused massive damage and killed several thousand."
"We consider the US president criminal for the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation."
"[Iran considered President Trump to be a] criminal. [The US must be] held accountable [for recent unrest]."
"America's goal is to swallow Iran."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 
Iranian leader press office via Getty Images Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks speaks in Tehran on 3 January 2026
Iran's supreme leader has for the first time publicly acknowledged that thousands of people were killed during recent protests, blames the West. Iranian leader press office via Getty Images
 

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posted by Pieface @ Sunday, January 18, 2026

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Gender Perception-Response?

“I think [her criticism: Oxfam’s former head of global safeguarding, Helen Evans] was very unbalanced, and ironically didn’t give enough credit to the very work that she promoted. I don’t think she gives either herself or Oxfam enough credit for what was actually steady improvement.”
“I believe it was done in good faith to try and balance being transparent and protecting Oxfam’s work."
"I don’t think [Oxfam] wanted to promote a sensation and damage the delivery of that programme. With hindsight, we should have said more. I’ve been clear about that right since this broke. But if Oxfam’s business is to help save lives, if people are motivated by protecting Oxfam, they’re motivated by actually delivering that. If your organisation is there to actually help make the world a better place, I can see why people thought this was the right thing to do."
"What happened was a disgrace and we are absolutely committed to rooting out abuse across the organisation.We are doubling the number of people who work on safeguarding to make sure we are living up to our responsibility to protect staff, volunteers and the communities we support around the world. An independent commission is being established which will review our entire operations and tell us what we need to change about our culture and practices."
"The intensity and the ferocity of the attack makes you wonder, what did we do?"
"We murdered babies in their cots? Certainly, the scale and the intensity of the attacks feels out of proportion to the level of culpability. I struggle to understand it. You think, 'My God, there’s something going on there'."
Mark Goldring, chief executive, Oxfam GB (Great Britain)
‘Anything we say is being manipulated’: Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB, at the organisation’s Oxford headquarters.
‘Anything we say is being manipulated’: Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB, at the organisation’s Oxford headquarters. Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian
"The Oxfam case is the visible part of the iceberg."
"It is not only Oxfam — there are other NGOs [non-governmental organisations] in the same situation, but they hide the information internally."
"There should be an investigation into other organisations that have been working here since 2010."
"For example, Doctors Without Borders had to repatriate about 17 people for misconduct which was not explained."
Haitian President Jovenel Moise
A report warned children as young as six were being sexually abused in Haiti     Getty
Accusations have been raised from Haiti, Ivory Coast and Southern Sudan of sexual molestation of children on the part of humanitarian aid workers sent to those troubled countries to give aid and solace. Children were being propositioned by aid workers and abused, while the actions of those directing humanitarian operations in the field were calling in prostitutes to service them in their charity-funded headquarters.

When it was first revealed that United Nations-employed peacekeepers in troubled areas of the world were involved in the sexual abuse of the people they were tasked to protect, the scandal that resulted was understandably vehement in accusations tarnishing those whose mission was seen as a sanctimonious exercise in human futility. Now that well-regarded, publicly-supported and trusted humanitarian groups have indulged in this same kind of unforgivable persecution of helpless people meant to trust them, the reaction is incredulity.
"Clearly Oxfam have a long way to go before they can regain the trust of the British public, their staff and the people they aim to help."
"The actions and attitude of the organization over the coming weeks will be critical. Hundreds of good, brave and compassionate people working for Oxfam around the world [were] poorly served by Oxfam's leadership team."
Penny Mordaunt, British International Development Secretary

"What happened in Haiti and afterwards is a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years, and rightly so."
"I'm here for all the women who have been abused. I want them to come forward and for justice to be done for them."
Winnie Byanyima, executive director, Oxfam International
New funding meant to furnish operating costs for Britain-based aid agency Oxfam has been suspended in the wake of Oxfam staff having been accused of exploiting people sexually in zones of crisis they have been responding to, in delivering aid. Oxfam, shamed and belittled for its lax oversight has agreed to withhold any bids for taxpayer funds from the United Kingdom until such time it succeeds in meeting the British government's "high standards" to meet the obligations of a humanitarian organization.

Out of a total operating income of $700,00 in public and corporate subscriptions representing its 2016/17 operating year, Oxfam relied upon the British government for a substantial $55.8 million, which has now been withdrawn for the subsequent year's operation. A shortfall that will severely curtail its operations, shrouded under a dark cloak of shame and regret. Senior staff deployed to Haiti in the wake of the country's 2010 earthquake now must defend their reputations against sexual misconduct charges, from the use of prostitutes to pornography possession.

It is not merely the rank-and-file employees, some of whom may be locally engaged, but the elite authorities operating locally of the organization that have been implicated, divulged as having besmirched the reputation of the charity. On the surface, Oxfam appears to have acted promptly once the accusations were made public, in firing a handful of workers and allowing others to resign. Charity regulators have also criticized the humanitarian agency's apparent lack of transparency in attempting to shield itself.

Oxfam is preparing, under British government pressure, to report those staff members who have been accused of rank behaviour unbefitting decency and respect for those in need, to their respective governments along with the evidence relating to the sexual abuse perpetrated by Oxfam representatives, to the government of Haiti. According to Oxfam International's director, an independent commission is being appointed to "look into our culture and our practices" and for a vetting system for its staff. Long overdue, unfortunately.

Oxfam besmirched itself, when a former employee attested to the fact that complaints of sexual misconduct on the part of its employees have been reported for at least a decade, with no official reaction forthcoming to examine the issue, to deal with it, to remove the perpetrators. Not until the accusations were made public did Oxfam move itself to ostensibly correct the situation. Where a child of six reported being sexually molested, where grown men and boys have been raped, where one child responded when asked why she didn't report her rape to Oxfam leadership that her rapist was among them.

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posted by Pieface @ Saturday, February 17, 2018

Friday, April 22, 2016

Baha'i, Religion of Peace, Tranquility, Equality

"The [Iranian] regime has done more to kill religion in the hearts of people in the Iranian diaspora than anything else."
"There is a sense of shame and honour in Iranian culture, so that's helpful. The government doesn't like attracting attention to their treatment of the Baha'i, and the Iranian government's mission to the UN does a lot of lobbying against any human rights focus."
"They put up a big fight at the UN Human Rights council in Geneva [not to focus on the Islamic Republic of Iran's human rights abuses] too."
Gerald Filson, public affairs director, Baha'i Community of Canada
The Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, newly unveiled after more than two years of extensive restoration and conservation work.
Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre
The 'moderate' Hassan Rouhani, president of the Republic of Iran has overseen an acceleration in the persecution of minorities living in Iran. The Baha'i continue to suffer state oppression and violent discrimination in particular. Members of the Iranian Baha'i leadership council were imprisoned and charged with heresy and conspiracy. The Baha'i faith emerged in Iran in the early 1800s, a product of a schism in the Shiite faction of Islam. Although emanating from Islam, Baha'i faith diverges substantially from Islam.

The newly-restored dome of the Shrine of the Bab is unveiled in the early morning of Tuesday 12 April, 2011. Almost 12,000 gilded tiles in 120 different shapes and sizes were created for the dome.
Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre
Its major tenet is the oneness of humankind and that peace prevail throughout the world. Baha'i emphasizes equality and the unity of humanity. The faithful are led to respect all religious traditions. Religious duties of the Baha'i revolve around quiet prayer, meditation, education and service to humanity. And they are  under grave duress in Iran, threatened, held in contempt, imprisoned and subjected to torture.

The Khomeinist regime excludes the Baha'i from specific employment categories, and they are spoken of as "unclean", not legally "persons". Denied pensions and government services, their marriages are considered illegal, their children held to be "illegitimate". They are banned from attending universities and colleges, and have no recourse to the courts of law, since they are non-persons.

Several dozen Baha'i were sentenced in January to 193 years in prison collectively for criminally practising their faith. Over 200 Baha'i businesses have been put out of business by the Iranian regime. Iran continues to refuse to renew business licenses for them. Some 350,000 Baha'i remain in Iran. Globally five million Baha'i followers practise their faith of peace and equality.

India is  host to about two million Baha'i, while an equal number is distributed in Africa, South America, Europe and North America. In Iran the Baha'i are considered blasphemers for departing from the faith concept that Muhammad represented the final ultimate prophet for the only true faith. And while the Baha'i continue to be oppressed and threatened in Iran, their headquarters is in Israel, a country that Iran threatens to destroy.

Their founder, Baha'u'llah (the Bab), had been imprisoned by the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century, in Haifa, when the Ottomans ruled the Middle East. The Bab was executed in 1850 in Iran. The Baha'i World Centre, a pilgrimage site in his memory, was historically built in Haifa and the Baha'i Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the religion, was located on Mount Carmel.

This is, of course, 'apartheid' Israel, where Christians, Palestinian Arabs, Kurds and Druze, Baha'i and Jews live together in peace, and where under democratic rule, citizenship benefits everyone under the law and equality of status is enforced under the law, admittedly under trying circumstances. Baha'i, needless to say, have no argument with any culture, ethnic group or religion.

The Shrine of the Bab (built in 1850) as seen from its western gardens, early in the morning of Tuesday 12 April 2011, shortly after its unveiling after restoration.
Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre

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posted by Pieface @ Friday, April 22, 2016

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