Persicus Maximus

Robert Frisk decries in an article... "In any other country, the current American bribe to Israel, and the latter's reluctance to accept it, in return for even a temporary end to the theft of somebody else's property would be regarded as preposterous. Three billion dollars' worth of fighter-bombers in return for a temporary freeze in West Bank colonisation for a mere 90 days? Not including East Jerusalem – so goodbye to the last chance of the east of the holy city for a Palestinian capital – and, if Benjamin Netanyahu so wishes, a rip-roaring continuation of settlement on Arab land. In the ordinary sane world in which we think we live, there is only one word for Barack Obama's offer: appeasement. Usually, our lords and masters use that word with disdain and disgust. Anyone who panders to injustice by one people against another people is called an appeaser. Anyone who prefers peace at any price, let alone a $3bn bribe to the guilty party – is an appeaser. Anyone wh...

President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) He was, as the symbol of Union victory during the Civil War, their logical candidate for President in 1868. When he was elected, the American people hoped for an end to turmoil. Grant provided neither vigor nor reform. Looking to Congress for direction, he seemed bewildered. One visitor to the White House noted "a puzzled pathos, as of a man with a problem before him of which he does not understand the terms." As money and land grants were given to railroad companies in the West, it was discovered that members of Congress were bribed to vote in the interests of the Union Pacific Railroad. In the Whiskey Ring Scandal, a group of distillers and tax officers defrauded the U.S. Treasury out of revenue tax on whiskey. Grant was not found personally responsible in either scandal, but lost support by appointing people who turned out to be dishonest, and continuing to back them after their dishonesty was revealed. After retiring from the Presid...

Some time ago, somebody took a cab . As chance would have it, the driver was also born in 1966, in Tehran. Iran’s revolution erupted when he was 13. At the age of 20, he immigrated to Israel, mainly because he did not want to serve in the Iranian army during the Iran-Iraq war. His parents remained there. About two years ago, his father came to Israel for six months. By fall, at the end of his visit, he decided that Tehran suits him better and returned to Iran. The driver described an Iranian reality unlike what most people imagine. Months of unrest, night time curfews and troubles with the family store preceded the Islamic Revolution, but calm and order immediately followed it. Numerous restrictions on economic life were lifted; Jews won state protection; and the store came back to life and prospered. Every Thursday a party was held in the city. Many young men and women would come to a private, spacious private home. A special room was set aside for all the veils and Chadors. The young...