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First they came for the Iranians

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Re: First they came for the Iranians

#61

Post by throwaway99oi9 »

throwaway2131 wrote: post #27

I am an Iranian CS student. I had a fully funded PhD admission at one of the US universities. I was admitted for the Fall 2016 semester. I am currently in Iran due to my visa not being issued despite the 7 months I have waited for it. I was able to defer my admission to Spring 2017 semester, but then _this_ happened. I am quite sure that I will never be able to attend this program. I had very high hopes for my future…

I'm an immigrant too - I've been here 9 years, but now I'm getting out.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand are viable options for me, and I've already been invited by 2 of these countries.

Don't be disheartened. You're smart (you got a fully funded PhD), and the world is very big, with many opportunities. Good luck!

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#62

Post by threeseed »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #28
threeseed wrote: post #14

Such a cynical yet poorly thought out policy. Firstly, many people involved in terrorist incidents are natural born citizens of allied countries. So are we going to ban all French or Belgium citizens given they have been shown to harbor terrorists ? It's clear that Trump/Bannon desperately want a Muslim ban as opposed to a Iran/Iraq/etc ban. Secondly, this is going to alienate moderate Muslims who Western intelligenc…

If you has Muslims in your country, then yes you might need to work with moderate Muslims in order to be suppressing problem of radicalization. Not sure how well it works tho. But if you do not have Muslims in your country, you don't have to care about this at all, just cross this issue off your whiteboard in a broad stroke. No Muslims - no Muslim radicalism. I don't think this is the solution for USA, but otherwise…

Again intelligence agencies from US, UK, Germany, Canada and Australia all have stated that engaging moderate Muslims is vital to solving the problem. I trust them to know what they're talking about.

Instead we get bizarre policies like this one from Trump.

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#63

Post by cavisne »

helpfulanon wrote: post #35

What's more worrisome is how fervently anti-science the new administration is. Academics may eventually be persecuted in the US across the board - as they are already at the EPA, USDA etc - and regardless of citizenship. I firmly believe anyone with a brain should begin making contingency plans to regroup somewhere like Australia or Japan, outside of the reaches of far-right populism. An Erdogan-style academic purge…

when it comes to Islam Japan goes well past "far right populism". It's not a coincidence there's less than 70k Muslims in Japan.

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#64

Post by thowfaraway »

helpfulanon wrote: post #35

What's more worrisome is how fervently anti-science the new administration is. Academics may eventually be persecuted in the US across the board - as they are already at the EPA, USDA etc - and regardless of citizenship. I firmly believe anyone with a brain should begin making contingency plans to regroup somewhere like Australia or Japan, outside of the reaches of far-right populism. An Erdogan-style academic purge…

An Erdogan style academic purge already happened. By the left in this country.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/my-unhappy-life-as-a-climate-her...

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#65

Post by tiatia »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #46
salimmadjd wrote: post #9

Trump is ostensibly using the 9/11 play card to justify banning few muslim countries [0]. This is obviously a lie, since most of 911 hijackers were Saudis and his executive order is not banning the Saudis. I'm guessing on the strength of the Saudi lobby in DC [1] AND/OR Trump's potential business conflict in Saudi Arabia [2]. [0] https://www.scribd.com/document/337545704/Draft-Executive-Or... [1] https://en.wikipedia…

It's a bit more interesting wrt. most 9/11 hijackers being Saudis: I think it's pretty much confirmed at this point that it was a deliberate choice by al Qaida, attempting to deteriorate US-Saudi relations. But as long as Saudis are omitted from this regulation, it's pretty ineffective. Then again, how much of "terrorism legislation" is actually preventing terrorism, as opposed to extending the powers of police and p…

"It's a bit more interesting wrt. most 9/11 hijackers being Saudis: I think it's pretty much confirmed at this point that it was a deliberate choice by al Qaida, attempting to deteriorate US-Saudi relations."

I think that Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest problem in the world. In fact, I wish Trump would have banned them too or even suggested a regime change:

1. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2015/02...

2. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2015/01...

For Iran I have high hopes. They started the fundamentalist bullshit and I have the impression they may be the first to get rid of it. In fact, there are first signs (German link, try google translate): https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#66

Post by curuinor »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #13

Does the President have the power to unilaterally impose exit-visa requirements?

This is an extremely important question. Empirically, exit visas seem like an extremely good feature for having a fucked-up country (North Korea, USSR, Warsaw Pact, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy all had them, Saudi Arabia does for foreign workers, and very few others have them)

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#67

Post by helpfulanon »

aphextron wrote: post #17

This is completely unacceptable, and truly crosses the line. I have many Iranian coworkers and friends here in the bay area. The thought of branding them as terrorists and revoking their work or student visas is absolutely unbelievable. I think the Trump administration and the GOP are in for a rude awakening if they think these policies are going to stand.

Trump's base right now are people who have never met an Iranian, and would probably be quite happy to see your coworkers sent to Guantanamo. Trump's policies will stand because his base stands by them, and because the GOP rank-and-file fear Trump, and his people in the midterm elections.

If you want to do something, use your political awakening to help change some minds. At both the top and bottom of the power chain, doesn't matter. Steer the conversation

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#68

Post by aphextron »

danenania wrote: post #26
aphextron wrote: post #17

This is completely unacceptable, and truly crosses the line. I have many Iranian coworkers and friends here in the bay area. The thought of branding them as terrorists and revoking their work or student visas is absolutely unbelievable. I think the Trump administration and the GOP are in for a rude awakening if they think these policies are going to stand.

"I think the Trump administration and the GOP are in for a rude awakening if they think these policies are going to stand." I hope you're right, but at least for the next 2 years, who/what is going to stop them?

>I hope you're right, but at least for the next 2 years, who/what is going to stop them?

The courts. It's our only option. There are multiple pending lawsuits against Trump already. A civil rights group filed suit against him on day one for breaching the emoluments clause of the constitution.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/liberal-watchdog-gro...

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#69

Post by ghostDancer »

threeseed wrote: post #14

Such a cynical yet poorly thought out policy. Firstly, many people involved in terrorist incidents are natural born citizens of allied countries. So are we going to ban all French or Belgium citizens given they have been shown to harbor terrorists ? It's clear that Trump/Bannon desperately want a Muslim ban as opposed to a Iran/Iraq/etc ban. Secondly, this is going to alienate moderate Muslims who Western intelligenc…

Who says they want to solve the problem of radicalization?. After the cold war now we have the new crusade and for that to last the best it to radicalize both sides. It's easier to manipulate people when there's a war , fictional or real , going on.

Re: First they came for the Iranians

#70

Post by nerfhammer »

throwaway2131 wrote: post #27

I am an Iranian CS student. I had a fully funded PhD admission at one of the US universities. I was admitted for the Fall 2016 semester. I am currently in Iran due to my visa not being issued despite the 7 months I have waited for it. I was able to defer my admission to Spring 2017 semester, but then _this_ happened. I am quite sure that I will never be able to attend this program. I had very high hopes for my future…

My deepest apologies to you for the mindless horror that has taken hold of this country. Best of luck, brother.
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