Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

1843magazine.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 169 posts

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#111

Post by aliceryhl »

literallycancer wrote: post #102
aliceryhl wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bad idea. Just get a visa. I did that and had no issue with getting the visa nor entering. Do not try to break immigration law — you can easily get permanently banned from entry if you lie to immigration officials.

Getting a second passport is basically standard procedure, why would that get you banned from entry?

Getting the new passport is not the issue. You have to answer the question "Have you been to Iran?" when applying for the visa waiver program, and this application is what you shouldn't lie on.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#112

Post by aliceryhl »

mrtksn wrote: post #84
aliceryhl wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bad idea. Just get a visa. I did that and had no issue with getting the visa nor entering. Do not try to break immigration law — you can easily get permanently banned from entry if you lie to immigration officials.

Of course, don't lie if you are asked but there's nothing illegal about getting a new passport. Better not have a stamp of a country that is in very bad relations status with the country you are going to visit. Iran is not the only example here.

You still have to answer the question "Have you been to Iran?" when applying for the visa waiver program.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#113

Post by throwaway_tech »

stef25 wrote: post #68
throwaway_tech wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the things that go on behind closed doors "House parties"? That happens to be something I hear about a lot from young Iranians that come to the US for school. My understanding is "house parties" are essentially the only time young men/women can socialize together. I also understand sometimes even alcohol will appear at house parties which again I understand to be at least taboo if not outright illegal generally.

Indeed, house parties. Friends met a couple working in a coffee shop type place and they were invited back to their house, they told their neighbors they were siblings cause "informal" couples are frowned upon if not illegal. At home the blinds stayed closed, the conservative clothing discarded and they all had a wonderful night. But "if people find out we're in deep shit". Apparently the hospitality is so "strong" i…

>At home the blinds stayed closed

Funny I have gotten the same exact detail from numerous such stories/descriptions.

>But "if people find out we're in deep shit".

I understood it to be an open secret; however, (secret) police are a very real concern and can show up.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#114

Post by hindsightbias »

jessaustin wrote: post #98
derp_dee_derp wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pointing out hypocrisy is not a false equivalency, but nice try. also, you calling a foundational work in propaganda theory a meme book isnt exactly a sound counter argument, either. Here, educate yourself: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent

Sometimes it seems that some people think it's "progressive" to criticize Chomsky...

We’re so progressive today that only RT and EU media will have him on shows.

20 years ago, he was on “liberal” PBS all the time.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#115

Post by gherkinnn »

maverick2007 wrote: post #9

All these politics and political games are such a shame. The Tehran that the author describes seems like a really vibrant city that I'd really like to visit and experience. But I never will for fear or something like this happening, becoming some tiny pawn in a much bigger game. And I wish that Iranians could come to the US and visit NYC or SF and see our culture. Then we might realize that the other side is somethin…

Tehran is a mostly awful place. The traffic and air pollution are something else. Though it is interesting and worth visiting.

Cities in the south and northwest are more pleasurable.

Take places like Shiraz, Tabriz (to name a few common examples) for example. They are something to behold! And in the north, squished between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains, you will even find temperate rain forests.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#116

Post by jariel »

davidwitt415 wrote: post #86
wnscooke wrote: post #21

Serious question: is it only the political or military leaders who wish to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth?

The more salient questions are, a.) why would they think that way, and b.) why would you characterize their stance that way? Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government. Note this support even though Iranians are Shia and Palestinians are Sunni. To answer b.) both Israel and Saudi Arabia v…

"why would you characterize their stance that way?" Because it's the publicly stated intentions of the current government there. We should take their statement at face value.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#117

Post by andrewaylett »

anigbrowl wrote: post #107
adrianN wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, that's something that always annoys me too. Sorry for that. But I think the implication in the direction anti-semite -> anti-zionist is pretty strong, so for this particular question I think that surveys about antisemitism provide a good basis for discussion. I'd assume that anti-zionists form an almost perfect superset of anti-semites. edit: or maybe not, you could imagine someone who really doesn't like Jew…

Please reconsider this position.There are large numbers of Jewish anti-Zionists, whose motivations range from religious to Palestinian solidarity to just not wanting to be seen or treated as an extension of Israel. As well, there's a great many people who don't mind the existence of Israel as such but object strenuously to its expansionist settlement policy, including a large number of Israelis. As well as that, ther…

I think you may be reading the GP's implication in a different direction to me. While it's not completely controversial to observe that not all anti-Zionists are also anti-Semites (although I do hear some who would hold that view) it's more believable that anti-Semites would pretty much automatically also be anti-Zionists.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#118

Post by davidwitt415 »

jariel wrote: post #116
davidwitt415 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more salient questions are, a.) why would they think that way, and b.) why would you characterize their stance that way? Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government. Note this support even though Iranians are Shia and Palestinians are Sunni. To answer b.) both Israel and Saudi Arabia v…

"why would you characterize their stance that way?" Because it's the publicly stated intentions of the current government there. We should take their statement at face value.

Citation please.

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#119

Post by yyyk »

davidwitt415 wrote: post #86
wnscooke wrote: post #21

Serious question: is it only the political or military leaders who wish to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth?

The more salient questions are, a.) why would they think that way, and b.) why would you characterize their stance that way? Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government. Note this support even though Iranians are Shia and Palestinians are Sunni. To answer b.) both Israel and Saudi Arabia v…

"Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government."

Yes, we see how angry they are when the extreme mistreatment of Syrian Sunnis or Chinese Uighur. Ah, wait, they even take part in the former. They do a fine job of making it appear the real issue is religious.

"For example, Iran was abiding by the JCPOA, as verified by IAEA inspectors,"

JCPOA and UNSC 2231 included far more than IAEA inspections, and Iran was NOT abiding by the other issues (ballistic missiles, heavy water, keeping a spare set of nuclear tubes for Arak, etc.).

People mostly repeat IAEA because they are unaware of the other issues, or that the deal had time limits on most inspection issues. Some are aware but prefer to elide it.

"The canard here is that Natanyahu was claiming Iran was trying to make nuclear weapons and that was unacceptable, despite the fact that Israel already has a well-known but never publicly acknowledged nuclear arsenal"

Israel isn't threatening to destroy Iran, it's the other way around.

"Even with nuclear weapons it is ridiculous to think that the Iranians do not understand the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction vis a vis Israel."

Some Iranian don't[0]. If you want to entrust the safety of the world to that, well...

[0] https://www.memri.org/reports/former-iranian-president-rafsa...

Re: Trapped in Iran: My Summer as a Guest of the Revolutionary Guards

#120

Post by HeWhoLurksLate »

Symbiote wrote: post #2

I don't have an economist.com account, but the byline suggests it's from 1843 Magazine, which doesn't require registration to read: https://www.1843magazine.com/features/trapped-in-iran

Thank you, that was a good read.
Post reply on HN