Comments on: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iranian Fenqing? http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/ A Qing historian reads the newspaper... Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:31:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: rickpetes http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/comment-page-1/#comment-12483 rickpetes Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:43:43 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=1276#comment-12483 I think looking at these situations as specific to anyone country leads to the wrong conversation. I think it might be far more productive to view them as generic power relationships. China, Iran, GB, USA, etc. all reflect a ruling oligarchy (in the US, just look at the inbreeding of our elite families) trying not so much to maintain stability but to maintain power. I think you can do this with just about any hierarchical organization be it empires, nation states, local unions, etc. Further, I suspect that these oligarchies all enjoy being the "big frog in a small pond" (to use a Southern US colloquialism), and hence the conflicts between them at the expense of the citizenry. I also think they pretty much all feel threatened by the power that technology is pushing down to the common man, whether it be modern telecommunications, weapons, microbiology, etc. , all are threat to the status quo. I think looking at these situations as specific to anyone country leads to the wrong conversation. I think it might be far more productive to view them as generic power relationships. China, Iran, GB, USA, etc. all reflect a ruling oligarchy (in the US, just look at the inbreeding of our elite families) trying not so much to maintain stability but to maintain power. I think you can do this with just about any hierarchical organization be it empires, nation states, local unions, etc. Further, I suspect that these oligarchies all enjoy being the “big frog in a small pond” (to use a Southern US colloquialism), and hence the conflicts between them at the expense of the citizenry. I also think they pretty much all feel threatened by the power that technology is pushing down to the common man, whether it be modern telecommunications, weapons, microbiology, etc. , all are threat to the status quo.

]]> By: sean http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/comment-page-1/#comment-12476 sean Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:54:57 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=1276#comment-12476 Chen Xiaomei's book <i>Occidentalism</i> gets into this kind of rhetoric - and how critics of the state line often end up re-using standard Orientalist trops of the despotic and backwards East - in some interesting ways. in many ways, tehran 2009 seems to be having a 1989 moment. should be interesting to see how this plays out, esp. WRT reformist clerical factions, and the military as an institution. 89 could have gone a lot of different ways with just a few different upper-level decisions. Chen Xiaomei’s book Occidentalism gets into this kind of rhetoric – and how critics of the state line often end up re-using standard Orientalist trops of the despotic and backwards East – in some interesting ways.

in many ways, tehran 2009 seems to be having a 1989 moment. should be interesting to see how this plays out, esp. WRT reformist clerical factions, and the military as an institution. 89 could have gone a lot of different ways with just a few different upper-level decisions.

]]> By: ChinaMatt http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/comment-page-1/#comment-12439 ChinaMatt Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:15:46 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=1276#comment-12439 Always nice to see rhetoric without supporting evidence. Amazing how you can use similar words to win any argument simply because one ignores facts. Always nice to see rhetoric without supporting evidence. Amazing how you can use similar words to win any argument simply because one ignores facts.

]]> By: J B http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/comment-page-1/#comment-12436 J B Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:46:04 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=1276#comment-12436 To be fair to the CCP (and the Ayatollah) I think it's a pretty common tactic for any government, even more so for any nationalist- just blame foreigners for anything bad. In the US, many politicans- from both parties- blame China for at least some of US's economic woes. To be fair to the CCP (and the Ayatollah) I think it’s a pretty common tactic for any government, even more so for any nationalist- just blame foreigners for anything bad. In the US, many politicans- from both parties- blame China for at least some of US’s economic woes.

]]> By: FOARP http://granitestudio.org/2009/06/20/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iranian-fenqing/comment-page-1/#comment-12428 FOARP Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:35:15 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=1276#comment-12428 Actually, keep the content pretty much the same and the recently promulgated "Six Whys" are indistinguishable from the average Charles Liu or Bianxiangbianqiao post. Give them a look here: http://cmp.hku.hk/2009/06/19/1668/ Actually, keep the content pretty much the same and the recently promulgated “Six Whys” are indistinguishable from the average Charles Liu or Bianxiangbianqiao post. Give them a look here:

http://cmp.hku.hk/2009/06/19/1668/

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