Why Does Iran Not Like Us Much?

A common myth is that America is pro-democracy. We're not. Far from it in fact. America is, was and will likely be (until long after my life on this world) -- pro America. If we can do it under the guise of promoting Democracy then we will, because that is a much easier propaganda campaign to run and husband than a non-democracy propaganda campaign. But if it comes down to a choice between Democracy and money, money is going to win every time. Just ask Iran.

Ever wonder who the Shah of Iran was, and how he got into power, and why when they finally got his ass out of office, Iran didn't want to talk to us anymore? 

How Generations Were Seeped in jihad

After the United States helped chase out the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001, it came across a legacy of its earlier intervention in the region. As The Washington Post reported in 2002, the United States had spent millions of dollars beginning in the 1980s to produce and disseminate anti-Soviet textbooks for Afghan schoolchildren. The books encouraged a jihadist outlook, which was useful propaganda at the time for a Washington driven by the imperatives of the Cold War.
"The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's core curriculum,"

Foreknowledge Trading on 9/11


I'm amazed at this myself.

At the time this came out I heard and dismissed it as conspiracy. I'm working on a new novel series right now and the research for it led me into this area -- which is great for fiction - as conspiracies always are. The more I read however, the more I don't like what I'm reading. So I thought I would post a bit of what I'm finding, and let it land on you at face value.

Tips from Authors for Authors

1

Harper Lee
“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.” — Harper Lee

2

Somerset Maugham
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” ― W. Somerset Maugham

3

George Orwell
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” — George Orwell

4

Robert Frost
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” ― Robert Frost

5

Ray Bradbury
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” ― Ray Bradbury

6

Henry David Thoreau
“Write while the heat is in you. … The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with.” — Henry David Thoreau

7

Ernest Hemingway
“The first draft of anything is shit.” ― Ernest Hemingway

8

Jack London
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ― Jack London

9

Rose Tremain
“In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” ― Rose Tremain

10

Joyce Carol Oates
“The first sentence can’t be written until the final sentence is written.” — Joyce Carol Oates

11

Charles Baudelaire
“Always be a poet, even in prose.” ― Charles Baudelaire

12

Elmore Leonard
“Don’t go into great detail describing places and things… You don’t want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.” ― Elmore Leonard

13

Zadie Smith
“Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.” ― Zadie Smith

14

Anton Chekhov
“My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.” ― Anton Chekhov

15

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Where the Wild Things Are...

Chess is a Wild game I've only been playing for a short time, but I've gained enough understanding to realize that the angles of ...