Essentials123

Slow for me. It gets slower during times of heightened political tensions possibly due to more traffic?

Al Mayadeen is reporting 53 mosques were burned. https://x.com/MayadeenEnglish/status/2010631326341234726?s=20

The fact that Israeli press is reporting this suggests the protests failed otherwise it may still be a covert operation.

I tend to agree. It doesn't look like Syria is doing well at all. If I am wrong that is for the best. Once their leader stepped in the ceasefire with Palestine and Lebanon fell apart and Iran was attacked by Israel using Syrian airspace 6 months later. This is not good to have one ones shoulders. Also, even this week there are fights between SDF and the Syrian government happening in cities across Syria. Not to mention the moral bankruptcy to broker a deal this year to share intelligence with Israel. The latter I suppose may lead to some degree of financial support to Syria. The Algerians fought for their freedom from the imperialists for over 100 years so it is hard to understand the Syrians being too tired to do anything else but ally with imperialists after 15 years of civil war. Also, I think it is relevant to the Mossad infiltrated protests happening in Iran right now. If Syria was not in their pocket it can be argued Mossad would not be so bold to instigate rioting in the rightful protests.

What supporting reasons do you have to support your conclusion?

That's hopeful that the protests are less of a deal than is being made out by the media. At the same time it makes me wonder if USA and Israel are trying to attack Iran soon. Therefore, they may make it seem in the press that the attack is justified because there is popular support behind a new government. I pray the people in Iran stay safe. You all give us hope that a sovereign and self sufficient nation is possible with the will of God.

I haven't seen any photos but press from CNN to Al Jezeera are covering the injuries she sustained in the capture. For example: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/politics/maduro-wife-hit-heads-lawmaker-briefing

Wow, I had no idea she was bruised up this bad in the capture. How horrible.

Daniel Haqiqatjou raised the point that prior to Israel’s last attack on Iran there were economically protests (in May 2025) I don’t know if the protests are growing or fading based on social media. I think the total death count may be real but on both sides not just the protesters. Some police were killed to. Also allegedly some of the people social media has said are dead have come forth to say they are alive. I saw two instances like this.

PSL - the party for socialism and liberation isn’t aligned with the Democratic party. They do have their flaws which is another conversation. Its wise to consider if the left is controlled opposition. People at the bottom less likely so. Like my father says… don’t go to the left, don’t go to the right, just go straight up to God.

Thanks you. Somehow I became acquainted with the left in USA through my kid's sports programs etc and they are quite inflamed by the abduction of the president and his wife. The camp is split into two: the peaceful people who resist imperialism and those who support armed struggle. Honestly I was surprised when someone told me about this. In my city they very quickly mobilized protests over what happened in Venezuela.

Yes, I wonder would Iran even be able to give China enough oil to get the amount of Yuan it needs to run the country for the year... to cover the gross domestic product.

I think the post is saying people in Somaliland who are criticizing Somaliland joining the Abraham Accords are being arrested. I could be wrong but it seems Israel wants to have a base on Somaliland so they can be closer to counter the Houthis in Yemen. Things are so bad right now I am seriously considering deactivating my social media except for SC to detox from all the doom scrolling.

Journalists are prohibited from using certain terms. There was some coverage on BBC journalists and banned words when it came to the genocide on Palestine for example. Horrible news about Venezuela's president and his wife being captured.

That's a good idea. Someone should consult you.

That makes sense to me. Let's hope the government doesn't fall.

Tes, they seem orchestrated. Even some of the Iranians I know who don't support the current government would rather have it than a Western aligned government that supports genocide. Many countries in the world are having inflation now not just Iran.

Good question. I also am interested in how others answer this. Recently, I took a class that touched on this topic. The teacher differentiated between common knowledge and cognitive knowledge. Common knowledge is applying the truth claims of society however whenever we have a hard time applying the common knowledge, this is why cognitive knowledge starts. Society may send us messages about our self-worth and we apply this socially determined level of self worth without thinking about it to our goals and self-respect, but when we think about our self-worth this is cognitive knowledge. If we gain cognitive knowledge of ourselves we will realize there is no boundary between Allah and ourselves and no boundaries without other people yet paradoxically we are still able to have moral agency.

Another round of Iranian protests... how to tell if they are accurately covered or not. What sources do you suggest to follow? PressTV does not say much.

I am sorry to hear this. I hope you find a better job soon and have a good 2026.

Unsung heros - ok… the first one I can remember is the family who hosted many people and us on the mourning party when Imam Khomeini passed away. I was just a kid but it was memorable to be invited to someone’s house you didn’t know and never saw after that. Left quite an impression on me growing up in America. We used to go to some shia gatherings at UC Berkeley when Professor Hamid Algar was active there. While he is well known it was the people who we met there who were really heros. I liked the book vendors (pre-internet shopping days) and some of the women who would include me in dinners. I was around 9 and didn’t have a mom or sisters so it was nice they tried to include me. Also, other families who would watch me when my dad had to work. They treated me well and their manners left a good impression of Shia Islam on me. There is a guy who we know who has saved up half a million dollars to build a Shia mosque in Rochester, NY. He is in his 70s but keeps working because he needs a little more money to build it. He is an architect and wants to design it himself not buy a building. I find that admirable.

I wish I knew some. None of the relatively unknown shia role models I have except a family member here and there have died yet. The oldest ones are in the 80s. Good topic though.

Good to know. It seems technology can help spread the Shia message then as I believe the internet has already. For example, Shia and Sunni Islam are predicted to grow at the same rate. Due to Iran’s low birth rates and how Iranians make up a sizable portion of the global Shia population, one can infer that the only way for Shia and Sunni to grow at the same rate is due to Shia having more conversions than Sunnis. With the internet anyone can learn about Shia Islam now, which I predict is leading to more conversions

Thank you, this is helpful. I will add Shia Islam in the search terms.

Today, a fiqh question came up for me. How to kill one of the animals on my farm who the vet said it would be kind to kill. I looked it up online and the AI web feature only gave perspectives from the 4 madhabs. Is AI anti-Shia? Lol. My search question was something like is it permissible to use a gun to kill an animal that will never be able to get up because it is paralyzed in Islam. Has anyone else had an experience like this with AI? I wasn’t asking ChatGPT .. I was using the Safari search feature.