US and IRAN

I was watching CNBC, the business-stock market channel on TV today and they had an article on Iran, one of our current political enemies. Their country had a large cohort of births back about 25 years ago similar to our "Baby Boomer" generation., These young people are in love with western things like our music and fashion, and the population of the country is apparently NOT anti-American. We (our fearless leaders in DC) have placed sanctions on Iran the way we did to Cuba for the past 50 years (how did that work for us?) and yet this Middle Eastern country is doing very well, economically, at least according to MSNBC. So, we have a country, far away, whose leader is according to most reports, a "nut-job" but whose people are western-thinking. The younger Iranians practice a kind of "Muslim-light" where the women, as I saw with my own eyes in another westernized muslim country, Morocco, wear a whole spectrum of attire from the full Burkha to jeans and a T-shirt. Most wear western clothes with a head scarf.

The article on MSNBC was about an Iranian expatriate who was an investor in many foreign funds and asked his portfolio advisors if a fund existed that would allow him to invest in his native Iran. The answer was no, so he started his own fund. It invests in the increasing number of privatized companies in Iran in such as areas as mining, banking, and manufacturing to name a few. The fund is UP 37% for the year. Everyone on the planet can invest in this fund, except Americans who are forbidden by our government from doing so. The fund has not invested in any companies on the UN or EU sanction list.

Meanwhile, here in America, while Iran is increasingly becoming westernized in their business practices and becoming more entrepreneurial, productive, and of course well educated, we are trying to pass laws to legalize MARIJUANA. And we wonder why we have to import everything and our economy is in the crapper. Really? Conquer the world? Maybe tomorrow, Dude. Pass the potato chips.