• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

American hikers get sentenced to 8 years.

lewstherin said:
i kind of doubt they were "government spies". probably a couple young dumb asses trying to make
a name for theirselves in the world of liberal journalism and thought crossing the iranian border and
getting an "exclusive" on how friendly the people were and what a great place it was would definitely
get them a job at msnbc.
they took the chance, they paid the price. sometimes $h!t just don't work out the way we want it to.
Click to expand...

Why didnt they just fly in through an alternate route? You can do the same for Cuba. Im sure Iranians are naturally mean people, how shortsighted of these would be liberal heroes. :roll:
 
did they have a private jet? maybe they did. i haven't read up too much about it, mainly because it's
one of the many news items in life that is placed on my "who gives a $h!t" list.
 
Believe it or not Iran has airports for normal people. No really, it's true.
 
lol. that wouldn't work. i guess you're one to believe iran is a free society and any american
coming in through a mainstream channel wouldn't be at least somewhat monitored.
 
lewstherin said:
lol. that wouldn't work. i guess you're one to believe iran is a free society and any american
coming in through a mainstream channel wouldn't be at least somewhat monitored.
Click to expand...

Please relate that to the discussion in any way and you win a cookie. I also didn't know you were in on the workings of Iranian domestic surveillance.
 
SE102 said:
Please relate that to the discussion in any way and you win a cookie. I also didn't know you were in on the workings of Iranian domestic surveillance.
Click to expand...

you brought it up. so you're saying that iran is a free society? what do YOU know about their domestic surveillance?
 
you brought it up. so you're saying that iran is a free society? what do YOU know about their domestic surveillance?
Click to expand...

lol. that wouldn't work. i guess you're one to believe iran is a free society and any american
coming in through a mainstream channel wouldn't be at least somewhat monitored.
Click to expand...

What wouldn't work? You sound like you're planning to spy or something. Are you saying I cant fly to Iran through an indirect country, get a sheet over my passport stamp page, and roam around and do what I want?
 
DashingAmerican said:
Iran Reportedly Sentences American Hikers To 8 Years In Prison | FoxNews.com

Will anything be done to reunite these guys with their families or are do people think they were actually spies?
Click to expand...

I have mixed emotions about this case

One side of me believes that people who are so stupid as to get anywhere near that area deserve what they get. its like driving an expensive car into Ciudad Juarez and then whining when you get carjacked-or worse-by the drug cartels.

On the other hand, I get tired of third rate tin horn dictators screwing around with our citizens and wouldn't mind if Obama told those clowns to let them go or say Tehran hits 10,000 degrees Celsius in about a third of a second.
 
SE102 said:
What wouldn't work? You sound like you're planning to spy or something. Are you saying I cant fly to Iran through an indirect country, get a sheet over my passport stamp page, and roam around and do what I want?
Click to expand...

give it a shot. carry your little camera and fanny pack and see what comes of it.
 
I wouldn't be walking around in a militarized zone. Also Im polite to muslims which means I wont get lynched.

How safe is iran - Lonely Planet travel forum
Click to expand...

iran has to be one of the safest destinations in the world.
i wouldn't think twice about walking the streets of tehran alone at 3am.
i'd almost definately take the taxi at home in australian cities at that hour.

and persian people are outrageously kind and hospitable.
forget the tour company, a friendly iranian is always nearby to lend u a hand.
bus travel is cheap.
tourist site entry prices are cheaper than in LP.
you're gonna love it
Click to expand...

Iran is very safe. I have travelled there twice alone as a woman, no problems at all. Hopefully I will find time to go there again this year. Even with a danish passport Im not worried (the cartoon incident-you know).
Click to expand...

Maybe it will be like Uzbekistan was when I was there... nice place.
 
SE102 said:
I wouldn't be walking around in a militarized zone. Also Im polite to muslims which means I wont get lynched.






Maybe it will be like Uzbekistan was when I was there... nice place.
Click to expand...


well. i guess the "lonely planet travel forum" should be believed over the thousands of reports of civil and human rights abuses
which have been documented from the actual citizens of iran. jeez. whatever was i thinking? was this forum around during the time
of nazi germany? i'm just sure one of the members of it gave berlin a fabulous review on the city's yom kippur celebration at the time.
 
Last edited:
Yes, the people who wear their fannypacks and actually go there have spoken. But feel free to disregard it lest your entire conceptual universe be shattered leaving you writhing in its glassy shards. No really. Please give me some data and evidence of systematic dangers to foreign visitors who are not political belligerents in the country. Or shift and dodge and waste my time once again.
 
SE102 said:
Yes, the people who wear their fannypacks and actually go there have spoken. But feel free to disregard it lest your entire conceptual universe be shattered leaving you writhing in its glassy shards. No really. Please give me some data and evidence of systematic dangers to foreign visitors who are not political belligerents in the country. Or shift and dodge and waste my time once again.
Click to expand...
so you're saying these hikers were political belligerents? were they not wearing fannypacks?
 
If you're caught on the border of mexico you get detained, if your caught between Iraq or iran, or the korean dmz, pak/afghan border, etc.

keep dodging the fact that you can travel to Iran though more mainstream means and have a civil enjoyable time.
 
SE102 said:
If you're caught on the border of mexico you get detained, if your caught between Iraq or iran, or the korean dmz, pak/afghan border, etc.

keep dodging the fact that you can travel to Iran though more mainstream means and have a civil enjoyable time.
Click to expand...
name one single free and civilized nation on the planet that gives a person 8 years in prison for simply
crossing their border and you will have made your point. until then? take your fannypack and kick mud on down the road, schoolboy.
 
Strange, civilized nations neighbored by countries occupied by western militaries doesnt sway you at all?
 
SE102 said:
Strange, civilized nations neighbored by countries occupied by western militaries doesnt sway you at all?
Click to expand...
ahhhhhh...so it's america's fault and the reason these hikers received such a harsh sentence was because they were american. so.........
just how does this fit in with your theory that an american traveling into iran via commercial jet wouldn't be closely monitored after arrival?
 
just how does this fit in with your theory that an american traveling into iran via commercial jet wouldn't be closely monitored after arrival?
Click to expand...

Change the subject much? Relevance? Occhams razor concerning a massive surveillance state that you dont even know exists.
Since you seem to be on the inside of the Iranian intelligence services I will concede that point. They would certainly enjoy listening to the tourists chewing on delicious Iranian food and haggling in the markets. The barbarians. Something tells me if I went there I wouldnt be a 'high priority' subject for the massive orwellian surveillance state that modern fiction theorizes within you must exist. There may be some issues of ego that persist on your part that makes you believe the security services of a foreign nation would care what socks you wear in Iran.

ahhhhhh...so it's america's fault and the reason these hikers received such a harsh sentence was because they were american. so.
Click to expand...

It's not America's fault per se all 'empires' expand as far as they can sustain themselves. As far as I'm concerned the hikers were damned freaking stupid to the core.
 
Then why were dumbassed American college students a "high priority" for this non-Orwellian state?
 
nota bene said:
Then why were dumbassed American college students a "high priority" for this non-Orwellian state?
Click to expand...

Perhaps they received reports of dumbassed American spies who crossed the boarder into Iran
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were, in fact, spies. I suppose this is a silly question, but why does everyone just assume that these were innocent hikers railroaded by the Iranian government?

If you all want to shed a tear for Americans who are being unjustly imprisoned, I suggest you redirect your sympathy to someone who actually deserves it: Amanda Knox, who is in the prison of a country which is supposedly our friend, Italy.
 
Kandahar said:
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were, in fact, spies.
Click to expand...
Right. Much like American journalist Roxana Saberi was a spy.

Her one day espionage trial was so unjust that even Ahmadinejad was totally embarrassed.

Iran To Probe "Mock Trial" Of Reporter - CBS News

By the way, her memoir of Evin prison and the Iranian justice system is quite illuminating.

Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran
Roxana Saberi / HarperCollins / 2010 / 336pp
 
I honestly don't think they were spies, but I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.
I never understood why they let the girl go free and kept the gentlemen...she was just as much a part of the whole thing as they were. But then one has to wonder..can anyone possibly be this stupid??
To go hiking where they were??
At any rate, I think 8 years is a steep sentence. They have already been in jail for 2 years. Now 8 more??
Jeepers, people can kill another human being here, and get less time in jail.....the world is a messed up place~
 
Hatuey said:
Get utterly destroyed in an argument and then proceed to call everyone stupid. You sound like my daughter when she doesn't get Dora.
Click to expand...

She could be right. If a lot of people do this to you, young and old, here and there, then maybe you should think about it. Just sayin'
 
ecofarm said:
She could be right. If a lot of people do this to you, young and old, here and there, then maybe you should think about it. Just sayin'
Click to expand...
In Hatuey's defense, VanceMack calls everybody stupid...

As far as the topic, I don't think they're spies, but then again I'm not supposed to think they're spies so that's not really saying much. Regardless, I think Iran is just playing a political game with the United States. There's not outrageous or angering about them sentencing these guys - this kind of stuff is to be expected considering the relationship the two states have with one another.

If they weren't spies, they were dumb for traveling that close to the border, but if they didn't actually cross the border, then they are locked up unjustly. I see several posts saying that they deserved to get punished even if they didn't cross the border. I don't understand that sentiment. If they didn't break the law, they shouldn't be prosecuted. That said, there's nothing remarkable about this situation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom