I hereby establish this forum thread to discuss the article posted here.

I’m going to start by pasting comments I’ve gotten when I discuss this topic elsewhere.  I’m using this space as a catch-all forum.

Note that I initially posted the “US Foreign Policy Museum” idea on an old website many years ago.  I have yet to update the post to better reflect current affairs.

In response to a comment about 1953 in Iran that I posted on another website, Glenn had this to say:

For those who are unaware, or would like better clarification about what Rezwan refers to as “‘53,” a good book to read is Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner. It, among other things, tells the full story of the CIA’s orchestrated overthrow of a democratically elected government in Iran. It is a lso a great book for understanding just how screwed up that organization has been over its history, and how its mandate has been abused my numerous US administrations.

The one thing to remember about all this is that most of these really bad decisions were made by people trying to lead the US through the Cold War. Their minds were filled with Alger Hiss, the spy campaign in the Manhattan project, communist threats, communist infiltration into our government (imagined and otherwise), and the sense that things were spinning out of control towards communist enslavement and forced atheism, or nuclear holocaust. I believe this caused a great amount of paranoia in the US, and this mental disease became infectious, with the US government doing things that it otherwise wouldn’t consider, and by the injury to others turning otherwise stable, peaceful countries and cultures into paranoid, introverted ones. Iran’s current stance towards the west comes from this injury, and it, in my opinion, suffers from the mental disease began in the Cold War by the tension between the Soviet Union and the West. It is a disease we stopped suffering from in the early ‘90’s but Iran still has it. And Iran isn’t alone.

I am hoping President Obama’s current approach will begin to ease the paranoia and start allowing the leadership and people in Iran and other countries to think more clearly, and perhaps begin to trust again. We need to heal from the wounds of the Cold War.

Will have to check out “Legacy of Ashes.” Thanks!

Hi Rezwan,

I jumped here from the FF forum.

That museum just has to be done. And I got an idea how to accomplish that.

Do you know about a conference called TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design? It’s not just about those toy things anymore. They’re focused by a great deal on global issues now. Very influental people attended it like Bill Gates, Sergey & Larry, Craig Venter, Frank Gehry, or Bill Clinton. And Al Gore is a common sight there anyway. Also a lot of not so well known people with great visions.

Not just being a conference, they also host the TED Prize. Every year since 2005 three people get nominated to voice their wish to those attending, which consists for a big deal of philantrophics. And I think additionally they get 100000 USD for their cause.

Your proposal fits into their general attitude quite well, and their theme for the 2010 conference is “What the World Needs Now...” anyway. I would like to propose you as a nominee.

The application for the TED Prize 2010 closes on July 15. So we have to be quick, if you should be considered as a TED Prize nominee for 2010. Otherwise being a normal speaker in that eloquent round is also of great honour. For that, time is not so pressing.

For all of which you have to be a great public speaker.

Overview with lots of videos: http://www.ted.com/
Speaking at TED: http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/73
TED Conference 2010: http://conferences.ted.com/TED2010/
Nomination as speaker: http://www.ted.com/nominate/speaker
TED Prize: http://www.tedprize.org/
Nomination for TED Prize: http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/100

Transport and accommodation will be paid by the conference for speakers, they just won’t pay you for the speech itself.

For selecting a nominee they need a lot of information. And for the prize three references. I can’t fill them in in a meaningful manner, as I don’t know that much about you to pitch. And for references I know only about Eric. If you’re willing to participate, I think a private message or e-mail to clarify those details it would be better than an open accessible forum.

Cheers,

Henning

Hey Henning! 

Welcome to PlanIran!

That’s a great idea.  I love TED talks.  Yes, we should submit this for the primary talk and hope to get selected for a regular talk.  This does seem like an idea that should be shared there.

Thanks again!