Post Term: Amir Farahi | Just Right Media

559 – Guest: Amir Farahi – City Blights

Jun 072018

Since last joining us on Just Right, Amir Farahi of the London Institute has become the Chair of London’s Transportation Committee, been appointed to the Municipal Advisory Committee for Rapid Transit, and has become project manager of a $20 million development plan called Venture London.

Over the same period, Amir’s views have become less accessible to the London community. He no longer appears on the weekly Wednesday CJBKam1290 round-table with Ken Eastwood and Lisa Brandt or on Andy Oudman’s Live Drive, which has been dropped by the same station. And because of the recent folding of a London community newspaper, Our London, Amir’s regular and insightful columns about municipal issues are also no longer available there.

So it should be no surprise that Amir now plans to provide a fresh media platform for people who have “lost the opportunity to be a voice for reason” in the London community. Stay tuned for further developments on this front as we delve into the controversies that have driven all of these changes and developments.

As examples of the municipal themes Amir is now dealing with in an official capacity are those discussed on today’s show: the traffic problem, the drug problem and the political problem – issues facing municipalities everywhere. Continue reading »

540 – Up the poll | Amir Farahi

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Jan 252018

Upon the release of last week’s London Institute poll on the city’s upcoming municipal election this fall, our guest Amir Farahi’s commentaries on what the poll tells us created quite a storm of controversy.

As executive director of the Institute, his harsh criticisms of London mayor Matt Brown and London city council has made him the person to turn to for expertise on the state of the city – and for a perspective on the city that provides a sober alternative to the official views.

Like many municipalities across North America, London has a very Left-leaning council, which means that much of municipal planning is really social engineering, determined by ideologies of the Left. From Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to fighting climate change, the city’s priorities are in direct conflict with those of the majority of Londoners.

Alarmingly, London falls dead last among all Canadian cities in employment rates and labor participation rates. The city now boasts the third highest poverty rate in Canada. It has a drug epidemic problem larger than that of Toronto or Vancouver, cities many times larger than London.

Not surprisingly, Mayor Matt Brown fared quite poorly on the London Institute’s poll. Brown’s past sex scandal, his skewed priorities and his state of the city address (which left much to be desired) have led to Londoners’ re-assessment of the mayor’s boasted “culture change” at city hall.

Also not too surprisingly, mayoralty maverick Paul Cheng scored highest in the poll, thanks to his declared opposition to BRT.

Of course, no candidate for the city’s mayor will be perfect, nor is any such expectation realistic.

We can only hope that with the information and knowledge provided by the likes of the London Institute and Amir Farahi, the next election’s results might point in a direction that could be Just Right for the city and for the times.

520 – The spitting image of the Left | Amir Farahi

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Aug 312017

Spitting In The Face of Freedom and Democracy

Though an isolated incident during the downtown London Ontario protests this past weekend, the image of Bailey Lamon literally spitting on the face of a PEGIDA supporter is perfectly symbolic of what the rest of the 500 “counter-protesters” at the event were doing: spitting in the face of freedom and democracy.

Not surprisingly, the counter protesters consisted of a coalition of Leftists. Clearly identified individuals and groups included Marxists, Antifa “anti-fascist” fascists, the Communist Party of Canada, the fake news media and commentators (i.e., the London Free Press), and others. Hate-and-obscenity spewing professional agitators openly displayed their hate and obscenity on signs, flags bearing the hammer and sickle were flying, and many individuals in the crowd wore Marxist Che Guevara T-shirts.

Leading and encouraging the pack was none other than London’s mayor, Matt Brown, who proudly joined them in a display of public INTOLERANCE never before witnessed in London.

“Londoners came together, they stood in solidarity and they clearly communicated that there is no place for hate, racism, Islamophobia in our community,” he proudly boasted in the Aug 28 London Free Press. Continue reading »

504 – Trump’s “Big Stick” foreign policy and France surrenders to Macron | Salim Mansur & Amir Farahi

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May 112017

Despite the establishment media’s continuing hostility to the president, including attempts to paint him as radical and unpredictable, Trump is far more traditional than were his immediate predecessors. That tradition, simply put, is one of acting in his own country’s interests.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” reflects the Roosevelt foreign policy. It was described by past US president Theodore Roosevelt as “the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis.”

Amir Farahi of the London Institute and Western University’s Associate Professor of Political Science Salim Mansur join us to share their assessment of what Trump’s early days in office have revealed – both about the president’s foreign policies and about some of the major crisis’ brewing around the globe today.

From America’s actions taken against Assad in Syria, to the bomb dropped in Afghanistan and to movements against North Korea, our conversation connects the dots between what most believe are isolated and unrelated conflicts in distant parts of the globe. Continue reading »

500 – Shift disturbers | Amir Farahi

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Apr 132017

Thanks to a growing public outcry against the concept, residents of London Ontario have been given a brief political reprieve to “Down Shift” the speed of the city’s planned “Shift” to “Bus Rapid Transit” (BRT).

The city has cooperated in a ploy to give its opposition more time to accept the “facts” about the city’s own plans – while making it appear that some sort of democratic process is taking place.

Instead of allowing such a process, Londoners have been told that “Shift happens,” and the meaning behind the twist in that expression is clear: Neither the electorate’s consent or consensus is a factor to “Shift”.

As a result, more and more Londoners are objecting to BRT.

Willfully blind to the nature of the objections, the city and BRT supporters have offered a “crocodile apology” to Londoners (without any tears) – citing a “poor job of communicating” their plans to the general public. Continue reading »

494 – Sanctuary cities | Amir Farahi

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Mar 022017

Armed with the courage of his convictions, Londoner Amir Farahi, Executive Director of The London Institute, has launched an on-line petition, No to London, Ontario becoming a Sanctuary City, which has caused a sea of controversy in the city.

“At some point, we have to stand up to the politically-correct, social-constructivist, post-modernist society that we have today. If you oppose an idea that doesn’t meet the agenda of those who call themselves ‘progressives’ – especially if you are male and white – you are automatically ‘privileged,’ you are automatically a ‘white supremacist’…

“I don’t care how politically risky it is. I will stand firm.”

On today’s Just Right, Amir shares some of his experiences in having become London Ontario’s principal and principled voice against the city’s motion to become a “sanctuary” for those fleeing the United States. Politically precipitated by US president Trump’s travel/immigration restrictions against seven nations (among them, Iran), Amir objects to London’s setting up any kind of “sanctuary” – from just laws.

An Iranian immigrant himself, Amir has found himself opposed by various “Marxist organizations,” including members of the Occupy Movement, Solidarity Across Borders, No One Is Illegal In London, and even a fan of Vladimir Lenin who accused him of being a ‘traitor to this country’ for opposing the sanctuary proposal. And of course, there’s the usual gang of city hall politicians and administrators who regularly seek sanctuary from the opinions of their voters. Continue reading »