Archive - Dec 10, 2007 - Article

Cutting rope

Piers Bannister, a researcher on the death penalty for Amnesty International, has had an active role in international lobbying for a global moratorium on the death penalty. A resolution calling all states for a moratorium on executions, passed at the UN General Assembly Third Committee in November 2007, leads up to a vote by the UN General Assembly. Piers, who has kindly answered some of my question about the death penalty in a previous interview, kindly agreed to talk more about international lobbying for the resolution. >>>

Inviting intervention

Last week, Akbar Ganji received the annual award from Rights and Democracy (or International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development), a Canadian government-funded organisation which is known to be the Canadian version of the American National Endowment for Democracy. In his speech, he openly called for Western government's support to spread democracy and human rights in Iran, according to the Persian version of his speech, published by Dutch-funded 'pro-democracy' projects, Rooz Online and Radio Zamaneh. The award was given to him by Saad Eddin Ebrahim one of the most avid supporters of the now-defunct Neo-conservative plans to spread democracy in the Middle East>>>

Shall I light another cigarette?

What should I do? Go out and face them under the pretence of lighting another cigarette? Or shall I hide and try to save what can be saved? What would it serve and to what end would I face them anew? Another round of me pushing them back, showing my own teeth and they barking at me as lose dogs, once beaten by me in the past? Naaaa …. I chose to stay in. No point in indulging them a re-run of our past encounters.>>>

احمدی نژاد در پوست شیر

اکنون احمدی نژاد از پیروزی سدساله اخیرسخن می گوید در حالی که حکومت اسلامی با وجود حقانیت حقوقی ایران در امر باروری هسته ای به سبب فقر دیپلماسی نتوانست مساله را پیش ببرد و جهان را علیه خود برانگیخت و اگر تضاد واقع گرایان و دموکرات های آمریکا همچون مآده ی آسمانی به دادش نرسیده بود ملت ایران با فاجعه ای مهیب و عظیم روبرو شده بودکه هست و نیستش را بباد می داد. چه کسی تاوان ندانم کاری های حکومت اسلامی و آمریکا را می پردازد؟ >>>