The decisive election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s next president is a message to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the majority of Iranians reject Khamenei’s message of “resistance” and confrontation with the outside world.The Supreme Leader, who told the United States on Friday to “go to hell” for disparaging Iran’s qualified democracy, i ... Continue reading »
SEOUL — Soccer and politics are never far apart in Iran, but the mix is at its most combustible every four years in June when the country’s presidential elections take place at the same time that the beloved national team either qualifies for the World Cup or falls short, sometimes in heartbreaking fashion.
Just four days after the vote this Frid ... Continue reading »
The decision by the reformist candidate Mohammadreza Aref to withdraw his candidacy — and in effect open the path for the centrist Hassan Rowhani to become the unified candidate of both the centrists and reformists — is an important development in Iranian politics. Its impact will reach beyond this election.
This isn’t only because the centrist a ... Continue reading »
The world has been scandalized to learn about Prism, the broad data surveillance program used by the US at home and abroad. German commentators say that both Berlin and Brussels must defend Europe from this invasion of privacy.
Revelations about a far-reaching intelligence program in the United States leaked last week aren't just causing problems ... Continue reading »
Iranian elections are hardly free or fair by Western standards. But even with limited choices and a heavily securitized environment, the brief presidential campaign is providing an outlet for harsh criticism of the status quo, including topics -- such as the nuclear file -- that are usually banished from public discourse.
The last-minute decisi ... Continue reading »
Edward Snowden was interviewed over several days in Hong Kong by Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill.
Q: Why did you decide to become a whistleblower?
A: "The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. ... Continue reading »
Up to a few weeks ago, the upcoming elections in Iran gave rise to hopes that Ahmadinejad’s successor might be someone who can create a paradigm shift in Iran’s priorities.
Those hopes died out quite quickly as over 680 candidates were disqualified leaving only Khamenei’s puppets on the field.
Based on Khamenei’s actions and rhetoric in the past, ... Continue reading »
Iranian Parents; Do Not Repeat Our Mistake We are upon the 2nd anniversary death of our beloved son, Babak. We have gone through two years of profound grief and pain, something that no parents deserve in their life time. We lost our son, a 37 year old dentist in a tragic way. Up to this date, the Police internal investigation is continuin ... Continue reading »
As I can remember it is more than 10 years, my wife wants I take the old samovar to repair and maintenance. Really I don't like to approach this old so called Nicolay style samovar. It looks bigger than basketball globe, with a pipe on roof and of course basement or pied like a small parking for model toy cars. Samovar is a Russian word and entered ... Continue reading »
Weddings are not occasions that we are frequently invited to attend; however, when we are at a wedding ceremony, we enjoy witnessing a rich cultural tradition on display and the company of good friends. Nothing is more fulfilling than that. Weddings, like many other occasions, have taken a deeply religious undertone, especially under the Shiite Mus ... Continue reading »
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