Archive - May 22, 2008 - Article

Seizing the moment

The troubled history of the Islamic Republic is largely due to its flawed constitution, which privileges unelected theocrats over democratically elected leaders. The scion of genuine democratic sentiments, Iran's undemocratic constitution, is evidence of the importance of historical accidents in Iranian history. For all their complaining, Iranians are also good at seizing the moment on rare occasions when their stars do line up. It is well known that the political idealism of Ayatollah Khomeini was the reason Iranians continued to fight against Iraq years after it was clear that they could not prevail>>>

The Obliterator

A while ago, the Hilarious Hillary “ate sugar” and threatened to obliterate Iran, the land that has given so much to the world. These contributions along with other images began to haunt my distressed head in seemingly endless spurts. I remembered the day when my friend Ali was driving me around in New York City and I had stopped him in front of the biggest post office in the world to proudly photograph the words of Cyrus the Great that adorns the building: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”>>>

Foreign interests

This essay will attempt to determine as precisely as possible the reasons that motivated British hostility toward Mosaddeq’s government. Was there a genuine fear that Mosaddeq was incapable of acting as a bastion to Communist pressure threatening to envelope Iran? Was British diplomacy simply a consequence of American pressure? At what point and why did the British Government conclude that Mosaddeq was ‘unnegotiable’ i.e. that his overthrow was the only plausible alternative?... Although the intention is to focus on Anglo-Iranian relations, one cannot thereby obviate the pivotal role of the United States which profoundly affected the unfolding of events.>>>

I am a Spartan and Proud, Mostly!

I came to the Netherlands with my wife, Kirsten, in 2000. Even before I came here, I was looking forward to going to football matches and watching a lot of football. Here in Rotterdam where I have settled, there are three professional football teams that play in the Dutch first division (Eredivisie). The most well-known of these is Feyenoord which is one of the three top clubs along with Ajax of Amsterdam and PSV from Eindhoven. Then there is Sparta and Excelsior. Since I have been here, I have on many occasions seen all three Rotterdam teams play in their home stadiums. I have also had season cards and followed closely Sparta for three years and Excelsior for a year>>>