Archive - Dec 27, 2010 - Article

Islamic McCarthyism

When world-renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this week, the verdict reverberated both inside and outside Iran. Not only did authorities in Tehran hand down an exceptionally harsh sentence, they also decreed that the 50-year-old Panahi will be banned from filmmaking, screenwriting and traveling abroad for the next 20 years. According to his relatives, Panahi has also been banned from talking to the media. Along with Panahi, Muhammad Rasoulof, another filmmaker involved with Panahi’s movie, was also sentenced to six years in prison>>>

Leaky Coverage

Recent WikiLeaks revelations about the discrepancy between the public and private views on Iran voiced by Gulf Arab leaders have been widely covered by the pan-Arab media without provoking policy shifts or internal tensions in Gulf Arab states. U.S. officials should therefore be encouraged in their policy of pressing for a robust regional coalition to curb Iran's ambitions. Since the WikiLeaks story broke in late November, various Gulf Arab official spokesmen have generally refused to confirm their privately hostile comments about Iran -- but have not disavowed them, either>>>

Declaration of Independence

Where a vibrant civil society exists, groups think for themselves and take independent positions, often positions critical of government policy. They do not unquestioningly toe the government line and they cannot be bought off. In my view, any discussion of how government, multilateral institutions, and other actors might seek to work and collaborate with civil society organizations should keep this quality of independence in mind>>>

صورت جلسه کابینه نجات ملی‌

ساعت ۱۲:۳۰ - منیژه خانم با موبایلش در تماس به شماره اختر الملک، حاضر در جلسه. "الو، نه هنوز این طرف بزرگراه هستم. آره دیگه، اون آژانسی جونممرگ شده اینور پیادم کرد! نه عزیز، میترسم رد شم. این ماشین‌ها و موتورا ول کن نیستن که. میتونی‌ فری جون رو بفرستی‌ با ماشین سوارم کنه؟">>>