Not exactly a record to be proud of:
Journalists have become a prime target in an Iranian government crackdown on the opposition following last June’s disputed presidential election, with 52 of them currently held — making Iran the top jailer of journalists in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The wave of arrests, which has only accelerated recently, has sent a chill through journalists in Iran at a time when the opposition is struggling to maintain its challenge against the government in the face of a heavy crackdown on pro-reform figures.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Chequer-Board
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Also tagged 9/11, Ali Khamenei, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, Dishonesty, Flynt Leverett, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Freedom Of The Press, Hillary Mann Leverett, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Incompetence, inflation, Iran, Journalism, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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March 11, 2010 – 12:14 am
And so today we witness the sad spectacle in which the American Left’s most influential cultural voice openly mocks a democratic election in a country brutalized by decades of Stalinist terror, has nothing to say to the vast majority of Iraqis who risked their lives to participate in that election and views the violence perpetrated by Islamic Fascists against them as a laughing matter. Last summer, Christopher Hitchens wrote a thoughtful essay on “the smug satire of liberal humorists,” his chief complaint being that they are mere water-carriers for the Democratic Party and the Left in general, reluctant to mock members of their own team. Whereas this biased posture was barely defensible when Republicans ruled the roost, it has become utterly tiresome now that liberals are in charge. It is a testament to the enduring quality of domestic political venom that this partisanship would extend as far away as Mesopotamia, where the brave people of Iraq have become pawns in a cable comedian’s shtick.
–Jamie Kirchick on how Jon Stewart has jumped the shark.
In the event that you have not yet read Michael Crowley’s profile of the Leveretts, you owe it to yourself to do so. Note the following passage:
. . . In our meeting, I pressed [the Leveretts] to say just how they feel about [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]. Geopolitics aside, did they consider him a despicable human being? “I think he’s actually a quite intelligent man,” Flynt replied. “I think he also has really extraordinary political skills.” “[T]he idea that he’s stupid or doesn’t understand retail politics is also pretty divorced from reality,” Hillary added. But that wasn’t the question.
Revealing that they don’t answer the question, isn’t it?
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Chequer-Board
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Also tagged 9/11, Ali Khamenei, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, Dishonesty, Flynt Leverett, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hillary Mann Leverett, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Incompetence, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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Of those Americans who will carp about Iraq’s elections being no better than a census (with the country cleaving along sectarian/ethnic lines), and who will underscore many other imperfections, I would simply ask that they look at their own history. It took the U.S. until 1787 to adopt the Constitution, until 1870 to (very imperfectly) enfranchise black adult males, until 1920 to enfranchise adult females, and until 1964-65 to guarantee voting rights to black citizens. Democracies go through a very long process of consolidation. It will not take the Iraqis anywhere near as long as it took us, because there are examples for them to emulate, or to beware of. It takes time—sometimes a very long time—to apportion power among different groups within a nascent political system. What Iraq has achieved in five years is a political wonder, and those who would deny that are being very, very dishonest.
–Tunku Varadarajan. Read it all.
I guess that no one will be surprised to read this:
Iranian security forces have detained film director Jafar Panahi, winner of many international awards, an opposition website said on Tuesday.
Panahi was held at his home together with his wife Mahnaz Mohammadi, daughter and 15 guests on Monday evening, opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi’s website Kaleme said.
Panahi’s home was searched and some of his belongings seized, it added.
The director supported Mousavi in last year’s disputed presidential election, which plunged the Islamic Republic into months of political turmoil.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, Dishonesty, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Incompetence, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 15, 2010 – 8:00 pm
I have written in the past about Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, the husband and wife team that passes itself off as being your go-to source concerning all things relating to Iranian politics, and Iran’s place in the world.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, Dishonesty, economy, Flynt Leverett, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, George W. Bush, Hillary Mann Leverett, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, Incompetence, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 12, 2010 – 12:05 am
Today, the regime in Iran marked its 31st anniversary; both with pro-regime demonstrations and speeches, and with efforts to shut down reformist protests.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 10, 2010 – 4:38 pm
Gmail access in Iran is getting shut down permamently by the Iranian leadership class.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 9, 2010 – 9:04 pm
“In at least 3 respects, the lessons from Sharansky and Reagan might be relevant here.”
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 7, 2010 – 2:46 pm
Apparently, the Green movement so threatens the Iranian regime, that the national colors have become red, white, and blue. The Green movement has therefore succeeded where six successive American Administrations have failed; it has driven Iran into the arms of the United States.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 5, 2010 – 9:15 pm
Their indictment of the government is devastating:
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, inflation, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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February 2, 2010 – 7:47 pm
It’s a good thing that the Obama Administration didn’t side with the reformists in Iran. Otherwise, the reformist movement would have been tainted with American support, causing the country to turn against it, and allowing the regime to engage in all sorts of vicious human rights abuses, aimed at intimidating dissidents.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Posted in Blogs, Chequer-Board
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Also tagged Ali Khamenei, Andrew Sullivan, Barack Obama, Demonstrations, Dictatorship, economy, Foreign Affairs, foreign policy, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Imam Hossein, Iran, Kahrizak, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Moharram, Neda, Obama Administration, Ramin Pourandarjani, Stolen Elections, Totalitarianism
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