March 14, 2010 – 12:26 pm
Maybe now, we can jail Internet surfers:
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, who is criticized by media freedom groups, called on Saturday for regulation of the Internet and singled out a website that he said falsely reported the murder of one of his ministers.
“The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms,” Chavez said. He cited German Chancellor Angel Merkel as having expressed a similar sentiment recently.
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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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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But an incompetent dictator, too:
Homicides in Venezuela have quadrupled during President Hugo Chavez’s 11 years in power, with two people murdered every hour, according to new figures from a non-governmental organization.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV), whose data is widely followed in the absence of official statistics, said the South American nation has one of the highest crime rates on the continent, with 54 homicides per 100,000 citizens in 2009.
That rate is only surpassed in Latin America by El Salvador where 70 in every 100,000 citizens were murdered last year, the OVV said, citing official statistics from that country.
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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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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Obviously, I have a thing for French blog titles that correspond with appalling stories concerning totalitarian oppression. I could live a thousand years, and never understand why people try to make the Castro brothers out to be nice people, or the Cuban government the salt of the Earth.
Are the people who spent eight years denouncing George W. Bush as the most monstrous of modern day dictators going to say anything about this? I suspect I know the answer, but I would really like for my suspicion to be misplaced.
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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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, Democracy, Demonstrations, 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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