Even before the crisis over the election outcome broke, the prognosis for Iran in the coming year was not good. Back in October oil prices had started to fall and the contractionary measures taken by the Central Bank several months earlier to rein in inflation had slowed the economy. Last year, Iran’s imports had soared […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Interview with Argentine Economist Claudio Katz: “The Solution to the Crisis of Capitalism Has to Be Political”
The exit from the systemic crisis of capitalism needs to be political, and “a socialist project can mature in this turbulence.” So says the Argentine economist, philosopher, and sociologist Claudio Katz, who also warns that the “global economic situation is very serious and is going to have to hit bottom, and now we are […]
Obama’s Silence Kills Palestinians
Let’s do a couple of thought experiments. The former U.S. representative and Green Party presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, leaves on a humanitarian mission to Iran alongside several other international activists. They are arrested, harassed, detained for several days, and their humanitarian aid, films, cameras, PCs taken away from them to leave no evidence behind. Can […]
Iran Today: Democracy, Dissent, Repression, and Solidarity
Monday, July 13, 2009 7:30 pm The Brecht Forum, 451 West Street (between Bank & Bethune Streets), New York Please join us for a roundtable discussion with three leading Iranian analysts: Ervand Abrahamian, Hamid Dabashi, and Arang Keshavarzian. The discussion will be moderated by Leili Kashani and be opened up to the public. Come […]
An Open Letter to the Anti-War Movement: How Should We React to the Events in Iran?
The “Iranian people” have not spoken. What’s happening in Iran today is a developing conflict between two forces that each represent millions of people. There are good people on both sides and the issues are complicated. So before U.S. progressives decide to weigh in, supporting one side and condemning the other, let’s take a little […]
War, Islamists, and the Left
The US war machine continues to inflict untold miseries on the people of the world and particularly those of the Muslim faith. Barack Obama, the first black president in the history of the United States, has repeatedly promised to repair some of the damage wreaked by his predecessor on the international stage. But the […]
Honduras: The Moment of Truth for the Obama Administration
The military coup currently underway in Honduras is a hard coup accompanied by various vain attempts to make it appear soft and “constitutionalist.” Behind the coup are diverse social, economic, and political forces, of which the most important is the administration of President Barack Obama. No important change can happen in Honduras without Washington’s […]
Israeli Parliament Bill Aims to Punish Those Who Help “Illegal” Immigrants and Refugees
Israelis caught assisting “illegal” immigrants could soon receive the same punishment as the people they help. If a bill being discussed in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) becomes law, it would be the only legislation in the world that mandates equal punishment for both parties, a leading Communist Party member MK Dov Khenin says. The […]
Morocco: An Alternative to Iran?
A recent article by Anne Applebaum, published under two separate titles in the Washington Post (“Morocco, an Alternative to Iran”) and Slate (“Morocco Makes Peace with Its Past”), has caused quite a stir amongst Moroccan bloggers, as well as on Twitter and in forums. The article, which suggests Morocco as a model for democracy coexisting […]
The Israeli Idea of a “Palestinian State”
To judge by the next day’s headlines, Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy speech last month was a great success. “Israeli Premier Backs State for Palestinians,” declared the New York Times. “Israel Endorses Two-State Goal,” said the Washington Post. “Netanyahu Backs Palestinian State,” announced the Guardian. He did no such thing, of course, unless by “state” one understands […]
Joint Statement of Iranian Documentary Filmmakers on Iran Today
Iranian Documentary Filmmakers’ Declaration Déclaration des documentaristes du cinéma iranien بیانیه جمعی از مستندسازان سینمای ایران درباره ایران امروز We say this as a warning: depriving citizens of peaceful and respectful communication in the midst of the tense circumstances of the present time can lead to a violent reaction on the part of society, […]
Iran: The Game of Nations
There is a difference between the outlook of a secular generation of Iranian youth, yearning for a life in which religion (in the form of a clergy directing a theological state) refrains from meddling in their personal lives and individual fates as citizens, and the foreign and domestic policy considerations of the reformist trend. A […]
Al Jazeera Returns to Streets of Tehran
“About 4 kilometers behind me, there is a square in Tehran called Enqelab Square, which means revolution. A couple of hundreds of meters that way is the famous monument of Azadi Square, which means freedom. The road between Revolution and Freedom Squares has been the scene of some of the greatest rallies in Iran. Freedom […]
Military Coup in Honduras Threatens Democracy across Central America
June 29, 2009 The military coup d’état in Honduras is a dangerous step backward for Honduras and threatens democracy across Central America. Democracies thrive only when democratic institutions operate peacefully and under the rule of law. The military coup against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya brings back terrible memories of the 1980s when the Honduran military […]
Was the Iranian Election Stolen? Does It Matter?
Since the Iranian presidential election of June 12, allegations that the announced winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory was stolen have played an important role in the demonstrations, political conflict, and media reporting on events there. Some say that it does not matter whether the elections were stolen or not, since the government has responded to peaceful […]
Iran’s Business Elite, Too, Is a “Dissident”
With mass rallies for government accountability dominating the news from Iran since June 12, Western audiences are missing the underlying controversy that polarizes the country’s electorate. We hear much about the boastful social conservatism of president Ahmadinejad, whose contested re-election on June 12 fueled days of bloody protests led by his moderate challengers. But the […]
Iran: An Alternative Reading
Iran does not just have an authoritarian system of government, it has a totalitarian one. It is powerful, highly centralised, with sophisticated administrative and control systems, and it applies an ideology that claims to have answers for everything and that seeks to permeate all aspects of life. Instead of a political party and youth organisations, […]
Iran: Recommended Action
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language: calling on the authorities to ensure that security forces exercise restraint in the policing of any further demonstrations in connection with the election result, and that firearms are not used except as a last resort […]
North Korea: “Sanity” at the Brink
Nations that chart a self-defining course, seeking to use their land, labor, natural resources, and markets as they see fit, free from the smothering embrace of the US corporate global order, frequently become a target of defamation. Their leaders often have their moral sanity called into question by US officials and US media, as has […]
Iran: This Is Not a Revolution
Political power is never good or bad, never really just or unjust; political power is arbitrary, discriminatory, and most of the time violent. In Iran, the ongoing demonstrations sparked by the election results in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicate that such power can never really be monopolized by the state. Iran’s civil society is fighting; […]
