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South Carolina’s first lady, scrutinized
Tag Archives: street
The Skimmer: U.N. World Drug Report
World Drug Report 2009 U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime 341 pages The Gist: This year’s report from the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime did something that last year’s did not: it addressed the “growing chorus” of people in favor of abolishing drug laws altogether.
Iranian Politics: Watching ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in Tehran
On June 23, Iranian security forces, reportedly using live ammunition, clashed with protesters numbering in the hundreds in the area of the country’s parliament in Tehran. At the same time, there were indications that a behind-the-scenes struggle was intensifying in the corridors of power even as the government continued its campaign to quiet the populace through propaganda and entertainment.
Iranian women stand up in defiance, flout rules
A young Iranian woman named Neda is gunned down in one of the most iconic images of the last week. Another walks down the street, defiantly showing off her hair and body in a revealing dress. And still another woman says she’s not scared of paramilitary forces — no matter how many times she gets beaten.
Ed McMahon dies at 86
Ed McMahon, the longtime pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick whose "Heeeeeeerre’s Johnny!" became a part of the vernacular, has died.
Iran’s Crisis Posing a Problem for Its Mideast Allies
If the street protests roiling Iran since its disputed election have created a problem for the leadership in Tehran, imagine the dilemma it raises for Iran’s allies elsewhere in the Middle East. Hizballah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was quick out of the blocks to congratulate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the authorities announced his re-election, calling the result “a great hope to all the Mujahedeen and Resistance who are fighting against the forces of oppression and occupation.” But since supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hussein Mousavi have taken to the streets to decry the election as rigged, Nasrallah has become more circumspect. And he specifically refuted suggestions that either candidate might be more pro-Hizballah than the other, and merely said “Iran is under the authority of the Wali Al Faqih and will pass through this crisis.” As a longtime client of Iran, Nasrallah is wise to hedge his bets, for he’ll need patronage and weapons from whomever emerges victorious in the post-election battle.
Adventures in Urban Farming
Interstate 980 cuts through a gritty section of West Oakland, California, bisecting a neighborhood blighted by abandoned homes and open drug-dealing. It’s also home to a bustling farm that’s been feeding writer Novella Carpenter and her neighbors for six years.
From Iranian rooftops, a view of protest and violence
When the sun went down, their voices did not. “Allah O Akbar!” the crowds on the tops of building chanted over and over.
Arab world scrutinizing events in Iran
The Arab world is among the worldwide audience that has been closely watching as events in Iran have unfolded over the past week.
Policeman to protesters: ‘Please, please, please go home!’
In at least one incident Saturday, police wavered in their resolve to break up demonstrators who had turned out to protest last week’s election results, a witness told CNN. “The commander was shouting at the protesters,” said Roger Cohen, a columnist for the New York Times, who came upon perhaps a dozen police who had faced off against a number of demonstrators at about 5 p.m. “The commander was shouting at the protesters, one of whom had thrown a rock at him,” Cohen said.