Sunjeev Bery

Tag: Iran

  • CNN praises a dictator

    The Huffington Post Posted: June 23, 2009 By Sanjeev Bery It has barely been a day since my last blog post criticizing a CNN commentator’s Iran analysis. But somehow, CNN has already managed to outdo itself. In a new article linked to its home page as of Monday, CNN.com heavily quotes the son of a…

  • CNN’s Navarrette gets Iran wrong

    The Huffington Post Posted: June 22, 2009 By Sanjeev Bery   CNN.com columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. is the latest to join the chorus of voices calling on President Obama to get tougher with the Iranian government. While tempting, the CNN commentator’s words fail to consider the legacy of 25 years of U.S. intervention against Iranian…

  • A campaign ad worth watching

    Want to shed a tear of optimism?  From the presidential campaign of Iranian reformer Mehdi Karroubi: While Karroubi was a rival to lead opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, his campaign appears to share in the general exuberance and hope of a reform movement that appeals to Iran’s youth.

  • John Kerry on Iran

    “The last thing we should do is give Mr. Ahmadinejad an opportunity to evoke the 1953 American-sponsored coup, which ousted Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and returned Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to power. Doing so would only allow him to cast himself as a modern-day Mossadegh, standing up for principle against a Western puppet.” U.S. Senator…

  • The rival Ayatollah’s statement (translation)

    Over at 0×6675636B, an Iranian expat has posted a translated version of Ayatollah Montazeri’s letter criticizing the Iranian elections and government crackdown.  The full translation is below. First, a few quick quotes from the Ayatollah’s statement: “A legitimate state must respect all points of view. It may not oppress critical views. I fear that this…

  • Ayatollah vs. Ayatollah

    McClatchy News is reporting that one of Iran’s most senior clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has called the election rigged.  He has also criticized the government crackdown on Mousavi supporters.   Montazeri himself was a leader of the 1979 revolution and a one-time rival to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for the nation’s top…

  • Why Deepak Chopra is wrong

    The Huffington Post 05/05/09 by Sanjeev Bery, Sahar Shafqat It is always easy to tell someone else what they need to do. Just point your finger, clear your throat, and boldly offer your advice. Don’t worry about the realities of history — just speak your mind. In his recent essay, “The Dilemma of the ‘good’…

  • “That wasn’t a date…”

    Did they shake hands?  Did they chat?  Was there a peck on the cheek?  As with all first dates, it depends on who you talk to. The New York Times reported that a pair of top diplomats from the U.S. and Iran had a polite chat at an international conference on Afghanistan this Tuesday.  According…

  • Obama’s holiday message to Iranians

    U.S. President Barack Obama released the video greetings below to the Iranian government and people. The Nowruz holiday greetings are a rare opportunity to hear an American leader praising the culture and accomplishments of Iranian society.  More than 50 years after the U.S. overthrew Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, this is a  hopeful sign that…