A Conservative Iranian’s Guide to Suppressing YouTube Videos

*Editor’s note: Yesterday we covered the arrest of a group of young Iranians in Tehran, who made a video to Pharrell’s hit song, “Happy.” As noted in our story, the original fan video, which received over 160,000 views on YouTube… Continue Reading

Leon Wieseltier Rewrites the Very Recent Past in Ukraine

by Derek Davison This Monday marked the end of a five-day conference (May 15-19) in Kiev, called “Ukraine: Thinking Together,” organized by The New Republic and specifically its literary editor, Leon Wieseltier. The conference press release promised that “an international group… Continue Reading

Erdogan’s Strange Approach to the Soma Mine Disaster

by Derek Davison An explosion at a coal mine in Turkey on May 13 has generated an outpouring of public anger and concern over the Turkish government’s mine safety record. The response of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his… Continue Reading

The “Rubik’s Cube” Challenges to a Final Iran Nuclear Deal

by Derek Davison As talks aimed at a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran continue, with principals from Iran and world powers meeting in Vienna this week, two recent analyses of the negotiations have compared the talks to a “Rubik’s Cube.”… Continue Reading

Poll: Soft Support for Ukrainian Separatism, Putin has Strong Backing at Home

by Derek Davison The Pew Research Center has conducted public opinion surveys in Ukraine (April 5-23) and Russia (April 4-20), and the results, released May 8, shed some light on the ongoing conflict between the two countries. They reveal a… Continue Reading