Not lovin' Blogger so I switched my archive over to Word Press. Thank you so much for reading my two-cents, but keep it up. So now my blog is commera.wordpress.com and here is the RSS so you can just throw it right into your Reader. Any comments will be helpful, in fact, comment on the layout, or just to let me know you made the switch. Thanks! Read Full Story

I am still certainly optimistic about US-Iran relations under Obama, but these comments coming out of a private meeting from Sec. Clinton are more of the same thing. Commenting to the UAE Foreign Minister on whether Iran and US rapprochement is possible, Sec. Clinton reportedly made current US Admin speculation clear by saying, "It’s doubtful that Iran would respond."We all know that it is doubtful that Iran will respond to the current situation. But respond to what? The US has only... Read Full Story

The Islamic Republic seems to be escalating their liberty repression these days with the presidential election season kicking in:1) The Iranian cabinet is currently reviewing a draft that would make journalism in Iran completely beholden to the government if implemented as the official professional "journalism guidelines". This is a legislative act that may be argued against as the executive stepping outside of its constitutional powers.According to the Rooz report, "All powers... Read Full Story

Nobody really has been blogging about this article in the LA Times today, but I thought it was good. The Iranian presidential election, officially in June, has begun to pick up. The candidates are starting to campaign, and the rhetoric is picking up from the "principal-ists" against Khatami, and from Khatami against Ahmadinejad's legacy. Besides the political pop-shots that are typical, several developments have played out quickly over the last few weeks:1) Ahmadinejad took his... Read Full Story

Not only is Khamenei a qualified arbiter of Shi'i shari'a, he will also be the complete arbiter on US-Iranian bilateral relations. Roger Cohen's piece in the NYTimes today hits the issue right on the head (although I may be a little more skeptic of what can turn Khamenei towards the US):I’d say the central Iranian political phenomenon of recent years has been the reinforcement of Khamenei. How to engage with Iran begins and ends with him.While rhetoric is flying from all talking h... Read Full Story

The Gaza situation has been weighing on my mind and I have taken a step back before discussing it in order to gain better perspective within myself--in order to think beyond the headlines, the tit-for-tat, and the accusations which I find often terribly fruitless.Initially I will refrain from giving my blatant judgment on the situation and injecting myself amongst the hundreds of bloggers, columnists, and pundits who have weighed in on the issue. Before I do that what I would like to address ... Read Full Story

Carnegie Endowment has a new paper out on Arab Islamist political party participation that is worth reading. Will they be pragmatic, facilitating the democratic process or only debate the tenants of religious ideology? The authors examined movements in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Yemen as well as the armed parties in Lebanon and Palestine. Key conclusions include:* Islamist movements are reacting to their failure to influence policy and criticism from their base by either r... Read Full Story

I'm so angry, let me get this out: Am I unhappy about any of Obama's picks? Extremely. Fucking corporate shill Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa who has longstanding ties to agribusiness interests, as agriculture secretary. i am so pissed off about it. Why is it that politicians seem to think universal health care means providing more access to doctors and care, but have no sense of prevention? Listen to Nick Kristol's words yesterday in NYT:One new study estimates that 24 ... Read Full Story

I’d like to say, to all my Muslim readers, happy Eid Al-Adha/Bayram Al-Kabir/Kurban Bayram/Bara Eid! Read Full Story

In case you've been under a rock in November, Slate recaps the Obama-Drama in 2 minutes... Good stuff: Read Full Story