This essay is part of a strategic dialogue on the IMF. The accompanying essay by Martin S. Edwards is here and his response to Ambrose is here. Martin Edwards’ response is here.
IMF Reforms: Mere Tinkering or Change We Can Live With?
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Commentaries
Obama’s Israel-Palestine Gamble
Beyond Muscle: Using Financial Leverage for Middle East Peace
In late August, the U.S. and Israeli governments appeared to have settled on a grand strategy to advance Middle East peace, one that traded a tougher U.S. stance on Iran for freezing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. But subsequent reports on plans for additional Israeli settlement construction and announcements by Tehran outlining its terms for talks at a September 9th, meeting of the P5+1 (that’s the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) working group, indicate that the specific details of a bargain are still far from settled.
60-Second Expert: The Iran Opposition’s Second Life
Iranian political dissidents have taken their protests online through synthetic worlds such as Second Life. These efforts may ultimately prove to be an effective voice for their cause as the virtual movement garners sustained interest and continues to be difficult for government forces to contain.
Postcard From…Dublin
The signs are everywhere, all over Ireland, but particularly here in Dublin. Some just say "Yes" or "No," but everyone knows what they mean. The newspapers are full of the debate. Both sides battle on the radio and television. For Ireland, it is déjà vu all over again. In June 2008, Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty — which strengthens the foreign policy and military institutions of the European Union — by a clear margin of 53% to 46%. Next month, on October 2, Ireland will go to the polls a second time to vote on largely the same treaty.
Response to Chomsky II
I look hard but fail to see a moral or logical compass in Chomsky’s fast and loose recital of dates and deaths. In the end, his argument reduces to two basic principles. If someone other than the United States commits mass murder they did so with American encouragement, and so the guilt is ultimately Washington’s. Or they did it in response to American actions, which either exonerates them or in some way mitigates their crime.
Japan’s Election and Anti-Nuclear Momentum
Although the smashing victory of the opposition Democratic Party in Japan’s parliamentary elections of August 30 had numerous causes, one of the results will be a strengthening of the campaign for a nuclear weapons-free world.
Response to Williams
Ian Williams angrily denied that "NATO air raids on Serbia [beginning March 24 1999] actually precipitated the worst atrocities in Kosovo" and charged that it is deeply immoral for me to say so, "like claiming that the British air raids on Germany precipitated the Nazi gas chambers."
The Iranian Opposition
On July 22, a week into Iran’s foreign media reporting ban, a group of Iranian protesters gathered on a grassy hill to speak out against Supreme Leader Khamenei’s continued support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some wore black T-shirts with a blood-spattered slogan: “Where Is My VOTE?” By midday, the protest had attracted several hundred attendees. One woman arrived wearing little more than a thong swimsuit and a pair of purple angel wings.
Poems Against the Regime
Editor’s Note: These poems originally appeared on the website of the Association of Iranian American Writers.