For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs. During periodic crackdowns, police have confiscated dogs from their owners right off the street; and state media has lectured Iranians on the diseases spread by canines.
Tag Archives: activists
Bahrain: Is a U.S. Ally Using Torture to Put Down Dissent?
On March 17, Ibrahim Shareef, the head of the anti-government activist movement Waad, was snatched from his home at gunpoint by what his family describes as Bahraini security forces. Thrown into a waiting sport utility vehicle, he was driven off into the night.
Can the Syrian Regime Divide and Conquer Its Opposition?
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy against dissent, using specific carrots-and-sticks to appease and repress the country’s complicated collection of tribal, ethnic and religious interests.
Global Girl Power: To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls
We know what the birth of a revolution looks like: A student stands before a tank. A fruit seller sets himself on fire.
How Eating Grass-Fed Beef Could Help Fight Climate Change
On a farm in coastal Maine, a barn is going up. Right now it’s little more than a concrete slab and some wooden beams, but when it’s finished, the barn will provide winter shelter for up to six cows and a few head of sheep
Boehner’s Choice: Brace for a Government Shutdown, or Cross the Tea Party
John Boehner, who often meets the press flanked by a team of deputies, took the podium alone on Thursday. With a week left before the government shuts down April 8, the House Speaker took pains to dispel rumors of a deal.
China tries to stamp out ‘Jasmine Revolution’
Authorities detained activists, elevated the number of police about the streets, disconnected some cell phone text messaging companies and censored Web postings regarding the contact to stage protests in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other key metropolitan areas. Jittery Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a display of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious […]
Sweeping injunction targets ‘commuter drug dealers’ in downtown L.A.
Sweeping injunction targets ‘commuter drug dealers’ in downtown L.A. In an aggressive new tack in the city’s crackdown on drug-dealing on skid row, L.A. prosecutors on Wednesday announced a criminal injunction targeting “commuter dealers” who come into downtown from other parts of town to sell their goods. The L.A. City Attorney’s Office said this is […]
Pardon for black boxer jailed for interracial dating waits on Obama
The White House refused to indicate Monday whether President Obama will issue a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson, the African-American boxing champion convicted in 1913 for dating a white woman. The House of Representatives on July 29 unanimously passed a resolution urging Obama to grant a pardon; the Senate passed a similar measure by a voice vote on June 24
Obama ducks gay soldiers pledge — for now
The United States is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but there are thousands of troops caught-up in a very different battle and President Barack Obama is promising to win it. Obama says he will reverse U.S