Columbia University Presents: “Iran after the Election”

New Yorkers, mark your calendars for December 5th.

In what looks to be the most important academic conference on the post-election affairs of Iran, Columbia University will host a who’s who of Iranian scholars, activists, and journalist for a conference entitled “Iran After the Election.”

Featured speakers will include: Asef Bayat, Hamid Dabashi, Gary Sick, Abdolkarim Soroush, and Richard Bulliet among others.

This will be the event for those wishing to know everything and more about what happened in Iran last summer and what to look for in the coming months. Best of all, the event is free and open to the public!

For more information visit:

http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/mei/iranconference/Home.html

Obama are you with us?

On the one hand, it is often best if the United States, Russia, England, France, the Greeks, the Arabs, the Mongolians, and all other outside forces stay out of Iranian politics. I have maintained that fairly consistently over the years. But I started thinking about things today after watching this video:

Today in the streets of Tehran, on the anniversary of the taking of the American Embassy in Tehran (now 30 years ago) the Green Wave chanted on the streets “Obama! Obama! You are with them or you are with us.”

Might Obama, now that he is a Nobel Peace Laureate, be seen more than just the President of the United States, but a symbol for the aspirations of all the oppressed? Might it be that the President is in a unique position to do something more than voice gentle opinions?

I honestly don’t know, but would love to hear what you all think out there on the interwebs.