All posts by Nir Boms

12May/08

The Power of the Dish and the War of Ideas

 

By Nir T. Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | August 1, 2003

On March of 2000, Zia Atabi, a former Iranian rock star, placed a small satellite dish on the roof of a former pornographic studio in one of Los Angeles neighborhoods and began broadcasting.

Atabi, formally known as the “Tom Jones of Iran” escaped his homeland shortly after 1979 and found refuge in California, where approximately 600,000 ex-Iranian patriots live today. As is common in many ethnic groups in the United States, The Iranian community enhanced its local cultural activities.  Zia, contributed support to his community’s cultural needs by borrowing some money from his wife, and launching a Farsi satellite station. He called it NITV (The National Iranian Television Network) since he wanted to stress its non-partisan nature to his ex-patriot community. The station began airing some old films, music and eventually news and original programs. Few days later he received his first telephone call from Teheran. Continue reading

12May/08

Mubarak’s Double Game

19 December 2004

Nir Boms and Aaron Mannes 

In the struggle to build a democratic Middle East, Egypt is a crucial front and the upcoming October 2005 presidential elections present a unique opportunity for reform.  Prominent Egyptian reformers have expressed interest in running against President for life Hosni Mubarak, including Professor Saad al-Din Ibrahim – one of the Arab world’s leading voices for democracy and human rights. 

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12May/08

Syria’s Gulag

 

By Farid N. Ghadry and Nir T. Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | April 9, 2004

Close to a hundred Kurds were killed during a series of riots that started in the soccer game in the city of Qamoshli last month. Over 1,200 Kurds were arrested for treason, espionage, incitement and the disruption of the public order. This is the story of one of them, a 14 year old boy we will call Ahmed, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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12May/08

Defiance in Damascus

Article published Sep 27, 2007
Defiance in Damascus

By Nir Boms –

The streets of Damascus have seen most things. They saw military marches with strutting generals leading their people to war. They have seen the images of presidential figures, such as the late Hafez Assad and his son, the current president, Bashar Assad, displayed on every corner. They have seen those of other allies like Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah or Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But they had never seen a Syrian American calling for reform. Continue reading