By Nir Boms and Erick Stakelbeck
Published June 28, 2004
Although it often seems like a solitary outpost of democratic sanity, the United States is not alone in waging the war of ideas. Since September 11, more than a dozen privately ownedpro-democracy radio stations have emerged in freedom-starved countries like North Korea, Syria, Iran and Cuba.
In 2008 let us help bring some ray of hope to those working towards freedom in Iran. The fate of Iran’s political prisoners, whose numbers are estimated at 30,000, should accompany every international meeting and diplomatic engagement
Nir Boms
While in many parts of the world people were just starting to recover from New Year’s Eve hangovers, it was business as usual in Iran. On January 2, thirteen Iranians, including the mother of two young children, were executed, giving Iran a solid lead in the execution count for the new year. According to Agence France Presse, Iran carried out at least 297 executions in 2007, a 40% increase compared to the 177 executions reported by Amnesty International in 2006.
By Nir Boms
Published February 15, 2007
“Ignorance is power,” wrote George Orwell in his famous book “1984,” referring to the information police that kept bad ideas from the eyes of good people. Our world was not immune from this logic that reversed “good” with “bad” and “war” with “peace.” Some of our darkest moments of history have seen this very type of indoctrination that brought people to think in such terms and act accordingly. And another such moment may be looming in the near horizon.
By Nir T. Boms and Elliot Chodoff
Published November 10, 2006
“Ignorance is power,” wrote George Orwell in his famous book “1984,” referring to the information police that kept bad ideas from the eyes of good people. The rationale of the Big Brother has, unfortunately, often appeared throughout history. According to this approach, the only way to maintain the strength of an idea is to eliminate all suspicion or doubt. If one has no reason to question a belief, then that belief will remain, and if the absence of questioning can be sustained indefinitely, then the belief will be upheld indefinitely. Welcome to Iran.