Posts Tagged ‘Ahmadinejad’
The False Promise of Presidential Elections in Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran is just days away from choosing the next President of the country. The Presidential elections are being closely watched across the Western world, particularly the U.S. According to some analysts, the choice made by the Iranian people during the 12 June elections would greatly influence the Iran’s international image and politics for the coming years. In the midst of international anxiety over Iran’s future political leadership, certain intriguing aspects of the country’s domestic politics have escaped popular attention. A closer scrutiny of Iran’s national politics reveals that these are neither elections as democratic nor as groundbreaking as the Western world expects.
Knockout Punches This Week!
Ahmadinejad borrows Obama’s election slogan: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at one his election campaign sites draws the audience’s attention to the Farsi phrase Ma Mitavanim, a rough Persian translation of President Obama’s famous “Yes We Can” slogan.
Campaign for all, Vote for None: Bollywood Actor Salman Khan did not cast his vote for the Lok Sabha pools after campaigning for both the BJP and the Congress Parties.
4 polling Officers for 1 Voter: A makeshift polling station with four polling officers was set up in the Gir Lion Sanctuary, Gujarat, India for allowing the single registered voter to cast his ballot.
First Ladies: After Jaco Zuma, who led ANC to victory in the African polls, is set to become the country’s next President there are concerns over who would Africa’s next First Lady. Mr. Zuma has been married four times and currently has two wives and one fiancée.
President Obama’s Diplomatic Outreach
The U.S. has for long sought to define and relate to its allies in unambiguous terms. President Bush epitomized this approach in his famous ‘either with us or against us’ speech and through his policy of pre-emption. The Obama Presidency appears to have opened with the objective of de-categorization of countries in U.S. foreign policy. President Obama is challenging the traditional tags for casting friends, enemies, competitors or facilitators while discarding the rigid criteria of ‘either with us or against us’. President Obama’s foreign policy approach puts Lord Palmerstone’s contention into action: “We have no permanent allies, we have no permanent enemies, we have only permanent interests.” This change of policy goes beyond a simple transition from Republican to Democratic administrations; it involves a transformation of global relations. Click to continue…