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There's an old Chinese theory according to which the best way to understand historical events is not to reconstruct the sequence of "causes" by which the events were "produced," but rather to look at the unique characteristics of the moment in which the events occurred. I know there's an old Chinese theory for most anything, but this one has stayed with me ever since I first read about it in an essay by Carl Gustav Jung, and back in the Eighties it occurred to me that Pope John Paul II had understood its wisdom. The pope once remarked that there...

Washington, D.C. -- During a live primetime televised interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Reza Pahlavi of Iran condemned Mr. Ahmadinejad's repeated comments on the holocaust and ailing Ariel Sharon as "despicable," having set a "new standard on incivility and disgrace," and "rejected by the vast majority of the Iranian people." Observing that Jews and Persians had "for millennia lived peacefully together," the 45 year old opposition leader to the clerical regime reminded the audience that the first Shah of Iran, Cyrus the Great, is revered as a 'savior-saint' of the Jewish people. "Obviously Mr. Ahmadinejad is ignorant of our...

Two children and an adult have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey's capital Ankara, the city's governor Kemal Onal has said. The results have not been confirmed by World Health Organization labs, but are still likely to trigger panic, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Turkey. If confirmed they will be Turkey's first cases outside the eastern region of Van, about 1,000km (620 miles) away. Meanwhile two more children in Van have tested positive for H5N1, Mr Onal said. Our correspondent says the three people who tested positive in Ankara come from a town about...

Afghan president says his country will recognize Israel once Palestinian state is established Afghan President Hamid Karzai sent get-well wishes to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adding that his country was ready to initiate diplomatic ties with Israel for the first time in history. "May God give him (Sharon) a longer life," Karzai told the Associated Press, adding that "If a Palestinian state is recognized, we will recognize Israel, we will have relations with Israel. We will have trade with Israel." "Israelis are people like we are," he added. "If I have the right to live, and have a home, and...

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Jordan on Sunday approved an agreement that gives American citizens in Jordan immunity against prosecution for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The lower house of parliament approved the agreement, which had already been passed by the upper house last year. Approval by both houses ratifies the agreement. King Abdullah II, who has already approved the measure, is expected to issue a royal decree making it law. The bilateral agreement says that any U.S. national -- or non-national working for the U.S. government -- accused by the court will be surrendered by Jordan to U.S....

Canada's Conservative Party was in a clear lead across the country over the Liberals led by Prime Minister Paul Martin for the first time since the federal election campaign began in late November last year, said a new poll published on Thursday. The EKOS poll, done for the Toronto Star and La Presse, shows the Conservatives led by Stephen Harper with a lead of nearly six percentage points over the Liberals. The Conservatives had the support of 36.2 percent of the people surveyed, while 30.4 percent said they would vote for the Liberals in the Jan. 23 election. That lead...

Public opinion is tracking political developments in Russia. Russians have been considerably less enthusiastic about democracy in recent years than they were in the early 1990s. Today, unlike then, when public cries for freedom were leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union, a majority believes that their country would be better served by a strong leader rather than a democratic government. And the latest Pew Global Attitudes poll finds the Russian people would choose a strong economy over a good democracy by a margin of almost six to one. These findings can only add to Western concerns that, under...

Yes, even The Music Hall is planning regular podcasts, to highlight upcoming shows with samples and little interviews, etc, about 5-10 minutes each. We also intend to publish special podcasts featuring debates, interviews and shows recorded at events. Enjoy! Anyone with a computer can listen to a podcast You don't have to have an mp3 player (like an iPod), you can download and listen on your computer. The easiest way to get started is to download the program "iTunes" from Apple. (direct link here) iTunes makes thousands of podcasts available for free, including the Music Hall Podcasts (you can acces...

THE UNITED STATES has a surprising ally in its impatience with the new Iranian president. Since his inauguration, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pugnacious demeanor has not only roiled the international community but also a significant portion of Iran's ruling elite. A coalition of traditional conservatives, pragmatists and reformists is emerging within the government to oppose Ahmadinejad's brand of governance. With Iran saying it will resume nuclear fuel research, the U.S. should do all in its power to boost the bargaining power of these more moderate Iranian leaders. The rise of the anti-Ahmadinejad faction defies the expectations of Iran analysts, who believed that...

British officials have allowed the export to Iran of a cargo of radioactive material that experts believe could be used in a nuclear weapons programme, The Observer can reveal. The disclosure has prompted calls for an inquiry into how the international trade in such compounds is controlled. On 31 August a truck carrying 1,000kg of zirconium silicate supplied by a British firm was stopped by Bulgarian customs at the Turkish border on its way to Tehran, after travelling 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles) from Britain, through Germany and Romania, without being stopped. Zirconium can be used as a component of a...

Iran's interior minister accused the United States on Saturday of orchestrating the kidnapping of nine Iranian border guards with the help of Sunni militant groups linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda, according to a report. "The United States, which cannot directly encounter Iran, uses such groups to carry out such acts against the country," Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi told reporters, according to state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). "Iran has launched a serious investigation into the kidnapping. The kidnappers are quite known. They have asked for ransom and release of jailed members of their group in exchange for the release of...

By stating his wish to see Ariel Sharon, “the criminal of Sabra and Shatilla dead and joining his ancestors”, the news Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demonstrated that not only he is genuinely anti-Semite, but he has not the slightest human compassion and feeling. "Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final", the extravagant, islamo-populist Ahmadinejad told hard line religious students in the holy city of Qom, known as the “cradle” of militant Shi’ism, where he took his cabinet for meeting on Thursday. His remark were so shocking that most of Iranian press,...

TEHRAN: Cuban President Fidel Castro backed Iran's "right" to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program following a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Iran, or any other country, has the right to produce atomic energy for peaceful means and to have access to modern technology for this purpose," Castro. The Iranian leader had thanked Castro for his support during their telephone conversation. On Thursday, Ahmadinejad -- talking to an audience in Qom -- said Iran would not bow to Western "bullies" which already have nuclear arsenals.

Tel Aviv - Israeli police and the Shin Bet internal security organization have arrested the former head of a local council in the Galilee on suspicion of spying for Iran, local media reported Friday night after a ban on publication was lifted. Jaris Jaris, 57, head of the Fasuta local council from May 2001 to November 2003, was detained on December 12, after police discovered that he had been recruited by Iran and asked to use his political contacts to infiltrate the Israeli political system. Police said Jaris fled Israel for Lebanon in 1970 after being caught operating a cell...

Thomas Friedman's article, "A shah with a turban" (Views, Dec. 24), poignantly illustrated the rift between Iran's clerical dictatorship and the country's population, especially the youth. However, an inappropriate headline and cartoon by Kal undermined what was informative and valuable in his article. The implication that the shah's reign bears any resemblance to the present regime is inaccurate. Under the late Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranians enjoyed incomparably better lives than what they have to endure today; moreover, the prospect for a stable Middle East appeared promising. Jews and other religious minorities thrived and prospered under the shah, who promoted religious...

Why should anyone believe anything the CIA has to say about Iran? Like everyone else in Washington, I’ve been reading excerpts from James Risen’s new book, the one that "exposes" the "crimes" of the Bush administration with regard to the war on terrorism. The most recent excerpt deals with the CIA’s activities vis-à-vis Iran, and Risen says some very shocking things, things which a serious city would find far more troublesome than the legalities about NSA’s intercepts of conversations involving terrorists. Since I’m just an amateur at these arcane subjects, I thought it best to get some real expertise, and...

An Advisor to the Senegalese Regional Planning Ministry praised 'anti-Jewish' remarks by the Iranian arab-parast president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying only few statesmen speak as explicitly as he does. Safietou Ba Diop confirmed President Ahmadinejad's views, saying Muslims can achieve success through unity and following Iran's right policies. She added the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) should hold a session to discuss Muslims' problems and said the next meeting of the OIC would be held in Senegal. She stressed the importance of reinforcing unity among world Muslims, saying if realized this will solve all problems facing Muslims across the globe....

NORFOLK, Va. Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today, connecting Sharon's stroke to Israeli policies. Robertson said Sharon divided Israel and ... quote ... "woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU (European Nation), the United Nations, or the United States of America." The comments came on "The 700 Club," broadcast from Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach. Robertson said he considers Sharon a good friend, and that he was sad to see him so ill. Robertson spokeswoman Angell Watts did not immediately return a telephone call...

Jerusalem, 5 Jan. (AKI) - The Israeli foreign ministry is planing to launch a new website in Farsi to counter the anti-Israel campaign of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Anti-Zionist propaganda, which calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map and defines the Holocaust as a myth than needs reviewing, is part of the rhetorical and political baggage used by the new Iranian president and representatives of his administration. According to Israeli sources, the site will be managed by Menashe Amir, a well-known journalist of Iranian origin who a few weeks ago became the director of programmes...

THE US this morning blasted as "hateful and disgusting" remarks by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hoping that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not survive his massive stroke. "This is a man who wraps himself in the cloak of a peaceful religion, Islam, and yet you hear remarks like this coming from him," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The ISNA student news agency in Tehran quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as wishing Mr Sharon dead after the Israeli leader suffered a severe brain haemorrhage yesterday. Mr Sharon, 77, is fighting for his life in a Jerusalem hospital. "I can only say...