There is eerie silence on Israel’s border with Lebanon, when the air raid sirens from cross-border strikes aren’t ringing through abandoned towns and kibbutzim. The roads winding through the northern Israelis hills towards Kfar Yuval are empty, except for a burned-out Israeli military jeep and missile fragments embedded in the …
Read More »Trump Campaign Says It Was Hacked, Suggests Iran Was Involved: Report
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said on Saturday that it had been hacked, blaming “foreign sources to the United States,” per a report from Politico. The campaign cited a Microsoft report from Friday that Iranian hackers “sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential …
Read More »Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Has Death Sentence Overturned, Will Face Retrial
Toomaj Salehi, the dissident Iranian rapper sentenced to death in April for releasing music critical of the country’s government, had the punishment overturned Saturday and will face retrial. Salehi’s lawyer Amir Raesian wrote on social media (via the Guardian), “As expected, the Supreme Court avoided an irreparable judicial error,” and …
Read More »Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Sentenced to Death for Songs Critical of Government
Toomaj Salehi, a dissident Iranian rapper, was sentenced to death earlier this week for releasing music critical of the government and in support of the 2022 protests in Iran. Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raesian, confirmed the sentence on Twitter, writing, “An order for the execution of Toomaj Salehi has been issued.” …
Read More »Iran Launches Drones, Missiles Toward Israel
Iran launched more than 200 drones and ballistic missiles in an attack on Israel on Saturday night, The New York Times reports. A spokesman for the Israeli military, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said most of the aerial assault had been intercepted with assistance from allies, including the United States. Tensions …
Read More »Biden Tells Netanyahu: U.S. Won't Support Retaliatory Strike on Iran. But Some Republicans Want One.
President Joe Biden urged Israel not to launch a counter-strike against Iran, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in one. Iran on Saturday launched drones and missiles to attack Israel — most of which were intercepted by forces from the U.S., Israel, and other …
Read More »Why Cate Blanchett Felt 'Compelled' to Bring the Story of an Iranian Woman in Australia to the Screen
The director Noora Niasari deeply understands the personal struggles of people who often go unnoticed by the mainstream flow of life. Her last short film, the 2020 thriller Tâm, about a Vietnamese woman trapped in a cataclysmic sexual encounter, is a haunting gut punch. Noora and I are from different …
Read More »American Idiots Kill the American Century
ODESA, Ukraine — The American Century is ending, with external adversaries outmaneuvering the United States in critical strategic contests worldwide, while internal extremists destroy American leadership. Whether one believes —as American officials say they do —that the purpose of U.S. power is to enforce a “rules-based” liberal international order and …
Read More »Taylor Hanson Wants Your Help Recording a Massive Version of the Iranian Protest Anthem 'Baraye'
Last September, as protests spread across Iran following the death of 22-year-old activist Mahsa Amini, the musician Shervin Hajipour released a song in support of the movement, “Baraye.” The song instantly went viral and has since become an anthem for the demonstrations — which is why Hanson’s Taylor Hanson is …
Read More »Barack Obama's Annual Flex: His Favorite Movies and Books of 2022
This long, arduous year has almost come to an end, which means it’s time for former President Barack Obama to flex on everybody by sharing just how much cool shit he’s read and watched during retirement. The 61-year-old Obama (or the team of Gen Z/millennial aides that actually craft these …
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