When I visited Iran in the late '70s, only months before the Iranian revolution, some of the things I saw took on a different light after the overthrow of the decadent and autocratic Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. While Iran at the time appeared prosperous and calm...

Now that the dust has settled down surrounding a rather peculiar account of bin Laden's assassination at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan, and the various retelling have been iterated ad infinitum by the Obama administration (although conspiracy theorists are still out there and I don't really blame...

There is an old French saying, "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" The more things change, the more they remain the same. When I heard that the UN Security Council had proposed a no-fly zone over Libya under the oh-so-very-benign emblem of humanitarian support of the rebels, it...

All Arab eyes are watching Cairo. But this time, with Al Jazeera present internationally, not only current Arab residents, but ex-patriots Arabs and the international community are watching as well. The events unfolding in Cairo are historical no doubt -- yet a similar event befell Egypt before (albeit not to...

When it comes to tea, I like mine complex, robust, and naturally fragrant -- none of that orange spice, fruity impartations, or bergamot oil please. Having been raised in India (a tea-producing country and the very source of the tea that helped those Boston Tea Partiers make their point) and...

"Lower voter participation is a silent threat to our democracy... It under-represents young people, the poor, the disabled, those with little education, minorities and you and me." This sentiment, uttered by Nancy Neumann, is nothing short of a prophecy, being played out today in district after district, now that our...

Back when I was studying for my GCE O'Level (U.K. High School Board), there were only a few places where my brother and I wanted to further our education. England and the United States were in the final running. One reason was that we wouldn't have to learn a new...

I am not a big fan of Gertrude Stein. I make Oakland my home, and despite Gertrude's famous pithy and (in my opinion) inaccurate phrase about it, I think there is plenty of there here. Even so, I can think of no other description that encapsulates the (lack of) substance...

I hear the news with much bemusement of Israel agreeing to talk peace with the Palestinians, and that Benjamin Netanyahu is looking forward to this meeting.

It is almost comical to me, and about as believable as some sort of mythical Chimera, which only exists on the pages of a...

When I first arrived in this country, news of the Iranian hostage crisis was all abuzz. Nightline with Ted Koppel had just been created to cover the crisis. I remember watching it nightly and not quite understanding the gravity of the matter: I was young and idealistic. While there were...

The meteoric rise of China as an economic powerhouse may have its roots in a society that has a rich cultural history of innovation and exchange. But when China cut itself off from the world, it lay dormant for a long time, mired in feudalism and illiteracy. The Cultural Revolution...