Politics
New motto of Azeri Government – there’s no such thing as bad publicity?
As the government in Baku continues to crack down on dissent, the least it is concerned with seems to be its reputation abroad.
Mr Blair: Was Jesus Wrong? If So, You Must Be Right by Peter Stanford
Illustration by Chris Riddell Tony Blair is busy outing himself as a man of God. Which is immediately ironic after all that time during which Blair refused to “do God” – as his media manager Alastair Campbell informed us. Since leaving Downing Street, Blair has used the G-word with a mixture of the fervour and […]
Republic of Facebook
Following the beating and arrest of two youth activists and bloggers in Baku, who were using new media as well as Facebook to spread their ideas among their followers, the local online community has exploded in a way that prompted support from global community ifor the arrested bloggers and in general, the freedom of speech […]
From Baku to Strasbourg: 40,000-euro-worth idiosyncrasies
According to Azeri Press Agency, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, named after a former KGB strongman and communist party chief turned president, and which operates in and from the Republic of Azerbaijan, a secular Shia state, has donated €40,000 to Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg. The foundation is headed by the First Lady of Azerbaijan who […]
Waiting five years for a five-minute chance
This recent blog post by an Iranian blogger “cautiously speaking from inside Iran” sounded to me so familiar that I wanted to share it with you: As you might know, private television channels are forbidden by the law in Iran. In general, power-holders are really touchy about any media that could challenge their authority. […] […]
Azerbaijan marks anniversary of its first republic
On 28th of May, Azerbaijan marked 91th anniversary of its first republic. Azerbaijan Democratic Republic or ADR as known by its initials is considered the first democratic republic in Muslim East with a functional parliament and clean record of human rights. As I wrote in my post last year, Proclaimed on 28 May, 1918 and […]
Live tonight – How British politics lost its way
Tonight at the Frontline Club we’ll be talking with journalist, author and broadcaster Peter Hitchens about how British politics lost its way. A subject Peter dissects in his most recent book, The Broken Compass How British Politics. We start at 7pm GMT/11am GMT. As usual, if you can’t join us in person at the Club, […]
Karen Greenberg on the first 100 days of Guantanamo
The launch of Karen Greenberg’s book The Least Worst Place made the headlines in the Telegraph with her account of the first 100 days of the notorious prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and how its leadership tried to establish something different than what it became. Center on Law and Security Executive Director, Karen Greenberg wrote […]
Coming to the UK: Obama’s digital strategy
Blue State Digital, the company behind the successful web strategy that won Barack Obama the American presidency, recently opened a London office, recruiting Matthew McGregor to run the operation. MacGregor, who was responsible for Ken Livingstone’s 2008 mayoral campaign amongst others will be at the Frontline Club to talk about Obama’s web strategy and what […]
Barack Obama singles out Azerbaijan
In his statement in honor of World Press Freedom Day, U.S. President Barack Obama singled out Azerbaijan among the "corner[s] of the globe" where journalists are in jail or being actively harassed: In every corner of the globe, there are journalists in jail or being actively harassed: from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, Burma to Uzbekistan, Cuba […]
Civil society addresses an open letter to the President
A group of prominent Azeri intellectuals, civil society and NGO leaders, and independent journalists has addressed an open letter to Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The letter signed by 24 people states in particular: As the representatives of the nation which was the leader of democratization in the Muslim world and […]
Leading Azeri Online News Portal Shuts Down
Not so long ago, on 12 February, Anar Mamedkhanov, founder of Day.az, leading Azeri media outlet, and one of the biggest online news portals in Caucasus warned his Armenian colleagues: Gentlemen, wake up, it is XXI century, year 2009 (just in case to remind you of), only day.az with the quantity of its visits and […]