Interviews

Kourosh Ziabari - If you’ve ever tried to search for reliable information and analyses which expose the concealed and obscured side of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, you’ve surely come across to the website “If Americans Knew.” This website belongs to a non-profit organization which focuses on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict and the foreign policy of the United States toward the Middle East. “If Americans Knew” publishes commentaries and articles that the American mainstream media pusillanimously shun and reject because of their fear of the influential Zionist lobby which predominantly rules the U.S. administration and Congress. “If Americans Knew” releases statistical reports on the history of Israeli –...

Kourosh Ziabari - The U.S.-based Syrian activist believes that the foreign-backed terrorists in Syria are committing atrocities against the innocent civilians while they receive military and financial support from a certain number of countries such as the U.S., Britain, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. “The role of Israel and Israel’s backers such as the U.S., Britain, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, is very clear in this conflict. We know that this is part of a bigger plan for the so-called Middle East Road Map to divide the Middle East into smaller countries. Those who think this is a revolution are wrong,” said Elaine, who preferred not to disclose her full name since her computer and email accounts were targeted with 14...

  Kourosh Ziabari - We’re living in a tumultuous and confused era when human’s need for moderation and ethics can be felt more than ever. The self-alienated mankind is being immersed in a quagmire of immorality, depravity and corruption as a result of his enchantment with modernity and globalization. Traditional values are being lost and people behave toward each other dishonestly, deceitfully. In such a turbulent time, it seems that religions can come to the help of sinking man to be rescued from the ocean of moral decadence and decline. At the same time, the followers of different religions need to interact with each other effectively so as to settle the redundant disputes and come to a comprehensive and lasting...

Kourosh Ziabari - The humankind has always been busy with answering the questions on what is morally good and what is morally unacceptable as he wanted to adhere to what the members of the society admire and appreciate. People have always been after finding the codes of ethics and the behaviors which are morally justifiable. Although the citizens of liberal societies are less concerned with the issues of morality as they believe that what does not violate the freedom of others and does not molest them is socially acceptable, the fact that morality has historically occupied the mind of human being as a major question of life is undeniable, especially given that moral issues have always had religious implications, as well. Roger Crisp is...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Award-winning U.S. investigative journalist Dave Lindorff said in an interview with Tehran Times that the American people are deceived by the government about the alleged threats jeopardizing the States’ security and also about the size of military budget. “When the 9/11 attacks happened, most school districts in the country cancelled all class trips to museums, parks, etc., for fear that terrorists would be attacking school buses… I think Americans would like to see spending on the military cut, and polls show a majority would like the wars ended and troops pulled back to the U.S. from abroad, but it’s not high on their list of concerns. In part they are lied to about the size of the military budget,...

  Kourosh Ziabari - It’s an undeniable yet bitter reality that the United States is not a popular power. We are not talking about the American nation, because interaction and exchanges between the nations is something which takes place smoothly, regardless of political equations; however, even those nations who admire the American people for different reasons cannot hide their consternation and dismay at the imperial and colonial policies of the U.S. government. The United States has established a military base whenever it set foot into a new country. According to former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul, the United States has military personnel in some 130 countries and statistics show that it has bases in...

Kourosh Ziabari and Jérôme Guillet - Erri De Luca is an internationally-renowned Italian poet and writer. "Corriere della Sera" literature critic Giorgio De Rienzo has called him "the writer of the decade". He started writing since he was 20; however, his first book was published in 1989, when he was 39 years old. Upon graduating from high school in 1968, he joined the newly-established far-left, extra-parliamentary organization of Lotta Continua. The political activities of the organization were terminated early in 1976. Erri De Luca speaks several languages, including English, French, Hebrew and Yiddish. He is the author of several books including "Montedidio" which has won him The Prix Femina award. Erri De Luca has translated...

Kourosh Ziabari - Afshin Rattansi is an award-winning journalist who has worked at the BBC Today program in the run up to the war on Iraq in 2003, CNN International, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera Arabic, Press TV and a number of Channel 4 (UK) commissioned production companies. Afshin has been a columnist for Guardian between 1986 and 1992. He has written articles for the New Statesman, Attitude, Flaunt and The Oldie. He has anchored news for Press TV from Tehran and was was one of the first English-language employees of Al Jazeera and worked at the Arab satellite station’s flagship programme, ‘Top Secret’ which uncovered the Al Qaeda plot to attack Washington and New York in 2001. Rattansi is currently hosting the Double Standards show...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Adam Roberts is a British academician, literary critic and science fiction writer. He has a degree in English language from the University of Aberdeen and a Ph.D. from the Cambridge University on Robert Browning and the Classics. He has been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award of the best science fiction novel in 2001, 2007 and 2010. Roberts has published 11 novels of which the most prominent ones are Salt (2000), Stone (2002), The Snow (2004), Gradisil (2006) and Swiftly: A Novel (2008). Roberts' "Palgrave History of Science Fiction" has been translated into Chinese. Several reviews of his books have appeared on international newspapers and media outlets. Adam joined me in an exclusive interview to...

Kourosh Ziabari - David Swanson is a renowned American anti-war activist, radio host, blogger and journalist. He obtained a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Virginia in 1997. He served as press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign. David Swanson is opposed to the U.S. military expeditions around the world and has been one of the influential voices in the United States, calling for the impeachment of former U.S. President George Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney for committing war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Swanson believes that Barack Obama is also a war criminal and should be prosecuted. Swanson is the author of three books and his latest book, “War Is A Lie” was published in...

Kourosh Ziabari - Philip Giraldi is a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Now, he chairs the Council for the National Interest as the Executive Director. CNI is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the alteration of United States’ Middle East policy. As a CIA officer, Giraldi served in different countries including Turkey, Italy, Germany and Spain. He is now a Francis Walsingham Fellow at The American Conservative Defense Alliance. He has appeared on several radio and TV programs on MSNBC, NPR, Fox News, BBC, Al-Jazeera and CBS News. Giraldi works with the American Conservative magazine as a contributing editor and writes a regular column for...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Craig LaMay is an associate professor of journalism at the Northwestern University. He is a former editorial director of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center and editor of Media Studies Journal; and a former newspaper reporter. LaMay’s articles and commentaries have appeared on New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Communication and the Law and a number of other media outlets. LaMay has published several books on journalism and mass media of which we can name Journalism and the Problem of Privacy (2003), Commercial Transformation of the Nonprofit Sector, with Burton Weisbrod (1998) and Abandoned in the Wasteland: Children, Television and the First Amendment with Newton Minow...