Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran (Sajed.ir)
Assets of the Ayatollah
By Steve Stecklow, Babak Deghanpisheh and Yeganeh Torbati
Reuters Investigates
In a three part exposé, Reuters uncovers the story of Setad, a little known Iranian charitable organization formed shortly before Ayatollah Khomeini’s death to manage the seized property of criminals and political dissenters. Under Ayatollah Khamenei, Setad has ballooned into a multibillion dollar business empire that has cemented the supreme leader’s power.
Japan’s Last Chance
By Noah Smith
Foreign Affairs
After Japan missed the boat in the late-1970s and 1980s to switch to neoliberal economic policies, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds Japan’s second chance to couple current structural reforms with neoliberal policies. Otherwise, Smith warns, the country risks drowning in inefficiency, regulation and economic backwardness rather than progress.
The edge of the abyss: exposing the NSA’s all-seeing machine
By T.C. Sottek
The Verge
Sottek reviews the history of the NSA from its formation in 1952 to its today’s somewhat feeble legal justification for mass surveillance programs that have allegedly subverted American democracy.
The Lonely Guy
By Todd S. Purdum
Vanity Fair
Characterizing President Obama as the “community organizer who works alone,” Purdum offers the argument that such a solitary and composed character may be detrimental to a politician. Purdum analyzes how a politician’s persona might influence his or her interaction with other political leaders in the international community.
After 30 Years of Silence, the Original NSA Whistleblower Looks Back
By Adrian Chen
Gawker
Chen examines the first attempt to expose the NSA in the 1970s in the article published by Ramparts in 1972 with Perry Fellwock as the agency’s original whistleblower
Climate change and corruption
Beijing loses face in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan
High frequency trading: A high-profile target once again
Olympic torch burns brightly for some on top of the world
Nuclear weapons in Asia predicted to increase
