Linkliste unbehandelter Themen

Politics: 

Hassan Rowhani, who "has a pragmatic approach while retaining his religious conservatism", won this weekend's presidential elections in Iran, replacing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

The election of Rouhani, a centrist cleric who has been close to Iran’s apex of power since the 1979 revolution, is an improbably auspicious end to the Ahmadinejad era. Rouhani is a blunt pragmatist with plenty of experience maneuvering within Iran’s theocratic system. He is far too sensible to indulge in a power grab à la Ahmadinejad. And, as a cleric, he assuages the fears of the Islamic Republic’s religious class. He embraced reformist rhetoric during the campaign, but will not deviate too far from the system’s principles, the foremost of which is the primacy of the Supreme Leader.  

Foreign Affairs: Why Rouhani Won -- And Why Khamenei Let Him, June 16, 2013

DATUM, about Beirut becoming a creative centre for the Syrian diaspora. 

The Atlantic about the relationship between the enclave Hong Kong and China, and its peculiar political situation, The New Yorker about China's role as investor in Africa.

Jadaliyya about the central role of Gezi Park in the Turkish protests that should not be diminished, The New York Times about how the Turkish Prime Minister lost previous supporters due to his reaction to the protests. 

Wired about General Keith Alexander, responsible for the US' cyberwar: 

In his telling, the threat is so mind-bogglingly huge that the nation has little option but to eventually put the entire civilian Internet under his protection, requiring tweets and emails to pass through his filters, and putting the kill switch under the government’s forefinger. “What we see is an increasing level of activity on the networks,” he said at a recent security conference in Canada. “I am concerned that this is going to break a threshold where the private sector can no longer handle it and the government is going to have to step in.” 

Wired: The Secret War, June 12, 2013

Pop Culture: 

Tatiana Maslany talks to the LA Times about playing seven different characters in Orphan Black, and about the themes of the show in general (also, Evelyne Brochu's hair). And she should at least be nominated for an Emmy for her performance on the show (and win it, to be honest). 

Fader interviews Kathi Wilcox and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, Hanna, Lisa Darms, Johanna Fateman and Sheila Heti talk to Bookforum about the Riot Grrrl Collection.