Free Republic

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Hodding Carter III, a Mississippi journalist and civil rights activist who as U.S. State Department spokesman informed Americans about the Iran hostage crisis and later won awards for his televised documentaries, has died. He was 88. His daughter, Catherine Carter Sullivan, confirmed that he died Thursday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he taught leadership and public policy.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, resumed his post on Wednesday, February 27, after Hassan Rouhani refused his resignation. However, this round trip revealed the extent of internal crises in the Iranian theocracy. As for Hassan Rouhani, although he is delighted with the return of the irreplaceable head of diplomacy, we must point out that this event put an end to the government’s credibility on the international scene. While the fact that all decisions regarding Iranian foreign policy are taken by the Supreme Leader and his close guard, and not by the President and his cabinet, was already a...

Yesterday, my wife and I met with a Jewish doctor whom we have known for about 6 months. His father is a surgeon who has remained in Iran even though the rest of the family had fled Iran several years ago. As usual, I asked him what is going on in Iran with the recent unrest. He told me that the precipitous drop in value of the Iranian currency was not because of the sanctions, but was primarily the ruinous economic policies of the Ahmadinejad regime. He also told me that a great amount of government money is missing and...

METALS STOCKS Gold rises, boosted by Iran dispute and oil prices By Myra P. Saefong & Polya Lesova, MarketWatch Last Update: 11:22 AM ET Feb 26, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose as much as $5 an ounce Monday as higher crude-oil prices and Iran's continuing standoff over its nuclear program boosted the metal's safe-haven allure. Gold for April delivery was up $2.50 at $689.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after peaking at $691.80. On Friday, the contract touched a seven-month intraday high of $691.90 before closing up $3.70 at $686.70 an ounce, a gain...

I almost forgot to recognize a very important anniversary. This past Friday was the 25th anniversary of the release of 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days by Islamic terrorists. It's especially important because one of their mad captors is now the mad leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, today. While our State Department claims he was not one of the captors, the surviving hostages, today, remember him. And I believe them. Not the liars and enablers at the State Department who are most often America's enemies fondest allies. Times Haven't Changed: U.S. Hostages in Iran Released 25 Years...