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Rouhani Tweets on Freedom of Arts
On January 8, President Hassan Rouhani appealed for loosened censorship of the arts in an address to six art and cultural guilds. "Art without freedom is meaningless," he told the gathering of prominent Iranian artists. "Every system has its red lines, but it's absolutely essential for these lines to be transparent and clear, so to avoid arbitrary restrictions," said Rouhani. Theater, music, poetry, cinema and calligraphy associations had invited the president to speak at Tehran's Vahdat Hall. The following is a series of @HassanRouhani's tweets based on his address.
Art without freedom is meaningless. #RouhaniLive— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
In post-revolutionary Iranian cinema, women have been brilliant not only as actresses,but as directors& screenwriters pic.twitter.com/RsbCdDjosv— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
Heartbroken to see Iranian National Orchestra shut down. Hope to revive it shortly,though it may result in another yellow card (from Majlis)— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
We seek your help to fight violence & to isolate extremists & fanatics--another step towards a World Against Violence and Extremism #WAVE— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
#UNGA approved our proposal: World Against Violence & Extremism #WAVE. We need to make this a reality in our community, country & the world— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
Seems like some have not heard Iranian nation's voice on June 24th yet; take out those cotton balls from ears. #Moderation #Hope #Prudence— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
Art should be under the supervision of artists,not the Government--at the gathering of artists tonight at Vahdat Hall pic.twitter.com/Gv4Mrn14Rp— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
Every system has its red lines, but it's absolutely essential for these lines to be transparent & clear, so to avoid arbitrary restrictions.— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
If we have clear & transparent rules, we can assign many tasks (normally carried out by Gov) to guilds and art organizations, who love #Iran— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 8, 2014
Rouhani Op-ed on "Moderation and Common Sense"
The Daily Star, a Lebanese English-language daily published the following op-ed by President Hassan Rouhani on December 31, 2013.
When I campaigned to become president of Iran, I promised to balance realism and the pursuit of the Islamic Republic's ideals – and won Iranian voters' support by a large margin. By virtue of the popular mandate that I received, I am committed to moderation and common sense, which is now guiding all of my government's policies. That commitment led directly to the interim international agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany last November in Geneva. It will continue to guide our decision-making in 2014.
Indeed, in terms of foreign policy, my government is discarding extreme approaches. We seek effective and constructive diplomatic relations and a focus on mutual confidence-building with our neighbors and other regional and international actors, thereby enabling us to orient our foreign policy toward economic development at home. To this end, we will work to eliminate tensions in our foreign relations and strengthen our ties with traditional and new partners alike. This obviously requires domestic consensus-building and transparent goal-setting – processes that are now underway.
While we will avoid confrontation and antagonism, we will also actively pursue our larger interests. But given an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, challenges can be addressed only through interaction and active cooperation among states. No country – including the big powers – can effectively address on its own the challenges that it faces.
Indeed, developing and emerging economies' rapid "catch-up growth" suggests that their aggregate economic weight is about to surpass that of the advanced world. Today's developing and emerging countries are likely to account for nearly 60 percent of world GDP by 2030, up from around 40 percent in 2000, enabling them to play a much greater role on the world stage.
In such a period of transition, Iran can enhance its global role. The election this year, in which close to 75 percent of eligible voters turned out, showed how our religious democracy is maturing. Iran's ancient culture and civilization, long state continuity, geopolitical position, social stability amid regional turmoil, and well-educated youth enable us to look to the future with confidence, and aspire to assume the major global role that our people deserve – a role that no actor in global politics can ignore.
We are also considering how to rebuild and improve our bilateral and multilateral relations with European and North American countries on the basis of mutual respect. This requires easing tensions and implementing a comprehensive approach that includes economic ties.
We can begin by avoiding any new strain in relations between Iran and the United States and, at the same time, endeavoring to eliminate inherited tensions that continue to mar relations between our countries. While we may not be able to forget the mistrust and suspicion that have haunted Iranians' thinking about U.S. governments for the last 60 years, now we must focus on the present and look to the future. That means rising above petty politics and leading, rather than following, pressure groups in our respective countries.
In our view, cooperating on issues of mutual interest and concern would contribute to easing tensions in our region as well. This means countering those in the U.S. and our region who seek to distract international attention from issues in which they are directly involved and prevent Iran from enhancing its regional status. By diminishing the prospects for a permanent negotiated agreement on our nuclear program, such behavior increases the likelihood that the Iran-U.S. standoff will continue.
Our region is grappling more than ever with sectarianism, group enmities and potential new breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism. At the same time, the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria could haunt the region's peoples for many years. We believe that, under such circumstances, a voice of moderation in the region could affect the course of events in a constructive and positive way.
There is no doubt that the turmoil in nearby countries affects the interests of many regional and global actors, which need to act in concert to ensure long-term stability. Iran, as a major regional power, is fully prepared to move in this direction, sparing no effort to facilitate solutions. So those who portray Iran as a threat and thus seek to undermine its regional and global credibility should cease – in the interest of peace and tranquility in the region and beyond.
I am profoundly disturbed over the humanitarian tragedy in Syria and the enormous suffering that the Syrian people have endured for almost three years. Representing a people who have experienced the horror of chemical weapons, my government strongly condemned their use in the Syrian conflict. I am also concerned that parts of Syrian territory have become breeding grounds for extremist ideologies and rallying points for terrorists, which is reminiscent of the situation on our eastern border in the 1990s. This is an issue of concern to many other countries as well, and finding a durable political solution in Syria requires cooperation and joint efforts.
So we are pleased that in 2013 diplomacy prevailed over threats of military intervention in Syria. We must build on this headway and understand that Syria is in dire need of coordinated regional and international efforts. We are ready to contribute to peace and stability in Syria in the course of serious negotiations among regional and extra-regional parties. Here, too, we need to prevent the talks from becoming a zero-sum game.
That is no less true of Iran's peaceful nuclear-energy program, which has been subject to enormous hype in recent decades. Since the early 1990s, one prediction after another regarding how close Iran was to acquiring a nuclear bomb has proved to be baseless. Throughout this period, alarmists tried to paint Iran as a threat to the Middle East and the world.
We all know who the chief agitator is, and what purposes are to be served by hyping this issue. We know also that this claim fluctuates in proportion to the amount of international pressure to stop settlement construction and end the occupation of Palestinian lands. These false alarms continue, despite U.S. national intelligence estimates according to which Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon.
In fact, we are committed not to work toward developing and producing a nuclear bomb. As enunciated in the fatwa issued by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we strongly believe that the development, production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are contrary to Islamic norms. We never even contemplated the option of acquiring nuclear weapons, because we believe that such weapons could undermine our national-security interests; as a result, they have no place in Iran's security doctrine. Even the perception that Iran may develop nuclear weapons is detrimental to our security and overall national interest.
During my presidential campaign, I committed myself to doing everything in my power to fast-track a resolution to the standoff over our nuclear-energy program. To fulfill this commitment and benefit from the window of opportunity that the recent election opened, my government is prepared to leave no stone unturned in seeking a mutually acceptable permanent solution. Following up on November's interim agreement, we are ready to continue to work with the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and others with a view to ensuring our nuclear program's full transparency.
The peaceful nuclear capability that we have achieved will be used within an internationally recognized framework of safeguards, and it will be accessible to multilateral monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, as has been the case in the past several years. In this way, the international community can ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of our nuclear program. We will never forgo our right to benefit from nuclear energy; but we are ready to work toward removing any ambiguity and answer any reasonable question about our program.
The continuation of pressure, arm-twisting, intimidation and measures aimed at cutting off Iranians' access to a whole range of necessities – from technology to medicines and foodstuffs – can only poison the atmosphere and undermine the conditions needed to make progress.
As we showed in 2013, Iran is fully prepared to engage seriously with the international community and to negotiate with our interlocutors in good faith. We hope that our counterparts, too, are ready to take advantage of this window of opportunity.
Mohammed Chatah's Open Letter to President Rouhani
Mohammed Chatah, a former Lebanese finance minister, wrote the following open letter to President Hassan Rouhani in late December 2013. But Chatah was killed by a car bomb on December 27 before he could gather signatures from Lebanese lawmakers. The letter originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
Iran's Christmas Greetings
May Jesus Christ, Prophet of love & peace, bless us all on this day. Wishing Merry #Christmas to those celebrating, esp Iranian Christians.— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 24, 2013
No doubt that Jesus #Christ has no less value among Muslims than [he has] among the pious Christians. 27/12/2000— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2013
Jesus #Christ, the Son of #Mary, was a herald of God's grace, blessing &guidance for man. 1/12/1987— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2013
May the spirit of Christmas bring joy, peace, empathy and compassion to everyone throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas.— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) December 24, 2013
Obama Warns Congress Against New Sanctions
On December 20, President Barack Obama urged Congress to hold off on new Iran sanctions while the Geneva nuclear agreement is being implemented. In response to a newly proposed sanctions bill in the Senate, Obama said that if the United States is "serious about negotiations, we've got to create an atmosphere in which Iran in willing to move in ways that are uncomfortable for them and contrary to their ideology and rhetoric and their instincts and their suspicions of us." At the year-end press conference, Obama argued that Congress could pass new sanctions in a day if the negotiations on a comprehensive solution fail or Iran violates an agreement. "I'll work with members of Congress to put even more pressure on Iran. But there's no reason to do it right now," he said. The following are excerpted remarks.
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The following people have been deemed "Most Wanted Fugitives" by the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Department.
The sheriff says all wanted subjects have active warrants at the time of posting the information. Do not act or try to apprehend any recognized subject.
This four-bedroom, five-bathroom house was built in 1945 and has been beautifully maintained. The home includes an elegant kitchen and a large in-ground heated pool, and is featured on realtor.com for $899,900.
Tuesday morning, rescue crews from Butler County converged on Adams Township to rescue a man trapped in a trench.
Guns were found in a car that was moving at an estimated 85 mph Monday on Interstate 376, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office said.

subset: commoncrawl


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HoopsHype Joakim Noah Buzz Meter
by HoopsHype - Updated: March 30, 2015 | 10:59 AM
Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler join wave from Bulls bench in blowout of Knicks (video) dlvr.it/99why8
Jimmy Butler & Joakim Noah doing The Wave with The Fans #jimmybutler #JOAKIMNOAH vine.co/v/OLWTPlEPa03 <-- awesome!
Joakim Noah talked after the game about the murder of Uchenna Agina, Lil Durk's manager. Was killed after attending an event with Noah's fdn
Joakim Noah's streak of 14 straight games with 5 or more assists will end vs. Knicks. Longest by center since Vlade Divac in 2004.
This Sunday @NBACanada's @facebook dedicates the day to @Steve Nash. @Joakim Noah recounts the impact Nash had on his game. #nbacanada
DeMar DeRozan zips pass… right to Joakim Noah on Bulls bench (video) dlvr.it/975TVj
Joakim Noah forces turnover from the bench. vine.co/v/O3nTaK9Wr6K
"Go Bulls." RT @Matt Moore: Joakim Noah on DeMar DeRozan's, uh, turnover via @outsidethenba cbsprt.co/1EVN9Tj http://t.co/Ilq9pvNgTp
Joakim Noah on DeMar DeRozan's, uh, turnover via @outsidethenba cbsprt.co/1EVN9Tj http://t.co/TV5m5WxLv2
Joakim Noah DID NOT call Tony Snell "Snelly Cat." Shut up. I refuse to believe it.
DeMar DeRozan forgot that Joakim Noah isn't on his team: cbsprt.co/1EVN9Tj vine.co/v/O3nTaK9Wr6K
VETERAN LEADERSHIP RT @Anthony Slater: Crafty, that Joakim Noah vine.co/v/O3nTaK9Wr6K
Lmao, wow. RT @Anthony Slater: Crafty, that Joakim Noah vine.co/v/O3nTaK9Wr6K
Crafty, that Joakim Noah vine.co/v/O3nTaK9Wr6K
Joakim Noah is featured in a commercial where he is portrayed as a tough guy...and yet he's on a minutes restriction. Which one is it?
This Joakim Noah Adidas ad is so intense
Bulls' Joakim Noah: 'I still think we're the toughest team to beat in a seven-game series' dlvr.it/95ZD5R
3rd straight season @Joakim Noah has registered 250 assists- only 3rd center in 20 years to accomplish that joining Hakeem and Vlade.
Joakim Noah is out tonight with soreness
#Bulls just announced Joakim Noah is out tonight with general soreness. We were also blindsided by Camerson Bairstow out with illness.
Out: Joakim Noah (general soreness) is out. Cameron Bairstow (illness) is out. Derrick Rose (right knee) is out.
Bulls now say Joakim Noah is out tonight because of general soreness.
BullsTV one on one with @joakimnoah tonight at 630CT on Bulls.com http://t.co/PPFOIpFV7c
Joakim Noah on the Hornets: "They're coached by Baby Thibs."
Yesterday Joakim Noah hung out with the Hulkster: cbsprt.co/1HlFFZF (Pic via .@alexperris) http://t.co/4dl1jXTmcM
Joakim Noah with Hulk Hogan. bit.ly/1C3YMqg
Look at Joakim Noah bro-ing it up with Hulk Hogan: cbsprt.co/1HlFFZF (Pic via .@alexperris) http://t.co/ENrISv43kf
Joakim Noah recuerda a Steve Nash con esta enloquecida celebración futbolera. Vía @AS_TV dozz.es/1d7sp http://t.co/phk7nFWR7W
Joakim Noah: "We sucked down the stretch."
Stick stickity RT @Joakim Noah: One of my career highlights: bit.ly/12paSd8 @Steve Nash @Steve NashFdn
Nobody loves the live postgame interview with Steve Kashul more than Joakim Noah. He's like the city of Chicago's hype man.
Joakim Noah has as many assists as the Raptors (9). Bulls have 18 on 21 buckets as a team. Still 4:50 left in first half. Crazy.
Column: Joakim Noah's 'Frustrating' Minutes Limit Still Looms bleacherreport.com/articles/24014…
Joakim Noah helps Bulls close out Pacers, supports minutes limit. fw.to/wqlTlIO http://t.co/y2W2tnvUEj
Joakim Noah tip-in and now the #Bulls lead by 15. This one is all but over… looking like the #Pacers third straight L
You won't believe this, but things are getting heated between David West and Joakim Noah.
One Shining Moment playing on JumboTron in UC. Could have doubled as Joakim Noah highlights video from Florida.
Joakim Noah honored - read it - chicago.suntimes.com/basketball/7/7…
Joakim Noah needs 6 offensive rebounds to join Horace Grant as only Bulls with 1,800. Grant had 1,888.
Joakim Noah admits minutes restriction is 'frustrating,' but says he doesn't want to be a distraction dlvr.it/91TMsN
Joakim Noah has received the February NBA Cares Community Assist Award in recognition of his… instagram.com/p/0YKuPVRUqJ/
NBA announces that Joakim Noah earned February's NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his foundation's "Rock Your Drop" initiative.
Joakim Noah on minute restriction: 'I don't want to be a distraction' -- bit.ly/1ByvAnD #Bulls http://t.co/y2zPJ7TkXU
Joakim Noah clearly touched by winning NBA Cares Community Assist award for anti-violence initiatives. Tribune Blog: trib.in/1MNVNF8
Joakim Noah speaks for 1st time since Sunday. As usual, he delivers. Tribune Blog: trib.in/1x0ZmWt
Bulls Joakim Noah received NBA Cares Community Assist Award (February).
NEW YORK, Mar. 18, 2015 – Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has received the February NBA Cares Community Assist... fb.me/7dABD8qyN
For his anti-violence initiatives, Joakim Noah will be presented with NBA Cares Community Assist award for February pregame vs. Pacers.
Joakim Noah still facing 32-minute limit, which could extend through playoffs dlvr.it/8zxRyw
Joakim Noah not playing down stretch is latest episode in struggle between Thibodeau and management. trib.in/1MDuVtd