Commentary Magazine


Posts For: April 22, 2012

Germany Shows True Colors on Iran

It’s all well and good for the Obama administration to brag about how its diplomatic approach has brought European states onboard with sanctions on Iran, but as the White House grants waivers for countries to give them more time to disentangle themselves from their Iran investments, German companies are showing they have no intention to leave the Iranian market. Quite the contrary, German firms are using the space granted them by the Obama administration to flout sanctions and embrace the Iranian market further.

The German NGO “Stop the Bomb” has outed several German firms which participated in last week’s 17th annual Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition. According to their press release:

Among the German companies that have confirmed their participation at the Iran Oil Show to Stop the Bomb are for example Bopp & Reuther, Helmke, Hova and Schauenburg. The companies Herrenknecht and Pepperl + Fuchs are also present at the Iran Oil Show, according to the exhibition’s homepage.

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Foreign Money Compromising Universities

Much has been written here and elsewhere about how American and British universities take foreign money. University presidents say their institutions retain academic independence and intellectual integrity, but evidence suggests otherwise. Sparked by Yale University’s decision to establish a program in Singapore, a country where free speech and political criticism are limited, Shaun Tan, a student currently completing a master’s degree at Yale University, has penned an important article in The Politic examining the phenomenon. Tan describes several cases. For example, there is China:

The Chinese government… has financed Confucius Institutes at universities including Columbia, Stanford, and the University of Chicago. Ostensibly meant to promote study of Chinese language and culture, something many Westerners rightly perceive as important, the cash comes with strings attached. Affiliated universities must sign a “memorandum of understanding” endorsing the “one-China policy” that precludes recognition of Taiwan as a state. Confucius Institutes have also been known to act as lobby groups in universities, attempting to block guest speakers who they perceive as anti-Beijing.

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