The Blag Switch (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
... policies 2 . And the Ayatollah did nothing to stop him. One week later and that young man, Mahmoud Vahidnia is apparently not only free from harm, but still a free man. Regrettably, it doesn’t appear that Mr. Vahidnia’s speech was caught on video. If it was, I’ve not found any copies on the Internet. We know there were cameras at the event because there are pictures of Mr....
Tom Paine's Clubhouse (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
At the end of an address at a major university in Iran by the "Supreme Leader", a student started asking seriously confrontational questions . If only everybody in the world were equally prepared to call bullshit, and to hell with the consequences.
Smart People I Know (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
... conference was different. After the students spoke, Khamenei asked if anybody had any questions. Mahmoud Vahidnia, a math student from Sharif university who is also winner of the International Math Olympics, stood up and said courageously: “Yes, I have some words with you.” Here is a summary translation of what the students said to Khamenei: “Why can’t anyone criticize you in this...
Todd and Vishal's blog (Free subscription) | 11/25/2009
The following piece of news, in my humble opinion, deserves more mention in the math blogosphere than it has garnered so far. At the center of the story is an Iranian student of mathematics, Mahmoud Vahidnia, who was invited to a meeting between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country’s scientific elite on [...]
Phi Beta Cons (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
Extraordinary : An unassuming college math student has become an unlikely hero to many in Iran for daring to criticize the country's most powerful man to his face. On Oct. 28, Mahmoud Vahidnia, a gold medalist at the country's National Math Olympics two years ago, confronted supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Tehran's Sharif Technical University. "I don't know why in this...
Raw Story (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
... a math superstar's unprecedented act of challenging Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Mahmoud Vahidnia "has so far suffered no repercussions from the confrontation at a question-and-answer session between Khamenei and students at Tehran's Sharif Technical University," the Associated Press reports . "I don't know why in this country it's not allowed to make any kind of criticism...
New Zealand Herald (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
BEIRUT - An unassuming university maths student has become an unlikely hero to many in Iran for daring to criticise the country's most powerful man to his face.Mahmoud Vahidnia has received an outpouring of support from government...
Shanghaiist (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
The Dalai Lama made a week-long visit to Tawang monastery in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, where he held a massive ceremony with an audience of 30,000 people. The Chinese government condemned the visit, as it claims that Arunachal is in fact Chinese territory. [ BBC ] An editorial piece in which Arthur Ronsfeld discusses how greatly Mahmoud Vahidnia, who stood up against...
JONATHAN TURLEY (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
Who says that a math geek cannot become a super hero? Mahmoud Vahidnia is a math student at Tehran’s Sharif Technical University where he recently won the gold medal at the country’s National Math Olympics (yes, geeks have an Olympics of their own). Vahidnia, however, has become a political icon in Iran after [...]
News Scotsman (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
THE boldness of Mahmoud Vahidnia's comments demonstrates how the post-election turmoil has undermined the once rock-solid taboo against challenging Iran's supreme le
Scotsman.com (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
THE boldness of Mahmoud Vahidnia's comments demonstrates how the post-election turmoil has undermined the once rock-solid taboo against challenging Iran's supreme le
AMERICAblog (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
The exchange was recorded and was first published on Khamenei's website. Lots of talk about this story but for now, it's more a mystery that will be answered later. The Guardian : He may be the bravest student in Iran or an unwitting stooge of the Islamic regime – or both. Either way, Mahmoud Vahidnia has gained instant fame after breaking a taboo by criticising the supreme leader,...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
• Poll crackdown and state broadcaster denounced • Supreme leader says he welcomes such comments Robert Tait He may be the bravest student in Iran or an unwitting stooge of the Islamic regime – or both. Either way, Mahmoud Vahidnia has gained instant fame after breaking a taboo by criticising the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to his face. The 25-year-old maths...
Muslims Against Sharia (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
An unassuming college math student has become an unlikely hero to many in Iran for daring to criticize the country's most powerful man to his face. Mahmoud Vahidnia has received an outpouring of support from government opponents for the challenge — unprecedented in a country where insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a crime punishable by prison. Perhaps most surprising,...
