Tehran...

Weather cooled down, city is quiet. Many have left because of the holiday. In less than 2 weeks Ramadan will be here. The month of fasting and praying. The other day i grabbed a hot dog sandwich in a cafe. The music was a selection of Googoosh. I was surprised when i realized it had sounded so natural to me at the begining.

Tehran

Tehran is hot, but in the evening a cool breeze comes from mountains. Today is the birthday of Shi'ee 12th Imam; Mahdi. Last night there were fireworks and traffic was most heavy. It is the last great celebration before Ramadan. Weddings are on in full swing and cars decorated as carriages are racing through city with brides and grooms.

One Year Passed

One year passed since that Friday when I was sitting in Mashhad International Airport, waiting for my father to land so we would go home together. I was reading Jean Tirole's Industrial Organization textbook and writing down notes. I knew there had been an incident, i did not know of casualties. TV started to show images of Aria IL 62 and there was a banner saying people were killed.
I went home with him finally, but for him it was the final stop. We had a memorial last Friday for him, it was very dignified and many of his colleagues and friends showed up.
There were a few articles in media about the anniversary of Aria and Caspian Airlines incidents, critical of the way aviation industry is managed, few mentioned the sanctions and their effects on the industry.

A Good Article

Rojan Taghavi has written a very insightful article for Guardian "Iran fears falling oil sales – not UN sanctions" She reviews Iran's refining infra structure.

A Difficult Year Has Passed

Almost a year has passed and a lot has happened. I think I should start writing again. At Clayton State we are celebrating the first anniversary of CREST. Dean Chacko left us to become Dean of College of Business Administration in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Tidwell is on his way to Pennsylvania to assume deanship of School of Business at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi is joining Clayton State as the new dean of school of business. It is many changes.

Good News for Clayton State

Our Dean Chacko informed us today:
"It is with pride that we announce that the Georgia Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) recently announced the winners of its Annual Awards Competition. The Clayton State University School of Business Building received the First Place Award in the Low-Rise Category."
Clayton State University also has launched its major in supply chain management. Its is going to be one of the best programs in the area.
So life continues...
if you are in Atlanta check our speakers' series.

Being Silent

I have been silent too long. No excuse for that. So here we go.
Iranian year of 1388 is coming to an end. It was the most eventful year and you need not me to recount. However there is a chance that amidst the political stories the tale of economy was unheard.
The Iranian government is set, and undeterred, to go ahead with liberalization. There are many arguments for it and there are some against, well more against. Some say the critiques are more urban oriented, since they benefit more from subsidization and the rural "majority" are silent. These attribute the silence of rural population to their lack of representation and access to internet.
Although there is some truth to this argument, the word "majority" is a vague one and the definitions of rural and urban are not the same for everyone. Really would a town in rainy north of Iran is as rural as a city in the far south corner of Khorasan, close to Afghanistan border?
The truth is government is set to reduce its obligations. It has reduced the tariffs on car imports, leaving domestic producers vulnerable.
Would it be true to say, this government wishing to accomplish something, anything, spectacular is doing the one thing no other Iranian government would have dared? The future will answer that.