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How to Upgrade to GnuPG 2.x on Ubuntu Linux

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On 27 February 2016

In Computing

If you are using the Enigmail security add-on for Mozilla Thunderbird under Ubuntu Linux, you may have recently discovered (as I did today) that it no longer works with the version of GnuPG that you have installed, and that you need to upgrade. But it’s not evident how to do this, as there is no GnuPG update available in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to upgrade Ubuntu to GnuPG 2. Just open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install gnupg2

and enter your password when prompted.

English Transcript of the Iranian Television Documentary Program “Rules of the Game” (قاعده بازی)

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On 17 February 2016

In Uncategorized

On the evening of Monday, 15 February 2016, Iran’s television channel 3 aired a 13-minute report titled “The Rules of the Game” (in Persian, قاعده بازی) about the 17 January 2016 prisoner swap between Iran and the United States, arguing that the exchange was a victory for Iran and a loss for the United States. The program, produced by the “General Administration for Analytical and Documentary Programming” (اداره کل برنامه‌های تحلیلی و مستند) contends that the settlement of a longstanding property dispute between Iran and the United States was linked to the prisoner exchange, reporting among other things that on the day of the exchange, the U.S. flew $400 million in cash to Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.

The following is a rough translation of the report that I have prepared. Comments are welcome.

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Persian Word of the Day: تازه‌نفس

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On 9 February 2016

In Persian Word of the Day

Today’s word is تازه‌نفس (tazeh-nafas), which literally means “fresh of breath” and more generally simply “fresh” or  It is especially used to describe military forces, and that is how I found it used today in an article on BBC Persian titled: آمریکا ‘صدها سرباز’ تازه نفس به هلمند می‌فرستد (“U.S. sends ‘hundreds’ of fresh soldiers to Helmand”).

Persian Word of the Day: خبرساز

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On 8 February 2016

In Persian Word of the Day

In this “Persian Word of the Day” series, I’ll be highlighting noteworthy Persian words or phrases that may be of interest to fellow students of the Persian language.

Today’s word is خبرساز (khabarsaz) which literally means “news-making.” Farhang Moaser Kimia defines it as “that makes headlines, sensational” and notes that it is a new word. There is an Iranian news site called Khabarsaz.

Hello world!

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On 7 February 2016

In Uncategorized

Welcome to my new home page! I’ve had a personal home page since I was a graduate student, but I’ve decided to start fresh on a server that — for the first time — I’m administering myself. This site is currently hosted on a DigitalOcean “droplet” — a virtual private server — running CentOS. I’ve used Let’s Encrypt to secure the site and enabled HTTPS Strict Transport Security (HSTS). I’m pleased to note that as of today, Qualys SSL Labs gives this site an A+ rating.

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