© the eyeranian

Blogs Blogs and Blogs!

I'm excited to have added a few English blogs to my links list, all of them from inside Iran and with much help from Blogs By Iranians. Here is a list, in no particular order:

ZiZi Daily is brief in his messages, but manages to communicate well.

Biology Olympiads is by "coordinator of International Biology Olympiad for Iran"

Eloy's Live from Tehran has the best name, although the posts are far from "live"

Iranian Doughter (her spelling not mine) certainly has a unique perspective.

Iranian Girl continues my own tradition of one picture per post. Yes!

So What You Think? is a bit more politically oriented than most. We like!

Swallow is not what you think it may be, despite the name. Check it out!

Tehran Online is an even better name, but not updated much. Read why.

The Lonely Rave would've been a good name for my blog too!

Seven Towns of Love is pure "translation" as the name may suggest also.

NRA Blacklist

You may have seen this story already as it was distributed by Reuters a couple of days back. It is basically about NRA keeping a blacklist of celebrities, media and organizations it feels are a detriment to its cause and how since the list was exposed, all other types of celebrities and ordinary folks are using this site to add their name to that list voluntarily. I just added mine, you can add yours too, right here.

General Observation

Most people's vision of a nude beach is something along the images they may see on the Playboy Channel. In reality though, what you get may be closer to the Discovery Channel.

Peace For Tamils

Tamil Tigers took a giant step towards long-term peace today by presenting a proposal for a type of power-sharing structure to allow them to participate in governing the provinces within Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka or Ceylon. Having had many Tamil friends over the years and understanding the issues involved with their struggle, I am happy to see there's finally a possible end to years of violence and unrest in a beautiful part of this world.

One of my regrets is not being able to travel to Jaffna a few years back, with my ticket in hand but stuck in Colombo as the Tigers just started a major offensive close to the capital. My very Sinhalese hosts quickly arranged for a flight to Mumbai. I think I still have a pretty nice framed picture of V. Pirabakaran, the leader of Tigers somewhere, given to me by a dear friend.

HOMAN LA

Awhile back a friend wrote me to say how much he enjoys my writing and how he agrees with my positions, EXCEPT for those time that I make the "mistake" of saying anything positive about those "confused people" who profess to being "abnormal". Of course he was talking about people with sexual orientations that don't begin with "hetro" and we aren't that good of a friend anymore.

Unfortunately, this is not too unique. Some of the most progressive folks I know still make the mistake of looking at this whole idea of being a freethinker as somewhat of a buffet, where you can basically help yourself to the parts that go well with your personal taste and rejecting others. For example its okay to be for women's rights but oppose their right to choose when it comes to abortion. Or disapprove of exploitation of workers in developing world and at the same time vote against unionizing your workplace. Stand up for the rights of various ethnic, racial and cultural minorities but oppose extending equal rights to same-sex couples.

Well, it doesn't work that way. None of these issues are isolated matters that can be accepted on their own, while opposing others. Most of these basic rights are part of a larger parcel of rights that go together and unless one recognizes and accepts all of them, anything else is just hypocrisy.

I just came across the event above and wish I could go. We certainly need plenty of works to understand, accept and work towards resolving some of the issues relating to the LGBT community globally and particularly in Iran. This conference, the first I know of, is a first step towards that goal. I wish all the organizers well and if any of the readers attends, I hope you can share the experience for me to post here.

From My Dating Files II

At another date. This one was a lawyer:

Her - If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?

Me - Egypt. I've seen many parts of the world but haven't been there yet, I'd love to go.

Her - (a bit annoyed at my answer) What's there to see?

Me - Well, all the antiquities and sites. I'm a big history buff. In fact I'd love to do that whole region and see parts of Israel and across the river into Petra in Jordan.

Her - Of all the places you've been to, which did you enjoy the best?

Me - There are many, but perhaps Cuba. I found it to be a breathtaking island with the nicest people you could possibly imagine.

Her - Why do you only want to see places where terrorists come from???

Me - :(

Advise This!

I forgot. Does anyone know what "level" we are currently in? And how am I supposed to act in that particular level? What level brings paranoia and total mistrust? At what level do I turn the new neighbors who moved downstairs and look like grumpy middle-easterners in? Help me, I'm very confused!

Let's Roll!

Attention Iranian Bloggers - In case you missed it, I have switched the Iranian Blogs in English links on the right side of this page to a list handled by the folks at Blog Rolling. This way, the most recently updated weblogs are moved to the top and if they have a new post less than 48 hours old, it will be indicated besides their blog's name with (*New Post!).

Many other bloggers also used Blog Rolling and the system works when your blog "pings" them as you add a new post. Now from experience I can tell you that this system isn't very perfect and the only way to ensure your new post is acknowledged by them, is to physically let them know you have done that. You can manually 'ping' them by visiting here and I strongly recommend you make it a habit of stopping by there every time you update your blog.

Let Kids Be Kids!

BBC reports (Link in Farsi) that Tehran city council is considering passing new regulations to allow young women to shed their veils while at school. Up to last year, when the policy was relaxed so primary schools can loosen the mandatory hijab guidelines, girls as young as 6 and 7 were forced to wear veils, in schools and classes where all other students, the teachers, support staff and everyone else is all females and male visitors aren't even allowed in. Apparently the new plan is to extend that "privilege" to all students, as long as the public areas of their school is not visible to outsiders. Regardless of how you feel about the principals of hijab and your religious beliefs, this has been one of the most backwards policies of this government forced upon the majority of the population and any move to give women their choice is a welcome positive step. In this case a small step and hardly enough, but positive nonetheless.

While I was Gone...

I know you all missed me! What can I say? I started this blog for about 20 friends who may have had some interest in reading my gibberish. Now that a whole bunch of people come to read it, I'm having "bandwidth" problems. I'll think of a solution, somehow!

Those Damn Foreigners

Reuters reports "U.S. President George W. Bush has blamed a wave of violence in post-war Iraq in part on "foreign terrorists" and members of Saddam Hussein's deposed Baathist party. Bush on Tuesday also said he expected Syria and Iran to enforce border controls to stop infiltrators."

Okay, the "foreign terrorists" part is expected. He's a Texan and anything and everything that goes wrong anywhere, must have something to do with those damn foreigners. This applies to all 52 states within the United States of America, including Afghanistan and eye-rak.

The part I don't get is this border business. I really don't know if terrorists are crossing borders into each other's territories over there, but I would not be surprised if they do. Now my understanding of an international border is that it is usually guarded on both sides by armed forces of each country to protect that country's interest. For example at the border between China and Russia, Chinese and Russian soldiers and border authorities man their own side, ensuring the safety and security of their terrain. Another example is when there's goods or people entering a country without its approval over a border, for instance Mexican immigrants entering U.S.A., it becomes the responsibility of U.S. authorities to do what they can to close their borders. After all, would the states and federal government in U.S. blame the Mexican border authorities or is it primarily their own responsibility?

Let's look at this case now; we'll start with the assumption that all these terrorists are in fact sneaking into Iraq from both neighboring countries. The armed forces in control of Iraq, part of the largest military machine in the world and much more potent than armies of both Iran and Syria combined, can't close the border from their own side, but blames the other two countries for not doing the job. Hey stupid, the border has two sides! If they aren't doing a good enough job, you can easily do it yourself! But no, the easier solution is to once again, 1) blame the foreigners and 2) blame the foreign governments for their conduct.

If that sounds a bit odd, you'll begin to understand the whole concept of this "blame the foreigner" ideology.

He Was Loved...

One of Iran's most popular singers over the past 50 years, and the person mostly credited as the father of Iranian pop music, Vigen Derderian passed away this last weekend in Los Angeles. I can't imagine many Iranians not having at least one memory associated in some way to one of his many hits. The picture above and this collection of some of his songs are courtesy of iranian.com. I wish his family and close associates strength and will always remember him fondly. He was certainly loved.

Terrorizing?

I most certainly hope all these rumors about those bastardly terrorists being behind the fires of California is just that, rumors. But to be honest, seeing three of them for example start on the same night in and around San Diego is suspicious to say the least. Even if that is the case, maybe there's a silver lining somewhere in all this and it will make W's people realize how wrong their entire approach to this "War on Terrorism" has been. It is never too late to change course, particularly if it is to get yourself on the right path.

I have written about this extensively in the past, but here again are three basic steps to start that process, in my most humble opinion:

1. Identify and support organizations, individuals and other entities committed to the democratic principals in various countries throughout middle-east without any strings attached and while maintaining their independence and functional integrity.




2. Stop supporting regional dictators, from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and UAE to Pakistan and beyond.




3. Take the initial steps towards a more balanced approach to the main conflict in the region: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

With those three steps, the current or future U.S. administrations can start a long-term process that will ensure weakening of the radical elements both in the region and outside, and trigger a course of action that will one day lead to freedom and independence for the countries and peoples of the area.

But who is going to listen to some dumb eyeranian (foreigner, alien, whatever!) anyways?

Having Sex

I kind of liked what I told a friend earlier this week, so here it is in full:

Women are from Pier 1, Men are from the Porno Shop.

For most women "having sex" means this highly romanticized state of bliss where two individuals connect so deeply in an emotional and psychological way, they choose to express their harmony through the act of making love. For most men "having sex" basically means ejaculating.

So, when someone asks if you are having sex with him? You think "of course not. As a matter of fact, we have not even had intercourse yet. We do everything else, but no sex!". Is HE having sex with you? He most certainly is. In fact did just last night before you decided to go home as things were getting too heavy for you to handle, while he was already done!

Axis Colide!

The two remaining charter members of "axis-of-evil" club engaged one another in a battle yesterday and not a single WMD was used by either side. Of course, this only happened on a soccer field as Iran beat North Korea by the score of 3 -1. Picture courtesy of AFC-Net.

Khavaran Cemetery

I had written before about Khavaran Cemetery, where some of the "undesirables", the victims of mass executions in Iran, mostly from leftist political leanings are buried. This includes the victims of mass murders in Summer of 1988. I recently came across another group of pictures from the same cemetery, showing families visiting the graves of their loved ones, where no markers or headstones are allowed and often only a single flower or a picture points to where the remains of their son, daughter, husband or mother was buried. The larger plots hide the mass graves, where even the dignity of a separate burial was denied the victims.

Their memories will live forever in the hearts of many Iranians.

Cost of Aggression

Cohen's Democracy

Posting the lyrics of "Everybody Knows" a few days back brought such an unexpected positive reaction, it took me by surprise. The biggest shocker for me was how many of my readers were unfamiliar with Leonard Cohen and wanted to know how they can get their hands on his material. I said Shocker as I felt like I have known him almost all of my life and somehow naively assumed others did too. In fact I still remember the first time I saw Montreal (his hometown), I could not stop murmuring his songs in my head and then for the period he disappeared from the public eye for a few years to live as a Monk in California, I felt like something was missing from my life. Well, he's back now and what does he call his latest album containing 10 new songs? how about "10 New Songs"? Still the king of cool, even in his later years.

So here are some Cohen resources for you: there's the official site of course. Then there's this fan site containing some of the body of work he has produced over the years, a great starting place for new fans. CBC also maintains a directory of some of their audio and video files on him that is fun to watch and hear.

like many of his fans, I have way too many songs of his I consider to be a favorite. So, I'll try to post them periodically here, including "Democracy" today. For the fans of his husky, masculine voice, here's him reciting parts of the same poem. Enjoy!

The Glass

Cartoon

Monday Morning Motivationals

End Of The World, As We Know It!

Imagine waking up to the image above. A very dark brown sky, with the sun reduced to a fifth of it's normal size and in very dark orange. You check your clock several times, then check all your watches. Even with the changing of time last night, it is still 7 AM and it should not be this dark by this late in the day.

As you keep looking, trying to imagine a reason, you see one huge column of dark smoke taking up an entire corner of the view outside your window. You look around the immediate neighborhood visible from that window to see the neighbor's swimming pool is covered in black water. Now it starts to look rather creepy. Then you notice small flakes of snow gently falling outside your building. Snow? You think to yourself, This is Southern California, home of the eternal Spring/Summer seasonal intervals. It hardly ever rains here and snow for most folks here is a memory from "back home". You try to pay more attention, but yes, this is what they call "flurries" up north. Have to step outside to check this out.

As you open the door, the gentle wind pushes in what appears to be flakes of grey and black covering the floor inside your little apartment. Then there's a familiar smell. You remember the small from your days as a youngster. This is the small you remember from those family trips up to the Caspian Sea beaches. When everyone collected wood from all nearby forests and private gardens to make a big fire. It was usually some fresh fish bought that morning from locals, sometimes a couple chickens marinated in seasoning and lemon juice overnight and even a duck or two on occasion. No matter what the meat, it required the obligatory cooking on open fire method. Even if you didn't like fish (or as Piscean felt eating fish was almost cannibalism), that fish, on a bed of white flavored rice was just heavenly. And now there was that same smell, the smell of fresh forest wood burning. Suddenly everything makes sense. There's a huge fire in the suburban forests and what is falling from the sky and has covered the surface of that pool completely is ash, falling from the sky as if it was snowing.

The image below is a satellite view of Southern California today. Several large wildfires burning up and down the coast. There has been some casualties, thousands are evacuated, many have lost their homes. Even the nonunion supermarket I had found to buy groceries from temporarily, while the union workers at other stores are on picket lines was on fire. There's no end in sight either. The fires are so intense and large already, controlling them is impossible. Particularly with the dry conditioned caused by weeks of unusually warm weather. The airports are closed, power is cut to many parts, schools won't open tomorrow and Monday Night Football may be cancelled (no Junior Seau feeding watermelon and fried chicken to LT!).

I hope everyone is safe and there are no more casualties. I hope nobody loses their possessions, valuables, family heirlooms and pictures anymore. Hope the worst part of this is over. For me, that "end of the world" vision will be etched on my mind forever.

Just a reminder...

From My Dating File

Heard very recently...

Her - So, where are you from?

Me - Do you mean where I was born?

Her - Yeah.

Me - Iran.

Her - That whole area is kinda crazy, ha?

Me - Well, I guess it is rather volatile.

Her - I mean all these Muslim countries want us to be just like them...

Me - ?

Her - it's like I don't want to be Muslim...

Me - Okay...

Her - but all these crazy people, I don't understand them...

Me - Well...

Her - except for like Israel, and then maybe Kuwait...

Me - ?

Her - yeah, I think only Kuwait and Israel don't want us to be like them...

Me - ahh...

Her - at least they have democracy and stuff. Are you Muslim?

Me - :(

A Friend - I think you should not say that you wouldn't date non-Iranis.

Me - :(

Everybody knows

Orange County

I spent most of my day in Orange County today. In case you are not familiar with this beautiful area of California, let me give you some feedback. Orange County or "Porteghal-Abad" as it is known amongst many Iranians in the area is a patch of land, dotted with a million small towns and cities of mostly bedroom communities, sandwich between the beautiful beaches of Pacific Ocean and counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside. It is by far the smallest of this area's counties.

Most residents of Orange County are in the middle to high income bracket. This doesn't mean there are no poor people in OC. After all, somebody needs to operate the cash registers, man the numerous hand-wash car washes and be the baby-sitter. But it is probably fair to suggest that most areas in OC are lined with medium and large nicer houses and condos, streets are always meticulous, supermarket parking lots are so clean you could hardly find any debris, even in those corners where usually all the cigarette butts and dust bunnies hide.

In short, Orange County is pasteurized. This is how almost everything feels whenever I get to be a pilgrim to this bastion of conservative politics. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that part. You've all heard how California is more "Liberal" (I'm beginning to hate that word even more by the day) than most other parts of U.S.A. Well, guess what is considered the safest election district for Republicans to run in? No, it's not in Texas, Mississippi or Alabama. That title belongs to Orange County. This is where voters overwhelmingly voted for Arnold in the last farce of a recall election here, as they always support right-wing candidates in every election.

Orange County is also home to many Persians. There are very few eyeranians living there too, but the overwhelming majority are "Persians" who are obligated by law to drive a Mercedes-Benz or BMW and must only visit grocery stores dressed as if they are going to a state dinner at the White House. Welcome to Orange County.

As I was driving back home after getting enough of a feel for "Porteghal-Abad" today, it occurred to me what is wrong with OC: THERE ARE NO GHETTOS IN OC!

This is what Orange County badly needs. A large, over populated ghetto, combined with every stereo-typical image associated with that tragedy. If I was running for Governor, that would be part of my platform, to build a very large ghetto smack right in the middle of the county. I guarantee it will do the place much good. I even selected the site: right at the heart of Mission Viejo. We could even call it Ghetto Viejo. What d'ya think?

UPDATE (for Kombiz) - Orange County is home to the largest volume Mercedes-Benz dealer in the world, one of several there, including the third largest in the world. The Newport Beach dealer does indeed offer free airport parking with shuttle back and forth, so they DO greet you when you arrive at John Wayne airport (yes, OC's airport is named after him).

Latest On Free Iraq!

Here's a couple of not widely reported pieces of news about Iraq, after the forceful removal of U.S. puppet and ally Saddam Hussein:

There are a few BILLIONS of Iraqi funds missing that were "earmarked for the reconstruction of the country". Oh well!

And the number of wounded in clashes across Iraq have not been reported in full.

Apparently all of this has had very positive affects on spreading democracy across the region and reshaping of region's political map is in place already.

Aren't you glad we freed them poor Iraqis now?

All About Shaving

I don't care what you say about shaving your legs, etc. , as a woman you just won't understand this topic in the same way. Shaving is something rather philosophical for the guys. Unless you are an Ayatollah, Sikh or a member of Hezbollah that is. As a right of passage into adulthood, most men develop a certain skill in shaving and extend it to a technique, equipped with a combination of tools exclusive to their own flair and aptitude.

At the center of those tools, is of course the razor. We've evolved from the straight blade to those funny looking thin insert blades, then we somehow graduated to the twin blade cartridges, at some point in my lifetime. I still remember the first cartridge razor my uncle had bought and was told by the clever salesman he'd probably never ever have to change the disposable cartridge. I also remember buying more than one bottle of Drakkar-Noir, because it was packaged with a very cool black razor handle.

The various cartridges had interesting names; Atra, Trac II, Sensor and then Sensor Excel and all was fine and dandy until Gillette introduced the triple-blades of their Mach 3. This changed everything. I don't know if they actually did spend the humongous money they claimed they had invested in making the Mach 3, but this Gillette product was (and is) superior to anything that came before it. Silky smooth shaving with little irritation and no cuts, your face feels as if it is in heavens. Could anything be better? Apparently Energizer's Schick division think so.

Schick recently introduced their Quattro razor. Quattro as in four. Yes, the thing has FOUR blades on it now! Gillette immediately sues Schick over Quattro (will Audi sue next?), citing patent infringements, but my concern goes beyond that. Where will this end now? From a single blade on a handle to twin blades sandwiched besides one another to a three blade cartridge and now four. Are 5, 6, 7 and more blades shaving simultaneously that far from appearing at my ocal drugstore? I don't think even my Middle-Eastern thick as a young tree single strands of beard could handle anything more. There must be a stop to this madness. Maybe we need a petition or better yet, a UN resolution condemning installation of any more than four blades on a single shaving cartridge as a crime against humanity and punishable under its charter. What do you think? Are you with me on this?

Humble Pie

Now even the U.S. military commanders have stopped painting the promising picture of a celebrated army rescuing people in desperate need of a foreign invasion to achieve freedom. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez now says the number of attacks by Iraqis on U.S. military personnel have risen to "to a peak of 35 attacks a day." Doesn't exactly sound like a very welcoming reception.

Maybe it's time for some serious humble pie. Maybe it's time to admit we were fooled by Chalebi and his Neo-Con bosses to get involved in something we had not prepared for. Maybe we fess up that suffering of Iraqis was never our main concern, or we would not have prolonged their suffering by supporting Saddam at his position for over two decades. Maybe admit we had just miscalculated, turn matters over to the U.N., pay for the damages we've caused in both infrastructure and loss of life and get out. The world community has collectively managed messes of this magnitude before and they will again. All it takes is to be brave enough to say "we were wrong".

No comments.

NO MORE FLIRT

While the foreign ministers from three major European powers were negotiating the treaty just signed in Tehran, a small group of about 200 "hard-liners" oppose to any negotiations with a foreign entity protested the talks outside of gates of Sa'ad-Abad Palace. This of course is their democratic right to oppose whatever they don't like in a peaceful and legal manner.

Looking at pictures of their demonstration at Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) web sites, what I found rather amusing was their signs though. I know in translation, you lose some meanings and change others, but as someone who speaks both English and Farsi almost fluently, I still had a hard time understanding some signs. This one in particular I believe takes the cake:

Notice the beard-less guy in the back with his "NO MORE FLIRT" sign (no, not the "abhorrence" dude)? No more flirt??? No more of "to make playfully romantic or sexual overtures"??? Oh boy, romance is now officially dead in the Islamic Republic of Iran as even in a amorous gathering such as the one above (no emails please, yes I'm being sarcastic), people are opposing any and all flirting! If you are one of the millions of Iranians forced to live abroad by this regime and forgot why, this should be a reminder. Now go enjoy life in exile and flirt all you want, unless your spouse objects to that sort of thing.

Free At Last!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I bring you this news;

Several months ago, after being rejected by most of our allies and a general rebuff by almost all members of the United Nations, we spent billions in transferring almost half of our military to the other side of the globe in an operation aptly named "Iraqi Freedom" with the goal of bringing democracy to a backward, fanatical and even terrorist country called Iraq (pronounced eye-rak). Iraq was ruled by a ruthless dictator we had supported and enjoyed a close relationship with, until he was no longer useful to us and as a result suddenly his brutality and crimes became a major concern to us.

In an illegal, unnecessary and unwelcome operation, we invaded Iraq and started to teach the local Bedouins what true democracy is and how it would benefit them (as well as Halliburton) to let us make all the important decisions for them, since they are still so backwardly stupid.

Now we have finally seen the fruit of our gigantic sacrifices. Ladies and Gentlemen, Iraq is finally free!

Over 300 of our soldiers lost their lives, about 2,000 were injured and those numbers are growing daily. There was also about 10,000 civilian Iraqis killed, but we won't care about that as this glorious freedom certainly has had a price and they paid it. And now as the result of their sacrifice, Iraq finally has it's first Burger King!

Freedom has arrived and it is in form of charbroiled beef patties and chicken sandwiches. There are over 5,000 of those patties sold daily, making the Baghdad airport store one of the largest Burger Kings' in the world. And just as in California, Texas or Florida, no white people are seen ever flipping burgers as "the restaurant workers are originally from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Nepal".

Oh what glorious day this is, for freedom to have beaconed in the middle-east in this fashion and will soon trickle into the entire region.

Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

KidNazi: No Kids For You!

got a huge compliment today. This young woman I work with, started asking me rather personal questions. I got a bit concerned, since she is only 19. Maybe a part of me was actually enjoying an experience not gone through for oh so long. After asking a few more questions (been married before? dating now? what are you looking for? etc.) she asked if I'd be interested in taking her mom out!

I honestly felt honored, since I knew how close she is to her mom and would certainly won't want her involved with just anyone. She also mentioned how if things worked out, I'd make the perfect step-dad, which again I can only take as a compliment.

However, I believe this officially ended the "young" part of my life and made me (perhaps immaturely) enter the "mid-life" stages. I'm not upset at that at all. I often think I'm on borrowed time already and every extra day is a gift. But this also made me think of something else;

I've never been the type to feel "incomplete" unless I'm in a relationship. Don't get me wrong, to me the feeling of sharing your life with someone you care deeply about and sharing the experiences we call a living with such individual is a great phenomenon some of us experience, but there are more important things in life. On the other hand, I always thought I'd one day make a pretty good father. Now I'm not sure if it will ever happen.

Ever since I was way too young to understand the responsibility, I was the designated family child-sitter. Kids of all ages constantly amazed me and somehow most of them also felt a sort of affinity towards me. I still understand kids much better than adults and enjoy their company more also. So, all friends and family have always commented on how great I'd be if I had my own kids and suddenly now, I don't know if I ever will.

This is not a cry for sympathy (and certainly not an attempt to make anyone be sorry enough to feel a sudden attraction!). Just ramblings of a now middle-age man in his personal web log. Besides, who knows? Anything is possible and I may be completely wrong. We'll see.

Nuclear Iran

This topic has been on my mind for weeks now. With all the warnings, accusations, inspections and denials in the news lately, it's been hard to ignore. Now Iran's number one enemy, Michael Ledeen is back making rather outrageous claims. Nothing has worked in his mind, "W" still won't commit to sending troops to Iran, and before Israel attacks locations inside the country, he is trying one last time and the lies are getting bigger by the day. This time, the lie is so huge, even the CIA has a hard time believing it, and his only "witness"? a notorious character with a shady past and soiled reputation.

We are of course talking about the assumed undertaking by the Iranian government to obtain nuclear weapons.

I don't think it is much of a secret that I detest the current regime in Iran. Call it excessive, but it must be just a natural reaction to the torment they've caused me personally, plus what I have witnessed they put others I care about through. I once counted the number of people I knew who were killed by this government and had to stop at 37 because it was too painful. Astoundingly, every single one was between 15 and 25 at the time. Just way too young to die.

However, I would like to think that somehow I have managed to keep a rather subjective view of those events, the people on both sides and how it all has impacted myself, my fellow countrymen and my nation. With that view, I have been thinking about this question: "what if Iran actually manages to successfully build one or two nuclear bombs". My answer to that question may surprise some, but here it is: so what if they did? In fact, why not?

Let's look at the facts without much predisposition: Iran is geographically situated in an important junction. This is where east and west meet, where Europe connects to much of Asia, where subcontinent of India links up to much of the world through, where most former Soviet states of Central Asia link to international waterways, where a large portion of world's primary source of energy is drilled out and shipped by and where much hostility has lived both openly and covertly for thousands of years.

Many of the areas players are already equipped with nuclear weapons: to the east, Pakistan owns a growing arsenal. To the north, there are many weapons of the Soviet era still unaccounted for and at least two regional countries are believed to possess some type of nuclear capability. To the west, Israel holds the area's largest arsenal and has the delivery capability to target any part of Iran. I wont even mention the country with the largest arsenal of them all, the U.S. present to the south, east and west. Hopefully none of these players ever use their armaments or even threaten to use them against Iran, but what if they did? What if the next government of Pakistan puts claims on Iranian province of Baluchestan for example? What is to stop them?

Besides, let's assume Iran has one, even two nuclear bombs today. What will they do with it? Despite Likud propaganda, not even Rafsanjani has ever claimed to bomb Israel if they had a nuke. Why would they? There will be as many Palestinian casualties as Israeli ones. Besides, what will it accomplish? Look at this scenario: Iran drops a nuclear bomb in the center of Jerusalem and one in Tel Aviv, killing millions of Jewish, Christian and Muslim residents. In retaliation, Israel shoots 30 rockets with nuclear warheads into every major city in Iran and exterminates a whole generation. Even if you were as nutty as Rafsanjani, would you do it? Why? What will be in it for him?

Despite the perception, these guys aren't blind fanatics some of us like to paint them as. If they were, they'd volunteer for suicide bombings themselves. They are dictators, they love the power, they love the wealth that brings them even more power, they live in very fancy palaces, own very expensive cars and furnishings, send their children to best universities abroad, not because they are preparing them for martyrdom. Because they enjoy this life too much. Because they want more of it, not less. Why now give it all up for a brief moment of glory, before it all ends?

You think they'd do it if they see their end is near? doubt it. There are two scenarios for their end: the one seemingly most Iranians prefer is a gradual foundation of legal principals, establishment of democratic entities and a measured transfer of power. In this scenario, there would be no worry of anyone seeing an "imminent end". The other scenario favored by hawks in Washington and a limited but certain circle of Iranians, involves military action and a forceful overthrow, which would guarantee any facility housing such weapons will be the premier first target for capture, eliminating any fear of retaliation.

In short, I fail to see the relevance of this issue. I hope no country ever has nuclear weapons, but as long as many do, why shouldn't Iran? This is assuming they are even interested to, as I have not seen any concrete proof of that either. Ledeen can try to use this bogeyman to frighten a nation into another unnecessary and deadly war. For me, it's a non-issue.

The Petition

Monday Morning Motivationals

Source

Sign This Petition!!!

I know by now we're all a bit tired of this on-line petition business. Somebody recently asked me if I thought they actually work, I said in fact I think they do. If by "working" you mean do the oppressors free political prisoners, Secretary General of the UN intervenes in an execution or closed newspapers get re-opened because somebody put their name and comment on a web site that resembles an actual petition, the answer is probably no. But do they raise issues that need publicity, get people involved in a low commitment but important way that is easy to handle, spreads quickly and basically puts an issue in front of a whole bunch of people very quickly, then they sure do work.

With that, I want you to sign another petition and this time forward the address to a couple of friends who would also do he same! This one is about Ahmad Batebi. Quite honestly, every time I look at this kid's picture (and he truly is, or at least was, just a kid) tears fill my eyes. His story is part of the petition put forward by a friend. Please 'sign' it here.

Cartoon

Ignorance in Three Parts

Those who read this weblog regularly have seen at how irate I sometimes get at people's stupidity. In fact, I consider this a weakness of mine to have no patience when faced with idiocy.

Since immigrating to U.S., I seem to come to contact with a certain brand of foolishness that is mixed with arrogance, condescension and even bigotry more and more. I am not suggesting by any means that Americans (for the purpose of this post, American refers to people of United States, not residents of both American continents) are stupid or unwise in any ways. But at the same time, when faced with the ones who are, one often finds a whole new dimension as to how grand one's mindlessness can get.

As an immigrant that looks, sounds and acts the part, I often have a front row seat to this phenomena as it is directed towards "aliens" here. This is a three part post on that topic:

Part I - BASEBALL - The talk at work is all baseball today. New York Yankees' come from behind win over Boston Red Sox last night has everyone talking. Most are unhappy. Not many people outside NYC appreciate the Bronx Bombers. I walk into an office where four "white" male co-workers are busy discussing the same topic. I try to get into the conversation but I'm quickly brushed aside by one guy saying "oh, we're talking about baseball" and turning his back to me as if to say "that's one topic you know nothing about, so bug off".

This is an opportunity from heavens if your first name is Pedram. I jump in after one guy makes a hindsight suggestion as how Boston should have been coached and go on a rampage: "the guy is ace of your staff, he's won three Cy Youngs and has been the most dominant pitcher in all of baseball for most of the past decade, his ERA hasn't come close to 3.00 in seven years, you wouldn't be there if it wasn't for him. So what if his pitch count is up? you owe it to him to let him make the decision, you go up to him first thanking him for keeping you in the ballgame, then ask: how do you feel? you want to handle this guy or do I bring in some help? let him choose. Even if he makes the wrong decision, you didn't. Get over it, the better team won!" and I shut up.

The room is silent. Later, one of the guys, the nicest of the bunch admits they were insulted. INSULTED. Can you believe it? They couldn't believe some god damn eyeranian knows their game better than them. The "alien" dares to offer an opinion on "America's favorite pastime" and he's probably right. Scary!

I left them in the room and still in awe with a recollection on the Curse of the Bambino, Bucky Dent, Mookie's soft roller towards first and now this. Oh what a glorious moment. For that moment, I'm also a fan of those "Damn Yankees".

Part II - The Strike - It's the last day before the workers at my usual grocery store are locked out. The labor dispute between local UFCW members and the management at three largest grocery retailers in this area is coming to a head. I didn't know if they had already gone on strike yet, so as soon as I enter the store I look for familiar faces and after assuring they are all there, pack my little cart.

At the cashier, Donna asks the usual question "did you find everything tonight?" I reply "yes, including the regular employees and no scabs". Donna says "that's a politically incorrect term, we call them replacement workers" to which I reply "scab is a scab, if they don't like the name, don't take the job". This gets the line behind me going! One guy almost yells at me: "it's for 5 bucks". I know he's talking about this misconception (management's spin masters unite!) about how the main issue at dispute is a $5 contribution from employees towards the cost of their health insurance. I go on fully automatic mode reminding him how it isn't $5 but $15 for most employees and it's $15 PER WEEK or $65 a month, almost $800 a year. Besides, there are other significant issues and I don't get off my soap box 'til I'm done!.

As I finish, there's that silence again. Donna has a big smile on her face and the yelling guy is mumbling like an idiot. Donna is so happy she forgets to give me my change and I forget to ask for it. When I get home and discover the mistake, I call the store. Donna gets on the line, thanks me and assures me she'll put it in an envelope with the manager, so I can get it tomorrow.

The next day the workers get locked out. I spent 15 or 20 minutes picketing with them. Donna is there too, As soon as she sees me she gestures for me to go in to get my money. I tell her I'd never cross a picket line, not even to get my own money. As we walk together holding signs, Donna confesses they couldn't believe it was ME defending them so well and knowing their issues. I guess I don't look the part. She apologizes for the ignorance of their certain clients and how my appearance in her opinion may have contributed to it. I assure her that her apology isn't necessary.

I think I'll picket with them again this Sunday. We'll see.

Part III - Henry Ford - Last week I visited a friend at his work. He is an ardent Republican, I think Democrats are way too right-wing, but we somehow get along. A subject came up and I said that I thought the "general knowledge" of an average American is pretty low outside of pop culture an their own specific field. He of course disagreed. As we're talking, three and then four of his employees are attracted to our conversation, so I decide to conduct my very own, very unscientific experiment, something I had seen on TV once:

I ask one: "who invented the automobile?" He gave me the standard answer you'd hear from any American believing the globe revolves around the good ol' U.S.A.: "Henry ford" (try this for yourself sometime). I remind him that Ford only invented the assembly line, a way to produce cars more efficiently, the car itself was invented long ago by Karl Benz.

I turn to another, asking "who invented electricity?" This time they deliberate collectively and come back with: "George Washington!". I remind them that there was electricity probably long before there was earth, but I assume they meant Benjamin Franklin "discovered" electricity, which isn't the right answer either as he only proved lightning was in fact electricity.

So I move to a different topic and ask the only female in the group: "name 3 cities outside U.S. of A.". She really tried hard, but only came up with "Honolulu". I move on.

I asked about 10 other questions but perhaps the most fun answer I got was to this question: "what country was involved in the American civil war?" and the answer....drum rolls please...."Russia!"

The End.

Now I don't want any of the usual America bashing, please don't be abusive in comments. Remember, some of my favorite human beings, past and present, are American. Above samples are just that: random samples, unscientifically chosen and used in a personal weblog as an individual's experience, nothing more. There are ignorant people all over the world, including but not limited to U.S.A. and boy, ignorance is indeed a blessing. It's much easier to not know to begin with, I've seen it first hand, trust me.

Human Rights, Not Politics!

I wasn't the only one who used the name of Shirin Ebadi in the same sentence with the words; future President of Iran. However, some did not use another word I also used there in referring to a President coming from a FREE future presidential election. Most recently, Hoder picked up the cause for example, advocating she should be a candidate in this very upcoming elections. Yes, this next term, coming up shortly. This to me is a futile and destructive exercise. Here's why;

Let's just assume for a minute that by some miracle she is allowed by the conservative body that vets candidates to run and of course she will then win. What she has achieved in short will be:

1 . Adding to the legitimacy of the charade that is the process of elections in Iran.

2 . Obligating her to upholding a constitution that recognizes the ultimate power remains with not the people but an unelected figure, selected from within a very specific religious dogma.

3 . To hand over all her newly-found influence and muscle to an arrangement where President is essentially a powerless figurehead.

4 . Eliminating her credibility by becoming head of a government already condemned by most international bodies as a leader in violating the most basic human rights of its citizens.

I imagine Shirin will make a great candidate one day. That will be when being a President will actually mean something in Iran. The first step for that is to have her win the mandate in a free and democratic campaign. Also to have her actually gain some power, not lose it by winning.

The best role for her right now is not as a President, not even a political leader. I believe she will be far more effective continuing a role as a human rights advocate. In that role, her demands will be mainly political anyways, but not sectarian or divisive. A political leader needs to take positions that will not be accepted by all and will naturally divide people, based on their outlook and opinion. This natural divisiveness is the least desirable factor Iranians need right now.

Shirin Ebadi is in a very unique position to unite many generations and ranks of Iranians. Her human rights platform provides her with this ability, and to be the strong yet loving mother figure a nation needs to heal its wounds and find its new path.

Welcome Home!

They came in thousands. Most women wore white scarves and men white shirts. many brought a single or sometimes a bouquet of roses, many of them white. Several observers reported how all freeways leading to the airport were closed due to heavy traffic as many Tehranis gathered at the airport earlier today to welcome their hometown hero. They were chanting, singing and making noise as Shirin Ebadi appeared briefly trying to speak. She managed to say "the award belongs to all Iranians" before she broke down and couldn't continue.

The slogans included mocking government officials (Rafsanjani and Khatami in particular, asking both to resign), demanding freedom for political prisoners and encouraging their "lady of international peace" to continue her struggle. Some of the noteworthy public figures reportedly present included members of parliament (Majlis), writers, thinkers, filmmakers, sports stars and even Sina Motallebi.

A few of her opponents came too. They were unshaved and wore black, as if casting and costumes were done by a Hollywood studio. Held a single sign, it read: "When the enemy applauds you, it's because you've scored into your own net". How appropriate since their team is so unpopular, the home crowd doesn't applaud them even when they rarely get it right. On this day, even the "moderate" President got it wrong though, by saying the peace prize is not that significant and the only important Nobel prizes are in science. He was quiet about the long essay he wrote applauding Nelson Mandela when he won the same award in 1993.

It was yet another amazing day in Tehran. Wish I was there.

For those of you who can read Farsi, here are personal accounts of some of the bloggers who were there:

Zeitoon Shabah Osyan Shiva KhorshidKhanoom Man-o-Sara

Some Dick Said This

Since we heard what President Bush (the father) had to say about the possibility of invading Iraq and toppling of Saddam's regime, I think it would only be fair to allow Mr. Dick Cheney, the man many believe to be the real force behind the current administration in DC has/had to say about the very same topic:

"If you're going to go in and try to topple Saddam Hussein, you have to go to Baghdad. Once you've got Baghdad, it's not clear what you do with it. It's not clear what kind of government you would put in place of the one that's currently there now. Is it going to be a Shia regime, a Sunni regime or a Kurdish regime? Or one that tilts toward the Baathists, or one that tilts toward the Islamic fundamentalists? How much credibility is that government going to have if it's set up by the United States military when it's there? How long does the United States military have to stay to protect the people that sign on for that government, and what happens to it once we leave?"

Dick Cheney
Speaking in 1991 as secretary of defense

Columbus Day

Today was Columbus Day, The celebration of "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. He arrives, the genocide of the natives begins, what is left of them is stripped of all their land and given the most useless camps scattered all over USA to call home, and later in the year (a few years later) by Thanksgiving we'll be celebrating our "achievements" with a few natives still left alive, over a turkey dinner. Then after decades of misery, they'll finally figure out a way to earn a living and prosper, but we will find a way to tax that money too. Don't you feel like celebrating now?

Evin Wasn't That Bad

I was also personally offended (no kidding) by the site of the little kabob-house built on a corner backing into the corner wall, on the road heading towards Shahrak-Gharb. It may or may not be there now, but to think of the atrocities that happened and is still happening within a stone-throw of that corner, and sitting down with your family for a hearty mean of Kabobs and more is just outrageous.

Only If...

In his memoirs, "A World Transformed," written five years ago, George Bush, Sr. wrote the following to explain why he didn't go after Saddam Hussein at the end of the Persian Gulf War.

"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. ? Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different -- and perhaps barren -- outcome."

Now only if his son was able to read...

Before & After...

"A dozen years after Saddam Hussein ordered the vast marshes of southeastern Iraq drained, transforming idyllic wetlands into a barren moonscape to eliminate a hiding place for Shiite Muslim political opponents ..."

Source

"US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops."

Source

Before & After...

Mohsen Sazgara was another recent well-known Evin prison tenants. He spent less than four months there and after suffering under physical and mental torture, plus a hunger-strike that led to his release, you can witness what captivity there does to you in comparing the pictures above.

Monday Morning Motivationals

Source

Double Standards?

Can you imagine a Muslim cleric declaring on a nation-wide television program that reading a book he is promoting, made him so irritated he'd start thinking "If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom (State Department's HQ), I think that's the answer. I mean, you get through this, and you say; We've got to blow that thing up" and get away with it?

Don't you think Ashcroft's people backed by his ridiculous Patriot Act would be knocking down doors to get to the man and hold him (without a charge or trial) until Ahmed Chalabi comes back home? Well, it seems like a prominent Christian preacher can say it and not expect anything more than a very mild slap on the wrist.

This is exactly what happened to Pat Robertson who said he feels like blasting the HQ with a WMD, on his TV show The 700 Club and only received some well hidden criticisms and nothing more.

What is probably most significant is the violent language and imagery evident in that comment. Of course this is nothing new for the "Christian Coalition" and other ultra traditionalists who often use violent and sadistic terms and metaphors to describe their emotions, indicative of their true feelings. Wasn't it just last week that Maryland's first lady said "if I had an opportunity to shoot Britney Spears, I think I would"?

After all, the Whitehouse friend and influential Pat Robertson is not completely alien to making very stupid comments. Comments that often include the same violent tenancies like this latest one. To get an idea of his view of the world, I'll just post one of his many offerings: "I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period."

Need I add more? Nah!

Prison Memories...

In the prison in the city of Babol, there was an inmate who had done nothing. He was arrested in 1981 when there were many street confrontations. He was later asked to come to the Friday prayers to declare his position against Mojahedin along with others who had confessed and asked for forgiveness, but his ego was hurt and he didn't accept. He was saying he had done nothing, so why should he confess to anything. He was finally executed too, just over nothing.

While in prison he would say, in jest;

I was sitting, they said it was a sit-in protest...

I got up, they said you are raising against us...

I walked, they called it a demonstration...

I ran, they said you are a fugitive...

I crawled in a corner, they said I was hiding...

I laughed, they said you are laughing at us?..

I cried, they said you have been planted...

I said I only wanted to live, they said you don't believe in the hereafter.

From: AsgharAgha Magazine, New Run, Issue One. Farsi Source: GilehMard

Boobie-Thon II

Somebody much smarter than moi, figured out a way to do some good with her blog. Namely collecting donations (well over $7,000 of it so far) for a great cause. Please donate by clicking on the image above, if you can.

Wagging The Dog, Again!

With the Iraqi invasion going seriously sideways, Israeli extremists running that country see how difficult it has become for them to dupe U.S.A. to continue to do their dirty work for them and have reluctantly started to act on their own to try to cause a larger conflict in the region and basically force the Americans to take sides and get involved (tail wagging the dog again?). Here are some of their latest acts of coercion: Increase the tension between the other two regional nuclear powers by supplying one with newest and superior armament. While pushing for closer ties with a local ally, attack targets deep into a neighboring country and start a large military build up at the borders of another, increasing fear of yet another invasion and leading in to exchanges of gunfire. The next move involves Iran; start by accusing Iran of holding one of your MIA's and then leak information about your imminent plans to attack targets inside Iran. This is shortly before it is revealed how your WMD collection is expanding by finding new ways to deliver it's deadly punch.

And remind me again, who is the terrorist here again?

How Embarrassing

As the movement to truly support the troops in Iraq and bring them home safe and alive grows by the day, particularly as the number of various letters by soldiers and their families are growing, somebody probably within the U.S. military decided to get smart and suddenly the exact same letter appears in newspapers across the country, signed by different "soldiers" praising the glorious success in rebuilding Iraq. Here's the full story.

Eyeranian of the Year!

Significant Shirin

Beating considerable odds of 21/1, Shirin Ebadi became the first Iranian as well as the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her recognition in this fashion is significant in many different ways and here are some of them;

An Activist - Up to yesterday, Shirin Ebadi was an internationally unknown and little appreciated lawyer and human rights activists. Unlike some of the other nominees, she isn't a former politician, religious leader or anyone that has had the eye of the world's media on her before. Hundreds, thousands or even millions of others all over the world work towards similar goals of democracy and freedom, yet are never praised for their efforts. So, when one of them is actually recognized this way, it is a victory for all others who also deserve the highest accolades.

Human Rights - The award is named for peace but didn't go to anyone known primarily for their actual creation of peace or opposition to war. This is a victory for all those who believe basic human rights is an essential component of global justice, freedom and yes peace.

Iranian - As a people, Iranians have probably struggled just as much, if not more than any other nation in their struggle towards freedom. Now for the first time an Iranian is acclaimed for this common crusade. Her award, as acknowledged by her, most certainly belongs to all Iranians who have taken part in this unfinished project.

Women - Us men, we have run this planet more or less by ourselves over the past few thousand years and have surely managed to make a pretty good mess of tings. Women on the other hand, are rarely applauded for their contribution, never mind the fact that they hardly ever get to be in charge. This is surely another step towards a more equitable and evenly balanced approach to things.

Iranian Woman - The current Iranian regime has thrived on abuse and persecution of most Iranians, but in particular the women, religious and ethnic minorities, political dissenters and intellectuals. For a woman who is also a nonconformist and an intellectual to become such huge celebrity and on the front page of newspapers world-wide, is a triumph for the resistance movement the Iranian women have led for a long time and in particular for the most recent quarter of a century.

Non-Violence - A firm opponent of violence and advocate of passive and peaceful negative resistance, Ebadi's win is yet another confirmation of a better way to make progress.

Religion - Her very timely and important first few words were key in establishing how to be an activist and to be an opponent of the religious tyranny in Iran, does not necessary mean being anti-religion or in this case anti-Islam. I hope more and more of our intellectuals get this point and don't fall into the Monarchist/Conservative/Oppressive trap, most evident amongst some of our brightest minds.

Non-Sectarian - Of course Shirin Ebadi's work has been hugely political, but she never fell into the sectarian, limiting, divisive and unproductive natural reaction of associating with various factions and branches with fashionable labels (did you say "reformer"?). This has added tremendously to her effectiveness and success in her work.

Her Voice - Iran is not the isolated and secluded Myanmar/Burma and Ebadi won't be another Aung San Suu Kyi. It will be impossible for the regime to quiet her down now, at least officially (which makes me very worried about her safety, they can always make-up a crazy lone man scenario to take her life and dispose of the trouble right away). I have no doubt she will use her new found voice and access to world media (can you imagine if even 5 years from today she contacted a 60 minutes producer to cover her latest project? they'd jump all over the Noble Laureate) to further the cause of democracy and human rights in Iran.

It is with those thoughts that I think this was indeed a great day for Iran and Iranians. It may even be the dawn of a new opposition forming under the banner of a non-violent, human-rights-above-all, democratic new union.

After all, the Norwegian Nobel Committee may have not only chosen the first Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, but also the first candidate of Iran's first free presidential election, ever.

Oh so stupid...

What a Wonderful Morning!

Funny Picture!

Good Television

If you didn't get to watch PBS' truth, war & consequences, I highly recommend it. You can watch the entire show on-line or read and hear all the interviews, supporting material and documents relating to the illegal invasion of Iraq. Here's an example; quotes from various administration authorities prior to, during and after the invasion.

Opinions

Juan Cole believes in the Seven War Theory. While there are reports that certain factions within the U.S. administration (did you say Likud?) with their Israeli counterparts (L.I.K.U.D, right?) is still planning and dreaming of an attack on Iran. Some even have certain hallucinations that only strong fiction writers could come up with.

Meanwhile, Brazil is also enriching uranium. Why do I have a feeling IAEA will not be that concerned about this or issue ultimatums for compliance?

Don't You Ever Forget, Boy!

Just in case the Iraqi Governing Council was under this misguided notion that they are independant and free to decide the future of their country and despite the fact that some of the most prominent, best experienced and highly organized members of the Council (namely the Kurds) have some very serious concerns about Turkish troops controlling their areas, the real authority in Iraq, Mr. Paul Bremer reminded the Council that it really doesn't matter what they think; "the final decision on whether to accept Turkish troops rests with the coalition and not the Iraqis", he said. Is there any real decisions that actually does rest with Iraqis? Didn't think so.

Ah-nold is in!

As predicted, he's in. There was never a moment of doubt in my mind that he'd have enough votes to win. I did however wished the no vote on the recall question could be sufficient enough to not necessitate choosing a replacement. But the Democrats once again ran a horrible campaign and only came swinging out so late in the game, most voters had already decided how they'd vote.

Does it matter really? Not especially. By keeping the masses naive enough to believe what serves the interest of the super rich is actually going to benefit them as well, the backward, reactionary and traditionalist forces dominating the bona fide political spectrum of U.S.A. is able to do as it wants, get away with it's obsolete solutions and deceit, and proudly go to the ballots at any time to gain legitimacy where there's none due.

As for Schwarzenegger, he has already insulted the immigrant communities here, demonstrated his stupidity in attacking first nations, showed his deranged attitude towards women, lied about his intend and ability in implementing plans such as reversing automotive taxes, exposed some of his actual thinking by suggesting he'd "get rid of" the state EPA, yet all of that will be forgotten, he won't suffer politically or otherwise, will soon run and defeat Senator Boxer and become Senator Schwarzenegger and who knows, maybe if he performs well that far, the amendment to the constitution needed to allow him to become President Schwarzenegger is "sold" to those same masses and he will become the head of globe's only superpower (don't laugh, there's already legislation in the works to make it happen).

The new superstar of the Republican Party (Coke?) is officially born and amazingly enough, it's the highest of the high in the Democratic Party (Pepsi?) steering his ship towards future victories. Should we be surprised? Don't know about you, I'm not.

Added Later: Hunter Thompson said the quote that is often credited to Adlai Stevenson. I think it applies here perfectly:

"In a democracy, people usually get the kind of government they deserve, and they deserve what they get."

Hmmmm...

X vs. II

I sometimes think about this; would Martin Luther King have been more successful in his quest for justice and equality if he had a bit more of that "any means necessary" attitude or better yet, would he have as much success as he had (and has had even after his death) if there wasn't people like Malcolm X around at all?

Expanding on that notion, does the non-violence movement actually need a contradictory force working towards similar goals to have any measurable success? Is part of the success based on rejecting the violent alternative and choosing the path of passive struggle?

I don't have an answers here, that's why the blog title states "random thoughts and observations", you see?

No To Recall

I have written about this before, so I promise this is the last time. Today people of California could vote on recalling a Governor they elected only last year and replace him with a new man (there are no serious woman candidates, again). I would like to make it clear that I truly couldn't care less about the current Governor Gray Davis. To me this Pepsi or Coke system is so corrupt, there isn't really much difference between any of the politician. Besides, by the time I post my next batch of "random thoughts", Schwarzenegger's name (The Groper Governor) has been pulled out of the ballot boxes, there's a new "star" to run for Senate here soon and Enron people are sleeping much easier.

Having said that, I'd like to stress that I still believe this entire process makes a mockery of the system, the government and essentially democracy in whole. This is how healthy democracies function: people vote someone into an office for a pre-selected period. When that period nears its end, the people can judge his/her performance and either re-elect the person, elect someone with similar plans and views if there are term restrictions, or decide to take their city, state or country towards a new direction and elect a new person, ideology, objective to lead them. This in short is the basic principal of modern or electoral democracy.

Although politics in general is a sort of popularity contest, this fixed term idea allows the elected individuals and government a cushion or breathing space to conduct their affairs not solely based on what is popular, but what is right and necessary even if in short time it may cause some tough choices to be made and certain unpopular options are exercised. After all, they are to be judged at the end of their term and based on the collective work of that term, not the individual decisions made along the way.

Being subjected to a recall, based on every move and decision made, takes this away from the idea of government. Now ALL decisions are subject to opinion polls and the whim of the voters or the politician making the unpopular choices will be removed from his office at any time. In this unhealthy version of democracy, all the political leaders who you have heard of that stood firm on unpopular but correct positions on slavery, women and minority rights or a million other cases out there, would have risked the wrath of the electorate and do what is popular, not what is right, as the two are often not the same.

Having recall provisions imbedded in any system and constitution is not necessary an evil item though. There may be cases where for example criminal activity (judged by judiciary) or mental health and disabilities (judged through medical channels) may make it impossible for a politician to conduct his or her affairs properly and without great cost to the community. But to apply the same principal to issues and short-term performance only ridicules the process and will essentially cause only weak, cowardly and ineffective leaders are ever elected or kept in office for any period of time.

With that, I hope Californians vote NO on the recall, not to keep Davis in office but to have strong and formidable politicians in the future, and as to whom to vote for to replace Davis, they might as well write-in Pepsi.

Don't forget; people often get the kinds of governments they deserve. We'll be getting the Nazi-Admiring types who already has his own recall movement and petition to deal with.

Plesae Help!!!

The campaign to raise awareness about the death sentence issued against Afsaneh Noroozi picked up some high ranking women lawmaker advocates raising its profile and bringing in much needed publicity. If you do not live in Iran, please take a moment and join Amnesty International to demand justice for Afsaneh by clicking on the logo below. For those of you inside Iran, we understand using your information is this fashion may endanger your own safety, so we'll just work harder on your behalf as well.

Cartoon

From: The Guardian

Iran's Planes Increasing?

Remember during "Persian Gulf War I" Saddam was so desperate in protecting what was left of his air force, he sent over 100 of his planes to hide in Iran, the country he had ravaged by starting an unnecessary and illegal war for 8 years and ending just a couple of years earlier?

Look at this flyer the coalition forces (American, Saudi, English, Canadian, Australian, etc.) were dropping on Iraq at the time to encourage the Iraqi pilots to fly to Saudi Arabia instead. The word jumping right at me in that flyer is "the shore" Saddam has allegedly already returned to Iranians. What shore are they referring to? This isn't the strip of land between Arvand River and Faw Peninsula/Bubiyan, is it? That was never really "returned" to Iran. Or maybe it's more aggressive and is going east along the Persian Gulf "shores" and talking about Khuzistani shores? I'm somewhat confused and don't know why, but don't like the connotations of this seemingly innocent flyer and wondering if it is yet another example of the way foreigners have tried hard to put distance between people of that region, in particular Iranians and their Arab neighbors.

President Rodham-Clinton?

WordOne suggests that my predictions may have come true and I may be doing some volunteer time soon. What do you think?

Monday Morning Motivationals

Source

Our Own Dillema

It's 1986 and there are rumors of what is to be known as Iran-Contra affair starting to circulate in political rounds. A clandestine operation orchestrated by the upper echelons of Ronald Reagan administration is smuggling arms to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hostile government (at least on the surface) and using the proceeds to fund other illegal activities, including supporting of terrorist rebels in Central America. Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator deeply involved in a worsening war with Iran, a war he was encouraged and supported to start and continue by the U.S. administration was clearly not happy about these rumors. Reagan dispatches Richard Murphy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State at the time and currently a fellow at Council on Foreign Relations to Baghdad, as he had sent his "special envoy" Donald Rumsfeld a couple of years earlier, to explain the mess and assure the dictator that their policy of supporting him has not changed. Within a short time, Iraq receives additional military hardware as well as intelligence on Iranian troop movements and operational activities. Subsequently, Saddam's troops win a few key battles before long and the war that was rapidly spiraling against him is slowly turned around to the point it became obvious to Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran that the Iraqi land currently under invasion could no longer be held by Iranian troops and unless a ceasefire is agreed upon, Saddam's army may start to win more battles and invade parts of Iran again. Within a couple of years, the Ayatollah announced he is forced to drink from a "poison goblet" by accepting the ceasefire and Saddam in turn is encouraged and confident enough to turn his attention to another neighbor and invades Kuwait shortly after. The rest is history. Now only if we could learn to not get in bed with dictators to begin with, maybe we wouldn't need to worry about any future quagmire.

Shame, Part 3,245,587

Hossein Derakhshan finds it hard to attend an event in U.S. because he is Iranian. How soon we forgot our apology to Japanese citizens because of the way they were treated during WWII.

Still Watch Fox?

Point Of View

Free, Free, Set Them Free!

Hate to be insensitive enough to say 'I told you so' but magician Roy Horn of the famous duo Siegfried & Roy being attacked by one of his "beloved" tigers is just another opportunity for all of us to reconsider our relationship with animals. I for one refuse to consider abuse of animals as a source of entertainment and would never go anywhere where they are held in captivity. This includes Zoos, Sea World type "parks", horse and dog races, Circuses that exploit animals and certainly a magician's show.

Please spare me the ridiculous arguments about the wonderful services Zoos offer, or how happy animals are when they are cared for so greatly or any other argument you have come up for yoursef to justify what you must know in your heart is wrong.

A co-worker recently was telling me how great it was for his kids to go see Shamu. I asked if it was such a great experience for Shamu also, he thought about it for a bit and suddenly something clicked. He said nobody had ever made him think of the experience from the animal's point of view. I hope he does from now. I hope more of us do, also.

Cartoon

Insanity?

Religious fundamentalism is of course not exclusive to any one particular religion. This is just the latest example of it coming from the head of Catholic church: "Pope John Paul told the new Archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that allowing openly homosexual clergy in the Anglican communion was a "serious difficulty" on the path to Christian unity."

Get a life you thickheaded old man. You lead a church that has some very serious issue with pedophilia and thousands of children world-wide being abused by the priest you have trained to bring "salvation" to masses (just imagine how many such cases have never been reported in the third-world), then allowing adult men into the ranks of clergy who acknowledge they are attracted to other adult men is a "serious difficulty"??? I know some of you are probably saying to yourself that I should let the old man be, he is on last stages of his life as reported and suffering from Alzheimer's as well as other illnesses, but I won't grant that luxury to any stupid priest, ayatollah or rabbi, as long as a number of people look up to them for guidance and as an idol. I don't think you should either.

Talk Amongst Yourselves...

It seems as if the talks are back on. After a short breather to let all the dust settle and the curiosity of various media-types and activists dwindle, the murderous regime controlling Iran and the foolhardy administration currently running the U.S.A. are back at negotiating with one another and when two parties with questionable characters get together, who knows what is on the table or how far matters are discussed.

So on the surface we curse one another out, accuse each others of crimes and more, gesture violently and make up every lie in the book about the other guy, but then sit together and exchange "positive signals" and trade our 'analysis of the regional situation'. Now expect anything good to come out of this? I don't.

PS - Kharrazi is considered a 'reformist' too?? Hmmm.

Poster Boys

An update on what a couple of our right-wing poster boys have been up to over the past couple of days: Rush Limbaugh makes a very bigoted comment insulting a black athlete in suggesting he wasn't really that good but got promoted because he is black, then becomes uncharacteristically mum over revelations about his addiction to prescription drugs. Arnold Schwarzenegger meanwhile admits to and then apologizes for groping various women on different occasions before it is revealed how he has confessed to admiring Hitler in the past. Just lovely, ain't it?

Yet Another Insult...

Lt. Governor of Texas, Republican David Dewhurst got so upset at his buddy and fellow Republican,Texas House of Representatives Speaker Tom Craddick (probably for not being extremist enough) that he lashed at the Speaker and insulting him with the greatest of all the greatest insults and accusing the Speaker of negotiating like an "Iranian cabdriver." NIAC has called for an apology from the Lt. Governor.

Petition To Sign

A friend is spearheading a petition in defense of Afsane Noroozi, the Iranian woman facing death for killing the man who tried to rape her. Click here to sign the petition addressed to Secretary General of UN.

UPDATE - As Faramin points out, Afsane may be at most a couple of days away from going to the gallows. Even a bit of international pressure may delay carrying out her sentence. Please take a minute and do what you can.

NDP Succeeded?

I wanted to write about how the New Democratic Party of Ontario succeeded in yesterday's election, but am a bit tired tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to it. Where's my newest fiancé when you need her? Here's a quick glimpse for y'all (do I sound Texan enough there or still like an Iranian Cabdriver?):

Vote NDP!

Above Picture - My very dear friend Howard Hampton, leader of Ontario's New Democratic Party holding a news conference with U.S. presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich in Windsor in September, with city of Detroit in the background and speaking against deregulation and privatization of Hydro industry in both countries.

Ontario's provincial elections are upon us and I can't help but to feel left-out writing about this from so many miles away. By the time I post my tomorrow's message, the conservative government of Ernie Eves has been defeated by a tide of discontent, probably resulting in a new administration by the centrist Liberal Party.

The best possible scenario would be a minority government, as parties with majority control of legislator have all historically become arrogant and out-of-touch with the voters.

I wish my friends and one-time teammates in NDP all the best and regardless of the final vote count, they know they are the ultimate champions of what most Canadians value and tomorrow morning, they'll just get back to do what they do best, standing up for what is right.

Drink, Eat, Be Happy...

This is my newest obsession. I admit to being addicted to POM Wonderful family of pomegranate juices and mixes. First of all, you've got to love that bottle design. Very sexy. Then there's all these interesting mixes, one in particular has me hooked: Pomegranate Tangerine. Yummy!

Wherever you live in, I strongly recommend asking your local grocery guys to get you some. The only drawback, the price. These things are rather expensive at about $3 a bottle. This weekend I am going to try getting some less-expensive pomegranate juice at an Iranian market and see if I can copy the mixes with amateur techniques.

Another current obsession is DOLE Fruits in Plastic Jars. Don't be fooled by the cheap imitations, these guys use really juicy grade A fruits, making a delicious mixture, particularly in their "Tropical Fruit" mix. Enjoy!

Credibility Issue?

Michael Ledeen invited Hossein Khomeini to address a gathering of mostly monarchist Iranians as if this new guru had some great insight to what is ailing Iran and to offer solutions. Of course, the man isolated most of his life living in Iraq and then in seclusion of the leader's compound and finally remoteness of a seminary in Qom, is so out of touch with most Iranians, he often uses news broadcast by the Farsi program of Radio Israel as his source of information.

He was recently interviewed by the CIA funded Radio Farda (Tomorrow) and here are the gems he came up with:

- On his charges of Iran being behind most of the unrest in Iraq, his only "evidence" is Iranian television's coverage before the invasion in what he saw as "support of Saddam". When pressed for any evidence of Iran's meddling, he concedes he has none but Iraqis must have some!

- On terror of Ayatollah Hakim, he says only Iran and Saudis benefited from it and therefore they must be behind it, then admits there were many others who also gained by his departure (like Ba'ath party loyalist) so there could be many other culprits and there are no legitimate proofs available.

- On his assertions against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, he acknowledges he has no verification that they do.

He then goes sideways and up and down trying unsuccessfully to justify his position that American military intervention in Iran is not a good thing, but may be necessary and finally the contradiction of that position with his earlier assertion that Iraqi invasion was a "divine act". And then another contradiction in his comment that "revolutions are not a desirable event" but the 1979 evolution was with "holy goals".

Lastly, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini who still refuses to criticize the conduct or result of his grandfather's regime, acknowledges the ultra-right think tank of Michael Ledeen's as people who "support freedom", just like him.

Targa

Pet owners, particularly dog owners I'm sure can identify with this. Dogs love so unconditionally and completely that many years after a failed relationship, the thing I miss the most about the whole mess is still the damn dog. I'm not allowed a dog where I live or I'm certain by now I would have tried to replace her. Wherever she is, if alive, I hope she's well.

Hoo-ha!

Remember the scene in SCENT OF A WOMAN where Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino) does the Tango with this ravishing brunette while Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) watches? I don't know about you, but that image is burned into many cells within my brain, forever. Well, I found out today that Gabrielle Anwar, the ravishing brunette is half-Iranian and she was just chosen as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. So many unhealthy obsessions, so little time.

While this has come up, let me explain something else. In a conversation with a friend today, she advised me "stop looking and you will find her". So to clear the air (and since I have had a few posts lately that may suggest that I am actually "looking"; chairs, TV characters, actors on the other side of the planets, etc.) let me be very clear; I'm not looking! I stopped looking long ago (the only problem is "she" did too, so we aren't finding one another). So, while I thank all of you for the concern shown, I assure you there's no need to lock up your daughters and/or sisters in the house, as I'm not looking.

Now, be a friend and go look for me!

Back to our regular programming; This is my favorite quote by Colonel Slade from that movie: "Women... what can you say? Who made 'em? God must have been a fuckin' genius. Hair... They say hair is everything you know? Have you ever buried your nose in a mountain of curls and just wanted to go to sleep forever? Or lips that when they touched yours were like that first swallow of wine after you just crossed the desert? Tits. Hoo-hah! Big ones, little ones. Nipples staring right out at ya, like secret searchlights. Legs. I don't care if they're Greek columns, or second-hand Steinways, but what's between them... passport to heaven."

Hoo-ha!

More of Gabrielle here.

Nasim

Follow up to Omid Djalili

Okay, I watched a single episode of Whoopi, finally. I must say that I now find myself closer to the position of those who are, let's say somewhat "concerned" about the character of Nasim as oppose to others who greet this with a joyous victory dance. Once again, I will not bother with the stupid notions of why is he a repairman (as if we are all somehow born with a law degree or dental school credentials) or the even more ridiculous question of why his characteristics, name, manners and even accent are more Arabic than Iranian (how dare they muddy our pure Persian, excuse me Aryan blood with those filthy sand dwellers). These kinds of opinions mostly come from certain circles where the entire universe revolves around Tehran, particularly the northern parts, particularly the citizens of that area who happen to live mostly in Tehrangeles now. Temporarily of course, for the past 25 years almost.

Now putting those aside, there are some valid concerns and I am glad the actor portraying the character, also shares. Here are some of my issues: Nasim seems rather one-dimensional and very cartoon like. He is funny, or should I say his writers are. But I didn't see anything of substance out of his mouth, no real emotions, no relationships with other character other than what was through him being funny.

Then there is the question of stereo-typing. We already suffer enough with that issue, now we have a representative that magnifies some of those same narrow-mindedness. what I mean is perhaps more meaningful because Nasim is indeed the ONLY person currently on television portraying what an Iranian is like. I mean if there was a sharp Iranian detective on Law & Order, another witty nurse on ER and an interesting assistant on The West Wing, then having a goofy guy on Whoopi would not be an issue. But for now, goofy is all there is.

I also hope the often mentioned put downs of "back home" doesn't get out of hand.

Having said all of this, Omid seems to be on the ball himself and I'll just look for him to develop the character by steering it properly, that is unless the show gets canceled in a couple of weeks and we'd be back at having the weird neighbors in DOWN & OUT IN BEVERLEY HILLS as the only characters representing our folks.

DVL

Diversity Visa Lottery, the U.S. government's attempt to even out some of the past prejudices in accepting immigrants into the country has moved on-line for 2005. A few countries have been dropped from the list of eligible ones and no paper entry will be accepted. Those interested can apply for the lottery even if already in the country. You can find the rules, necessary documents and a link to the actual form you need to fill right here. Good luck and if you get in, you owe me a chelo-kabab.