Still Thinking of Iran

The same newspapers and television stations that tell us what is chic to wear and what foods are all the rage has decided that Iran is like "yesterday". We are to believe that where the camera men point their lenses is the only reality worth considering. The Michael Jackson funeral lives on as our latest "chewing gum for the mind".

It may take motivation. It may take determination. But I have not taken my mind off of Iran. To me it is down the street. I have Iranian neighbours. I like their music and food. Their pride in the country they came from reminds me of my own family and how they felt about Germany, Hungary , Croatia and Israel. I understand their patriotism just like I understand any proud father showing me pictures of his baby. Everyone has a family. Everyone has a country.

We are being molded into the type of people who must have the latest i-phone, who must try the latest food fads and clothing fashions. I could not care less about that. I do know that Iranians are dying. They are being rounded up, their dissenting voices slowly strangled to a hoarse whisper and then towards silence.

I am only a generation from living under dictatorship. Even though I talk in my sleep in English, the freedoms of this country are to me like a new suit that is still a novelty to me. My namesake was murdered fighting for the freedom I was born to. When I see bloodied demonstrators, I see my brothers. You can not switch the channel on me. You can not change the subject. These people are my brothers. I feel shame that they are bleeding and dying for the same rights I take for granted.

You can not change the subject. You can not change the channel. My namesake was murdered for speaking the truth. He hid from the Germans and refused to be silent. As long as Iranians dare to speak and to struggle, my great uncle lives also. I will not change the channel away from Iran. I will not forget them. I wish I could do more.








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwRUBGV-9Q0 Sphere: Related Content

Alec Baldwin Running for Office?

Does anyone remember Alec Baldwin? His acting career was overshadowed by his previous forays into politics. Although Baldwin has ruled out most of the Milky Way galaxy,he has not yet decided which office to run for, or even in which state to run. CNN reports as follows about Baldwin and his political ambitions.



"Emmy Award winner Alec Baldwin is eyeing a post-acting career that could take him off a Hollywood soundstage into the halls of Congress.

Baldwin, who currently stars in the NBC comedy "30 Rock," told Playboy magazine that he is seriously considering running for Congress. But he acknowledged his opponents would have plenty of fodder to use against him.

"I'll put it this way," he told the magazine. "The desire is there; that's one component. The other component is opportunity."

A native New Yorker, Baldwin said he has been approached by an unnamed Democratic law firm who wanted him to run for governor of Ohio, and he has also considered moving to New Jersey or Connecticut to run for office. "I'd love to run against Joe Lieberman."






Baldwin, who is an accomplished actor is also a PETA supporter and a stalwart supporter of liberal causes. He was once married to actress Kim Basinger, with whom he has a 14 year old daughter. He and Basinger have waged acrimonious battles over visitation and custody issues.

Baldwin's passionate support of animal rights and other causes has sometimes raised eyebrows, not only of the general public but of those in the mental health profession. Who can forget the drama of the Clinton impeachment hearings? I used to leave my paper on the subway rather than answer the questions my children might ask me about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The six o'clock news used to have parental advisories for explicit content.

His profanity laced phone message to his daughter in the middle of a heated custody battle is widely cited as an example of his mental instability. I would give him a pass on that. Custody battles can be pretty nasty. But when he went on the Conan O'Brien show, what he had to say about Senator Henry Hyde was truly bizarre. The audio is truly unsettling. It reads as follows.




"They voted on one article of impeachment already. And I come back from Africa to stained dresses and cigars and this and impeachment. I am thinking to myself, in other countries they are laughing at us 24 hours a day and I’m thinking to myself, if we were in other countries, we would all right now, all of us together, [starts to shout] all of us together would go down to Washington and we would stone Henry Hyde to death! We would stone him to death! [crowd cheers] Wait! Shut up! Shut up! No shut up! I’m not finished. We would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and we’d kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families. [stands up, yelling] What is happening in this country? What is happening? UGHHH!"





What disturbs me most is not Baldwin's rant but his perception that it would receive a sympathetic audience. More than his phone tape, it gives me an insight into the private Alec Baldwin.

Will Alec Baldwin run for anything? He is ripe for satire. He would make an absurdly inviting target for ridicule. Perhaps Republicans might want to donate to his campaign. He is that bad. There are too many families in America that encompass and accommodate wide differences of opinion. As entertaining as a Senator Baldwin might be, I hope he does not gain traction in his quest for higher office. Alec Baldwin would do the nation a favour if he would remain in the scripted dramas of Hollywood and leave the unpredictable world of politics to a person of greater calm. Sphere: Related Content

Yankee Imperialism Back in Fashion

We have musical fashions. Hip hop, Motown, the Beatles. New fads create multimillion dollar sales as albums go platinum. Music and film are a major industry. I remember when I was in eighth grade and the mini skirt went out of fashion. It was like a rainstorm, with scattered raindrops adding up to a shower. In September, one girl wore a "midi". By January, miniskirts were a rarity.

The political world is as much a slave to fashion as the worlds of music and clothing. The unrest in Iran continues as before. demonstartors are being shot. Ahmadinejad's stooges are trying to terrorise Iran into submission But the TV cameramen have their lenses trained on Honduras. Manuel Zelaya, who looks a like Groucho Marx retread without the laughs is the latest cause celebre of the ditzerati from Hollywood to Greenwich Village. Much has been made of the fact that he was removed from office by the Honduran military. What is overlooked is that he was removed by order of the Honduran Congress. The military was performing a constitutional function. Zelaya was determined to have broken Honduran laws, including those against drug dealing. The Honduran legal system is working its course.

Despite this, the Organisation of American States (OAS) , once condemned by Fidel Castro as a tool of US imperialism is still a Yankee Tool. But this time, the Honduran people are getting their marching orders from Obama and others who have decided that Manuel Zelaya is in vogue.

Perhaps if we can keep our focus on Honduras, the disturbing news coming out of Iran will go away. Perhaps the rioting Uighurs in China will stop bothering Chairman Mao's heirs so we can keep breaking American workers with cheap Chinese labour. I mean, Obama's Cairo speech felt so mellow. It was like a beer buzz on a summer evening. It was sooo cool. But all this bummer news from the Islamic world is just messing up that peaceful easy feeling. We need to pick the right stories to frame Obama's Cairo speech so it will be a classic.

The world is a complicated place. We need deep thinkers like Barbara Streisand and Alec Baldwin to make sense of it all. There was never any world problem that couldn't be solved with a smart Alec and some B.S.

I can't remember the comedian who didn't like the x rays his doctor was showing him. He didn't want an operation. The doctor said, "No problem. I'll touch up the X Rays." For Americans, we have the cure for all of the world's problems. We switch the channel. Forget about Iran. Forget about actually discussing and solving economic problems. Let's talk about Michael Jackson. Those smart people who bring us all that great music must know about world politics too. Right?

In our small world, Iran's problems will affect us at the gas pump and possibly with attempts at terrorism on American soil. If Honduras gets its hand picked dictator, we will have refugees from the turmoil up in Los Angeles in six weeks.

But this talk is like such a downer. I mean, we haven't even buried Michael Jackson yet. Let the Iranian demonstrators wait a few months until some slow news day when we are really bored.

OK I'm sorry. I have a few story lines I could kick around to pander to popular tastes. Here are some headlines.

"Michael Jackson's Coffin Brought to Prominent San Francisco Taxidermist."

"Ruth Madoff Bares All For Hustler Magazine."

"HBO" Changes its Name to BHO."

"President Obama Launches New Deodorant With His Initials"

"Feminists Picket 4H Club for Use of Hoes."

That's it. I'll pander to popular tastes and see if I can slip in some serious stories. Kind of like slipping healthy vegetables into the lasagna. I hope it works. Sphere: Related Content

Happy Fourth..... Sort Of

My married sons live on a block lined with store fronts, row houses and apartment buildings. Yesterday, the smell of barbecue was in the air. There was relaxing quantities of beer. The mix of R&B, Motown and reggae made it a pleasure to walk down the street. Reggae music seems to pulsate in rhythm with the heat emanating from the summer sidewalks, translating it into a sensation with which I am at peace.

My block has different musical tastes. On a good day, someone with a good loud stereo is washing their car with bachata music blasting. It's my favourite music in the Spanish language, aside from Andean music accompanied on indigenous instruments.

But yesterday was not my musically lucky day. There is a type of loud, jarring West Indian music that is seamlessly interspersed with a DJ talking. Its sole redeeming feature is that it showcases regional dialects. From the few profanities I was able to pick out from behind my vibrating windows, it was not worth understanding the rest. On the bright side, the back yard was cleaned before and after. On the down side, the loud music and marijuana laced barbecue smoke made sleep unlikely. The Fourth of July is a sleepless night. We've been here a while. We know the drill.

About 1:00 AM, sweet deliverance from cacophony came from an unexpected source when about eight shots from a nine millimeter handgun sounded out in front of our driveway. Shortly after, shots from a 22 rang out down the street, sounding pale in comparison. We were surprised. In our neighbourhood, the Fourth of July is a light hearted time when the steady sequence of gunshots is replaced by the whistles, pops and booms of assorted fireworks.

About a minute and a half after the gunshots, the music stopped. The voices of the revelers were hushed, as though a mute button had been pushed. No one wanted to be searched and detained if the police decided to investigate the gunfire.

Fully three hours early, it seemed that we were to be blessed with a cool, quiet summer night. Then the police helicopters came. Whenever there is a serious crime with a fleeing suspect, there is the option of police helicopters joining the search. For well over an hour, police helicopters circled overhead. Our block was within their circle of surveillance. At first it is a novelty, then it gets to be tedious. A helicopter that is flying low can have a resonance that is distracting. Then there is always the question of what might be happening to actually concern the police. Should we stay out on the steps and watch the show? Or should we stay away from the windows? There are stray shots to be concerned about. And sometimes it is better to turn a blind eye to the dealings of gangs, street kids and assorted recreational pharmacists.

Around 3:00 AM, we got our peace and quiet. The party broke up three hours early, the police circled overhead for a bit less than two hours. So we netted an hour of peace and quiet.

This morning, the block was peaceful. There was no crime tape on our block and no canvassing detectives knocking on doors. Up and down the block, heads rendered horizontal rested in the late morning behind drawn shades. Someone was just shooting for fun. This time, no one was hurt. It's a beautiful morning on the fifth of July. Sphere: Related Content