'Where is my vote': Iran

Image from http://www.tehran24.com/

Wow, does this bring back memories of the demonstrations, widely supported in the West, that resulted in the fall of the liberal-on-the-surface-but-dictatorial-behind-the-scenes Shah of Iran in 1979 which resulted in the ascendance of Ayatollah Khomeini which, needless to say, was perhaps an even greater surprise as it led to the rise of Islamic theocracy. Democracy as "the worst form of government, except for all of the others."

from wikipedia on the Fall of the Shah:
"On October 22, 1979, at the request of David Rockefeller, President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah into the United States to undergo medical treatment. This act was extremely unpopular with the revolutionary movement, which had been angered by the United States' overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh, and years of support for the Shah's rule. The Iranian government demanded the return of the Shah to Iran to stand trial; the American government refused to turn him over.

"This resulted in the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and the kidnapping of American diplomats, military personnel and intelligence officers, which soon became known as the Iran hostage crisis. According to the Shah's book, Answer to History, in the end the USA never provided the Shah any kind of health care and asked him to leave the country."

Ambivalence, confusion, and transient and conflicting popular sentiment have always made for complex foreign policy decisions and fostered unexpected repercussions.

Check out Twitter "Iran elections" for late news on current political activity in Iran.

Roubini: 'Green shoots in the economy' but also 'yellow weeds'

Nouriel Roubini, who was so far out front among the pack on the current economic crisis that one might think he had also invented a time machine, takes a more sober look on the impact of the stimulus plan and the hopes for a rebound:

Reuters Investment Outlook Summit: "Roubini, who rose to prominence for predicting the global credit crisis, tore down the "green shoots" theory that a rebound is imminent, saying there was a significant risk of a "double-dip" recession where the economy expands slightly only to begin contracting again.

"In addition to green shoots there are also yellow weeds," he told the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York.

He pointed to the growing divergence between business sentiment surveys, which have been improving in recent months, and industrial production, which is down sharply and receded another 1.1 percent in May.

Details here: http://www.reuters.com/article/InvestmentOutlook09/idUSTRE55F4ET20090616

Bloomsday: "Introibo ad altare Dei."

--Berneice Abbott portrait of James Joyce


Whether in Dublin or in Brooklyn, NY, June 16 remains forever and always, Bloomsday. BLOOMSDAY marks the day in 1904 on which all the action of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place. It is celebrated every year on 16th June by Joyceans all over the world.

Excerpt from Ulysses by James Joyce:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679641629&view=excerpt

Summer's Coming: Red Hook Sunset, 8:01 PM

Liberty Sunset, Red Hook, 6-14-2009

Nate the Great: Get me some politics, stat!

A couple of weeks ago I left the office and stopped at Duane Reade on Joralemon and Court Street on the way home to pick up a few items. Who should I see carousing the aisles, but Nate Silver, honcho of stat and punditry heavy blog Fivethirtyeight.com. He was instantly recognizable from MSNBC, although it took a moment to reconcile the scruffy jeans and t-shirt with the suit and tie talking head we have become familiar with chatting with Rachel M or Keith O. This is probably old news now, but the formerly Chicago based sports n politics genius is now a Brookyln rez.

Anyway, after months of culture heavy blogging (I admit I had even begin to turn on reruns of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, with my man man, Vincent (Sherlock) D'Onofrio) instead of Wall to wall MSNBC evening commentary, I thought I better shine a light on the American political thang. So a post on fivethirtyeight.com 's headlines seemed to be in order:

After all of the Gush on Rush, has the Democratic national Committee turned a table or two on the G.O.P. ? As the administration see's where the nexus of governing and politics meets, perhaps the DNC has a few more tricks up its sleeve (one can only hope),but whether he likes it or not, Limbaugh's been tagged as Mr. G.O.P. :

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/leader-limbaugh-chalk-one-up-to-obama.html
Will reformist Mousavi "capitalize" on 44's political fence mending with the Arabic world and defeat Ahmadinejad? Could be in the cards in the near future:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/polling-and-voting-in-irans-friday.html

Are we at a tipping point: Gay marriage, state-by-state:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/gay-marriage-state-by-state-tipping.html

BLOOM

Photo by TN/Brooklyn Beat

Unfortunately, the roses are going fast now. Early blooms followed by heavy rains and cool weather, leave lots of the ochre clinging to a stone. What kind of a summer will we experience in Flatbush, in Brooklyn, New York ?

Stephen Colbert visits our troops in Iraq

Stephen Colbert, in a camo suit, submitting to the discipline of a military haircut. Whatever one's political stripes, American freedom will always require the American military to preserve, protect and defend it. Whether our troops need to remain or should be returned home sooner, the American military should never be forgotten. Stephen Colbert brings the troops back to the front page, and, remarkably, generates plenty of laughs in the process.

Colbert Nation official site & video here:
http://www.colbertnation.com/home
CNN details here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/07/colbert.iraq/

Huffington Post here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/05/breaking-news-stephen-col_n_211784.html

David Carradine: Everyone (including Bob Dylan) is Kung Fu Fighting & Quentin Tarantino & Bob Dylan Have a Go at the Sweet Science

UK music magazine UNCUT has some interesting nuggets from a past interview with the late actor David Carradine on Bob Dylan as The Boxer and Student of Kung Fu:

UNCUT: Is it true that you introduced Bob Dylan to kung-fu?"

"CARRADINE: Well, Bob took some lessons. He didn't really stick with it, but we had some fun together. My master used to come out to my house and teach me every morning, and I thought Bob could profit from it, so we went over to his place, and he and his kids took a few classes with us. It was pretty cool. Bob was funny, y'know - anybody who's just beginning with kung-fu tends to be kinda funny, anyway, but he didn’t stick with it. But Bob's an amateur boxer. He knows how to take care of himself. I know he seems like just a little wimpy guy. As a matter of fact, he used to spar with Quentin [Tarantino]. Yeah, Quentin is an amateur boxer himself… You okay?"

"I was just trying to picture Quentin Tarantino boxing Bob Dylan"

"CARRADINE: Yeah, it's a funny image. Aside from the fact that Bob is about five foot eight, something like that, and Quentin is about six-five. But yeah, Dylan showed aptitude for the kung-fu. He was kind of a natural, actually. But, I don't think it interested him enough. Bob had other fish to fry, other things to do."

Full article at UNCUT here:
http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/david_carradine/news/13157

44, the USA & The Islamic World

From President Obama's speech in Cairo:

On women' s rights: "[The next issue] I want to address is women’s rights. I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now let me be clear: issues of women’s equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women’s equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity – men and women – to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.

On democracy, human rights and national autonomy:"Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.

There is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments – provided they govern with respect for all their people.

This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy..."

Full transcript here:

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=AAA6937F-18FE-70B2-A8696CD2C4D41959

DAVID CARRADINE ('BILL' in "KILL BILL") FOUND DEAD IN BANGKOK

David Carradine, 73, actor in KILL BILL and numerous films and tv shows, probbaly most notably "Kung Fu" found dead in Bangkok of suicide.

Details here:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/06/04/headlines/headlines_30104421.php

Roberto Saviano: "Gomorrah" doesn't defame Napoli

Roberto Saviano is a courageous Italian journalist whose groundbreaking book on organized crime in Napoli (Naples) Italy and its international reach has made him, in the words of Sir Salman Rushdie "in greater danger than [Mr. Rushdie] ever was."

Saviano's book (also adapted into a film), which seems at the forefront of the New Italian Epic (NIE) literary movement, has done more than ruffle feathers or upset the apple cart - it has made him a target of organized crime, requiring him to live under round-the-clock security protection.

Today, Saviano answered accusations that his book had defamed Napoli by its portrayal of the reach of organized crime into everyday life, often with devastating and fatal effects. Based on my doggerel translation of a section of the online interview, Saviano indicates that Gomorrah was an attempt to look at crime internationally through the lens of his hometown. The worst part is to hear that at I defamed Napoli with my book ', says Saviano. 'In reality' the book looks at the world through Naples. His book is 'a form of resistance, of testimony that comes from knowing that you can fight crime'. According to Saviano, the point is that there is a fundamental need to speak out and fight against crime because. Crime can't be accepted just because it exists."

The New Italian Epic is a literary movement in Italy that seems to dig much deeper than America's "New Journalism" of the 70s, dealing with issues of politics, ethics, more profound social issues and conditions with life and death implications, such as organized crime, compared to the largely cultural studies of Tom Wolfe and Gay Talese (although the late Norman Mailer, as always, remains an exception).

Roberto Saviano has taken a profound step in challenging organized crime which, he suggests, is not just deeply rooted in his home town, but which has spread its influence around the world, including the highest most visible peaks of celebrity, wealth and media culture.

--Brooklyn Beat
Article (via Yahoo - Italia)from Italian news service ANSA here:

http://it.notizie.yahoo.com/10/20090602/tso-saviano-non-ho-diffamato-napoli-ecf2551.html

Wikipedia on Roberto Saviano: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Saviano

A reflection on "Gomorrah" in the context of the New Italian Epic [The Wu Ming Foundation]:
http://www.wumingfoundation.com/english/outtakes/NIE_have_to_be_the_parents.htm

The Kool-Aid Kid: Richard Wolffe on the 2008 Election

100 days not withstanding, I guess we have crossed a threshold of sorts as the journalists and pundits have had time to digest and produce reportage and analysis on the 2008 election. The irrepressible Richard Wolffe, of Newsweek and MSNBC, has a new book on the campaign coming out shortly that includes some choice nuggets.

No matter where you were early in the primary period, if you were a Dem, by the fall, everyone was boarding the Hope Express. But as Mr. Wolffe's book shows, that was not always the case. One choice nugget from the book that should bring back memories from the primary campaign:

Rendell Drinks The Obama Kool-Aid — Literally

After Obama locked up the nomination, Pennsylvania Gov. and ardent Clinton supporter Ed Rendell got a note from an Obama supporter attached to a can of Kool-Aid telling him to drink up.

So the next day at a Philadephla fundraiser for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, the ever-demonstrative governor poured it into a glass of water and proclaimed: "Now I feel that Senator Obama is the most wonderful person ever to have lived in the United States of America. The smartest, most sensitive most decent and honorable man. Now I understand what you guys have been feeling for the last six months."

Politico article here: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=9F33A169-18FE-70B2-A8EE1E9062F808C8

Mayor Mike aka "Silvio": Contemptus ergo sum

"You are a..disgrace." At least on the surface, Mayor Mike may have a cleaner personal history than good old Silvio Berlusconi, his goombah-media-magnate in Itay, but they clearly share that odd trait of being media men who have contempt for the press that covers them.

Elizabeth Benjamin in the Daily News here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/05/youre-a-disgrace.html

Azi Paybarah, target of the Mayor's scorn, transcript and comments here at PolitickerNY:
http://www.politickerny.com/3769/bloomberg-term-limits-state-economy+

I respectfully suggest as a reply:

Nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia possit.
Translation: "Nothing is so fortified that it can't be conquered with money." (Cicero)

A Band called INDECISION: May 30 in Greenpoint

From Brooklyn Paper. Indecision, legendary hard-core Brooklyn metal band that toured the world and lived to tell about it, is featured in an article in the Brooklyn Paper, on their upcoming rare show on May 30 in Greenpoint. I am proud and happy to note that guitarist Justin Lee Brannan is my nephew. They are all now Fine, Upstanding Citizens, Rocking the Free World....

Link here: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/21/32_21_bm_indecision.html
Bay Ridge’s most famous hardcore band has grown up — but it still goes to 11.
After seven years of non-stop touring and nine years of retirement, the heavy metal rock foursome, Indecision, is coming together for a rare reunion show in Greenpoint on May 30 that promises to be just as raucous — and just as noisy — as the group’s first concerts back at Xaverian HS.

“We are still purists for hardcore and punk — and we still play just like we used to,” said Indecision guitarist Justin Lee Brannan, whose band released its first cassette demo in 1993.

Over the following seven years, Indecision earned a reputation as a workhouse band thanks to relentless touring and four influential albums, including “To Live and Die in New York City” and “Most Precious Blood.”

Since then, band members have settled into 9-to-5s as non-profit financiers, guidance counselors, paramedics, and pathologist’s assistants — but each has no trouble belting out the short aggressive tracks that earned the group its clout.

“When I sit down with the drummer and we jam, that chemistry is still there — it’s like riding a bike,” Brannan said. “And now that we have real legitimate jobs, the band is the most fun it’s been since it started.”

Still, the rockers look back fondly on their early struggles when they were just another noisy local band trying to get gigs in Bay Ridge.

“If you don’t have the bad times, then you never appreciate the good times,” said Brannan. “Our van used to break down every few miles. It definitely sucked, but it built so much character, so when years later the tour bus was picking us up on Colonial Road, we could feel like we had earned it.”

Indecision will play as part of a day-long music festival at Studio B [259 Banker St. between Meserole Avenue and Calyer Street in Greenpoint (718) 389-1880)], Saturday, May 30; doors open at 2 pm. Tickets, $25.


©2009 The Brooklyn Paper

IL DIVO ("The Star"): Director Paolo Sorrentino and Star Toni Servillo serve up Giulio Andreotti aka 'The Fox', 'The Black Pope'

Directed by Napoletan writer and director Paolo Sorrentino and starring Toni Servillo as former Italian Prime Minister (and current "Senator for Life") Giulio Andreotti, Il Divo is an intense, sharp and insightful film about politics and corruption. To paraphrase the film, "Sometimes you must do evil to do good." Servillo, made up here with hunched back and bent ears, like a hobbit crossed Mathew Barney's Cremaster, appeared recently in Gomorrah, Matteo Garrone's unique mob "true story" thriller based on Roberto Saviano's "New Italian Epic" book of the same title.

Dramatic, colorful, extravagantly cinematic, and artful with excellent cast, photography and editing, IL DIVO is a must see. Now at the Sunshine Cinema on East Houston Street -- Madonn' -- don't miss it.

--Brooklyn Beat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Fc8k2UARE

Official site: http://www.luckyred.it/ildivo/sito_en/intro.html