Beer and the Beloved Topic of Iran

I've just finished my first beer. Much better now. Where was I? Ah yes...Iran. Old news by now, but worth the reflection. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the ivy league juggernaut of Columbia University in late September, no one knew just what to expect. More antisemitism? Threatening religious prose of the 12th Imam returning for Armageddon? It was simply unclear. The President of Columbia provided a cold welcome to Iran's de facto leader as he was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. The visit to the school was part of their international affairs seminar series, which invites domestic and world leaders for "dialogue." The visit from the Iranian President was unusual; but the importance with the event rested with what he had to say.

There were the usual ambiguous jabs to the "imperial" powers that exist in the world; that Western media has him all wrong, and his unfortunate vague response that further research should be conducted on the holocaust possibly implying--again--that it didn't' happen. Awful shitbag. The poor fool went as far as to claim that no homosexuals exist in Iran. This was quintessential simple minded utterance, which in a weird and twisted way gives a firm preview into the foreign policy logic Iran rolls with.

We are not dealing with the typical world player living in modernity. What we have on our hands is a deeply paper religious, flawed, racist, former revolutionary. The Ayatollah Khomeini and his closest clerics must want this fiery player around. He moves the country to the right, whereas the youthful majority inch closer to the West. The nuclear situation is learned chess from small Siberian hamlets aggravated by the Bush Cartel. Does Bush know the intricacies of chess? I'm not denying they have the bomb, I'm simply claiming they're leveraging the fuck out this whole thing.

The second beer is now open.

Our very own Dark Horse VP is the proverbial gasoline for this fire. A refocus of carrier groups just west of the Straight of Hormuz; vitriolic public statements; avoiding Frontline interviews; things like that. Modern justice, it appears, resembles an old west duke-out of two town idiots. My fear is, there is a final agenda item before January 20th, 2009.

The Columbia Experiment was interesting. The press was mixed, but there was a consensus that the Experiment was a case study in modern, post 911 democracy; that free speech possibly exists in subterranean circles against the ironic backdrop of warrantless wiretapping and sanctioned domestic spying. In the end, this vile game is hard to push the line on, but the possibility is there. That's the marbles were stuck with (don't drink beer while blogging).