Argo Echoes

I saw Argo yesterday.   Excellent and riveting film.   Gripping and very very sad.  

I thought of my Iranian friends, the green movement of 2009, the hatred, the fear - the sense that in over 30 years nothing has changed.   I felt like I was 14 again.  Even the Warner Brother logo was the old one from those years.  I remember when those six were on the news.  I remember those yellow ribbons - the first yellow ribbons.  I remember writing an essay about the hostage crisis.  I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that the hostages had been released 20 minutes after Reagan was inaugurated.   I remember when the Iran Contra scandal broke and with it the rumors that Reagan had illegally and treasonously negotiated with Iran for their release after his election, to secure his election.   And in return he'd sell them weapons to fund his illegal war in Central America.  

Nearly my entire conscious political life has been influenced, if not animated, by tensions with and within the Middle East - 3 wars, terrorist attacks, 9/11.

I wept during the film and after.

Here is a fascinating interview with Tony Mendez, a quiet hero, with Fareed Zakaria last week ----

A City Within a City Within a Country Within A Country!

In honor of the start of the London Olympics, enjoy this short video on the history of the City of London.

Great Podcasts to Enjoy

Here's a list of top 10 podcasts.   I'm already fan of the top two - Bloggingheads.tv and Slate's Political Gabfest as well as the Economist's on this list.   I'm interested in checking out some of the others.

I also like BBC 4 In Our Time - which covers history, philosophy, culture, religion and science.

BBC History Magazine
"BBC History Magazine’s podcast comes out each month, featuring interviews with notable historians talking about topics ranging from crusading knights, Tudor swimming, or the D-Day landings."  It's so British.  And really cool.  

and Sounds True Insight's at the Edge Interviews with leading spiritual teachers and writers about their latest challenges—the "leading edge" of their work.  I always learn a lot and her questions are good.  


A friend told me the Monocle podcasts are also good.  Any one try them?

Some Images from Buenos Aires

Nationless Global Elite Vs. US Elite

I sent this Chrystia Feeland Atlantic cover article, Rise of the New Global Elite, to a dear friend of mine who works with these global rich families.  I wasn't even aware of such folks, but they really think of themselves as global citizens.

So the contrast to American billionaires is interesting and continues to be examined.

This time by Felix Salmon at Reuters in a piece called American Plutocracy.  He starts by quoting the indomitable Michael Lewis (whose pieces and reporting in Vanity Fair on the financial global evolution and devolution have been riveting) on Greek billionaires - how ordinary Greeks don't harass them because they don't know where to find them; they are invisible.

Salmon notes that there could be an "Occupy Moscow" because all the Russian billionaires live in London.  Same with Middle Eastern billionaires who own homes in Chelsea in London they visit.  And from there he notes that America does a good job at retaining their billionaires.   He says Americans are more likely to buy second, third and fourth homes in the USA

Money quote:

In a way it’s reassuring that America’s billionaires are still so civic-minded that they buy laws and political parties: it’s a sign that they’re invested in the country and are here for the foreseeable. And the one law they’re not going to repeal any time soon is the most important one — the one which says that US citizens have to pay US federal taxes on their global income, no matter where they live. (Or at least demonstrate that they’ve paid at least that much in taxes elsewhere.) American plutocrats, almost uniquely, are tied to their home country in a way that other members of the global elite can barely imagine.

He says Americans are more likely to buy fourth or tenth homes in the USA before buying one abroad.  


I think that's pretty cool.  

Is Daylight Saving Time Worthwhile Any Longer?

I love the Game of Thrones reference.  This video also well explains the difficulty of trying to schedule world wide conference calls.  And just love the rendition of the the insanity in Arizona.

Enjoy!

Byzantine's Bad Rap

I love Slate's Explainer column.  Today's edition is on how Byzantine came to mean "deviously convoluted"

Here's the crux:

Was the Byzantine system of government especially complex?Only compared to those of medieval Europe. 

Read more here.  

And related, I LOVED LOVED LOVED these free podcasts - 12 Byzantine Rulers by Lars Brownsworth.  The podcasts are also available on iTunes.  Very lively, very political and very interesting history.  Also a good bit of church history.   Many of these great stories not commonly known or taught in US schools.   His book Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization alludes to that (and is very readable too).

Obama Rocks

This photo is making the rounds.  Just love it.  

I mean really - how unserious are those lunatics?   Remember Bush saying Osama didn't matter?   

Waxing Poetic About Abbotabad

I too had seen Christopher Hitchen's piece which captured a bit of the history of Abbotabad, named after James Abbot, while writing in his admirable pointed way:

The colonial British—like Maj. James Abbott, who gave his name to this one—called them "hill stations," designed for the rest and recreation of commissioned officers. The charming idea, like the location itself, survives among the Pakistani officer corps. If you tell me that you are staying in a rather nice walled compound in Abbottabad, I can tell you in return that you are the honored guest of a military establishment that annually consumes several billion dollars of American aid. It's the sheer blatancy of it that catches the breath.

But then the Boston Globe noted that James Abbot wrote a poem about Abbotabad which is in Lady Garden Square in the city. The opening lines:

I remember the day when I first came here
And smelt the sweet Abbottabad air

The trees and ground covered with snow
Gave us indeed a brilliant show

To me the place seemed like a dream
And far ran a lonesome stream

The wind hissed as if welcoming us
The pine swayed creating a lot of fuss

Josh Rothman concludes: "It looks like a pretty nice place to hide from the largest manhunt in the history of the world."

Indeed! And then there is my friend Michael Oberman who quipped:

Since the US found and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad, Pakistan, it seems logical that the second in command of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri is hiding in Costellobad, Pakistan.

About Obama's Leadership Style

Jeff Goldberg, The Atlantic writes about Obama's leadership style in reacting to this picture, noting how his is off in a corner and not the center of the photo.

This speaks well of him, to my mind; a president who kills America's enemies without swagger is better than a swaggerer who doesn't kill America's enemies. (Maybe here I'm casting a few aspersions on Bush.)

Yes, he is casting aspersions. But it is accurate.

What's on Bin Laden's Computer

Dan Amira over at New York Magazine's Daily Intel put this satirical pie chart together.

Original post here. Click over.

Hmmm, Wonder About CIA Agent Ray Davis

Let us not forget this diplomatic impasse from earlier this year when CIA agent Ray Davis was arrested for killing two Pakistanis after some sort of altercation. The Pakistanis didn't want to release him.

Here is the LA Times on March 17th, reporting on his release.

Wonder what effect that all had on the decisions leading up to events this past weekend, eh? Any one seen anything?

NPR Interviews Ambassador Haqqani

A few difficulties with this interview - such as stating the obvious. Ending a question with "It just doesn't look good." "Doesn't it strain credulity?" "Isn't this an embarrassment? Yes, of course it does, it is. Ask more pointed questions!

Also, she played back a section of the interview she'd done with Senator Kerry. I would have zeroed in more on Kerry's complaint that we had been misled (aka lied to) regarding where Bin Laden had to have been. These open ended questions - what would you say to Sen. Kerry?" instead of - have you misled US Senators? The US government. And Ambassador Haqqani claims this is not the day to focus on those misdirections. Clear follow up - when would be the time?

In Pakistan 2+2 doesn't always equal 4. Seriously! He claims that.

The Pakistanis seem to be going with - we're stupid rather than we're complicit.

Anyway, listen to Melissa Block interview the Pakistani ambassador to the USA, Husain Haqqani here

Sen. John Kerry On Pakistan

Melissa Block of NPR interviews John Kerry about Pakistan and the killing of Bin Laden. Hard not to contemplate the what ifs if Ohio had gone the other way

Click here to listen.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead - Scenes & Sounds from the White House

I was in the bathtub when the news broke that the president would have an important national security announcement at 10:30 pm on a Sunday night.  

I wasn't expecting this news.  My Turkish friend, Tulin, who is a journalist asked if I wanted to go down to the White House with her.  I did.  

The feeling on the streets was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.  Honking and smiles.   I was celebrating those in the White House who had worked so hard to get justice.  The lights were still on in both the White House and the Old Executive Office Building.  We were there to support them, the military, the Navy Seals that did this.  Occasionally and rarely there were some tasteless utterances, racist or jingoistic, but the rest of the crowd looked askance at that and them.   In my experience, that kind of thing was rare.

More broadly - I, we, were there to feel good about our government not being feckless and ineffectually.  Not being a victim.  I just felt happy about that.  There lots of happy tears.

And then a young man in a spiderman costume climbed a tree along the fence to the White House.  The crowd laughed and cheered and cried.  All with joy.

I am glad I was there.  

Here are my photos of that night, at the White House, between the White House and Lafayette Park. 

Some videos first.  The videos are dark and hard to see, but the sounds...the sound reveal what it was like too.  

Here are some photos, brightened up.

Questions About Raid

Slate's William Saletan asks 8 questions about the raid that killed Bin Laden yesterday in What Really Happened in Abbotabad? All very good questions. Such as - if Obama approved on Friday, why didn't operation happen on Saturday? (Imagine if so - given the White House Correspondent's Dinner)

And at the bottom, he has updated his piece with some answers. Apparently cloud cover caused the delay.

World War I Officially Ends Today

Very intriguing bit of history - of the past and, as it turns out, the present.  Today Germany makes the last of reparations as set forth in the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. 

Check out the full implications of the first World War.  Pretty remarkable when seen in summary like this. 

Re British Election

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment" 

 !!!!

Wow.  

(reference here)

Amanpour's Interviewing Skills

Any one doubting Amanpour's interviewing skills, check out this extended clip where she interviews Marc Thiessen (actually a class mate of mine from Vassar whom I don't remember).  He defends the Bush torture program.  

You can watch here. 

I believe her selection to host ABC's This Week is going to be interesting and certainly a better call than that made at NBC.

Ukrainian Artist Interprets '41-'45 Occupation

A friend who always sends me the most amazing things forwarded this video to me while I was away. Germany was the occupier.

Here are the notes:
Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who recently won the "Ukraine's Got Talent" competition. She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret the invasion and occupation of her country from 1941-1945.