A week in review!

Democracy in Iran?

It has been a traumatic struggle for the young people in Iran. They wanted to break out from the theocracy - Afghanistan has been liberated - still struggling to find their compass but liberated nonetheless and Iraq is free from Sadam the dictator who saw it fit to use chemical weapons to silence the Kurdish rebellion in 1988.

There is public record of Sadam's use of chemical weapon on the Kurdish town of Halabja in March 1988. According to the pro-iranian Kurdish commanders who witnessed the incident, after a series of napalm and rocket attacks, some 20 Iraqi MiG and Mirage aircraft and up to 14 aircraft sorties successfully "rained" chemical bombs on the civilian population - the chemicals used included mustard gas, nerve agents sarin, soman, tabun and VX and possibly hydrogen cyanide. Eyewitnesses saw "white, black and then yellow" clouds of smoke billowed upwards, column-like and about 150 feet in the air. The gas was scented with the smell of sweet apples. The result was that thousands of civilians died - some 3,200 - 5,000 died on the spot, some died "laughing", some "burned and blistered" or cough green vomit before they died. Most of the wounded that were taken to Tehran hospitals suffered from mustard gas exposure.

The Iranians saw two of their neighbors liberated from two different types of tyranny - life is not perfect in these two young democracies but at least the people are free. With the numerous ways to access what is going on in the rest of the world, it is not surprising that the young Iranians want to be part of world, they do not want to locked in for the rest of their life in a theocratic system where they are told what music they can hear, how they should dress and they probably want to be able to walk on the streets holding the hands of their girlfriends or boyfriends - such simple and normal behavior of young people that we take for granted, they are forbidden to do.

Last Saturday, we had dinner at our local Thai restaurant. There is a little Iranian provision store nearby that we usually stop at to buy pita bread, fresh olives and other mid-eastern goodies. It is owned by a very nice Iranian couple - the husband was at the store that evening and absorbed with the "live feed" from Iranians on the streets - sent to the US via mobile phones and broadcast on the ethnic channel network in this United States. We see the protesters on the streets. Interestingly, when he flip the channel to the official broadcast from Iran - it appeared there were no issues with the election result, there were no unrest! Just another normal regular day! That is the scariest part of state control media. We were of course rooting for the people of Iran.

In our brief conversation with him about the current situation, we learnt that his whole family had migrated to this United States, only his elderly mother stayed in Iran and they have not been back for more than 30 years. I felt sad for him and his family. I cannot imagine being forbidden to visit the country where I was born and grew up. What surprised me even more was his next remark - he said he was so disillusioned with Islam he converted to Christianity. From my perspective, Islam and Judaism are similar in that it is not simply a religious practice, it is also a way of life. For a person to decide to abandon a way of life, the trigger for that decision must be extremely personal. Muslims are generally peaceful and tolerant people.

To the Iranian people, it appears the theocracy has the upper hand this time. The world should pay attention to the protesters - they are speaking to the world - how else does one explain their use of the English language in their protest signs and placards. To win this struggle for democracy, they need to have the military on their side. A brutal police force, ready to kill will always win over the masses who generally are not predisposed to violence or have the desire to engage in violence. We pray for those who lost their lives in this recent protest and hope that they did not die in vain.

Unfortunately, it will have to take alot more than a massive civilian protest and some civilian casualties before the current batch of world leaders will step up to the plate and stand up for democracy. Iran saw that the North Koreans could get away with launching nuclear weapons tests - it is free for all, dudes! There is no sheriff in town anymore!

A parcel from Singapore!

A huge parcel arrived from Singapore last week for my H - he turns 60 next month and my 3 little great-nieces have made a tremendous effort to surprise him with some pretty neat birthday gifts. The older girls spent two hours at the post office drawing on the carton itself - I am posting pictures of their handywork on the carton as well so their two hours were not spent in vain. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Lizzy is 7.5 years old, Sarah turned 5 a couple of months ago and Vicky turned 1 recently. Lizzy drew the cello and Sarah the heart! Click on the pictures to see the detailed "mastery" of their artsy fingers and scrawls on the carton : ) : )

Both canvases hang proudly on the walls in the side hallway to the family room!

Wow - cars with hidden wheels and exposed hoods!

The back wheels are totally enclosed and the panel almost scrap the asphalt!

We spotted these two interesting black cars in the parking lot of Brent's Deli after we had our breakfast there last Sunday. We usually go into Century City for breakfast but we woke up late, so it is breakfast in the "hood." We had forgotten that it was Father's Day - the deli was a zoo!!! Fortunately for us, because it was Father's Day, nobody wanted to eat at the counter so we were served right away. No waiting for 45 mins for our table : ) : ). It was after breakfast when we spotted these two very interesting black cars parked near us - I couldn't see back wheels of the car! The trunk of one the cars has artwork on it - may not be clear but has the word "jerk" on it - I think that's the perfect place for jerks - don't you agree?

Enjoy the pictures above and Pootle, I doubt you'd be interested in them either - they are way too big for the country roads, way too loud and rattle if the suspension that lifts the body fails, you'll wake all your neighbors. You'll draw way too much attention to yourself and it won't take long for Bill to discover you : ) : ) - best to stay inconspicuous to protect your identity. We saw one of them "puffed" a huge plume of white smoke when we spotted them some minutes later on the street - not good for the environment either!