Ahmadinejad buffoonery - the gift that keeps on giving

Our dear, dear friend and nonstop source of content, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, unveiled the latest in Persian high-tech today: The unmanned "Karrar" bomber. Ahmadinejad introduced the marvel of technology with the following bizarre, yet entirely in-character, statement:

"The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship."

What?

I don't want to goof on the Iranian defense industry too much - they have managed to do a heck of a lot almost entirely on their own since 1978. But, at the same time, I suspect the IAF is not especially concerned about a bunch of 20 ft unmanned drones flying across the desert. Sounds a lot like Air-to-Air Combat 101, which IAF pilots pass whilst in middle school.

It's hard to ignore the timing on this bit of blowhardity, as the Iranians also just announced (yesterday) they were firing up their first fission reactor.

Iran is certainly doing its part to promote peace, stability, and international understanding, isn't it?

Ahmadinejad brings us out of retirement

Hello, fans of CIT. I really thought I had retired to the old bloggers' home, never to virtually pick up pen and rant again. But our good friend, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is back at it and I had to get off the couch to comment.

Speaking at some sort of conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad repeated his no-longer-news hypothesis that the Holocaust is fiction. But this time, he didn't stop there. Apparently, Ahmadinejad fears his rating are down, because he threw in yet more shock-jock. The latest: the Americans "exaggerated" the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, and "Zionists" were warned ahead of time to avoid the WTC.

Ahmadinejad goes on to say he's not seen a list of the dead from that day, even though such lists are all over the place.

Its worth noting that Obama said, just the other day, he would welcome talks with the Iranian government. Um, maybe not so much now?

Ahmadinejad. This guys is off the charts. It's clear he doesn't give two poops about how he's perceived in the West. It sure doesn't seem like this stuff plays any better at home, although I certainly don't know that for sure. The Israelis are scared to death of him. What the heck is he trying to accomplish?

Another example of this blog writing itself

From the Beeb today: Iranian cleric blames quakes on promiscuous women

At last, we have the answer to THAT question!

Tom Friedman, Smartest Man on Earth, says radical Islam is losing

Tom, you are my hero (well, you and Big Al). You make so much sense, suggest such brilliant solutions, and generally agree with me on almost everything. I would like to formally submit my application to join the "Tom Friedman Mentoring Society". I may also get a "Tom Freidman is My Hero" t-shirt to go along with the "Al Gore is My Hero" shirt already in my closet.

Not kidding about the t-shirt. The sentiment happens to be true; I am a supporter of We Can Solve It and Repower America, but the shirt itself is a good way to start an argument in good old suburban North Texas.

At any rate, My Other Hero Tom wrote in yesterday's NYT about the current state of the jihad. Did you notice the radical Islamists are losing the War of Terror? Well, they are.

As Tom so deftly points out, everywhere the the Beardy Boys have taken charge (Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, etc), they have brought with them total economic stagnation (if not outright retreat), lowered standards of living and education, unnecessary and unwanted violence, repression, etc etc etc. And now we're seeing militant Islamists lose elections (Lebanon, Iraq) or steal elections (Iran). The Paki middle class is tired of bombs in the streets of Peshwar and have withdrawn support for the Taliban and foreign rebels causing trouble in the Northwest.

The bad news is that the US' friends in the Arab world, those shining examples of secular, progressive, populist democracy like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are not really "winning", despite their medieval rivals' decline. This lack of a better idea is what keeps the jihadists in business, albeit in a much more limited capacity.

Go read the op-ed, along with everything Tom Friedman has ever written. The man's a genius.

Daily YouTube: Ahmadinejad and his firm grip on the truth

This is old news, but is a good illustration of how reality and those pesky "facts" just don't seem to enter into the equation in Iran. Giggle or cry - you'll react in some way...

Ahmadinejad is still a jerk

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made his reply to recent, somewhat warmer overtures made by the Obama administration.

Not content to say something like, "We look forward to hearing what President Obama has to say" or anything else that would be, you know, constructive, Ahmadinejad instead insists on a US apology for past transgressions against Iran.

Nutty Mahmoud is up for reelection later this year. It would appear he is staking out his position as The Guy Who Will Stand Up To The Great Satan, regardless of what's on the table. Does that sell well enough in Iran to overcome Ahmadinejad's failed policies at home? Is the average Iranian more inclined to wish "Death to America" than look for actual compromise and improved relations?

I guess we'll find out in June. In the meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is doing nothing to change his image as the world's biggest a-hole.

Iran: Are we approaching nut-cuttin' time?

Recent days have seen some very, very sobering news from both Iran and Israel, and a mounting sense of tension between the two countries. The US can't help but be drawn into the escalating rhetoric as well.

This is potentially very bad news. VERY bad.

The Iranians, of course, have been working on a nuclear program at some level for some time. The US and the Euros have been trying to head this off through diplomacy and some relatively mild sabre rattling, to no avail. Israel cannot, and has stated they will not, stand by and let a country who's leader has repeatedly called for its (Israel's) destruction arm itself with nuclear weapons.

The Israelis, last week, held a military exercise which was pretty clearly intended to prove out, for themselves and the world, they could, if necessary, strike Iran from the air. Sure, it's provocative. But what else can they do? The Israelis are starting to get nervous, thinking that the rest of the world isn't showing enough of a sense of urgency about the situation. Can you blame them? There's no telling what happens to US policy regarding this matter in January.

So, in response, the Iranians stage a test of medium range missiles the other day. It's lost on no one, least of all the Israelis, that these missiles can reach Tel Aviv. Whether the test was as successful as the Iranians would like for us to believe is in question, and is also completely besides the point.

The facts, from the Israeli perspective, are this:

- Iran's President has publicly and repeatedly called for Israel's destruction.
- Iran is working on a nuclear program of some sort.
- Iran has missiles which can reach Israel.
- The US military is over-extended.
- The future of US attitude regarding Iran and Israel is not certain.

The Israelis are going to look out for themselves, and they have proven time and again that they will strike first (a lesson well and truly learned in the Six-Day War and reinforced by the Yom Kippur War - don't wait for the other guy to be ready), and to hell with world opinion. When pretty much everyone in your neighborhood wants you dead, and has tried a few times to kill you, you can never be paranoid enough.

Oh boy. Oh dear. This. Is. Tense.

I don't begin to know what the answer is here. What I do know is this needs to be front and center for us all, right now. Stop whining about $4 gas - if Iran and Israel start shooting at each other, you'll look back on $4 gas as the good old days.

We do have some leverage. The Arabs are scared to death of Iran. But they're also anti-Israel and, increasingly, anti-American. And we can't piss off the Arabs because of the aforementioned $4 gas.

It keeps coming back to that, doesn't it? Take oil out of the equation, and this stuff gets a whole lot less complicated.

There's your imperative. It's a longer-term action. What's to be done in the short term?

Buckle your seatbelts. This one has DANGER written all over it.

Humans are awesome

Two recent stories substantiate the above headline:

1. Joshua Christopherson, a sales manager at Prosper Inc. recently waterboarded one of his salesmen in an effort to motivate his team. The salesman is, not surprisingly, suing the company. Prosper doesn't refute the claim the waterboarding happened, only that it wasn't so bad and Chad Hudgens, the salesman, is a whiny little female-naughty-bit for complaining.

2. Brigadier General Ali Reza Zarei, police chief of Tehran and lead enforcer of Iran's strict, Islamic dress code, was recently arrested while in the company of six naked prostitutes. Shockingly, there has been no mention of the incident in any of the official Iranian press.

The Mahmoud Show strikes out in Manhattan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad didn't exactly charm the crowd during his scheduled appearance at Columbia University today.

After a shockingly cold introduction by Columbia President Lee Bollinger, who described Ahmadinejad as a "cruel dictator" who denied the Holocaust, Mahmoud was visibly pissed. He responded by calling Bollinger's comments an "insult".

Waaa waaa waaa.

Ahmadinejad went on to toss off laugh lines like "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country." He seemed surprised when the audience gave him a big old guffaw.

I had fears that our buddy Mahmoud was going to be greeted by the pointy-headed "intellectuals" at Columbia like a conquering hero. I'm very glad to have been wrong. Way to go, President Bollinger. You have restored my faith.

Hugo and Mahmoud: Love is in the air

Two of my favorites, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, are touring Iran, holding each others hands (really) and egging each other on with anti-West rhetoric. Next thing you'll know, they'll be registering for gifts at Kalashnikov, FN, and Sukhoi.

Just how does one wrap an Su-30?

But I digress...

Chavez the Commie and Ahmadinejad the ultra-right religious hard-liner would seem to be at polar opposites. But they appear to be a match made in Heaven (or Hell, depending on your perspective), despite their politics.

This seems to me to be a testament to the power of hate. Neither of these clowns has much of anything to offer their populace other than disparaging of the West. Both are stewards of their respective nations' enormous deposits of oil, yet the economies of both countries are failing. Without their ability to rouse the rabble against the Great Satan, they've both got a whole lot of nothing in their respective bag.

I can only imagine how much fun their press conferences are. Bill Maher ought to tune in to steal some material. Who knows, with help from Ahmadinejad and Chavez, even he might be funny.

More regarding Iranian gasoline rationing

A few VERY interesting points in a BBC article this morning:

1. Up to 19 gas stations were attacked and burned in protests over Iran's surprise gas-rationing announcement.

2. The Iranian govt has banned local media from covering the story. Great idea, Mahmoud. That always works.

3. In addition, the govt shut down mobile text messaging in the capital last night to prevent organization of further protests. Yep, that usually works out well, too.

4. From the I-Did-Not-Know-That Dept: Iran's govt carries a substantial budget deficit largely caused by fuel subsidies. Gasoline for private use is heavily subsidized and costs the average Iranian consumer around $0.11 per gallon. No wonder they're pissed.

This is worth keeping an eye on, boys and girls.

Iran begins gasoline rationing. Wait. What?

Starting at midnight (local) on Wed - that's late Tues here in the good ol' US and A - Iran started rationing gasoline for private vehicles. The government announced the rationing about three hours before it went into effect.

My first reaction was "HUH?" After all, Iran is one of the largest producers of petroleum in the world. However, it turns out they have very little refining capacity, and are forced to import about 40% of its gasoline.

I had NO idea. What a lovely little bit of leverage this gives the world in the matter of Iran's rogue nuclear program.

Which is apparently what the Iranian govt is thinking, as well.

The move was greeted with some real resistance, with gas stations being burned, civilians and police mixing it up, and stone-throwing youths shouting catchy phrases like "Guns, fireworks, tanks, Ahmadinejad should be killed."

In spite of the obvious unpopularity of the move, the Iranians are trying to take the gasoline hammer out of the West's hands, so they can continue to thumb their noses at the UN, the US, and everyone else when it comes to their nuclear ambitions.

Hardline Muslims overreact. Again.

This time it's over Salman Rushdie's knighthood, soon to be bestowed by the Queen.

Rushdie, you may remember, is on the Islamic fundamentalist sh** list for his 1989 book, The Satanic Verses. In it, he apparently (I've not read it, so I can't tell you for sure) portrayed Mohammed in a less-than-flattering light. As a result, kind, benevolent Ayatollah Khomenei (remember him?) issued a fatwa, a religous decree which was, in this case, essentially a Mafia-style contract, against Rushdie.

So, I'm reading the BBC article, and I'm trying to be open minded. How would I feel if the Brits knighted a Holocaust denier, or a Klansman, or some random Hamas spare who had vowed to erase Israel from existence?

For sure, I wouldn't be happy about it. And neither would the world Jewish community. There would no doubt be protests in the streets of NYC, Tel Aviv, and other cities of the world. There would pronouncements from the Knesset and prominent Jews world-wide. All of which parallel some of the reaction to the Rushdie news in the Islamic world.

So, that's not out-of-control. I certainly see their point.

However, in addition to some of the quiet, restrained, and appropriate protest being lodged, we have officials of Iran's govt who are suggesting suicide bombings against Brit targets are legit due to this act. They're stating that this decision is an "unwise one".

In Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (which is where Uncle Osama is probably hiding out, so this isn't exactly a hotbed of enlightened secular thought), the Assembly released a statement saying, in part, "(this is part of) a campaign waged in Europe and the West to hurt the feelings of Muslims".

Nearly spit my coffee across the desk when I read that one. Since when are fundamentalist Muslims so New-Agey?

OK, OK, this isn't all Muslims. It's not even many Muslims. But it is some Muslims, and they are elected officials of somewhat important countries.

If Muslims feel targeted, misunderstood, viewed with suspicion, etc; I'd submit it's chronic, consistent, violent, outrageous overreactions like this one which make it so.

An acronym so good, it deserves its own post

Hell, this probably deserves a Wikipedia entry:

TSBFPMEMBACEHE – The Single Biggest Foreign Policy Mistake Ever Made By Any Country Ever in the History of Ever. A new name for the bone-headed, wasteful-in-every-manner, option-killing, economy-crippling, moral-authority-destroying, foreign-policy-emasculating-for-the-next-20-years, ally-alienating, enemy-making, next-three-generations-of-Islamic-terrorists-training FIASCO which is the entire US campaign in Iraq.

For the record, I oppose a pull-out, as I believe it will just make all of the above worse. And I know its crying over spilled milk, but, GOD ALMIGHTY, we should never have invaded in the first place!

Something new in the world of terrorism

There's a very interesting piece on MSNBC today by Richard Engel, regarding a new trend in the world of international terrorism. Engel calls it "Al-Qaeda Franchises", and it's not good news at all.

What he's talking about is exemplified by those Fatah al-Islam jackasses who are currently slugging it out with the Lebanese army in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp in northern Lebanon. While not technically part of AQ, these morons are clearly "inspired" by Uncle Osama and Friends. Engel compares them to your local McDonalds franchise – locally owned and operated, locally staffed, but supported by marketing, brand recognition, and "secret ingredients" from the Home Office.

The really interesting part is Fatah al-Islam and their ilk, and there's a bunch of such bands of jerkoffs scattered around Lebanon in Palestinian refugee camps and all over the Middle East, are Sunnis, just like Uncle Osama. In Lebanon at least, the strongest non-government force (hell, maybe stronger than the government) is Iranian-backed, ultra-Shiite Hezbollah. Shockingly, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah now have a common enemy. However, Hezbollah honcho Hassan Nasrallah, who may be delusional, psychotic, immoral, and a liar, but is definitely not a dummy, is pulling the "Oh, we'll help, but it's gonna cost you" bit with the Siniora government.

I don't really know what to make of this, but it's interesting (and scary) to see AQ remake itself yet again. It's equally interesting (and scary) to see just how long the Sunni target list is. These clowns are already going head-to-head with the US in Iraq, are spoiling for a fight with Israel (of course), are after most of the fascist Arab governments, and are ready to throw down with Shiites wherever and whenever they can.

Perhaps that's the answer, or part of the answer. Can we successfully get the Sunnis and Shiites to concentrate on beating the crap out of each other? The answer is probably yes, but we'd need to get out of Iraq first, then have Israel lie as low as it can. Those to pre-requisites are unlikely – we're too stuck in Iraq and it's way too late to just admit it was sheer stupidity to get involved there in the first place, and the Israelis can't afford to roll over, no matter what's at stake in the larger picture.

Still, it sure seems like there's something to be leveraged there. The Sunni-Shiite antagonism seems to present opportunities. I've given up on the Bush administration ever having the intelligence to recognize such opportunities or the skill and subtlety required to act on them, but it's something to keep in mind for January 2009 (how effing depressing is that?).

The lesson from Fatah al-Islam and groups like it is probably something along the lines of the adaptability of the fundamentalist Islamic terrorist world. We will never beat these guys with force, and force applied in the wrong place for the wrong reasons only makes them stronger (yes, that is a not too subtle reference to the Iraq boondoggle, henceforth referred to here as "The Single Biggest Foreign Policy Mistake Ever Made By Any Country Ever in the History of Ever" or TSBFPMEMBACEHE). And, thanks in no small part to TSBFPMEMBACEHE, our options stink.

Iranian “diplomat” seized in Baghdad

Someone or another has apparently grabbed Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad.

I wonder if “second secretary” is like “cultural attaché”, which was the cover always taken by KGB agents in spy literature.

Regardless, I think we all know the Iranians are up to nefarious deeds in Iraq these days. More nefarious than the US? I don’t know about that. Certainly they are acting more quietly and deniably. Those two attributes probably mean a higher degree of nefariosity (on, like that’s not a word!) and, let’s face it, if you’re a supporter of Israel, then Iran is pretty much guilty until proven innocent.

So, was Sharafi merely an unsuspecting, uninvolved pigeon? Or is/was he something more? And who nabbed him? Iraqis working for the US? Iraqis working for their own govt? Iraqis working for Iran who wanted an excuse for something yet to come? Penny-ante crooks looking to score a Rolex and a nice ride? Will we ever know? How do we know if we know?

Ah, yes. The “wilderness of mirrors” is back. The bad guys drink tea instead of vodka now, they’re probably better funded, and they’re certainly more motivated, but it’s the same game. And, as long as we’re basically stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan, they’ve got us by the nose.

Israel is somewhat serious about Iran, in case you were wondering

According to the Brit Sunday Times, Israel has spent some time planning a possible air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. This strike, according to the Times, would be carried out by IAF planes utilizing low-yield nuclear "bunker-buster" bombs.

The Israelis, of course, deny the crap out of it. The Foreign Ministry and Olmert's office both decry the report as utter nonsense.

Well, what do you think they're going to say?

Boys and girls, if you think Israel doesn't have about ten different methods for dealing with Iran's coming nuclear arsenal on the books, you are living in a dream world. Further, if you think none of those methods includes a nuclear option, please send me some of whatever it is you're smoking.

The Israelis have been thinking, and planning, about this possibility for a lot longer than Iran has been publicly working on a nuclear program. The Israelis have probably spent a fair amount of time thinking about Libya becoming a nuclear power, the Egyptian government being overthrown by radical Muslims, the Saudis turning off the oil spigot, and the Peruvians going neo-Nazi (well, maybe not that). When you're a country of seven million (approx 5 million of whom are Jewish) living amongst hundreds of millions of Arabs, many of whom want you living somewhere else at best, dead at worst, you tend to plan for all sorts of contingencies.

Especially when you got caught with your pants down as recently as 33 years ago, and you came pretty close to the ultimate nightmare.

I don't doubt the veracity of the story. My only question is, Why did it get leaked?

I think Ha'aretz defense columnist (and Tel Aviv University professor) Reuven Pedatzur is on to something when he says:

I refuse to believe that anyone here would consider using nuclear weapons
against Iran. It is possible that this was a leak done on purpose, as
deterrence, to say: ’Someone better hold us back, before we do something crazy.'

There's no doubt in my mind the Israelis want the Iranian nuclear program stopped by diplomatic, internationally-sponsored efforts. But, you better believe that, if the world can't stop the Iranians via diplomacy, the Israelis will stop them via force.

Daily YouTube: A brief history lesson

I don't know that I see it quite this way, but here's a clip comparing negotiations with Iran to those Chamberlain had with Hitler.

I wonder which side sponsored this bit of film-making...

2006 Review

You’ll read year-in-review articles everywhere in the next week or so. For the most part, they’ll be a beating, and this one will be no exception. I often struggle with things like this: Is it worth wasting electrons on my screen to even go thru this exercise? Will anyone care? The answer to that is, of course, NO. But who cares about any of the crap I write about here? A few of you do (and I appreciate every one of you), but, for the most part, I do this whole bit just for me.

So, with all the usual self-flagellation out of the way, I think this will be some fun to look back at in the near and distant future. Here goes:

News Story of the Year

The knee-jerk is to say something like “Iraq” or “War of Terror”, but that’s pretty broad. If we’re going to narrow it down a bit, then we should focus on a specific event. To me, that’s the mid-term elections.

The Republicans losing control of Congress was no surprise – they’d doing everything in their power to hand it over for several years, and it was only Democratic ineptness which prevented it from happening at least two years ago. Not a surprise, but an historic, game-changing event nonetheless, and an opportunity to make some new moves at last. Would Rumsfeld still be at the Pentagon if the Dems hadn’t won? Dunno, but they did and he’s not. That’s a start, but, obviously, not nearly enough. I don’t know what the answer is in Iraq, but the status quo obviously ain’t working. I’m not going to say “anything would be better than what we’ve got”, because that’s foolish and untrue. However, there are better approaches available, and its way past time to start trying them. The change in DC makes those other approaches a legitimate part of the debate, where they might not have been before.

International Story of the Year

Ariel Sharon’s catastrophic stroke, North Korea joining the nuclear club, Iran starting the application process for the same club, general zaniness from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez, and the continuing horror shows in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Burma are all noteworthy, but the story of the year in the International section has to be Israel vs. Hezbollah.

For most of the mid-summer, Israel, Hezbollah, and, to a lesser extent, Hamas, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan had a serious disagreement. The roots are, of course, one of the most complex, frustrating, and violent differences of opinion in the history of mankind. The immediate cause was the kidnapping (or capture, depending on your perspective, I suppose) of three Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah.

The result was weeks of open hostilities, the resolution of which is unclear at this point. Israel certainly did not lose, but it’s difficult to tell if Hezbollah and Hamas did either. Hamas and Hezbollah didn’t win, but it’s difficult to tell if Israel did.

One thing we know for sure coming out of this little soiree is the Israeli govt has lost most, if not all, of its stones. Sharon, and most of the PMs before him, knew that, if it comes to shooting at anything above the platoon level, then it’s time to throw everything up to, and including, the kitchen sink at the other guys. Half measures don’t get it done. However, all Olmert and his tottering coalition could muster was half measures.

VERY discouraging!

Sports Story of the Year

A close one here: Mavs going to the NBA Finals was BIG, but I have to go with Vince Young and Texas winning the National Championship. That Rose Bowl was an All-Timer – I proclaimed it the Greatest College Football Game Ever, and I stand by that. There was MUCH rejoicing all over Texas and at the CIT Compound in particular back on Jan 4.

Entertainment Story of the Year

My vote goes to Sacha Baron Cohen’s emergence as a major comedy star. I have been a fan of the guy since I first laid eyes on “Da Ali G. Show” several years ago. Talladega Nights and, of course, Borat have introduced Cohen to mainstream America. Not everyone gets him, but well north of $150 million in box office for Borat indicates that enough do. Borat takes its place with Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Team America, and Blazing Saddles as the funniest, most offensive movie ever in the history of ever. Shockingly, my smart and insanely hot wife laughed her ass off at it, which is a bet I would have lost for sure.

Local Story of the Year

It’s hardly ever good news in the City of Dallas, and this year is no exception. The big story was the unveiling of plans for the giant new Jerry-Dome in Arlington. The news is all good for Arlington, the Jones family, Cowboy fans, and probably humanity in general. However, its just one more example of Dallas’, and especially Laura Miller’s, inability to get it done.

Best Week of the Year (Personal Edition)

Back in June, I got to attend Microsoft’s annual Tech Ed, this year held at the spiffy new Boston Convention and Even Center. The week-long event was excellent, as always; well-planned, well-executed, well-attended, and chock full of great info. And, since it was in Boston, I got to make a bit of a vacation of the whole thing.

In my 10 day stay, I managed to: spend two days in Providence RI, boating, eating at nice restaurants, killing many brain cells, and generally reliving my college days; see cousins, aunts, and assorted other family from both sides on a number of occasions; go for several runs along the Charles on spectacular New England early summer days; go for several walks through Back Bay and the Financial District on spectacular New England early summer days; get introduced to City Bar, a new entry on my very short list of favorite Boston bars; and enjoy several meals in Back Bays finest restaurants.

I need more business trips like this one!

Big Time Family Story of the Year

There’s a litany of events in the running. Rather than boil it down to a single one, let me briefly list the big stuff:

Our five-year-old son, who has an extremely rare metabolic disease called Tyrosinemia Type 1 and who got VERY VERY sick before he was a year old, started Kindergarten and is learning so much, so fast that I literally can’t believe it. In addition, FISD and the folks at his school have really accommodated him. It took minimal effort from us on some things, and quite a bit of effort on some other things, but we are very pleased with how things have worked out for him.

Our eight-year-old daughter got recruited for select soccer. She’s very athletic, which is shocking, considering how nonathletic her dad is, and, when she’s into it, is an outstanding player. We’re working on the “into it” part, and playing at a higher level should help. This is quite an honor, though, and something we’re all very proud of.

I changed employers, moving from International Network Services to Catapult Systems back in Sept. The work is exactly the same, but I’m doing all of it in the DFW Metroplex of Love. Other than a day trip to Houston and a day trip to Austin, I haven’t traveled for business since I made the change. I actually have time to help Aly with her homework, make the kids dinner, do baths and bedtime, and have a hobby or two. What a revelation!

Robynne continues to add to her legend in the medical community in Dallas, Collin, and Denton Counties. She’s had parents say to her, “I had to wait a month to get an appointment with you, but it was worth the wait.” That’s pretty high praise. She’s had huge positive impacts on so many families in North Texas through her work – it’s great to see her do so well at something she clearly loves to do. She is, quite literally, an inspiration to me.

Thanks for sticking with me thru this outrageously long post, and with the blog thru long periods of less-than-active posting (and less-than-interesting content). Have a great Holiday Season, and a happy 2007!

A letter from Mahmoud

Our pal, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has seen fit to send an open letter to the American people. The multi-page missive was distributed through Iran's delegation to the UN. You can read the translated text here.

I have slogged through the whole thing, and am rather unimpressed with it. You'd think he'd at least give us an update on the Iranian national soccer team's progress, or some other local news, but, no, there's nothing like that.

Instead, Ahmadinejad's letter is a an intellectually lazy semi-diatribe, filled with all sorts of generalizations and, as far as I can tell, not one single concrete offer or suggestion for reducing tensions between the US and Iran. Ahmadinejad engages in some poorly veiled Jew-baiting, a great deal of disingenuous attempted separation of the US populace from its government, and a whole lot of lamenting the plight of the poor Palestinians. He positively gushes about the admirable qualities of the American people, while hammering away at our elected officials and "Zionists" in both Israel and Washington.

No doubt this offering will find at least a small audience of sympathizers in the US, and probably moreso in Europe. However, it certainly seems to me to be so unspecific, so generic, and so meandering that I just can't see it having any major impact at all. The anti-Semitism expressed by Ahmadinejad pales in comparison to that portrayed in Borat, and Americans have already voiced their displeasure with their elected officials.

I would like to know what Ahmadinejad is really up to here. Galvanizing the American people, or even triggering discussion or deep thought, seems unlikely. And if it was just pub he was looking for, he should have recorded a rap album.