Iranamok

What to make of this IRANIAN REVOLUTION? Or is it that…a country with a majority of its population under the age of twenty-five might not be all enamored with the old folks running the show. Is it that the youth of Iran, 

all twittered and cell phoned and texted and netted are yearning for a call to freedom, of personal freedom to live a life unhindered by Islamic Fundamentalism? Is it that non-Islamic minorities in Iran have no voice? Is it that the largely secular youth-not the fanatic Muslim youth of film reel lore-want to 

step into the 21st Century? 

MAINSTREAM U.S. PRESS has been cautious to play down claims of voter fraud and to state that the MIRACLE OF AHMADINEJAD‘S REELECTION is somehow considered credibly by a bulk of Iran’s population as indeed a miracle (NYT) yet not elaborating that the true cause is in fact most likely fraud, especially since the opposition candidate lost in his hometown of Tabriz. Candidate Mousavi, a conservative moderate has a massive following. , All “liberal” candidates were purged from running for office-and the threat of assassination has hung over Mousavi‘s head, even though the current regime has a stated interest in keeping him alive. Should he be killed, riots would inevitably ensue. The dreaded adjunct to the regular secret police has shot and killed protesters in the streets.

The Sorrow of the Pretty

Seems like there should be a solemn obligation among the liberal and wealthy to donate massively to charitable causes. The results are inarguable. Look, for example, at the great work done by the JIMMY CARTER groups in virtually eliminating guinea worm- a crippling, debilitating water born parasite that no longer plagues great swaths of people. Look at ERIC CLAPTON‘s substance abuse clinic in the Bahamas. Or BRANGELINA‘s efforts  to restore housing in post-KATRINA NEW ORLEANS. Why, then don’t the BEATLES reunite with DHANI HARRISON and SEAN LENNON for a world tour of one year duration, with all profits to benefit the impoverished in third world countries, with expenses coming out of SIR PAUL’s BILLIONS of dollars? Or the selfish asses ABBA, who were offered another BILLION DOLLARS to get off their fat asses, bite the animosity bullet and take six months to please their fans and do a great service to the world? Their personal issues transcend the spirit of cooperation for the worthiest of causes- eliminating human suffering? Or is it just their fat asses are unstageworthy? I have an excellent trainer they could work with. Ditto LED ZEPPELIN.  Imagine this tour:

ON THE ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2010

THE BEATLES     LED ZEPPELIN    ABBA     

PINK FLOYD  STARLAND VOCAL BAND

I’d be so the roadie for that show. You know what? I’d take a year off too and work for free, 

after all, IT’S FOR A GOOD CAUSE!!!!!!!

L.A. Thunder

Seems ODD to see actual weather in L.A.

Clouds, even THUNDER & LIGHTNING  are the order of the day. 

Between the coffee, the clouds and the indelible image of the Hamburgler, er 

DICK CHENEY planted forever like a twisted virus in my line of sight, 

the classic FUNK has taken hold, countered by an ebullience that ebbs and wanes like a tide, 

washing over me and taking the edge off the grim environs.

I ponder often what life would be like in a different climate than Southern California. 

I remember what it has been like in the past. 

Freezing cold winters in Bavaria, skiing shirtless in the sunshine in Telluride or Steamboat Springs, powder washing over abs and nipples at full attention…

…or the abject sorrow of damp melancholy permeating Seattle, 

an endless mist coercing introspection and loneliness. 

This day in L.A. shall pass, as the June Gloom dissipates and the brilliant sunshine bursts forth in a steady ray of warm joy that encompasses all. The gigantic ficus trees, an unlikely cousin of the apartment variety soars skyward to embrace the sun, filled with starlings and a microkingdom of nature’s beauty. The towering palms sway in the breeze over Sunset Boulevard, dropping the occasional massive frond with a crack and whoosh onto the unsuspecting passersby or parked cars.

As the seeming shift from Mediterranean arid climate to full on desert seems to take hold here in the southland, the long days seem even drier and hotter than before. Reservoirs run low, creeks dry up and the delicate tropical plantings demand their unfair share of the precious resource. Maybe a day or two of overcast skies isn’t such a bad thing after all.

PROP H8 Rally Rocks Boystown Yet Again!

Last night was yet another march for equality for all. As sis Joselle and I walked over from Bev Hills, we noticed a lack of cars on Santa Monica Boulevard in anticipation of the Prop 8 protest march, but we also noticed a lack of protesters. It was 7:45, well into the scheduled time frame…

downing our Millions of Shakes Paris Hiltons, we promenaded to the center of San Vicente and SMBLVD in the heart of Boystown, surrounded by about 150-200 protesters. The news crews seemed to outnumber the crowd, and we were embarrassed for the community. Postulation:

LGBTQ&Q crowd is just plain tired of it all, worn down by bigotry and ready to collectively withdraw from those who do not want us.

Then, at 8 bells, hurrah! We looked back and HORDES had surged up the boulevard, thousands of marchers. Cameras are flashing so we go to the vortex and there is a petite blonde smiling at us. It’s Drew Barrymore

 so we go over and catch cosmic dust off her aura. As we march on shake in hand we spot

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson 

the lesbian couple who helped initiate the lawsuit that started the debate. 

They were dressed all in white, and told us that they’d been all over the planet representin’ for the peeps, and we should keep the faith. Robin said, hang in there, civil rights always eventually come to fruition, there is no turning back the march of progress. Inspiring words from leaders we can all admire.

Joselle and I marched up to City Hall and then beat a hasty retreat. Not up for the march for miles, we did our part and then headed back to the safe environs of Villa Gilvezan, where the flat screen and cold Corona made for a pleasant capper to yet another stupendous night in 

West Hollywood.

Bombed In Burbank

Talking to Edward, a courier here in Hollywood. Used to work gate security at Burbank Airport.

The stories! Guy filled a  shaving cream canister with cocaine. That would have maybe worked, except he stuck a pipe in the same canister. Metal detector…pipe. Not a good combo. Busted.

Every single day, someone would get busted at Burbank. 

Every single day.

One lady refused to be searched when she was setting off the metal detector. She wouldn’t relent. So Edgar called the cops, and they came and she had rolls of twenty dollar bills alternated with cocaine wrapped all across her thin frame. She was wearing overalls, and the metal buttons and loops set off the alarm. Note to self: no overalls when muling.

And Aaron Sorkin. Edward popped him. Sez he was red faced and all wobbly. The dope was carrying five-count ‘em five metal crack pipes. And five different kinds of drugs, from shrooms to coke. When Edgar grabbed his elbow and pulled him aside, he fainted like a wimp. Later, he claimed that the drugs were planted on him by Edgar and team. Three cameras and overhead mics disproved the idiocy of this claim. As Edgar said, he wouldn’t know Sorkin from Adam.

Sorkin got probation. Had he been black, he’d still be in jail today. 

No jail time for Aaron.

To claim through his attorneys that the drugs were planted by the security staff is a cowardly act. Shame on him. Shame.

Edgar lost his job when 9/11 occurred and Bush put in government employees. 

On that inauspicious day in September, Burbank airport received twenty bomb threats. Twenty. Lot of sick people out there. Who would do this? On that day? Another round of Islamic extremists? Mentally ill agitators? Who? Does that mean every airport in America got dozens of bomb threats on September 11? It boggles the mind. The FBI has notr revealed this to this day.

Even before 9/11, Edgar was a hero. He saved many lives. I’ll tell you how. One day, a suspicious carry-on bag was in the x-ray machine, and Edgar noticed it was odd. He’d seen many laptops, but this one was different. The guts were largely missing. The bag was removed, and a special wand that detects explosives was used. Three times it tested positive for C-4, one of the most harmful of chemical explosives. The laptop was rigged to go off at the push of a button. They checked the terrorist’s bag further and saw he was only flying with two t shirts and a half empty bottle of vodka. He was a suicide bomber. There was enough explosive to crater the entire airport and much of Burbank, apparently. If Edgar hadn’t been alert, that laptop would have gone through to a terminal area, pre-boarding and blown everyone up. When stopped and cuffed, he had no ticket for a flight. He had lied and said he had a Southwest ticket. He didn’t. 

A robot came and took the bomb away. The FBI took the terrorist, and then came back to the security team. All of Edgar’s  co-workers had touched the bag. It tested positive also for a corrosive chemical, and the other workers were carted off to a fire station, stripped, given a scrub down shower and their clothes burnt. They were given clothes by the fireman, and reported back to work. Edgar was commended by the FBI and Burbank police. The entire incident was played down as a minor threat, so as not to alarm passengers and others at the airport. 

Perhaps if it had been played up and we would all have been more aware, more attention would have been paid to the threat and 9/11 could have been prevented. 

Roy’s Right Wing Diatribe

Rwanda is doing it right, after a massive genocide that killed a million Tutsi tribe members by the prevailing Hutus. Today, fifteen years later, the country is in great shape, according to a fine article in The New Yorker by Philip  Gourevitch. He recounts how the country has healed its wounds with healing councils and open dialog, culminating in a forgiveness exchange that is both cathartic and monumental in its scope. 

Gourevtich tells us Rwanda now has universal health care, has banned plastic bags and has extensive cell phone coverage.

Zimbabwe and other African nations led by despotic rulers are falling apart into massive chaos. It seems odd that as far along as humankind has progressed we still allow for governments to be run by tyrants.

It seems to me the powerful first world nations are okay with this status quo, after all is said, and find these governments stabilize the third world in an endless loop of ongoing corruption. To believe that America or a EU nation couldn’t actually devise a stealth exploding cigar or other some such nonsense to assassinate the despot seems incredible. If we can pinpoint a missile to take out a terrorist, how can we believe a presidential palace couldn’t be targeted. No one has to claim responsibility. Tyrant gone.

If we can do this, then we can torture. That would be the reason NOT to target Robert Mugabe or an admitted murderer (Raul Castro) or other monster. But, it’s the only reason I can think of, if we weigh the value of millions of lives against the actions of one. Who’d make that call? Hell, where do I sign?

The Specter/Spector phenom.

The Specter/Spector phenom.

Sure it’s a stretch, but the spectre of these two men and their transformations is startling.

First Phil Spector, genius savant of the recording industry, let’s his demons get the better of him, and pays the price. Life in jail. Mansion gone. Reputation destroyed. His twisted power game, flaunted for decades and never censored from female victims to John Lennon. Power gone mad.

The Republican Party. Power gone mad. Idealogues refusing to strike a note of compromise on any issue, drunk with previous power and now marginalized to a fringe fanatic base. Party gone.

the Grand Old Party is now not so much a party as a warm beer shared among a few pathetic out of touch old men.  

Result: good men like Arlen Specter- a moderate and sensible man-moves toward a pragmatic reality and for reasons both philosophical and self serving, defects to the Democrats to help achieve his essential agenda, from health care and health research funding to fighting poverty. 

The IRONY is that Republicans, before being hijacked by the Religious Right (not all religious people are right wing, btw) stood for principles of protecting the individual and boosting those who have a desire to excel. Subversion under serial divorce diva Newt Gingrich and bloviating fatheads like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have tilted the direction to the dark side of self interest over human compassion. The price to be payed is ostracization from the American people, who more and more understand that Democratic ideals of compassion run hand in hand with the philosophy of religious caring and concern for all God’s peoples. Such that there is a god up there somewhere. Another issue for another day.