Hua Guofeng, dictator of China from 1976-80, has died at age 87. He betrayed his principles and constituancy an act of treachery that deserves the eternal thanks of a grateful world.

The following is a list compiled from a series of articles in the Toronto Globe and Mail by editor Martin Levin on what he considers the 50 greatest books available in english. I'm not sure I agree with it, it's still incomplete, but here it is anyway, with some commentary.

Obama's running mate will probably be someone we've never even heard of, much less considered....here's why.

From a TV point of view, the Greatest Democratic Convention was in 1976. Behind the scenes, Carter's people treated his volunteers like dirt, But that's besides the point. What's important is that on the floor, they did it right, and with the bruhaha over the roll call, it's good to remember what happened and why it worked so well.

According to Wonkette, and a few other places, our old friend Alan Keyes has been nominated by the American Independent party of California as it's candidate for president. Why is a washed-up has-been wingnut being nominated by the shriveled up reminants of a wingnut third party a true sign of progress in America?

the answer below the fold.

So what can one learn from a trip like this? What exactly did Global Exchange want me to find out  and did I actually do it? Who's fault is the current conflict with Iran anyway?, and will we ever get our embassy back.
some final words below the fold...

It's best to begin this installment with the end. I was in the airport waiting for the plane to board, and I decided to get myself a Coke®, so I did. The lady at the counter said "two hundred" so, I took on of the few two thousand ryal notes I had left out of my pocket, and gave it to her. "No," she said patiently, "Two hundred Thum. That's 20,000 Ryals." What the heck is a thum, and why hadn't I heard of this thing before?

In the year 185 BC, the Pharaoh Chaonnophris was captured by the forces of Ptolemy V, ending the last Egyptian state to be actually ruled by Egyptians for over two thousand years. The same thing happened eight hundred years later in Iran, when Yazdegerd III's Sassanian Empire in 635. From then,  until the 1920s, Persia was ruled by foreigners, something that is clearly evident everywhere throughout the country. This is most clearly evident in the Savavid capitol of Isfahan, known by it's inhabitants as "half the world..."

The pre-Islamic heritage of the middle east and central Asia hasn't always been as appreciated by Moslems as it is now, note the notorious destruction of the Giant Buddha's in Bamiya, Afghanistan back in March of 2001, or the sale of the Elgin marbles, and all that ancient Egyptian art in various museums around the world. It was something like that which almost happened in Persepolis back during the dark days of the hostage crisis when the limits of revolution were reached. As to the details of the incident below, I cannot vouch for the details, and I never found out the names of the people involved, all I know is that a second tour guide acknowledged the event took place. Anything more on that would be appreciated.

When people think of Iran, they think of evil Ayatollahs with nukes, when people think of Persia, they think of a lost world of biblical mystery...or that SM guy from the movie 300...but first, let us consider the miracle of clean drinking water.

Getting of the plane, I remembered Communist Bulgaria and post Communist Uzbekistan..."Why are your papers IN ORDER?!?!" The guy at passport control looked at the visa and stamped the passport, then took me to get fingerprinted. The fear passed when he gave me and the other American a refreshing towlette to wipe off the ink...We went downstairs and met the tour guide, who took us to the moneychanger, who took my sixty bucks and gave me back nearly half a million ryals...more after the fold.

As I said this morning, I just got back from Iran. This is the first of seven parts on my trip, this is assuming I don't get bored and start writing on something else...

Canada has begun the slide to tyranny, and so-called "human rights commissions"  begin to prosecute thought crimes and free speech. Not even the national magazine, MacLeans is immune.

Asking someone to be Vice President is dangerous, after all, they might actually say yes. issuing lists is much safer.

The 56 State quarter program ends next year,and congress is planning on a replacement for it. Do we need all these quaters?

Decades ago photographer  Alberto "Korda" Díaz Gutiérrez snapped a famous picture of Ernesto "Che" Guavara. The enemy of capitalism is on everything from soda cans to designer dresses. His kids aren't happy about it. Too damn bad!

More after the fold....

The Democratic Convention in Denver is going to be the pep rally it was always supposed to be, which is fine, I guess. But stuff can be done there besides pretty speeches.

McCain just suggested a series of joint town hall appearences starting in New York on June 12th. Obama should just say "yes."