Death in Tehran

Warning: Graphic video

Iran Revolution 2009 - Midgame

Now that the Ayatollah has aligned himself with the incumbant thugs, he may have ended his leadership. Despite telling protesters to stop, they have continued in defiance of his "divine" rule. Things are about to get ugly, really ugly. Actually, they already have.

Spreading the wrong word

While I appreciate our soldiers (hopefully) spreading messages of peace throughout the word, reading about them spreading a different kind of word troubles me beyond belief. I am not a Christian, and do not wish for my country to be spreading bibles to other nations. How would we feel if someone did this to us?

The End of the Ayatollah?

Today the Ayatollah of Iran said that the election results must be legitimate, because the incumbent won by a large amount.  He said that if the spread were smaller, that would indicate the possibility of election fraud.  Is this just the "big lie" theory at work?

 

He also said that that protests must stop.  Therein lies his new conundrum.  If the protests do not stop, this will show that large percentage of the people do not respect the "Supreme Leader."  Which in my view can only lead to one thing.  The end of the Ayatollah.

Third Party iTunes synching

With Palm and Apple trading press releases over iTunes synching, thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.

From how I understand it, the Pre syncs with iTunes by telling iTunes that it is an iPod. I am not sure which model it identifies itself as, but I assume it is one of the older models.

For Apple to break this, they would likely have to (at least temporarily) break access for many iPods too. I really don't see what Apple's problem is, since this actually helps their iTunes store business model. I guess they want people to buy iPods and iPhones, but this could be construed as monopolistic.

I've said it to many already: Palm is the new Apple. Apple is the new Microsoft. And Microsoft is the new IBM. IBM has now exited the biz.

The good justice?

Over at Reason, it seems that libertarians will have a lot to like about Justice Sotomayor.

Zicam Banned

Zicam, a popular cold remedy that also has many generic versions, has been banned by the FDA today, after many years of up to 130 people complaining that they have permanently lost their smell. I have used this product in the past, and did not suffer these symptoms, but I used it as directed, which said do not inhale it, merely coat the interior of your nose.

I've since switched to using the oral mist version, which is not affected by the ban. The FDA also claims that this product does not work at all, and I can't prove otherwise. It is always difficult to prove efficacy when it comes to medicine, although some studies have been promising for this zinc compound.

Matrixx Initiatives, the makers of the product, saw their stock drop 70% today.

Thank God he's not President

John McCain called for action against Iran, due to the disputed election.  I am sincerely thankful that he was not elected as the president.  Instead, we have a calm and collected President Obama, who has renounced violence in the situation but so far has not taken a side.  Backing the opposition would send a message that we may be involved in their "regime change", which would not help us any bit in the Middle East.

 

http://www.politicususa.com/en/McCain-Iran

Was the vote really rigged?

Iran's vote may very well be democracy in action. Polls taken in the weeks before the election seem to match up pretty well with the results. Too bad Nate Silver wasn't there.

Legalization... now?

Will legalization of marijuana (and not just for medical purposes) happen soon?

As proponents are pointing out, there would be a trifecta of benefits: a weakening of the criminal enterprises that supply it, reduced costs for law enforcement because fewer cops would be needed, and increased tax revenues (in the billions).

And the downside...? I can't think of any. If Joe six-pack can go home and drink a six pack, why can't Joe blunt go home and smoke a joint?

Meanwhile, in Israel...

Benjamin Netanyahu is now backing a Palestinian State, something long overdue. He is still completely out of touch with the world though, since he says he will not reverse the illegal settlement activity in the occupied territories.

Another 1979?

With the opposition's supporters protesting the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Amadinajad, the question is: how far will this go? Are we in for another revolution? Media is being blacked out, all signs point to something significant going on, and unlike Ukraine this may not be peaceful.

Customer service call trick?

Calling customer service is never a fun experience, especially when you are informed that the wait time will be "greater than 20 minutes" or something like that. A Best Buy associate recently told me a trick for getting through to most cell phone providers, and I assume it would work for other companies as well: choose Spanish at the beginning of the call.

All of the reps for a company who speak Spanish will also speak English, but the wait times are significantly shorter.

The Iranian Election

Many are reporting that something strange happened during and immediately following the Iranian election. It seems very possible that the ruling party will remain in power, against the rule of the people. But with the blocking of most information services, it is difficult to know what's going on. And CNN, Fox, etc, are asleep at the wheel and not reporting on this. Thankfully, the BBC has some good coverage.

Will this be another orange revolution?