Common Sense and Whiskey

Recommended Reading: Where the West Ends

Fun new book from Michael J. Totten. Fun, that is, if your idea of thrills is a drive from Turkey into Iraq for lunch.

Where the West Ends expands on Mr. Totten's Dispatches blog for World Affairs Journal. There are sections roughly grouped as the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

Many authors seem to believe they won't be taken seriously unless their work is laden with ponderous history. When well written, like in some of my suggestions below, that's  worthwhile. When it's not, it's the reason tons of books are returned to the shelf half-finished.

In Where the West Ends, Mr. Totten mostly allows a cursory sketch of the past to suffice. I suspect that satisfies armchair travelers. Then he gets on with the travel writing I like best, what it feels like to get up from that chair and actually go to a place, and what it's like, personally, to be there.

Should Mr. Totten's book pique your interest, here are some suggestions for deeper reading:

- Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War by Thomas de Waal
- Azerbaijan Diary by Thomas Goltz
- Georgia Diary by Thomas Goltz
- Towers of Stone: The Battle of Wills in Chechnya by Wojciech Jagielski
- Bread and Ashes: A Walk Through the Mountains of Georgia by Tony Anderson
- Rebel Land: Unravelling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town by Christopher de Bellaigue
- In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran by Christopher de Bellaigue
- Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup by Christopher de Bellaigue
- Black Sea by Neil Ascherson
- The Black Sea: A History by Charles King

Along the Georgia Military Highway, Republic of Georgia

And here, in five installments, are excerpts from Common Sense and Whiskey, the book,  about our trip through the southern Caucasus:

1: Getting to Armenia
2: Yerevan to Tbilisi
3: Tbilisi and the Georgian Military Highway
4: The High Caucasus & the Russian Border
5: Baku

Order the entire book for $9.99 at Amazon.com, at BN.com, or the Kindle version (just $4.99).

See many more photos of the South Caucasus in the Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan Galleries at EarthPhotos.com.

 

Governor Romney's 42 Allies

 

"We're the great nation that has allies - 42 allies and friends around the world," the Governor told us in last night's debate. Here, for the record, are the United States' 42 allies, according to Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul:

First there are the NATO allies: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom. Then there are a few more: Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Jordan, New Zealand, Argentina, Bahrain, Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, we appear not to be allied with Singapore or Taiwan or Indonesia or Austria or Switzerland or Sweden or Finland or Ireland or South Africa. But we're solid with Bulgaria.

In arguing for engagement with Latin America, Governor Romney pointed out that its "economy is almost as big as the economy of China." How are we set for allies down that way? Not Chile or Uruguay or Peru or Colombia or Brazil or Panama or Costa Rica or Mexico or any island in the Carribbean. Darn it, our only ally in Latin America is Argentina.

One other thing, which relates to the previous article on geography: Governor Romney said "Syria is Iran's only ally in the Arab world. It's their route to the sea."

Activity: In your atlas, find "Persian Gulf." Note proximity to Iran.

Good Reads

Christopher de Bellaigue is a pleasure. I've really enjoyed his Rebel Land, which details his search for truth on the Turkey/Armenia question. Okay, that may not be mass appeal stuff, but I'm personally interested, and he has an entirely engaging style.

After he lived in Turkey, de Bellaigue lived in Tehran, and another of his books, In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs, is on the next-to-read list. Got to get on with it, though, because his next book comes in May. It's about the coup against Mossadegh.

But both those books have stiff competition.

Two books arrived at the farm this week: The Unconquered by Scott Wallace and Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. The Unconquered is subtitled In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes, and it's one of these stories of adventure and peril in the jungle. Katherine Boo's book is subtitled Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. There are lengthy online excerpts for both.

Have a look: Here's Scott Wallace, and here's Katherine Boo.

Paint a Pinkie, Pay a Fine. Proof It's Time for a Vacation.

"The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehavior by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values… In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins."

So says Tehran’s police chief Hossein Sajedinia, quoted in NiacINsight, which is a blog by the National Iranian American Council. It goes on to point out these offenses and the fines associated with them:

Glasses over the hair: 18,000 Toman
Short manteau: 25,000 Toman
Bright manteau (green or red color): 25,000 Toman
Nail polish per finger: 5,000 Toman
Tan: 25,000 Toman
Light hair (depending on the color):  From 50,000 to 150,000 Toman

Being blond can cost you in fun lovin' North Tehran. And at these prices, if you're on a budget, you might want to just polish that one pinkie. Probably not Lindsey Lohan-style, though.

This all goes hand in hand with the new Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance-approved hairstyles photo that made the rounds a week or so back (here from the web site MehrNews.com):

These hairstyles are to be promoted at a sure-to-be super fun event called the Modesty and Veil Festival later this month. It says here that "The proposed styles are inspired by Iranians’ complexion, culture and religion, and Islamic law,” according to Jaleh Khodayar, who is in charge of the Modesty and Veil Festival.

See? There it is again, the age old connection between Iranian complexion and Islamic law.

Just about as oddly, in today's Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick argues the whole hair thing is pretty much proof that Israel now has Iran just where it wants 'em.

"The regime’s fear of its opposition has caused it to crack down on domestic liberties. Last week the regime issued hairstyle guidelines for men. Spiked hair and ponytails are officially banned as decadent," writes she. This and a barrage of other stuff are proof the Iranian regime is insecure. "And this frees Netanyahu to fight the coming war on Israel’s terms."

All this heat's bringing on silly season. Time for us all to go on vacation.

(Speaking of which, an update on this post tomorrow.)

Women Cause Earthquakes

Via Melbourne's Herald Sun: "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

This is not Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, as far as I know. I just couldn't help sharing.

If You Can't Do It Our Way, We'll Keep Your Airplanes

"Iran has warned that airlines will be banned from flying into its airspace, unless they use the term "Persian Gulf" on their in-flight monitors" instead of "Arabian Gulf," the BBC reports.

Airlines have "15 days to change the name to Persian Gulf on their in flight monitors."

And the BBC continues that "if the offence was repeated, foreign airliners would be grounded and refused permission to leave Iran."

Hey, maybe not all these airlines will notice the fifteen day deadline. Impounding a plane here or there might help restore Iran’s aging fleet of jetliners.

Iran's Revolution Anniversary Tomorrow - Resources

Iran bears watching. Tomorrow, 11 February, is the 31st anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. There are reported to be mass arrests taking place in advance of planned demonstrations.

The supreme leader has promised to make some news. “The nation will stun the world on the 22nd of Bahman,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proclaimed to the Air Force division of the Iranian Army on Sunday. The 22nd of Bahman in the Persian calendar is tomorrow, 11 February.

Should there be trouble, here is a ready list of news sources that were useful during last June's election protests:

- niacINsight - Blog of the National Iranian American Council
- Nico Pitney at Huffington Post - was all over the story, live-blogging last summer.
- Andrew Sullivan - ditto, for the Atlantic.
- The Lede - ditto, for the New York Times.
- Kodoom - Persian news aggregator.
- IranElection - Twitter feed from last summer, still active.
- BBC Persian Service - Live stream.
- Rooz Online - Reformist news site.

The Most Overserved Route in the World

Any guesses? Cute may not be the exact best word, so maybe we'll call it an amusing story: According to the Cranky Flyer, "It’s a route that former President Bush might call the Axis of Evil Express." And just to make it a little bit better, it stops in Damascus.

Sports: It's Not All About Golf Clubs, Cadillac SUVs and Swedish Wives.

1. Egyptians hold three of the top-four spots on the men’s professional squash circuit.

2. Armenian chess players "are treated like rock stars."

3. And add yachting to hiking on your list of things not to do near Iran.

Anniversaries Aplenty

What a year for big anniversaries: China's leadership has successfully negotiated theirs, the fiftieth anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight from Lhasa to Dharmsala in March, the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square in June, and the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on 1 October.

Now watch tomorrow as Iran marks the thirtieth anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover by radical students in Tehran, and next Monday is the twentieth anniversary of the first crack in the Berlin Wall. Your then somewhat more youthful correspondent stood atop the Berlin Wall with thousands and thousands of others on New Year's Eve, 1989. I'll have a photo or two next week.

(Photo of flags above the Tiananmen Gate from the China Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.)

Hiking Kurdistan, Spending Quality Time in Iranian Custody

Details on what those three hikers picked up by Iran were thinking, from the fourth member of the party.

With Guardians Like These...

The clergy thanks the Iranian people for their model citizenry in the "the healthiest, the most democratic and the most glorious" elections  "of their kind worldwide."

The Grand Ayatollah of Shareware?

Something must be lost in translation here. Anybody have any idea why The Center for Preserving and Publishing the Works of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei (conveniently known by its acronym TCFPAPTWOGASAK) would have "Trial Version" stamped on its web site masthead?

BBC Streams its Farsi Service Live

This is the BBC's live stream of it's Farsi service. Just turn up the volume on the player. Link here. Fascinating.

"How Are You?" "Yes!"

I'm Just Sayin'....

Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

The Clone Stamp Wars

Via Boing Boing, here:

Looks like Kayhan, the pro-government Iranian newspaper, needs lessons in using the Photoshop clone stamp tool. The photo above is said to be a pro-Ahmadinejad rally, enhanced.

This work from the web site Kheirkhah Photographer (in Farsi.)

The Election Aftermath in Pictures

The Boston Globe consistently presents some of the most impressive photojournalism out there. They've done it again with extensive photo coverage of the election aftermath in Tehran, including, among many more, this photo:

(Photo by OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images via the Boston Globe.)

Election Day in Iran

Please enjoy this guest post on election day in Iran, from author and photographer Lawrence Mitchell:

Back in November, on the eve of the US elections, I reported here from Iran. Contrary to all expectations, I was struck by how similar Iran was to the US in some (albeit subtle) ways, with notions of national pride, personal ambition, strong morality, social courtesy – even occasional mass hysteria – all to the fore. Even the way that politics worked seemed to have some parallels with the machinations in ‘The Great Satan’. The gist of my posting back then was that Iranians, too, were thirsty for change. Well, now is their chance. On Friday, June 12, Iran-watchers around the world will be curious to know the outcome of what has been an extraordinary build up to that country’s presidential elections.

The candidates have been whittled – if that is the right word – down to four contenders: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current conservative incumbent; Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a reformist politician and architect; Mehdi Karoubi, another moderate reformist with a rural base of support, and Mohsen Rezai, an arch-conservative who was allegedly involved in bombing a Jewish cultural centre in Buenos Aires in 1994. Of the four contenders, the only really viable candidates are Ahmadinejad – naturally – and Mousavi, who previously served as Iran’s last Prime Minister between 1981 and 1989 before constitutional changes removed the post.

Mousavi, widely praised for his economic skills, is keen to end Iran’s isolationism and does not mind saying so. In a recent feisty television debate watched by over 40 million, he successfully sparred with Ahmadinejad and, in addition to criticising his abysmal economic record, accused him of disgracing Iranians in the eyes of the world by going to Geneva to make his anti-Israel tirade at an anti-racism convention.

To win elections in Iran you need to woo the country’s enormous working class. Ahmadinejad has traditionally been very popular with this sector but Mousavi has recently also found favour with this demographic thanks to Ahmadinjad’s perceived bad handling of economy and his dismantling of civil liberties. Mousavi’s presidential bid, initially welcomed by intellectuals, trade unions and grass roots activists, now looks as if it is managing to widen its appeal. Back in May, Ahmadinejad led polls by a considerable margin but, now that conservatives and reformers alike seem to be rallying behind Mousavi, the gap has closed quite markedly.  Last week, Mousavi even received a spectacular ovation at a rally at the super-conservative holy city of Qom, where his supporters sported green.

Of course, presidential success does not necessarily imply meaningful change. In Iran, the president is outranked by Supreme Leader, Ali Khameini, and has no legal authority over the police or army. Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president between 1997—2005, found this out to his cost as his attempts to reform were repeatedly stymied by religious hardliners. So, will it be a green revolution for Iran? Watch this space.

Laurence Mitchell 2009

(Photos courtesy of Laurence Mitchell. See more of Laurence's photography at LaurenceMitchell.com. Laurence Mitchell is author of the Bradt Travel Guides to Serbia and Kyrgyzstan. His upcoming book is Go Slow Norfolk & Suffolk.)