Shall rule them

The Model Students:

Nicholas Kristof in the Times: Why are Asian-Americans so good at school? ...

Increasingly in America, stellar academic achievement has an Asian face. In 2005, Asian-Americans averaged a combined math-verbal SAT of 1091, compared with 1068 for whites, 982 for American Indians, 922 for Hispanics and 864 for blacks. Forty-four percent of Asian-American students take calculus in high school, compared with 28 percent of all students.

Among whites, 2 percent score 750 or better in either the math or verbal SAT. Among Asian-Americans, 3 percent beat 750 in verbal, and 8 percent in math. Frankly, you sometimes feel at an intellectual disadvantage if your great-grandparents weren't peasants in an Asian village. ...

Of course, not all Asian-Americans are so painfully perfect — Filipinos are among the largest groups of Asian-Americans and they do very well without being stellar. Success goes particularly to those whose ancestors came from the Confucian belt from Japan through Korea and China to Vietnam.

It's not just the immigrant mentality, for Japanese-American students are mostly fourth- and fifth-generation now, and they're still excelling. Nor is it just about family background, for Chinese-Americans who trace their origins to peasant villages also graduate summa.

One theory percolating among some geneticists is that in societies that were among the first with occupations that depended on brains, genetic selection may have raised I.Q.'s slightly — a theory suggesting that maybe Asians are just smarter. But I'm skeptical, partly because so much depends on context.

In the U.S., for example, ethnic Koreans are academic stars. But in Japan, ethnic Koreans languish in an underclass, often doing poorly in schools and becoming involved in the yakuza mafia. One lesson may be that if you discriminate against a minority and repeatedly shove its members off the social escalator, then you create pathologies of self-doubt that can become self-sustaining.

Huh? Maybe it's because Kristoff is Caucasian, but does he understand his example doesn't support his skepticism?

If Koreans who do 'poorly' in Japan still outperform non-Asian students in the rest of the world, all his example shows is happy Japanese students are smarter than unhappy Koreans in Japan.

Don't discount the genetic argument so quickly. How else do you explain all the smart Asian American adopted kids? They're raised by Caucasians in a Caucasian society, yet I'll bet they still outperform their non-Asian American siblings.

Kristoff skips over the genetic angle because the implications are uncomfortable and probably unimaginable for a Caucasian raised to believe, implicitly or explicitly, in the superiority of the white male. Ironic, American society is built with an assumption of and toleration for a ruling class; how funny is it if it turns out white males have simply been keeping the seat warm for Asian Americans?

If Asians and Asian Americans are genetically smarter (you gotta admit, for some immigrant kid to outscore native-born kids on the SAT verbal portion is pretty impressive), only outright racism can keep them from running things in our performance-based and information-heavy economy.

Krisotff concludes:

So then why do Asian-Americans really succeed in school? Aside from immigrant optimism, I see two and a half reasons:

First, as Trang suggests, is the filial piety nurtured by Confucianism for 2,500 years. Teenagers rebel all over the world, but somehow Asian-American kids often manage both to exasperate and to finish their homework. And Asian-American families may not always be warm and fuzzy, but they tend to be intact and focused on their children's getting ahead.

Second, Confucianism encourages a reverence for education. In Chinese villages, you still sometimes see a monument to a young man who centuries ago passed the jinshi exam — the Ming dynasty equivalent of getting a perfect SAT. In a Confucian culture, it is intuitive that the way to achieve glory and success is by working hard and getting A's.

Then there's the half-reason: American kids typically say in polls that the students who succeed in school are the "brains." Asian kids typically say that the A students are those who work hard. That means no Asian-American ever has an excuse for not becoming valedictorian. ...

If I'm right, the success of Asian-Americans is mostly about culture, and there's no way to transplant a culture. But there are lessons we can absorb, and maybe the easiest is that respect for education pays dividends. That can come, for example, in the form of higher teacher salaries, or greater public efforts to honor star students. While there are no magic bullets, we would be fools not to try to learn some Asian lessons.

You mean some American lessons, Nicholas. Luckily for the U.S., Asian Americans are an indelible part of this country.

Let's not try to exoticize their success, or make it more mysterious than it is; and let's stay away from articles with the patronizing tone Kristoff gives off. If this country is serious about academic achievement, well then, let's learn from the best, and be humble about it.

Good genes plus hard work equals doing well. Most Americans can forget about the genes (but intermarriage makes it an achievable dream for their kids), so just work hard.

If nothing else, it'll help you related better to your Asian American boss one day.

Photo of Asian American baby found online.

Letters and places

From Iran, With Something Less Than Love

Elaine Sciolino in the Times: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran wrote a letter to President Bush last weekend — the first formal letter from an Iranian leader to an American president since Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979. The letter has a familiar ring. In tone and structure, it is eerily reminiscent of a letter sent in January 1989 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's revolution, to Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the leader of a collapsing Soviet Union.

Certainly the historical context is different. Ayatollah Khomeini was convinced that Communism was dead and the only worthwhile system of government was one based on religious truth. He was advising the Soviet leader to study the Koran. Mr. Ahmadinejad, for his part, has set out to lecture Mr. Bush on the immorality of the war in Iraq, the confinement of prisoners at Guantánamo, the United States' support for Israel, and other aspects of American foreign policy that he doesn't like.

And the letters differ in style. Ayatollah Khomeini, a revered clerical scholar, filled his letter with Koranic references and elaborate footnotes. Mr. Ahmadinejad, a mere layman, repeatedly invoked the name of Jesus Christ and the Old Testament prophets, alongside Koranic verses. But rather than footnotes, he filled his letter with taunts.

Still, the letters share something basic — a tone of pure effrontery. Both include heavy doses of lecturing and use religious knowledge with an air of moral superiority. The tone is highlighted by repeating the recipient's name again and again.

It's impossible to know whether Mr. Ahmadinejad's letter is an act of homage to the Iranian revolutionary leader, who died in June 1989, but it certainly is an imitation.

It is also an act of breathtaking audacity — Mr. Ahmadinejad dares to cast himself as the great Islamic scholar's stand-in. And Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Khomeini's official successor as "supreme leader" of Iran, has let him do it.

Ah, yes--pure effrontery! How dare these ragtag third world leaders address these first world potentates!

Heck, only America's allowed to lecture other nations, and use religious knowledge with an air of moral superiority.

Besides which, aren't these guys supposed to be terrorists? How come they're writing?!

Sheesh... Sciolino should really have a better understanding of Iranians and the context for the letters. Both times the leaders were writing from what they saw as a position of strength, vis-a-vis their adversaries. Hence, the lack of kow-towing.

And both wrote to countries that in their eyes at least might see the light and thus become partners of the Islamic Republic. I'd say that's a good thing. For all the enmity on the part of the old USSR toward Iran, and for all the harm America's done Iran, it's interesting that both times the Iranian leader at least made the gesture of reaching out.

I think Sciolino's problem is that the letters are coming from them to us; the natural order of things in her view and that of many others if for the letter and lecturing to flow the other way. Hence....

When a Diplomat Plays Postman , a Times piece in the same section as Sciolino's article that looked at how the Iranian letter got to the White House (essentially via Swiss diplomats).

The second part of Joel Brinkley's piece probably restores the natural order of things for Sciolino and her ilk:

There are more high-tech ways to send letters these days, as the State Department demonstrated last week in Africa. Robert B. Zoellick, the deputy secretary of state, was in Abuja, Nigeria, trying to persuade Darfur rebel leaders to accept a peace treaty. The rebels weren't budging. So President Bush wrote personal letters to two of them, urging them to sign the agreement.

These letters were converted to a digital graphic format and sent from Washington as e-mail attachments. When they were printed in Abuja and presented to the rebels, they had an immediate effect. The rebels' jaws dropped, and one of them signed the treaty. Meanwhile, Olusegun Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria, was heard to complain throughout the day, "I want my own letter from the president."

Uncredited UPI file photo of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini via the Times.

Two left standing

Ah, the pre-Super Bowl Super Bowl. Three songs each; Clive Davis picks the first, they profile him. Hmm, runs BMG... Ryan says he could be described as the most influential recording executive in the world.

Elliott first, singing Open Arms. Clive tells him to show off the power of your voice, via a rock song. Hmmm. In normal suit. Wow, good start; it's a good choice, lets that tone of his come through. Misses a camera cue, off just a bit, but right back on; and he totally milks and nails the chorus, crowd starts cheering. A little bit of a timing problem, but his sincerity comes through. Nicely done. Randy says you worked it out, some problems but not bad. Paula says nice job. Simon says well, good choice but not great performance, a bit stiff--some advice young man, loosen, up, start believing that you can make the finals next week. Seems bit unsure when Ryan asks him; I hope Katharine doesn't just steamroll him on the way to the final two.

Katharine next, in emerald-green dress and wavy hair. I Believe I Can Fly; he wants her to dig down deep, come up with your own song. He adds he thinks it'll be a big turnabout for her. I actually do too, even though I dislike her; she's a fighter. Seems nervous at the start, knows she's gotta do well. And oddly enough, she lets the backups hit the chorus--very very strange. The song's kindof a mess, she's belting it out, but it feels so disjointed. Not good. Randy says you look amazing, but song's too big for you, not quite right. Paula compliments her woman to woman, but says it's difficult; Kat bursts out you guys have been difficult on me, Paula says Randy... he says not a good choice, she says I didn't choose it! he says I meant just do the melody. Simon says some bum notes, but not bad, kindof created a bit of a moment. He's back on the bandwagon. There's total chaos, with Randy and Ryan and Simon and Paula all talking at once.

Taylor gets Dancing in the Dark; Clive's kindof gotten dogged by the last couple of choices, Taylor thankns him for calling Bruce Springsteen and getting permission for a Springsteen song to be done for the first time on AI. In normal gray suit. Wow, Taylor nails it right from the start, it's like the perfect song for him and he absolutely hits it. Like it was written for him. Vocally, performance-wise, it's like my favorite Taylor performance. He totally plays the crowd, gets Paula up to dance with him, it's a great performance in every way. Randy says you had a good time, great job. Paula says you're incredible. Simon says it was okay, a bit pale compared to the original. Paula's like drunk or something, Simon says for her age she's fantastic. Taylor's floating above it all, he's like the incumbent president, doesn't need to do the down and dirty campaigning.

Back, Ryan's in Paula's seat, and she's in his lap. Judges picked the second song. Douglas Wilder on tape with Elliott in Richmond. What You Won't Do for Love, picked by Paula, she says he's all about love, for the funky white boy. It's another strong start for him, his tone is really being showcased. I assume Simon picked for Katharine, will be an advantage for her. The song's kindof boring, Elliott tries his best but it's just okay. He should sing John Mayer songs. Randy's like not a great performance, a little sharp most of the song. Paula says you just pierce to the heart. Simon's like not the best song in the world although the style suited you, thought you sang that pretty good.

Katharine next, LA mayor says Simon wants her to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Simon says this is probably the most perfect song in the world for her, maybe this'll be her big moment. Wow, lighting is great--no music, just her on the floor a cappella. My gosh, it's giving me chills. Wow, she's just slowly letting it spool out, you have dead silence in the theater. Her timing is artificially imposed, but she sticks to it, and you don't feel like it's the same old same old. She just sang her way into the finals, maybe winning the whole thing. Just too bad she's so aware, her eyes are always seeking out the camera. She nails the ending, too. Cword likes it, although it's not quite electric and crazy. Randy says finally, this is your best vocal of the season. Paula says you're in your element when you don't go overboard, and tap into your natural self. Simon says you don't need to lay it too much; that was the single best performance of the competition to date. Well, I don't know about that; definitely her best.

Governor of Alabama says Randy's picked You Are So Beautiful. Wow, now that's another good pick, voice totally fits. Just do it simply, Taylor. And he starts great, even a little shyness, restrained. Simple, just his voice, no craziness. Wow, he's totally got the audience in the palm of his hand--it'd be better than Katharine's great performance, just not long enough. Randy likes it. Paula likes it. Simon says that was far and away your best performance so far, then says well-done, Randy. Ryan and Taylor are pointing out Simon's clapping, and that he's happy. Poor Elliott.

Own choice; he's doing Ray Charles, I Believe To My Soul. Not sure about this. He's too much in Taylor's niche, but without his self-confidence. And the song's okay; not a great song, drags; oh well, he's happy just to have outlasted Chris. Randy says not the perfect song, but you can definitely sing. Paula says it's not a song people can connect with, but you're a funky white boy. Simon's like these songs won't carry you through to next week, but you're a great guy and a great singer and you'll make your mom proud.

Funny, he came in with more votes than Katharine, but it's like he's accepted 3rd place. I Ain't Got Nuttin Like the Blues is her choice, she says she picked it cause she didn't wanna get compared to anyone in the industry today. Okay.... It's her kind of song, slinky and bluesy. She loves doing these performance songs, totally the opposite of what SOTR is. Oh well, maybe she'll learn at some point. Randy says it was okay. Paula says essentially you're out of your element with songs like this. Simon says overall a good night, 5 steps forward 1 back, wish you'd ended on Rainbow, just okay. She doesn't care, had her moment; has probably already forgotten it was Simon's choice.

Taylor, Try a Little Tenderness. An odd choice, who's ever heard of it, and it's not a very good song. It lets him do some dancing after the intro, but just a meandering, unmelodic performance. These people really don't know what's best for themselves, they pick things for all sortsof sentimental and dumb reasons. Just sing what you sound best at, who cares if it has a hidden message or if you like it. Randy likes it, says his new name is Have a Good Time Funky Taylor, has trouble getting it out over the crazed audience. Paula loves it. Simon says good choice of song, good performance, hideous ending, but see you next week.

It's crazy, but if Katharine beats Taylor in the end, I won't be upset; she definitely wants this more than anyone else, and got here pushing every asset's she's got. Even though I don't think she's a geniune person at all, she's definitely a better contestant than Elliott. And has a shot at making the finals competitive.

Katharine II
Taylor II
Taylor I
Elliott I
Taylor III
Katharine III
Elliott II
Katharine I
Elliott III

As goes America...

America is in the midst of vast demographic and cultural sea changes. Hispanics are beginning to flex their muscles and are realizing with 15% of the country's population, they can set agendas and push things through with or without the support of others. Asian Americans are waking up to the fact that they make up as much of the country as Jews do, so why shouldn't they have as much influence.

And immigrants and their children of all stripes are looking around and seeing that in many parts of the country, the immigrant experience is now the majority experience--and the ever-shrinking minority are those people who speak just one language, avoid 'spicy' food and use words like 'exotic.'

As always in times of great change, there's a backlash--read last gasp--from the dying, previously-dominant faction of society that doesn't want to or can't adjust to a new world. Hence, all the yelling and ugliness you hear from the Christian right and their ilk, as they desperately try to freeze time and turn the clock back.

It won't work; too few of them, and they're losing strength every day. Plus, it's a better world that's being born.

One area where it's made manifest is movies. There are so many more interesting films being made and being shown in the U.S. today than even just ten years ago. It's not all due to demographic change, of course. But the broader factors shaping the revolution in the movie industry--such as technological change that makes it easier for a broader number of people to make films, the splintering of distribution channels--all feed greater diversity.

And of course all these factors are impacting not just the movies, but music, books, politics, journalism etc. It's universal--the broad trend of human history is it's getting easier for more people, and different types of people, to make their voices heard.

Going back to movies, scan the list of films starting with A released in 1996 and their stars:

Absolute Power, Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman
Addicted to Love, Meg Ryan, Matthew Broderick
Afterglow, Nick Nolte, Julie Christie
Air Force One, Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman
Albino Alligator, Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway
Alien Resurrection, Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder
Alive and Kicking, Jason Flemyng, Antony Sher
All Over Me, Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff
American Buffalo, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz
American Strays, Jennifer Tilly, Eric Roberts
An American Werewolf in Paris, Tom Everett Scott, Julie Delpy
Amistad, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne
Anaconda, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube
Anastasia, Meg Ryan, John Cusack
Angel Baby, John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie
As Good as It Gets, Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt
The Assignment, Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland
The Associate, Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley

Out of 38 actors, 34 are white. 90%... at a time when demographically, whites made up no more than 70% of the population.

Here's a comparable list for 2005:

Appleseed, Ai Kobayashi, Jûrôta Kosugi
Assault on Precinct 13, Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne
Are We There Yet?, Ice Cube, Nia Long
Alone in the Dark, Christian Slater, Stephen Dorff
Assisted Living, Michael Bonsignore, Maggie Riley
Alexandra's Project, Gary Sweet, Helen Buday
The Amityville Horror, Ryan Reynolds, Jimmy Bennett
A Lot Like Love, Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, David Arquette, Kristin Davis
Aeon Flux, Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas
A Hole in My Heart, Thorsten Flinck, Sanna Bråding
A Wake in Providence, Vincent Pagano, Victoria Rowell
A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Wayne Webb, Pete Weber
Après Vous, Daniel Auteuil, José Garcia
A State of Mind, Pak Hyon Sun, Kim Song Yun
Asylum, Ian McKellen, Natasha Richardson
A Sound of Thunder, Edward Burns, Ben Kingsley
A History of Violence, Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris
The Aryan Couple, Caroline Carver, Kenny Doughty

The first thing that jumps out at the you is the diversity of titles--so much less mainstream, so much more interesting. The film descriptions are much less white bread, and even the white actors are less the same old, same old. Of the 38 actors, 31 are white--or, 82%. Which isn't great, but is closer to their actual 65% of the population.

Further, just paging through the Times' listing of upcoming summer films, it struck me how many interesting movies are right around the corner. This is some of what I'm looking forward to:

"CROSSING THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL" Fatih Akin, the German actor and filmmaker who had a critical hit with "Head-On," made this documentary about the many musical styles of Istanbul.

"A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION" Robert Altman rounds up an all-star cast for a fictional look behind the scenes at the final broadcast of Garrison Keillor's public radio program. With Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin.

"THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT" An American (Lucas Black) moves to Tokyo, where he discovers a dangerous new form of street racing, involving lightweight cars with slick tires designed to fishtail all over the road. The director, Justin Lin, has a couple of good indies in his past — "Shopping for Fangs" (1997) and "Better Luck Tomorrow" (2002).

"LOWER CITY (CIDADE BAIXA)" A prostitute (Alice Braga) comes between two best friends (Lázaro Ramos and Wagner Moura) who operate a cargo boat off the coast of Bahia. Produced by Walter Salles ("Central Station"), this is the first film directed by the screenwriter Sérgio Machado ("Madame Sata").

"THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL" A disparate group of New Yorkers — played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olympia Dukakis, Jim Gaffigan, Tony Shalhoub, Tom McCarthy and Naseeruddin Shah — look for meaning in their lives in the year following 9/11. Danny Leiner directs.

"THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO" Part drama, part documentary — the story of three British Muslims held for two years at the American prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross directed.

"THE MOTEL" A Chinese-American boy, unhappy with his lot as a room cleaner at his parents' dilapidated motel, learns about life from an older Korean man (Sung Kang) who moves in. Michael Kang directed.

"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST" Part 2 of the successful movie franchise generated by a theme park attraction; can we look forward to "Tilt-a-Whirl: The Movie"? Most of the original cast is back — Johnny Depp as the reluctant swashbuckler Capt. Jack Sparrow, Orlando Bloom as his straight-arrow rival, Keira Knightley as the governor's stylish daughter, and Geoffrey Rush as the other pirate in town, Captain Barbarossa. The director, again, is Gore Verbinski. Next year, yep, Part 3.

"THE FORSAKEN LAND" Winner of the Camera d'Or for best first or second feature at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, Vimukthi Jayasundara's film is a plotless look at life in Sri Lanka.

"FAKERS" A forger (Matthew Rhys) tries to sell copies of the same drawing to five different London galleries within an hour. Richard Janes directed; with Kate Ashfield.

"FRATRICIDE" The hard life of Turkish and Kurdish immigrant teenagers in Germany, captured in a fiction film by Yilmaz Arslan.

"IDLEWILD" The members of Outkast, André Benjamin and Antwan Andre Patton, star as musicians working the Southern speakeasy circuit in the early 1930's. Bryan Barber wrote and directed.

IFC Films photo of Zoë Weizenbaum in "Twelve and Holding" from the Times.

Palm Pictures photo of Alice Braga in "Lower City" from the Times.

Iranian paradox

Hostage-Taker, Reformer, Pessimist: An Iranian Life

When he was a young man, Abbas Abdi thought the shah of Iran had to be overthrown and the United States needed to be punished for supporting the government. So he helped plan and stage the takeover of the United States Embassy and the seizure of 52 Americans, who were held hostage for 444 days.

Many years later, he thought the Iranian government needed to be more responsive to the people, so he helped to create the reform movement, which twice elected a president, Mohammad Khatami, and fostered hope of greater social and political freedoms.

Now, as Tehran and the West battle over Iran's nuclear program, and ideological conservatives control every branch of government, Mr. Abdi said he saw a country intoxicated by oil wealth and headed toward "social collapse." Both of his historic ventures — helping to form the Islamic Republic of Iran, and helping to develop the reform movement — are, by his own assessment, either finished or hurtling toward oblivion. ...

As much as anybody's life, Mr. Abdi's biography traces the evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He rode the wave of the revolution: as a leader of the student group that seized the embassy; as an official in the early government; as a reformist writer challenging what he saw as a system grown corrupt and disconnected from the people; as an optimist, pushing for democratization; and then as a prisoner, punished and jailed by those who saw his personal evolution as a challenge and a threat.

Mr. Abdi is in a lonely place now, opposed to those holding power and sharply critical of those who led the reform movement. He said the reformers had failed not because their goals were wrong, but because they were too passive. "They did not want to pay a price," he said.

The man whose ideas once served as a barometer of change in Iranian society today expresses cynicism, disgust and concern. "Ahmadinejad's era will become like a tragedy in our history," he said of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a characterization certain to further alienate — and even antagonize — Iran's leaders. ...

Mr. Abdi has become an unlikely and in many ways a lone voice in the world, saying the United States has far more moral authority today than it did back in 1979. He seems to respect, even like, his old nemesis, and finds room occasionally to compliment Washington. He even pointed to Iraq, saying that the United States had at least tried to build democratic institutions.

"Just compare America's interference in Kosovo with its interference in Vietnam," he said. "America has changed its policies. Back then it supported dictatorial regimes. But now, for example, it is putting pressure on the Saudis, on Egypt, and calling for change."

And why is America, in his view, promoting democracy over dictatorship?

"I think one reason behind the change is the occupation of the American Embassy," he said. "It gave them a shock to re-examine what they have done. We paid for it, we paid a dear price for it, but others have benefited."

Hmm, what an interesting guy. There's a level of complexity in his life and thinking that's usually missing from most debates involving the Middle East.

I'm not sure he's right that the hostage-taking marked a watershed moment for how the U.S. treats the rest of the world--after all, we propped up the likes of Ferdinand Marcos in the Phillipines, Manuel Noriega in Panama, and even Saddam Hussein in Iraq for many years after 1979.

But I do think the fact that Iran stood up to the U.S. is an important factor driving our current dispute with Iran over nuclear weapons. On Iran's side, they feel like they're once again in the right in a dispute with mighty America; on our end, we as always have a how-dare-you attitude, enhanced by a deja vu feeling of relative helplessness.

As long as there are people like Abdi in Iran, however, we're not helpless--we just have to figure out a way for the 'right people' to get into power.

I wonder if Iranians feel the same way about America.

Polaris photo of Abbas Abdi by Newsha Tavakolian for the Times

Achilles' kin

How did we ever beat these guys in the Cold War?

In Moscow in 2002, a group of ice swimmers calling themselves walruses "seasoned" a baby girl for the road ahead, which in Russia is rarely an easy one. Polaris photo by Jeremy Nicholl, in the Times; caption by the Times.

More proof NBA players are the craziest

Darius Miles interview with the Oregonian

With the fans, I love the fans to death. We have the best fans, I feel they can go against any fans in the NBA. We have a great owner, and I appreciate everything Paul Allen has done for me. But our fans are so perfect and so great. For the some of them who boo, I would boo me too, if I saw some of the stuff they show on the news channels or if I had seen some of the stuff that they write down, I would boo me, too. So, I don't really take the boos as offense, I take the boos as a love of their team and a love of the Trail Blazers as an organization.

There were little boos on and off. Yesterday, there was one guy in the stands at halftime, when I was shooting with Martell, he was like "You should give the money back and just leave our team!" I listened and said all right....

Q: But you were hoping to get moved?

A: Yeah, I was hoping to get moved. No matter where it was I was hoping to get moved. I feel it's best. They actually, I actually overheard that I’m influencing or I have a say-so in what Zach do and what everyone else do. Look, I don't influence nobody. I can't tell no grown man what to do. Anyway, that don't even sound right, me coming to somebody and say I want you to come to the game and leave, or I want you to be late for practice. Come on now. How does that sound? That don't even sound right coming out of anybody's mouth. ...

It’s a mistake I made, I know now you can’t get dressed without the head coach's permission.

Q: So did you wait until everyone left to start getting dressed?

A: Nah, I had my jersey off during the halftime speech. Like I said it was a mistake, everybody makes mistake. Me missing one shootaround and me doing the jersey thing, if that's the reason that we lost 61 games, if them two reasons, and I influenced everyone else to do bad things, like I'm the Grinch or something, then hey, probably better for me to get a new beginning and better off for them to go their own way. ...

Q: Back to the part where you are viewed as this bad influence. There have been two incidents, where one, you are said to have been at practice smelling of alcohol. Two, you rejoin the team in February, go on road trip, and take a bunch of players out to a club before the Indiana game.

A: That's what I’m saying, I’m the fallback guy. Just because I’m not playing, I’m the one taking guys out. Why cant somebody call my room and say want to go get a drink or something? But I’m the one.

And with alcohol, I can go out with my wife to Ruth Chris the night before. If I sit down, have a bunch of glasses of wine, and I might be a little tipsy and she drives me home, everything be cool. Next day in practice, if you sweat, it’s going to come out of your pores, regardless. We got a lot of players on our team, which I’m not going to name, because this is my situation, but if you ask any coach around the league how many times they have smelled liquor on a player? As long as that player is showing up on time, doing the drills, and he running, that's just a part of it. But I’m not the person who is going to put people’s name out there. But yeah, there have been times.

Q: But yeah, what?

A: Yeah, you probably smelled liquor on me before. But it’s not like I’m at practice drunk. I’m totally focused. I don't care if you come to practice and take shower, once you go to practice and start sweating, its going to come out. That doesn't mean you aren’t focused or ready to practice. Like you might go out, you might get drunk, and come to the gym higher than a mother, and you sweating, you smell like liquor, and you interviewing everybody. What does that mean? You still 100 percent focused. That's just ridiculous. Ask any other team, little petty stuff like that, if you ask any other coach in the NBA if they smell liquor on a player, any coach would say, every year. Some players go out in every city they go to. ...

Look at this season: I’m your franchise player, what is a Darius Miles bobble head like? Didn’t have one. And every time they had those little things with players talking on big screen, you ain’t never see me saying nothing on that do you?

Q: Why?

A: Your guess is as good as mine.

Q: Does that bug you?

A: It’s like you are telling me I’m this franchise player, but hey … once I noticed it, and I was like dang, I don’t have no bobble head? They tried to get me one at the last minute, and I was like, ‘No, I’m fine.’

But I don't want to sound like I’m whining. But this is what you all are telling me. You mean to tell me, if they have a Steve Nash, a Raja Bell, Amare Stoudemire, and a Boris Diaw bobblehead, they wouldn't have a Shawn Marion? But I don't want this whole interview to sound like I’m whining. ...

Q: Why is that?

A: I guess just so much pressure. Just stupid stuff out here. Just stuff that don't even really, like everything is just … everything just ridiculous. Blown totally out of proportion.

Q: By…?

A: By the media, by the organization.

Q: Everytime you mention the media, I assume you are talking about me.

A: It's not just you. Like this year, I don't recall reading anything or anyone telling me anything crazy. Canzano, he just wild, but he funny to read. I think he is scared of me. When he sees me, if people are around he will speak, but if he is by himself, he be looking like I’m going to do something to him.

Q: You think I’m afraid of you?

A: I think we came to an understanding at the beginning of the year. That's why I’ve never had no problem talking to you. I got more mature, and like I said, I kept my mouth shut the whole year. I took everything in, all the pounding, took all that in, all the everything in – like from SportsCenter, PTI, all that - took all that in. But then, when somebody else doing something, it’s blamed on me because I influenced it. But like I said I'll take the blame, if you really want to blame me for playing 40 games and having 21 wins and 61 losses, you right, I’m the captain and I have to accept that. But I ain’t trying to be in that position no more.

Photo of Darius Miles found in various places online.

Anyone's an expert

The [real] Guy J. Kewney, on his blog

There I was, waiting at BBC Television Centre, to be interviewed on the BBC’s News 24 TV channel.

I'd been hired as an expert commentator about matters relating to Apple, iPods, computer copyright, and the Beatles. And I was due on at 10.30, when the High Court judgement was due on the lawsuit where Apple Corps (the Beatles) has been suing Apple Computer (Steve Jobs).

- and here it's 10.29 so, yes, I'm somewhat anxious, because I'm still in reception, not in the studio. That's after one or two “Excuse me, but… do they know?” style queries with reception, asking if they have, indeed, told the studio I'm here. And they have. “Someone will be down for you,” I’m assured.

Am I ready for this fifteen seconds of fame? Oh, yes, I'm ready. I've spent the weekend researching the lawsuit. I’ve researched the real legal experts like Alice Graves, and I'm prepared to compare the iPod with a blank CD. At my normal rates, work like this would cost you a few hundred quid. But this being the BBC, I’m doing it for nothing – as most of us do, these days, in order that they can pay Jonathan Ross several million a year…

It is at this point, just about a minute before I'm due to go on, that anybody watching the channel would have been fascinated to see me introduced live on air, as the expert witness in the studio. Me? Not fascinated; astonished!

What would you feel, if while you were sitting in that rather chilly reception area, you suddenly saw yourself – not sitting in reception, but live, on TV? "A bit surprised?"

There were several surprising things about my interview. We'll ignore the fact that I wasn't giving it, and had not given it. We'll even gloss over the fact that, judging by my performance, English wasn't my first language, and that I didn't seem to know much about Apple Computer, online music, or the Beatles. People have accused me of all those things, at various stages of my career.

But let's admit it: of all the things you can say about me, one word that really has to be deleted from the list is this one: "Black." We're talking biometrics, here. We're talking about "twins separated at birth, only their mother could tell them apart"... NOT!

I'm not black. I'm not black on a startling scale; I'm fair-haired, blue-eyed, prominent-nosed, and with the sort of pale skin that makes my dermatologist wince each time I complain about an itchy mole. I'm a walking candidate for chronic sunburn damage. I’m really, really not black.

But the guy on screen - sorry, the "Guy Kewney" live, on screen, definitely was. Black. Also, he spoke with a French-sounding accent, and he seemed as baffled as I felt. At first, he seemed puzzled that anybody might imagine that the lawsuit had consequences, and suggested that people would still be able to download music from Internet cafes. But what about Apple? "I don't know. I’m not at all sure what I'm doing here," he admitted sadly, as they finally twigged that something was going badly wrong, and hustled him off the set.

The best part of the story? Check out the interview, as posted on YouTube; the cabbie's look of surprise at the beginning, and the BBC broadcaster's game attempt at making sense of what he's saying are hilarious.

The second best part--the Times of London piece about it.

It later emerged that the driver had been waiting for a client at the BBC Television Centre in West London, when a studio manager mistook him for the expert.

Confused but co-operative, he agreed to follow the manager to a studio, where he was promptly fitted with a microphone and placed in front of a camera. ...

When the driver was asked how the interview went, he replied: “Well, it was OK, but I was a bit rushed.”

He had been waiting at reception when the studio manager arrived to ask for Mr Kewney. The driver, whose visitor’s badge was marked with Mr Kewney’s name, raised his hand. According to Mr Kewney, the stage manager said: “To be honest, I did think it couldn’t be you. I mean, I’ve seen your picture on your website, and he didn’t look like you. So I asked him who he was, and he said, ‘Guy Kewney’ and I said, ‘Are you really Guy Kewney?’ and he said, ‘Yes’.”

The driver’s sang-froid slipped only when Ms Bowerman introduced him. In a video clip, which BBC staff can access through the corporation’s Jupiter cuttings system, a moment of realisation flashes across the man’s face. “Unfortunately we did make a mistake and the wrong guest was briefly interviewed on air before we cut to our reporter,” a spokeswoman said. “We apologise to viewers for any confusion.”

It is not the first time that the BBC has been embarrassed by a case of mistaken identity. Last year Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, was mistaken for a cast member of Doctor Who when he was due to appear on the BBC Wales political show Dragon’s Eye.

It's interesting, if you read some of the coverage by the London tabloids, there's an underlying racial element; very much a sense of this black guy mistakenly taking a white man's place, and surprisingly bluffing his way through it.

Interview frame grab via LostRemote.

New is not new

Bits and pieces collected over a few weeks from the New York Times, compiled while listening to Sunday in the Park with George.

What happened to King Midas?
Finding Comfort (and New Friends) in Gold : It's a splendid spring day in Connecticut's horse country and James E. Sinclair, perhaps the best-known gold speculator of his era, is sitting before his trading terminal, contemplating the upward thrust of gold on his trader's chart.

The sun, bursting through the bay windows, catches the glint of gold that is everywhere in Mr. Sinclair's home office: on the coins near his computer, on his chunky Rolex watch, on the rings on three of his fingers, on the cuff links on his monogrammed shirt, and — could it be? — a hint of it in his one working eye.

"I love gold, O.K.?" he said, his voice rising in excitement. "Gold has made me wealthy. It feels nice. It's exchangeable. It's money."

NYC myopia
New York Times correction: A map last Sunday showing how states are divided on several social issues misidentified New Mexico, which has no laws on gay marriage. The state that was labeled is Arizona; New Mexico is its neighbor to the east.

Yes, it does
Boeing Bets the House on Its 787 Dreamliner The Times: ALL work had stopped at the cavernous Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Wash., just north of here. Five thousand rank-and-file workers and others stood idly, some eating airplane-shaped cookies, as they awaited the guest of honor, President Hu Jintao of China.

On a screen above their heads, images of Boeing planes painted in the colors of various Chinese airlines soared to uplifting music that swelled in the background. Then, a series of inspirational words flashed on the screen — Exploration! Optimism! Brilliant! Vision! — as Chinese pilots, speaking in Mandarin (with English subtitles), said how much they loved to fly Boeing planes.

As the testimonials ended, Mr. Hu made his entrance, and he did not disappoint. Donning a Boeing baseball cap, he became the best salesman the company could have asked for. He talked about how many Boeing planes China has bought since 1972 — 678, for a total of $37 billion. He noted that he had flown to the United States on a Boeing 747 and said that the Chinese people love Boeing.

"Boeing is a household name in my country," he said, as the crowed cheered. "When Chinese people fly, it is mostly with Boeing."

Caught up in the spirit of Mr. Hu's enthusiasm, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial aviation division, Alan R. Mulally, ended the event by pumping his fist into the air and shouting: "China rocks!"

Have some self-confidence
Deborah Solomon Q&A with Cesar Millan: Q: As the founder of the Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles, you claim that Americans are driving their pets to the brink of insanity by smothering them with affection.

The U.S. is a very assertive society with people, but not when it comes to dogs. People are soft and kissy with dogs. That is why dogs take over. All dogs in America are suffering from the same problem — lack of exercise and lack of leadership. ...

Yet in your book you insist that many Americans and especially New Yorkers don't know how to walk a dog properly.

Every time I go to New York, I see dogs in front of people. Oh, brother. The dog should be behind the person. In the natural dog world, the dog is always behind the pack leader. Pack leaders never, ever tell the dog to go in front.

But what if a person is a schlepper by temperament? Not everyone can be a pack leader.

Not everyone is a pack leader with humans. But anyone can be a pack leader with animals. ...

You're not actually a psychologist, are you?

No. Not by a school. There is no college that teaches you how to control a pack of dogs.

But how can you justify running a dog-psychology center when your whole approach is based on the idea that we're already too dog-obsessed in this country?

The dog doesn't have to know that. Only the dog owner knows.

A good birthday present
A Star Is Made , Freakonomics authors Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt: [Anders] Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer, golf, surgery, piano playing, Scrabble, writing, chess, software design, stock picking and darts. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers.

Their work, compiled in the "Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance," a 900-page academic book that will be published next month, makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers — whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming — are nearly always made, not born. And yes, practice does make perfect. These may be the sort of clichés that parents are fond of whispering to their children. But these particular clichés just happen to be true.

Ericsson's research suggests a third cliché as well: when it comes to choosing a life path, you should do what you love — because if you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good. Most people naturally don't like to do things they aren't "good" at. So they often give up, telling themselves they simply don't possess the talent for math or skiing or the violin. But what they really lack is the desire to be good and to undertake the deliberate practice that would make them better.

For the Times, 'American', 'people', 'we' and 'us' doesn't include immigrants
The Other Immigration, Christopher Caldwell: If you were to set out to design a story that would inflame populist rage, it might involve immigrants from poor countries, living in the United States without permission to work, hiring powerful Washington lobbyists to press their case. In late April, The Washington Post reported just such a development. The immigrants in question were highly skilled — the programmers and doctors and investment analysts that American business seeks out through so-called H-1B visas, and who are eligible for tens of thousands of "green cards," or permanent work permits, each year. But bureaucracy and an affirmative-action-style system of national-origin quotas have created a mess. India and China account for almost 40 percent of the world's population, yet neither can claim much more than 7 percent of the green cards. Hence a half-million-person backlog and a new political pressure group, which calls itself Immigration Voice.

The group's efforts will be a test of the commonly expressed view that Americans are not opposed to immigration, only to illegal immigration. Immigration Voice represents the kind of immigrants whose economic contributions are obvious. It is not a coincidence that the land of the H-1B is also the land of the iPod. Such immigrants are not "cutting in line" — they're petitioning for pre-job documentation, not for post-job amnesty. And people who have undergone 18 years of schooling to learn how to manipulate advanced technology come pre-Americanized, in a way that agricultural workers may not.

But Immigration Voice could still wind up crying in the wilderness. As the Boston College political scientist Peter Skerry has noted, many of the things that bug people about undocumented workers are also true of documented ones. Legal immigrants, too, increase crowding, compete for jobs and government services and create an atmosphere of transience and disruption. Indeed, it may be harder for foreign-born engineers to win the same grip on the sympathies of native-born Americans that undocumented farm laborers and political refugees have. Skilled immigrants can't be understood through the usual paradigms of victimhood. ...

So how are we supposed to address the special needs of this class of migrant? For the most part, we don't. The differences between skilled and unskilled immigrants are important, but that doesn't mean that they are always readily comprehensible either to politicians or to public opinion. When high-skilled immigrants who are already like us show themselves willing to become even more so, jumping every hoop to join us on a legal footing, it dissolves a lot of resistance. But it doesn't dissolve everything. It doesn't dissolve our sense that people like them are different and potentially even threatening.

A great second paragraph
Celebrex Ads Are Back, Dire Warnings and All, Alex Berenson: The ads for the Pfizer painkiller Celebrex feature a man holding a boy's hand as they walk up a stadium staircase. "52 steps won't keep you from taking him out to the ballgame," they say.

But a heart attack would.

Each ad includes a boldface warning that begins, "Important Information: Celebrex may increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke that can lead to death."

As it resumes ads for the controversial medicine, Pfizer, the world's biggest drug maker, is offering consumers a decidedly mixed message. But 16 months after the company stopped advertising Celebrex over concerns about its heart risks, Pfizer has returned to the consumer ad market in hopes of reviving sales of the drug, which plunged last year during the ad moratorium.

James E. Sinclair says he loves gold. And with gold prices on the rise, Wall Street is taking notice, too. Alan S. Orling photo and caption from The New York Times.

Saul Steinberg's New Yorker "View from 9th Avenue" cover in various places online.

Image of Boeing 787 from Boeing's Newairplane.com website.

Pineapples and airplanes

Just watched Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express. It's a movie that comes with a lot of hype, feels sometimes like it's the token foreign film that people list on their friendster or myspace page.

Which is odd; not sure why people like it in particular, maybe the mix of music and quick cuts that gives you the sense somthing interesting is happening? The feeling that it's 'arty', that there's Metaphorical stuff going on? I didn't really get into it until Faye Wong's character showed up; there's something so infectious about watching her on-screen, the scenes where she's dancing around--really just moving about--in the take-out joint are great. She's not really graceful, just somehow apt.

She's so cute, and has that Audrey Hepburn-gamine thing going. Plus she wears interesting shirts, thousands of wanna-be hipsters in NYC would kill for the one with the blue heart on it. And California Dreaming is, of course, stuck in my head now.



It's no wonder she's a huge star, in Asia and probably increasingly here. She represents for me all those great Asian and Asian American women, with their cuteness, intelligence, toughness, aliveness and touch of kookiness--there's just something about the way they come across, on-screen and off, that makes then the quintessential modern women and that may be at the root of many an Asian fetish. My guess is the next century may in some ways be defined by the Asian female and their odd mix of practical competence and dreamy cuteness; you're beginning to see it in the fashion world already.

There are lots of other interesting little cinematic scenes--Tony Leung's stewardess-ex crouching down on the escalator to wave as she passes him in his apartment, Leung brushing--and talking--to his stuffed animals, Leung drying out Wong's letter on the hot dog tray. And lots of weirdness as well, like the entire whole first part of the film, and the apartment-rearranging that Wong does to Leung.

My favorite scene of course is where Wong's Cranberries cover is playing in the background as she's bopping about his apartment. It's one of those scenes that has you smiling out loud, and if I were a movie executive I'd have bought the film just on the basis of that.



I've seen a fair number of Wong Kar-Wei's works; I always like them more toward the end, and usually more afterwards. His stories are always obtuse, music is always central, and there's a love story at the heart of the film. He's definitely got his signature style--you always feel half a step behind as scenes zip by and characters and their doubles grope for love.

Per usual, the film reviews don't do much to add to my understanding; Janet Maslin's in the Times does, however, make me shake my head; she gets little details wrong as she recounts the film, and as a result I don't trust her broader characterizations of the film, which is couched in lightly-saying-nothing-but-sprinkling-in-knowing-references-to-things-outside-the-film-so-as-to-avoid-being-wrong critic-speak.

What's the film about? One cop tries to get over his ex-girlfriend May by at first pretending the break-up isn't for real, and then by latching onto another soul alone in a bar. Cop number two gets dumped by his stewardess-girlfriend, gains weight and starts talking to objects in his apartment, while a take-out place worker falls for him, gets his key via a letter his ex leaves for him, starts secretly changing up his apartment to insinuate herself into his life (he doesn't notice for a while), and in the end he falls for her but she decides to stand him up and check out California.

The movie ends with her returning to Hong Kong a year later and unexpectedly running into him at her cousin's shop, which he's bought; they talk, making me think how fatalistic Hong Kong people are about love (she's the one, look for her, follow her, don't let her get away; ditto for you, too, Faye!)

There's elements of the loneliness and disconnectivity that paradoxically hits sensitive people in modern cities; the ever-longing search for love; fixation as a substitute for life; and how we surround ourselves with stuff and infuse it--or not--with meaning.

Anyway, it's still puzzling why so many people list it as among their favorite films. They must not have seen many foreign films in general, other Hong Kong or Wong Kar-Wei films in particular. Sortof like how people loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which like this film I wound up liking, but within the context of its genre despite some nice moments it's not extraordinary.

Screen grab of Faye Wong from Chungking Express via a French site.

As previously noted, a video of Faye Wong singing Dreams by the Cranberries has been posted on YouTube

Sports as tragedy

It's not often that a newspaper article completely changes your view of someone you thought you knew about.

I'd always thought of Larry Hughes as a knucklehead. Saw him as one of those flashy new-school NBA players living the hip-hop life, the kind who leave school early and despite great talent are uneven in their performance, shoot poorly and lack discipline.

Well, I was totally wrong about the guy. Not the on-court numbers, but the person.

The Associated Press: Cavaliers starting guard Larry Hughes will remain with his grieving family and miss Game 3 against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday following the sudden death of his 20-year-old brother.

Hughes is in St. Louis mourning the loss of his brother, Justin, who died Thursday after a lifelong battle with heart problems. Born with a heart defect, Justin Hughes had a heart transplant in 1997.

Along with his mother, Larry Hughes helped raise his brother, whose wake is scheduled for Monday at about the same time the Cavaliers play the Pistons in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series. ...

Larry Hughes centered his life around his little brother. He was recruited by several elite college basketball programs while in high school, but chose St. Louis University so he could be near him.

When Justin's medical bills became overwhelming, Larry Hughes left college after one season for the NBA. He signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent last summer partly because of the nearby Cleveland Clinic.

In 2000, Hughes and his mother, Vanessa, formed The Larry Hughes Foundation to provide financial and emotional support to families of organ donors and recipients.

I did a quick google search, and found more on Larry and his brother.

Marty Burns in Sports Illustrated: But when Larry was seven, his parents had another son, Justin, who was born with a congenital heart defect and would undergo a heart transplant at age 10. Larry would come home from school every day to help take care of his little brother while Vanessa was at work.

"Larry was a gift from God," Vanessa said of those early days. "It's like we grew up together. That's how I look at it. I was so young. I didn't know what I was doing. We struggled through it together."

On Wednesday I placed a call to Vanessa. I had met her back in 2000 while writing a feature story about Larry for Sports Illustrated. I remembered how close she was to her son, then a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, and the special bond they had shared. It was a relationship unique even by NBA standards.

Vanessa answered the phone and immediately agreed to an interview. She was proud of Larry and wanted the world to know it. But first she wanted to tell me about Justin, who had been experiencing complications with his heart since last June, and how he was handling his latest setback.

"He goes through moments when he's scared," she said. "He'll say, 'Mom, I don't want to die.' So we talk about it. He wants to know, is it OK to feel that way? I tell him, 'Yes, of course.' But he's [20 years old] now and he understands. We just try to talk through it. He's strong, but we both have our moments.

"The thing we try to remember is that every day is a gift from God. So we just keep praying."

Vanessa went on to say that she and Larry had arranged to take Justin to Cleveland next week to get some more tests done and to see about getting him on the list for another transplant.

"We're pretty much day-to-day right now," she said. "But our spirits are high. Our hopes are high."

Less than 24 hours later, as I was sitting at my keyboard working on this story, I got the news: Justin Hughes had died. ...

Somehow Larry avoided the gangs that were prominent in the area and never complained even though Vanessa estimates that she moved the family five or six times before Larry turned 13.

"We lived in the projects. The gangs were popular. So I just kept moving," she explained. "You can't run from crime, but I'd find someplace else. That's how I did it. I just tried to keep him protected some way. It might have been wrong, but I didn't have a book on how to do it." ...

Everybody who knows Larry knows how close he is to Vanessa. They know how he used to send her a card not only on Mother's Day but also on Father's Day each year, because she served both roles in his life.

AP photo of Larry Hughes during an NBA playoff game against his old team the Washington Wizards by Mark Duncan.

Journalism at its best

From my new favorite website, Regret the Error:

The Toronto Star: A story in Saturday's Star incorrectly stated the Toronto police did not respond to requests for comment about a World Tamil Movement event. In fact, they responded promptly, leaving four messages. The Star regrets the error.

The Akron Beacon Journal: An article Friday about the Democratic primary for Ohio attorney general contained a headline that incorrectly identified candidate Subodh Chandra as a native of India. He was born and raised in Oklahoma. An editor erred.

The Times: A front-page article on April 25 about seating options that airlines are considering to accommodate more passengers in economy class referred incorrectly to the concept of carrying passengers standing up with harnesses holding them in position. During preparation of the article, The Times's questions to one aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, were imprecise and did not make it clear that the reporter was interested in standing-room "seats." As a result, the article said the company would not specifically comment on the upright-seating proposal. The company now says that while it researched that idea in 2003, it has since abandoned it.A correction of the article appeared on this page on Tuesday. It should have acknowledged that if The Times had correctly understood the history of the proposal, the article would have qualified it, and would not have appeared on Page A1.

The Guardian: We were wrong to say that a map accompanying reports of the bombings in Dahab extended Egypt to cover the area of Israel and Jordan (Corrections, page 28, April 26). The map had Egypt in the correct place, but labelled an area that included part of Israel and Jordan as Saudi Arabia.

The Guardian: In an article about widows' rights in Nepal, page 18, G2, April 24, we said "A decade of conflict has created millions of widows [there] ..." Our correspondent, reporting from Kathmandu on page 18 of the main paper on the same day, implied a more accurate total when he said that the conflict had "claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people".

Like it was scripted

Well, the key Amazing Race, the hippies gotta overcome no dough to make the final three. The recap is hilarious, a lot happened last time. Still can't believe hippy #2 did that stupid bridge thing.

At this point, anyone but MoJo winning would be fine with me. Part two kicks off with Ray/Yolanda leaving at 1:13 a.m. Gotta fly to Bangkok, then ride a bus to a pagoda that houses a bunch of monkeys. R/Y put some pants on the hippies' car. Other three teams take off 7 minutes later. One of the frats give the hippies a pair of sandals. Five minutes later, MoJo leave, with a fake 'Asian' accent. They pass the frats.

Two minutes later, the hippies are off. They get some clothes from the lost and found, too. They vow to knock off MoJo. Airport's pretty much closed, R/Y find a phone and get on a flight that lands at 11 p.m. MoJo find an agent, somewhere. Hippies go begging, before booking their flight.... MoJo get on same flight as R/Y, frats too via the phone. Hippies are begging in downtown, go to a club and make an announcement, some people are like 'we're not stingy, we'll help you', some women get them to take off their shirt. Back to airport with money, frats talk to them--but the 11 pm flight it totally full. Idiots, total idiots. They show the flight everybody else is on taking off. Sheesh, why didn't they book the tickets first, then go get money?

Back at the airport, still on the phone with travel agent, seats just become available on a flight that lands 15 minutes early, gosh, so lucky; via Perth, other teams via Sydney. To Lopburi once they land... first flight lands 45 minutes early. Frats leave airport first, then R/Y, than MoJo. Bickering already, and complaining about the taxi driver.

At bus terminal, first one leaves at twelve. R/Y get on the same bus, MoJo pull up... ticket booth closed. Booth opens at 4:50 a.m., guy tells them; so off to a hotel. Hippies land, flight delayed a bit. 12:18 and off to the bus terminal, they love being in Thailand. They also have to catch the 5:00 bus. MoJo show up, hippies slept in terminal overnight. Looking for the others, they get on the 4:20 bus, and off it goes... MoJo just showing up, take 5:20, the agents tell them it's the first one.

It'll be fine, am sure temple isn't open at night. Frats and R/Y on the way to the pagoda, R/Y get there first--doesn't open until 8 a.m., it's 5:45. Sunrises, monkey's on the clue box. Frats check out the monkeys, they're climbing all over the frats. Hippies show up, and are there--along with everyone else, totally lucky. Doors open, hippies in first actually, with a fast forward.

Oooh. Big advantage. Taxi to restaurant, eat crickets and grasshoppers. Hippies do it, R/Y too. Frats--nah, roadblock. Prepare a monkey feast for the shrine monkeys. Eric's doing it, his buddy says he's good at preparing meals for monkeys. Hippies at restaurant, see the insects, but are game. R/Y show up, they're happy too. It'll be a race. Hippies trying to figure out if they can do it. R/Y not sure, and they decide to bail, great for hippies! Whoo-hoo!

MoJo still on the bus, they show up, realize they're last, off they go to make the feast. Joseph is making the food for some reason; back come R/Y. Ray guesses it'll take hippies three hours to eat bugs. No way; they just gotta eat. Food making goes on, Yolanda looks like she's doing well. Monkeys attack Erci's table while he's gone, then Yolanda's too. Eric's done, off they go. Taxi then ferry to Koh Kret island, search Buddha Garden grounds for next clue. Off frats go. Hippies are throwing up, but still eating. They have a lot left to eat. They juxtapose a shot of monkeys eating with Monica eating. Joseph is done, off they go. Yolanda's done, off they go, very close to MoJo. They're not rude, are taking things in; I like them, they're 5 minutes behind Ray says. More throwing up for hippies. They start saying they've made a big mistake, are in big trouble. Idiots, just eat the bugs, for a shot at one million dollars how hard can it be?

They redouble efforts, are almost done. Just shoveling it in, and oneof them's done. Frats on a ferry, are zooming, liking Thailand, and the beautiful garden. Detour--move it, carry a bunchof pottery through town to a boat--on wooden boards, ooh. Altar it, to temple, make a shrine to Buddha--gold leaf a statue of Buddha, ouch. Frats doing the altar one. MoJo show up, we know from previews they carry pottery; R/Y come, bit behind; idiot Joseph want to dumbly doing stuff without finding a clue; R/Y find the clue first, doing altar too. MoJo still running around. Heh heh.

They go off to make a Buddha, Tyler's almost done--and... that's it, so totally happy. To Marble Temple, just don't get lost. Frats starting their altar making, smartly look at the finished statues first. They're pretty smart, divide up tasks. R/Y show up, and they divideup too. MoJo decide to do pottery, instead of Buddha, when they see the other two teams there. Dumb, dumb. R/Y say they hope the other task drives MoJo crazy. Joseph's doing a double row of pots on his board, rudely tells someone to show them where the goal is, they're just flailing. Hippies talk about how great it is to be at the pit stop--wow, they're already there, so much time saved. More importantly, they've made the finals. Awesome.

MoJo have to walk out to boat, have done 46, pretty fast actually. Frats and R/Y are chatting, both teams seem to be doing pretty well, frats are about done. Frats finish, after having to repair some stuff; ferry, then taxi, then temple and it's done. Hmm, fast forward didn't save so much time after all. R/Y are not done, smooth it down... MoJo take off, Jospeh has some extra pots--Monica drops a ton, she's just giving up, dropping even more, pretty much all but two, and she's crying like crazy--why not go back and get more? Joseph's actually pretty good, keeps encouraging her. One more trip, he's still encouraging here.

Frats are looking for a taxi, can't find one, think they're gonna lose. R/Y are done, off they go, not too far behind the frats they say. Joseph just carries the pots himself the last time, they're done, are 4th. Now a race to the checkpoint, frats finally find a cab. R/Y based on editing are neck and neck with MoJo, but I think they're find, find a cab really fast. MoJo get a cab so fast, he's still encouraging; and R/Y have caught up to frats in traffic, the frats think. Based on the sun, I think MoJo are pretty far behind--frats at the checkpoint already, yeah, R/Y will be third.

Frats deserve to be in final, have probably been the best team so far. R/Y get out, and are running; they show MoJo, trying to make it seem close, but R/Y are totally in third. Yolanda needs to cover her arms, and... it's R/Y, of course, awesome. And they also get a special prize, trip to Australia; plus a luxurious hotel tonight.

Yaay, MoJo are eliminated. R/Y are pretty happy. MoJo show up; and Monica cries of course. And she cries more afterwards talking about it. It's a good side of them, wish they hadn't been so ugly before.

All three teams talk, it's gonna be such a great race next week. Sneak peek--Japan to Canada, a lot of hippies footage bodes well, maybe. 'On like Donkey Kong' as the hippies say.

Hard cut to three

Can we at long last say good-bye to Katharine? Or will Elliott fall by the wayside? I'm assuming Chris and Taylor in particular will keep steam-rolling. The car commercial is oh-so-white; and suburban. I wonder if this is what the show's gonna become, as it hits the mass market.

They show Priscilla giving them a tour of Graceland, and puffing up Elvis. And then a bloated Lisa Marie shows up. They're mobbed by fans... but not her. Four of them come out on stage, doing a medley, I'll bet. It's soooo cheesy, like amateur hour run amok. Plus they cut from song to song so quickly it's ridiculous. Chris doing Love Me Tender is the only part that's any good, wish he'd sang it last night. The medley goes on, and on, and on. And Taylor and Katharine end it in the middle singing arm and arm.... I guess Katharine does have an advantage as the sole girl left. Let's see if it holds up.

They squeeze in a special performance of Jailhouse Rock by Taylor, after Rebecaa Rojin in the audience requests. Pretty cool, he gets up with no prep time and knocks it out. Although it's nothing special.

Afterwards, Ryan lines them up--it's gonna be Chris/Katharine in the bottom two, he tells Elliott to stand next to Taylor. Back from break--and yeah, I'm right. Wow, Elliott has really made a huge comeback, no other reason than good singing.

And then, in a crazy moment, Ryan just says Chris, you're leaving the show tonight. Ryan says a lot of people in shock, are you--he says yes. It's really too bad, he's the one with potentially the most star power. Curious to see who his votes go to. He's stoic watching his good-bye tape, pretty grim.

Yeah, this show is never predictable, at least not by me. It's kindfo a perfunctory last performance, before he runs over to the others and they hug.

Bushed

Bush's Public Approval at New Low Point

Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, and sharp disapproval of President Bush's handling of gasoline prices has combined with intensified unhappiness about Iraq to create a grim political environment for the White House and Congressional Republicans, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Mr. Bush's approval rating for his management of foreign policy, Iraq and the economy have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency. He drew poor marks on the specific issues that have been at the top of the national agenda in recent months — in particular, immigration and gas prices — underscoring the difficult the administration faces in reversing its political fortunes.

Just 13 percent approved of Mr. Bush's handling of rising gas prices. Only one-quarter said they approved of his handling of immigration, as Congressional Republicans struggle to come up with a compromise to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.

The poll showed a continued decline in support for the war, the issue that has most eaten into Mr. Bush's public support. The percentage of respondents who said going to war in Iraq was the correct decision slipped to a new low of 39 percent, down from 47 percent in January. Two-thirds said they have little or no confidence that Mr. Bush will be able to successfully end the war there.

Mr. Bush's political strength continues to dissipate. About two-thirds of voters said that Mr. Bush does not share their priorities, up from just over half right before his reelection in 2004. About two thirds said and that the country is in worse shape than it was when he came to power six years ago. Forty-two percent of respondents say they consider Mr. Bush a strong leader, a drop of 11 points since January.

Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father, George H. W. Bush, in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. That is the third lowest approval rating of any president in 50 years; only Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter were viewed less favorably.

Wow, a historic low--and my guess is he may wind up lowest-ever by the end of it. He was clearly mistakenly elected, and only a catostrophe of unprecedented scope kept him in office, despite his culpability. Absent another terrorist attack, which scarily enough would be in his interest, he's done.

I think years later historians will see this as outlier years in American history, when we were still trying to find ourselves post-Cold War and were casting about for almost anything.

Oddly enough, though, none of this may matter from the broader Republican perspective. If Hillary Rodham Clinton gets the Democratic nod, the election will be about her, not Bush.

And the Republican candidate could beat her, if for no other reason than sexism.

AP photo of President Bush speaking to a group of senior citizens about Medicare prescription drug coverage Tuesday, May 9, 2006 in Sun City Center, Fla. by Chris O'Meara.

Hound dogs

Watching Tuesday live, for once. No more Paris, so now gotta root for--anyone but Katharine. Doing Elvis, who Ryan calls the original American Idol. Idiots.

Took them to Graceland on a private jet, mobbed on the way in. Priscilla Presley greets them, Tommy Motola will be the guest mentor. Tommy gushes about the show, PP says if Elvis were alive this would be one of his favorite shows... it's getting a little silly.

Taylor first, doing Jailhouse Rock. TM ups the key, he's an odd one. Taylor starts out in the crowd, in a crazy burgundy suit. Such an odd crouching style. But totally in his element, it's gonna be his night. Right in the history of white guys who can't dance but have no problem just letting it rip. I mean, the song's kindof hard to bust out with, but it's an energetic, fun performance. Randy likes it; Paula gushes. Simon says in the real world, that was a terrible impersonation; we're gonna get real, dancing was hideous, karaoke with a capital K.

Chris next, in hipster jacket and jeans. Doing Suspicious Minds, a good pick for him. TM tells him to dig in and really get into it, don't just let it go; he says his vocal sound is incredible. Hmm, he's got shades on; and this song really shows off his tone, he's swaying back and forth, looks totally in control. Looks and sounds like a real rock star, like someone you'd actually pay money to see, even outside the AI tour. It's really quite enjoyable. Randy says nice and tender, didn't like the vocals that much. Paula says see you in the finals. Simon curtly says aside from the shades, that worked.

Elliott doing I Can Dream. Oh-oh... not sure about this, says he wants to show more of his tender side--so why not do Love Me Tender? Kindof weird that he's still here. TM says you need a lot of practice still learning the lyrics, don't want it to sound like a bar mitzvah song--nothing positive, really. In suit. Flashes of his nice tone, but I think this was a bad choice of song. Takes off in the second half, he sings well but it's just not that compelling for me. Randy says he wasn't sure at first, but you laid it out, it was hot. Paula says it may be the best vocal performance you've done this year. Simon says that was the best performance so far.

Katharine next, doing Hound Dog mixed in with All Shook Up. From rehearsals you can see she's gonna be cheesy. TM is impressed with her. In jeans and odd shapeless gray top. Messing around with Randy, before going up on stage. Seh's really going after it, really just hate her facial expressions, and body language. Also out of breath, drops some notes. Good energy per usual. Randy says you had a good time, but what happened in the middle--she dropped a lyric; Paula says at least you worked it out. Simon says it looked like a desperate, manic theater audition. Shrieky, and hope you do better on your second song. She takes Ryan's out, says she was worried about Elvis week.

Taylor talks about how much fun they had at Graceland. Doing In the Ghetto, TM tells him not to go crazy during it, liked his personal rendition. Still hyper at the start, totally wrong for the song. Nice tone, though; the lyrics to this song are so dated, gets in the way. Ugh, he's flat, also turns it into some weird song, rocking out then sudden spoken-word thing. Weird. Randy is like right key, right song, that was hot. Paula says it shows a different side. Simon says first performance was silly, this was perfect song for you--sung into the semis.

Chris does A Little Less Conversation, whoo-hoo. Bring out JPL; TM says it's a hard piece, up-tempo, jivey, says he's impressive (said same about Taylor, Katharine....) Good voice for this song, it's a little growly, like animated monotone. Stalks into audience, just takes over. Good timing, dramatic pauses, ends with a totally rocking-out part, he's a very good performer. Randy likes it, Paula of course gushes, Simon liked his first song better, until end it was kindof flat, just okay.

Elliott doing Trouble, TM says it's all about attitude. He's gone after tonight, so enjoy it while he can. He's trying to be all hoodlum-like, but it's like some kid playing in West Side Story. Good hip swivel, though; the thing about Elliott is he always gives it his all. Song's not very good, though. Crowd seems to like it, though. Randy says that was your best performance, ever. Paula seconds it. Simon says yeah, you've come out fighting, you deserve to go through to the next round. They're just trying to gin the results, ain't gonna happen (unless K drops). There's some sort of trouble between Ryan and Simon; eh, without Paris, this whole thing has lost some of its appeal for me.

Katharine does Can't Help Falling in Love, a great choice for her. She's really quite canny. TM tells her to make sure she pays attention to what she's singing about, which is what my problem has always been with her--she's all show, no true emotion. She starts off nicely, even if she smiles at totally the wrong places, and actually throughout--hey, idiot, this is not a happy song! Gosh, it's actually driving me crazy--her voice is good, but since it's not radio, her stupid smile totally detracts. And she doesn't hit it out of the park--it's good vocally, but I just can't like it, somehow it's less than it should have been. Maybe because it's a song that needs to build, to rise; and she oversings. Randy says better than first time around, but some problems. Paula says she liked watching her dance and have fun, for a change. Simon is like this hasn't been one of your best nights, it started great, but it was so over the top, just too much. Simon says you didn't pick the right songs tonight on what was a big challenge. She's glum at the end.

Yeah, the magic of this show is gone. Amazing what no Paris can do. She was the only non-pro, the only one who was still out there having a great time without calculation.

Oh well. Go Chris.

Chris I, 2
Chris II, 6
Taylor I, 1
Elliott II, 7
Elliott I, 3
Katharine I, 4
Taylor II, 5
Katherine II, 8

Letters of good tidings

T

There were two stories out today that really caught my eye, and showed that if we just live up to our principles the 'war' on terror really is winnable. And we won't even have to nuke anyone in the process.

First, an Associated Press story, Moussaoui Has New View of Justice System

Michael J. Sniffen: Stunned that he was sentenced to life in prison rather than execution, Zacarias Moussaoui now believes he could get a fair trial from an American jury. Too late, the judge says.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema quickly rejected a motion the confessed al-Qaida conspirator filed Monday to withdraw his guilty plea and get a new trial.

In his motion, Moussaoui said he lied on the witness stand March 27 when he reversed four years of denials and claimed he was to have hijacked a fifth jetliner on Sept. 11, 2001, and crashed it into the White House, "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."

The 37-year-old Frenchman blamed his behavior on the effects of solitary confinement, his inability to get a Muslim lawyer and his misunderstanding of the U.S. justice system.

Moussaoui said he was "extremely surprised" by his life sentence by a federal court jury last week.

"I had thought I would be sentenced to death based on the emotions and anger toward me for the deaths on Sept. 11," he explained in an affidavit. "But after reviewing the jury verdict and reading how the jurors set aside their emotions and disgust for me and focused on the law and the evidence ... I now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors."

Why aren't we celebrating this?! Shouldn't we be dropping leaflets with Moussaoui's motion all over the Middle East?

As I heard on a panel a couple of weeks ago, we've won when our enemies turn to our systems to confront us, instead of bloodshed.

Moussaoui's words are instantly believable, to my ears--I never thought he was some 9/11 mastermind, despite his crazy courtroom rhetoric. As Humphrey Bogart says in the Maltese Falcon, the cheaper the crook the gaudier the patter. He was just using the trial as a forum for his views, thinking he was a dead man anyway and he may as well make the most of it. From his point of view, he had no reason to believe our justice system wasn't inherently corrupt and racist. And then one day--wow, not dead after all.

How great a story is this... Islamic militant exposed to America, concludes that he was wrong. All he's said so far is he was surprised to get a fair trial, there's no indication he still doesn't want to kill Americans. But at least it's a first step; and lying awake in his jail cell at night, he's got to be puzzling out why our justice system is fair, and whether he's wrong about the bigger picture as well.

Heck, maybe it's a new trend; Iranian President's Letter to Bush Emerges Christine Hauser in the Times:

In his letter to President Bush, Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that Western-style democracy had failed and that the use of secret prisons in Europe and aspects of the war in Iraq could not be reconciled with Mr. Bush's Christian values. But the letter did not address directly the central issue that divides the two countries: Iran's nuclear ambitions.

In his wide-ranging letter, written in Persian with an English translation, Mr. Ahmadinejad at times challenges and concedes as he directs question after question to Mr. Bush but offers no concrete proposals. In Iran today, the Iranian president portrayed it as a blueprint of "suggestions for resolving the many problems facing humanity," the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

State Department officials who read the letter suggested that it offered an interesting window into the mentality and thinking of Iran, especially because it seemed to reflect a inclination to dwell on myriad grievances of the past rather than on the problem at hand, namely Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. ...

The letter has been described as the first direct communication from an Iranian leader to an American president since 1979.

While Mr. Ahmadinejad said today in Iran that "Islamic courtesy" prevented him from revealing the contents of the letter and American government officials have not released a copy, an English translation provided by the Iranian government was released by United Nations diplomats.

As for the actual contents of the letter, some interesting excerpts via the Times:

Mr. Ahmadinejad also calls the 9/11 attacks a "horrendous incident" in which the killing of innocent people was "deplorable."

But he asks: "Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?"

The letter provides at times a striking insight into the Iranian president's vision of double standards in American foreign policy, criticizing what he portrays as a lack of support for elected Palestinian and Latin American governments.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also portrays himself as having his finger on the pulse of the Middle East region.

"As you are well aware," Mr. Ahmadinejad says, directly addressing President Bush, "I live amongst the people and am in constant contact with them — many people from around the Middle East manage to contact me as well. They do not have faith in these dubious policies either."

"There is evidence that the people of the region are becoming increasingly angry with such policies." ...

In his letter, Mr. Ahmadinejad both concedes and needles. With his country having fought a war with Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Mr. Ahmadinejad at once applauds the overthrow of the regime while criticizing what he seems to imply as a double standard.

"Of course Saddam was a murderous dictator," he wrote. "But the war was not waged to topple him, the announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction."

He later adds: "I point out that throughout the many years of the ... war on Iran Saddam was supported by the West."

Its tone appears at times exceedingly polite, at least once referring to Mr. Bush as "Your Excellency," according to the translation. He also says it is not his intention to "distress anyone. "

But the Iranian president's style is to dissect what he sees as American logic, by posing question after question to make his point.

If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on issues including health and aid to the poor, he wrote, "would there have been an ever increasing global hatred of the American governments?"

The Iranian president also extends to Mr. Bush an "invitation" to return to governing the United States based on the values of Jesus Christ, whose name in the letter is followed each time by the letters "PBUH," which stands for "Peace Be Upon Him."

Frequently quoting passages from the Koran, Mr. Ahmadinejad calls for a return to a religious basis of government.

"Will you not accept this invitation?" Mr. Ahmadinejad asks Mr. Bush. "That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?"

Polite and aimed at dissecting American logic... not exactly typical views of Iranian leaders. And it's striking how reminiscent the letter is of Bush's domestic critics, as well sentiments expressed by our European allies and millions more the world over.

I think the most interesting thing about the letter is that the Iranians apparently think in this day and age policies could still be decided on the basis of reasoned argument.

There's something touchingly naive about this; and it absolutely belies the administration's efforts to paint Iran as a one-track monster, hellbent on getting nukes so as to pull down the temple around it. Iran's trying to reason with the U.S., they're clearly not some barbaric country going off the deep end.

It's interesting, hashing things out logically and engaging your opponent in debate are supposed to be Western hallmarks, borne of the Enlightenment. Yet in this case, it's the Iranians who, however naively and with whatever ulterior motives, seem to be going down that path, and the U.S. that, once again, is hoping to drown out the discussion with war drums.

The letter seems to harken back to the days when our Founding Fathers locked themselves up in a Philadelphia room and argued, yelled, cursed, bargained and ultimately forged our Constitution. It seems unbelievably Pollyanaish in our day and age to imagine our president and Iran's getting together to work something out--the U.S. would never accept Iran as a negotiating partner, nor the equality such a situation would entail; besides which, it's been a long time since we needed to rely on the force of our arguments or convictions to carry the day. Not to mention President Bush is no one's idea of a champion.

We really ought to be ashamed of ourselves; Iran actually has the most vibrant democracy in the Middle East, after Israel--we could stand to learn from them in this case.

The Times, for some reason, runs two articles on the letter--I'm not sure if I've ever seen that, it may be a mistake. At any rate, the second article is by Michael Slackman, who also wrote the initial article yesterday. It's actually pretty much the same as Hauser's piece, with this lead:

With the tone of a teacher and the certainty of a believer, the president of Iran wrote to President Bush that Western democracy had failed and that the invasion of Iraq, American treatment of prisoners and support for Israel could not be reconciled with Christian values.

The entire text is posted here by Le Monde. Oddly enough, despite running two articles the Times doesn't have their own version of the letter, just a link. Well, at least they provide that--and at least they've advanced beyond their moronic headline on the story yesterday, Iranian Writes to Bush; No R.S.V.P. Is Likely .Could you imagine a headline reading 'Frenchman writes to Bush'?! Besides which, unlike an invitation, you don't RSVP to a letter, you just respond.

The sad thing is I don't think our current president will read the letter, let alone respond. Even though the letter is peppered with the same kind of 'the end of times is near' beliefs Bush and his evangelical ilk are guided by. Actually, people who don't know that Muslims consider Jesus a prophet just like Muhammed, just not the final one, may be surprised by some of the language, like in the second paragraph:

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God,
Feel obliged to respect human rights, Present liberalism as a civilization model, Announce one's opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs, Make War and Terror his slogan, And finally, Work towards the establishment of a unified international community – a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern, But at the same time, Have countries attacked; The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the … of a … criminals in a village city, or convoy for example the entire village, city or convey set ablaze.

At any rate, I doubt Bush is someone who will be drawn into a debate, over the Bible or foreign policy... he probably sees it all as intellectual sophistry, he prefers to just look into people's eyes. More proof that the man is absolutely the wrong leader for the times.

All we have to do is let them see us for what we are. Terrorists are still people; they have causes and beliefs, no matter how misguided and twisted. For all the Republican puffery about Reagan's military buildup winning the Cold War, it wasn't that. It was our superior economic, political and cultural system. In the end, Eastern Europe and the USSR wanted to be more like us than we wanted to be like them.

Likewise, Islamic militancy has no real appeal for well-adjusted, normal people. In their hearts, Muslims know the mullahs are crazy. But some of them feel like they have no choice, when America won't let them do normal things like become port workers it's not surprising that some will turn to the seductive and emotional arguments of the local Jerry Falwell. Mix in dire poverty and generations of national humiliation, and it's really a testament to the moderating power of the Koran that more Muslims haven't turned to violence.

It's our challenge to create the conditions for normality to breed around the world, rather than propping up repressive regimes and waging crazy wars--either verbally or literally--to beat people into submission.

Just be ourselves, to borrow from dating advice 101. In our case, we don't need the world to love us, just to respect us and ultimately emulate us.

It will never happen, nor should it take place, at the end of a gun. The pen truly is mightier than the sword--and ink by the barrelful costs less than bullets.

Uncredited AP photo of Zacarias Moussaoui from Carver County Sheriff's Department via the Washington Post

AP Photo of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, waving as he is welcomed by Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, right, on his arrival in Jakarta by Ed Wray.