Radical Avenue

Apology: After weeks of soul searching and frank discussions with my friends and family, I have decided to come forward and speak with you in the media today. I still believe in the sanctity of marriage and family values. However I have always been completely honest with all of you and I must therefore report that a relationship which started quite innocently grew completely out of control and has begun to cause turmoil in my marriage. I have been unfaithful to my wife.
Translation: Those sneaky reporters caught me with my pants down at the airport.

Apology: I want to first apologize to my wife Judy, who has always been by my side through thick and thin. I know that I must work hard to regain your trust.
Translation: My wife has offered to surgically remove my cajones.

Apology: I must also apologize to my three wonderful children; Jeremy, age 11, who loves to play soccer in the back yard, Jimmy, age 7, who gets taller every day, and of course, little Jessica, age 3.
Translation: My kids think I’m a jerk.

Apology: I plan on continuing to serve the good people of this state to the best of my abilities.
Translation: I need to serve out my term in order to collect a full pension.

Apology: I would also like to apologize to my dog Sparky.
Translation: ???

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Iran has now devolved into a brutally repressive regime like Burma and Zimbabwe. The country’s sadistic rulers are holding on to power with intimidation and brute force. This is leadership through the barrel of a gun. It’s sad to see.

History shows that totalitarian governments have a limited life span. Ayatollah Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to demonstrate that they will do whatever it takes to hold on to power and have therefore lost all credibility with the Iranian people. But many Iranians will survive the regime’s current killing spree. And those survivors will remember how their families were treated in the summer of 2009.

Police officers have families too. It’s difficult to imagine how these men can beat up unarmed women all day, and then go home at night to kiss their wives and children. Blood stains don’t wash off easily.

Mexico needs to send the Iranian ambassador to their country packing. Every representative of Khamenei’s regime shares responsibility for the ongoing murder of innocent Iranians.

Governments ignore the will of the Iranian people at their own peril. The Shah and his supporters in the US found that out in the 1970s. Now “Supreme” leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his acolyte, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are learning about Iranian will power first hand. Many people have made miscalculations over the past few weeks.

Ayatollah Khamenei
Men of God don’t order their henchmen to gun down unarmed women on the streets of Tehran. Khamenei displayed tremendous cowardice by refusing to accept responsibility for his own actions. He says others are to blame for the bloodshed, but he is the one who ordered his paramilitary forces to shoot innocent Iranian civilians.

Neda is the name of the beautiful young woman killed in cold blood by Khamenei’s thugs. Her blood is on his hands.

John McCain
During last year’s US presidential election, McCain thought it was funny to sing “Bomb, bomb, bomb; Bomb, bomb Iran.” Bombs kill people. McCain’s pathetic attempt at humor was grotesque, but he never apologized. McCain seems completely oblivious to the fact that Iranians despise him.

McCain wants President Obama to inject the US government into the uprising, claiming the Iranian people need “inspiration”. But, of course, this would play right into the hands of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, who are constantly whining about American interventionism.

The Iranian people see McCain’s words for what they really are; a crass attempt to score political points at their expense. McCain and his cronies have disgraced themselves once again. As President Obama has correctly pointed out, it is up to the Iranian people to choose their leaders, not the US government. What little credibility old man McCain had on the international stage is now diminished even further.

Russia
The Iranian people won’t forget the Russian government’s embrace of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just after Ahmadinejad stole the presidential election. Ahmadinejad is an arrogant man and millions of Iranians have grown tired of his inept leadership. The Russians bet on the wrong horse.

No one knows who started critical mass. Thousands of bicycle riders just began showing up and taking over the streets of crowded cities every Friday afternoon. Drivers hate critical mass and complain to the police about it. The police want to question the leaders of the movement, but critical mass has no leaders. That’s the whole the point. Arresting a few dozen foot soldiers changes nothing.

Supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi are using critical mass techniques to get their message out. Modern communications technologies allow demonstrators to mobilize quickly and this has baffled security forces aligned with President Ahmadinejad. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s henchmen apparently can’t prevent thousands of Mousavi followers from jamming up the streets of Tehran every day. Iranian voters are finding strength in numbers.

Unlike the Friday afternoon bike riders, Iranian voters have chosen a leader. Mr. Mousavi wants a new presidential election. And he wants all of his supporters released from custody. While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed to a limited recount of the presidential votes, there is no reason to believe that such a recount will make any difference. Ayatollah Khamenei has given every indication that he is firmly in Mr. Ahmadinejad’s camp. Real political change in Iran may require a shakeup in the country’s religious leadership.

It is very difficult to predict the outcome of the standoff in Iran. While Mr. Ahmadinejad still holds the reins of power, Mr. Mousavi seems to have more than a little influence amongst the ruling clerics.

Funny thing about elections, they sometimes yield unexpected results. The ruling mullahs in Iran are finding out that when you give citizens a voice, they’ll use it. Iranian voters clearly indicated last week that millions of them prefer to have former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi speak for them, rather than current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Vote counting in the Iranian presidential election was obviously fraudulent. The results were announced within a few hours after the polls closed. It takes much longer than that to count millions of hand written ballots.

The Iranian election commission also announced the results without waiting three days, as required by their own rules, further indicating that the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Now the clerics leading the government of Iran find themselves in a bind. They encouraged Iranians to vote. And voters responded, only to find out that the results were fixed. It was an insult to the intelligence of Iranians around the world.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a review of the election results based on Mr. Mousavi’s allegations of fraud. This announcement was followed by a massive pro-Mousavi rally in Tehran’s freedom square.

While the Iranian government has done all it can to prevent coverage of the civil unrest, words and pictures have been poring out of the country. Many of these images show violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations. Some Iranians have begun to burn buildings and vandalize government offices. It’s hard to believe that Iran’s rulers had this in mind when they urged Iranians to vote. Hopefully Mr. Mousavi will continue to oppose Mr. Ahmadinejad’s authoritarian leadership.

Those heavenly homes overlooking the Aegean Sea on the island of Santorini, Greece make amateur photography easy. To get a good picture, just point and click. Local architects chose the correct shade for staying cool in the blazing summer sun. Dark colors capture heat. Light colors reflect heat.

Amazingly, US Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu created a controversy recently by proposing more white surfaces in hot climate zones around the world. The ancient Greeks figured this out in the days of Hera and Zeus. Our distant ancestors may not have considered how white surfaces mitigate the effects of global warming, but climate change wasn’t much of an issue back then.

Many large urban areas like Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona have predominantly dark colored roofs, roads and parking lots. These clustered dark surfaces produce urban heat islands which can increase air temperatures by 5-10%. A ninety degree day in the countryside is over one hundred degrees in the city.

Heat islands trap carbon dioxide and other pollutants which contribute to global warming. And urban homes and businesses combat the oppressive heat by cranking up their energy draining air conditioners.

Some state and local governments have seen the light. California building standards now require light colors on flat roofs of new buildings. The city of Phoenix, Arizona invested a portion of its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in white paint for the roof of a public housing complex.

Dr. Chu deserves recognition for championing white surfaces. Communities save energy and protect the environment for the price of new paint.

Welcome back to the Organization of American States, Cuba! Quite a lot has happened over the past forty years. In particular, the OAS has taken the following positive steps toward accomplishing our key objectives:
1) agreed to maintain an ongoing dialogue about issues of vital importance to the region;
2) drafted several memoranda outlining plans for mutually beneficial investments;
3) met regularly to review past understandings and enjoy fruity tropical drinks;
4) engaged in shouting matches, usually pitting the US against everyone else or the US and Canada against everyone else;
5) fought wars with each other in central America, and
6) moderately prepared ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead.

Pushing Democracy
We’ve seen several peaceful transfers of power from one political party to another in Latin America over the past few years. Cuban citizens will hear about vibrant democracies in OAS nations like El Salvador, Bolivia and Paraguay and wonder why they can’t similarly participate in their own government. And the Castro’s will find it increasingly difficult to blame the US for all of Cuba’s shortcomings.

Harleys in Havana
Thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycles were sold in Cuba during the Batista years and the bikes are still quite popular on the streets of Havana. However Cuban Harley enthusiasts can’t buy spare parts directly from the manufacturer. The trade embargo with Cuba deprives Harley Davidson and other US companies of a potentially lucrative source of revenue. Lifting the embargo would boost both the US and Cuban economies.

The US and Cuba have many differences, but the trade embargo no longer makes any sense. The Cold War is over and Cuba’s government hasn’t changed. But while the US trades extensively with socialist China, it still shuns socialist Cuba.