THE HEADLINES

Asghar Farhadi, of Iran, accepts the Oscar for best foreign language film for “A Separation” (AP Photo)

AMIDST THE OSCAR NARCISSISM OF CELEBRITIES, A GLIMMER OF BRILLIANCE IN THE BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM WINNER.

(Asia Times)

Middle Eastern writer Pepe Escobar so views the choice of Ashgar Farhady’s “A Separation” for this award. In Escobar’s view, this was actually the best film in ANY language, the exactly needed antidote to the Islamophobia and neo-con and Israeli saber-rattling against Iran, being as it is the “Persian miniature” that illustrates again the mere six degrees of separation between Americans and the Iranians who are currently being demonized.

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“ON SUCH ILLUSIONS ARE TRAGEDIES BUILT.”

(Counterpunch)

Conn Hallinan assesses the likelihood of war with Iran and concludes that, while it is an “illusion” that military force can solve the problems of the region, the special “interests” of the U.S., Israel and the Gulf Arab states, as well perhaps of the Iranian regime itself, may yet precipitate the “tragedy” of a military assault on the country.

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ANDY GRIFFITH ON BAINBRIDGE ISLAND? NOT QUITE.

(Seattle Times)

Bainbridge Island is an enclave of well-to-do writers and lawyers a short ferry commute from downtown Seattle, and is locally called a “Mayberry with Audis” for its “idyllic” life style. Audi cars the residents may drive, but residents’ relationship with their police force is anything but idyllic. This situation comes to a head as the police department, often accused of police brutality, puts on the force a man whose wife happens to work for the police chief and who was arrested a few years ago for an aggressive intervention in a fight as a Seattle Seahawks win was being “celebrated.”

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FAST AND FURIOUS IN “DRUG ENFORCEMENT” AT U.S./MEXICO BORDER IS GETTING FASTER AND FURIOUSER WITH DISPATCH OF U.S. TROOPS.

(Narco News)

The “Fast and Furious” enhanced drug enforcement at the border has had the effect if not the intent of supporting one side of a drug war between cartels in Mexico. Now, van-loads of Army troops are arriving from Fort Bliss in Texas which will seemingly escalate the violence level at the border.

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IS “PARENT EMPOWERMENT” TO BE THE VEHICLE ON WHICH CHARTER SCHOOL ADVOCATES RIDE THEIR WAY INTO CONTROL OF FLORIDA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

(Gainesville Sun)

This is the suspicion of some of teachers’ advocates who see just such a possibility out of bills now pending in the Florida legislature that would give increased power to parents of school children to force abandonment of public in favor of charter schools.

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Quote of the day...

The (Egyptian) government has long smeared American and other Western civil society groups as agents of unrest seeking a U.S. puppet state in Egypt, suggesting that they’d helped to foment the rebellion.

Omar Al Desouka, columnist for McClathchy Newspapers, writing as judge and jury on Egypt’s case against U.S. and other NGO’s as “foreign influence” agents in Egypt.

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