Iran-- Quds Day.

I'm still following Iran with a lot of interest. Today, reports have mentioned that Mir Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammed Khatami had been attacked, but not seriously hurt today, which is usually a day of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, but today was more about a renewed protest of the flawed election from June.

As things stand, the more things change, the more they stay the same, or so it seems to me. Although the regime of Ahmedinejad is called into question by the continued questions over his re-election, he is still the same--I note he was very respectfully interviewed by the Today show's Ann Curry. He doesn't seem to think the election is in dispute. He's also repeated his nonsense denial of the Holocaust.

In regard to the relations of the US with Iran, I generally hope they do normalize for both our countries' sakes. I don't think it serves our goals in the region for Iran to be destabilized or hostile to us--and I respect the people of Iran too much after paying so close attention to the bravery and passion about their freedom so many Persians have shown. But on the other hand, with this person they have in charge, I find it really difficult to understand how talks will go anywhere. Can Ahmedinejad be more effective than being a grand stander? (I'd like to think it should be possible that the regime can find common cause with the US in some ways--but the "Marg Bar Amrika" bluster seems to also be a part of his, um, shtick. In other words, can you negotiate on anything with someone who is hostile on principle? With a side thought--why was it Khomeini backed this horse again?)

I don't pretend to know what all this "means" in the long term. Other than to say I'm still paying attention, and I hope others in the west are, too.