Today's Washington Wisdom: To Save US Economy, Obama Should Start Iran War

David Broder in today's Washington Post:

Look back at FDR and the Great Depression. What finally resolved that economic crisis? World War II.

Here is where Obama is likely to prevail. With strong Republican support in Congress for challenging Iran's ambition to become a nuclear power, he can spend much of 2011 and 2012 orchestrating a showdown with the mullahs. This will help him politically because the opposition party will be urging him on. And as tensions rise and we accelerate preparations for war, the economy will improve.

I am not suggesting, of course, that the president incite a war to get reelected. But the nation will rally around Obama because Iran is the greatest threat to the world in the young century. If he can confront this threat and contain Iran's nuclear ambitions, he will have made the world safer and may be regarded as one of the most successful presidents in history.

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Iran Document: Karroubi "If Green Movement is Dead, Why Do You Continue Arresting Innocent People?"

You see, they initially sought to hold formal elections but came to the conclusion that in order to stay in power and still put on a front that there is democratic rule, they needed to have an election process that suited them and ensured that certain individuals did better at the voting booths. This issue gradually continued, and during the 10th presidential elections when we witnessed the height of disrespect regarding the people's vote, our citizens finally responded strongly....

They [the ruling government] did not expect such a strong response by our citizens and resorted to oppression. Naturally, as the people's dissatisfaction increases, because they never expected such a reaction, in order to save themselves and remain in power, they resorted to increased pressure....

You [ruling government] claim to have stifled and inhibited the Green Movement. If that is the case, why then do you speak of the so called sedition on a daily basis? Why do you continue to speak behind people's back? Why are you so afraid to allow the slightest movement by the people? If the so called sedition is dead, then why do you continue to endlessly arrest innocent people?

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Turkey Breaking: Suicide Bomber Injures At Least 22 in Istanbul

UPDATE 1025 GMT: Hurriyet is reporting that 10 police and 12 passers-by were wounded.

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A suspected suicide bomber, targeting police vehicles, has injured at least 15 people in İstanbul's central Taksim Square. The bomber had targeted a police vehicle and police suspected a suicide bomber was responsible.

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Rally for Sanity Video and Transcript: Jon Stewart's Speech

See also: The Rally for Sanity: An Eyewitness Account "We Came Because We Were Tired"

And now I thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity. If that's okay - I know that there are boundaries for a comedian / pundit / talker guy, and I'm sure that I'll find out tomorrow how I have violated them.

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China and Blogging: Breaching the Great Firewall? (The Economist)

China’s military mouthpiece, the Liberation Army Daily, is not a fan of microblogging. On October 19th it said Twitter had caused chaos during Iran’s political turmoil last year, and gave warning that such instant information-sharing tools posed “hidden dangers” to national security. Having blocked access to Twitter, however, China is encouraging home-grown versions. Both the government and its critics have become avid users.

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A Beginner's Tour of the US Elections: The States and the Governors

The most intriguing aspect of the current crop of gubernatorial contests is what happens after the results. In many races, such as Florida's, both the Democrat and the Republican candidates are standing on the platform of cutting state spending. Quite how popular a victor will be after he/she cuts spending remains to be seen.

The Tea Party has surprised me and many others with its ability to retain a coherent message for the last 18 months. Whether it continues to surprise us for the next two years will depend on the reforms it achieves, and the popularity of those changes, through its influence in state legislatures and Governor's offices after next Tuesday.

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The Rally for Sanity: An Eyewitness Account "We Came Because We Were Tired"

As we walked back to the metro station six blocks away, we were joined by another portion of the same sea. Humans as far as the eye could see. That's when I realised what everyone was doing there --- they were tired.

Tired of being told to get together to change things. Tired of being told to gather round and decry the coming Apocalypse. Tired of being promised change, restoration, and God knows what and then losing that hope and finding the fear unfounded. But most of all, they were tired of being told what to do. They wanted to come together and do what they wanted to do, which was beautiful, sad, bizarre and, in some cases, pointless.

Will it make a difference? Does anything these days?

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The Latest from Iran (31 October): Please Do Not Be Scared

1940 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Rah-e-Sabz reports that legislators have been not convinced by the government's remarks on subsidy cuts and have asked for a new meeting.

The website adds that the government will take money from banks for refunds.

1755 GMT: Holding Off on More Repression? Gholamhossein Esmaili, the head of Iran's prisons organisation, says the definition of "political crime" has been postponed because of more important issues.

1735 GMT: Warning of the Day. Approaching 4 November, the anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy, Revolutionary Guard Commander Masoud Jazayeri has warned that today some embassies play the same role as the US embassy did in 1979. Jazayeri said Iran must turn the day into an international day of "Death to America" against spies and foreign intervention.

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Lebanon: Hezbollah, the Special Tribunal, and the Power of the Multitude (Khatib)

On Wednesday, two male Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigators --- an Australian and a Frenchman --- visited the office of gynecologist Iman Sharara in Southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after making an appointment with the purpose of examining the records of at least 14 people who had visited her clinic since 2003. The investigators, accompanied by a female translator, were subsequently mobbed by 150 women who surrounded them, violently attacked them, and snatched a briefcase that one of them was carrying which contained a laptop and official STL documents.

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US Journeys: Away from the Elections, Enjoying Small-Town Pleasures

I know I should be excited by the mid-term elections next week. Will Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lose his seat? If so, who will take his place? Indeed, will the Democrats even keep their majority in the Senate? What about the House of Representatives? Will the Tea Party make real inroads? Could they split the Republicans, giving Obama a clear run for re-election 2012? Does the American public realize that the Democrat administration has cut taxes for 95% of them, as well as passing health care legislation for the first time in more than 40 years and revising finance regulation?

The trouble is I really don’t care about these issues. My mind is now officially outside the Washington Beltway as for the past three weeks, I have enjoyed what I regard as some of the best of America.

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