The Latest from Iran (21 July): Stand By Your (Supreme) Man
2010 GMT: Literature Watch (cont.). More about the poetic debut of the head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi (see 0710 GMT)....
Naqdi's effort, which has failed to impress our Literary Correspondent, is titled “The Youth and Soft War", rhythmically (or not-so-rhythmically) takes on Twitter, Facebook, rap music, and jazz. The opening lines, which may lose a bit in translation:
He [ failed in hunting me with his gun. He came back with lowly hired musicians, the Internet, and musical instruments/
His navy hasn’t been able to rein me in. He came with an eye-catching doll/ br>
Bombs and missiles failed to scare me. He came back with the rumor-spreading Twitter and Facebook/ br>
He used chemical weapons and I still didn’t back off. He came with crack and heroin.