I have no idea if this is genuine, but I just wanted to share it because it's a beautiful and powerful piece of writing:

Homecoming

As I sit across from an officer of one of the most distinguished intelligence agencies in the world, he asks me the single question I am not prepared to answer at a job interview:

"Who are you?"

Who am I? Interesting question. I'm a product of a rift in time and destiny. I can speak a number of European languages fluently, not because I want to but because I spent my life drifting across the globe.

I can accurately quote Shakespeare, Kant, and Sadegh Hedayat, when the occasion calls for it. I can recite Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as comfortably as I can recite Ferdowsi. I can read and write in a number of languages.

I am as comfortable at La Tour D'Argent in Paris as I am at Sharaf'ol'Eslamy in Tehran's Bazaar.

I know my way around St Peter's Basilica in Rome as well as I know my way about Meydooneh Toopkhooneh in central Tehran.

I'm as comfortable hunting deer in Arnold's California as I am having Ghelyeh Mahi at a stand by the water in Oman. I can seem at home at a peach orchard in Georgia, or picking pomegranate at an orchard in Saveh.

I can swap insults with any Algerian pimp in Bois-de-Boulogne, as comfortably as discussing Sino-American Corporations with a foreign diplomat at an embassy gathering.

I'm not sure exactly who I am, but I am certain of what I am: I am human silly-putty, able to mold myself into the mask of the moment.

Yet behind the mask there is something constant, immovable, old as the dust on the ruins of Perspolis: the rage thundering inside.

Rage at Mother Iran for preparing me better than any school, better than any camp, better than any agency, for betrayal as an occupation.

Rage at a society where the most educated physicist will go to "Emamzadeh Saleh" and pray to the rotten relics of a man that may have never been, to better insure that he is accepted to the PhD Program at MIT.

Rage at a society whose offspring in the millions are scattered across the globe, each having sworn an oath of allegiance to another country to get a different colored passport, and yet scarce a handful of the millions are willing to really stand by the words they swore to get that passport.

You see, no agency could teach me how to lead a double life better than the society that taught me to mix beer and Quran, music and Azaan.

So here I am wearing the mask of the moment, and behind the mask there is a steely determination to betray the very society that created a monster like me.

I'm coming home Mother Iran, I'm coming home to your arms, to embrace you, and stick the dagger I have carried in my heart, into your back, and lovingly hold you as you draw your last gasps; and sooth the shock in your gaze with the serenity in mine.

Mother, I'm coming home...

Via the Brooding Persian.

So here's a question for you: What do Joe Stiglitz, Nobel prize winning economist, and the folks who blog at Iraq the Model have in common? Answer: you gotta read to the end.

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It's a standard comment about blogs that their combination of immediacy and linking to a broader network gives bloggers and readers a direct sense of participation, social connection, and an almost proprietary interest in the informal community of shared information and conversation. Those factors have made blogging enormously attractive for areas such as tech developments and political news and opinion, especially in a campaign year. But there are undoubtedly other niches of human activity that will benefit from the particular characteristics of blogs.

Here's one I think is going to become very important -- philanthropy. People are frustrated with handing over contributions to faceless intermediaries like United Way, which have also lost quite a lot of credibility with the various scandals that have popped up with some frequency. Even giving to a specific organization, whether a charity or an alumni association, often feels detached. How is my money being put to good use, not just in the sense of a financial accounting (although that's certainly welcome assurance that my money's not lining the pockets of some charity's executive or good buddies), but how is it making a difference in the lives of the folks it's helping or in contributing to some goals I think are sufficiently important that I take out my checkbook.

Blogs (and affiliated websites) present a new way to bring back the sense of direct connection that's missing in the professionalization of philanthropy these days. Instead of an anonymous direct mail solicitation (or heaven forbid, a telemarketing call), the blogs can link people who are already interested in a particular issue area, part of the world, or institution with the opportunity to support directly something they care about. And even more important, rather than receiving, if you're lucky, an occasional newsletter or "giving report," blogs can give donors the chance to follow what's happening, to communicate about the project or institution with other supporters who share similar interests, even maybe communicate with the people who are benefiting from the financial contribution.

I've thought about this occasionally because two of my former colleagues have created a web-based charitable network called Global Giving, which allows individuals and corporations to contribute to projects in the developing world, especially some of the grassroots initiatives that are exploring new ways of making a difference in health, education and entrepreneurship, especially for women. It's been fascinating to watch how their initiative has evolved over the couple of years they've been at it, and I think they're just scratching the surface.

Now comes a terrific example from praktke of the potential power of blogging to link those with a passionate concern and the people who need passionate support. It was posted at Tacitus, and I copy it here in full.

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Throwdown for Iraqi Democracy by praktike

I just gave $50, and I'm a congenital pessimist about Iraq. But it feels good to do something concrete. I know many of you folks in the private sector make far more than I do, so get out your wallets and give to a good cause.

Here's where your money goes:
   more »

So the tete a tete between the EU3 and Iran isn't going to have any US fingerprints on it. Is it remotely possible that someone connected with the Bush Admin is engaged in subtle and nuanced diplomacy? In an election year? Or do they wanting to underline the difference in their approach from Kerry's (and the Europeans') multilateralist "appeasement" instincts. It will be interesting to see whether Iran moves to the front burner in the campaign, and by how much Kerry's engagement ideas differ from what the Europeans are proposing. Wonder how much they're briefing the Kerry people about what's really going on. Sure would like to be a fly on several walls around Washington.

From the Jerusalem Post:

The IAEA's ruling last week, says Michael Ledeen, a Freedom Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a strong advocate of regime change in Teheran, "means we've given Iran another pass until the end of the November."

Asked if last week's deliberations were a setback for US policy, which for over a year has been focused on getting Iran's nuclear program referred to the Security Council, Ledeen said, "This is more of the same, however you want to define it. We're not making any progress. The UN and the Europeans keep saying the same thing every three months. You wait every three months and eventually Iran has an atomic bomb. Then you don't need to worry about this failed policy."

Ledeen also believes that even if the Iranian program were to be referred to the Security Council, it is unlikely that sanctions on oil or natural gas – the only ones that might have an impact on the regime in Teheran – would be imposed. And even if they were, he says, "oil is fungible. Saddam proved oil sanctions don't really work. So who are we kidding?"

Don't worry, Michael.

U2 has the answer.

It takes one to know one:

President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday in a telephone conversation with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud congratulated him and the Lebanese nation on the continuation of his presidency.

The Press Affairs Office of the Presidential Office quoted Khatami as saying the extension of the term indicates the popularity of the president among the people.

He also lauded the decision by the Lebanese parliament in getting such an extension as a right decision.

Boy, that Mohammad Khatami sure is a nice man.