Amir Taheri's op-ed pieces appear regularly in the NY Post. He takes a more optimistic view of the events in the Middle East. He sees hope in Iraq, despite the killing that has occurred with greater frequency since the American pullout. Here are highlights from his column, edited by yours truly:
"Iraq’s success in holding general elections, its fourth since liberation and the first since Obama decided to run away, comes as a pleasant surprise. Islamic terrorists of all ilks, both Sunni and Shi’ite, failed to frighten the people away from the polls. Over 12 of the 20 million eligible to vote did so, a turnout of 60%, higher than the average for the three previous exercises. The terrorists splashed their deadly slogan 'Ballot box leads to coffin' on walls in Baghdad and other cities. They launched 50 attacks, including suicide bombings, killed 160 people but did not succeed in scaring everyone away. Even in the predominantly Arab Sunni province of al-Anbar, a coalition of Islamic terror failed to close all polling stations. Jihadis poured in from neighboring countries to offer local killers a hand. And yet in al-Anbar over 70% of the localities voted. Only Fallujah was unable to hold the election. That Iraqis are determined to choose and change governments through elections rather than traditional Arab methods such as assassination or military coup was underlined by the presence of more than 9,000 candidates, an all-time record, contesting the 328 seats of the parliament that will name the next government. The diversity of rival candidates’ lists resembled an ideological smorgasbord unknown in other Muslim countries." Dare we hope?
And on the domestic front: Here's a woman battling government tax tyranny, excerpts from an article by Melissa Klein, also pared by me:
“B-sieged Cafe Clementine in Tribeca is fighting back against the Department of Health. Rather than hiding from a B grade, restaurant owner Barbara Stratton placed her inspection report prominently in the cafe window along with a sign, 'How do you spell extortion??'
'We emphatically disagree with the NYCDOH to put our A rating on hold as they squeeze more money out of our business,' the sign reads. Stratton’s notice invites patrons to tour the kitchen 'at any time.' The business owner said she was 'horrified' to receive the less-than-stellar grade, which she likened to 'a scarlet letter, except it’s green.'
'After, I cried and kicked the wall and yelled at the person who was giving us the B in her smug little fashion. I just thought, OK, let’s embrace the B because I know that my kitchen’s clean,’ said Stratton, who has owned the cafe on West Broadway for 17 years. The Health Department dinged her during a January inspection with violations that included raw chicken in the refrigerator touching the side of a rack. 'That was the worst thing that happened,' Stratton said. Another more minor violation involved a plumbing problem. The restaurant was fined $800. Cafe Clementine called the B rating extortion. According to Stratton, the Health inspections were always frightening, but they have now become draconian. 'They’ll always find something,' she said." Given the possibility of retaliation, this is one gutsy lady. Kudos.
Things couldn't have gone much better for the floating book shop today. There was a parking spot right in front of the main doors of the Chase bank as I pulled up. The showers that were forecast never materialized. I finally connected on a major donation Monsey has promised me for months. And I had an incredible piece of luck. A woman pointed at the ground and said: "Is that your money?" It was a fifty, which must have fallen from the hands of someone exiting the ATM. I put it in my back pocket, hoping the owner wouldn't return. Three hours later it was mine. No doubt whoever lost it figured it was gone with the stiff wind. It more than made up for the session's paltry sales. Business has slowed lately. I was about to make a withdrawal for the first time since 2/28. Now it can wait another week. Among Monsey's gift are eleven DVDs, a number of marketable non-fiction, and several children's books and videotapes. My thanks, madam, and to the two kind folks who purchased books. It goes to show that simply making the effort to show up will sometimes pay off big. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been a sale of one of my own books. Maybe tomorrow.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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