As a huge fan of the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, I fully expected the lines to the animated film adaptation to be pouring out the door around the block. "I better get out here and stand in line," I told my husband as soon as we hit the nearest corner to the theater.

Bye bye, Iran threat? Via Amanda Terkel at ThinkProgress: Despite Knowledge That Iran Halted Nuke Program, White House Continued To Warn Of False Threat The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released today concludes that “in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.” It adds that “Tehran had not restarted its nuclear weapons program as of mid-2007,” and the country is “less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005.” The assessment, which relies on data collected through Oct. 31, was reportedly completed in 2006, but was blocked by administration officials who wanted it to be more in line with Vice President Cheney’s hardline views.... ....even in the past two months, the administration has continued to push its faulty, inflammatory rhetoric and claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Larry Craig couldn't do it, but maybe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can! "So the foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad spoke at that crack house known as Columbia University today." So spoke Greg Gutfeld of Fox News (as quoted by Maureen Dowd today). That's one of the kinder comments about President Ahmadinejad's wacky US tour. Our society—left, right, red state and blue— collectively bullied this crazy dictator this week, but I don't know to what end. Oh...maybe it's because we're about to declare war on Iran? The strangest evidence of the collective lure of Ahmadinejad -bashing is the weird collusion between gays and the right- wingers. When Michelle Malkin's insanely right wing

Former New York Times editor James "Scotty" Reston was reputed to exclaim, "Oh! The dailyness of it all!" whenever breaking events interfered with his plans to cover some story in depth. That's the the way I feel right now -- this post was supposed to be a preview of this Thursday's All-American Presidential Candidates Forum for GOP candidates, similar to the post that fellow CE Laurie White and I did for the CWBA Democratic Forum back in June. But then the president of Iran came to Columbia U., Bill O'Reilly learned that black people who go to expensive Harlem restaurants have home training, and NPR's Farai Chideya got a scoop on the ongoing saga of the Jena Six that raises all kinds of interesting questions. Where to begin?

Waiting for a telephone line to be connected in Tehran means entering a strange world of bizarre excuses and broken promises. If you don’t know someone in the telecom office and then if you don’t grease his palm, you are guaranteed horrific service. If you do know someone that you can appropriately “tip” then you just get bad service. After several broken promises, we were told: “The guy who can connect your phone had a death in the family.” I found that I could not be sympathetic. “Iranians always have a death in the family,” I responded. “It seems to be a favorite excuse.” Everyone laughed. Later that day, we ordered pizza to be delivered. It arrived an hour late and cold. When we called to complain, the manager told us that his delivery person had just died. Again we laughed.

Travel. Typically when we think of travel we think of exotic food, pretty postcards, charming locals... But travelers - thinking travelers - perceive the world in bigger ways. Sometimes, they're willing to peel back the shiny surface and approach what's really going on in a country. This week, instead of souvenirs, here are some thought provoking posts from the travelsphere that feature far away places - Afghanistan, India, and Iran - and unimaginable lives. Afghanistan:  In Mother Jones this month, there's a photo essay about women in Afghanistan that is both stunning and heart wrenching. [Hat tip to The Travel Photographer.] In reality, very little has changed, particularly in the rural regions of the country. Over ninety percent of Afghan women are illiterate and many are not allowed to leave their homes. Girls are bought and sold to solve land and monteary disputes. Self immolation, domestic violence, forced marriage, denial of education, and isolation are just a few of the issues that women face daily. --Lana Šlezić.