Journalist Roxana Saberi's release from prison in Iran and return to USA

So the Iranian-American journalist who was arrested, accused of spying, and imprisoned in Iran for 100 days, returns to US. She apparently has told reporters that "singing the national anthem helped keep her going". "And it may sound corny, but I'm so happy to be home in the land of the free," she is quoted saying. See the article below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/22/roxana-saberi-returns-hom_n_206642.html

Well, I am sure that being arrested by IRI and spending 100 days at notorious Evin prison for no good reason was very harsh to say the least. But yes, that statement is quite corny, and sad in a way. As an independent Iranian-American journalist working both in USA and Iran, one would expect that she knows better. Or let's hope that she knows but forgets that the mess in Iran (including your imprisonment) has indirectly been caused by the predatory ways of Uncle Sam, the government of "the land of the free" in the first place.

Its roots go back to the 1953 coup that was staged by the CIA that overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadeq, and placed its own puppet regime, by making Reza Shah, a no-name soldier the king of Iran. Go read the history (or watch it on Youtube) as told by authors such as Stephen Kinzer ("All the Shah's Men") and numerous others.

I know that things are a lot worse in Iran right now than they were under Pahlavi's regime. But many may not know that the Evin prison was actually built in Shah's era. The shah, despite his nationalistic sentiments, was ultimately an anti-communist watchdog for US and its interests in the region. Shah's regime with the help of its dreaded secret service, SAVAK, that was trained by the very best of CIA, imprisoned, tortured and often executed thousands of political prisoners for dissent, associations with socialist/communist or even Islamic groups. In fact I remember once being in the Evin prison as a little kid with my parents when we went there to visit a close relative who spent four years in his 20s in prison for his supposed affiliation with a socialist organization. He was often tortured and nearly died in prison. All that injustice in the 60s and 70s helped drive the revolution in the late 70s which eventually resulted in the establishment of IRI.

What is even worse is that some publisher is probably after her for the book rights to her story, and of course Hollywood is offering her top dollars to make another "Not Without My Daughter" BS movie based on her story to further deceive the American masses.

Film: "Dan in Real Life"

"Love is not a feeling, but an ability", says the young Latino boy in Spanish to the father of the teenage girl he's dating. Interesting. Insightful. I suppose it makes sense and I know that one has to have the open heart and the capacity to love. But still I hadn't heard it in so many words so explicitly. Quoting this on Facebook, jokingly I made a comment that how come no one ever told me this before. A friend upon reading my comment on this recommended that I read "Blue Truth". I plan to do that.

Now back the film. I don't like the idea of falling in love with one's brother's girlfriend but I liked this film -- a lot. It made me want to have a big family and live in North Easter USA. It made me miss hard pouring rains, family gatherings & Thanksgivings. I laughed & I cried. So it is a good romantic comedy. The closing has a couple of great up songs I believe by the Norwegian Sondre Lerche, who also appears performing at the end of the film.

As for the cast, it's hard not to like Steve Carell. He's unpretencious and naturally lightly funny. John Mahoney as always makes a great dad for grown up men. And Julliette Binoche: not as hot as her early days but I pretty much like anything she's in with a bias. I still think she should stick to noir French-style films and do less of hollywood light-hearted comedies.

Film: "Goya's Ghosts" -- Religion is the Real Evil!

Last night I watched "Goya's Ghosts". An interesting film; good portrayal of the Spanish painter Goya and his artistic work and genius. The credit at the end of the film does a superb job of showcasing some of his paintings with closeups. Two of my favorite artists -- Bardem & Portman -- are in this film and they are great as usual. it shows the reversal of fortune caused by historical events -- the evil powerhouse of the Spanish Inquisition falls apart by Napoleon's attack on Spain and then they gain their power and influence when the English roll in.

This film is also a great reminder for me of why I despise religion so much, in particular the theistic religions (Judaism, Christianty, and Islam). Probably more people in the history of humanity have suffered because of these religions than anything else. Much has been written on this topic elsewhere, such as Christopher Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything".

On the negatives: I didn't really like Portman playing both herself and her daughter! It seemed strange. Also her makeup after she's released from the prison is overdone. As others have pointed out, there are also inconsistencies in the English accents of Spanish speaking artists such as Bardem vs English speaking ones like Portman.