Trying to stop a leak with your hands

Iranians are young, they are middle class and they are tired of the conservative elements within their society.

With that in mind there is sincere dissatisfaction with what has been happening in the “election” which just occurred in Iran.  Young people have been protesting, seemingly daily, in what is becoming a big challenge for those who consider themselves rulers of the country.

The Religious leadership have done the usual things, quash the press, restrict coverage from foreign journalists through violence or deportation.  Cut the phone lines. You know your typical dictators moves.

The Internet however has continued to function in the Islamic Republic.

This has meant that people can access Twitter, blogs, youtube and other methods of communication.  With this the updates come heavy showing a totally different view of a state that so often seems a monolith of intollerance and hate.  Instead you see an Iranian people who want change.  They are young, vibrant and solidly urban.   While it would be a mistake to associate these liberal forces as somehow more accepting of the West there is a common thread that appears that this is case.

Anything different, liberal, less absorbed with conflict, sewing mistrust and mischief across the middle east would be a good thing.

During all of this the official forces in Iran seek to shut down the protests, going house to house, seeking to “question” anyone with a satelite dish.  In doing this it would seem they are a person trying to block a leak with their hands.  Yes it works for most, still some slips out, and nothing they have done so far is making any real difference.

It is obvious that the water is travelling easily and the official forces to this point are just getting wet.

Of course, like so many dictatorships before them, if the government really seeks control they can go down the road of the Chinese and Russians and use force to push their way forward.  I have no idea at that point if the opposition will break down or continue to progress further into sincere rebellion.  But make no mistake opposition cannot remain a consistant force and not be met by those who do not want change.

Dental chairs

Bill Cosby once had a story about a visit he had to the dentist.  It was awesomely funny.  One particular bit he discusses how he is sitting in the chair and he starts to see smoke rising from his mouth.

He asks for time out.

Dentist says, “whats the matter?”

Cosby: “moke!”

Dentist: “What?”

Cosby: “moke, moke moke, dere is moke cumbing out of ma mou…”

Dentist: “I don’t understand.”

Cosby:  “Fibre.  Do you undertand de fibre?  Der is moke combing out of my mou and der is a fibre.  And my fabace is hangin on de floo.”

Dentist: “Fire?”

Back and back at it.

Hi

It has been a while since I have decided to write here.  Mostly for personal reasons I decided I needed to back away.  Now that it has been a few months and I feel somewhat better about myself, if not perfect, I decided to continue working with this blog.

First note, I was removed from Mormon Archipelago a few months back.  Hopefully they will reinstate me as I get going again.  It is nice to know people have maintained an interest in my past notes.

By the way, I have never been a guest blogger, though I do write often for Bleacher Report.  This is a sports fan site and I love it.  Kind of like a massive ESPN style blogger.  Not because I have not wanted to be just that I have never been asked.

Anyway,

Welcome back, this blog will probably be much more personal than history at this stage but I still expect it to cover some of that ground as it is an itch I like to scratch.

Time to draw out for a while

Hi readers,

I realize it has been ages since I last blogged here.  I am finding it harder to write about LDS history related issues lately as my job and interests have changed lately as real life continues to turn.
Maybe in a month or so I might feel differently but for the time being I am shutting down BSS for a while.

I have enjoyed this blog and especially the comments by so many of you.  If you want to catch more of what I am writing about I would suggest coming down to Bleacher Report:

http://bleacherreport.com/users/93688-Jonathan-Williams

I am still reading a number of LDS blogs and will continue to comment long term but for now see you later!

Congrats to Kurt

Often, like most sports fans I have a favourite player on my team.  Often that player changes when that player retires or, more often, leaves the team.  Once they are gone they are usually “dead to me”.    I might occasionally see where they are on certain teams.  I more than likely root against them than for them.

Polygamy letters to the editor

With the British Columbia (BC) decision to charge two men from Bountiful BC with polygamy under the Criminal code of Canada there has been an interesting batch of letters to the editor making the rounds.  I will try and post some of the for and against here:

Why do we think Nephites use swords?

I know this is not new, but here is my reason for bringing this up.  I was looking at the latest version of the kid reader Book of Mormon.  In it the Lamanites generally depicted as using a club embedded with obsidian.  Meanwhile, the Nephites are portrayed as swinging objects not unfamiliar to mideval knights.