Thursday following another exciting day of season-end inventory and tape boxing, I went to the Borders in Westwood (near UCLA).  They were hosting a discussion/signing  of Reza Aslan’s new book, How To Win A Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the end of the War on Terror.  Aslan was a guest on The Daily Show a few weeks ago, and was pleased to see that he had scheduled a few book tour dates in LA.  First things first, I must say he is cuter in person.

I thoroughly enjoyed this event.  Aslan read a few pages from the first chapter of his book, and then opened the floor up for questions.  What followed was an hour long conversation about Iran, Israel, Palestine, the difference between Jihadists and Islamists, among many other things.

Impressed by his knowledge, listening to him speak was extremely refreshing.  It gave me flash backs of college.  I miss learning so much.  I mean, of course I’m learning a ton out here, but it’s just different.  It was absolutely satisfying to listen to a man with such fluent and passionate discourse.

While it’s fresh in my mind, here is a brief recap of some of the topics he discussed:

Q: Can Islam and Democracy Coexist?

• Of course they can.  Look at Indonesia.  Look at Turkey.  Malaysia.  India.  Pakistan.  The world’s most populous Muslim nations are democratic.
• The question really is, can Arab culture and democracy coexist?

Q: Is Iran a Nuclear Threat?

• He claims Iran as a threat is a joke.  They are a third world country with a terrible army.
• They recently figured out how to launch a rocket at a minimal distance without a payload.  Good job. (sarcasm)
• In terms of Israel, Iran as a threat is a purely political tactic.  Israel is a first world nation, has one of the best armies in the world, and has far more superior weapons.
• In terms of a threat to the U.S., look at the map.  We have troops surrounding the entire country.
• We need to start rethinking how we look at Iran.

There was more, but that’s about all I can regurgitate at the moment.

Unrelated, I saw Ben Folds last night and it was pretty sweet.   Gave me another Oswego flashback.  And again, being in LA is awesome.  You never know what extra treat will be at the show.  Ben brought out Sarah Barellies for a song, and then during the encore brought out Josh Groban.  Yep, that’s right.  Josh Groban!! I got chills!

Personal, Political