Let us Rush to Write to Iran

I'm thinking of taking up a new hobby. Remember how people used to have pen pals for decades, without ever meeting each other, across continents? Then email came in the 1990s, and kind of killed it all. Poof, gone is the spirit over the fallen wall of international barriers.

Where's the anticipation of awaiting a letter, imagining on a map the route the written letter undertook, how many virus-free – no viruses back then – hands handled it, and then finally seeing the mailman coming on his bicycle down the road. And fleetingly wondering why you look so much like the mailmen and why your mother hid behind a curtain.

World-renowned Satanic Verses author stabbed on stage by braindead caveman

The author and atheist Salman Rushdie was attacked and stabbed between 10 and 15 times with a knife today in New York. He was giving a speech to the cream of society, right there on stage in front of real intellectuals that enjoys the art of thinking. The attack lasted 20 seconds, before the policeman assigned as bodyguard figured out his pay check is in danger.

Several people jumped into action – and then onto the stage; one had to do both – and pinned the attacker down. Rushdie was rushed by helicopter to hospital, his condition is not yet disclosed, but having lost a lot of blood. (His legs were even raised by people to get blood to his heart.)