Apropos of Little
 

Speaking of this, I was out the other night with a friend of mine (not a close friend, but more than an acquaintance) and I asked him how he likes his new neighborhood (he moved somewhat recently to southern Beverly Hills). He got close to me and said something like "I like it okay, but... [quieter] there's too many Persians. At night it's like little Tehran over there."

I didn't take that opportunity to mention to him that my nieces are half Persian, though I probably should have. This is an acceptable group to be prejudiced against now? I mean, he's made homophobic sorts of statements in front of me before, even knowing that I have gay friends, so maybe he's all around clueless, but I wonder whether he would have felt so comfortable saying that stuff to me if the group had been blacks? I'm always curious what makes people think that these sorts of statements are okay.

Apropos of Little
 

At least they're aristocratic Persians.

Apropos of Little
 

Isn't it okay to feel uncomfortable living in a very ethnically homogenous area, if you aren't part of it? I actually would like living in a Persiany neighborhood, but I do understand that others like to be around their own kind. How do you think a heavily Persian neighborhood gets to be a heavily Persian neighborhood?

Apropos of Little
 

I would assume that people flee when they realize that the little Persian women will be trying to feed them to death. If he thought it was an okay thing to be saying, why did he lower his voice?

Apropos of Little
 

his voice got low after he leaned in close to you, and you want to know why? what kind of top were you wearing?

Apropos of Little
 

People come to this country and fall under the spell of American fast food. Too much McDonald's and Burger King and Arby's and Jack in the Box and -- poof -- you are heavily Persian.

Apropos of Little
 

Two years ago was the first time I'd ever met an Iranian who wasn't Jewish. So far, that dude is the only one. And I've met a bunch of them.

Apropos of Little
 

Apparently so. Others have educated me on this unusual concentration.

• There are many Persian Jews in the United States, specifically in California and New York State. Many Persian Jews live in Beverly Hills, in Los Angeles. Estimates place the Persian community population as high as 25% in Beverly Hills, while others place it even higher (close to half or more). The large majority of Beverly Hills Persians adhere to Judaism [37], making them Persian-American Jews. A 2007 article stated that: "...about 8,000 of Beverly Hill's approximately 35,000 residents are of Iranian descent" [28]. On March 21, 2007, Jimmy Delshad, a Persian Jew who immigrated to the United States in 1958, became the mayor of Beverly Hills, elected with bilingual English-Farsi ballots [38], making him one of the highest ranking elected Iranian-American officials in the United States.

So, we West LA folks (and apparently dtb as well) are surrounded by Persian Jews. Surrounded, I tell you!

Gattigap

Apropos of Little
 

It is good to know that one day my nieces will be rich enough to live in Beverly Hills if they so desire. Or at least halfway rich enough.

Apropos of Little
 

Did you move?

Apropos of Little
 

Well. Surrounded during working hours, I guess.

Apropos of Little
 

translation: my kids' social activities are pretty much limited to BBYO and my friends and professional contacts are all from schul.

ruh-roh
 

• Pakistan's nuclear authority has said there is no cause for concern after it published press adverts for information on "lost" radioactive material.
  
  The adverts urged members of the public to inform officials if they found any "lost or stolen" radioactive material.
  
  They were published in major Urdu-language newspapers in Pakistan.
  
  A spokesman for the nuclear authority said that there was a "very remote chance" that nuclear materials imported 40-50 years ago were unaccounted for.

The Beeb

Tony Blair: Traitor
 

So Tony Blair is stepping down at the end of June.

But what the fuck is this about leading "the greatest nation on earth"? Someone ought to fly out there for the day just to straighten his ass out.

Tony Blair: Traitor
 

I don't mind a little exaggeration. It's a retirement speech, so it's largely ceremonial. I don't see the point in rubbing their noses in it with something about leading "the ninth-best nation on this half of the continent."