DISPATCHES

06-29-09 Brussels Belgium: 0607 hrs. I got here yesterday evening from Helsinki Finland. That was a bit of interesting travel. I went right from the stage and pretty much into to a car to the airport. Yesterdays show was not the best setting but the audience was fantastic. We were all cooking in the very intense rays of Finland summer at a little past noon but we all got through ok.

 I have been in Europe since last Thursday. I had a show in Sweden last Friday and then went onto Finland and came here. I don’t have a show today. It’s a day off in Brussels. I have been here many times but not to this hotel so I will explore the neighborhood later on today. Tomorrow I take a train to Eindhoven Holland for a show. That’s the town of Theo Van Rock, my good pal and front of house soundman for hundreds of shows I have done all over the world.I am told he will be at the show. I hope so, it’s always great to see Theo. We had some great times out there in the world.

I have been reading a book called In the Jaws of the Dragon: America’s Fate in the Coming Era of Chinese Hegemony by Eamon Fingleton and of all things, it has given me a different understanding of what’s happening in Iran. There’s a chapter in Fingleton’s book about just how different things are in China and how America is often unable to understand why the powers that be conduct themselves they way they do. Basically, it’s a different ideas of power and the group as opposed to the individual. I don’t think it’s the same in Iran but it made me think about Khamenei differently. I read an article in Newsweek by Christopher Dickey on the plane yesterday that was very interesting and it gave me a much better understanding on the election results and why there has been such a harsh suppression of the protests. Reading the article made me think that the only way change will come to Iran is if Khamenei and the Islamic machinery is completely removed from Iranian government. What is ironic to me is that there are so many Christian tough guys on the right who want to go into Iran and take care of business, even though Iran is running their show in the way many conservative Christians would like to run America, only with their Christian god in the place of Allah. These are the ones who sometimes refer to president Obama as a fascist. I think its clear that Khamenei knows that if Mousavi becomes president, its all over. What I didnt know is that theyre old rivals. I wonder if there has indeed been some meddling with the Iranian election, perhaps Karl Rove was helping Ahmadinejads campaign. Makes ya think.

Info on Fingleton?s book: http://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Dragon-Americas-Chinese-Hegemony /dp/0312362323/ref=sr_1_1ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246249536&sr=1-1

Address for Dickey?s article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/203010. Damn, Sky Saxon died. Some of you may have heard a hit he had with one of his bands, The Seeds, called Pushin Too Hard. I used to see him at shows in LA. He would always come over and tell me all the things he was up to. We would get into some really interesting conversations. I was always jazzed to talk to him, he was way out there and at the same time, really on top of things. I read that he recorded some songs with Billy Corgan last year. Thats so cool that Billy collaborated with him. Billy gets a lot done.Today, besides getting in a workout, I will be out on the streets, looking for a coffee filter, I left mine behind. This is the fast paced, exciting life that I am living. There are some good record stores in this town. I don’t know where I am in relation to them as I have never been in this hotel before. Adventure awaits! Probably not, but I am looking forward to walking around here some. Off to breakfast. Thanks for reading this. Henry