Great piece by the often-deranged Christopher Hitchens. He’s dead right, incidentally. Britain was the grand villain in Middle Eastern conspiracy theory until the ’70s, when the U.S. largely took over. But that doesn’t mean the Queen and the rest of the Pentavirate are off the hook…

One of the signs of Iran’s underdevelopment is the culture of rumor and paranoia that attributes all ills to the manipulation of various demons and satans. And, of course, the long and rich history of British imperial intervention in Persia does provide some support for the notion. But you have no idea how deep is the primitive belief that it is the Anglo-Saxons—more than the CIA, more even than the Jews—who are the puppet masters of everything that happens in Iran.

Read the whole thing, as it’s Hitchens at his sharpest. (Someone hid the gin?)

Here’s the literal book on the topic.

Confucius, Œc. Vol.

Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu.