Thursday, September 07, 2006

Bishop Chane and Mohammad Khatami
One, Two. (revised with pictures)

One
I am compelled to ask whether the global Christian community has lost not only its backbone but its moral bearings. Have we become so cowed . . . that we are no longer willing to name an injustice when we see one?
John Bryson Chane, Bishop of Washington, D.C.



Mohammad Khatami



Two


In his own country, Khatami held office as president from 1997 to 2005 while religious minorities -- including Jews, Christians, Sunni and Sufi Muslims, Bahais, dissident Shiite Muslims and Zoroastrians -- faced systematic harassment, discrimination, imprisonment, torture and even execution because of their religious beliefs. During Khatami's term, Iranian officials persecuted reformers, students, labor activists and journalists for "insulting Islam" and publishing materials deemed to deviate from Islamic standards.
Felice D. Gaer, chair, and Nina Shea, vice chair, of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom


See also this picture of Mohammad Khatami approving of the torture and execution of an Iranian while he was president of Iran. Warning -- this is graphic (which is why I didn't post it directly here).
The Planets, for the last time. As a follow up to these posts (expands, contracts), I must note that Gustav Holst was right all along. (as an aside, the first time I ever heard this was by ?? ? - Tomita Isao back in 1976 on a Moog synthesizer.)