I've read a lot about US and UK involvement in Iran, I've heard about how Iran is held as a pariah whilst Saudi is given free rein in turn for oil. I've heard plenty of people say that the election wasn't rigged. To all those who seek to justify Iran's actions, have a look at this. A full and free democracy does not kill its people for questioning its authority. It does not cut off communication with the outside world. The protestors in Estonia in their revolution against the USSR were protected by the communication channel they had to Helsinki and the outside world who could hear them sing. That communication froze the Soviet troops. Whilst the people of Iran are talking, it is our duty, as human beings, to keep listening.
The Ayatollah claimed that Neda Soltan, the woman shot during a demonstration last Saturday, had been killed by fellow protesters because “government forces do not shoot at a lady standing in a side street”.
Leading demonstrators must be executed, Ayatollah Khatami demands - Times Online
I have a belief that the worst thing that can happen to any religion is for it to be adopted by the state, for it to become compulsary and taken under duress, to become a default and an arms of authority against which youngsters finding their feet will naturally rebel, pushing at it to find their own boundaries. It is a religion that has not been considered, has not been chosen, has not come to the believer through a decision of their own. In such a case, any belief is worthless.
If any religion is able to stand on its own feet and attract followers without resorting to punishment or favour, then it has made a stronger case for being something worth following, but whilst religion remains a tool of the state, the state cannot be considered impartial or democratic, and the religion cannot be considered a matter of faith.
In Europe there is a strong history of religion tied to the state and a modern disaffection that leads to fewer and fewer believers. In America, the state is offically separate from religion (and whilst in practice it is a wider division than seen in Europe in the past, it is not the pure secular state the constitution declares it to be), and in America faith thrives in all its forms.
Where would you rather live?
I'm getting a bit slow on updating this in my old age, but I just wanted to give some thoughts on an article I saw in the Sunday Herald last weekend about the Catholic Church in Scotland withdrawing support for shared campus schools and preferring to keep their schools separate. I'm sure they have their own reasons, but it always saddens me to see actions like this, because it does lead to this idea that people from one community are different from people in another, which goes against my experience, and it's only a short jump from "different" to get to "better".
What interests me most about these sorts of divisions however is all the articles talking about the charities, community groups and other organisations working to bring children from different backgrounds together, whether it's Catholic and Protestant, Israeli and Palestinian, natives and asylum seekers, etc. The one thing that all these projectss seem to have in common it the sense of astonishment and amazement the children have when they first turn up that causes them to utter, "They're just like us". When that sort of news comes as a surprise, there's something seriously wring with our humanity.
Be nice, shake a stranger's hand tomorrow.
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]]>What is your favorite musical instrument?
Submitted by Chicago Shadow.
Has to be the theramin. Great sound and great piece of tech.
New version of Ubiquity released :-) titled New Ubiquity
]]>Testing ubiquity blogging via ping.fm from http://ping.fm/8evZw
]]>Anyone want an invite to identi.ca ? It's twitter's open source, federated, leaner, meaner cousin.
]]>With all the trouble in the world, how's this do an idea for peace? We need a man to collect a few (say ten) rules to live by. Simple rules that cannot be spun. Rules like no murder and no theft. And he could write them in stone so they cannot be changed. Wouldn't it be great if the majority of the world's population followed books based on these rules? Would that bring peace? @
]]>A better approach to climate change, for people who want green for the future, not because they want to live in the stone age http://ping.fm/3zR9V
]]>Anyone know any good use cases for corporate use of twitter / identi.ca?
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