The Baha'i World News Service has just posted that the 7 leaders in the Baha'i community in Iran - who have been wrongly accused, imprisoned and tried for over 2 years - were each sentenced to 20 years in prison today.
Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations states that "We understand that they have been informed of this sentence and that their lawyers are in the process of launching an appeal".
CNN provided the following information yesterday, "Iranian authorities have detained more than 45 Baha'is in recent months, and as many as 60 Baha'is are imprisoned in Iran on the basis of their religio[us] beliefs, the U.S. State Department has said."
Earnestly and sincerely I pray that justice comes to envelop the earth....
"No radiance can compare with that of justice. The organization of the world and the tranquility of mankind depend upon it." - Baha'u'llah
This is probably the funniest thing I've seen in [insert superlative time reference here]. As someone who has worked in retail for most of her 'adult' life, brand logos make me extremely uncomfortable. I've always been of the opinion that wearing a brand was like offering to give a particular company free advertising space.
They should pay me.
Anyhow, I digress... the real exciting part is that Layli of 'This Is Samimi-Extremie' fame now contributes to a new project with some friends of hers. They call it 'The Merits of the Scheme'.
Go on... try not to have a blog crush. I triple-dog dare you!
The first time I saw the 'thx thx thx' blog, she (Leah) had written a thank you note to a meeting. For being over. Yes, I know... I've been hooked since.
But this one really takes the cake. I find it to be particularly timely as when I go home to visit the fam I plan to rock up on any book store that will have me and read all of their printed material. Okay... just the interesting stuff.
I imagine that by now this article has caused quite a stir in the States (and other areas where people regularly read Time). And I know that I'm wont to be an optimist - but I tell you truly that I will be disappointed if this doesn't cause a stir in the people who read it.
I've been thinking lately, though, about how this kind of ferocious misogyny isn't so uncommon - and neither is it limited to the developing world, to safely be "their problem". As you will see in the video, the brand of misogyny marketed to westerners is actually worse, because we (as women) have been conditioned to hate, abuse, and disfigure ourselves....
I originally spotted this video on 'This Is Samimi-Extremie' [thanks for the head's up] and I've been sort of obsessed with it since then.
If I'm going to be perfectly honest (here goes nothing...) the stuff that you see here in this video [dude, just watch it already!] is pretty much the root of the anxiety I feel whenever I think about going home to visit the family. My family is cool - Orange County is murder on a woman's self-esteem, though. Suffice it to say that Israel has been very good to me. Not least because I don't have to look at tabloids and billboards any more....
So we'll see how long I last and in the meantime I invite you to start thinking constructively about the reality of women in your society - wherever you are - and to start thinking about the way you consume your culture.
Remember these places? Yeah... I almost don't either. But I just got my tickets today to go home and see the family! I'm a little nervous - it's been more than 2 years.
What if I've forgotten how to be American? Do you think the immigration people will know!?
Oso Parkway and the 5
Laguna Beach: the Boardwalk at sunset
Dear 'the OC' (or whatever trendy name you prefer these days): be nice. It's been a while.
