christine and brian's blog

An alternate universe

2009-07-28T09:00:00.001+03:00

While trying to go our blog and see exactly how long its been since we posted (a long time) I mistakenly typed in "http://brianandchristine.blogspot.com" and entered a completely different world, with -- in my opinion -- way too many baby pictures :-)

http://brianandchristine.blogspot.com/

Best regards to the very happy parents, Brian and Christine!

Nice promo for BBC Motion Gallery

2008-10-01T09:33:00.004+03:00

This is a beautiful video that promotes BBC Motion Gallery:

And the Motion Gallery also has a very cool effect on the homepage too, so check it out >:

The future of the web!

2008-08-28T10:52:00.001+03:00

This is the most amazing thing I have seen in years. Truly the future of the web:

Ubiquity

Why Religion Matters

2008-08-08T09:08:00.003+03:00

Here is a very interesting article that I came across today. The author takes on the role of Religion in a modern civilization. Here is an extract:

Why Religion Matters

"...I’m drawn to what I call “the vast middle” between the poles of competing religious certainties that have hijacked our cultural discourse. In the vast middle, faith is as much about questions as it is about answers. It is possible to be a believer and a listener at the same time, to be both fervent and searching, to honor the truth of one’s own convictions and the mystery of the convictions of others. The context of most religious virtue is relationship—practical love in families and communities, and care for the suffering and the stranger beyond the bounds of one’s own identity. These qualities of religion should enlarge, not narrow, our public conversation about all of the important issues before us. They should reframe it."

Read the article >

Another article on climate change from Thomas Friedman

2008-08-06T16:54:00.006+03:00

It appears that Thomas Friedman is becoming a climate evangelist -- and so am I. The good news is that one of us has a better way of saying it -- and a much larger audience :-)

So here is small segment of a great Op-Ed from the NYTimes:

Learning to Speak Climate

"...There has been a 30 percent increase in the melting of the Greenland ice sheet between 1979 and 2007, and in 2007, the melt was 10 percent bigger than in any previous year, said Konrad Steffen, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, which monitors the ice. Greenland is now losing 200 cubic kilometers of ice per year — from melt and ice sliding into the ocean from outlet glaciers along its edges — which far exceeds the volume of all the ice in the European Alps, he added. “Everything is happening faster than anticipated...”

Read more >

What kind of a problem is it?

2008-07-20T15:52:00.007+03:00

Thomas Friedman in the NYTimes has a very insightful commentary regarding the current gas crisis. While he makes some pretty pointed criticisms of politicians in the US --which I prefer not to get into personally -- he makes a great point about what the real source of the problem is:

"We don’t have a “gasoline price problem.” We have an addiction problem. We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels, and this addiction is driving a whole set of toxic trends that are harming our nation and world in many different ways. It is intensifying global warming, creating runaway global demand for oil and gas, weakening our currency by shifting huge amounts of dollars abroad to pay for oil imports, widening “energy poverty” across Africa, destroying plants and animals at record rates and fostering ever-stronger petro-dictatorships in Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

"When a person is addicted to crack cocaine, his problem is not that the price of crack is going up. His problem is what that crack addiction is doing to his whole body. The cure is not cheaper crack, which would only perpetuate the addiction and all the problems it is creating. The cure is to break the addiction.

"Ditto for us. Our cure is not cheaper gasoline, but a clean energy system. And the key to building that is to keep the price of gasoline and coal — our crack — higher, not lower, so consumers are moved to break their addiction to these dirty fuels and inventors are moved to create clean alternatives."

Update on the Baha'is of Iran

2008-07-08T08:40:00.002+03:00

It's been a few weeks since we updated this blog on the situation of the Baha'is in Iran. As some of you may know, on May 14, 6 leaders of the Baha'i Faith were arrested and detained in the notorious Evin prison -- joining another Baha'i who was arrested in March. After nearly 8 weeks they have not been charged with any crime, have not been able to contact a lawyer and have only had brief contact with their families by phone on one occasion 2 weeks ago. It is yet another example of the Iranian authorities efforts to destroy the Baha'i Faith in that country.

Well, last week six Nobel Peace Prize laureates have issued a statement calling on the Iranian government to free these Baha'is immediately. Additional concerns have been raised by other governments and prominent people in an effort to win their release. To see a full update on this click here >

However I just saw this posting on another blog that I wanted to share. It's a recording of a sermon given by a Mullah that attacks the Baha'is on the grounds that they are such upright and good people that they put their fellow Muslims to shame! A translation of the sermon includes this statement:

"A Bahai girl, in a school of 800 girls, has studied herself to such a degree and carries herself in such a way that everyone is amazed. Are you aware of this?! She is so dignified that anyone who doesn’t know her, thinks that she is probably the daughter of an Ayatollah… but shes a Bahai!

"...I myself had a Bahai student, a Jewish student, a Christian student. I swear to that I would give 20/20 to a bahai for their personality and behaviour …because I cant give them 30!"

See the posting and hear the sermon here. He does sound pretty riled up about this....

Then They Came for the Bahai-- article on Forward.com

2008-06-24T08:30:00.002+03:00

This is an exceptional article written by an Iranian Jew who lived in Tehran during the revolution. It is a passioned and insightful reminder of the dangers facing Baha'is there...

Then They Came for the Bahai
"American audiences, their eyes brimming with anxiety, often ask me about the condition of Jews living in Iran today. But the hardships they assume to be the burden of the Iranian Jews is really the daily experience of the Bahais..."
read more | digg story

NY Times article -- "Many Blacks Find Joy in Unexpected Breakthrough"

2008-06-05T11:05:00.005+03:00

This article in the NY Times is very interesting. As Baha'is, Christine and I stay away from discussions regarding partisan politics -- because the nature of the process is divisive rather than unifying -- but it is wonderful to see that the US has reached a point where it can put forward a woman and an African-American as viable candidates for President. Hard to imagine that it was only 43 years ago that blacks received the right to vote in the US. And while there is a long way to go before we reach a point where race or gender is not an issue anymore, it's a worthy goal to set our sights on....

Read the article >

digg story

In a Crackdown, Zimbabwe Curbs Many Aid Groups

2008-06-04T09:24:00.001+03:00

The government has clamped down on aid groups it claims are backing the opposition, relief agencies say.

read more | digg story

Ominous warning signs for the Baha'is in Iran

2008-05-28T07:31:00.004+03:00

Christine and I are becoming increasingly concerned regarding the dangers facing the Baha'is in Iran. As you may know, in the first few years after the Iranian revolution hundreds of Baha'is were killed and thousands imprisoned because they believe that the founder of their Faith, Baha'u'llah, was a Messenger from God -- a belief that led some fanatical Muslims to claim that Baha'is are "heretics" and worthy of death.

For the past 30 years -- in an effort to destroy the Baha'i community there -- the Iranian authorities have come up with all sorts of falsified charges -- such as being spies for the US and Israel, working against the government, having children out of wedlock(Baha'i marriage ceremonies are not recognized and in order to be official Baha'is are required to recant their faith-- which of course they refuse to do) and more. Using these excuses they have destroyed Baha'i Holy Places, revoked their pensions, had them fired from jobs, refused to allow their children to be educated, and asked the military to monitor their movements.
(To read more about the history of persecution in Iran click here)

Despite all this, Baha'is are commanded by the tenets of their faith to be obedient to their government, to be peaceful (and thus never to engage in acts of violence or terrorism) and to work toward the betterment of their community -- and the Baha'is in Iran have continued to do this despite the hardships they have faced.

In the latest act of persecution the government has arrested 6 of the leaders of the community and to this date their whereabouts are unknown. This is an ominous reminder of the 9 Bahai leaders who were abducted in August 1980 and disappeared without a trace. It is important to note that nearly half the Bahá’ís executed in Iran since 1979 have been the foremost leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran -- no doubt an effort to destroy the Baha'i Faith by executing its leadership.

While the government has only said that those arrested were working against Iranian interests, two recent statements present an ominous warning that the 12 April bombing in Shiraz may be used as an excuse to renew the physical attacks against the Baha'i community.

In the first, Mashhad’s prayer leader, Alam Al-Hoda, said this past Friday "Not only is Bahaism not a religion, but also it is not a belief system! How can we let these Israeli mercenaries [Iranian Bahais], who have had a hand in the murder of millions of innocent people [Palestinians], live freely in our country...this satanic movement must be forcefully destroyed, and its members have to be executed."2

...and Hamid Reza Taraghi, Secretary-General for International Affairs of the Motalefeh Party in Iran recently said "Iranians have always taken a strong position against subversive groups, and they now ask that Iran be cleansed/purged from this terrorist sect."3

Let us hope that international outrage against the recent actions of the Iranian government will prevent the wholesale massacre that we saw in the early 1980's...

Baha'i Holy Day -- The Ascension of Baha'u'llah

2008-05-27T22:29:00.002+03:00

Tomorrow night is the commemoration of the Ascension of Baha'u'llah -- the day in 1892 that the founder of the Baha'i Faith passed away in Bahji. Our family was on pilgrimage 4 years ago this week -- an experience that helped to decide to offer to serve here.

Here is a link to a presentation that commemorates this Holy Day. It includes some beautiful photos taken at the commemoration at Bahji four years ago:

Click here to see the slideshow >

Growing concern over fate of arrested Iranian Baha'is

2008-05-27T12:44:00.001+03:00

Six Baha’i leaders who were arrested nearly two weeks ago are being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or relatives, and the Baha’i International Community is increasingly concerned about their fate.

read more | digg story

CNN.com posts another article on the arrests of the Baha'is in Iran

2008-05-22T20:47:00.003+03:00

CNN.com has just posted an exceptional follow up article on the recent arrests of the Baha'is in Iran.

Iran 'plans to destroy Baha'i community'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A top Baha'i official has criticized Iran's claim that the six imprisoned leaders of the religious minority were held for security reasons and not because of their faith.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has been accused of trying to eliminate the Baha'i community.

Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, called Iran's assertion "utterly baseless."

"The allegations are not new, and the Iranian government knows well that they are untrue," Dugal said on Wednesday, quoted in a news release issued by the Baha'i movement.

"The documented plan of the Iranian government has always been to destroy the Baha'i community, and these latest arrests represent an intensification of this plan."

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said the people were detained for "security issues" and not their faith, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency said.

Elham said on Tuesday that the Baha'is were members of a group working together "against national interest."

"The group is an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular," he said.

The arrests of the six last week and another Baha'i leader in March sparked sharp condemnation by the Baha'is, the United States, Canada, the European Union and humanitarian groups.

The Baha'is say the latest arrests are part of a pattern of religious persecution since 1979, when the monarchy of the Shah of Iran was toppled and an Islamic republic was created in the predominantly Shiite nation.

The Baha'is say they have been killed, jailed and "otherwise oppressed" only because of their religion.

"The best proof of this is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam, an option few have taken," Dugal said.

Read the rest of the article >

Powerful response by the Baha'i International Community to the recent arrests in Iran

2008-05-22T06:53:00.004+03:00

Last week, the Iranian government arrested 6 leaders of the Baha'i community for working "against the state’s interests...not for their faith".

The Baha'i International Community has just issued a very powerful response to the allegations and clearly outlined the Iranian government's campaign against Baha'is -- a campaign undertaken in the hopes of wiping the Baha'i community in Iran out.

Please read this news article to get an good understanding of how wide-ranging and insidious their efforts have been:

Read the full article >

Commemorating the Birth of the Baha'i Faith -- and remembering a history of persecution....

2008-05-21T10:15:00.007+03:00

As 7 leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran are being held in the notorious Evin prison on the patently false charge of "acting against the national interest", tomorrow Baha'is around the world will be commemorating the birth of their Faith 164 years ago in Iran. The presentation below gives a very abbreviated account of this event, which transpired in a modest home in Shiraz -- a house that was destroyed by the Iranian government in 1979.

It is ironic that while Bahai's revere Iran as the birthplace of their religion and wish the very best for the its people -- the government has been engaged in a concerted campaign of cultural cleaning against the Baha'is there...

Click here to see the presentation >

Dramatic and chilling video of the China earthquake

2008-05-20T14:35:00.003+03:00

This video from CNN reminds me in some ways of the amateur footage of 9/11. It's a powerful testimony of what it was like for those who faced this disaster. Please be aware however that some of this footage is quite intense and disturbing...

An incredible story of survival

2008-05-20T09:43:00.004+03:00

Here is the very moving account of a couple who survived after being buried together in the China earthquake:

In Rubble, Couple Clung to Each Other, and to Life >

Tree near the Shrine of the Bab

2008-05-19T17:49:00.003+03:00

This is a Jacaranda tree near the Shrine of the Bab -- with a bougainvillea vine that grows around it. It has not looked this beautiful in the 3 years that we have been here...

A little known environmental problem

2008-05-19T17:42:00.003+03:00

This was a surprising article on "ghost nets" -- fishing nets that are lost at the sea and continue to catch and kill marine life. It's great that something is being done about it finally...

Ireland to hunt nightmare fishing nets in north Atlantic

A photo from India

2008-05-19T10:55:00.004+03:00

India 4101
Originally uploaded by Departure Lounge

This is another great photo from Ryan Lash. He has a way of finding such beauty in the saddest places. The colors in this photo stand in contrast to the despair in this boys face and in a way provide a sense of hope...

...an indication of the growing sense of the unity of humankind

2008-05-19T09:19:00.006+03:00

The situation in Myanmar is so sad -- both in the destruction caused by the cyclone and the difficulty in getting help to the people there. This article in New York magazine gives a good picture of the tireless efforts by the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It demonstrates how far we have come in the past 100 years -- for no matter how distant a catastrophe is from us, we have learned how to respond quickly and energetically to assist.

Over 100 years ago Baha'u'llah stated "The well-being of humanity, it's peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established". To me this means that until we see every member of the human race as our family we cannot truly resolve the problems that plague us. In crises like those in Myanmar and China we see the world drawing closer to this reality -- where we can empathize with the sufferings of other--no matter how far they live from us or how different they are in culture or language.

I also have to admit that I like the the simple reference in the article to Baha'is trying to donate money to the relief efforts (in the second paragraph). In a numerical sense, the Baha'i Faith is still quite small and unable to make a big difference in lending physical (or financial) support to these kinds of crises -- but so many individual Baha'is and communities around the world do their best to help in whatever way they can -- from feeding or providing clothing, helping with childcare or re-establishing schools and basic infrastructure. Assisting humanity is an integral element of being a Baha'i, for as Baha'u'llah said: "Be anxiously concerned about the needs of the age ye live in..." and "The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life..."

Guess what I found in the NY Times achives?

2008-05-18T13:02:00.012+03:00

I was searching the archives for the New York Times and found this wonderful article from 1992 with references to a couple of people that I didn't know then -- but have since had the great fortune to become friends with.

...And one person especially that I was VERY fortunate to marry 3 years later :-)

Baha'i Faithful Prepare for World Congress

"...Some 30,000 Baha'is from around the world are expected at the four-day gathering, which marks 100 years since the death of the Baha'i prophet, Baha'u'llah. It is only the second world congress in the history of the faith; the first was in London in 1963. There are five million Baha'is in the world, 110,000 of them in the United States and fewer than 1,500 in the Greater New York area.

Brad Pokorny, a spokesman for the Baha'i gathering, said New York was chosen because it is the home of many races and religions. "We want to show the world that there can be unity out of this diversity," he said."

***************

"...One dancer, Frank Robinson Jr., a 24-year-old student from Plainville, Conn., wore a bandanna around his head. He said that Baha'is accept the larger culture as long as "it doesn't remove you from God."

"Our goal is to have salvation in the world, not in isolation," he said. "If we were to live in isolation it wouldn't do the world much good."

**************

"...Baha'is reach out through periodic home gatherings they call Firesides. At one such meeting earlier this week in Highland, N.Y., near New Paltz, N.Y, 18 men and women sat in Christine Krug's living room. Dan Nossa, 18, spoke about the Baha'i notion of "progressive revelation," which contends that God sends messengers to earth in each era and that the prophecy of each builds on that by predecessors."

Read the whole article here >

Six Baha'is arrested in Iran

2008-05-17T06:34:00.002+03:00

This is very ominous news from Iran....

"Six Bahá’í leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison yesterday in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Bahá’í leaders were summarily rounded up and killed."

To read the full story go to the article on CNN.com or the Baha'i World News Service

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel

2008-05-08T15:34:00.004+03:00

Last night to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, Haifa had a fireworks display and a laser light show on Mount Carmel. Since it happens that we have a great view of the mountain from our flat, we took these photos: