August 2006

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Pluto is Dwarfed

August 26, 2006 in Comment, Useful Links | No comments

I used to be keen on the stars and planets, as a child I spent many a night looking at the craters on the moon in my 40x magnification telescope. I always planned to have my own observatory built into our mansion when I became a multi-millionaire… I would have observed the nine planets of the solar system and taken amazing photos of them through my enormous telescope… well, I guess that just won’t come to pass now as there are only eight real planets in our solar system. Pluto has been voted out by a group of about 2,500 scientists meeting in Prague! They’ve tried to lessen the blow on Pluto a little bit by introducing a new category of “dwarf planet”, of which there are now at least three in our solar-system including Ceres between Mars and Jupiter.

Link: BBC News Story: Pluto loses status as a planet

Baha’i studies conference attracts 1,100

August 26, 2006 in Baha'i related | No comments

About 1,100 participants attended the 30th annual Association for Baha’i Studies (North America) conference, held in San Francisco 10-13 August 2006.

There were 77 presentations, many of which explored the impact of religion on the evolution of consciousness. Presenters included Dr. Peter Khan (member of the Universal House of Justice), Dr. Janet Khan (serving at the Research Department at the Baha’i World Centre), Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi (Head of Research at the Baha’i World Centre), Dr. Roshan Danesh (Canadian lawyer and legal scholar), Mr. Duane Herrmann, Mr. Omid Ghaemaghammi, Dr. John Grayzel, Professor Don Hoffman (professor of cognitive science at the University of California) and Professor Faraneh Vargha-Khadem (head of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London.)

The centerpiece “Hasan M. Balyuzi Memorial Lecture” focussed on the life of Bahiyyih Khanum, the daughter of Baha’u'llah, and was given by Dr. Janet Khan. The lecture examined her role as a Baha’i leader in the early part of the 20th century and how that role reflects distinctive Baha’i concepts of rank and station.

There were also artistic presentations including music and theatre, among those who performed were Red Grammar and John Davey-Hatcher.

The full in-depth article about this event on the Baha’i World News Service web site, incuding additional photos, can be found here.

Photo: BWNS: David Diehl, Shabnam Azad, Anne Gillette, William Silva, Rachel Enslow, and Shahla Ali in a panel discussion. (Photo by Courosh Mehanian) [cropped]

Inder in the Edinburgh Festival

August 26, 2006 in Humour | 1 comment

Inder UnpronounceableFor the past decade Inder Manocha, one of the longest serving members of the Regional Baha’i Council for England, has been a popular master of ceremonies at Baha’i events in the UK for his quick wit and intelligent humour. In 2001 Inder chose comedy as his career over the psycotherapy he had qualified in, and began performing regularly in comedy clubs with an act that mixed cultural observations from his indian heritage with amusing scenarios built from common experiences of life in England.

In 2004 Inder won the EMMA (Ethnic, Multicultural, Media, Award) in the category best Comedy/Comedian. Inder has been making appearances in the Edinburgh Festival since 2003 but this year he has been performing his own nightly 45 minute show, “Unpronounceable”. While anybody can perform at the Edinburgh Festival fringe it is still a prestigious venue for comedians because it is so well attended by the public and every show is likely to receive several reviews in the press, there are also awards for the best shows and the best newcomers.

Among Inder’s Edinburgh reviews Hairline says that “Not only is he very funny but his subject matter really makes you think” and Three Weeks describes Inder as “tackling racism with the contempt it deserves, and conjuring up a belly of laughs with his sharp-shooting cultural observations.”

The Scotsman printed an interview with Inder Manocha and another commedian called DJ Danny on 5th August.

Some of the less enthusiastic comments I have read on Inder’s “Unpronounceable” show have been based on the expectation of something greater from past performances. Overall the reviews have placed Inder on about 3 stars out of 5, I have not seen the Edinburgh show but I have seen Inder perform on many earlier occasions and he has been hilarious, not just to me but evidently to the entirity of the audiences where I have seen him.

Inder is performing at the Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh until 28th August.

Iran’s Instructions to Monitor Baha’is

August 24, 2006 in Baha'i related | No comments

The contents of a letter sent on 29 October 2005 by the Iranian Armed Forces’ Command Headquarters to a number of governmental agencies has been made public and is available from the Baha’i World News Service.

The letter asks the agencies to assist in preparing a “complete report of all the activities” of the Baha’is “including political, economic, social and cultural” for the purpose of “identifying all the members” (quoted from an English translation of the letter).

In March the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir, stated that she was highly concerned about this letter – addressed to the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard and the Police Force – which states that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had instructed Command Headquarters to gather this information. Ms Jahangir said that this constituted “an impermissible and unacceptable interference with the rights of members of religious minorities” and was concerned that this would form the basis for the increased persecution of the Baha’is in Iran.

Disturbuing evidence has also been found of the extent to which the Iranian authorities are carrying out this instruction. The Baha’i World News Service has a copy of a letter (and English translation) dated 2nd May 2006 instructing the Iranian Union of Battery Manufacturers to provide a full list of Baha’is in the union within one week.

In recent months many Baha’is have been arrested and released without charge in a pattern of activity that is feared to be intended to further harass the Baha’i community, a full report of the situation the Baha’is currently face in Iran can be found here.

Meanwhile, following the disturbing discovery of this confidential correspondence, the worrying plight of the Iranian Baha’is has been brought to the attention of governments and media around the world who have spoken up in their defence. The Baha’i World News Service story quotes responses from, among others, a spokesman for the President of the United States, the Council of Europe, the French Foreign Affairs Minister, the Spanish House of Representatives and the House of Representatives of the Philippines.

See the full story here
See the letter in Persian here
See the English translation here

See also: The Growing Threat to Iran’s Baha’is

Joseph, the Persian Tenor

August 21, 2006 in Baha'i related, Useful Links | No comments

Here’s a cute video that may bring a smile to some faces, particularly Persian faces…

THE UNIVERSAL LOVE: A BAHA’I VIDEO – open for votes

The Universal House of Justice: Baha’is in Haifa

August 18, 2006 in Baha'i related | No comments

The following letter from the Universal House of Justice (the international governing body of the Baha’is) confirms that all the Baha’is and Holy Places in Israel have remained safe during the recent fierce conflict…

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

17 August 2006

To the Baha’is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

By the grace of a merciful Providence, the month-long crisis that posed a grave danger to life in this region, and a clear threat to the safety of the World Centre of our Faith, subsided a few days ago. Our hearts reach out to the innocent victims on both sides of the fiery conflict it entailed. Their relief from grief is the object of our ardent prayers.

We affirm with gratitude to Baha’u'llah that no damage was done to the Holy Places and that the friends here remained in safety, pursuing their tasks with steadiness of purpose and exemplary perseverance.

During the early days of this perilous period our spirits were uplifted by the radiant resolve of the 172 friends who were able to come as participants in the last programme for the 2005-2006 pilgrimage season. Hailing from 16 countries, they arrived as the clouds of strife hung heavy over the Holy Land. Given the unpredictability of the situation, it was not until the ninth night of their sojourn that the pilgrims attained to the Sacred Threshold at Bahji. This was for them an unexpected bounty marking the high point of a pilgrimage experience unlike any other thus far recorded. And so they returned to the fields of service from whence they came with fulfilled hearts, their souls quickened, ready to focus the enhanced measure of their spiritual energy on realizing the global aim of the Five Year Plan.

The recent turbulence once again involving the Holy Land was only the latest among the recurrent upheavals so characteristic of unsettled conditions that have long obtained in the Middle East; it was only one among a mounting tide of world-shaking afflictions. To the followers of the Blessed Beauty imbued with a world-healing vision of the Divine Plan in its current phase, the disquiet intermittently affecting this Land of the Prophets may well be regarded, beyond all other contexts, as a reminder of – indeed, a spur for – the efforts to be made, the tasks urgently to be done. Press on, then, undeterred by any trouble, confident of the promised glory of the divinely assured outcome.

Just two days ago, we went to Bahji and bowed down at the Sacred Threshold to give thanks to the Beloved on behalf of every one of you for the protection He had vouchsafed to the World Centre of His Faith, and we continue to pray for His confirmation of every step you take to advance His mighty Cause.

The Universal House of Justice

Parliamentary Seminar on Freedom of Religion and Belief

August 15, 2006 in Baha'i related | 1 comment

Source: Freedom to Believe

The UK Baha’i community, working with the All Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is, has held the first of three seminars on the theme of “freedom of religion and belief” in the UK Parliament.

The aim of the seminars is to promote a wider debate and acceptance of this basic human right which was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 25th November 1981. The seminars coincide with the 25th anniversary of the proclamation.

This first seminar was held on 24th July and was attended by a wide variety of organizations, including the Minority Rights Group, Forum 18, UK Friends of the Falun Gong, Three Faiths Forum, the Jain Samaj and the British Humanist Association, as well as the Baha’i community of the United Kingdom and Members of the UK Parliament.

Issues that were debated included:

  • The question of faith schools and the degree to which they protect a religious community and whether they act as a bar to religious choice.
  • How states who claim to be tolerant of religious diversity, but are not, can be addressed by the international community.
  • A statement that was offered on reports of organ harvesting and other repression of members of the Falun Gong in China.
  • How do we define what is a religion, and are there parameters. Should we accept different interpretations within a religion that represent the extremist view of that religion?
  • Can new machinery and resources be made available to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom and Religion?
  • Can the 1981 declaration be made into an obligation?

Barney Leith, Secretary for External Affairs of the Baha’i community of the UK, stated that while the world-wide Baha’i community has a good understanding of the importance of freedom of religion and belief through its own experiences, the series of seminars is to promote a better understanding of this freedom as a universal human right. He invited those attending to take a copy of the Baha’i International Community’s statement, Freedom to Believe, which sets out the Baha’i position on this particular right. Barney Leith also called for human rights education to be given greater prominence in the British educational system.

Links:

Baha’i World News Service report of the first seminar
Anniversary Event in Prague
Universal Declaration on Human Rights
Barney Leith’s blog. [Relevant entries: 1 2]

Broadband Deals

August 15, 2006 in Comment, Computing, Internet, Useful Links | No comments

Once you have learnt where the on switch is on a computer everybody asks you for advise on how to do things such as how to make a website that will bring in millions of pounds a day, how to use Microsoft Excel on Windows to print a Document that was written in an Arabic version of Quark Express on the Apple Mac, and how to take remote control of US Satellite Defense Systems. Another among such common questions is the matter of which UK broadband service provider to go with for personal use. I chose one fairly recently so I do have five suggestions here…

Firstly, I don’t believe in less than 4GB usage per month as being worth while, so prices I mention are for packages offering more than that.

1. PlusNET. £14.99/month + BT Line Rental
This service has a 4GB limit during peak hours (4pm-midnight) and no limits outside those hours. You are don’t even have to commit to a year but you have to pay a deferred activation fee when you leave which could be as much as £47. I’m with PlusNET, so if you join them by following this link you will save me a few pennies a month (only pennies).

2. Sky Broadband £20.00/month (£5.00 if you already subscribe to Sky) + BT Line rental
This is a great deal, you get almost unlimited use, you get Sky TV and you pay less than many other companies charge for broadband without the TV service. The actual package is £5.00/month for Sky subscribers and Sky subscription starts at £15.00 for which you can get all the best entertainment and documentary channels. (£20.00 activation fee)

3. NTL/Telewest. £17.99/month
If you don’t have a BT telephone line then cable is the way to go, it’s slower but its unlimited and cheaper than paying for a BT line and broadband on top of that. Cable only covers some of the country, availability is limited. Unfortunately “cable is not available in [my] area”, though it is on the other side of my street!

4. Talk Talk. £19.99/month
It’s almost unlimited and the price includes your BT line rental, you also get great deals on your phone calls. The catch… it’s an 18 month contract and you will be using Talk Talk instead of BT for all your phone related matters.

5. BT Broadband. £22.99/month + BT Line Rental
One of the things about broadband is that when something goes wrong you want it fixed, and the people who are best at getting things fixed when they go wrong, generally speaking, are BT. They are the more expensive option but they are reliable and they are in control of everything you are using, if you use BT and have a problem then it will never be a third party’s fault.

Ladan, One Year On

August 15, 2006 in Diary, Ladan | 2 comments

Although Ladan fell into a coma on 4th November 2004, it is now a little over one year since we believe Ladan had her last haemoorhage, coming at the end of nine or more traumatic months of medical upsets. Since then Ladan has remained in a stable condition.

Ladan shows only minimal signs of any consciousness, that is to say that she opens her eyes, often responds to auditory, visual, tactile or gustatory (taste) stimulation, and on rarer occasions will apparantly track with an eye (her eyes have remained divergent since her last haemorrhage) or respond to a series or requests with appropiate blinking. Ladan’s breathing often changes according to her state and this response is also frequently observed when changing the topic of discussion to something personal to her.

Improvement cannot be measured on any large scale, but physical stability still slowly improves, such as blood pressure and temperature stability, and when Ladan is going through a more responsive period blinking responses have been observed more frequently and probably for longer durations, though such events are still relatively rare. Earlier reports in my blog have seen Ladan more responsive than this but that was prior to the last haemorrhage, in the same way as Ladan was communicating by nodding and shaking her head prior to the seizure in December 2004, each event brought a serious set-back in the path of recovery, which is why a year of stability is, in itself, something to be thankful for.

Since May we have been in a care home called The Minories in Jesmond, Newcastle. It is a very friendly home and much quieter than the Hawthorns in Peterlee or the hospital was. Professional input into Ladan’s case is minimal and almost exclusively clinical, but that is pretty much the how it was at The Hawthorns and the hospital anyway. Ladan has not, as yet, had any serious problems at The Minories and seems very settled here, I nearly always come in to find Ladan looking settled in the mornings. Myself and Ladan’s other family members are also made to feel very welcome here day and night, which I am sure has a possitive influence on Ladan too, probably in more ways than one. There are a few problems which are taking a long time to get sorted out, but so far Ladan seems to be doing very well there.

There is a new rehabilitation centre opening in Newcastle at the end of the year which we still have the option of going to if things don’t seem adequate at the Minories, but I am hoping that will not be the case. In the longer term, if there is no major recovery in the near future, I still plan to get Ladan out of the care home environment and into a real home environment where I can be there for her in a more normal fashion, the medical professionals want Ladan to remain in a care home environment for a significant period of time to be sure that she is stable enough to move into a real home.

Jamaicans celebrate 4th National Baha’i Day

August 11, 2006 in Baha'i related | 1 comment

Source: BWNS – Jamaicans celebrate 4th National Baha’i Day

On 25th July 2003, to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Jamaica, the Governor General of the island proclaimed that day to be “Baha’i Day” for the whole country. The following year Jamaica’s Baha’is disccovered that once such a proclamation has been made it becomes a permanent feature of the island and therefore they have started holding celebrations on 25th July each year to which Baha’is, leaders of other religions and an extended array of guests are invited.

This year the Baha’i Day events included a Baha’i Day Breakfast sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly. It was attended by representatives of the various religions from the Interfaith Council, including Moslems, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus, as well as the Mayor of Kingston and the media.

Celebrations were also held in the Kingston, Montego Bay and Port Antonio communities. Port Antonio held a 4 day exhibition at the public library on the history of the Faith in Jamaica.

The highlight of the national observance was the speech by the Mayor…

“The city of Kingston welcomes the Baha’is with open arms because we share your zest for unity and peace.” said Mr. McKenzie.

[Photo: BWNS: The Mayor with interfaith particants at the Baha'i Day Breakfast.]

For the full story and additional photos click here.

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