Iran Sentences 5 More To Death in Postelection Civil Turmoil

The sentencing of five more opposition leaders to death brings the total number given an order of supreme sacrifice by Islamic justice to eight. This is not surprising given the Islamic culture of the Arabic countries.

It began almost 3,800 years ago during the reign of Hammurabi, a little-known (outside of Biblical and Legal scholars) King of Babylon. A man of his time - a time of violence and upheaval - he instituted the "Code of Hammurabi", the earliest-known example of a ruler proclaiming publicly to his people an entire body of laws, arranged in orderly groups, so that all men might read and know what was required of them. The code was carved upon a black stone monument, eight feet high, and clearly intended to be reared in public view.

The code then regulates in clear and definite strokes the organization of society. The judge who blunders in a law case is to be expelled from his judgeship forever, and heavily fined. The witness who testifies falsely is to be slain. Indeed, all the heavier crimes are made punishable with death. Even if a man builds a house badly, and it falls and kills the owner, the builder is to be slain. If the owner's son was killed, then the builder's son is slain. We can see where the Hebrews learned their law of "an eye for an eye." These grim retaliatory punishments take no note of excuses or explanations, but only of the fact--with one striking exception. An accused person was allowed to cast himself into "the river," the Euphrates. Apparently the art of swimming was unknown; for if the current bore him to the shore alive he was declared innocent, if he drowned he was guilty. So we learn that faith in the justice of the ruling gods was already firmly, though somewhat childishly, established in the minds of men.

There were 282 of these "laws" established in the code, most of which call for a penalty of death if violated, which today's western culture views as outrageously cruel. But there was no "western world" known at that time. The Code of Hammurabi is the foundation of all law in the majority of middle eastern countries. Add to that Muslim sharia law, which is itself draconian in nature, and you have a recipe for extreme punishment for what westerners would consider relatively minor offenses.

During the period of unrest and civil disturbance following Iran's recent questionable election, the only fatalities were inflicted upon the opposition by the government security forces. Those prisoners identified as being members of the opposition were, for the most part, charged with civil disturbances and property crimes (vandalism), neither of which would warrant the death penalty in any civilized society. But sharia "law" is a law that punishes victims of crime as quickly as it punishes the criminal.

Where is the world's outrage against such extreme penalties for relatively minor violations of law? Where are the bleeding heart liberals? Where is the loud voice of the international press? Where is a statement deploring these Draconian punishments from the President of the United States? Why are these actions treated by most as a footnote rather than a headline? This is the 21st century, not the 16th century BC!

REALITY BYTES! - aka: Things I've Thought About Recently

Or, reality BITES! Take your choice. It's your call, because it's your reality. I am aware that, more often than not, I tend to sound like the voice of doom in my blog. But, that's my reality, and it's the only reference point I have for my world. I do, from time-to-time, post the realities that others have shared with me, either directly (conversations, email, etc.) or indirectly (media reports, etc.). But, even then, what you see is my reality's take on their reality.

Although reality is an individual concept, nobody's reality is absolutely theirs... not if they live with or around other human beings. Our "personal realities" are colored by the society/culture in which we live, and begin at a chronological age that predates understanding. Those influences are parents, teachers, religious leaders, peers, tribal leaders/politicians, celebrities, media, and personal observations.

In a very general sense, the people of a given culture tend to share probably 85% (I just pulled that statistic out of my butt... hence the "probably") of a very similar personal reality. How widely and deeply the remaining 15% of their reality varies from the norm, determines how the individual is classified within that society. In some instances - people such as Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great, Rasputin, Adolf Hitler, and Mother Teresa - the individual deviation from the norm is so great that there is an historical record of it, and their accomplishments are known around the world.

In an attempt to ensure a homogeneous society, cultures establish centers of social indoctrination which we refer to as the "educational system". The purpose of the "educational system" is to indoctrinate the students in the expectations of the culture through modification of whatever "personal blueprint" the student may have been born with. For example, in the "educational" system of the USA, the indoctrination has been noticeably moving to the left for at least four decades. Prior to that, the shift to the left was more insidious - more clandestine. The result of that shift in indoctrination became most obvious with the election of an inexperienced, unvetted, junior senator from the corrupt Illinois political machine as the POTUS. The man who can say nothing better than anybody, easily mesmerized the majority of voters between the ages of 18 and 45 because they had been conditioned to accept empty promises from the left, and to believe that socialism is a good thing. (But, I must remind you once again - that is the perception from MY reality.)

Remember, that which we perceive as real is a function of how our mind processes information. Processing which has been influenced by those whose opinions and attitudes we respect, and our own previous life experiences. (Also, the mind is not a physical attribute - it is, itself, a function of electrical responses traveling through the circuitry of our synapses. What we call the "mind" is simply information processed, evaluated, and stored in compartments of the physical brain. A mind cannot exist independently of the brain. That would take an entire separate blog for me to discuss in detail.)

As I usually say... I could be completely wrong in my perception of reality... but then, so could you.

Another Round of "Who Cares?" - Pitt and Jolie Aren't The First People to Have Twins

Why does anybody really care about Angelina Jolie giving birth to twins? This is not the first set of twins in recorded history, for Pete's sake! It is, however, and indication that the Brangelina's are now buying into their own "super star" status, that elevates them above the rest of humanity. I could understand the hoopla if Angelina had given birth to a litter of octuplets ... or even octopi ... either of which would have certainly been a newsworthy event. But, she didn't ... and, in order to insure her goddess-like stature was maintained for this essentially mundane event, the Pitt-Jolie empire bought the entire 5th floor of a maternity hospital in France for the final weeks of the 'event!' I wonder how many "lesser women" got less-than-excellent treatment at that facility during this egregious display of stellar selfishness? One room with, perhaps, two bodyguards posted outside the door, should have provided more than enough exclusivity to satisfy the privacy needs of any mortal woman.

And the press is guessing that the first 'official' photographs of the twins will be worth between $10M-$15M! Photographs of the baby Jesus might be worth that much to somebody. Or if the kids have two heads or six legs each, that might be worth a bundle! But, as far as I am aware, these are just two normal, healthy, human infants. If it's all about the money, maybe Angelina could auction off some of their dirty diapers on eBay, and pick up a few extra dollars that way, too. Perhaps the parents chose to have the babies born in France so the kids could be French citizens - which is much classier than being Americans ... at least in the eyes of the liberal left. Hollywood is entertaining, but most of the people who are in the industry seem to confuse the Hollywood culture/ethics/elitism with the real world. That's like comparing Disney's Magical Kingdom to Fidel Castro's Cuba!

Are our lives as working-class Americans so boring that we feel a need to deify celebrities? Keep in mind that these are people who don't even know YOU exist!