2-3 September 2006, Sat-Sun.

Hello, everybody. There's a lot of reason for concern, but I know that a rational and balanced man can only be bothered by the conditions of the world around him for so long. He has to keep his attention to the matters of his personal life: his job, his wife, his children (at home or grown), his spiritual life. Today was a good day. I let my wife talk me into buying a small refrigerator for my youngest daughter, who lives in LA, and who really needs a good unit to replace the old, often breaking-down refrigerator she has. We worked on cleanup of the house, new storage for our outdoor tools and equipment, talked to our daughters, planned a really neat weekend next weekend. It has been a long time since I was able to do some of the things that I am starting to do. Some of them...I never have. This is a good time. More to come, I hope.

I keep my eyes open, however, on the dark clouds gathering. I'm not interested in seeing innocent people die, women and children especially, no matter what nation or "by what name one calls on God," to paraphrase Mel Gibson in the movie, "We Were Soldiers." I am, however, very interested in seeing the guilty die. I support the death penalty for those who are guilty men. And the thugs of Hezbollah, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the killers of Al Qaeda,---they are very, very guilty men. And if they are not defeated, there will be many, many more who will die. Innocent people. People of every race and religion. The world cannot afford to keep averting their heads from the dark clouds gathering, the way too many of us try to pretend that the poor and homeless are invisible when we find ourselves in a downtown area of our city.

Indeed, I shudder when I read of the scenario of what may happen with just a small band of individuals, carrying weapons of unspeakable horror, in briefcases, and vials of concentrated liquid. I shudder to think that these people actually want to unleash such vile instruments of death in the most densely populated places possible, around the greatest numbers of innocent people possible. These murderers will not care if many who die oppose America's entry and continued advancement of the war in Iraq, or if they are members of the Muslim faith, or if they see the images of death, mayhem, poverty, and despair in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and their hearts fill with compassion for the less fortunate. All they will care about is the successful slaughter of those caught in their crosshairs.

I have to stay engaged, in multiple areas. I believe that my culture, my country, my civilization is worth defending. And while I am too old to fight with a gun, I can do it with my keyboard, and I shall. But it is no use fighting for civilization if what passes for it loses its faith, its heart, its desire to see justice done. There are things that I believe God has exposed in my own character that forces me to think of the feelings of others beside myself, in ways that I did not before. I'll talk more about that in the future, and I hope that people who read what I have to say will see a purpose to my passion that does not fit neat stereotypes.

I read today, in the Wall Street Journal, a really provocative article by two of the leaders of the Iranian democracy movement, battling against the Ahmadinejad-Khameni regime, Ali Afshari and Akbar Atri. These two men, while entreating U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to challenge Ahmadinejad about their treatment of their own people, and to visit the prison where so many human rights activists have been held, tortured, even killed. The perspective about the West's inability to come to terms with the enemy that is the Iranian government (not its people) is something that every person who wishes to seek peace at all costs should observe, and upon which they should reflect whether the most peace-loving thing to do is to prepare for conflict---further conflict.

I'll refer you to the most salient words in Messrs. Afshari and Atri's article:

"Scores of other student activists are languishing in prisons throughout the country. The noose has been tightened around the neck of writers, journalists and bloggers in the past few months -- in their struggle to still remain afloat, they are committing bizarre acts of self-censorship. Satellite dishes are being collected so as to cut off the public's access to the free press and the news of the global community. Women's groups, labor organizations and student groups are not permitted even the most peaceful acts of protest. Women don't have the right to dress as they choose. And to show their respect for the international community, to the very inaugural session of the Human Rights Council where Mr. Annan delivered his historic speech, Iran sent the notorious Chief Justice Saeed Mortazavi, who is known to us as the butcher of the free press. These are the law-enforcement officials of the government with whom Mr. Annan plans to conduct civilized negotiations.

"In the nearly three decades since the 1979 revolution, Iranian activists have learned the hard way how essential it is to respect international conventions. We have realized that nothing can be accomplished by radicalism or unilateralism. Our dream is to see an Iran that stays true to the U.N. and its values and covenants. We also believe that all the violent rhetoric of our rulers, especially that of President Ahmadinejad, is rooted in our domestic problems. An undemocratic Iran will be a danger to the world, with or without nuclear arms. An Iranian government that has no regards for human rights cannot be a reliable party in any negotiations. Time and time again, these very points have proven true about Iran in the last 30 years. When the regime conducted its political assassinations of Iranian dissidents on European soil, European countries thought this was only the domestic problem of another country -- until terrorism became a global affliction.

"As two student activists, we urge Kofi Annan to place the issue of human rights as the top priority on his agenda. His visit happens to coincide with the anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in 1987, when several thousand were executed in the span of two weeks -- a crime for which the regime has never been held accountable, and whose perpetrators remain in power. We hope that Mr. Annan pays a visit to the Evin prison to lend an ear to the numerous peaceful activists who want nothing but to see Iran join the world community as a credible partner."

The most important thing that will make people, who are reluctant to leave a secure, peaceful personal life and do what they can to oppose an insane mass murderer is education. I hope I can be of help to that. Ciao for now.

---Belisarius II