I try to be considerate of other cultures. But sometimes you run across something where you have to shake your head and wonder how our species has survived for as long as it has.

The latest news is that the Iranian Parliament is presently debating whether bloggers who establish weblogs and websites promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy (heresy or abandonment of religion) should face the death penalty. Makes you appreciate our freedom of speech here in the USA, doesn’t it?

Hopefully, their decision will only affect bloggers living in Iran. But if I suddenly go missing, please contact the U.S. Embassy in Iran to inquire as to whether I might be in custody. Thank you.

Follow this link for more commentary and links on the subject.

Right up front I have to state that I am not a Bush supporter, and I am completely against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So please keep my obvious bias in mind.

I think Bush and his Administration honestly believe that military force is more efficient than diplomacy. I have often worried that Bush would be getting us into a war with North Korea or Iran. But as his time as President dwindles away, I had hoped that he would subscribe to the “lame duck” ideation and become more moderate. But a just-released article by the Washington Post has me worried again.

Dan Froomkin’s article “Are We Closer to War?” discusses yesterday’s resignation of Admiral William J. Fallon. Fallon is the U.S. commander in the Middle East. When I first heard about his resignation, I simply thought to myself, “Yes! Another of Bush’s political puppets has jumped ship.” But Froomkin’s article brings up several points that I hadn’t even considered. Read the story, and pray that he is wrong…

“The abrupt resignation yesterday of the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, Admiral William J. “Fox” Fallon, has sparked a new round of speculation that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have some sort of plan in the works to attack Iran before their time is up.“