Personal diary of John Barnabas (aka Barney) Leith
From the monthly archives:
I was glad to learn that a number of Baha’is have been awarded honours in The Queen’s New Year Honours list.
Earl Cameron
I am particularly happy that an old friend and veteran actor Earl Cameron, has received the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to drama. You can read more [...]
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OK, I passed the big six-oh last year, so I’m heading on through the sixth decade of my life. Celebrated today with a riot. Our three grown-up offspring, their spouses and our four grandchildren.
We also celebrated grandson Jacob’s third birthday (which was yesterday, Boxing Day). Presents all round.
The four cousins played wonderfully together, but at [...]
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I have just returned from a Chanukah (aka Hanukkah) celebration hosted by David Miliband MP, the British Foreign Secretary, at Lancaster House (just off London’s Pall Mall).
Mr Miliband spoke simply and well, welcoming the second time that the FCO had celebrated Chanukah and looking forward to the third time, by when it will have become [...]
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‘Abdu’l-Baha
This very sweet tale was sent to me by my good friend Jack McLean, Baha’i poet and scholar in Canada, who received it indirectly from a Phil Christensen, a Baha’i in South Africa. Jack, to whom I’m most grateful, introduces the story.
It is well worth reading. I have recast the introduction but not the story [...]
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Agence France Press (AFP) has just released the news that the Iranian authorities have closed down the offices of Nobel Laureate human rights defender Shirin Ebadi.
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian police shut down the office of a human rights group headed by Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi on Sunday, the deputy head of the Human Rights [...]
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Regular readers will recall that I wrote about the amazing and wondrous story of Charles Everett Ellis, as told in The Barber’s Diaries here (a year ago) and here (in September this year).
My good friend David Henderson tells me he has been working with the indie film makers Outpost Worldwide to revise the video story [...]
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Even while the UN passes a resolution condemning Iran’s human rights record and its treatment of minorities, such as the Baha’is, the Iranian authorities continue to pile pressure on the Baha’is in Iran, as these stories from Iran Press Watch show:
Baha’i followers searched in Iran
Baha’i households raided in Semnan
Raid on Baha’i homes in Semnan
Baha’is detained [...]
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I was very happy to learn last night that Canada’s resolution condemning Iran’s appalling human rights record was passed in a vote at the UN General Assembly’s plenary session yesterday.
Yes votes totalled 69. There were 54 No votes and 57 Abstentions. Iran tried to prevent a debate and vote by tabling a No Action Motion [...]
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Next to the Word of God the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most important documents in human history.
Yes, I know it is not enforceable. Yes, I know its provisions are widely ignored. Yes, I know it is an imperfect document. But the fact that those states that were members of the [...]
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The Times has today published an open letter signed by a number of prominent human rights campaigners, academics, lawyers and church leaders calling on the government of Iran
… to allow full and unfettered access to education for all members of the Iranian Baha’i community, and to cease the harassment of Baha’is at any and all [...]
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