Death Threat for an Iranian Blogger

Via AS, I have seen the death threat to the Iranian blogger Editor:Myself. In the world of the Theo Van Gogh murder, these matters are to be taken seriously. To be candid, when I was president of the West Coast branch of PEN (circa 1992) at the height of the Salman Rushdie fatwa, I thought threats like this were something of a game (We would all try to hold parties for Salman, etc., no one thinking there was really a danger. Who could do such a thing?). No more.

Meanwhile, and not unrelatedly, it seems the Iranian nuclear situation is headed for a difficult crunch between the US and Europe. And our friend Vladimir Putin is not beng helpful, at least outwardly. He is continuing his for profit game, helping the mullahs get their reactor, as if Beslan had not happened. Money talks indeed. Aren’t you relieved Bush is in the White House with this going on? I am. But he has his hands full.