[Puppage]

Already the crowd are out in force, some of them in a remarkably cheery mood. A few are getting ready to photograph the scene on their mobile phones. There are even one or two young children around.

Not to worry....Obama says he'll talk with them.

[Bitsy]

Not to worry....Obama says he’ll talk with them.

Does he believe in death by stoning? If he becomes president of the US will stoning replace the electric chair or injections?

[r9etb]

Already the crowd are out in force, some of them in a remarkably cheery mood. A few are getting ready to photograph the scene on their mobile phones. There are even one or two young children around. Not to worry....Obama says he'll talk with them.

FWIW, it's not just an Islamic thing. "Watching the hangings" was a popular entertainment in England, back in the 18th and 19th centuries.

American public hangings were similarly well-attended ... I remember reading one account where the rope was cut up and the pieces handed out as souvenirs of the event.

Here is a picture of the last public hanging in the US, back in 1936, in Owensboro, KY.

Not a sparsely attended event....