The Jasper Family, the U. S. Army, and Four Really Bad Hours

When the U. S. Army makes a mistake, it's often a big one. I think that's because of its size, and its soldiers being in life-and-death situations.

The latest snafu to hit the fan was in The Associated Press's news last night:

"An Army unit is reviewing how it delivers information to families after a call to a western New York couple led them to believe their son had been killed in combat.

"Ray Jasper of Niagara Falls said he, his wife, Robin, and their extended family spent four hours Sunday mourning their son, Sgt. Jesse Jasper, before learning from his girlfriend that he was alive...."
(AP)

The Horror! The Inhumanity! The Callous Disregard for Feelings!

The Army recognizes that its soldiers are people with families, and has procedures to deal with the fact:

"...A spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division said Jasper's unit, through its family readiness group, notifies all families of deaths within the unit to prevent undue worry and misinformation. Maj. Brian Fickel said callers are instructed to read from a written script to prevent misinterpretation...."
(AP)

There's an investigation going on, but right now it looks like the script was read exactly as written - but that the phone connection dropped during a critical few moments, changing the meaning of what was said.

The unit is apparently considering re-writing the script.

"...Fickel said the unit is considering starting the scripts with 'your son or daughter is fine.' Internal jargon like "red line message" will probably go, he said...."
(AP)

The Army Goofed! Anybody Surprised?

The Army makes mistakes. No surprises there. Sometimes they're really big mistakes. Again, no surprises. This is the second time this year that something's gone wrong with the Army's procedures for notifying next-of-kin.

That might be a surprise - but this time it was a single incident involving (apparently) a perfect storm of a written script, internal jargon, and a faulty phone connection. About nine months ago, it was about 7,000 "John Doe" letters sent by some contractor.

Yes, I think somebody at the contractor's end dropped the ball - but a Colonel's name was on the letter; the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Virginia; was responsible for the mission of getting (more appropriate) letters sent out: and a Brigadier General apologized for the mess. (January 7, 2009)

In that case, a unit of the army was responsible for getting something done right, something went wrong, and the problem was dealt with. I'm pretty sure that there will be changes, this time, to ensure that another family doesn't have the experience that the Jaspers had for four hours.

The Army Learns from Mistakes - That Might be a Surprise

It's not that I've got a blind faith in America's military - or in America. This country's made some world-class blunders over the last two-and-a-third centuries. It's also corrected most of them. Some corrections are, in my view, still pending - but I don't expect instant fixes.

America's military is the same way. They've made mistakes. Sometimes huge ones. And, learned from them.

I think that's why "On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign The United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM May 2003–January 2005" didn't get the enthusiastic press coverage it might have.

In my view, there were 'way too many facts in the document - and too much discussion of routine procedures that the Army has for spotting mistakes and seeing to it that they don't happen again. ((June 30, 2008) Some mistakes, of course, are repeated - but with the exception of outfits like the K-9 corps, soldiers are almost exclusively human - and 'to err is human' is all too true.

It'll be interesting to see if old-school news media and other traditional gatekeepers approach the Jasper family's experience with the same polite deference and reserve they've used for ACORN's chronic ethical lapses.

Of course, 'that's different.'

Related posts:

• " 'Honesty Traces' and the Marines in Afghanistan: Hansel and Gretel Were Right"
  (August 22, 2009)
• "Pentagon Equates (Violent) Protest to Terrorism: Leaves Out Critical Explanation"
  (June 18, 2009)
• "Army Emergency Relief Scandal: Stockpiling, Hoarding, and 'Never Mind?' "
  (February 26, 2009)
• "Castro, Cuba, Guevara, Traditional Gatekeepers, and the Information Age"
  (January 30, 2009)
• "Abu Ghraib: Abuse and Sexual Humiliation by American Soldiers in the News Again"
  (January 25, 2009)
• "Army 'John Doe' Letter: Major SNAFU, Classy Cleanup"
  (January 7, 2009)
• "All Those 'Poor, Uneducated, Minorities Being Drafted in America!' "
  (January 4, 2009)
• "Plutonium Spill! Aircraft Carrier Fire! Warplanes Crashing! Disasters Everywhere!"
  (July 31, 2008)
• "Army Report: Big Mistakes in Iraq!"
  (June 30, 2008)
• "Army Takes Down Crosses at Kosovo Chapel: Sentiment, Regulations, and Common Sense"
  (May 29, 2008)
• "2001 Anthrax Attack: Lies at Fort Detrick"
  (March 28, 2008)
• " 'The Army is Unraveling' - Just Like Vietnam!"
  (March 19, 2008)
• "Mistakes Happen: USAID Aids Terrorists"
  (November 19, 2007)

Background:

• "NY dad told soldier-son killed in war _ he wasn't"
  The Associated Press (September 15, 2009)

---

On a personal note: when thinking about large, long-established, organizations, I'm inclined to look at the entity's history and nature - not just what a small number of people affiliated with it have done recently.

A couple decades ago, while the pedophile priest scandal was starting to boil over, I converted to Catholicism. Not because I approve of men in authority raping boys, but because of what I had been learning about the Catholic Church. (February 19, 2009, in another blog, for starters)

Yes, priests raping boys was - and is - wrong. The activities of a handful of priests should have been dealt with earlier. Priests are human beings, and sometimes they do things that are bad. (July 29, 2009, July 25, 2009, and elsewhere, in another blog)

North Korea and the Kim Jong Dynasty: Not All Countries are the Same

We got a rare glimpse of North Korea's political life today, in an interview with one of Kim Jong Il's sons, Kim Jong Nam.

"...Kim Jong Nam told TV Asahi in Macau that he does not care about politics or succeeding his father.

" 'Personally, I am not interested in this issue (succession),' he said in an interview with the Japanese television network. 'Sorry, I am not interested in the politics.'

"The rules governing transfer of power in the secretive communist nation are unclear.

"Kim Jong Il rules without challenge and has built a cult of personality around himself and his family...."

"...There has been speculation that Kim Jong Nam would defect from North Korea and that a purge of his supporters was under way. He told Asahi he saw no reason for leaving his homeland." (CNN)

I think that Kim Jong Nam showed the sort of (apparently) clear thinking and astuteness that has made Kim Jong Il's regime so lastingly successful. Whatever Kim Jong Nam's plans for the future are, he's more likely to live long enough to carry them out, if he doesn't annoy his father.

I do not think that the ruling dynasty of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has acted responsibly as leaders. I do, however, think that Kim Jong Il, at least, has demonstrated the ability, and the will, to maintain a high standard of living for himself, his family, and - probably - his closest followers.

Who will succeed Kim Jong Il in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea isn't at all clear. It's quite possible that his youngest known son, Kim Jong Un, will succeed Kim Jong Il.

Sons of Kim Jong Il:

• Kim Jong Nam
  • Age 37 or 38
  • Son of Kim Jong Il's first wife
• Kim Jong Chul
  • Age 28
  • Son of Koh Young Hee
• Kim Jong Un
  • Born in 1983 (age about 26)
  • Son of Koh Young Hee
  Times Online

Koh Young Hee has been referred to as Respected Mother by DPRK state media.

Kim Jong Il named a Successor, and Kim Jon Nam isn't Complaining - So What?

I really don't know what will happen when Kim Jong Il dies, or is no longer able to hang on to his leadership position. It may be that his wishes will be respected, and a previously-named successor will take over. Maybe that successor will be Kim Jong Un. It's also possible that there will be a very messy period, as factions in North Korea's government try to out-purge each other.

Since North Korea is now in the second generation of the Kim Jong dynasty, I think it's more likely than not that Kim Jong Il's wishes will be carried out. The purges that seem to be under way will help, I think, make that outcome even more likely.

I think that, when it comes, the third generation of the Kim Jong dynasty will be more of the same for the rest of the world. There's every indication that Kim Jong Il's youngest son is, in addition to being his father's favorite, gifted with the skills and attributes that made Kim Jong Il the leader he has been.

Although I generally prefer smooth transitions of authority, I'm not entirely happy about the prospect of another generation of North Korean diplomacy. Particularly since the DPRK will probably be producing more effective nuclear bombs, and missiles with longer ranges in the near future.

My concern is not only for Alaska Hawaii, and other American states that will be in range of North Korean missiles.

The people in North Korea will be increasingly at risk, as their government threatens countries which may be less inhibited than America. Sooner or later, I think it's likely that leaders of China, Russia, or another nation in North Korea's cross hairs, will decide to take immediate, practical, and irreversible steps to neutralize the threat.

North Korea, Burma / Myanmar, India and Germany - They're Not All Alike

The comments in another post started with a familiar approach: "No matter what you think of North Korea, they are a sovereign country...." Technically, this is true. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the government of a country, and that country is sovereign.

The implication, that North Korea's government is just like every other national government, is not, I think, true. Like the ruling junta of Burma / Myanmar, North Korea's government is very far from "transparent," and enforces its preferences with a crude effectiveness that would bring howls of protest in America. Assuming, of course, that the protesters were still alive.

Apparently, what I regard as the cheap sophistication of viewing the government of North Korea and Hamas as equivalent to the leadership of countries like Italy and Japan, is still fairly popular. I've written about this before (April 5, 2009, January 3, 2009).¹

Related posts:

• "North Korea Sentences Journalists: No Surprises Here"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "North Korea Holds American Journalists: Let's Not Forget"
  (June 5, 2009)
• "North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Brinksmanship, and Miscalculation"
  (May 27, 2009)
• "North Korea's City-Busting Nuke, a New Missile, and Diplomacy"
  (May 25, 2009)
• "North Korea's Launch: Watch Out for Incoming Communications Satellites?"
  (April 7, 2009)
• "North Korea and Missile Concerns: Nations are Not All Identical"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "Hamas, Palestine, Israel, and How to Seem Sophisticated"
  (January 3, 2009)
• "Guinea, Military Rule, and Terrorism: Beware Hasty Judgment"
  (December 29, 2008)
• "Burma / Myanmar: Small Country, Big Trouble"
  (September 30, 2007)
• "Moral Equivalence, Prisoners, and Al Qaeda"
  (July 21, 2007)

In the news:

• "Kim Jong Il's son 'not interested' in succession"
  CNN (June 9, 2009)
• "Kim Jong Il formally names youngest son as successor"
  The Times Online (June 3, 2009)

---

¹ Interestingly, the ruling junta in Burma / Myanmar doesn't seem to get quite the same consideration as North Korea's leadership. I think that's partly because the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, and other national leaders are a military junta, not leaders of a workers' paradise, and that they still have a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Ky, under house arrest. (Burma, World Factbook, CIA (last updated May 26, 2009)) I don't think that a natural disaster and a brutally well-managed election helped the junta look good, either.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri: No Cole Charges - Dandy

It's not been officially announced, but it sounds like an alleged terrorist held at Guantanamo (alleged Naval base?) won't be charged, after all. There's evidence that Al Qaeda bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri had a hand in bombing the USS Cole a few years ago. The good news is that he's supposed to be held in prison, anyway.

This is probably a great triumph for something, but I can't say that I'm very happy about the development. In my youth, and the years that followed, it seemed that the American judicial system was, at least in part, dedicated to protecting those who hurt others from facing the logical consequences of their acts, and punishing those who tried to protect themselves. This news reminds me of those 'good old days.'

The White House decision may not be completely daft, though: "...Obama administration officials told The Associated Press that the charges against al-Nashiri will be dismissed without prejudice. That means new charges can be brought again later. He will remain in prison for the time being...." (AP)

America: A Nation of Law

Judges interpreting the law may on occasion seem delusional: finding "penumbras, formed by emanations" that few others can see. But I am banking on checks and balances built into the American government, real-world phenomena related to actuarial data, and the occasional spasms of common sense that visit even the highest echelons of America's leadership, to keep American law from becoming a farce.

There's no doubt that American law isn't perfect: but with occasional exceptions the American legal system has been intended as a method of determining what's true, what's not, and, in criminal cases, who (if anybody) is guilty. I'll take what we've got over my ancestors' methods of settling disputes any day. "Njal's Saga"¹ is, in its own way, an inspiring tale of courage and determination. But I'm grateful for some of the changes in custom and jurisprudence which have come during the last millennium.

My point is that (generally speaking) American courts don't make decisions based on what the judge feels like that day, and that there is a complex - sometimes maddeningly so - process that by and large brings out facts and identifies baseless assumptions.

I trust that this process will be carried out, for al-Nashiri and the hundreds of other probable terrorists who are now in 'Gitmo.'

Sympathy, Common Sense, and American Leadership

My sympathy is for the families and friends of the 17 American sailors killed aboard the USS Cole. I hope that they can face another disappointment with dignity and fortitude.

As for America's leaders, I sincerely hope that they can consider the strong possibility that outfits like Al Qaeda and the Taliban are a real threat to America - and anyone else who doesn't follow what they think Islam is.

And, that Congress, the courts, and whoever is in the Oval Office for the next few decades can remember that, for all their human failings, the CIA and FBI are not our enemies.

What do I Have Against Yemen?

Since a quick look at the 'related posts' down there might give the idea that I have a low opinion, at best, about Yemen, I thought I'd sketch out how I see the territory.

Last year, after reading more about Yemen, I came to the conclusion that parts of the Yemeni national government are more-or-less allied with America. I still think that this is likely. That doesn't mean that I think that traveling in Yemen is a good idea, or that many of the country's people have gotten used to the 12th century yet.

As I wrote last year: "From what I've read, I think it would be more accurate to say that the Yemeni national government is an ally of America in the war on terror.

"The tribesmen of Yemen, who haven't gotten used to the idea of nation-states yet, don't seem to pay much attention to what the national government wants. My guess is that it's more important for them that Osama bin Laden's family came from Yemen. Besides, Al Qaeda says that they're protecting Islam from unbelieving foreigners: and America is just simply crawling with foreigners...."

More-or-less related posts:

• "USS Cole, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, and The War on Terror"
  (January 13, 2009)
• "Yemen: Terrorists, Tribesmen, and an American Teen"
  (September 18, 2008)
• "Leaky Prisons, Air-Tight Internet: Yemen, Turkey, and the Islamic Way?"
  (May 5, 2008)
• "Global Patriot Reporting: Anti-American Bias? Could Be "
  (March 25, 2008)
  • The Cole attack, common sense, and the news
• "USS Cole Mastermind Back in Prison; Or Never Was Released; Or Something Like That"
  (October 28, 2007)
• "Jamal al-Badawi: Al Qaeda Leader, Cole Conspirator, and Free Man"
  (October 27, 2007)
• "Jamal Badawi Blew Up USS Cole, Yemen Released Him"
  (October 26, 2007)
• "Congress Must Decide Who to Protect Americans From"
  (August 5, 2007)

In the news:

• "Sources: Charges to be dropped in terror trial"
  The Associated Press (February 5, 2009)
• "Obama likely to drop charges in Cole bombing case: TV"
  Reuters (February 5, 2009)
• "Family of Cole dead to visit Gitmo for arraignment"
  PilotOnline.com (February 5, 2009)

---

¹ Njal's Saga (also called "The Story of Burnt Njal," Njáls saga, and other names) is an account of a dispute among Icelanders that led to Nyaal (yet another spelling in American English), an upstanding man, being trapped in his house with his wife and child (I'm oversimplifying here).

The hero of the story gets burned alive? about halfway through? And I call this an "inspiring tale of courage and determination" ?!

Yes: Because of the way Njal faced death. Njal was not a young man. He and part of his family were trapped in their house. There was no way out. If they left the house, they would be killed. If they stayed inside, they would be killed.

It was an unpleasant situation.

I'll pick up the action in Njal's house, by now surrounded by enemies of Njal, who have arson on their minds.

"There had been an ox slaughtered and the hide lay there. Njal told the steward to spread the hide over them, and he did so.

"So there they lay down both of them in their bed, and put the boy between them. Then they signed themselves and the boy with the cross, and gave over their souls into God's hand, and that was the last word that men heard them utter...." ("Njal's Saga, as translated by Sir George W. DaSent (London, 1861))

The way I see it, Njal decided to make a statement: that his enemies were of so little consequence to him that he would ignore them, and take his death lying down. Or, 'you can kill me, but you can't make me take you seriously.'

Burning (relatively) defenseless people alive wasn't high on the list of things a Viking can brag about. Actually, it wasn't even on the list. (" 'We shall have to boast of something else than that Njal has been burnt in his house,' says Flosi, 'for there is no glory in that.' ")

I have great respect for the courage and determination of people like Njal. I'm also profoundly glad that my ancestors, and the rest of Western civilization, found other methods of resolving disputes.

Dog Tags for Kids: That's One Good Idea

War is tough on families, when a parent is overseas. Code Pink notwithstanding, there's not a realistic alternative to what America and other countries are doing to keep terrorists from killing us: but there is something that individuals can do, to help the families of America's military.

Dog Tags for Kids - Grassroots Support for American Military Families

"Charity gives engraved dog tags to kids"
MyFoxOrlando (December 25, 2008)

"LANCASTER, Calif. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- A California nonprofit is on a mission to send unique presents to children whose parents are serving in the world's most dangerous war zones.

"Rose Sliepka has no children of her own, but said she was compelled to make a gift for thousands of kids when she heard about a soldier who wanted to send his children a gift from Iraq.

" 'The only thing inside were some band-aids and sunscreen,' Sliepka said. 'That's all he had access to.'

"Sliepka, who owns an engraving shop, quickly focused on dog tags as something that was meaningful for military families and affordable for her to make...."

The dog tags cost 50 cents each.

Just the same, with 400,000 given out so far, it takes more than pocket change to keep Dog Tags for Kids running. The organization depends on donations to keep helping military families.

Dog Tags for Kids - From a Parent Overseas to a Child at Home

"100% of Your Donation Delivers Smiles"

"Help us send dog tags to troops in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan so they can send them to their kids back home!

"We desperately need everyone's help. Please see our Donation Page for more information. Thank you!

"This is a grassroots effort to show our support for the troops and their families. We tried to think of something we could send Dad or Mom that...."

"Letters and Quotes"

"...We have a ton of soldiers here, who come into our police station and see the 'LOVE DAD' dog tags. We give them out like candy and the soldiers always come back and tell us the praises they get from thier families about the dog tags...'How neat it is', 'What a good idea, who thought of it?', 'The kids take them to school and show as show and tell'....stuff like that. A couple of our soldiers have got them from you guys and they run out real fast....."

Dog Tags for Kids shows a sample of the dog tags "in Appropriate Service Colors" - DTfK used to give Photo Tags, too, but got swamped by the demand.

There's a donations page, where a person has a couple of options for supporting the program.

Individuals Make a Difference

Hats off to Rose Sliepka, one woman with a good idea and a lot of grassroots support.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

"sarah palin hot photos" and the American Presidential Election

With the American presidential election just over two months away, politics will rear its head from time to time, like a drowned muskrat breaking the surface of a pond.

While catching up on what terrorists, wanna-be terrorists, American politicians, and Middle Eastern governments have been up to, I ran into this search term:

sara palin hot photos

That gem made number 13 on Google's Zeitgeist page about an hour ago. That means it's towards the top of the current "100 most searched-for topics" on Google.

With: Iran confirming that it's got operational uranium-enrichment centrifuges (for peaceful purposes, we're told); Iraq signing a $3,000,000,000 oil deal with China (why not? it's their oil); Pakistan trying, and failing, to catch Al Qaeda's number-two man; what's the attention English-speaking world focused on?

sara palin hot photos

To be fair, there are other hot topics, including:

• 90210 cast (#10)
• confessions of a shopaholic (#6)
• amantadine (#1)

A few of them important.

But: sara palin hot photos?!!

Sure, I know what this is about: vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter, 17, is pregnant.

I could be wrong, but many people posting on discussion threads seemed to greet this news with unbridled glee. Maybe the idea was that the Republican party, in the manner of the Stern Father in a Victorian melodrama, would cast Sarah Palin and her erring daughter into the swirling snow with a loud "never darken this doorstep again!"

Barack Obama, probably responding to this paroxysm of delight, said: "Let me be as clear as possible," today. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president." Hats off to Obama. That was a classy thing to say.

Turns out the McCain campaign knew about the Palin baby situation. And, apparently, decided that it wasn't a major problem.

A member of my family, hearing about Sarah Palin's daughter and the baby, said, "so what?!"

I agree. I've been described as "a conservative guy," but here's how I see the situation:

• It's 2008
• A 17-year-old woman is pregnant
• She decides to keep the baby
• She knows who the father is
• And plans to marry him

I think it's a good idea to get married first, and then start a family, but considering the culture that the younger Palin grew up in, I'd say she's doing pretty well. And, I wish the young couple and their child the best.

And, I agree with Barack Obama. Sarah Palin is running for Vice President of the United States: her daughter's domestic life has little or no bearing on national issues.

Americans make up a hefty chunk of people whose primary language is English, so I'm guessing that quite a few of the people Googling for sara palin hot photos are Americans. With matters of life and death - and the right to look for hot photos online - at stake, this is not the sort of behavior I'd like to see in the American electorate.

But, Americans are human beings, just like people all over the world. When the poles open this November, I hope that people who care about the issues, and have studied the candidates, vote.

And I hope that people whose interest in politics ends with sara palin hot photos stay home.

In the news:

• "Obama says Palin's family off limits"
  CNN (September 2, 2008)
• "After revelations, McCain gives assurances on Palin vetting"
  CNN (September 2, 2008)

My view on the getting out to vote:

• "Vote, or Stay Home"
  (February 4, 2008)

France and the Burqa: Idea of Freedom Gets Reality Check

Stress tests people, and ideas. When exposed to stress, some people make themselves up to look like corpses, and lie down in front of news cameras. Others find the courage to drive fanatic invaders from their homeland.

I've written before, about how I think today's world has put a great deal of stress on an ancient and fairly isolated culture.

Face to Burqa: France, Freedom and Foreigners

It looks like coming face to face with a foreign culture has stressed at least one western nation, too.

Technically, I should say "face to burqa."

The French government has decided that a woman who wears a burqa is too submissive, and can't be a French citizen.

The French government also says that individual freedom is important, and that individuals should be free to choose their own religion, and how it should be practiced.

The French ideal of freedom seems to have worked just fine, as long as everybody in France lived about the same way. Now, this outsider has shown up, and wants to be a French citizen.

Problem is, she dresses funny: and doesn't treat her husband the way that the French government thinks she should.

It's Not Just France

I'll grant, freely, that I'm making the French position look about as bad as possible here. I think that a case can be made for immigrants living up to some standards before becoming citizens of another country: being able to use the local language, understanding the laws and customs well enough to keep out of trouble, maybe even being able to hold down a job.

There are two questions here:

1. Is it okay for a country to ban the burqa? Or the babushka, for that matter?
2. Should a country say that it supports freedom of religion, but refuse citizenship to people who practice their religion the 'wrong' way?

The 'natives' of exotic lands in the mysterious orient aren't the only ones going through culture shock these days. France - and every western nation - is being forced to take a hard look at what, exactly, ideas like "freedom" mean.

In the long run, I think the exercise will be good for us. Meanwhile, it's going to be a bumpy road.

The French national dress code, and how the proper French woman is expected to act, in the news:

• "Muslim woman deemed too submissive to be French"
  Reuters (July 11, 2008)
  • "PARIS (Reuters) - France has denied citizenship to a veiled Moroccan woman on the grounds that her 'radical' practice of Islam is incompatible with basic French values such as equality of the sexes, a legal ruling showed on Friday.
  • "The case will reignite debate about how to reconcile freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the French constitution, and other fundamental rights, which many in France feel are being challenged by the way of life of some Muslims.
  • "Le Monde newspaper said it was the first time a Muslim applicant had been rejected for reasons to do with personal religious practice...."
• "Burka-wearing woman denied citizenship for being 'submissive'"
  The Scotsman (July 12, 2008)
  • "A MOROCCAN woman who wears a black burka has been denied French citizenship on the grounds she is too submissive.
  • "The Council of State ruled that the woman, who is married to a French national, speaks good French and has three children, all born in France, should be denied citizenship because her 'radical' practice of Islam is incompatible with French values such as equality of the sexes.
  • "The 32-year-old woman, named only as Faiza M, has lived in France since 2000. She wears a burka that covers her body from head to foot, leaving a narrow slit for her eyes. According to social services, she lives in "total submission" to her husband and male relatives including her father and brother-in-law...."
• "Opinion: France Gets it Right"
  digitaljournal.com (July 11, 2008)
  • "France's Council of State has made a choice which requires assimilation into French society to become a French citizen. They recently denied citizenship to a Muslim woman based on her radical religious practices.
  • "France got this one right, in my opinion: A woman married to a French national was denied citizenship in France despite having lived there for eight years and giving birth to three children.
  • "The reason? She is totally submissive to her husband and her male relatives in all areas. The woman in question wears a black burqa which covers her from head to toes with the exception of her eyes ( although she must not wear it 24/7 since she has three children.)..."

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

"The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend"

Now, that's something you don't see every day. The Arab League is sending representatives to Israel to discuss "a sweeping Arab peace initiative."

I'd be more impressed, if I hadn't been reading about plans for a "lasting peace in the Middle East" most of my life. I also remember the Six Day War and read about the Arab League's 1948 declaration of war on Israel.

(I try to give online references when possible, but this time it was a bit challenging to find something pallatable for the general online population, but still mildly objective. I settled for references that seemed only slightly into the it's-Israel's-fault camp.)

Not to seem pessimistic, but it would be very remarkable if a resolution between the descendants of Abraham's sons, Ishmael and Israel, came within my lifetime. In fact, that 37-century-old family feud shows little evidence of being ready to end.

Still, the Arab League's move is impressive. As USA Today reported, The Arab League "historically has been hostile toward the Jewish state," but has been getting a trifle more friendly "given the expanding influence of Islamic extremists in the region — a concern underscored by Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month."

Good for the Arab League. Even if they're only following the adage, "the enemy of your enemy is your friend," they're showing good sense.

Terrorism or Incredible Bad Luck?

(Originally posted June 30, 2007)

Here in the center of Minnesota, it's a beautiful summer day. Considering what's happening on the east side of the Atlantic, I'm glad to be here.

News agencies have been remarkably restrained in making assumptions about three spots of unpleasantness in the United Kingdom.

British Authorities are acting as if these were terrorist attacks, and Homeland Security is being cautiously aware, according to a press release yesterday. H.S. is supposed to have another press release soon.

So far, here's what's happened:

A flaming green jeep (SUV) crashed into the main terminal entrance at Glasgow's Blackpool airport today (Saturday, June 30). At least one witness said that one of the men in the SUV jumped out and spread gasoline around before being put out by authorities.

To date, two people have been arrested at the airport, one of whom came out medium-rare after his ride in the rolling barbecue.

Yesterday, near a London nightclub's ladies night, a metallic green Mercedes, exuding smoke, was spotted and extinguished before the bomb of gasoline, propane gas and nails inside went off. A second car, with a similar bomb inside, was found before it went off.

"Foul play is suspected," as authorities on this side of the Atlantic have to say. And no, I haven't heard anyone say that this time.

Getting back to media restraint:

As of about 2:30pm (Central Time USA), nobody's mentioned the odd coincidence that two of the three vehicles involved were green: a color closely associated with Islam. And Ireland.

The two men arrested in Glasgow have been described as Asian, so it would be quite a stretch to consider the Glasgow incident as part of England's trouble with the Irish.

On the other hand, Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, and in British English, "Asian" refers to anything from about Pakistan and India east, and sometimes places like Saudi Arabia.

All three incidents could be wildly improbably coincidence. Or this might be one of those cases where something that waddles, quacks, and looks like a duck may, in fact, be a duck.

Oh, great: now there's news that the hospital where the suspect flambé was taken has been evacuated.

All of this could seem far removed from a family in a small town in central Minnesota. In a way, it is. We're no more likely to be involved in a terrorist incident than Lockerbie, over in Scotland.

But we've got family all over the country, some of whom live in larger cities. Even if we didn't, I accept the idea that all people are important: even the ones who attract the ire of homicidal fanatics.