2007 Retrospective: The Elephant In the Room Continues to Dance

There is only about one hour left of 2007. One hour for humanity to solve some of those vexing problems before they must be carried with us into the new year. I’m thinkin’ that a lot of these will in fact be with us for many years to come. One of those problems experienced another amplification last week.

It seems that the age-old political processes of the Middle East continue to follow Mohammed’s 7th Century model. Evidence in the news indicates that at least the man on the street in Pakistan realizes the significant setback dealt to him by the tyranny of perhaps a single individual. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto was right out of the 7th Century play book. And by the way, even the term “assassination” is a gift to humanity from that great Religion of Peace, Islam (er… that would be “the peace of the dead”).

Self-determination, the rule of law, and perhaps any non-totalitarion, and even totalitarian forms of governance are just a few one of many features of our modern world that are anathema to the tenets of classical Islam. In fact, in one of my recent readings, A Brave New War, by John Robb, the author hits the nail on the head. One of the things that the Jihadis are fighting for is the very dismantling of the idea of The State. I do not agree with all of Robbs points in this book, but this one is spot-on.

By 1000 years, Islam, predates The Peace of Westphalia, the set of treaties that basically codified the concept of sovereign nation-states as we know them today as well as making significant progress toward freedom of religion. Wikipedia has some pretty good articles on this Here and Here. Well, of course adherents to classical Islam want to turn the clock back. Those who think that the jihadis want to attack the United States and other Western liberal democracies. Actually, the jihadis want to attack the whole idea of the very existence of the concept of the state.

This problem will be with us for a long time. Hopefully, we can get beyond the blindness of PC soon so that we can talk about such issues within public discourse.

Come, Let Us Adore Him

Emmanuel. The meaning of that word struck me when learning of it several years ago. “God among us.” Profound. How that translates to pine needle, glass balls and holly berries is the making of many pointless mysteries compared to the profundity of the word - Emmanuel.

News Flash - Police Arresting Criminals!

In Scottsdale Arizona, police have begun, yes, begun, checking citizenship status of individuals arrested for various alleged offenses.

Arizona Police Routinely Asking for Proof of Citizenship

Now that they lose one of their own, the local cops become determined to address the great risks associated with illegal immigration. This may be overcritical of the police however.

Even though the law is the law, local police reflect the sentiment of their community. Perhaps local politics have prevented even passive enforcement of immigration law. Perhaps, the death of a police officer gives the more reasonable minds an effective voice.

Attractive - But intended?

Today we see this city, Venice, as “Bueautiful, ” “Romantic,” and perhaps “Intriguing.” Was the architecture designed with that intention? Or, do we perhaps define attractive architecture based on the romance we associated with its place of origin?

Certainly the place was built by people of significant culture and style, but some of the notable characteristics of the place are the result of the environment and the challenges to design. Was the romantic element perhaps projected onto the architecture and design by society far removed from the realities of the time.

I visited Venice this summer and deeply enjoyed the place although I would like to spend a longer time there to further explore my feelings of emotion and intrigue caused in my by the city. My enjoyment was from a mixture of the oldness of the place, the genuineness of the historical experience, and the mystery of what its social and economic structures were like many centuries ago. Much of it is still a mystery to me although there are certainly many books I could read - particularly since I now have the flavor still lingering from the visit.

Of course, today’s purpose for Venice is nearly exclusively as a tourist destination - particularly since the concept of “city-state” is a bit outmoded. Its location as a commerce, political and church hub has been eclipsed by others.

Losing Sam

Yesterday I attended the memorial service for a colleague and good friend. Sam was not a close friend, but a good friend. I arrive at that distinction because we knew each other well enough to have a good sense of our shared values and passions but we did not spend much time together - in retrospect I do certainly regret that.

Sam was taken young, at 44 years old, by a blood cancer with the technical name Multiple Myeloma.

Most of us did not know that Sam was sick until we learned that he was in the hospital with a severe brain hemorrhage. A tumor had grown under his skull and then ruptured. It was his desire to keep his illness to himself and a few very close friends and associates. His battle was private, steady and courageous beyond my descriptive ability. A couple weeks before his death, at a social function he remarked to one of his confidants that he kept accidentally biting his lip because he had lost feeling in his chin and jaw - and he was jovial about the occurrence. The growing tumor, pressing against his brain, was causing the loss of feeling.

Sam dedicated his professional life to the defense of his country in unique and varied was. He dedicated his private life to friends, adventures, and foremost to his family.

A life well-lived.

Good-by Sam.

Update on the Teddy Bear Debacle

Here is an excellent segment of the The Factor via YouTube.

O’Reilly and Gabriel are spot on.

Vickers accuses O’Reilly of stereotyping Muslims because of the act of some Muslims. However, O’Reilly is not indicting Muslims as individuals but instead he is commenting on the beliefs and the effects of a violent, oppressive and politically aggressive belief system that is codified within Islam. Following the logic of Mr. Vickers, the effects of World War II in Europe are not to be blamed on Nazi-ism but instead on the very few men that were the ‘extremists’ who ordered all the killing, destruction and aggression.