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Epigram

  • Talmud 7:16 as Quoted by Rishon Rishon in 2004
    Qohelet Raba, 7:16

    אכזרי סוף שנעשה אכזרי במקום רחמן

    Kol mi shena`asa rahaman bimqom akhzari Sof shena`asa akhzari bimqom rahaman

    All who are made to be compassionate in the place of the cruel In the end are made to be cruel in the place of the compassionate.

    More colloquially translated: "Those who are kind to the cruel, in the end will be cruel to the kind."

    Online Source: http://www.rishon-rishon.com/archives/044412.php

  • Abraham Isaac Kook
    "The purely righteous do not complain about evil, rather they add justice.They do not complain about heresy, rather they add faith.They do not complain about ignorance, rather they add wisdom." From the pages of Arpilei Tohar.
  • Heinrich Heine
    "Where books are burned, in the end people will be burned." -- From Almansor: A Tragedy (1823).
  • Simon Wiesenthal
    Remark Made in the Ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Vienna, Austria on the occasion of His 90th Birthday: "The Nazis are no more, but we are still here, singing and dancing."
  • Maimonides
    "Truth does not become more true if the whole world were to accept it; nor does it become less true if the whole world were to reject it."
  • Douglas Adams
    "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" Epigram appearing in the dedication of Richard Dawkins' The GOD Delusion.
  • Thucydides
    "The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools."
  • Milan Kundera
    "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."

Notes

  • Care to Read What I Read?

    I've embarked on a great reduction in privacy by bookmarking my web-based reading on the "delicious.com" utility. It may tip my hand as to what I have in mind for blogging, but the same may help friends and frenemies alike track my thinking: here is the URL:

    http://www.delicious.com/commart

  • Author's Wish Each Friday Night
    Shabbat Shalom. May our arguments be resolved through perceptive words and good deeds only; may we live another week helpful to one another in relative peace.
  • Photography: Prints & Services
    A gentle reminder: I'm in business as a producer of fine art prints and as a provider of shoot-for-fee services, including portraiture and weddings plus assigned photojournalism. My general location: intersection of I-70 and I-81; core camera system: Nikon; transportation: Mustang.

    Main web: www.communicating-arts.com

    E-Mail: [email protected]

    Also: as of 2011, I am building a photography print-on-demand presence at Fine Art AmericaM. This is the address:

    http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/james-oppenheim.html

    Effort in print-on-demand will not offset the production nor value of signed, limited edition prints made under my own hand. However, for very good convenience, price, and quality, print-on-demand may work out well for many fans and patrons.

  • Research Services

    If you're engaged in funded research in conflict analysis or other areas that may be addressed here and wish to engage my mind in your project, feel welcome to drop me a note at [email protected].

Etcetera

J. S. Oppenheim's Other Blogs and Webs

  • Flickr!

  • Communicating Arts - Main Web Site
  • Communicating Arts - The Journal
  • Mustang Highways
    American highways and a six cylinder, 190 horsepower Ford Mustang 2000, Nikons, and philosophy.

« Worlds | Main | 070619-1000: Iraqi, Return »

June 18, 2007

Militants, Leaders, and Followers (Oh My)

Around here, the reading of one book may be interrupted at any time by another.  In this instance, I had started Demaris's Brothers in Blood last week, but Anne showed up over the weekend with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's The Caged Virgin, [1] and I have found it so far, and as I'm able to get back to it, fast reading.

The day's news, short of my getting further into it than the top headlines, would seem to have started with two related items.  In Great Britain, it looks like the Queen will knight Salman Rushdie (I suppose I must add to my latest Amazon order a copy of The Satanic Verses). [2]

In Gaza, where Hamas has muscled its way past democratic government and up to that very superficially higher plateau that is military dictatorship, the militant's ability to bind and govern the sand lot has met its first test--i.e., keeping a few unarmed citizens around to take orders (note: only Hamas militants may wear face masks).  [3] According to Reuters, "Palestinian officials said nearly 2,000 Fatah supporters and leaders had escaped from Gaza to the West Bank with special Israeli permits or had fled by boat to Egypt since Hamas routed Abbas's security forces." [4]

This morning's Reuters report suggested about 150 Palestinians remain trapped in transit on a concrete strip at Erez Crossing between Hamas and Israeli checkpoints.

As for who may have to airlift food to Gaza? 

That would be Israel, which has stopped all shipments to Gaza to cut off the arms flow to its enemy. [5] 

# # #

Ali, Ayaan Hirsi.  The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam.  New York: Free Press (a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.), 2006.

Smyth, A. S. H.  "An honor we shall all agree with: knighting Salmon Rushdie means Whitehall is willing to offend the mullahs."  The First Post, United Kingdom,  June 18, 2007: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?WT.mc_id=070618daily&storyID=7346

Metcalf, Tom.  "Getting out of Gaza."  Video.  Reuters, June 18, 2007: http://www.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=57126

al-Mughrabi, Nidal.  "Fatah loyalists hurry to escape Gaza."  Reuters, June 18, 2007: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1868894820070618?src=061807_1230_TOPSTORY_bush_backs_abbas.

Entous, Adam.  "Israel blocks shipment bound for Gaza - Letter."  Reuters, June 18, 2007: http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL187184373._CH_.2400.

Correspondence and Permissions: James S. Oppenheim

Posted on June 18, 2007 at 01:15 PM in U.S. Foreign Policy and Warfare |

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