One by One

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].

J. S. Oppenheim's Other Blogs and Webs

July 30, 2007

One by One

Dead, so far:

Bae Hyung-Kyu, Pastor, Saemmul Church, Seongnam, South Korea, July 25, 2007;
Song Kin-Shi, volunteer, Saemmul Church, July 30, 2007.

It is 3:25 a.m., Tuesday, July 31, 2007 in Afghanistan, not a good time for another rat-tat-tat, not with government troops in the vicinity, nor for further negotiations, but I may assume too much. The one thing known with certainty is that for the 21 hostages remaining with the Taliban overnight, their captors hold and represent absolute power.

Chinaview, reporting Song Kin-Shi's death, goes on to review the recent spate of Taliban kidnappings in Afghanistan [1].

In one of the most widely known of recent abductions, of course, the Taliban released Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo in a prisoner exchange deal, for which Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai was heavily criticized, but beheaded the journalist's driver during the ordeal and continued to detain and later killed, possibly by slitting his throat, fellow traveler and journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi.

Released to the Taliban in the Mastrogiacomo deal: five leaders, including two commanders [2].

Update and correction, July 31, 2007: the identity of "Song Kin-Shi" has been reported by Reuters as "Shim Sung-min" [5].

# # #

1. "Spokesman: Taliban kills 2nd S Korean hostage." Chinaview, July 31, 2007.

2. Pajhwak Afghan News Agency. "Journalist's release an exceptional measure: Govt." Afgha, March 21, 2007.

3. "Daniele Mastrogiacomo." Wikipedia.

4. "Ajmal Naqshbandi." The Travel Photographer, April 9, 2007.

5. "Killed South Korean hostage was active volunteer." Reuters, July 31, 2007.

Correspondence and Permissions: James S. Oppenheim

Posted on July 30, 2007 at 08:23 PM in U.S. Foreign Policy and Warfare | Permalink