I published my last post watching the evacuation of Afghanistan. I have since written a short article on the evacuation of Afghanistan but I will not post it in full. My central theme was and remains that the Iraq War, renamed the War on Terror, in an effort to legitimize hostilities, was an intrusive armed conflict that took a life of its own. It had a domino effect.
As for the Iraq War, which seems a continuation of the Gulf War, “[a]n estimated 151,000 to 1,033,000 Iraqis died in the first three to five years of conflict.” (See Iraq War, Wikipedia.) It also took the life of journalist Daniel Pearl who was beheaded in 2002.
On 2 May 2011, United States’ Navy SEALS, an élite corps, assisted by a dog named Cairo, found and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, was the leader of al-Qaeda until his death. The Iraq War ended in 2011, but hostilities in the Middle East continued beyond 2011.
In 2014, the Beatles terrorist cell tortured and beheaded James Foley and Steven Sotloff, innocent Americans, as well as British aid worker David Haines. The Beatles terrorists made their victims blame the United States and its allies for their death. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh and are in custody. Kotey has admitted involvement in the torture and death of James Foley. Between 2013 and 2017, retaliation led to terrorism, in and out of the Middle East.
As for the war in Afghanistan, the coalition led by the United States was defeated by the Taliban. Two suicide bombers, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (Isis K), struck at the Kabul airport, killing and wounding servicemen and civilians. US troops had been deployed on a humanitarian mission. Yet, Isis K attempted to thwart the evacuation of Afghanistan. It was nevertheless as successful as could be. Hostilities had lasted twenty years. The war had to end. Afghans must now shape their own future prudently and without recourse to punitive measures that would be an infringement of the United Nations Human Rights Declaration of 10 December 1948.
My last post was published on 3 June 2017. I have not been able to work since. However, in the wake of the London Bridge attack and previous attacks on Britain, three in as many months, I reflected on terrorism, wondering if it could be stopped. (But not if the United States sells weapons to Saudi Arabia.)
Terrorism is extremely difficult to quell. The mind of a terrorist is inflexible. He or she has been radicalized through indoctrination. A terrorist probably thinks his victims deserve to die. Moreover, ISIL terrorists kill in the name of Allah and are probably looked upon as martyrs by fellow terrorists.
Martyrdom may explain why ISIL claims responsibility for acts of terrorism perpetrated by a Muslim, even if the attack has little to do with promoting the Islamic State. ISIL claimed responsibility for the Orlando, Florida attack by Omar Mateen. Omar Mateen did not mention ISIL until he was about to be shot to death by the police. He had attacked innocent civilians enjoying a night out at an LGBT facility, the Pulse. He had been taught that his sexual orientation was not acceptable.
It seems terrorism is permanent, but that movements such as ISIL aren’t. ISIL will probably be defeated in the not-too-distant future, but a new movement could replace the one that has been abolished and several of its members will justify killing on the basis of the destruction of ISIL. Human beings retaliate and so do terrorists. Attacks follow one another and new movements avenge the old. It’s a vicious circle.
It is difficult to neutralize or defeat a group of terrorists. They are radicalized. Many ISIL terrorists are heroes without a cause who converted to Islam and travelled to the Middle East. Attackers often see their victims as deserving to die. They kill in the name of Allah and may be looked upon by other terrorists as martyrs. I wonder to what extent ISIL militants realize that they harm moderate Muslims fleeing terrorism and war and who have lost everything. ISIL fuels Islamophobia and hurt Islam. The refugees started to walk towards Europe in 2015 and many drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea in fragile crafts. Migrants are Muslims for the most part, but they include minorities: Yazidis, Assyrians, Mandeans, etc.
With respect to the Migrant Crisis, I should note again that William Lacy Swing, Head of the International Organization of Migration, reports that people smugglers make $35 bln a year on the Migrant Crisis. It’s an industry.
Nearly 1,500 migrants in 12 boats were rescued from the Mediterranean by Médecins Sans Frontières in just 12 hours last month. This rescue ship has a capacity of 600 people. Photograph: Cesare Abbate/EPA
Islamophobia helped Donald J. Trump’s election to the Presidency of his country. He looked upon all Muslims as dangerous, which is a generalization, but atrocious crimes were being committed in the name of Allah. However, recently, President Trump allowed a large number of Muslims to enter the United States. The European Migrant Crisis also led to nativism. Many French citizens rallied behind Marine Le Pen‘s Front National.
It could be that France’s National Front party influenced the Brexit vote. A little over half of Britons voted in favour of Brexit. However, support for Brexit may wane following a significant loss of seats for British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party.
The “West ” as Villain
The West has made mistakes. Colonialism was a mistake and so was the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. The creation of protectorates by the League of Nations was also a mistake. The Arab-Israeli Conflict began when Mandatory Palestine was partitioned and Israel created. Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948, the day the British Mandate for Palestine ended. (See Israeli Declaration of Independence, Wikipedia.) At the moment, matters are sensitive and Israel is making a mistake. Israel has yet to return the territory it conquered during the Six-Day War, in 1967. Israelis are settling outside the territory Israel was apportioned in 1948, often deporting Palestinians. Israel has been granted protection from the United States, but the United States did not veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted on 23 December 2016. (See United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, Wikipedia.)
However, we need to focus on the present. On 14 May 2017, the French elected centrist Emmanuel Macron to the leadership of their country and British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to obtain the clear majority she was seeking in the British general election held on 9 June 2017, three days after the London Bridge attack. Consequently, a shift to the extreme right, in France particularly, has been averted. As for Britain, the Brexit vote did not show convincingly that Britons wanted to leave the European Union. It showed division and division is what the general election has confirmed. Jeremy Corbyn‘s Labour Party secured 30 more seats in Parliament, a substantial increase, while Prime Minister Theresa May lost 12 seats.
For a while, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was managing the daunting European Migrant Crisis almost unassisted, but she is supported by France. Jeremy Corbyn is expected to smoothen the Brexit negotiations, if indeed Britain leaves the European Union.
ISIL claims that the London Bridge attack was retaliation against American airstrikes in the Middle East. It has declared an “all-out war” on the West, in the name of Allah, and did so during Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, which this year began on 26 May and will end on 24 June 2017. The Atlantic reports “staggering loss of life” in the fight against ISIL.
Terrorists attacked the Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the nation’s Islamic revolution. According to the WashingtonPost, approximately 12 people were reported killed and 42 wounded.
Conclusion
Allow me to express my condolences to the family and friends of the victims. These are the saddest of times. Many countries are accepting refugees, but attacks such as the three attacks on Britain scare host countries. Canada passed anti-Islamophobia legislation, which may not have been necessary, but Canada’s Muslim community had to be protected officially. However, I cannot imagine Canada accepting sharia law. Immigrants to Canada and refugees have to abide by Canadian laws. Canada respects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The War in Iraq was a mistake. It was, I hope, the last instance of Manifest Destiny. It is my conviction that the countries of the Middle East are capable of looking after themselves. But, following the Arab Spring, certain autocrats would not democratize their nation and heads started to fall. Muath Al-Kasasbeh was burned alive. Human beings were locked in cages that were lowered into the water. The genocide of the Yazidis began, and an American-led coalition started to strike. Drones were used, so attacks were targeted and civilians spared. Targeting is almost impossible. The villain was ISIL.
By 2016, thirteen million Syrians had fled their country to seek refuge in the safer West. But the West was divided. The European Migrant Crisis was a calamity. Were migrants friends or foe? Fear led to Brexit. In France, Marine Le Pen thought she had found the road to power. She ran a populist campaign, à la Trump, and she was defeated. But suddenly, terrorists were attacking Britain. The attacks occurred after Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, Mr Trump’s travel bans were blocked by the courts.
I believe we are nearing the end of this ordeal, but many have died and more could die.
All of us are human beings. We can hate, but we can love. We can love far more than we can hate. The planet is ours to save and the world is ours to shape and to share.
Love to everyone ♥
Tchaikovsky – Hymn of the Cherubim – USSR Ministry Of Culture Chamber Choir
(extraordinary music!)
Above is Eugène Delacroix‘ Liberty leading the people. Eugène Delacroix is associated with Romanticism. He is, almost undoubtedly, the son of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, a brilliant aristocrat who survived the French Revolution, was Napoléon’s second-in-command, orchestrated his defeat at Waterloo, and fared well under Louis XVIII, the King of France from 1815 until 1830.
As you have just read, last Sunday, it seemed that independent Emmanuel Macron would be the next President of France. Matters have changed. On Friday, 28 April 2017, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the President of far-right party Debout la France (Stand up France) reached an accord de gouvernement with Madame Le Pen. (See Le Monde.) Members of Madame Le Pen’s Front national could therefore be elected into office. My poor “douce France” (La Chanson de Roland)!
Members of Marine Le Pen’s Front national may have influenced the results of the Brexit referendum, held on 23 June 2016. The Brexit referendum did not indicate a clear willingness among Britons to sever their ties with the European Union. For all practical purposes, half of Britons voted in favour of leaving the EU, and the other half opposed a separation. The results were too close to be acceptable.
We, Canadians, are veterans in the murky territory of referendums. We’ve experienced a 49% versus 51% “victory.” We have therefore eliminated 50% referendums through the Clarity Act. Such 50% referendums show division and in the case of Brexit, a few voters feared the Migrants. That decision had to be “walked back.”
Since migrants began flooding Europe, nativists, i.e. the extreme right, have been given a voice. It is a repli sur soi. In other words, a number of Britons went into fetal position. And the United States elected Donald J. Trump. Britain is the former and foremost colonial power and the United States has welcomed several generations of immigrants from all over the world. It was a symbol of freedom.
At any rate, last Sunday, it seemed that independent Emmanuel Macron would be the next President of France. As you probably know, on Friday, 28 April 2017, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the President of far-right party Debout la France (Stand up France) reached an accord de gouvernement with Madame Le Pen, the leader of the Front national. (See Le Monde.) This partnership could result in a victory for Marine Le Pen’s Front national, and we could expect a purge, the return of the death penalty, no tolerance of “otherness.” In short, the Age of Enlightenment would seem an error, or a movement, a mere movement. Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, etc. never envisaged 1793, the “populist” Reign of Terror.
Although Madame Le Pen has avoided using the word Frexit recently, Frexit is on her agenda. Brexit was harmful, but Frexit could deal a death-blow to the European Union. Together, European nations are a force. If Frexit occurs, the European Union may be irreversibly weakened and peace in the world threatened. A United Europe is one of the conditions of global peace.
It other words, we cannot allow ISIL to rule the world. A victory based on a fear of terrorism would not be a victory. On the contrary, it would empower extremists, and extremism is always a mistake. One chooses a middle path, Molière’s “modération.”
Marine Le Pen came to Quebec thinking she would have an audience. Not at all! The Québécois birthrate is so low that we need immigrants and they are Canadians as soon as they arrive. The Quebec shooter (29 January 2017) was an admirer of Madame Le Pen and Donald Trump, the newly inauguratedPresident of the United States. The cost of housing is very high in Canada, but, if Quebec builds affordable homes and I have anything to do with the process, these homes will be for everyone.
At this point, Marine Le Pen has a chance of being elected to the presidency of France. She’s clever. People may believe she will protect them from terrorist attacks. No! Kindness, acceptance, humility and a smile go a very long way. I’ve inserted an Avaaz video. One has to click on Facebook if need be.
Love to everyone♥
If necessary, please click on Watch on Facebook ↓ to see the video.
The Marseillais volunteers departing, sculpted on the Arc de Triomphe(Wikipedia)
The Elephant Clock, from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices by al-Jazari (MMA, NY)
“Cowards,” says Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is perfectly right. They are cowards! Aleppo is dying and a convoy of supplies for 78,000 persons was bombed the moment the cease fire was lifted, killing twenty persons. To make matters worse, on Tuesday, medical workers were killed. Humans, homes, and architectural gems, some a thousand years old, are being destroyed. On Wednesday, the attacks continued.
India and the Middle East are the areas where numerous Indo-European languages started to develop. Knowledge of the Near to Middle East may survive and so may a large number of people, but crimes are committed by terrorists, autocrats, and other villains against the innocent population of Syria and other nations of the Near and Middle East. This process goes on and on. Humanitarian relief is sent, but demented individuals prevent supplies from reaching their destination. No, there is no excuse for ISIL militants to behave like barbarians, nor is there any excuse for Bashar al-Assad to allow his forces to wreak havoc on Syria. He is blaming the US for the recent attacks.
As for Donald Trump, if elected to the presidency of his country, he will not allow Muslims into the United States. He has made this clear. Surely he must know that the plight of Syrians and Iraqis is genuine. If he doesn’t, shame on him! A candidate to the presidency of a country should be well informed.
A Social Contract
When the day comes, if it comes, when Donald Trump is elected to the presidency of the United States, liberty will collapse and the French will have to take the famous statue back to France: Lady Liberty. The America Mr Trump wants to see reborn is a country that will not enter into a decent social contract with its people. In all likelihood, Mr Trump will abolish the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. How can there be progress?
Every human being should be protected, from birth until death. Even the poor have the right to be treated if an illness, possibly fatal, befalls them. Insurance companies? It seems to have worked, but one has to be very careful. Insurance companies are businesses. They seek a profit. They’ll destroy your life and will not own up to what they have done. Some of you do not know my story, which I can repeat, but not now and not here. Not as I write about great atrocities and the worst of genocides.
The Armenian Genocide
A few days ago, I found information about the Armenian Genocide in a French internet publication I read regularly: Hérodote. Young Armenian women were crucified in the same manner Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. Others may have discovered the same story. Information is now posted under several entries on the internet. A video has been inserted in the Wikipedia entry on the Armenian Genocide. One can see a row of crosses and young women, girls, dying.
The Armenian Genocide EN
Forced pregnancies as a violation of Human Rights
genocides
Raphael Lemkin
In 1915 in particular, the year the Armenian genocide began, young girls were also raped, some to death. Many of these young women got pregnant. It is at that time in history that forced pregnancies were first seen as a violation of Human Rights, which is precisely what they were and remain. Rape is a crime, even in wedlock.
The term genocide was coined by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin who lost 49 relatives in the Holocaust. The Holocaust went on for six years, which is a longer period of time than the duration of the Armenian Genocide, but it would appear that the Armenian Genocide inspired Hitler. (See Armenian Genocide and Raphael Lemkin, Wikipedia.)
Donald Trump and Torture
ISIL beheads, mutilates, burns people to death, drowns them. It enslaves, rapes, and also crucifies some of its victims. ISIL does not crucify in the same way Jesus was crucified, but at some point the victim can no longer breathe.
Donald Trump would not go that far and it could be that Mr Trump was not speaking seriously, but he did say he approved of torture. A candidate to the presidency of the United States cannot condone torture. He’s disqualified himself.
“Trump’s false pronouncements are either believed or blithely ignored by a substantial chunk of the electorate. But we’ve seen no evidence that he’s persuaded a majority. Could that change?”
(Photo credit: The New York Review of Books)
It could be that Mr Trump will be elected.
I will close here and hope a permanent ceasefire is about to be declared.
I edited parts of the article I posted on 18 July and did so a few hours after it was posted. I had sensed a connection between the result of the Brexit referendum and the 2016 Nice attack, but also felt there was a difference. The connection was the “send them back” printed on the shirts of certain British pro-leave voters. France’s Front National‘s is an anti-immigration political party. Britain does not have an anti-immigration or nativist political party, in which it differs from France. However, some leave voters thought, or we led to think, that leaving the European Union meant excluding immigrants.
The Runners of the Pasha, Jean-Léon Gérôme (New York Historical Society
Arnaut with two whippet dogs, Jean-Léon Gérôme (Pinterest)
French colonialism
One may wonder why France has been targeted by terrorists three times in the last two years:
These attacks cannot be explained in any satisfactory manner. They are barbaric and senseless. Let’s give love a chance.
However, these attacks may be associated with France’s history as a colonial power. It was in North Africa, Algeria especially. Algiers was captured in 1830, Tunisia was conquered in 1881, and Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1950.
A long time ago, these countries were inhabited by Berbers. However, Algeria fell to the Arabs (7th century CE) and then to the Ottoman Empire (1560-1830), often referred to as the Turkish Empire. The French captured Algiers in 1830 and walked out of Algeria under Charles de Gaulle. On 18 March 1962, de Gaulle declared the cease-fire that ended the Algerian War (1954-1962). Below is a video of his speech.
However, the violence continued after the cease-fire. Approximately 800,000 Pieds-Noirs had to flee to France. Pieds-Noirs (literally black feet) is the name given French settlers in North Africa. They had lived in Algeria for a long time, several generations. Moreover, many Algerians had been educated in France and identified with France. (See Algerian War, Wikipedia.)
France remained a target. You may remember Air France Flight 8969. The anti-terror unit of the National Gendarmerie killed all four hijackers without further loss of life among passengers and the plane’s crew. Three passengers had been killed by the hijackers. France has been attacked several times. (See List of Terrorist Incidents in France, Wikipedia.)
There are Berbers to this day in North Africa, in the Atlas Mountains in particular, but the population of Algeria was Arabised and so was, to a greater or lesser extent, the population of Tunisia and, less so, the population of Morocco. However, North-African terrorists are Arabised Berbers. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, on 18 December 2010.
Although ISIL has claimed responsibility for the 2016 Nice attack, the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaief-Bouhlel, lived in France, but was born in Tunisia. The Kouachi brothers (Charlie Hebdo, January 2015) were born in Paris of Algerian parents, but they were radicalized in the Middle East. In France, colonialism and terrorism may therefore be related.
Therefore, when members of the Front National claim that France cannot be multicultural, i.e. nativism, they are expressing their determination not to admit Muslim immigrants into France. At the moment Muslim migrants are flooding Europe. Therefore, Muslims are the immigrants. ISIL and the Syrian Civil War have wreaked havoc on the Middle East and these conflicts are taking a toll on Europe.
The result of the Brexit referendum may reflect the nativism advocated by the Front National.
Marine Le Pen in Quebec
Marine Le Pen visited Quebec recently. A large number of Canadians are refugees or the descendants of refugees, and many are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Consequently, although it can only welcome a limited number of Syrian refugees, 25 thousand, the majority of Canadians do not see Syrian refugees as potential terrorists or as persons who will drain Canada’s social programmes. That has not been the Canadian experience so far.
Such is not Marine Le Pen’s opinion. She believes immigrants are impoverishing France and, in an interview with Ici Radio-Canada‘s Anne-Marie Dussault, Madame Le Pen stated that terrorists had entered France with the flow of migrants. She was warning Canadians.
Canadian civil servants flew to Jordan to screen the Syrians who have entered my country and it picked them up in refugee camps. In fact, Quebec is attempting to transform its immigrants into French-speaking Québécois. It may or may not work, but meanwhile Quebec is building bridges.
Conclusion
France has been attacked because of its former colonial empire, which included Indochine (Vietnam). So it has trained personnel to deal with crisis, its Gendarmerie’s Intervention and crisis management unit (GIGN). It is its SWAT team. France is otherwise protected, but terrorist attacks are difficult to prevent. Who would have thought that someone would rent a 19-tonne truck and drive it through a crowd watching a fireworks display?
This act of hate did however bring grist to Marine Le Pen’s mill. I listened to several interviews last weekend. Members of the Front National seemed disturbingly pleased to add this grim trophy to their collection.
Marine Le Pen could be the next President of France.
On Bastille Day, 14 July 2016, France’s National Day, Mohamed Lajouif Bouhlel, who was born in Tunisia, but emigrated to France, drove a rented 19-ton lorry through a crowd watching a fireworks innocent display along the Promenade des Anglais. His victims could not flee easily, so as the truck careened down its path, it killed l84 innocent individuals and wounded 102. Many of the wounded have been released from hospital, but others were critically injured. France has been attacked by terrorists associated with Isil. As for the Nice killer, who was shot by police, he was a Muslim who may (or may not) have been radicalized.
The Front National: nativism
A member of the Front National, a nativist party, stated that multiculturalism could not work in France. The French had to be among the French. I was reminded of the Brexit referendum which was interpreted by many as a vote that would allow Britain “to send them back.” Britons were best left among themselves.
Marine Le Pen went further. She used the word “war.” I doubt that she meant war as in World War II. She was probably referring to manners in which her party, the Front National would eradicate “the fundamentalist Islamic scourge (l’islamisme radical).”
War is a word one should avoid. George W Bush used it after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Fighting terrorism was essential but invading Iraq was war. It is now believe that the 2000s wars in the Middle East were instigated by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The wars waged in the 2000s were renamed wars against terrorism, but they were wars. These wars do not seem to have done anyone any good.
Marine Le Pen, the president of the Front National, stated the following:
La guerre contre le fléau du fondamentalisme islamiste n’a pas commencé, il est urgent maintenant de la déclarer. Nous l’engagerons vraiment en mettant en place une série de mesures que j’ai déjà détaillées et sur lesquelles j’aurai l’occasion de revenir, qui visent à s’attaquer à la source du phénomène.
[The war against the fundamentalist Islamic scourge has not begun. Declaring it is urgent. We will engage into war using measures I have already mentioned in details but to which I will have the opportunity to return. They aim at the source of this phenomenon.]
A la sidération et la compassion doivent désormais s’ajouter l’action, les nécessaires mesures de prévention et de répression, et la détermination la plus totale à éradiquer le fléau du fondamentalisme islamiste. C’est aujourd’hui la volonté profonde du peuple meurtri de France, je mettrai toute mon énergie à ce qu’elle soit entendue et les combats enfin menés.
[To shock and compassion, we must add action: measures to prevent and to repress, and the most total determination to eradicate the fundamentalist Islamic scourge. Today such is the profound will of the bruised people of France. I will devote my entire energy to ensuring that France is heard and the combats undertaken.]
In Le Figaro provides the list of measures Marine Le Pen advocates: greater authority on the part of nations, the reinstatement of military service, the creation of a national guard to replace the current “Opération Sentinelle,” greater vigilance at borders, more weapons, the creation of a French agency fighting terrorism, the reinstatement of “renseignement [information] de proximité.”
Parmi les moyens évoqués, elle a plaidé pour l’affirmation de l’autorité de l’État, la restauration progressive du service militaire, la création d’une garde nationale pour «remplacer le dispositif sentinelle », l’augmentation des moyens militaires à 2% du PIB avec une évolution à 3%, le contrôle des frontières, la mise en place d’une agence française de lutte contre le terrorisme et le rétablissement du renseignement de proximité.
Madame Le Pen is suggesting reinforced security on the part of France. Safety measures are indeed necessary. France has been attacked three times. But Isil is not Islam and it has not been established that the killer was radicalized. France’s Front National “hailed” the Brexit results which it may have misinterpreted. Some leave voters were misled by the campaign of politicians who put into their service nativistic ideology and rhetoric. But the word nativism cannot be used to describe the majority of Britons, but members of the Front National advocate nativism.
But the problem is rooted elsewhere. Tunisia was a French colony. How can France send back those it colonized. As for the migrants, they are the homeless victims of Isil and autocratic leaders who are killing their own people. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad stands accused of genocide.
As I wrote in a recent post, we cannot roll back history, but there were and there are consequences to colonialism. There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire and a time when the world spoke French.
I have read several articles about Mr Trump and my opinion remains unchanged. In fact, I believe he may jeopardize the safety of I do not understand that the Republicans chose him as their nominee to the office of President of the United States.
However, Republicans have started to distance themselves from Mr Trump because of his avowed intention to prevent not only Muslims, but Mexicans and people originating from Latin-American countries, from entering the United States.
Although Mr Trump has lost the support of some key members of the Republican party, he remains defiant. He will finance his way to the Presidency. But will the citizens of the United States vote for a man who does not represent a party?
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly published a series of articles on Mr Trump, one of which is about his mind. I am a little wary of such articles, but do believe that Mr Trump’s manners and language preclude his being considered an appropriate candidate to the office of President of the United States. As we say in Quebec, Donald Trump n’est pas sortable (he’s not fit to be seen). It may therefore be difficult for those Republicans who have turned their back on him to adopt a new stance.
The tragic Orlando Massacre invites serious reflection on the issue of discrimination, a sturdy perennial. The President of the United States cannot discriminate against people on the basis of ethnicity and faith. Nor can he discriminate against people on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. But Mr Trump does discriminate against Muslims, all Muslims, and Mexicans as well as other Americans of Latin-American origin. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
See Discrimination, Wikipedia.)
The good news is that Mr Trump now agrees with President Obama “for watch list gun ban.” Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association disagrees, but the fact remains that one cannot shoot without a gun and that arming people will not address the problem of terrorism. Omar Mateen had access to a powerful weapon and several guns.
The Second Amendment lost its validity the moment the United States had a militia. However, if one enjoys marksmanship, there are facilities where such individuals may engage in their sport. Marksmen and women will not hurt anyone if their weapon is kept in a secure area. Sadly, some gun owners do not put their weapon(s) away from the reach of children which has caused siblings to shoot a sister or a brother. Children may think the gun is a toy.
Walking down the street carrying a gun can also lead to tragedies. For instance, the police may at times pull the trigger too quickly because of fear of being shot. It would be my opinion that endangering the life of innocent people is a breach of the social contract and that it negates the Second Amendment.
The Pulse
The Pulse was a club where L.G.B.T. (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans) socialized as is their right. Discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation seems extremely narrow-minded. As a WordPress colleague pointed out to me, people of different sexual orientation have a right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
I agree fully. Gays deserve the same respect as other law-abiding members of society, which includes gathering on a Saturday evening to socialize and relax. No one was creating a disturbance at the Pulse. I encourage you to read Half-man of Orlando (colltales.com). Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando (1928).
Islamic Fundamentalism
As stated in an earlier post, although Mr Mateen claimed allegiance to the Islamic State, it does not appear he was directed to kill for Isil. However, as he was in the process of murdering people, he did tell the police that the United States should “stop bombing” Syria and Iraq. The Obama administration considers the Orlando massacre a crime of terror and hate, and it will welcome more Muslim refugees. The refugees are the victims of Islamic fundamentalism and rigid autocracies.
Americans are divided with respect to the role they should play in the Middle East, but in the end, it will be, and should be, for the Middle East to determine its fate.
Conclusion
In short, the Orlando Massacre has so many facets and it raises so many issues that it may well be one of the most significant events in recent history.
Yesterday, posting was not possible. Writing on Molière in the wake of the shooting spree in Orlando seemed blasphemous.
I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims. I also wish to extend sincere condolences to all Americans, Canada’s neighbours to the south.
Before he started shooting, the presumed killer, Omar Seddique Mateen, made a phone call and declared his allegiance to the Islamic State. ISIL has since claimed responsibility for the killings.
Donald Trump was prompt to blame United States President Barack Obama for not naming Mr Mateen in his address to Americans. Accusations are inflammatory and the crime had not been investigated. For instance, although a very effective automatic weapon was used, there was a large number of victims. There could have been more than one shooter.
Mr Trump has no sympathy for Muslims.
Moreover, homosexuals and lesbians were targeted, which complicates matters. It may have been an attack on homosexuals and lesbians.
Whatever the ethnicity of the killer(s), it would seem very wrong to blame all Muslims for this barbaric act. We all know that rotten apples are committing horrendous crimes in the Middle East forcing a large number of Muslims to leave their homes.
One cannot shoot without a gun.
Kathleen Battle sings Care Selve from Händel’s Atalanta 8 / 9
Portrait of a Young Man with RedCap by Sandro Botticelli (Google Images)
I haven’t been able to write for several days because of flu symptoms. But I thought I should “drop in”.
Paris
The events in Paris have left me numb. I looked at the photograph of persons who died at the Bataclan. Some were very young. President François Hollande called the massacre an act of war.
It is my understanding that Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is pulling Canada out of the Middle East. I wonder whether or not he will reconsider this decision in light of Friday’s brutal and senseless attacks.
This time, President Hollande was blamed. Terrorists always find a scapegoat.
The attacks will no doubt complicate the migration crisis. Europeans may fear some refugees are terrorists in disguise.
In Canada, tout le bataclan is translated as “the whole kit and caboodle”. But the word “bataclan” has acquired a new meaning.
I feel so sorry for the victims, their families, their friends. France has lost one of the Four Freedoms, freedom from fear. I grieve for France. French Canadians look upon the French as cousins.
“Jihadist fighters or their sympathizers took to Twitter Wednesday to celebrate the attacks this week that took the lives of Canadian soldiers in Ottawa and St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and to encourage more attacks on Canadian soil. They say Canada is getting its just desserts for sending fighter jets to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham, and some said ISIS is behind the attacks in Canada.”
It does seem that young rebels without a cause have found one. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP, has a list of 130 Canadians who have been identified as possible Muslim extremists.
Martin Rouleau-Couture
Martin Rouleau-Couture was prevented from flying to Turkey in early July 2014. His passport was taken away.
On 21 October 2014, at St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec Rouleau-Couture shot two soldiers, one of whom died. Rouleau-Couture was killed in the mêlée.
Zakria Habibi, from Sherbrooke, disappeared on 17 July, in Turkey. Statements on his Facebook account suggest he is a jihad sympathizer:
“My imprisonment is a retreat, my death would make me a martyr, and being exiled from my country would be a promenade.” (quotation from Ibn Taymiyyah, 13th century)
Zakria’s father travelled to Turkey to look for his son, but failed to find him. Zakria’s father was interviewed yesterday and stated that the words quoted above, from Sherbrooke’s Tribune, could not be his son’s.
Although Zakria Habibi is listed as a possible jihad militant, no one can confirm that he is. He may in fact have been captured.
There are doubts about Zakria Habibi’s position vis-à-vis Isil. But Martin Rouleau-Couture, who had renamed himself “Ahmad,” was a jihad sympathizer attempting to join the militants.
Kevin Vickers Honoured
Sergeant Kevin Vickers was honoured today in Parliament. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, yesterday’s gunman, was killed by Sergeant Vickers a few metres away from rooms where a large number of Canadian politicians were meeting.
Yesterday, Sergeant Vickers used his gun for the first time in 30 years.
Micheline's Blog 