Archives for March 2005

My distaste for the French is still growing. So many problems and all they can do to combat this is to try and ban religious displays of head coverings. This does nothing to combat the problem, nothing at all. What a waste.

So I wasn’t surprised to read the articles below.

“The number of racist, anti-semitic and xenophobic attacks in France soared by nearly 90% last year, according to a report presented to the government yesterday, reaching the highest level so far recorded.

The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights said in its annual study that 1,565 threats and acts of violence against mainly Jewish and Muslim victims were registered in 2004, compared with 833 the previous year.

“Manifestations of racism and anti-semitism are multiplying dangerously in France and last year reached an exceptional and disturbing peak … not seen since [the first national statistics] in 1990,” the commission said.

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The report said anti-semitic acts represented more than 60% of all the incidents recorded: 970 compared with 601 in 2003, mostly committed by people “of Arab-Muslim origin”. But threats and attacks against Muslims, mostly committed by far-right supporters, also more than doubled to 595 last year, compared with 232 in 2003.

The report also noted that the incidents appeared to be getting increasingly violent: 369 “major acts” – causing actual physical harm to people or property – were reported, an 83% increase on 2003. The number of attacks on Jewish and Muslim cemeteries and places of worship rose from 46 to 65, and racist and anti-semitic violence in schools rose by 20%.

The study prompted immediate reactions from politicians, Jews and anti-racist groups. Dominique de Villepin, the interior minister, said France would “never give up” combating racism and punishing those responsible, while the Jewish umbrella group CRIF said anti-semitism was no longer a temporary phenomenon.

France’s Jewish and Muslim communities are the largest in western Europe and tensions between the two have risen steadily during the past five years, in line with increasing Israeli-Palestinian violence.

But the NCCHR said it now seemed that anti-semitism in France was no longer so closely related to events outside the country, but was “becoming established at a high level, in a continuous and lasting manner”. The authors said an apparent resurgence of the far-right might stem from France’s increasingly heated debate on immigration and integration, as well as from broader concerns, such as the eventual admission of Turkey to the EU or the fear of terrorism.”

I have a busy day ahead of me and it is getting late. I had promised to go to bed earlier, but like so many promises this one is being twisted, adjusted, manipulated and distorted to better suit my needs. It is a promise to myself so if I choose to do any of the aforementioned things it is only me that is involved, but a promise is a promise so I have to be aware of that.

I don’t make promises easily because I do not like being held to anything. I much prefer to float around and do my thing on my schedule, whatever that means. I know what it used to mean and what I want it to mean, but I am not sure that I really know what it means any more.

This is not supposed to be cryptic, rhythmic or any sort of “ic.”

My mind is very active and it is moving along now. Today was one of those days that I was glad to see end. Very frustrating and very trying on both a business and personal level.

From a business perspective I had two deals collapse. As a salesperson it is always frustrating to see that happen because it has a financial impact. One of them was quite large and would have been a tremendous help.

The other was not that large, but it was big enough to help with the bills. It is never fun to watch your work go unrewarded, but it is a part of the job and something that you have to deal with. Sometimes it is harder than I would like to let things go.

In this case both deals were with existing customers who expressed to me that they are very happy with how things have been and are not unhappy with us. They just decided to reallocate dollars and expect to return to us in a month or two.

That is almost more frustrating to me than being told that we just aren’t making the grade. It is like having someone break up with you by saying “it is not you, it is me.”

Ok, good to know that I am even more powerless to change things here than I had thought.

But in the end life is still about how you act or react. In the case of the collapsed deals I took an attitude that was a cross between indifference and mild annoyance, with a small dash of youthful exuberance.

It is a trick that has worked in the past, but I am not sure that this time it is going to fly. Nonetheless you have to play the cards you are dealt and I always play out the hand.

I found out today that my grandfather broke his pelvis in a fall at Costco. He is 90.5 and more than irritated with his new condition. He is a feisty guy who has lived a very colorful life and I expect that he is too stubborn to let this slow him down much.

Tomorrow I’ll visit him during my lunch hour and see how he is doing. Last week he told me that he would fight any man alive, provided that they were 95 or older. When I see him I’ll remind him of his promise and we’ll work on getting him back into fighting shape.

I feel very lucky to have three grandparents because so many of my friends do not. At this point in the game I try to spend a lot of time with each of them because I know that the day is approaching when I won’t be able to speak to them in the same manner.

Even though they all have various health issues mentally they are all relatively sharp, that is they are really together with some age appropriate memory loss.

Now there is a term I hear thrown around a lot, “age appropriate.” It sounds like a lot of bullshit to me, just one of those terms that was created to justify a higher hourly rate, but maybe that is just me.

So I wonder what is “age appropriate” for me. What do I get to do that will be referred to as “age appropriate?” I hope that it is fun, because I love fun things. I spend too many hours being the brooding, serious type. Too much intensity spoils the soup.

Ok, I vented a little and think that I can muster the energy to sleep. See you in the AM.

A couple of people have written me to ask about Fragments of Fiction. They wanted to know more about the plot, what I intend to do, offered suggestions and in general showed a lot of interest in my work.

I promised to respond on the blog and wanted to make sure I met my obligation. I am working on it and have been making little changes here and there and working on adding new installments to it.

I have trashed a couple of additions because I didn’t like them. I wrote them and found that they seemed to be missing something. They were awkward and just didn’t fit in well.

So I took them apart and have saved the best parts of them and need to figure out how to work them in. I expect to have some new additions ready and posted for your review in the very near future.

As always if you have any comments or questions please feel free to share them.

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I really enjoyed this article. It is worth looking at.

I pose the question based upon Daniel Pipe’s latest article in which he argues that trying to make Hamas and Hezbollah partners in democratic reform is foolhardy and destined for failure.

“If Al-Qaeda renounced terrorism, would the U.S. government welcome its running candidates in American elections? Had the Nazis denounced violence, would Hitler have become an acceptable chancellor for Germany? Not likely, because the tactics of Al-Qaeda and the Nazis matter less than their goals.

Similarly, Hezbollah and Hamas are unacceptable because of their goals. These organizations are important elements of the Islamist movement that seeks to create a global totalitarian order along the lines of what has already been created in Iran, Sudan, and in Afghanistan under the Taliban. They see themselves as part of a cosmic clash between Muslims and the West in which the victor dominates the world.

Washington, trying to be consistent in its push for democracy, prefers to ignore these goals and instead endorses involvement by Hezbollah and Hamas in the political process, pending their making some small changes.”

These are good points and worth considering. If the ultimate goal does not intersect with our own does it make sense to try and bring them into the fold. What is to be gained by a temporary ceasefire, especially if it allows the other side more time to shore up their defenses and prepare for the battle that everyone knows is coming.

Because of the ideological root of the problem I join Pipes in his skepticism.

“Count me skeptical.

The historical record does not support such optimism. When politically adept totalitarians win power democratically, they do fix potholes and improve schools – but only as a means to transform their countries in accordance with their utopian visions. This generalization applies most clearly to the historical cases (Adolf Hitler in Germany after 1933, Salvador Allende in Chile after 1970) but it also appears valid for the current ones (Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh since 2001, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey since 2002).

Then there is the matter of their undemocratic intentions. Josef Goebbels explained in 1935 that the Nazis used democratic methods “only in order” to gain power.”

This fight cannot be won by purely military or political means, it requires both. And the most fundamental issue here is the overwhelming need to change the ideological stand of these groups. As long as they are diametrically opposed to our own we will witness continued problems.

People who are willing to die for their cause are a difficult foe. We shouldn’t underestimate their will or drive to fight and we should make it clear that they should offer the same respect to us.