Another year gone already? I don’t know what it is, but this task seems more onerous now that I’m a year older. Or maybe I’m just all tuckered out from driving back and forth to NJ twice in the last ten days, and having surgery on my eyes, and trying to adjust to a whole new view (literally), and dealing with family stuff, and—and—oh, never mind, now it just sounds like whining.
First they came for the Jews: Greek Orthodox Christians assault Muslims celebrating Eid. We are the canaries in the coal mines. Ignore anti-Semitism at your peril, because this is a result of turning your back on Jew-hatred.
Gee, no way this can go wrong: Lebanon is going to be supplied arms by Russia. Say, anyone up for a rerun of the U.S.-Russia Middle East arms race?
Think the AP will change the boilerplate on Muslim-Christian relations over this? Egyptian Muslims torched more Christian homes. Why? Because of a rumor that a Muslim girl had an affair with a Christian. And here’s the AP on the attacks:
Clashes between Christians and Muslims occasionally occur in southern Egypt, mostly over land or disputes over church construction. But sectarian tensions have also been on the rise recently in the capital.
Last year in Qena, a Coptic man was accused of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl. The alleged assault led to widespread protests by the Muslim community and increased tensions between the two religious groups, which culminated in the murder of six Copts and one Muslim security guard at a church on January 6.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million. Copts and Muslims generally live in peace, though tension and violence occasionally flares.
Note the text in bold. See how the AP downplays the violence against Christians, just as it downplays the violence against Jews in Israel stories. Riots are called “protests”. Murder is called “increased tension”. And the boilerplate—the paragraph directly above this one—remains unchanged.
Whoa… Stealth fighters? The Obama administration really, really, REALLY wants this freeze. They’re offering Israel 20 Stealth fighters as a gift if Israel signs onto the freeze for three more months? Yeesh… sign on the dotted line, Bibi. It’s worth 100 times the number of “the Zionists control the U.S.” stories this deal will bring.
Ah, yes, “tension and violence occasionally flare.” This is a counsin of “the cycle of violence” when discussing Israel and the Arabs. Tension and violence…and rainstorms and heat waves,just natural phenomena that no one can control.
Of course the Copts genreally live in peace, as long as they recognize their second-class status.
By the way, Meryl, you want to make a bet–I’ll give you good odds that the next pronouncement on the Middle East from the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, or the National Council of Churches on the Middle East will not be about this but about Israel.
20 Stealth Fighters? Wanna bet Obama tries to pull the “Oh, they’re right here – you just can’t see them, cause they’re Stealthed” trick?
It is the promise of 20 additional F-35 fighters to the 20 Israel already is scheduled to buy. The airplane does not yet exist. When it does Israel will get 40 for the price of 20. If the US government at that time carries out the deal.
I wonder if the repellent demonstration against the Muslim worshippers in Athens will spark any further violence against Christians in Arab countries? Which will spark more violence against Muslims in Greece, which will spark…I reckon all those Muslims beating up and killing Christians in Egypt and Iraq and Turkey and Pakistan and Nigeria et al never thought about that old saying “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” They probably figure it’s their right to kill the infidels whenever they feel aggrieved about some grave affront, like a comment that old Mo might have chosen a wife from beauty pagent particpants. In Arabic they probably say “What’s sauce for a khinzir (pig) is sauce for a kaffir (non-Muslim).”