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[ by Charles Cameron — Trump, Assad and Trump ]
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The first way, which is drawing a lot of fire these days, is via the Trump “Muslim ban” —

— but it ain’t the only way: angering al-Assad can also do the trick.

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An alternative example of the first kind would give us this —

— in some ways it’s a closer match, since both Russo and Khatib were traveling to significant events where their work would be highlighted. On the other hand, the Muhammad Ali Jr instance is powerful by reason of the issue of his religion coming up..

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Sources:

Guardian, US border agents ask Muhammad Ali’s son: ‘Are you a Muslim?’

Vox, The White Helmets cinematographer Khaled Khatib was coming to the Oscars

Guardian, Leading French academic threatened with deportation at Houston airport

**

But then we could also juxtapose the alternative first examples with one another, making a DoubleQuote of two instances of problems with US border agents —

— and yes, much of the world is looking on.

[ by Charles Cameron — good news in response to bad ]
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First:

Appears hundreds of graves vandalized at #STL Jewish cemetery. Damage is extensive. @andybankertv live report on @KPLR11 and @FOX2now at 5p pic.twitter.com/wneuIpl5MY

— Joe Lamie (@GIJoter) February 20, 2017

resulting in:

From the reporter who met Syrian refugees helping repair the desecrated Jewish cemetery in Missouri. https://t.co/r9e2BKjMOO

— Lisa Goldman (@lisang) February 24, 2017

And now:

More anti-Jewish hate? Dozens of headstones damaged at Philadelphia Jewish cemetery https://t.co/2vNhUfDTm4 @ADL_National @ADLPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/5eDSeF09JL

— Oren Segal (@orensegal) February 26, 2017

resulting in:

Muslim youth have come to help Philadelphia Jews repair the vandalized cemetery, reports Rabbi Yosef Goldman. https://t.co/njQzz4WH6C

— Lisa Goldman (@lisang) February 26, 2017

**

The heart dismayed, the heart uplifted. Thank you, thank you.

[ by Charles Cameron — do you suppose trees only prostrate before God, Q 55.6, during high winds? ]
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This admirable United Nations goal gains Taliban support..

The Taliban, in turn, have the encouragement of the Prophet:

The Prophet (pbuh) said:”If the Hour is about to be established and one of you was holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it.”

and:

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, “There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him.”

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Sources:

Plant for the Planet, Billion Tree Campaign

BBC, Taliban leader urges Afghans to plant more trees

Hidaya Foundation, Why Plant Trees?

Muaz Nasir, The Value of Trees in Islam

[ by Charles Cameron — Ginsberg, McCartney & Philip Glass! ]
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I’m not a huge Ginsberg fan, but this seems like a wholesome follow up to yesterdays post 6,000 years and still together — written by Ginsberg in the run up to the United States presidential election of 1996, and touching on several themes of continuing interest today.

You can follow along the text here, and read-all-about-it in ‘The Ballad of the Skeletons’: Allen Ginsberg’s 1996 Collaboration with Philip Glass and Paul McCartney.

Hey, I’m not a great fan of McCartney either, but the pair of them together seems like an oxymoron.

[ by Charles Cameron — watching a Franco-British detective saga ]
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This police helicopter view from The Tunnel (series 1 episode 3 at the 16’21” mark) —

— raises the question for me: are anomalies blindspots, or are blindspots so anomalous as to evade even the “blindspot” category? Certainly my practice is to seek out blindspots, and anomalies may be clues..

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What’s interesting about anomalies is that they aren’t isolated, they’re precisely anomalous in respect to some norm or other, figure against field.

Which boils up to another instance of my repeated plaint that a single data point is nothing, that two is the first number — see, eg, It is always good to find oneself in good company.