zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — Chattanooga — when a gun free zone is no longer gun free, aka words are not the deeds they describe ]
.

Two sides of the same Chattanooga coin?

Chattanooga: Assault Weapons a Security Problem for U.S. (Cole @ Truthdig) – http://t.co/bfG9wNTe3O pic.twitter.com/ZmHIrwrlMN

— Juan Cole (@jricole) July 17, 2015

and:

.@megynkelly: "Look at at the bullet-riddled storefront. You can see a sign circled in red… It reads: 'No guns.'" pic.twitter.com/ixXdhBbAA4

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 17, 2015

**

We mostly understand that Juan Cole and Megyn Kelly represent opposite sides in the broad strokes liberal vs conservative divide, but on this occasion their two views are not necessarily opposed so much as oblique, maybe even orthogonal.

Cole’s point is about his desire to keep guns out of the hands of criminals / fanatics / terrorists, while Kelly is talking about her desire to allow trained military personnel to carry arms on duty.

But how easily we elide the nuance into simple opposition.

[ by Charles Cameron — good news, whether in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic or English ]
.

Today’s DoubleTweet:

U.S. Jewish groups join recovery effort after Israeli church arson attack http://t.co/XsRlSneiCu via @RNS

— WWRN (@wwrn) July 17, 2015

Muslim fundraiser for burned black churches close to $100,000 goal http://t.co/ciwZwIW65i

— Al Jazeera America (@ajam) July 16, 2015

Duly noted, duly grateful.

[ by Charles Cameron — Ali Soufan and Maajid Nawaz ]
.

Back to back in my Twitter feed early today — a DoubleTweet:

Ramadan, the month of blood.

— Maajid Nawaz (@MaajidNawaz) June 26, 2015

Fridays of Ramadan are devoted for prayers and worship not terrorism and murder- All through history truth alway won, murderers alway fall.

— Ali H. Soufan (@Ali_H_Soufan) June 26, 2015

[ by Charles Cameron — humanity I love, but humans when humanity goes out the window — more difficult ]
.

The question, the choice facing me, is this: should I DoubleTweet today’s Times tweet —

Dentist nearly lost his hand in racist attack by man wielding machete who said he wanted revenge for Lee Rigby http://t.co/EDwRs32jxI

— The Times of London (@thetimes) June 23, 2015

with another of today’s tweets, this one from the Evening Standard:

Schizophrenic who decapitated grandmother found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity http://t.co/vgrlSxHJOk pic.twitter.com/wPql57ZtoN

— Evening Standard (@standardnews) June 23, 2015

— or with this one — or similar — from the Daily Mirror a couple of years ago?

Lee Rigby trial: Murder accused Michael Adebolajo 'confessed he tried to behead soldier' in police interviews http://t.co/pBIjqCerGo

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) December 4, 2013

**

There’s a simultaneity to the first option, and a sort of tit-for-tat causality to the second: which is to say there are both synchronic and diachronic linkages on offer.

So it is with the world’s events, there are synchronicities and diachronicities.

**

Hat-tip to Bryan Alexander of Infocult: Uncanny Informatics. A very bright man, a very Russian beard, a very good friend.

[ by Charles Cameron — miracle in Egypt, human perfection in Russia ]
.

Vladimir Putin says he has never made a mistake because God wanted him to be perfect http://t.co/ZwDu0bnekk pic.twitter.com/CpxSi1srjP

— The Independent (@Independent) June 10, 2015

It’s not entirely clear, then, why he would need to be “shriven ” — have his confession heard and be granted absolution — by Abbot Ephraim

To be fair, though — Putin‘s exact words, as reported in the body of the Independent post:

It appears that the Lord built my life in a way that I have nothing to regret.

Not quite the same thing as “God wanted him to be perfect” — although, doesn’t God want that for everyone? Matthew 5.48, at least in the King James version.

**

Meanwhile in Egypt:

Egypt mosque preacher: a man's tongue was paralysed when he tried to pray against Sisi, who then appeared in a vision http://t.co/55hEjmBLyC

— Samer Al-Atrush (@SameralAtrush) June 10, 2015