Ban the Burka

Here's a report on Dutch efforts to ban the burka in schools, government offices and elsewhere; it's not the first time they've tried, and it's not clear that the government will prevail in its attempt. Nevertheless, this move represents one way to respond to growing numbers of people who deliberately segregate themselves from Western society, yet often demand all the rights, privileges and protections accorded by that society.

In fact, all face coverings in public should be banned. Why allow young men in balaclavas to get away with shouting hateful things anonymously in street demonstrations? When I served with NATO in Bosnia, an effective means of defusing potentially violent street demonstrations was to take pictures of the provocateurs. They really didn't want to be identified and often disappeared, taking their incitement with them. Many Western demonstrations may be 'peaceful', but if people are shouting hate slogans that elsewhere are clearly calls to murder, there's absolutely no reason why they should be permitted to get away with it.