Keeping track of all those women

If you think your life is complicated, take a moment to empathize with Algerian-born Lies Hebbadj. He got in trouble with the French authorities after one of his wives was stopped for driving with a niqab.

The authorities became exercised when they discovered that Hebbadj apparently has four wives and 12 children, all of them on welfare. He then said he only had one wife; the rest were only his mistresses. Now it's a question of verifying the status of the marriage to a French woman that got him his French passport. If that marriage is invalid, he may be deported. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)

What's quaint about this story is that polygamy is illegal in France. The same arrangement - receiving welfare benefits for polygamous marriages - is completely OK in the United Kingdom.

European antisemitism

In response to an email exchange with Sydney and Pauline, here's some background on antisemitic incidents in Europe. Earlier this month, the Stephen Roth Institute at the University of Tel Aviv stated that such incidents are definitely on the rise. According to its report for 2009:

"Anti-Semitism has peaks, mostly following Israel's actions. The number of attacks usually drops after the peak, but we have seen a steady increase because the level of anti-Semitism rarely drops back to what it had been prior to the peak."

How can this happen? "The intensity and the nature of the wave that began in January 2009 testified to pre-planned mobilization among radicals from the left and among Muslim immigrant communities, resulting in a well-coordinated onslaught which employed clear antisemitic motifs in order to de-legitimize the State of Israel and the Jewish people as a single entity."

Well you may ask why I'm quoting an Israeli report and not a European one. The EU has been putting out reports on antisemitism since 2004 but is plagued by the paucity of solid, comparable data. (Remember, this is the organization which can regulate the curve of a banana.)

Feminine power

Sometimes you hear something you really like. For me, it was the pronouncement by an Iranian cleric that attractive women cause earthquakes. I mean, would you rather dress with care in hopes that some attractive man will notice you - or would you like to be a Goddess?

Marco Polo

Here, from the Middle East Forum, is an article by Raymond Ibrahim noting that much of what Marco Polo and other medieval travellers wrote about Islam would be denounced today as "Islamophobic."

Polo describes the Saracens as particularly good at excusing any crime, up to and including murder, provided the victim was not a Muslim. He also notes that a Shia Assassin leader preferred to recruit boys aged 12-20; Ibrahim compares this with Osama Bin Laden's preference for 15-25 years old for jihadis and suicide bombers.

One for the tea parties

OK, OK, I don't usually do this, but I am a Tea Partier, and just couldn't resist posting this video (thanks to Bob). Also, anyone interested in the Contract from America can find info on it here.

As for whether I appreciate the sneer that President Obama directed toward the Tea Party movement, or former President Clinton's suggestion that Tea Partiers are soon-to-be Timothy McVeighs - well, you can figure that out for yourselves.

Universally just

Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish investigating magistrate who tried to extradite former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet in the late 1990s, has himself been indicted by a Spanish court. The charge: that he ignored a 1977 amnesty by investigating the cases of people who were executed or who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Franco regime. If convicted, he could be barred for up to 20 years.

So is this good or bad? According to the New York Times, it's dreadful. The charges are being brought, unfairly, by Garzon's far-right opponents. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Spanish, who last year restricted the extent of their law on universal jurisdiction, are doing the right thing. "Whether it's legal for the Spanish judge to to re-fight Spain's 70-year-old civil war will be settled by Spaniards, in Spain, according to Spanish law. Which sounds right to us."

Many countries have closed painful episodes by means of amnesties rather than allowing individual trials. In most cases, such trials would of necessity be highly selective and easily politicized. (If you're interested, here's an excellent article on universal jurisdiction by law professor Eric Posner.)

When outsiders intervene, as Garzon did in many other cases besides that of Pinochet, it's even more of a reach to believe that justice will be served. So, yes, I come down on the side of the Wall Street Journal - which should surprise nobody! What is surprising is that I'm apparently on the same side as Obama: a year ago, his administration refused to respond when Garzon indicted six Bush administration officials for their legal findings regarding torture.

The mood in Gaza

The British weekly Economist reports that the mood in Gaza sobered up after last year's conflict, when residents realized that (1) more Gazans than Israelis have died from missile attacks, due to premature explosions and (2) when the Israelis attack, the Hamas leaders tend to decamp, leaving the Palestinian civilians they have used as human shields in the firing line.

The Economist seems to suggest that the growing disillusionment will cause Hamas to moderate its policies. I dunno about that; Hamas is busy right now executing Palestinians it accuses of collaborating with Israel. Hamas leaders may have become more cautious, given the accuracy of Israeli strikes against them, but it's hard to imagine them changing their stripes. (Thanks to Daily Alert.)