tdaxp

Robert Paterson reports on the horror-show violence in Kenya. Among other problems, Kenya is undergoing a ethnic/race-war between the Kikuyu, the Luo, and their affiliates.

Racial violence is relatively rare in the Core, but occurs in microgaps, such as parts of Los Angeles and federal prisons.

Racial/ethnic violence is a form of insurgency, attempting to replace the State with "primary loyalties." Race warriors should therefore be classified as insurgents, and (except for those who wear racial/gang insignia) unlawful combatants, as well.

Hate crime laws are probably a good idea, but msinamed, as they fight not crime, but war.

The Miami Herald notes an interest question: why, when America is a greater enemy of al Qaeda than Britain, do most al Qaeda attacks target the Crown and not the Constitution?

Some reasons are straight-forward:

The United States is geographically more separate from the Middle East, the home of Islamic fundamentalism. Beyond that, especially since 9/11, the nation has cracked down on both travel and new-resident visas, making it harder for terrorists from outside to get into the country.

But there's this important one too:

''The Islamic population in the United States is better assimilated into the general population, whereas here, in Germany, in France, they're very much on the outside looking in,'' he said. ``When people get disaffected, sadly, there's not much loyalty to country in that sort of situation.''

Sadly, a fifth column of multiculturalists will do their best to roll back the integration of American Muslims.

When al Qaeda becomes fashionable on college campuses, the multiculturalists will be to blame many times over.

"LPS mulls best Native books," by Margaret Reist, Lincoln Journal Star, 3 October 2006, http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/10/03/top_story/doc4521bf0c8a4b7965832929.txt.

Recently, my blog friend Adam of The Metropolis Times highlighted Banned Book Weeks. Ironically, the day after Banned Books Weeks Ended, Lincoln Public Schools set to work banning some more

And in addition to seeking out the best Native literature it could find -- 128 new recommended books -- it took the unusual step of recommending school libraries remove 12 books from their shelves.

Here is a list of the books:

• “The Indian in the Cupboard” (1980) and the sequel “The Return of the Indian” (1986) by Lynne Reid Banks

Writes Doris Seale, co-editor of “Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children”

• "Indian School: Teaching the White Man’s Way” (1999) by Michael L. Cooper


• "The Courage of Sarah Noble” (1954) by Alice Dalgliesh


• "The Matchlock Gun” (1941) by Walter D. Edmonds, illustrated by Paul Lantz


• "Brother Eagle, Sister Sky” (1991) by Susan Jeffers


• "Sitting Bull and His World” (2000) by Albert Marrin


• "The Place at the Edge of the Earth” (2002) by Bebe Faas Rice


• "My Heart Is On the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, A Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880” (1999) by Ann Rinaldi (from Scholatics “Dear America” series)


• "Millie Cooper’s Ride: A True Story from History” (2002) by Marc Simmons, illustrated by Ronald Kil


• "The Sign of the Beaver” (1983) by Elizabeth George Speare


• "The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864” (1999) by Ann Turner


• "Wounded Knee” (2001) by Neil Waldman, illustrated by the author

The best justifications are those that are explicitly racist, such as

Misrepresents Lakota spiritual beliefs and cultural practices. Relies too heavily on research by non-Natives.

for Sitting Bull and His World and

Misunderstanding of Navajos’ strong oral storytelling traditions (no child would take notes while an elder told a story). Pathetic attempts at Native humor. “Whitewashing” of Native experiences.

for The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864

"Books to avoid" about Thanksgiving from the same group that inspired this censorship list -- Oyate -- are available below the fold. A shorter version is also available.

"Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iran...," by Razib, Gene Expression, 16 July 2006, http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2006/07/lebanon_israel_syria_irani.php.

My friends over at Coming Anarchy have fun with ethnogeography, even involved featuring ethnic maps of China, Thailand, Turkestan (twice!). Certainly it's time for one one Iran, especially with interesting facts like this:

Iran's diverse population should be fertile ground for a covert operation. Iran is only 51 percent Persian. Azerbaijanis and Kurds comprise nearly 35 percent of the population. Seventy percent are under 30, and the jobless rate hovers near 20 percent.

The current Supreme Leader of Iran is an ethnic Azeri. Azeris are prominent in the military and in business. They are likely overrepresented in the clerical caste. The original capital of the Safavids, the dynasty which created the modern Shia identity of Iran 500 years ago, was in Tabriz, in the heart of Azeri country. The rulers of Iran up until the 20th century were usually Turkic, and could be argued to have been Azeri. I will admit I don't know much about the details right now, but when I see blatantly implausible contentions being thrown out there, I smell something rotten....

The concept of a multiethnic Iran is important, because Iran's Shia friends find themselves in Multiethnic Lebanon.

In a comment on the ensuring discussion, blogger Razib writes

1) there is a small azeri nation next door, which is poorer than they are (3 times as many azeris live in iran as in the nation-state with that name).

2) the azeris dominate the military, the current de facto head of state is an azeri ethnically, as is the head of the revolutionary guards.

3) historically azeris and their affinal turks dominated the temporal posts in the state, and it can be argued that they founded the modern nation of iran bounded with its current geography united by a shia religion.

Read the whole thing.