January pause...

It looks like catch-up time ... so in rapid order:

Gbagbo is still squirreled away in the Ivory Coast, the African Union is collectively contemplating its next moves, while the new Ivory Coast leader imposes a month long ban on cocoa exports ...

Recognized Ivory Coast leader Alassane-Outarra hopes an export ban on his country's leading source of foreign exchange will put further pressure on Gbagbo's financial resources.

Tunisia still restive, old regime leadership leaving one by one under continued protests.

Street protests continue in Tunisian cities, pressuring for a more thorough change of regime than simply the ousting of former President Ben Ali.

Lebanese crisis smoulders - Lebanese telecommunications tycoon Najib Mikati, who is backed by Hezbollah and its allies, moved into position on Monday to lead a new government after winning support from Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. Byzantine negotiations and political jockeying continues ...

The man, Mikati, looks nice enough, like a mild-mannered grandfather...

A long awaited Israeli commission's findings on the fatal Gaza blockade incident have finally been released. The Commission found that the blockade was internationally legal as was its enforcement, referring to the incident in the fall of 2010 when several aid ships were boarded, and 9 Turkish activists were killed in one violent confrontation on one of the boats. Turkey quickly rejected the findings, and news reports are that two more flotillas will attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza later this spring.

A weathered Israeli flag with a ship in the background symbolizes the brewing tensions over inspecting and monitoring shipments by sea to the Gaza strip in order to intercept smuggled arms.

Egypt's government has blamed a Gaza-based group for the New Year's Eve church bombing that killed 24 Coptic Christians in Alexandria. Interior minister Habib al-Adly said on Sunday that "conclusive evidence" proved the Army of Islam planned and executed the attack on al-Kidiseen Church, which also left scores wounded. The group, based in Gaza, quickly denied responsibility, while expressing support for the bombing. The naming of foreigners as the culprit may help Egyptian authorities in easing escalating tensions between Muslims and Copts, who make up about 10% of the nation's population. Adly also stated however, that the Army of Islam recruited Egyptians in planning the bombing in Alexandria. Cairo has long accused militants in Gaza of using the Palestinian territory to plot attacks across the border to upset Egypt's tourism industry and inflame religious mistrust.

In the aftermath of the church bombing, Egyptian security forces collect evidence on site.

North - South Korea tensions, while remaining high, may witness a step towards peace. South Korea said Thursday it accepted a North Korean proposal to hold high-level defence talks a day after the leaders of the U.S. and China called for better communication between the two Koreas. The talks could prove significant if Seoul and Pyongyang can put aside military and political tensions that soared to their worst level in years in 2010. While agreeing to talks, South Korea continued to display a higher profile of military readiness and willingness to protect its citizens around the world. Most recently, South Korean marines successfully stormed a ship off the Somali coast, killing several pirates, detaining others, and freeing a South Korean tanker and crew.

In 2010, South Koreans volunteered in great numbers for positions in its military forces including a surge of women. These are young female officers at a recent graduation ceremony.

The picture above seems incongruous to this blogger. Feminine young women serving in military positions. But if one takes a broad look at equality for women in societies, this is probably another positive aspect (albeit in a very mysterious calculation considering so many other roles are in need).

Where else do feminine warriors show a presence? Wikipedia notes that from the beginning of the 1970s, most Western armies began to admit women, though only a few permit women to fill active combat roles, including New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. Other nations allow female soldiers to serve in certain Combat Arms positions, such as the United Kingdom, which allows women to serve in Artillery roles, while still excluding them from units with a dedicated Infantry role. The United States allows women in most combat flying positions, and both the UK and the US now allow women to serve on submarines.

Women first broke into the Western military world in significant and sanctioned numbers through nursing the wounded.

Women nurses on the field in World War II

The renowned cooking personality Julia Childs was linked to clandestine intelligence gathering during WWII

Women as a critical new workforce segment during the war accelerated a reforming of traditional roles.

Israeli women's egalitarian and crucial role in the defense of their homeland was especially significant in shaping Western nations expansion of women in the military in general. Here, IDF soldiers taking a break at what appears to be a pharmacy.

Chinese women were involved in Mao's insurgency forces in the 1930s and 40s, which has led to today's significant inclusions. In most communist movements or nations, women participated in military units in one way or another.

Pakistan has women in its internal military policing structure - something not uncommon in Muslim nations including Algeria, Iran, and Bahrain. Turkey uses female officers in combat flying (bombardment) missions over Northern Iraq and in ISAF patrol missions in Kabul, Afghanistan, a phenomenon surely opposed by traditional Islamists, though who are not opposed to female suicide bombers of their own.

Kenyan women serve in its armed forces.

The US is pushing the envelope with significant numbers of women Marines in combat roles.

Lebanon once again on the edge

The fragile government of Lebanon is again in a state of collapse as 2011 begins. The troubled country, historically divided along a number of sectarian lines as well as dominated by its neighbor Syria, has over the past decade faced the rise of another brutal faction - the Hezbollah. As a result of this group's influence and current stance, the country is now staring at either a return to civil war or partition.

History - very abbreviated, and very simplified

Lebanon is a small nation to the north of Israel, with varied climate and geography, and a bewildering array of religious and sectarian factions. The region was part of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years.
Prince Bashir II "the Great" was Emir of Mt. Lebanon from 1788 until 1840. (Nice beard and red fez)

During WW1, the area became a part of the French Mandate, and in 1926, France formed the Lebanese Republic. At the time, Lebanon was a largely Christian (mainly Maronite) enclave but also included areas containing many Muslims (including Druze). Lebanon gained independence in 1943, while France was occupied by Germany. The United Kingdom sent its army into Syria and Lebanon to fill the power vacuum, however, and kept the region under control until the end of World War II.

Lebanon's unwritten understanding among its factions since independence provides that its president be Maronite Christian, its speaker of the parliament a Shiite Muslim, its prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the deputy speaker of Parliament a Greek Orthodox. Lebanon's varied population has historically been represented in government with various posts distributed to each group.

Lebanon's history since independence has been marked by alternating periods of political stability and turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on Beirut's position as a regional center for finance and trade.

Beirut, Lebanon's capitol

Lebanon was on the side of other Arab nations fighting Israel when it became a nation in 1948. Palestinians fleeing the conflict were sent to Lebanese refugee camps, but when Israel successfully fought off Arab armies, they remained festering in the camps, growing in size (now 400,000+). A generation later, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) working out of the camps, was one major factor in fanning a 15-year Lebanese civil war from 1975-1990.

Today (very abbreviated, very simplified).

The immediate crisis can be traced back to 2005, when a popular Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, credited with providing significant leadership in ending the civil war, died when a massive blast ripped through his motorcade in central Beirut.
Popular Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, shown with Lebanese flag - Cedar tree in the middle of two red horizontal stripes - was assassinated in 2005.

In a UN-led investigation into his assassination, a tribunal sitting at The Hague, in its early stages implicated top-level Syrian security officials. But as its investigation moved on, the tribunal's conclusions led down another path, and is about to indict members of the powerful Lebanese Shia political and militant movement - Hezbollah.

The scene of the Hariri assassination by car bomb still reverberates in the region's outlook for peace and stability.

Hezbollah is legitimately based in its Lebanese Shia population, no question. But it has quickly grown into a major militant force due to its generous and focused support from Iran, the major Shia power in the region. Underscoring its militancy and power, Hezbollah instigated a brief conflict with Israel in 2006, then in May 2008 Hezbollah and its allies, sparked by a government declaration that Hezbollah's communications network was illegal, seized western Beirut in Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war. At least 62 people died in the resulting clashes between pro-government and opposition militias before all major parties signed an agreement which ended the fighting. The agreement was a victory for Hezbollah forces who received concessions regarding the composition of the cabinet, filling several positions with its hardliners.

Hezbollah denies any role in the 2005 Hariri assassination and has called on the current Lebanon leader Saad al Hariri (son of Rafik ...) to withdraw Lebanon's funding for the tribunal, stop all co-operation, and denounce the court's findings even before they are released - demands Hariri rejected. In January, 11 Hezbollah-affiliated ministers resigned, bringing down the hard-won coalition government.

The two major protagonists - Recognized coalition government Prime Minister Saad Hariri (right), and hardline Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (left)

Hezbollah has its own flag, and appears intent on establishing its control over all of Lebanon.

The regional importance of Lebanese stability - now very much in question between a national sovereignty represented by the historical coalition government, and that of the Iranian backed militant Hezbollah - is underscored by very public attempts by other Arab nations to mediate the current crisis. Saudi Arabia - a Sunni Muslim nation - tried to mediate in the past few days, but failed. Now attempting to create an atmosphere for negotiations are two moderate countries, Qatar and Turkey.

Saudi Sunni negotiator (left) bows out, Turkish negotiator (right) with Qatari assistance steps in. None of these countries wants to see an Iranian proxy - Hezbollah - establishing itself as new Lebanese government.

It creates a headache to read and understand Lebanon's chaotic history of the past 6 decades, and it is even more of a headache to watch another dark and violent chapter apparently being written.

Hezbollah armed forces were recently being characterized as a state within a state, but a power play for full control may be underway.

Tunisia unrest results in new government

Tunisia is a small African nation bordering the Mediterranean sea, and neighbor to Libya and Algeria. Tunisia is an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that has averaged 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s. Its wealth comes from a diverse economy, ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing (clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery), petroleum products and tourism.

Tunis, the Tunisian capital, is a popular tourist attraction

Tunisia has close relations with both the European Union - France in particular - and the Arab world. Tunisia is a member of the Arab League and the African Union, and its "moderate and even-handed approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict" has also made it an important intermediary in Middle Eastern diplomacy.

None of these positive aspects of the country was strong enough to prevent in the past few days, what is referred to as the Jasmine revolution, named after the country's national flower. The authoritarian government led by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who had governed from 1987 to 2011, collapsed after several weeks of unrest that had continued to spread.

Jasmine, the Tunisian national flower, and the name of this revolution

The unrest began in December, 2010, when Tunisian youths clashed with police, in riots sparked by anger over unemployment in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid. The nightly disturbances started after an unemployed graduate set himself alight in a protest against police officers who confiscated fruit and vegetable he was selling from a market stall. Then further clashes occurred when youth held protests to demand the release of dozens of people arrested earlier.

Unrest started in the provinces, but soon reached the capital Tunis, where in this photo, a market burns.

Pent-up anger at unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt, spread to other provinces, and finally reached the capital this past week. Three people were shot to death and six others injured by police in clashes in the working class northern suburb of Kram, according to an employee at the Khereddine Hospital.

Crowds blame Ben Ali for the harsh crackdown which only fueled further violence.

In the centre of the capital, a protester was fatally shot and a journalist was hit in the leg by police gunfire as rioters hurled stones at trams and government buildings while the smell of tear gas filled the air. Police fired on protesters with bullets, two witnesses said and one protester was hit by a sniper on the balcony of a building overlooking the violence. All in all, up to 66 deaths have been reported, though 42 of those were from a prison fire where inmates were rioting over related government repression.

Fire takes hold at a seaside villa in the chic Mediterranean resort of Hammamet which is popular with Europeans and the country's ruling class. The building is said to belong to a member of the Tunisian president's inner circle

The 72-year old President, Ben Ali, at one point tried to sooth the population with calls to roll back food and gas prices, but in the end, resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia for refuge. Parliamentary Speaker Foued Mebazaa took over as acting president. He said he had asked Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi to form a national unity government. "All Tunisians without exception and exclusion must be associated in the political process," Mr Mebazaa said in a televised address.

Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and First Lady, Liela Ben Ali

Prime Minister Ghannouchi (left) speaking with Interim Leader, Mebazaa (right)

Talks between the interim administration and political parties are due to resume on Sunday. Under the constitution a new presidential election must be held within 60 days. However, an exiled Islamist party leader has notified the new government that he will return for talks to become part of a new unity government, and at this point, observers do not know whether protests will quiet down or whether Islamists will play a constructive or destructive role in this tense period.

Tourism includes visiting famous spice markets, such as the Gabès spice market, where highly inventive yet tradition laded Tunisian cooking combines mutton or fish with assorted vegetables and flavoring them with coriander, caraway, anise or cumin - not to mention lemon, olive oil and harissa.

Do good fences make good neighbors?

Derry New Hampshire stone wall made famous by Robert Frost,

...Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

The "Mending Wall" is a 1914 poem written by Robert Frost (1874–1963). It is set in the countryside and is about one man questioning why he and his neighbor must rebuild the stone wall dividing their farms each spring. Fences, viewed positively, set boundaries that can lead to mutual recognition of the interests, rights and property of others.

In recent decades, "walls" have taken precedence, often erected for other purposes - the infamous Berlin wall, designed to keep people in; the wall between Catholics and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast Ireland, designed to keep civilian troubles from growing; the fenced line of demarcation on the Korean peninsula, designed to keep armed forces apart; the Israeli wall built to keep suicide bombers from infiltrating its land, though challenged as an oppression of Palestinians, and of course, the politically charged US-Mexican border where a fence is being slowly built to diminish illegal immigration as well as facilitate security against drug smuggling.

Greece shares a small border on its east with Turkey. Note island of Cyprus - colored yellow - to the south of Turkey

Recently another fence has been announced, with mutual support by two countries' leaders. From the BBC, "The Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey voiced solidarity in their approach to tackling the growing problem of illegal immigration, after the Greek government announced plans to fence part of its border. "We give great importance to working together with Turkey on the issue of illegal immigration," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said in translated remarks at a joint news conference in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum.

Turkish leader left, and Greece leader right, approach illegal immigration fence as a solution.

Greece said this week it was planning to erect a fence on its Turkish border, having complained in the past that Turkey was not doing enough to stem a flood of illegal migrants. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan played down the significance of the fence, which will cover just 12.5 km (8 miles) of a 206 km-long border.

"This is not a measure taken against Turkey or Greece," Erdogan said. "It's wrong to see this is as a wall. We fully trust each other on this." Erdogan said his appreciation of the problem had changed after Papandreou told him there were one million illegal immigrants in Greece."

Existing border crossing between the two nations

This is a much more positive approach between the two countries than could be easily imagined. Greece and Turkey have fought each other, not only during World War I, but have come to scattered blows in several boundary disputes in the Aegean sea, as well as confronting each other over a festering problem on Cyprus.

Island country of Cyprus divided between forces sympathetic to Greece and Turkey

This island country is an EU member governed by a Greek Cypriot government, while a breakaway Turkish enclave in the north is subject to an EU embargo and only recognized by Turkey. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the north of the island to "protect" the Turkish Cypriot minority after a brief Greek-inspired coup that sought union with Greece. Some 30,000 Turkish mainland troops still occupy the northern half of the island, against 10,000 Greek Cypriot national guardsmen whose officers come from Greece. After the two Koreas, Cyprus is the most militarized country in the world.

Greece and Turkey, two fellow members of NATO, have had a long history of disputes, but to their credit, they have undertaken confidence-building measures, including several related to their armed forces. Let's hope in this case, that a fence here and there between the two nations will be a force for mutual respect and easing tensions.

Before leaving this discussion, Greece and Turkey have unbelievably rich cultures including reknowned cusine. Turkey is blessed with varied climate which allows the country to get almost everything on its land. Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that has been self sustaining, producing all its own food. Turkish cuisine has many specialties and variations. For example there are at least forty ways to prepare eggplant alone.

Istanbul - an ancient and world famous Turkish city

Turkish eggplant dish - Karniyarik

Greece famous for sun-washed views of the Mediterranean

Greek national dish - Moussaka

Ceylon Tea

Sri Lanka looks like a teardrop off the southern tip of India

Does that brand of tea ring a bell? To Sri Lankans, it does - Ceylon tea remains one of this nation's most valuable exports and is a mainstay of the island's economy. From Wikipedia, "Tea production in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is of high importance to the Sri Lankan economy and the world market. The country is the world's fourth largest producer of tea and the industry is one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange and a significant source of income for laborers, with tea accounting for 15% of the GDP, generating roughly $700 million annually. In 1995 Sri Lanka was the world's leading exporter of tea, ... with 23% of the total world export, but it has since been surpassed by Kenya. The tea sector employs, directly or indirectly over 1 million people ... The most important foreign markets for Sri Lankan tea are former Soviet bloc countries, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, UK, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya."

Therefore, Ceylon tea, will soon be the only item that will retain the name Ceylon, as the government has now announced that any other government building or reference to its old colonial name will be removed.

Colombo is the capital city of Sri Lanka

As a quick refresher, this little country off the tip of India (about the size of West Virginia), was ruled by the British colonialists (along with India, Pakistan, and now Bangladesh) until political independence was granted in 1948, though Sri Lanka only became a fully sovereign state in 1972. Within internal politics however, an ethnic cleavage between the two major groups - the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils - led to a full blown civil war lasting from the early 1980s till May, 2009. Sinhalese armed forces early in 2009 made several crushing advances and rather abruptly and surprising eliminated what had been known as the Tamil Tigers fighting force, and the aspirations of a separate Tamil state. The bloody conclusion was ruthless nonetheless, and efforts to reconcile the two populations remain tenuous after 19 months.

Tamil families caught up in the civil war still languish in refugee and resettlement camps

Sri Lanka is struggling now to move from that societal perspective of conflict amid a war setting, to a new stance - taking its place in the world as a growing, prospering nation. Indeed, Sri Lanka on Tuesday expressed confidence to reap a post-war peace dividend in the next couple of years and grow at 8.5% in 2011 and follow it up with a 9% growth in 2012. (The dividend however, does not come directly from a reduction in military spending. Since the civil war ended, the new military budget is still virtually the same as during the final years of conflict.) What has changed is simple stability and security among the rural population in former conflict zones.

Tea plantations in the fertile central highlands

So back to the name change, it is part of the larger effort to forge a new identity and direction for the country in this post-war era. As the BBC notes, "Until 39 years ago Sri Lanka was Ceylon, but the British name was dropped in 1972 when the country became a republic and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state. Officials said Lanka, to which an honorific "Sri" was added, is close to both the Sinhalese and Tamil names for the island."

Tea plantations employ women for the vast majority of tending and harvesting chores.

While the brand name of Ceylon tea is valuable in itself, challenges for the industry exist, and will be an indicator for the nation's societal progress in the years ahead. The industry, to be frank, is heavily skewed towards utilizing young women as tea pickers, and up till now has not dealt forcefully with exploitative practices. Housing conditions, poor pay, sexual harassment are all areas needing to be addressed. Let's hope that Ceylon tea will soon be seen as a beacon of women's equality in this teardrop of a nation.

Tea pickers lining up for their wages

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) greeting India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a symbol of new hopes and vision for the country.

Time passes with fireworks and explosions

Much of the world celebrated the passing of 2010 into the new year with fireworks and good cheer. There were a number of other explosions, however, ever-present reminders of challenges ahead that must be dealt with.

Iconic Sydney Australia New Years Eve celebration

Australia always seems to start the event, so in spite of floods in the northeast of the country now being called "biblical" in scope, Sydney maintains its reputation for celebrating in style. After touring the flooded regions, the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, returned to the Harbor City for New Years eve.

Flooding in Northeastern Australia now termed "biblical"

The US head of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, spent New Years eve in Kabul, Afghanistan, with the troops, and reviewing security concerns. Nearby, another drone strike (with explosion) in Pakistan killed additional militant leaders.

Drone strikes escalated in 2010, and show no signs of slowing

In Nigeria, a series of new bomb attacks, including on the market in the Nigerian capital of Abuja where New Year is usually celebrated, claimed a number of lives Friday evening. Nigerian television reported about 30 deaths, though there is still considerable confusion over the number of bombs, deaths, and locations.

Confusion seen in this man's eyes as Nigerian tensions between Muslims and Christians continue

The most serious incident (in terms of implications and trends) was an attack in Egypt against Coptic Christians. The Financial Times newspaper reported that "an explosion outside a Coptic church in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria killed at least 21 people and injured 80 early on Saturday, in an attack on an unprecedented scale that marks a serious escalation in sectarian tensions in the country. The blast came as several hundred worshippers left New Year’s mass in the Church of the Two Saints in a middle class area of Alexandria about half an hour after midnight.

Egyptian church bombing in Alexandria

The Egyptian interior ministry said the explosion was probably the work of a suicide bomber who detonated himself outside the church. It said that “foreign elements” had planned and overseen the attack, and that the bomb was locally made and packed with nails and ball bearings."

Remains of blasted car outside Coptic Church

On Saturday, January 1, there were serious riots between Christians and Muslims and police. Some riotous activity was Christians attacking mosques with rocks and clubs, while other protesters confronted police for a perceived lack of security for Christians, about 10% of Egypt's population.

And so we begin another year.

Remembrances and Reconciliation

Very long standing tensions remembered between Serbs and Kosovars

Grudges and injustices are not easily forgotten. Some shouldn't, others by festering simply prolong the inability to progress. The "remembering" to everyone's disadvantage can be seen in Northern Island, where yearly parades and commemorations keep the 300-400 year old animosity between Catholics and Protestants alive. In a more lethal manifestation, the Serbs and Kosovars will not drop injustices that occurred in the 1300s, the continually stoked outrage having now triggered World War I, and part of the bitter Balkan war of the early 1990s.

Turkey and Armenia are stepping feebly along a more productive path of restoring relations. The long bitter wound (charged as genocide) from the 1915-17 conflict where the Turkish empire crushed the subject land of Armenia from moving towards independence, remains a potent barrier.

Tiny Armenia to the east of modern day Turkey - once were both part of the Ottoman Empire

A most profound and positive example of reconciliation is between Germany and Israel after the holocaust caused by the Nazis from 1938-1945. In 1950, Hermann Maas became the first German to be officially invited to Israel. In 1952, the Prime Minister of Israel David Ben Gurion and the Chancellor of West Germany Konrad Adenauer signed an emotional reparations agreement. Over the years - through 2007 - Germany has paid 25 billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli holocaust survivors. West Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1965, and since then, mutual state visits regularly occur.

Would that more nations study the steps taken between these two nations rather than nursing grievances from the past. Here current leaders Netanyahu and Merkel discuss an item

But to come full circle, as Israel gained its independence in 1948, a new stage was set for unending conflict. Palestinians living in and among Jewish settlers were told to leave by neighboring Arab states, who were anticipating a successful, brief, full scale attack on the new country, thereby driving Jews into the sea.

When the unthinkable occurred, and Israelis beat back the attacks, the displaced Palestinians had nowhere to go and were placed in refugee camps set up by the defeated Arab nations. Instead of these countries (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran) assimilating their brothers, the leadership encouraged the new refugees to nurture their grievances, as well as make promises that soon another attempt would be made to drive the Jews to the sea. Several unsuccessful attempts later, millions of new refugee descendants over the course of 60 + years, have become a force of restlessness and resentment beyond any Arab coalition's ability to control (think Hamas, Hezbollah, Gaza Strip ...).

The point of all this? Another buried lead? It is the nurtured violent grievance towards Danish cartoonists who disrespected the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. As 2010 comes to a close, Danish police have arrested five jihadists intent on seeking murderous revenge towards the cartoonists and the newspaper business who published them.

Another terror attempt

From the BBC, "five suspected Islamist militants have been arrested for planning a gun attack at the Copenhagen offices of a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005, police say. The men intended to burst into the Jyllands-Posten office and kill as many people as possible ..."

The small Baltic nation of Denmark

With all that, let's pointedly enjoy a positive reminder, that of traditional Danish food based around the natural bounty of this tiny land, with fresh fish from the seas and rivers, and famous pork and dairy products from its farms. (Havarti cheese should be on everyone's grocery list.)

The Danish countryside

Danish havarti cheese on bread - pretty simple fare