Some days are more thought-provoking than others, speaking
of news.
A recent Washington
Post had an interesting story about an Army general who, during a
high-level diplomatic mission to Russia, stayed drunk for the entire time and apparently
consorted with women of doubtful mores and integrity. Whether these ladies were
seeking information or money is unclear. They are described as young, comely,
and eminently available. Other members of the mission are quoted as saying the
general’s behavior was openly outrageous, and a few worried that the ladies in
question might have been soliciting secrets rather than sex.
As a writer of fiction, I immediately see this as a ploy.
The general was not drunk, merely acting that way in an attempt to lull the Russians
into thinking he was a lush whose knowledge of matters hush-hush could be
exploited. But the General, in truth a stolid and sober man, would use the opportunity
to sow seeds of disinformation that would fool the commies.
Or maybe not. Maybe
he’s just a drunk, another one of those highly ranked military men who, lately,
have been acting badly.
A second story dealt with the Republican Party’s embrace of
Phil Robertson, one of the stars of the Duck Dynasty television show. Robertson
looks like both members of ZZ Tops put together, which is to say not
particularly attractive. He recently told us that homosexuality was a sin in
the eyes of God, a step above--or below--bestiality. So of course some the high-visibility GOP
pols--think Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and such--have flocked to Robertson’s side
and declared him a savior, which is pretty funny. Notwithstanding his five
minutes of fame, the man makes duck calls for a living. How this makes him an
expert on human sexuality is doubtful, but personally, I’ve always thought
Republicans were sexually a little… repressed? So perhaps it makes perfect
sense, and if Cruz is elected to the highest office, we might see Robertson as
Secretary of something-or-other. Possibly Environment?
According to this week’s New
Yorker, a few years ago in Saudi Arabia, where women’s rights are
essentially non-existent, King Abdullah issued a decree allowing female staff
to work in certain stores as clerks. In 2011, the country’s Labor Ministry allowed
the list of shops to include those selling cosmetics, lingerie, undergarments
and wedding dresses. A year later, a group of clerics told the Labor Minister during
a meeting that they would pray for his death by cancer if he did not rescind the
order. Now, I’m not a man of any cloth, muslin or otherwise, but I seriously
doubt wishing a man dead by cancer is anywhere in the Koran.
In other news, Daniel Snyder, the embattled owner of the
Washington Redskins football team, recently flew to an insolvent Zuni Indian reservation
to see first-hand the poverty there. Does this have anything to do with the movement
to change the team’s name from Redskins--seen by some as slur upon native
Americans--to something less offensive? Don’t know, don’t care. But it should be noted that also in
Washington, DC, is a high school football team called the Frogs, in honor of
the school’s French founders.
I’m perplexed by the DC police officer who recently tried to
kill his wife using a metal light fixture. It sort of bothers me that the man
in question was assigned to the School Safety Division.
And last but not least, a diplomat from the world’s largest
democracy (as India likes to bill itself), was recently arrested in New York
for grossly underpaying her nanny and possibly lying to immigration authorities.
This is not unusual within diplomatic circles. Not that many years ago, an
Asian diplomat family residing near my house in Northern Virginia was sent home
for having what were essentially slaves working for them. The thing about the
Indian woman in question is that she is an outspoken advocate for women’s
rights who was quoted as saying that “India always believes in encouraging its
women…” When it’s not abusing them, I guess.
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