Counterterrorism vs Counterinsurgency

These two terms and other labels applied to the seemingly universal unrest have begun to confuse me. Enough so that I started to look up definitions and meanings of Terrorism and Insurgency and other terms like: Rebellion, Revolt, Insurrection, Uprising, Revolution, Mutiny, etc. All are associated or cited as synonyms. This did not help my mixed-up thinking much. It does seem to include most sorts of anti-authority activities. The prefix counter adds to the meaning. We apply such terms to military strategies.  In Afghanistan General Petraeus has used Counterinsurgency.  Now I have been reading about Counterterrorism as the new strategy.

But at times such activities are seen as positive, as the Arab Spring implied at the start; at other times they are viewed negatively. It depends, as we say in the case of “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...” Or the meaning depends on whether or not one is the agent or the recipients of these activities.

Then again, it may also depend on the outcome such activities produce. I can imagine that had Robert E. Lee won the Battle at Gettysburg, the South may have made peace with the North and the Civil War would perhaps soon have ended. After that the Confederacy would have referred to the conflict as The War of Independence. The French Revolution is seen as a positive outcome by most; but it did have its own “Reign of Terror.” Other examples could be cited of how history bestows a positive or negative designation on these activities depending on their outcomes.

It’s a puzzlement to me! I’ll now go and ask my very own, homegrown etymologist… and then I will share his ruling with you. If you want to add your own insights, you’re certainly welcome!

Ah, To Be Twitterpated

Some of us old enough may remember with me a sweet little children’s story based somewhat on the Bambi character in the Hollywood film.  As I recall this story also concerned a cute little rabbit; it was the only one in its family that could not raise its long soft ears like all the other rabbits.  An elder helpful and wise guide explained that the little rabbit should employ twitterpating to overcomne the unfortunate affliction.  I do not remember how the story continued, but once the little one did twitterpate, to its delight, its ears promptly stood up just like the others’.

For some completely irreverent reason this story came to mind when I read in today’s NYT a short news filler about Pope Benedict XVI’s communicating via Twitter for the very first time.  The little photo that accompanied this news flash showed that the Pope too had a skilled and very helpful guide in this technological climb into the twenty-first century. The photo I show comes from the Vatican itself and shows several cardinals standing by to help.

The Pope tweeted:  “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be the Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”

I wonder if St. Peter, with his heavenly IPad, will also be there guardian of this new portal and through it permit us into heaven…

Missouri River Flooding

FUKUSHIMA ON THE MISSOURI? NAAHH!

Two NYT headlines struck me with their curiously opposing messages:

• “Across Europe…Cities Discourage Cars…”, 6-27-11
• “Obama to Tap US Oil Reserve”, 6-24-11

In Europe they discourage car traffic and raise parking fees, while here in the US we feel it is more important to lower gasoline costs to ensure driving.

Is there something wrong with this picture? Or am I the only one seeing the disconnect? We are told endlessly that “we must wean ourselves of foreign oil” or “drill, drill, drill on land and in the waters along our beaches.”

Then, also in today’s paper, there were two reports inspiring the title here:

• A picture of Minot, ND surrounded by the waters of the flooding Missouri River
• and another photo of the Cooper Nuclear Power Plant, one of two in Nebraska that are located at the Missouri River. The other reactor, Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant.

Federal government regulators have determined that “both plants appear well prepared to weather the flooding…”

Having recently viewed the movie Jesus Christ Superstar I have been humming the lovely song Magdalene sings to J.C. “Try not to worry, try not to turn on to problems that upset you… Don’t you know everything’s alright, yes…close your eyes and relax.” I will take this good advice to heart, while listening to the evening news during dinner preparations in the kitchen.

A Modest Proposal

Inspired by President Obama's speech last night and his rethought Afghanistan policy, I began to rethink  my own dietary policies and the unnecessary intake of superfluous and unhealthful calories.  While my plan is not quite as difficult as redeploying troops by the thousands, it does involves the same kind of commitment to the reduction of many hundreds of very tasty treats.  I therefore plan to remove  the three daily scoops of chocolate ice cream starting next month, the two Latte icicles from the midnight snack by December 2011, and become ice-cream-treat-free by the end of 2012.

Welcome to the Spiral!

A sunny day ahead of the arrival of a favorite granddaughter and the start of summer tomorrow too.  This seems to be a good time to begin...