The topics for this week's blog: France's 1/07/2015; European anti-immigration movements; Russia's new non-drivers;114th Congress; population growth; lovely drive;

France's 9/11 is 1/8/2015. The planned attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the French satiric magazine, has put France and much of western Europe on high security alert. Unless French police have not altered their tactics in recent years; they do not "play nice with others," especially in light of the execution-style slaying of three police officers, one a woman. Recent technological advances played a large role in the manhunt. The resounding national response of solidarity was over and above what might have been expected.

The far right and anti-immigration in Europe. This article from the Washington Post conveys one of the possible results of the attacks in/around Paris. Europe's anti-immigrant movement has never been far underground. Now its anti-Muslim component has been given a boost.

Homophobia run wild! If you were at all worried about homophobia here in America, the Russians will go-you-one-better. It seems that transgender and transsexual persons are so dangerous they will no longer be able to get driver's licenses. "Pathological" gamblers and compulsive thieves are also on the list. Will these "undesirables" be forced to use public transportation? I guess that means that all the new multimillionaires/billionaires will have to have chauffeurs. One wonders, could those small seismic tremors being recorded at the US Geologic Survey offices in Boulder, CO, be Lenin and Stalin spinning in their Kremlin Wall crypts?

 The 114th Congress is off and running.  Leadership styles differ in the House and Senate and managing party renegades is central to a productive Congress. Twenty-five House Republicans voted against Rep. Boehner's (R, OH) re-election as Speaker of the House; he retaliated against several. But, in the Senate, where one senator's filibuster can bring business to a stand still, majority leader Mitch McConnell (R, KY) has a much different row to hoe. Let us hope for better results this time around.

Selective population growth. Is there a parallel between France's horrific Charlie Hebdo situation and the increased feeling of powerlessness among some groups around the world? This topic treads, perhaps, a tad too close to the political correctness. Nevertheless.........
     No matter the country in which you reside, do you feel yourself part of a group with dwindling political clout? Fear that your current privileged status may soon be in doubt? What if you attribute your lessening power to simply being outnumbered by "them?" Low birth rates are a fact of life among American Anglos and northern Europeans, hence, barring some unforeseen calamity, your minority status is certain somewhere down the road.
     In the US, there are data to suggest that while some Republicans feel a need to broaden their party's base of support, this political reality rubs up others the wrong way among those who dislike the idea of "the shoe being on the other foot." In Europe, the recent influx of immigrants from Africa and Asia, with their high birth rates, has produced similar uncertainty and given rise to far right political parties.
    A immediate case in point is the current unease in France, home to Europe's largest Muslim population. France's controversial 2010 law barring the veil and burqa further heightened internal tensions among more conservative Muslims, especially young males. The western proclivity for satire does not always sit well, either, and is often viewed as downright blasphemous, worthy of retaliation. Hence, Charlie Hebdo (firebombed in 2011, attacked again just now) and Jyllands-Posten (Denmark, 2005) for their satiric characterization of the Prophet. 

A frosty drive. When the weather is good, the drive from Denver to Breckenridge along the I-70 corridor is a mundane meander up through the foothills towards, then over, the continental divide. However, last Wednesday afternoon the first half of the drive offered spectacular scenery: frost-covered the trees sparkled  in the bright sunshine under cobalt blue skies. As we drove higher the temperature actually warmed and soon the trees were frosted only on their shaded north and east-facing sides, looking for all the world like half-flocked Christmas trees. Sadly, Denver's small buffalo herd was too far away to see, but I'm sure their shaggy faces and coats would have been similarly frost-covered.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy the week ahead.