Death in Benghazi

I’ve been thinking about the four Americans murdered in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi this week. There’s something about the violation of diplomatic privilege (one of the foundations of international law and therefore of civilization) that really bothers me.

Yeah, I know—embassies and consulates can be hotbeds of propaganda, espionage and all kinds of other chicanery. But civilized nations basically turn a blind eye to that sort of thing and agree that we’ll all focus on positive activities, like exchanging cultural icons instead of artillery shells.

And the people who work in those compounds—well, some of them may well be carpetbaggers or political appointees (in fact—most ambassadors are both; the posher the posting, the bigger the presidential campaign contributor and the greater the likelihood that the incumbent is a buffoon); but the rest are in it because they believe they can do some good, or they want to experience different cultures, or both.

Especially in backwater or dangerous postings like the ex-Soviet Bloc or much of Africa, they aren’t there to make a quick buck, score a trophy spouse or smuggle diamonds. They work long hours processing travel visas, bailing Americans out of local jails and facilitating commerce. In a lot of these places they struggle with a lower standard of living, trying not to transgress local customs and convincing their kids that their lives haven’t been ruined forever just because they’re spending their high school years in Kinshasa instead of Kansas City.

Christopher Stevens, our Ambassador, was a career diplomat who had already served twice in Libya. That place would never be considered a garden spot, and Stevens had experienced it as Deputy Chief of Mission under Gadhafi and as Special Representative to the National Transitional Council last year. Other assignments included stints in Jerusalem, Damascus and Cairo.

Stevens was Bay Area born and bred—well known, well-liked and well-respected (from what I’ve seen in local media). Between earning his BA in history from UC Berkeley and his law degree from Hastings, he volunteered with the Peace Corps to teach English in Morocco. He gave up what must have been a very comfortable practice as an international trade lawyer to join the Foreign Service and take not-at-all cushy postings.

If anyone could have been said to be a friend of Arabs and Libyans, Chris Stevens clearly was that person. He was a stand-up guy.

Sean Smith was an Information Management Officer for the State Department. You know he could have been making shedloads more money doing IT in the private sector; see above about the higher standard of living. His assignments included Baghdad, Pretoria and The Hague.

In addition to his Foreign Service work, though, Smith was well-known in the universe of online gaming. Under the name Vile Rat, his persona was of a senior diplomat in the sci fi world of EVE Online. Being a consummate geek, Vile Rat kept in touch with his EVE swarm, even while under fire in Baghdad.

On Tuesday, he was likewise on Jabber, IM’d “GUNFIRE”, and then was gone.

One of Smith’s EVE colleagues posted this obit. I have to say that I don’t understand a whole lot of the MMORPG lingo. But I do pick up on the shock and sorrow and sense of utter loss. And; I get the feeling that Smith was a mensch.

We don’t really know about the two security guys—the Washington Post reported the name of one of them, but evidently (at the time of writing) the State Department hasn’t confirmed him. It looks like they were both employees of a private security firm, and you could argue that they were thus compensated very well for their work. Probably. They had to know that an assignment at Benghazi carried its risks. And if it was a gamble for them, they paid full freight.

On Wednesday, there was a gathering of Libyans in Benghazi. It was a peaceful protest against the attack on the consulate, and the people carried signs instead of RPGs:

I imagine that coming out in daylight, with hand-made signs, in that country was not without risks and I am moved by this.

But I’m still really disturbed by the attack, and genuinely saddened by the waste of men who were bent on nothing but trying to make the world better.

Dragons' teeth

The seasons following the Arab Spring aren’t looking so prosperous or fertile for anything except violence, bigotry and extremism. The attacks Tuesday night on US diplomatic posts in Cairo and Benghazi are probably not the culmination of the savagery; sadly, I expect we’ll see more.

Frankly, I don’t know what to make of a culture that seems to prefer international outlawry to working within rules, and that favors a return to the Good Old Days of the 8^th Century—only with 21^st Century weapons.

But I really hope world leaders figure out what to do about it. Because it’s evident that an Arab Summer is going to be long and hot; and an Arab Winter may well be nuclear.

Oh, the shame! (& the skunks)

Okay, I'm going to interrupt my series on the mailboxes of Sunnyvale to bring you a website that you really must check out.

It's really rubbish in terms of UX and presentation, but if you need a laugh, this is it.

(Well, my sister, who has dogs, thought that the dogs aren't bad so much as the owners irresponsible in not addressing the problem behavior. But I think it's pretty funny.)

By way of teaser, I give you:

(I can't look at the above without laughing.)

We had a chihuahua mix that used to take on skunks up from the Arroyo Seco, so I'm familiar with the tomato sauce bath routine.

And a repeat offender.

One of the interesting things to me is that there appears to be a high representation by Boston terriers in the photos on the site. Not casting any aspersions; I'm just sayin'.

Please, Mr. Postman Pt. 1

I live in an area of Sunnyvale that comprises mostly single-family dwellings dating from the 50s through 70s, from the looks of the architecture. Those on this side of El Camino Real appear somewhat more upmarket than the ones across the way, but back in the day they’d all have been for working class and middle class families.

(That was of course in the day when the working and middle classes made enough money to buy houses anywhere, much less in this area.)

There’s one sub-neighborhood of a couple of blocks of two streets where everyone appears to have decided to express individuality not in the paint on their track houses, or the landscaping, but in their…mailboxes.

I’ll show you what I mean:

Fire engine sideways.

 Fire engine front.

Car sideways.

Car front.

They mostly seem to have been homemade and bolted on to your common or garden mailbox.

 Ark with pair of elephants.

I’ll share some more tomorrow.

Praying man

The Mountain View Art and Wine Festival was held this past weekend. (This is California; you can't have any arts-related activity without wine.)

And, this being California, where the sun always shines, there was a Sunscreen Booth, where you could slather on or top up your sun block.

There was also this stand, right at the corner of Castro Street and El Camino:

This fella was here last year, and the year before that. I've not seen him at any of the other Arts and Wine Festivals. I don't know whether that means folks in Los Altos and Palo Alto don't need prayer, or what.