next year in...Pitlochry?

I did enjoy having my lovely vacation in CBI! (I still need to write up my journal entries or that...)

However, it meant I couldn't take the time to go to the Blas Festival in September or to go to the second annual Perthshire Amber Festival last weekend, which sounds like it was wonderful!

Maybe next year...

veiled references

I caught the beginning of the Diane Rehm Show this morning, but didn't hear the bulk of it. Her first segement was on the wearing by Muslim women of the full-face veil (the niqab, cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niqab) in Western countries and Western reaction to it, particularly in light of controversies arising in the UK and US over non-Mulsims' perceptions and reactions to it.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the issues involved; I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts. Do you feel the suggestion by MP Jack Straw that constituents visiting his office remove their niqab to be reasonable or unreasonable? Do you think that the PM was wrong to say that the veil is a sign of separation? Do you believe that niqabis ought not to be required to bare their face to teach, or to identify themselves to police?

I'll use my Pakistan icon, as it's the only Islamic one I have.

true greatness!

Some people get elected to high office. Some people win international honours. And some people appear on The Daily Show. I think we all know which of those is the greatest achievement.

vikingcat, your dad is a king among men. :-)