A Place of Brightness: daesh

Sunday, November 15, 2015

"First of the Storm" - What Does the Self-Proclaimed Islamic State Mean By This Threat?

The self-proclaimed Islamic State, in a French communique taking credit for the Paris attacks on November 13, 2015, states that this is but the:

début de la tempête

"First of the Storm."

This is actually not a very good translation of the Arabic original of their communique published in other venues. And I believe the Arabic original is where we really need to focus our interpretive energy to possibly determine their future planning.

The Arabic original of their threat is that [the Paris attacks are]:

أول الغيث (awwal al-ghayth)

A better English translation would be:

"First of the Heavy Rain."

But the important point in understanding their threat is that this phrase is a quote from a well-known Arab proverb:

أول الغيث قطرة (awwal al-ghayth qaTrah)

"The first (thing) of a heavy rain is a (single) raindrop."

This is a proverb roughly equivalent to, for instance, "Every journey must begin with the first step."

Native speakers of Arabic who hear "أول الغيث (awwal al-ghayth)" likely know the proverb and its true meaning.

The normal word in Arabic for "storm" is:

عاصفة

(9aaSifah)

The fact that the communique does not use the normal word and instead quotes this proverb may be telling. The proverb is not focusing so much on the severity and intensity of the storm itself, but rather on the abundance of the raindrops.

If the Paris attack is but the first drop of a heavy rain shower, the communique seems not to be threatening more severe attacks. Rather, it is threatening abundant attacks, even small ones, all of which will add up to an "abundant rain."

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Ciprian Calciu and Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop - May They Rest in Peace / Odihnească-se în pace

If you don't know Romanian you wouldn't have ever known about the lives of Ciprian Calciu and Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop, two Romanian citizens who died last night in the terrorist attacks in Paris. To honor their memory, I will describe them in English so that a wider world may know their story.

Ciprian Calciu (32 years old) came from Tulcea, a city near the Danube Delta in Romania. He was a graduate from the Henri Coandă Technical College.

Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop (29 years old) came from Baia Mare, a city in the North-West of Romania. She was a graduate of the Anghel Saligny Technical College.

They had both moved to France seeking a better life and work opportunities. And there they met each other and fell in love. Ciprian was working as a mechanic for an elevator company; Mariana was working as a bartender. They have a son, one and half years old.

Last night, they went to an anniversary party with friends at the restaurant La Belle Équipe. Their son was at home, being cared for by Mariana's mother. Also at home was Mariana's eleven year old daughter from a previous marriage.

The two were enjoying the party together with their friends when terrorists from the self-proclaimed Islamic State burst in firing bullets into the space. Ciprian and Mariana, along with 17 other people, died in that attack.

They were two beautiful people working hard to build a life for themselves and their children. They did not deserve for their lives to be cut short by this senseless brutality.

France has declared itself to now be at war. And I believe we need to stand beside our oldest ally.

But in this moment, I just pray for Ciprian and Mariana in the words of our Orthodox tradition. And I invite you to pray for them and their loved ones, as well as all who have died and were injured in these attacks.

Veşnica Pomenire.
Memory Eternal.

în loc luminat, în loc cu verdeaţă, în loc de odihnă.
In a Place of Brightness, in a Place of Verdure, in a Place of Repose.

Odihnească-se în pace.
May They Rest in Peace.

Henri Co

Henri Coandă

In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!