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# Posted 9:20 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD TERRORIST: On the night before I left the UK, I had dinner with an old friend in East London near Whitechapel, a heavily Muslim part of the British capital.

My friend said that Americans may not understand what it means to be personally threatened by terrorism. She said that she watches interviews with radical Muslims on the BBC news. They wrap their heads with black cloth to hide their identity and talk about waging jihad by any means necessary.

What makes these interviews different is that they are being conducted in London. Often, my friend recognizes the buildings in the background when the interviews are shot around Whitechapel.

As my friend correctly pointed out, Americans rarely or never turn on the evening news to find that their neighbors are hiding their faces and declaring jihad. That is a kind of immediate and personal threat we do not experience. It is the kind of threat we might experience if Timothy McVeigh had represented a real movement, rather than a handful of isolated extremists.

Of course, the absence of such a threat is not simply an accident. The United States has integrated its Arab and Muslim immigrants more successfully than most of Europe. But it would be wise not to ignore the threat that faces our most important ally and may soon face many others as well.

Labels: Britain, Terrorism

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# Posted 8:23 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

(ACCIDENTAL?) BRITISH HUMOUR: I'm going to London later this week and just visited www.rail.co.uk in order to check on some train schedules. After entering my departure time, destination, and anticipated time of return, I recieved the following notice:

Note: Certain combinations of outward and return journeys would result in you needing to leave your destination before arriving at it.

Well that would be very rude.

Labels: Britain, humor

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