Friday, December 16, 2005
OPERATION NO PENALTIES
The police task force dealing with Sydney’s beach violence is called Operation Seta. Interesting name:
In August of 1361, twenty-seven Muslims were returned to their homes in the valley of Seta after an unsuccessful attempt to escape to Granada.
That the king’s interest, however, was directed merely toward maintaining a stable Muslim population, and not motivated by any authoritarian or vindictive concern, is patent from the handling of such captured runaways, caught flagrante delicto: other than their forced return to Seta, no penalty of any kind was inflicted on the Muslims.
UPDATE. An illustrated timeline of events leading to the current beach lockdown.
UPDATE II. Randwick council caves in:
The threat of race-related violence has forced the cancellation of a celebrity Christmas Carol concert at a Sydney beach popular with families.
Randwick City Council said the concert at Coogee Beach tomorrow night was cancelled because of “unforeseen circumstances”.
UPDATE III. More beachy updates and links.
UPDATE IV. Nice weather, no crowds; it’s a great day to visit the beach.