These guys look way too happy
Balloons? Doves? I’m not convinced.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) celebrates its 30th year of being a peacekeeping force in Lebanon. I don’t want to be an age-ist, but isn’t there an age limit for these soldiers? Is Lebanon where the UN sends all the elderly soldiers?
The above cartoon is from the Lebanese daily al-Nahar. The text in the top right corner reads: UNIFIL, 30 years in Lebanon. The patched sign in the back reads: The South, referring to southern Lebanon where UNIFIL troops have been stationed. The basic message of the cartoon is that while UNIFIL troops have been establishing their roots in southern Lebanon, it’s actually the citizens of southern Lebanon who have bore the brunt of Israeli aggression while UNIFIL troops have stood by idly.
30 years, guys! Great work!
Stay the fuck out of Oman
(Image from the NY Times.)
More gems from the travel writing section of the NY Times. This time, we travel to the new Middle East hot-spot — Khasab, Oman! The landscape looks like Utah, the ladies are mysterious, and it’s in a country you’ve never heard of before! But before I go further: Orientalist Cliche Count — GO!
an Arabian land
oil-rich
Omani women in flowing black head scarves
Ok, not too many this time, but the article is only 500 words.
Not to repeat myself, but what separates orientalist descriptions of a place from legitimate descriptions of a place? I mean, if there are Omani women wearing flowing black head scarves, then what should prevent us from describing this? Context. Travel writing is all about the “exotic” and the “unique” or “edgy.” Women cease to be human in this type of writing; they are objects of the orientalist’s attention. We have to ask why the author chose to point out this observation out of all other possible observations.
Either way, I’ve got a bigger problem with this piece: luxury hotels.
Khasab’s center is free of souvenir shops, but that may change. In July, Oman Air doubled its weekly flights from Muscat, the capital, from two to four. Luxury hotels are under discussion for Khasab’s main port, near a restored 17th-century Portuguese fort that now houses a museum.
When a town like Khasab becomes a tourist stop, a sad fate awaits.
In other Oman news, Cheney met with Oman’s leader Qaboos.
(Image from AFP.)
Terry Atlas, the author of the article “6 Signs the U.S. May Be Headed to Headed to War with Iran,” says this about Cheney’s visit to Oman:
Cheney, who is seen as a leading hawk on Iran, is going on what is described as a Mideast trip to try to give a boost to stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But he has also scheduled two other stops: One, Oman, is a key military ally and logistics hub for military operations in the Persian Gulf. It also faces Iran across the narrow, vital Strait of Hormuz, the vulnerable oil transit chokepoint into and out of the Persian Gulf that Iran has threatened to blockade in the event of war. Cheney is also going to Saudi Arabia, whose support would be sought before any military action given its ability to increase oil supplies if Iran’s oil is cut off. Back in March 2002, Cheney made a high-profile Mideast trip to Saudi Arabia and other nations that officials said at the time was about diplomacy toward Iraq and not war, which began a year later.
Take this money and then do stuff for us
(Image of Israeli Foreign Minister and John McCain from al-Jazeera.)
- John McCain continues to say scary things on his trip to the Middle East. On his stop in Jerusalem, he said, “I support Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” In response to this, a member of the Palestinian delegation Yasar abd Rabeh said that John McCain is further legitimizing the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and is placing himself in direct opposition of international decisions that have been supported by the United States. (Al-Hayat)
- The United States is continuing to fill the coffers of the corrupt Palestinian Authority. This time with $150 million as the first installment of a promised aid package of $500 million dollars. (Al-Hayat and AFP) Connect the dots.
If you don’t have anything nice to say
Al-Hayat sums up their position on five years in Iraq with this lead:
Five years and the Occupation has turned Iraq into a federalist-sectarian-chaotic blend instead of a beacon of democracy as promised by the American administration before the war — a war that has taken a million Iraqi victims; roughly 4,000 American soldiers; a price of three billion dollars; complete destruction of infrastructure; and the fracturing of Iraqi society. But President Bush said yesterday that these were sacrifices and that the war was the right choice.
Vice President Dick Cheney visited Baghdad and al-Jazeera ran the creepy photo below with their story.
