Posts Tagged ‘Gaza’

Obscenity takes many forms

July 31, 2014

When war and destruction becomes a spectator sport. All that’s missing is a hot dog stand.

This picture  by Andrew Burton/Getty Images was published in the New York Times

Israelis gathered on a hilltop outside the town of Sderot on Monday to watch the bombardment of Gaza. Andrew Burton/Getty Images via NYT

Israelis gathered on a hilltop outside the town of Sderot on Monday to watch the bombardment of Gaza. Andrew Burton/Getty Images via NYT

Similar scenes, of Israeli spectators gathered on the high ground above Gaza to view the destruction below, were documented in a Times of London article and a video report from Denmark’s TV2 during Operation Cast Lead in 2009.

The Egyptian Army as King Sean

July 4, 2013

The goings-on in Egypt and Gaza and North Africa where democratically “elected” leaders – albeit leaders who are undemocratic and Islamist – cannot get acceptance in the rest of the “democratic” world brings to mind the story of the Irish, socialist monarch.

Two Irishmen were sorting out the problems of the world in the pub – as one usually does in a pub.

After the sixth pint they had resolved the Irish Unification Issue, the Palestinian Issue, the Syrian Issue and the Chinese-Japanese Territorial conflict. But they were floundering when they came to the issue of Poverty and Starving Children. They could not agree even on what constituted Poverty. Could it be if or when you could not buy the fourth pint? 

This led to the seventh pint. And the eighth and the ninth and then suddenly Sean’s face lit up.

“Begorrah Mick”, he exclaimed. “I have it now! The solushun is simpul. All the wurld has to do is to moik me the King of the World”.

“And how will that help?” asked a skeptical Mick.

“It’s reely simpul,” explained Sean. “If Oi was the King of the Wurld, I would collect all the monny there was or ever would be and Oi would distribut it equally – but equally – to evry living pershun – Cathlick or not”.

Mick was still marshalling his many cogent arguments against this vision of King Sean when Sean continued. “And when I had spent all moine, why I would just do it all over again”!

The Egyptian military would recognise the solution.

Democracy by “free and fair” elections is by far the best alternative – provided of course that you can have another “free and fair” election if you don’t like the result of the first one.

And so on ad infinitum till you get the result you want.