perfidy

As in "What the hell we supposed to do, ya mo-ron..."

I have friends in Beirut, and after the first runway at Rafic Hariri International Airport was bombed, I dropped a note to them to ask how they were doing. Since they're residents of the hills northeast of Beirut, the response last Saturday was somewhat reassuring:

First, let me start off by saying that we are all fine.
{...} Though Lebanon is tiny, it has very distinct areas that are variably affected. We live in the mountains in the Christian area of Lebanon and are less likely to be in danger than the Moslem areas in the South, especially those areas with Hizballah presence, which have been mainly affected.

We hope this cluster fuck started by Hizballah resolves soon so that we can get back normal life.

Mazen

By this past Friday, as the effects of this latest war had ground northward, he'd been reduced to wondering whether CNN, NYT, or anyone else was covering the action, and just in case they weren't, quoting Robert Fisk articles in the Independent. Among the snippets of the two articles he sent ("Paradise Lost: Robert Fisk's Elegy for Beirut", July 19, and "The Child Lies Like a Rag Doll: A symbol of the latest Lebanon war", July 20), Fisk complains:

And then, most disgraceful of all, we leave the Lebanese to their fate like a diseased people and spend our time evacuating our precious foreigners while tut-tutting about Israel's "disproportionate" response to the capture of its soldiers by Hizbollah.

and then (in the latter article), "reports":

How soon must we use the words "war crime"? How many children must be scattered in the rubble of Israeli air attacks before we reject the obscene phrase "collateral damage" and start talking about prosecution for crimes against humanity?

The child whose dead body lies like a rag doll beside the cars which were supposedly taking her and her family to safety is a symbol of the latest Lebanon war; she was hurled from the vehicle in which she and her family were traveling in southern Lebanon as they fled their village - on Israel's own instructions. Because her parents were apparently killed in the same Israeli air attack, her name is still unknown. Not an unknown warrior, but an unknown child.

...(includes details of a gut-wrenching set of circumstances leading to the girl's death, along with others, after Israel had warned citizens to leave)

The Israelis constantly boast of their "pin-point" or "surgical" precision in air attacks. If this is true, then there are far too many civilians being killed in the Lebanese bloodbath to make every one of them an accident. And since Israel's target list now includes obviously civilian targets - deliberately bombed to punish the civilian population - the evidence is mounting that these air raids are intended to kill the innocent as well as the Hizbollah guerrillas whom Israel claims to be fighting.

True, the Hizbollah are killing civilians in Israel, but their missiles are inaccurate and the West, which has done no more than mildly disapprove of Israel's retaliatory onslaught, must surely expect higher standards of the Israeli armed forces than of the men whom both Israel and President George Bush describe as "terrorists".

A couple of things occur to me here - because Hizb'allah are less-well-armed, we should just pass on the fact that they're killing Israeli citizens? Because any such killings are just lucky, given the presumed shittiness of the Hizb'allah arms? And not only that, we're supposed to reserve all ire for Israel, instead?

I don't know who this "we" is that Fisk refers to, but those tut-tutting about proportionality are either ignorant or, worse, wilfully ignorant of how it is that wars actually end. Lebanon is taking it in the ass, again, and that's truly something to regret. The loss of life, livelihood, and living quarters is both sad and intensely depressing.

But Lebanon has a problem that's a precursor to the present tragedy, namely the Hizb'allah "state within a state" that felt free to take action of its own, presumably without the consent of the elected government of the country. Lebanon claims not to have a militia capable of challenging the Party of God's militia, and after this latest provocation, someone had to. Israel was the only candidate - the UN sure couldn't be counted upon, and think of the howls of indignation should the US have offered to do the job, gratis, in response to the 1983 Beirut bombing which killed 241 Marines.

The sixty rockets that have rained down on northern Israel today (so far, at least, at the time I'm typing this) can't simply be ignored, and the fact that Israel has been able to effectively blockade Lebanon is an example of how proportionality must be ignored if the fighting with Hizb'allah is ever expected to end. It sucks that there's no valid way to blockade just the Shiite south of Lebanon, and in any event, that wouldn't achieve the desired effect. It sucks that such blockades include the need to damage infrastructure, such as the largest milk-producing facility in the country, in order to grind down the ability, if not the will, of the Hizb'allah aggressors. It also sucks that anyone outside the Hizb'allah militia has died, is dying, or will die.

And that suckage includes the damage to the lives of the Shiites in the south - they can't go against Hizb'allah, for several reasons. First and least important, they're all Shia. Of more importance is the fact that Hizb'allah takes good care (in a "Chicago ombudsman" sort of way) of it's civilians. Hizb'allah isn't just a terrorist organization and, in fact, may not now even be best classified as one, though they certainly were in the 1980s and 1990s, and they have terrorist adherents, still, today. They make up roughly 25% of the elected Parliament of Lebanon, and during the Cedar Revolution Mazen's brother Ziad referred to Nasrallah, the head of Hizb'allah, as among the least corrupt and most admired politicians in all of the body politic. Which says a lot, given the strict sectarianism of Lebanon, and the fact that Z & M are from a Christian family.

But, back to Fisk's "we": What are "we" supposed to do here? If "we" is the United States, are "we" supposed to shrug off their "Jew rays" and reign in "our" oft-claimed Zionist overlords from Israel? If "we" is Europe, are "we" supposed to increase the volume of "our" tut-tutting, attempting to shame Israel into accepting constant bombardment from a non-state actor? If "we" is the UN, are "we" supposed to suddenly become much less corrupt and vastly more competent, or would it be OK for "us" to just reduce the volume of piddle running down "our" legs at the thought of having to, for once, justify "our" continued existence?

Damn, I don't know the answer, but I, along with an apparent majority of my countrymen, think that, for now, it's just fine to state the obvious: Israel has a right to defend itself, and I wish there were a way to do so without such grievous damage to the Lebanese infrastructure. Short of a full-blown occupation, I don't see what alternative exists. Oh, wait - I guess Nasrallah could stop bombing Haifa and return the two kidnapped soldiers. But that seems unlikely, at least for now. Vaunted Arab ego, and all that.

Oh, and the latest dispatch from Mazen, this afternoon?

Dear Friends,

I am leaving Lebanon this Monday morning by road to Syria and then on to Jordan. From there I will fly to Egypt where I will be based for a while on a new project.

{His employer} is taking care of all travel arrangements, etc. My parents and brother are still in Lebanon and awaiting being contacted by the Canadian embassy for evacuation.

I appreciate all of your concern and if you do say a prayer or two, throw a little something my way for a safe journey and for the safety of my family in Lebanon through these difficult times.

Much love to you all.

Mazen

No tut-tutting here. Just a sense of resignation that, again, good people from a country that deserves much better have been horribly affected by forces seemingly beyond their control.

[wik]: Oops. Looks like there's a chance, according to Allah @ Hot Air, that some of Lebanon's leaders at least tacitly approved Nasrallah's adventurism. Bummer, that.

Frodo

You scored 59% Aggressive, 58% Brains, 64% GoodEvil, and 77% Trivia!

You have little care of the outside world. You think "Adventures make you late for dinner." On the other hand you have spent your time reading, and writing.

Not too far off the mark, although Frodo smokes way, WAY more weed than I do. Judging by the stats, not many people have taken this particular quiz:

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender

• You scored higher than 99% on Aggressive
• You scored higher than 99% on Brains
• You scored higher than 99% on Good/Evil
• You scored higher than 99% on Trivia

Today's forgotten punchline:

"Terrific! But where'd you learn to screw like a Jap?"

Watch as a writer wrestles with his harshest critic, his inner Gary Busey. Happily, I chose as my inner critic Chris Farley. While he's large and loud, he is also essentially a fat dope, and can be ignored when necessary. Not like Gary Busey. That guy's creepy. Just watch his show. He is right about the clowns though.

[wik] And really, I want to go to the Japanese Baseball and Samurai University.

NASA's site commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Apollo landing read, "On July 20, 1969, the human race accomplished its single greatest technological achievement of all time when a human first set foot on another celestial body."

But the NASA text, and other sources, typically ignore one important and obvious detail: We CONQUERED it!

The British created a world spanning empire through the simple expedient of planting the Union Jack on soil inhabited by wogs who didn't know that flags meant ownership. Benighted natives woke to British officers telling them that they now lived in the British Empire. When they disputed this, the officers merely pointed at the flag and said, "See, there's the flag. England." And when they continued to disagree, there was always the Maxim gun. In keeping with this grand tradition of symbolic declaration strecthing back millenia (but without getting too into the semiotics of possession) our guy put our flag up there- so it's ours! Happily for the granola crunchy set, there were no Lunar aborigines that needed to be convinced more... strenuously.

Today is the 37th anniversary of that glorious event, when not just homo sap in general, but specifically God-fearing Amurricans left the cradle of Earth to begin the conquest of heaven. We sent men into space on a tower of fire, backed with nothing more than whiz-wheels, slide-rulers, and less computing power than my car's fuel injector. A relatively modest start, some might say - the Moon being low-hanging fruit, solar system wise - but it was a start nonetheless on the long road to interstellar domination. And someday, when Old Glory waves on 10,000 worlds and our mighty fleets cruise the galaxy, our fair descendants will look back at the Moon and Apollo as the start of it all. The only question is how they'll fit all those stars on the flag.

Huzzah! Huzzah! For the bonnie striped flag borne by a single moon!

And you will know my name is the lord when I lay my vengeance upon you. Samual L. Jackson is the voice of the Lord. Apparently I am not the only one who digs on his voice, as an audio bible will now feature Jackson as God. I can only hope that they also release the outtakes, so we can here God saying "Motherfucker" as only Jackson can. Maybe we could convince Jackson to do a Shaft version of the bible. Jackson would make a great Jesus. Just imagine Jackson/Shaft/Jesus casting the moneychangers from the temple. Jesus on doubting Thomas' case for doubting. Jesus smacking Judas around. The risen Jesus ridiculing Peter for denying him. The wedding in Canaa. The possibilities are endless.

This may be a bit of troubling news. Seems that an element of Orcan Searangers went after a Dolphinic Force Recon unit. According to Ministry sources, which at this time are sketchy and quite preliminary, they were supposed to be conducting joint training operations within the FinWarrior exercise. Something seems to have gone awry, and the dolphins had to dash into fresh water and up a river to escape being eaten.

As usual, trust a hippy conservationist for comic relief:

Conservation staff unsuccessfully attempted Thursday to herd the dolphins out of Oruaiti River and into Mangonui Harbor...

You think it might be because the dolphins are not interested in being food?

Levity aside, this may be troubling news. We are counting on the Cetacean Alliance in the looming fight with the robots, and without air-breathing allied mammals to take the fight to the briny deep...

Well, let's take it one step at a time. I'm still waiting to hear from Atlantis Command for an update, which should have more details. For the time being, let's just treat this as a rogue action. I've recommended postponing the balance of the FinWarrior '06 exercise until we get a handle on things.

Bah, just read it here. They draw some pretty far-reaching and, by their estimation, conclusive results based on whether I like blue more than brown. At first blush it seems slightly more accurate than, say, a horoscope or a fortune cookie, but upon subsequent readings I'm not so sure. I mean, "able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity"? Durrr!

GeekLethal's Existing Situation Pursues his objectives and his own-self-interest with stubborn determination; refuses to compromise or make concessions. GeekLethal's Stress Sources Suppresses his innate enthusiasm and imaginative nature, for fear that he might be carried away by it only to find himself pursuing some will-o'-the-wisp. Feels he has been misled and abused and has withdrawn to hold himself cautiously aloof from others. Keeps a careful and critical watch to see whether motives towards him are sincere--a watchfulness which easily develops into suspicion and distrust. GeekLethal's Restrained Characteristics Egocentric and therefore quick to take offense. Distressed by the obstacles with which he is faced and is no mood for any form of activity or for further demands on him. Needs peace and quiet, and the avoidance of anything which might distress him further. Able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity. GeekLethal's Desired Objective Needs a peaceful environment. Wants release from stress, and freedom from conflicts or disagreement. Takes pains to control the situation and its problems by proceeding cautiously. Has sensitivity of feeling and a fine eye for detail. GeekLethal's Actual Problem Disappointment at the non-fulfillment of his hopes and the fear that to formulate fresh goals will only lead to further setbacks have resulted in considerable anxiety. He is trying to escape from this into a peaceful and harmonious relationship, protecting him from dissatisfaction and lack of appreciation. GeekLethal's Actual Problem #2 Needs to protect himself against his tendency to be too trusting, as he finds it is liable to be misunderstood or exploited by others. Is therefore seeking a relationship providing peaceful and understanding intimacy, and in which each knows exactly where the other stands.

Most folks, even those utterly disinterested in soccer, have seen the incessant replays of the head-butt that Zinedine Zidane laid on Marco Materazzi during the second overtime period of last week's World Cup final.

It's a story that won't die.

Aside from endless regurgitations (like this one) about the right and wrong of the matter, it's become an apparent staple that every smart-ass wants to get into an article, even those ostensibly unrelated to soccer, let alone sport. An example, from a July 12 Wall Street Journal about Nissan, Renault, and the potential for a partnership of some sort with General Motors, with a focus on whether it's too much to put on the plate of Carlos Ghosn, the much admired savior of Nissan:

Can he do that and run two other companies? This time at Renault, he has yet to work his magic. True, he has been there only for a year or so. But that is precisely why Renault shareholders want his attention focused on the French firm. They feel like their superstar has delivered a head butt to the chest.

That's not the sort of tiresome cuteness I normally associate with the WSJ. ...

But the excessive blather about the butt-head's head-butt itself has gotten tiresome. Zidane acquitted himself admirably, on most points, during his multiple televised descriptions of what happened, each of which was combined with an apology to the French people for his lapse.

The point that he's failed on (from another WSJ story of July 13) is encapsulated in this excerpt:

"These were words that touched the deepest part of me," said the 34-year-old Frenchman, seeking to explain why he had head-butted the Italian and got himself thrown out of the game, the last of his long and brilliant career. "I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that."

France ended up finishing the overtime with only 10 players, and then lost in the subsequent penalty shootout. Mr. Zidane is France's star penalty kicker and had scored from the penalty spot early in the match.

"I reacted badly, and I would like to apologize for it," added Mr. Zidane, who has occasionally erupted in the past. But he said he didn't regret the head butt. "The guilty one is the one who provokes," he said.

I mean no offense to Mr. Zidane, who seems to have truly deserved the Golden Ball as the best player in the World Cup. He's had an amazing career and served his country well. But jeez, what a thin-skinned pantywaist. He really needs to butch-up, I think.

If the "guilty one" truly was he who provoked, then Materazzi would have been thrown out, instead of Zidane. While the officiating at this World Cup was uniformly awful, the red card Zidane got was the only red card I saw in the entire tournament which was justified. And once it was clear that Zidane hadn't stopped Materazzi's heart from functioning, I hope Marco laughed his soccer-goon ass off. Because he played fair (within limits - grabbing clothes is bush-league, but so is all the melodramatic faked-injury acting that goes on in European soccer) and he did his job.

The reason Materazzi didn't punch him in the jaw is that, well, then Materazzi would have been the one trotting his ass off the pitch, not Zidane. Punching someone in the jaw is against the rules. Ghetto-talking that same someone is completely legitimate.

Zidane remains loved in France, which is as it should be. He should shut up about who's guilty, and so should all the lip readers and journalists who're trying to find some way to lionize Zidane and demonize Materazzi. Materazzi won that particular engagement, simply by drawing a red card for Zidane. But the worst offender would be this unnamed twit (from the same story):

A French lawyer announced yesterday that he will go to court to try to get the World Cup final invalidated on the grounds that Mr. Zidane's expulsion was illegal. He wants the match with Italy replayed.

Dream on, Pierre.

On a side note, the WSJ article points out that one of YouTube's most-viewed videos (500,000+ views) is that of Zidane laying the wood to Materazzi. Have a look, if you like, at another version (en Italiano) that seems to remove all doubt as to who the dumb-ass is, in this case, if not necessarily who the bad guy was.

But personally, I'd say that of the Zidane head-butt genre, this might be my favorite:

Today is, of course, the French Equivalent of Independence Day. Of course, French Independence day should properly be celebrated on June 6th. Casual sniping aside, the French are a race of smelly perfidious backstabbers. Happy Bastille Day!