Foreign correspondent and editor Magda Abu-Fadil wrote a very interesting blog post that was published in today’s edition of the Huffington Post.
In her post, Abu Fadil detailed how the Bush shoe incident left an impact on the worldwide fury against the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Read the entire blog post here.
Blog.bassamsebti@gmail.com
In her post, Abu Fadil detailed how the Bush shoe incident left an impact on the worldwide fury against the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
It was bound to continue. The shoe has been transformed into a weapon of protest and fury at Israel's onslaught on Gaza, and by extension George W. Bush's unconditional support for the Jewish state.The post also includes an interesting anthology of cartoons published in Arab newspapers and Web sites regarding the Israeli attacks and Bush’s end of presidency.
Read the entire blog post here.
Blog.bassamsebti@gmail.com
4 Comments:
Amazing how the involvement of a US President in an incident will give it worldwide cache.
I am reading Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded", Bassam. There is an interesting chapter on the correlation between the rise in oil prices and the rise in dictatorial regimes. Not just in the Middle East, but other areas as well, such as Russia. While there are countries who have had a wealth of oil and still managed to handle it in a reasonable way, they were the countries who had built up strong political and economic institutions. So those people who have commented that oil was really a detriment to countries in the Middle East may have a valid point.
Perhaps the lowering of oil prices will be a blessing in disquise for oil producers as well. Or not...
Bassam,
i am just hearing about the UN refugee center set up in the school being bombed.
for the person who questioned me regarding illegal weapons on civilians, here is the interview from the danish doctor.
Israeli Uranium Bombs Used on Gazans-Interview with Doctor in Gaza
sorry for being OT, i am distracked.
i saw something today that reminded me of the social acceptance of the slaughter going on now, and the slaughter of iraqis. someone brought up the ideas of 'humanizing' earlier which, in my understanding is taking something not of a human nature (like a shoe), and personalizing it (by perceiving it to be an extention of the human body i presume).
another concept i find fascinating is that of normalization.
Normalization is a process whereby behaviours and ideas are made to seem "normal" through repetition, or through ideology, propaganda, etc., often to the point where they appear natural and taken for granted. (See also: norm)
One influential discussion of normalization is found in the work of Michel Foucault, especially Discipline and Punish, in the context of his account of disciplinary power. As Foucault used the term, normalization involved the construction of an idealized norm of conduct – for example, the way a proper soldier ideally should stand, march, present arms, and so on, as defined in minute detail – and then rewarding or punishing individuals for conforming to or deviating from this ideal.[1][2].
In Foucault's account, normalization was one of an ensemble of tactics for exerting the maximum social control with the minimum expenditure of force, which Foucault calls "disciplinary power". Disciplinary power emerged over the course of the 19th century, came to be used extensively in military barracks, hospitals, asylums, schools, factories, offices, and so on, and hence became a crucial aspect of social structure in modern societies.
thru this normalization psychology one strives to normalize anything (even slaughter) by controlling the way it is discussed, the implication of authoritarian disciplinary tone when addressing ones adversaries, requests or requirements to carry on certain tasks (like requiring someone to 'condemn'). all of these things strive to normalize otherwise abhorrent behavior.
throwing shoes is a way to humanize the shoe to represent an extention of the self resisting the normalization process of excepting oppression, domination, genocide, any number of things.
Iraqi Artist Builds Monument for Shoe-thrower
Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari built a fibreglass-and-copper monument in honor Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference.
it's big!
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