It had been a pleasant morning, found myself uncharacteristically tired. Woke for Fajr prayer but went back to sleep – waking up rushing about getting dressed in time for breakfast. Stopped on the 8th floor wishing Elephant Man Happy Birthday, went to show him my resume on the computer. He (and I ) noticed how dirty it was – he cleaned it. I am now writing from a clean computer – no crumbs, screen spotless.
Back to my room to find it had already been cleaned. Yeah!!! Lexis Suites service is superb. Somewhat reluctantly decided to see what was going on in the world. Television channels at breakfast were set to sports, not BBC. Decided to check my old faithful Al Jazeera – accidentally landed on Arab News. A WOW article explaining it all, clearly and concisely. It is frightening, but it is making sense, all of this chaos. I am passing it on.
That article by Osama Al-SharifFive minutes to midnight as all-out war looms in the Middle East. You can link the entire article yourself but I shall quote some of its salient insights. It begins:
“This is an October 1973 moment for the Middle East, when the region was on the cusp of an all-out regional war, with Israel at its center. Inconclusive in its outcome, the conflict began a long and arduous endeavor to end all wars. It almost did. October 1973 was a classical war in the sense that the clashes were between Israel and regular Arab armies, with one side being backed by the US and the other by the now-defunct Soviet Union.
But this time the situation is different. It was Israel that lit the fuse by launching two lethal strikes only a few hours apart, first targeting Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander, in the heart of Beirut’s southern suburbs, and then Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran — the heart of what Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu calls Iran’s axis of evil.”
Never had I fully understood this before but Israel had no choice but to bring about a full scale war. The reasoning so right on.
“One has to view those two dramatic incidents against the backdrop of Israel’s 10-month war in Gaza. This is a war that Israel has no choice but to wage for different reasons. Before Oct. 7, the Israeli public was profoundly polarized, and on the verge of civil strife in protest against the far-right coalition’s attempt to curtail the powers of the judiciary, giving the executive branch unlimited authority with virtually no oversight .Netanyahu was in deep water, facing a widespread backlash, while staving off legal prosecution over alleged corruption and abuse of power. Then Hamas launched its attack, sending shock waves across Israel. Netanyahu saw a way out. He declared war on Hamas and the hapless people of Gaza. He delivered a typical Zionist lachrymose lament of Jews being the victims of yet another massacre, bemoaning the historical victimization of the Jews.”
I love the language; “typical Zionist lachrymose lament of Jews being the victim.” Then a summary of the last ten months of horror.
There was no day-after scenario. Israel wanted to decapitate Hamas, even if that meant killing as many Palestinians as possible. Initial sympathy for Israel soon dissipated. The killing fields of Gaza horrified the world.
I do also love this brief summary of the stance of Arab countries (shame on them I say)
“The common denominator in the anti-Israel coalition was Iran. Arab governments took a backseat. This was a new twist in the age-old Israel-Palestine conflict.”
Fast forward to the conclusion – you can read it by linking, do not be lazy please.
“Only a decisive US response can rein in an unhinged Netanyahu. Biden, still president, can prevent a regional war that could quickly spiral into a global conflict. The only reason that Iran and its proxies are using the Palestinian cause to threaten Israel is Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian rights and his execution of a plan to erase the Palestinian people. The US and the rest of the world must contain Netanyahu and force a deal that delivers a Palestinian state. We are five minutes to midnight, and unless a bold US intervention takes place, the region will quickly slip into the unknown.”
I have no idea whatsoever as to the outcome of this catastrophic atrocity. I am mitigating its effect on my life as much as possible. I need to leave peaceful Malaysia – not in or nearby the Middle East. Leave as my ninety day tourist visa is about to expire. Leave the country, then return. At first was planning to visit Dubai, but that not working out. So the decided upon Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The last time I looked, however, it was in the Middle Ease. Not exactly a vacation destination for an eight-one year old single woman.
At the suggestion of several Lexis Suites staff, wove together a solution. The solution is close by, only three hours by plane from Penang. Not altogether appropriate as it is honeymoon haven but my imaginary husband and myself are considering this our second honeymoon. I am traveling to Bali and back. Flight and hotel reservations already in place. I have peace of mind. PHEW
Arab News also reported on the riots in the UK, again with a different perspective. Peter Harrison, in the August 4, 2024 edition.
There is a strange irony to the violence taking place in the UK. Groups of people are claiming on the one hand to be outraged by the July 29 killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance party in Southport, while on the other are rampaging through the streets, attacking civilians, smashing up shop fronts, and setting vehicles on fire. A friend recently said that what we are seeing in the UK’s cities is nothing short of acts of terrorism — and they might have a point. Of course, no one has officially suggested that the mobs who attacked mosques, hotels housing migrants, and even set a bus on fire, are terrorists. But look at the definition — terrorism is the “unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims” — and isn’t that precisely what these people are doing?”
The article provides factual support, illustrating that often government officials make unsubstantiated claims of migrant criminality. Humor is introduced at the conclusion.There simply is no evidence to support the claim that migrants bring with them a wave of crime to the UK. Of course, the irony is that in British cities that have been the scene of the latest riots, the figures will show an increase in violent crimes committed by white males. Will they be out on the streets condemning their own behavior when the numbers are released? Probably not. But, as history has shown, the violence will probably stop when the hot summer days come to an end and it inevitably rains, which was the case in the Brixton riots of the 1980s and the widespread unrest in London in 2011. As one interviewee told Sky News, any police officer in the UK will say the most effective way of preventing such violence is “PC Rain. But on the point of whether they are committing acts of terror, that seems unlikely given they are white and Western.
This blog has focused on world events. I promise we shall return to Malaysia tomorrow.
Two reels are attached to this blog. Amy sent four reels. I was the star, accompanied by messages that were heart stopping to me. I have not changed the color of my hair nor developed the ability to sing. But again, the message is heart stopping
