art is everywhere
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Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Phones on Table
GUIDE to Yemin's KIT KATs
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[....]
Yemen was divided into two states, North Yemen and South Yemen, until 1990, when leaders in both countries realized they could merge the states and save on stationery costs. This, however, created deep resentments, much like when a couple move in together and have to consolidate their belongings and get used to sleeping in the same room with someone who insists on keeping the windows open even in winter. But I digress. These deep resentments have simmered and boiled for the past 25 years, as deep resentments have a habit of doing. It is not improper to suggest that re-dividing the country is a possibility now, particularly when such statements are caveated with ambiguous references. For example, one can say: “The south might push for independence, unless it decides not to.” Yemen is not religiously homogenous, which always complicates things in Middle Eastern countries, particularly for external observers looking for convenient categorizations. About two-thirds of Yemenis are Sunni while the other third are Shiite. This latter group consists of Zaidi Shiites as opposed to the Shiites of Iran, who are Twelver. But it’s best to lump all these Shiites together because it simplifies things immensely. Yemen is also host to a thriving al-Qaeda community, whose members are arch-rivals of the Houthis, whose biggest enemy is the current Yemeni president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthis are allied with Hadi’s predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was their enemy while he was in power. Some analysts think the Houthis have an issue with authority figures. The Houthis are Zaidi Shiites, which explains their hatred of the extremely Sunni al-Qaeda, as if anyone needed a reason to hate al-Qaeda. The two groups are so opposed to each other that the only thing they can agree on is that they both hate America and the Jews, but not necessarily in that order. The Houthis’ slogan, incidentally, is “Death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam,” which, in the words of Tony Blair, shows “a lack of commitment to the values of tolerance and diversity,” if Tony Blair were to comment on the slogan. It also shows that they are fools, but this shouldn’t cloud our judgment of them.  As
is generally known, Yemenis consume the stimulant drug Qat in huge
quantities. What is less known is that Sunnis refer to it as Qat while
Shiites refer to it as Qit. Children of mixed marriages call it
Qit-Qat—an encouraging development amid festering sectarian tensions.The traditional Yemeni dagger, the janbiya, is also critical to understanding political dynamics in Yemen. All Yemeni males wear this item, but here again Sunni janbiyas curve to the left while Shiite janbiyas curve to the right. Things get confusing if you’re standing in front of a mirror. The leader of the Houthis has been known to hold his janbiya in the upright position, which experts agree is a sign of confrontation (the dagger being a phallic symbol in Yemeni culture). Were he to wear the janbiya at an angle, or even horizontally, we could expect him to negotiate. As it stands, the situation looks very dangerous indeed. The one thing we can be certain of is that Yemen is at a crossroads. And that crossroads has become a chaotic intersection with no traffic lights now that Iran and Saudi Arabia have chosen Yemen as the next venue for their passive-aggressive regional contest, commonly referred to in the trade as a proxy war. Saudi Arabia is on Hadi’s side while Iran supports the Houthis. But Saudi Arabia now also feels threatened by al-Qaeda. Who doesn’t? In light of all this, the new leadership in Saudi Arabia has decided to wage war in Yemen (make sure to refer to Saudi Arabia’s “new leadership,” not its “new king,” to imply that there are many people involved in making such decisions). There’s no better way to help small nations get through difficult times in the Middle East than larger, more powerful neighbors attacking them. Few are aware that bombing and invading a country is a sign of paternal love in Arab culture, as Syria clearly illustrated by going out of its way to bomb Lebanon for a decade and a half. Similarly moved, Saudi Arabia is doing Yemen a favor by destroying its airports, infrastructure, and army. Fortunately, Saudi Arabia has avoided appearances that its war is sectarian by getting other Sunni countries to help it attack Yemen. If this move seems to prove the opposite, that’s because appearances are always deceiving in the Middle East. To further prove that this war isn’t sectarian, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite Lebanese group Hezbollah, immediately took the side of the Houthis against Sunni Saudi Arabia. The United States, meanwhile, is supporting the Saudis against the Houthis and finds itself indirectly on the side of al-Qaeda in Yemen. While this is embarrassing given the whole War on Terror narrative and America’s ongoing drone strikes on al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen, it will make for a more interesting next season of Homeland. Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of this situation to expand its presence in Yemen, and recently acquired an airport. Though this might sound worrying, it does bring with it the satisfaction of knowing that al-Qaeda now has to worry about airport security. To sound wise when discussing Yemen, suggest that the decline in the price of oil has something to do with the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but say you’re not quite sure what. Obviously, “the new Saudi leadership wants to send a clear signal about its policy shift, something which is already becoming apparent in Syria.” Hinting at convoluted webs of interconnected conflicts and alliances will make you sound like an expert. Follow all this up by dangling the prospect of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, which would no doubt have “an impact on the entire region.” [Full Deal]
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CNN GOES FULL MSNBC
AND THE WINNER IS
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Spray Paint Art
art is everywhere
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Monday, May 11, 2015
Where the hell is Accident, MD? And why don't I live there?
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PAM GELLER- ALL AMERICAN
The
punishment for riding on the same bike as a boy
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What I Would do
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“There
is a pro-Labor and anti-Conservative bias in polls.”
Two
examples of “herding” in the 2014 election appeared in the Kansas and
Virginia Senate races. Pollsters there didn’t release their numbers
because they deviated too much from what others showed. In that way,
Virginia voters were badly served because no late published poll caught
Republican Ed Gillespie’s last-minute surge that almost defeated
Democratic incumbent Mark Warner.
This is playing with dynamite. Pollsters in Britain have long realized
the potential polling problem created by the “shy Tory” vote —
referring to those voters who don’t want to admit to pollsters that
they are going against the grain of media coverage and might cast a
politically incorrect vote. But this is the third time in 50 years that
the shy Tories have swung an election (it also happened in 1970 and
1992). Apparently, polling companies haven’t been able to solve the
problem. Chris Hanretty, the academic who advised the BBC on polling,
told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that he feels “a little bit foolish,”
in the wake of the election. “We categorically ruled out a
[Conservative] majority. . . . We should have expected far more ‘shy
Tories.’”Pollster Stephen Fisher also told the Guardian that the problem is more complex than that. Noting that polling companies have consistently exaggerated the Labor vote since the 1970s, he concluded: “Polling companies have done a lot of work to try to counteract this, but it keeps happening. There is a pro-Labor and anti-Conservative bias in polls.”
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Sunday, May 10, 2015
RECYCLE YOUR KOTEX! A CONTEST
Mad Men Run
Amok - BLOODY HELL!
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Saturday, May 09, 2015
CONTROL OF INFORMTION
What I See
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Friday, May 08, 2015
Who tastes pet food?
Pat Grender asks:
"Say Rodge, when dog food is 'new and improved tasting' how do they know? Who tests it? Or is it consumer fraud?
Lighten up Pat. It's legit. His name is Ripkin, from the Lab. His grandmother
was part Chow. His slurp is gold.
Rodge |
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SPIGOTS 4 SALE
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Cobwebbed but still good
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" ... nations always progressed through
the following sequence:"
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DO YOUR GARAGE
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Thursday, May 07, 2015
Part of a trend? This is too easy ... .
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The Humanity
Man raped at gunpoint by THREE women so they could collect his semen in a cooler box |
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