Mick Hartley

Poisoning schoolgirls

Yes of course - it's Afghanistan:

Blood tests have confirmed that a series of mysterious mass sickenings at girls’ schools across the country over the last two years were caused by a powerful poison gas, Afghan officials said Tuesday.

The sickenings had long been officially dismissed as episodes of mass hysteria, caused by the frequency of arson and acid attacks directed at schoolgirls by the Taliban and other extremists who oppose their education.

How the gas was delivered — and even whether the poisonings were deliberate — remained a mystery, the officials emphasized. There have been no fatalities, and no one has ever claimed responsibility for the episodes. But the cases have been reported only in girls’ schools, or in mixed schools during hours set aside only for girls.

Blood samples from victims in 10 attacks over the past two years showed toxic levels of organophosphates, according to Dr. Kargar Norughli, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, who said his ministry and the World Health Organization carried out the tests at laboratories in Turkey....

At 9:30 Saturday morning, students at the Zabihullah Esmati High School in the Kart-e-Naw area of Kabul alerted their deputy principal, Tela Mohammed Ameri, of a strong, sweet smell in one of the classrooms.

Soon the odor turned foul, and several girls began complaining of headaches and sore throats, both in that classroom and an adjacent one. Within minutes, they began fainting. Mr. Ameri ordered the school evacuated. Many of the girls fainted as they tried to flee — in the hallways, in the courtyard outside, and even half an hour later as they walked home. A few reported that they passed out at home hours later....

There was no visible sign of any poison in the classrooms.

“Even I started feeling dizzy,” he said. “It felt like somebody was choking me, or pressing in my head; my eyes were red and sore.”

In the courtyard of the school on Tuesday, students and teachers still complained of sore throats, dizziness and headaches. One 12th grader, 18-year-old Khalida Bashir Ahmed, said she was determined to return to school even though she still felt dizzy; she still had a medical tube dangling from her right wrist. As she recounted her ordeal, she fainted and fell to the ground. Teachers revived her by splashing water on her forehead and sent her home.

In all, 45 students and 4 teachers on Saturday were taken to the local hospital, the Rahman Mina Clinic, according to the clinic’s deputy director, Dr. Rahmatullah Hafizi. Only three days earlier, he said, the clinic received 74 students from another girls’ school, the Totya High School, in the same part of the city, with the same problems.

With varying degrees of severity, the victims displayed classic symptoms of organophosphate poisoning....

The gassings mostly occurred areas of the country with large Pashtun populations, where opposition to girls’ education has been particularly strong. The Kart-e-Naw part of the city where the schools in the newest cases are located is a heavily Pashtun quarter.

Attacks on schools in Afghanistan, particularly girls’ schools, have been rife in recent years, with most of them carried out by insurgents. A spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Gul Agha Ahmadi, said 60 schools had been burned down or destroyed so far this year. Cases where acid is thrown on girl students take place frequently in the south, and occasionally even in Kabul.

For an insight into Pashtun sexuality, and why women are seen as unclean, see here.

The victory was swift, but the occupation was chaotic...

Another take on Iraq, this time from Anne Applebaum:

I supported the invasion of Iraq, I think the surge was a success, and I believe that an Iraqi democracy could be a revolutionary force for good in the Middle East. Yet even if violence abates, even if U.S. troops go home, we have still paid a very high price for our victory—much higher than we usually admit.

Aside from the very real blood and the very real money spent in Iraq, there were also other casualties, some of them hard to count and classify. Here are a few of them:

America's reputation for effectiveness. The victory was swift, but the occupation was chaotic. The insurgency appeared to take Washington by surprise, and no wonder: The Pentagon was squabbling with the State Department, the soldiers had no instructions and didn't speak the language. The overall impression, in Iraq and everywhere else, was of American incompetence—and, after Abu Ghraib, of stupidity and cruelty as well. Two years ago, a poll showed that vast numbers of our closest friends felt that the "mismanagement" of Iraq—not the "invasion" of Iraq—was the biggest stumbling block for allies of the United States.

No wonder, then, that America's ability to organize a coalition has also suffered. Participation in the Iraq war cost Tony Blair his reputation and the Spanish government an election. After an initial surge of support, the Iraqi occupation proved unpopular even in countries where America is popular, such as Italy and Poland. Almost no country that participated in the conflict derived any economic or diplomatic benefits from doing so. None received special U.S. favors—not even Georgia, which sent 2,000 soldiers and received precisely zero U.S. support during its military conflict with Russia.

It will be a lot harder to get any of the "coalition of the willing" to fight with us again. Indeed, "Iraq" is part of the reason why there is so little enthusiasm for Afghanistan and why it is so difficult to put organized pressure on Iran.

Another victim of the conflict was America's ability to influence the Middle East. Admittedly, we were never as good at this as we would like to be, but the chaos in Iraq has clearly strengthened Iran. It has had no positive impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By helping raise the price of oil for a few years—this was supposed to be a "war for oil"; remember that?—it has also strengthened Saudi Arabia, the regime that produced 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers.

Of course, the high oil price also strengthened Russia and Venezuela—not that anyone has much noticed—because another casualty of the Iraq war has been America's ability to think like a global power. Even if we eventually pull out of Iraq altogether, we will have been bogged down in that country for the decade that also saw China's rise to real world-power status, Latin America's drift to the far left, and Russia's successful use of pipeline politics to divide Europe—all trends that commanded hardly any attention from the Bush administration and so far even less from Obama....

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that the assessment of the Iraq war is a project for the next decade, not the next week. Before speaking on Tuesday, Obama might ponder the words of Chou En-lai—who, when asked to assess the long-term impact of the French Revolution, allegedly told Nixon, "It's too soon to tell."

The View from Turkey

The main thrust of this piece in Standpoint by Claire Berlinski (via), who lives in Istanbul, concerns the disjunction between the benign picture of the ruling Islamist AKP party as presented in the Western media, and the ugly reality:

When Western journalists note in a casual aside that press freedom has experienced certain setbacks under the AKP, they are failing to do justice to the severity of this calamity and its ramifications for Turkey and the region. The calamity is exacerbated by the tendency of the foreign media to repeat, without scrutiny, the very idiocies peddled in the Turkish press, where the range of opinion on offer has become severely limited. The result is the growth of a grossly distorted and dangerous consensus about Turkey, here and abroad — to wit, that Turkey under the AKP has become more democratic and politically healthier...

But this bit ties in with my previous post:

If Turkish citizens are taking to the streets to denounce Israel, who can blame them? Here's what they're reading in the Turkish press. Yasin Aktay of Yeni Safak, a popular figure on the talk-show circuit, writes: "Israel is contrary to logic, to human rights and to democracy." Ali Bulaç, a columnist for Zaman, describes Gaza as "a concentration camp that in reality surpasses the Nazis camps". In Ortadogu, Selcuk Duzgun warns: "We are surrounded. Wherever we look we see traitors. Wherever we turn we see impure, false converts. Whichever stone you turn over, there is a Jew under it. And we keep thinking to ourselves: Hitler did not do enough to these Jews." Abdurrahim Karakoç of Vakit adds: "It is impossible not to admire the foresight of Adolf Hitler...Hitler foresaw what would happen these days. He cleansed off these swindler Jews, who believe in racism for a religion and take pleasure in bathing the world in blood, because he knew that they would become a big a curse for the world...The second man with foresight is evidently Osama bin Laden...It was Hitler yesterday, and it is Osama bin Laden today." 

What is astonishing, then, is not that we see so much hostility towards Israelis among Turks, but that we see so little of it. Given the level of anti-Semitic propaganda to which they are exposed, this can only be attributed to their basic decency.

Holocaustism

A Holocaust debate on Al-Alam TV (an Iranian Arabic channel) with Syrian author Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani:

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: I have read everything that has been written about the Holocaust, both by those who deny it and those who claim it occurred. First, those who claim that the Holocaust took place do not have any proof.

TV host: Those who claim that it took place?

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes.

TV host: On what do they base their claims?

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: On nothing but a lie. Those who deny [sic] the annihilation have provided weak evidence. To be honest, in the West, they do not dare to speak freely...

TV host: Or to conduct objective research.

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Right. They don't enjoy the same freedom as us.

As we digest that for a moment, it's over to Syrian researcher and publisher Muhammad Shaykjani:

The Jews mixed philosophy, religion, and politics. Throughout history, they have been continuously developing their religion in accordance with the circumstances, until they reached Zionism. Judaism has come to mean Zionism, and in recent times, Judaism has come to mean "Holocaustism."

According to the Torah, the Lord enjoined them to conduct a seven-day sacrificial burning. The "burning" is a sacred ritual of worship. I consider this to be proof of the falsity of the Holocaust, and biblical evidence that they have drawn the lie of the Holocaust from the Torah. Their reliance upon the Torah proves that the Holocaust is a lie, and that it never happened. It also shows that the Holocaust doctrine is deeply engrained in their minds and in their rituals.

Back to Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani:

TV host: On the inner cover of the book, we read a quote by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Why did you decide to print a quote of Ahmadinejad? This is...

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Can we present it to the camera... I was very happy when the Iranian president denied the Holocaust. Since I am convinced of the need to fight this lie, I was filled with admiration at the words of the Iranian president.

TV host: He said: "Israel should be wiped out of existence."

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes, that's right. First of all, the Iranian president is the first leader in the world to adopt Holocaust denial. This is a great event. Secondly, the state of Israel must be wiped out of existence, as Imam Khomeini said before.

A mis-translation, no doubt...

The winners in Iraq

It's like a Bateman cartoon: the man who wrote something positive about Iraq at CiF. Here's Hayder al-Khoei:

Many people argue the biggest winner of the 2003 Iraq war is neighbouring Iran. The American-led forces removed one of Iran's bitterest enemies, Saddam Hussein, and paved the way for successive Shia-dominated governments in Baghdad. The Iranians have not shied away from interfering in domestic Iraqi affairs and the power vacuum created by the American administration in Iraq gave them ample room to flex their muscles.

Several Shia political parties have been established and funded in Tehran, or have been given safe haven in Iran. Weapons, military training, millions of dollars and protection have been gifted to these parties and their armed militias, and these valuable resources were used to consolidate their grip on power in Iraq following the demise of the Ba'athist regime.

The Americans, on the other hand, spent over a trillion dollars, lost more than 4,000 people, tarnished their reputation in the region and failed to control Iraq's oil wealth. The Iranians, so the argument goes, have outplayed the Americans in this game of chess.

Proponents of this argument are forgetting one vital ingredient that Iraq has and Iran lacks. Democracy. Iran can arm and fund militias till kingdom come, but at the end of the day, in Iraq, it is ballot papers, not bullets, that decide who stays in power and who gets the boot.

Oh dear oh dear. Luckily I saw this soon after it was posted, with only two comments up - both derisory, of course. I'm not going back. It'll be a bloodbath.

The recent wave of terrorist attacks in Iraq has killed many innocent people, but Iraq's enemies have still not understood the determination and resilience of the people. As the terrorists slaughter young men queuing up to join the security forces, hundreds more are willing to take their place.

The Iraqi army continues to go from strength to strength, the Iraqi intelligence is ever more capable of gathering information and Iraq will soon catch up with the region in oil exports. Iraq's neighbours will do well to respect that and ensure they have as few enemies as possible.

Doesn't he know how Guardian readers feel about the prospect of a successful democratic Iraq?

Pyongyang nearly 100 years ago

From the Sidney D. Gamble Collection at Duke University - "Man Resting and Smoking" (via):

Most of Sidney Gamble's photographs were taken in China during the course of four trips, from 1908 to 1932. This photo dates from his second trip, between 1917 and 1919, when he visited Korea.

As other photos demonstrate, much from 100 years ago remains largely unchanged. 

Nails and Pins

Saudis are notorious for the brutal way they treat their servants - mostly women from Sri Lanka or the Philippines. Even against that background, though, this case stands out:

Doctors removed 13 nails and five needles from a Sri Lankan woman who says the couple she worked for in Saudi Arabia hammered them into her body.

L.G. Ariyawathi, who was hospitalized with severe pain after returning Saturday from Saudi Arabia, has said the family she worked for punished her by heating the nails and needles before sticking them into her. X-rays have shown that she had 24 nails and needles in her body, said Dr. Keerthi Satharasinghe of Kamburupitiya hospital, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from the capital, Colombo.

The nails ranged in length from one to two inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) while the needles were about one inch (2.5 centimeters). They were removed from her legs and forehead.

"The surgery is successful and she is recovering now," said Dr. Satharasinghe after a three-hour procedure.

He said six more needles which are in her both hands could not be removed as such an operation could harm her nerves and arteries but that they would not be harmful to her.

Since being admitted to hospital, Ariyawathi has described the abuse meted out by her employers.

"They (her employer and his family) did not allow me even to rest. The woman at the house had heated the nails and then the man inserted them into my body," the 49-year-old was quoted as saying in the Lakbima, a newspaper published in the local Sinhalese language.

She told the paper that she went to Saudi Arabia in March but has been paid only two months' salary, with her employer withholding the rest to buy an air ticket to send her home.

About 1.5 million Sri Lankans work abroad, many as maids or drivers, in order to earn more than they can in their own impoverished country. Nearly 400,000 of these work in Saudi Arabia alone.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Bureau said that Ariyawathi had been too afraid to complain about the abuse to Saudi authorities, fearing that her employers might not let her return home.

Even the normally uncomplaining Sri Lankan authorities are pushing for action from the Saudis on this one:

Lankan Justice Ministry sources told Arab News on Friday that legal counsel would be provided to the maid to file a case in Saudi Arabia over the incident.

"The Bureau (of Foreign Employment) will make all arrangements to take her to Saudi Arabia to testify," said L.K. Ruhunuge of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

The matter may also be taken up with the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations, Lankan officials added....

The Lankan government has reportedly forwarded testimony from the maid to Saudi authorities.

No response yet.

Depressed

Five trapped Chile miners 'depressed', says the BBC headline:

Some of the Chilean miners trapped in a collapsed shaft have begun to show signs of depression, officials say.

Health Minister Jaime Manalich said five of the 33 miners, trapped 700m (2,300ft) below ground, were not eating properly and had refused to be filmed.

Mr Manalich said psychologists would attempt to treat the men from the surface over an intercom system.

Engineers say work on an escape tunnel, which may take four months to reach the miners, will have started by Monday.

I think if I was stuck in a small tunnel 700 metres underground and told that it would take four months before rescue I might be just a little depressed. In fact you have to wonder about the ones who aren't depressed. Why the hell not? What's wrong with you people?

Well OK - as someone who can't even contemplate pot-holing without a shudder, I'll admit that I'd be more than depressed: I'd be completely out of my mind. I don't even want to think about those men and what they're going through. The idea of psychologists attempting to treat the men from the surface... Aargh! What on earth are they going to say? Look on the bright side? Think positive? Say you guys, why don't you try to remember the happiest day you ever spent when you were a child, and take it in turns to tell the others about it? Then maybe you could play I-Spy.... 

I'm 700 metres down a fucking mine, you bastard, and will be for the next 120 days. You and your smug psychology can fuck off! Just send down the drugs. Powerful drugs. Yes, heroin...fine. Perfect. I'll worry about kicking the habit when I'm out. Thank you.

Too Close

The great Clarence Fountain leading the Blind Boys of Alabama:

No date given, but I'm guessing the early Sixties. Sister Rosetta Tharpe on the left there when the camera pulls away at 1:40.

What they sound like now.

The Appeal of Jimmy Carter

Carter arrives in Pyongyang; Kim Jong Il leaves for China. Coincidence?