Author: Mick Hartley

At the weekend, the Times printed some extracts from the forthcoming “Rough Guide to Cult Fiction“. I wonder whether Patrick Hamilton’s books will be included. In many ways he’s classic cult material: generally snubbed by the literary establishment or regarded at best as a minor talent, drank himself to death, yet wrote in many people’s opinion some of the finest fiction produced between the wars. I read Hangover Square some years ago, then read everything else of his I could get my hands on. My favourite is Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky. Tonight a dramatisation starts on BBC4. It’s the sort of thing the Beeb does well. I like the fact that it’s not on the main two channels, keeping it all in a suitably minor key.

An interesting article in Lebanon’s Daily Star looks at the current alliance between Syria and Turkey:

How quickly things change in the Middle East. In 1998, Turkey massed troops on its border with Syria to coerce the regime of President Hafez Assad into relinquishing its support for the Syria-based Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). Within days, Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader, was forced to leave Damascus and was eventually apprehended in Nairobi by Turkish intelligence officers tipped off by the CIA and the Mossad. Those were the good old days of the Turkish-Israeli-American strategic alliance in the Middle East.

That has changed. Turkey now makes the news because of its growing anti-American and anti-Israel feelings. The flashiest symptoms are the two bestselling books in the country: The first is a novel about a Turkish-American war depicting Washington’s decision to use nuclear weapons. The second is Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” In such atmospherics, it is no wonder that Syria and Iran have turned into natural allies. When Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visited Syria last week, he was hailed as a hero not only by Syrians but also by a Turkish public that admired his willingness to resist American pressure. No one in Turkey seems to remember that Syria is still governed by a regime that supported the PKK. Anti-American solidarity can indeed work wonders.

That Syria and Turkey now see convergent interests in the Middle East is an unexpected result of the war in Iraq. It is also an unpleasant surprise for Washington. Yet there should be nothing startling about Syria’s attempt to forge better ties with Turkey. The regime of President Bashar Assad is facing unprecedented isolation. After being rebuked by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Assad is looking for a sense of legitimacy anywhere he can find it. What seems more astonishing is Turkey’s willingness to play along.

For those confused about Turkish sympathy for Syria, it is important to understand that Turks never truly developed an interest in Arab politics. Turkey’s focus has historically been on the West. The Middle East became relevant for Ankara only in the framework of two issues: Kurdish nationalism and great-power politics. The current malaise in Turkey, reflected by the growing anti-Americanism, is a direct result of these two dynamics interacting in the worst possible way. Almost all Turks believe that current U.S. policies in Iraq will end up creating an independent Kurdish state. Needless to say, this is a nightmare scenario for Turkey.

Although the Turkish government is now trying to warm up to Jalal Talabani’s presidency in Iraq, the sad fact is that Ankara until very recently discounted Talabani and the other powerful Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, as “tribal leaders.” So much for a visionary approach in Turkish foreign policy. […]

Turkey and Syria are coming together because of shared concerns about U.S. policy in the region. Still, whether such courtship will turn into a more permanent alliance remains to be seen. After all, Turkey is still an official ally of the U.S. and has embarked on a historic journey into the Europe Union. Ankara has nothing to gain by cozying up to dictators. In contrast, the Assad regime may have already overplayed its hand in the current crisis. Because the stakes for Syria are much higher than what Turkey has to gain, the rupture between Damascus and Ankara might come more rapidly than expected.

Much depends on how the Kurdish question in the region will evolve. Iraq’s Kurds will play a decisive role in this regard. Talabani’s election as president is a sign that the Kurds see their future as part of a new Iraq. If Talabani wants, he could also win over Turkey by clearing northern Iraq of the PKK. This, after all, would be a small price to pay for pleasing a powerful regional state.

If the emphasis in modern art has moved “from what an artist makes to his personality, activities and opinions” (from the catalogue to the Joseph Beuys exhibition at Tate Modern), then this should come as no surprise:

A performance artist who vandalised 47 cars in the name of art has said the vehicles’ owners should appreciate his “creativity”.

Mark McGowan, 37, chose cars at random in Glasgow’s West End and Camberwell in South London before scratching paintwork with a key.

It is the latest in a series of stunts, the most famous of which involved pushing a monkey nut with his nose for seven miles along the pavement to Downing Street to protest against student debt. […]

Mr McGowan, of Peckham, South London said: “I do feel guilty about keying these people’s cars, but if I don’t do it, someone else will and they should feel glad that they’ve been involved in the creative process”

Some interesting points from Jonathan Watts’ article in the Observer, on the anti-Japanese riots in China. Firstly, the extent of their orchestration:

[I]n Shanghai the police not only approved yesterday’s demonstration, they actively encouraged it. At 4.30pm last Thursday, mobile phones in Shanghai buzzed with a text-message from the municipal security office calling on local people to show their love for their country in a law-abiding way. Many among the millions who received the message took it as a green light to join the demonstration. News about the rally was also broadcast by the Shanghai radio station, which informed people about the march while also announcing that it was unauthorised.

Then, the way that increased internet use is being exploited by the government:

Hopes that the rapid spread of the internet in China would lead to an increase of open democratic debate also appear to have proved wide of the mark. While many sites promoting human rights and religious beliefs are blocked, a plethora of anti-Japanese sites have been largely free to promote hatred.

And finally, the ugly truth:

Communist cadres openly acknowledge that nationalism is replacing Marxism as the raison d’être of the ruling party. ‘Nobody understands Marxism. It is ridiculous,’ says Li Rui, a former secretary of Mao Zedong. ‘The ideals of the past don’t exist any more. So it is right to turn to nationalism. It is the means by which the party can maintain its system and ideology.’

At Amarji, Syrian author Ammar Abdulhamid sees no future for the Baath party:

The Baath might mean resurrection in Arabic, but I doubt that it could indeed prove resurrectable. Rogues, charlatans, opportunist, thieves, idiots, all in their late 60s and 70s armed with a medievalist mindset, no, you simply can’t teach these old dogs new tricks, no matter how attached to life they might still be. A nice retirement home for the insanely rich should suffice. What more do they want? The oil is gone, there is nothing left to rob. Couldn’t they just leave the few remaining droplets to posterity?

Of course not. If greed and avarice is now part and parcel of the nature of these people, how can they change? Once again we should wag that thing about old dogs and new tricks.

So, unless the Baath Party can play Jesus, or Bashar can play God, the Baath Party is dead, long live whatever. Indeed, the day when we are going to witness a series of short-lived “long live whatever” seems to be nearing. It’s going to be like the 50s hereabouts again, albeit mixed with a greater dose of blood and angst.

The downfall, ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, is nigh.

Michael Young of Lebanon’s Daily Star has been gauging the mood in Washington, and wonders if Assad’s regime is on the way out:

As the leftovers of Syria’s order in Lebanon struggle to salvage some power by manipulating and delaying an election that, if it were fair, would surely obliterate most of them, one wonders whether their sponsors in Damascus are long for this world. More importantly, how is Syria’s fate perceived in Washington, where it may well be written in the coming months?

The mood in the Bush administration is that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is not viable, perhaps even in the medium term, and that talk of gradual “reform” along the lines of what Assad and his acolytes have been trying to peddle abroad in the past four years is ridiculous in the current context. Worse for Assad, there seems little American fear that once he leaves or is made to leave office, Syria would be dominated by Islamists. […]

At the National Security Council (NSC), meanwhile, a top official insists that while relations between Lebanon and Syria may be “special” by virtue of the countries’ being neighbors, “it shouldn’t be a colonial relationship. There will be friction with Syria if it doesn’t respect this.” Asked whether the Syrian regime is on life support, he avoided a direct answer, but accepted that the U.S., like most Arab regimes, thought “Syria was not maneuvering very well.” He also said, with a hint of derision, that “pressure on Syria has not been very great; it can be greater,” implying that Assad had perhaps caved in by so quickly withdrawing from Lebanon. […]

And what of Hizbullah? The NSC official insists he is “worried” with the party, but also argues it “has its own interests, separate from Iran and Syria.” He thinks there must be a “realistic timeframe” for Hizbullah’s disarmament, and suggests the way to do this is to reinforce the Lebanese Army, which could fill the gap left by the party. “The new [Lebanese] government should tell us what the army needs.”

As for Syria’s using its links with Hizbullah to destabilize Lebanon, but also engaging in other efforts to provoke chaos once its soldiers pull out of the country, the senior NSC policymaker put it this way: “We have told Syria you are responsible for violence in Lebanon. If Syria wants to escalate the violence, it will be another Syrian mistake.” This phrase was echoed in the lapidary opening question posed by a senior Pentagon official known as a hard-liner on the Middle East to two Lebanese visitors: “What mistake will Assad make next?”

One mistake he is already making is stalling the Lebanese electoral process on the grounds that this will allow Syria to limit the wreckage of its Lebanon interregnum. The simplistic assumption is that the longer elections are delayed, the more the opposition will fray and the better the pro-Syrians will be able to protect themselves and stage a comeback. The only problem is that it will be much more difficult for Assad to sustain collaboration once Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents are gone. Gradually, the political class, which will include present Syrian allies, may see fewer and fewer advantage in deferring to Damascus.

Would this be so surprising? After all what does Syria offer its local friends except subservience? After 29 years, the Syrian regime, which we must reportedly thank for having robbed Lebanon blind, assassinated its leaders, bombed it cities and killed many thousands of its civilians, leaves a legacy no one cares to resurrect. Even the politicians who seconded Syria in its endeavors must realize that they finally have an opportunity to break free.

More on Lebanon here, including Michael J. Totten bravely venturing into the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah run their own terrorist state-within-a-state.

Here are some policies I could support:

Overview

Our team of experts has decided that Income Tax has not proved popular with the public and will therefore be abolished. It was started in order to finance the Napoleonic war in 1799 and we now believe that the time is right to announce the cessation of hostilities with Napoleon. Some of the money left in the coffers will be used to fill in our part of the Channel Tunnel in case no one has mentioned it to the French. Any remaining money will be strategically placed on a horse at the 3-30 at Haydock Park at odds of at least 12/1 in order to see us through until the next election. Income Tax will be officially replaced by people lending the government a bob or two at the end of the week when we’re a bit skint.

Other policies:

We will issue a 99p coin to save on change.

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party will not join the single European currency. We will invite all Europeans countries to JOIN THE POUND.

Rich people should be taxed to pay for the printing of money, as they use most of it.

Tax credits will be paid to nice people. There will be a “total bastard” tax for everyone else.

Well, it had to happen: stump up $50,000, or the cute little bunny rabbit gets butchered and eaten.

Toby is the cutest little bunny on the planet. Unfortunately, he will DIE on June 30th, 2005 if you don’t help. I rescued him several months ago. I found him under my porch, soaking wet, injured from what appeared to be an attack from an alley cat. I took him in, thinking he had no chance to live from his injuries, but miraculously, he recovered. I have since spent several months nursing him to health. Toby is a fighter, that.s for sure.

Unfortunately, on June 30th, 2005, Toby will die. I am going to eat him. I am going to take Toby to a butcher to have him slaughter this cute bunny. I will then prepare Toby for a midsummer feast. I have several recipes under consideration, which can be seen, with some pretty graphic images, under the recipe section.

I don’t want to eat Toby, he is my friend, and he has always been the most loving, adorable pet. However, God as my witness, I will devour this little guy unless I receive 50,000$ USD into my account from donations or purchase of merchandise. You can help this poor, helpless bunny’s cause by making donations through my verified PayPal account by clicking on any of the Donate buttons on this site, or by purchasing merchandise at the Savetoby.com online store.

So far $24,500 has been raised (if we’re to believe the heartless fiend), with two and a half months to go to bunny expiry date. Inevitably there’s some hate mail, but our man is determined and ruthless. (Via Secular Blasphemy)

China has been accused by two US-based human rights groups of conducting a “crushing campaign of religious repression” against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, the vast region north of Tibet:

The report accuses China of “opportunistically using the post-11 September environment to make the outrageous claim that individuals disseminating peaceful religious and cultural messages in Xinjiang are terrorists who have simply changed tactics”.

The authors of the report say it is based on previously undisclosed Communist Party and Chinese government documents, local regulations, press reports and local interviews.

The report says the systematic repression of religion in Xinjiang was continuing as “a matter of considered state policy”.

Such repression ranges from vetting imams and closing mosques to executions and the detention of thousands of people every year, it claims.

“Religious regulation in Xinjiang is so pervasive that it creates a legal net that can catch just about anyone the authorities want to target,” said Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China.

The report also reveals that almost half the detainees in Xinjiang’s re-education camps are there for engaging in illegal religious activities.

Uighurs make up about eight million of the 19 million people in Xinjiang.

Many of them favour greater autonomy, and China views separatist sentiments as a threat to the state.

For some background on Xinjiang, see here and here.

Update: see here for some great photos of Xinjiang, by Mexican photographer Raul Guttierez.

of a paradigm shift completely revolutionising our understanding of human origins? I think it could be. The strength of savanna theory lay in its contention that the hominids’ habitat was radically different from that of the apes. This claim is severely undermined if the protohominids were largely tree-dwelling, as is now agreed, only crossing open spaces in occasional transit from one patch of forest to the next.

Meanwhile, AAT is waiting in the wings. The arguments against it look increasingly precarious. Nearly all the Rift Valley fossils were recovered from lake or river sediments. Unfortunately, this can never prove that the entire species lived by the water, since only bones deposited in watery sediments get preserved. On the other hand, neither can it disprove the idea. If the first hominids were indeed largely tree-dwelling, why did they and no other apes become bipedal on the ground? A flooded forest offers a possible answer: there is geological evidence of extensive flooding in the areas where the oldest hominids are found.

The strongest argument for AAT is the number and variety of Homo’s unique features, for some of which the aquatic explanation is the only one on offer.