Friday in Bil'in, Palestine

Just follow the link to this Friday's gassing... if you can stomach it.

SCUD-D vs Fateh-110... who cares?

I've been somewhat careful this week not overplaying the Syria-Hezbollah-SCUD story. I say somewhat because instead of questioning what kind of warheads might be on the SCUDs, I should have been asking what our dear friend Qifa Nabki has:

I can’t help but wonder if all of the hullabaloo in the Western press isn’t stemming from the Soviet mystique of the SCUD, one of the most famous missiles in history, and the weapon used by Saddam against Israel in 1991.

If the report is true, Israel can cry foul to on going proliferation of weapons from Syria (and they will). But the mean cold hearted bummer is that the SCUD-D is really not that much more effective against Israel in a war than the Fateh-110.

So is Qifa on to something? Might this whole thing be A) a way to sell newspapers, and B) something the Israelis can use to take the heat off Palestine?

Hamas and Surf tourism in Gaza?

Thanks to a comment by Lukewarm, surfing the Middle East is back in the news.

Click here for the BBC article and video.

Though this kind of project is different than my own (this a sort of community outreach), it is still surfing the Middle East, and thus related. I think this is just the kind of post-peace community building project that will help bring Israelis and Palestinians together someday. But until there is peace, and nightly raids, rockets and all other menaces of the occupation cease, progress will be limited.

But really, watch the video. Perhaps Hamas could start marketing Gaza surf tourism as another means of income?

Syrian SCUDs and what caught my eye this morning

So I was just sitting down to proof another chapter of my book this morning when I decided I wasn't quite ready and clicked on the New York Times tab on my browser. And on the first page, it read:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s prime minister this week dismissed Israeli accusations that Syria has been providing Scud missiles to the Hezbollah militia in his country, comparing them to claims that Iraq had unconventional weapons before the American-led invasion in 2003.

Whoa! Harsh words for the so-called pro Western prime minister. It seems that Sa'ad Hariri is either telling the truth about the SCUDs; or perhaps is so afraid of the truth he said this out of fear Hezbollah will use its force again West Beirut (though this might be too strong a statement).

I don't know quite what to make of Hariri's statement. But it does seem he has warmed up to Hezbollah and Co. Remember when he issued the statement saying that all of Lebanon will fight an Israeli attack? Perhaps better known as his speech that marked the end of March 14.

Thoughts?


Update: Syria Comment had an interesting thought on this this morning.

So what's your favorite travel book on the Middle East?

I have selected these four books as "competition" to my own book, Surfing the Casbah.

What's your favorite travel book on the Middle East?