Unhappy holidays: Ashura 2011

Anyone in need of  history lesson regarding Ashura, look here.  In Lebanon most of those who mark the event stick to ritual chest-smacking and non take it to the extremes as those in the southern town of Nabatiyeh. It's a bit of a gratuitous event for me, no real news value as such but visually it's certainly arresting.  Walking backwards amid a large group of excitable men vigorously waving large, sharp swords takes a modicum of faith; fortunately the inevitable spatters I had to clean off myself and my gear were all due to mourners.

International Herald Tribune

International Herald Tribune is the "global edition of the New York Times," so having a picture printed in it (that'll be the wee tiny one on the right) from my recent trip to Lebanon's southern border feels pretty gosh-darned premium. That's Josh Wood's uber-massive story it's running with.

The thin blue line

 Nepal was one of the first countries to supply troops to the UN mission in Lebanon, sending five observers to the country in 1958. Today this modest mountainous country is responsible for the longest section of the UN demarcated 'Blue Line' between Lebanon and Israel, much of which crosses farm land - always a sensitive area when villagers can't harvest crops on land that has been in their families for centuries. I spent an afternoon running after a Nepalese unit as it patrolled such an olive grove, along with journalist Josh Wood for an upcoming piece in Esquire and maybe even the International Herald and Tribune, which would be nice.
 

Flags for 'Amjad

A love of Mahmoud Ahmadenijad seems to go hand in hand with an insatiable appetite for vigorous flag waving. If somehow the authorities could have tapped the collective kinetic energy Lebanon's flag wavers over October 13th &14th, Lebanon's shitty power situation (3hr+ a day blackouts) could have been solved for good. Hundreds of thousands of grateful Lebanese, mainly Shiaa, filled stadiums in Hezbo stronghold suburb of Herat Hreik and the southern town of Bint Jbeil, which were both fairly well flattened by Israel in 2006 and rebuilt with Iranian cash. And they sure did love waving them flags. I guess when someone's payed for your home to be repaired, horrific human rights abuses far from home can be conveniently overlooked.

Also, if anyone says Hizbullah don't know how to party, then show them this video. I'm expecting a reality-talent TV show appearance anytime soon.

Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah addresses Herat Hreik's Al-Raya stadium