The One Where Andrew Is Finally In The Right Time Zone

Okay, I promised an update on Friday. Well, that's not strictly true, I said there would be one. And there wasn't, so as this is Saturday morning it'll have to suffice - especially as there is no way to go and change it now.

Such rambling aside, as you may have surmised from this post, I am here in the US. It's extremely hot here, as you would expect for California in August. So not a huge surprise there, but still, very warm.

I'm going to be here for three weeks, approximately, as I didn't go into detail about my itinary beforehand. I'm staying at Chrissi's, which is nice, although she is working some days because naturally she can't take a full three weeks off from work.

Anyway, my flight was fine - got in a bit late but no real problems there, wasn't too bad. Security checks at Heathrow were a nightmare and took an age to get through, but I did see some of the Pakistani cricket team flying out so pros and cons. Anyway, I got in about 7pm PST, which is 3am GMT. As a random aside, why do all timezones sound like menstrual issues?

Anyway, yes, was met by Chrissi at the airport and all went well. And she had brought home-made caramel slices! You should now be all a suitably emerald shade of green with envy at that news. They were excellent too, although I haven't eaten them all as to do so would give me thousands of mouth ulcers as they are wonderfully sweet and sticky.

I'll end here before I get the usual complainants (yes, that means you Emma) whining that it's too long. And I'll update at a point in the near future.

The One Where Andrew Explains All

I'm continuing with my Friends-style post titling. I'm not sure why. I can't think of anything better to title this. I also decided to opt for 'explain all' over 'reveal all' as it sounds slightly better.

Anyway, I'm going to try and say a few things without waffling. Going well so far.

I said yesterday that I've been busy my last few days, and there's a reason for this. I've been sorting myself out because tomorrow afternoon I'm flying out to America to stay there for three weeks. Why, you may ask?

To see Chrissi.

Why is she there, is the next question? Because she lives there.

Yes, this may be a bit of a surprise to some people. To others it may be the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle that actually explains a lot of things that never made much sense. Some people know this already. Some don't. Some may have suspicions. Those of you who didn't know, well, now you do.

We met three and a half years ago online, not through any way you might think, but just at random. And were talking for a lot of time, and just got close. And that's about it. I flew out to the US last summer for a week. And she's flown out here twice. So it's not just an online relationship. It's a real one, although hardly a typical one. We just happened to meet online.

Is there any reason I'm saying this now more than any time? Well, not really. More that this has potential to be a serious long-term relationship (well, three years is already fairly long-term), and I see no reason to hide from my friends what exactly it is any more than I already have.

If anyone is especially offended by my vague answers as a consequence of this, I apologise. I suppose it was never something I felt easy discussing as simply as this before. It was something I wasn't sure of enough to bring it up. Not that it's easy to just casually drop into the conversation! But this is a good point to bring it up and I'm quite happy with doing so.

Anyway, next blog should be from the US on Friday. I'll see all my devoted readers then.

The One Where Andrew Adopts Friends-Style Blog Titles

The title has nothing to do with the post whatsoever.

So, um, update. Very busy. Not time for an update of any length, but tomorrow there will definately be an update. It may even be interesting. It'll definately be revealing.

Strachan Interviews

Seeing as I'm spending more time at the moment in my blogs posting random clips than actually saying anything myself ... I'll continue the trend; here's an excellent video from YouTube of some great interview clips with Gordon Strachan. Sound is a bit low, might want your volume up for this one.

Where's Mel Gibson Now?

I'd like to thank Chrissi for sharing with me this absolutely FANTASTIC video (see link) so I could share it with you.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/40420/

[If you've somehow missed the news by the way, for way of background Mel Gibson went on an anti-semitic rant while drunk]

Impossible to Skim-Read

Apparantly people skim-read what I write or say. After a recent conversation, here are some useful reference words to give you an indicator that the sentence to follow them will be worth tuning out for:

1. Interestingly enough ...
2. Actually ...
3. It's a common misconception, but ...
4. Contrary to popular belief ...

In other news, this week I've been doing ironing. I have now successfully found the top of my bookcase after a long hard struggle to clear the ironing pile.

Three Weeks Worth Of Waffle

Well, after the resurrection of my blog with my long political commentary last week, I thought it might be appropriate to provide an update of what's been going on in my life for the last three weeks. Three weeks is a fairly long time for an update, and considering that said update was only a collage of Mordor pictures, it's more strictly speaking a month since I gave a proper update.

I'll start at the beginning. I've officially applied to three Masters programs, for various History MA courses, at Aberystwyth, Exeter and Kings College [UoL]. So far I have had no response, but I wouldn't be expecting one until the middle to end of August anyway. Although I have had a confirmation of reciept from Aberystwyth which seems positive, and their communication has been excellent.

Other notable event of the last few weeks is that I turned 21 on my birthday (I decided to stick with tradition and not age on a different day). A fair few people asked me what I was doing and the like, but to be honest to me it wasn't much of a big deal; it seemed a relatively normal day. Went out for a meal in the evening with my sister and Dad, which was an unmitigated disaster. The food was excellent, but it seemed to be a case of noone getting on that well. It was quite frustrating, but I was as guilty as anyone else so I can't really complain too much.

Generally, I feel that the home environment isn't quite right. I suppose having been away for three years it's impossible to slot back in, and when at home while at University I've just been here "temporarily". Now I am back for the near future, with no immediate plan as to what is happening. There is general tension and things are a bit awkward overall, and I'm not sure quite what to do with it all.

Things came to a head of sorts last week when I got so fed up I just put on my shoes and walked out of the house and went for a walk; and honestly had more than half a mind not to turn back. Which in hindsight worries me a lot that I was so frustrated that I was prepared to just go off without knowing where I'd be heading or anything, but things have been really quite awkward.

Anyway, since that things have been better, and we've had a bit of a talk and things were worked out a bit more and things have eased since then. But still. I'd like to know what's going on with postgraduate programs so I know where I stand so I can move forward, because I'm slightly in limbo at the moment, and this is undoubtedly fuelling some of the problems.

Apologies for the length there, but there's three weeks worth of waffle to update you with. A bit more of a poignant and thoughtful blog again; I promise sometime soon I'll come up with my usual sarcastic and surreal commentaries instead of the current trend.

A Long, Serious Post

Okay, my first update for a long time, as I've not been seriously blogging for a while it would appear. And this is going to be long, so Emma, you have been warned.

I wanted to write a bit about the whole Middle East situation, which seems to be gradually spiralling out of control and into general chaos and absurdity. I don't quite know why this has happened, or why it is continuing, but it's apparant to me at least that the longer it goes on, the worse it becomes.

In the context of a wider Middle East, the situation is absurd. Israel, pushing to strengthen itself and weaken Hezbollah, is pursuing the one course of action that is reliably strengthening Hezbollah beyond all belief. The Shia group is now recieving supports from Sunni Arabs and even Christians in Lebanon, for being percieved as much more 'in the right' than Israel, and resisting the oppressors.

There's almost certainly a saying to the extent that the one thing that will unite different groups more than anything else is a common foe. And if there isn't, then I'm claiming it as mine.

But this is the exact opposite of what Israel want to achieve. In an attempt to destroy and utterly eradicate Hezbollah, they are legitimising it from a terrorist group into a legitimate resistance force.

Against this, of course, is the eternal background picture of the Palestine issue that has never been solved. And it will not continue to be solved if this is the case. Israel is pursuing a self-fulfilling prophecy; believe that everyone is against you, act as if they are against you and not worry what they think, and soon they will all be against you. This conflict is turning moderate Arabs in the region against Israel; those who tolerated it now oppose it or resent it. Those who opposed it now urge its eradication.

It is noticeable how the US and Israel are both so insistent to demand implementation of UN Resolution 1559, the removal of Hezbollah from the border area, but there has been no comment on the many resolutions ignored by Israel, such as those requiring it to withdraw from the Golan Heights, to stop building settlements, to withdraw from the West Bank, to cease the building of the anacronymic "security barrier".

This continues to produce the perception of the international community as being either impotent or biased. The quoted 40 uses of the US Security Council veto (more than all the uses of all the other members) on resolutions aimed against Israel over the last twenty years is the most obvious example.

There is a natural chain of events, that I would hesitate to call an inevitability, but increasingly seems that way. The lack of international pressure on Israel and lopsided requirement from concesssions with Israeli-PLO negotiations has rendered the latter group impotent; the PA a shell of an organisation in its own country. Faced with the lack of international pressure for a fair and even-handed settlement, and the PLO and PA helpless to do this on their own, the people of Palestine and the wider Middle East will naturally look for those who promise to achieve something.

And that is why Hamas won the Palestinian elections. Which is why Hezbollah has such support. In a recent discussion on this, I termed it as the ultimate protest vote; they have no other option to turn to if they want their own sovereign nation. It is our actions that have led to Hamas and Hezbollah having such power in the region, because it is the last hope of the populace. There is noone else to turn to. Of course, the concept is futile; the Israelis will deal no more with Hamas than it will with the PLO. If it doesn't want to deal with secularised Arab nationalists, why will it treat with militant Islamic fundamentalists?

Everything is linked to everything else, and in this conflict there is a cyclical tendancy. One of the most interesting things I read over the last few weeks is that of the origins of Hezbollah. In the original resistance to the 1978 & 1982 Israeli invasions of Lebanon, there were two groups; Hezbollah was founded in the aftermath and soon surpassed the existing Dawa group. Dawa are a small and relatively inconsequential group, that would be called either resistance or terrorist depending on your perspective; but the relevance of this is more interesting. One of the leaders of Dawa was none other than Nouri al-Maliki; the new Iraqi Prime Minister. Truly today's terrorist is tomorrow's statesman as perspectives and needs change.

My opinion on the entire matter is very clear. There are two sides that don't want a solution. The Israelis do not want a solution; any negotiated solution would not be benificial to them; forcing them to concede the land they currently occupy in the Golan Heights, Sheeba Farms area and the West Bank, as well as being forced to dismantle settlements in the latter and recognise Palestinian sovereignty over borders, land and airspace.

I cannot see any Israeli government being so willing to commit political suicide to achieve this. Any political party which did this would be finished. It would require a pyhrric victory to do this. Likewise, while the groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, and the many others, claim they want a settlement; they are quite happy with recruiting and gaining in stature and support by the prolonged and continual conflict. It is normalising the extremes and hardening viewpoints. Internationally, the only nation able to place sufficient pressure on Israel are the USA; and with the influential Israeli lobbyists in Congress, and the religious electorate consequences, no government is going to force the Israelis to the table and to concede ground; hoping instead that some settlement can be reached by the use of military force. Although why it should work after over six decades of near-continual military struggle is an enigma.

So everyone involved is quite happy to see the conflict perpetuate. And the civilians on both sides are the ones who pay for it. The citizens of Palestine, of Lebanon, of Israel; they pay for the political consequences that determine the actions. While the world idly watches these pawns on chessboards not of their choosings.



A handful of articles I found interesting, in case anyone is interested in some more wider reading:
The Cracks Are Opening - Gideon Levy (Republished in the Guardian, originally taken from Ha'aretz)
Morality Is Not On Our Side - Ze'ev Maoz (Ha'aretz)
Lessons from wartime, to be applied on a better day - Editorial (Lebanese Daily Star)
Snub signals Lebanese fury at US - Nadim Ladki (Dawn, Pakistan)
Nasrallah: a hero forged in the fires Israel built - Patrick Cockburn (Gulf Times, Qatar)