Skip to main content

The Blockade continues -- how long can this go on?

The Qatar blockade began June 2017 and it continues unabated!  This is one of the stranger international conflicts in both form and substance.

I recently watched a (43-minute) documentary by France24 network:
Three Princes:  Princes at War in the Gulf
It is an excellent, reasonably objective (though not complete--the complete story would take hours!) story about the blockade.


AlJazeera has now posted a shorter, hipper video about the Blockade, as part of their new "Start Here" series of explainers.  It simplifies things, and actually does not say much about Trump, nor much about the Emirates' jealousy over the WorldCup project.  Its tone is quite calm and hopeful, deliberately Not inflaming Emirati feelings; rather presenting it all as just another misunderstanding among cousins that should soon resolve itself.  Quite restrained, actually. 

Let us hope calmer heads prevail, and the Saudis can just quietly let this go -- first, allow Qatar overflights, quietly.  If nobody complains, then allow Egypt to re-open its embassy, quietly (there are thousands of Egyptians working in Qatar who have had no representation).  Then just quietly re-open the land border.  Blockade?  What blockade?  Everything's fine now.  Hope springs eternal!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

String Quartet Broken String

  We attended a marvelous concert last night, at the Porto Museum of Casa do Infante , a beautifully-renovated 1325 building near the river.  At one point it served as a customs house.  The government sponsors Portuguese musicians to return from other European orchestras to perform in their homeland.  We heard and saw this group play a traditional piece – Haydn string quartet Opus 20 #2.  Then the modern Benjamin Britten's Three Divertimenti – the stunning last movement of which they performed as an encore.  They performed (and I recorded) the Shostakovich Quartet #9, during which the first-violinist broke a string (it features several strongly-plucked chords!) and had to retreat&repeat! 

EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

 As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico .  There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver.   Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government.  As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time.  I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government?   And what will it take to recover from the damage?  Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever?   Only ni...

Música Tunas e Boémia

  We attended an unusual concert last night:  Música Tunas e Boémia (bands and parties) University student folk-music groups — big groups of 40 and more each!  put on a great show of singing, playing, flag-twirling, tambourine-swinging, all at the major (private) concert hall.  The most unusual thing about it was that nobody used any electronic device (except for microphone amplification)—no electric guitar or keyboard, no big drum set…every instrument and prop was hand-held.  The singing was quite good, given the effort to synchronize 40 voices.