20 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2023
    1. Dutch East India Company eventually took over the Asian trade and imported millions of pieces of porcelain to the West.
    2. Porcelain in the Middle East and Europe was mainly used for decorative purposes in mosques and churches and did not have supernatural connotations
    3. Southeast Asia, such as Borneo and the Swahili coast, where it became integrated into various aspects of life, including birth, marriage, feasting, combat, and death
    4. orcelain vessels were seen as communal entities with cosmic power and were highly valued for their mysterious origins.

      in the Philippines

    5. outheast Asia admired Chinese imports and stopped using their own pottery
    6. Korea, Japan, and Vietnam all had interactions with Chinese ceramics and developed their own unique styles
    7. The Chinese adopted the traditional aesthetic values of the Middle East, and drew upon their own traditional designs

      cultural exchange between China, Asia and middle East

    8. ntrepreneurs and craftsmen in China and the Middle East that brought their ceramic traditions closer together.
    9. Blue-and-white porcelain developed as a result of the influence of Song ceramics on the Middle East
      • for: conflict resolution, peace in the middle east, Israel & Gaza

      • title: Israel & Gaza, a call to nuance

      • author: Jeremy Courtney
      • organization: https://www.humanite.org/
      • reference: https://peacemakers.beehiiv.com/p/israel-gaza
      • summary
      • A nice perspective piece that transcends the typical Israel vs Palestine dualism and looks deeper to see what it is that the majority of people want on BOTH sides.
        • It casts the true enemy not as Palestinian or Israeli, but as those on BOTH sides who are trapped in seeing violence as the only way out.
        • Unfortunately, those who currently dictate the narrative are those (usually male) figures who advocate for violent solutions. They are the minority who subdue the majority through aggression and military might. Somehow, we must find a way around this asymmetry.
        • It's not an exclusive OR condition, either Palestinians are the enemy or Israel is the enemy. It's an AND condition, and only applies to the warmongering subset of the population
  2. Aug 2023
    1. Der Nähe Osten - der frühere "fruchtbare Halbmond" - ist eines der von der globalen Erhitzung am stärksten betroffenen Gebiete. Ausführliche multimediale Reportage über die Wasserkrise im Irak, die einige früher fruchtbare Gebiete bereits unbewohnbar gemacht hat und den IS-Terrorismus erleichtert. Sie wird verschärft durch Staudämme in der Türkei und im Iran, Raubbau und veraltete Bewässerungstechniken, Regierungsversagen und Bevölkerungswachstum. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/middleeast/iraq-water-crisis-desertification.html

    1. Wegen „noch nie da gewesener Hitze“ wurde im Iran für Mittwoch und Donnerstag dieser Woche Feiertage ausgerufen, an denen das gesamte öffentliche Leben ruht. Die Folgen der Klimakrise werden im Iran durch Raubbau an den Süßwasser Ressourcen und ein überlastetes Stromnetz verschlimmert https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/world/middleeast/iran-heat-shutdown.html

  3. May 2023
  4. Jan 2023
    1. John B. Kelly highlighted this disparity in a memorable passage published in 1973:

      Distance, the filtering of news through so many intermediate channels, and the habitual tendency to discuss and interpret Middle Eastern politics in the political terminology of the West, have all contrived to impart a certain blandness to the reporting and analysis of Middle Eastern affairs in Western countries. ... To read, for instance, the extracts from the Cairo and Baghdad press and radio ... is to open a window upon a strange and desolate landscape, strewn with weird, amorphous shapes cryptically inscribed "imperialist plot," "Zionist crime," "Western exploitation," ... and "the revolution betrayed." Around and among these enigmatic structures, curious figures, like so many mythical beats, caper and cavort - "enemies," "traitors," "stooges," "hyenas," "puppets," "lackeys," "feudalists," "gangsters," "tyrants," "criminals," "oppressors," "plotters" and deviationists". ... It is all rather like a monstrous playing board for some grotesque and sinister game, in which the snakes are all hydras, the ladders have no rungs, and the dice are blank.

    2. Americans especially tend reflexively to dismiss the idea of conspiracy. Living in a political culture ignorant of secret police, a political underground, and coups d'état,

      Not anymore.

  5. Oct 2021
    1. While lacking a mandate to actually rule Lebanon, Hezbollah has successfully occupied the shell of an almost completely failed state. Sanctions have created a vicious feedback loop, in which attempts to curb Hezbollah’s influence just deteriorate the Lebanese state, which allows Hezbollah to fill the vacuum of state function. The Lebanese military is desperately trying to hold the center as the only legitimate state institution. But the military lacks the capacity to hold on to power, and Hezbollah has proved that a mandate is easier to build than capacity. Hezbollah also has a powerful ally in the victorious Assad government in Syria, both of which now have an interest in repatriating as many Syrian refugees as possible to undermine Sunni influence in Lebanon. Repatriation prevents the Sunnis from growing their base in Lebanon, and protects Hezbollah’s Shiite base from the internal threat of Sunni influence.

      Summary

  6. Aug 2020
  7. Jul 2020
  8. Jul 2019
    1. Myth: Refugees are all Muslim.

      Do people actually think that? That is ridiculous and so ignorant. People shouldn't stereotype like that. Does the general public really believe that all refugees are from the middle east and are Muslim? I wonder if they know that there are thousands of Christians in the middle east."Christians now make up approximately 5% of the Middle Eastern population, down from 20% in the early 20th century" That's part of the problem. It's a war on freedom. Religious freedom, basic human rights, and personal desires. Sheesh!

  9. Jul 2017
    1. Looking for the latest fashion trends & lifestyle news? Check AMDmode - The best Online Middle East Fashion Magazine covering the latest fashion trends.