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Thursday 1 September 2016

Euripides: The Chorus to Iphigeneia ("For evil has conquered the race, / There is no power but in base men")

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Vice Photospreads Present 'Girly, Teenage' Side of Israeli Occupation: image via FAIR @FAIRmediawatch, 31 August 2016

(To Iphigeneia)

Your hair is scattered light:
The Greeks will bind it with petals.

And like a little beast,
Dappled and without horns,
That scampered on the hill-rocks,
They will leave you
With stained throat --
Though you never cropped hill-grass
To the reed-cry
And the shepherd's note.

Some Greek hero is cheated
And your mother's court
Of its bride.

And we ask this -- where truth is,
Of what use is valour and is worth?
For evil has conquered the race,
There is no power but in base men,
Nor any man whom the gods do not hate. 

H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) (1886-1961): Chorus to Iphigeneia, from Choruses from The Iphigeneia in Aulis and the Hippolytus of Euripides, The Egoist, London, 1919
Χορός

σὲ δ᾽ ἐπὶ κάρα στέψουσι καλλικόμαν
πλόκαμον Ἀργεῖοι, βαλιὰν
ὥστε πετραίων ἀπ᾽ ἄντρων
ἐλθοῦσαν ὀρέων
μόσχον ἀκήρατον, βρότειον
αἱμάσσοντες λαιμόν:
οὐ σύριγγι τραφεῖσαν οὐδ᾽
ἐν ῥοιβδήσεσι βουκόλων,
παρὰ δὲ ματέρι νυμφοκόμον
Ἰναχίδαις γάμον.
ποῦ τὸ τᾶς Αἰδοῦς
τὸ τᾶς Ἀρετᾶς ἔχει
σθένειν τι πρόσωπον,
ὁπότε τὸ μὲν ἄσεπτον ἔχει
δύνασιν, δ᾽ Ἀρετὰ κατόπι-
σθεν θνατοῖς ἀμελεῖται,
Ἀνομία δὲ νόμων κρατεῖ,
καὶ μὴ κοινὸς ἀγὼν βροτοῖς
μή τις θεῶν φθόνος ἔλθῃ;
 Euripides (c. 480 BC - 406 BC): Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι (Iphigeneia en Aulidi), written between 408-406 BC,  ll. 1080-1097 in  Euripidis Fabulae, vol. 3, ed Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1913.
Chorus

But the Argives will crown you, wreathing the lovely tresses of your hair, like a pure, dappled heifer brought from some rocky cave, and staining with blood your human throat; though you were never reared among the piping and whistling of herdsmen, but at your mother's side, to be decked as the bride of a son of Inachus. Where now does the face of modesty or virtue have any strength? seeing that godlessness holds sway, and virtue is neglected by men and thrust behind them, lawlessness over law prevailing, and mortals no longer making common cause to keep the jealousy of gods from reaching them.
 
Euripides: Iphigenia in Aulis, ll. 1080-1097, in The Plays of Euripides, translated by E. P. Coleridge. Volume II. London. George Bell and Sons, 1891



The Palestinian village of Susiya is threatened with demolition by the Israeli military, which says the structures were built without permits. The Palestinian residents have been supported by the European Community, angering the Israeli authorities.
: photo by William Booth/The Washington Post, 28 August 2016

 

The Palestinian village of Susiya is threatened with demolition by the Israeli military, which says the structures were built without permits. The Palestinian residents have been supported by the European Community, angering the Israeli authorities.: photo by William Booth/The Washington Post, 28 August 2016
 

 
A Palestinian resident of the Khirbet Susiya community, south of the city of Hebron, hangs up laundry next to their tent village in the West Bank: photo by Abed Al Haslhamoun/EPA, May 2015

Returning Afghan refugees, who have recently arrived from Pakistan, wait to register at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) center on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Hundreds of migrants are returning back from Pakistan because of the border tension between the countries. They will receive assistance from UNHCR including safety information, vaccinations for children and each person is receiving 390 USD. 
Returning Afghan refugees, who have recently arrived from Pakistan, wait to register at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) centre on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan: photo by Rahmat Gul/AP, 30 August 2016

Returning Afghan refugees, who have recently arrived from Pakistan, wait to register at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) center on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Hundreds of migrants are returning back from Pakistan because of the border tension between the countries. They will receive assistance from UNHCR including safety information, vaccinations for children and each person is receiving 390 USD.

Returning Afghan refugees, who have recently arrived from Pakistan, wait to register at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) centre on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan: photo by Rahmat Gul/AP, 30 August 2016



 INDIA - Hindus are set to celebrate Ganesh Charurthi on September 5 by @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 30 August 2016


INDIA - Hindus are set to celebrate Ganesh Charurthi on September 5 by @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 30 August 2016



INDIA - Hindus are set to celebrate Ganesh Charurthi on September 5 by @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 30 August 2016

  
INDIA - Hindus are set to celebrate Ganesh Charurthi on September 5 by @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 30 August 2016

A person dressed as in movie costume walks near Saint Rose's Church during celebrations of the anniversary of Santa Rosa de Lima, patroness of Latin America and the Philippines, in Lima

A person dressed as in movie costume walks near Saint Rose’s Church during celebrations of the anniversary of Santa Rosa de Lima (Saint Rose of Lima), patroness of Latin America and the Philippines, in Lima, Peru: photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters, 31 August 2016

A person dressed as in movie costume walks near Saint Rose's Church during celebrations of the anniversary of Santa Rosa de Lima, patroness of Latin America and the Philippines, in Lima

A person dressed as in movie costume walks near Saint Rose’s Church during celebrations of the anniversary of Santa Rosa de Lima (Saint Rose of Lima), patroness of Latin America and the Philippines, in Lima, Peru: photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters, 31 August 2016

World in focus – best photos for August 31, 2016

A person dressed in movie costume walks near Saint Rose’s Church during celebrations of the anniversary of Santa Rosa de Lima (Saint Rose of Lima), patroness of Latin America and the Philippines, in Lima, Peru
: photo by Mariana Bazo / Reuters, 31 August 2016



GABON - A woman washes a her foot with water streaming out of a pipe in Libreville. By @mlongari #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 28 August 2016

 
Supporters of the opposition candidate Jean Ping sleep at the party headquarters after having spent the night waiting for the Presidential Election result in Libreville
Supporters of the opposition candidate Jean Ping sleep at the party headquarters after having spent the night waiting for the Presidential Election result in Libreville, Gabon: photo by Marco Longari/AFP, 31 August 2016

Supporters of the opposition candidate Jean Ping sleep at the party headquarters after having spent the night waiting for the Presidential Election result in Libreville

Supporters of the opposition candidate Jean Ping sleep at the party headquarters after having spent the night waiting for the Presidential Election result in Libreville, Gabon: photo by Marco Longari/AFP, 31 August 2016


Demonstrators set #Gabon parliament on fire. Photo @mlongari
: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016




Clashes erupt in #Gabon after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016




Clashes erupt in #Gabon after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016




Clashes erupt in #Gabon after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016

 

Clashes erupt in #Gabon after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016



 #Gabon: Clashes erupt after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016


 Protestors clash in #Gabon after Bongo re-election announced. Photo @mlongari: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016

Students wave the Malaysian flag during the 59th National Day celebrations at the Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday,

Students wave the Malaysian flag during the 59th National Day celebrations at the Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday: photo by Joshua Paul/AP, 31 August 2016
 

MALAYSIA - Malaysians celebrated the 59th National Day in Kuala Lumpur. By @rasfan @AFPphoto
: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016


Students wave the Malaysian flag during the 59th National Day celebrations at the Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday,

Students wave the Malaysian flag during the 59th National Day celebrations at the Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday: photo by Joshua Paul/AP, 31 August 2016

World in focus – best photos for August 31, 2016

Malaysia’s Army personnel marches during the 59th National Day celebrations at the Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia gained its independence on August 31, 1957
: photo by Joshua Paul / AP, 31 August 2016

 


MALAYSIA - Malaysians celebrated the 59th National Day in Kuala Lumpur. By @rasfan @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016



MALAYSIA - Malaysians celebrated the 59th National Day in Kuala Lumpur. By @rasfan @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016

 


MALAYSIA - Malaysians celebrated the 59th National Day in Kuala Lumpur. By @rasfan @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016 



MALAYSIA - 59th National Day celebrations at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur.
By @rasfan: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 28 August 2016


A firefighter holds a statue of Jesus rescued in the town of Amatrice following the earthquake that levelled the town in central Italy.

A firefighter lowers a statue of Jesus rescued in the town of Amatrice following the earthquake that levelled the town in central Italy: photo by Max Rossi/Reuters, 30 August 2016

A firefighter holds a statue of Jesus rescued in the town of Amatrice following the earthquake that levelled the town in central Italy.

A firefighter lowers a statue of Jesus rescued in the town of Amatrice following the earthquake that levelled the town in central Italy: photo by Max Rossi/Reuters, 30 August 2016

Residents move furniture through debris and building rubble after a building collapsed in Mogadishu's Shangani district
 Residents move furniture through debris and building rubble after a building collapsed in Mogadishu’s Shangani district today: photo by Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP, 30 August 2016

Residents move furniture through debris and building rubble after a building collapsed in Mogadishu's Shangani district

Residents move furniture through debris and building rubble after a building collapsed in Mogadishu’s Shangani district today: photo by Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP, 30 August 2016
 
 
SOMALIA - A member of security services patrols the scene of suicide car bomb blast in Mogadishu. By @Moh_Abdiwahab: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 30 August 2016
 

VATICAN - Pope Francis leaves during a heavy storm after his weekly general audience. By @AlbertPizzoli @AFPphoto
: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016



INDONESIA - Mount Sinabung volcano spews thick volcanic ash in Karo. By Tibta Pangin #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 August 2016


A fighter from the Jund al-Aqsa Islamist Brigade, raises an Islamist flag after taking control of the northern Syrian town of Tayyibat al-Imam, northwest of Hama from Syrian government forces

A fighter from the Jund al-Aqsa Islamist Brigade, raises an Islamist flag after taking control of the northern Syrian town of Tayyibat al-Imam, northwest of Hama from Syrian government forces: photo by OmarHaj Kadour/AFP, 31 August 2016

A fighter from the Jund al-Aqsa Islamist Brigade, raises an Islamist flag after taking control of the northern Syrian town of Tayyibat al-Imam, northwest of Hama from Syrian government forces

A fighter from the Jund al-Aqsa Islamist Brigade, raises an Islamist flag after taking control of the northern Syrian town of Tayyibat al-Imam, northwest of Hama from Syrian government forces: photo by OmarHaj Kadour/AFP, 31 August 2016

An Indonesian worker sprays a residential area for mosquitoes in Banda Aceh
 An Indonesian worker sprays a residential area for mosquitoes in Banda Aceh. Indonesia’s government has called on residents to keep alert for the spread of larva and to avoid travelling to countries in the grip of a Zika virus outbreak: photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP, 31 August 2016

An Indonesian worker sprays a residential area for mosquitoes in Banda Aceh

An Indonesian worker sprays a residential area for mosquitoes in Banda Aceh. Indonesia’s government has called on residents to keep alert for the spread of larva and to avoid travelling to countries in the grip of a Zika virus outbreak: photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP, 31 August 2016


INDONESIA - An Indonesian worker sprays a residential area for mosquitoes in Banda Aceh. By @mirroreye #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 August 2016

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain
  Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual “Tomatina”, tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometres outside Valencia, Spain: photo by Alberto Saiz/AP, 31 August 2016

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual “Tomatina”, tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometres outside Valencia, Spain: photo by Alberto Saiz/AP, 31 August 2016 



SPAIN - Spanish towns seek to repeat success of Tomatina festival by @bieluno @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016 

 


SPAIN - Spanish towns seek to repeat success of Tomatina festival by @bieluno @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016 

 


SPAIN - Spanish towns seek to repeat success of Tomatina festival by @bieluno @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016 

 

SPAIN - Spanish towns seek to repeat success of Tomatina festival by @bieluno @AFPphoto: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 31 August 2016 

World in focus – best photos for August 31, 2016

Spanish riders with lances herd fighting bulls from the ranch of Lagunajanda through the forest outside of town during the fourth ‘encierro,’ or bull run, in the Fiesta de Cuellar, in Castilla and Leon, Spain. The fiesta in Cuella is recognised as one of the oldest in Spain, dating back to 1499.
: photo by Jim Hollander / EPA, 31 August 2016



BRITAIN - Performers in costume pose on the second day of the Notting Hill Carnival by @lealolivas #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 29 August 2016


GREECE - A solidarity group threw red paint during a demonstration in support of refugees in Athens. By @lgouliam: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 29 August 2016


COLOMBIA - A Colombian police officer guards the police headquarters from a bunker in Toribio. By @Luis Robayo #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 29 August 2016


SYRIA - A boy rides his bike behind a Syrian Arab Red Crescent truck delivering aid in Harasta. By Amer Almohibany #AFP: image via Frédérque Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 August 2016


SYRIA - A corpse lies near ambulance in eastern Aleppo after regime aircraft dropped barrel bombs. By @AmeerAlhalbi: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 27 August 2016

 
Aleppo: Life between the bombings in the rebel-held Syrian city: image via Reuters Pictures @Reuters Pictures, 30 August 2016


LIBYA - Members of forces loyal to Libya's GNA fire their weapons at enemy positions in Sirte By Mahmud Turkia #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 28 August 2016


INDONESIA - Indonesian police and military personnel extinguish fire in Kampar. By Anas #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 August 2016


THAILAND - Heavy rain clouds move over the central business district in Bangkok. By Lillian Suwanrumpha #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 August 2016



YEMEN - A man clears debris from the ruins of a building in Sanaa after an air strike. By Mohammed Huwais #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 August 2016

A worker looks through the fence of a construction site that is decorated with pictures of the Great Wall at Badaling, north of Beijing, China, September

A worker looks through the fence of a construction site that is decorated with pictures of the Great Wall at Badaling, north of Beijing, China: photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters, 1 September 2016

A worker looks through the fence of a construction site that is decorated with pictures of the Great Wall at Badaling, north of Beijing, China, September.

A worker looks through the fence of a construction site that is decorated with pictures of the Great Wall at Badaling, north of Beijing, China: photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters, 1 September 2016

Baby giraffe of Niger (Giraffa Camelopardalis) "Kenai" (R), born on August 25, 2016, kisses his mother "Dioni" on August 31, 2016 at the zoo of La Fleche, northwestern France. / AFP PHOTO / JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIERJEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images

Newborn giraffe, Kenai, kisses his mother, Dioni, at the zoo in La Fleche, northwestern France: photo by Jean-Francois Monier/AFP, 31 August 2016

Baby giraffe of Niger (Giraffa Camelopardalis) "Kenai" (R), born on August 25, 2016, kisses his mother "Dioni" on August 31, 2016 at the zoo of La Fleche, northwestern France. / AFP PHOTO / JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIERJEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images

Newborn giraffe, Kenai, kisses his mother, Dioni, at the zoo in La Fleche, northwestern France: photo by Jean-Francois Monier/AFP, 31 August 2016
 

GREECE - A man walks on the Faliro coastline in Athens by @atzortzinis #AFPphoto: image via Catherine Moreau @Catherine Morea8, 29 August 2016


Looking good here at Cesar Chavez park @berkeleyside: image via peregrinekt @peregrinekt, 30 August 2016

Riot police clash with supporters of Dilma Rousseff as they protest against new Brazilian President Michel Temer at the  Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 31, 2016. Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the country's presidency in an emotional impeachment vote Wednesday and replaced by conservative rival Michel Temer, who promised to heal Latin America's biggest economy. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel SCHINCARIOLMIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP/Getty Images

Riot police clash with supporters of Dilma Rousseff as they protest against new Brazilian President Michel Temer at Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil: photo by Miguel Schincario/AFP, 1 September 2016

Riot police clash with supporters of Dilma Rousseff as they protest against new Brazilian President Michel Temer at the  Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 31, 2016. Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the country's presidency in an emotional impeachment vote Wednesday and replaced by conservative rival Michel Temer, who promised to heal Latin America's biggest economy. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel SCHINCARIOLMIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP/Getty Images

Riot police clash with supporters of Dilma Rousseff as they protest against new Brazilian President Michel Temer at Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil: photo by Miguel Schincario/AFP, 1 September 2016


3 comments:

Mose23 said...

No surprises that VICE is going in for soft focus shots of IDF soldiers.

"where truth is" - Christ, there's the question.

Sandra said...

once I heard that truth is "boundaries"...maybe it is just "faith"...

TC said...

Well, it's pretty clear that where truth ISN'T... is with the IDF hasbara offensive, permanent propaganda wing of the permanent Israeli war machine.

I could die right now, a mercy it might be, but the hasbara trolls who are paid to litter my back posts with trash would carry on business as usual.

They're always taking a few years to catch up. Today's hasbara spam came on an old post that mentioned Barghouti and BDS. Of course BDS is the #1 target of the IDF troll units.

Not that I can claim the dubious honour of being first in on the curious VICE campaign to "sex up" IDF military service.

Here is a bit of the FAIR Mediawatch piece (published yesterday) from which the latest hot-girls-in-uniform photospread comes:

(quoting)

Vice Photospreads Present ‘Girly, Teenage’ Side of Israeli Occupation
By Adam Johnson, FAIR (Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting), 31 August 2016

For the second time in the last five months, Vice has run a bizarre, titillating photo spread of “girlish,” “teenage” Israeli soldiers that manages to be obtuse and borderline creepy at the same time.

Photos From the Everyday Lives of Young Female Israeli Soldiers (3/15/16)
The Defiant Femininity of Israel’s Female Soldiers (8/29/16)

It’s unclear what’s “defiant” about serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, but the breezy blurb accompanying the Mayan Toledano photo spread has some ideas:

'As paradoxical as it may sound, Toledano’s photos reveal that what seems like these girls’ indifference is actually an expression of their autonomy. In a way, it’s their girly, teenage boredom that reflects a passive, sleepy protest against violence.'

What this means is never made clear, but it would probably come as a surprise to those in Israel who actually refuse military service that serving in the IDF is a form of “protest against violence” — so long as one has pouty lips and “girly, teenage boredom.”

Some observers of the Israel/Palestine conflict have found these glamorous spreads offensive, saying they both normalize and glamorize a military that levels daily humiliations and violence aimed at Palestinians. Author and activist Steven Salaita said, “Vice again provides a hip, glamorous appeal to those who enforce Israeli settler colonization.” Journalist Zab Mustefa tweeted, “Another Vice story trying to normalize Israeli occupation by romanticizing female IDF ‘defiant’ soldiers.”

“It’s the hipster reboot of laddie mag apartheid propaganda,” added Max Blumenthal, author of Goliath.

What raises a red flag about these spreads is the similarities to previous pro-Israel marketing efforts, including one almost ten years ago when the Israeli Foreign Ministry paid for a photo spread in “men’s magazine” Maxim to improve the country’s public image (Jerusalem Post, 3/22/07):

“All the surveys we have done show that the biggest hasbara problem that Israel has is with males from the age of 18–35,” said David Saranga, the consul for media and public affairs at Israel’s consulate in New York. “Israel does not seem relevant for them, and that is bad for branding,” he said. “In order to change their perception of Israel as only a land of conflict, we want to present to them an Israel that interests them.” Which is where good-looking women in skimpy bikinis come in.