Historical quotes of the day – Ours!

“Persian oil is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.”

– FDR to Lord Halifax, 1944, quoted in Perry Anderson, American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers, Chapter 5, note 9

“Abadan and Suez are important to the local peoples only in terms of their amour propre… To us, some of these things are important in a much more serious sense, and for reasons that today are sounder and better and more defensible than they ever were in history. To retain these facilities and positions we can use today only one thing: military strength, backed by the resolution and courage to use it.”

– George Kennan to Secretary of State Dean Acheson, 1952, quoted in Perry Anderson, American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers, Chapter 5, note 10

They demanded juxtaposition

“Dinshaway Al-Razzaz"

“Imperfect Chronology” – modern and contemporary Arab art at the Whitechapel Gallery, London

Through early December, the gallery is hosting what looks like a fascinating show of pieces from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection, founded by Sultan Saood al-Qassemi.

Inji Efflatoun, “The Dinshaway Massacre,” c. 1950s

One of the artists featured is Syrian painter Marwan Kassab Bachi, who now lives and works in Germany. Here are a few of his earlier works:

“Munif Al-Razzaz,” 1965

“The Husband,” 1966

“Three Palestinian Boys (Fidayeen),” 1970

Waleed Hammad goes undercover as a woman in Egypt

“I can’t imagine living my life like that every single day.”

Egyptian journalist Waleed Hammad dressed as a woman and went out into the world, followed by hidden cameras, to get a sense of what women experience.

Greg Grandin on the betrayal of democracy in Honduras

Greg Grandin has a nice piece in The Nation this week: "Democracy There, Democracy Here: Honduras." In it, he discusses events in Egypt and Honduras in terms of the broader theme of "Washington's betrayal of democracy" throughout the world. It offers a solid historical summary and updated information on what's happening on the ground in Honduras.

I found it through Adrienne Pine's blog Quotha, which Grandin recommends in his article as a wonderful source of news and analysis about Honduras and US imperialism. I concur!