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Disturbance in Southwest Asia.

Wed, 2005-06-22 08:54 — Arancaytar

A U2 spy-plane has crashed in an unspecified location in "Southwest Asia", which is also colloquially known as the "Middle East".

Have you heard the one where a man walks into a restaurant and asks for "a Vienneve Veal Fillet pleafe"? The waiter asks: "What? You mean a Wiener Schnitzel?" The man replies: "Yup, but I can't fay that with my falfe teeth". It appears that, likewise, "Middle East" is currently a term to be avoided, of course partly due to "sensitivities in the host nation". Which that host nation was, they don't want to specify, but the silence speaks volumes.

It was returning from a mission related to "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, and its wing was based near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (via TimesUnion and Bloomberg). Which, through broad conjecture, could give it an interesting route indeed, as you can see in this Map of Southwest Asia:

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Comments

Thu, 2005-06-23 15:20 — Scott Neigh

"Middle East"

"Middle East" is also a term to be avoided for perfectly sound reasons of anti-imperial and anti-colonial politics...like the terms "Near East" and "Far East," it is a product of the British Foreign Office of a century or two ago. The point of reference for "near," "middle," and "far" sure isn't Tokyo or Chenai or Mecca, but rather the home seat of the masters of the world in that era. Sure, nomenclature is a small thing in a lot of ways, but if we are serious about creating a world that is not ruthlessly ruled by English-speaking white men but is rather multi-polar and equitable, seems to me that it's a gesture of good faith to reject systems of naming that are embedded in colonialism and other systems of oppression.
Thu, 2005-07-21 06:39 — Arancaytar

Political Correctness is fine, but...

It is not necessary to change abruptly from using the common word to a new, politically correct one. Note that almost all Western news services still refer to this area as "Middle East". Southwest Asia sounds even worse than "melanin-endowed minority".

That said, the Vienneve Veal Fillet joke would apply to Political Correctness as well. Cutting a word from the dictionary is not a way to deal with the past, nor with its consequences that reach into the present.

"While you live make as much noise as you can. Live your life with music and disonance, because after us comes the silence."

Thu, 2005-06-23 17:16 — RanDomino

This is the Internet. We

This is the Internet. We are English-speaking white men.

Anyway, yeah- anyone who thinks we're not actively spying on Iran's nuclear facilities has been living in a cave the last three years. Or, they've been living in a cafe, cage, by a cape, or eating cake.

I expect Israel to launch some airstrikes in the next few weeks. Then Iran'll invade Iraq, and the US will carpet-bomb Iran (and Syria, just for good measure).

That would be the appropriate time for the revolution to start.

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