Alidad's blog

Dump the Farsi

Alidad — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:53:23 +0000

Sickening Syria II

Alidad — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:45:47 +0000

Sickening Syria

Alidad — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:43:43 +0000

Events of recent months in the Middle East perfectly illustrate the difference between bloody dictatorships and authoritarian regimes - for want of better words in English; Spanish speakers distinguish by calling them "dictadura" or "dictablanda," with an appropriate pun on the words "hard" and "soft." Asad's regime, and his allies, are "dictaduras" make no mistake.

Dear China

Alidad — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:40:59 +0000

I mean no disrespect when I say that the Chinese smell of piss and look like rats and nobody likes them. It almost sounds like an unpleasant, racist remark. Sabotaging climate talks, polluting the earth ten times over, running a slave-labour economy and becoming the friend and counsellor of evil, rat-piss dictators around the world is no reason surely to dislike an entire nation. But I am a little unreasonable on this count.