<html> <head> <style> P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } </style> </head> <body> <HR id=stopSpelling>   > Orientalism? What are you talking about. Your valorization of   > Hezbollah seems to be a classic case of the phenomena. It wasn't aimed at you, I promise.  I am not 'valorising' Hezbollah.  I am not taking, for instance, the patronising attitude that they can do no wrong or that they cannot be criticised.  I do think they can do wrong and can be criticised.  In the current context, I prefer to focus on Israel since it is the aggressor, however.   When I mention Orientalism, I am thinking of the grotesque fantasies about Hezbollah that are repeatedly churned out of the Western media.  Fox News yesterday carried a story suggesting they were linked to Al Qaeda, which is ignorant in itself, but the basis of their claims was that they both hated all things Western hated democracy etc.  This is carried on in a more sophisticated way in broadsheet newspapers and so on.  Many many people, not least a few on this mailing list, actually think that Hezbollah are a fascist organisation or something like it - not only is this preposterous, it is downright shameful in the current circumstances.   <hr />Be one of the first to try <a href='http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=5d21c51a-b161-4314-9b0e-4911fb2b2e6d' target='_new'>Windows Live Mail.</a></body> </html>