Monday, December 31, 2007

A World of Conflict : Zone : Lebanon

'A World of Conflict, is the documentary about the Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone project. Focussed here are the sites in Lebanon

I've traveled in the Middle East for the past few years. What Kevin is encountering and reporting back is just the surface of a deeply-rooted, complicated set of circumstances that have created what appears to be an unstoppable momentum. Things there will get worse before they get better. And, by and large, the U.S. government only understood very little about it. In other words, for the past seven it has been far, far more destructive than constructive and a vast majority of the people who have been hurt, have been innocent and simply want the same things we do.

Kevin Sites first reported from Lebanon at a watershed moment in the country's history. Syrian troops had pulled out, but political assassinations were continuing to fuel rage and apprehension among the Lebanese people. Would Lebanon continue to be an international pawn? Sites traversed the political spectrum to talk to the players involved: university students, a former leader back from exile, refugees and Hezbollah officials all weighed in.

Meanwhile in Gaza, Sites documented what has become a common spectacle: a funeral procession through the streets. In this case, the event was a "martyr's funeral" for two men from the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades who, according to news reports at the time, were trying to fire rockets into southern Israel and were killed by Israeli missiles in retaliation.

"A World of Conflict" is the documentary about the "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" project, in which veteran war correspondent Kevin Sites reported from every major global conflict in one year, in an effort to understand the costs of a world perpetually at war.

We are highlighting one chapter of the documentary each week in chronological order, allowing you to see the film in its entirety — exclusively online.

The documentary contains searing, never-before-seen images of combat and its lingering impact on civil society, beginning with the anarchy of Somalia in September 2005 and culminating with the explosive war between Israel and Hezbollah in summer 2006.

The documentary is included with Sites' new book, "In the Hot Zone: One Man. One Year. Twenty Wars."

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Bouncing Baby Boy Balls

There was a baby born in the hospital and he weighed ten pounds. The odd thing about him was his body weighed five pounds and his balls weighed five pounds. All the nurses and even the doctor didn't know what to do with him.
Then, the chief surgeon walked in and asked what was wrong. The head nurse replied, ''We don't know what to do with this baby.''

So the chief surgeon took one look and said, "You should put him into a mental institution."

''Why?' asked the head nurse.

"Well," replied the chief surgeon, "take a look at him. The boy is obviously half nuts."