Looting Baghdad’s Past

by Neil Woodburn on

What happens when you invade one of this planet’s oldest civilizations?

Much of what remains of its past suddenly goes missing.

The list of “Bad Things That Happen When you go to War” is immeasurably long. Since this is a travel site, we won’t discuss the political, economic, and social travesties which occur as the result of war. But we will spare a moment for the cultural plunder.

A recent article at Radio Free Europe discusses the impact that the Iraqi war has had upon the nation’s historical antiquities.

For those of you who ditched your Western Civilization class, Iraq is widely considered the cradle of civilization. Remember Mesopotamia? Yep, that is present day Iraq. Thousands of years of history has passed through this dusty stretch of land and today, the antiquities which remain behind are slowly disappearing into the hands of looters and black marketers.

To give just one example, 14,000 items were stolen from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad shortly after the war began. These are irreplaceable antiquities which are now spread across the globe in private, illegal collections or merely as mantle pieces and paper weights purchased by unknowing tourists in nearby countries.

The cultural impact of war can never be measured. How can one place a true value on empty museums and a missing past? Sure, there are far worse things going on over there, but cultural plunder is one long-lasting tragedy from which Iraq may never recover.

North Korea and the Doomsday Clock

by Neil Woodburn on

There was a time, back during the Cold War, when many people were very concerned that the planet on which we lived was about to be incinerated by a nuclear war. In fact, concerns were so strong, that a Doomsday Clock at the University of Chicago regularly displayed just how close we were to nuclear Armageddon.

The idea of the Doomsday Clock was simple; midnight symbolized the end. As Soviet/American relations ebbed and flowed, the big hand inched closer or further away from midnight. Since 1947 when the clock was inaugurated at 11:53, that big hand has moved 17 times (once sitting at 11:58 when both the Soviet Union and the USA tested hydrogen bombs in 1958).

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the Doomsday Clock lost some of its allure and hasn’t moved since 2002 when it was pushed forward to 11:53 after the “United States rejects a series of arms control treaties and announces it will withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty…. And Terrorists seek to acquire and use nuclear and biological weapons.”

But now there is North Korea.

Suddenly everyone is talking about the Doomsday Clock and whether the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists who oversee the clock will move that big hand closer to midnight as a result of North Korea’s recent nuclear testing. The Clock guardians meet next month at a regularly scheduled meeting and will assess the situation and determine if the clock needs adjusting.

In the meantime, make sure to see as much of the world as you can; who knows what it will look like during a nuclear winter.

Borat on CNN

by Erik Olsen on

We’ve blogged about Borat a number of times here. I think Neil has a particular fascination with the rude would-be Kazakhstani (actually a Jewish fellow named Sascha Baron Cohen). I’ve yet to see “Borat” the film, but am actually looking forward to it. There’s been so much fuss from the Kazakhs about it, the publicity has just kind of been self-fulfilling, as these things tend to be. But it seems to me in the promos I’ve seen that Cohen’s Borat is less a send up of the former Soviet Republic than it is of Americans. I could be wrong, but leading a bunch of cowboys in singing Throw the Jew Down the Well seems to me more a mockery of us than them. No matter. I’m eager to catch the new film, and when I do, I’ll try to post a review. In the meantime, you should check out the interview with Borat on CNN. He does his best to insult the journalist and make deliciously off-color remarks and suggestions. Dowright good Friday Funny viewing.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of October 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Can everyone say TGIF? Boy, am I glad the first hint of the weekend has arrived. It’s been a long one and if your week happened to have been as hectic as mine then you may have missed some of these Gadling pieces, but never fear – they are here.

5. Paris Too Hardcore for the Japanese?:
Culture reads are always fun in my book and seeing how different tourists react in certain countries is also good info to know, but something about this piece on Paris being too tough on Japanese strikes me as odd. I’ve never heard of a city that caused one to seek psychological counseling after your return. Is there anyone out there who can back this up?

4. World’s Most Expensive Restaurants:
Follow poor Erik as he accidentally gets in on a dinner bill at one of NY’s most priciest restaurants and regrets ever showing up. After sharing his own personal story he points those that like having restaurant tabs starting at about $370 a person to this Forbes List of most expensive restaurants. Chow down for me, because you won’t find me there.

3. New York Times Looks at Los Angeles:
Erik lives in New York. Neil lives in Los Angeles. I live in Limbo. What better set of travel bloggers could one possibly find? While I stay out in the land of Limbo I can thank Neil for holding his ground in LA to help provide honest criticism on the City of Angels when folks like the NY Times try to sum it all in one go. If you’re considering travel to LA, read Neil’s blurb and this pretty good read from the NY Times as well. Then let us know what you think.

2. Dirty, Filthy, Nasty, & Unclean Airplanes:
Some find horror in film, but I find horror in real life. I call it soiled seats, filthy carpet and greasy windows 35,000 feet in air. I’m sure you’ve been on a dirty airplane a time or two. Well, reading this piece will probably have you reaching for that barf bag next time you fly.

1. Smoke-Free Hotel Rooms:
With this news I’m sure some non-smokers lungs are singing praise and screaming hallelujah! Yes, it looks as though Westin Hotel & Resorts along with the Marriott are banning smoking altogether in their chain of hotels. Good news for us, but I’m sure those not ready to kick the habit are either pouting or puffing it up in some shady smoked-filled motel room.

Todd Skinner Dies in Yosemite

by Erik Olsen on

Adventurers seem to be dropping like flies. Literally. First we read about the horrible death of world-renowned BASE jumper Brian Shubert, whose cute failed to open (or he failed to release it) at the New River Gorge Bridge Day celebration last weekend. And now, one of the world’s top climbers dies in a place he supposedly knew very well.

Todd Skinner pioneered the sport of free climbing, and was an ardent advocate of keeping the sport of climbing pure, that is reducing the amount of extraneous equipment that a climber uses to scale a face. He was very well-regarded among the cognoscenti for his ballsiness and ability. In fact, he accomplished more than 300 free ascents in 26 countries. Some of his notable accomplishments include include the first free ascents of the Salathe Wall on Yosemite’s El Capitan, the north face of Mount Hooker in the Wind River Range and the Great Canadian Knife in the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Yukon Territories. Skinner also led expeditions to Pakistan, Vietnam, Mali, Greenland and Kenya. Skinner, who came from the Teton spiked state of Wyoming, was descending from a route called Leaning Tower when he fell about 500 feet. He was dead soon thereafter.

A sad story, to be sure. But in both of these cases it seem these guys were doing the things they loved. I suppose there’s no better way to go. One could just as easily die inhaling toner vapors by accident at the office or by stepping in front of a bus. Still, two rather significant adventuring tragedies in a short period of time.