Tag: fertiliser

The Lebanon

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

This incident seems strange. It seems pretty horrific too. Ammonium nitrate left in a warehouse at the port for six years and it accidentally goes off. That is not an implausible story, let’s be honest. It is possible that fertiliser is imported into a country and it is also possible that it has been left for one reason or another and abandoned. It does happen. But ammonium nitrate is also used as an explosive. It is not implausible that it has intentionally gone off.

Usually in stories like this it’s very quickly pointed out as potentially an act of terror if not jumped on and accused of being so. Unlike other previous events it feels like it is not following the same pattern. The main focus is on the fertiliser and while it is suggested investigations are open into other possibilities, this is not seized on. I have only read the article on the BBC, this could end up being an analysis of the BBC’s reporting or a sign that I’m missing many other angles elsewhere. It just feels notably out of the ordinary in comparison to how these kind of things are usually reported on when covering the Middle East.

It is important to know context with the Lebanon in regards current social and economic issues. While I admit I don’t know in depth, the country is struggling with an arguably failed economy. I’m sure I remember reading that they were on the verge of defaulting as a country for the first time which would be a massive thing. The pandemic and subsequent global economic lockdown has only exacerbated the situation. There are currently protest although I am unsure on what scale. I don’t quite know the political structure of the country but I know Hezbollah, who were elected democratically it is often forgotten and ignored, are in power but I’m sure also the Prime Minister and his ministers are not Hezbollah, so perhaps there are two system within one. The regional political situation is that they are strong allies with Iran and that the Israelis seem to be fighting Hezbollah on and off, who are also deemed a terrorist organisation in the west, yet not fighting with Lebanon, or at least that is the narrative. With all that in mind the Israelis have had to distance themselves already, but have also offered food and humanitarian aid along with offers from Boris Johnson and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State. It’s fair to say these are ominous gestures you would be cautious of accepting.

All of which make this feel eerily calm, almost like we’re waiting for something to happen. Maybe it also means that it genuinely was an accidental explosion of fertiliser and it has caught everyone, the Lebanese, the Western powers and the media off guard. All scrambling for an as yet unknown and too sudden line to follow. The next twenty-four hours will reveal the immediate direction it’ll take as events unfold, parts of the truth come out and the death toll becomes clear. No matter what does arise, one thing is clear, it is an horrific event either way.

Burning Stuff

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

There can be something enjoyable about the more primitive pursuits. I have a few pallets of old stuff made of paper than can’t be thrown away and needs to be destroyed. Nothing dodgy of course, it’s just better to destroy some things. We have been trying to think of a good way of doing this without buying a shredder and it just dawned on me that I can build a big fire in the woods behind my house and spend a good few hours burning things and drinking beer. The drinking beer part is probably not the factor integral to the primitive pleasures but for sure there is a lot to be said for making a big fire and just burning stuff. I accept this could be because I grew up in the countryside and there is always stuff to burn, it just feels natural. We had an open fire and then a wood burner in the house, raked up leaves needed burning, old branches cut down and so on. There’s always something to burn and I have so many fond memories of standing outside with either one of my parents trying to control this huge bonfire, failing to avoid the smoke that seems to follow you and risking third degree burns just to push a branch into a slightly better burning position. I’m genuinely excited about the prospect of this big fire.

For those not familiar with Scotland they needn’t worry about me burning down the forest. I could make a fire and not bother clearly any old foliage around it, cover it in petrol, leave it and come back hours later, and the only danger will be that it has gone out. We don’t get forest fires where I am, the constant risk of rain renders everything inflammable. For those familiar with the dangers to hedgehogs and other hibernating animals then don’t worry I am clearly aware of this as a thing and will check any piles of branches and leaves nearby or where I burn. No hedgehog will die on my watch.

As I said though there is a real pleasure in burning stuff. Obviously from the parents stuff above there is an emotive connection. There is the warmth from the fire which makes caveman me feel safe. There is the need to destroy and out of that the necessity to understand and observe the cycle of destruction and creation as the ash fertilises the forest. There is the satisfaction of ticking something off the list of things that have been getting in my way for a long time too. And let’s be honest there’s the excuse to stand around and stare at the flames while drinking beer which feeds a need to drink beer and stand around staring at things. Why we don’t make more fires I really don’t know, there clearly are no downsides to it what so ever.