Quote of the Day

Georges Asfar in Damascus, c. August 1954. Shangri La Historical Archives, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Balanche thinks the war will continue, grinding out the shape of a divided Syria, because the determination of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S. to secure their interests remains stronger than any desire to end the fighting. - Marc Champion writing for Bloomberg.

Note that the only connection between the picture and the quote is Syria. I have no idea who Georges Asfar is. I just thought the picture was cool.