A decade on from the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and whipped up a tsunami of theft in Baghdad, Iraq’s National Museum is preparing to display its treasures of Mesopotamian culture — even if thousands are missing.
The looting of the museum under the eyes of US troops has sometimes been compared to the Mongol sack of the Grand Library of Baghdad in 1258. Then-US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shrugged it off with the comment “stuff happens.”
But if many Iraqis still see the museum’s looting as a symbol of the cavalier recklessness of the invasion, its current state is emblematic of the bloodshed, political discord and bureaucratic dysfunction that have racked Iraq ever since.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Museum workers also hope it could one day encapsulate the promise and achievements of an oil-rich country which for millennia sat at the heart of human civilization.
“The museum is now displaying some of the stolen antiquities that were recovered and restored. From a historical perspective and in terms of restoration, it’s a very good thing, and they’re ready to be presented,” said Shaimaa Abdel Qader, a tour guide with the museum.
(Liberty Times)
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
在美國於二00三年率盟軍入侵伊拉克推翻海珊政權,並在首都巴格達引發連串竊案的十年後,伊拉克國立博物館現正準備展示館中的美索不達米亞文化寶物,即使數千件文物至今仍下落不明。
伊拉克博物館在美軍部隊監督下仍慘遭洗劫一事,常被拿來和蒙古人於一二五八年劫掠巴格達圖書館的歷史事件相比。當時的美國國防部長唐納‧倫斯斐對此卻只以「壞事年年有」一句話輕描淡寫帶過。
但假如許多伊拉克人仍把博物館遭洗劫視為是美軍入侵行動的草率魯莽行徑象徵,博物館的現狀更凸顯出伊拉克此後歷經的流血衝突、政治紛爭與官僚體系無能等亂象。
工作人員也希望,博物館未來能夠彰顯出這個數千年來一直位於人類文明中心的產油國之前途與成就。
博物館導遊阿布戴卡德說:「博物館目前正在展示部分經尋獲或修復的被竊古文物。從歷史的觀點及修復的角度來看,這都是件好事,這些文物也已準備好展現在世人眼前。」
(自由時報/翻譯:俞智敏)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110