Israeli kidnapping

This won't be in your local newspaper.  Israeli terrorists kidnapped  a Lebanese shepherd.  His name is Isma`il Khalil Nab`ah. 

Fox News aphorisms

I heard this statement on Fox News: "catastrophes are only surmountable under capitalism".  Kid you not. 

People won't like this

It says: "God's blessings on you, you have not changed!"

Lebanese banks say that they can't afford to pay any more taxes

This represents the profits of major Lebanese banks in the first nine months of this year. From top: Lubnan Wa-al-Mahjar, Audi, and Byblos. (thanks Muhammad)

Aljazeera

I have not been able to watch Aljazeera (Arabic) for a while now.  The other day I watched for a brief period: I was nauseated by a report about the Free Syrian Army thugs and how they are distributing toys to children in the `Id.  Kid you not.  It reminded me of Ba`thist TV media, at its worst. 

Le Royal Monceau

Syrian opposition figure, Samir Aita, is attacking Qatar and Aljazeera because the Qatari-owned hotel hosted Netanyahu and his delegation there recently. (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

PS I told "Ibn Rushd" that I stayed at the hotel with my father once and I still rave about its food and buffet to this very day.  (It was then owned by a Syrian businessman).

Your favorite "revolutionaries"

(thanks Hikmet)

Nate Silver

When this election is all over, Nate Silver will be either elevated to the status of prophets, or he will be dismissed as a lousy fortune teller. 

A letter to Saudi King and UAE ruler (both of whom can barely read)

From a reader:  "Hi As'ad, look at this letter from a Kuwaiti opposition activist to two Gulf leaders that is being circulated on twitter.  No attribution please". 

crimes of Bahrain

From Angry Arab's correspondent on Bahrain:  "The crackdown in Bahrain is intensifying. After the siege of AlEkr village, the regime has now decided to ban all protests and rallies.  But don't you worry, Bahrain is continuing its reform march".

EU and settlements

"""Europe says settlements are illegal under international law and yet continues to trade with them," said William Bell of Christian Aid UK and Ireland, one of the consortium partners. "Consumers are unwittingly contributing to the injustice by buying products that are inaccurately labelled as coming from Israel when in fact they are from settlements in the West Bank."""

dirty hands of Israel

""Israel has emerged as an influential military and commercial ally of South Sudan since its independence last year, while Iran has strengthened its links with the Khartoum regime.""  This explains why the crimes of Khartum regime get covered in the West but not the crimes of South Sudan.

A truly national and domestic and home-grown opposition

""The State Department has been heavily involved in crafting the new council as part of its effort oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and build a more viable and unified opposition. In September, for instance, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with a group of Syrian activists who were flown in to New York for a high-level meeting that has not been reported until now."" (thanks Amir)

Let me guess: Human Rights Watch won't be troubled and won't issue one of its fierce statements that it issues daily on Syria

"Israel would use a lot fewer cluster munitions in any future war with Hezbollah than it did in their 2006 conflict, even though it would go into southern Lebanon earlier and harder, a senior Israeli military officer said on Monday.

Israel has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, whose adoption in 2008 was spurred partly by Lebanese casualties of the bomblets, some of which lay scattered and unexploded until they were accidentally detonated by civilian passersby." (thanks Basim)

Netanyahu has his hand on the pulse of the Arab people

"" "Iran is not popular in the Arab world, far from it, and some governments in the region, as well as their citizens, have understood that a nuclear armed Iran would be dangerous for them, not just for Israel," he said.""  When Israeli leaders speak about the Arabs, they really mean the ruling dynasties of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.  That is it.

Meet the mastermind of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards plot in DC

"“’I have had so many girls. So many that you couldn’t count them. I never had one girl more than once…. Girls love money and cars. That was my weakness.’
“It was, in fact, one of these women who put Arbabsiar in touch with a man in May 2011 who said he was a member of the Mexican drug gang Los Zetas. Arbabsiar went on to ask this cartel associate — actually a Drug Enforcement Agency informant — to kill the ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Washington D.C. using explosives.”"

Wahhabi kooks

Wahhabi religious and non-religious kooks have been religiously wishing ill for the US and its people in the face of "Sandy".  That would have been translated by MEMRI in an instance if it is not coming from an ally of Israel.

Lebanese journalist, Fida' `Itani

The kidnappers among the Free Syrian Army--and let us not kid ourselves and let us stop playing games.  `Itani was traveling among the Free Syrian Army gangs and was doing a report about them. But whenever Free Syrian Army gangs commit crimes, they blame someone else--has issued a statement that `Itani will be released shortly. 

PS I don't know `Itani.  We just crossed paths in Al-Akhbar's offices a few times and exchanged greetings.  He has been investigative reporter who covered Jihadi groups in Lebanon. 

the corrupt Suha Arafat

The corrupt Suha Arafat has stopped calling for an investigation of her husband's death.  Let me translate: the money from the PA gang has arrived.  And she won't call for an investigation until she needs more money in the future.  Stay tuned.

What Arabs want

Christian sent me this:  "Former British Ambassador and now salesman for BAE Systems apparently knows "what Arabs want"

Mossad bombing the Israeli embassy

Dale sent me this:  "The following is from an interview with Annie Machon, who was an
intelligence officer for the UK's MI5 in the 1990s, but she left after blowing the whistle on the incompetence and crimes of the British spy agencies. You have to scroll down for the reference in the transcript:

"MACHON: Why? That's a very good question, because MI5's assessment, after they looked at all the evidence around this case, was that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, had carried out a controlled explosion outside their own embassy in order to, one, increase the security around
all their interests in London, which they'd been pushing for farsor ye, and MI5 kept telling them to, you know, take a hike, and also to frame these two innocent people who were involved in Palestinian support networks in London. And that network was gaining a lot of traction politically and financially. And, of course, once you finger two innocent people, the whole network just disappeared.""

Le Point

Emile sent me this:  "Islamophobia hits a new low in France with this cover of mainstream (albeit right wing) newsmagazine Le Point. The text says "cet islam sans gêne" (this Islam without embarrassment) and the picture shows a woman in nikab waving at or threatening a french gendarme.

Spoofs immediately appeared on the Web : this judaism without embarrassment (with a picture of Bernard-Henri Levy) and Those fags without embarrassment (two lesbians kissing). As you say the UN security council would have already met..."

e-books and the Middle East

There are various e-books readers.  I like the Sony reader although you can't download it on Iphone or android (but can be read on Experia tablets) and Kindle (especially that the latter can be downloaded on any phone or tablets).  For Arabic, the e-books are just lousy.  There is one reader called Noon and it is a piece of garbage.  You buy books and they don't open and the reader itself on any system crashes per minute.   But to my delight this week, I have downloaded the Nook (the Barnes and Nobles reader).  What is great about it is that: 1) it has the largest collection of free books.  For example, some of the most scholarly books of late 19th century and early 20th century are available for free.  They must be free because they are not in demand although they are my favorite.  You will find the classic travel books on the Middle East in French, German, and English and for free (even rare ones like Volney).  They also seem to have an arrangement with the University of Toronto library which has made a whole collection (in multiple languages) digitally available.  The major philosophical works are often available for free presumably because the public is busy spending tons of money on the latest books by Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter.

Bani Walid: NATO militias in Libya

What happened in Bani Walid in Libya just was not a story for the Western media.  NATO Libyan militias stormed the city and put it under siege and killed scores of people and then displaced some 70,000 people.  There was no outcry and no human rights organizations to my knowledge called for investigation. 

Moroccan King (in yellow) slitting the throat of a sheep for the `Id

Ernest Barker

Ernest Barker, the political thinker, is one of my all-time favorite thinkers and writers--his political views aside.  I recommend all his books.  His book on the political thought of Plato and Aristotle is one of my favorites. 

Now a word from Zionist kooks:

^"Could 'Frankenstorm' be a sign from God?  'When we put pressure on Israel to divide their land, we have record-setting events'". (thanks Zohair)

Attack on Joseph Massad in Jerusalem Post

So this guy did not like the critique by comrade Joseph of "Homeland".  I don't know who this person is but he (presumably) wrote this about himself in Wikipedia:  "Frantzman has developed the philosophy of Post-Humanism which he critiques as the bane of the western world. He is opposed to Moral Relativism and has dedicated many writings to critique of histories of South Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Ideologically Frantzman has remained a conservative, but also a passionate libertarian in the footsteps of Ayn Rand and Edward Abbey. He has a deep fascination with Richard Nixon and Josef Stalin but his true passion is the study of minorities and diverse peoples such as Native Americans, Assyrian Christians, Crimean Kairites and other interesting people and interesting histories of obscure subjects. His heroes include John Gurang of the South Sudan Liberation Army, the former Shah of Iran, Jan Smuts, Atal Vajpayee, Richard Mienertzhagen, Charles Martel, Don Juan, Roland, Thaksin Shinuat, Pinochet and Vicente Fox.  In the time before time there was a wikipedia entry created of me by someone...it was then deleted, thankfully, but for posterity I am keeping a copy of it here...ha, its too funny what people felt was "notable" below."  But somebody else presumably wrote this about him:  "Kevin Jon Heller, a professor of international criminal law at Melbourne Law School who has been involved with the International Criminal Court^[17] lampooned Frantzman's grasp of facts with regard to his article Terra Incognita: Strange justice: The ICC, Europe and the world in The Jerusalem Post,^[18] concerning the work of International Criminal Court. Heller, defending the court, called the Frantzman article "the worst anti-ICC editorial ever," and went on to say that "the Jerusalem Post should be ashamed of itself for publishing it".^{[19]"  Furthermore, he:  "}He was suspended in 1992 for stealing trophies."

Lies and fabrications of Iranian regime media

"PressTV uses 'Day After Tomorrow' photo for Sandy article"

Miracle on earth

Saudis are making fun of this headline in a Saudi newspaper.  It reads:  "[Prince] Khalid Al-Faysal: On this earth there is a miracle called the Saudi human being". 

Israeli lies and fabrications

"On Facebook, IDF illustrates Palestinian violence - with photo from Bahrain". (thanks David)

Khaled Fahmy relying on the "research" findings of Sa`d Id-Din Ibrahim

"I do, however, make a link specifically between extremism and how medicine and engineering are taught and teaching methods at Egyptian universities in general."  OK, brilliant man.  George W. Bush went to Yale and Harvard.  Do you want to revamp the curricula there too?   Husni Mubarak went to the Egyptian military academy, do you want to revamp the curriculum there too? 

Look how the Committee to Protect (some) Journalists absolves the Free Syrian Army

"Fidaa Itani, a reporter for the private Lebanese Broadcasting Cooperation International (LBCI) and several other Lebanese news outlets, was accompanying the Free Syrian Army and reporting on military operations in Aleppo when he was seized in the Aazaz neighborhood, according to news reports. A rebel militia called the Northern Storm Battalion of Aazaz reported on its Facebook page that the journalist was being held under "house arrest" and had been detained because "his work was not suitable with the course of the Syrian revolution and revolutionaries," news reports said. The Free Syrian Army is not a single, unified organization, but an overarching name for numerous local militias such as Northern Storm Battalion that at times have conflicting agendas."

forgeries and lies of some Syrian "revolutionaries"

Picture from Egypt (left) is posted as from Syria.  (thanks Fatima)

Fired during Maternity leave from New TV

"Make sure to check out this video from Now Lebanon featuring an ex-employee called Shirine who used to work with the Chi.N.N team in Al Jadeed TV and went on a maternity leave after having a baby, only to be surprised with a phone call during her leave claiming that the Al Jadeed no longer needs her since the person who replaced her is doing the job well and for less money." (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

That is real heroism

""A group of Colombian soldiers is awarded with heroism medals for not responding with violence when indigenous forced them off their military base in July."" (thanks Kyle)

The lies of An-Nahdah of Tunisia

Ahmet of Tunisia sent me this:  "Asad, you aptly described the rule of the various Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the Arab World as "repulsive". . An example of that: yesterday, while justifying the non-inclusion of an anti-normalization clause in the future Tunisian Constitution, the head of Ennahda parliamentary bloc, Sahbi Attig, said that Ennahda was advised against such move by Hamas leaders (Meshaal and Hania). Today, a spokesman for Hamas flatly denies the claim. Here you have it: a bare-faced liar with the rank of a lawmaker thought he could hide the fact that his party succumbed to pressure from the US and Israel discussed in a Haaretz article in September. So far,that is what is going in favor of Arab secular opposition-- the dumbness and clumsiness of Islamists."

PS An-Nahda apologizes to Hamas for lying.

War crimes in Syria

The regime bombs from the air and the armed gangs resort to car bombs.  Can can those two sides ever be accepted as negotiators on the future of Syria? 

Obama and Romney

I feel that both Obama and Romney deserve to lose.  I wish I can arrange for that.  The electoral system of the US does not allow for that.

Why Israeli occupation arrests Palestinians

"Israeli security officials said those arrested were members of a “field command” responsible for strengthening Hamas’s presence in some West Bank universities."

Barry Obama Doctrine: an invasion (by proxy) of Mali

" Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Algeria’s backing on Monday for an emerging international effort to push Islamic militants out of northern Mali, in a meeting here with the president of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika."

Neil MacFarquhar seems to justify the killing of minorities in Syria because "they still back the government"

"including exploding a car bomb in Jaramana, a Damascus neighborhood that is home to various minorities who still back the government. At least 6 people were killed and 50 wounded by the bomb, said SANA, the official news agency."  What a disgraceful specimen of propaganda journalism laced with bigotry. 

Elliott Abrams on Gaza

""But his article demonstrates the remarkable blindness of the "activists" going to Gaza to help alleviate its imagined isolation and non-existent humanitarian disaster.""

Qatari media law

"Human Rights Watch also called on Sheikh Hamad not to approve a draft media law unless "loosely worded provisions penalising criticism of Qatar or neighbouring governments" were removed.  Although the legislation calls for abolishing criminal penalties for media law violations, article 53 prohibits publishing or broadcasting information that would "throw relations between the state and the Arab and friendly states into confusion" or "abuse the regime or offend the ruling family or cause serious harm to the national or higher interests of the state".  Those who violate the law would face fines of up to $275,000.  "The draft law builds in a double standard on free expression that is inconsistent with Qatar's claims to be a centre for media freedom in the region," Human Rights Watch said". (thanks Sultan)

Israeli propgandists

Israeli military propagandists can summon all Western reporters in Israel and can dictate to them claims and statements and rumors, and they would dutifully print them the next day.  Can you imagine if Arab military propagandists tried to do the same?  ""Sanctions have hurt the amount of aid Hezbollah receives from Iran," he said, without providing evidence to back up his claims. He said aid remains a "significant amount," estimating it at hundreds of millions of dollars a year."

presidential debate

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar English on the presidential debate.

Israeli fears are not bad for its occupation and aggression

""Many Israelis are sick of all the fighting, and the prospect of war with Iran is terrifying. If Israel does attack Iran, Israeli fear of Iranian retaliation may be just as great as the fear of living with an Iranian bomb.""

Sexual harassment in Australia

""A quarter of Australian women have been sexually harassed in their workplace in the past five years, according to a report released in the wake of a row sparked when the prime minister, Julia Gillard, accused the opposition leader of misogyny."" (thanks Amir)

Being a woman in the US armed forces

""a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire, over 20% of female veterans have been sexually assaulted while serving in the US army, of 3,192 sexual-assault reports in 2011 only 191 members of the military were convicted at courts martial.""

Building in the US

When my mother first visited me in DC, and I lived in Arlington, Virginia near the two (former) USA Today high rises as they were being constructed.  She commented that building materials and structures in the US are not strong enough. She felt that they were like toy buildings.  She is right, I feel.

Qatari repression: not fit to cover in Qatari media

"A poet facing a secret trial in Qatar after being detained since last year is a possible prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally if he has been detained solely for his peaceful criticism, Amnesty International has urged as the one-year anniversary of his arrest approaches.

Mohammed al-Ajami – also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb – was arrested on 16 November 2011 in the capital Doha, and later reportedly charged with “inciting to overthrow the ruling system” and “insulting the Amir”. "

The Hajj and House of Saud

A Pakistani friend and colleague sent me this (I post with his permission):
"Knowing ahead of time the obscenities and oppression emanating from the House of Saud helped me to have a decent hajj. But it is clear the material contradictions of the entire "spiritual" experience are escalating. Muslims tend to praise the House of Saud for making such great arrangements for these millions of pilgrims. But the Saudi royal family knows that this whole religious affair is one of their principal sources of pseudo-legitimacy, so it understands the need to facilitate a good "spiritual-consumerist" hajj...that of course excludes the many who have no camps but languish on the streets, or whose camps are not exactly what hey had bargained for. And finally, let me just say that I was looking forward to one of the last rituals of hajj: the stoning of Satan (represented in the form of three pillars). But I was running out of pebbles by the time I got to the stoning site. I had run into, and happily launched my stones at, some worthy competitors: the Mall of Mecca and the disgustingly ubiquitous pictures of the Saudi king. Talk about Wahhabi hypocrisy when it claims to be emphasizing "anti-idolatry". Apparently idolatry is OK when it comes to bowing before the brutal imbeciles running the country."

Muslim kooks and the East Coast disaster

It is quite nauseating to see the reactions by some Muslim kooks (and some "mainstream" Muslim Brotherhood types) to the disaster hitting the East Coast of the US.  They are engaged in gloating and insisting that this was a punishment from God.  Don't they realize how many disasters have hit Muslims lands over the decades?  Was that a punishment from God too?  Enough nonsense.

Muslim Brotherhood in the US

The honeymoon between the Muslim Brotherhood and the US government continues.  Last week, the world organization of the Brotherhood held a conference in New Jersey.  The US government sent a representative and the two sides engaged in an intimate dialogue.  Congratulations to both sides but I brace myself for the newly born.

Killed by Israeli terrorists in Kfar Qasim: don't forget, don't forgive EVER

(thanks Samah)

explosition in an ammunition depot in Tripoli

Whenever there is an explosion in an ammunition depot of Hizbullah, Western media rush to cover the story and wire services send udpated reports.  Yesterday, there was an explosion at an ammunition depot controlled by Hariri armed militias in Tripoli.  Did any Western media cover it?

Shelling and car bombs in Damascus

From Akram, the chief Angry Arab's correspondent in Syria: "Unsurprisingly, the cease-fire brokered by the UN envoy, Lakhdar Ibrahimi, collapsed entirely before completing its second day when intense clashes erupted since the morning in the eastern suburbs of Damascus especially in Harasta, Zamalka and Douma. The fixed wing warplanes returned back to the skies with density never seen before even in days that saw the worst fighting there the howitzers and tanks were shelling heavily. With the fighting taking place in an increasing intensity, car bombs move from one place to another inside the Syrian capital and other areas. After the blast that al-Zohour district in the first cease-fire day and took the lives of tens of innocents, a car bomb exploded today morning in Jaramana that, in an initial income, killed 5 and 69 others injured (Arabic). Reports that couldn’t be confirmed said the explosion was caused by a suicide operation when a car stormed a shop before being exploded. Yesterday, social media networks had reported that an explosive implanted in a car owned by a senior police officer that was parked in Tabala street, an extention of Dwela’a district, was dismantled (Arabic).

While the shelling of the eastern suburbs of Damascus continues, heavily, for the fourth consecutive day, the humanitarian outcome is still not entirely clear. Opposition web (Arabic) pages reported wide destruction of the towns targeted by the shelling, news confirmed to me by a trustful source who, until yesterday, has lived in Harasta but obliged to flee to Damascus with his family during the latest campaign. He described the life there as impossible adding that the town is merely a ghost city now, in the absence of drinking water, electricity and food with only fighters and few elders and disabled civilians are still there. Another source with ties to the pro-Assad sectors and who live in Tishreen district, near Harasta, described fierce battles that are taking place there between the military supported by the popular committees (known as Shabiha) from one side and the rebels from the other side adding that, as far as he knows, the military is suffering heavy losses."

Repression in Jordan

I was just informed that the Jordanian government, through its "Security-of-the-state" apparatus, has arrested the leftist activist, Mu`az Al-`Izzah.  You won't read about this in Western media, naturally.

Think tank production

Think tanks have to justified their funding so they have to produce reports and commentaries and they have to put people out in the media.  Look at this report about Lebanon.  There isn't one single insight: not one new idea.  The author just copied and pasted from available journalistic pieces on Lebanon in mainstream US newspapers and magazines.  I mean, why produce this? What is the reason?  What is the purpose?  It bothers me because he wasted his time "writing" it and I wasted my time reading it.

destruction by House of Saud

"Three of the world’s oldest mosques are about to be destroyed as Saudi Arabia embarks on a multi-billion-pound expansion of Islam’s second holiest site. Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, where the Prophet Mohamed is buried, will start once the annual Hajj pilgrimage ends next month. When complete, the development will turn the mosque into the world’s largest building, with the capacity for 1.6 million worshippers.
But concerns have been raised that the development will see key historic sites bulldozed. Anger is already growing at the kingdom’s apparent disdain for preserving the historical and archaeological heritage of the country’s holiest city, Mecca.  Most of the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will take place to the west of the existing mosque, which holds the tombs of Islam’s founder and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar." (thanks Khaled)

Moroccan autocracy and Israel

""Another central player in the campaign to stop Iran is Morocco. The country has shown that it can facilitate military and intelligence coordination between the Gulf states and Israel, thanks to its remarkable track record; when the Gulf emirs had just begun to establish their own modern states in the 1970s, centuries-old Morocco lent the expertise of its police and intelligence apparatus to help build up these new states’ security services.""

innocents abroad

""Every conflict in the Gulf since (and there has been a constant supply) has involved the United States.""

The nuclear arsenal that no one is permitted to discuss

""Since 1957, Israel has invested tremendous resources in building up a solid nuclear arsenal in Dimona. Today, according to various estimates, this stockpile comprises some 100–300 devices, including two-stage thermonuclear warheads and a variety of delivery systems, the most important of which are modern German-built submarines, which constitute the backbone of Israel's second-strike capability.""

Have you noticed that Zionist and Saudi media seem to have exclusive access to the "secrets" of Hizbullah

""The Sunday Telegraph has been told of secret arguments raging inside Hizbollah’s ranks about whether the time has come to stop backing Mr Assad."" (thanks Amir)

PR for tyranny in Bahrain

""Aided by more than 13 different European and American public relations companies at times, the regime aims to turn its blatant repression into a net asset by capitalising on the fear of the enemy du jour: Shia Iran. At the end of the day the fact remains the same: you can be Shia and loyal to the regime, like Sameera Rajab who is minister of information; and you can be Sunni, sentenced by a military court, tortured and serving time in prison, like Ebrahim Sharif.""

poor women's hair

""More worryingly, back in 2006, the Observer reported that in India some husbands were forcing their wives into selling their hair, slum children were being tricked into having their heads shaved in exchange for toys, and in one case a gang stole a woman's hair, holding her down and cutting it off.""

funding fanaticsim

"Saudi Arabia will build a massive Islamic centre complete with a university and a mosque in Afghanistan, an Afghan minister said Monday, describing the project as “grand and unique”.
Estimated to cost up to $100 million, the centre on a hilltop in central Kabul will house up to 5,000 students, Dayi-Ul Haq Abed, the acting Hajj and religious affairs minister told AFP."  Please spare us the grand and unique projects of the House of Saud.  The Taliban was one of the grand and unique projects.  (thanks Sultan)

forgerers of the Syrian "revolution": students of Saudi intelligence

 

Syrian "revolutionaries" (to the right) claim that the man with the gun is one of Shi`ite militia men who are fighting "against the Syrian people and the Free Syrian Army".  The picture to the left shows the source of the forgery.  (thanks Basim) 

PS And notice the blatantly sectarian language of those "revolutionaries".  As one Arab poet once said: ولي على قامتي على هيك ثورة.  

PS I was just told that the "revolutionary" Facebook page has just deleted the picture after they were exposed--minutes after I posted this here. 

Syrian revolutionaries

So the Syrian revolutionaries who kidnapped Lebanese journalist, Fida' `Itani, issued a statement in which they said that "the method of Fida's work does not suit the path of the revolution".  I am translated verbatim from their statement.  This sentence in itself points to the kind of political order those horrible people want to impose on Syria.  Their vision is a replica of the vision of the Ba`th.  I can see them marching people to the gallows for "working against the revolution".  Those people should be fought with the same intensity of fighting against the lousy regime.

"طريقة عمل (هذا) الصحافي لا يتناسب مع مسار الثورة"

Oil and gas media watch groups

This silly March 14 center, which excludes all Gulf regimes from its coverage because they fund it, issued this statement about the abduction by Syrian revolutionaries of Lebanese journalist, Fida' `Itani (who supports the Syrian "revolution", mind you):  "“The rebels announced that they were holding Itani… but pointed out that the reports and videos he made did not prove his involvement with any party against the revolution… The foundation condemns [his] arrest, especially that the rebels have denied that the journalist had in any way acted [against] them, which makes his arrest all the more illogical,” the statement said."  So according to this silly center, abduction of journalists is permissible if they work against this "revolution"?

Oil and gas media

This columnist in the mouthpiece of Prince Salman, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat (who also is director of the news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law), `Abdur-Rahman Al-Rashid, says that it is essential to overthrow the Syrian regime because its preservation would threaten and may overthrow the existing regime.  I just liked the argument very much.  Those people even dare to speak in the name of "Arab revolutions". (thanks Amer)

Mouzza

Regarding about a post from a few days ago, Abdullah (among others) sent me this:  "Actually, in Egypt, the term "Mouzza", which also means "banana" is now a catcall of sorts, used to refer to attractive women.  I heard it a number of times among younger male friends last time I went."  But her name is mouzza too: so how did the correspondent of the Economist know it was a catcall?

lies and fabrications of Al-Arabiyya

As you know that this has become a regular feature on this site.  Yesterday, I posted about a fabricated photo shopped picture of the Iranian ambassador with the widow of Wisam Al-Hasan.  The picture--as I predicted--and the story have been removed from the site of Al-Arabiyya (owned by King Fahd's brother-in-law).  But the funny thing is that Al-Arabiyya said that it got it from Now Hariri, and the latter said it got it from "Facebook". Kid you not. 

Who needs confirmation when there are pictures on Facebook

"The account could not be independently confirmed, but pictures posted on Facebook showed..."  You don't need confirmation.  If it is on Facebook it must be true and accurate.

the endending tale of adventures by Robert Fisk and his driver Abed

"And Abed, my driver, and I drove as we have so often these past decades to park near the museum, and I ran down the side street and stood next to the soldiers. And here comes your reporter, clumping into his own story again. On this very spot, beside this very road, next to this very wall, I took cover from bullets 36 years ago." (thanks Basim)

PS Abed was supplied to Fisk by none other than his friend, Walid Jumblat.

Professor inspector clouseau

""You know how we find out that Hezbollah is under pressure?" [No, please tell me.  I am dying t know].  asked Hilal Khashan, a professor in the political science department at the American University of Beirut. "They remain quiet. They are keeping a very low profile during these days. There is already pressure on Hezbollah and the pressure is mounting.""

perseuction that is not a front-page story

""Violence is spreading to the south and east with the clear purpose of expelling all Muslims, not just Rohingya.""

refused to be a spy

""A British citizen whose family believe he is being tortured by American secret agents has suddenly had all his rights as a UK national removed by the Home Secretary. Mahdi Hashi – who MI5 once tried to recruit as a spy – has been deprived of his British passport, denied access to consular assistance and may never return to Britain.""

3500 cameras

There are more than 3500 secret cameras installed by the Saudi government to monitor pilgrims.  Is that based on a Hadith too?

routinely monitored

""Agents routinely monitored cash transactions with Baghdad as Germany did more business with the regime than any other country.""

Mr. Fu'ad Sanyurah

Ahmet sent me this:  "Asad, look at him here, have he heard of something called Wikileaks??: "Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, normally a rational man who shouldered the responsibility of power with great dignity and resolve in the difficult years following the Hariri assassination, succumbed to a moment of reckless silliness when he said Sunday that Mikati’s Cabinet was a “government of assassination,”""  

PS When March 8 crowds held a peaceful sit-in outside the offices of Fu'ad Sanyurah, this ostensibly "dignified" man invited the Sunni Mufti of Lebanon to pray with him before the cameras in order to whip up sectarian sentiments and anger.  It worked. 

Ken Livingstone

Christina sent me this:  "I noticed that on the blog you said you'd like to have more context about Ken Livingstone's alleged 'anti-semitic' remark to the 'known Jewish journalist'.

Well, here's a transcript:

Judge for yourself.

BTW it might be worth pointing out that the 'known Jewish reporter' was then part of the Daily Mail group. The Daily Mail (or 'Daily Heil' or 'Daily Wail' as we wits like to call it) is a notoriously tabloidesque, right-wing rag which hates just about everyone who isn't a male, white, middle-class, Protestant Southern Englishman. It also supported the Nazis in WWll. As for Finegold - who had harassed Livingstone for ages - being a 'known Jewish reporter' I would say that if he had to point out his Jewish-ness to Livingstone, it probably wasn't all that 'known'. Not sure that it should matter in any case. And while the story became the subject of a huge faux outrage for a time, those who actually knows Livingstone said that accusations of anti-antisemitism, or any other form of racism, are absurd.

So, draw your own conclusions."

 

PS How come I am not surprised that yet another Zionist (the writer of the article in the Times) has vomited a lie?

Guests or hostages?

Are you aware that Saudi and Hariri media don't refer to hostages held by the criminal gangs of the Free Syrian Army as "hostages" but refer to them as "guests"? Kid you not.

Don't you like it when minor Lebanese figures think that they can control the US?

"Hassan closed the conversation with an admonition. The United States shouldn’t imagine that it was getting into a “gray war” in Syria, he said. “This is a real war. . . . You have to do it 24 hours a day.”"

The real role of Wisam Al-Hasan

"The assassination of Lebanon's security chief a week ago robbed the U.S. and Europe of one of its closest allies in monitoring and countering the regional activities of Lebanon's Hezbollah, as well as its backers in Syria and Iran, said U.S. and Arab officials.  Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan headed intelligence-gathering for Lebanon's police force, the Internal Security Forces, which was among Beirut's primary recipients of U.S. financial aid since mass protests forced Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to remove his troops from the country in 2005." (thanks Mohammed)

passing as evidence in the New York Times

There is a long article in the New York Times about Iraqi fighters joining the conflict in Syria.  The article began by saying that there is indeed infiltration of fighters joining the armed opposition, but then decided to ignore that and focus exclusively on those who are joining the ranks of the regime.  But what is the evidence?  Here it is:  "“Dozens of Iraqis are joining us, and our brigade is growing day by day,” Ahmad al-Hassani, a 25-year-old Iraqi fighter, said by telephone from Damascus. He said that he arrived there two months ago, taking a flight from Tehran."  But again, like all press coverage of Syria, how was this fighter located? Who provided his number? How do we know that he was telling truth?  All that is not explained and we are expected to trust media that have recycled lies and news from one of the trashiest news sites in the world--I am talking about Al-Arabiyya TV and news site.  Now, I don't know if there are Shi`ite fighters joining the ranks of the regime but it should be said that the armed opposition Syrian groups have failed to produce one Hizbullah or Iranian fighter. One. While there has been extensive evidence of foreign fighters on the armed opposition side.  I really don't read a word on Syria in the Western Zionist press which is not pure crude propaganda. 

Arab media

Among the many many deficiencies of Arab media, is lack of investigations of clerics (Sunni, Shi`ite, and Christians).  There is so much corruption in this class and they get away with it because foreign state usually sponsor those elements.

European Left and anti-Semitism

Zionist hoodlums have every right to be alarmed with the rise of anti-Israeli sentiments in Europe and around the world (outside of the US--the last bastion of Zionist colonial thought).  But how do Zionists respond to this phenomenon?  They resort to the standard Zionist practice of distortion, fabrication, and the production of lies.  Since its inception, the Zionist movement operated on a simple premise: that lying for the cause of propaganda is a casual occurrence.  It is fair to say that as much as Arab regimes lie in the course of their business, Israel lies far more, and even with less skill increasingly.  So there is this long article in the New York Times about the rise of anti-Semitism among the left, but as typical in such trashy articles, there is not a single evidence of anti-Semitism.  Not one.  The author instead resorts to rehashing statements from Islamists, forgetting that his article is about the Left and not about Islamists.  "Ken Livingstone, a former newspaper editor and mayor of London, has a long history of insensitive remarks about Jews — from publishing a cartoon in 1982 of Menachem Begin, then Israel’s prime minister, in Gestapo uniform atop a pile of Palestinian skulls to likening a known Jewish reporter to “a concentration camp guard” 20 years later. Today, he contributes to Press TV, the English-language outlet for the Iranian government."  So the whole article about the left is reduced to one reference to King Livingstone, and the cases against him--at least here--are rather dubious.  Working  for Press TV (or for Fox News for that matter), does not make one anti-Semitic in itself.  Publishing a cartoon against Begin does not make one anti-Semitic either.  As for calling a Jewish reporter "a concentration camp guard", while I would like to see the context of such a statement, I would like more information on the subject before I can render a judgement especially that the writer of this silly shows himself to be a typical Zionist in his disregard for logic and truth.  In my experience with European and US left, people are rightly quick to denounce anti-Semitic expressions.  I can only think of an Israeli who "infiltrated"--so to say--into the pro-Palestinian leftist camp in Europe, Jilad Atzmon, and I and others signed petitions against him and people in the left denounced what they saw as evidence of his anti-Semitism.  So there is no story here whatsoever except that Zionists are upset that people are turning against Israeli terrorism so the only refuge for Zionist hoodlums is to falsely cry "anti-Semitism" to stifle debate.  Those tactics work in the US but they don't work anywhere else.  This is why the writer wrote his trashy piece in the New York Times, of all places. 

Yigal Carmon, the Mossad and MEMRI

I noticed that published stories about Yigal Carmon, the founder of the Mossad, does not mention his background with the Mossad.  He is referred to as former Colonel in the Israeli terrorist forces and a government adviser on terrorism.  But he also was a senior member of the Mossad who had extensive dealings with the Lebanese Forces death squads during the civil war years.  For the other side of Carmon, see Alain Menargues, Les Secrets De La Guerre Du Liban.  Regarding the writings of Menargues on Lebanon (he has a second book out): I was cautious in using them because I was not able to verify the reliability.  But I was able recently to verify reliability by learning of his method of documentation.  Menargues simply paid money to senior former Lebanese Forces commander to obtain detailed documents and minutes of meetings.   

lies and forgeries of Al-Arabiyya

 
I have told you that this is a regular feature.  Look at this picture: it is clearly photo shopped by the clumsy Office of Fabrications and Forgery at the Saudi intelligence apparatus.  The article and the picture appeared on the website of Al-Arabiyya (news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law) and it ostensibly shows the widow of Wisam Al-Hasan refusing to shake hands with the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon.  The picture even looks fake as it is: they did a lousy job with the photo shop. But they left out an important detail: the ambassadors of the Islamic regime in Iran (and Shi`ites who follow a muqallid) don't shake hands with women.  (thanks Jamal)

PS Please capture an image of the page because the site is known for sneakily removing lies and fabrications once they are exposed, here or elsewhere.

Qatari Observatory for Syrian human rights

"The government, apparently anticipating street demonstrations, stationed security forces near mosques that tried to break up some of the protests, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights."  Why not get rid of the bevy of correspondents and the stringers and just copy and paste the reports of the Qatari-funded Syrian Observatory for Human Rights? I mean, really.

The New York Times is a fan of car bombs after all

"Previous car bombs, often claimed by extremist organizations, usually targeted security branches."

CNN and Bahrain

"Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda". (thanks Hussein)

A self-made man

Tagg Romney is a self-made man, really--if you don't count the $10 million "seed money" from daddy.

Chinese family corruption

I am glad that the New York Times had a long expose about the corruption of the family of the Chinese prime minister.  But they would not dare do an expose about the corruption of the family of the Saudi King--and it is far more than $2.7 billion.

Arab liberals

Please don't get them wrong. Arab liberals do like liberalism.  It is just that they like Prince Khalid Bin Sultan more--much more.

dog but

"“Bashar Assad is a dog, a murderer,” says a mother of eight. “But we don’t like the fighters either. We are tired and want peace.”"

"revolutionary" Gulf regimes

"As Syria’s civil war intensifies, Abdelke reflects the feelings of much of the country’s intelligentsia. Strongly critical of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, they deplore the way the peaceful uprising—which they eagerly supported last year—is being transformed. Its character has become increasingly religious, and foreigners rather than Syrians are driving the change.
“More and more weapons are coming in, and not just basic ones. The Gulf states are paying enormous sums to provide arms, and they have a completely different vision from most Syrians. Even worse, groups of Salafis linked to Al Qaeda are arriving with an outlook on life that is even more closed than that of the Gulf states,” Abdelke says. “We’re moving toward a war between Sunnis and Alawites [the minority offshoot from Shiism to which the Assad family belongs]. We could be facing a real danger of Syria’s fragmentation.”"

cease-fire in Damascus

From Angry Arab's correspondent in Damascus, Akram:  "For the second time in three days, al-Tadamoun district, in the south of Damascus, is hit by the car bomb. This time, the blast happened in the first day of Eid al-Adha, which is also the first day of the four days uncontrolled cease-fire brokered by the UN envoy, Lakhdar Ibrahimi.

Loyal news networks reported that a car was exploded this afternoon in the Police Housing Neighborhood in Daf as-Shoq district (which is part of al-Tadamoun), killing five and more than 35 injured and huge material damage in the area with 4 buildings collapsed (Arabic). The Syrian news agency Sana reported the explosion briefly and broadcasted some photos.

This truce violation wasn’t the first today, though the bloodiest one. Since the early hours of the morning, the residents of the eastern parts of Damascus were able to hear sporadic clashes and explosions from Jobar and Harasta that continued until noon and the opposition news networks in both towns reported many people killed as the result of what they described to be bombing and sniping (Arabic, Arabic). Meanwhile, the Syrian army HQ issued an outcome of the breaches of the truce perpetuated by the rebels in different cities in Syria."

propaganda

Can the propaganda on behalf of Syrian armed fanatical groups become less vulgar and crude? Thanks.

angry monk

""One well-known monk, U Pyinar Thiha, said that if the government gave in to the Muslims he would leave the monkhood and join the army.""

Israel blesses Qatari visit

""That may explain why some analysts believe Israel and the United States gave Qatar the go-ahead for this trip, as Israel-Palestine watcher Hamadi El-Aouni told Deutsche Welle. Their goal seems to be to "re-orient" Palestinian groups away from supporters Iran and Syria and help them establish "new partners in the western-oriented and Sunni Middle Eastern countries," the paper explains, such as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and yes, Qatar."" (thanks Amir)

subservient journalism

""What makes this most ironic, and most destructive, is that this function is the exact antithesis of what media figures claim they perform and what pioneers of press freedom protections envisioned. The political media is designed to be adversarial because it is supposed to serve as a scrutinizing check on the claims of those in power, not serve as worshipful, propagandistic amplifiers of those claims.""

only some expressions are allowed during Hajj

"Syrian pilgrims raised rebel flags as the haj reached its climax near Mecca on Thursday, despite a call from Saudi Arabia's top cleric for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to be free from nationalist sentiment and Muslim infighting."  (thanks Basim)

dying with dignity in Syria

From Akram:  "Smashed between the regime’s hammer and the rebel’s anvil, many poor Syrians besieged in war zones stopped fleeing. They returned home with the only hope to die with some dignity". 

Mr. Hariri-Saudi intelligence

""This is a big blow for the Americans because of Hassan's role inside Lebanon," said a senior Arab diplomat. "He was the top intelligence chief and interlocutor."...Gen. Hassan's death comes as Washington is intensifying its intelligence operations inside Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq".

The Economist and emphatic

"But whereas some Sunni Lebanese factions back the Syrian rebels with arms and money, other factions, most notably Hizbullah, lend emphatic support to the embattled Assad regime."  Wait, wait, wait.  So arming and financing groups in Syria does not amount to "emphatic support"?  Please explain this one to me, Economist.

Pamuk would like to nurture westernization

""At this point I should highlight an important fact: historically, Turkey was never colonised by any western power, never oppressed by European imperialism. This allowed us later to nurture more freely our dreams of European-style westernisation, without dredging up too many bad memories or guilty feelings."" (thanks Ali)

Will the UN intervene here?

Marc sent me this:  "doesnt this sound familiar...

"But a report presented Thursday to the United Nations by the American Civil Liberties Union said shootings and excessive force by Customs and Border Protection agents on the border have left at least 20 individuals dead or seriously hurt since January 2010.  Of those, eight cases involved agents responding to reports of people throwing rocks. Six involved people killed while standing on the Mexican side of the border."

Sectarian "revolution"

The Syrian "revolution" now catalogues victims of the Syrian regime according to their sect.  (thanks Ashraf)

Revolutionaries who kidnap

Syrian "revolutionaries" today kidnapped Lebanese journalist, Fida' `Itani.  He works for LBC TV which described his kidnappers as "revolutionaries".  Kid you not.

David Schenker: on Nasrallah's weight

Zionist fanatic* at WINEP, David Schenker, has an exclusive scoop: he reports that based on his TV viewing, Hasan Nasrallah has gained weight.  He ads that this development would change the balance of power in the region. More on this developing story.  Schenker finds no evidence that Nasrallah is following Weight Watchers diet, all rumors to the contrary notwithstanding.

PS It is redundant to describe someone as Zionist fanatic because Zionism is by definition a fanatical movement.

You are unlikely to read this in a US newspaper

"On paper Gaza’s transformation under Hamas in recent years is impressive. It has faster rates of growth than Mr Abbas’s West Bank fief, despite copious foreign support for the latter."

umimpressed

"The only people underwhelmed by the Qatari visitor were Gazan residents. Crowds did not pour onto the streets; the emir cancelled a scheduled open-air address after only a few hundred filled a stadium which could hold tens of thousands. Gaza’s have-nots have heard promises of development money before, not least from Qatar, only to see the cash disappear."

Mawzah

"local security men briefly abandoned Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to take pictures of his glamorous wife, Sheikha Moza, calling her “mouzza”, or “hot chick”, to get her full attention."  Oh, no, Economist.  They were calling her "mouzza" because that is her name and it means "banana" (in classical Arabic and in mashriqi dialect) and not hot chick".  In Gulf Arabic, mouzza means a diamond or pearl. 

Saudi mufti: his Hajj speech

You have to read the text of the Hajj speech by Saudi mufti.  He railed against those who call for "a civil state".

On propaganda for UAE rulers

"At the press conference the chairman of the EHRA, Abdulghafar Hussein, stated that they had met ten detainees on two visits and that reports of torture are unfounded. He stated that food for the detainees is being provided for by a 5* Abu Dhabi hotel and that they can speak to their families twice a week. A number of detainees’ families, too fearful to speak out publicly, have privately expressed their outraged by the statements made during the EHRA’s press conference.

This was the first occasion that the EHRA have commented on the crackdown against peaceful reformists and their website carries no information about the case. The EHRA is a government backed organization, it is not independent and it exists within a system where critical analysis of government actions is not tolerated and dealt with harshly.

The authorities are attempting to use an organization under its control to dismiss allegations of torture, lawyer intimidation and lack of due process and their actions are indicative of a regime with something to hide.

The press conference is the latest in a stream of efforts to counter the growing focus on the poor human rights record of the Emirates. In recent weeks there has been a sustained public relations campaign aimed at defending the actions of the authorities and publicly criminalizing the 64 individuals who they continue to hold without charge.

Several opinion pieces have appeared in government backed media stating that the detainees are religiously intolerant and seek to roll back women’s rights. The UAE ambassador to the UK made similar allegations in a comment piece for the Guardian, without providing any evidence. Islah’s views on religious freedom and women’s rights are made clear on their website and the links can be found below.

The Emirates Centre for Human Rights condemns the actions of the Emirati authorities in continuing to deceive the public about the security services’ maltreatment of the detainees. We call upon the international community to support our call for the UAE to charge the detainees immediately or release them. If they are to be charged they should be provided with legal assistance. Evidence secured by torture must be deemed inadmissible in any future trial, which must be public and held in the presence of international observers." (thanks Rupert)

Nasrallah's weight

Ziad sent me this:  "Referring to your post  abt Narallah and weight, I dont know what appearence they were refering to, but the last time he appeared in public it was very clear he was a wearing a kevlar vest, even my mom could tell and she hasnt seen a gun in her life."

PS I am wondering.  If an Arab were to write about the weight of Netanyahu, would that be considered anti-Semitic?  I am sure.  I have no doubt. 

King's Counsel

I don't think that I have recommended the book by former CIA station chief in Jordan, Jack O'Connell, titled: King's Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East.  O'Connell was a legend in his times and basically ran the kingdom and ran the King.  It is more revealing than most books of this genre.  All Middle East specialists will read it like a thriller: you can't put it down.  It has some important revelations and even insights about a very turbulent era (were eras of the region ever not turbulent thanks to foreign intervention and meddling?).  It is by far one of the most interesting books on the region to come in a long time.  He also has important insights about US foreign policy making in the Middle East. Wait: I should not go on.  I need to write an article about this important book. Later.

PS Thank you, Tim, for strongly recommending the book to me.
PPS Let me be clear: my excitement about the book and the information in it is in no way an endorsement of the politics of the book especially that the author is an unrepentant and unconditional fan of the King.  He makes no bones about it. 

Andrew Hammond

I am a huge fan of Andrew Hammond, the Middle East correspondent for Reuters.  He is unique in his knowledge of the region: he is fluent in Arabic and  has an independent mind.  I have endorsed his new book, The Islamic Utopia: the Illusion of Reform in Saudi Arabia, and am thrilled that is out.  I strongly and enthusiastically recommend the book.  Andrew reported in the kingdom for years (as unhappy as Saudi princes have been with his work) and knows this subject intimately.  This book should be widely read: rare are the books on Saudi Arabia that are neither apologetic nor Islamophoebic.

Subhi Tufayli and the Syrian regime

A journalist went to interview Subhi Tufayli (the leader of Hizbullah in the 1980s during its most horrific phase).  She asked him a question about his past alliance with the Syrian regime and he blew up at her and lost it.  He called her an Israeli and then ordered his men to remove the recorder from her.  His thuggish son almost hit her.  Tufayli is now the Saudi-Hariri choice for leading the Shi`ites of Lebanon although his popular base does not extend beyond his small family and the confines of Saudi intelligence headquarters.

PS The journalist told me the story.

The Hariri state

The Hariri version of state building does not differ from the Asad version in Syria.  Both Wisam Al-Hasan and his successor in the Intelligence Branch were bodyguards for Rafiq Hariri.  This is their version of institution building.

Sultan has a new definition of democracy

""For almost two years, the UAE’s political Islamists have been referred to in the West as human rights activists. No doubt, they are indeed activists with an agenda but there is also no doubt that they are not our version of Nelson Mandela, nor is their vision for the country that of the Magna Carta. I have been following their rhetoric — in Arabic — over the past few months on social media with great concern. I have found it to be xenophobic; anti-Semitic; sectarian; exclusionary; racist toward Asians, Africans and other Arabs and overall repugnant""  1)Do people deserve freedom and human rights only if they are "Nelson Mandela"?  2) that can still be applied to the Syrian armed and unarmed exile opposition who are not Mandela either. 3) Does that mean that those folks are not democrats UNLIKE the regime of the UAE, which it is? 4) Does that mean that anybody with repugnant rhetoric should be arrested?  5) If vision for the country is a condition for enjoying democracy, few few political parties would foot the bill.  6) The UAE regime is oppressing them not because they are anti-Semitic or sectarian or racist: on those matters, the UAE ruling elite is not any different.  7) Do you imply here that democracy should only extend to people who use politically correct language and who sound like Nelson Mandela and who have a vision?  (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

this passes as evidence in the Independent

""The young fighter claims he recognised his enemies as Hezbollah by their combat skills and American-made M16 assault rifles.""  Would this paper or other Western papers print a statement by an Arab fighter to the effect that the evidence that those armed men were Israeli is due to their skill and their carrying of M16 rifles?

US-Turkish weapons' "transfer"

""The ship's Libyan captain told the Times of London that "I can only talk about the medicine and humanitarian aid" for the Syrian rebels. It was reported there was a fight about the weapons and who got what "between the free Syrian Army and the Muslim Brotherhood." ""

Ideals of the French Revolution

""Six out of ten French people believe the influence of Islam in France is "too big" and 43 percent see the religion as a "threat" to national identity, according to the results of an opinion poll published on Thursday.""

sectarianism of March 14

"A Reuters cameraman was asked about his religion. Despite confirming he was Sunni he was prevented from filming because he was told he had a "Shi'ite beard"." (thanks Basim)

the new Libyan democracy

""Some people here still wanted Gaddafi, we have to show them that he is finished."" (thanks Amir)

The other NATO militia

""And American support for MEK is not limited to military protection. Seymour Hersh, in his New Yorker piece "Our Men in Iran?" revealed that beginning in 2005, MEK fighters were trained in Nevada by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).""

Zionists found a good Lebanese Shi`ite

"The explanation strained credulity, and the following day Shiite Lebanese journalist Nadim Koteich spent ten minutes on prime time television picking apart Nasrallah's tortured justification."  But why does not this Zionist writer tell the readers that this Koteich is none other than the man who urged the crowd to storm the prime minister's headquarters last week and who is a TV presenter with Hariri TV?  He made him sound like Walter Cronkite.   You see: Zionist rhetoric works only if you know nothing about the subject matter, otherwise they come across as fools and fabricators.

Lies of Schenker

"In recent months, the paper had also attacked Wissam al-Hassan for his anti-Assad regime stance)."  I am used to habitual lying by Zionists of WINEP who rely on NowHariri for their views on Lebanon (remember when Micahel Young assured them in 2003 and 2004 and 2005 that Hizbullah was losing support among Shi`ites in Lebanon?), but this is quite funny.  In fact, Al-Akhbar--to my chagrin and dismay--published tributes to Hasan after his death and Hasan was quite friendly with top editors and writers at the paper.  But then again, what do you say about somebody who is now an expert on the fluctuating weight of Hasan Nasrallah?

Where do they get those people?

Look at this analysis:  "Most striking, the once-svelte, turbaned cleric has ballooned into corpulence. Perhaps the bunker lifestyle with its attendant lack of exercise is catching up with the aging sheikh. Or maybe Nasrallah is stress eating. Regardless, images of the now rotund, almost cherubic Hezbollah leader laboriously ascending the podium in September to deliver a fiery "death to America, death to Israel" speech (posted on the organization's Intiqad electronic magazine website) do not inspire the same level of terror as before."  I don't see any changes in the weight of Nasrallah.  In fact, from the first time I saw him in person I thought that he was more overweight than he appears on the screen.  In the last few years (after the July war), I thought that he has lost some weight.   In fact, last time I was in Lebanon I learned that he does get exercise and does see the sun regularly.  I mean, you have somebody like the Zionist above who watches TV and who vomit opinion and final judgment on subjects that they don't know anything about. 

Decline of the BBC

Yesterday, I was listening to the BBC while driving.  They were interviewing a person about the Syria situation.  But they were asking him questions about what Syrians wanted and what Syrians did not want.  In other words, the questions and even the answers led me to believe that the person was certainly a Syrian.  He said that all Syrians have the same position and all are supportive of the Syrian armed opposition with the exception of the `Alawites.  I thought to myself: another sectarian Syrian opposition person.  I waited till the end of the interview to hear his name and it was lo and behold none other than a Zionist at the Washington Institute for Near Policy (David Schenker).

learning from the lousy Hafidh Al-Asad

In response to the bombing by the Israeli terrorist regime, the Sudanese dictatorship's only response was that it preserves the right to "select the time and place" of the response.  In Ba`thist language, it means that it will never respond ever--not that this was the first time the Zionist regime bombs Sudan.

Look how the New York Times mentions in passing that Israel bombed Sudan, and look how Kershner provides justification

"There was also some speculation in Israel that Hamas might also have wanted to retaliate for the destruction of a weapons factory in Sudan early Wednesday. Sudan blamed Israel for bombing the factory from the air, presumably to prevent its weapons from reaching Gaza."

Look how the New York Times correspondent strives to deny that FSA gangs engage in torture

"“For torture,” Shaza, the Information Ministry official, said as she pointed to meat hooks and electric wires dangling from the walls. It was hard to know. Perhaps the meat hooks had been used to hang intravenous bags, or perhaps for nothing..."  Yeah, I am sure that they were for "nothing".  That was a very smart guess on your part. Where do they get their correspondents really?

“We are Palestinians, shout it from the rooftops!”

Son of Saudi King playing with Playstation from atop his servant

This is prince Badr Bin `Abdullah.  I am told that the man is his slave, literally.