She said that she suffered in the West as a woman and that she suffered in Arab countries because she was not "an American male".
Friday, April 01, 2016
Mumtaz Ahmad died
"Iqbal International Institute for Research and Dialogue (IRD) Executive-Director Dr Mumtaz Ahmad passed away on Wednesday after protracted illness. He was 76. His funeral prayers were offered at his native village in Gujar Khan.
A noted social scientist, scholar and academic, Dr Mumtaz had been associated with the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) since 2007. In addition to his current position as the executive-director of the IRD, he earlier served the university as its vice president, and later as president." Mumtaz Ahmad was a great host and friend when I visited Pakistan back in 2007 to give lectures in universities and think tanks in Islamabad. He has often supplied me with materials for my blog and anonymous observations on Pakistani scene and Saudi influence. He was under great pressures from the Saudi regime after he refused to toe the line: and he resigned from his job as president as Saudi wikileaks indicated that they were desperate to get rid of him. He was a nice and kind man and was very helpful to young students in the field, and he cared about the Palestinian people and their struggle. I offer my most sincere condolences to his son, Junaid, and to his family and friends.
Israeli ambassador brags: a stigma unto the nations
"A strong Israel prevents the passage of masses of refugees to Europe.
The world would be different if we were not here." Why not brags about racism and ethnic cleansing while you are at it.
Prince Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd brags that his father King Fahd humiliated the US
Prime `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd brags that his father, King Fahd, was the only leader who ever expelled the US ambassador from his own country.
Economist changes its tune: now it is saying that Russia indeed has bombed ISIS
Only a few weeks ago, Economist stated that Russia is only bombing moderate Syrian rebels. Today, the magazine has changed its mind: "Western and Russian bombers have pummelled the jihadists from the air,"
religion and atheism in the Middle East
"According to Google Trends, all of the seven countries most interested in the term “atheism” are in the Middle East. Still, a survey by WIN/Gallup International in 2012 suggested that Brazilians were more religious than Afghans and Armenians more zealous than Iraqis. Perhaps not wholly surprisingly, the proportion of Saudis reporting themselves to be “convinced atheists” was about the same as for Americans."
BBC explains the significance of shoes in Arab culture
"What Messi seems to have failed to appreciate is that in Egypt and other Arab countries in the region shoes can be used as a symbol of disrespect or insult. In Arab culture, showing the soles of your shoes can be seen as especially insulting. The Arabic expression "to hit someone with a shoe" is offensive." (thanks Basim)
When it comes to violating human and privacy rights, you may always look for Israel's dirty hands--literally in some cases
"Israeli Company Helps FBI Hack San Bernardino Terrorist’s iPhone". (thanks Terry)
Banning anti-Zionism from US college campuses
I like it when Zionists (including the State Department) say with a straight face that criticisms of Israel can be anti-Semitic if they are "excessive". I have a solution: why doesn't the US government create a special office to clear and measure our criticisms of Israel to decide whether they are too excessive to ban them before we express them. Are people aware how repressive and intolerant Zionists hoodlums in the US are and how much they pose a threat to the 1st amendment?
Western weapons are being used against civilians in Yemen
"ITV News has seen evidence that western weapons - including cluster bombs - are being used against Yemeni civilians by the Saudi-led coalition." "The UK's arms sales to the Saudi military are coming under scrutiny as the civilian death toll continues to mount. ITV news found a US-made cluster bomb canister, said to have been recovered from a village in Hajjah Province, in North Yemen."
Israeli war lies unveiled
From a reader: ""A new film narrated by Roger Waters, The Occupation of the American Mind, traces the rise of Israeli war propaganda in the United States. This propaganda, which has skillfully swayed U.S. public opinion in support of Israeli wars and occupations, has in fact been not so much a matter of skill as a matter of control. The U.S. corporate media has obeyed the Israeli propaganda office, because the U.S. government has done so, and the U.S. corporate media generally obeys the U.S. government."
Migrant worker slavery in Qatar
"Last week, Qatar was given 12 months to end migrant worker slavery or face a possible United Nations investigation that could see it become the fifth country to face a formal inquiry by the International Labour Organisation. The move followed an ILO delegation to the Gulf state this month that also found migrant workers stranded for months without pay and stripped of their passports." (thanks Amir)
Saudi-Lebanese war rages: Lebanese (non-hizbollah) youths storm into the office of King Salman's mouthpiece, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat in Beirut
This was in response to the publication of this cartoon. It says: April Fools' Day (and "state of Lebanon" inside the Cedar).
Now they will call Zaha Hadid Shabbihah
Of course, politically Hadid made her own choices that one can disagree with. She never considered herself British (I am Arab and Iraqi she asserted in a famous interview with Future TV). She designed the Haidar Aliyev Center (and it was a beautiful design). And she didn't handle the construction of her stadium in Doha well.
This is how a French Lebanese daily remembered one of the most notorious war criminals in the history of the Lebanese Civl War
This man was in charge of butchery on "Black Saturday" in 1976 at the hight of the Lebanese civil war. Bashir Gemayel and Amin Gemayel fought to obtain this man's services. He excelled in the art of torture and killing with his own hands. This is a laudatory obituary in L'Orien-Le Jour and one sentence in-passing mentions his crimes: "Son côté sombre l'emporta momentanément." (His dark side prevailed momentarily).
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Colonial and racist Feminism: the French Minister of Women's Rights
The French Minister of Women's Rights Speaks: She compares veiled women to "American negroes" who supported slavery.
Zaha Hadid and Israel
When the Israeli occupation state wanted to commission a token Arab museum (intended to cover up the crime of the occupation of Palestine), it sought the services of Zaha Hadid. Hadid refused.
Zaha Hadid in Iran
This is a hotel under construction in Tehran; designed by Zaha Hadid. It will be the tallest building in Iran.
Regarding Syria and demonstrations
I hate to bother you but it is time to say this. The day after the cease-fire was announced in Syria, there were a few demonstrations in Syria. As soon as the first image arrived to Western news bureau, long articles were written about how the "revolution" restarted and that the non-violent peaceful revolution has resumed. Western correspondents in Beirut and their editors in NYC and DC wanted so bad to validate the thesis of the silly narrative of a peaceful democratic liberal and secular revolution in Syria. But what happened next? Well, demonstrations died down, and there was a massive demonstration in support of the regime in Damascus, and there was repression of demonstration in "liberated rebel" areas, and today, there was a demonstration against two rebel groups fighting it out in ghutah. Of course, the coverage of the resumption of "revolution" stopped in its track. Who will first write the first critical article about the "the shoddy journalism in the coverage of the Syrian war"?
Can you imagine the uproar and the international news coverage if this was against another religion? Stop Islam written on Univ of Michigan campus
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Zionist propaganda in passing
"The letter’s real impact may be political: Israel’s unusual, if not unprecedented inclusion with Egypt on such an inquiry is likely to rile Israel’s allies in Washington, who bristle at the notion that the Middle East’s only established democracy could be lumped in with a notorious human rights abuser like Egypt." (thanks Basim)
According to Lebanese police, an Ethiopian maid in Lebanon kills herself by stabbing herself repeatedly on the neck
According to the lousy Lebanese police, an Ethiopian maid in Lebanon kills herself by stabbing herself REPEATEDLY on the neck.
In an elementary school book in Saudi Arabia, women are classified as animals--kid you not
I won't be surprised if the book was translated into English and distributed by the Zionist lobby--the biggest cheerleader of the House of Saud in the world today.
Western-supported war crimes in Yemen
"Although the United States is Saudi Arabia’s biggest arms supplier, it has competition in that field. Just weeks ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron gushed about the sale of more “brilliant” U.K.-made jet fighters to Saudi, even while reports continue to arrive about likely war crimes in Yemen."
Over 900 children killed in Yemen
"UNICEF verified more than 1,560 incidents of grave violations again children in Yemen. As a result, over 900 children were killed and more than 1,300 were injured in the past year alone. On average, at least six children have been killed or injured every day."
Saudi man arrested for 'accidentally' flying gay pride flag
"Saudi religious police have arrested a doctor for flying the rainbow pride flag above his home in Jeddah, despite his claims he was unaware of the flag's LGBT symbolism.
The man, who was bailed after agreeing to take down the flag, said he bought the rainbow banner online because one of his children liked it and that he did not know it represented LGBT pride, local media has reported.
The report also said two men were recently arrested for using social media to find homosexual partners."
The man, who was bailed after agreeing to take down the flag, said he bought the rainbow banner online because one of his children liked it and that he did not know it represented LGBT pride, local media has reported.
The report also said two men were recently arrested for using social media to find homosexual partners."
Europe is complicit in war crimes
" “Europe is complicit in Israel’s serious violations of international law, including war crimes, by continuing its thriving military trade and joint military research with Israel and its import of settlement products that result from Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and resources, a policy the EU says it opposes,” the BNC’s Nawajaa said."
BDS campaign
"The target of the campaign is quite focused: ten international companies (eight of them American) that “perpetuate apartheid and human rights abuses by providing technology and resources used by the Israeli military and government to attack and kill Palestinian civilians, maintain and build the Apartheid Wall and checkpoints, and destroy Palestinian property for the purpose of building illegal settlements.” " (thanks Amir)
West's second closest ally in the Middle East launches a war on "sexual deviance" and increase female hormones in men: cutting off heads in SA
Expression of "sexual deviance" (they mean homosexuality or same-sex-sex) in Saudi Arabia will now result in a death sentence (by cutting the head off).
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
The Saudi-controlled branch of the Syrian opposition makes concession to Israel before it even seizes power
"It's not a Purim prank: A Syrian opposition figure has turned to the Israeli public in Hebrew, through The Jerusalem Post's sister publication Ma'ariv Hashavua, in order to deliver a message.
"We call on all of the national forces to oust the tyranny, and only afterward, we will choose the form and character of the state," reads a message to the Israeli public, delivered by a third party to Ma'ariv Hashavua.
The Ghad al-Suri movement (Syria's Tomorrow), led by Ahmad Jarba, was officially established in Cairo last week. The movement expressed great interest in sending a message to the Israeli public upon its establishment. " Now I see why those pro-Saudi gangs are called "moderate rebels" in Western media.
On the rebels that Liz Sly and Anne Barnard call "moderate secular Syrian rebels"
"Ghassan said his 30-year-old son was kidnapped in 2013 by the Free Syrian Army, a loose coalition of opponents to Bashar Assad's regime.
After six months he was handed over to the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.
"We paid a ransom to the al-Nusra Front. But they tortured him and sold him to Daesh (IS) who decapitated him," he said."
Monday, March 28, 2016
Rami Jarrah and Russian military intervention
If there is one symptom of Western and Arab (oil and gas) media coverage of Syria it is inconsistency and ideologically-driven perspective. Rama Jarrah (who is often called "award-winning"--although I am not sure of the award but it could the Prince Claus award, as the Prince dispenses awards to those who support Western intervention in Syria) called Russia the "airfare of ISIS". Yet, now I am reading especially this week that it was Russian bombing which drove ISIS out of Palmyra. Please stick to one spin. You keep changing.
This is the kind of ranking that I care about: not about prestige
"Seeing more of its low-income students leave with a diploma in hand has brought California State University, Stanislaus, a measure of fame in recent years. Now the Turlock university tops an unranked national list that could bring it a funding boost as well as glory.
“It’s always nice to be recognized for what we do to serve our students. In this case, being among the best to bring low-income students into a college environment and seeing that they are given the necessary resources to achieve their goal of a college degree is particularly satisfying in that it hits so close to our core mission and responsibilities as a university,” said Stan State President Joe Sheley."
The Saudi Connection in the Belgium Attacks
"During the 1960s, Belgium’s need for cheap labor and lax immigration policies set in motion a large number of migrants who would make their way to Belgium, particularly from Morocco and Turkey. Seeking to capitalize on the change in demographics, Faisal was able to secure a 99-year rent-free lease of the oldest mosque in Brussels, the Great Mosque of Brussels, and transform it through the monetary influence of the Muslim World League into an Islamic Cultural Center. Originally built in 1880, the building at the time had seen sufficient deterioration. Over an 11-year period, the Muslim World League funded the restoration process culminating in 1978 with its reopening, along with a fresh importation of pious, Gulf imams that began their Saudi-Wahhabi indoctrination. The Muslim World League has continually funded the Islamic Cultural Center in Brussels since the 1967 agreement, but exact figures are not known due to the lack of auditing and private grasp the kingdom keeps on its financial statements. However, over the past 20 years there have been glimpses into the makeup of the program. In 1997, the secretary general of the Muslim World League thanked King Faisal’s successor, King Fahd, for his continued support, indicating that the House of Saud had donated $1.33 billion in funding since 1962. In 2002, the Saudi newspaper Ain Al-Yaqeen published a detailed report on the extent of Saudi-Wahhabi support throughout the world noting, “the cost of King Fahd’s efforts in this field has been astronomical, amounting to many billions of Saudi riyals. In terms of Islamic institutions, the result is some 210 Islamic centers wholly or partly financed by Saudi Arabia, more than 1,500 mosques and 202 colleges and almost 2,000 schools for educating Muslim children in non-Islamic countries in Europe, North and South America, Australia, and Asia.” Furthermore, a 2008 documentary titled The Qur’an by British filmmaker Antony Thomas put the estimate of Saudi-Wahhabi funding at over $100 billion within the last 30 years." (thanks Lincoln)
Robert Fisk is really a joke: he does not know that Sidon is located in South Lebanon
There are no editors to go over the texts of Robert Fisk's dispatches? "If you drive from Sunni Muslim Sidon to Shia Muslim southern Lebanon, you can travel from Saudi Arabia to Iran in 10 minutes." (thanks Basim)
Syrian Sunni business class and the Syrian regime
From Carol: "With much of the attention about Syria fixed on the return of Palmyra to the Syrian army's fold, I find it intriguing that to this day most of the big businessmen/cronies have stuck it out with Assad. This includes most of the big Sunni business syndicates in Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Hama. Sure, there are reports that some businessmen are playing all sides by keeping shabiha and FSA groups in their back pockets, but I reckon they know something that we don't... that is that Assad's forces are far, far stronger on the ground than they are being represented in world news, and that has been the case, I reckon, since the start of this bloody war. Word is that even the businessmen that relocated to Egypt or other countries are keen to return under the previous terms arranged with the Assad regime when the situation on the ground allows. I reckon these businessmen would have cut ties with the regime altogether if they truly believed that its end was in sight.
Sunnis (and others) who harbor genuine misgivings toward the government may still feel more threatened by the armed opposition. These feelings are likely to have crystallized given the prevalence of radical Sunni Islamist currents within the insurgents. These sentiments are reflected in numerous segments of Syria’s Sunnis. They are most apparent, however, among urban Sunnis, including the middle- and upper-class strata and, in particular, the business and merchant classes that were cultivated by the Ba’athist regime over many years.[25] The armed opposition has singled out a number of powerful Sunni businessmen for their purported roles in helping to sustain the Ba’athists, including the organization of irregular militias; and the smuggling of hard currency, arms, and critical goods.[26]"
The bolded part is my doing.
Sunnis (and others) who harbor genuine misgivings toward the government may still feel more threatened by the armed opposition. These feelings are likely to have crystallized given the prevalence of radical Sunni Islamist currents within the insurgents. These sentiments are reflected in numerous segments of Syria’s Sunnis. They are most apparent, however, among urban Sunnis, including the middle- and upper-class strata and, in particular, the business and merchant classes that were cultivated by the Ba’athist regime over many years.[25] The armed opposition has singled out a number of powerful Sunni businessmen for their purported roles in helping to sustain the Ba’athists, including the organization of irregular militias; and the smuggling of hard currency, arms, and critical goods.[26]"
Dystopia
A message to people in the US: there is now an excessive use of the word "dystopia". Please desist.
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