Islamists flirt with Washington Zionists

The Islamists demagogue, Rashid Ghannushi, flirt with American Zionists.  After sending his deputy to bow down before American Zionists in Washington, DC, Ghannushi decides to do the tour himself.  He decided that the best platform would be the AIPAC's think tank, WINEP.

The new leaders of Egypt

The headline says:  "In the event of a brother from the Ikhwan becoming president"
And then over the women (from right to left) there is this: First lady of Egypt; Second Lady of Egypt; Third Lady of Egypt; And fourth Lady of Egypt."

Steve Jobs

In the biography on him by Walter Isaacson, he makes it very clear: Steve Jobs never ever considered himself Syrian or Arab and never cared about matters Syrian or Arabs.  It is there, read it.  So stop appropriating the man after his death.  As for his advice to the US regarding intervention in the "Arab spring", he offered this advice: "fucked if we do, and fucked if we don't."

How to Start a Revolution: or the delusions of Gene Sharp

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar Engilsh: " 'How to start a Revolution': or the Delusions of of Gene Sharp".

To a Saudi Prince

My weekly article for Al-Akhbar:  "To a Saudi Prince".

US government pleased with Ghalyun

From the WSJ interview:  ""He's doing an impressive job," said a U.S. official. The officials added that momentum seems to be building behind the SNC, particularly after the Arab League nations voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to impose financial sanctions on the Assad government."

The Ghalyun Interview: he offers more than normalization

This is a remarkable interview and should dispel any illusions some progressive supporters of the Syrian National Council may have had.  So he said that he would reclaim the Golan through "negotiations" with Israel. That can mean one thing only: that Ghalyun is willing to offer Israel more than what the lousy Syrian regime has offered: full normalization.  So Ghalyun's new slogans in the Arab-Israeli conflict should be: more than normalization.  That is a logical inference form the interview.

Afghan women: blame the custom

This is typical.  When a government opposed to the US oppresses women, we blame Islam and we blame the government.  But when a government which is a client to the US oppresses women, we blame "custom", to absolve the NATO rulers in Afghanistan from any responsibility.  How convenient.  

Lebanese police versus the Mossad: guess who won?

"The intelligence war playing out in Lebanon is nothing new, however. For decades now, intelligence agencies have been infiltrating the country, with up to 70 suspected spies arrested by the Lebanese authorities in 2009 and 2010 alone." (thanks Christian)

Charif Bassioni

Read this interview: he admits that he was "adviser to Anwar Sadar on the Camp David accords."  Now we know why the US--oh, you have to pretend the Bahrain King chose him--picked him.  (thanks anonymous)

Protests in Damascus

A reader in Damascus comments (in response to what I have just posted on the matter) that there have been protests in Damascus in those localities: Maydan, Kafar Susah, Baramkah, Rukn Ad-Din, Bizrah, Mashru` Dummar, and Qidam.  And that "popular localities" in Aleppo have also witnessed protests.

Amira Hass

"The problem then is not the sellers but the buyers. The secular Jews who allow or even encourage the expulsion of Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, Al-Arakib and Safed, should not complain if tomorrow, theaters and concert halls are required to set up separate sections for the female portion of the audience. And those who spend their holy Saturdays having fun rather than going out to defend shepherds and farmers from skullcap-wearing Salafists should not be surprised if the day after, Jewish fundamentalism even invades their bedrooms."  So is she saying that Israel was nice and king and exemplary in previous years?  When the Arabs were put under military rule?  Some Israelis basically feel that Israel was just perfect until 1977.  Spare me.

Boxer with Hizbullah flag

This is the third correction.  It was not in Australia and it was not in US.  It was in UK. Shant me details: "Not very important but it's neither US nor Australia.

The boxing game where the Hizbullah flag was raised is in Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex, England.

Here is a longer version of the video with the contestants' names: 

Here is a page announcing the event: 

The Fabric of Israeli racist society

"Settlers living on the western hill of the religious community of Har Bracha recently sent a letter to the community secretariat, protesting the housing of Evangelical Christians in their neighborhood.


According to the residents, the presence of the Christian volunteers – who arrived to work in the community's vineyards – violates the fabric of their society, and as a result – they hardly leave their houses." (thanks Farah)

Israel that you don't see in the New York Times

"Corruption in Israel has risen to record dimensions, at least according to the latest survey tracking perceptions in the business community by the organization Transparency International.
Israel's ranking was affected by the parade of high officials indicted in the last couple years, says Galia Sagy, head of Israel Transparency International. "The accrual of corruption allegations filters down and affects perception," she said."  Notice that the Israeli media strive to find excuses for Israel.   The smart journalist was explaining away the ranking by saying that there were a lot of scandals last year.       

Burhan Ghalyun presents his credentials to American Zionism

I read the interview with Burhan Ghalyun in the Wall Street Journal.  It is quite revealing.  It comes to vindicate my stance against the Syrian Military Council (I fiercely oppose the council to the same degree that I oppose the Syrian regime).  The interview should be read as an attempt to present the credentials of the council to American Zionism.  It was quite telling.  On the Golan, this major body of the Syrian opposition, which for decades rightly mocked and ridiculed the Syrian regime stance on the Golan, now says--as Ghalyun told the WSJ--that it will get back the Golan through negotiations and not through armed struggle.  THAT IS EXACTLY THE POSITION OF THE LOUSY BA`THIST REGIME, Mr. Ghalyun. So basically you promise to continue to the walk on the path of the Syrian regime.  Ghalyun said all the "the right things" against Iran and Hizbullah (not clear why Hizbullah is brought into the picture even if Ghalyun rightly opposes its verbal support of the lousy regime), but noticeably did not say one word against Israel.  Ghalyun now speaks like a typical Arab government official: he explained the absence of Kurdish and Christian representation on his council by saying that Kurds have too many parties and that Christians, well he never managed to explain that one.  Ghalyun is being dishonest and he knows it.  

Cicero of Syria

So I was watching the Cicero of Syria: this person is an insult to the Syrian people every time he opens his mouth.  He said on Aljazeera Arabic--kid you not--that the use of international force or internal force inside Syria does not change the non-violent protest movement in Syria.  I kid you not. 

Coverage of Syria

I woke up this morning bracing myself--like every Friday--to hear about the death toll in Syria: about another round of victims of regime gunfire.  But the coverage is still more deficient: there is propaganda on Syria, there is no media coverage.  Professionalism is out of the window as all sides try to push a propaganda agenda. What do you do when you wake up to see Cicero of Syria speaking from Geneva about Syria?  So many questions are not answered in my mind: why have there been no defections in the regime? Not in the diplomatic corps (where it is easier to defect) and nor in the government service back home?  Why has the Syrian army and intelligence remain largely unified?  I don't claim to know the answers but I am genuinely looking for answers.  And why has Damascus and Aleppo not joined in the protests?  The other day I read in the New York Times (or the Economist--can someone find me the exact silly quote), that the reason why protests have not spread to Damascus and Aleppo is because the regime goons break them up.  Come on.  And there are no regime goons in Hamah and Homs and Dir`a and Dayr Az-Zor (I write Dayr Az-Zur as Az-Zor, which is against the standard transliteration because the Syrian people pronounce it using a non-Arabic sounding vowel).  

Sheikh Mo can predict the future

"City have established a five-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the league and when Mansour was asked about the 6-1 thrashing of United, he offered another insight into the strength of optimism in Abu Dhabi, revealing that the well-done messages started to arrive before a ball had even been kicked. "The first person who congratulated me – even before kick-off – was His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum [the United Arab Emirates vice-president and Dubai ruler]," he said. "I saw him five minutes before kick-off and he was confident that City would win."" (thanks Ussama)

From inside Al-Hayat

I have inside sources in the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid Bin Sultan, Al-Hayat.  Apparently, the propaganda orders are received from Saudi Arabia.  There was a "news story" that London's office received from Saudi Arabia directly.  It was headlined: "Syrian Air Force intelligence kill six pilots and 4 officers who had planned to undertake a qualitative operation against security commanders".  It was not published either due to a few protests in the news room or for some other unknown reasons.

WINEP wants to arm groups in the Middle East

"If the results are positive, then the FSA should be assisted wherever outside aid would be both possible and effective. Arms, advice, training, and money could be provided through clandestine channels, if nothing else. These modest steps could help provide the Syrian people with a means of self-defense, give the United States additional influence on the situation, and put further pressure on the regime and its forces, perhaps hastening the conflict's end."  Does that mean that WINEP want to arm Hizbullah too?

Saudi King drinks water

This is very touching and has wide viewing.  Saudi King drinks water.  I had goose bumps. (thanks Mahmood)

Walid Mu`allim's video clips: what to believe

He showed videos supposed to be in Syria.  Hariri and Saudi and Qatari media claimed that the videos were from Lebanon.  Now Syrian regime media claim that they were indeed in Syria? Who do I believe? Well, I personally treat the Syrian regime media as liars, and I also treat Saudi, Qatari, and Hariri media are liars. Do you see my dilemma?  I really don't know where to turn to know about Syria except form various personal communications.  We are bombarded by lies and Western media have decided to only cover the propaganda outlets of the Ikhwan of Syria.

Lies and fabrications of MEMRI

Watch this clip provided by MEMRI (I don't link to this propaganda outlet founded by a "former" Israeli intelligence functionary except if I am pointing out a lie or a fabrication): it shows a vulgar Syrian regime propagandist, in the last segment of the short clip, he is talking about Iran to call on Saudis to rise up: MEMRI translated his references to Saudis as Saudi Shi`ites.  The word Shi`ite was not even mentioned in Arabic.  (thanks Yassine)

How dumb can Foreign Policy be?

"His group inspired the Arab Spring protesters directly and indirectly, from the Otpor fist that made it into the logo of the April 6 movement to Arabic-subtitled copies of the Otpor documentary Bringing Down a Dictator." (thanks Ali)

Meet the new adviser to the Bahrain government

He will be training police in the Ministry of Interior.

Thanks you, Qatar

Marwan kindly translated this article from Al-Akhbar:  "Thank You Qatar!

Jawad Nadeem Adra

Thanks to Al-Jazeera, who discovered the ills of the Arab world from the “roaring ocean” to the Levant and who , of course, distanced itself from the “rebelling Gulf “. And thanks for “discovering” the Arab Afghans, the places of bin Laden and the Muslims of the Philippines, the states of Yugoslavia, and for “distancing” itself from the gas of Qatar and all of Qatar. Thank you Qatar for the $ 300 million gift to Lebanon after the July 2006 war; it is a debt that cannot be repaid with banners of the resistance “Thanks Qatar”.

Thanks Qatar for $ 700 million to Cornell University only, without the cost of buildings, etc., to establish a medical college in Doha, and the number of its students may not exceed 270 at most. Thanks Qatar for 80 billion dollars or more that will be paid “to host” the Football World Cup in 2022. Thanks Qatar for the scolding that the Arab peoples waited so long for, to the Minister of “million martyrs revolution”, the Algerian, who was not intimidated by France in all its glory, but trembled in fear of Qatar. Thanks Qatar for the “mature leadership”, which placed Egypt, “Mother of the World”, in its natural place behind Qatar to receive orders. Thanks Qatar for facing up to Erdoğan in order to create a balance between the Arab world and Turkey, so that Qatar’s weight would be sufficient to limit the “Ottoman expansion”.

Thanks Qatar for cutting ties with the trade office, which the millions of Al-Jazeera followers didn’t know existed, to protest the Israeli siege of Gaza. Thanks Al-Jazeera for its “objective” handling of this matter. And thanks also to the Arab League and its offices for working day and night to boycott Israel!

Thanks Qatar for hosting Shimon Peres and Tzipi Livni in the same period when it “stood” “with” the resistance against Israel. Thanks Qatar for innovative planning, because the Arab peoples did not realize that Al-Jazeera, while attacking Saudi Arabia, for hosting U.S. military bases, was working according to a “creative” plan which resulted in “hosting” American weapons and soldiers at the Khor-Al-Udaid equipped base, at Qatar’s expense of course, complying with the highest American standards, under the pretext of protecting “the nation of Qatar” from Iran and Saudi Arabia. And so was the “colonizer” invited, most welcomed, without bothering to occupy or spend any money, but was paid to occupy! And it is from this base that the air attacks on Iraq were launched.

Thank you Qatar for your leadership of the Arab world, you are the beating heart of Arabism, your are its brains and muscles; Libya has freed, Tunisia became a democracy, and Mubarak is in prison as a result of your tremendous efforts. You are sweet syrup, your are our towing engine, and we are behind you hauled and fascinated. Thanks Qatar and Al-Jazeera for not responding to Obama when he said, “Al-Jazeera, owned by one man, is calling for democracy in the Arab world, except in Qatar”. Thanks Qatar for the siege of Syria, and tomorrow (God protect us from tomorrow) of Israel.

Please Qatar, free the way for millions of Arabs and hundreds of thousands of your workers to gain Qatari citizenship, so that they shout and forever: Thank you Qatar, and long live Qatar!

For all of this and for thousands of other things that are or are not said, we must all repeat: Thank you Qatar."

To those who voted for Obama

"Obama: 'No ally more important than Israel'" 

Repression in Saudi Arabia--not in the New York Times

Did you notice how the coverage of Saudi Arabia has become far more friendly in the Western press ever since the alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia?  "In Saudi Arabia: Repression in the Name of Security, the organization says hundreds of people have been arrested for demonstrating, while the government has drafted an anti-terror law that would effectively criminalize dissent as a "terrorist crime” and further strip away rights from those accused of such offences.
“Peaceful protesters and supporters of political reform in the country have been targeted for arrest in an attempt to stamp out the kinds of call for reform that have echoed across the region,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s interim Middle East and North Africa Director." 

Blatant Racist Zionism

""Every year the [population] gap between the Arab citizens of Israel and the Jewish citizens of Israel is closing by 60,000 a year. So we need 60,000 Jews a year to come to freeze the gap between us and the Arabs."" (thanks Dana)

Afghan sisters hurt in acid attack over rejected proposal

This happened under a US regime in Afghanistan.  Let the record shows.   I bet that Feminist Majority would not call for a war against the NATO regime in Afghanistan this time around.

Meir Dagan

There is no better example of the terrorism that resides at the heart of the Israeli state (and society) than recent interviews with the former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan.  Of course, he is treated as the most brilliant strategies and you read the interviews with him and his most original insight on the Middle East is is along the lines: a strike at Iran will have consequences; will have consequences, man.  To which Israeli journalists respond in awe: oh, how brilliant of him.  In an interview with one Israeli propaganda newspaper this week, he was casually asked about his reputation: that he really enjoyed severing the heads of Arabs from their bodies.  Just like that.  Can you imagine if an Arab had that reputation? Would he have been received in Western capitals?

Job description

"

• Assist with the supervision and management of confinement and detention operations
• Provide external security to confinement/corrections facilities or detention/internment facilities
• Provide counseling and guidance to individual prisoners within a rehabilitative program
• Prepare or review reports and records of prisoners/internees and programs" (thanks Kyle)  

Kidnappings in Syria (at the hands of some in the opposition)

This was an official statement by the Local Coordination Committees (the question of course is this: why is there no mention whatsoever in the Western press about this, with the exception of Anthony Shadid's article on Homs?):  "A statement from the Local Coordination Committee in Syrian (LCC) regarding the kidnapping cases happened recently The recent weeks witnessed several kidnaps cases in different Syrian cities, the disaster city. The available news suggests that the reasons behind most of the kidnaps cases are for revenge, for ransom or to free some detainees or other kidnapped people. 

In several cases the results of the kidnaping operations was tragic on the kidnapped people and their families, in addition to the anxiety and panic environment it’s generating.
There is no excuse to such behaviour and it leads to calamity results on all parties as it starts a series of kidnapping and anti-kidnapping, thus sectarian cracks and tendencies of violence and revenge.
The Local Coordination Committee in Syrian (LCC) is strongly condemning all kind of kidnapping of any civilian whoever is doing it. LCC is holding the regime the main responsibility for the safety of all kidnapped people whoever their kidnappers are, and sees that condemning such behaviour from all parties would help cordoning it at this stage.
We are calling the families and the relatives of the kidnapped people not to be drown by revenge reactions which would cost them and their families and the whole community huge hazards.
We are also calling all the Committees, the field activists, the dignitaries of the regions and the clergies to interfere in these situations in order to protect the kidnapped people and guarantee their safety and that they will be back to their relatives. We also call everyone not to cover who any kidnapper whoever he is and what his excuse is..

"

Thomas Friedman

Mohamed sent me this: "If you haven't seen this already, it's quite amusing. "Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting" did a report on Thomas Friedman in 2006. They found that in talking about the war on Iraq, he claimed that we will see results "in the next six months." Funny thing is, he used this phrase fourteen time over a two and a half year period. Because of his complete incompetence as a journalist and foreign policy analyst, there is now even a term (which has it's own wikipedia page) called a "Friedman Unit"; it refers "to any event or 'critical period' which is repeatedly expected to happen in the near future, but repeatedly fails to occur.""

Non-violent opposition?

How dare the documentary, How to Start a Revolution (about how Gene Sharp triggered the Egyptian "revolution" and the Syrian "revolution" in addition to several other "revolutions") still promote the notion of non-violent Arab uprisings?  All Arab uprisings have had violence in them, in Egypt or Tunisia or Yemen and certainly Syria. For how long will this myth continue.  Damn, the Syrian opposition now has its own Army and they still want to maintain it is a non-violent uprisings.  Seen above, is Mr. Burhan Ghalyun of the Syrian National Council, meeting with Riyad Al-As`ad, commander of the Free Syrian Army.  Yet, I am not in any way opposed to the use of armed resistance against Israel or tyrannical Arab regimes--all of them, provided that resistance does not resort to foreign intervention or to sectarian killings or to religious zealotry.  

Kamal Abu Dib

There is an interesting article by well-known Arab literary critic, Kamal Abu Dib (the translator of Edward Said's Orientalism--not a good translation in my opinion, as some parts are unreadable), on Syria. Mr. Abu Dib suffered at the hands of the regime: he was once taken by Mukhabarat goons and dumped across the border.  He could not find a job in the Arab world until he settled in UK.  His article is different in tone and tenor than most articles on Syria because it is a plea against violence by all sides.  I did not like the insertion of Qur'anic citations for no reasons.  I also felt that he seems to blame Syrian regime and opposition equally for the violence, when the regime clearly deserves most of the blame.  It is important because the Western and Arab press dare not mention any violence by the opposition.  He also seems vague about his stance toward the regime, which surprised me given how much he suffered at the hand of the Asad regime.

Sharif Bassioni

I am told that Mr. Bassioni worked on the Camp David accords and is a believer in their permanence.  

How to Start a Revolution

I wish to thanks the director of this documentary, Ruaridh Arrow, for allowing to watch his film.  I finished watching it.  I will post my analysis tomorrow perhaps on the website of Al-Akhbar English.  Unbelievable.  Gene Sharp has as much to do with the Arab uprisings as I had to do with the American Revolution.  

Michel Kilu

I never liked Michel Kilu.  I was never a fan of him, when everybody was a fan.  He never impressed me: neither with his personality or this writings.  He recently wrote a piece about the abandonment of Arab nationalism by the Ba`th Party: 1) It is true and that should have been pointed out.  2) He attacked the abandonment of Arabism by the Syrian regime in the mouthpiece of Prince Salman, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat.  Is there no irony, Mr. Kilu? Has any party in the Arab world attacked and undermined Arab nationalism and unity more the House of Saud?  Did that occure to you? 3) He mixed the clear chauvinismt trends in Syrian regime thought, practice, and rhetoric but also mixed in the expression of opposition to Arab governments as being anti-Arab.  To be sure, the expression by regime propaganda outlets has racist anti-Gulf Arabs tone and contents, but the expression of opposition to GCC or to other Arab governments by parties other than the lousy Syrian regime is not always chauvinist narrow nationalism.  4) Kilu does not appear principled in his opposition to Syrian regime: he seems more like a politician.  His stance against the regime in recent months has been very flexible and weak, I argue.  (thanks Abduljaleel)

AUB Alumni magazine

As I was reading the new issue of the magazine, which succeeds in irritating me as much as the alumni magazine of Georgetown University, I realized that the reactionary streak at the university has been constant.  There is a reference to George Edward Post, for example, and no reference to the Darwin affair.  There is an interview with a former professor at AUB who now lives in Austin, and she laments that students were active in politics in the 1960s.  Excuse them if they were outraged over the loss of Palestine and lack of social justice in Lebanon.  There is an interview with the president of AUB in which he claims that there was never an objection to the citation of the bible in the motto of the university.  What does that say: it only confirm my conviction.  One day when I was a student at AUB in 1980, I woke up furious.  I wrote several signs in Arabic: "The solution...the Solution: Nationalize AUB".  I still believe that firmly.  

At the end of the dinner

A Saudi propagandist from Egypt (a propagandist for Husni Mubarak who now works for the mouthpiece of Prince Salman, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat), describes dinner at the palace of Prince Saud Al-Faysal.  He then says: "At the end of the dinner, through which I stayed completely silent."  I kid you not. 

Saudi king has dry lips

Saudi King applies the chap stick.

Why Islamists won't win (even if they do)

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar English: "Why Islamists won't Win (even if they do)"

Feb 14

A Bahraini source who does not want to be identified sent me this:  "There are many groups calling themselves February 14 groups, but the one your previous source quoted is some kind of 'February 14 media network' which just tweets and facebooks, and the statement sounds fishy because it uses a very different religious discourse than the youth. The statement also says openly they receive logistical support from religious leaders which is v stupid and sounds like a government plant- i'm 90% sure it is fake but will double check. This is not to say that Modaressi isnt desperate to find supporters in Bahrain, but like most youth movements, the February 14 movement is decentralised, leaderless, and secular in its demands because in actual fact, most conservative elements follow Wefaq as they have the 'religious legitimacy' by garnering the spiritual leadership of Isa Qassim, and don't want the downfall of the regime, but the February 14 youth is turning both against Wefaq and clerical order and the royal family. Regardless the main and biggest group is the "February 14 Youth Coalition" - this group plans, coordinates and executes protests at any opportunity, religious (eg funerals, ramadan, muharram) or political (eg sabotaging election day). So anything coming from their facebook page is authentic. Ignore anything else coming from any1 calling themselves February 14 youth. When the youth went out on February 14 there was no Isa Qassim or Modaressi to be seen in sight, and they certainly were not waiting for orders from them to protest, block roads, or escalate demands, the government's killing did the radicalisation without them.