"Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which will exceed the 50-year mark in June, is “the main cause” of Palestinian humanitarian needs, the United Nations has affirmed." "Earlier this year a report from another UN agency found “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Israel has imposed a system on the entire Palestinian people that meets the legal definition of apartheid – one of the major crimes listed in the founding statute of the International Criminal Court." "As the occupation enters its 51st year, there’s little sign that any governments – or the UN itself – take seriously their own obligations to end their complicity in Israel’s violations and begin to hold it accountable." (thanks Amir)
Friday, June 02, 2017
Middle East Institute propaganda; ISIS is actually Iranian Shi`ite: here is their evidence
"The Afghan media today published a confession video of an Iranian national arrested in eastern Nangarhar Province".
The Zionist-Saudi alliance is so close that it is almost touching
Amb. Adam Ereli (@erelija)
Good rationale by @aliShihabi for 4 getting past stereotypes and dealing w/the realities of the region washingtonpost.com/news/global-op…
Iranian election fraud
Do you notice that Western media only takes accusations of election frauds in Iran seriously if the accuser is favored by Western governments?
"Hard-line Rouhani foe claims election fraud". Why could it not be serious?
"Hard-line Rouhani foe claims election fraud". Why could it not be serious?
This counts as foreign policy analysis in the US
"This week for the first time I saw the official photographs that now grace the entry halls of all U.S. embassies. Vice President Mike Pence is smiling warmly. Trump is actually scowling. If his picture had a caption, it would be: “Get off my lawn.” It could also say: “Let all who enter this embassy know: We don’t do alliances any more. We only do Master Limited Partnerships. Interested? "
The AP, now competing with Reuters for fawning over the Saudi King, finds this to be an imporant study
"The world leader whose original tweets generate the most retweets is Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, according the latest “Twiplomacy” study by communications firm Burson-Martsteller. “He (King Salman) posts exclusively in Arabic and without any visuals, but every tweet is a digital home run,” said the report, which was based on analysis of 856 official and personal Twitter accounts of leaders in 178 countries." (thanks Basim)
Absolute freedom of expression
Absolute freedom of expression? There is no such thing. Who among those who claim that only to defend Zionist propaganda would support the release of anti-Semitic propaganda? I certainly don't.
Do you notice that Winep and the rest of Zionist shops are all fully engaged on the Side of Saudi regime
Here WINEP carries a threat against Qatar by the director of the official Saudi lobby in DC.
Saudi-Qatari intelligence war
A Saudi writer conducts a "poll" on Twitter
A whiskey-advertising Hizbullah newspaper?
This writer in Al-Akhbar points out the obvious: that people (for obvious reasons) want to discredit Al-Akhbar by accusing it of being a Hizbullah newspaper when it regularly advertises Whiskey brands. No, this can't be dissimulation because for any religion party, especially Hizbullah, any promotion or advertisement for Whiskey is a major sin.
Who is the enemy? A Saudi regime propagandists defines
He wrote in Al-Watan: "The enemy is not only Iran, although it is the biggest actor, but there are the Ikhwan and Arab nationalists and the intellectuals of the north (of Arabia), and there are Gulf people who adopted all those fantasies. There is a thousand mercenary inside the Gulf house".
James Zogby cheers Saudi regime in...Saudi regime media
Saudi regime media are very active in calling on its tools, functionaries, and propagandists to cheer the Saudi regime. Zogby does not disappoint. Yesterday, he spoke against Qatar and defense of Saudi regime in...Saudi regime media. You can't accuse the man of lack of political courage.
BDS Lebanon: don't believe the lies in the West or in Lebanon by English-writing people
BDS Lebanon is comprised of progressive secular activists with no political party affliction whatsoever (some are close in theory to the PFLP of Habash days). Hizbullah or the Syrian regime and its cronies were never EVER active on BDS and they never gave a damn about issues of boycott. They are mere bystanders. I know that the lies about BDS-Lebanon are convenient for some propagandists who tie them to Hizbullah or to the Syrian regime.
Thursday, June 01, 2017
The banning of Wonder Woman movie in Lebanon: kudos for Lebanon
1) Boycott is very Western. Jewish groups in the 1930 (rightly) pioneered boycott against Germany.
2) The Wonder Woman movie was banned in Lebanon because the actress was an Israeli soldiers who made statements cheering the Israeli slaughter of civilians in Gaza.
3) Calm down. We are talking about Wonder Woman movie whose artistic values is far lower than Legally Blonde 1 and 2.
4) We are not talking about Meryl Streep here. We are talking about an actress who acting skills and screen charisma are far lower than those of Tony Danza.
5) If a Hizbullah or Hamas fighter starred in a movie, would the movie be banned in the US?
6) Give me a break. Zionist hoodlums are pressuring universities to not grant tenure to professors because they were bothered by their tweets, and you are now feigning concern over freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums are pressuring legislative bodies in every single Western capital to restrict and limit freedom of speech to protect Israeli aggression and occupation, and Zionist hoodlums want to lecture and hector about freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums have succeeded in pressuring governments to make a financial contribution to a hospital run by Hamas a terrorist act, and they want to lecture about freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums have violated every principle of freedom of speech and assembly in their history and they want to teach us about freedom of expresison?
7) The occupation state of Israel have jailed people for writing poems and making speeches and singing songs, and Zionist hoodlums want to lecture us about 1st amendment? All the top Palestinian poets in 1948 Palestine have been jailed at least 10 times for their poetry, and yet cheerleaders of the occupation state are qualified to speak about freedom of speech?
8) the law in Lebanon is for the boycott of things Israeli and there is still a state of war in which Israel is legally an enemy state. Would the US want to allow ISIS or Al-Qa`idah terrorists to star in movies? Would the US allow the movies to show in the US, when a man in New Jersey was prosecuted by the US government because his cable company carried Al-Manar TV?
Really, go play in the garden--as a Lebanese friend used to say.
2) The Wonder Woman movie was banned in Lebanon because the actress was an Israeli soldiers who made statements cheering the Israeli slaughter of civilians in Gaza.
3) Calm down. We are talking about Wonder Woman movie whose artistic values is far lower than Legally Blonde 1 and 2.
4) We are not talking about Meryl Streep here. We are talking about an actress who acting skills and screen charisma are far lower than those of Tony Danza.
5) If a Hizbullah or Hamas fighter starred in a movie, would the movie be banned in the US?
6) Give me a break. Zionist hoodlums are pressuring universities to not grant tenure to professors because they were bothered by their tweets, and you are now feigning concern over freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums are pressuring legislative bodies in every single Western capital to restrict and limit freedom of speech to protect Israeli aggression and occupation, and Zionist hoodlums want to lecture and hector about freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums have succeeded in pressuring governments to make a financial contribution to a hospital run by Hamas a terrorist act, and they want to lecture about freedom of expression? Zionist hoodlums have violated every principle of freedom of speech and assembly in their history and they want to teach us about freedom of expresison?
7) The occupation state of Israel have jailed people for writing poems and making speeches and singing songs, and Zionist hoodlums want to lecture us about 1st amendment? All the top Palestinian poets in 1948 Palestine have been jailed at least 10 times for their poetry, and yet cheerleaders of the occupation state are qualified to speak about freedom of speech?
8) the law in Lebanon is for the boycott of things Israeli and there is still a state of war in which Israel is legally an enemy state. Would the US want to allow ISIS or Al-Qa`idah terrorists to star in movies? Would the US allow the movies to show in the US, when a man in New Jersey was prosecuted by the US government because his cable company carried Al-Manar TV?
Really, go play in the garden--as a Lebanese friend used to say.
Hillary today blamed PlayStation for her defeat.
Does the list of who was responsible for her defeat ever end?
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
I never understood this: why does the teaching of Hebrew in US takes precedence over the teaching of, say, Urdu?
| MiddleEastInstitute (@MiddleEastInst) | |
|
Next term starts Monday! | Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew Language Instruction at the Middle East Institute bit.ly/2rkpsUhpic.twitter.com/tCORdSzUY0
| |
Senator Warren is worried about Israeli security
From Eyal: "We all remember the "most progressive US senator"'s recent signature of a letter decrying the UN for not accommodating Israel more perfectly; his call for more Saudi intervention in Syria; his support for the weekly assassination lists and so on.
Well, what about the "Second most progressive senator", then? Polling suggests Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts holds that title. Warren was just given a fawning interview on the Young Turks' interview channel:
While she is not an assault-crazed zealot - beginning her replies with a desire to focus on finding political solutions through negotiations with Russia - she certainly does not criticize, let alone denounce, US activities in the region.
She is then asked "If at the end of the day Assad survives" (note the assumptions of heads-of-state the US doesn't like typically not surviving) "and is still the leader of Syria, can you live with that?"
Assad remaining as the leader of Syria, Senator Warren says that
"it depends on what the alternatives are, because the key for me is:
1. There cannot be a place that ISIS can retreat to 2. There cannot be a force that threatens to destabilize our allies 3. We cannot have this humanitarian crisis that just continue to unfold,
and he has proven that he is a monster, that he is willing to gas his own people
Those have to be our goals, and we have to be hard-nosed about keeping our eye on what the goals are."
Of course, the dead giveaway is number 2. The allies of Warren's United States in the region are Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey (most days anyway), Egypt, Jordan - which we, as opposed to the US, should want to destabilize, or rather foment revolutions in and against.
Now, number 3 is a combination of the questionable allegation regarding the chemical attack (*), and the sanctimonious cognitive dissonance regarding how the US' own role in killing civilians, aggravating humanitarian disasters and of course being armed to the teeth with nuclear and biological weapons (not to mention depleted uranium, white phosphore, napalm etc.) Also, the US had done almost nothing to alleviate the humantiarian catastrophe - both in terms of aid and in terms of letting refugees in. And I don't know that Warren has spoken out on this matter. So number 3 seems to me like mostly vacuous.
As for number 1 - ISIS has not had anywhere to retreat since, well, since it's gone on the retreat. And Mosul has almost fallen, and Raqqa seems to be coming along slowly but surely - with the Syrian regime having very limited participation in this effort (ok, to be fair, theyhave been holding long borders with ISIS which should not be discounted, and there's the Palmyra campaigns and now East Halab). So that 'key' is practically orthogonal to the question of the political goals of the US
in Syria in the mid-term and it'll become totally irrelevant in, what, a year? Year and a half tops.
But number 1 is also important in what Warren is _not_ including Al-Qaeda/JFS/HTS and friends in the group of those who must find no refuge and place for retreat. I guess those guys should always have the option to retreat to Langley, Virgina or some palace in Riyadh.
So the bottom line - as I read it - for the second most progressive senator is maintaing the order of oppressive Middle-Eastern states, and turning a blind eye to the Wahabiist militias related to and funded to some of them.
(*) The regime has killed massive amounts of people using regular munitions; more than ISIS and the Al-Nusra/FTS/HTS-affiliated factions combined if I'm not mistaken, so don't get me wrong on this. And precisely for this reason focusing on the chemical attack suggests a more self-interested concern about the Ba'ath regime's attack on Syrian civilians."
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Secretary Tillerson finally relented: he will host an Iftar dinner at the State Department after all
But he said that only pork will be served.
Subtlety of Saudi regime media
This article is headlined: "The Visit which Mesmerized the leader of the Super Power".
The Free Syrian Army is no more: it is official now
I often felt that the only people who believed in the existence and role of the Free Syrian Army are the Western correspondents in Beirut who have been desperately trying to prove that there are indeed effective and influential moderate and secular and feminist Syrian rebels but that they are not as famous. Here, the comrade of Western correspondents in Beirut, the loyal Saudi royal advocate, `Abdul-Rahman Al-Rahid, officially announces the death of the Free Syrian Army and calls for the formation of a yet another new Syrian opposition army. He says: "Indeed, there is no more an opposition Free Syrian Army, as we knew it. It has disintegrated, and has become small groups because it was targeted by Iranians and Russians and ISIS and "Nusrah" organizations and others". Good night.
"بالفعل لم يعد هناك جيش سوري حر معارض، كما كنا نعرفه. فقد تفكك، وصار جماعات صغيرة بسبب استهدافه من قبل الإيرانيين والروس وتنظيمات «داعش» و«جبهة النصرة» وغيرها."
"بالفعل لم يعد هناك جيش سوري حر معارض، كما كنا نعرفه. فقد تفكك، وصار جماعات صغيرة بسبب استهدافه من قبل الإيرانيين والروس وتنظيمات «داعش» و«جبهة النصرة» وغيرها."
Do people know that the racist discriminatory state of Israel have explicit laws distinguishing between Jews and non-Jews?
Do you know who wrote the Constitution of the UAE?
Shaykh Zayid insisted that an Ikhwan thinker (Hasan Turabi) write the constitution of the UAE. He in fact wrote the constitution of several of the Gulf states (God himself wrote the constitution of Saudi Arabia).
Monday, May 29, 2017
Hollywood anti-Semitism
Believe it or not. Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were both Jewish. I was shocked to find, most of the original Soviet Communists were Jewish
Washington Post didn’t disclose that writer who penned positive piece about Trump’s Saudi trip is paid by Saudi government
"The Washington Post allowed contributor Ed Rogers to praise Donald Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia without disclosing that he’s a lobbyist for the Saudi Royal Court. The Post has repeatedly allowed Rogers to promote his lobbying clients’ interests without disclosure."
Can you imagine the international uproar (and the tears of Western correspondents) if this was a threat by an Arab against Israeli civilians?
"With Lebanon No Longer Hiding Hezbollah's Role, Next War Must Hit Civilians Where It Hurts, Israeli Minister Says"
Saudi-Israeli alliance
"Kara tweeted that he was “surprised by the warm attitude of representatives from the Gulf states,” crediting Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel as a game changer."
It is hilarious that DC think tanks are rushing to rescue the Saudi regime in its feud with Qatar
While Brookings is in the camp of the Qatari regime, the rest of the DC think tank scene is fully in the camp of Saudi and UAE regime money. They all at a moment's notice discovered the evil of Qatar.
If you are a free thinker and find yourself in agreement with the Washington, DC consensus on foreign policy:
ask yourself: where am I wrong?
Does Israel have a motivation to invade Lebanon? Did Nazi Germany have a "motivation" to invade Poland and the rest?
"On the other hand, if you factor in the increasing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, then it could also prove to be the motivation for an invasion." Did Israel have a Hizbullah motivation in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, even before there was Hizbullah to invade and attack Lebanon? Do aggressor and occupying entities need motivations to attack and occupy? So should resistance to occupation be dissolved lest the existence give the occupation force motivation? Should the French resistance have dissolved itself lest the Nazis used their existence as a motivation to attack and kill more?
UAE/Saudi alliance versus Qatar: Some remarks
1) this did not start out of nothing. There were signs before. There were more signs before in Qatari regime media than in the Saudi/UAE media. Qatari regime media have been for months swiping but mildly against things in Saudi Arabia and UAE.
2) This last round was clearly launched by the Saudi/UAE alliance, and it is clear that it was prepared. Avalanche of articles and interviews were tossed into the ring immediately in the wake of Trump's visit.
3) Ironically, the Saudi regime media attack Qatar for being too close to US and Israel and to Iran. In other words, the Saudi regime still maintains it holds a pure position against Israel.
4) the Qatari regime media are still playing defensive: they refrain from attacking UAE and Saudi Arabia head on. The only thing that was launched yesterday was the video released "anonymously" on Youtube against the sons of Zayid in UAE. There are hints that this was produced by the Qatari regime.
5) Some Saudis are still publicly urging caution and restraints: these are the Saudi intellectuals and writers who are Ikhwanist and are fiercely opposed to what is (falsely) called in Saudi Arabia "the liberals", who are the staunch supporters of Muhammad bin Salman.
6) There is an overkill in the Saudi regime media: the likes of which we have not seen since the 1960s and Saudi regime campaign against Nasser. Saudi regime media never plays matter to that degree: but then again, this Muhammad bin Salman plays to a different tune in a new style.
7) Qatari regime media expresses hope of reconciliation and still insists that the matter is merely a misunderstanding. They are increasing the tone against Iranian and Syrian regime perhaps to show their credentials.
8) as someone who followed the Qatari-Saudi feud for years (and contributed to it on Aljazeera in the past) I sense something different this time. As if there is a Saudi scheme (not the first time) for a coup in Doha. The Qatari regime media and diplomatic response to the crisis in the first day exhibited signs of divisions and awkwardness.
9) Qatar attends to this feud with far more disadvantages than in the past: Aljazeera is no more the strong weapon it was.
2) This last round was clearly launched by the Saudi/UAE alliance, and it is clear that it was prepared. Avalanche of articles and interviews were tossed into the ring immediately in the wake of Trump's visit.
3) Ironically, the Saudi regime media attack Qatar for being too close to US and Israel and to Iran. In other words, the Saudi regime still maintains it holds a pure position against Israel.
4) the Qatari regime media are still playing defensive: they refrain from attacking UAE and Saudi Arabia head on. The only thing that was launched yesterday was the video released "anonymously" on Youtube against the sons of Zayid in UAE. There are hints that this was produced by the Qatari regime.
5) Some Saudis are still publicly urging caution and restraints: these are the Saudi intellectuals and writers who are Ikhwanist and are fiercely opposed to what is (falsely) called in Saudi Arabia "the liberals", who are the staunch supporters of Muhammad bin Salman.
6) There is an overkill in the Saudi regime media: the likes of which we have not seen since the 1960s and Saudi regime campaign against Nasser. Saudi regime media never plays matter to that degree: but then again, this Muhammad bin Salman plays to a different tune in a new style.
7) Qatari regime media expresses hope of reconciliation and still insists that the matter is merely a misunderstanding. They are increasing the tone against Iranian and Syrian regime perhaps to show their credentials.
8) as someone who followed the Qatari-Saudi feud for years (and contributed to it on Aljazeera in the past) I sense something different this time. As if there is a Saudi scheme (not the first time) for a coup in Doha. The Qatari regime media and diplomatic response to the crisis in the first day exhibited signs of divisions and awkwardness.
9) Qatar attends to this feud with far more disadvantages than in the past: Aljazeera is no more the strong weapon it was.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Most uncovered stories (by Western media) about the Middle East this week
Protests in Morocco.
Protests in Tunisia.
Protests in countries led by pro-US/pro-Saudi Arabia don't engender sympathy in the West.
Protests in Tunisia.
Protests in countries led by pro-US/pro-Saudi Arabia don't engender sympathy in the West.
Bono
If Bono would use the time he spends meeting with politicians and war criminals, he could have learned to play a musical instrument by now.
Who says Saudi Shura Council is insignificant?
The Shura Council met for days this week and reached a consensus: that a new Order named after King Salman shall be introduced. Long live democracy--Saudi style.
Qatari-Saudi/UAE rift intensfies
What do you call war criminal militias armed and financed by Western governments?
"Both are in the custody of a counterterrorism militia aligned with the Western-backed government." Even though this militia has been found to have committed war crimes.
Saudi Arabia and Jihadi terrorism
"Trump’s speech on Islam was nuanced and showed empathy for the Muslim victims of jihadist terrorism (who make up as much as 95 percent of the total, by one estimate). He seemed to zero in on the problem when he said, “No discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists . . . safe harbor, financial backing and the social standing needed for recruitment.” But Trump was talking not of his host, Saudi Arabia, but rather of Iran. Now, to be clear, Iran is a destabilizing force in the Middle East and supports some very bad actors. But it is wildly inaccurate to describe it as the source of jihadist terror. According to an analysis of the Global Terrorism Database by Leif Wenar of King’s College London, more than 94 percent of deaths caused by Islamic terrorism since 2001 were perpetrated by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Sunni jihadists. Iran is fighting those groups, not fueling them. Almost every terrorist attack in the West has had some connection to Saudi Arabia. Virtually none has been linked to Iran."
Disclaimer: I don't know if Fareed Zakaria plagiarized this article. But I noticed that Washington Post editors inserted this disclaimer: "(Jamie Tarabay makes the same point.)
Hizbullah and druge money: the case of Joseph Asmar
This is a story spreading in US media, and in Gulf regimes media. What is the story? There is a Lebanese crook named Joseph Asmar. DEA agents entrapped him by posing as drug dealers who needed to launder money. In taped conversations, he bragged about his ties to all sorts of people in the Middle East, including Hizbullah. There was no evidence found of any links between him and HIzbullah, so the story become: "U.S. says Hezbollah associate pleads guilty to money laundering conspiracy"
PS Notice how US media obediently carry US government stories without requiring evidence.
PS Notice how US media obediently carry US government stories without requiring evidence.
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