In 1972, Palestinian journalists formed the Central Palestinian Information department within the PLO. The three who founded it were: Ghassan Kanafani, Kamal Nasir, and Majid Abu Shrar. All three were murdered by Israeli terrorists in separate terrorist attacks.
Tuesday, July 04, 2017
The crazy article by Sulome Anderson in Newsweek on Hizbullah
Doesn't Newsweek remind you of supermarket tabloids these days (and for years now)? Look at this: "what? "several times in the past few months, the United States struck Hezbollah targets in Syria, prompting Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s leader, to warn of retaliatory strikes if America continues to infringe upon the territory it holds in the country." This is made up. No such threat was issued by Nasrallah. She just made it up. Don't you like the tabloid journalism where there are no editors and no fact checkers? But scandalously: Sulome can't even add or subtract: ""A boy who was 18 years old and went to fight in Syria—now, he is 25."" Hizbullah began its intervention in Syria in 2013, it she saying that this fighter grew faster by a few year? Because if he was 18, he should be only 22 now. But who is counting really.
Monday, July 03, 2017
Headline of Al-Arabiyya
"Opposition convention in Paris calls for evicting Iran from the Middle East". Send it to Latin America, they said.
Indigenous population of Canada
Between 1870 and 1996 over 150,000 indigenous children were put in schools to "kill the Indian in the child"
People who write this malarkey, do they mean it?
| AEI (@AEI) | |
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The birth of the United States was unique because it was a nation founded not on blood or ethnicity, but on ideas. bit.ly/2sv8IbNpic.twitter.com/bCWfpzrSAv
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it is all hush hush
Nicholas Blanford brand of journalism: "Rabieh is a Hezbollah fighter stationed in the area, and like other Hezbollah members who spoke to Newsweek, he asked to be identified by a pseudonym because he isn’t authorized to speak to the press. The Shiite group doesn’t seem concerned about being overstretched—at least according to two commanders in Dahieh, a suburb of Beirut. The two commanders sit side by side on a couch, smoking cigarettes and drinking syrupy tea. One is a ranking officer; the other, his lieutenant. “What the world saw from Hezbollah in 2006 is 3 percent of what we are now,” says Mustafa, a Hezbollah fighter." (thanks Basim)
Do we believe Qatari regime in Arabic or in English?
I thought that Qatar had closed down the Israeli trade office in Doha back in 2009, in the wake of aggression war on Gaza. But last week: "In Doha “we have an Israeli trade office, and we have a Hamas representative office,” Mohammed, the foreign minister, told a group of reporters and academics in Washington last week. Hamas is a militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. “We have an open-door policy.”"
Where was Aljazeera?
In defending itself, Aljazeera now raises the slogan of press freedoms. Where was Qatar which voted in support of the GCC ban against Al-Manar and Al-`Alam and Al-Mayadin (regardless of what one thinks of all channels).
You want to read a funny article about Hizbullah?
Read this one. It cites a professor at AUB assessing the military readiness of Hizbullah. Very funny indeed. As for the author of the article, I doubt that she has studied any Middle East in college. It sure does not show.
Israeli government's propaganda functionaries invaded all Wikipedia entries related to Arab-Israeli conflict
Every single entry on Wikipedia related to the Arab-Israeli conflict has been invaded by Israeli propaganda functionaries and edited to vomit the Israeli government occupation line. Look at this ridiculous reference to 1967 here.
Anti-Semtisim in Saudi regime media
This is by the columnist, Jihad Al-Khazin (the person who had the dubious honor of editing both, Al-Hayat and Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat in the past) writes: "Jewish religion is an innovation written one thousand years after its ostensible events".
Aljazeera now remembers the role of Saudi regime in the Afghani Jihad
This has been widely circulating.
Who did the New York Times pick to write a review of a Palestinian novel? What is worse than Orientalism?
The New York Times picks this right-wing anti-Palestinian Lebanese (formerly a publisher of a soft-pornographic magazine intended for Gulf royal markets) to write about a Palestinian novel. Look at the title: " A Palestinian Novel Unearths Dirty Secrets in the Arab World". Can you imagine an article in the Times with a headline about the "dirty secrets of Jewish society" or of "Israeli society"? Can you imagine the uproar? And no matter how stupid a person can be belonging to a "native" culture, racist and bigoted expressions are welcomed: "We are a people of dirty secrets hiding beneath a veil of fake morality. ". Dirty secrets? Other societies don't have them? Western societies don't have "fake moralities"? The land of "puritanical protistan morality" is the biggest producer of pornography in the world. Look at this: "Indeed, being an Arab today means you need to master the art of denial." Other societies don't have the art of denial. The West is based on truth and candor. Look at the dispicable language she uses about Palestinian society: "It did not shy away from exposing the ugliness, the desperateness, the corruption, the loss of purpose, the unavoidable wrong turns and the uncomfortable truths of life in Ramallah after the second intifada." She then links the ugliness to the aftermath of the second intifada. She basically means that if the Palestinians were to surrender completely to Israeli occupation, they may enjoy beauty of occupation. She is introduced in the West as a "writer" and "poet": I would give you my farm (I don't have one) if you can find an Arab at random who knows who she is (except those who watch her as a judge of Lebanese beautify pageants on sleazy Lebanese TV stations, like LBC TV. It is rather amusing that the New York Times picks someone who has never had any connection to Palestinian literature or cause to write about Palestinian literature and cause. But then again: this is the New York Times. I would flatter Haddad if I accuse her of suffering the problems of classical Orientalism. Classical Orientalism had the qualities of knowledge, scholarly diligence, erudition, intellectual curiosity, and philological mastery--qualities of which Ms. Haddad has none.
PS A friend wrote about this: "The words Israel or occupation are not mentioned in the article. The inhabitants might as well be living on Mars (or in a zoo)."
PS A friend wrote about this: "The words Israel or occupation are not mentioned in the article. The inhabitants might as well be living on Mars (or in a zoo)."
Sunday, July 02, 2017
Call me conspiratorial--please do
I am of the opinion that some 40-50 % of Arab social media are under the control of Arab, Israeli, and Western intelligence agencies.
Muhammad bin Nayf in captivity
Would it be safe to say that Muhammad bin Nayif's case would be the first clinical Stockholm syndrome's case of a pledge of allegiance?
The King was furious that he would be placed on the level of God. He thinks he is well above him/her.
"Saudi columnist suspended for comparing king to God"
In all this, where on earth is the UAE foreign minister?
Something is going on. `Abdullah Bin Zayid, the usually active and vocal Foreign Minister of UAE (and the full brother of Muhammad bin Zayid) has been absent and silent. That is very unusual and signals of something that we don't know.
Saturday, July 01, 2017
Who will lead Iran?
If it is up to Western governments and Saudi Arabia, this terrorist organization will be leading Iran. Of course, its chances of leading Iran are smaller than my chances of being crowned King of the US.
Why is the West ignoring them this time?
Syrian rebels have been claiming all day that the Syrian regime attacked them with chemical weapons. Why are the Western media ignoring them this time around, I wonder? What gives? When do you decide to believe them and when do you decide to ignore them?
Muhammad bin Nayif and the Ministry of Interior
Nayif bin Abdul-`Aziz was Minister of Interior from 1975 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son, Muhammad. In those years and decades, they established an intelligence network inside the kingdom. Such a shift will certainly create a vacuum. This is like the Deuxième Bureau of Lebanon: the Shihab and Hilu administrations ruled through it but then it was dismantled in 1970 by the Sulayman Franjiyyah regime. How will Muhammad bin Salman trust the intelligence order of his rival?
Some remarks about Muhammad bin Salman
I wrote about this at length in Arabic but here are some remarks:
1) I went to the text of the allegiance statement in 1964 when Faisal was crowned. It is interesting that the decision against Saudi was announced "unanimously". No such unanimity was declared in this historic announcement this year.
2) In 1964, Faisal was also declared "Imam of Muslims". They don't say that anymore but Fahd added the title of Servitor of the Two Holy Sites (and the various McDonald's restaurants in the kingdom).
3) Muhammad bin Salman is the first potential king who does not represent a faction within the royal family. He has no alliance to back him up, with his father alive or after his death. Also, the King and his Crown Prince always represented different factions within the royal family: Faisal and Khalid; Khalid and Fahd; Fahd and Abdullah; Abdullah and Salman, etc. There is no such arrangement. By not announcing a Deputy Crown Prince (usually it was said as "the second deputy of the prime minister). The reason that there was no such announcement is because bin Salman has no factional alliances. Worse, Muhammad bin Salman does not even has allies among his own half-brothers. Salman's educated (and relatively able sons) were shunted aside by Muhammad. So don't count his half-brothers as his allies.
4) By disregarding seniority of age and lineage and of generation, Bin Salman established a precedent. This very precedent may be used against him and cause his undoing.
5) The man lacks legitimacy of any kind. Fahd for example, particularly because of his lifestyle, spent lavishly on propagating radical Jihadi Islam around the world, and funding the Jihadi terrorists of Afghanistan (heroes of Western governments). Salman has no legitimacy whatsoever. He has alienated the clerical establishment--many of whom have either been silenced or had their twitter accounts shut down--and does not have credential as a pious Muslim, say like `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd (after he came to grips that the Bay Watch actress, Yasmeen Bleeth, was not into him). And his desire to appease the West will lead him to make further concession in the areas of education and religious indoctrination will further alienated the Islamist audience. Remember that most Saudi youth are really close to the Turkey-Qatari alliance than to the policies of this guy. One silly article in some US news site said that among the accomplishments of Bin Salman is the visit by Trump to SA. This hardly will keep his throne stable. His Yemeni war and the current war against Qatar will most likely go down as terrible fiascos. So he has remained the promise of prosperity. How will he reconcile the propensity to please Trump with arms deals with the desire to impose what Western governments call "austerity" measures?
6) Bin Salman will most likely rule but not for "50 years"--as one silly article in Foreign Policy predicated. His style may unseat him--even before he assumes power.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Human Rights Director wants a massive invasion of Syria: he won't settle for less
The real lesson of Srebrenica is don't send lightly armed troops to protect civilians from murderous forces. #Syria
Muhammad bin Salman, as king
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Muhammad bin Salman as King---even for a period".
Thursday, June 29, 2017
How smooth was the transition in Saudi Arabia?
It was so smooth that Muhammad bin Nayif was put under house arrest to guarantee smoothness.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Mustafa Tlas
Mustafa Tlas, who has just died, represents all that is rotten and corrupt and incompetent about the Syrian regime. Wish I have time to write more. When a buffoon like him was made as Minister of Defense by Hafidh Al-Asad you know that the liberation of the Israeli-occupied territories was never a serious endeavor.
What is Saudi/UAE regime's real beef with Qatar?
In this article in Arabic, the Saudi regime advocate, `Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashid, reveals that Saudi regime's real beef with Qatar has nothing to do with terrorism and its combat. It is all about Qatari support for dissidents and opponents of the Saudi regime. The article concludes with a threat of violence.
Where do Western correspondents and "experts" find those Arabs?
"Many in Lebanon say, “Lebanon is the front line for the West.” (thanks Basim)
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
The brilliance of US intelligence agencies
US intelligence agencies could not predict or anticipate the collapse of the Soviet Union. They missed the story of Arab uprisings, and they had no clue that ISIS was emerging but: they are capable of telling you that next week at 3:00PM the Syrian regime will be using chemical weapons because a barrel with a banner saying "chemical weapons" was spotted by US satellite.
Monday, June 26, 2017
How Washington Post reports a survey of public opinion
This is the headline: "A majority of Russians don’t trust Putin to solve corruption." (they later added to the headline)
This is the content: "The survey, by the Washington-based Pew Research Center, finds Russians generally confident in their country’s direction, enthusiastic about Moscow’s growing say in world affairs and increasingly sanguine about the economy. A whopping 87 percent of those surveyed said they trust Putin to represent their country’s interests on the global stage."
This is the content: "The survey, by the Washington-based Pew Research Center, finds Russians generally confident in their country’s direction, enthusiastic about Moscow’s growing say in world affairs and increasingly sanguine about the economy. A whopping 87 percent of those surveyed said they trust Putin to represent their country’s interests on the global stage."
You may be surprised but I agree with the Saudi regime that supporters and funders of terrorism should be punished
Look what the human rights poseur faults Netanyahu for
Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth)
Netanyahu gives reluctant praise when Booker Prize goes to Israeli author known for criticizing the occupation. bit.ly/2u4Jq5F
Princeton's Center for Middle East Studies on Muhammad bin Salman's great achievements
"MBS’s second great achievement has been in foreign policy, where he has been able to prove his capabilities to his father. MBS took the initiative to reach out to US President Donald Trump and his team immediately after the US presidential election in November 2016, and his efforts paid off, culminating in Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May 2017. Trump’s visit was a major victory for Saudi Arabia. US-Saudi relations had reached a nadir during former US President Barack Obama’s tenure, but they have now been reset. During his visit, Trump emphasized the importance of the US-Saudi strategic relationship, offered his full support in Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Iran for regional primacy, and signed various business and investment deals worth many billions of dollars." What great achievements. No wonder Muhammad bin Salman likes to refer to himself as Alexander the Great.
Oh, please. Don't be so horrified. Americans would pick George Washington and Ronald Reagan (or Trump).
Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof)
Asked to name the greatest personality in world history, 38% of Russians pick Stalin. Putin is a runner-up. Sick. rbc.ru/politics/26/06…
Sunday, June 25, 2017
The dissent of a Saudi prince: `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd
In his own way, `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd still expresses in his own ways his disagreements with the Saudi government. Here, he disputes the categorization of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The case of Radwan Ziadeh and the lies of Ambassador Robert Ford (the known Zionist propagandist for House of Saudi)
On the article on Syrian Cicero in the Times. Several things about this impudent Zionist article: "Mr. Ziadeh is a prominent political opponent of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. He has received fellowships at Harvard, Georgetown and the United States Institute of Peace". And these academic fellowships were bestowed on Mr. Ziadeh (who is a dentist) due to his advanced research in dentistry, I wonder, or due to his scholarship in Middle East studies, or were they bestowed for the same reason that an architect (who never finished his degree, Kanaan Makiya) was made a chair professor at Zionist Brandeis University, i.e. due to the political convenience of their political views? And then: "Mr. Ziadeh said he was shocked. He and his wife have lived in the United States for 10 years on a series of temporary permits, the latest of which expires next spring. Their children were born here." Oh, spare me your Zionist outrage. There are Arabs who are deported to their deaths in the Middle East especially if they are Palestinians and they never receive this sympathetic coverage in Zionist media. There are Arabs who were jailed in this country because they gave money to Palestinian hospitals. This is the only injustice that you were able to see? And don't forget that Saudis (men and women) are never granted asylum in the US due to a Faustain bargain between the US and Saudi regime. And then ambassador Robert Ford lies (which is not rare in his case): "The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Ford added, has no “administrative connection” to Muslim Brotherhood factions in other countries." He is either ignorant (which he is on matters of the Middle East despite his promotion by the think tanks of Saudi and UAE and Qatari regimes) or he is lying on purpose. Of course the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is tied to other branches of the Brotherhood. You may defend the asylum rights of Mr. Ziadeh but you don't have to lie. The story of the email is entirely the account of Ziadeh: "he received a frightening email telling him to be “careful” about his mother, still in Syria." And look at this dumb case he makes: "“What will happen? I have three American kids. I love, actually, the U.S. I visited all 50 states, even U.S. territories. I visited all the presidential libraries.”" Visiting presidential libraries makes you a patriotic American who deserves asylum? But what about this: " the Islamic State has him on a list of Syrians it wants dead." Can we see evidence of this please? When did ISIS put him on a list? This has become a common claim made by Americans and non-Americans alike. Lastly, asylum cases can be legitimate in the case of Syrians as there is a real reason for fear of persecution by Syrian regime against dissidents but there is a similar fear in countries like UAE and Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Israel where the US quickly send people to persecution or death. And I wish Zionist media would show sympathy for other cases.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Western leniency with Arab princes and princesses: Imagine if this was an average Arab convicted
"Eight princesses from the UAE have been convicted of human trafficking and degrading treatment of their servants by a Brussels court. They were given 15-month suspended jail terms and ordered to pay €165,000 (£145,000; $185,000) each, with half the sum suspended. They were accused of holding more than 20 servants they brought with them on a 2008 visit in near slavery." (thanks Basim)
What is Arab "reform"?
For US and West, Arab reform means one thing and one thing only: cozy up to Israel. Nothing else matters.
Saudi/UAE list of demands
The list clearly revealed that the crisis is not about fighting "terrorism" but Saudi/UAE regime attempt to ban any alternative or dissident or opposition views to their rule. It is all about that plus the attempt to impose Dahlan in Palestine on behalf of Netanyahu.
Atlantic Council on Muhammad bin Salman: indistinguishable from crude Saudi regime propaganda
Atlantic Council propagandists weigh in.
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