Do you know that Saudi regime media have cited the Guardian's praise for MbS?

How much the Guardian has changed (just like Liberation in France).  Saudi regime is very pleased with the Guardian's coverage of the kingdom as they have been thrilled with the paper's coverage of the Syrian war.

CONFIRMED: Hariri is under House arrest in Riyadh, and his resignation was forced on him

Read the full account by Ibrahim Al-Amin.  Don't you like it when March 14 still invokes the slogans about sovereignty of Lebanon?

According to Western media and governments (including French socialists and the Guardian) those fanatical kooks represent progressive and feminist religion

What is unique about the rule of Muhammad bin Salman

This is the first Saudi ruler who is ruling without alliances within the royal family.  Remember that even the powerful Faisal relied on Abdullah bin `Abdul-`Aziz to counter the influence of the Sudayris. Muhammad bin Salman does not even rely on his own brother in his one-man-despotic show.

Victims of sexual assault and rape in the New York Times

So there have been scores of cases of US celebrities accused of rape and sexual assault recently.  Of the scores of cases, guess which case led the New York Times to devote a whole Saturday profile of the victim of such case of sexual assault?  The Times only devoted a whole profile of one victim only: the victim of the Swiss Muslim professor.  The Times did not think that the victims of the US media and movie types (who are not Muslim) deserved the same coverage. 

See why you can't trust Western polls of the Middle East? Pew Lists Jordanian monarchy as a democracy

As if there is doubt that Saudi Arabia is an absolute despotic monarch: far more repressive than China

"While accompanied by the rhetoric of reform, this weekend's purge resembles the approach of authoritarian regimes such as China."  As if before this weekend, there was doubt whether Saudi Arabia is despotic. 

By the Book in the New York Times

"By the Book" is a weekly section in the New York Times' Book World section.  What strikes me about all those writers interviewed over the years is the extent to which they are narrowly influenced by US books.  It is so rare to find one writer who reads a foreign language and it is very rare to find one writer who says that he/she is influenced by a non-American (or non-British) writer.  Culture in the US is so narrow and so focused on presidential biographies which always pass in this patriotic country as the highest form of literature.

Western correspondents in Beirut are more like activists and advocates: the case of Anne Barnard

Look at the objective and fair assessment by Anne Barnard of the situation in Lebanon: "But while Mr. Hariri has made many concessions to Hezbollah — tolerating its growing involvement in Syria and its adoption of state functions like negotiating hostage releases and fighting militants on the borders — Hezbollah has not made as many concessions to him".  Hariri made concessions by tolerating Hizbullah's involvement in Syria? Why not add that Hizbullah also tolerated Hariri's earlier involvement in Syria and the arming of Syrian rebels on behalf of the Saudi intelligence service?  Also notice, everyone cited in the article is in the March 14 camp. Not one voice from the other side.  Fox News is not the only media which practices the Orwellian distortion of "Fair and balanced".

I know the Guardian loves Saudi despot, but Saudi regime media have surpassed Saddam's media in Orwellian threats

The headline of Al-Jazirah newspapers of the Saudi regime says: "No place for Traitors in the age of Salman of "resolve" (resolve in reference to the Storm of Resolve, which is the official name of the Saudi-US brutal war on Yemen)".  Saudi regime media makes it clear that the campaign is political and yet Western media still insist that the corrupt despot is merely fighting corruption.

So was the Huthi missile intercepted by Patriots or not?

On the front page of Al-Hayat (the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid bin Sultan--the Western media still refer to newspapers of Saudi princes in London as "pan-Arab newspapers), there is a reference to: Saudi air force claimed that the missile was intercepted but the same story says that civil aviation administration said that the missile fell on the airport grounds.  Which is which?

Flash What is happening in Saudi Arabia: a helicopter crash and Prince Mansur bin Muqrin is killed

Just in.  Apparently "princes and officials" were killed.  

Who would have believed that one would read Saudi regime trashy propaganda in the Guardian? not 20 years ago

This is by the diplomatic editor of the Guardian-mind you. This is like saying that Trump is a gentleman with a zeal for feminism.

"Saudi arrests show crown prince is a risk-taker with a zeal for reform".

Is Saad Hariri detained at the Ritz also?

That is what I am hearing.  If you compare the background of this picture which Hariri posted (just like the pictures that were released about Muhammad bin Nayif to suggest falsely that he was free), with the background of this suite in the video at second 30, they seem similar.

PS Try to make reservation on-line at that hotel now.

The anti-Corruption campaign

From my communication with Saudis inside the kingdom or outside:  You would be mistaken to think there is no sympathy on the part of the Saudi youth for the declared (and fake) campaign against corruption.  This should be factored in the analysis of MbS and his plight.

What is happening in Saudi Arabia; the Ritz saga continues

Ba`thist regimes used to arrest people on trumped up charges of spying for Israel.  The regime of Muhammad bin Salman arrests people (opposition people or people who are quiet as being quiet is a crime in the land of MbS) on charges of either terrorism or corruption.  If there is a real campaign against corruption, why are Bandar bin Sultan and Khalid bin Sultan free?  And what about the $500 million Yacht which MbS bought on a whim? Was that from his hard work earnings?  This is what I learned from a source in a major Saudi media conglomerate: the arrest of the princes and business people has nothing to do with corruption.  It was part of an insistence by MbS to control vast financial interests.  The An-Nashir for Research company, owned by MbS, wanted to buy MBC TV stations a year ago.  Its owner Al-Walid Al-Ibrahim (brother-in-law of King Fahd) refused the offer but kept the door for negotiations open while he never wanted to sell.  He is part of the detainees in the Ritz in Riyadh.  There is pressure on him to transfer complete ownership to An-Nashir co and for free.  Same story is happening with Al-Walid bin Talal and his in-law Ibrahim Al-`Assaf where they are being pressured to relinquish investment and properties under the guise that they were obtained through corrupt means.  The goal is for MbS to hold the keys to all the large media empires and relocate them to Saudi Arabia to be under his tight control.  Salih Al-Kamil owner of OSN is also a detainee.  There is a state of anxiety among the staff of all Saudi media, especially those located outside the kingdom.

It looks like there is a war inside the Saudi royal family

Those arrests today and the ouster of Prince Mi`ib bin Abdullah reveal of something like a war within the royal family.  Within minutes of the announcement of the ouster of the Prince, Saudi accounts on Twitter were flooding the social media with stories about corruption of the prince.  

Walid Ibrahim arrested?

I am told that Walid Ibrahim (brother-in-law) of King Fahd, and the owner of the largest TV empire in the Arab world has also been arrested.

Israel and Hariri resignation

I disagree with those who said that Hariri's resignation was a Saudi decision implemented by the Lebanese prime minister.  IT was more an Israeli decision implemented by the Saudi government.

A new batch of arrests and dismissals in Saudi Arabia; news that Al-Walid bin Talal is in jail

A busy day in Saudi Arabia. Not only the resignation of Saad Hariri. But Prince Mit`ib bin Abdullah has been removed from the National Guard.  This is the first time that the National Guard is not in the hand of Abdullah or his son.  That put all apparatus of the military-intelligence network in the hands of Muhammad bin Salman.  News that Al-Walid bin Talal has been arrested and accused of money laundering.  This could be a service to Trump, who hates Al-Walid: the two fought it out on twitter during the campaign although Al-Walid tried to reconcile with Trump after his election but to no avail.  

Hariri resignation in Beirut

It is funny: people of the Saudi and Israeli lobbies on social media are jubilant about Saad Hariri's resignation (from Riyadh, no less and through Saudi regime media) and treating the matter as if it was a purely Lebanese matter.  The resignation was days in the making.  Saudi minister (for Gulf affairs but he also seems to be in charge of Lebanese affairs as well) has been threatening the Lebanese people and government for many days and warning of an impending action.  In fact, he threatened hours before Hariri resignation that Saudi Arabia will "cut off" the hands of Iran--which was the same expression used by Hariri in the speech which was prepared for him.  Hariri was sitting with Hizbullah ministers and defending the political arrangement in which all parties were represented against critics in his quarters.  He also met with a senior Iranian delegation HOURS before his resignation (above) (the delegated was headed by Ali Akbar Welayeti, who said after the meeting that it was "constructive").  Just after the meeting, Hariri was summoned to Riyadh and he took a selfti with Minister Sabhan (the latter posted it on Twitter (above) and said it was after a long meeting), and then the speech of resignation was aired on Saudi media.  Its text was counter to all the speeches that Hariri has been giving for many months.   The best part is that Saudi regime media announced that there was an assassination attempt on Hariri's life just before he departed for Saudi Arabia.  The pro-Saudi branch of the Lebanese security services promptly told Lebanese media that they never heard of any of that and that they were not sources for this fable.

Finally, more than a week after the story broke, the Guardian admits that it published a fabrication about that Syrian director who staged his own assassination attempt

Finally the Guardian grudgingly admitted that it published a fabrication. But I like how the article concludes: "“These stories damage our credibility and result in an oral defeat for all those who believe in the revolution,” said another activist." Basically, the Guardian is saying that lies and fabrications are not bad journalism but they are bad if they harm the PR of the "revolution".  

Lebanese sectarian Christians are up in arms because Shi`ite Muslims repaired the wall of an old mosque in Kisrawan

Lebanese sectarian Christians are up in arms because Shi`ites repaired the wall of an ancient mosque in a town in predominantly Christian Kisrawan (which was predominantly Shi`ite until Mamluki times).  If this was an uproar over the repair of a wall of a church in a Muslim town, Western correspondents in Beirut would be all over the story, and US Congress would have held special hearings on the matter, and Western human rights organizations would have issued special reports.

Peter Galbraith on the Kurds

I see that he is still writing on Kurdish matters, and he was with Barazani on the eve of the declaration of Independence.  This note is from a few years ago.

The Guardian never retracted her story that the Syrian opposition director, Muhammad Bayazid survived an assassination attempt

It seems that the Guardian is willing to stick by lies and fabrications provided they serve the cause of Syrian exile opposition

Why is Israel Philharmonic more famous in the US (and admired) than all other Philhamonics in the world?

"With a farewell on the horizon, Zubin Mehta's concert with the Israel Philharmonic is a triumph"

So now the US government admits it lied: that the "journal" was written by a family member of Bin Laden

As I told you yesterday, the "journal" ostensibly by Bin Laden as all US media said (as told by the US government), is now revealed to have been written not by Bin Laden but by a family member. And it is not a journal, for potato's sake. It is a transcript of meetings in which the round up of news about Arab uprisings is discussed.  

The Bin Laden documents: do I smell a US propaganda scheme?

Of the Bin Laden documents, I read yesterday and today 1) the Bin Laden "journal"; 2) and the document pertaining to the relations between Al-Qa`idah and Iran.  Here are my conclusions:
We should treat all these "documents" released very belatedly by the US government as suspect--until their authenticity is proven beyond a doubt.  But the US government sat on them and only released its version of their spin for years and now suddenly they are released.  I am most skeptical especially that I see lies surrounding the release. 1) regarding the Ben Laden "Journal".  It is not a journal.  I don't know why the US government is insisting (along with the obedient media) on calling it a "journal".  It has none of the features of a "journal' or diary.  In fact, it is more like a transcript of a regular session in which the Arab uprisings--or more accurately--Al-Jazeera coverage of them--are discussed in the presence presumably of Ben Laden.  They don't seem to be written by the same person and sometimes (see above) there is more than one handwriting on the same page.  And sometimes different pens on the same page.  The language of the journal is not consistent: sometimes it is less religious and seems secular in tone.  This also raises suspicions.  Sometimes Ben Laden is talked about in the first person and other times in the 3rd person.  What makes me more suspicious is the leaks by the US government (and the complaint media), in that they wanted only their spin.  It is true that Aljazeera is approvingly mentioned but there are also references to New York Times (but why would Bin Laden who knows English refer to the New York Times as "New York Time"?  Also, did Bin Laden have a satellite dish in Pakistan? I thought he did not. How is he managing to follow the TV coverage so closely and cite various experts who appear on Aljazeera or on Western media?  Also, there is a reference at least three times in the notebook to a vision Bin Laden have about Prince Nayif in military uniform and how they were fighting the communists.  Why did this not make it into the convenient leak by the US government? And the references to Prince Nayif were rather respectful.  I did not see that one in the Western media references (they were all recipient of what the US government wanted to stress).  But the language of the notebook does not resemble the language of Bin Laden.  Those transcripts were more like note taking of a session in which people discussed a roundup of developments in the Arab uprisings.  On another page, there is a reference to Iran and how they support protesters in Bahrain to pressure "the kingdom".  And there is a sentence in which it is said: "Aljazeera with God's praise is the carrier of the banner of the revolutions".  The second reference to Prince Nayif and the vision appears and its said that he appeared yet again in military uniform and that he did not appear as a hostile party.  On another page, there is a reference to the development of Yemen and its transition from "one age to another" by none other than Abdul-Nasser. How odd is it for an Islamist of any kind to make a favorable reference to Nasser?  2) then there is that 19-page document (unsigned) and it is ostensibly is a document showing ties between Iran and Al-Qa`idah.  This one is the hardest to believe.  The document does not make sense: at several points it talks about Iranian regime being very pragmatic and another point it talks that the enmity between US and Iran is very real and not fake. But this last contention is totally against all the beliefs of Islamists (of the various kind) who are convinced that the US and Iran are allies under the table.  The paper also alleges that Iran offered to send Al-Qa`idah members to train at Hizbullah camps in Lebanon.  This is clearly a fabrication and shows a clumsy effort to implicate Iran in a relations with Al-Qa`idah. But why would Iran need to send Al-Qa`dish fighters who are allegedly in Iran already to Lebanon to train? Why not train them there in Iran?  Also, the document itself then says: that Iranian governments arrested all of them and they had to go into hiding.  This document in particular clearly is fabricated--I venture--and I don't know who wrote it.  It also struck me as less religious in tone than what we normally read form those quarters.  And as for the porn collection that Bin Laden had: I also don't believe it.  The US never explained what it was and where it was (remember that Bin Laden did not have internet in his house).   I believe that Bin Laden is a sincere fanatical kook, unlike say other of this type, and for that I discount the story of the porn cache.   Do you remember when US dropped fliers into Afghanistan showing a manufactured "picture" of a clean shaven Bin Laden in a suit and tie allegedly to tell the people that he fled and left his fighters behind?

FLASH: leaked video from his friend. The Syrian opposition director who faked his own assassination attempt and said regime was behind it

I have posted on this story early on.  Typically, Western correspondents in Beirut and elsewhere were posting on social media and wrote about the Syrian opposition director, Muhammad Bayazid, and how he survived an assassination attempt on his life in Istanbul by Syrian regime goons because he was about to release an anti-regime movie.  Executive-Director of CAIR, personally escorted him out of Turkey and posted on social media about his best wishes for the victim of a heinous assassination attempt. It was the Turkish police which first expressed doubts about the story, but the story crumbled when his own friend and "witness" confessed.  Today, his friend leaked the video in which the director plotted his own assassination which left him with a very superficial wound near his shoulder. He tells his friend in the video that they will be the "most famous people in the Middle East for the next 48 hours.  

I am not making this up: US government congratulations Saudi government for their school curricula

I am not making this up.  A US official (is that education secretary?) gives an award to a Saudi education ministry official for the contents of Saudi school curricula--this only weeks after the release of a Human Rights Watch report about hate in Saudi curricula.

Questions about Bible claims

"No evidence of the events described in the Book of Genesis has ever been found. No city walls have been found at Jericho, from the appropriate era, that could have been toppled by Joshua or otherwise. The stone palace uncovered at the foot of Temple Mount in Jerusalem could attest that King David had been there; or it might belong to another era entirely, depending who you ask." "No evidence that the children of Israel sojourned in Egypt, passed through a miraculously parted Red Sea, wandered the Sinai Desert for 40 years or indeed any years, and no evidence that they conquered the land of Israel and divided it up among 12 tribes of Israel. The renowned archaeologist also shared his suspicion that David and Solomon’s "United Kingdom," described in the Bible as a regional power, was at most a minor tribal domain."

France helps Israel whitewash its crimes

"France’s real policy is to give Israel unconditional support and rewards no matter what crimes it commits. A prime example of that is the Saison France-Israël 2018 propaganda festival planned by the Institut Français, the international cultural arm of the French government, in collaboration with Israel." "The choice of 2018 for this propaganda festival can be no coincidence. Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Zionist militias in order to establish the Israeli state on the ruins of Palestinian society." (thanks Amir)

The French press has become worse than US press in covering the Middle East: how I miss Eric Rouleau

It is astonishing that Le Monde has chosen to cover the founding of a pro-Saudi regime group in Lebanon and billed it as a Shi`ite movement intended on opposing hegemony of Hizbullah.  But when they say hegemony (as in "Au Liban, des personnalités chiites se dressent contre l’hégémonie du Hezbollah") do they imply that popular support for Hizbullah among Shi`ites (repeatedly registered in free elections) is not voluntary?  That it is coerced? That shows you how much those Western journalists in our lands know about the region and its politics.  The funny part which is not mentioned in the article is that the Saudi regime and Hariri family have been forming such groups almost every year since 2005 and none of them ever went anywhere.  But this Le Monde writer seems to know better. Good luck. Remember when in 2005 after assassination of Rafiq Hariri and then in 2006 after the Israeli war on Lebanon, the US press was filled with articles about how Hizbullah is losing support among Shi`ites and that Nasrallah's days--just as Bashshar's days--are numbered? I remember.

PS The funny part is that even the Lebanese press largely ignores such announcements because they happen at such frequency and never amount to anything.

Iraqi parliament bans the display of the Israeli occupation flag anywhere on Iraqi territory

In the wake of the humiliating defeat of the corrupt (oil thief) and feudal warlord, Masoud Barazani and the few cases where some locals in the region displayed Israeli occupation flags, the Iraqi parliament met yesterday and ruled that any display of Israeli flags on Iraqi territory is henceforth legally banned.  

What former Qatari prime minister, Hamas bin Jasim, revealed about US role in supporting Al-Qa`idah in Syria

This is making the rounds among Arabs.  It really is an incredible confession by a Gulf leader about the cynical manipulation of the Syrian people by Gulf regimes and the US.  He made it very clear that no arms were transferred without the approval of the US, and he admitted that some made its way to Al-Qa`idah.  Typically, no mention of that in Western media because all Western correspondents in Beirut rely for their reportage on locals who all support Gulf regimes and Syrian rebels.

What the US has done to Raqqa: not in any Western media sources

Raqqa has become one of the worst chapters in the bloody Syrian wars. The US has been particularly reckless and cruel in its bombing of the city: more people died there than in either East and West Aleppo or in Mosul.  Syrian opposition academic, Rim Turkkemani, writes a study about US devastation of Raqqa.

Jordanian dictatorship summoned this famous cartoonist (Imad Hajjaj) because of this cartoon

In this cartoon, it shows Jesus saying that he dissociates himself from the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem who is selling church land to the Israeli occupation state.  Naturally, not in the Western press.

18% of Americans say they’ve seen a ghost

34% of Americans reject evolution entirely, say humans existed in present form since beginning of time

Critical thinking in Saudi education

This is a reasonable article but regarding this: "the education system which not only promotes religious intolerance but actively discourages critical thinking.".  What is this assumption about critical thinking? Writers in the West assume that there is much critical thinking in Western education.  I beg to differ and I have been teaching the US since 1988.  In fact, I find conformism is too prevalent in the US.  Also, why do Western (not to mention Arab) media take seriously any PR-generated announcement from Gulf potentates?  Why not wait until there is some implementation before we judge those PR-generated gimmicks.  Whatever happened to Yunbu` and Jubayl: there were the mega cities of the 1970s and 1980s.  Also, this is like when Western media were thrilled that the ruler of Dubai accounted that he created new cabinet positions for tolerance, happiness, and potatoes.  How did that change the political and social life in Dubai?

In 1988, Saudi regime used to use the proceeds of sports tournaments to fund Afghan Jihadi fanatics

This is the Russian leader-buffoon which the entire Western world fell in love with

He was too drunk to watch the Ballet, which upset the queen.

The assassination of war criminal Bashir Gemayyel

My weekly article for Al-Akhbar: "The Justice Court Adopts the Israeli Epoch?"

The fable of the Syrian director who claimed that he survived an assassination attempt in Istanbul: his only witness retracts

And now, the only witness of Syrian director who claimed that survived an assassination attempt in Istanbul retracts.  Above, a picture of the director with the Executive Director of CAIR, who also congratulated the director for surviving the assassination attempt (the picture was taken hours after the assassination claim, which the Turkish police said had no evidence in reality).

Anti-Zionism among American Jews

When I first came to US, some of the leading voices against Zionism were American Jewish intellectuals and personalities like Rabbi Elmer Berger and Alfred Lilienthal (although I don't like the rhetorical and polemical excesses of the latter).  Since then, it has become politically and even socially unacceptable for Americans to advocate against Zionism.