Saudi regime making progress in Yemen

Look at the byline of this author.

Documentation of Iran protests in the New York Times

"However, protests reportedly flared in the city of Ahvaz on Monday night, a resident said in a telephone interview"

These are the Palestinian children Israel killed in 2017

"In addition to those 14 shot and killed during 2017, a child died of wounds sustained in an Israeli drone strike years earlier. Another was killed by Israeli ordnance while grazing livestock. A baby living in temporary shelter, his family homeless as a result of Israeli bombing, died of cold exposure. Palestinian children also died because they were unable to secure permits to leave via the Israeli-controlled Erez checkpoint for medical treatment unavailable in the besieged Gaza Strip."

Western media and DC think tanks are not drooling over protests in Tunisia

Just compare DC media and pundits reactions to Iran protests versus their non-reaction to the Tunisia protests.  How stunningly different.  But then again: it is all about Israel.  Israel approves of the regime in Tunisia which UAE installed with Western support and excitement.  

Chris Rock slams police brutality in U.S. but 'loves' Israel

"In spite of all the information made available for Rock to reconsider the performance, he greeted his audience with “I’m loving this country. Israel, yeah!” News of his performance came days after comedian Jerry Seinfeld took his family to an “anti-terror” Israeli training camp, where tourists can be trained to kill what they call "terrorists"." (thanks Amir)

Israeli think-tank: US-Israel should arm terrorists against Iran

"The US, with the help of its allies, including Israel, must work 24/7 to provide – at the most opportune moment – arms and the knowhow to use them to the protesters against the regime." (thanks Amir)

Your King Husayn

"A CIA memo released Dec. 15 shows how the agency used private investigator Robert Maheu, a former FBI agent, to find “female companionship” for the 23-year-old King during his trip to Los Angeles in April 1959.

The document refers only to a “foreign head of state” but the timeline included in the memo corresponds to the times Hussein was in the United States. A March 28, 1959, New York Times story laid out Hussein’s itinerary and plans to increase U.S. aid to his nation.

"The foreign official was especially desirous of female companionship during his Los Angeles visit and it was requested that appropriate arrangements be made through a controlled source of the [CIA's] Office [of Security] in order to assure a satisfied visit," said the anonymously written memo. "

The Qur'an, put to music

During the progressive secular era of Nasser, many taboos of religious dogmas were violated.  Both Muhammad `Abdul-Wahab and Riad Sunbati sang the Qur'an to musical composition.  But those recordings were never released because the rise of Sadat ushered in an era of religious conservatism and social-moral puritanism.  

Liberal media ignores catastrophic US-backed war in Yemen

"The message conveyed is clear: to the leading liberal US cable news network, Yemen is relevant when it is Americans who die—not when thousands of Yemenis are killed, bombed daily by Saudi Arabia, with US weapons, fuel and intelligence; not when millions of Yemenis are on the verge of starving to death while the US/Saudi coalition uses hunger as a weapon."

Long history of Islamophobia in the U.S.

"This was a time when Muslims were singled out for legal discrimination—a law from 1790 curtailed the number of Muslims who could come into the United States, and a century later the U.S. Supreme Court described the “intense hostility of the people of Moslem faith to all other sects, and particularly to Christians.” "

Oprah supported the Iraq war

"Like Hillary Clinton and many other right-wing Democrats, Oprah supported the unjustified Iraq War that was supported by, among others, George W. Bush" (thanks Amir)

According to Donna Abu-Nasr there are 18 million Lebanese around the world--kid you not

"With at least three times as many Lebanese living abroad than in Lebanon".

Egyptian intelligence and the control of the messages by talk show hosts

Regarding this report: despite denials from Cairo, I believe it.  But this stuck me: the Cairo bureau chief of the Times, who does not know Arabic--naturally, it is now a job requirement for the Times--never have heard of one of the most Egyptian actresses (who I detest, personally and I don't think that she is talented but has been promoted by the Mubarak regime due to her loyalty). The New York Times correspondent wrote this: "The fourth call was with an Egyptian singer and actress known as Yousra".  Singer?  She taped some songs but no one would call her singer.

Breitbart gets its news from Saudi regime media

Nasrallah said in an interview with AlMayadin that he receives a salary of $1400 from Hizbullah.  Al-Arabiyyah--not unusually--changed what he said and published a story that he actually said that he receives his salary from Iran (which he never said).  Breitbart copied that.

Media turn to pro-Israel think-tanks for Iran protest commentary

"Leading the pack in the “do something” insta-consensus was the right-wing pro-Israel think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which has overwhelmed the narrative. In the past five days, FDD has had op-eds in influential US outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Post and Politico, and has been quoted in a dozen more."

Chart: The fastest-growing & shrinking economies in 2018

“Once again, the biggest contributor will be China. The world’s second-biggest economy is projected to grow by 5.8% this year, representing roughly a third of the total global expansion.” “And the economy of Puerto Rico, technically an overseas territory of the United States, is forecast to shrink by 8%, in the wake of a devastating hurricane that has left much of the island without electricity.” (thanks Amir)

Fire and Fury

Finished reading it last night.  I may write a review in Arabic.  What it reveals is the inner working of the Trump operation, which does not deviate form other writings on the matter.  There is no politics or ideology as there is PR of the one man on top.  It is all about PR.  Whatever further the man on top, based on the estimation of advisors, will be supported.  Foreign policy is also part of that conception. It is also remarkable that foreign policy also falls into that category.  But who are "the Israeli crooks" which Donald Trump accuses his son-in-law of having links to? That is what I want to know.

NYT whitewashes 70 years of U.S. crimes

"The second dubious assertion is the idea that the US is “viewed” as being (or, by implication, objectively is) concerned with “liberal, rules-based international order.” Perhaps Landler missed the part where the US runs offshore penal colonies for untried political prisoners, and a decade-long drone war that’s killed thousands—both entirely outside the scope of international law. Or the time the US invaded and destroyed Iraq without any international authorization, killing hundreds of thousands."

Ken Roth can't read the "Down with Israel" signs or see Khamenei's photos

Ken Roth sharing image of “anti-regime protesters” in Iran, when in fact the picture is from a pro-government rally. They are carrying photos of Khamenei!

Biological warfare against Ireland

"The organisation claimed the MI5 plot was aimed at destroying the “Eire economy”. It said British intelligence planned to provide it with a spoon of “Anthras” (sic), “Foort and Mouth Disease”, “Fowl Pest, Swine Fever and Jaagsikpi” to be released in Ireland."

How Britain secretly controlled the opium trade

"Britain, which once made a fortune by supplying the Chinese market with tons of opium from India, ended the practice in 1907."

The headline of this article says that there protests in Iran but the article says--in passing:

"The protests, meanwhile, seemed to be winding down, though there is no sure way to tell."

American in Zimbabwe

I don't know about this case but I wonder: what would happen to an Iranian student in the US if he/she were to post against the US government?

Corruption charges against Netanyahu

From Eyal:

"Both the current and the previous attorneys general (*) in Israel are personal Netanyahu picks - Yehuda Weinstein had represented Netanyahu as a defense attorney, and Dr. Avichai Mandelblit was cabinet secretary (who is not a minister, i.e. not in the government himself). There are wide-spread public allegations that Mandelblit is dragging his feet w.r.t. the Netanyahu corruption charges (**). In fact, for about a year now there have been demonstrations close to Attorney General 

Mandelblit's home in Petach Tiqva demanding he get on with the indictments. They refer to Mandelblit is "Mister 'But it is Shabat today, but it is Passover today'" - a.k.a. Mister Procrastination.

The Israeli right-wing is accusing the demonstrators - some of which are associated with the Israeli labor party - of not caring about corruption and merely hoping to achieve by legal means what they have failed to achieve electorally - a defeat of Netanyahu and supposedly a change of government.

Note that, on the other hand, Israeli authorities did not hesitate to charge Ahed Tamimi immediately, nor to quickly investigate the spokesperson of Breaking the Silence, Dean Yisacharof who had given 

public testimony about having physically abused a Palestinian during an darrest. The latter case, in fact, was hastily closed to allow the minister of justice to declare that Yisacharof had lied (and thus 

discredit Breaking the Silence). Unfortunately for the state, it was soon discovered that the state prosecution officers had completely mistaken which person it was that Yisacharof was referring to, and the Palestinian they questioned about Yisacharof did not even understand what the Hebrew document the investigators had made him sign. As this came to light thes state rushed to reopen the investigation.

So I guess all those theories about the relativity of time check out 

after all.

Eyal

(*) Actually it's not quite the attorney general. Israel has a prosecutor general, and an attorney above him/her which both serves the government, defending it in court, but also provides binding legal opinion regarding intended actions, so in a sense he is a legal supervisor for the government

(*) There are now at least four separate corruption cases:

Case 1000 - Gifts/bribes from Arnon Milchan and James Packer Case 2000 - Collusion with Yediot Aharonot publisher Noni Moses to get better coverage in exchange for reigning back Sheldon Adelson's freely-handed-out daily, Israel Hayom Case 3000 - Excessive submarine purchases involving high commission rates for Netanyahu's cousin, attorney David Shimron

Case 4000 - Collusion with the owner of Bezeq and the Walla news website, Shaul Allovich, to get better news and perhaps other kinds of support in exchange for consulting with Allovich befaure making regulatory changes, and perhaps the employ of Shlomo Filber, a man considered close to Allovich, as the general manager of the ministry of communications".

There is a new religo-political title for the Jordanian king

This has not been reported in the Western press.  Ever since the recent rift between the Jordanian regime and the Saudi regime, and in the wake of the Jerusalem matter, supporters of the Jordanian King has been using a new title for him. It reads (in translation) as "The servitor of the first Qiblah and the third holy sanctuary".  Kid you not.  

What is "simple sabotage"?

"The purpose of this paper is to characterize simple sabotage, to outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting and executing it."

Israeli suspected in organ trafficking arrested

"An Israeli citizen accused of involvement in a human organ trafficking scandal in Kosovo a decade ago has been arrested in Cyprus and the authorities in Pristina have requested his extradition to face trial, police said on Friday. Police accuse Israeli Moshe Harel of seeking out people in need of kidney transplants and of luring donors to Kosovo from Turkey and the ex-Soviet Union with the promise of up to 12,000 euros ($14,500) in payment. Recipients, mainly Israelis, paid between 80,000 and 100,000 euros for the organs. Some donors never received any money."

German neo-Nazi lawmaker charged with hate speech is big Israel fan

"Israeli leaders have habitually exploited violent attacks in Europe to further stoke Islamophobia and justify their own violence against Palestinians. Yet while many mainstream commentators in Germany can be expected to express horror at von Storch’s anti-Muslim incitement, few dare speak out in criticism of Israel – including its prominent role in fomenting xenophobia and hatred of Muslims as part of its effort to push Europe further into its far-right camp." (thanks Amir)

Trump's National Security Strategy

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Trump's National Security Strategy: The US versus the World".

DC think tank pundits and media types

The lesson of the last week is this: DC think tank and media types can only get excited over protests if they occur in Syria and Iran only--basically only against regimes which are not aligned with the US.  Can you imagine them getting that excited over protests in Palestine?

Saudi lobby and DC punditry

Have you noticed? The various arms of the Saudi lobby in DC has been enthusiastically retweeting and praising the tweets of DC think tank pundits and media personalities over the past week because they all read like Saudi regime talking points?

How come Western media never reported that Louvre AbuDhabi covered up the genitals of all male statues and banned all female statues??

Al-Hayat posted this picture on its front page about "protesters in the heart of Tehran" the other day

Al-Hayat, a mouthpiece of a Saudi prince, put this picture of what it said was "protesters in the middle of Tehran" on its front page.

Saudi regime is officially opposed to the collapse of the Iranian regime

Very telling: Chief Saudi regime propagandist, `Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashid, says the ideal situation for SA is for the regime in Iran not to fall but to say as long as it "changes its foreign policies".

This is the real US policy on human rights

"The May 17 memo reads like a crash course for a businessman-turned-diplomat, and its conclusion offers a starkly realist vision: that the U.S. should use human rights as a club against its adversaries, like Iran, China and North Korea, while giving a pass to repressive allies like the Philippines, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  “Allies should be treated differently—and better—than adversaries. Otherwise, we end up with more adversaries, and fewer allies,” argued the memo, written by Tillerson’s influential policy aide, Brian Hook."

Near East Center at Princeton and its admiration for the Saudi regime

“Crown Prince Mohammed is trying to rein in widespread corruption, not discretionary spending by the future king, said Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. He says Saudis don't consider splashy purchases to be corruption, nor do they typically object to wealthy princes investing in assets with tangible value like overseas property, yachts or artwork. "This is not a guy who is going to Monaco and dropping $100 million on gambling," Haykel told CNBC on Wednesday. "That would be a very different kind of story."” (Thanks Basim)

In Bethlehem

US-Saudi war on Yemen's schools

"US-backed Saudi aggression coalition warplanes have damaged 244 schools in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, according to a recent report released by the Education Ministry. The damaged 244 schools are out of 300 total number of schools in Sanaa, according to director of the Education Office in the capital Mohammed Abdullah al-Fadhli."

Israeli MP harasses families of Palestinian prisoners

"Hazan boarded the bus at the Gaza border with video crews in tow. He said on Twitter he told the relatives that the prisoners were "terrorists who belong in the ground." In a video clip on social media, he is seen shouting at one prisoner’s mother that her son was an "insect" and a "dog." "

Filing charges against Netanyahu

For how many months have we been reading that a prosecutor is about to file charges against Netanyahu? Can you imagine how different the case would have been if this was some Arab member of the Knesset? 

How evangelicals bless apartheid

"Even before I arrived in Guatemala, a country mysterious and foreign, I stumbled upon evidence that Israeli fingerprints can be found in many aspects of everyday life in the Central American country." "There is a fascinating collaboration between the Jewish community and the Evangelical community of Guatemala, in support of Israel."

Saudi-led airstrikes kill 9 family members in Yemen's Sanaa

"A family of nine members, including five children, were killed on Monday morning when Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit the family's house five times in Yemen's capital Sanaa, residents and a Xinhua photographer at the scene witnessed. "Father, his wife, two women (who are sisters to the father), and five little children were killed on the spot after their house was hit by five missiles fired from fighter jets of the Saudi-led coalition," Xinhua photographer reported." (thanks Amir)

Promoting Prince Muhammad bin Salman in the New York Times: the women question

Imagine in this article, Ben Hubbard lauds Saudi regime "reforms" because there is a female spokesperson for the Saudi embassy in DC.  Imagine if you write an article about women in Iran, and you mention that they had a female vice-president, and a female spokesperson for the foreign ministry.  That would never happen in US media.

You can't say that the Jordanian King is not widely respected on Arab social media: this image of him is making the rounds

This is how Jordanian royal media are portraying the role of the Jordanian King

The writing on the hand says: "Jordanian leadership", i.e. the King.  And it says "Jerusalem" on top of the Dome.