Amal thugs attack Syrian workers

Comrade Ibrahim talks about a racist campaign by Amal thugs against Syrian workers.  (I predict that Human Rights Watch will cover this because the culprits are not their friends in March 14).  

With shoes

Angry Egyptians chase Mubarak's presidential candidate, Ahmad Shafiq, with shoes.  (For the significance of shoes in Arab culture, please refer to the Western press).  

Polite Americans

Americans are very polite in saying "bless u" for anyone who sneezes. An American wd be killing another American but if the victim sneezes he/she will get "bless u".

Stooge

"Some critics brand the 67-year-old liberal sociologist a stooge of the Islamist Muslim Brotherood and say he was chosen because he would attract Western support." (thanks Khaled)

Western governments really want reform in the Arab world

"British defence giant BAE has signed a £1.9bn ($3bn) deal to supply Hawk trainer jets to Saudi Arabia, saving over 200 UK jobs." (thanks Mohammad)

Mini-Hariri

Basim sent me this:  "Is Mini-Hariri too embarrassed to call out the FSA by name?:

"We condemn the kidnapping of our Lebanese brothers in Syria, regardless of the party behind the kidnapping, and we call for their immediate release,” Hariri said, according to a statement from his office."

Despite the Hariri-funded violence in Tripoli, he yet had the temerity to say (via Twitter of course):

"Arms [will remain] unacceptable for as long as I live,”"

Gulf capitalism

"In the Gulf Arab states, opulent hotels with gold-plated toilet handles, shopping malls larger than several football pitches, cloud-reaching skyscrapers, artificial islands visible from space and almost racially segregated gated communities have all been hailed as "miracles" in the scorching deserts.

These are the visible signs of unregulated capitalism: political systems that are in many ways still very traditional are chasing each other along the road to urban ultra-modernity.

Sporting events have been a quintessential part of this development too – from the Formula One grand prix in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the World Cup in Qatar, to the tennis championships in Dubai. But growth without equity, as highlighted in Bahrain, is a recipe for disaster.

The continued uprising in Bahrain and the recent battle over the grand prix may be the straw that breaks the camel's back in changing such an agenda. Domestically, the opposition to the Formula One event was not only about an international sporting body providing succour to a repressive regime. It was also a manifestation of anger towards the excesses of prestige projects and the squandering of resources, as well as despair over human rights violations.

Looking ahead, it could be a sign that other status symbols will become battlegrounds for agitation against other Gulf regimes. Qatar – chosen to host the 2022 football World Cup – seems already aware of this and has announced that it will allow trade unions before then...Bahrain's rapid urban transformation stands in stark contrast with the reality of relative economic poverty and social and political unrest. By the government's own accounts, the relative poverty line is set at 463 dinars ($1,230) per month. However, the government also reports that the average wage of Bahrainis is only 449 dinars ($1190) per month.

The political and economic elite, largely consisting of members of the royal family and its loyalists, preside over an inherently corrupt system and have huge vested interests in protecting the status quo. Their privileges include managing distributive institutions that accumulate oil revenues from the sale of 150,000 bpd donated by Saudi Arabia, owning huge shares of private and public monopolies, and mass land appropriation." (thanks Ala`a)

I am impressed: Obama seeks out Arab public opinion

We have been unfair to Obama, it seems.  The man does seek out Arabs to find what is on their minds:
""At night in the family residence, an adviser said, Mr. Obama often surfs the blogs of experts on Arab affairs or regional news sites to get a local flavor for events. He has sounded out prominent journalists like Fareed Zakaria of Time magazine and CNN and Thomas L. Friedman, a columnist at The New York Times, regarding their visits to the region. “He is searching for a way to pull back and weave a larger picture,” Mr. Zakaria said.""  This is like seeking neo-Nazis to find out what Jews in a country are thinking, or like seeking out Saudi princes to find what Arab feminists are thinking.  (thanks Daniel)

(Political) Children of Jeffrey Feltman in Lebanon: Al-Qa`idah in Lebanon

These are the political children of Jeffrey Feltman in Lebanon: the rise of Al-Qa`idah and its visible mark on Lebanese politics in North and East Lebanon.  Shadi Al-Mawlawi was released and he was welcomed like a hero by allies of Mr. Feltman in Lebanon.  He wanted to build a coalition in Lebanon against Hizbullah and he got what he wanted: a Jihadi Salafite movement.  In the welcoming rally in Tripoli, his supporters held Al-Qa`idah signs all around.  Al-Mawlawi, of course, admitted that he was involved with Al-Qa`idah when he was arrested but yesterday lied and said that he only confessed under torture although reporters noted that there were no signs of torture on him whatsoever.  

Train and politics

Comrade Amer writes on trains and politics.

Neil MacFarquhar justifies the kidnapping of innocent Lebanese

Look at this outrage:  "Activists reached in the Aleppo area said the Lebanese were grabbed on suspicion that they were Hezbollah “shabiha,” or thugs, working for the Syrian government."  Shame on Neil MacFarquhar.  In fact, the thugs are his contact in the armed Syrian opposition who are lying and justifying the kidnapping of innocent Lebanese.  Not even Saudi and Hariri media who are aligned with the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army have made this claim.  Not one Arab media have made those claims.  So now we know that the worst thugs are the contacts of Mr. MacFarquhar in Syria.  Some of the families are from the Amal movement and we know the names of the kidnapped and we know where they were in Iran and for what religious purpose.  Even the Free Syrian Army which earlier identified itself to the women who were released had to later lie and claim that they were not involved, when they were, because it was clear that those were civilians who were kidnapped to exchange them with prisoners in Syrian regime jail.

Long lines of voters

When I see long line of voters in Egypt, or anywhere else, I don't feel emotional or inspired.  I feel sorry for people who are being tricked and misled.  The Military Council is running the country and it sets the contours and framework of the political system, and some think that meaningful change can come from a selection from candidates screened (like Iran) by an unelected council?

Egyptian dirty tricks

These are Egyptian dirty political tricks: this video is fake, as it shows presidential candidate, `Abdul-Mun`im Abu Al-Futuh, pledging to support recognition of Israel.

Update

Can someone update the entry on me in Wikipedia to reflect that Farah and I have (amicably) divorced?

UnFree Syrian Army

UnFree Syrian Army warns against the use by the regime of medium range missiles.  What? The UnFree Syrian Army has said repeatedly that the regime used those missiles. Which lies do we choose to believe by this army?

Prothero missing Mini-Hariri

Do I see tears in your eyes, Prothero:  "It's this complete lack of real political leadership that bodes ill for Lebanon. Since Hariri's departure last year, no Sunni political leader has gained the respect and national patronage machine -- critical to getting anything done in Lebanon -- to take his place."

Prothero making things up, yet again

I have better things to do (like grading) than to correct errors and mistakes in your reporting.  "While that skirmish never arrived, Hezbollah forces did mount an operation late at night to extract the beleaguered staff of the Arab Movement Party -- sending in several SUVs to make sure their allies got out."  Here, this was first a rumor that was quickly dispelled.  Hizbullah was not the party that "extracted" Shakir Birjawi, and it was not an operation.  It was Birjawi and a few guys who left from a back entrance to that building, and the party that arranged for the "extraction" was the Sunni Murabitun party of Mustafa Hamdan, and NOT Hizbullah or Amal.

Here he starts making things up

" I was in a Shiite neighborhood just a few hundred meters away, talking to sources who described a mobilization by Hezbollah and its allies for a potential conflict."  Was that the guy who you paid to arrange for a paintball fight with for your articles on paintball fight with Hizbullah, who I later found out was not even Hizbullah?  And all the media of Lebanon who have Arabic speakers of the ground, and most of them are loyal to Hariri, and none of them--NOT ONE SINGLE ARAB MEDIA--reported on mobilization by Hizbullah but you obtained that exclusive story form that "sources" that you hopefully did not pay?

Hariri press releases

"Then, as the Arab Spring unfolded across the Middle East, the main Sunni leader, Saad al-Hariri, was forced from the premiership by a Hezbollah-led coalition." Forced?  Walid Jumblat switched sides and Hariri lost his parliamentary majority, if that is what you mean by "forced".  And what does the "Arab spring" have to do with the sentence? It was Hariri who was the ally of Mubarak and Bin Ali and King of Bahrain after all.

Prominent: my...potato

"The youths' fury stemmed from a killing earlier in the day of two prominent Sunni religious figures from north Lebanon"...One was a cleric and the other was his bodyguard.  The cleric was far from being prominent: nobody has ever heard of him outside of the the Al-Qa`idah circles in North Lebanon.  Let us hope that Mitch did not pay people to engage in paintball fight with him for this article.

demagoguery

Adam sent me this:  "Hamdeen Sabbahi :"We will take the social justice from Islam and peace from Christianity," he said. "We don't want it secular or Islamic, we want it a national democratic country." From here.  Neither islamic, nor secular. Or simply, I agree with everybody just to gain votes. And the first sentence is a joke."

attacks on Syrian workers

New TV reported on unconfirmed reports about attacks on Syrian workers in Lebanon by relatives of the Lebanese Shi`ite pilgrims who were kidnapped by the UnFree Syrian Army.  This is typical: Lebanese of all sects take revenge on poor Syrian workers in Lebanon, although Hasan Nasrallah in a brief audio speech on the matter warned against such attacks. 

I stand corrected

Reuters did write a story on Egyptian presidential candidate, Hamdin Sabbahi:  "The motorcade of Hamdeen Sabahy, a dark horse in Egypt's presidential race, inched over the bumpy roads of this Egyptian town led by a car booming 1960s nationalist music in homage to his hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser." (thanks Sultan)

The Syrian Ba`th Party is back: but was it gone at all?

Akram sent me this:  "Mr. Saleh Arrashed, the Syrian minister of education and Mr. Yasser Hourrieh, a member of the National Leadership of the Baath party held a meeting with the heads of the education departments in the Syrian governorates during which Mr. Arrashed confirms his ministry's determination to offer suitable atmosphere for Secondary School examination(Arabic). He added that, in order to guarantee equal opportunities to all the Syrian students, and to maintain the reputaion of the Syrian Secondary School certificate, the ministry will cancel the results of any center that may witness fraud actions (too clever!!!!)
A Baath party official is supervising a governmental meeting. Halleluiah!.... The defunct 8th article of the old Syrian constitution is back to life".

Muhammad Ajami (friend of Israel)

Sammy sent me this:  "DId you see the special documentary about Libya on Aljazeera English? They aired a bunch of tapped phone calls among high officials in the former Libyan regime. Among them was Mohamed Ajami, the brother of Fouad Ajami. It's hinted that Mohamed Ajami may be a middle man between the Israelis and Libya. You can hear Mohamed Ajami speaking with Gadafhi's prime minister, Al-Baghdadi, saying that he's personal friends with Netanyahu and has been for a long time.

check out the parts 9:52 to 19:20. I think you'll find this very interesting."

King maker in Iraq

I know that US media abandoned Iraq but are you aware of the prominent political role of Muqtada As-Sadr?  Are you aware how he is playing the role of King maker?  

Ikhwan coup in the Syrian National Council

From early on, here and on panels on US colleges, I have argued that the Muslim Brotherhood controls the Syrian National Council.  Propagandists for the SNC were arguing that no, feminist women were in control of the SNC--kid you not.  Read here about the latest coup in the SNC.

King's son

"A Saudi prince seeking to build a mansion complex at the end of a private lane in Benedict Canyon has asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to order the city of Los Angeles to allow the project to move forward without environmental review. In a complaint filed Friday, Tower Lane Properties, the corporate owner of a 5.2-acre estate on Tower Lane, said the city under its municipal code had a "mandatory duty" to issue permits."

Obama and Bush

I thought that no US president can cause as much damage in the Middle East (to the people of the region and to the goals of US policies) like George W. Bush, until I lived under Obama.  One is worse than the other.

Rehabilitation of Zionist war criminals

Basim sent me this:  "Don't you love how Western media always try to rehabilitate and romanticize Israeli leaders -- usually after they're out of office and indicated for some crime -- and turn them into these sympathetic, dovish figures who wanted to make risky "concessions" in the name of peace? Look at this nauseating AP report. Here Olmert is portrayed as a contrite, remorseful leader "at odds" with an intractable Netanyahu for not recognizing that the conquest of Jerusalem has failed. The journalist has the gall to write, "while prime minister from 2006 to 2009, he pursued a peace agreement envisioning broad territorial concessions to the Palestinians ... " yet brazenly and deliberately overlooks the ugly legacy this war criminal left behind from the 2008-2009 Gaza onslaught."

Sectarian attack on Oman

This is a sample of the sectarian attack on Oman in the Saudi press.  (thanks Andrew)

Propaganda for Saudi Arabia in the Zionist media

"In any case, the U.S. interest in Abdullah's initiative will remain because it continues to be the best path toward stability across the Persian Gulf. This week's meeting in Riyadh, combined with the GCC's own sad history, shows that Abdullah's pleas and Iran's peril are still not enough to overcome distrust. As they ponder how to bring stability to the Persian Gulf at the most reasonable cost, U.S. policymakers should consider the model that worked so well in Europe and Asia."

Unfree Syrian Army

The kidnapping of Lebanese Shi`ite (pilgrims from Iran) by the UnFree Syrian Army is a deliberate attempt by the Army to involve Hizbullah in the fight in Syria after the propaganda claims by the Army about Hizbullah military involvement in Syria were exposed as lies.  It is too obvious.  

The other sponsor of Al-Qa`idah in Lebanon

It would be unfair to talk only about Hariri as sponsor of the Salafis in Lebanon.  Najib Miqati, desperate for popular support in his hometown, has always cultivated support among the Salafis of the North.  The release of Shadi Al-Mawlawi and the eagerness by Miqati to meet with him upon his release is an example.  A Lebanese reporter who knows North Lebanon well told me that among the militants in the area of Dinniyyah, it is not uncommon to see pictures of Miqati and Bin Laden on the wall.  

The Iraqi Communist Party

I am reading Johan Franzen's Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism before Saddam.  I will write about it again and the author is a meticulous researcher but I want to quibble with his reference to Zaki Al-Arsuzi (p. 26) and his views on religion.  Franzen got it wrong: Al-Arsuzi was in fact the most anti-religious of the early founders of modern Arab nationalism, certainly among the Ba`thist founders.  Al-Arsuzi influenced the refreshingly rigid secularism that Syria experienced in the regime of Salah Al-Jadid (Al-Asad was far less principled and was willing to make ideological compromises to stay in power).  Al-Arsuzi considered Jahiliyyah the best period in Arab history, and reflective of Arab greatness.  

Abu Bakr Ar-Razi on religion

Ar-Razi (born in the 9th century) said:  "If the people of religion are asked about proof for the soundess of their religion, they flare up, get angry and spill the blood of whoever confronts them with this question. The forbid rational speculation, and strive to kill their adversaries.  This is why truth became thoroughly silenced and concealed."

Bludan 1946

In 1946, the Arab League held a special meeting on Palestine in Bludan, Syria.  They reached public and secret decisions.  I was reading about the secret decisions that were reached then: the public at the time expected the secret decisions to entail a specific military plan to liberate Palestine.  Do you know what the secret plans were?  The Arab governments expressed concerns that developments in Palestine may harm their relations with Britain and the US.  Kid you not.  

Exposing racism in Lebanon

This group was formed in Lebanon to expose the racism of some Lebanese. (thanks Assaad)

Neil MacFarquhar on Lebanon

Look at this:  "The fighting overnight in Beirut resulted in the expulsion of a small pro-Syrian faction, the Arab Movement Party, from a largely Sunni Muslim neighborhood in the southern part of the city. The first-floor apartment that housed the party was burned, with bullet holes pockmarking the exterior and the carcasses of burned vehicles blackening the street."  And then he says:  "But there are widespread suspicions that Syria, whose army was deployed here for nearly 30 years until 2005 and which retained strong ties with the security services, has been manipulating its allies here to feed the fighting."  Of course, all this is word-for-word from the press releases of the Hariri press office in Beirut.  If Syria was manipulating the events in Lebanon, how come those who have started the clashes were opponents of the Syrian regime: MacFarquhar fails to see the extent to which Lebanese conflicts have dynamics of their own.  So in Tripoli, it started with a mass protest in Tripoli by Salafite supporters of Hariri because Al-Qa`idah member, "the pro-Western" Shadi Al-Mawlawi, was arrested in Beirut.  The Hariri-controlled Bab At-Tibbanah then started shelling the hell out of Ba`l Muhsin (the area where the 5% of the population of Tripoli who are `Alawites reside).  So according to the fictional account of MacFarquhar-Hariri, the Syrian regime told the Hariri-Salafite camp to bomb the predominantly `Alawite Ba`l Muhsin?  As for Tariq Al-Jadidah, Shakir Birjawi, was in fact a military commander of the Hariri camp until 2008, when some commanders of the Hariri militias left or were dismissed due to their abysmal performance despite the flood of Saudi cash.  It was then that Birjawi switched sides.  So the Hariri camp decided that no one in predominantly Sunni Tariq Al-Jadidah could stay there if he/she is not part of the Hariri camp, so they yesterday exploited the rising anger of the sectarian Sunni Salafite population, to root out opponents.  So can you help us again, Mr. MacFarquhar, to explain to us how Syria is "manipulating its allies" to instigate fighting? If anything, the fighting clearly harms the interests of the Syrian regime because when the Lebanese armed forces withdraw from the North, it becomes easier for the "pro-Western" Salafite allies of the US and Saudi Arabia to smuggle arms into Syria.  


PS Birjawi's circumstances of switch from pro-Hariri to anti-Hariri are still unknown.  In 2008, I wrote sarcastically about his involvement in the Hariri movement, and he wrote a letter to Al-Akhbar protesting and asserting that he has become opposed to the Hariri agenda.

Jeffrey Feltman's children: Al-Qa`idah in Lebanon

This is one of the most unreported story: how the US government has sponsored and cultivated (directly and indirectly through the Hariri camp in Lebanon under the umbrella of March 14 movement--dubbed "pro-Western" in the Western press) Sunni Salafite groups, including those with a Jihadi bent.  In their eagerness to prop up rivals and opponents to Hizbullah, the US has midwifed the rise of various Salafite groups in the country.  Some, of course, are parts of Al-Qa`idah.  Of course, this won't be the first time the US has done such a thing: this movie has been shown many times before and the last time was in Libya, and not in Afghanistan in the 1980s.  So today, the Lebanese government under Saudi/Qatari/Hariri pressures released Shadi Al-Mawlawi who admitted his membership in Al-Qa`idah.  The US is now eager to support, arm, and finance any groups opposed to the Syrian regime, that they will be given birth to a monster in Syria (no, I am not making an argument for the preservation of the lousy Syrian regime which should be overthrown by its own people).

Wahhabi Che Guevara

Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal in Al-Ahram:  "I sometimes listen to the Saudi foreign minister and close my eyes, and imagine that the voice is not that of a conservative person from Saudi Arabia".
وأسمع مرات وزير خارجية السعودية يتكلم وأغمض عيناي, فيخيل إلي أن الصوت ليس لـ سيد محافظ من السعودية," ولكنه لرمز الثورة العالمية أرنستو جيفارا!!" (thanks Kamal)

Keep building in Jerusalem

Let the Zionists keep building in Jerusalem: the returning Palestinian refugees will be needing plenty of housing upon their return after the liberation of Palestine.  

Palestine

I don't like flags, and I don't like nationalisms but for Palestine and the Palestinians, everything and anything. 

Zionist tactics

"The Middle East Studies Association on Thursday released a letter it sent to The New York Times, criticizing the newspaper for refusing to run a letter to the editor by 151 faculty members objecting to an ad that the newspaper did run. The ad -- by the David Horowitz Freedom Center -- identified 14 "professors of hate" who the center said advocate a boycott of Israel. The ad called for these professors to be "publicly shamed" and urged alumni and students to contact the presidents of the professors' universities. The opening of the ad noted that boycotts of Jewish stores were an early tactic of the Nazis. In response to the ad, 151 professors wrote a letter to the editor of the Times, arguing that the ad unfairly linked their criticism of Israel to the Nazis, distorting their views."

Obama wars

"In an escalation of America’s clandestine war in Yemen, a small contingent of U.S. troops is providing targeting data for Yemeni airstrikes as government forces battle to dislodge Al Qaeda militants and other insurgents in the country’s restive south, U.S. and Yemeni officials said."  A small contingent.  How cute and minuscule.  

Justifying segregation: it is cute when non-Muslims segregate by gender

"The organizers had allowed only men to buy tickets, in keeping with ultra-Orthodox tradition of separating the sexes. Viewing parties had been arranged in Orthodox neighborhoods of Brooklyn and New Jersey so that women could watch, too."  Oh, they arranged for "viewing parties"? How nice of them.  How feminist of them.  

sectarianism of the Times

"Many of the protesters said they shared the religious beliefs of the attendees but wanted to show support for victims of child sexual abuse, some of whom in ultra-Orthodox communities have been discouraged from calling the police and have been shunned after the crimes against them were reported."  Would we not agree that the Times has been reluctant to cover such cases of abuse in comparison to its coverage of abuse within the Catholic church?

enriching uranium in New York

Krim sent me this: "How's this for a revelation: The Kodak Eastman Co. had a small nuclear research reactor in a little-known underground labyrinth at its Rochester, N.Y., facility.  And, although locked down and under tight security, it also contained 3½ pounds of highly enriched uranium, ..."

And they want Iran to give up its nuclear technology. Where's the IAEA in monitoring American nuclear activity?"

Emir of Qatar is worried about friends for Israel

Basim sent me this:  "Israel "can no longer count on the friendship of leaders who were toppled by Arab Spring revolts and it should also not bet on others against their people," he said, in a possible reference to Syria, as some in Israel voiced fear that a regime change in Damascus could be worse for the security of Israel.  If it does, Israel "will definitely find itself within a short period without any friends at all," he said."

----------

My comment (Basim's that is):

Except the GCC countries, he later added."

Poverty in Tripoli

Comrade Raed sent me this: "Pages 10 and 11 are interesting (and readable), approximately 46% of the "extremely poor" of lebanon live in tripoli-dinnieh-akkar area although this region represents no more than 20% of the total population."

Open Propaganda

This dude basically produces what he receives from Hariri press office.  I like that he described the Ql-Qa`idah figure as "activist".  He had fought with Al-Qa`idah in Iraq.

Lies of the Free Syrian Army

It is amazing how the daily lies of the Free Syrian Army never get exposed in Western media.  In fact, yesterday both Aljzaeera and Al-Arabiyya aired the claim by a unit of the Free Syrian Army that they killed basically entire ruling elite of Syria when they ambushed them as they all squeezed in one car together for intimacy purposes.  Here is a new lie by them.  (thanks Laure)

Analyzing Tripoli

I like this class analysis on Tripoli:  "The resulting flare-ups have been carefully managed by sectarian leaders and have helped maintain the real reason why Tripoli is such a hotbed for hostility. For behind all of Syria's influence in Lebanon, and underneath a past of political manipulation, the true cause of Tripoli's violent present lies in the city's appalling neglect. The figures speak for themselves. Close to 40% of all Lebanon's poor live in Tripoli or the surrounding areas. More than half of Tripoli residents are classed as either "poor" or "extremely poor." Of those families who live in the trouble hotspots of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, 82% live on less than the equivalent of £336 per month. Illiteracy and unemployment rates in the city are way above the national average.  While it is true that all areas of Lebanon have suffered in recent decades as the country attempts to recover from its civil war and subsequent conflicts, Tripoli residents have endured special hardship. Compared for example to parts of southern Beirut and the south, where inhabitants worst affected by Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel have had their homes rebuilt and infrastructure improved, the people of Tripoli receive precious little by way of financial support from either state or private sponsors."  But: 1) according to recent studies by UN, the South remains one of the poorest areas of Lebanon; 2) the author of this article totally ignored the role of Hariri family and its campaign of sectarian mobilization and agitation since the death of lousy Rafiq Hariri in 2005.  

The Most Unpopular Arab Uprising

My latest* blog post for Al-Akhbar English: "The Most Unpopular Arab Uprising"

*On two occasions I mistakenly wrote "my last blog post" and folks at Al-Akhbar asked me if I was making an announcement.  

`Umar Sulayman: the new Egypt

It is hilarious.  `Umar Sulayman gives his first interview to Jihad Al-Khazin of Al-Hayat (the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid bin Sultan).  He is worried about the new Egypt and worries about a war with Israel.  Mubarak's proteges are always worried about Israel.

Socialist Minister of Interior

Comrade Alain Gresh on the new French Minister of Interior.

America's favorite Salafites

The Hariri Salafites in Lebanon are of the Jihadi-Bin Ladenite type.  Those were the folks who recruited fighters in Iraq.  They have been burning Lebanon in the last few days and yet not a word against them from the US government.  They are those allies: this is one of the most unreported stories.  Western journalists who were going to Lebanon on media junkets paid for by Hariri family were introduced to the Whiskey sipping members of the Hariri media office and they were not introduced to the muscle on the street.  Can you imagine if the culprits were from Hizbullah? The UN Security Council would have met in an emergency session and sanctions would have been ordered against Lebanon. 

Lebanese developments

I am consumed by Lebanese developments this morning: having to comment on Twitter on Facebook in Arabic.  Will resume shortly.  Why do I have to explain myself, damn it?  As if you are paying me.  Go play in the garden. 

Yemeni solution in...the US

So Obama yesterday was praising the "Yemeni model" and wants to apply in Syria. The Yemeni "solution" basically preserves the oppressive regime while removing the dictator from the formal picture.  Yesterday, I saw scenes of repression in Chicago and I am leaning to the Yemeni Model here in the US.  I call on the UN to send monitors to the US to protect our human rights, and NATO should put contingency plans.  I am now in favor of providing non-lethal aid to the Free American Army as well.  And Billy Bob Ghalyun is a good alternative to Obama.  

The Salafi monster in Lebanon and Jeffrey Feltman

I will write about that later but make no mistake about it: Jeffrey Feltman and US policies in Lebanon during the Bush administration are responsible for the rise of the Jihadi-Salafi monster in Lebanon.  They wanted a sectarian counter to Hizbullah and found one.  I hope that they are enjoying it.  Hariri camp has been speaking about "a civil state" in Lebanon (this is very much a code word by the Muslim Brotherhood to mask their aim at Islamization of society and state): I believe them but we did not know that they wanted Ayman Adh-Dhawahiri as its head. 

Muhammad Ra`d: Hizbullah's second thoughts on Syria

On the sinking Syrian regime ship.  People did not notice the speech by Muhammad Ra`d (the head of Hizbullah parliamentary bloc who has a unique way of expressing his political views--he was a teacher of Arabic).  Ra`d spoke about Syria in a tone that can be contrasted with the rest of Hizbullah's rhetoric about Syria.  He spoke about the right of the Syrian people to determine their future, and spoke about the freedom of the Syrian people to chose.  The party must have realized how much fodder he has provided to his enemies in Saudi/Hariri media by his unconditional and unlimited support for the lousy regime.

Lies of the US government

The recent clashes in Tripoli started with the arrest of Shadi Al-Mawlawi, a man with Al-Qa`idah connection.  The arrest was widely condemned by the "pro-Western"--according to Western media--coalition of March 14.  The other side revealed that the arrest was at the behest of the CIA.  That embarrassed the sponsors of the March 14, so pro-Saudi/US media in Lebanon, LBC TV and An-Nahar, quoted US officials as denying that they were behind the arrest.  Now, Sulayman Franjiyyah, revealed on New TV that the CIA was behind the arrest of the Jordanian suspect, and that led to the arrest of Al-Mawlawi.  So the US government was being too cute in its propaganda through March 14 media in Lebanon.

Amnesty International Rules: NATO is the only protector of Muslim women

I have never seen more despicable forms of colonial feminism than this ad by Amnesty International.  (thanks "Ibn Rushd") 

This is a small story: the terrorist suspects are not Muslims: Don't be alarmed

This story is small.  It did not make it into the front pages.  Most likely, the scheme was hatched by some FBI informant, as usual.  The suspects are anarchists, not Muslims, which explains why the story is not big.

Backlash against Oman

A. sent me this:  "It looks like the Saudi media machine and its network of supporters may be repositioning its guns towards Oman for its refusal to support the GCC union. The argument that is being pushed is that Oman, like Bahrain, is a state in which a majority sect (Sunnis) is ruled and oppressed by a minority sect (Ibadhis) and that Bahrain should not be singled out for apartheid when Oman practices it too. I've increasingly been seeing this on twitter and on internet forums. The fact is that no one knows the sectarian makeup of Oman. If the balance has changed in favour of Sunnis it is likely to be due to the government's naturalisation of Sunnis, and few in Oman notice this or care about it. A few days ago the US based pan Arab (and sectarian) online publication Al Watan published this piece () by a Saudi from a self styled Saudi liberal website, in which he argues that Sunnis are oppressed in Oman, and fear of Sunnis is the likely cause of its rejection of the union.
Two days ago, Qatari diplomat and conspiracy theorist Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa said on twitter [above] that the GCC had no need for Oman, congratulating it for its "love for Iran" and wishing good luck to "all neo-Safavids". See attachment.
A number of Omanis were undecided on the union. I would imagine that the backlash would lead many to firmly oppose it.  You'll also notice that most Western commentators who have been writing and talking about the union have absolutely no idea what Oman's position is. I've been surprised at the number of experts that say that Oman would welcome such a move, when it's the only member state to have so clearly stated its objections to it."

Lebanese school of self-humiliation

Basim sent me this:  "The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain called on their citizens Saturday to avoid travel to Lebanon and for those in the country to depart given the tense security situation as Prime Minster Najib Mikati, who expressed surprise on the development, urged the three states to reconsider their decisions.

He urged the three states to reconsider their decisions and welcomed “all those visiting to Lebanon, particularly our Arab brothers.”  Earlier Saturday, [Minister of Foreign Affairs Adnan] Mansour, who left Beirut to participate at a forum in Doha, urged both the UAE and Qatar to revise their decisions."

While Emirati citizens are leaving Lebanon under their own free will during what they perceive to be a time of war. Lebanese citizens were forcibly expelled from the UAE during a time of peace. This, of course, did not prevent Mikati from prostrating before House of Nahyan."

Israel worries about the danger of the black race

"The Israeli prime minister has stoked a volatile debate about refugees and migrant workers from Africa, warning that "illegal infiltrators flooding the country" were threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state.  "If we don't stop their entry, the problem that currently stands at 60,000 could grow to 600,000, and that threatens our existence as a Jewish and democratic state," Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting. "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity." Israel's population is 7.8 million." (thanks Michael)

Pew Global Attitudes Project: on Iran

I like that in the Western (media and academics) often scoff at local polling in the Middle East.  Yet, I find the Western polling in the Middle East is rather comical especially that it is often subcontracted to local pro-US groups, and pollsters are often accompanied by regime goons.  I once talked to a director at Gallop about their methods and realized how unreliable they are.  I pointed out to them that some of the phrasing of the questions can't even translate into Arabic, and wondered how they obtained answers.  Now look at the story here in the LA Times and notice that the article and headline deliberately mixed results of Europe with results in the Middle East.  But I wanted to consult the actual poll: notice that results in Table 2 and Table 3 just don't make sense: they are not compatible.  Also, here is the polling anomaly:  55% of the people in Jordan don't see Iranian nukes as a threat and yet 50% of the people of Jordan favor military action against Iran?  This poll by Pew goes against every other poll we have seen on the subject.  Is this one of the ways in which consent is being manufactured, as Chomsky calls it?

An-Nahar

I have talked about this dying and irrelevant newspaper before: it represents a vulgar sectarian Christian, racist anti-Syrian (people), anti-Palestinian (people), pro-Lebanese Forces mouthpiece.  Look at this dumb article: it says the center of operation for the clashes in Tripoli (which were certainly instigated by pro-Saudi Salafi groups in the city) is located in the southern suburbs.  The dumb writer (who is not read by anyone I know), claims that Shi`ites won't allow the fall of Bashshar because they had abandoned Imam Husayn in the 8th century.  Kid you not.  

Battalion of fanatics

Look at those kooks: a so-called Battalion of Sahabah (one of the Islamist gangs of the Syrian armed opposition which in the classification of Western media is solidly "pro-Western"--just like the Salafis of North Lebanon) announced that its "special forces" killed, basically, all members of the ruling group in Syria.  And Saudi and Qatari media ran with the story.  I have not read a single article in the Western press about the avalanche of lies in the Qatari-funded Syrian exile opposition media. Not one. (thanks Laure)

Protecting Israel

The Tantawi republic in Egypt is back serving Israel and its interests.

Washing our brains

"Two congressmen are attempting to insert a provision in the National Defense Authorization act that would allow the Department of Defense to subject the US domestic public to propaganda. The bipartisan amendment was introduced by Rep. Mac Thornberry from Texas and Rep. Adam Smith from Washington State.  Nothing speaks more urgently to the creeping fascism of American politics than the assertion by our representatives, who apparently have never read a book on Germany in the 1930s-1940s or on the Soviet Union in the Stalin period, that forbidding DoD and the State Department from subjecting us to government propaganda “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.” And mind you, they want to use our own money to wash our brains!"

Zionist injustice system

Do Palestinian prisoners in the Zionist usurping entity receive vacations?  "Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav went on his first vacation from jail on Sunday since he began serving time for his rape conviction in December.  Katsav, who was convicted of rape and a number of sex offenses, was granted vacation to attend his son's wedding."

Car bomb in Damascus

Car bomb exploded in Al-Azbakiyyah quarter in Damascus, killing 64 people and injuring 135.  It was the work of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood: in November 1981.  The same car bomber of those years are now leading the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood today.  Within few months the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood went from advocating peaceful change in Syria to advocating violence.  Both the regime and the Brotherhood have a long history in murder and savagery.  

Hamdin Sabbahi

Hamdin Sabbahi is a cultural-political phenomenon in Egypt and yet there is not a single article about him in the Western press, perhaps because he is neither an Islamist nor a pro-Saudi (fake) liberal, a la Amr Musa.  He is a staunch secularist Arab nationalist opposed to the very existence of Israel.  The bulk of Egyptian cultural elite is supporting Sabbahi but you would not know it from the coverage of the Western (and Saudi and Qatari) media.   

Lies in Zionist propaganda

Zionists often lies and fabricates, and that includes academic literature.  In that awful book by Daniel Byman, A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism", the author claims that when Mossad murdered Abu Hasan Salamah with a car bomb in Beirut in 1979, that "four innocent bystanders...also perished in the blast." (p. 54).  In reality, the blast killed 9 people and injured 16 (see As-Safir, January 23rd, 1979.)

Iranian national chauvinism and sectarianism

The Islamic revolution in Iran never was able--assuming it wanted--to stamp out those elements of Iranian national chauvinism and condescension toward Arabs.  There has been a movement in Iran, under the Khumayni government, to remove Arabic loan words from Persian (they amount to some 30%?).  And in recent months, it seems that Ahmadinejad found his last refuge in stoking the flames of Persian national chauvinism towards Arabs.  He discovered the value of Abu Musa island and the treatment of the Bahrain issue ignores the Arab national identity of the people of Bahrain, regardless of sect.  The matter was settled in that regard.