Why I read the New York Times

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar English: "Why I read the New York Times?"

Isabel Kershner assess Palestinian public opinion

Look at this hilarious opening sentence by New York Times chief Israeli propagandist:  "For many Palestinians and their international supporters, the one bright spot in an otherwise dreary political landscape has been the nation-building efforts of Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, who has restored law and order and encouraged economic growth in the West Bank."  I mean, this is typical.  They assign people, like Kershner, who has no clue as to Palestinian public opinion or political preferences.  She maintains that Fayyad is loved by the Palestinians and the international supporters of the Palestinians.  In my anti-Israel tour of UK colleges last month, the name of Fayyad came only once in my tour: when a Zionist audience member praised him in a question he posed to me.  The notion that pro-Palestinian activists see this man as anything but a stooge of occupation is just absurd.  Even within the Fath movement, he is hated and despised.  But don't fault Ms. Kershner.  All that she knows about the Middle East, she receives from her Israeli propaganda sources--and they really love Fayyad. 

Zionists as experts

Is there an article on the Middle East in the Western press (or lately in the Saudi press) that does not cite "experts" from the Zionist club, WINEP?

US provides evidence

"In early January, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassim Suleimani, visited Damascus, raising suspicions that Iran was advising Mr. Assad on how to quash the uprising."  Wait. So by that logic or evidence, when US military commanders visited Bahrain or Egypt (under Mubarak) they were advising those desports on how to "quash the uprising"?   But what do I expect from a reporter who concludes his article by words of "objective" wisdom from a fellow at WINEP?  Really.  

When a US official finds evidence

"At the same time, American officials said there was growing evidence that Iran was helping train and equip Syrian security forces.  “Our concerns include the fact that some of the tactics being used by the Syrian regime mirror tactics used in Iran against their own population".  You mean Syria, like Iran, shot at protesters?  Is that now what the Tunisian, Egyptian, Yemeni, Bahraini, Saudi, Libyan, Jordanian, and Omani governments have done?  These are the tactics, right?  Wait.  That can only mean one thing: that Iran also helped and trained the Tunisian, Egyptian, Yemeni, Bahraini, Saudi, Libyan, Jordanian, and Omani security forces. What a diabolical reach.  

NEIL MacFARQUHAR identifies the crux of the matter

"Fundamentally, the argument over Syria reflects a deeper divide between those who would use the Security Council to confront nations over how their governments treat civilians, versus those who consider that it has no role whatsoever in settling domestic disputes."  This is too much for me to digest, Mr. MacFarquhar, but let me try to understand.  So you are saying that the US and its allies are in favor of confronting, say, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, and Egypt of Sadat and Mubarak--over how they treat their citizens (or non-citizens as the case may be)?  OK.  That is easy to understand.  Thanks for this helpful and moral distinction between the two camps.  I would have remained confused otherwise.

Qatar foreign policy

"I was an early supporter of military intervention in Libya. I called for a no-fly zone on February 23, just 8 days after protests began."  Now we know why you are cited right and left in the Western media, and I am sure that you will call for immediately foreign military intervention the second Qatar calls for one.  (thanks Khaled)

PS If this guy (and I really don't know anything about him) or any other guy or gal calls for foreign military intervention to help Palestinians, he/she would not even be allowed to utter the words in Western media.

Israeli terrorism

"The IDF has significantly increased the number of overseas covert operations it has conducted over the past year, an indication of the growing threats Israel faces in the region, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Most of the details about the operations are classified, including the exact number, but according to foreign reports, the IDF has operated in places such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran."  Covert operations here refers to assassinations, car bombs, explosions, theft, smuggling, and various forms of terrorism, of course. (thanks Fred)

Cicero of Syria

Mohammed sent me this:  "Hi Just watched Cicero of al-Sham on al Jazeera English.  Is there no clearer sign of the incompetence and/or destiny for failure of this Syrian opposition group that they still have this guy speaking? I don't know much of his intellectual capabilities-- but communication should be the last thing he is in charge of.  If they can't recognize that-- how do they think they could run a country?"

Bahjat Abu Gharbiyyah died

This is a tribute to a historic Palestinian struggler, Bahjat Abu Gharbiyyah.  (thanks Mirvat)

Flash: Western sources in the mouthpiece of Prince Salman and his sons

Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, the vulgar and crude mouthpiece of Prince Salman and his sons, cites "informed Western sources" in identifying--hold your breaths, this is big--Iran as the source of all jamming on Arab broadcasts in the region.  It is known that this propaganda sheet, like all other propaganda sheets of House of Saud, does not post information unless it is verified by...informed Western sources.

Nasser versus his imitators

Nasser resigned at the height of his popularity, while Arab despots refuse to resign at the height of their unpopularity.  

Hamad Bin Jasim

At what point did the West decide that Hamad Bin Jasim is the best representative and spokesperson on behalf of the Arab peoples?  Was I sleeping?

That impudent Iranian regime

"U.S. officials said they have seen no intelligence to indicate that Iran is actively plotting attacks on U.S. soil. But Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said the thwarted plot “shows that some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.”"  Let me get this straight: so the Iranian regime, while not plotting attacks on US currently, may consider responding to an American attack on its regime or territory?  How impudent.  Who do they think they are?  Don't they know it is against international law and decency to respond to US attacks on one's country?  It is just unbecoming.  

The folly of signing agreements--any agreements--with the Zionist entity

"The Israel Defense Forces arrested Mamun Ismyail Salame Stut, a Palestinian man who was released from Israeli prison in October as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. Stut’s arrest makes him the first released prisoner to be recaptured since the prisoner swap.  According to an IDF spokesperson, Stut was arrested for being a security threat in the area of Dura near Hebron by the Golani Brigade."  For the life of me, I can't see how anyone can really sign an agreement on any matter with the lying Zionist entity?  Of course, the Zionist usurping entity is not scared of Hamas but would not dare pull this violation of the agreement with Hizbullah.  And this is not an arrest: it is a kidnapping and should be treated as such, when the other side decides to respond.

80% of Syrians and Bashshar

A well-known Syrian told me this.  He personally once discussed with Bashshar (a few years ago) the possibility of holding free elections.  Bashshar told him that he could not allow that before he rebuilds the Ba`th Party.  Otherwise, he added, the Muslim Brotherhood would win 80% of the seats in parliament.  

Memoirs of Suzanne Mubarak

The sleazy and opportunistic Egyptian magazine, Rose Al-Yusuf, has published what it claims are memoirs of Suzanne Mubarak.  Having read parts of them, I can state my opinion: they are a hoax.  No mother would write that one of her sons hated the other son.

BDS movement in Lebanon

The BDS movement in Lebanon has been really growing and has become very effective.  It should inspire all BDS movements around the world.  Here is a file about that from Al-Akhbar.

That can only mean that Iraq has sovereignty

"A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Some senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.  The program was described by the department’s diplomatic security branch in a little-noticed section of its most recent annual report and outlined in broad terms in a two-page online prospectus for companies that might bid on a contract to manage the program. It foreshadows a possible expansion of unmanned drone operations into the diplomatic arm of the American government; until now they have been mainly the province of the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency.

American contractors say they have been told that the State Department is considering to field unarmed surveillance drones in the future in a handful of other potentially “high-threat” countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, and in Afghanistan after the bulk of American troops leave in the next two years. State Department officials say that no decisions have been made beyond the drone operations in Iraq.  The drones are the latest example of the State Department’s efforts to take over functions in Iraq that the military used to perform. Some 5,000 private security contractors now protect the embassy’s 11,000-person staff, for example, and typically drive around in heavily armored military vehicles."

David Kirkpatrick on US displeasure with Egypt

"The decision to give the individuals shelter indicates a new low in the relations between Cairo and Washington, which recently threatened to stop its $1.3 billion in annual aid to the Egyptian military if it failed to take steps toward a democratic transition, including respecting such nongovernmental groups."  Mr. Kirkpatrick, some perspective and historical context is in order here.  You really believe--and state with a straight face--that US is displeased with the Military Council because the US wants a speedy transition to democracy?  Are you kidding me and kidding your leaders? Was the US ever displeased with Sadat or Mubarak over their despotism?  Also, does democracy have to include the ability of foreign governments to fund various groups in a country?  I mean, can the Chinese government just fund groups right and left here in the US?

Flattery of Arab despots

Apparently, the shifty Khalid Mish`al of Hamas has developed a skill of flattering Arab despots.

Child molestation by the Syrian regime

I heard part of the speech of the British foreign minister in which he accused the regime of child molestation.  I mean, when Western governments decide to attack an Arab or Muslim country, all claims are possible.  There is never any need to provide evidence for any claims made against that particular regime.  You can say or claim anything.  I am waiting for a few weeks to start hearing that the Syrian regime also has nuclear weapons and that it has mobile units to make WMDs.  

Queen Elizabeth in New York City?

Wlah is there any Western leader who has not flown to New York City to discuss the Syrian situation? I mean, I know that Western governments have historically been known for their love of the Syrian people, but will the Queen of England also join the debate?

Vindicated

I tell people I know about Syria: my suspicions that the Syrian National Council is dominated by Ikhwan and that it would only serve as a tool of Saudi Arabia and Qatar (and Israel behind them) have been proven right.  I knew all along that this council would really only betray the Syrian people and their justified uprising and that it would basically guarantee that its model of government would be as bad as the Asad regime--if not worse.  

Lies of the Syrian opposition

When will there be an article in the Columbia Journalism Review about the lousy Western media coverage of Syria?  What about the claim that the Syrian "rebels" arrested 3 (just three) members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who were allegedly participating in the repression in Syria--as if the repressive regime needs advice and help in repression?  Of course, it turned out that the three were none other than those Iranian engineers who were kidnapped in Syria weeks earlier.  Will the lousy Western media ever expose or reveal one lie by the Syrian opposition?  One lie, not two?  And what about their claims that Hizbullah fighters are also participating in the killing?  I mean, if they tomorrow claim that Cuban soldiers were shooting in Syria, I am sure that the Western media would publish the claim and bring a terrorism expert to confirm.  I must confess, I have never seen a worse coverage of Arab affairs like I have seen in the coverage of Syria in the last few months.  It is more blatantly propagandistic than the coverage that led to the American invasion of Iraq.   I mean, at one point, a Lebanese Army truck was passing in a street in Damascus, and Syrian National Council websites and Saudi media published the picture and claimed that Lebanese Army soldiers are also participating in repression in Syria.  The Lebanese Army had to issue a statement to explain what that lone truck was doing in Damascus.  

Gene Sharp trained them on the use of RPGs in Homs

It is hilarious that the same Saudi media that insisted all along that all manifestations of protests in Syria are peaceful now brandish pictures of armed protesters.  And notice that they insist that every armed person is part of the "Free Syrian Army".  This is from the mouthpiece of Prince Salman, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat. 

Niall Ferguson

There are people on the opposite sides that I really enjoy to read.  I really like to read George Will: he is such a terrific writer and an effective columnist.  I also enjoy reading Niall ferguson, ever since I read his book The World's Banker: The History of the House of Rothschil.  I am ready to start reading his new book, Civilization.  Of course, of course.  I disagree with his premises and his conclusions.  

The scandal of the Arab League Monitors

This is a scandal.  It really is and won't be covered because the Western and Arab (Saudi and Qatari-funded) media won't report on it.  Basically, the GCC-led Arab League created an Arab monitoring group in Syria and the idea was supported by the Syrian National Council.  When the report of the group came out against the wishes of the GCC and its Western patrons, it was simply canceled and they simply moved to plan B.  No explanation was given and no attempt to even release and discuss the report.  The report was attacked in Saudi and Qatari media before it was even released, and the staging of the "defector" from the group was part of the propaganda operation.  

apartheid sciences

"The public opinion surveys also tell us, as noted, about those who conduct them. "If elections were to be held now," the pollsters tell us, this party would get this number of seats, and that party would get that number of seats. Then, at the very end of the detailed report about this and that, within the context of the "menu" of Jewish-democratic parties, will come the eternal sentence: "And the Arab parties will receive such and such a number of seats." Because in the eyes of every "educated" Zionist, every single Arab is an Ahmed, or is assumed to be an Ahmed.  It is therefore not clear why so much time and money is being spent. After all, the election results are a forgone conclusion: 110 Knesset seats to the Jewish parties and 10 seats to the Arab parties - is that not so? Here is yet another lesson in the apartheid sciences." (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

Flash: fight on Aljazeera live broadcast

On the widely watched Al-Ittijah Al-Mu`akis on Aljazeera Arabic, a debate between a Lebanese supporter of the Syrian regime and an opponent of the Syrian regime degenerated into yelling at obscenities and then into an actual fight.  The live broadcast was interrupted by the network.  A Youtube moment will soon follow.  Just now.

PS Here is the video.

Obama and Ross

"Apparently, a short while after Ross left his position in the Obama administration, the White House made an unusual request to install a secure phone line in Ross' office at the Washington Institute. The secure line is known in Israel as a "red phone", which could be used to discuss confidential information without the risk of wiretapping." (thanks Tarek)

The Agenda of the Syrian National Council

"Haitham Maleh, a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council, told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Assad had forfeited any chance of a peaceful exit from Syria as a result of his regime's brutal crackdown on protesters.  The former judge, who has spent decades in Syrian prisons for his human rights activism, predicted that Mr Assad, his wife and three children would be killed in revenge for his failure to respond positively to peaceful demands for change.  "Assad and his family will be killed in Syria, their next steps will be very bloody," he said. "Two months ago we offered him the option to leave us alone and go but instead he went for the blood of his people. The end for him will be that he is killed like Gaddafi."" 

Western media should note

That when they report on attacks on "suspected thugs of the regime" by some protesters, it could simply be a reference to sectarian attacks on `Alawites.  

This major crash is yet to be covered in the New York Times

"The Heron TP drone is also known locally as the Eitan. It has a wingspan of 86 feet, making it the size of a Boeing 737 passenger jet. It is the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel's military arsenal. No injuries were reported in the accident. Israel's military is understood to be launching an investigation into the crash.  The drone figures to be featured prominently in any potential Israeli operation against Iran and its expanding nuclear program."  If this was a crash of an Iranian missiles, it would be featured on the front page of all US newspapers.  Saudi media also ignored the "incident". (thanks John)

Threats to secularism in Tunisia

"The insults were furious. “Infidel!” and “Apostate!” the religious protesters shouted at the two men who had come to the courthouse to show their support for a television director on trial on charges of blasphemy. Fists, then a head butt followed."  Yes, Shadid is right: this conflict will intensify but the other side (the secularists) are not passive and not taking it on the chin.  They are fighting back and defiantly.  Salafites are being mocked in the popular cultures of Egypt and Tunisia.  

Harmush

So Arab and Western media carried a story about the execution of Husayn Harmush (the former leader of the Free Syrian Army gangs).  Yet, none of the stories that I looked at had any source besides "opposition activist".  

Saudi propaganda hearts Israel

I knew that Saudi government would feel very uncomfortable about Saudi hackers targeting Israel.  I knew that they would do something to respond to it, especially that Israeli media expressed alarm about the phenomenon.  So what does the House of Saud do?  A Saudi regime newspaper, Al-Madinah, comes up with an article (unsubstantiated) that "a Saudi hacker" got into the personal email account of Bashshar Al-Asad.  There was no confirmation by anyone but it indicated the direction of Saudi hostilities.

Military justice in the US

"The Haditha case also fits another pattern: Many cases involving civilian deaths arise during the chaos of combat or shortly afterward, when fighters’ emotions are running high; they can later argue that they feared they were still under attack and shot in self-defense.   In those so-called fog-of-war cases, the military and its justice system have repeatedly shown an unwillingness to second-guess the decisions made by fighters who said they believed they were in danger, specialists say.  “There is a surprising pattern of acquittals,” said Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School. “I think there is an unwillingness in some cases of military personnel to convict their fellow soldiers in the battle space.”  The limited data available suggests that even when the military has tried to prosecute troops for murder or manslaughter in a combat zone, the acquittal rate has been significantly higher than it is in the civilian context.  Over the last 10 years, the Army has court-martialed 43 people on murder or manslaughter charges in cases that occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan and that included both civilian victims and detainees. Twenty-eight were convicted and 15 acquitted.  That acquittal rate is more than twice as high as it is in civilian criminal cases, said Stephen A. Saltzburg, a law professor at George Washington University. But, he said, the gap is not surprising, given the chaos of combat.  “Those considerations mean there’s more likely to be a reasonable doubt, when you’re trying to figure out what happened,” he said.  The Marine Corps did not offer a detailed breakdown of its court-martial numbers, and even the numbers provided by the Army offer only a limited window into unlawful killings in the war zones. For example, they do not cover cases involving a lesser charge like negligent homicide, or those punished with administrative reprimands.  Some cases that have received prominent attention have never led to charges.  For example, in 2008 the military did not bring charges against two Marines who commanded a unit accused of firing indiscriminately at cars and bystanders along a 10-mile stretch in Afghanistan, killing 19 people and wounding 50. The shootings began after a suicide bomber attacked the unit, and the Marines said they were being shot at and had fired to defend themselves as their convoy fled.  By contrast, the justice system has been more likely to hand down convictions and lengthy sentences for killings detached from the chaos of combat."

A Saudi propagandist on the Syrian regime

""It is a regime that exhausted the Americans in Iraq and caused the killing of 3,000 U.S. troops and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians as a result of its support to al-Qaeda and the jihadists who used to come from all over the Arab world to Damascus, where they got trained before heading to Iraq to die in suicide attacks.""  When Saudi propagandists write in Arabic, they are writing for Western audiences.  This is why they are keen on translating their own words into English. (thanks Karim)

"Beirut death of Nepalese migrant worker Lila - video"

"Lila Aacharya left Nepal hoping to make a better life for her two young daughters. Two months later her body was flown home. Lila's case exposes the toll of human trafficking - from her attempt to escape the poverty of her village in the Himalayan foothills to her exploitation and death as a domestic worker in an upmarket apartment in Beirut".  (thanks Raed)

crimes against women

"If you are already sufficiently appalled knowing there’ve been 12 despicable “honour killings” in Canada since 2002, don’t read any further. This is only the tip of a nightmarish iceberg, I’m afraid.  For some reason, the term honour killings seems to be reserved for murders committed by male family members against daughters or sisters in South Asian or Middle Eastern communities. These unimaginable crimes have been receiving much high-profile notoriety in the Canadian media, as they surely deserve. All Canadians must now know of the tragic murder of 16-year old Aqsa Parvez of Mississauga, strangled to death three years ago by her brother and father.  But I’m confident that not one in a million is aware that in Ontario alone, from 2002 until only 2007 (the latest data), 212 women have been killed by their partners. That’s 42 every year, compared with 12 so-called honour killings in all of Canada in the past eight years. Women killed by partners are known as domestic homicides, and, unless especially gruesome, are barely worth a mention in the media. Maybe there's just too many of them to be newsworthy.  The data comes from the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, which I didn’t even know existed until it was recently cited in the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Monitor. I’ve never come across these figures anywhere else." (thanks Laleh)

Delegitimizing the illegitimate

"The University of Pennsylvania will be breaking all precedents about legitimizing and mainstreaming anti-Israel activism on prominent college campuses this week -- and crossing a new red line -- by hosting a conference, called PennBDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), which openly states that its intention is to train people and organize communities to try to dismantle Israel economically -- and, if conference participant Omar Barghouti's book, "BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions," is any indication, otherwise, as well. The conference is scheduled to take place Feb. 3-5.  A Google search of "PennBDS Conference" yields over 1000 entries, including a apologistic article from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency [JTA] saying that Penn is trying to "distance" itself from the conference, and that Penn's President, Amy Gutmann says she, "does not support the conference...or support its aims."" (thanks Reem)

Sources of Aljazeera

The website of the lousy Qatari regime news propaganda channel has a report on the Free Syrian gangs and they cite Christian Science Monitor which cites an "expert" at WINEP.

Transformation of the Syrian conflict

Comrade Bassam on the transformation of conflict in Syria. 

Karl Marx's desk

I asked a guy at the British Museum in London: can I see the desk that Karl Marx worked on at the British museum?  He said: it is not available for public display.  

Syrian National Council Flash news

Flash. Syrian National Council issued a statement in which they expressed gratitude for the safe arrival of Prince Sattam to Riyahd last night.  Civil state and democracy and House of Saud and Wahhabiyyah will spread under their rule.  The Syrian people deserve better. Neither the Asad regime nor the Syrian National Council.

Iran's battle

Comrade Amer writes about Iran's battle and "our battle". 

National Potato Council

""The National Potato Council, which had opposed the attempts to limit the serving of potatoes, said that it was pleased with the new rules but that it still had some concerns."

Rewarding the loyal Moroccan potentate

"The European Parliament's committee for International Trade last week gave the green light to a new agriculture agreement that will ease restrictions on the importation of fruit and vegetables from Morocco.

But it has emerged that the single biggest beneficiary of the deal will be the King of Morocco, who is head of one of the three largest agricultural producers in the north African country and lays claim to 12,000 hectares of the nation's most fertile farmland.  Human rights groups have warned that royal estates covered with polytunnels stretch across swathes of the Dahkla region of the Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975." (thanks Laleh)

From the cruel and racist state of Lebanon

"Two Sudanese men who survived this weekend’s building collapse in Ashrafieh are in General Security custody because of their immigration status." (thanks Marc)

Thomas Friedman on average

"In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle. But, today, average is officially over. Being average just won’t earn you what it used to."  And how do you categorize yourself, Mr. Friedman?  Because we see you as well below average.  (thanks Nikolai)

Uncovered Jordan

Uncovered protests in Jordan.

Adonis in the Guardian

There are problems in the articles. She said that he "embraced" colloquial Arabic in his journal, which is patently untrue.  He clashed with Yusuf Al-Khal over this and he writes in classical Arabic, always.  I don't know where she got this from.  Also, his position against the Syrian regime are not as categorical as he claims in the interview: I have not read any clear call for the resignation of Bashshar Al-Asad.  Thirdly, it is not true that he has not been in Syria in two years because it is "dangerous".  He has been going to Syria since 1976 and edited the cultural supplement of the regime's mouthpiece AFTER the Syrian army sent its troops to Lebanon in 1976 to crush the PLO and its ally, the Lebanese National Movement.  But here is an excerpt from his interview:  "Yet he is against both armed uprising and foreign intervention. "Guns can't resolve these problems. If everyone took up arms, there'd be civil war." Outside military intervention has "destroyed Arab countries, from Iraq to Libya". As for its humanitarian rationale, "it's not true – it's to colonise. If westerners really want to defend Arab human rights, they have to start by defending the rights of the Palestinians."  Calls for intervention from within Arab countries "are wrong; it doesn't make sense. How can you build the foundations of the state with the help of the same people who colonised these countries before?" At a talk this month in the House of Poetry in Paris, he held up a photograph published in al-Quds of some US soldiers in Iraq apparently desecrating the dead. "American soldiers pissed on Iraqi corpses," he says indignantly. "So these are the same people they want to call in to liberate Arabs, and piss on the living?""

Lebanonese Hotel

"Complications in Lebanon are no less than in any other country, you just think your country is special, and complicated in a special way. The problem is square and simple: Lebanon is a racist, sectarian, selfish, hypocrite, fake, and pretentious country..." (thanks Niqula)

Syrian National Council

The utterly pathetic Syrian National Council places an ad of its official poster of gratitude to Saudi King in the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid bin Sultan, Al-Hayat.  The fact that this comes a week after a meeting between Ghalyun and Saud Al-Faysal, and week after news in the British press that both Qatar and Saudi Arabia funds the lousy Syrian National Council is a mere coincidence.

Nepalese maid in Lebanon

A Nepalese maid in Lebanon kills herself by hanging.  (thanks Raed)

Syrian National Council issues an official letter of gratitude to the Saudi King

A real revolution or a real revolutionary group does not express gratitude to Saudi King.  You expect me to support those?  Are you really kidding me?  Look at the language and look at the clerical organizations who also signed this lousy document.  (thanks E.)

A different perspective on the problem of Boko Haram

"All of this seems well beyond the capabilities of a small cult known mainly for its views on secular education. Boko Haram in Hausa, the main language of the north, means “Western learning is forbidden”. The frequency and sophistication of the violence has led many, especially in America, to suggest that the group is getting support from international terrorist networks. Algeria’s branch of al-Qaeda and, more improbably, Somalia’s Shabab have been mentioned. Nigeria’s government, keen to win lucrative grants as a front-line ally in the West’s “global war on terror”, has encouraged such explanations.  Religious and political leaders in the mainly Muslim north, however, see things differently. To them, the internationally connected, ferociously active Islamist fringe group described by officials is largely an imaginary bogeyman. They say there are some genuine religious fanatics in the north but suggest Boko Haram has been co-opted into a murky mix of criminal opportunists and disgruntled political operators. “It’s something like a Bermuda triangle.” says Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, where the group originates. “Boko Haram has become a franchise that anyone can buy into.”  Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president, seems in two minds. He has claimed that Boko Haram and its sympathisers have infiltrated all branches of the government, including the army and police. “Some continue to dip their hands and eat with you, and you won’t even know the person who will point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your house,” he told a church congregation in Abuja.

The president, a Christian who is unpopular in the Muslim north, is following the advice of his top security men baying for blood. He has put much of the north under a state of emergency. He appears ready to give the armed forces and police a free hand to run large-scale operations. And he is set to spend an astonishing 20% of the federal budget on security this year.  Some fear that such measures may make matters worse. Already deployed in parts of the north, troops are seen by locals as occupiers. Their high-handed, sometimes violent behaviour stokes rebellious feelings. A backlash is already happening."

And this from a British conservative

"Consider these stark facts.

Adjusted for inflation, the income of the average American male has essentially flatlined since the 1970s, according to figures from the Census Bureau. The income of the bottom quarter of U.S. families has actually fallen. It’s been a different story for the rich. According to recent work by Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, the share of total income going to the top 1 percent of families has more than doubled since 1979, from below 10 percent to a peak of nearly 24 percent in 2007. (It has since fallen, but not by much.) The share going to the super-rich—the top 0.01 percent—has risen by a factor of seven.  Americans used to be proud of their country’s reputation as a meritocracy, where anyone could aspire to get to the top with the right combination of inspiration and perspiration. It’s no longer true. Social mobility has been sliding in the United States. A poor kid in America now has about the same chance of becoming a rich grown-up as in socially rigid England. It looks like Downton Abbey has come to downtown U.S.A.  Left-of-center economists like Paul Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs explain this phenomenon with the following story. Financial deregulation by Ronald Reagan ushered in an era of rampant greed in finance; meanwhile, Republicans ruthlessly hacked back New Deal and Great Society social programs to finance tax cuts for their Wall Street cronies.  To make their point, liberals point to European countries like Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, where the rich have not been getting richer and social mobility remains high. Conclusion? America needs European-style policies like the ones listed by Krugman in a recent column: “more nutritional aid for low-income mothers-to-be and young children…[improved]?public schools…aid to low-income college students…[and] a universal health care system.” And how would that all be paid for? You guessed right: higher taxes on the rich." 

armed with the ideas of Gene Sharp only (and weapons)

Free Syrian Saudi pro-Salafite Army

Inequality is good

BBC News held a debate on capitalism, from Davos I think. They invited three experts (all of whom are enthusiastic supporters of capitalism, of course) and one of them said: that inequality is good. That it is a good motivator.  

Lobbyists of principle

"Lobbyists for the Egyptian government in Washington have ended their contracts with the country because of growing tensions after a raid by Egyptian authorities on several American nonprofit organizations."  Those are lobbyists of principle indeed. All their years of service to the dictatorial regime of Mubarak did not bother them or cause them a crisis of "conscience."

House of Saud's columnist finds a hero in Tunisia

"During the visit made by the author of this article to Tunisia at the beginning of the week, it was truly striking to hear what Tunisians were saying about the man whom Davos had warmly welcomed last year, the highly qualified Governor of the Central Bank and former economic expert at the World Bank, Mustapha Nabli. They were saying that a fierce campaign was being waged against him because he is the only non-Islamist in government."  No, there is a campaign against him because was the architect of Bin `Ali's economic policies which led to the uprising.  How convenient.  (thanks Ahmet)

Prince Turki on "Jewish wealth"

""With our brain power, and Jewish wealth,” he says, “we can do wonders."" (thanks Basim)

Herzilya festival to celebrate Israeli war crimes

"The Palestinian Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) condemned on Thursday the participation of Arab figures from Egypt, Jordan and Qatar in the 12th annual Herzliya conference.

The Herzliya conference is considered the most important annual event for Israel's military intelligence as it is concerned mainly with the promotion of Israeli "national security," and thus forms a major threat to the Palestinian cause, the committee said in a statement Thursday.  The Herzliya conference will be held between 31 January and 2 February under the name “In the Eye of Storms: Israel and the Middle East."  Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic daily, reported on Thursday that among participants in the conference are Riad al-Khoury, a Jordanian economist, Salman al-Sheikh of the Doha-based Brookings Institute, Sherif al-Diwany, chairman of Marsad (Observatory) Inc. in Egypt, and Saeb Erekat, former chief Palestinian negotiator.  The BNC called on Arab figures participating in the conference to withdraw."  And there is a Lebanese Zionist likudnik but no one has ever heard of him. (thanks Khalid)

Bullshit PhD

Jordanian media are ecstatic: a Jordanian specializes in the speeches of King PlayStation of Jordan. (thanks Jasser)

Berlitz is training Israelis in hacking: can you imagine if they were doing that for Arab hackers?

"The Berlitz class, a sort of Arabic-for-hackers 101, includes the alphabet and recognition of key words such as “Ministry of Interior Affairs,” “national bank” and “government,” one teacher told Maariv. "This will save us time locating government companies, banks and enemy country government bodies," the student said.  Mira Mines, a top Berlitz executive, was quoted in the report as saying that the school was glad to take part in the national effort and "help hackers deter anti-Israeli elements from attacking Israel in the future.""

Can you imagine the uproar if he were a Muslim cleric?

"Soon after he began running for Congress in 2009, Michael G. Grimm, a Staten Island Republican, needed to convince party leaders in Washington that he could raise enough money to become a viable candidate. Seeking help, he turned to an unlikely source: followers of an Orthodox rabbi and mystic from Israel." (thanks Shadi)

Rami Abdur-Rahman

Even after it was revealed that there was no person by the name of Rami Adbur-Rahman at the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, Western media continue to quote him widely.  Just google his name.  Western media (like in Iraq in 2003) are intent on being part of a propaganda campaign and journalistic standards are first to go.

The casino in Jordan

"The trip to Jordan by a group of United States congressmen was supposed to be a chance for them to meet the newly crowned King Abdullah II. But their tour guide had a more complicated agenda.  The guide was Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate who helped underwrite trips to the Middle East to win support for Israel in Congress. On this occasion in 1999, as the lawmakers enjoyed a reception at the Royal Palace in Amman, Mr. Adelson and an aide retreated to a private room with the king.  There, the king listened politely as Mr. Adelson sat on a sofa and paged through his proposal for a gambling resort on the Jordan-Israel border to be called the Red Sea Kingdom.  “This was shortly after his father, King Hussein, died, and he was grateful to me,” Mr. Adelson explained later in court testimony, recalling that he had lent his plane when the ailing monarch sought treatment in the United States. “So they remembered.”  The proposal never went anywhere..."  Oh, no. It got somewhere.  There was a casino scandal later and many in Jordan suspect the royal family and mysterious investors of being involved.

Partners in crime in Yemen

"The State Department has announced that Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, will have diplomatic immunity while he visits the United States this week for medical treatment.  The immunity is being granted to Saleh as it would to any foreign head of state, the State Department said in a statement, and will last "until a new Yemeni president is sworn in following elections on February 21." Saleh is due to arrive in the country any day to seek treatment at a New York hospital for injuries suffered during a June attack on his presidential compound by anti-regime forces."  The US Department of State added that Saleh would also be fighting terrorists while in the US.  (thanks Mariela)