Nir Rosen on Future TV: not white enough for Lebanese TV. So while working out, I watched Nir Rosen on Future TV. The man kicked ass big time. He was strong and assertive, although he appears expressionless and emotionless on TV. Some forms of drugs can change that--I am told. The host, the able Najat Sharaf Ad-Din, has been changing. I talked about her show before: Transit is a weekly show that is devoted to discussion of media coverage. She started by inviting people from the other side--uncommon in Hariri or Saudi media; and she stayed largely profession. But not as of late. She must have received more instructions. And today, she was quite propagandistic. She seemed too eager to just promote the propaganda line of Hariri Inc. The other guest was Zaki Shihab: but Zaki is better in English media. In Arabic he appears too cautious perhaps because he serves as bureau chief for Al-Hayat (the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid Bin Sultan (brother of Prince Bandar Bin Bribe) in London, and he knows that his Arabic media appearances are closely watched. My favorite part was when Sharaf Ad-Din was discussing with Shihab the deterioration in security conditions in Gaza--because according to Western and Saudi Arab media the situation in West Bank is fabulous and Israeli troops voluntarily withdrew). She then turned to Nir and asked a different question on Iraq. Nir--kudos to you--insisted on discussing the Palestine issue, and he was most effective thereby guaranteeing his ban by Saudi media forever. I told Nir today he deserves a blender from me for using the phrase "the gangs of Dahlan" on Saudi-Hariri TV. Zaki Shihab was ridiculous when he said that there was one particular collaborator in Hamas (of course, most Palestinian organizations have suffered from Israeli infiltrations and manipulations). Nir said Fath has more collaborators than any other place. He even managed to speak about the role of Arab regimes and Saudi Arabia in particular against democracy in Palestine. Nir also discussed Iraq, and talked about the Saudi role there. He spoke about Iran without being apologetic about it, and talked about the death squads of Badr gangs there. But the host wanted him to say that the US troops have to stay. He did not give her that pleasure. It being understood that I still intensely dislike Nir's book on Iraq, but he promised me to never do that again, otherwise I can send Dahlan goons after him. Nir is now working on a piece on Sunni fundamentalist groups in Lebanon for the New York Times Magazine. Let us put it this way: I doubt that Nir will get the dubious honor that Nicholas Blanford received from Hariri rag, Al-Mustaqbal, when it featured his hagiography of Rafiq Hariri on its front page. Get to work NOW, Nir.