US media lies and political propaganda. Sometimes you have direct experience with the US media that only confirms the perception that they--all of them: liberal and conservative alike--can't be trusted especially on Middle East issues. I woke up today to news coverage regarding that dinner which Obama in honor of Rashid Khalidi. Rashid has been described this week as "PLO spokesperson", "PLO functionary", "PLO official", "Palestinian activist", "adviser to Yasser Arafat", etc. Rashid was my teacher and adviser at the American University of Beirut from 1978 uintil 1982. And he had no official capacity with the PLO whatever. He left Lebanon and came to US in 1983: the same year I came to the US. He came to Georgetown as a visiting professor and I came as a graduate student.