I love this picture: Lebanese journalists standing around the SAUDI AMBASSADOR in Lebanon with signs of Je Suis Charlie

PS Do you now know why I am one Angry damn Arab?

Those Muslims think if they ingratiate themselves with the White Man they become immune from discrimination and racism

"Ahmad, a Muslim chaplain from Northwestern University, was traveling from Chicago to Washington, DC, for a conference aimed at promoting dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian youth."

If this were a Muslim scholar/cleric, the articles would be headlined: when will Islam be reformed? Why don't they issue Fatwawawas?

"Debate Over the Rabbi and the Sauna".  What a mild headline of an article about a rabbi who took naked boys to the Sauna.  The headline makes it sound like an intellectual exercise.

Early Zionism of Sen. Bernie Sanders

"Not long after graduating from the University of Chicago, and fresh from a stint on an Israeli kibbutz". That explains why he supported Israeli butchery in Gaza.

Yemen's Saleh says Saudi offered him millions to fight Huthis

"Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh said in an interview broadcast Friday he had rejected "millions of dollars" Saudi Arabia offered him if he stood up to the Shiite rebels." "He accused the Sunni-ruled kingdom of seeking to sow "sedition" in Yemen, and said its "hatred" for the Huthis was "sectarian"."


Video (thanks Amir)

A reader asks: "Does the U.S. consider ISIS a threat to Saudi Arabia only if it kills Sunnis?"

"Islamic State is not a significant threat in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. military said on Friday, as it declined to speculate on the Sunni militant group's claim of responsibility for a deadly bombing at Shi'ite Muslim mosque. "In terms of Saudi Arabia and (Islamic State), we have no indication that they pose a significant threat at this time," said Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East."

I doubt that we will read articles saying: when will Christianity be reformed? Why can't priests issue fatwas against beheadings?

"Syrian Christian Fighter Reportedly Beheads ISIS Militant In Revenge Killing"

Young Saudi blood

"Yet, any semblance of meritocracy falls apart with the colossal (over) promotion of Mohammed bin Salman to defense minister, to head of the Economic and Development Affairs Council, chairman of Saudi Aramco’s Supreme Council and now to third-in-line to the throne. For a young man with negligible experience in these (or any other senior) roles, it is difficult to see how it could possibly be interpreted as meritocratic in nature – though his promotion may be an attempt to reflect Saudi Arabia’s youth with 60 percent of the population being under 21 years of age."

BBC and the Saudi propaganda efforts

BBC basically maintains that the Saudi media restrictions and the ban on critical media outlets is nothing short of an impressive "media victory".  Kid you not.

Zionism of Sisi

In the year 2015, the total numbers of days in which the Rafh crossing was opened by Egyptian tyrant, Sisi, was seven days exactly.

From 1973: US government praises Lebanese government restrictions on the press

"3. GOL OFFICIALS AT ALL LEVELS KEENLY AWARE OF IMPORTANCE MAINTAINING CONTROL OVER INTERNAL SECURITY, INCLUDING WHAT EVER RESTRAINTS THEY CAN APPLY TO IRRESPONSIBLE BEIRUT PRESS. THIS WAS CLEARLY EXEMPLIFIED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S HANDLING OF THE BANK OF AMERICA INCIDENT. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE STRONGLY SUPPORT DETERMINED AND FIRM RESPONSE TO LAWLESSNESS AND BELIEVE IT WILL DISCOURAGE SIMILAR ACTS FROM OCCURRING IN THE FUTURE. BUFFUM CONFIDENTIAL" (thanks Raed)

Saudi kooky cleric, `A'id Al-Qarni, has been posing with soldiers of "The Storm of Resolve"

This will not be reported by Western correspondents in Beirut: protests against Saudi-supported Zahran Allush and his tuhggery

Media of Saudi princes

According to this Saudi-funded magazine, the notorious Ash-Shira` (the epitome of yellow journalism), Obama is a Shi`ite and he was a student of Kissinger.

The grotesque pro-Al-Qa`idah festival on Aljazeera TV

You have to watch this pro-Al-Qa`idah festival on Aljazeera TV.  Unbelievable.  The host and the guest, Ahmad Zaydan (the notorious Pakistan correspondent of Aljazeera--I almost said of Al-Qa`idah) basically promotes Al-Qa`idah in all its branches to the viewers.  He at one point was talking about Bin Laden and his comrades and the simplicity of their lifestyle and said: "we used to eat bread and tea" but then quickly corrected himself. He refers to Sep, 11 terrorism on the US as "Ghazwah 11 Aylul (or Conquest of Sep. 11) which is the official name used by Al-Qa`idah.  He said that Ayman Dhawahiri is now like the Queen of England, who does not rule--kid you not.  There was a Lebanese guest who was opposed to this propaganda but he was not allowed to speak. They also invited a guest from WINEP to have him agree that Nusrah Front is now an acceptable moderate political party.  You have to watch it to believe it.  They even promoted the rule of Nusrah and the treatment of minorities by them in "liberated territories".  I have not been watching Aljazeera and could not believe how much it has changed. There is not even a semblance of professionalism and no, the network was not like this all along.

PS Zaydan said twice that Nusrah at the level of leaders took a decision to sever ties with Al-Qa`idah but never explained why that was announced as the Qatari regime wanted for PR purposes.

Look at this: a French expert on Syria testifies to the moderation of Nusrah terrorism

"Qatar, in particular, "had a relatively moderating influence on Al-Nusra that was clear in this interview," said Thomas Pierret, a Syria expert at the University of Edinburgh." (thanks Basim)

Video of Turkish MIT arming al-Qaeda

From a reader: "Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet (Republic) released a video showing Turkish spy agency (MIT) arming al-Qaeda"
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6ef_1432914446
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/287859/Gazetecilige_sorusturma.html


Serena Shim was killed in Turkey in 2014 after she reported al-Qaeda militants were being smuggled back and forth over Turkish border in the back of aid vehicles"

UNIFIL guarding Israel's security interests in Lebanon

"But despite its excessive arsenal of military hardware - tanks, warships, obscure vehicles that appear more suitable for extraterrestrial settings - UNIFIL won’t lift a finger in the face of Israeli aggression against Lebanon (even when, as sometimes happens, the targets of incoming Israeli fire are UNIFIL personnel themselves)." (thanks Amir)

Army of Conquest

Army of Conquest is merely the polite name of Jabhat Nusrah. It basically allows Gulf regimes and Western governments to shower Nusrah Front with money and arms without feeling guilty.

Lies of the media of Saudi princes

All Saudi media today credited the Ministry of Interior for foiling the terrorist bombing in Dammam when the plot was foiled by two brave young men at the mosque's entrance who died to shield the worshipers in the mosque.

Aljazeera hosts Julani

These sentiments were echoed by As’ad Abukhalil, professor of political science at California State University, and author of the Angry Arab News Service, who spoke to Sputnik.
"It is very clear that Qatar is now the official sponsor of An-Nusrah Front," Abukhalil said. "The interview was quite significant in that Qatar is now openly advocating on behalf of Nusrah and trying to draw an artificial ideological line between Nusrah and ISIL while both drink from the same ideological and philosophical well."
"Golani basically spoke of unofficial understanding that his organization has with the West," Abukhalil added. "That they will spare West of attacks provided they continue to receive Gulf arms and money, and even indirectly Western arms and money."

Al-Julani on Alawites

He said that they have nothing against `Alawites per se but that they have left off the faith of God. They are outside of Islam and outside the religion of God.

Saudi hegemony over the Arabs

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Saudi Hegemony over the Arabs: Not by money Alone".

I am not sure who is worse in the picture: the man or the woman?

Au Caire.

Yalla is an Israeli word now

From Khelil: "Look at this silly article boasting about how many British Jews are have been “Israelized” in the pro-Zionist online magazine Tablet, their evidence:

“The Anglo-Jewish refrigerator has followed this evolution. For Ashkenazim, gone are the cholent and chrain, the gefilte fish and goulash recipes that grandma brought over from Poland. In their place are pita, baba ganoush, shakshuka, and hummus. A takeaway treat now is no longer a salt-beef sandwich from Bloom’s deli in Golders Green but a chicken shwarma from Solly’s down the road. A dinner party is almost certain to be fueled by the cuisine of Jerusalemite chef Yotam Ottolenghi, who has brought previously unknown spices such as za’atar and ras el hanout to north London kitchens. Israeli words such as “yalla” are dropped into speech alongside Jackie Mason-esque yiddishisms to affirm a sense of Jewish identity.”

Is there no irony? "

Their real purpose

"The head of Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria last night said he had been told by the terror group’s leader not to use the country as a launch-pad to attack the West, in a highly significant change in its relations with America and Europe." "Our mission in Syria is the downfall of the regime, its symbols, and its allies, like Hezbollah.” "The shift in policy will be used by supporters of the Assad regime to argue that the West is now formally in alliance with Al-Qaeda."

Sudden arrests of FIFA officials was about preventing Palestinian bid to expel Israel

"Until Wednesday, much of the coverage of the FIFA Congress surrounded whether delegates would vote to suspend Israel from world soccer." "For Israel to be suspended, three quarters of delegates would need to approve the motion. If that were a long shot before, it’s even more unlikely now."

Did you know that Saddam named his missiles after Husayn and Abbas? Was that sectarian?

Not only in Saudi Arabia

"Jewish mothers have been banned from driving by their Orthadox sect who were today accused of trying to turn their London community into Saudi Arabia.

Community rabbis have also agreed that children dropped off in cars for school by their mothers should be turned away because women drivers break 'the traditional rules of modesty in our camp'.

The diktat was announced in a letter signed by leaders of schools run by the Belz Hasidic sect, which is a group in the Orthodox branch of Judaism, and has a large community in north London.

Rabbis are also backing the ban, and one said: 'It's always been regarded as not the done thing for a lady to drive'." (thanks Sajida)

Saudi relgiious police in action

FIFA and corruption

One Saudi citizen rightly commented that supporters of the candidacy of Ali Bin Husayn are talking about corruption as the reason for the re-election of Blatter, forgetting that Ali has served as his deputy for years and that he is part of the corrupt leadership of FIFA.

You want a sample from the media of Saudi princes?

Jihad Al-Khazin holds the dubious honor of being the only person to have edited both, the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid bin Sultan, Al-Hayat, and the mouthpiece of King Salman and his sons, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat: "I shook hands with King Abdullah [of Jordan] and I told him as he was leaving: we are with you.  I shook hands with president Sisi, and told him that I will be in Egypt in a few days, and I shook hands with Queen Rania".  Word for word.

"صافحت الملك عبدالله وهو خارج وقلت له: نحن معك، وصافحت الرئيس السيسي وقلت له أنني سأكون في مصر بعد أيام، وصافحت الملكة رانيا".

Disgrace unto the nations: Israel

"•According to the World Bank, at least 41 counties have greater income inequality than the U.S. And those include Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina."

US planes over the South China Sea

The US government insists on its right to fly planes over the South China Sea but can't understand Chinese claims in the...South China Sea:  "“There should be no mistake about this: The United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world,” he said."

Natalie Portman at Harvard

"Alan M. Dershowitz, who said Portman was in his neuropsychology and the law class, told the Crimson that “she was a terrific student” who earned an A+ on a paper — “the highest grade in the class,” the newspaper noted."  I am sure that Dershowitz grades on a Zionist scale especially that Protman is listed as one of his research assistants for his book The Case for Israeli War Crimes, which has been documented to contain plagiarized material.

FIFA

I wish to thank all of you out there who voted for the candidate of Arab nationalism, Blatter, against the candidate of Western governments, Ali Ibn Al-Husayn of the Jordanian autocracy.  I owe you one, o Zeus.  You did respond to my prayers.

I took this test at the New York Times in which I correlated family income with college chances of children.

And yet, veils are banned in the name of Western emancipation of Muslim women

"Statistics collected by the National Observatory Against Islamophobia, a watchdog group, show that in the last two years 80 percent of the anti-Muslim acts involving violence and assault were directed at women, most of them veiled."

When I read this I could not hold back tears

"But American officials say they are not striking significant, and obvious, Islamic State targets out of fear that the attacks will accidentally kill civilians."    I have never ever encountered a more humane and a more sensitive occupation like the American.  Never in my life. Look how much they care about the civilians on the receiving ends of their bombs. Is that not kind?

US and the creation of ISIS

Western correspondents in Beirut have been reproducing Syrian rebel accusations: that the Syrian regime had created ISIS and their evidence is their claim that the Syrian regime never fights ISIS. But the US clearly has been avoiding fighting Nusrah Front (and even created an artificial silly distinction between Khurasani group (we don't hear about it anymore by the way) and Nusrah Front. Does that mean by their own logic that the US had created Nusrah Front?

Zionists and the new defintion of anti-Semitism

Zionists have pressured the US government for years to include in the definition of anti-Semitism criticisms and attacks on the Israeli occupation state. And after the State Department succumbed to Zionist bullying and pressures, Zionists now say in defending their automatic labeling of critics of Israel as anti-Semites: well, have you see the official definition of anti-semitism by the State Department? It is there.

New York Times and the new defintion of anti-Semitism

"At a rally last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that he was the first Muslim leader to denounce anti-Semitism. He has, however, engaged in heated exchanges with the Israeli leadership".  Look at this phrasing.  They make it sound like opposition to anti-Semitism clashes with engaging in heated exchanges with Israeli leaders. They make it sound like: a true enemy of anti-Semitism would never ever engage in heated exchanges with Israeli leaders.

PS And this is unrelated to my very negative view of Erdogan.

Not everone at MIT is brilliant, trust me: look at this guy

Cited in a column by Thomas Friedman: "Otto Scharmer, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who works with communities trapped in perpetual conflicts, defines the main features of the fundamentalist mind-set by its opposites: What is the opposite of an open mind? he asks. “You are stuck in one truth.” What is the opposite of an open heart? “You are stuck in one collective skin; everything is us-versus-them and, therefore, empathy for the other is impossible.” And what is the opposite of an open will? “You are enslaved to old intentions that originate in the past and not from the present, and so you cannot open up to any emerging new opportunities.”"

Ted Cruz on Syria

"Condemning Obama for failing to enforce the Syrian red line after blocking him from enforcing the very same red line? This is vintage Cruz, who I’ve long suspected to be a charlatan."

Amnesty International report on Gaza collaborators with Israel

This is one of the silliest report: look how much reports about alleged human rights violations by victims of Israeli occupation receive in coverage versus reports about real and proven human rights violations by Israeli occupiers.  What does Amnesty International want? That under occupation, those who collaborate with the military occupation, and those who give (false and real) information and coordinates to facilitate Israeli bombing campaigns should be spared punishment?   And why did the report make the fact that some of the collaborators are Fath members as evidence that the motives of the punishment were political? Are you saying that collaborators should be spared because they belong to the rival party in Gaza?  And when was there a foreign occupation in history when collaborators with the enemy were spared punishment? French resistance? Vietnamese? South Africa?  Or even American war against British occupation?  Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch would have issued reports against the brave rebels of the Warsaw ghetto if they were around.  And are there any Palestinians other than collaborators with Israeli military occupation who are loved by Western governments, media, and human rights organizations?

ISIS spread

I don't write regular columns in English anymore so I will say this briefly: It is indeed possible for ISIS to spread.  If ISIS and its allies succeed in taking down the lousy Syrian regime (which has of late mastered the art of "tactical withdrawals" just like the Free Syrian Army of past years), the next border would be Jordan or Saudi Arabia, before Lebanon.

Sectarian Muslim-American organizations

I am told that Muslim-American organizations in DC (and all run by Gulf dynasties) never condemn bombing of Shi`ite mosques.

FIFA: protesters against Israel

US government interference in the affairs of the American University of Beirut

This newly released Wikileaks document is the best explanation of US government intervention in the minute affairs of AUB.  And notice that the Lebanese dean of students at AUB was more loyal to the US government than the American administrators. 

PS Student council president, Mohammad Dajani (who is mentioned here) is the last president of the student council (before the civil war) and ran on the ticket of the Fath movement.  But it seems that the AUB administration was rather pleased with him.

Israel murders children but UN does not want to notice

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is leaning toward not including Israel on an annual list of states responsible for violating children's rights in armed conflicts, despite proposals to include it, UN diplomatic sources said."

Cartoons

"Israel also makes an appearance, with a cartoon of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shown riding an ISIS "monster," holding a bloody sword - this in criticism of Israel's alleged contribution to the strengthening of the terror organization." (thanks Amir)

Walid Jumblat would like to visit the US

From the new batch of Wikileaks.

I don't pray but...

I don't pray and the last time I prayed I was still a boy but I will make an exception. Today, I am on my knees praying to Marx and to the ancient gods of the Greeks and ancient Egyptians wanting Blatter to be re-elected to prevent yet another son of the Zionist Hashemites of Jordan from being represented in some international organization, silly or not.  I will record this one for you, O Zeus.

PS Do you notice that Zionists are pushing for members of the Zionist Hashemites of Jordan to serve in international organizations? No wonder because they are more protective of Israeli interests than the Israeli diplomats.  The UN ambassador of Jordan takes more order from the representative of Israel at the UN than from her own government.

This is the segment that was censored from the confronatation between a Saudi citizen and Muhammad bin Nayif

Banners in Qatif protesting the Saudi regime's takfir in Shi`ites in school curricula

Shi`ite Obama

People in English language world are not aware: do you know that it is now quite common to read in Saudi and Qatari regime media that Obama is a Shi`ite Muslim and that this is the real motive of all his foreign policies? Kid you not.

Finally, the enlightened are given a voice in foreign policy and tolerance in the US

"Armed Bikers Plan to Draw Cartoons of Mohammed Outside a Mosque in Arizona"

Nusrah interview

A leader of Nusrah to the right interviews Abu Muhammad Julani, to the left.  Is it me or Julani looks smiling in this picture?

Anti-Shi`ite sectarianism in Hariri media

This is from Al-Mustaqbal, the mouthpiece of Hariri family: "In order to understand the shameful stance of the bulk of Shi`ites in Lebanon, just as the `Alawites in Syria".

A Saudi citizen in a conversation with Muhammad bin Nayif accuses the Saudi regime of complicity in crime

Look at minute 3:00. This clip censored out a longer version (which I will post later) in which this man also names the various channels of Saudi princes which incites against Shi`ites.

Nusrah and Nusrah Light: Terrorism and Terrorism Light

So Abu Muhammad Al-Julani didn't sever ties with Al-Qa`idah and yet the Arab oil and gas media is declaring the man to be a true liberal, democrat. 

Saudi Arabia Has Already Topped Last Year’s Total Number of Executions

"The number of executions conducted by Saudi Arabia in the first five months of 2015 has already exceeded the total number of people executed in the Middle Eastern country last year.

The latest beheadings of convicted drug smugglers Awad al-Rowaili and Lafi al-Shammary were carried out Tuesday amid concerns from human rights activists about the country's soaring rate of executions for non-violent offenses.

Murder and drug-related crimes account for a majority of Saudi Arabia's executions.

The two men — both Saudi nationals — were put to death in the northern region of Jawf, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said in a statement, according to the official Saudi Press Agency."

FLASH: Abu Muhammad Al-Julani

He is about to announce (under Qatari regime pressure) that he will sever ties with Ayman Dhawahiri and will thus become a feminist, liberal, secular, democratic Islamist Jihadi terrorist, and for that he wants Western and Gulf money and arms but openly this time. Congratulations for yet another democratic ally of the West in the Arab world. 

PA has no money, it says, but has money for this giant paster of the PA puppet of Israel

CNN Arabic

CNN Arabic is so hilarious in its production of propaganda from Hariri and Saudi media that it devoted a whole articles to tweets against Nasrallah, as if there are no tweets against Saudi King or Hariri.

Iranian trial of the WP correspondent

Why can't Iran resort to the transparent and fair trials of US clients, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, or even the US-run Kangaroo Hariri court in the Hague?  Why?

Can Western powers spare us their "peacekeeping" forces, please?

"“Petit, viens,” — little boy, come here — a French soldier called out at a checkpoint in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic.

For five months, an unknown number of people in the French forces, sent to protect civilians from the violence tearing the country apart, forced boys to perform oral sex on them, according to testimonies collected by the United Nations. The boys, aged 9 to 15, said they had sometimes been lured with the promise of military rations."

Wait? Did Anne Barnard change her tune?

For a few years she and other Western correspondents in Beirut have been maintaining that the Syrian regime avoids fighting ISIS, what gives?? "The group survived years of battles against Syrian government forces".  Which is which, Ms. Barnard?

These are the only Palestinians that the West likes, really

Why is it that the only Palestinians that the West (governments, media, and human rights organizations) care about are those murderous collaborators of Israeli occupation who direct Israeli bombers over Palestine?

"Will Aleppo become the capital of a new Caliphate?"

"The plan, drawn up by the insurgency’s three most powerful regional backers - Turkey, Saudi and Qatar - is to overrun the entire northwest of Syria and create a rebel controlled “safe zone,” and through direct military intervention prevent the Syrian regime’s aircraft and missiles from targeting it, thereby essentially setting up a de facto mini state." "This is what the nations who claim to back the Syrian people’s aspirations for freedom and a democratic inclusive state have deemed fit to unleash upon us. After failing to topple the Syrian regime for four years and realising there would never be any political compromise that would fit their goals, they have now decided to partition Syria and facilitate its partial takeover by jihadists."

EU plan for military intervention against "refugee boats"

"The documents mark a departure from previous EU military strategy in its overt targeting of civilian infrastructure in Libya. Numerous EU countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom participated in NATO-led air strikes on Libya in 2011."

Two thirds of Yemen without clean water

"Oxfam said on Tuesday that the Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Houthi rebels has contributed to an extra three million Yemenis being denied drinking water. This means, according to Oxfam, that at least 16 million out of a population of 24 million do not have access to clean water and sanitation. The water shortage has brought a genuine threat of potentially life-threatening illnesses becoming widespread, including malaria, cholera and diarrhoea, Oxfam said." (thanks Amir)

"nusra guy confirms that the uighurs or turkmenistanis played the main role in jisr shughur"

(thanks N.)

CNN Arabic website

Do people get to see CNN Arabic website? It is a mere reproduction of Hariri and Saudi propaganda.  I kid you not.  Word for word.

"At Your Command, o [King] Salman"

What about the slogan "At your command, o King Salman" which has been made into a poem?  And senior cleric, `A'id Al-Qarni ruled that such slogan are permissible when addressed to living people.

How Saudi regime perceives itself

From Basim: "Doctor Toufic al-Sudairi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, told Al Arabiya News that the ministry is tightening its rule of criminalizing anyone who raises the slogan of sectarianism, or who mobilizes people in its name. “The Ministry of Islamic Affair’s approach is represented in committing to Saudi Arabia’s moderate and centrist message and in equally treating (Saudi citizens),” Sudairi said."

FIFA

From Saad: "Not Coincidental:
Just when FIFA was considering kicking Israel out of international competitions, the US came out with the indictments of some top official."

Are the Shi`ites of Qatif wishing to replicate the gender segregation and repression of House of Saud?

I was disgusted to see that women were banned from the funeral processions in Qatif in the wake of the bombing in Qadih.  I received this official religious statement which was used to ban women from participating (although some women violated the ban and participated). Do the Shi`ites of Qatif wish to replicate the gender rules of House of Saud? Qatif was historically a more socially liberal place in the area.

Ambassador Robert Ford parades with his moderate Syrian rebels

  From Fadi: "Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, in northern Syria in May 2013 with rebel “Free” Syrian Army Colonel Abdul-Jabbar who at that time was head of the western backed and funded Aleppo Military Council (video here). Above right: “Free” Syrian Army Colonel Abdul-Jabbar with ISIS Emir Abu Jandal after their forces jointly capture Menagh Military Airbase in Aleppo province, August 2013"

"At your command, o Husayn"

Regarding the Iraqi military slogan in the operation for Ramadi, "At your command, o Husayn" (and not the other lousy translations that I have seen in Western media of the slogans).   As I wrote in Arabic this morning, religious slogans and chants mean nothing to me: they sound like those who call on people to buy fruits and vegetables from their carts in Lebanese streets (when I was a child).  I prefer "At Your command, o Habash" or "At your command, o Marx" but why is the Saudi media (and by extension these days, Western media) regarding this slogan as sectarian in nature?  Husayn is the grandson of the Prophet, who is the prophet of Sunnis and Shi`ites alike. Husayn was never a divisive figure among Muslims and the calling of his name was never seen as sectarian or provocative, although the (Sunni?) US Department of Defense objected to the slogan, as if the US was not a full partner in crime in the sectarian war launched by the Saudi government after 2003, and especially in the wake of the humiliation of the Israeli army in 2006 in South Lebanon.  Saudi Arabia wanted to help Israel by finding a way to undermine wide Arab and Muslim support for resistance movements in the region.  Furthermore, it is telling about the skewed standards and criteria that the blatant and explicit and grotesque discussions in Saudi and Qatari media about the wholesale extermination of all Alawites does not generate US condemnation but this slogan does.  

Zionists liars and fabricators: for the umpteenth time already

"“The real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel,” California State University professor As’ad AbuKhalil has said. “There should not be any equivocation on the subject. Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel.”" For the umpteenth time: I never said the first sentence cited and widely circulated by Zionists. I said: that the aim of BDS should be to bring down the state of Israel. I never said that it actually is.  But then again: since when do Zionists care about truth?

This website's look and appearance

Is there a more antiquated look and appearance for a blog more than this lousy one?  But this is not to announce a change; I have neither the time or the resources to change it.  Accept its ugliness.

Where do the supporrers of ISIS on Twitter come from?

From top to bottom: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, USA, Egypt, Kuwait, Turkey, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, UK, and Tunisia.  

So who really supported the Islamist rebels in Syria?

From Ali, Angry Arab's chief correspondent in Turkey: "What Reuters conceals when it reports Turkish government support for Islamist groups, of course US&Saudi cooperation in supporting Islamists, including Al Qaeda linked Ahrar ash-Sham groups.   l Reuters doesn’t eager to mention that it was not just Turkish intelligence operation, but CIA organizing this arm flow into Syria.

“One of the truck drivers, Murat Kışlakçı, was quoted as saying the cargo he carried on Jan. 19 was loaded from a foreign plane at Ankara airport and that he had carried similar shipments before. Reuters was unable to contact Kışlakçı.”

Reuters of course, doesn’t detail the ‘foreign plane’ in Esenboga, but Turkish press, when covering this scandal, emphasized more on the issue. In fact, testimony of the driver, who was stopped in Adana while carrying arms to Syrian border concides with the New York Times report;

“With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad”  (…)
“From offices at secret locations, American intelligence officers have helped the Arab governments shop for weapons, including a large procurement from Croatia, and have vetted rebel commanders and groups to determine who should receive the weapons as they arrive, according to American officials speaking on the condition of anonymity”

And this is TIME saying, CIA agents located in southern Turkey, close to Syrian border were in charge about which Syrian armed group should be supported. "

Secret Pentagon Report Reveals US "Created" ISIS As A "Tool" To Overthrow Syria's President Assad

"Security analyst Shoebridge, however, who has tracked Western support for Islamist terrorists in Syria since the beginning of the war, pointed out that the secret Pentagon intelligence report exposes fatal contradictions at the heart of official pronunciations:
“Throughout the early years of the Syria crisis, the US and UK governments, and almost universally the West’s mainstream media, promoted Syria’s rebels as moderate, liberal, secular, democratic, and therefore deserving of the West’s support. Given that these documents wholly undermine this assessment, it’s significant that the West’s media has now, despite their immense significance, almost entirely ignored them.” "

Bassiouni

"His lecture on “justice and reconciliation” for Hebrew University, for instance, endorses the Zionist project of establishing a “Jewish national homeland” in Palestine." "In other words, Bassiouni is suggesting in effect that more international assistance and support for Zionist colonization would have made the ultimate dispossession of the Palestinians a more orderly process with fewer troublesome long-term consequences."

Israel's former FM: there are zero gaps between us and Gulf States

"You held a series of secret meetings in Europe with officials from the Gulf States. What did you learn?

"When you sit down with them behind closed doors, they talk just like us. When they met with (US President Barack) Obama this week, they spoke about Iran in the same terms we do – only in much harsher words. At present, there are zero gaps between us and them." "

Racism of Israeli men AND women

"Indeed, Israeli women are now at the forefront of hostility to the Palestinians and their dream of statehood. Take Ayelet Shaked, the 39-year-old justice minister. She is a vocal opponent of a Palestinian state and infamously shared a racist essay that compared Palestinian children to baby snakes during the Gaza war."

Even Sweden bows down to Saudi royals

"The Swedish delegation is scheduled to meet Saudi government officials, as well as Swedish and Saudi businesspeople." “Sweden makes it clear that we should have economic exchanges even with countries that are not fully democratic and do not share our views on all issues,” said Damberg."

UAE intervention does not cause concern in Western capitals--I guess because UAE is a fellow democracy

"During his successful election campaign, Essebsi was dogged by a foreign funding scandal after it was revealed that the UAE had given him a gift of two luxury armoured cars.Opposition politician Anwar Gharbi seized on Farhat’s claims, demanding the establishment of an all-party parliamentary committee to investigate reports that the UAE had sought to use its influence to “destroy our country”.“The intervention of the UAE in Tunisian affairs is extremely dangerous, and represents a clear attack against the country and its people,” he told local news site Quds Press."

Saudi media blaming Iran for bombing of a Shi`ite mosque by ISIS

This is not new. Saudi media are blaming Iran for ISIS bombing of a Shi`ite mosque in Al-Qadih.

corruption and Israeli officials

It has to be said that not only corruption in Israel is as widespread as many Arab countries, but that the Israeli justice system is as corrupt and politically manipulated as many Arab justice systems. They always uncover corruption scandals of major Israeli officials but they always manage to avoid jail time, or if they do, they never get long sentences. 

The US and GCC regimes arranged for a meeting of...tribes in Libya; only the West can revive tribes and ancient traditional organizations

Dore Gold

Dore Gold wrote his dissertation at Columbia about Saudi Arabia. The material was later published in a book titled "Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism (Regnery, 2003)." That was the time when Saudi-Israeli relations were not as solid as they are today.

The alliance between Stalin, Hizbullah, LA gangs, and Temorlane

""The day after Salazar’s arrival in Washington, Spain’s ABC newspaper published a detailed account of the emerging case against Cabello, and last month, ABC reporter Emili Blasco followed up with a book laying out the allegations of Salazar and other defectors, who say Cuba’s communist regime and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah have been cut in on the trafficking."" (thanks Joseph)

How can you take seriously someone who writes this?

"Jordan, too, is a vague geographical expression, but has enjoyed moderate governance through the genius of its ruling Hashemites".

Who said that imerialism ever went away in the first place?

"Imperialism may have fallen out of fashion, but history shows that the only other option is the kind of chaos we see today."

Christians with Hizbullah: you would never read this in the mainstream US press

'They Accept Us as We Are;' Christians Join Forces With Muslim Group Hezbollah to Fight ISIS in Lebanon".

U.S. spy planes ignore the legitimate rights of other countries

" "Freedom of navigation and overflight by no means mean that foreign countries' warships and military aircraft can ignore the legitimate rights of other countries as well as the safety of aviation and navigation." "

NSA's use of Red Cross & medical supplies

"The National Security Agency concocted a plan to find Osama bin Laden by hiding tracking devices in medical supplies," "Analysts could “Determine Likely Meds/Equipment” and target the “Supply Chain to HVI [high value individual],” including International Committee of the Red Cross hospitals, the presentation suggests." (thanks Amir)

Saudi media and love of ISIS: what English language Saudi propaganda does not tell you

You would not tell from English language Saudi propaganda outlets that Saudi and Qatari media are quite jubilant about victories of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  In this headline from one of the most vulgar and crude of the media of Saudi princes and their in-laws, Al-Arabiyyah, there is a headline that Iran has shipped scud missiles to destroy ISIS.  So in English, Saudi media say that Iranian and Syrian regimes don't fight ISIS, while in Arabic they say that Syrian and Iranian regime are savage in the fight against ISIS.

The pro-Saudi Yemeni "army" had time to engage in a parade yesterday: they look professional to me, don't you agree?

Sectarian slogans and chants

So the entire US government has been able to denounce the sectarian battle cry of the Shi`ite mass militias but has not been able to denounce calls for wholesale extermination of `Alawites by militias armed and financed by US government and its clients in Syria?

ISIS fans and AlJazeera

This poll has been running on Aljazeera website: it asks: "Do you support the victories of ISIS?"  81.3% said yes. (18.7% said no).

A Sunni Saudi standing up against the sectarianism of the Saudi regime

He held the sign in the wake of the bombing of Al-Qadih.  His sign says: "Sectarian agitation is a time bomb: Together against sectarianism."  He is a well-known activist on twitter who has been jailed by the Saudi regime.

Obama's intervention in Syria

A Western correspondent in Syria sent me this under the title: "Could this finally tip Obama to full-scale intervention?"

The statement of ISIS about the bombing in Qadih in Saudi Arabia

Saudi students in the US alerted me to this yesterday: they pointed out to me that the official statement about the bombing in Qadih in Saudi Arabia against a Shi`ite mosque contained not one word of criticism against the Saudi regime. Not one word.  Furthermore, the entrance to the town has to pass through a Saudi military checkpoint.  

The new PR antics of Gulf regimes/US and Al-Qa`idah branches in Syria

The US government and Gulf regimes are about to officially sponsor and endorse the Al-Qa`idah branches in Syria.  The fanatical Bin Ladenite Zahran Alloush had only to change his discourse in an interview with US journalists to become acceptable to the US and Gulf regimes (Saudi regime has been supporting him all along of course).  And the Qatari regime the official sponsor of Nusrah Front in Syria has been working with the Nusrah leadership so that Julani can come on Aljazeera (it will happen tomorrow or this week) and distance himself from Al-Qa`idah of Zawahiri. But the ideology remains the same, of course.  Mark your calender yet again: the US government yet again is arming and funding Ben Ladenite rebels in Syria.  And when the monsters come and attack US targets, the idiotic chorus will express puzzlement.

From the demonstration in Qatif, Saudi Arabia

Not a single flag of House of Saud was seen in the demonstrations in Qatif today. They raised banners and signs showing samples of the sectarian hateful anti-Shi`ite slogans and teachings in the Kingdom of Horror.  This particular poster shows official textbooks used by Saudi ministries containing anti-Shi`ite teachings.  (Anti-Shi`ite teachings in Saudi curricula are not subject to US congressional investigations like anti-Jewish teachings).

Why are the Iranian people so paranoid really?

"Iran is a lonely country where people feel as if they are surrounded by enemies, including the United States." How dumb of the Iranian people. The US as the enemy? Where did they get this crazy idea from?

The New York Times admits: Iran UNLIKE ISRAEL does not censor its correspondents' dispatches

"Q. Has the government of Iran set any limits on what you can and cannot report? — Matthew Doherty, Tewksbury, Mass.

A. Journalists who work here for foreign news media companies are not censored. We are not required to show our articles to the Iranian authorities before we publish them."

Dexter Filkins: is this guy for real?

From a Western journalist in the Middle East: "I doubt Bouthaina Shaaban was coming to the Sheraton “to drink and dance and carouse.”
I doubt he himself “found” dozens of jihadis at the border
the syrian minister of interior is not Muhammad al-Shaara, as filkins writes twice, he is Shaar, and he is not “known for his iron fist,” he is not known for anything in fact, there is no way Filkins ever heard of him
his last point, attempting to make a comparison between the syrian regime and ISIS as if the difference is one between cold war totalitarian or authoritarian regimes is especially stupid given the vast differences that in fact do exist not just between the syrian regime and isis but even the syrian regime and the much more repressive saudi regime
and he closes by saying that at least the syrian regime left palmyra alone, as if otherwise it is identical to isis".

Saudi propagandists in English

Notice this mantra: when they say that Obama disappointed "the Arabs" or that Obama did not respect "the Arabs", they know that we know that they are talking about Arab Gulf potentates but think that we don't notice.  I say this as much as I detest Obama. If anything, Obama (like any other American president) gave too much to those potentates.

the talk on Yemen in San Francisco

I am speaking tomorrow Sunday, at 2:00PM on the war on Yemen in San Francisco.

U.S. Britain & Canada reject nuclear disarmament so Israel can keep its nukes

"Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never publicly declared what is widely considered to be an extensive nuclear weapons program. A conference might force Israel to acknowledge it. Since adopting a final document requires consensus, the rejection by the United States, backed by Britain and Canada, means the entire blueprint for global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation for the next five years has been blocked after four weeks of negotiations. The next treaty review conference is in 2020. That has alarmed countries without nuclear weapons, who are increasingly frustrated by what they see as the slow pace of nuclear-armed countries to disarm."

Israeli war criminal minister threatened a first-strike nuke attack on Iran; UN does nothing

"For years, the Israelis have complained about the Islamic republic's incendiary rhetoric, particularly that of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But the underlying reality remains that, of the two, only one country has a nuclear weapon, and that's not Iran."

Akram in Damascus

I have not heard from you in ages. Hope you and your family are safe.

U.S. & U.K. hide their war crimes

"A government that is able to hide its own atrocities on “national security” grounds will be one whose public endlessly focuses on the crimes of others while remaining blissfully unaware of one’s own nation. That is an excellent description of much of the American and British public, and as good an explanation as any why much of their public discourse consists of little more than proclamations that Our Side is Better despite the decades of brutality, aggression and militarism their own side has perpetrated."

Israel's non-secret weapon: the NYT

"Kershner appears to know full well what she’s up to. The current Israeli ruckus over Hezbollah’s alleged fortification of villages is, she surmises, part of an effort “to pre-empt or deflect the inevitable international censure that comes with civilian casualties”. Thanks in part to articles like hers, however, Israel is saved from having to fight this battle alone. The collaborative arrangement hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which ran the recent headline: “Israel’s secret weapon in the war against Hezbollah: The New York Times.” " (thanks Amir)

Do you notice?

US embassies in the Middle East officially protest to the host governments whenever they spot any anti-Jewish references in the local press. Yet, they never ever protest the avalanche of anti-Shi`ite and anti-`Alawite and even anti-Christian manifestations of hatred in the local press.

About the bombing of the Shi`ite mosque in Saudi Arabia

In a spontaneous procession, a brave Saudi covers his head with a box which shows the visages of sectarian Wahhabi clerics and the names of Saudi TV stations dedicated to sectarian hatred of Shi`ites (the TV stations here are both owned by Prince `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd).