"Since 1996, following the signing of the Oslo accords by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel restricted Gaza fishers to 20 nautical miles off the coast. That was eventually reduced to 12 miles, then six and now to just three." (thanks Amir)
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
Regarding the warning about Russian spies infiltrating all aspects of life in the US
Regarding the post from yesterday about the warning on Lifetime channel at the end of a movie: it is not a parody. It was a serious warning after a movie (claims to be based on "true events", called His Double Life) which alleges to show a Russian spy marrying a non-suspecting American woman and killing a number of people, in addition to trying to infiltrate the NSA. Can you imagine if this warning appeared on North Korean or Russian TV? Can you imagine the uproar in US media about that? Can you imagine the mockery that this would have engendered if this was on an enemy TV station?
Sunday, February 25, 2018
How the lies of the Israeli occupation army get free run in US media
"Palestinian killed in raid captured on video: A 33-year-old Palestinian man was killed early Thursday by Israeli troops who are seen on a security camera video kicking and beating him with their rifles after he comes charging down an alley, carrying a long object on his shoulder. The Israeli military confirmed that the video showed parts of a predawn arrest raid in the West Bank town of Jericho. An army statement initially said that Palestinians attacked troops during the raid and that an armed man tried to grab a soldier’s gun. In a later statement, it said the man ran toward soldiers with an iron rod and tried to attack them. The statement said troops responded “by opening fire, confronted the terrorist at close proximity and managed to block him.” It added that a knife was found on the man."
The clowning of the Canadian prime minister: or the Sa'ib `Urayqat of Canada
When will his clowning end?
The Lebanese government summons me to a military court
I finally spoke to the Lebanese Minister of Justice. We spoke about my case where the Lebanese government has summoned me to appear before the prosecutor of the Military Court, in response to a tweet of mine against meetings in Naqurah between Lebanese Army Officers and Israeli occupation Army officers and I called (by way of irony) for disarming the Lebanese Army and preserving the arms of resistance against Israeli occupation and aggression. He told me that he is in favor of freedom of speech and advised me to hire a lawyer to contact the prosecutor. I explained that I am still waiting for a verdict from the courts from 4 years ago in which I filed a suit against Saudi-run media in a case of defamation. We shall see.
This is way too far: scaring the American people like that. This appeared at the end of a Lifetime Movie on TV. Kid you not.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
When will Justin Trudeau's clowning come to an end?
"Justin Trudeau’s Celebrity Schtick Has Finally Blown Up in His Face"
America's secret wars
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "US (Semi) Secret Wars and the Targeting of Iran".
The most silly Western ranking of them all: Transparency International
Look at their methodology: "The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) aggregates data from a number of different sources that provide perceptions by business people and country experts of the level of corruption in the public sector....Performed by a credible institution". And notice that they don't mind ranking countries at war, like Yemen and Syria. I wonder what their methodology is there.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Israel and school violence
Of course, the New York Times account ignores the long record of Israeli bombing of schools in Lebanon and Palestine and the bombing by fighter jets of school children in refugee camps. Also, what about the targeting of Bahr Al-Baqar school in Egypt in April of 1970? That does not count as school violence for the New York Times?
Frontline on PBS on Saudi-Iranian conflict
I watched one hour of the first episode. Horrible. He goes to Iran and tells viewers that there is suppression of political freedoms in Iran. He goes to Saudi Arabia and offers no such warning to viewers. His main experts on the subject of the documentary are two: 1) a retired US diplomat who is a big fan of Saudi regime; 2) a Princeton Professor who is know for being very close to the Saudi regime and to Muhammad bin Salman. After one hour, I learned about US documentaries what I knew not before. He also adheres to Saudi regime talking point: that Saudi Arabia was a feminist democratic republic until 1979 when Iran revolution came and the rebellion in the Grand Mosque occurred. But what about the Jihadi rhetoric and religious fanaticism which was employed by Saudi regime against Nasser and against the Left in general BEFORE 1979???
Rev. Billy Graham: the Mufti of the American republic was a blatant anti-Semite but was forgiven because he supported Israel
""Not all the Jews, but a lot of the Jews, are great friends of mine; they swarm around me and are friendly to me because they know that I'm friendly with Israel. But they don't know how I really feel about what they are doing to this country." Also, On Feb. 1, 1972, unaware of Nixon’s Oval Office taping system, when Nixon ranted about how Jews “totally dominated” the media, Graham said, “This stranglehold has got to be broken or this country is going down the drain.” He also told Nixon that Jews are the ones “putting out the pornographic stuff.”
An Israeli criminologist explains why for Israeli men, killing Palestinians make them less likely to kill other Israelis because they vent out against Palestinians
This is an incredible statement here: "“I would say that for many [Israeli] males, especially, military service serves as a kind of catharsis for their aggressive emotions, therefore much less of it is being expressed in civilian circles,” Dr. Rattner said." Military service is a kind of catharsis? Because they get to kill and maim Palestinians which make them let some steam off?
This is the foreign policy columnist for the New York Times
Can you imagine Anthony Lewis or Tom Wicker or even William Safire writing like this: "reportedly had sex with a porn star shortly after his wife delivered their son".
Did Ibn Saud’s militants cause 400,000 casualties?
"Did Ibn Saud’s militants cause 400,000 casualties? Myths and evidence about the Wahhabi conquests, 1902–1925". He is right, of course. The figure is inflated.
Look at this stupid sentence in the New York Times: in South Korea? Unlike the US??
So unlike the US, "In South Korea, men still dominate the top echelons of government, business and the arts". I see. When will South Korea have gender equality just like the US, when?
Thursday, February 22, 2018
AP clarification about Jerusalem
"Clarification: United Nations-Palestinians-Israel story
UNITED NATIONS — In a story Feb. 21, The Associated Press reported that east Jerusalem is Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The story should have made clear that this was quoting a speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the U.N. Security Council." (thanks Basim)
Correction: stoning illustration
I stand corrected. The stoning illustration below is not an official Saudi regime publication but came from here.
ِAUB cancels series of lectures by Berkeley chemistry professor, Omar Yaghi
There is no question that UC, Berkeley chemistry professor is rising in his field. A year or so ago, he was invited by AUB to give series of lectures. But in the days preceding his lectures (last week), he was awarded the Israeli Wolf Chemistry Prize (which was also won by Ahmad Zuweil, who went on to win the Nobel Prize--an Arab has to prove his acceptance of Israel before receiving any Nobel: just look at the record, from peace to literature to chemistry). He expressed his "pride" in receiving the prize: would he dare accept an Iranian prize, say?So there was a debate at AUB (you see there is more proBDS mood among Western faculty than there is among some AUB faculty), and then they decided to cancel all lectures by Yaghia but noticeably the AUB administration did not explain or release a statement for fear of upsetting the Zionist US Congress.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Political repression in Lebanon: the view of the New York Times
Two things struck me: 1) they typically don't mention any of the leftist victims of state repression in Lebanon. They only highlight the right-wing victims. 2) notice they refer to the allegedly most corrupt media personality in Lebanon, Marcel Ghanem, as "a popular talk show host". This is like mentioning Robin Leach (of the Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous) as a popular journalist.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Saudi law specifies the rules and regulations for the "proper" stoning of a woman or a man.
It reads: "Stoning stones should be from a medium-size solid brick, almost the size of the palm, not small pebbles which can prolong suffering or he big ones which can kill fast thereby preventing the purposeful torture. If it was a woman, a hole should be dug up to her chest so that she won't be uncovered, and it it was a man, no hole should be dug, and his pudendum should be covered, and the whole body of the woman during stoning. The stoned should not be tied or chained, and remorse should be offered. He could pray two prostrations, and can be provided with water. If he dies, he can be washed and shrouded and prayed over him". This regime is really a stickler for the law.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Matter-of-factly: UN secretory-general reports that Israel will destroy Lebanon
"The worst nightmare would be if there is a direct confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah...the level of destruction in Lebanon would be absolutely devastating, so there are major points of concern around this situation." (thanks Basim)
Part Two: origins of terrorism in the Middle East: Zionist pioneers.
Part Two: origins of terrorism in the Middle East: Zionist pioneering. On July 1938, Zionist tossed a bomb in Haifa market place and 8 Arabs are killed or injured. On July 14, 1938, Zionists planted a bomb in Arab vegetable market, killing 12 and wounding 29, including women and children.
Who intervenes in elections more? US or Russia? Let the record shows
“A Carnegie Mellon scholar, Dov H. Levin, has scoured the historical record for both overt and covert election influence operations. He found 81 by the United States and 36 by the Soviet Union or Russia”.
The New York Times explains to its readers why US interferences in elections around the world is less sinister than Russian interferences
“American interventions have generally been aimed at helping non-authoritarian candidates challenge dictators or otherwise promoting democracy.” This is too funny. Non-authoritarian candidates? Like the Gemayyels and other fascistic elements in Lebanon, or the royals in Jordan and Morocco, or the various military generals around Latin America, or Hamid Karzai or Iyad Allawi?
The US represents the mother/father of all intervention in elections
“The U.S. government and American oil corporations helped Christian (read fascist) parties in Lebanon win crucial elections in 1957 with briefcases full of cash.”
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Ukraine and the Holocaust: Where is the outrage here?
"But as with similar measures in Europe’s ex-communist nations, the Ukraine law generated little opposition or even attention internationally — especially when compared to the loud objections to a similar measure in Poland that was signed into law on Tuesday by the president. The law had passed both houses of parliament in recent days. The United States and Israel joined historians and Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust authority in decrying the bill. “The Ukrainian and Polish laws are similar, but in Ukraine’s case we didn’t see anything even close” to the avalanche of condemnations that Poland received, said Eduard Dolinsky, director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee and a longtime campaigner against Holocaust revision in Ukraine. “I wish we had; maybe this law could have been stopped in Ukraine.”"
Long before ISIS and Al-Qa`idah: rooter of terrorism in the Middle East: the Zionist contribution to (and pioneering of) terrorism
I will be telling the story of Zionism through a history of roots of terrorism in the Middle East: an account of deliberate targeting by Zionists of civilians. 1) On April 16, 1936, two Arab civlilians living in a hut were murdered near Petah Tikvah. 2) On March 17, 1937, four bombs were tossed into Arab cafes in Jaffa. One Arab was killed and 10 injured.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
The Berri-Basil conflict
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "The Constitutional and Sectarian background of the conflict between Tayyar and Harakat Amal".
A rare long report about the heavy Israeli military intervention in the Syrian war on the side of (some) rebel groups
"Another major shift in Israeli policy occurred during this time as well, according to Syrian activists and rebels I have interviewed, as well as pro-regime and opposition media reporting. Rebels from Quneitra and western Daraa, as well as media activists in those regions with ties to the rebels, told me that Israel began providing more military support to a greater number of rebel groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. This support came in the form of weapons, ammunition and money to purchase weapons on the black market. All of my sources confirmed the identity of at least seven factions receiving Israeli support, on the condition that the groups would not be named. However, two of these groups have been publicly identified before: Liwaa’ Fursan al-Jolan and Firqat Ahrar Nawa. Israeli officials have vehemently denied support to jihadist groups, leaving open the possibility that the government supports these non-jihadist groups. Some of the groups that started getting Israeli support in late 2017 were previously supported by the Military Operations Command, a CIA-directed center in Amman. Until January 2018, this center paid the salaries for tens of thousands of Free Syrian Army “Southern Front” fighters and provided them with materiel and ammunition." And as typical of the Israeli racist apartheid state, the occupation state has only contempt for its quisling Arabs: "Israel’s military establishment is entering relationships with rebel groups with a sense of distrust and even disdain."
Friday, February 16, 2018
Liz Sly of the Post
Liz Sly (who blocked me on Twitter) is by far one of the worst Western correspondents to cover the Middle East. By far. Look at this article: she assembled three experts to talk about Syria: one is an Israeli, one is far right-Lebanese, and the 3rd is GCC think tank type. Not one person of the other side. Also notice, that while Israel admits that it raised and bombed Syria more than 100 times, Sly insists that Israel is merely watching developments in Syria with great alarm but not interfering at all. Sly has eliminated the thin line separating some Western correspondents from Western propagandists.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Can Western governments please make up their minds whether chemical weapons have been used in Syria? They got me confused
"“Today, our agencies, our armed forces have not established that chemical weapons, as set out in treaties, have been used against the civilian population.”"
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Trump tells an Israeli newspaper that Saudi regime accepted his decision on Jerusalem
" How do you see the future relationship between Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, and Israel?
"They are getting much better. I think they respect me and they accepted what I did [on Jerusalem]."
The length to which Qatari regime is going to appease the US
"In his meetings last week, Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah said Qatar would upgrade living quarters for United States military personnel stationed at al-Udeid Air Base, which hosts nearly 10,000 American troops."
American Zionists spend a few days in Gulf countries and return with unpaid praise: Dennis Ross on Saudi "revolutionary" Prince
Dennis Ross said that there were no criticisms of the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia. Yes, the regime will arrange for you to meet critics and dissidents in prisons to express their views openly, o brilliant foreign policy expert.
You can occupy, and you can steal, and you can perpetrate massacres but your rule and occupation won't last
"Virgin Atlantic has changed the name of an in-flight meal after social media backlash from pro-Israel supporters.The dish – a mix of Maftoul and other couscous, tomatoes and cucumber seasoned with parsley, mint and lemon vinaigrette – was formerly called “Palestinian couscous salad” on the menu."
When will Democracy Now host Thomas Friedman for insights?
Really. It is high time that they host Thomas Friedman, ever since DN went mainstream establishment.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Demonstrations in Tehran
Just like in Syria, why do Western media and DC pundits ignore demonstration when in support of regimes that are not on good terms with the US and only highlight demonstrations against regimes that are not aligned with the US? And why do they ignore demonstrations in places like Jordan or Morocco or Tunisia where the governments are aligned with the US? Why? We know why.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Palestinians in 1948 Palestine
There is a new trend among Palestinians in 1948 Palestine. They hold in their hands pictures of Arab symbols of resistance against Israel, and they circulate them and they get spread on Arab social media. Some of them are in cities like Tel Aviv (the suburb of Jaffa would be the accurate name of this occupation settlement) or other places.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Arabs respond to the downing of the Israeli jet
I can bet the farm (which I dont have) that none of the Western correspondents in Beirut or elsewhere and none of the DC pundits and journalists (especially those Lebanese who work in Saudi regime media and tweet in English) will convey to you the jubilation expressed by Arabs on social media about the humiliating downing of the Israeli fighter jet.
Western correspondents and the downing of the Israeli bombing jet
I am sure that Western correspondents in Beirut would now claim that the Israeli fighter jet was on a peace mission and that it was dropping flowers over Syria.
The humiliating downing of the Israeli fighter jet
Friday, February 09, 2018
More Scary than Trump? Gen. Mattis
It seems to me that Gen. Mattis is the most dangerous man in this administration. He--not Trump--seems bent on taking the country to war--in different places.
This is a tour of Beirut which won't be covered by Ben Hubbard of the New York Times
Ben Hubbard covered in a story a silly touristic tour of Beirut conducted by the son of a former minister. There is nothing insightful or significant of this tour. He points out landmarks. But comrade Jana Nakkhal of the Lebanese Communist Party Central Committee conducts a different tour of Beirut which points to the social injustices and struggles within the city and the monstrous reconstruction of Rafiq Hariri, who is praised by the first Ben Hubbard-Loved tour.
New York Times calls Al-Qa`idah terrorists "rebels": Anne Barnard calls them "insurgents"
Can you imagine if the families of Sep. 11 victims were to know that New York Times refer to the Sep. 11 terrorists as "rebels"? Here is the headline about the recent downing of a Russian jet by Al-Qa`idah terrorists in Syria: "Russian Warplane Shot Down in Syria by Rebels".
Israeli bomb targeting a teacher in Sidon: Lebanese police identifies the Mossad terrorist. Lebanese and Dubai police now beats the Mossad. haha
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Thomas Friedman is caught in a major fabrication
He says this about the May 17, 1983 humiliating Lebanese-Israeli peace agreement: "Lebanese militias, led by Hezbollah, quickly emerged to resist the May 17 treaty." Hizbullah militia lead the effort? Hizbullah militia did NOT even exist at the time. Hizbullah's name was not even known at the time, and it was not released. Amal Movement and PSP and other allies were behind the revolt against Amin Gemayel administration and the May 17 agreement. If he fabricates about an event that he says he witnessed, can you imagine his fabrications about events he has not witnessed?
Tour of Beirut, covered by Ben Hubbard
I can never understand the interest and journalistic preferences of Western correspondents in the Middle East. But take a look at this one: I don't understand why a tour which attracts no more than 20 people warrants a story of all the developments in Lebanon. Who knows. The political orientation of the guide is certainly relevant. But look at this in talking about the Holiday Inn: " Yasir Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, moved in for a while but was later pushed out". Never ever did Arafat stay at the Holiday Inn. He never was there. If the guide said it, he was lying and the correspondent should have verified it.
Scandalous: Qatari regime succumbs to pressure from US Zionists to kill a documentary on Israeli lobby
My sources in the network tell me that the Qatari regime has reached an agreement with US Zionists to kill a documentary on the Israeli lobby. Staff are concerned over the impact of this unprecedented pressures from the Zionists and their influence over the regime.
How can you take the Guardian seriously? This is not the New York Times. They say Gene Sharp inspired Arabs
"Gene Sharp, US scholar whose writing helped inspire Arab Spring, dies at 90". This would be a good parody of Western media coverage of Arab affairs. And they say: "It has been translated, often by activists themselves". Activists themselves? Translation of Gene Sharp was done by the institute of...Gene Sharp. I am a witness of that because they contacted me regarding Arabic translation of his work and asked for suggestions for translation and editing and I thought they were so lame and uninteresting that I referred them to a friend.
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
Downing of a Russian jet in Syria
Check the Arabic and Western press. All the references are to "opposition" and "rebels" who downed the jet. You have to really search to find out that Al-Qa`idah is the one which downed the jet.
Sunday, February 04, 2018
Youngest children held by Israel jailed for months
"Abdel Raouf al-Bilawi, 13, from Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, was sentenced to four months for throwing stones at occupation forces, the most common charge leveled against Palestinian children in Israeli military courts, according to prisoners rights group Samidoun." "Israeli occupation forces have a policy of deliberately maiming and disabling Palestinian youths who resist their frequent invasions of Dheisheh refugee camp."
Killing Syrian children to make money
"Costello said at the time that the contemporary Syrian war – now in its eighth year – could not have lasted for more than a year without armaments profiteering. As a result, there had been more than 300,000 people killed, including thousands of children, 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, 6.3 million people internally displaced and 5 million people turned into refugees." "Between 2012 and 2016, the 10 largest arms exporters were, in order: the US, Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Ukraine and Israel."
Are modern capitalistic cultures nurturing narcissism?
"Narcissism is increasing in modern Western societies and this has been referred to as a “narcissism epidemic” [1]."
Only US and Saudi regime media will believe this
"Saudi Arabia Says Detainees Handed Over More Than $100 Billion"
This Arab who previously wrote in the Times in support of Moroccan despot finds evidence that Arabs don't care about Palestine
"I know. I have heard them tell me these things in the privacy of their living rooms." This is what we call in academic "primary sources".
Democracy Index: US downgraded
The US now ranks 21st on the Economist's Democracy Index. The U.S. has been downgraded from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy".
An article in the Atlantic about BDS
The author found it necessary to affirm that he never was and is not now: "Personally, I do not boycott Israel".
The CIA drug connection is as old as the agency
"On the other side of the world, as a 1993 piece in the New York Times observes, "CIA ties to international drug trafficking date to the Korean War" in the early 1950s. The subsequent brutal US war on Vietnam and neighbouring countries saw the establishment of a heroin-refining lab in Laos - with heroin "soon being ferried out on the planes of the CIA's front airline, Air America". The article continues: "Nowhere, however, was the CIA more closely tied to drug traffic than it was in Pakistan during the Afghan War"."
NATO could be chasing the recipients of Nobel Peace Prizes
"In a controversial move, a conservative Norwegian party said Wednesday it is considering former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen as its choice to sit on the committee which awards the Nobel Peace Prize." "Rasmussen, 64, who is no relation to his successor and current PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen, headed the Western military alliance from 2009 to 2014 and notably as Danish premier was a keen supporter of the 2003 Iraq war."" (thanks Amir)
Is it even debatable that Israel is the most blatantly racist state in the world today?
"In the past, he [Netanyahu] has also said that the influx of Africans threatened Israel’s Jewish majority."
Can you imagine Voice of America calling for protests in Jordan or Saudi Arabia or Morocco or UAE or etc??
"An Iranian activist based in the United States, Masih Alinejad, who has a show on Voice of America’s Persian-language satellite channel, has called on women in Iran to observe “White Wednesdays,” wearing white and removing their veils and waving them overhead on sticks to protest the compulsory hijab and other religious restrictions imposed on women."
US stance on chemical weapon use in Syria
So this is the official US government position on chemical weapons in Syria: the US government does not mind if the Syrian government uses chlorine gas but objects to the use of sarin gas. And some accuse the US of lack of humanitarianism in its foreign policy?
Spielberg and Lebanon at the Oscars
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Normalization of the state versus normalization of society: the Lebanese (universal) director and Spielberg."
I saw this headline in the New York Times and I really thought they were talking about the US (they were talking about China alas)
Does China has a bigger surveillance reach than the US? No one has.
"What It’s Like to Live in a Surveillance State".
"What It’s Like to Live in a Surveillance State".
Friday, February 02, 2018
Anne Barnard from Beirut: relying on Saudi regime media--as usual
1) she does not read Arabic but insists on referring to the newspaper of Muhammad bin Salman, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as "pan-Arab newspaper" without mentioning the ownership and political orientation. 2) she basically calls all opposition who attended the Russia talks as "pro-Asad" but does not refer to rebel representatives who attended as "pro-Muhammad bin Salman" or pro-Erdogan" or pro-Tamim of Qatar".
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Human Rights Watch office in Beirut is in effect part of the March 14 Hariri coalition
I told you that a long time ago. Look at this: Human Rights Watch talks about political repression in Lebanon but they only mentioned the cases of right-wing, pro-Saudi individuals. There are four leftist writers in Al-Akhbar (me being one of them) who face prosecution by the Lebanese state (for a tweet on the Lebanese Army in my case) and not one of them was mentioned. They also called Marcel Ghanim, the most corrupt media personality in Lebanon and the Arab world, "prominent".
Today, the Jordanian King severed diplomatic ties with North Korea
This is the biggest setback for world communism since the fall of the Soviet Union, by far.
Thomas Friedman enthusiastically endorses Israeli murder of Lebanese civilians
He actually comes out and endorses the Israeli massive killing of Lebanese civilians as necessary. Can you imagine the uproar if an Arab wrote that in the Times about Israeli civilians? (Of course, an Arab won't be able to write that in the Times).
New York Times is covering a movement sweeping Iran: Iranian women are tearing off their veil
Headline of the New York Times: "Tired of Their Veils, Some Iranian Women Stage Rare Protests".
How many women are we talking about? " a total of six".
How many women are we talking about? " a total of six".