You are a cute puppet.
No, no, no. YOU are the cute puppet.

Look who has gotten himself into the Georgia story: none other than BHL. As Raed reminds me, "Bourdieu called him once the "negative intellectual" (l'intellectuel negatif) and includes him in what he calls "les pauvres blancs de la culture"." Here is this new expert on Georgia: ""Tous ces ministres et conseillers sont des boursiers de fondations type Soros dont la "révolution des roses" a interrompu les études à Yale, Princeton, Chicago. Il est francophile et francophone. Féru de philosophie. Démocrate. Européen. Libéral au double sens, américain et européen, du mot. De tous les grands résistants que j'aurai rencontrés dans ma vie, de tous les Massoud ou Izetbegovic dont il m'a été donné de prendre la défense, il est le plus évidemment étranger à l'univers de la guerre, à ses rites, ses emblèmes, sa culture – mais il fait face." (thanks Raed)

I don't follow Olympic games but there is one thing I follow closely: I just always hope that Lebanon does not win--not even a tin medal.

" And with Israel and the US providing military backing to Georgia, Russia appears set to respond in kind by supporting Syria."

"A member of the Modesty Patrol, a group of ultra-Orthodox men working to eradicate so-called immodest behavior in Haredi areas, has detailed in a rare interview an organization that enjoys the support of rabbis and the police." (thanks Rakia)

"In an exclusive briefing to Dawn, the [U.S.] official also said the United States wanted President Pervez Musharraf to be treated with respect even after his ouster." (thanks Tanweer)

"Since Israel began making `goodwill gestures` to the Palestinian Authority last year, it has arrested more than four times the number of Palestinians it released from prison, former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi said on Monday." (thanks Ali)

"Men in front, women in back"

"The blatant media bias displayed by the "mainstream" news organizations is more than matched by the shameful cover-up of Georgian atrocities by the mainline "human rights" organizations, first and foremost Human Rights Watch. In the most brazen display of willful ignorance since Walter Duranty overlooked the Soviet gulags, HRW spokeswoman Anna Neistat told the Guardian that Ossetian claims of Georgian atrocities were "suspicious":"

"In answer to the question, Rabbi Melamed ruled that the inquirer should report the case to the Interior Ministry, “and in this way you are doing great justice to your friend and saving him from sorrow.”"

"But Iraq's government is suspicious of such groups, fearing their decision to break with the insurgency was a short-term tactic to gain U.S. money and support. The government fears they will eventually turn their guns against Iraq's majority Shiites."

"A lawyer for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera News Agency demanded that the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, apologize for publishing a faulty report in its printed and online editions. The report in question claimed that Al Jazeera had apologized to Israel for a weekly report which focused on Sameer Al Quntar, a Lebanese fighter who was release recently in a prisoner-swap deal after more than 30 years in Israeli prison." (thanks Olivia)

"Earlier this month, a thirty-four-year-old Chinese computer engineer, Hiu Lui Ng, who overstayed his visa, died in a Rhode Island immigration detention center. He had cancer in his liver, lung and bones, and a fractured spine. Despite repeated complaints of severe pain, Mr. Ng was refused independent medical evaluation by immigration officials." (thanks Sellam)

"A 16-year-old Saudi girl drank a bottle of bleach in an attempt to commit suicide to escape a forced marriage to a 75-year-old man, press reports revealed Sunday." (thanks Seham)

On foreign domestic workers in Lebanon.

Let me make this prediction. MEMRI and other Zionist tabloids will not report you Walid Jumblat's statement from yesterday in which he railed against U.S. occupation in Iraq and the treaty being imposed on Iraq, which Jumblat compared to British attempts in the 1920s. Michael Young must be crying as we speak over the new transformation of his idol.

This is a delicious picture. U.S. troops arrest an Iraqi puppet officer in Ba`qubah. (Reuters)

What will happen to Egyptian democracy now that the Egyptian parliament building suffered from a fire?

Muhammad Dahlan eulogizes...Mahmud Darwish. (thanks anonymous)

Al-Akhbar reporter, Fida' `Itani, had the best coverage of the short-lived pact between Hizbullah and one Salafi group. It basically explains what happened: a pro-Kuwaiti (and Kuwaiti-funded) group signed the pact, and the Saudi-funded (and Hariri-aligned) Salafis refused to join in. But within 24 hours the pro-Kuwaiti Salafis withdrew (or suspended the pact). But the most important part of the afffair is this: Hariri sponsorship of Lebanese Salafis has been uncovered for all to see.

A Lebanese politician from Tripoli (somebody I have never met) called me yesterday and shared with me some information and opinions about what is happening in the city. He said that Hariri's Intelligence Apparatus is running the city, and that the Israeli weapons in the hands of Hariri Salafis (reported on in New TV reports) were supplied to them by the Lebanese Forces.

Yesterday, I met a dear Jordanian friend who knows the PlayStation King of Jordan. He told me things that I can't use because he does not want me to.

"“President Bush appreciates President Musharraf’s efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan." Isn't this like appreciating Hitler's efforts in the democratic transition of Germany?

When your best bet is a failed military dictator. "“We’ve said for years that Musharraf is our best bet, and my fear is that we are about to discover how true that was,” one senior Bush administration official said."

Wahhabi Zionism: conspiracy? What conspiracy? Saudi sleaze website, Elaph, says that "beautiful [Jewish] settlements [in Gaza] were transformed by Palestinians into barren deserts." Zionists and Saudi Wahhabis deserve each other. Their friendship fits.

Saudi media racism. The Saudi sleaze website, Elaph, talks about Bangladeshi "criminal nature" and said that "the French were most right in describing them as while ants who eat all what they see without discrimination." This right-wing sleaze website is often described in Zionist media (like MEMRI and Israeli newspapers) as "liberal." (thanks Toufic)

"According to Marc Garlasco, of Human Rights Watch, there is growing evidence of the use of cluster bombs by Russian forces around Gori and elsewhere. It is the first time these weapons have been used since Israel utilised them in the war in Lebanon in 2006, and despite a recent international agreement on banning them."

"General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of staff of the Russian Military revealed Tuesday the extent of the military assistance Moscow claimed Jerusalem had given Georgia. "Israel armed the Georgian army," he told reported at a press conference held in the Russian capital. According to Nogovitsyn, Israel provided Georgia with "eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for the clearing minefields.""

"The Israel Defense Forces kept Sgt. Maj. Moshe Moridan, a senior regiment commander, in his post for three months after he had been accused of raping a mentally challenged woman volunteering in the army, it emerged Monday."

Women's rights in "liberated" Afghanistan: "Two-thirds of the women in Lashkar Gah's medieval-looking jail have been convicted of illegal sexual relations, but most are simply rape victims – mirroring the situation nationwide. The system does not distinguish between those who have been attacked and those who have chosen to run off with a man." Does the Feminist Majority do anything except cheer for wars on poor Muslim countries?

"Afghanistan has changed the venue for its independence celebration on Monday to an undisclosed location, an official said, after President Hamid Karzai survived an attempt on his life by Taliban in a military parade in April." People all over the country were asked to show up in large number at the undisclosed location.

What is a "strongman"? A "strongman" is a pro-U.S. dictator. (thanks Fahd)

"Mike Huckabee, who earlier this year lost to John McCain in the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, earned the title from Mati Dan, founder of the Ateret Cohanim religious seminary, for expressing support for the settlement of Jews in the quarter and for calling a potential division of Jerusalem "unimaginable.""

"Anderson has been quietly seeing a man from the United Arab Emirates. And he's not just any man—the dude is a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family, a source exclusively tells me." (thanks ls)

"The Kuwaiti Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour has issued orders to security authorities to gear up and be ready to face further demonstrations by Bangladeshi workers in the country, a Kuwaiti daily reported yesterday." (thanks Tanweer)

"A state government in eastern India is encouraging people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks." (thanks Olivia)

Olympic Zionism. "Then there is Zakia Nassar. She's a 21-year-old Palestinian from Bethlehem studying dentistry in Jenin, a city in the West Bank. She said it has been her dream since she was 10 to swim in the Olympics but there is no pool available for training in Jenin. There is an Olympic-sized, 50-meter pool in nearby Nazareth, but the Israeli government did not give her permission to use it." (thanks Imane)

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered "deep gratitude" Monday for resigning Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's original decision to join the U.S.-led fight against extremists." (thanks Seham)

What is the big deal about the resignation of Musharraf? I mean, a pro-U.S., "democratically-elected" dictator will be replaced by a pro-U.S., "democratically-elected" dictator.

"The town of Postville, Iowa, population 2,000, has been turned into an open-air prison. Jerry Johnson, who works at nearby Luther College, called it something out of a bad science-fiction movie or the kind of thing a 1930s totalitarian regime might have cooked up." (thanks Julie)

Hamdir Qandi: on AlJazeera's dirty tricks. (thanks Mirvat)

Just as ambassadors tender their resignation at the end of each administration, should not U.S. puppets around the world do the same? Musharraf did.

"“So are you going — I understood you are going to give a tough fight for us in December,” he said.
Ms. Rice: “Always, Mr. President. We always fight for our friends.”"

"I will start with the most recent polling. In March of this year ORB conducted a poll for the British Channel 4, asking Iraqis what they would like to see happen with the Multinational Forces. Seventy percent said they want the Multi National Forces to leave, with 78 percent of this group wanting them to leave within six months or less and 84 percent within a year. Thus about six in ten of the whole sample said they want the troops out within a year or less. In a poll conducted in February of this year for a consortium of news outlets led by ABC News, 73 percent said they oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq. Sixty-one percent said that the presence of US forces in Iraq is making the security situation in Iraq worse. Iraqis have been asking for a timetable for withdrawal for some time now. At the beginning of 2006 WorldPublicOpinion.org found that 7 in 10 wanted US-led forces out according to timetable of two years or less. About a year later 7 in 10 favored a timetable of one year or less. In late 2006 the US State Department conducted polls in numerous major Iraqi cities and consistently found about two-thirds calling for the US to leave."

I find it delicious when the New York Times orders Arabs what to do on the Palestinian question: "Arab countries also need to face up to their responsibilities. They need to press Hamas toward more responsible positions and provide more political and economic support to Mr. Abbas." OK, New York Times. What else would you like? A smoothie perhaps?

What about your Walid Jumblat? I asked this before and I ask it again: how come MEMRI and other Zionist sites and writers have stopped quoting Walid Jumblat since he started invoking Arabism and Palestine? Today, he called for the a revival of the labor movement in the entire Arab world in order to confront "savage capitalism." He hailed communist struggles around the world, and warned of the dangers of multinational corporations, and invoked the Internationalist's anthem. (Of course, I don't trust nor like Jumblat: not when he was a stooge of Syria, nor when he was a stooge of U.S., and not in his recent re-transformation). Jumblat can't fool anybody--except Hizbullah of course.

"After the meeting, Mr. Saakashvili pronounced his visit “one of the most successful visits during my presidency,” and said he did not know of any other leader of a small country with the access to the administration that he had."

"Ma'aden's $5.5 billion endeavor promises to make the kingdom the world's largest exporter of diammonium phosphate, a fertilizer. The company is also finalizing a $10.5 billion deal with Rio Tinto Alcan (RTP) to mine bauxite and build a refinery, smelter, and power station to become a major aluminum exporter." (thanks Nabeel)

"On Sunday, approximately 100 SLA soldiers and their family members demonstrated opposite the David Gate at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv."

Privileges of puppets. "It emerged on Sunday that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni may have helped the daughter of senior Palestinian peace negotiator Ahmed Qureia obtain a blue identification card, which promises her rights afforded by Israel to very few Palestinians." (thanks Zaki)

"The Supreme Court reversed Sunday a previous ruling by the Beersheba District Court and determined that the three Jewish settlers from the south Mount Hebron area who are accused of kidnapping and beating a Palestinian will be placed under house arrest." Let me predict: they will be released in a day and then they will run for the Knesset (and they will win.)

"But a careful reader quickly learns from perusing the next several paragraphs that this official assertion is actually based on nothing more than speculation. It is just another propaganda blast in the guise of an intelligence briefing. Hess, writing from Washington, describes her source as "senior U.S. military intelligence officer in Baghdad" who "spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence." That is the first misleading statement in the piece. The story later reveals that the anonymous officer told her quite explicitly that the story was being released for the U.S. command's own political objectives." (thanks Sellam)

Comrade Khalid on Lebanese scapegoating.

"A PALESTINIAN man's 35-year legal fight to prevent a Jewish settler group from taking his home in occupied East Jerusalem enters a critical phase this week when an Israeli court decides whether to keep him in jail for disobeying orders to vacate the property." (thanks Olivia)

The Americans and the Europeans and the Israeli will never tire from their attempt to impose "leaders" on the Palestinian people. But in the case of Sari Nusseibeh, this is the best description of him that I have read: Ayalon's guy. "Is Sari Nusseibeh, the secular Palestinian, the symbol of moderation, Ayalon's guy, burying the two-state solution?" (thanks Kamal)

""Usually the Americans are never injured," he said. "It's the Iraqis who get hurt."" (thanks Nabeel)

"I reassured my Homeland Security interrogator that I did not make any connections with Hezbollah or with anyone I knew to be associated with such an organization. I am not a member of any terrorist group. In fact, my visit to Syria had been so apolitical and touristy that I felt an embarrassing affinity with the pastel-shirted families waiting by the Air France baggage carousels in the distance, whom I knew I would eventually join." (thanks Ali)

My article on Mahmud Darwish for Electronic Intifada.

My article in Al-Akhbar: "The Demise of the Fath Movement: the phenomenon of Muhammad Dahlan"

Muhammad Dakrub writes on the communism of Mahmud Darwish (read how Arab censors deleted a line from one of his most famous poems because it talked about communism). Of course, Marxism clashes with Abu Mazen and Yasir `Abd Rabbu, with whom Darwish was aligned. (thanks Mirvat)

My position on Georgia has been misunderstood. It appeared as if I was supporting Russian military actions, which I don't. Also, as somebody who believes in expertise and training, I in no way promote myself as an expert on Georgia and I have in fact referred those in the media who asked for my opinion to experts of the region. I have commented as an observer of the follies and hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy and my comments were aimed not in favor of the Russian government but against the standards of media hypocrisy. There has been total absence of balance in the British and U.S. press in talking about the conflict. Also, let us not lose our appetite for ironic commentaries.

"Defense officials favor forcefully blocking two boats which a group of U.S.-based activists plan to sail to Gaza to protest what they call "the Israeli siege on the Strip," Haaretz has learned."

The Economist did not distinguish itself in its coverage of Georgia.

"Nato-led soldiers operating in southern Afghanistan "accidentally" have killed four civilians and wounded three others in a rocket attack intended for armed groups." (thanks Olivia)

More than anything, Russian forces in Georgia needs to find a very useful priest. He is Grand Priest Vladimir Sistanishvili, and he is willing to support an indefinite stay for Russian troops in Georgia.

"At the center of the debate are the military’s behavioral science consultation teams, informally known as biscuits, made up of psychologists and others who assist in interrogations. Little is known about these units, including the number of psychologists who take part. Neither the military nor the team members have disclosed many details." (thanks Maryam)

In response to my post (Angry David) below, I received this email: "As'ad, I am Tunisian and I know that Oussama Mellouli goes by the nickname "Ous", his own wiki page says this. It was not ignorance or worse on behalf of NBC to call him that. AS for not giving him a lot of broadcast time, NBC hardly gives any non-American broadcast time. It makes no difference that he's Arab. Some people are just too quick to accuse the 'White Man' of rascism."

Saud media like Lebanese women, but only as sexual objects, even in news shows.

Based on vague references in the Saudi media, it looks like Prince Muqrin is in Pakistan ensuring he safety and exit of Musharraf.

To generalize: I have always found the Syrian people very likable. You can tell that when you watch Syrian TV serials. Compare that to the obnoxious and unwatchable Lebanese TV serials for example.

"After eight years, the president’s gut remains gullible. He’ll go out as he came in — ignoring reality; failing to foresee, prevent or even prepare for disasters; misinterpreting intelligence reports; misreading people; and handling crises in ways that makes them exponentially worse. He has spent 469 days of his presidency kicking back at his ranch, and 450 days cavorting at Camp David. And there’s still time to mountain-bike through another historic disaster. As Russian troops continued to manhandle parts of Georgia on Friday, President Bush chastised Russian leaders that “bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century” — and then flew off to Crawford. His words might have carried more weight if he, Cheney and Rummy had not kicked off the 21st century with a ham-fisted display of global bullying and intimidation modeled after Sherman’s march through the other Georgia. We knew we could count on the cheerleader in chief to be jumping around like a kid in Beijing with bikini-clad beach volleyball players while the Re-Evil Empire was sending columns of tanks into its former republic. (Georgia made the mistake of baiting the bear.)"

If only W. had taken the rest of his presidency as seriously as he’s taken his sports outings."

It has become clear to me that the Qatari-Saudi reconciliation is incompatible with my appearances on Al-Jazeera TV. Today, they asked me to appear on Al-Jazeera (Arabic) to speak about...Georgia.

Comrade Fawwaz remembers Mahmud Darwish.

Palestinian scholar, Anis Sayigh (who lost his eyesight and some of his fingers to an Israeli letter bomb because he dared to head the Palestinian Research Center), who disagreed with Mahmud Darwish's politics as I did, remembers Darwish.

"Neither the opposition nor key civil society figures in Georgia nor EU structures have yet investigated who did what before and during the war."

"The other reason is that American reporters are so fearful of being criticised by Israel that their work is bland to the point of incomprehension; if you want to know what The New York Times or The Washington Post knows, you've got to talk to one of their correspondents."

"Initially Israel balked at accepting their claim of Jewishness, but relented after American Jews led a campaign for the Falash Mura." (thanks Nabeel)

"Israel's embassy in Amman and the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem received an unusual requested this week: A Jordanian artist expressed his interest in visiting Sderot and building a statue of peace in the southern city along with local children." Typical. All those Arab friends of Israel are people nobody has ever heard of although MEMRI will promote him "the Arab world foremost artist."

"“Take Gal Hirsch for example,” I said. “He’s a nice guy; he studied at my high school. At the end of the last war he had to resign from the IDF after the Almog Commission recommended that he be dismissed. The next time we hear about him, he’s in Georgia, training their infantry units.”" (thanks Rakia)

War Orientalism. "It appears to me that having developed in an environment that prohibits any sort of critical thought, especially in the fields of religion and politics, Arabic has become a means to avoid dealing with difficult issues. In some Arabic-speaking countries, asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ can get you imprisoned. Therefore the more skilled you are at it, the better you are at avoidance by using ever bigger words and ever more flowery metaphors. In the end it just becomes one big exercise in denial." (thanks Thabet)

Angry David. A reader sent me this: "I hate watching the Olympics in this country -- I've said that for nearly 20 years. So the Tunisian lad wins the 1500 M Gold medal tonight. Oussama Mellouli competed in other Beijing races before tonight, but wasn't a winner. So NBC never had to say his name (though his full name appeared in the official graphics). Tonight the lad won the gold. But could NBC dare risk being accused of giving pool time to terr'sts? Of course not. "And as they reach for the wall...it's...it''s..OUS Mellouli who wins the gold." OUS! Ous. I don''t know Tunisian abbreviations, so maybe I'm being an annoying. Why are these broadcast fuckwits scared of names? And do you really think if the Tunisian swimmer was called David Mellouli that they'd call him DAV Mellouli?"

For those who wrote to me, I want to make it very clear: I am writing in praise of Mahmud Darwish's poetry, and not his politics. I made it very clear on the day he died that I detested his political choices and alliances and said so in my article about him in Arabic.

Deborah Solomon has become an official peddler of Islamophobia in the U.S. She tries to deflect from her prejudice by pretending to be less alarmed about Muslims than the haters that she likes to interview and promote. In the U.S., anti-Semites are taken out of the public sphere, while anti-Mulisms/anti-Arabs are dragged into the public sphere. And it is easy for the haters to lie and fabricate because the interviewers known nothing about the subject matter. I read this woman's book, and I would count almost a lie-a-page. For anybody who knows anything on Lebanon, or even the ones who know little on Lebanon, you read this and know that she is lying: "Your last book related the story of your childhood in southern Lebanon, where you hid out in a bomb shelter for seven years after your house was destroyed by a Muslim militia. Were you surprised it became a best seller? No, I was not surprised. Anyone can relate to a story about human suffering inflicted by radicals." Do you know anybody in Lebanon who spent more than a day or a couple of days in a bomb shelter? She talks about the civil war like an uninterrupted affair that went on for years, while civil wars go through phases and often undergo months of peace and calm. And then this:Where do you live? I do not share that information because of the death threats I receive. Threats from anyone we know? Al Qaeda mentioned my name on their top Internet sites and recently sent a press release about my work. If you are worried about death threats, why would you put a glamorous photograph of yourself on the cover of your new book? In Lebanon, we were raised to be glamorous, feminine and sensual. It’s the only good thing we inherited from the French." Please insert your own jokes here. (thanks Kathy)

"One Russian deputy reflected the mood: “Today, it is quite obvious who the parties in the conflict are. They are the US, UK, Israel who participated in training the Georgian army, Ukraine who supplied it with weapons. We are facing a situation where there is a NATO aggression against us.”"

Russia is learning fast from U.S. propaganda rules. Medvedev called the invasion of Georgia "“peace enforcement operation”.