So today is Tuesday. On this day, most likely, US fighter gets have bombed neighborhoods in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. And then they held high-powered meetings over "winning their hearts and minds."

"Senior Iraqi Shi'ite joins sectarian war of words" You have to give it to this sectarian warlord, `Abdul-`Aziz Al-Hakim. I mean he started as a puppet for--not the Iranian government per but--the Revolutionary Gaurds, and now he doubles as a puppet for Iran and the US simultaneously.

Sa`d Silawi, Al-Arabiya's correspondent in Amman amuses me a great deal. I mean that. I mean, he is really good at...writing propaganda releases for the Jordanian mukhabarat. Today, he reported on the weekly Jordanian discovery of Al-Qa`idah plot: he said that the terrorists fired the first shots (as if he was there), and that the security forces went to great length "to protect civilians." Yeah. Jordanian forces also were careful about hitting civilians when they bombarded the refugee camps in 1970-71.

You know that you are an American puppet when...you give the US the right to bomb anywhere in your country. See this guy: "President Abdullahi Yusuf, head of Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government, told journalists in Mogadishu that the U.S. "has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania."" In fact, in the Arab media he was quoted as saying that the US has the right to bomb "anywhere in the world", no less. Also, this "president"; he was elected president by fellow war criminals of Somalia. Enjoy.

I hate it when the blogger is down; I feel I am suffocating. It feels that I am drowning; it also brings up some conspiracy theories in my head. I mean, today, for example, I really assumed that the same people who were behind the assassination of Kennedy, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, and the killing of Hariri were behind closing down my site. Just don't do that again.

I can't stand the concept of "role model." Personally, I find Mr./Ms. Potato head as the best role model around.

This brilliant mind identifies the problem of Iraq, and marks the beginning of the end: "Once the State Department and the CIA argued that they don't want Chalabi..."it went down hill. So if only Chalabi was allowed to rule Iraq. Let him wonder for the rest of his life.

Angry...American

"Five years on, no end to the horror that is Guantanamo" (There is more attention to Guantanamo violations in the US press than in the (pro-Saudi) Arabic press).

Jubilation in Israel: an Israeli wins...an Israeli prize. In other news, Saudi magazines select the Saudi King as the "Man of the Year" every year.

News from dictatorships that you like: "Moroccan journalists face 5 years' jail for joke offending Islamists"

Degas, Edgar, L'absinthe, 1876.

"DI: Tell me something about yourself:
YH: First of all, I'm not a Muslim..."

"Liberate" by land; "liberate" by sea; "liberate" by air. "A U.S. Air Force gunship has conducted a strike against suspected members of al Qaeda in Somalia, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively."

The Syrian government feels the need to remind Israel that it wants to resume talks...on a daily basis. OK. I know.

All the Syrian writers that I like don't write in An-Nahar. And all the Syrian writers that I don't like, write in An-Nahar.

More annoying than the Lebanonese political class is the Lebanonese "intellectual" class. In this cultural section of An-Nahar (the right-wing, sectarian Christian, anti-Syrian (people), anti-Palestinian (people)) newspaper, there is a regular feature in which an artist or a writer describes a day of her/his life. It is amazing how unreal they are in how they write. You read it (read this one for example), and you get the impression that they only read, attend the theatre, go to museums, and read some more, and then plant a tree in their neighborhood. They never ever do anything else. How lovely.

Is Clovis turning New-agy?

The Initiative for an Open Arab Internet

Among the many sins of Rafiq Hariri was his obstruction of Ilyas Hrawi's 1998 civil marriage law for Lebanon. Back them, as Niqula Nasif reminds us today in Al-Akhbar, Hariri Mufti declared that whoever supports that law "has defected from religion."

Hizbullah: joining the Please-the-House-of-Saud camp. So Hizbullah not only asked to be invited by the House of Saud, but it also took measures to prevent any political protests during the Hajj.

An excellent critique of the Paris III Plan for Lebanon by Joseph Samahah--by far my favorite Arab columnist.

Zalmay Khalilzad rose through the ranks of this administration not due to any special insights that he has on the Middle East but due to a long established record of subservience and submissiveness to his bosses. And notice that Iraq is supposed to be his best work. Are you impressed?

This will not be circulated in the Saudi (pro-Dahlan) media: Sultan Abu Al-`Aynayn said that "every slap that we [in Fath] get, will be replaced by a thousand bullets." He should have added that Fath will respond to Israeli bullets by making more concessions, capitulations, and prostrations.

Yesterday, I ran into a colleague from Georgetown University. He knew that I would be interested, he told me that Sa`d Hariri took two courses with him at Georgetown. He said that mini-Hariri sat in class (and it was a discussion-style class) silently, without ever uttering a word. He took him aside one time and told him that he needs to say a word or two. Mini-Hariri nodded and did not speak. He continued to sit silently in class. Back then, mini-Hariri did not have script and speech writers.

Between Michel `Awn and Hizbullah: there is no question that `Awn is much more intelligent in his reading of the Lebanese political situation. Hizbullah (especially in that recent speech by deputy secretary-general, Na`im Qasim) still naively and foolishly assumes that Hariri Inc is "neutral" and that mini-Hariri can be distanced from Ja`ja` (pronounced Ga`ga` in Egyptian accent) and Jumblat. `Awn on the other hand knows that the Hariri dynasty (and what it represents in terms of external political and financial links) is at the center of the ruling group. I also like that `Awn does not refrain--unlike Hizbullah--from criticizing Rafiq Hariri himself.

I must confess that I am curious to see the dancing bears.

"The War and the New York Times" (thanks John and May)

"The United States has quietly poured weapons and military advisers into Ethiopia, whose recent invasion of Somalia opened a new front in the Bush administration's war on terrorism." Quietly? Like we did not know? Like we did not suspect? I mean aside from the napping US media, this is well-established. (thanks Laleh).

I don't mean to bother you, and I know that you are watching TV now, but did not tell me that you "liberated" Afghanistan already, or did I misunderstand you: "Taliban Resume Their Attacks in Afghanistan." Please clarify as I am perplexed now. Thanks. Oh, and can you turn off the lights please? Thanks.

Fadi is saying that the Times of London has been peddling the story of Israeli strike on Iran for a while. Here is his evidence:
September 3, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2340486,00.html
April 09, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2125207_1,00.html
January 27, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19269-2011570,00.html
December 11, 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1920074,00.html
and as long ago as March 14, 2005
Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Middle-East-Conflict/Israel-plans-to-hit-Iran-nuke-plant-report/2005/03/13/1110649061319.html

I heard the Pentagon's correspondent of CNN say this today (he was talking about the explosive C4): "and the explosives are really useful for the US military, but can be deadly in the hands of the terrorists." He forgot to add that bombs are quite delightful and lovely in the hands of the US military, but really harmful in the hands of terrorists. This is like the Western arguments that nuclear weapons in Israeli hands are nice and dandy, but pose a threat to world peace in the hands of Ayyyyrabs.

""The resistance has become more organized and more advanced," said the former army general. "So even if the United States sends us another 20,000 soldiers or more, this will not change the final results. There will be more violence and more chaos."" (thanks Robert)

Tunisian Prison Map (thanks Ali)

Angry Arab Canada Tour:
For those who asked me, here is my schedule for the Canada tour for next week:
The Israeli War on Lebanon: Causes and Consequences. January 15-19
Monday January 15th: University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
"Wemple Lounge" at King's University College. 7PM.
Tuesday January 16th: Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
Main Building LIB72 on 350 Victoria Street 7PM.
Wednesday January 17th: Ottawa University, Ottawa, Ontario.
Roger-Guindon Hall, Room 2005. 451 Smyth St. 7PM.
Thursday January 18th: Queens University, Kingston, Ontario.
Dunning room 14. 7PM.
Friday January 19th: Calgary University, Calgary, Alberta. Room CHC 119., 7PM.
To book interviews* please contact: info@humanrightsmedia.org or
514-999-1948.
(*Assuming that I will do them).

Man of principle. "The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, who was sitting at the front of the congregation, applauded Bishop Wielgus’s resignation then stopped, apparently realizing that the commotion from the crowd was overwhelmingly against it."

This video of a speech by `Adnan Dulaymi (as disturbing as it is) gives a good glimpse of the sectarian conflict in Iraq. (thanks Nir)

Gustav Klimt.The Old Burgtheater. 1888-89.

"So would you say you have contempt for a terrorist group like Hamas?
I wouldn’t put those words in my mouth. I wouldn’t say anything on that issue. I’m here to talk about peace. I’m a man who does want peace for this world, and I don’t think you will achieve that by putting people into corners and asking them very, very difficult questions about very contentious issues."

"More than 17,000 Iraqi civilians and police officers died violently in the latter half of 2006, according to Iraqi Health Ministry statistics, a sharp increase that coincided with rising sectarian strife since the February bombing of a landmark Shiite shrine."

"Military strike is only way to stop Iran, says top Israeli strategist" (And what will stop Israel, o "top Israeli strategist"?)

"“When we last left Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, at the end of ‘Feminism Without Illusions,’ she was deploring people who ‘find it easy to blame feminism for some of the most disturbing aspects of modern life: divorce, latchkey children, teenage alcoholism, domestic violence, the sexual abuse of children.’ Five years later, it seems she has become one of the people she warned us about.”"

The White Man explains the difference between Iraqis and Americans: "a picture has emerged of a clash of cultures..."

"The crowd cried, "Hamas are Shiites, Hamas are Shiites," but Dahlan said, "They aren't Shiites, they are murderers."" (thanks Amina)

I was rather sad and very disappointed to read this tribute to Saddam by `Abdul-Ilah Balqaziz. Balqaziz is one of the most interesting and sophisticated intellectuals. He is one of those who travels easily and interestingly between Arab/Islamic thought and Western thought. Here, he reveals himself to be a Saddamist. Unbecoming.