"One section discussed to what extent the president might be allowed to legally maim a prisoner, such as through the use of a "scalding, corrosive, or caustic substance." A footnote argued that Fifth Amendment guarantees of due-process rights "do not address actions the Executive takes in conducting a military campaign against the Nation's enemies."" (thanks Yasmine)

"Mak was sentenced last week to 24 1/2 years in prison by a federal judge who described the lengthy term as a warning to China not to "send agents here to steal America's military secrets." The judge is right. I mean, do you see the US sending agents to other countries to steal their secrets? Never. Do you see the US even interfering in other countries' affairs? Never. And please, don't think that the US is sending agents to China to steal its military secrets. The US does not do such things.

Zimbabwe under Mugabe is less oppressive and more democratic--in relative terms--than 50 of the allies of the US and UK around the world, the obsession of the US and British press notwithstanding.

Do you want me to predict the outcome of this investigation? " A NATO patrol shot at a vehicle and killed one civilian in southern Afghanistan, NATO officials said. The patrol shot at the fast-approaching vehicle in Kandahar Province after its driver did not heed soldiers’ warnings to stop, the alliance said in a statement. Three other civilians were wounded, it said. NATO said an investigation into the incident had begun."

I am not making this up. A Bush-approved study of Iraq found that...Bush is making progress. This man, according to all government studies since 2003, has not stopped making progress since he invaded the country.

Denver Airport is now the only airport in the US that provides free Wi Fi. I thought that you wanted to know that. I always praise US airports in comparison to international airports. I still stand by that statement with the exception of Dulles airport. They have been advertising their improvement of that airport since i stepped foot in the US back in 1983. Yesterday, I was having the most splendid Middle East meal (thanks Fadi and Yasmine) when I felt a little stone between my teeth and a drop of blood. It happened just as the Karabij and Knafa desserts were being served (great job Chef Abu Mahmud). Two fillings fell off: but don't think that it interrupted my pleasurable sweet experience. It did not. Today, I rushed to a dentist. (I was going to call you Layla to see if your husband would work on my teeth but thought that you would think I would be mean to him.) I read yet another biography of Kim Philby: Patrick Seale, Rosemary and Yusuf Sayegh knew him. I have to ask Rosemary about him upon my return from Pomona College--which has one of the best college cafteria there is. They better: the rich students pay high tuition fees. I also have to write about the new book by Noah Feldman. That requires a separate post. Stay tuned.

"Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker first learned of the Iraqi plan on Friday, March 21: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki would be heading to Basra with Iraqi troops to bring order to the city." I totally believe this account. I do. I really do. You see: Iraq is a sovereign nation and Iraqi puppet leaders make their own decisions. US troops are only present in Iraq to inspect tourist sites and to preserve the archeological treasures of the country. Really. This explains that when things go wrong, which is every day, Iraqis are blamed because they make their own decisions. Oh, yeah. Ask Commander Fouad Ajami if you don't believe me.

Children of Hariri? Bin Ladenite groups in Lebanon.

The religious police in Saudi Arabia makes it clear. You may not--repeat, may not--rely on Jinns in your shows. (thanks Abdulla)

" Reporters Without Borders condemns the partially state-owned satellite operator Nilesat’s decision to stop carrying the signal of the privately-owned London-based TV station Al-Hiwar on 1 April, without any explanation. The move comes less than two months after Arab League members adopted a charter aimed at controlling satellite TV content."

"Arab human rights activists have condemned a Saudi religious edict calling for the execution of two writers for apostasy - giving a rare glimpse of tensions over Islam inside the conservative kingdom."

The Russian ambassador in Lebanon visited (in full view of the press) Wi'am Wahhab. It can only mean that the Russian government is fed up with Walid Jumblat.

"A former University of South Florida professor in prison on contempt of court charges has lost 32 pounds in a monthlong hunger strike."

Excuse me o Jerusalem Post: but what is controversial about what I said? Or is it the humanness of the Palestinians that you are objecting to? And by the way, Israel will have to submit to the will of the Palestinians. "But IAW speakers in years past have been notably controversial. In 2006, Toronto's IAW featured, among others, Ward Churchill, who has argued that the murder of European Jews was not at all a "fixed policy objective of the Nazis"; As'ad Abu Khalil, who has said that "Israel will have to submit to the will of the Palestinians"; and Ilan Pappe, an Israeli professor who supports Hamas and has called for the dissolution of Israel." (thanks Adam)

The principled criminal gangs of Al-Anbar (who were rented by Saddam before they worked for Al-Qa`idah and before they were rented by the US occupation) have not protested demanding their cash payments for a week now. Does that mean that they have received their cash payments? Now, I don't want you to think that they are not a principled bunch just because they threatened last week that they would go back working for Al-Qa`idah if the US cash payments did not arrive.

"Last week's death of Stephanie Kuleba, 18, of South Florida, during breast augmentation surgery has drawn attention to what some describe as a growing trend. Kuleba, whose parents say she sought the surgery to correct an inverted nipple and asymmetrical breasts, died Saturday of what may have been a rare genetic reaction to general anesthesia."

"Liberation"--non-stop. "Abdul Qader, his chest and leg wrapped in white bandages, began to cry -- not out of pain, but loss. He remembered seeing the American Humvees, then a hail of bullets. He remembered seeing his close friend and neighbor, Abbas Ramadan, shot as he clutched his 2-year-old granddaughter, blood oozing from her head. Abdul Qader ran and ran until he collapsed from the bullets that pierced his own body. "He's gone. He was so kind," said Abdul Qader, crumbling. "I am not crying because of my wounds. I am crying because of my friend. He was like a brother.""

The Jordanian Queen has launched her youtube thing. I have not known anybody since Hollywood celebrities in award shows who speaks in cliches and bland language. Her speeches are always vapid. Here, she asks you to send her your stereotypes. Please do. I will send mine: Hi lousy Queen of Jordan. I have a stereotype that your husband is always playing PlayStation III all the time. Why is that? I also have a stereotype based on reality that the regime of the Hashemites has to be overthrown NOW, why is that? Also o queen: I have a stereotype that you are very annoying. So please leave us all alone. Good night, o expert on stereotypes. Oh, what about the stereotype that your brother is making a fortune in Jordan benefiting from lucrative deals given to him as your brother? (thanks Yago)

Who can deny that northern California has the best climate there is? On the East Coast, there is a harsh winter, followed immediately but a hot summer. Yes, there are days that feel like spring but they can be counted on the toes of one foot only.

Badr Al-Haj (the foremost collector and publisher of old photographs of the Middle East) sent me this: "Attached is a photograph of Tyre taken in 1887 by unknown French photographer who visited Syria, Turkey and Egypt."

"You almost feel like Big Brother in the sky, kind of looking down on these people as they go about their day-to-day lives," said Hall, speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf after returning from a recent mission to Iraq. "You almost feel like you want to tell them, 'Don't do anything weird because it's going to get my attention,'" he said." (thanks Karim)

A list of destroyed Palestinian villages. (thanks N.)

All Saudi media are celebrating: they are proud that CNN (i.e. the White Man) has called the Saudi King "a maker of history." I would not call him a maker of a chair or a cake, but that is just me. (thanks Jamal)

I always thought the word ragtag best applied to the Mahdi Army. But now we learn that the Iraqi security forces (Badr militias, really) are more ragtag than the Mahdi Army. And do you notice how scant the coverage is in the US press about the consequences of what happened in Basrah and the deteriorating security situation?

Just as Maliki tried to reposition himself for next location elections--and we saw how that turned out, Mubarak sets the stage for local elections: "Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood members for posting campaign fliers."

"China claims Dalai Lama ready to foment violence and mount suicide attacks." Would this be "acceptable and glorified terrorism" by the standards of Hollywood celebrities and Western governments? (thanks Maryam)

For those who don't care, my debate with Irshad Manji is now on youtube.

"However, Shoebat's claim to have bombed Bank Leumi in Bethlehem is rejected by members of his family who still live in the area, and Bank Leumi says it has no record of such an attack ever taking place. His relatives, members of the Shoebat family, are mystified by the notion of "Walid Shoebat" being an assumed name. And the Walid Shoebat Foundation's working process is less than transparent, with Shoebat's claim that it is registered as a charity in the state of Pennsylvania being denied by the Pennsylvania State Attorney's Office. Shoebat's claim to have been a terrorist rests on his account of the purported bombing of Bank Leumi. But after checking its files, the bank said it had no record of an attack on its Bethlehem branch anywhere in the relevant 1977-79 period. Shoebat told The Jerusalem Post that this could be because the bank building was robustly protected with steel and that the attack may have caused little damage." (thanks Nader)

This is the guy who did the study of Basmalah's influence on water. (thanks Wassim)

Saudi Muftititi denied the story that he was inviting Israeli rabbis to the Kingdom. He stated categorically that he has not wavered from his long record of anti-Semitism, religious intolerance, and misogyny.

I read the most lame and the most bland statement by Hizbullah in response to the press conference of Prince Saud Faysal in which he blamed the opposition in Lebanon for all the conflict and stalemate there. Let me say this: Hizbullah is either very very dumb or is lying blatantly. It is one of the two and there are no thirds. The lame, silly statement said that the press conference by Faysal "raises questions" about the Saudi role in Lebanon. Raises questions? Are you kidding me?? So Hizbullah has not yet noticed the Saudi role in Lebanon? Not even when the Saudi government endorsed the Israeli war on Lebanon? How dumb or how deceitful of Hizbullah. Where are the oxygen masks when you need them? Why don't they come down from the ceiling. Everybody in the region knows about the Saudi-Israeli-US alliance, except Hizbullah. But maybe they are busy with more important things: like the "blocking third" in the formation of the cabinet, and there is also the matter of Danish cartoons.

I finished Natana Delong-Bas's book, Wahhabi Islam on the plane. Now, I don't mind her publishing whatever she wants but this book should have had the imprint of some Saudi ministry of propaganda and not Oxford University Press. I don't have time to give a detailed review but suffice to say that she considered--I am not making this up--the stoning of a woman to death by Ibn `Abdul-Wahab himself an indication of his "concern for justice for women." (p. 28). As my friend Ahmad Dallal says, anybody who claims that Ibn `Abdul-Wahab is "a prolific" writer--as this author does--has not really opened the books of Ibn `Abdul-Wahab. You go the library and you see tons of volumes with his names as the author: and Delong-Bas was mightily impressed. Has she bothered to open them and read them she would have discovered the obvious: he only compiled Hadith and Qur'anic sayings. That is it. Even his only book--really his only one--Risalat At-Tawhid--is a compilation of Hadith and Qur'anic saying. She does not think that he was bigoted against Shi`ites: why? Because he only attacked "the extremist" Rafidah sect of Shi`ite Islam, not knowing that he meant ALL Shi`ites by Rafidah. The author, and Ibn `Abdul-Wahab, did not know that Shi`ite twelvers consider Hasan their second Imam. How odd is that? She made the fellow like an early feminist: her evidence? That he forbade anal sex. And on and on. She kept saying that you read in his books and you don't find references to violence: of course, because he left NO BOOKS. OK?? Look: I said before and I say it again: the alternative to classical Orientalism is not Islam/Arab aplogias? In fact, I prefer to the knowledge and erudition of the early Orientalists. I can say more but I am tired.

Jordanian King is holding a conference for all the commanders of "special forces" in the region. I am not making this up. He has postponed his PlayStation III conference.

"Settler chief rabbi and chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba Rabbi Dov Lior, is set to release a religious ruling in the coming days stating that "the transfer of armored vehicles and weaponry to the Palestinian Authority is collaboration with the enemy."" So this fatwawawa basically is opposed to collaborating with the collaborators.

Today, I called An-Nahar newspaper in Lebanon. I said that a Lebanese has just won a Nobel Prize. I could hear the yelling and screaming and cheering in the newsroom. They asked me for what? I said: Hummus, of course. Then they realized it was April Fool's day.

"Israel has turned away more sick Palestinians from Gaza seeking treatment since Hamas seized control of the enclave and several have died each month unnecessarily, a UN agency said on Tuesday." The UN agency added that other Palestinians often die but "necessarily."

Now we know why Hitchens supports the bombing and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan: "And so is the shock I felt at seeing a civilized and multicultural European city bombarded..." And to read Hitchens complain about Hillary's fibbing, is like hearing the Saudi Mufti complain about religious intolerance in neighboring countries.

"many of his words were merely lies". (thanks Maryam)

It is true. It is true. I wanted to test what I read in a Saudi newspaper: that the composition of the water changes when you read Al-Basmalah. So I read Al-Basmalah to a potato: you will not believe this. But after one minute, the potato was transformed into a tomato. I could not explain it, but I am nominating myself to the King Faysal Prize in Quack Science.

Walid Jumblat's MP, Akram Shuhayyib...resisting Israeli occupation in 1982. (thanks Ramez)

Palestinian children in `Ayn Al-Hilwah refugee camp celebrates Land Day. (I don't like flags, and I don't like nationalisms but...for Palestine and the Palestinians everything and anything.) (Al-Akhbar)

""The Qadi now severely reprimands the instigator of the mess – a dark coloured boy. Time and again he is shouting “Ya habashi“ – which originally means “Ethiopian“ and envokes this young boy’s shortcomings in contrast to proper bahaviour. At the end, “the Ethiopian“ acknowledges his fault and all the boys finally reconcile. After this strange performance we ask our companion Turki about ist origin and learn that it’s ought to be a stage version of a Hadith, a story or a parable from the Prophet’s time. Having not really got the pointe of this play and somehow irritated by its racists overtones we feel a bit estranged when we finally leave the festival in the evening."" (thanks Christoph)

Women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive but: " Plans for a mile-high tower in the Saudi Arabian desert have been unveiled by the billionaire owner of London's Savoy Hotel."

Look at how the New York Times cites MEMRI and then adds and endorsement for legitimization: "Along with Mr. Marcus's group, the Middle East Media Research Institute, or Memri, also monitors the Arabic media. But no one disputes their translations..." No one, o New York Times? No, one? They once translated a speech, and it contained a famous line from Al-Mutanabbi: they managed to screw up the line, and identified it as a "modern proverb." And let me ask the New York Times and Steven Erlanger: Do Israeli insults to Arabs "complicate the peace process"? (thanks Joelle)

A Saudi newspaper states that a "Japanese scientist" (shown above) asserts that the reading of Basmalah ("In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate") causes an amazing influence on the composition of water. Would you not want to meet this "scientist"? And don't you think that this scientist probably has managed to obtain a million dollar research grant from the quacks of Saud? (thanks Saleh)