"In a graphic and hard-hitting film, Peter Beaumont speaks to Palestinians filming abuse from settlers and Israeli armed forces as part of a remarkable project called Shooting Back". (thanks Dina)

Conspiracy? What conspiracy? "The Israeli-Saudi common interest." (thanks Rakia)

"According to Netanyahu advisor Uzi Arad—a former Mossad official who was present at the 45-minute talk—Obama agreed with Netanyahu that "the paramount and most urgent issue is Iran," and that "a nuclear Iran is unacceptable not only to Israel but to the United States." Netanyahu "also made it clear to him that on the Iranian threat there is no dissension in Israel; this is a national attitude." In a telephone interview on Thursday, Arad told me that he believed that the Democratic candidate for president concurred with Netanyahu as well about the sequence of events that must occur: On Iran "the clocks and centrifuges are clicking and spinning, and not only is time of the essence but the order of things is as well. Should one fail to neutralize that Iranian threat now, it would undercut anything that would be achieved with the Palestinians, Syria or Lebanon.""

The person who annoys me the most in life, i.e., Gizelle Khuri, re-ran an interview she had conducted after the release of his film Alexandria, New York. It was typical of an interview that Khuri conducts: most annoying. And Shahin was irritated with her at several junctures. At one point, he was railing against George W. Bush and about his Christian fundamentalist vision, and about his loyalty to Zionism. She looked at him and asked: how do you know this? He said: I read. That was a great moment for me. Do you know that this Khuri now is promoted as "the Arab journalist who was selected by the New York Times as the top Arab journalist." I kid you not. As if the New York Times runs annual contests of this sort. The New York Times has not gotten that low--not yet anyway. She then asked him about whether he felt indebted to the U.S. because "it gave you an opportunity." He quipped: "It gave me no opportunity. I seized the opportunity." She asked him whether there is somebody he wanted to do a movie on, and he said (after praising Shaykh Zayid and the fact that he offered him free hospitalization): "Shaykh [Muhammad] `Abduh." She did not know what he was saying, and did not understand. She paused and said: what does that mean, who is that? She thought he was kidding. He said rather condescendingly: well, it is Shaykh `Abduh. And when he said that Arab regimes are all puppets of the U.S., she squirmed and changed the subject. She wanted him to speak against Islamic fundamentalism and against the veil, and he insisted on speaking out against ALL versions of fundamentalism in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. She wanted him to sound like a liberal and he insisted on sounding like a leftist. Having said all that the tributes and articles to Shahin miss an element of his personality: that he was a tyrant on the set, and he used to yell and scream and verbally abuse actors. He has reduced actors to tears on occasions. But the funny element of his career was his "collaboration" with `Asi Rahbani (Mansur Rahbani is as you know a decoration: the myth of the two Brothers Rahbani is a lie, as we all know) on the two Fayruz film: Bint Al-Haris and Bayya` Al-Khawatim. Rahbani and Shahin (both are professional tyrants) clashed non stop. And Shahin told `Asi in the last film that he would never work with him again. What brought this conflict was that `Asi would yell "Action" and "Cut" during filming which would infuriate Shahin. Good night.

The Hillis gang in Gaza, which harbors and comprises criminals, rapists, and pimps and which has kidnapped Westerners in Gaza: who is behind it, I wonder?

It is quite touching that the New York Times is feigning concern over the plight of Arab Christians, but should we also expect articles soon on how the Christians in Israel have been faring since...1948?

Puppets of U.S. occupation and their intellectual firepower: ""I started shooting in the air and throughout the town bursts of gunfire echoed across the sky. My family understood that the time had come."

""And I think when people study my presidency and find out how Bush conducted foreign policy, they'll see I don't shy away from things. I am not a shy person.""

"Israeli settlers from the Yetshar settlement in the northern West Bank on Friday afternoon seriously wounded a seven-year-old girl who was travelling with her family in a car in the area."

"Pastor Richard Escobedo holds two sessions weekly to pray for Israel at his 500-member Centro Palabra de Fe church in Compton, where he has an Israeli flag on display..." (thanks Toufic)

"While visiting, the royal family in Abu Dhabi asked her to become a Hotelier." (thanks Seham)

I remember when British commanders in Iraq used to brag about their superior skills in occupation. "British soldiers forced a Shia militia commander to listen to pornographic videos, deprived him of sleep, repeatedly beat him, and kept him in solitary confinement for more than five months, according to fresh damning allegations against the conduct of UK troops in Basra." (thanks Olivia)

Maybe it is because they can't handle the...truth. "American forces in Baghdad said on Friday they are holding an Iraqi cameraman working for Reuters news agency, and a media rights group said he has been held for nearly a week without charge." (thanks Sellam)

This should be the introduction to the article: "Mr Zeevi was regarded as the most right-wing member of the Israeli government, headed at that time by Ariel Sharon. He advocated a mass expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza."

More silly than Foreign Policy magazine and its silly lists of world intellectuals, are people who care about those lists and care about the rank of various people. I mean, this is a list that has Al Gore, Amr Khaled, and Hirsi Ali among the top 20 world intellectuals. I rest my case. (thanks Ali)

"“I swear, as much as I couldn’t stand Kissinger, if Kissinger were in the [current Bush] government, I’d be easier – because I know this madness that’s played out in front of us every day would be tied to whatever Kissinger’s game would be, probably to some contract or oil deal. Somebody would know what the reality is.”" (thanks Nabeel)

"Yes, I know the old saw. Every US presidential candidate has to make the pilgrimage to the Wailing Wall, to Yad Vashem, to some Israeli town or village that has taken casualties (albeit minuscule in comparison to those visited upon the Palestinians), to talk about Israel's security, etc. That doesn't mean, we are always told, that Israel is going to have it easy once the US president is elected. Wrong. Israel is going to have it easy. Because no sooner is he elected than he will be enmeshed in the Middle East tragedy and be forced to take sides – Israel's, of course – and then it will be time for the next election, so the president's hands will be tied again and he'll be talking about Israel's security (rather than Palestinian security) and we'll be back on the same old itinerary." (thanks Arun) See. You still can read Fisk, except when he writes about Lebanon.

"Additionally, claims of coercion are largely exaggerated. For instance, the well-publicized claims that two women who killed dozens in blowing up a Baghdad pet market were mentally retarded were later revealed to be unfounded. Blaming Islamic fundamentalism is also wrongheaded. More than 85 percent of female suicide terrorists since 1981 committed their attacks on behalf of secular organizations; many grew up in Christian and Hindu families. Further, Islamist groups commonly discourage and only grudgingly accept female suicide attackers. At the start of the second intifada in 2000, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, claimed: “A woman martyr is problematic for Muslim society. A man who recruits a woman is breaking Islamic law.” Hamas actually rejected Darin Abu Eisheh, the second Palestinian female attacker, who carried out her 2002 bombing on behalf of the secular Aqsa Martyrs Brigade."

I don't like flags and I don't like nationalisms. But for Palestine and the Palestinians, anything and everything.

An Ethiopian maid was found dead in the bathroom of the house where she worked in Lebanon. She was strangled.

My article in Al-Akhbar: "The Government of [sectarian] Deception: Elias Al-Murr Protects Lebanon (from the evil eye)".

"Nadia, 25, is one of hundreds of young microcephalics -- people born with small skulls and protruding noses and ears because of a genetic mutation -- who can be found on the streets of Gujrat, in central Punjab province. Officials say many of them have been sold off by their families to begging mafias, who exploit a tradition that the "rat children" are sacred offerings to Shah Daula, the shrine's 17th century Sufi saint.""

My expression of preference for Whole Foods brought strong (but friendly) denunciations:
"Q. You get a lot of criticism for preventing unions from organizing your workers. Are these sort of employee-friendly processes ones that you really couldn't implement with unions?

They'd be much more difficult to implement with unions. First of all, it's a lie that Whole Foods somehow prevents unions from organizing. That's against the law. We can't prevent anybody from organizing a union; if our team members want a union, we can't stop them. Our team members can have unions, but they don't want unions because they create this adversarial relationship in the workplace." (thanks S.)

"A green campaign group has expressed its anger over reports that a car owner flew his £190,000 Lamborghini from Qatar to London for a service." (thanks Fadi)

"Sen. Obama drew cringes on a campaign stop in Adel, Iowa, in July 2007, when he asked a crowd of farmers: "Anybody gone into a Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?" The upscale supermarket specializing in organic food doesn't have a single store in Iowa." I love Whole Foods and I love Arugula. And lately, I discovered that Swiss Chard can be cooked just like Suluq which we cook in the Levant. I notice that since I closed down the comments' section, I have become less chatty. What gives?

An-Nahar will be bragging about this "famous" Lebanon: " Hammoud, a native of Lebanon who lives in Miramar, was arrested Friday at Miami International Airport."

Former Lebanese Justice Minister, Charles Rizk, said yesterday the "Christian society" [in Lebanon] is characterized with "civilizational superiority."

"The Levines have supported the Israel Museum since 1994, when they presented a gift of 80 signed works by Andre Kertesz. Three years ago they donated $12 million for the museum’s photography department; their current gift includes $1 million to endow the department. (Mrs. Levine’s sister, Patricia Gerber, added $1 million to that pot.)" Wealthy Arabs donate money to casinos, brothels, and to the political campaigns of right-wing politicians in the West.

""My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military," said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military. "Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since."

"But American Jewish opinion, although not as diverse as that of Jewish Israelis, is more varied on Israel than AIPAC's pronouncements would suggest. According to the November 2007 American Jewish Committee's annual survey of Jewish opinion, 46% of American Jews supported the creation of a Palestinian state, with 43% opposing and 12% not sure--this, in a poll taken just months after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza. Asked whether they were "willing to compromise on the status of Jerusalem as a united city under Israeli jurisdiction" in a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians, while 58% said no, 36% said yes and 7% were not sure."

"Being drunk in public, swearing or making rude gestures – especially whilst driving - and public shows of affection - such as kissing, are all offences. It is illegal to live with someone of the opposite sex for those not married, and homosexuality is a crime here. Obviously, much of this still goes on. And in many ways the authorities choose to ignore such behaviour a lot of the time. However, clamping down on what it deems the most offensive breaches of the law only serves to create a sort of legal limbo where nobody is clear about exactly what is and what is not acceptable. Companies that recruit expats from overseas are calling for more information from the authorities." Of course, laws don't apply on the polygamous ruling dynasties of UAE. (thanks Seham)

"Israeli troops fatally shot two Palestinian youths, aged ten and seventeen, this week in a village known for its nonviolent resistance."

"The Aksa Martyrs Brigades issued a statement strongly condemning the shaving of Namnam's mustache and threatening retaliation. It said that Namnam and his son were also tortured while in detention."

"A leading candidate to be Israel's next premier called for a death toll of 70 Palestinians a day when he was head of the military during the second intifada, according to a best-selling book by two Israeli journalists." (thanks Nader)

"Bandar, a longtime close personal friend of the Bush family who is now national-security adviser to Saudi King Abdullah, was so worried about investigations into the BAE payments that last year he hired the international legal and security firm Freeh Group International, headed by former FBI director Louis Freeh, to defend him from the charges. Among the Freeh Group's partners is Sir Stephen Mitchell, a prominent British barrister and former High Court judge. In addition, Bandar has hired William Bradford Reynolds, a former top official in the Reagan Justice Department, to represent him in a private shareholder lawsuit relating to the alleged improper payments." (thanks FLC)

Palmyra threatened. (thanks Zaki)

"Mr Ahmed has worked for DynCorp, an American military contractor. So had one of the project’s main managers, Michel Vachon, before moving to L3 Communications, a contractor often employed by the American government. Another manager, Dean Kershaw, spent 29 years in America’s forces; some others had served in the Bush administration. Armed American special-forces veterans now apparently employed as security guards by L3 chaperoned journalists. All part of an American plan to help secure the Suez shipping lane or to strengthen the hand of friendly forces in Yemen? “Absolutely not,” said Mr Kershaw. “The [American] government has vetted us, but they’re not behind us.”" (thanks FT)

These are the soldiers of Zionism. "Two soldiers serving as security guards at a facility used by the Navy's elite commando unit were indicted on Thursday on charges of racially-motivated aggravated assault. The two are accused of attacking a group of Israeli Druze youths at an Atlit beachfront two weeks ago. According to the indictment, one of the soldiers called out: "They are Arabs, they must die" during the attack. Two other soldiers from their unit, who also took part in the attack, were indicted on charges of aggravated assault.""

"ZOA head Morton Klein said the exhibit sponsored by the Harvard Hillel "incites hatred of Israel, violates the Jewish law of not bearing false witness, and plays into the hands of Israel's enemies."" (thanks Nabeel)

"The judge said he threw out the case not through lack of evidence but because the employer had acted gallantly rather than criminally. "If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children," the judge ruled." (thanks Nouri)

"Kuwait has decided not to renew residency visas of Bangladeshis doing menial jobs, saying these workers are a threat to state security and bring unnecessary international focus on the country, reports the Kuwait Times." (thanks Tanweer)

""When [Commentary writer] Jennifer Rubin or Abe Foxman calls me anti-Semitic, they're wrong," he said in an interview. "I am anti-neoconservative."" (thanks Sellam)

Make no mistake. Abu Mazen's sudden decision to release Hamas prisoners was due to the embarrassing leak in Haaretz about Abu Mazen's plea to Olmert to keep Hamas' prisoners in Israeli jails.

""A lot of Saudi money has been put into the north to cultivate Wahhabi/Salafist ideology, to counter Hezbollah," reflecting wider Sunni-Shi'ite regional rivalries." (thanks Olivia)

"Al Akhbar is the only Lebanese newspaper with a readership nearly balanced between Muslims and Christians; most have a readership that is more than 90 per cent Muslim or Christian. As Samaha had planned, more than half of Al Akhbar’s readers are female; and unlike An Nahar, which is still bought predominantly by people above the age of 50, some 60 per cent of Al Akhbar’s readers are under 40 years old." (thanks Joseph)