My article in Al-Akhbar: "The Renewed Russian Role"

""This demonstrates the United States does not have permanent enemies," Rice said. "It demonstrates that if countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the United State is prepared to respond." If only Hitler had managed to "make strategic changes in direction" he would have managed to get along with the Bush administration.

"HIS first run for the presidency collapsed, in 1987, after a bizarre act of plagiarism. Bizarre because Joe Biden not only borrowed the words of another politician, Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. That is par for the course in modern politics. He borrowed his life-story, too. He claimed that he was the first Biden to go to university and that his ancestors had worked down a coal mine, both untrue. The only thing he did not claim was to be Welsh."

"The anger was poured not into the manpower companies but to the mosques in Kathmandu as well. But latest researches have revealed that an American company was involved in sending Nepali workers illegally to Iraq against their consent and agreement leading to death of 12 Nepalis."

"An Israeli security official on Friday said Israel allowed Palestinian security forces to receive a shipment of around 1,000 rifles and tens of thousands of bullents in a step aimed at bolstering the moderate Palestinian government. The official said the shipment of Kalashnikov rifles and tens of thousands of bullets reached the Palestinians through Jordan about one week ago." Of course. The army of Dahlan, shown above, needs weapons.

"“ ‘I am the expert,’ ” Mr. Zardari said, according to his associate."

"If we extrapolated out Iraq's August death rate for civilians over 15 years, that would be 64,000 or not far from the toll in Lebanon's war. Let me repeat: The level of violence at this moment in Iraq is similar to what prevailed on average during one of the 20th century's worst ethnic civil wars! It is still higher than the casualty rates in Sri Lanka and Kashmir, two of the worst ongoing conflicts in the world. Only in an Orwellian society could our press declare the relative decline in monthly death tolls in Iraq to constitute "calm" in an absolute sense."" (thanks Kamal)

"According to local sources, an 18-month old child from Susiya almost died while on his way to the Al Er Demat Hospital due to an Israeli checkpoint that prolonged his journey." (thanks Marcy)

"Sarah Palin displays an Israeli flag in her governor's office in Juneau, even though she has never been to the country, and attends Protestant evangelical churches that consider the preservation of the state of Israel a biblical imperative. Her faith makes her a favorite with the staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative elements in the Republican Party." (thanks Naseer)

This is "truce" with Israel: "The National and International Department in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) issued a press release documenting the Israeli violations during the month of August. It stated that the Israeli army killed 2 Palestinians, shot and wounded 131, including 26 children, demolished 5 homes in addition to 22 patients that died in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli siege."

"The Bush administration has conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his staff and others in the Iraqi government, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward." (thanks Olivia)

"Senior Shiite cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah issued a fatwa, or religious edict, on Thursday urging employers to refrain from resorting to physical violence, sexual harassment and unjust actions against foreign domestic workers." (thanks Kristin)

"New York Sun newspaper could close by end of September" (thanks Narrima)

Read what the Texas Republican Platform says about Israel: "Our policy is based on God’s biblical promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel and we further invite other nations and organizations to enjoy the benefits of that promise."

"Ever since it bombed the Taliban from power in 2001, America has relied on air power in Afghanistan to make up for a shortage of troops. As the Taliban and other militants have gained strength, America has dropped more bombs, killing more civilians. Usually, as in Azizabad, the strikes are called in by American special forces, who are part of a counter-insurgency force that operates independently from Afghanistan’s NATO-led peacekeepers. According to American military figures, civilian deaths in airstrikes increased from 116 in 2006 to 321 in 2007. Over the same period, the number of American air-raids in Afghanistan increased by a third, and the number of bombs dropped doubled. Afghan officials say that in the past two months at least 165 civilians have been killed in four American airstrikes."

A Lebanese physician in Canada, Najib S., wrote me this comment about this post (I cite his comment and name with his permission):
"interesting- kind of. you know this is like israelis trying to prove their right to palestine by unearthing what they claim is remnants from ancient israel..... so what if we find out that iranians (being arians of origin) are related to germans in 20% of cases... does not make any of them are europeans...the phoenicians populated the cost and surely they left some genes behind.... regadless there is nothing cultural (language, music...) they have left behind that we can relate to. another amusing issue is that in the youtube video the guy acually says that the palestinians and syrians (the very same people the so called distinct lebanese hate and would like to prove themselves different from) were included with the lebanese in terms of genetic link!!!! If the science is valid all it proves is that the local population has at some point in the past settled some mediterranean shores and mixed with the locals there... nothing more than that.... wonder why they did not look for a "geneic link" with the arab tribes.... I mean people might very well have both...it was interesting to see the lukewarm response of the people in the street..."

Meet the new Walid Jumblat:
"Walid Jumblatt: It is a bad situation. Look at what caused the failure of socialism. It was the tactical approach, because it did not accept individual freedom and individual property. That does not mean that we should abandon the idea of socialism and accept globalization, multinationals and so on. What is happening now is a disaster against humanity created by capitalism. Someday, we will need a new revolution. Not a Bolshevik one, but a new revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution had its heyday, except of course for the terror, but nonetheless, it had an impact on countries that fought imperialism in China, Vietnam, Africa and in the Middle East in the struggle against the Israelis.
Manuela Paraipan: Is it likely that there will be a realignment of world powers, and maybe a new policy, now that the US has moved from a military-focused policy back to the negotiating table?
Walid Jumblatt: Its impossible for the United States to move peacefully. It is just impossible, with all the corporations ruling the country. Furthermore it is a competition between the United States, China and others as to who will control more of the wealth of this planet, and the planet is being systematically destroyed by the United States, by the climate change and the common market. It's a total misery, billions of people living in starvation. I don't see any new approach." (thanks Manuela)

A three-part series on Saudi role in Lebanon by Fida' `Itani.

"The policy was described to me by a local activist as "ethnic cleansing by stealth", with the ultimate aim being to make life so tough for the Palestinians that they hold their hands up in despair and relocate elsewhere. Where they go is of little interest to those holding the reins of Israeli power, so long as it's far enough away for the vacated land to be redistributed to a new generation of settlers."

"According to Ben-Natan, as soon as Keshta was arrested the investigators proposed that he cooperate with them and become one of their agents. When he refused the interrogations began in earnest."

"A new front being formed by representatives of the Israeli Right and European lawmakers is threatening to ignite flames of hatred."

"Israel continues to be a favorite destination for the trafficking of women for the sex industry - also known as the white slave trade - and for a form of modern slavery where migrant laborers from developing countries are exploited."

""US counterterrorism policies have not only compromised other international agendas in Somalia, they have generated a high level of anti-Americanism and are contributing to radicalization of the population," concluded the report, entitled "Somalia: A Country in Peril, a Foreign Policy Nightmare."" (thanks Zainab)

"He had already painted the concrete Soviet-era housing blocks in bright colors, ordered a pagoda from Japan, and started building himself a White House—all of which had been good for public optimism and business. But what was he to do with the homely national stadium? He turned to me, and I suggested that he get artist Christo to wrap it up. An order was immediately given to find Christo." (thanks Hicham)

"Amnesty International said on Thursday it feared for the safety of 91 African migrants deported by Israel to Egypt last month, saying they risked being held incommunicado and then sent on to unsafe countries."

"Solitary confinement and the use of military dogs in Israeli prisons were prevalent in Israeli prisons during the month of August. Raids and arbitrary punishments both work to crush spirits and deprive Palestinians of the most basic of rights, the Prisoner Support Society wrote in the latest report." (thanks Marcy)

If this does not move you, nothing will. ""Expressing regrets about the Shindand incident, the president (Bush) said, 'I share your pain and sorrow, and that of the people of Afghanistan,'" according to the Kabul presidential statement." I get goose bumps whenever I read this.

"India should demand that the U.A.E. adopt the full standards of the International Labour Organisation. While the U.A.E. has adopted some standards, it ignores some of the most important criteria of the ILO’s Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, including the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. After a protest by construction workers in Abu Dhabi in February 2007, the Ministry of Labour quietly expelled 14 of the “instigators.” Workers should not be criminalised for demanding basic rights." (thanks Maryam)

This is considered foreign policy credentials in the U.S. Congress: ""I take a backseat to no one - including AIPAC - when it comes to supporting Israel."" (thanks Toufic)

"The occupied West Bank today is like walking through a page from a different era -- part Wild West, part Jim Crow -- with one set of laws for Palestinians and another set for Israeli settlers."

From the Daily Star: these are very common in Lebanese newspapers: "

LOST
ETHIOPIAN HOUSEMAID
M***** G**********
left her employer's house on 17-8-08
and did not return. Whomever
employs her will be subject to
legal pursuit. (961) 3 ******
(961) 9 ******

(Daily Star, 25/08/2008, printed edition)" (thanks Bart)

"Not only in Kuwait do our workers have to pay their employers -- instead of getting paid -- for their labour. This is a stark reality, and it is so in many of the countries of the Middle East which employ Bangladeshi workers. This have been known to everybody, except the unsuspecting migrant workers seeking greener pastures in distant lands -- only to find themselves cheated -- by the combined contrivance of the manpower agents in Bangladesh and the employers in the receiving countries." (thanks Robin)

"Six Israeli warplanes flew over South Lebanon and broke the sound barrier twice over the port city of Tyre on Wednesday, a security official said. "Six Israeli warplanes flew all over southern Lebanon and the city of Tyre at low altitude for more than an hour and broke the sound barrier twice over Tyre," the official told AFP."

"A Belgian peacekeeper was killed on Wednesday while clearing cluster bombs that Israel dropped on southern Lebanon during its 2006 war with Hezbollah guerrillas, witnesses said."

On the moderation of U.S. moderate Arab allies: "A Pakistani-Egyptian national and the son of an Islamic scholar, Madni was 24 years old when he arrested in Jakarta by the Indonesian authorities on January 9, 2002, after a request from the CIA. He was then rendered to Egypt, apparently at the urging of the Egyptian authorities, working in cooperation with the CIA. In Egypt, he was tortured for three months, and was flown back to Afghanistan on April 12, 2002 with Mamdouh Habib, an Australian prisoner, seized in Pakistan, who was released in January 2005, and who has spoken at length about his torture in Egypt. Eleven months later, Madni was transferred to Guantánamo." (thanks Olivia)

I don't like fatwawawas of any religion, and the only fatwawawa that I would issue if I had that power, would be the fatwawawa to end all fatwawawas. But once in a while, somebody issues a good fatwawawa. Here, Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah issues warnings about the mistreatment of foreign workers in Lebanon, and their dehumanization. (thanks Nadim)

I have not seen one article in the U.S. press about the Israeli "modesty squads". If this was in an Arab capital, it would be on the front pages of U.S. newspapers, and the New York Times would assign three reporters to the story. The Israeli press is filled with articles about them but the U.S. media is busy writing (like the New York Times did on its front page yesterday) about Arab children's love of terrorism.

"Sarkozy eventually hangs up on him." I never thought that I can agree with anything that Sarkozy does until I read this. Bourdieu called BHL once the "negative intellectual" (l'intellectuel negatif) and includes him in what he calls "les pauvres blancs de la culture", as Raed reminds me.

Somebody needs to tell Adonis this: what he thinks are aphorisms are less profound that the writings on Hallmark cards. And I bet that Adonis does not know what metaphysical means although he likes to use that word at every corner.

What is Robert Worth's point in this article? That Arab children love and enjoy terrorism? And what about Israeli leaders, like Sharon or Rabin or Barak who single-handedly have killed more innocent civilians than any Arab "terrorist"? These are people adored and admired in all over Israel...and the US? Is admiration of these killers considered noteworthy in the New York Times?

"Sources familiar with the formation of the platform say the language dealing with Israel and fighting anti-Semitism was drafted in consultation with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other Jewish groups." (thanks Ali)

Why is the New York Times so sexistly obsessed with the personal life of Sarah Palin? "Ms. Palin’s own pregnancy took Alaska by surprise this year. Even those who worked for her in the governor’s office said they were surprised. Her announcement, in March, was reported in The Anchorage Daily News, which noted at the time that Ms. Palin “simply doesn’t look pregnant.” This is yet another low for the paper.

A Fatwawawa Center.

Passively phrased (from the New York Times): "The fighting devastated much of Anbar. Falluja was razed; whole neighborhoods in Ramadi were likewise flattened."

The New York Times said this: "Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, right, and Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, a Sunni sheik, on Monday in Ramadi." Did the New York Times not know that `Abdu-s-Sattar is dead?