Minarets

Sultan sent me this (I cite with permission): "the Swiss ban on minarets reminded me of similar efforts in Pakistan, promoted by the anti-Ahmadi crowd and its Saudi supporters/financiers, to forbid the construction of minarets by Ahmadis. Their reasoning was that as Martial Law Ordinance XX forbids an Ahmadi from calling his place of worship, giving the call to prayer, posing as a Muslim, or otherwise hurting the feelings of Muslims, it followed logically that the Ahmadi places of worship should not have Muslim characteristics such as minarets or minbars. The demand resurfaces now and then, but no government or court has acted on it yet. So, one might say that the Swiss have managed to do something that the obscurantist mullahs in Pakistan couldn't. To be fair to the Swiss, it is entirely possible to change this ban. There is no possibility that any Pakistani political party or court will take a look at ending Pakistan's second constitutional amendment, Ordinance XX, or the blasphemy laws."

Why Israel's years are numbered

"I would argue that we are beginning to see, I don’t think it’s yet at full speed, but we’re beginning to see a similar loss of legitimacy for Zionism and for the practices that Israel has engaged in. And many Israelis worry about this very openly. I am convinced that the loss of legitimacy of the Zionist idea, of the idea of a special state for a special people, is irreversible, that that cannot be resurrected in the 21st century, a time when we at least preach if not practice universal rights and equality. Israel’s self image as a liberal Jewish and democratic state is impossible to maintain against the reality of a militarized, ultranationalist, sectarian Jewish settler colony that has to carry out regular massacres of indigenous civilians in order to maintain its control. Zionism simply cannot bomb, kidnap, assassinate, expel, demolish, settle, and lie its way to legitimacy and acceptance, and 62 years of Palestinian steadfastness, sumud, resistance have proven that time and again." (thanks Electronic Ali)

American (in)Justice System

"A judge has threatened to sentence an Arizona man to 25 days in prison for leaving jugs of water in the desert for illegal immigrants."

Beirut Marathon

It really pains me how they refer to Beirut "marathon" as "Beirut Marathon" when it is no more than 3 or so miles. Don't call it a marathon if it is NOT a marathon. Why does Lebanon like to delude itself about everything?

PS Christian in Beirut corrects me. He says: "I must correct you. Beirut Marathon is 42 kms and therefore the official marathon length. They also have a 5kms and 10kms runs." Maybe it has changed but I remember it was shorter.

Torture advocacy

"With these new numbers, it's virtually impossible to find a country with as high a percentage of torture supporters as the U.S. has. In Iran, for instance, only 36% believe that torture can be justified in some cases, while 43% believe all torture must be strictly prohibited. Similarly, 66% of Palestinians, 54% of Egyptians, and over 80% of Western Europeans believe torture is always wrong. The U.S. has a far lower percentage than all of those nations of individuals who believe that torture should always be prohibited. At least on the level of the citizenry (as opposed to government), we're basically the leading torture advocacy state in the world."

Western achievements

"Major General Nick Carter said that, before the 2001 invasion, young women could travel alone between major cities without risk of harm. Now, there is a constant threat from sophisticated IEDs and criminal gangs who rob and kidnap passengers."

Swiss (fake) feminism

"Moreover, when young proponents of the ban talk about problems with Muslims, they almost exclusively mean young men from the Balkans, who come across as male chauvinists but are almost never active members of Muslim communities." Oh, please. The Swiss people are the last to preach and lecture and hector about feminism. A nation that resisted allowing women to vote until 1971 is in no position to pass judgments about sexism. This is akin to Bush evaluating the peaceful intentions of nations, or akin to King `Abdullah holding an inter-faith dialogue conference. Wait. He actually did that and leaders from around the world attended. Never mind the last example, although it still holds.

If he was Arab, it would be on the front page of the NYT

"A Beit Shemesh man, 45, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly abusing three of his twelve children repeatedly, at times pressing a burning hot knife to their tongues in order to teach them to speak to him with respect." (thanks Olivia)

Obama is making progress--just like Bush

"In Kandahar, the main city of southern Afghanistan and the heart of the Taliban movement, Mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi said he was outraged recently to find out that some police were allowing Taliban fighters to sleep in their barracks. Here, officials say they gave police recruits drug tests. They excluded anyone who tested positive for opiates, but acknowledge that they were lenient about hashish and marijuana -- lest the district be unable to meet even minimal recruitment goals. Western trainers complain that Afghan police slip away from their posts, spend their time taking naps or tea breaks, and malinger when called to dangerous duty."

Mubarak Republic

"The biggest incident came during last year's Fitr, when 150 men and boys were arrested for going on a harassing spree in the streets of Mohandeseen in Cairo. A few of the defendants, who assaulted girls and cut their clothes, were taken to court and one was sentenced to a year in jail. The number of harassment cases during the feasts echoes a study carried out by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR) last July, showing that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign females residing in the country reported being harassed."

Sons...of Zayid day

"Another beloved National Day tradition is the annual decorating of the SUVs, an appropriate tribute to a country built on oil, love of luxury and fervent nationalism. “We, as a people, love our cars and our leaders. This is the way we honor them,” Abdullah Awlaqi, 25, told the National, Abu Dhabi's English-language newspaper. His huge white Hummer was covered with more than 100 postcard-sized pictures of sheiks, flags and seven scarlet teddy bears representing the seven emirates." (thanks Dina)

Ted Lapidus, the Zionist

"Ibn Rushd" sent me this (I cite with his permission): "By the way Ted Lapidus was a big zionist who also designed Israeli army clothes. "In 1969 Lapidus pulled off a remarkable deal with the Israeli government whereby (in return for half his business) he took artistic control of Israel's entire fashion industry, including uniforms for the Israeli women's army. The contract meant that by the end of 1970 the whole of Israel's ready-to-wear industry was stamped with the Ted Lapidus trademark. " The son of Ted Lapidus, Olivier, is married to a Lebanese girl, Yara Lapidus who is a model and singer."

failure

"The Americans have failed to convince Afghans that they should want them to stay, and Afghans certainly have not been convinced of Karzai’s legitimacy. There are just too many blunders. In September 2009 a British plane dropped a box of leaflets that failed to open. The box landed on a girl and killed her. Given that most Afghans are illiterate, its contents would have made no difference anyway. Material goods will not outweigh anger over civilian casualties and eight years of humiliation. In Iraq it took the trauma of the civil war to make the Americans look better, yet Iraqis still overwhelmingly want them out. Obama is not Bush, but for Afghans it is the same occupying country—the America of Iraq, Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib; the America seemingly at war with Islam." (thanks Nir)

busted flush

"Welcome to the modern equivalent of the last days of Rome. The failure of Dubai World, one of the Emirate’s flagship companies, to honour a debt due last month has rocked this city state to its foundations. By any conventional logic Dubai is now a busted flush."

Disabled Palestinians

A study reveals that the percentage of disabled people is highest among the Palestinians.

Boycott Israel and bad copanies

Comrade Rami on boycotting Israel and bad companies. (thanks Marcy)

Fruits of Sadatism

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "The [negative] Repercussions of Qutriyyah (narrow nationalim): Or Fruits of Sadatism".

Inside Iraq-Afghanistan

This is a link to the show that I taped yesterday. (thanks Khaled)

This is Zionism

"Eleven new immigrants from Ethiopia have yet to be placed in Petah Tikva schools, and some have been waiting as long as three weeks for an assignment."

Zionism is racism and sexism

"MK Ben-Ari said Wednesday, "Then the other shoe dropped. The next time a woman comes to me and a man comes to me, I will prefer his month of reserve duty, which I know how to handle, over the half a year (of maternity leave), during which the office either collapses or I have to find a better replacement."

Israel: disgrace unto the nations

"This investment in the country's periphery is characterised by systematic discrimination against the Negev's Bedouin population, many of whom live in "unrecognised" villages or townships. Recent developments bring these policies into sharper focus, as well as pointing to fundamental problems with Israel's image as "the Middle East's only democracy". First, three vital clinics serving Bedouin women and children have been shut down, with the result that the nearest equivalent facilities are now hours away. The official reason is a shortage of staff, but this does not sit well with the severity of the health problem among these Bedouin children, where the infant mortality rate is more than three times higher than in the Israeli Jewish community." (thanks Ben)

Sheikh Mo

"He has had some notable successes. Compared with most other Arab countries, the Emirates federation — in which he serves as prime minister in addition to his role as Dubai’s ruler — is a gleaming model of safety, opulence and multicultural openness. Sheik Mohammed has struggled to foster a culture of self-discipline and entrepreneurialism here. He is famous for visiting government offices unannounced, and sometimes firing public officials who are not working." First, how do you define "multicultural openness" in Dubai? Did you ask the Asian workers about their views of multiculturalness in Dubai? This is like describing the America of the 19th century as a "melting pot". Second, please spare me the stories about the leader "visiting government offices unannounced". Such stories have been used in the propaganda of Saddam, and of the present-day King of Jordan, among others. Those visits are as spontaneous as when singers act surprised when they are asked to sing in Arab talk shows.

Ask Yasmeen Bleeth* about Saudi royal expenditure

"Jeddah is a great example of corruption. This city of more than 4 million people still lacks a sewage system and treatment facility. The rain that fell last week had nowhere to go but to flood the streets and neighbourhoods, creating havoc and death in its path."

* Bleeth is innocent but she was the object of an obsession by Prince `Abdul-`Aziz bin Fahd, who allegedly showered her with millions worth of gifts.

Supreme leader rules

"The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the sentencing of Hengameh Shahidi and Saeed Laylaz, two prominent journalists, to extended prison terms. Shahidi was sentenced on Monday to six years and three months in prison, while Laylaz was sentenced to a prison sentence of no fewer than nine years, according to local and international news reports." (thanks Mohamed)

Look at Iran: Thomas Friedman thinks that Iran is part of the Arab-Muslim world

""4. One of the main reasons the Arab-Muslim world has been so resistant to internally driven political reform is because vast oil reserves allow its regimes to become permanently ensconced in power, by just capturing the oil tap, and then using the money to fund vast security and intelligence networks that quash any popular movement. Look at Iran."" (thanks Sarah)

This is Mossad propaganda

This so-called new "war doctrine" is a Mossad propaganda that is intended to scare Arabs. Ignore it and don't take it seriously. Israel had more than 60 years to experiment with "war doctrine" and one after the other has failed to dislodge Palestinian and Arab resistance to Israel. Just because Israel is desperate because its years are numbered does not mean that its propaganda campaigns should not be exposed for what they are.

Robert Fisk

I had no idea that Robert Fisk is sensitive to anti-Semitism and is keen on exposing anti-Semites. You see, Fisk is a close friend of Walid Jumblat and I never once read Fisk mocking or making fun of--or criticizing--the anti-Jewish statements of Jumblat.

war arguments

"George W. Bush waged preventive war in Iraq regarding (nonexistent) weapons of mass destruction. Obama is waging preventive war in Afghanistan to prevent it from again becoming "a staging platform for terrorists," which Somalia, Yemen or other sovereignty near-vacuums also could become. To prevent the "staging platform" scenario, U.S. forces might have to be engaged in Afghanistan for decades before its government can prevent that by itself." (thanks Nabeel)

Moroccan troops in Yemen?

Al-Quds Al-`Arabi is citing a Spanish media source to the effect that Morocco has sent elite troops to Yemen to help in the war against Huthi rebels. Morocco, it seems, like to follow action. It has sent monkeys to join the war coalition of George W. Bush in Iraq. They monkeys were trained to sweep land mines...by walking on them.

Can you locate Jordan on a map?

"Just over half (51 percent) of Americans are more sympathetic toward Israel than to the Palestinians, according to a poll released Thursday. Only 12% of respondents said they were sympathetic to the Palestinians, 14% percent supported neither side, and 19 % offered no opinion." (thanks Olivia)

Dahlan Task Force For Israel

Meet their board members although this page was removed.

Mukhabarat Poll

This is from the cover page of Jordan's business magazine. (thanks anonymous)

The lies of the Syrian regime

Yesterday, I was offended. I was watching TV and I saw the Syrian Minister of Interior insists that the explosion in Damascus was a mere burst of a tire under a bus. So according to the Syrian government, this explosion that killed three and injured scores and caused the damage seen in this picture was caused by a burst tire. Are there limits to your lies?

Ted Lapidus and the Palestinian Revolution

When the French fashion designer, Ted Lapidus, died last year, I was planning on writing something about him given his connection--albeit indirect--to the Palestinian Revolution. You see Lapidus designed the Safari suit for men, and it was the most common uniform for the leaders of the Palestinian Revolution for much of the 1970s and 1980s. It was favored by leaders of the left, center, and right. It gave the image of elegance but not of excessive elegance, and it also conformed to the physical requirements of movement and travel. So when the history of the Palestinian Revolution is written, a word should be said about Ted Lapidus.

Sheikh Mo

"He breeds camels and is a passionate lover of horses. He rides endurance races in the desert and drives a customized Mercedes four-wheel drive SUV along Dubai's sprawling highways. He listens to residents' complaints the old-fashioned way, in his diwan, or reception room, but also regularly updates his Facebook profile and exchanges tweets with Dubai's youth." Oh, how nice. Do you notice that the polygany of US clients and puppets in the Middle East is never mentioned, but the polygany of US enemies is always brought up as a subject of complaint.

Hizbullah's Political Document

One more thing, as Lt. Columbo used to say. There is another problem in the Political Document: it is defensive in tone and content. It is largely addressed to the Lebanese critics of Hizbullah, and thus failed in addressing the larger Arab audiences.

"Inside Iraq"

I just finished taping a debate with Gen. Richard Myers about the US war in Afghanistan. It will air the first time on Inside Iraq on Aljazeera English TV Friday night at 5:30PM London Time. At one point, he called me "arrogant". Me arrogant? No way. By the way, my hair was wet on TV. I did not like that.

It is not live, after all

The show is not live, after all. Check your local listings. (thanks Marcy)

Israel's dirty hands in the US

"LAPD detectives are investigating whether the shooting of two men at North Hollywood synagogue in October is the work of Israeli-connected organized crime. The Oct. 29 shooting ignited fear that it was a hate crime, but Los Angeles police officials quickly ruled that out. In the last few weeks, LAPD investigators have concentrated their resources on the idea that the shootings were designed to silence someone." (thanks Dina)

land grab

land grab by three Saudi princes and the new Saudi university. (thanks Hani)

Advice from the US

"Israel must take the Sri Lankan initiative and move into these areas one by one, cornering, enveloping and killing off all armed resistance." Don't worry. They try, year after year and they fail. They will always fail, no matter how much massive terrorism they inflict on their enemies. This is why the Zionist project is doomed and Israel's years are numbered. The view from Northridge must be clouded. (thanks Laleh)

social responsibilty

"Social responsibility is a core Arab value running through the Arab multinationals emerging on to the global stage in the last decade. The contribution of these corporate giants to the region's prosperity is clear and western businesses could learn lessons from their example of corporate social responsibility." Social responsibility? Treating Asian workers like slave? Having destitute and poor Arabs living side-by-side to your opulent and ostentatious palaces? Treating women as if they are invisible? You, of all people, want to teach the world about social responsibility? You who--through your funding--have turned the development reports about the Arab world into vapid statements that absolve Arab governments of responsibility and which serve as validation of the Bush Doctrine? If you have no oil, you would really know what Arabs think of you. (thanks Olivia)

Inside Iraq

I will be speaking on Obama's strategy in Afghanistan on Inside Iraq on Aljazeera English TV. I will appear live at 8:30AM today from SF.

Foreign maids in Lebanon

"A recent spate of suicides by foreign maids in Lebanon is prompting outrage among human rights groups, who say the government is doing too little to protect migrant domestic workers from severe abuse. Over the past seven weeks at least 10 women have died, either by hanging themselves or by falling from tall buildings. Six of these cases have been reported in local media as suicides and four more have been described as possible work accidents." (thanks Sultan)

Gay Interenational

"How did these gay organisations react to your critique?
Some spokespeople for the Gay International were/are horrified by my criticisms and want to claim that any criticisms of their efforts must be a sign of homophobia. They are not unlike racist white women who through US imperialism want to defend the women of Afghanistan or who want to define the nature of the difficulties faced by women in different non-US and non-European societies in accordance with the priorities of their segment of the white women’s movement. These white women’s groups would insist also that anyone who criticized them must be against women or anti-feminist. Third world feminists have attacked such racist approaches since the 1960s and continue to do so.
What about gay organisations?
The problem with white Gay Internationalist Organizations is that, unlike the White women’s movements who want to speak for women around the world, Gay Internationalist organizations do not have a natural constituency around the world of people who identify as they do, which is why they must create such a constituency by insisting that all same sex practitioners must be assimilated into gayness, which would then create for them the constituency they need for their universalizing project."

PS For the record, Joseph and I are not in full agreement on the matter of "invention" so to speak.