Sunni Israel

"Indeed, if the Israelis become a protector and defender of the Sunni Muslim countries".

lies of the occupiers

"But Afghan officials did not back down. “On this incident, the local people’s and local officials’ accounts differ from the one the U.S. military gives,” Mr. Faizi, the spokesman for Mr. Karzai, said Saturday. He added that American officials had always been quick to deny that victims of such raids were civilians, and that an Afghan investigation by the Nangarhar governor, Mualavi Ataullah Ludin, had confirmed that the victims were civilians. "

The New York Times on why the protest in Pakistan against drone murders is futile

"Still, the protest on Saturday was largely symbolic. NATO trucks do not operate on weekends. " Aren't all protests symbolic by definition? 

When the propagandist objects to propaganda

"But not all agreed with its findings. Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said many of its numbers appeared to be high. His organization, which was not cited in the report, has documented the deaths of only 6,490 children as of mid-November, including only about 20 who had been tortured.   He said any documentation of deaths in Syria must navigate efforts by both sides to exaggerate their enemies’ crimes and whitewash their own.  “Now in Syria we have a huge problem with propaganda, both from the Syrian regime and from the rebels,” he said. "

This passes as insightful analysis of international affairs in the US

"Why? When Iran had its Islamic Revolution in 1979, it was, emotionally speaking, like a big brother who walked out, slamming the door behind him."

Leon Wieseltier is being objective, believe him

"Its facticity is one of the great accomplishments of the Jews’ history and one of the great accomplishments of liberalism’s and socialism’s and nationalism’s histories, and it is not complacent or apologetic to say so."  And I am not being biased when I declare Wieseltier a liberal apologist for Israeli war crimes over the decades.

Do you remember my theory that liberal Zionist hoodlums can't write about Israeli war crimes without invoking the word "anguish" to absolve the killers?

Here you go, again:  "“My Promised Land” abounds in anguish, and it has the unrelenting tone of a genuine reckoning. "

Tip and the Gipper

"In one or two cases, the Democrats cut good deals with Reagan, such as when they revised the Social Security program. But on the key legislative issue of Reagan’s presidency — the 1981 fight over his budget, which slashed taxes on the rich — O’Neill simply got rolled. Spooked by the president’s popularity, which surged after he was shot by John Hinckley in March of that year, O’Neill failed to compete with Reagan in the new age of media politics. Worse, he also came up short in his supposed strong suit — riding herd on his caucus — as scores of Democrats, fearing the tax-cutting bandwagon, defected to back the Reagan bill. The consequences — skyrocketing budget deficits and debilitating inequality — have plagued us ever since. "

From a Saudi prince to another

So prince Faysal bin Khalid announced the results of the Prince Khalid bin `Abdul-`Aziz award, which went to the dead Prince Nayif bin `Abdul-`Aziz.

friend of Israel...in the Gulf

"“We did not know from the beginning, but we knew, we had intelligence that these meetings were happening,” said the Israeli minister, who spoke to BuzzFeed by phone from his Jerusalem office. He said that a “friend in the Gulf” shared intelligence with Israel that the meetings were taking place, and urged Israel to find out more. “I would like to say we knew the content of the talks, but we didn’t. What we knew was that the U.S. was choosing not to tell us about them and that was very worrying.”
That “friend,” one foreign ministry official said, was Saudi Arabia, which along with Israel has most strongly objected to the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the West over the weekend. " (thanks Mohammed)

Australia's government is now in full support of Israeli settlements

"The Abbott government has swung its support further behind Israel at the expense of Palestine, giving tacit approval to controversial activities including the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.  Acting on instructions from Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, government representatives at the United Nations have withdrawn Australia's support for an order to stop ''all Israeli settlement activities in all of the occupied territories''." (thanks Regan)

police brutality

"Saleh, whose store is tucked between a public park and working-class neighborhoods, contends that Miami Gardens police officers have repeatedly used racial slurs to refer to his customers and treat most of them like they are hardened criminals. "Police line them up and tell them to put their hands against the wall. I started asking myself 'Is this normal?' I just kept thinking police can't do this," Saleh said."  "To me, these people are like family," said Saleh, a native of Venezuela who is of Palestinian descent."

so what is Obama's real concern?

"... and for Obama, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to countries beyond Israel."

John Kerry will restore order in Libya, just as the US restored order in Iraq and Afghanistan

"Jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia attacked Libyan special forces Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi, sparking a battle in which at least eight people were killed and dozens wounded, officials said. The bloodshed came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry vowed to work with the international community to try to restore order in Libya which has been hit by growing unrest." (thanks Amir)

I told you: I am willing to buy the watch for the forced retirement party for Robert Fisk: he is embarrassing himself daily

"And just as al-Qaeda in America went for symbolic targets – New York’s financial centre, the Pentagon, perhaps Capitol Hill – so the Beirut bombers went for the fulcrum of Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah power in Lebanon, the embassy of the Islamic Republic. " Fulcrum? (thanks Basim)

Akram??

I am writing to Angry Arab's correspondent in Damascus, Akram. I have not heard from you in months and hope that you are OK.

public opinion in Egypt

Fahmi Huwaydi reveals results of a Zogby poll in Egypt which reveals steady decline in the approval rating for the Sisi regime. (thanks Yusuf)

Saudi family hang Ethiopian maid from hook - brutally beat her

"Saudi Arabian Family hang their Ethiopian maid upside down from a hook and beat her to a bloody pulp. She is drenched in blood from the whips and sticks that the Saudi men use to beat her." (thanks Jamil)

Teddy Satan

Will the Iranian regime now market dolls of "teddy Satan" for children?

This picture in Saudi media

 

This picture appeared on the front page of Khalid bin Sultan's mouthpiece, Al-Hayat, and in the mouthpiece of House of Thani, Al-Quds Al-`Arabi today.  Is this fake or what? It purports to show "Shi`ite fighters" in Syria.  Notice how prominently they are marking their location, and how they insist on identifying themselves as Shi`ites.  By the way, fabrications and distortion is daily in Saudi media.

Fawaz Gerges addressing Prince Khalid Bin Sultan

You have to read this to believe it.  Prince Khalid bin Sultan, owner of Al-Hayat, presided over a festival celebrating the anniversary of Al-Hayat.  Fawaz Gerges was invited to regale the Prince with his praise of the paper and he said:  "Al-Hayat did not fall in the fatal error in projecting opinion on information but preserved, and still preserves, the distinction between the opinion and the objective news.  And said that the opinion pages is a microcosm of the cultural and ideological plurality of the Arab world and that it never excluded any opinion which created a margin of freedom that was not available in other media".  What kind of mental disease hits the Lebanese people when in the presence of Saudi princes?  Is Fawaz really talking about Al-Hayat newspaper???

 "ولفت إلى أن «الحياة لم تقع في الخطأ القاتل وهو إسقاط الرأي على المعلومة»، بل «حافظت وما زالت تحافظ على الفصل بين الرأي وبين الخبر الموضوعي».  وزاد أن هذا التميّز في مجال صدقية الخبر اقترن أيضاً بنجاح «الحياة» في تكوين شبكة مراسلين في معظم العواصم العالمية والعربية الأساسية، وهو أمر لم يكن متوافراً آنذاك سوى لقلة من الصحف العالمية الكبرى مثل «نيويورك تايمز» و «واشنطن بوست» و «لوس أنجليس تايمز»...تحدث عن صفحات الرأي فيها قائلاً إنها «نسخة مصغرة عن التعددية الثقافية والأيديولوجية في العالم العربي» وإنها «لم تستبعد أي رأي» ما سمح بإيجاد «حيّز من هامش الحرية» لم يكن متاحاً في وسائل الإعلام الأخرى."

Cute Satan

The Iranian government has announced that it replaced "great satan" with "cute satan". 

Nicholas Burns will not work in this town again

"If it’s not in the Israeli interest or the Saudi interest, so be it.” "

paid propaganda for Qatar

"ESPN apologized for and removed a puff piece about Qatar and the 2022 World Cup by writer Phil Ball from its website on Friday after the outlet was lambasted when it was revealed that Ball, the writer, had received an "all-expenses paid" trip to Qatar to write the article." (thanks Michele)

Qatari-Saudi conflict

This article talks about the Qatari-Saudi conflict and that the recent visit by Emir of Qatar and the Emir of Kuwait to Saudi Arabia was part of a mediation effort by the latter.  (thanks Sultan)

Josef Federman of AP: what is your definition of "the Middle East"?

" Israel's prime minister harshly condemned the international community's nuclear deal with Iran on Sunday while Western allies in the Persian Gulf were conspicuously quiet, reflecting the jitters felt throughout the Middle East over Iran's acceptance on the global stage."  By throughout the Middle East he merely means Israel and the royal palaces in the Gulf.  Do American Zionists really think that Arabs are more worried about a potential Iranian nuclear program than about an actual Israeli nuclear program?

enrichment

Now will Lebanon be compelled to halt its enrichment of Tahini?

Charisma in the Syrian "revolution"

By what definition of charisma have Western reporters described this guy as charismatic? Help me please.

Ironic?

"He wanted a solution to stop Muslims fighting Muslims," Hamwi said in a statement." (thanks Basim)

The other side of Hollywood

"Arnon Milchan, the Israeli producer of smash hits including Fight Club and Pretty Woman, is opening up for the first time ever in an Israeli TV show on Monday to speak about his involvement in clandestine deals to acquire arms for Israel and his work to promote the country's alleged nuclear program."

I want you all to know that the US is dead serious about fighting cyberterrorism

"The NSA computer attacks are performed by a special department called TAO (Tailored Access Operations). Public sources show that this department employs more than a thousand hackers." (thanks Amir)

The US is aghast: Hamid Karzai is insisting that the US not interfere in the Afghan elections. Who does he think he is? It is a US right to interfere in any election, damn it

"whether American forces would stop raids on Afghan homes, help promote peace talks and not interfere in the election.  Western diplomats saw that as effectively reopening talks on the security agreement, despite Mr. Karzai’s public agreement to its terms on Wednesday.  “He’s negotiating in public,” one diplomat said."

What else does the West want?

What other conditions will Western governments impose on the Middle East? Will Arab and Iranian families be compelled to enter into negotiations in order to surrender kitchen knives for Israel to feel safer?

John Kerry sums up the agreement: determinants of US foreign policy

"In Geneva, Mr. Kerry said of the agreement: “It will make our partners in the region safer. It will make our ally Israel safer.”"

Egypt and Turkey

When the Nasserist regime severed ties with the Turkish government.

regarding the video clip (see below) by the Dr. General Engineer, Salim Idriss

Rashid sent me this:  "Regarding the clip you posted today on the doctor general engineer, did you hear plates and being handled in the background?  I could hear them throughout this idiot's speech.  I think they told journalists about this press conference and that food and refreshments will be served.  So a few journalists came and ate and asked a few questions.  I found that funny."

Hamid Karzai: a puppet and a man of his word

"Karzai had raised doubts about the accord at several points since negotiations began last November, only to back down after talks with U.S. officials."

When Hamid Karzai presides over a loya jirga: it is democracy, damn it

"During his speech, a woman in the audience heckled Mr. Karzai about foreign raids on Afghan homes, a breach of privacy seen as deeply offensive here. Specifically, she pressed him about the concession that foreign raids would be permitted only in “extraordinary circumstances.”

“All the night raids can be categorized as exceptional cases,” she yelled, carrying on for more than a minute before she was ushered from the room. "

The US is innocent, damn it

"The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that a madrassa was in the vicinity..."

Washington Post justifies the killing of Palestinian civilians

"Lerner’s fictionalized story, based on some disputed historical accounts, of the killing of Palestinian villagers by Israeli soldiers during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948....Lerner, whose “Pangs of the Messiah,” about West Bank settlers, was mounted at Theater J several years ago, traces in “The Admission” events surrounding the killing of civilians that some argue was a consequence of war and that others, including Lerner, consider a massacre."

Saudi academic and poet

From a reader:  "His twitter bio says: "Professor of Political Communication at King Saud University, Journalist, and a Poet"

and here, he celebrates the killing / burning  of a" majousi".

that lousy Syrian regime

The arrest of progressive opposition figure (of the inside and not of the hotels in Istanbul and Paris), Raja' Nasir is another indication that the regime deliberately targets progressive opposition figures and inflicts on them particular cruelty and vengeance for obvious sinister reasons.

not a single penny from the US

"“Compensation is so important because so many families are suffering — many families don’t have anyone left to support them,” said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. “There’s been a good response from some European brands, but so far none of the U.S. retailers have agreed to pay a single penny for compensation.”"

silent dislike

"a senior U.S. diplomat pointed out to him that "every administration leaves office having conceived an intense dislike for the French and the Israelis.""

an infidel tree

"Jihadists cut down a 150-year-old oak tree in Atme, on Syria's border with Turkey, after they accused locals of worshipping it, a pro-jihadist source said."