Mandela with leaders of the Algerian revolution

"In this picture you can see Nelson Mandela along with Samora Machel, Agostinho Neto and some leaders of the algerian Front de Libération Nationale: Houari Boumediene, Mohamed Boudiaf, Ahmed Ben Bella, Rabah Bitat etc."

American tributes to a terrorist?

"Former South African President Nelson Mandela is to be removed from a U.S. terrorism watch list under a bill President Bush signed Tuesday [July 1, 2008]." (thanks Basim)

This Lebanese lied in Canada in order to justify his spying against Hizbullah

"When the Israelis later pulled out, parts of the Christian community — which had collaborated with the invaders — came under attack from the Muslim majority. Roland never forgot."  Of course, that did not happen and even Israeli collaborators and torturers for Israel were left scot free. (thanks Ken)

When Sa`d Hariri eulogizes Mandela

From Elias:  "Saad Hariri released a statement today commemorating the death of Nelson Mandela, which contained the following sentence:

“بلغ مانديلا من العمر حدود المئة، وبقي حتى اللحظة الاخيرة من حياته قطعة نادرة من الذهب الأسمر التي تلمع في ارجاء البشرية، وتقدم في كل يوم أمثلة حية عن قيم الصفح والمصالحة والاعتراف بالآخر، وإنزال العقاب المعنوي والأخلاقي بكل المفاهيم التي تجعل من الانسان وحشا ضاريا يخوض صراع البقاء بروح التسلط والاستئثار والانتقام”.

“Mandela nearly reached the age of a hundred, and remained until the last minute of his life a rare piece of brown gold glittering over humanity..."  In fact, it is even worse.  He could not say "black gold" because that means oil in Arabic, so he went with "brown gold" thinking that it is less offensive.

Mandela with the leaders of the Algerian Revolution

From Houari: "From left to right: Hocine Aït Ahmed (partly hidden by the helmet), Kaïd Ahmed (in military clothing), Mohamed Boudiaf, Djelloul Melaïka (the man with a moustache), Rabah Bitat, Ahmed Ben Bella, Nelson Mandela (between Bitat and Ben Bella), Commandant Nasser (in uniform), Hamilcar Cabral (Portuguese Guinea), Houari Boumediene, Abdelaziz Bouabdallah and Taïbi Larbi.

They are watching a military parade".

Apology to my Al-Akhbar (Arabic and English) readers

Regarding my critique of the new draft of the Egyptian constitution which appeared today in Al-Akhbar (and earlier in an English shorter version in Al-Akhbar English), I received this message from an Egyptian jurist (and I am very grateful to her):  "In regard of post on the currently proposed Egyptian constitution, you do not seem to have analyzed the latest 2013 draft, but instead mistakenly analyzed the 2012 draft that got approved by referendum during Morsi's tenure then abrogated this summer.
Here are the links:

2012 draft (later adopted as the 2012 constitution):
2013 draft (currently proposed constitution):"

PS I am fully responsible for the mistake and blame a certain rashness in my personality.  It is one of some 14 or so flaws.

King of Jordan

In all the turmoil and the dramatic developments in the Middle East region, there is a most under-reported story.  The most unreported story in the Middle East is the extent to which the King of Jordan is the most insignificant player.  There is no role in the entire landscape for him whatsoever.  He is never mentioned in any discussion on any matter.  I don't like his father one bit but at least he was a player--on the side of Zionists but a player nevertheless.  Yet, it amuses the hell out of me that he is treated with respect and reverence here in the US.  It is not that he is mocked by Arab youth,  I am struck that he is not mentioned at all.

Spreading democracy through arms sales to democrats

"Since 2007, the United States has sold more than $81 billion worth of arms to Gulf countries, including some $10 billion announced by Hagel earlier this year on his first trip to the region as defense secretary, the official said."

American tributes to Mandela?

President Ronald Reagan was among those most opposed to the [Anti-Apartheid] bill, and when he finally vetoed the measure over its support of the ANC, which he maintained was a "terrorist organization," "In fact, in 2000, he [Dick Cheney] maintained that he'd made the right decision. "The ANC was then viewed as a terrorist organization," Cheney said on ABC's "This Week." "I don't have any problems at all with the vote I cast 20 years ago.'' "

Cash foreign policy

"Examples of failed efforts, according to the paper, include a proposal to pay $6,000 dowries to Afghan men to keep them off the battlefield".

Socialist France invades, humanely

"French military patrols in the central African nation began overnight, France's defense chief said Friday, as troops arrived in the capital Bangui. "The operation has effectively started," Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Radio France Internationale. The goal of the mission, Le Drian said, is to provide "a minimum of security to allow for a humanitarian intervention to be put in place." "

Where is Turkey now?

"Turkey's popularity in the Middle East has dropped sharply over the past two years, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, reflecting Ankara's sometimes controversial foreign policy strategy."

positively shaping audiences perceptions and attitudes towards the United States

"Through the prism of operations in Afghanistan, the author examines how the U.S. Government's Strategic Communication (SC) and, in particular, the Department of Defense's (DoD) Information Operations (IO) and Military Information Support to Operations (MISO) programs, have contributed to U.S. strategic and foreign policy objectives. It assesses whether current practice, which is largely predicated on ideas of positively shaping audiences perceptions and attitudes towards the United States, is actually fit for purpose."

Israel and apartheid South Africa

"Wasn't Israel one of the most powerful friends of Apartheid South Africa? Was Mandela "a man of vision," "the father of his nation," "a humble man," "a freedom fighter," and "a man of vision" when the State of Israel solidly supported Apartheid South Africa? Did Ronald Reagan, America, and the West, in general, see Mandela as "a freedom fighter"? Directly or indirectly, didn't Jimmy Carter's book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" speak to this closet relationship between Apartheid South Africa and the State of Israel?"

rehabilitation of Mandela

"Mandela spent most his adult life treated as a "terrorist". There was a price to be paid for his long walk to freedom, and the end of South Africa's system of racial apartheid. Mandela was rehabilitated into an “elder statesman” in return for South Africa being rapidly transformed into an outpost of neoliberalism, prioritising the kind of economic apartheid most of us in the west are getting a strong dose of now."

Sayings by Mandela that will NOT be mentioned in the Western press

"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don't care for human beings."

"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians". (thanks Amir)

And now a word on the "secular" (read sponsored by Bandar bin Sultan, these days) branch of the Syrian "revolution": the case of Suhayr Al-Atasi

I have been receiving information as of late about rising corruption regarding the management office of Suhayr Al-Atasi.  It is funny that early on in the Syrian "revolution", when groupies of the "revolution" in the West were still insisting that the "revolution" was entirely secular and that Islamists had no role whatsoever in its affairs, the name of Suhayr Al-Atasi was always invoked as "the real leader" of the "revolution". Well, after mounting criticisms of corruption by her, Ms. Atasi has resigned after petition against her was circulated.  Let me reiterate: I know of no opposition movement--not even the Ba`th--which has committed more war crimes, thuggery, kidnapping, torture, subservience to foreign intelligence services, deception, religious bigotry BEFORE reaching power than this Syrian exile opposition.  It is even worse than the Ahmad Shalabi's "revolution" and I thought the man was the inspiration for the Syrian "revolution" in exile.  

The kidnapped nuns

I don't have time to provide many links (please do the job for me) but I have seen enough to nauseate me: did you see how the Western media made such a big effort to justify and sugar coat (this is the first time ever that I use that expression) the kidnapping of the Ma`lula nuns by Syrian rebels/thugs? Notice that the language used was that they merely (I think that this is the 3rd time I use "merely" today in the blog it is like reckon in the Economist--I complained to an editor at the Economist about the word "reckon" and she promised me to bring it up in an editorial meeting but I see no results) "moved" them or that they "took" them or that they "transported" them.  And the video released by the kidnappers/rebels today was quite obscene: no videos of that sort should be shown.  If I am ever kidnapped don't air a video of me in captivity and know that all my words were uttered under duress, damn it.  And Lebanese TV reporter, Josephine Deeb, who knows Ma`lula well and know the nuns, noticed that they had no crosses on them and added that the head nun always had a cross around her neck.  It guess the cross offended your rebels. 

Mandela: the comedy show has begun

I mean, what is with all those Western media and government tributes to Mandela? Is this excess in emotional expression supposed to make us forget that the apartheid regime was sponsored and supported for decades by the "West" and that the "West" did not turn on the the apartheid regime until it could not longer survive, very much like how they turned against Mubarak after he was no longer in office. Who are you fooling? I came to the US in 1983, and the American liberal and conservative press was fiercely hostile to Mandela at the time.  

Previous assassination attempts on Hassan Laqqis by Israel: tell the correspondents of the New York Times and WP who are obsessed with absolving Israel

It has been quite illustrative how the Beirut offices of the New York Times and the Washington Post proved this week, yet again, that they are mere propaganda outlets for the pro-Saudi March 14 groups in Lebanon.  In writing about the assassination of Hassan Laqqis, they simply regurgitated the rumors and lies of Hariri press office.  They were so keen on absolving Israel of responsibility, forgetting that none of the Syrian Jihadi or non-Jihadi groups have ever heard of Laqqis, and that his work was so secretive that only the US and Israel knew of him, among the enemies of Hizbullah.  Now, the Israeli press have all but confirmed Israeli responsibility.  How foolish do those correspondents feel? 

Don't you like it when the US government presents its own ideas about the "peace process" but after receiving them from Israel? So Israeli ideas become American ideas and then the Palestinians have to accept them

"General Allen has made several trips to Israel and developed his ideas in consultation with Israeli officials."

When it comes to science I always rely on US members of Congress

"Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Tex.), the chairman emeritus of the committee, asked the panel: “Do you think there’s life out there, and are they studying us? And what do they think about New York City?”"

Liz Sly and and Loveday Morris: what a team to cover Syria and Lebanon

So who killed the Hizbullah commander and how do you make sure to absolve Israel of responsibility?  Well, first roll out a March 14 person:  "“There are so many players around who could be involved in this,” said Elie Hindy, assistant professor for international affairs at Lebanon’s Notre Dame University. “Hezbollah has created so many enemies around it — regional enemies, Islamist enemies, Israeli enemies — and that does not include invisible possibilities.”"  I don't know this dude but I really am drawn to his theory: that invisible possibilities were behind the assassinations.  In fact, invisible possibilities have been known to use car bombs in Lebanon and have invaded Lebanon many times over the years.  And then, like the New York Times, you cite unnamed people who say (as natives) that Israel is really innocent and it harbors no will toward Hizbullah or Arabs:  "But many Lebanese said the killing of Laqees was more likely linked to the country’s soaring sectarian tensions".  And then the Nicholas Blanford formula: you get a Hizbullah member or "supporter" to say the most damaging thing about Hizbullah and the most favorable thing about Israel:  "“No one believes it was Israel,” said a Hezbollah supporter."  Did this Hizbullah supporter also declares his love for Israel to you two?   And the piece concludes with another opinion by a March 14 supporter.  I read this piece and learned of Western media coverage of the Middle East what I knew not before.

This is a really humane empire

"“The release of this information serves no operational purpose and detracts from the more important issues, which are the welfare of detainees and the safety and security of our troops.”"

It is official: Saeb Erekat confirms for the first time that he is he chief buffoon for the PA

"“I am the most disadvantaged negotiator in the history of the world".  He also added: look at me. I am a buffoon and can't open my mouth without sounding dumb.  I am an embarrassment to my people.  Let us face it: I am the most incompetent negotiator ever.

Look how even this headline of the New York Times is intended to absolve Israel of the crime

"Major Hezbollah Figure, Tied to Syrian War, Is Assassinated Near Beirut"

Ryan Crocker will never have a job in Washington, DC

"“We need to start talking to the Assad regime again” about counterterrorism and other issues of shared concern, said Ryan C. Crocker, a veteran diplomat who has served in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. “It will have to be done very, very quietly. But bad as Assad is, he is not as bad as the jihadis who would take over in his absence.” "

How dare you?

" Two leading senators have asked the Obama administration to warn South Korea against allowing Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications firm, to build large parts of a next-generation network for the capital city of Seoul, arguing that it could give the Chinese government a way to enter the networks of a major American ally. "

semi-covert? The man was distributing electronic equipment among the Cuban Jewish community, for potato's sake

"Mr. Gross, 64, was arrested in 2009 for his work on a semi-covert United States program promoting political change and sentenced to 15 years in prison".

The Israeli "wonder woman"

Did Huffington Post sneakily removed from the text from yesterday a reference to her serving in the Israeli terrorist army?  And would an Arab woman ever be cast (in anything) especially if she had served in an Arab army or in a resistance organization? But damn, Westerners really find the Israelis to be cute when they kill for some reason. (thanks Michele)

Liz Sly: cites another expert on Hizbullah

People who talk to the Western press are not close to Hizbullah. People who are close to Hizbullah don't talk to the Western press (with the exception of Nicholas Blanford who for some odd reasons receives daily confessionals from Hizbullah fighters and commanders):  "...predicted Mohammed Obeid, a Beirut-­based analyst who is close to Iranian-backed Hezbollah and familiar with the thinking of its leaders".  Obeid, of course, was a leader in the Amal movement and his conversations in Wikileaks only added his distance from Hizbullah.   Just look at the other experts she cited on the Middle East and you get the drift.

As the New York Times declares the Israeli foreign minister a "changed man" after days on the job, the truth

From Eyal:  "Translation of the relevant part:

"Since the time of 'Tower and Stockade' projects, nothing has changed.
We are fighting for the national lands of the Jewish people, and there are those who intentionally attempt to rob them and take control of them by force. One cannot look the other way and escape this reality... there is no reason that in Umm Al-Fa7m they shouldn't build high-rises like in Beirut, Cairo and Gaza. The state must take initiative and  construct modern cities for the Arab population, built high with all the infrastructure and necessary permits. Building permits are not for Jews only!"

British envoy to the Syrian opposition (accidentally) reveals the Western control of the Syrian exile opposition

From a reader:  "Wilks is the British envoy to the Syrian opposition. Does he not at least realize that this looks bad?

Note his tweets from yesterday: @JonWilksFCO: I am pushing the #NationalCoalition Coalition to resolve the issues around Suheir Atassi's resignation to bring her back in.

http://twitter.com/JonWilksFCO/status/408240071742357505

@JonWilksFCO: And I continue to urge Suheir to introduce proper management structures in the ACU to ensure efficient and proper use of their funds.

http://twitter.com/JonWilksFCO/status/408240396435996672

When the Afghan puppet rebels you have to take action

From Krim:  "So, the U.S. threatens a palace coup, and this is how it's reported in the American press:

(Honestly)
"U.S. Considers Pushing Karzai Aside for Drawdown Deal"


(Orwellian)
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejects U.S. workaround on security pact"


From the second article:

"Kerry had told a gathering of NATO foreign ministers the security pact did not have to be signed by Karzai himself.

"His minister of defense can sign it, the government can sign it, somebody can accept responsibility for this," he said."

From the first article:

"The issue of who has the authority to speak for a sovereign nation of Afghanistan, I suppose the lawyers can figure that out," said Hagel. "What we would be interested in, certainly as a secretary of defense, is whatever document is agreed to...someone has the authority to sign on behalf of Afghanistan. I suspect that would fulfill the kind of commitment we need.""

French torture of Algerians

""The book is graphic in its details. The general wrote of beating prisoners; of attaching electrodes to their ears or testicles and gradually increasing the intensity of the electrical charge; of pouring water over their faces until they either spoke or drowned. Whether a captive talked or not, he said, he usually had him executed anyway, often doing the job himself. He coolly recalled rounding up 1,500 unarmed prisoners — almost all of them Muslims — then selecting "the die-hards" and having them shot.""

Israeli lies about humanitarian assistance in Syria

I asked a UN source about the stories (certainly widely circulated by US media) that Israel has been providing humanitarian assistance to Syrians.  The UN source told me that "they are lying": they did not give...anything".  "I am told there is another article somewhere else where they claimed that an Israeli NGO is distributing food to people in Zaatari but it’s not true."

Obama's Doctrine

"Of course, the US and its friends have carried out covert assassinations and sponsored death squads for many years. But assassination and undercover killings, once criticised by the US as an unfortunate Israeli habit, are now a central part of American strategy – and the battlefield has gone global. The number of countries in which the US Special Operations Command is operating has risen from 40 to 120."

She is white and she sings for Um Kulthum: she must be great, no matter

"Some Arab musicians dismiss the fuss altogether, framing Ms. Grout’s accomplishments in classical Arab music as a sign of a more thorough and reciprocal globalization. “The assumption seems to be that there is nothing special about the global South imitating Western culture, since that is just the way of the world,” said Mariam Bazeed, an Egyptian writer and vocalist in New York. “But when a Westerner deigns to imitate ‘ethnic’ cultures, then it’s suddenly this great act, worthy of documenting.”"

PS I asked Arabs who have followed the show to offer their opinions and many responded on Facebook.  Many thought that she was talented while others disagreed.  Then Walid Itayim, a classmate from childhood who is an accomplished musician in Lebanon and--I am told--one of the best guitar players in our region--responded with his expert opinion.  Here is our exchange (I cite with Walid's permission):


"Walid Itayim  Asad, while I didn't particularly like the يا طيور song, I really liked what she did with بعيد عنك .She is no Oum Kalthoum but she is really very good. Oum Kalthoum's songs are very hard to sing and what this girl has managed to accomplish in the three years since she first got interested in Arabic music is very impressive. Whether she has an authentic American accent or not is not very important. As a foreigner and a non-Arabic speaker, she really feels the music and her pronunciation of Arabic words is to be commended. When I see so much crap being released on the Middle Eastern music market by native Arabs most of whom can't sing to save their lives, I cannot but be amazed by her! I am really surprised and disturbed by the hostility expressed towards her in the comments above. Politics and anti-American sentiments should not be the criteria by which music is judged.
6 hours ago · Like · 2

Asad AbuKhalil Walid: I respect your expert opinion. You are the expert and I am not. I only heard about her form the article in the New York Times. But there is so much going in in our region to make me extra suspicious. Yes, Ya Tuyur was not good in fact, and I know it is a difficult song. But you also know how much in our region people celebrate any White Man (including women) if they show the slightest interest in our culture. For some reason, Lebanese and now Arabs are complimented when a European or an American even enjoy a Middle East meal, as if it becomes an a confirmation of our humanity. Thus far, I made it clear that there is no evidence of a political machination in all this. But I just noticed the Western media coverage and several things got my attention. I sincerely hope that my (slight) suspicions are unfounded. Having said all that, and assuming that she has no political agenda, and that she is who she says she is, does she deserve to really win that category in that contest? Is she really superior to the Arab competitors? I don't have the answer to that.
6 hours ago · Like · 4

Asad AbuKhalil I will now try to listen to her rendition of بعيد عنك
6 hours ago · Like · 1

Brian El Khoury غير صحيح، في بعد عنك شذت عن اللحن مراراً.
5 hours ago · Like

Walid Itayim Fair enough, Asad. I know what you mean when you talk about the adoration of the white man/woman. I too hate that. As for whether she deserves to win that particular competition, I can only say that she is definitely one of the best among the competitors (not all are singers - there are dancers and gymnasts among them) of the current season of Arabs Got Talent. She certainly is doing a better job of singing Arabic music than all the people who are singing western songs on this show. Finally, I would like to add that I very much dislike this show. It is not acceptable that three of the four panel members are not qualified to judge music as they are a businessman, an actor and a comedian.
5 hours ago · Unlike · 1"

Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar held hostages in Thailand

""As thousands of Rohingya flee Myanmar to escape religious persecution, a Reuters investigation in three countries has uncovered a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thailand's immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea. The Rohingya are then transported across southern Thailand and held hostage in a series of camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay thousands of dollars to release them."" (thanks Amir)

The New York Times is in mourning

"He became Israel’s high-jump champion as a boy and performed his military service as a member of an infantry brigade entertainment troupe. "

The seven million dollars horse

Sheikh Mo of Dubai buys a seven million dollars horse.

Gen. Sisi has a new constitution

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar English on the Egyptian constitution.

Assassination of a Hizbullah commander

There has been some 8 Israeli assassinations of known or unknown Hizbullah leaders or commanders since the 1980s.  There is no doubt on earth that Israel was behind the recent assassination: you just have to read how much efforts Anne Barnard of the New York Times made in order to bring in Zionist denials of responsibility and to advance the bogus theory of some Sunni sectarian group to confirm that Israel was responsible.  Hizbullah is not as easy to target by the Israeli enemy as the PLO was in the past: leaders and commanders keep a low profile and they don't move in large convoys as PLO leaders did in the past during the war years.  Abu Hasan Salamah, an intelligence chief, adhered to a schedule and a routine that no intelligence chief would ever get a way with (not to mention that the exploits and adventures and "revolutionary" contributions of Salamah were largely fictitious: Israel held him responsible for actions that he had no links with whatsoever but the ignorance of Mossad is not something that is new).  Let me tell you something: when Israeli used to engage in assassinations (Israel was so callous and war criminal in its assassinations in Lebanon that it never used a revolver or even a machine gun---the favorite method of assassination by Israel was through a car bomb in a crowded street, managing to kill the person in question along with some tens of innocent bystanders. That is the nature of the enemy of the Arabs) it always chose times of acute internal conflict.  And Israel would never assume responsibility for its own assassinations: it always denied responsibility, just as it denies responsibility for the assassination of Arafat.  But during the war, after every assassination by Israel, some group (The Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Strangers or Jabhat Tahrir Lubnan min-al-Ghuraba') would claim responsibility and it was known as a mere phone organization used by Israel to shift blame and also to intensify internal conflict in Lebanon.  There is a basic reason why the assassination of Hassan Laqqis was perpetrated by Israel and not by some imaginary "Sunni" group: his work was largely unknown for Lebanese and Syrians.  Apparently, his work was largely technical and electronic and dealt with stuff that only Israel would know about.  Not much is known about Laqqis and the picture circulated is not new from what I can gather. Some account in As-Safir said that he had a degree in computer science from AUB and that he met Hasan Nasrallah in the 1980s (people don't realize that Nasrallah worked in intelligence for Hizbullah and at one point was intelligence chief for Beirut area).  Like Nasrallah, Laqqis also started work with the Amal Movement but then moved to Hizbullah when it was forming.  Israel used the bogus claim of responsibility by a non-existent Sunni group to typical shift the blame and also to intensify Sectarian tensions and conflicts in Lebanon.  But it makes you think: amazing how many murders Israel gets away with in Lebanon and beyond.  My mother yesterday commented to me about the assassination and she was angry: that Hizbullah was at fault for not avenging the assassination of `Imad Mughniyyah.  Hizbullah will most likely be reconsidering that policy.  And if Hizbullah were to assassinate one of the many Israeli terrorist leaders, you can imagine the international outcry and the calls for an international criminal court to be set up, and the Secretary-general of the UN would be holding a boring press conference reading in his most boring tone a statement of protest.  For me, this Israeli murder is yet another confirmation in a century-old conflict as to the extent to which the Israeli enemy is callous and casual in killing Arabs--ordinary Arabs and non-ordinary Arabs.  And Israel intelligence activities in Lebanon benefit these days from their alliance with the House of Saud.  They have an easier time recruiting form the base of the Hariri and Salafi movement.  There is speculation about the regional implications or even motives of Israel regarding its displeasure with the Iranian-US deal.  I don't know about that but know that Israel and Saudi Arabia have a stake in making violence and conflict in the region much uglier in months and years to come.  Brace yourselves.  

And now a word about humanitarian Israel

From Butros:  ""We can't sit by and watch the humanitarian difficulties on the other side," Yaalon said. "We've transferred water, food, including baby food, taking into consideration that these villages are besieged and they don't have access to any other place. So therefore yes, we are assisting with humanitarian aid along the fence."
Yet they can count how many calories Gazans have to eat and give them less than starvation level?"

An Israeli kufiyyah? Is there any other Palestinian things and land that you have not stolen?

From Mohamad:  "Israelite Keffiyeh is revolutionary utilitarian scarf accentuated by Star of David in the center, while underlined with an Israel Chai on all four sides of the scarf. Highlighting the Semitic orient of this ancient people."
I don't know how to respond to this.... my brain hurts".