Israel occupation army spokesperson admits war crimes

From Eyal:
"The IDF spokesperson tweeted the following earlier today:

"Yesterday we saw 30,000 people; we arrived prepared and with precise reinforcements. Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed".

Well, they landed their bullets in or through 17 people's bodies, plus an unknown number among the ~2,400 wounded. We also recall they accurately-and-measuredly shout a youngster fleeing from them in the back.  A while later, someone at the IDF probably realized they were admitting

war crimes, and the tweet was removed.

(credit goes to blogger Yossi Gurwitz: and to B'tzelem for the screenshot)

How Israel war crimes are covered

Notice that New York Times headline put the Israeli murder as part of "clashes". Notice that Western media never use "clashes" even in cases when governments which are not aligned with the US are engaged in conflict with armed rebels (like in Venezuela when protesters used violence).  Notice that my local paper, Modesto Bee, gives the source of deaths of Palestinians to Palestinian sources as if the murder of Palestinians was in dispute.  They never say: Israel claimed that two Israelis were killed.

Western Rhetoric and discourse on Palestine: Human Rights Watch and others

Yesterday news as quite symptomatic.  You can take it as an example of the hypocrisy of Western (government, academic, and media) rhetoric on Palestine.  Notice the utter silence of all those who have been shedding crocodile tears over the Syrian civilian victims.  All those who called for NATO attacks on Libya and Syria (and other places) in the name of humanitarian concern went silent yesterday.  Their ostensible humanitarianism stops at the border of Palestine, thereby exposing the hollow arguments.  Worse, look at the statement issued by Human Rights Watch yesterday.  This organization has been rightly exposed in the Arab world as a mere arm of Israeli propaganda and the propaganda of Western wars in our region.  Notice that the statement referred to Israeli massacre as "policing demonstration" and it seemed to disagree with Israel only on the number of Palestinians killed, not on the killing itself.  The statement even referred to unfounded claims by Israeli occupation to use of violence by unarmed Palestinians and even provided justifications to Israeli occupation army to use gunfire on demonstrators under certain conditions.   Kenneth Roth (HRW director) usually tweets around the clock and yesterday had one or two tweets in which he used the most polite and mild language possible.  When foes of the US uses gunfire (whether against civilians or armed groups) he automatically refers to that as "slaughter".  Notice that he never refers to Israeli war crimes as slaughter.  The word "war crime" was not used by HRW all day yesterday.  This is the organization which calls cases when a Palestinian steps on the foot of an Israeli soldier a "war crime".  Ken Roth was busy reporting about alleged government crimes in Venezuela.  This is the man who is obsessed (according to previous reports on him on this blog-search it) with what he calls "pro-Israel donors" to his organization, which basically dictates how this organization covers up and beautifies Israeli war crimes.  Human Rights Watch should have been invented by Western war apparatuses long before it was founded. IT has been a great gift to colonial practices and thinking.   If the killing yesterday was by a government not aligned with the US, HRW would have called for Security Council Meeting and ICC action.

Jeremy Corbyn's grotesque prostration to Zionists

This is an astounding and humiliating interview.  I understand that Corbyn wanted to deny that he is anti-Semitic (and there is nothing wrong for someone to deny accusations of repugnant anti-Semitism if there are grounds).  But in order to prove that he is not anti-Semitic he does what classical Western Christian anti-Semites do: they basically conceal their anti-Semitism by going overboard in providing support for Israeli occupation and war crimes. He does the same in this lousy interview.  Now he simply wants a two-state solution: his views here are no different from those of Blair, Bush, and even Netanyahu. He even expressed willingness to meet with Netanyahu.  He allowed the interviewer to lie and fabricate and to claim that Hamas and Hizbullah have expressed an urge to kill all Jews.  In fact, both movements have come out publicly in recent years against anti-Semitism (Hizbullah more than Hamas, I have to say), and yet Corbyn allowed this Zionist to define the matters of debate and to put him on the defensive.  I made wonder: is he really not anti-Semitic? Because if you are not, you should never be forced to switch your views like this.  I have always told Arabs: never ever trust Western leaders--no matter how left they are: just look at Tsipras in Greece and his embrace of Netanyahu despite years of strong stance in favor of Palestine by his group. Western leaders--on the left and the right--will give up on Palestine for the right price. All of them. What price did you pay, o Jeremy Corbyn?

The latest antics of the Dalai Lama: being paid by a sex cult

"“The group, which has been described by former members as a 'sex cult', claims to be a self-help organization that operates centers in US, Mexico, Canada and South America. It emerged last year that the Dalai Lama was paid $1 million to speak to 3,000 NXIVM followers and place a khata - a traditional ceremonial Tibetan scarf - around Raniere's neck.”" (thanks Amir)

A warning to Arab leftists from Saudi regime media

""In the end I wish to tell those influenced by the vanquished leftist ideology that we will deal with the West, and we will benefit from its superior civilization and its accomplishments — both its military feats and its other cultural achievements. These mainly deliver deterrence to our communities and also enhance welfare and services. As for you, your media, your intellectuals, and your criticism, these are nothing but the groans of a defeated force as it falls in the battle of civilizations.""

The Egyptian presidential race

At least someone is impressed with the sham elections in Egypt.

Muhammad bin Salman

I was reading the itinerary of Muhammad bin Salman in the US: both Democrats and Republishing are rushing to prostrate. There is even a private dinner with Thomas Friedman, and a meeting with Elliott Abrams.  Oprah is meeting with him. Plenty of US Zionists are no his itinerary.

The US official delegation for monitoring the Egyptian election

US Congressional election observers in Cairo belly dance

Shai Feldman and his lies about his trip to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

What Shai Feldman does is typical of all US Zionists: they conflate the dynastic rulers of the Gulf with the Arab people, so that you don't really know when they generalize about Arab public opinion that they are really talking about the potentates and their entourages.  Here he says that Israel is no more an anathema in the Arab world and mentions his visits to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He was indeed in Saudi Arabia where he spoke (in a closed session without press announcements) at a conference at King Faisal Center.  He later was supposed to speak (privately) at the American University of Kuwait, but when news of his appearance leaked there was such an intense protest that the entire event was actually cancelled, and his exist was rushed for fear of growing protests.  Here is the announcement of BDS-Kuwait about what happened.

Muhammad bin Salman visits MIT

"MIT and Harvard students, as well as local activist groups such as Massachusetts Peace Action, led a protest against Mohammed’s visit outside Lobby 7 at noon Friday. The protest attracted between thirty and fifty participants, who held signs with slogans such as “No Saudi War Criminal at MIT” and chanted “What do we want? Peace. When do we want it? Now.”   A Change.org petition started by an organization called Just Foreign Policy also gathered more than 6,000 signatures. The petition called for MIT to cancel Mohammed’s visit, alleging that the Saudi bombardment and blockade of Yemen essentially amounted to using starvation as a war tactic. Students submitted the petition to Reif’s office Friday."

Muhammad bin Salman--a man of the people--visits Harvard University

"A heavy security presence accompanied the crown prince during his Cambridge visit Saturday evening. Nearly 30 security vehicles and roughly 10 motorcycles lined Quincy St., which security officials kept closed to vehicle traffic for more than an hour while the crown prince remained inside the faculty club. An armored tactical vehicle also parked next to the Barker Center on Prescott St."

John Bolton speaks for all Arabs--so argues a Saudi propagandist

Chief Saudi regime propagandist, `Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashid, maintains that John Bolton is not extreme at all but that he in fact speaks for all Arabs.  I am not kidding you. You can find the English translation of the article in some Saudi regime propaganda bulletin board.

Muhammad bin Salman and the spread of fanatical religious ideologies

He is only partly lying below. Saudi Arabia was indeed asked by the US to help in the combat of communism and socialism worldwide and they did the job but they had their own agenda as well. They wanted to combat Nasserism and leftism in the Arab world for their own reasons.
"“Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.”"

ًWhere is the outrage over this ugly act of anti-Semitism?

"Israeli teen arrested after urinating on steps of Auschwitz memorial: report". (thanks Michele)

Who prepared the menu for the Saudi-American dinner in DC??

مَن الذي أعدّ قائمة طعام عشاء الصداقة الأميركيّة-السعوديّة في واشنطن؟ هذه إهانة للمطبخ العربي. قرديس (جمبري) مع بابا غنّوج؟ لحم بقر مع ثوم وطحينة؟ إيه ده؟ لماذا لم يضيفوا إلى القائمة تموراً مع لحم خنزير إمعاناً في الاحتفال بالصداقة؟

The menu of the Saudi-American friendship dinner in DC is an insult to Middle East cuisine. Shrimp with Baba Ghannuj? Filet of Beef with Tahini and Garlic? Why not mix dates with bacon while you are at it?

Human Rights Watch office in Beirut

At the personal level, I met and liked the director of HRW office in Beirut.  But politically, I have been claiming for years that this organization office in Beirut is an unofficial member of the March 14 media and propaganda spectrum.  I visited his Facebook page today, and this struck me:
1) they held a joint press conference with the Minister of the Lebanese Forces militia party.  Can you imagine HRW daring to hold a joint press conference with a Hizbullah minister, or even with an Amal minister? And even about trash matters?  No way on earth. They would never ever dare.
2) He retweets the musings of a political candidate who was part of the Hariri propaganda apparatus and is known for her staunch support for the Saudi regime.  She is the candidate who before leaving Hariri TV to run for election, was handpicked by the Saudi regime to visit Saudi Arabia and to falsely claim that Hariri was not held against his will in Riyadh.  Can you imagine he retweeting the musings of a reporter for Al-Manar TV, for example?
3) He posts articles by columnists in Saudi regime media.  Can you imagine him posting articles by columnists of Iranian regime media?
4) He takes sides on the debate on normalization with the Israeli occupation enemy and rejects normalization and publicly called on people to not boycott Spielberg and said that Spielberg's donation to Israel as a reward for its war on Lebanon is no big deal and should be considered a mere act of charity. Can you imagine him ever daring to justify a donation to Syrian regime relief organizations? Would he dare say that?
5) He in fact engages and attacks Al-Akhbar.  I dont have a problem with that at all and I see things at Al-Akhbar I don't like (and there are people at Al-Akhbar who can't stand me and don't like what I write) but how come he never ever engages and attacks the pro-Saudi regime media in Lebanon? For your information all the media in Lebanon EXCEPT ONE NEWSPAPER are subservient to the Saudi regime.  At one point he is arguing with Al-Akhbar, and because his Arabic is so embarrassingly weak, he misunderstands the Arabic saying: آخر الدواء الكيّ
and he assumes that this saying is meant literally.  That was hilarious to read actually.

A US official with facial hair? No way.

John Bolton is the first US official with facial hair hired for a high post in government in many years. In fact, one of the strongest objections that Trump had about him was his mustache. Read more on this matter from an academic perspective.

George Nader

He was very close to the Syrian regime in the 1990s, especially the bribable `Abdul-Halim Khaddam.

So now calling someone a "son of dog" (which Arabs use against one another) is anti-Semitic

Every day, Zionists introduce new meanings to the term anti-Semitic, thereby really undermining the effort to combat real anti-Semitism.

I came across this by Brecht

“The great political criminals must certainly be exposed, and preferably through ridicule. Because above all, they are not great political criminals, but the perpetrators of great political crimes, which is something utterly different.”

Notice in US media, it never mentions Syrian rebels as culprits when...Syrian rebels bomb

Look at this story, it identifies Syrian regime and Russian when they bomb, but does not mention that Syrian rebels did the bombing of Damascus. It leaves the impression that the identify of bombers of Damascus are unknown.

Hasan Nasrallah speaking on foreign female domestic workers

Yesterday, Hasan Nasrallah became the first head of an Arab political party to publicly champion the rights of female domestic workers and people of special needs. In response, I am sure Human Rights Watch will say: but he is sending missiles to the Huthis. It is high time that the issue of female domestic workers becomes a national priority for all Arabs. Their mistreatment is a regional disgrace.

On banning my blog in Germany

Jörg from Berlin wrote me this: 
" In January the German parlament passed a declaration that every attempt to boykott Israel would be considered antisemitic etc. Activists are facing a lot of problems, for instant it is difficult to find rooms for meetings and congresses etc.".

A Princeton Middle East Expert explains why Muhammad bin Salman is a great man

""Haykel described Mohammed as an “optimist by temperament,”a pious man who drinks Coke Zero and has the retail political skills of Bill Clinton.“He shakes hands, he remembers names, he doesn’t talk down to people.”"

Yemeni so-called President

Western media have not reported that Mansour Hadi has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.

Women were not invited

Crown Prince in the Oval Office

Never has a visitor to the Oval Office been insulted in this manner. Trump covered the Saudi Crown Prince with boards to show arms sales and to underline the true nature of the relationship between the two countries. And the Crown Prince laughs.

The crook and the despot

The man to the left bribed the man to the right, while the man to the right helped overthrow the man to the left. Both deserve what befell them.

Sinan Antoon on the anniversary of the Iraq invasion

"I was one of about 500 Iraqis in the diaspora — of various ethnic and political backgrounds, many of whom were dissidents and victims of Saddam’s regime — who signed a petition: “No to war on Iraq. No to dictatorship.” While condemning Saddam’s reign of terror, we were against a “war that would cause more death and suffering” for innocent Iraqis and one that threatened to push the entire region into violent chaos. Our voices were not welcomed in mainstream media in the United States, which preferred the pro-war Iraqi-American who promised cheering crowds that would welcome invaders with “sweets and flowers.” There were none."

So Trump is reassuring the American public that out of $110 billion arms sales pledged by Saudi Arabia, a fraction was actually signed

To my readers in Germany: a reader there got this message when he logged in to my blog from a cafe

This passes as investigative journalism in the US

Muhammad bin Salman

By the way, in the 60 minutes interview, the Arabic of MbS was not translated literally. It was edited from Arabic and improved in English sentences. I suspect that MbS propaganda office arranged for how own translation.

Emily Nasrallah's obituary in AP and New York Times

Many of the local Lebanese correspondents of Western media tend to be Western-educated individuals who are not generally deeply rooted in Arabic culture.  For that the AP obituary and this New York Times obituary really missed the point about her.  New York Times writer identified her as an "activist".  She was not really an activist.  What ever soft liberal feminism was gleaned from her novels.  

In its obituary of Lebanese novelist, Emily Nasrallah, New York Times published her picture with Ghassan Kanafani without identifying him

It published this picture but it didn't identify the others.  They are from left: Emily Nasrallah, Jamil Jabr, Halim Barakat, Ghassan Kanafani, and Yusuf Habshi Al-Ashqar.  It was too much for the paper to identify Kanafani.

MbS

US Media rule: when an Arabic speaking, pro-US despot is interviewed on US TV, the interpreter is somebody who has a soft voice and an American accent. But if the Arabic speaking despot is not an ally of the US, the interpreter has a very rough voice and a thick Arabic accent.

#MbS 

15th anniversary of U.S. war on Iraq

“From the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the poisoning of Vietnam with Agent Orange, to the military contamination of Iraq, to the millions of cluster bombs fired at Lebanon in 2006 by the US-sponsored state of Israel - many of which failed to explode on impact and thus still pose a deadly hazard to children and other civilians - it seems there are plenty of ways to indefinitely prolong unnecessary human suffering.” (thanks Amir)

A UN Panel explains why rape and sexual violence by Syrian rebels are not as bad as by the Syrian regime

"Rape and sexual violence by armed opposition groups was not systematic, the panel said".  OK.

Africa's White Farmers

Of all the people of Africa, there is no question that Western governments and media are obsessed with the White Farmers in the continents.  They only seem to care about them.

Who is afraid of the dark?

“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

And yet the New York Times is reviewing yet another film on the Israeli terrorist attack in Entebbe

"Within a year, no fewer than three movies about the raid were released, two of them on American television networks."

The long article about Stephen Hawking

Notice in this very long article they never mention a thing about his stance against Israeli occupation but they manage to mention that he met the cheerleaders of Dallas Cowboys.