This is a new standard of lies, even for Israeli propaganda: "Israeli commanders had earlier said the town was under control, but Shachar said the army never intended to conquer Bint Jbeil. Rather, he said, its goal was to "control the town from outside". Control from outside? How does that work? Like, can I control Poland from my California? Explain that to me, o brilliant Israeli propagandist.

Who cares what Prince Hasan of Jordan thinks about anything? Really.

""The Israelis are radicalising Lebanon, even liberal democrats like me. I took part in last year's demonstrations against Syria. I was a critic of Hizbullah. Now I cannot help but support Hizbullah's fighters who are defending our country." What about Hizbullah's rocket attacks on Haifa? "It's right," she replied. "It's not only Lebanese who should have to suffer. Are human rights available only to Israelis? You can't have winter and summer on the same roof.""

"'It seems we and Uncle Sam think that shooting people is a good idea'""

For those who care, I will be commenting on the latest developments on AlJazeera in two hours from now (by phone), on the morning newscast.

Syrian propaganda is always jarring. These days, it is even more jarring.

The foolish political miscalculations of Hizbullah: the Lebanese political scene. My sister and comrades in Lebanon have asked me to refrain in this period from criticizing Hizbullah. But how could I not? After listening to the official statement of the Council of Ministers today? When I watched Minister of Information, Ghazi Al-`Aridi, pay one tribute-after-another to the Saudi Guardian of the Two Holy things, I could not believe my eyes. Here is the Saudi government officially endorsing the Israeli war of aggression on Lebanon while pledging some millions to Lebanon--Saudi Arabia is notorious for not giving what it pledges, you may ask the Palestinians about that. Here is Saudi Arabia and Fu`d As-Sanyurah providing the political cover for the Israeli war of aggression, and Hizbullah remains in the cabinet, and refrains from criticizing either Sanyurah or Saudi Arabia. This is like when I hear Hamas leader, Isma`il Haniyyah, sending salutations to "brother president, Abu Mazen". What is that? What can't they see?

It is hilarious to see Western media quoting the Kuwaiti daily, As-Siyasah, not knowing that its reports on Lebanon over the last two years have been as reliable as Bush's allegations of Iraqi WMDs. And is it not funny when they treat the publisher, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, as a real "journalist"? But as long as the manufactured news fit with the Zionist standards, they are reliable. And Ahmad Al-Jarallah was a close ally of Al-Asad family: the dispute was financial from what I am told.

I must confess that I squirm every time I hear `Amr Musa. And today, it was worse. I heard him use the expression "stability in the Middle East."

The children are shahd (8 months) and Maria (5) with their mother, Asma' (33). All were killed by Israeli occupation troops in Jabalya, Palestine.

Scenes from Lebanon: if only those "pangs of birth" can stop.

I have written about the Arab media and the way. Mouin sent me his observations on Al-Manar since I can't watch it here in the US anymore:

"1. They are clearly on a war footing, and aspects of a personality cult re Nasrallah are evident, but at the same time have tried hard to be reliable and maintain their reputation for accuracy. They often seem to go out of their way to base their reporting on "masadir al-3aduw". At times this of course means some talking head on an Israeli television show is endowed with official authority.

2. I have noticed they are very fast with their breaking news ticker, ahead of even Jazira and often at least 12 hourse ahead of Haaretz's website breaking news section (which is usually quite quick), at least when it comes to Israeli casualties. And so far they have to the best of my knowledge made no claims about Israeli killed and wounded that don't end up being confirmed by the Israelis within a day later. Their claims of Israeli tanks and vehicles destroyed haven't been verified. Not disproven, but not verified.

3. I'd like to emphasise they are reporting own casualties. Example: "al-muqawama al-islamiya tuziff shahidiha [Name], born in village A in year B, joined the Resistance in year C, attended numerous military courses, [perhaps some more details], wa hasala 3ala tanwih min al-amin al-3am" [whatever the latter might mean]. So they are definitely reporting casualties, and giving details of them. Whether they are reporting all of them can't of course be ascertained. But if Israeli claims that they have already killed the entire leadership, every Hizballah member, and all potential recruits are accurate, they don't seem to be pulling too much wool over our eyes, at least thus far.

4. They accept no - i repeat, no - criticism of individual Arab leaders. This is particularly evident with call-in shows and studio guests. Those who start with this are virtually immediately cut off, politely but firmly. Something akin happened during the Palestinian uprising - whether at the outset or during Defensive Shield I can't recall. Then it was more firm - those who cursed Arafat were immediately, and not politely, cut off, and "reminded" that Arafat is a national leader struggling against occupation, besieged etc. and Manar would not provide a forum for such attacks."

Dead civilian bodies are can still be seen in this van which was bombed by Israeli occupation forces on the road to Tibnin.

It is hilarous that Nasir Al-As`ad: is the Hariri Inc's hope as as Shi`ite alternative, now that the two Hariri Shi`ite deputies, Basim As-Sab` and Ghazi Yusuf have fled the country. When Nasir Al-As`ad was in the Communist Action Organization during the civil war in the 1970s, he once was asked to buy sanwiches for the fighters in downtown Beirut. So hoping to save some money, he decided to make Fasulya stew for the fighters in his house. The fighters called the command and said that the food has not arrived. They sent them somebody with the food. Hours later, Nasir Al-As`ad arrives with his Fasulya. One of the fighters takes the pot and dumps it on Nasir's head. (The source of the story is the head of the militia of that organization).

Unintentionally, Bush is uniting Sunnis and Shi`ites while he thinks--or is being told--that he is dividing them.

Do you notice that Arab governments become more "democratic"--by Western standards--as soon as they adopt policies favorable to Israel? I mean, House of Saud's rank in Freedom House has just been elevated this week.

Let me point out three not-so-small elements of the Bush Doctrine: they are the notion that Abu Mazen speaks for Palestinians, that Sanyurah speaks for the Lebanese people, and that House of Saud speaks for the Sunnis of the world. Dream on.

This is Zionism. The pro-Bush Al-Arabiya TV just aired a report about how the Arabs of Haifa are being prevented from entering some of the shelters of the city.

I forgot to say that crackpot Lebanese "presidential candidate"--whatever that means, but his title reminds me of Lyndon LaRouche here in the US--, Chibli Mallat, has been trying to meet with Hasan Nasrallah for 2 years now. They have refused to give him an appointment. Knowing what a crackpot he has become: I would not be surprised if he is making calls right now to meet with him.

By, of course, Palestinian artist, Naji Al-`Ali (assassinated by goons of Yasir `Arafat).

By the way, Hanady Salman is a WOMAN, not a man. What? You did not think that Arab women could write? (AlJazeera today did a story on her messages).

I am opposed to inviting Israeli propagandists on Arab TV. I am opposed to normalization with a state that is premised on religious preference, racism, terror, mass violence, and displacement. But Arab news stations now invite Israeli propagandists. AlJazeera today invited this really fascist Israeli professor at Bar Ilan University--he fulminated and got so angry, that he started to drool. He said many crazy things. One of them: he said that there have been clashes in South Lebanon between "Khizbullakh"--I think that he meant Hizbullah here but I am not sure--and other Shi`ites opposed to "Khizbullakh," and he accused AlJazeera of suppressing those news. He did not identify who those Shi`ites were. Could they have been supporters of Michael Husayn Young, the well-known leader in South Lebanon? He also promised the people of South Lebanon that villages will be destroyed one after another.

Something about Happiness by Iraqi poet `Abdul-Wahab Al-Bayyati (my translation):
"They lied; happiness,
oh, Muhammad
cannot be sold
Newspapers have written
that the sky rained frogs
last night
Oh, my friend
they stole happiness
from you
They deceived you
They tortured you
They crucified you
with the ropes of words
To say that you died
to sell you a place in the sky
Oh, what is the value of crying
I am ashamed Muhammad
Frogs have stolen happiness
from us
And I am heading
toward the sun despite
the suffering
They planted daggers
in the night, and dogs
****
The ceiling of the night
is crashing on them
So rebel!
Oh, Muhammad!
So rebel!
And beware of treason"

To my friends (and enemies) in Lebanon: Is Shibli Mallat losing his mind? I am serious. I heard him on LBC-TV the other day, and he said: "As a political leader, I say...." I am not kidding. This reminds me of this Arab journalist, who once read his paper at a conference and it contained the following sentence: "As a keen observer of Middle East politics, I think...."

From our friend Hanady (editor at As-Safir newspaper):
"...I called Salim. He told me Mohamad’s mother is …. so I decided I won’t go . I’ll wait a couple of days. Is that enough for a mother to get used to the idea that her 23 years old “baby” was killed? Last night air raids were so close, I was almost out of my mind. Israeli fighters were flying so low, I couldn’t wait to go home and hug my little baby (we live on the 12^th floor, remember?). It turned out later they were bombing more TV, radios and phone transmission arials somewhere close (Amsheet, near Jounieh). I’m not supposed to write to you anymore. That was my decision when Mohamad was killed. But I did miss you. And I know this will sound corny, but so many of you wrote to me, and it made me feel …"

This New York Times' account clashes with the account of Michael Husayn Young below: "Whatever the target, the result was an emotional outpouring in support of Hezbollah. Standing near a cluster of dangling electrical wires, a group of men began to chant. “By our blood and our soul, we’ll fight for you, Nasrallah!” they said, referring to Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. In a foggy double image, another small group chanted the same thing, as if answering, on the other side of the smoke."

This is mentioned in passing in a long article in the New York Times: "In another matter that has drawn criticism, the general acknowledged that Israel had used cluster munitions in the conflict. The munitions disperse bomblets over a wide area and have been banned by some countries because of the high number of civilian casualties they cause."

Humanity of Israeli society: "When asked if he thought Israel’s response to the initial Hezbollah raid was disproportionate, as many critics have charged, he minced no words. “I don’t think it was disproportionate,” he said. “It should have been much stronger, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

It is a bad sign when you answer a question with a question: "When asked what the Israeli military had achieved after two weeks of fighting, General Gantz replied: “I would suggest asking what Hezbollah has achieved."

Lies of Israeli propaganda: well, even Marun Ar-Ras is not "subdued". "Two days ago, Israeli military officials on the border confidently announced that first the village of Marun al-Ras and then the larger town of Bint Jbail had been subdued. But renewed fighting erupted in the region around daybreak Wednesday, and by afternoon military officers were being more circumspect about their progress. In the village of Marun al-Ras, one Israeli soldier was killed and three more were wounded Wednesday, the Israeli military said. Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank rocket that hit the soldiers in a building, it said."

The NYT has noticed, finally. "While the world has focused on the fighting in Lebanon, Israel has continued to shell Gaza. Most of those killed in Gaza on Wednesday were militants, but a mother and her two young daughters died when an artillery shell hit their home, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. A third young girl was also killed, and dozens of Palestinians were wounded."

Even US puppet, the Pierre Laval of Lebanon, is complaining: "“Is the value of human life less in Lebanon than that of citizens elsewhere?” he asked. “Are we children of a lesser god? Is an Israeli teardrop worth more than a drop of Lebanese blood?” Accusing Israel of “barbaric destruction,” he vowed to seek justice, announcing that Lebanon would begin legal proceedings for war reparations."

This is a headline from NYT: "World Powers Fail to Agree on Plan to End Fighting." That is a flat out lie, of course. World powers all agreed, only the US disagreed.

America's allies are allies of Al-Qa`idah. I have written before about how US allies in Lebanon, the Hariri Inc crowd, funded and cultivated Bin Ladenite groups in Lebanon to win the parliamentary elections last year. They relied strongly on Al-Jama`ah Al-Islamiyyah. Today, commenting on Ayamn Adh-Dhawahiri's latest TV fulminations, the secretary-general of Al-Jama`ah, Shaykh Faysal Al-Mawlawi, appeared on Al-Jazeera and offered words of praise for "our brothers" in Al-Qa`idah.

Lies of Israeli propaganda: "General Adam, who met reporters in a pine forest at dusk, acknowledged that after two days of bitter combat that had left 10 soldiers dead, Bint Jbail was still not under Israeli control." Do you know that two days ago Israeli propaganda AND Hariri newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal, claimed that Bin Jubayl was already under Israeli occupation control?

"The estimated death toll from the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon was 18,000, about 0.5 percent of the population. Twenty-four years later, I have yet to hear any sign of remorse emanating from Israeli society. Nor were there any reparations for the carnage wrought by the Israeli Army. When the Israeli press, politicians and intellectuals speak with regret about the “Lebanon War,” it is usually to say the cost to Israel was too high or to point out that the invasion failed to achieve its objectives. The Lebanese fatalities are rarely discussed."

Guess who speaks for Lebanese Shi`ites now? Michael Husayn Young. That is right. He now speaks for Lebanese Shi`tes. And notice that he uses Israeli propaganda tactics: remember when Israeli propaganda used to allege in the 1970s that the Palestinians "in private conversations" are opposed to the PLO, and that the PLO "forces" them to be loyal? Listen to Michael Husayn Young here: "According to Michael Young, editorial page editor of the Beirut Daily Star, the Lebanese (including many Shi'ites in private conversation) blame Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, for triggering the current violence and the hardships they are now enduring." But at least he is being of service to the editorial of the Washington Times. If Michael Young speaks for Lebanese Shi`ites, I speak for Southern Baptists.

"According to 48 percent of Americans, Israel responded proportionately in the conflict with Hizbullah, while 26 percent believed Israel’s response was exaggerated...7 percent believing the US should criticize Israel."

Brother by Lebanese poet Mikha'il Nu`aymah--he wrote it in 1917 (my translation):
"Brother, if a Westerner brags
after the war about his exploits,
and if he honors the memory of
the dead and glorifies the violence
his heroes,
Do not celebrate those who prevailed,
and do not despise those who fell,
but bow down like me, with a bloodied
and modest heart
to cry over the lot of our dead
*
Brother, if a soldiers returns home
after the war
to his homeland
and if he throws his exhausted body
in the lap of his kinsfolk,
Do not ask if you return home
for kinsfolk
Because hunger did not leave us
but the ghosts of our dead
to converse with
*
Brother, if a farmer returns home
to till the land,
and to build after a long absence
a hut destroyed by a cannon
our streams have dried up,
and humiliation smashed our
shelters,
and the enemy only left us
the corpses of our dead
as plants in the land
*
Brother, what happened would
not have happened without our will,
misery has spread, and we could
have prevented it
Do not mourn, the ears of others
do not hear our grievances
But follow me, to dig a trench
with a shovel
to bury our dead
*
Brother, who are we? No homeland,
no folks, and no neighbor
If we sleep, if we rise up, we are
covered with shame and dishonor
Life has stunk with us, as it has
with our dead
Bring the shovel and follow me
to dig another trench,
to bury our living..."

"Richard Cohen's Blood Lust: Applauding While Lebanon Burns"

"If the Bush administration's views paraelle those of America's ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, these attacks on the civilian population are legal and justified. Bolton says there is no "moral equivalence" between Israeli and Lebanese deaths."

Define terrorism: "After seven days, 13 Israelis and about 230 Lebanese civilians had been killed in the war between Israel and Hezbollah."

Part of the on-going conspiracy against Lebanon requires certain propaganda measures. Notice that Israeli occupation is facilitating the "aid supplies" by pro-Bush Arab regimes, but not by governments critical of Israel. "two Jordanian C-130 Hercules military transports landed at Beirut's international airport Wednesday morning, the first planes to reach the facility since it was bombed by Israeli warplanes at the outset of the conflict July 12. A third was scheduled to arrive during the evening."

Where else would you find such brilliant analysis of the motives of those who are fighting Israeli occupiers in South Lebanon? WP: "their families will be looked after and their children educated at Hezbollah's expense if they die in combat. "

""I dare say, based on what we've seen so far, these may be the best Arab troops we've ever faced.""