Look at this stupid story from the Boston Globe. They talk with admiration about the efforts of this Lebanonese student to recruit for the Lebanese Forces militia. Nowhere in the story do they report that this is a right-wing fascistic group. If he was recruiting for Hizbullah, he would be in jail by now. How cute.

"One is believed to be a prominent Lebanese politician, the other a wealthy Syrian."

"Five years after 'victory', violence and corruption dog Afghanistan"

"Human Rights Watch says Saddam verdict 'questionable'" (Angry Arab says Human Rights Watch is 'very questionable')

"The Serious Fraud Office is on the brink of obtaining information from Swiss banks which may implicate the Saudi royal family in secret arms-deal commissions of more than £100m, sources close to the attorney general's office confirmed yesterday."

Foiling Zionism.

"It may also be, he said, that the mistake was the idea itself -- that Iraq could serve as a democratic beacon for the Middle East. "That part of our plan is down the drain," Muravchik said, "and we have to think about what we can do about keeping alive the idea of democracy.""

"Military victory is no longer possible in Iraq, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said in a television interview broadcast Sunday. Kissinger presented a bleak vision of Iraq, saying the U.S. government must enter into dialogue with Iraq's regional neighbors _ including Iran _ if progress is to be made in the region."

"Two schoolchildren hurt by IDF stray gunfire in Gaza"

"SAUDI ARABIA is threatening to suspend diplomatic ties with Britain unless Downing Street intervenes to block an investigation into a £60m “slush fund” allegedly set up for some members of its royal family."

"You should call your cable or satellite provider and request the English-language service of al-Jazeera. In addition to Haaretz, you should also check out the Angry Arab News Service, a Web site of an American college professor who isn't afraid of the truth." (thanks Kamal)

Let me tell you the difference between Aljazeera and Al-Arabiya (and we know how the Washington Post's David Ignatius--who does not know Arabic--favors the latter): Al-Arabiya went live into Rome to cover the arrival of guests for the wedding of Cruise and Holmes. Aljazeera would never stoop to that level. Enjoy.

Flash. You read it here first. The Washington Post has just concluded that the security situation in Iraq has actually deteriorated. No. No way. I wonder how the advanced mind of the Washington Post works.

The glorious country of Micronesia (which had sent one soldier into Iraq to support the American occupation) is in the news again: "Voting "no" were the United States, Israel, Australia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau. Abstaining were Canada, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu."

On the same day that NYT reported that James Baker has met with Syrian officials, Lebanese deputy (and militia man) Antoine Zahra told LBC-TV that he is convinced--based on his recent meetings with American officials in Washington, DC--that the US government will not deal with Syria and Iran because the US government can only deal with democracies. I kid you not. This will give you an idea of the level of awareness of Lebanonese deputies.

"Nato "cannot win" the fight against the Taliban alone and will have to train Afghan forces to do the job, the UN's top official in the country warned yesterday." (That makes sense. You mean just as US forces trained Iraqi forces?)

A good profile of the Zarqawi of Lebanon (and the cleric of Hariri Inc).

George Corm is absolutely right. Hizbullah shares the blame for the rise of Hariri tyranny in Lebanon (and for the passage of the measures and laws of the savage capitalism of Rafiq Hariri).

I never liked the Muslim Brothers, of course. I have always despised the Muslim Brothherood: here is an organization that spent years and decades focused on one goal, serving Saudi interests to undermine the Left in the Arab world. One of the worst version of the Muslim Brotherhood is the one in Jordan. They chant like Zarqawi and then praise the king of Jordan. But we know that the organization in Jordan had a long history of serving the monarchy against the Left and the Palestinian resistance.

"Israel developing anti-militant "bionic hornet"" (thanks Rania)

Leftist and communist groups from around the world gathered in Beirut yesterday. It was a show in support of resistance against Israeli occupation. I was invited to speak but could not go. Hizbullah's deputy secretary-general, Na`im Qasim, addressed the largely communist audience and quoted (with a variation) from the Communist Manifesto. He said: "O, poor of the world, unite. O, downtrodden of the world unite." Former Lebanese prime minister, Salim Huss, and former Lebanese deputy, Najah Wakim, also addressed the crowd, as did the secretary-general of the Indian Communist Party. The left is not completely dead: and some claimants of leftism (Yasar Dimuqrati and Bila Hudud) don't even belong to the left. They belong in Hariri's headquarters in Quraytim.

AlArabiya TV is airing a special on the life of notorious war criminal, Samir Ja`ja`, in jail. The series were written and interviews conducted by my least favorite person in the world: Gizelle Khuri--a sympathizer of the Lebanese Forces militia. The first episode was just incredible: no mention of his crime. It talks about him leaving jail
"a nationalist" full of richness, etc. Yes, this is the writing style of Gizelle Khuri whose literary skills seem derived from Hallmark cards.

Iranian book burners.

...off to Boston. I am speaking on Sunday morning on a panel on Lebanon at MESA's annual meeting (8:30AM). On Monday, I am speaking on Lebanon at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government (2:00 PM), and at 5:00 PM (also Monday) I will speak at MESA's special panel on blogging the Middle East.

Hariri Salute. Worshippers at Rafiq Hariri's grave-site. (thanks Assaad)

Aljazeera English is actually available in the US on Globecast satellite dish (which I have). But I have not seen it yet as I need to configure the coordinates but don't have time. And the new Aljazeera "star" Riz Khan is the author of the pathetically hagiographic book on Prince Al-Walid. And it is badly written too. I also noticed that Shimon Peres was a guest of Aljazeera on the first day of its launch. That was intended to send a signal--not to the "Arab street" for sure.

Willem de Kooning’s 1977 abstract oil “Untitled XXV”.

"A U.S. airstrike in the restive town of Ramadi killed at least 30 people, including women and children, witnesses said Tuesday."

If I buy Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal a blender and a toaster oven, would he stop talking on Aljazeera? Please?

AlArabiya report contained criticisms of the US-Mexico separation barrier. No word on the huge separation border that Saudi Arabia is building. It should be named Saudi Tribute to Zionist Border Protection.

"United States President George Bush was informed on Tuesday of an initiative to establish a center under his name in Israel, as a sign of gratitude for his support for the country and its security." (I wonder what the center will feature? I suggest different sections. One section, will feature remains of Arab civilians killed by the Bush Doctrine in Iraq; another section will feature remains of Arab civilians killed by the Bush Doctrine in Palestine, etc. That would be a great hit in Israel. Amos Oz may even write one of his vapid essays on the topic).

Do you notice that Israeli propaganda fabrications are getting more stupid by the day?

Even for the Guardian newspaper, Israelis are more expensive and valuable than Palestinians. Their dead get more attention.

Another Big Idea from the Bush administration.

"An American soldier yesterday pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of three members of her family in a village near Baghdad in March in one of the most brutal examples of attacks on civilians in Iraq."

The Pope now has an opinion of how Muslim women should dress. Fine. I have very strong opinions of the hats that the Pope wears. I don't want him to wear them anymore.

Iraqi puppet prime minister surrounded by well-wishers.

Ad-Diyar newspaper now has the style and headlines of Hearst newspapers prior to the Spanish-American war.

I have not had a chance to watch English aljazeera. I have heard from viewers who sent me comments. I have talked to some producers and journalists there but nothing official as of yet. I can do what American journalists do: offer opinions of the channel without having to watch it at all. People tell me that the Jerusalem correspondent kept using the word "retaliation" today in reference to Israeli bombings of Palestinians. In other news, Palestinians plan to retaliate for the destruction of Palestine.

New TV has an excellent news division. They air some of the most courageous reports. Riad Qubaysi is a great reporter: he today compared a street where rich people go with Khandaq Ghamiq (a poor section of Beirut). You don't see class analysis on any TV--not in the East nor in the West.

I felt nostalgic today. All the parties vying for power among the students at AUB are the sectarian parties of Lebanon. Back during my days, Palestinian secular groups were dominant. Hannah Arendt warned against political nostalgia. I need to stop, NOW.

Marun Kisrawani is now Dean of Students at AUB. He was a professor at the department when I was a student although I never took a class with him. I later met him in the US. I can confirm that he is a right-wing Lebanonese--close to the Lebanese Forces. Today, he refused to release the results of the students' elections of AUB: he seems unhappy that Hariri camp did not do well. Boo hoo hoo.

Now tell me. Who looks scared in this picture?

My mother loves the Lamartine's poem, The Lake. She knows it by heart. She often recites it. I still know a few lines by heart (from her). Here, are 9 different Arabic (poetic) translations of the poem. I personally favor without reservation the beautiful one by Niqula Fayyad. (What is sad is this: Niqula Fayyad was only known for this poem; and his only known poem was translated from Lamartine's.) You judge. I managed to caramelize all 9 poems.

Muna Sa`udi, the well-known Palestinian sculptress is celebrating her 40 years of work with a new book about her life. I got to know Muna years ago, and liked her very much. She has a very healthy sense of skepticism about everything and everybody. Sculpture, she says, is "the actualization of poetry."