How nice. `Abbas Zaki of the Fath organization told New TV that his organization is ready and willing to take security control of all the refugee camps in Lebanon. He forgot to add that Fath of Dahlan is also willing to kill any Palestinian who does not support the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the collaborationist regime that it has set up in West Bank and Gaza.

It is very clear that all Palestinian groups (including the organizations that act on behalf of the Syrian regime, like the PFLP-GC) have contempt for Fath-Al-Islam, and have only antipathy to its ideology and practice. So why is the Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp being punished? The Fath-Al-Islam established itself in the camp with LEBANESE help, and not Palestinian help. Abu Jaber in the camp today told me that the residents of the camp clearly want to get rid of the Fath-Al-Islam gang: he is right in calling for "those who brought them in, to take them out." Also, information is circulating in the Lebanese press to the effect that those fanatical fighters (mostly Saudis and Yemenis) came to Lebanon through the Lebanese airport.

Is it not hilarious when Saudi media mock the elections in Syria? I mean, would those same media dare mock the non-elections in Saudi Arabia?

It is hilarious. On AlArabiya and all other Lebanese TV stations, they all say that sniping is done by Fath-Al-Islam in Nahr Al-Barid camp. But on Al-Arabiya TV, a pro-Hariri Lebanese journalist, slipped. He admitted that the sniping is done by the Lebanese Army "to isolate" the fighters of Fath-Al-Islam. That made me wonder: is there not an overall coordinator for the propaganda of the Lebanese government? Should they not unify their message?

I know that the results of the Syrian vote will be announced tomorrow, but I can't wait. I just can't take the suspense. I really want to know who won the presidential election.

Can you imagine if an Arab--any Arab--were to make such a homicidal statement? "Israeli PM says 'no one is immune.'"

I used to praise New TV. But New TV during this crisis has been utterly ridiculous. They are serving as mere propagandists for the Lebanese Army. Also, please be aware that the footage and songs that you air in praise of the Lebanese Army look funny, not heroic. People unfortunately for you still remember the performance--or lack thereof--of the Army when Israeli attacked Lebanon. I will be writing an article in Arabic this week about the Lebanese media and the coverage of the Nahr Al-Barid crisis.
PS But this could be explained by the very close relationship between New TV and Emile Lahhud (the president of Lebanon, if anybody still remembers that, or cares).

I received this appeal from Lebanon:
"

Unlike what the media has been reporting, the Lebanese Army is refusing to admit relief items into the camp. Please join the relief workers in the action they will hold tomorrow 28 may 2007 in front of the Naher al Bared Camp to pressure and succeed in bringing relief items to the Palestinians refugees still residing in Naher Al Bared. Action will start from 12 noon till 2 pm.

Please Confirm your participation by calling the following numbers

Rasha 03356644 Marcy 70977812

"Police in the Saudi capital Riyadh are probing the alleged beating to death of a man by religious police, who are in charge of enforcing a strict Islamic moral code, a newspaper reported yesterday. An investigation is under way into the circumstances of the death of Salman Al Huraisi, 28, in one of the offices of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Riyadh police spokesman Major Sami Al Shuwairekh told AlWatan." (thanks John)

Today, the Syrian people have the opportunity to vote for their president. The choices are clear, and the competition is stiff. The voters may vote for either Bashshar, or for...Bashshar.

"Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and one of the incidents provoked a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, U.S. and Iraqi officials said."

The March 14th people are so obsessed with Syria, that when they run out of things to use against Syria, they make things up, and run away with it. This one was clearly fabricated by An-Nahar newspaper (the right-wing, sectarian Christian, anti-Syrian (people), anti-Palestinian (people) newspaper). "Syrian President Bashar Assad has threatened to set the region on fire, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean, over differences with the United Nations regarding Lebanon's stability. The independent daily newspaper an-Nahar quoted well informed diplomatic circles as saying Assad made the threat last Wednesday in a telephone discussion with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon." How dumb are those people? You think that Bashshar Al-Asad made those threats ON THE PHONE, and now knowing that his international phone calls to the UN secretary general no less, will not be discovered or revealed? How dumb are they? The lousy Syrian regime is really lucky to have those as its enemies.
PS Don't you like it how An-Nahar refers to itself as "independent." Maybe An-Nahar also thinks that Der Sturmer was "independent."

A confidential and reliable source in Washington, DC sent me this: "[Abdul-Halim] Khaddam hired the good offices of Sandra Charles (C & O Resources) to lobby for him and obtain access for a high profile visit he'd like to make to Washington. Sandi Charles is on a substantial retainer with the Hariri family (from father to son) ... Her C & O Resources group has one of the more potent rollodexes in Washington, and she was amongst Brent Scowcroft's most able advisers (she sat on G W Bush's NSC) ... she also does limited work for Bandar ... She is friends with Amal Mudallali*, who is Saad's point woman in Washington..." My source does not want to be identified.
*Amal was a friend of mine from my Washington, DC days.

"Exiled Syrian opposition leader to visit Knesset". For me, the hilarious part of this is the headline: that Farid Ghadry is referred to as "leader." Let me guess. Israeli media also think that Ahmad Fatfat is a "leader." (thanks Mouzer)

"The US army has flown a mongrel puppy named Hero 6,000 miles from Iraq to New Hampshire after the family of a soldier saw a photograph of him cuddling the dog a day before he was killed by a roadside bomb."

"As the negotiations got under way, the US, France and their Arab allies continued an airlift of military equipment and weapons to the Lebanese army."

Live Update from Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp. I wanted to know the situation first hand from inside the camp because the Lebanese Army has been preventing journalists from entering the camp. So I obtained the phone number of one of the leaders in the camp, Abu Jabir of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Abu Jabir has stayed inside. He told me that he will not do it again: that he will not leave the camp except to return to Palestine. He feels that there is a conspiracy against the Palestinian camps in Lebanon in accordance of UNSC 1559. The humanitarian situation is quite dire, he said: there is no water, no electricity, and no medicine. The Lebanese Army bombardment of the camp is unquestionably indiscriminate he said. He said that the market was bombed, as were 6 mosques inside the camp. A bomb landed on his desk, for example. It is not true that the Lebanese Army is only bombing the north of the camp where Fath-Al-Islam is concentrated. Hospitals (they are more like clinics) were bombed as well, including Mu'assassat Ash-Shifa' which is run by the PFLP. Two general physicians are now forced to perform all sorts of medical practice, including surgery. As for the claim by the lying Lebanese government that "a mere Palestinian civilian was killed and 19 injured" in the camp, it is utterly false, Abu Jabir told me. He has the names of: 18 Palestinian civilians killed, and 105 Palestinian civilian injured. He told me that there are still civilians all around, and women were around when I was talking to him. There are reports, he said, of Hariri goons shooting at the camp and at the refugees but he was careful to add that since he is inside he can't verify that. There are 200 houses that are fully or partially destroyed in the camp. And those who leave the camp are not allowed back in by the lousy Lebanese Army. He then told me about Fath-Al-Islam. He said that the number of Palestinians among them can be counted on the fingers of "one hand." He said that they are non-Palestinians, and he said that the people of the camp would like them to leave the camp, that they don't belong there. He said: let those who fund them and who brought them in, take them out. They don't belong here, he told me. He said that initially, by late 2006, there were no more than 40 members of Fath-Al-Islam inside the camp. He said that suddenly by early 2007, something very suspicious started to happen: that hundreds of fighters (from fanatical groups inside At-Ta'mir (which is run by Hariri Inc, and where a Hariri militia operate) and `Ayn Al-Hilwah and other places) were brought into the camp to join the ranks of Fath-Al-Islam. He said that the camp is watched and controlled by the Lebanese Army and security forces from all sides. He asked how those fighters were permitted to enter the camp under the watch of the Lebanese Army. He wondered why is it that the same governments that met with Condoleezza Rice during her visit were the ones that sent arms and ammunition to the Lebanese Army this week. It is clear that people in the camp feel unfairly caught in a battle between Fath-Al-Islam and the Lebanese Army. They have no say in this battle that is hurting the refugees.

Hariri media found a picture of the car in which Shakir Al-`Absi (the leader of Fath-Al-Islam gang) was transported into Lebanon.

3rd generation...refugees.

For those who follow the features of the conspiracy in the Middle East: "A U.S. helicopter crashed during a routine training mission in Jordan, injuring two pilots on board, the U.S. military announced Saturday." In other news, the Jordanian government denied once again that the kingdom is hosting US troops on its territory.

Ahmad Fatfat, the indispensable Lebanese Minister of Sports, Youth, and Chess, denied that he held meetings with Shakir Al-`Absi (the leader of the Fath-Al-Islam gang). Fatfat, as is well-known, has maintained ties with the fanatical Salafi groups in North Lebanon.

Ahmad Musalli (an expert on Islamist movements from AUB) appeared on AlJazeera to comment on the developments. He believes that Saudi Arabia and the Hariri family (he was less explicit than I am here, but it was clear what he meant) were behind arming and financing the Al-Qa`idah groups in the Middle East (and he lists Fath-Al-Islam as an affiliate of Al-Qa`idah) and that Saudi Arabia changed its strategy after an Saudi-Iranian agreement that sought to diffuse Sunni-Shi`ite tensions in the region. He believed that the Iranian-Saudi agreement changed the status of Fath-Al-Islam (in the eyes of Hariri Inc) from friend to foe.

For conspiracy theorists. This news item says that Bahiyyah Al-Hariri called Walid Jumblat and told him "that Jund Ash-Sham in `Ayn Al-Hilwah camp, does not belong to Fath-Al-Islam, and that it is different from it. And Jumblat expressed interest in those clarifications."

In one newscast, LBC-TV (the TV station of the Lebanese Forces militia) reported that the majority of the Palestinian civilians have left the Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp and that Fath-Al-Islam has prevented the refugees in Nahr Al-Barid from leaving the camp to use them as "human shield." (Yes, Lebanonese nationalists need lessons in basic logic).

Arab governments, in a nutshell. The UAE sent shipment of arms to the Lebanese Army as it attacks the Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp, and it simultaneously sent blankets for the displaced refugees.

I saw a leader of the tiny organization Al-Yasar Ad-Dimuqrati (and organization with leaders but no members, an organization that uses the word left in its name and is aligned, sponsored, and supported by the extreme right-wing in Lebanon) on LBC-TV: he urged an immediate "hasm" (decisive military action) in the Nahr Al-Barid Camp. Oh, he also remembered to say a few words about the Palestine question: words that did not differ from the recent words of Samir Ja`ja` (Ga`ga` in Egyptian accent) on Palestine.

For me, it has always been clear. One olive tree in Palestine is worth more than all the cedars of Lebanon. Can you tell?

"Though he dresses in austere Iranian style, with a high-buttoned collarless shirt and no necktie, and follows the Iranian practice of not shaking hands with women, he is disarmingly informal and punctuates his comments with chuckles and grins." What? Now I always turn to the pages of the New York Times for wisdom and insights on foreign affairs, but I can't believe this. Are you saying that somebody who wears NO NECKTIE can actually be capable of "chuckles and grins"? Are you sure? I would not put that down on paper before verifying. You know that there are sounds that may falsely appear as chuckles but are not, don't you?

So Shakir Al-`Absi (the gang leader of Fath Al-Islam) appeared in a video released through he internet. He reads Arabic better than the Saudi King but worse than a 5-year old Arab student. His statement (like Al-Qa`idah in Bilad Ash-Sham statement from the other day) spoke of a "third party" in reference to the Lebanese Forces because he talked about Samir Ja`ja`. This fits into the sectarian agenda of Al-Qa`idah which only singled out Ja`ja`, Patriarch Sfayr, and Michel Slayman, as if the Muslim members of the Lebanese government are mere tools of some Christian conspiracy. But Al-Qa`idah's conspiracies are always kooky and sectarian. Al-`Absi tried to deny claims of attacks on the Lebanese Army. The military commander of Fath-Al-Islam, Abu Hurayrah, also appeared in the video. Another video showed training by members of the gang to the awful and depressing songs that often accompany Al-Qa`idah videos. By the way, March 14th people in Lebanon always bring up the fact (suspicious to them) that he fled from Syrian jail; they don't mention that he had also fled from Jordanian jails. Does that mean he is part of a Jordanian conspiracy? No way, according to March 14th Movement. There is only one conspiracy in the world: and it is Syrian--according to Fatfatism.

Is it not obscene to invite a leader of the Lebanese Forces (the surrogate Israeli militia that perpetrated the Sabra and Shatila massacres in 1982, among other massacres) to comment on Palestinian affairs? AlJazeera invited the Lebanese Forces minister (Minister of Sex Tourism in the Lebanese government) to comment on the developments in Lebanon. He said that the Lebanese government has given orders not to "invade the Nahr Al-Barid camp" but "to invade Fath-Al-Islam". I kid you not. Things are now making sense to me. Did the US not invade Taliban in Afghanistan and Al-Qa`idah in Iraq? The US in that sense invaded neither Iraq nor Afghanistan. At what point will the oxygen masks descend from my ceiling?

Abu Ta`an may have the information. I am worried about his safety. Today, he appeared on camera to make an ambiguous statement to AlJazeera to the effect that he has not tendered his resignation Abbas Zaki. Resignation from what, you may ask. Well, since February of this year, he was dispatched with other fighters by Abbas Zaki to Nahr Al-Barid camp, where he was leading the Fath-Al-Islam gang in prayers every Friday. What was his mission? Did he funnel money to them? This guy was not a mere prayer leader. He was the commander of Al-Kifah Al-Musallah in Lebanon (and he suffered in Syrian jails for years). Make no mistake about it: it is not foolish to believe in conspiracy theories these day. It is foolish not to believe in conspiracy theories these days.

The Lebanese Army has denied to AlArabiya TV that the US shipments of weapons and ammunition include cluster bombs. The Palestinians in the refugee camps of Lebanon can now relax.

"A Pew poll on Muslims in America painted a positive picture. So why was the coverage so negative?"

Hizbullah sent a delegation to the Lebanese Army command to offer condolences for those Lebanese soldiers who died. Will Hizbullah send a delegation to the families of Palestinians who were killed by Army and Security Forces attacks on Nahr Al-Barid?

"Over Christmas, Ethiopia, perhaps intending to provide a gift for the festive season to its American ally, invaded Mogadishu and expelled the Islamists. With thousands of Ethiopian troops in the country — and only a few African Union troops from elsewhere — savage battles took place in Mogadishu between the transitional government army (backed by Ethiopia) and the Islamists, supported by clan-based militiamen. Hundreds of people were killed."

A member of the Muslim `Ulama' Association in Lebanon asked whether the assassination of Abu Jandal by Lebanese Security Forces was to conceal information that that he had (possibly of links between Hariri Inc and the fanatical groups in Lebanon).

Puppet-to-Puppet. In a phone conversation, Fu'ad Sanyurah called Abu Mazen and received full support for the Lebanese Army attack on Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp.

"Solidarity in Shatila" (thanks Ali)

A reader drew my attention to the fact that the Palestinian refugees from Nahr Al-Barid are only being relocated to other refugee camps. They are not permitted to stay, it seems, in Lebanese schools or shelters. The reader rightly asks: where is Hizbullah, the Lebanese Communist Party and others? Why don't they open the schools for them? Did the same refugees not open their homes for the Lebanese refugees last summer during the Israeli war on Lebanon?

Saudi reforms continue. Saudi Ministry of Interior issued this statement: "Fayiz bin Bashir bin Mala`ib Al-`Anzi who is a Saudi national has committed robbery from one of the houses...and by the grace of God, the security authority was able to arrest this mentioned guilty person and the investigation led to his conviction in the crime. And after being referrred to the public court, a Shari`ah ruling was issued in his case, and it confirmed what was attributed to him, and the sentence for robbery [was issued], which is cutting off his arm from the shoulder joint..." (thanks Haytham)

Hariri Media: Then and Now. This is from an issue of Hariri rag, Al-Mustaqbal, (May 10, 2005). The article includes: "It appears that the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and the assassination of prime minister martyr [sic] Rafiq Hariri contributed to the strengthening of the movements of Salafi currents that aim at increasing its activities and movements in the next phase, and it receives financial and moral support from many Islamic institutions in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia..." And in the issue of May 13, 2005, the Hariri rag accuses Syria of "convincing the centers of decision making in the West of the concocted presence of Al-Qa`idah in Lebanon, for trading in the Islamic situation in the bazaar of international terrorism." (thanks Rev)

O, Lebanese. This is a Minister of Sports and Youth that you can be proud of of: ""If [the Palestinians] are capable of resolving the problem politically or militarily, (. we'd prefer that. If they can't, we're obliged, the Lebanese army is obliged, to continue the battle," Mr. Fatfat said in an interview at his apartment in the Lebanese capital. "The army has been given carte blanche to go in and finish Fatah al-Islam."" (thanks Regan)

Sometimes you think that Larry King is the worst TV there is. No there is worse. How about hearing the prose of Anderon Cooper? Or his impressions of foreign lands? He sounds (when he reads his prose) like somebody reading from the phone book and thinking it is poetry.

The Man Whose Back is Against the Wall by Libyan poet Muhammad Al-Fayturi (my translation):
"For whom?
I embrace fire while dead...
and fight
I, who have no land, no country
no face, no time
no glory, no price
For whom?
Your eyes spit in my eyes..
I am the fugitive..
Stare in my eyes as you wish
Say that I was a coward
that I was weak
Cry over my birth
Raise your quivering hands
to the sky
If only you searched my soul..
my blood..
You will only find
rejection and contempt
I hate you all..
Do not beg..
Do not smile..
Your dry smile..
only fills me with contempt
for you
A rock I am,
so do not call
I condemn you all,
you clowns
I do not make exceptions..
In the name of your glory,
my nation is clothed
in mourning
And in the dust of your horses,
my homeland was lost!
...My cause is mine alone
and after me, there is fire"

In this interview, Hariri-supported Shaykh Ash-Shahhal (the Salafi leader in Tripoli) talked about contacts with Fath-Al-Islam.