And they will return

"An analysis by the academic journal Refugee Survey Quarterly projected that if that definition remains intact, there will be 11 million Palestinian refugees by 2040 and 20 million by 2060."

apartheid Israel

"Between mid-February and early March 2012, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination held its 80th session, in which it evaluated the compliance of several states with the 1966 International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Among these states was Israel, which became a party to the Convention in 1979. The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations are notable because they establish that Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are tantamount to Apartheid, and additionally determine that many state policies within Israel also violate the prohibition on Apartheid as enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention."

Egypt's credibility

Don't you like this Mossad's definition of Israel's credibility?  "Israelis say those constraints offer reassurance. “Any levelheaded person who becomes president of Egypt will have to think fast and well whether by antagonizing Israel he will be improving or harming his chances for getting international support for what he needs to do,” said Efraim Halevy, a former Israeli national security adviser and a former chief of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency. He added, “Any Egyptian president will be under pressure to maintain Egypt’s credibility on the international scene.”"  And do you think that the Times will ever interview a functionary of Iranian or Syrian intelligence to commend on Israeli elections?  

Egypt's election

I will write later about the Egyptian election but I will only say now that even if Shafiq is selected (not elected) president, he will be the weakest president in Egypt since Muhammad Najib.  This bode well for the Egyptian youth of the uprising.  

Kershner and Kirkpatrick assures Zionists (in tears over the fall of Mubarak)

This is a funny piece over all.  My favorite part is Shadi Hamid (whoever he is) assuring Zionists that the Israeli ambassador in Cairo would be received with respect:  "If, as promised, the Brotherhood maintains the peace with Israel, Mr. Morsi as president could be expected to meet with Israeli’s ambassador and top officials, which for the Brotherhood would mark a new level of official recognition of the Israeli state. “I assume he would have to,” Mr. Hamid said, “and that would be a landmark moment.”"  Notice that the appropriate native informant who is characterized always by the ability to jump when so ordered by the White Man and who can reproduce the thoughts of the White Man in his own language, internalizes the thought process of the White Man. So for this Shadi Hamid the "landmark moment" for Egypt is when the Israeli ambassador is received by the new president.  The colonizer and the colonized, all over again.  Secondly, the article left out a major part about none other than Shafiq: that he was quite critical of Israel during the campaign and he constantly bragged about his role in the war of attrition and he bragged constantly that his proudest achievement was when he down two Israeli jets.  None of that is even mentioned by the two writers who can't read Arabic.  Dream on.

The tribes are coming, the tribes are coming

Of course, the reactionary tribes have been supporting the regime and not the opposition although the exile Syrian opposition have put some individuals in the traditional head gear to pose as tribal leaders in conferences arranged for foreign video cameras:  "One wild card that could trump everything else is tribal politics. Two big Sunni tribes, the Shammar and the Dulaim, stretch from northern Saudi Arabia through western Iraq and Jordan and up into Syria. Some observers say these tribes have sworn a blood oath against Assad. If so, a decisive phase of the Syrian war may have begun." (thanks Nir)

David Ignatius seems to like this Al-Qa`idah guy

"An illustration of how the regional and sectarian strands come together is the case of Shadi Mawlawi, a Sunni activist supporting the anti-Assad opposition. He was arrested two weeks ago by the Shiite-led General Security service. According to a Lebanese official, evidence linked Mawlawi to a prominent Qatari who was funneling money to the rebels in Syria."  So Al-Qa`idah terrorists are transformed into mere "activists" if they are part of a US-supported part in the Middle East.  Activist? The guy was in fact arrested on a tip from another Al-Qa`idah member who was arrested after a tip by the CIA was presented to the Lebanese government.  

Lebanese Army participates in the harassment of Syrian workers

So only one side of the brawl is blamed: this is Lebanese (in)justice:  "The Lebanese Army detained 11 Syrian workers Friday following a fight between the laborers over the unloading of a shipment in Zahle, east Lebanon. Security sources told The Daily Star that the fight with fists, sticks and stones broke out before midday in the Zahle neighborhood of Karak. They said two Syrian workers were slightly injured in the brief brawl. A stray stone, however, hit Lebanese Mohammad al-Ali in the face. Ali, 28, was taken to a local hospital for treatment." (thanks Basim)

Hula massacre

I received videos of the Hula massacre.  Yet, I don't believe any media of the Syrian regime and I don't believe any media of the exile Syrian opposition.  Both the Syrian regime army and the gangs of the Free Syrian Army are war criminals who are capable of murdering women and children.  They both are on the same level and either could be responsible.  Certainly, the regime that still holds the authority bears more responsibility as it is obligated to protect the lives of its citizens.  I reiterate my position that neither the Syrian regime nor the gangs of the Free Syrian Army should be part of any future solution in Syria. Both should be excluded from power, forever.  

Kidnappers of the Free Syrian Army

Not a single US newspaper report on acts of torture and kidnappings and ransom by gangs of the Free Syrian Army.  They kidnapped innocent Lebanese pilgrims and MacFarquhar of the Times (the mere publisher of press releases by exile Syrian opposition) even insinuated that the women and elderly in the bus who were kidnapped were "armed thugs" of Hizbullah.

Ahmad Shafiq

The headline (from an older newspaper during the early days of the "revolution") says:  "Shafiq before the American chamber [of commerce]: I did not regret saying that Mubarak is my idol and my [future] reliance on `Umar Sulayman is possible". (thanks Hossam)

Neil MacFarquhar: reporter of rumors

I doubt that the National Inquirer would have run this story.  And don't you like when MacFarquhar takes swipe at Aljazeera and Al-Arabiyya's coverage of Syria as if this paper any better?   "On Sunday, the opposition put a video on YouTube making the poisoning claim, which was run by Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Arabiya satellite networks, both of which report virtually anything that puts the government in a bad light....The original claim on the video said an opposition group called Al Sahaba — referring to the original companions of the Prophet Muhammad — had recruited a bodyguard of one of the senior officials two months ago.  The bodyguard struck Saturday night, according to the statement read on the recording. Using a tasteless, colorless and odorless poison, he put 15 drops into a meat stew that had been ordered for dinner, instead of the mere five needed to cause death, the statement said. It said eight senior officials were hospitalized at the elite Al Shami hospital and the staff was secluded, its cellphones taken away and other patients transferred."

Lies of the Times

Look at this headline in the Times:  "Prison Term for Helping C.I.A. Find Bin Laden".  What a misleading headline and story.  No, Times: the man injected innocent Pakistanis with "harmless" chemicals in order to provide information for a foreign power and to obtain information about the people in the compound, not to mention that he violated his medical oath.  Imagine of China were to hire an American physician who would innocently inject unsuspecting Americans with a chemical to obtain information for China.  I am sure that his prison term would be even longer.  Who are you fooling? 

the citizen settlers of Israel

"A settler ran over a child on the main road between Nabi Saleh and Deir Nidam villages on Friday, witnesses said.  Ragheb Muhammad Tamimi, 6, was taken to Hadassah hospital in Ein Kareem, witnesses told Ma'an. His health condition is unknown."

"Both sides"

"A U.N. investigation on Thursday said both sides in the Syrian conflict had committed serious human rights abuses, with government forces executing entire families in their homes and rebels torturing and killing soldiers and government supporters."

BHL in Cannes

BHL takes a few Arabs-on-a-rope to Cannes to promote himself as their liberator.  

Repression in the UAE

"Reporters Without Borders condemns the possibly imminent deportation of Ahmed Abdul Khaleq, a blogger and member of a group of five pro-democracy activists known as the “UAE 5,” following his arrest on 22 May after being summoned to the immigration department in the northeastern emirate of Ajman in connection with his statelessness.   Khaleq is currently being held in Abu Dhabi’s Al-Wathba prison, but is due to be transferred to Al-Sadr prison (which is notorious for its mistreatment of detainees) and then to be deported to Comoros under a 2009 agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the Indian Ocean island nation.  Reporters Without Borders calls for his immediate release and suspension of the deportation process.

“By re-arresting Khaleq, the Emirati authorities have again shown the extremes to which they are ready to go to silence dissidents,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Their cynicism has repeatedly been demonstrated, above all in the comments by Col. Abdul Rahim bin Shafi of the interior ministry displaying complete contempt for public opinion and fundamental freedoms.”  Khaleq and other members of his family who, like him, are stateless, were told on 21 May that they would be given Comorian passports under the 2009 agreement that would allow them to continue residing in the UAE as Comorian “economic” citizens (without political rights) as a first step toward being naturalized as Emirati citizens."

Exclusive news from UAE

"The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has received a note from Comoros President Dr Eklil Zanin concerning bilateral relations and ways of boosting them.

Zubair Ahmed Sufian Al Ahdal, Ambassador of Comoros to the UAE, called on Ahmed Juma Al Za’abi, Deputy Minister for Presidential Affairs, in his office at the Presidential Palace on Thursday and delivered a letter from the Comoros president.  He also conveyed Comoros president’s thanks and appreciation for Shaikh Khalifa on the UAE’s support as well as the economic and social projects undertaken in his country.  He hailed the role of the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Humanitarian Foundation in providing relief during the recent floods."

The so-called Syrian parliament

Akram sent me this:  "Here is the account of Kassioun, the mouthpiece of the Popular Will Party (Communists led by Kadri Jamil) about the scandalous performance of the self-described "patriotic" opposition during the first session of the newly elected parliament in Syria.  In a complementary account:  during his one-minute speech, Mr. Jamil stumbled and was interrupted more than once before the speaker ended the session. "What's wrong in electing the council's bureau according to the distribution (of the parliamentarian blocks)?", wondering Kadri jamil, in reference to the 66 so-called independent members (who are no more "corrupt businessmen and allies to the authority"!!!).
Not surprised, but so happy with this "fresh" beginning... Wishing them the worse!!"

propaganda for Israel

When I first came to America and used to read those propaganda pieces for Israel i used to think that the Israeli government paid for those articles but later learned that US media provide free services for Israeli propaganda.  "An Israeli who rescued a distressed climber on Mount Everest instead of pushing onward to the summit said Friday that the man he helped, an American of Turkish origin, is like a brother to him." (thanks Mouin)

sexual harassment in UK

"Sexual harassment is a persistent and dangerous problem on Britain’s streets, women’s charities have warned, as a poll reveals that more than four in 10 young women were sexually harassed in the capital over the last year.  A YouGov survey of 1,047 Londoners commissioned by End Violence Against Women Coalition (Evaw) found that 43% of women aged between 18 and 34 had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces in the last year.  Despite a growing intolerance of unwanted sexual attention, harassment was still very common and made women feel unsafe particularly when travelling alone, said Holly Dustin, director of Evaw."

Where do they get those "natives" from?

This writer for CNN is really eager for the return of Mubarak:  "The legacy of the revolution now lives in the streets, where a lack of security means many women feel less safe and are less likely to leave their homes by themselves after dark." (thanks Bob)

Night of attacks against African refugees, Tel Aviv, Israel, 23.05.2012

"A mother holding her baby minutes after she was attacked by a mob, with the baby thrown to the ground, following a protest against African refugees and asylum seekers in Tel Aviv's Hatikva neighborhood on May 23, 2012."

racism in Lebanon

"But racism is unlikely to be erased overnight, either in Lebanon or in many other Middle Eastern countries where blacks are routinely looked down on. Racist taunts are often heard on Egypt’s streets, and in Yemen, darker-skinned people, known as al-akhdam(“the servants”), who make up perhaps 5% of the population, are confined to menial jobs and tend to dwell in slums. In Libya rebel militias often targeted darker-skinned people from nearby countries such as Chad and Mali and from countries further south, accusing them of being mercenaries of Muammar Qaddafi.    Filipinos, Sri Lankans and Chinese-Americans, among others, whisper of racist slurs both at work and on Lebanon’s streets. “When black or Asian friends visit,” says a young Lebanese professional, “I’m at the airport the moment they land to make sure immigration officers don’t ask inappropriate questions. It’s a disgrace.”"  And from another article:  


"They told her she was ugly. They refused to play with her, saying her dark skin would dirty their hands. They broke her teeth. But Meyada kept trying to make friends at her public elementary school in Mar Elias. Her mother, Sudanese refugee Ikhlass Jomaa, took to standing outside the playground, where she would find her daughter “isolated.”
“The other children would be playing, and she would be sitting alone,” she recalls.
Meyada would come home crying and hungry. Kids stole the sandwiches Jomaa packed for lunch, as well as her books. Jomaa, who has been in Lebanon for nine years, went to see the school’s principal. The principal said she could do nothing.
Born in Lebanon to Sudanese parents, the now 8-year-old Meyada is not alone. Lala Arabian, executive director of Insan Association, an organization that works with refugees and migrants, confirms from her experience what Meyada knows. Migrant domestic workers, refugees and their children face “a lot of discrimination and racism ... in Lebanese society,” she says. “Usually they [refugees and migrants] don’t benefit from social services provided in Lebanon.”"  (thanks Austin)


PS I wonder why the Economist failed to include Israel in its mix.  Ahmet from Tunisia sent me this:  "Asad, i am not sure that Lebanon is the country making headlines these days about its horrendous treatment of "dark-skinned" people to make the Economist file a report on it immediately: are we here talking about applying a dilution effect of the rottenness across the border???"

March 14 propaganda

Hamzeh sent me this:  "Just wanted to share the link from March14 website where they blamed the incident of shooting in Karakas street to a fight between Amal and SSNP.   As it turns out this has nothing to do with Amal/SSNP."

"Politely declined"

"Deputy Health Minister Ya'akov Litzman is in hot water for refusing to shake the hand of his female counterpart from Belgium. Litzman met Belgian Health Minister Laurette Onkelinx at an international healthconference in Geneva and, while greeting her as graciously as possible, politely declined to shake her extended hand, explaining that religious strictures prevented him from doing so." (thanks John)

Asad ship sinking

In Nasrallah's remarks, there is a clear change in Party's rhetoric no Syria: it is now less enthusiastic and provocative in its championing of the repressive regime. 

attacks on Syrian workers in Lebanon

Nasrallah in his speech now berated those (in the Shi`ite community) who attacked Syrian workers in Lebanon.  All sects attacked Syrian workers in Lebanon.  No sect is immune.

A Political catastrophe in Yemen

Shih-Yu sent me this.  "It is a man-made catastrophe in Yemen. Oxfam was loath to claim that the so-called ‘humanitarian’ crisis was quintessentially   ‘political.’ 

‘As the U.S. continues its covert drone war on Yemen, the country is on the brink of a hunger crisis of catastrophic proportions, aid agencies report today.’  ‘‘Yemeni families are at the brink and have exhausted their ways of coping with this crisis. A quarter of the population has fallen into debt trying to feed their families. Mothers are taking their children out of school to beg on the streets to get money to survive. Donors are focused on politics and security, but failure to respond adequately to the humanitarian needs now will put more lives at risk, further entrench poverty and could undermine political transition in the country,’ said Lawrence.’"

puppets of the US (and Israel, it seems)

"Venezuelan Opposition Promises “Renewal” for Venezuela-Israel Relations" (thanks Hassan)

Zionism is racism, always

"During a class on Sabbath halacha relating to religious physicians, the spiritual leader of Shas said that while doctors are expected to do everything in their power – even if it requires violating the Sabbath – in order to save Jews whose lives are in danger, the same does not apply for gentiles.    "If a gentile were to get injured in a car accident during Sabbath, and he is brought to the hospital – Israel must not treat him," he said." (thanks Basim)

Canada's new Zionism

In the 1990s, I did consulting work in Canada on development issues in the Middle East.  I traveled to Ottawa frequently and I used to run into Canadian diplomats and officials. Canada was a different place at the time.  Diplomats would publicly complain about the Zionism of the US government.  This is Canada today:  ""We contend that modern anti-Semitism lives in the disproportionate criticism Israel receives, and the refusal to accept its right to exist," Baird said.  "The world cannot take the words of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran as mere rhetoric and risk appeasing these malicious actors in the same way the world appeased the Nazis.… Under our prime minister, and under this foreign minister, Canada will stand with the Jewish state and people as they struggle to protect their very right to exist."

respected by whom?

"Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, told me that Feltman is “an accomplished and respected American diplomat.”"  Accomplished what and he is respected by whom? Oh, yes, if you mean respected by the Zionists at the Saban Center, than yes, he indeed is.  If you mean respected by the Saudi camp in Lebanon, than he is.  But the Arab world, it seems to me, is quite larger.  

The Dahlan Lobby in DC

Here is a response to the Dahlan advocates (turned Fayyad advocates when Dahlan went down) in Washington, DC.  (thanks Yasmine)

Neil MacFarquhar has a discovery: Iran is seeking influence in Lebanon

The beauty about the work of Neil MacFarquhar is that it only gets worse with time and his journalistic standards--if any--only deteriorates further and further.  But he has topped himself here in this superficial and really flawed article on Iran seeking influence in Lebanon.  1) Of course, Iran is seeking influence in Lebanon as is the US and Saudi Arabia, among others. Where is the story and where the shock especially when Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked into an intense regional conflict that Saudi Arabia's Wahhabis have turned into a sectarian conflict.  There is no story there basically.  2) MacFarquhar wants to justify his non-story by saying that Iran has managed to spend all that money after the Syrian uprising and despite the sanctions.  Had he had done his research (and learned a foreign language or two in that process) he would have known that Iran spent that many prior to the imposition of the harsh sanctions. 3) Every political person that he spoke to in this article is a member of March 14.  Every single one of them.  It was hilarious that his expert on the matter was none other than Marwan Hamadi: one of the most corrupt personalities in Lebanon who is pro-Saudi/pro-US.  He was identified as a "leader" when he is the messenger and political servant of Walid Jumblat.  4) The people he spoke to in Tannurin were members of March 14 and they were people who had no shyness in advertising their racism against Iranians (and not only against the lousy Iranian regime).  This racism and sectarianism must have delighted Mr. MacFarquhar:  "“They are from a different religion, a different social condition.”".   The article concludes with a statement by the objective account of none other than the Saudi-funded Phalanges Party.  Lebanon is split on every single issue and MacFarquhar, writing a propaganda piece, wanted readers to conflate the pro-Saudi segment of the population with the entire country.  

The new leader of the Syrian National Council

An inside source revealed to me the name of the new leader of the Syrian National Council: his name is Bashshar Ghaylun.  

Flash: early Egyptian election results

Flash. Breaking news. Syrian regime TV announced that the front runner in the Egyptian presidential election count is none other than Bashshar Al-Asad..  More on this breaking story.

"The people wants the Africans to be burned" in Tel Aviv

"The people wants the Africans to be burned" in Tel Aviv."

Feltman leaks

Historian Ussam Makdisi sent me this comment about Feltman leaks (I cite with his permission):
"1) most important, you get the sense that Feltman does not really run things at all despite all your worries that he does...
 4) This is an old 19th century story about Lebanese "notables" bowing down before Western man but what's interesting is how pathetic they all are--how they grovel in their attempt to manipulate the West and how the West in turn understands this precisely and yet delights in being the object of devotion at the same time as it holds these notables in justified contempt."

Racist carnival in Tel Aviv

""Tel Aviv has been hit by the most violent protests in its recent history after more than 1,000 Israelis took to the streets in the city's south to demand the deportation of African immigrants and asylum seekers. The predominately black neighbourhood of Hatikva was ransacked by groups of nationalist protesters who had attended a demonstration on Wednesday night against illegal African migrants. The protesters claim the Africans are responsible for a rise in crime, bearing signs saying "This is not Africa" and "Stop talking, start expelling". "Blacks out!" shouted demonstrators in the crowd, while others yelled "Send the Sudanese back to Sudan", as other protesters derided the "bleeding-heart leftists" working to help them..."There were protesters everywhere smashing shop and car windows," said TJ, 29-year-old migrant from Nigeria. "A group of about 10 or 15 boys stopped one black kid cycling on his bike. They pulled him off and were punching and kicking him in his head. The police just stood and watched until it got really out of control"...Ms Regev [Likud MK] described illegal immigrants as a "cancer in our society"". (thanks Mohammad)

Lebanon, on the brink

My latest blog post for Al-Akhbar English: "Lebanon: on the Brink".  (French translation).

Jeffrey Feltman leaks, again

Thus spoke Jeffrey Feltman (notice how he talks as if he is part of the March 14 coalition).

PS Look how US clients lie and fabricate to ingratiate themselves with US policy makers: "I also told them that we have a habit in the region of burning US flags and now we are witnessing a habit of burning Russian flags".  Where are Arabs burning Russian flags?

This is the same channel that US ambassador in Lebanon visited to offer support: "MTV’s Xenophobic Crusades"

"A very recent dispatch by the channel dealt with women who allegedly operate as sex workers in south Lebanon. The women were filmed secretly by the side of the road and their faces made clearly visible. Again, no attempt was made to hide their identities, in spite of the great personal hazard being recognized on national television could pose to each of these women.

Viewed together, the programs form a body of evidence in contradiction to MTV’s proclaimed crusade in support of the viewer’s - and, by extension, the public’s - right to know. By voyeuristically invading the privacy of vulnerable individuals, the channel seems to believe it has the right to target and endanger people who do not conform to its own peculiar interpretation of a moral and pious Lebanon.

Sharif Nashashibi, founder of London-based media watchdog Arab Media Watch, criticized MTV for potentially endangering individuals featured in its reports.

“They are putting these people's lives at risk,” he told Al-Akhbar. “These are serious accusations that are not corroborated in the video[s].”

Viewers have protested in the past over how MTV's editorial guidelines apparently do not account for the well being and privacy of individuals featured in its reports. But the Hamra Cinema piece has sapped the patience of some groups exasperated by the channel's journalese.

“They treated the men there as if they are criminals but MTV is in no way qualified to judge,” said Hasan, founder of Raynbow, a Lebanese LBGT monitoring group.

Several NGOs supporting equal rights have been so outraged by MTV's latest dispatch that they have sought legal advice over its broadcast. They insist their grievance is on grounds of media ethics and the right to privacy – rather than the issue of sexual profiling the channel made its report about.

Nayla Geagea, a lawyer who has been contacted by rights organizations, says that any case brought against MTV could not be done in the context of the alleged homosexuality featured in the Hamra Cinema report." (thanks Raed)

Ba`this (non)democracy: a (bloody) comedy routine

Akram sent me this:  ""Finaly, those who grew up in the school established by the leader Badhar Al-Assad are able to handle any mission whatsoever. Those who were educated by the literature of the (Ba'ath) party and through the national and social initiatives of youths are absolutely ready to be ready to donate in every aspect of life.

Finally (once again), standing up here (as a one-day secretary of the Syrian Council of People) will be the best challenge for me to be the youths representative with my appreciations to those who sponsored and recommended the youths, in front of them, the leader of this nation and the sponsor of the youths, the president Bashar Al-Assad, God bless him for the sake of this country and its victory over all the conspirators and defeatists. With its assets of youths, Syria will stay, as always, strong and will become stronger. We, the youths, will always be our country's surmountable and powerful fence and the defenders of all the achievements in every life aspect"

Alia'a Kabbani, one of the two youngest members in the newly elected Syrian parliament, in a bla bla bla statement to Athwara".

Tel Aviv 2012–Berlin 1938

"Today, Israel moved one step closer to Nazi Germany circa 1938. In Berlin, Nazis walked the streets terrorizing Jews, smashing windows, burning books and synagogues. Today, in Tel Aviv’s poor Hatikva neighborhood, the cream of Israel’s political Übermenschen, Kahanists Michael Ben Ari, Itamar Ben Gvir and Baruch Marzel terrorized foreign workers who live there with mass violence and nothing less than a pogrom:" (thanks Victor)