...off to Washington, DC. Back on Saturday night.

Terrorist art? "Brandeis University pulls Palestinian art from exhibit". Brandeis. That is where the "sweets-and-flowers" professor teaches Arab studies.

I really strongly believe that some human rights organizations and civic associations in the US follow the lead, and adhere to the standards of the US government when they survey foreign countries. Look at this list of most censoring countries by Committee to Protect Journalists: "North Korea is followed by Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria and Belarus in the survey, which was based on a variety of criteria, including formal censorship, harassment of journalists, jamming of foreign news broadcasts and restrictions on internet access." I mean, how could that list exclude Saudi Arabia, or Oman, for example?

It seems that only Bush is making progress: "Experts fear Pakistan is losing fight against an Islamist militant revolt in its tribal belt."

"Gangs claim their turf in Iraq" (thanks John)

Iraqi president-under-foreign occupation on how the US government pressured the Kurds to "cooperate with Saddam."

Boating on the Seine, about 1879-80. Renoir.

Red Flags Over Beirut: Communist flags during May 1st demonstration in Beirut.

Darfur Groupies. That is what they are. They know who they are.

"US does not consider Taliban terrorists"

There is no question that one of the most anti-Christian force in Lebanon has been Hariri Inc: during Rafiq Hariri's days, and now. They treat the Christians of Lebanon as a nuisance, to be controlled, managed, and represented by Hariri puppets. They also cultivate bigoted fundamentalist fanatics who were behind the riots of February 5th. That is the "new" Lebanon, or the Neualtland.

Look how nice US officials are: "A long-running effort by the Bush administration to send home many of the terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been stymied in part because of concern among United States officials that the prisoners may not be treated humanely by their own governments, officials said."

"Taliban Threat Is Said to Grow in Afghan South"

The Failed States Index (would somebody with a subscription send me an image of the Index? thanks).

"Even though their country has been at war there for three years, six in 10 young Americans were unable to locate Iraq on a map of the world, a survey found."

Gentle (but brutal) occupation: "US forces are switching tactics in Iraq to take a less confrontational approach to civilians in response to criticism from British military commanders that they have been too tough. American commanders are ordering marines and soldiers manning checkpoints or travelling in convoys to be less trigger-happy. Instead of firing into the air or at civilians to warn them off as they approach checkpoints or convoys in cars, troops nervous about suicide bombers are being encouraged to use strobe lights and other means to signal that they should slow down or back off. Troops are also being told to be less rough during searches."

In the name of "objectivity" the BBC is now pressured to tilt more toward Israel. (thanks Ema)

Sufis and Cults: Arab governments seem to cultivate Sufis and Religious Cults, presumably to undermine the Islamists. We remember what happened to Anwar Sadat when he cultivated Islamists. In Saudi Arabia, they are cultivating Sufis, it seems; in Syria, there is the phenomenon of Qubaysiyyat.

Are we missing something in the Bin Laden messages? Adorno's Immanent Critique of Al-Qa`idah. I have thought about this before. That all of us who analyze the tapes of Bin Laden, Zarqawi, and Zawahiri are either secularists or atheists or people entirely hostile to the premises and ideology of the movement. That we criticize and analyze the movement from the outside, to speak. I say this because I watched today a tape (or a DVR event) of Al-Jazeera's Hiwar Maftuh which dealt with the analysis of the tapes. It featured the well-known (and courageous--even if you disagree with him) Jordanian dissident, Layth Shubaylat. Shubaylat suffered under the rule of King Husayn: he started as a Fath activist at AUB (before my days), and then became an Islamist activist in Jordan. He is now retired from politics, according to him. He made observations about the tapes. He once shared a cell with Zarqawi and Zarqawi declared him an infidel because Zarqawi thinks that everybody who is not with him is an infidel. Shubaylat observed that the failure and bankruptcy (in his words) of "mainstream" Islamsits like him, and like the Muslim Brotherhood, have boosted the appeal of Zarqawi. Shubaylat refused to declare Zarqawi a "kafir"--as the Iraqi Shi`ite guest kept requesting--because he said that he is opposed to the very method. He kept referring, to my surprise, to Bin Laden as "Shaykh Bin Laden." He then quoted a saying to `Ali Ibn Ibi Talib in which he says that: there is a difference between one who errs while seeking righteousness, and one who acts correctly while seeking falsehood, implying that Al-Qa`idah is seeking...righteousness. He was saying that the first part applies to Al-Qa`idah. I was surprised. He identified with the overall message of opposition to occupation, even by Zarqawi. He then observed that the message of Bin Laden (and even Zarqawi) has changed and softened, especially toward the Islamists of the region, who they used to condemn with consistent regularity. I don't know what to make of this: are we about to witness a new alliance?

The Saudi-Qatari feud is worse than ever. Saudi media are increasing their hostile coverage of Qatar. The visit by Qatari Amir to Iran could be related to that.

"Incorrect Information": "On Tuesday a Kurdistan court in Sulemani sentenced each former editor-in-chief, Asos Hardi, and the current editor-in-chief, Twana Osman, of Hawlati to six months suspended sentence and each a fine of 75 thousands Iraqi Dinar. They were sentenced in accordance of article 433 of the Iraqi Penal Code. Both men were sued by Omar Fatah, Kurdish Regional Government-Sulemani Prime Minister. They were brought to court on charges of publishing incorrect information."

In a talk in B`aqlin, Walid Jumblat started a new practice. He now says: "King `Abdullah, may God extends his life." But you have to read the full text of this most rambling piece of political trash: he even refers to Chinese as "yellow race" and engages in the most wild Orientalist generalizations. He also describes King Husayn as "a gentlemen." Yes, so were the King's massacres of Palestinians in 1970 and 1971 gentlemanly? This is the political class of Lebanon. Woe to Lebanon, as Jubran would say.

Israeli occupation soldiers call those Palestinian civilians "terrorists."

An Algerian Minister revealed that France, during its colonial war against Algeria, burnt and destroyed some 8,000 villages (and their inhabitants) in their entirety.

Husam `Itani analyzes Jumblat.

" Abdul Rahman Abu Odeh, 13, left, and his nephew Muhammad Abu Odeh, 5, after [Israeli] shells hit their house." The New York Times caption does not even identify the source of the shells. As if they just dropped from the sky. And the accompanying article typically finds Israeli actions against Palestinian civilians justified if not necessary.

The Communist Action Party (of Syria): Hizb Al-`Amal Ash-Shiyu`i. The is a very courageous party comprising radical leftists Syrians, and most are `Alawites. Its members have been so mercilessly and ruthlessly dealt with by the regime, presumably because it consists mostly of ``Alawites. Fatih Jamus, a leader of the party, was just arrested by the state of empty sloganeering.

Music in the Tuileries Gardens, 1862. Manet. (Excellent green).

"Five-year old boy detained by Israeli forces" (thanks Omar and Mouin)

The Post-Modernism of Al-Arabiyya TV. I like Anthony Shadid, but I certainly don't like Nabil Khatib, the editor of AlArabiyya. When I first saw this piece in the Washington Post yesterday, I braced myself. I never ever see a piece in the US press on Arab media that I like. Not for anything, but those who write those articles don't know Arabic. How would you like if I write a piece on Russian media--I should write a book on Russian media just to bug you. That is an apt analogy. But of course I know that Shadid is different, and the piece was better and more nuanced than your usual. But when Shadid was at the Boston Globe, I remember him telling me that he was struggling with the study of Arabic, and I hope that his Arabic has improved. But the piece does not contain an independent--Shadid's independent--evaluation of the station. That makes him vulnerable to the opinions and influences of his interlocutors. He did cover criticism of the station, but you can only understand the station if you watch it regularly. Rashed is good in duping Western journalists not because he is sharp--he is not--but because he knows that they know that he knows that they don't understand Arabic. So he can make his fantastic claims about "professionalism" as he told David Ignatius. You have to watch Al-Arabiyya's coverage of King Fahd's death (it is mentioned but not extensively in the article) to really understand the situation, and to see how all its claims are being undermined before your own eyes. And then Rashed talks about covering news about health and arts. No, they cover the fluff "news" of American morning shows, and they do so with special angle of sleaze. But what got my attention about Khatib is this: "He talked about the stories behind each headline: Iraq, Iran and, then, in an unusual choice of words, "the Palestinian territories." Rarely is that phrase heard in the region. It's usually Palestine, a word that can convey a sense of territory as well as justice. But Khatib, a Palestinian, seemed to be making a statement: that his phrase was less ideological, and that he wanted to avoid ideology as an editor." Notice what is considered "ideological" and what is not considered "ideological." This is like the famous US academic who wrote the End of Ideology book in the 1950s. The American ideology is not an ideology, it is above ideology, just as the Saudi school of jurisprudence is theoretically away from and above the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence. Notice that "Palestinian territories" is considered in that newsroom non-ideological, but notice that the standard only applies to one side only, unless Khatib also refers to Israel as "the Zionist entity." You see objectivity, in the Western context, is only a one-way street: you only apply objectivity to the Palestinian side, and sympathy and bias in favor of the Israeli side and standards is considered "neutral." This is how bias in the globalized media works. And then Khatib waxes postmodernist: ""Since then," he said, "the only thing I feel strongly about is that I shouldn't feel strongly about what is right and wrong." He should have added that he does not feel strongly about right and wrong when it applies to enemies of US only. Oh, and Shadid is quite inaccurate when he refers to Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat as "influential". Influential where, and to whom? To the royal family? Yes. When you look at circulation figures of newspapers in the Arab world there is not a single "influential" newspaper. There are influential TV stations, and Al-Hurra is not one of them, and I am told that Al-Arabiyya is also not one of them. I also doff my hat to Muhannad Khatib, the former anchor of AlArabiyya who resigned in disgust, because it is quite courageous to attack the station given the monpolistic Saudi ownership of Arab media.

Dick Cheney on Bernard Lewis: "I had the pleasure of first meeting Bernard more than 15 years ago, during my time as Secretary of Defense. It was not long after the dictator of Iraq had invaded Kuwait, and we brought in a large number of outside experts to speak about the history and the way forward in the Middle East. As you might imagine, I got a wide range of advice -- some of it very good and some of it terrible. No one offered sounder analysis or better insight than Bernard Lewis. He was an absolute standout, and I decided that day that this was a man I wanted to keep in touch with, and whose work I should follow carefully in the years ahead. Since then we have met often, particularly during the last four-and-a-half years, and Bernard has always had some very good meetings with President Bush. He is always objective, thoroughly candid, and completely independent. These, combined in the depth of his knowledge and the great discipline of his mind, make Bernard the very ideal of the wise man." (Notice that the same exact "quotation" from an Egyptian Muslim Brother also appears in Fouad Ajami's tribute to Lewis).

So Walid Jumblat, who now supports the Camp David accords, said that he only met Hengry Kissinger to tell him that Kamal Jumblat was "not a radical." This is a good introduction to Jumblat's jumbled mind.

"The graduation of nearly 1,000 new Iraqi army soldiers in restive Anbar province took a disorderly turn Sunday when dozens of the men declared that they would refuse to serve outside their home areas, according to U.S. and Iraqi military authorities."

This is NOT a safe cause: "The international human rights group Physicians for Human Rights appealed Monday to Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Moshe Katsav on behalf of dozens of Sudanese refugees who fled the war-ravaged region of Darfur to seek asylum in Israel, where they are currently jailed. The organization requests that the government release the Sudanese and provide them with medical care."

"Bolivia's president took a big step towards nationalising his country's gas and oil industries yesterday, ordering troops to occupy gas fields and threatening to evict foreign companies unless they agreed to surrender ownership to the state."

"Riyadh - A drunken driver crashed through a traffic-control barricade leading to Mecca's court yard on Sunday, striking four worshippers, it was reported on Monday."

"VISITING PICASSO"

The Friends of Jihad Al-Khazen. Somebody should count how many people Jihad Al-Khazin lists in his column as "friends". And another person should measure the percentage of those friends who are not Gulf princes.

Is Shibli Al-Mallat losing his mind? I am serious. I want my friends in Lebanon who know him to see if he needs help. I watch taped (Arabic) news shows on my Archos gadget when I travel. So I saw an episode of LBC-TV's Naharkum Sa`id with Mallat. He was just not real. He kept referring to himself as "the civilized candidate." I kid you not. On several occasions, he kept referring to his meetings in DC with officials at "a very high level." The sympathetic host, with a suppressed smile, even asked him at one point about those meetings at "a very high level." Mallat said he meets with officials at "a very high level" but that he "has opted" to avoid meetings "at a very high level" in the "Executive Branch"--he said that in English. He basically implied that Bush was begging to see him, but that he decided against it. He also said that he was offered numerous times to be member of parliament and the Ministry of Justice. When people bring up the fact that nobody knows what he has been doing politically, he refers to his "struggle in the March 14 Movement." Once a reporter asked him to clarify. He said that he went to the demonstration on that day--that counts as "struggle" now, especially if you dragged your maid with you. The only reason why anybody knows about his is because he used the victims of Sabra and Shatila massacres to attain name recognition. He believes that the "struggle" against Israel should be "peaceful and civilizational." He said that "all Law schools in US" are now convinced that Israel is not democratic because he persuaded them of that. He said that his "civilizational candidacy" is a big sacrifice because he had to give up a "great post" in the US (not identified) and "a great post" at St. Joseph University in Beirut. He said that he convinced the US government to go easy on Hizbullah, and that they agreed with him. He said that when he speaks to US officials he tells them to "take care of the Golan Heights." He admitted that he would not have run if his favorite person, the Maronite Patriarch, agreed to run for president. He does not take any step without consulting with the Patriarch. This ostensibly former secularist also expressed concern for the "Christian people." I will say this, however. He has excellent command of the Arabic language. His grandfather was a poet: I used to like to read his poetry. His father, a judge, also wrote poetry. Mallat: you should write "civilized poetry" instead of this joke "civilized presidential campaign" of yours.

I saw an interview with Hamas labor minister, Muhammad Barghuti. Out of this world (not a compliment). Among the ridiculous things that he said was that "Jordan has always supported the Palestinian cause." This and other factors confirm my theory: Hamas is on the same stupid path of Yasir `Arafat. I even expect Isma`il Haniyyah to start sending millions to Suha `Arafat any day now.

They are mourning Palestinian mother, `Itaf Yusuf, 41, who was shot by Israeli occupation soldiers. Her daughter was injured.

This refugee camp is in Baghdad. Yes, "liberated" Baghdad. This cause is not a safe cause, for all of you white rich kids. Stick to Darfur: it will make you feel better, and it makes the US look innocent. Switch the channel.

"Israeli soldiers accused of raping 11-year-old"

Look at the racist anti-Syrian (people) headline in the Hariri rag, Al-Mustaqbal.

I never thought that Stephen Colbert is funny. His "thing" the other night was quite unfunny, I thought. But more unfunny than Colbert was the Bush impersonator. Also, I just noticed this at Dulles airport: do you know that Russian airline still displays the hammer and sickle as its logo? A dollar sign would be more apporpriate as a logo for the new capitalist mafia that runs the place.