Meet this Wahhabi liberal

Jamal Khashuqji (a former Bin Ladenite who carried a gun with him in Afghanistan who now poses as a "liberal" Wahhabi style), the new direction of the news station to be launched soon by Prince Al-Walid bin Sleaze bin Talal, calls for the expulsion of all foreign workers from Arabia. (thanks Adam)

The Jordanian clan is disgusted

The Jordanian clan of `Ubaydat is disgusted that one of its members was designated by King PlayStation as his ambassador to Israeli occupation.  It announced that it is strictly opposed to any normalization with the Zionist entity (or Zionist entitity, as former Libyan diplomat `Abdus-Salam Turayki called it).

Harun Al-Rashid

The book on Harun Al-Rashid and the Abbasid empire in which I encountered the reference to Al-Luwazinj is by Abd-Al-Jabbar Al-Jumard.  For those who asked me.

speaking in Berkeley

For those who don't give a damn: I am speaking tomorrow Friday at Berkeley: 7:00PM south Berkeley senior center 2939 Ellis st cross street w. ashby

Wanted by the FBI in Aleppo

"The FBI said it is seeking the public’s help in locating Ahmad Abousamra, a U.S. citizen from Mansfield who authorities believe may be living in the battleground Syrian city of Aleppo with at least one child, a daughter, and extended family. He uses several aliases." (thanks Laure)

Let me explain the basics about cyber attacks

Cyber attacks by US and Israel are cute, adorable, and inventive.  But cyber attacks on US and Israeli targets are nothing short of terrorism. 

revolutionary tactics of the armed Syrian opposition

"But now opposition commanders say defections have slowed to a trickle. Some commanders have given up trying to entice defectors, and others have resorted to more desperate measures: cajoling, duping, threatening and even drugging and kidnapping military men to get them to change sides, or at least stay out of the fight.   “We use means only used by the devil,” said Ahmed Qunatri, a rebel commander in northern Syria who defected from the Republican Guard."

Correct me if I am wrong: Syrian defectors

When an assistant to the driver of the deputy technical assistant to the secretary of a low-level employee of a Syrian ministry defects, it is published as a breaking story and Western reporters--groupies of the Syrian "revolution" or people who would not recognize a revolution even if it hit them in the pocket--rush to tweet the news to the world.  Bud did any Western outlet publish the story of the defection of the southern commander of the Free Syrian Army back to the Syrian regime army? 

Carter

I should mention to you that the picture of Jimmy Carter on the cover of his book on palestine really bothers me.  I mean really bothers me.

"Syrian opposition" denies

"The Syrian opposition denies any links to terrorists or any use of suicide attacks. A Sunni extremist group called Jabhat al-Nusra, or Victory Front, has claimed responsibility for previous bombings."  It should have said: Mr. Syrian opposition denies....No need to tell us which Syrian opposition as the general category does propaganda the job well. (thanks David)

"Arab dysfunction" and Western function

"The slaying of Mr Stevens is hardly the only recent example of Arab dysfunction." (thanks Zainab)

Afghans want more US occupation: Foregin Policy magazine says so

""Afghans do not resent Americans for being occupiers, but rather for leaving the job unfinished, and leaving the door open for the real occupiers to stroll back in.""

Instructions and free press

""The Embassy went on to recommend: "Articles and editorial pieces by very senior US officials for our Office of Public Affairs to place in "The Australian," "The Sydney Morning Herald," "The Age," "The Daily Telegraph" and the "Australian Financial Review," among others. … While providing the U.S. record on disarmament, the articles should also highlight the need for noncompliant states to be put under the international spotlight during the Review Conference." "" (thanks Amir)

Gene Sharp, again

Claudia in Germany sent me this:  "

this might be interesting for you:

Gene Sharp received the “Right Livelihood Award” (in german also called: “Alternativer Nobelpreis”)

... “… for developing and articulating the core principles and strategies of nonviolent resistance and supporting their practical implementation in conflict areas around the world.”   Gene Sharp is the world´s foremost expert on nonviolent revolution and has been described as the "Machiavelli of nonviolence". In a lifetime of academic work, he has established nonviolent action and people power as a successful means of political change. Sharp’s writings on nonviolent struggle have been used by social movements around the world, from the jungles of Burma to the streets of Serbia and Tahrir Square in Egypt during the Arab Spring.

…and by the way – all my egyptian friends/relatives have never ever heard of Gene Sharp and his book!".

Lebanese rank

"Le Liban a été classé à la 120e place au niveau mondial et au 9e rang parmi les pays de la région MENA, dans le classement sur la gouvernance de 214 pays de la Banque mondiale (BM)." (thanks Daniel)

Muslim Brotherhoood Bow Down

"Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi laid a wreath at his late predecessor Anwar Sadat's tomb on the anniversary of the 1973 war against Israel on Thursday, in a rare homage from an Islamist leader.
Mursi was accompanied by top military officials for the televised ceremony marking 39 years since the three-week conflict during Sadat's rule, called the "October 6 victory" in Egypt."  No surprise there.  The unrepentant Nazi anti-Semitic dictator, Sadat, was the one who unleashed the fanatical Muslims against the secular Nasserists and leftists. (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

Fath and Hamas

The difference between Fath and Hamas is in the beard only.

Muslim standards

Basically, some Muslims want a ban on any offense to their religion while they preserve the right to insult all other religions. 

"Israeli Palestinian Physics Prize Winners “Disappeared” by Israeli Media"

"One of the more popular memes Jewish triumphalists use to prove religious-ethnic superiority is how many Nobel Prizes have Jewish names attached to them. This supports the claim of genetic and racial superiority of Jewish DNA, I presume. Pro-Israel advocates use the same technique to pump up the volume on behalf of their nation. Entire websites and organizations exist whose sole purpose is to trumpet Israeli achievements, whether deserved or not."

Foreign fighters in Syria

Let me get this straight as I try hard to understand the standards of Western media: so the influx of foreign fighters into Syria (including from Lebanon) is not as worrisome as the rumors of Hizbullah fighters in Syria.  Furthermore, there has been actual sighting and capture of foreign fighters on the side of the Free Syrian Army gangs but has there been one sighting or capture of one Hizbullah fighter in Syria--the kidnapping of elderly and sick Lebanese Shi`ite pilgrims by the heroes of the Free Syrian Army gangs notwithstanding. 

Posting on Al-Akhbar

I meant to say that my posts about Al-Akhbar and internal matters was in no way directed as Antoun Issa and I did not in any way discuss reasons of his departure.  I was only talking about Western journalists and their political--non-innocent--exploitation of a situation and their insistence on holding a monopoly of heroes and martyrs designations among the natives.  Lastly, I wish to state that some of the folks who left Al-Akhbar in the last year (and I am not defending the paper at every corner as it may seem) were in fact staunch supporters of the Syrian regime.  So I am merely saying to some of the Western reporters, you don't know what you are talking about.

By mistake: Syrian missiles

By mistake, Syrian missiles land in Lebanon and Jordan and Turkey but for some mysterious (largely refusalness "mumana`ah") reasons, they never land in Israel.  Like Hafidh Al-Asad, those missiles await the determination of the time and place of battle.

Al-Arabiyya: "to lie more"

The Qatari daily, Al-Watan, takes on Al-Arabiyya (news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law) and documents it series of lies in the last few months only.  (thanks Fadi)

The Muhammad Film controversy

A sophisticated treatment of the film controversy by comrade Sayf Da`na.

Can you believe that Iran was planning to interfere in Iraqi affairs? I mean, who does that? Which evil force does that?

"“The most sobering surprise of the week was probably the extent of direct Iranian involvement in Iraqi political intrigue,” General Petraeus wrote in an April 2008 letter to Mr. Gates."  What an insult and what an offense. Iran, Iraq's neighbor, intended to interfere in Iraqi internal affairs knowing that the US, which was merely 10,000 miles away from Iraq, was running the show? How sinister really.

He is not dead

I am not making this up but Mustafa Abdul-NATO denied yesterday that he was dead. Kid u not. He said that he wd release a press release if he dies.

So Mr. New York Times correspondent: please tell us about Gen. Suleimani

"Gen. David H. Petraeus, who came to know the Quds Force commander’s influence when he served in Iraq, once described General Suleimani as “a truly evil figure” in a letter to Robert M. Gates..."  Thanks, Mr. Gordon.  That is informative enough for me.  No need to read further.

internal matters at Al-Akhbar

E. sent me this:  "So Max Blumenthal tweeted this today, regarding Antoun Issa's recent departure from Al Akhbar English, which by the way had nothing at all to do with politics:

Max Blumenthal ‏@MaxBlumenthal

Just learned my fmr colleague @antissa has quit Al Akhbar citing the paper placing politics over professionalism. A sad decline to watch.

And then...Jess Hill tweeted this, to which Antoun responded:

Jess Hill ‏@jessradio

@antissa Just heard you resigned. Takes guts to do that - whatever the circumstances, good on you for standing up for what you believe in.

6hAntoun Issa ‏@antissa

@jessradio Thanks Jess

Speaking of placing politics over professionalism, isn't it rather unprofessional to cite a self-serving flagrant lie that suits Max's own narrative about Al-Akhbar's "sad decline," following his own equally unprofessional departure, staged as a principled stance, when we all know ? Antoun's departure, for the record, and I would like to see him dispute this, has absolutely nothing to do with politics. Whatsofuckingever. Why Max would just believe that is- however- very telling of his own deeply held prejudices. I mean, an Arab publication can only ever put politics ahead of professionalism, right? Why else would someone leave an Arab newspaper? Certainly not because Antoun was.... And of course, it wasn't because he..... None of that had anything to do with it. It was politics. Presumably Syria.   But why would Max seek out the facts before posting a tweet like that when he knows everything? The all-knowing white male.

Of course, if politics were behind Antoun's departure perhaps it should have been because of this (screen capture from his Facebook wall attached.)

If you choose to blog about this, please don't mention internal detail".

To Max Blumenthal and some Western reporters

How do I put this: while I was pissed at Al-Akhbar recently because they did not publish my article against Bashshar Al-Asad ("Tyrant, son of Tyrant"), I need to explain this to you once and for all.  Not everyone who leaves Al-Akhbar, and not everyone who is fired from Al-Akhbar, does so due to disagreements over Syrian conflict.  Do you know how ridiculous you sound when you assume that every person who leaves is due to political disagreements over Syria?? I say ridiculous because some of the reasons have absolutely nothing to do even with politics, for potato's sake.  I know it is the season to pose as martyrs or as champions of martyrs, especially that the martyrs list have gained the likes of Tlas brothers.  I am amused now that when anyone leaves Al-Akhbar, or is fired from Al-Akhbar, he/she receives Western notes of congratulations for his/her heroism and the "martyr" in question assumes the role and poses as martyr.  It is becoming funny, but not really.  And if you all are such guardians of professionalism in the Arabic press, why not a word about Saudi or Hariri media from you? Surely none of you would claim that Al-Akhbar is more unprofessional than Hariri and Saudi media. 

Now Hariri

I have often mocked the Lebanese "news site", Now Hariri.  It basically makes the National Inquirer respectable by comparison.  Here, they are posting a video that shows that Druzes are increasingly active in protests against the regime.  Watch the video.  I mean, do they know how ridiculous they are in their propaganda?

IKEA and images of women

A reader from Sweden sent me this:  "Swedish comedian Soran Ismail response to the deleting of images of women in the Ikea-catalogue in Saudi Arabia.

”That Ikea has been deleting images of women is nothing new. Here we can see how they have deleted images of every women in the European centralbanks committe”.

Gene Sharp in Swedish press

Ulf sent me this:  "This might be a treat for you. Its from the website from our biggest tabloid.
Well. I havent really read the article, because you have to be a member to do that (to read exclusive articles), but this is what it is about:
Under the headline: "His words overthrows dictators."

"Millions of books are published every year. In Sweden about 25 000. Most of them means nothing to humanity. Some of the books are worthy of a reading, some of them sells a lot of copies and a few becomes classics.  But books that are changing the lives of millions of people are easy to count.
Gene Sharp, 84, has written one of these books." (Obviously my translation. Even though I should have added: Gene Sharp, 84, white of course, has written one of these books.)"

Gaza under the rule of Hamas

"Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face "serious abuses" in the justice system, according to a report from pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW).  The violations included arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, torture, and unfair trials, HRW said.  The Gaza Strip has been governed by the Islamist movement, Hamas, since it seized power there in 2007.  Hamas's deputy foreign minister said the allegations were being investigated but that the situation had improved.  "Maybe we have some violations from time to time, but it is not a widespread phenomenon," Ghazi Hamad told the BBC." (thanks Kerim)

More on lozenges

Haytham sent me this:  "I looked up the etymology of the french "losange", and some do attribute it to the arabic word for almonds (and apparently the same goes for lasagna)."

Sadat and the strike on "centers of power"

It hit me yesterday while swimming.  Sadat's strike on "the [Nasserist] centers of power" shortly after assuming the presidency was an American operation through and through. 

When Harvard University alumni organize a conference on the "Arab spring"

You have to see this yourselves to chuckle.  I mean, if Arab potentates or if the remnants of the Mubarak regime were to organize a conference on the "Arab spring" they would really invite those same people.  You have to see the list of speakers and the financial sponsors.   And what will Fu'ad Sanyurah talk about? His alliance with the Mubarak and Bin Ali regime, or about his subservience to the House of Saud?  And will he be speaking as representative of the Arab youth?   Scandalous. (thanks Rana)

manufacturing of news: how the Saudi media feed Western media

I showed you previously the example of how a well-known Western reporter, Brian Whitaker, was copying rumors from a news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law.  Take the story of the death of a Hizbullah "commander"--he is a commander but no one in Lebanon or outside of Lebanon has ever heard of him.  So the Washington Post wrote a story days ago about how Hizbullah fighters are becoming more involved in the Syria conflict.  The reporter at least said that his source is "a Lebanese official" who belongs to the March 14 coalition.  I indicated that whenever you see this source, the reference is to the Saudi-Hariri tool, Ashraf Rifi (the director of Internal Security Forces, and the board member of Prince Nayif University for Security Sciences and Torture techniques) and sometimes to Wisam Hasan, who directs the Intelligence Branch (an outfit that serves Hariri family and Saudi intelligence and which receives external funding from Western intelligence agencies and Saudi intelligence).  Days after the story appeared, Ashraf Rifi (who used to be a bodyguard for Rafiq Hariri) "revealed" to the Saudi media (anonymously lest his cover be known which would make the story less reliable) that a Hizbullah commander died in Syria fighting and the evidence that there was a funeral for a Shi`ite fellow in Ba`albak.  So Western media picked that story and Reuters published a story citing the Hariri and Saudi media.  In turn, the Saudi media and Hariri media now cite the story but instead of citing themselves and their man, Rifi, they now cite the authority of Reuters.  There should be a course in Western journalism schools about those shoddy methods of journalism--I mean, propaganda, really.

PS This comment in no way addresses whether Hizbullah is involved in the fighting in Syria or not.  I have said it before and I say it again: all parties in Lebanon are involved in the Syria conflict for their own ends.

Albert Einstein on Israeli terrorism

(thanks Laleh)

King PlayStation PR disaster

The pictures of the King on his motorcycles have been circulating widely among Jordanians all day today.  The title says: "The Boy King: The King roam on his motorcycle and then his guards clash with journalists and beat them up."

Hamas selling Gaza to Qatari ruling dynasty

"Consultants have been invited to submit designs for a city to be named after Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa al-Thani." (thanks Electronic Ali)

Origins of capitalism

 
"Coal miners in Belgium (circa 1900) - ascend from the mine in a multi-platform elevator." (thanks Raed)

Iranian nuclear secrets with the West

Western and Saudi media were festive yesterday: they hailed the defection of a photographer in the Iranian delegation at the UN.  I am sure that the photographer possesses all the Iranian nuclear secrets.  An intelligence coup, really. 

The Quality of BBC News

Read this article of the BBC News.  It relies on the Washington Post report which relied last week on "one official allied to a political bloc opposed to Hezbollah".  In another section of the report, it relies on the sleazy and unreliable pro-Syrian regime newspaper, Ad-Diyar (a Lebanese version of Kuwaiti tabloids).

Zionists want a revolution

""The opposition demonstrations that took place in Iran in June 2009 will come back in even greater force," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in Israel's Haaretz newspaper.

"In my view, there's going to be an Iranian-style Tahrir revolution," he said, refering to last year's mass protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square that forced Mubarak to quit." (thanks Basim)

lozenges (II)

Edouard sent me this:  "asa'd that's a very interesting comment you made on lawazinaj..

The name is still used in homs and other parts of syria for a dessert made of sweetened almond paste and was in the form of diamonds (losange) but is now cut in rectangles. Hamasneh pronounce it loooziiinaaa لوزينا and they swallow the "j"

when I was a kid i always thought this a name invented by syrian pastry shops to build up on lawz but make it more western sounding, but no, it's much older..

see how it looks here".   So this is what Persians and Westerners refer to as marzipan.  In Lebanon, we call it Ka`k bi-l-lawz (or cookies with almonds).