Gene Sharp: whatever happened to the New York Times theory that he inspired the Arab uprisings?

Do you remember all those articles in the Western press back in 2011 and even 2012 about how this pacifist American inspired the Arab youth? No one is peddling that theory anymore.  Unless it was Gene Sharp who inspired Al-Julani and Baghdadi.

Regarding the citation by Netanyahu of my characterization of the aims of BDS

Regarding this statement by Netanyahu: "Netanyahu cited what he called "one of the leaders" of BDS as stating that its real aim was "to bring down the State of Israel"."  A reader remembered that I first said it in response to a question at the University of Edinburgh and that I was making it clear it was about how BDS should define its goals. But I found this this passage that I had written for Al-Akhbar (more recent): "4) Finkelstein rightly asks whether the real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel. Here, I agree with him that it is. That should be stated as an unambiguous goal. There should not be any equivocation on the subject. Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel." But even here I am making it clear that it is about how BDS should be and not about how it is now. I meant that FOR ME, BDS is about ending the Zionist occupation of Palestine completely.   This means that Netanyahu reads Al-Akhbar. 

U.S. fueled the rise of ISIS in Syria & Iraq

"Reports were cited that MI6 had cooperated with the CIA on a “rat line” of arms transfers from Libyan stockpiles to the Syrian rebels in 2012 after the fall of the Gaddafi regime." "In stark contrast to western claims at the time, the Defense Intelligence Agency document identifies al-Qaida in Iraq (which became Isis) and fellow Salafists as the “major forces driving the insurgency in Syria” – and states that “western countries, the Gulf states and Turkey” were supporting the opposition’s efforts to take control of eastern Syria." "A year into the Syrian rebellion, the US and its allies weren’t only supporting and arming an opposition they knew to be dominated by extreme sectarian groups; they were prepared to countenance the creation of some sort of “Islamic state” – despite the “grave danger” to Iraq’s unity – as a Sunni buffer to weaken Syria."

Ban Ki-moon made it official: Israel can kill children and get away with it, he says

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has caved in to pressure from Israel and the United States and taken the Israeli military off an official list of serious violators of children’s rights, in this year’s report on children in armed conflict."

British intelligence were supporting terrorists

"The prosecution of a Swedish national accused of terrorist activities in Syria has collapsed at the Old Bailey after it became clear Britain’s security and intelligence agencies would have been deeply embarrassed had a trial gone ahead, the Guardian can reveal. His lawyers argued that British intelligence agencies were supporting the same Syrian opposition groups as he was, and were party to a secret operation providing weapons and non-lethal help to the groups, including the Free Syrian Army." (thanks Amir)

Rand Corporation and the two-state non-solution

Regarding the Rand Corporation study about the $173 billion flowing to the two-states. Who are you fooling? This is an old classic Zionist ploy to push Palestinians to surrender to Zionism. This is very much like the section in Theordor Herzl's Altneuland in which the Arab character explains in the novel why he is supporting Zionism and the Jewish state and invokes the profit motive.  This is like the American promise to the Egyptian people that once they have peace with Israel they will become affluent and their standards of living will rise sharply.  Of course, Egypt did much better overall when it was in a state of war with Israel in the 1960s.  As if in an apartheid state like Israel, benefits are spread equally regardless of ethnicity and religion. 

Saudi and Qatari regimes

I look at Saudi regime media and I find that Erdogan was humiliatingly defeated in the parliamentary elections. I look at Qatari regime media and I find that Erdogan won big in the elections. Where do I go?

This is a series: how dumb is Saeb Erekat?

"Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, praised the decision and said it “sends a clear message to Israel that its policies of colonization are null and void.”"

An intimate meeting between Iraqi prime minister and Obama

Netanyahu lies in citing something I said about BDS

"Netanyahu cited what he called "one of the leaders" of BDS as stating that its real aim was "to bring down the State of Israel"."  This has become a standard lie by Israeli and Zionist propaganda. They allege that I have said that the real aim of BDS is to "bring down the state of Israel".  I never said such a thing.  I said (either at Oxford University or at the University of Edinburgh--I am not sure but the Zionist spies can check their notes) in an answer to a question about the criticisms of BDS by Norman Finkelstein that BDS does not have a position on the one-state or the two-states and I added that: "the real aim of BDS SHOULD BE (I never said "is") to bring down the state of Israel".  That statement was distorted to make me say that the real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel, which isn't true, and I wish if it were true. 

Muhammad bin Salman

This article represents serious US government and some Saudi princes' concern over the carelessness and rashness of the young prince.

Palestinian female cab driver in Syria

Notice shift in US policy: US media does not consider Al-Qa`idah in Syria to be hard-line

From Basim: "Nusrah are no longer hardline extremists themselves?:

Nusra Front are rivals of the ultra hardline Sunni militants of Islamic State who also expanded their presence after taking control of the central city of Palmyra last month. "

CIA Director admits U.S. foreign policy causes retaliation against the U.S.

"So Brennan well understands that our foreign policy causes attacks against Americans. And our legal code specifies that attempting to retaliate against U.S. actions is what makes you a terrorist. Nonetheless, this obvious reality is almost never said out loud by government officials."

US has 11 non-secret military bases in Africa

"In all, AFRICOM now has access to 11 cooperative security locations across Africa,"

When Saudi king participated in the ritual of washing the Ka`bah

HRW

It is amazing if you judge at least by the tweets of the director of Human Rights Watch the extent to which this organization does not care about civilian victims of bombing by Syrian rebel groups (other than ISIS--although even their statements about ISIS bombings are mild).

Not in the US press: US is officially supporting Al-Qa`idah branch in Syria

None of the Western correspondents wrote or will write about this: the so-called Western-GCC coalition is now officially and strongly supporting Nusrah Front in its war with ISIS and rival factions.  So the US supports the official Al-Qa`idah and not its offshoots. If only the US public knows.

How the UN defines human rights

"Saudi Arabia has hosted an international conference on human rights, attended by the president of the UN Human Rights Council, and resolved to combat intolerance and violence based on religious belief."

The FBI and the hatching of terror plots

"There's an organization responsible for more terrorism plots in the United States than al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ISIS combined: The FBI."

Barrel bombs

It is grotesque that those who feign outrage over barrel bombs by the Syrian regime either cheered the use of barrel bombs by the Lebanese Army during the massacre of Nahr Al-Barid, or were silent.  One has to condemn all barrel bombs, fighter jet bombs, "artillery of hell" bombs, indiscriminate shelling, and the whole festival of blood in Syria. All those deserve condemnation.

shot 22 people in all, including 17 women and children

"The US soldier who murdered 16 villagers in Afghanistan, including seven children, in 2012 says he had lost compassion for Iraqis and Afghans over the course of his four combat deployments." "Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Washington, shot 22 people in all, including 17 women and children, during pre-dawn raids on two villages in Kandahar Province in March 2012." (thanks Amir)

How the US treats its puppets

Watch the Iraqi prime minister of sectarianism and US occupation.

Qatari regime openly supports ISIS and Nusrah

This article in Al-Quds Al-Arabia (one of the most grotesque voices of sectarian agitation in the region) openly calls for support for Nusrah and ISIS.

Moroccan Regime TV unleashes witchhunts against gays

From "Ibn Rushd":  "[Moroccan] National TV outed these gays which led to the witchhunt in this video".  Can you imagine the international uproar if this were in Iran?

Nasser interviewed by New York Times in 1969

When you watch this interview with Nasser from 1969, you may reach those conclusions: 1) his English is much better than the English of Arab leaders who studied in the West. 2) It is amazing how self-assured he was and how he never engage in the clowning and buffoonery of Arafat or Sadat, or in the desperate attempt to please Westerners as you see in all interviews with Arab leaders (especially but not exclusively Bashshar Al-Asad and King Youtube of Jordan). 3) Disturbingly, you see in this interview how much Nasser accepted the idea of peace with Israel.  Now I see why Palestinian resistance groups were all opposed to him at the time of his death.  

Correction

I received several corrections from people inside the Lebanese Communist Party and from outside it: the fighters of the Lebanese Communist Party shown in the pictures (from yesterday) are in villages on the Lebanese-Syrian borders and not in Al-Qalamun.  I stand corrected.

American exceptionalism

"The US is the only industrialised country where employers are not required to provide paid vacation." (thanks Marc)

Sisi is officially losing his mind

He says that he is a doctor and that everyone in the world, including philosophers, are saying that.  He can offer diagnoses and cures to all problems.

Mark Zuckerberg is reading Ibn Khaldun? Not quite.

I have written before about the need for a new English translation of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah.  You can't read the devastating and most damning critique by A.L.Tibawi and accept the reliability of the translation by the Yale Orientalist, Franz Rosenthal.  I was reminded yet again with the news that Zuckerberg is reading Al-Muqaddimah.  Tibawi illustrated that Rosenthal failed to understand key terms and meanings in the Muqaddimah in his translation (see his book, Arabic and Islamic Themes).  So Zuckerberg is reading a mistranslation of the Muqaddimah.  Ibn Khaldun, of course, has long been favored by rightwingers in capitalist countries because he wrote that lower taxation increases incentives for productivity and prosperity.  Even Ronald Reagan cited Ibn Khaldun.

Mimicking Israeli's blockade of Gaza, Saudi-led naval blockade leaves 20m Yemenis facing humanitarian disaster

"Twenty million Yemenis, nearly 80% of the population, are in urgent need of food, water and medical aid, in a humanitarian disaster that aid agencies say has been dramatically worsened by a naval blockade imposed by an Arab coalition with US and British backing."

Israeli companies profit from killing the Palestinians

"Feldman’s film argues that the Palestinian territories are the “lab” where Israel uses its weaponry. Israeli companies profit from war because their products are “tested” on Palestinians, Feldman argued — particularly the residents of Gaza."

The long Saudi-Israeli honeymoon

"Since the beginning of 2014, representatives from Israel and Saudi Arabia have had five secret meetings to discuss a common foe, Iran. On Thursday, the two countries came out of the closet by revealing this covert diplomacy at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington."

Retired Saudi general, Anwar Eshki

"Hirschfeld said that in this session, Al-Eshki elaborated on some ideas he had raised previously about stabilizing Gaza and turning Hamas into a strictly political movement."

For those who can read Arabic

This satirical image of the Sisi visit to Germany has been cracking me up for the last four days.  I can't look at it and not laugh out loud.  Did I not tell you that no people are more skilled in satirizing their rulers than the Egyptians?

Isarel is exempt

"Whereas other Middle Eastern states are sanctioned - even attacked and invaded - for possessing or pursuing WMDs (or simply being accused of pursuing them), Israel is exempt." (thanks Amir)

Mohamed Fahmy is shocked: he had no idea. He feels duped

Mohamed Fahmy, the former bureau chief of Aljazeera English in Cairo. Here, he is expressing his shock.  You see Fahmy, had no idea that the Qatari regime exercises such control over...Qatari media. You see, Fahmy, all along assumed that Qatar is a flourishing democracy and that Qatari media are allowed full independence and freedom.  Fahmy is heartbroken because he discovered otherwise.  When Fahmy served as bureau chief for Aljazeera, he thought that Qatari media are independent of the Qatari regime.  And notice that he here faults Aljazeera for violating repression rules of Sisi.  I am the last one to defend Aljazeera these days but come on. What is that scene in Casablanca about gambling?

Who do people in Saudi Arabia consider to be the enemy?

 
The New York Times yesterday (see the post from the blog) published a silly article about a silly unscientific survey conducted "quietly" by an Israeli think tank of people in Saudi Arabia in which a majority considered Iran and not Israel to be the enemy.  Now this is a more serious survey conducted by the Doha-based Arab Center.  In it, 40% of respondents consider Israel to be the enemy (or--to use the language of the survey--"the states that pose the most threats to the security of the Arab homeland"), while 20% considered Iran to be the enemy (while 11% considered the US to be the enemy).

Military-grade explosive

"The Interior Ministry identified the bomber in the most recent blast as 19-year-old Khalid Ayed Mohammed Wahabi Shammari. He disguised himself as a woman and blew himself up in the mosque parking lot after being prevented from getting inside." "The explosive used in that attack was RDX, a military-grade compound that was also deployed in the al-Qudeeh bombing." (thanks Amir) 

Lebanese communists are fighting alongside Hizbullah in Qalamun

 

Today, it was revealed for the first time that Lebanese Communist Party fighters (seen above) have been fighting with Hizbullah in Qalamun.  

The chair of Angela Merkel versus the chairs of Arab potentates

Steve Kerr versus David Platt: Israel in US sports

I don't follow American sports (or Arab sports for that matter), but Michele is an avid sports watcher. She was telling me about the US media celebration of the Israeli soldier, David Platt, although the man makes his loyalty to Israel very clear.  She also knows of my love and admiration for the late Malcolm Kerr and his widow, Ann.  US media have been celebrating David Platt's service in the Israeli terrorist army.  The New York Times cites this: "an American-Israeli who served in the Israeli Defense Forces and is on a first-name basis with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu".  The paper also makes the loss of Steve Kerr who lost his father when he was in college equal to the loss of Platt because the latter's parents divorced.  Anything to generate sympathy for an Israeli in this lousy paper.  

PS Steve Kerr was born in Beirut and speaks Arabic, by the way.  He also was heckled during his days at Arizona State when Zionist hoodlums would chant "PLO.PLO" when he played.  

This is a "quiet" Israeli survey of Saudi public

"An Israeli college has quietly conducted an opinion poll in Saudi Arabia, concluding that the Saudi public is far more concerned about the threats of Iran and the Islamic State group than Israel, and that the vast majority of Saudis support a decade-old peace offer to the Jewish state."  I am sure that the quiet survey adhered to high methodological standards and that the sample was randomly selected and the questions were not leading.  I 

You have to watch this: Sisi clowns engage in dialogue with Green Party of Germany

Saudi regime's strategic thinker, Anwar Eshki

"He got his PhD in law from prestigious Golden Gate University California, U.S.A."