Emperor Fadlo and his alleged abuses of power at AUB

He is now being referred to as emperor.  He sent armed goons to break a strike by graduate students.  He is accumulating abuses of power in his region. This page chronicles his (alleged) abuses.

Report: ISIS, Israel temporary allies

"A new report suggests that in the narrow arena of confronting Iran’s presence in Syria, ISIS and Israel’s interests may temporarily converge, which in a way makes them allies."

ISIS's goal is not to harm Israel

" "Israel, too, has a finger on the pulse, due to the fact that there have already been a few Israeli Arabs who joined ISIS. At this stage, however, ISIS’s real desire is to harm other targets - not Israel and Jews," concluded Dr. Manor."

Israeli International Hariri Court in the Hague

Marc asked me to report about the developments in that Israeli court about the Hariri assassination.  I am here to report that the court is still making progress--as much as the US is making progress in Afghanistan.

Nicholas Kristof wants war

"It’s important to stop North Korea from the final testing needed to be confident of its ability to strike the U.S.)"

Media erase NATO role in bringing slave markets to Libya

"Corporate media, however, have largely forgotten about the key role NATO played in destroying Libya’s government, destabilizing the country and empowering human traffickers." (thanks Amir)

The most difficult language for English speakers

"Category V: 88 weeks (2200 hours)

Languages which are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers

Arabic

Cantonese (Chinese)

Mandarin (Chinese)

*Japanese

Korean

* Usually more difficult than other languages in the same category." (thanks Julie)

Like Obama before him, Trump is spreading democracy in the Middle East

Genieve Abdo, from the platform of the Saudi lobby: She basically says that many in Iran really likes Saudi regime and its foreign policies--and that Iran cooperates with Bin Laden

Watch here.  Ms. Abdo is the author of the worst book I read this year, by far.  (The New Sectarianism).  

Dawud Al-Shiryan: the new head of Saudi TV and radio broadcasting

Back in 2008, Shiryan wrote an article against me titled "The End of a Courageous Writer", because I had dared to criticize Prince Khalid bin Sultan.

Can you imagine reading this propaganda in US media about Syrian or Iranian regime?

This is about Saudi Arabia: ""In fact, the authorities are increasing the scope of freedom in this show... to release the valve for public frustration.""

Cheap and crude Mossad propaganda in Vanity Fair

Look at this piece.  There is such an effort to invent substantial Mossad achievements to the point where the article had to go back to the smuggling of the Khrushchev's secret speech of 1956.  And the "discovery" of the laptop bomb seems really fishy, and based entirely on Israeli Mossad claims.  

If Nasrallah wins the presidential election in Honduras

Can the US really handle two Nasrallahs on the world stage?  And what would the Saudi regime do with two Nasrallah posing threats to its global right-wing fanatic agenda?

How many mistakes can one article in the Washington Post on Lebanon and Hizbullah have?

"1. Hezbollah has 13 parliamentary members, two of whom act as ministers.
2. The Israeli occupation started in 1982. 3. There was no offensive in the Lebanese coastal town Qalamoun. The offensives took place in Arsal and Ras Baalbek."

Western singing comes to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Festival against Terrorism

1) Notice that the only way Saudi regime really combats terrorism is through conferences, meetings, committees, workshops and festival.  That is it.
2) In the speech by Muhammad bin Salman, he noted the recent victories against terrorism in the region but he was not specific about time and place. How could he. He would not be able to be specific about victories against ISIS at the hands of his foes and enemies in the region.  If anything, his regime and other GCC regimes were on the other side of the battle.
3) the list of the Saudi coalition against terrorism includes the name of Qatar, when the Saudi regime listed Qatar as a terrorist state.

US wealth and the population

From Eyal: "False: "Half of U.S. wealth is controlled by 25 billionaires"

True: "Wealth equivalent of 50% of U.S. population is controlled by 3 billionaires".. since the lower half of the population does not own half the wealth. Come on, As'ad.  Also, the 25 billionaires hold the equivalent of the bottom 56%'s worth (not 50%)."

Mecca at the time of the Prophet

Muhammad bin Salman told Thomas Freedman (who nodded his head as he does with Gulf rulers) that there were "musical theaters" at the time of the Prophet.  In fact, according to the early Muslim sources, there was Uber service in Mecca at the time of the Prophet.

Reverse reading of Lebanese politics

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Reverse Reading of Lebanese politics: When Sa`d Hariri Became a national Leader".

The UN Secretary-general: who does he work for?

Guterres said in the report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Friday that allegations of arms transfers to Hezbollah continue "on a regular basis," which the U.N. takes seriously. But it "is not in a position to substantiate them independently, he said. Guterres said Israel informed UNIFIL of the alleged presence of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in three specific locations in that zone, which the U.N. force closely monitored, including by aerial reconnaissance, satellite imagery and patrols. But he said "no evidence to confirm the allegations was established.” (thanks Basim)

Israel was planning assassinations in Lebanon: not in the Western press

Lebanese intelligence apparatus, the Security of the State Apparatus, today arrested Lebanese actor and writer, Ziad Itani, and accused him of spying for the Israeli state.  The details say that he confessed about his contacts and that recent missions were for the assassinations of Nuhad Mahsnuq (Minister of Interior) and former minister, `Abdul-Rahim Murad. Among his missions, according to Lebanese media, was to spread the "culture of normalization" in Lebanon.

Are "Israeli Arabs" really proud of being Israeli?

Look at this contradiction in this poll. On the one hand: "60% of Israeli Arabs say they are 'proud' to be Israeli, poll shows".  Yet, "Some 46% identified as Israeli Arabs and 42% identified as Palestinian Arabs, while only 3% identified as Israelis." Something is very fishy about this silly poll.

Thomas Friedman visits Saudi Arabia for a few hours and he learns so much there

This is happening with increasing regularity: Westerners visit Saudi Arabia and come back telling us that Saudis are thrilled over their despot.  This is like those media tour that Nazis gave in the 1930s in which they conveyed that Jews are fine in Germany under Hitler.  Those who report that Saudis love their despot: do they know that you would go to jail if you disapprove of the ruler? If you don't express support for the ruler you can go to jail. Even princes (cousins of the ruler) who disapproved even mildly of the new ruler, went to jail on charges of corruption.  As for Thomas Friedman: remember after Sep. 11 when Friedman also visited Saudi Arabia and expressed great excitement over the "reforms" of Crown Prince Abdullah?  Or when Barbara Walters reported that Abdullah is such a reformist and modern that he watches 4 TV screens at the same time.

47 million Turkeys are slaughtered on Thanksgiving

47 million Turkeys are slaughtered annually on Thanksgiving.  Yet, when Muslims slaughter 2 million or so sheep on the Hajj, many Westerners express outrage over the slaughter.

Ben Hubbard reporting on Lebanon: Saudi regime propaganda

When Saudi regime summoned Hariri and detained him, they fabricated a threat to his life (while all politically divergent Lebanese security services denied that there was any threat to his life).  In fact, Ben Hubbard, dutifully described Saudi summon to Hariri as "he fled to Riyadh", for his safety.  Whatever happened to the threat to his life?  How come it is now suddenly safe for him to return to Lebanon and to even address crowds from an open window?

My story with Lebanese PSP Union Leader

This is a true story of my days at American University of Beirut when I was involved with a strike of the janitors.  As we were preparing for the strike day, I was contacted by the leader of the Union of workers and employees at the university, who it turned out was a leader in the Progressive Socialist Party (call it Jumblat Party).  He wanted to dissuade me.  The dogmatic fanatic leftist that I was, would not be dissuaded, of course.  

Amazon's special cloud services

"Amazon Web Services on Monday introduced cloud service for the CIA and other members of the U.S. intelligence community."

60 Minutes ignores Washington's role in Yemen Carnage

"American complicity in the war is so broad in scope, it merited a warning last year from the US’s own State Department they could be liable for war crimes—yet it hardly merits a mention in major media accounts. The war just is, a collective moral failing on the part of “all parties”—irrational sectarian Muslims lost in a pat “cycle of violence” caricature." (thanks Amir)

Joseph Massad interviewed by Max Blumenthal

Click here not here.

White Helmets organization expresses gratitude toward the Saudi government of the servitor of the two holy sites

Stupid and racist New York Times claims that flirting "is relatively new" in China

They changed the article and removed the sentence.  In its earlier version, the article claimed that "flirting is relatively new" in China. How dumb are those US newspaper when they cover the world?

New York Times publishes a fake quotation by Hassan Rouhani

Look at this passage: "The Iranians themselves are clear about how they view the region: “No decisive actions can be taken in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Africa and the Gulf region without Iran’s consent,” Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, reportedly boasted last month. "  You know where the source takes you? To an article by former news director for Hariri media, who published it in a Saudi regime newspaper.  This distortion of Rouhani statement was first cooked by Saudi regime media and then adopted and circulated by all loyal pro-Saudi regime media propagandists in the region.  Actually, what Rouhani (who I detest) actually said was: no decisive decisions can be taken without taking Iranian stance into consideration.  But, hey: propaganda trumps news and facts.

Israeli by BBC standards

According to BBC, Israel is so peaceful and non-interventionist in the Middle East.  (thanks Basim)

Nobel committee

"The party said last week its controversial former leader Carl I Hagen, a vocal opponent of immigration who has also attacked Muslims, gay people and single mothers and called for Norway’s withdrawal from international human rights treaties, would be taking the Nobel committee seat it was entitled to." "In his 2007 book, Honestly Speaking, Hagen wrote of relations between ethnic Norwegians and the country’s Muslim community: “Freedom of expression is subordinate to the warlord, rapist and woman trafficker Muhammad.” "

Half of U.S. wealth is controlled by 25 billionaires

"The three wealthiest people in the United States — Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett — now own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the American population combined, a total of 160 million people or 63 million households." "America’s top 25 billionaires — a group the size of a major league baseball team’s active roster — together hold $1 trillion in wealth. These 25 have as much wealth as 56 percent of the population, a total 178 million people or 70 million households." (thanks Amir)

The Hashtag "Against the House of Saudi" was number one on twitter in the Arab world

#ضد_آل_سعود

The man to the left is the secretary-general of the Arab League. You can imagine how much he speaks for Arab peoples.

Western democracy advocates seated around the Bahrain Foreign Minister. But human rights was discussed.

Hariri sought asylum in Jordan, according to the Times

“Mr. Hariri reached out to Jordan with a request to go to Amman as a safe haven, a Western official said. The request was denied, the official said, because the Saudis had pressured Jordan not to accept him.”

PS Why would the Times bury this major story at the end of the article and not even place in the headline?

Hariri in Paris

He met with a Lebanese media delegation.  My media source (represented) about the meeting: they left with the impression that he was not free--neither in Saudi nor in Paris.  He pleaded that they don't ask him about his stay in Riyadh.  Interestingly, unlike the propaganda interview in Riyadh, he didn't state that he was free or that he was in Saudi Arabia "reflecting" or "consulting".  My source (a well-known media executive in Beirut) confirmed from Hariri guards that as soon as he arrived in Riyadh he was stripped of his cellphones.  Curiously, one of the people in Hariri entourage who is now suspected by Hariri family of being more loyal to Saudi regime than to Hariri attended the session with the media delegation.  

Saudi Arabia: from family rule to the rule of one man

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "From the rule of the family to the one-man rule: The Saudi Dictator".

Did Bill Gates actually thank the Saudi regime for its philanthropic work in Yemen?

All Saudi regime media claimed yesterday that Bill Gates in his visit to Saudi Arabia actually thanked the Saudi government for its humanitarian work in Yemen. Kid you not. But something happened: Saudi Gazette had to change its headline (which said that "Gates praised Saudi humanitarian work in Yemen") and the content of its story clearly after receiving a complaint from Gates.  If you google Bill Gates and Yemen you can still see the false original headline of the story.

Not in defense of Mugabe but...

I would like to remember the Robert Mugabe I knew (from afar) as I was growing up.  Robert Mugabe has an appeal not that different from that of Nelson Mandela for my leftist generation in the Middle East.  Mugabe was a brilliant student who persevered in a grotesque racist system of white minority rule in Rhodesia.  People have forgotten by now the nastiness of the regime of Ian Smith and how it was sponsored by Western government.  After completing his education in many fields and adding to it through correspondence education, Mugabe led the movement of ZANU. This is the Mugabe that I remember: the principled and defiant leader of liberation struggle who supported Arab struggle for independence and who supported Palestinian resistance (and received aid from it too).  Mugabe is a man who led the struggle for independence against two evil twin system of colonization: local and external.  This was all before Mugabe became a leader of a country--not a virtuous or able leader but a leader nevertheless.  Yet, the Western media coverage of the man was more like a caricature of him: and don't sell me the fake notions of Western outrage agent his tyranny: Western leaders go one-by-one and prostrate, literally, before every Gulf despot and you think that you rhetoric of outrage against Mugabe will stick?  You think that corruption of the Mugabe is worse than the corruption of US puppet deposit in the Middle East region?  Mugabe also championed the poor and was adamant about health care for all in Zimbabwe when 40 million remain without health care in the US.  But the nasty (and disproportionate) Western media coverage of Mugabe is partly directed against his measures against white settlers who sole lands that didnot belong to him. He was not "magnanimous" like Mandela who was more than happy to apply pure unjust Western capitalism in South Africa.  

Hariri is free but...

Did you see world news agencies? They are reporting that Muhammad bin Salman has told the French president that Saad Hariri has agreed to leave for France. The question is: why does Bin Salman have to speak on behalf of Hariri? Is he a minor now?

The humiliation of Masoud Barazani

The humiliation of Masoud Barazani in the winter of his political career is a good deserved lesson to any despot, za`im, demagogue, potentate, or tribal leader in the Middle East who relies on Israel and US Zionists for the fulfillment of his political ambitions.  Lesson well-learned.