Archive for December 17, 2005

To his credit. Ilyas Hrawi may have been one of the most corrupt and most incompetent person to ever occupy the presidency of Lebanon, perhaps with the exception of Sulayman Frajiyyah. But to his credit, he really tried to pass a law that would finally permit civil marriages in Lebanon. Both Nabih Birri and Rafiq [...]

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

Robert Fisk, is that YOU? Is it really you? Robert Fisk on Lebanon. Thanks to all who sent me the recent articles by Robert Fisk on Lebanon. But I am still waiting for the smoothie. I still can’t believe how predictable and mundane Fisk articles have become on Lebanon. Ever since the Hariri assassination, and [...]

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

A Village (from Maqamat Al-Hariri manuscript).

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

“William Proxmire”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

“The Decline of the American Empire”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

Lebanonese nationalists don’t know how ridiculous they sound when they brag about their “great Lebanon” to the outside world. And that I find most amusing. Keep it up, Lebanonese nationalists. Keep it up. Tell me more, about the Hummus homeland.

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

This should be a huge media scandal. But it is not; and it will not be. “The New York Times’ revelation yesterday that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct domestic eavesdropping raised eyebrows in political and media circles, for both its stunning disclosures and the circumstances of its publication. In an unusual [...]

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

Brave Women: “Fights broke out in the northern Nigerian city of Kano this week after women defied a ban under Islamic law forbidding men and women to travel together on “indecent” public transport.”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

“So, just who is Christian Bailey?A 30-year-old Oxford graduate with no public relations experience has been handed a $100m contract by the Pentagon – to plant false stories in Iraqi papers.”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

For those who have access to Fisk’s articles in the Independent, would you kindly send me the last three articles he wrote on Lebanon? Thanks. Oh, and a smoothie too.

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

Maids of the World, Unite. “Anti-globalisation protests in Hong Kong have brought to the fore a new radical force in Asian politics – the territory’s 200,000-strong army of maids. Fed up with abusive employers, restrictive immigration laws and cuts in their minimum wage since the Asian financial crisis, foreign domestic workers, as they are officially [...]

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

The Real Bush’s Doctrine: to Bring Religious Governance to the Middle East. “Hamas deals blow to Fatah in local elections.”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

Lessons for Lebanon: “South Africa allowed too many human rights abusers from the apartheid era to escape justice, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said yesterday, marking 10 years since the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

“The US is now rediscovering the pitfalls of aspirational imperialism: Bush’s desire to implant western-style democracy in Iraq is profoundly reminiscent of past British imperial practice”

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

I am not making this up. The US decries Iranian interference in Iraq while “US calls for sacking of Iraq’s interior minister”.

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

This is how you know that democracy has come to Yemen. Four of the sons of the Yemeni Speaker of parliament, `Abdullah Al-Ahmar–who keeps a jail in his house–, are deputies in parliament.

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad

If I am not mistaken, Nayla Mu`awwad has registered her foundation, the Rene Mu`awwad Foundation, as a non-profit charitable foundation here in the US. As such, she receives tax-exempt donations. She raised $2 million in one evening in DC last month, in an evening attended by famous philanthropist, Paul Wolfowitz. But as of late, the [...]

Posted on December 17, 2005 by As'ad