Archive for January 1, 2006

نَعَى الديوان الملكي والدة الأمير هذلول بن سعود بن عبد العزيز، والتي توفيت أمس عن عمر يناهز 74 عاماWhen I read this news item about the death of the mother of Prince Hadhlul Bin Sa`ud Bin `Abdul-`Aziz, I knew that some of you may wonder about the word or name “hadhlul.” In fact, in old–very [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

The Saudi government has spent $70 billion to expand two holy mosques in Saudi Arabia. $70 billion. $70 billion.

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

Embedded propaganda: Hariri rag Al-Mustaqbal has this headline: “US troops treats an Iraqi child.”I stand corrected: the headline is “US treats an Iraqi child.” (All corrections do not clash with my proven infallibility, rest assured).

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

Muqtada As-Sadr is visiting Saudi Arabia; his second visit outside of Iraq since his 2003 visit to Iran. Will he meet with Sa`d Hariri there? Will another name be added to the payroll of House of Saud? We will know if he appears on Al-Arabiyya and claim that he also is a witness to Syrian [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

The Syrian regime can’t understand if all those things that are being said about Khaddam in Syria are true (and they are), this is quite damning of the regime itself. He was a vice-president and a major decision maker for more than 30 years. And the Hariri Inc can’t understand that Khaddam was never popular [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

The Isle of the Dead, 1880. Arnold Boecklin. (I have posted this before, of course, but this is of better quality).

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“In a series of studies culminating in their new book, “Electing to Fight,” the political scientists Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder argue that new democracies are often unstable and thus particularly warlike…Elihu Root, who’d been Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state, said in 1917: “To be safe, democracy must kill its enemy when it can [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

Have you seen the debate between Chomsky and Dershowitz? Answer me, damn it. I am talking to you. Well, anyway, I read it. And like I had heard, Chomsky was disappointing. One thing is clear: notice that Chomsky is always keen to cite only Israeli Jewish sources. Does he believe that Arab sources are not [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“Iraqi Civil War? Some Experts Say It’s Arrived: The full extent of the conflict is veiled by the presence of U.S. troops, says one, but Americans’ premature exit could lead to far worse strife.”

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

Al-Walid Bin Talal asks for forgiveness: “ Subject reopened. The money was returned to you. Have you told Harvard, as you told the City of New York, that the U.S. needs to “adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause”? Let me tell you my position. We need to have good relations between the [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“I had been working in Qatar for a Lebanese family for two years and two months, but had not been paid a penny. When I told my employer I would complain to the police, she immediately took me to the police. I was detained for three days before they brought me to prison. I have [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“Israel and Egypt are in late negotiation stages to bring 150 Egyptian workers to shore up foreign worker manpower at moshavim in the Nitzana area”

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“Other papers released Sunday show that Churchill favored letting the Indian peace campaigner Mahatma Gandhi die if he went on a hunger strike while interned during World War II.”

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad

“Recent reports in the German media suggest that the United States may be preparing its allies for an imminent military strike against facilities that are part of Iran’s suspected clandestine nuclear weapons program.” (I personally don’t believe it. I believe that, given the mess in Iraq which will not get less messy, the US will [...]

Posted on January 1, 2006 by As'ad