Archive for April 15, 2006
To my friends in Lebanon: has any of you seen the Che Guevara play showing now in Beirut (in case it will not be showing when I visit in June?)
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Legal Gender Discrimination: “Employers can set different dress codes and grooming standards for women than for men, as long as the rules aren’t burdensome or based on sex stereotypes, a federal appeals court decided Friday in the case of a female casino bartender who was fired for refusing to wear makeup.”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“The Great Quake: 1906-2006: The Army forced looters to wear signs proclaiming their deeds. Military troops readily enforced Mayor Eugene Schmitz’s declaration of martial law, even though it had no legal standing. Photo courtesy of the Oakland Museum of California, 1906″
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
This is a brilliant little article by Zizek: “The Liberal Communists of Porto Davos”“Charity today is the humanitarian mask that hides the underlying economic exploitation. In a blackmail of gigantic proportions, the developed countries are constantly “helping†the undeveloped (with aid, credits, etc.), thereby avoiding the key issue, namely, their complicity in and co-responsibility for [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
One of the few Lebanese right-wing war criminals to engage in self-criticism and self-examination, is the former head of the security apparatus of the Lebanese Forces (under the command of Sabra and Shatila war criminal, Elie Hubayqah (revived in the 1990s by the Syrian regime, especially by `Abdul Halim Khaddam and Rafiq Hariri who put [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“”Nothing gringo,” warns the rallying cry of Mexican activists calling for a boycott of all US businesses south of the border on May 1.”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
This is the actual headline from the London Times: “US plots ‘new liberation of Baghdad’”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“Now, the State Department in Washington has joined forces with American industry to plan an image make-over by issuing guides for Americans travelling overseas on how to behave.”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“The U.S. military has spent only 40% of the $7 billion appropriated in 2005 for the training of security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top Pentagon priority that is a linchpin for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
In his important book, la fascination de l’islam, Maxim Rodinson talked about “theologocenrism”: the Western school of thought that attributes all observable phenomena among Muslims to matters of Muslim theology. This LA Times’ article explains Iranian foreign policy by reference to…the eagerness for the return of the 12th Imam!!
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Clashes between Copts and Muslims in Egypt. This only proves my theory: that civil war looms over countries where Bush’s doctrine appears.
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“Raising chickens has always been women’s work in Afghanistan, and in the past several years this backyard occupation has brought new independence and income to thousands of illiterate war widows who have few other ways to earn a living. So when avian flu was detected here six months ago, and several cases of its virulent [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
“Here’s what we know now. Under TIRANNT, Army and U.S. Central Command planners have been examining both near-term and out-year scenarios for war with Iran, including all aspects of a major combat operation, from mobilization and deployment of forces through postwar stability operations after regime change.”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
To the glee of West and UN: “Gaza on brink of implosion as aid cut-off starts to bite”
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
The producer of the documentary, Iraq in Fragments, gave me the pre-release DVD with some hesitation. I felt that–after listening to my critique of Paradise Now in Seattle–he did not look forward to a blasting posting on it on my site. And I did not get to watch it until today. I was most impressed [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Would somebody with subscription to Foreign Policy kindly send me Inside the Ivory Tower article? Thanks.
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Whenever the star of the Lebanonese “democratic” movement, Walid Jumblat, feels the need to boost the momentum of the March 14th movement, he visits the champion of democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia. Here, Jumblat also offered his apologies for remarks he had made about Saudi policy in Lebanon. King `Abdullah accepted the apology, [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Hummus keeps hitting the Fan in Lebanon: Men loyal to Lebanese Forces right-wing sectarian Christian militia clashed with men loyal to SSNP in Jibrayil, `Akkar. Several men were injured. The Lebanese Army had to intervene.
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
I never am of the view that “democracy” is the priority for the Middle East or anywhere else for that matter, especially the version of “democracy” that Bush, World Bank, Annan, Western academia, and TV have in mind. More than that: I argue that democracy, after the end of the Cold War, and US global [...]
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad
Seurat, Georges, Le Pont de Courbevoie, 1886-87.
Posted on April 15, 2006 by As'ad