Archive for March 8, 2007
“LONG accustomed to being pilloried at home as an American stooge, Pakistan’s president, General Pervez Musharraf, is also getting used to American criticism that he is not stooge-like enough.”
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
“Israel Defense Forces soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian girl as a “human shield” during an operation against militants in the West Bank town of Nablus last week, an Israeli human rights group said on Thursday.”
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
“Preparations for Israel’s war in Lebanon last summer were drawn up at least four months before two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hizbullah in July, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, has admitted.His submission to a commission of inquiry, leaked yesterday, contradicted the impression at the time that Israel was provoked into a battle for which [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
The largest Shi`ite sectarian bloc in the Iraqi puppet parliament criticized `Amr Musa yesterday. Now, I have never been a fan of Musa. But this bloc criticized Musa because he dared to call for a timetable for the withdrawal of US occupation troops from Iraq. The bloc said that Iraq’s sovereignty requires the preservation of [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Priorities of the Muslim Brotherhood. I expressed my contempt for the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood a few days ago. Today, they made strong statements against the Jordanian government. They said that the government is 1) neglecting the Arabic language in some official functions; 2) encouraging students to gravitate toward pornographic websites. These are the worries of [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Bashshar Al-Asad driving the new Syrian-Iranian car, Sham, yesterday. Two Syrian political prisoners were beaten and put in the trunk.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Palestinian women observing International Women’s Day.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Mutanabbi street before the bombing. (thanks Suzy) Iraqi writer, Sinan Antoon, can be seen in the blue shirt.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Iraqi writers, poets, and artists gather to mourn the Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
In Baghdad, Mutanabbi Street is full of bookstores, printing presses, and street book vendors. In Beirut, Mutanabbi street has historically been full of…brothels. That says something about Beirut–the Beirut that is romanticized by the likes of Samir Khalaf, among others.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Talal Salman eulogizes Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
One of my favorite contemporary writers in Arabic–politics aside–is Lebanese historian, Ahmad Baydun. Read this and see what I mean. You should read his small book, Detroit-Bint Jubayl.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
In mourning. Iraqi artist, Jabbar Mahyis, put a box on his head and stood atop the destroyed ceiling of the Ibn `Arabi printing press on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. He declared the death of cultural life in Baghdad. Light will not enter, he said.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
(“Local recruits to scare the Taliban”).One of the many things I like about the Economist is the funny captions that they run under pictures (and in serious news stories). This was from a story on Afghanistan.
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
“On “Today†on Tuesday, Meredith Vieira somewhat tactlessly asked Mr. Williams via satellite, “Have you spoken to any Iraqi people yourself?†Mr. Williams explained why not. “The notion of dismounting, getting out of an armored vehicle and walking around and talking to Iraqis is still more or less a dangerous business,†he said.”Notice that according [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
“The private war of women soldiers: Many female soldiers say they are sexually assaulted by their male comrades and can’t trust the military to protect them. “The knife wasn’t for the Iraqis,” says one woman. “It was for the guys on my own side.”” (thanks anonymous)
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
Do you notice that AlArabiya TV keeps airing and reairing and airing and reairing a very sympathetic “special” on Israeli spy, `Azzam `Azzam that Husni Mubarak was forced to release? What is their point? Do they want Arabs to normalize also with spies of Israel? Or is that part of the price that House of [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
`Isa sent me this from Egypt. It says: “Kindly, don’t throw trash here, you beasts; you donkeys.”
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
The demise of the Arab Left is to a large degree due to the utter incompetence, Stalinism, failures, cowardice, and subservience of Arab communist parties. In fact, even when I was a Marxist-Leninist in my youth, I always detested the mainstream Arab communist parties. They never appealed to me. The personalities of Arab communism summarize [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad
A (Sunni) relative of my mother was part of a delegation from Beirut that visited mini-Hariri recently. The men were in their sixties and seventies. My mother reported to me that the delegation basically requested weapons and training from mini-Hariri. I asked her what mini-Hariri said in response. She said that she will report to [...]
Posted on March 8, 2007 by As'ad