Archive for July 21, 2007
Inside Nahr Al-Barid camp. (An-Nahar) Tell the Lebanese to wave their flags NOW.
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
Turki Ad-Dakhil is one of those former Bin Ladenites who suddenly became liberal and who work in Saudi media. But he is a very effective interviewer. I watch his program, Ida’at, on AlArabiya TV (successor to Al-Hurra TV) and he devotes it to Gulf cultural and political issues.
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
It is always brave when columnists in Saudi newspapers criticize Libya or Syria, the conflict between House of Saud and Syria and Libya notwithstanding. It is of course funny when columnists in Saudi newspapers attack foes of House of Saud on their human rights records.
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
An American correspondent in Beirut sent me this: “Byblos bank now offers credit cards with the army camouflage motif.” (thanks to N for the picture) Don’t be surprised if other banks, not to be outdone, offer credit cards with pictures of Palestinian skulls on them.
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
From Dahlan’s photo album (thanks Zaki)
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
It is nice to know that Judith Miller has found a home in the US press. You now can expect her to produce the serious investigative pieces for which she is unmatched: “”My father is not just a dreamer, he’s a doer,” said Chemi Peres, 49, the morning after his father’s swearing in. “I’ve seen [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
Mahmud Darwish once called Saddam Husayn “the knight of Arabism.” I expect him to declare Olmert the “knight of Zionism” any day now. The Nobel committee would like that very much.
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
I wrote a post on Nicholas Noe’s op-ed piece in the NYT. He wrote me this (I quote with his permission):“As a first glance I would agree with your criticism – but it really needs to be drawn out more beyond a sentence or two retort, as if the point is settled with just that….. [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
“In the advertising world, brand identity is everything. Volvo means safety. Colgate means clean. IPod means cool. But since the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, its “show of force” brand has proved to have limited appeal to Iraqi consumers, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. military. The key to boosting the [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
Video excerpt of Darwish’s poetry reading in Haifa. (I shall translate for those who don’t know Arabic. “I want Nobel. Please give me Nobel. I really want Nobel. Please give it to me NOW. If you give me Nobel, I will keep repeating that Arabs are in love with Israeli nuclear weapons”). (thanks Rawan)
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
To Nicholas Noe: I was rather surprised to see your piece in the NYT today. My advice to all is this: if you have a piece accepted in the NYT ask yourself this: where did I go wrong? Question their motives AND yours. Now Nicholas: I never knew that you are now offering free advice [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
Read this survey: I could not reproduce. (thanks Karim)
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
“I couldn’t help smiling cynically when I read those Lebanese blog posts, because they expressed criticism that was very similar to the Israeli bloggers’ criticism of Western media attitudes toward Israel. I also continued to strengthen my friendships with various Lebanese – as they, too, recovered from the emotional trauma of the war. I traveled [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
He negotiated “the language of his recantation.” “Ellison’s aides and staffers in the ADL’s Washington office spent much of Tuesday negotiating the language of his recantation, both sides said. It was understood that Ellison would release a statement expressing regret over his earlier comparison, and would also make his feelings known in an interview with [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
“[AIPAC] Committee members also urged lawmakers to back Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas now that he has exiled Hamas from his government and sought support for $2.4 billion in defense assistance to Israel.” (thanks Wally)
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
I heard some of the statements by PFLP’s `Abdur-Rahim Malluh. Malluh has always represented a pro-Oslo trend inside the organization and he ran against Ahmad Sa`dar for leadership and lost. Today, he insisted that the PLO should speak for the Palestinians. Of course, he would say that. In regular elections, the PFLP gets less than [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad
Amer sent me this from Lebanon: “tele liban [the state-owned TV station] has this “candid camera” show, the crew is extremely cruel and annoying, but they have this one black actor (Sudanese probably), they only use him in the skits where the actor is guaranteed to be physically beaten, either that, or the lebanese tend [...]
Posted on July 21, 2007 by As'ad