Archive for August 9, 2007

“A Saudi family in the province of Al-Aflaj killed two female servants and caused the entry of two others into the hospital due to beatings and torture that they were subjected to…The head of the family suspected that the four servants used magic on his children, so they were held up, and subjected to beatings [...]

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

Khalid Saghiyyah feels nauseous: he just read Fu’ad Sanyurah’s letter to Saudi King.

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

A very interesting (and sharp) article by Talal Salman on Fu’ad Sanyurah (although I of course dissociate myself form the words of praise for Saudi King).

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

I don’t know if people agree, but I prefer Suq Al-Hamidiyyah in Damascus to the Grand Bazar in Istanbul.

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

US pressures on Daily Star: More II. My source adds: “The day that Baghdad fell (April 9, 2003) I came in early– around 10 am. My normal shift was 2pm until we went to press. The mornings were always quiet as most of the reporters would have been briefed and sent off to get stories. [...]

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

Whites-only-Airline: “An upstart airline operating weekly flights between Baghdad and Amman, Jordan, is billing itself as the first no-frills airline to operate out of Iraq, but the company is restricting more than just food and booze on its flights. The airline is also banning Iraqis, Indians, Pakistanis and other non-Westerners from traveling.” (thanks Amina)

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

“On The Record Press Roundtable with Arab and Regional Journalists With Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch Washington D.C. August 06, 2007 …Please identify yourself.Q: Mounzer Sleiman, Since you ended with Lebanon, I’m going to ask you about Lebanon. What is your assessment of the defeat of one of the symbols [...]

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

“America under surveillance” (thanks Lara)

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

“The former president keeps up his contacts with world leaders — last year, for instance, he invited President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to spend a night at Kennebunkport — but is discreet. Once, during an intimate dinner with the king of Morocco, he called the White House and got the president on the phone.”

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad

US Pressures on the Daily Star in Lebanon: More. I received the following email:“I workerd on the Daily Star between 2000-03 as a sub editor and can confirm the stories of harrasement by the US embassy. The most blatant case happened the day after the fall of Baghdad when I arrived at work early to [...]

Posted on August 9, 2007 by As'ad